Born To Be a Newspaper Man

by Martin J. McGowan Jr.

The Good Years

Our best years in Appleton were those following World War II. They culminated in what might be called the Eisenhower years. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the hero of that war, served as president from 1953 through 1960. The nation was in a period of recovery and business was good. Eisenhower didn't have much to do with it. He was pretty much a hands-off president and prosperity returned.

Our family began to grow in the years of the war's end. Our first born came in August, 1944. and was named Martin III. With three generations of Martins he was given the nickname Mickey to distinguish him from Martin Sr. and Martin Jr. So it went Martin, Marty and Mickey.

In quick succession came Daniel Patrick in August, 1946, and Margaret Eleanor in August, 1945.

We first lived in an apartment over Gertrude. This was the same building where I had lived my first six years which was converted into four apartments before we returned to one apartment. Since we had only one bedroom in that first apartment, with the arrival of Dan we needed larger quarters.

They came when we rented a small two-bedroom house one block from school behind the Kenneth Kivley home and across the alley from the A. S. Persen home. This was the house my grandmother and Gertrude rented when my Dad remarried and was where my grandmother died.

We didn't last long there. We rented the home from the Opp family and when Mrs. Opp saw there was going to be a third child in our family she told us she needed the home and they would be moving to town to occupy it. That was a ruse to get us out of there because they soon rented it to somebody else.

That meant we had to find something else to rent or buy. There was a small 1920 style house that became available when the owner died and it was in an estate sale. I had inquired of C. M. Krebs, president of the First National Bank, about buying the Opp house, but he said it was not worth buying, even at $3,000. So I turned to trying to buy the estate home.

Veterans were returning home from military service and they had the advantage of loans being available to them at the low rates under the GI Bill of Rights. Dick Beveridge was home from the war and he needed a home. There was competitive bidding and I stretched our finances to enter a bid of $6,000. Dick bid more and won out.

Gertrude, ever helpful to us, said we should take her first-floor front apartment and she would rent a room. She obtained one from a friend, Mrs. Atcherson, who lived across the street from the school. We were back in the apartment building again.

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