| A CN local shoves a boxcar to U.S. Paper Mills Corp., 69 Washington St., via a remnant of the former C&NW rails Menasha, WI on 2 Sep. '19. The train is passing the idled Whiting Paper Co., 100 River St. The paper machines were shut down on 30 Mar. '16, after 134 years of providing quality paper products and living-wage jobs. Originally the Whiting and Gilbert paper mill, it was built along the Fox River Navigation Canal on the site of an abandoned dry dock in 1882 (1881). The company was a partnership of George A. Whiting and Theodore and William Gilbert. It became the George A. Whiting Paper Mills in 1886, after he bought out the Gilbert brothers. The name was changed to George A. Whiting Paper Co. in 1911. Much of the current facility was built after a devastating fire and explosion on 24 Aug. 1888. The 5th generation of the Whiting family sold the company to Tom Danz, who joined the company in 1999, in Mar. '14; the name was changed to Whiting Paper Co. When the closure was announced, he claimed the company could not maintain the sales volume needed to remain profitable. The mill produced matte board, scrapbooking, and high-end art paper, and its unique Kona Paper, made from recycled burlap coffee bean bags. The George A. Whiting Airport, at the intersection of Airport Rd. and Appleton Rd. in Menasha, WI, was named in his honor because he donated $5,000 to construct the facility ca. the '20s. Reportedly, it was "Wisconsin’s finest and busiest airport" in the '30s. When the government decreed that there could be only 1 airmail port per county, they chose the airfield at Oshkosh, WI and the George A. Whiting Airport soon faded into history (except for the hanger, currently home to Kitz & Pfeil Ace Hardware). Simply Incredible Foods, 198 River St., can be seen beyond Whiting's. Simply Incredible Foods purchased the defunct Menasha Municipal Utilities (Menasha Utilities) plant in Jun. '14. The track in the foreground is a remnant of the former C&NW main line. This small, mostly industrial island was formed when the Fox River Navigation Canal was excavated ca. 1856 (when the lock was completed). This view was only available to trespassers until the Loop-the-Lake Trail opened last year. Loop-the-Lake was completed in order to connect existing recreational trails in the Twin Cities. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held 23 Jun. '18. |