Yesterday in La Crosse
La Crosse’s mayor had ideas about running for governor, 44 years ago
In late 1973, Mayor W. Peter Gilbertson said he was thinking of entering the governor’s race the following year. Gilbertson had just won his second term as mayor of La Crosse. He argued that his main reason for wanting to run was to force other candidates to focus on issues important to local government.
America’s bicentennial was less than three years away, and La Crosse was forming a committee to plan the local celebration. Richard Pearse chaired the 21-member group. Other members included Viterbo president Fr. Thomas Finucan, UW-L mass communications instructor Jim Conway, and city library director Gertrude Thurow.
One local bank was showing off new uniforms for female staffers. The Batavian National Bank of La Crosse ran a newspaper ad, picturing the women of the bank wearing uniforms “carefully chosen for fabric, color, and styling.” The skirts were slightly above the knee, and the color was described as “Batavian blue”…44 years ago, 1973, yesterday in La Crosse.
