How long did they have to wait for traffic lights to change, 77 years ago?

In 1941, La Crosse Police Chief Herman Rick and traffic sergeant Lyle Gilbert said traffic lights in the city would stay on 45 seconds before changing.  The old time had been 33 seconds for a red or green light.  The idea was to give pedestrians more time to cross the street, as well as reducing rear-end collisions.

Modern 1940’s technology may have put washing machines into people’s homes, but plenty of folks still used a wringer and a clothesline to get their duds dry.  A new Speed Queen washer at Kroner Hardware on Pearl Street sold for $60, including the wringer.  Ideal for squeezing the water out of the laundry before it gets hung on the line.

Basketball players were not as tall in those days as they are now, so high school games had lower scores.  In the winter of ’41, Onalaska beat West Salem, 19-16…and Campion from Prairie du Chien defeated Aquinas in a squeaker, 24-23.  Low scores in high school, 77 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.