Yesterday in La Crosse
Big high schools for their time, 77 years ago
In 1941, Central and Logan High School were impressive for their enrollment size. Central have just over 1000 students in three grades, and north-side Logan was only about 50 students behind. Central was still on Cass Street, where Weigent Park is now, and Logan was in the building which is now Logan Middle School.
Sel-Rite was a familiar grocery chain in La Crosse in ’41. The Sel-Rite stores were selling 15 pounds of potatoes for 32 cents, half-a-dozen grapefruit for 22 cents, and a big box of Oxydol detergent sold for 18 cents. A pair of Eversharp scissors cost 39 cents at Doerflinger’s, and 59 cents could get you a hot water bottle at Soell’s Drug at 5th and Main, which later became Soell’s Liquors.
The big hit movies of 1941 included “Sergeant York,” starring Gary Cooper, and two comedies with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour…”Caught in the Draft,” and “The Road to Zanzibar.’ That was 77 years ago, 1941, yesterday in La Crosse.