Clik here to view.
Moonshine on the Frog Farm
Prohibition began in 1920... But there was no chance America would go authentically dry as long as there were places like Oshkosh and people like Frank Kinderman. Oshkosh was too attached to its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oshkosh’s Bathtub Bootleggers
Stories about Prohibition are too often over-populated with flashy gangsters like Al Capone or Bugs Moran. But in Oshkosh, those stories never rang true. Here, the war against Prohibition wasn’t fought...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Anna Wood’s Twilight Garden
Anna Wood could have been the poster child for the Jazz Age in Oshkosh. She was everything a young woman was not supposed to be: rebellious, independent, daring. She liked men. She liked liquor. She...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Respecting the (Oshkosh) Beer
I was recently invited onto the Respecting the Beer Podcast where they let me babble away about Oshkosh beer and tavern history. We had a fun discussion, and you can hear it HERE.
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Green Front Inn Speakeasy & Boxing Club
There is a building on Main Street with a stone embedded at the top that has “Joe. Laus 1894” carved into it. Joseph Laus was into candy. The “Laus Block” was home to the Laus Candy Company for 38...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pints of the Past
The Winnebago County Historical Society and the Society of Oshkosh Brewers are getting together for an evening of beer-based time travel. Pints of the Past will happen on Saturday, October 25 from 6-9...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Onkle Heinze and the Lake Shore Casino Club
Jerry’s Bar, at the east end of Ceape, wasn’t always called Jerry’s. When it opened, almost 150 years ago, it was known as Heinze’s. That name originated with the German immigrant who ran the saloon....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Good Spirits at the Museum
I’ll be talking about the history of Oshkosh’s unique drinking culture this Thursday, November 6, starting at 5:30 pm at the Oshkosh Public Museum. The talk will use the museum’s Good Spirits exhibit...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oshkosh’s Oldest Taverns
Oshkosh is home to many historic taverns. There are approximately 30 active bars in this city that trace their roots back to saloons or speakeasies that were established more than a century ago. These...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Agnes in Flight
Agnes was 40 when she quit the straight world and dove into the underworld. Her scandalous turn brought her to Oshkosh. The Jazz Age was underway and the old norms were breaking down. Agnes took a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spirits of Christmas Past
Thanks to everyone who visited the blog this year to tramp around with me on the underside of Oshkosh history. I’ve had a great time researching and writing these stories. And I’m looking forward to a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beering Up at Dichmann's Grocery
Bottled beer was rare in Oshkosh in 1878. John Glatz & Christian Elser were going to change that.John Glatz (on the left) with Christian Elser. Their ad for bottled beer was published on March 21,...
View ArticleA 1950s Tour of the Oshkosh Brewing Company
Over the years I’ve collected dozens of photos and a fair amount of video taken at the Oshkosh Brewing Company in the mid-1950s. I've assembled that into a video tour of the brewery that follows the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fritz, Hanna and the Last Case of Oshkosh Bock
Feb 1970: Fritz Smick was a couple of weeks past his 85th birthday when he brought home his last case of Oshkosh Bock. This was one of his old rituals. Bock beer was a stronger beer released once a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Birth of the Bloody 6th Ward
Here’s a building that represents far more than its appearance suggests. It’s the forgotten cornerstone of Oshkosh’s Bloody Sixth Ward.The northeast corner of 6th and Ohio (556 W. 6th Avenue).The old...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Talking Prohibition in Oshkosh
On National Beer Day - April 7th - I’ll give a free talk about the wild history of Prohibition in Oshkosh at Venue 404, the former First National Bank building, at 404 N. Main Street.The talk begins at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hell’s Corner
The old Sixth Ward was a muddy backwater when John Lueck opened the first saloon there in 1875. The backwater became a bustling borough. Lueck’s bar was a catalyst for the transformation. Looking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rahr Bock is Back!
I’ve been waiting 120 years to re-post this ad…An adulterated ad from 1906 for Rahr’s Bock.Rahr’s Bock Beer returns to Oshkosh this Saturday (April 4) at the Bare Bones Brewery taproom. The special...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Return of Witzke's
Two years ago, Witzke’s looked like another Oshkosh landmark destined for demolition. And then the Morth family came along.The abandoned property at the corner of 17th and Oregon was purchased at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lemberger’s Tavern and the End of the Old Sixth Ward
John Lemberger took over the oldest tavern in the old Sixth Ward in 1935. The place had been there for 60 years. The bar had laid the foundation for the bloody reputation of the ward that grew up...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oshkosh After Dark
In 1913, private detectives from the Wisconsin Vice Committee began slithering into Oshkosh. They came to infiltrate the city’s illicit sex scene. It was so easy. Oshkosh had been running hot for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The First Tavern
It began with a tavern by the river. This tavern was the first step to what would become the City of Oshkosh. It was the project of a man born more than 240 years ago. His name was George...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Webster Stanley and his Tavern
The “Father of Oshkosh” was a tavern keeper. Webster Stanley didn’t intend to take up that trade here. Yet his unplanned tavern proved to be foundational. It became the basis for what would be the City...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Father of Oshkosh Saloons
People who knew Webster Stanley in the 1850s didn’t think of him as the “Father of Oshkosh.” In fact, they probably gave him no thought at all. Stanley was a luckless relic best known for his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Genealogy of Players
Player's Pizza & Pub caught fire on the evening of August 12, 2026. It burned into the early morning. The building at the northeast corner of 5th and Ohio was nearly destroyed.After the fire,...
View Article
![Personal Investments • Re: 401k investments [which to choose?]](http://i.imgur.com/wA51OIw.png)
