Neenah marks 150 years as a city with treasure hunt, birthday cake, music and more
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NEENAH - Plans are underway for the city's 150th birthday party and all residents — more than 27,000 people — are invited to participate.
Some activities already have started, such as a weekly treasure hunt for commemorative medallions hidden by Neenah police, but the festivities really will ramp up with a Celebration Kick-off on March 13.
Neenah incorporated as a city on March 13, 1873. It had been a village before that.
"I think it's a big deal," Mayor Jane Lang told The Post-Crescent. "It's a great way to look back and celebrate all that the community has accomplished."
Neenah harnessed the power of the Fox River, first for flour mills and then paper mills, to grow and prosper, becoming the second-largest community in the Fox Cities behind Appleton. In recent decades, Neenah's economy successfully has transitioned to health care, teleservices and the design and manufacture of electronic components.
The Neenah name has been spread far and wide by companies such as Neenah Paper, Kimberly-Clark, Neenah Foundry, ThedaCare and Plexus. The city has ties to celebrities such as renowned concert pianist Arthur Shattuck, architect George Bergstrom (designer of the Pentagon) and film director Howard Hawks ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "Rio Bravo"), to name a few.
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The city budgeted $10,000 for its sesquicentennial celebrations. The March 13 Celebration Kick-off will start at noon at City Hall, 211 Walnut St. Lang said the event will involve speakers, a proclamation from Gov. Tony Evers, birthday cake and historical displays, including a chair made of wood from the Old Council Tree, a large elm under which the chiefs of American Indian tribes gathered in council.
"I've got the Neenah High School jazz band coming to play," Lang said, "and I'm trying to also recruit some younger students to be part of that. I think that's really a cool opportunity to focus on our future in that way."
The festivities will culminate with a Community Party in the Street on Aug. 23 in downtown Neenah, where Boogie and the Yo-Yoz will perform a concert.
Other events scheduled or in the works include a Neenah Arts Council photography contest, a Neenah-Menasha sesquicentennial historical exhibit, a bicycle tour and self-guided walking tours of historic homes.
New downtown banners will be unveiled in late February or early March. Students will make birthday cards for the city that will be displayed at City Hall and the Neenah Public Library. Lang said the city might build a float that could be used in the Memorial Day, CommunityFest and Labor Day parades. There's also beer involved.
"We've got the two breweries (Lion's Tail Brewing Co. and Barrel 41 Brewing Co.) each committed to brewing a 150th brew and then kind of having a competition between the two," Lang said.
Neenah police have been hiding 10-ounce medallions around the city since January. One side celebrates the history of the city, and the other side celebrates the history of the police department. Whoever finds a medallion gets to keep it.
"We thought it would be fun to hide one a week throughout the year," Police Chief Aaron Olson said. "One will be hidden every Monday. Some will be hidden in the morning, some in the afternoon and some at night so people of all different shifts can partake in this."
Olson said the treasure hunt will involve all 26 Neenah parks, City Hall and the police station. No medallion will be hidden on private property.
The police department provides clues about where the medallions are hidden on its Facebook page.
Neenah's neighbor and historical rival, Menasha, will celebrate its sesquicentennial next year. Menasha incorporated as a city on March 5, 1874.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Neenah having 150th birthday party with treasure hunt, tours, music
