Yesterday in La Crosse

Men on the moon, money in the bank machine, 54 years ago

Published

1 year ago

July 18, 2023

“Everybody gets to go to the moon” was part of the lyric of a popular song in 1969, but only three men actually got to take the trip. The first manned landing on the lunar surface happened on July 20th, 1969, a Sunday.

Neil Armstrong took those first steps on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission, followed by Buzz Aldrin. The third crew member, Mike Collins, remained in orbit above the moon. Armstrong predicted that flights of the next decade would be more interesting. However, no humans have been back to the moon since 1972.

The Heileman brewery of La Crosse got permission to buy Blatz beer of Milwaukee. Pabst was ordered to sell the Blatz brand in an anti-trust ruling. Blatz would be made by Heileman for the next 30 years.

The first automatic teller machine in the U.S. was introduced by a bank in Los Angeles. The machine, called a Bankomat, was loaded with $10,000 in $20 bills. A breakthrough of science in the summer of ’69, yesterday in La Crosse.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.