Yesterday in La Crosse
Reading about “Montana 1948” in 2003
Sixteen years ago, the La Crosse Public Library decided to continue its “Read One Book” program. The project urged city residents to all read the same book and then discuss it with family and friends. The Larry Watson novel “Montana 1948” was chosen as the book to read for 2003. Mayor John Medinger said the novel had many elements to keep readers interested, such as “sex, race, and violence.”
Doctors in Wisconsin were worried about an outbreak of smallpox. The disease had been eradicated in 1980, but samples of it still remain in laboratories. Representatives of both La Crosse hospitals said some smallpox vaccination clinics could start around Wisconsin in early March.
The Oscars were held in late March that year. Best picture was the musical “Chicago.” Adrien Brody won the best actor award for “The Pianist,” and Nicole Kidman took the actress award for playing writer Virginia Woolf in “The Hours”…in 2003, yesterday in La Crosse.