Yesterday in La Crosse
Somebody didn’t like the name of Onalaska’s park…26 years ago
In the summer of 1992, a park near the Omni Center in Onalaska was named after former Mayor Shirleigh Van Riper. But objecting to the decision was the new mayor, George Osterhout, who had just replaced Mr. Van Riper. Osterhout complained that the Onalaska park board exceeded its authority by naming the park after Van Riper without first bringing suggestions to the city council. Van Riper had helped create Onalaska’s park and rec department.
A long-time downtown store in La Crosse would close its doors in ’92. The Woolworth store on Main Street had operated at that location since the 1930’s. The building now houses the Crossfire center for young people.
The La Crosse Catbirds won their second CBA title in three years that spring, under head coach Flip Saunders. The Catbirds needed all seven games of the championship series to take the trophy over the Rapid City Thrillers.
And for much of February and March, the “Wayne’s World” movie, based on the SNL sketches with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, was #1 in America. Party on, Wayne…1992, yesterday in La Crosse.
