Yesterday in La Crosse
How long could you be a sheriff? A question 61 years ago
In 1956, the state of Wisconsin would ask voters whether sheriffs out to serve more than two consecutive terms, of two years each. The idea was to discourage the practice of letting one person be sheriff for four years, followed by the undersheriff for four years, and then the previous sheriff coming back. La Crosse County Sheriff Robert Scullin was in favor of the change. Scullin had been appointed sheriff, after the death of the previous sheriff, Ivan Wright.
You could dance to Les Brown and his Band of Renown for just $2 at the Avalon Ballroom on Copeland in La Crosse. In the 60’s, Brown’s band would be featured each week on Dean Martin’s TV show. Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians often performed in La Crosse, with a concert scheduled at the new Sawyer Auditorium…tickets from $1.50 to $3.
The biggest hit songs of 1956 included a peppy instrumental called “The Poor People of Paris” by Les Baxter, and a Western ballad, “The Wayward Wind” by Gogi Grant. Sixty-one years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.