Mautz's Tavern- A Historical Commentary

Manhattan Brewing Company of Chicago I like what one would call 'vintage decor'. Just walk through my house and you can tell I've bought my fair share of Hobby Lobby 'vintage' -  you know, brand new stuff that looks old. I see these vintage looking pieces every time I'm at the tavern, much like things I would gravitate towards when I see them in the store, but then I have to remind myself that these things are actual vintage! The real deal! So I come across some old crates and decide I want to take one home, log in to Pinterest and find some great way to decorate with it that I would never be able to think of on my own.  I decided to select the crate that shows the bottle marks on the inside bottom and because it had the word beer printed on it in old-timey letters.  I had never heard of the beer written on the crate - Old Manhattan Beer from Manhattan Brewing Company in Chicago (yes, Chicago, not to be confused with Manhattan Brewing Company in New...

Historical Cardboard Boxes with Stories as Interesting as Their Contents I am finding that some of the cardboard boxes that are in the tavern are proving to be unexpected windows into history.  So for your reading pleasure, here is what I learned out about what was once a Madison, WI based potato chip company, complete with a creepy clown mascot. Red Dot Potato Chips and Ta-to the Clown The first thing I noticed when I found these boxes were that they had my dad's name on them.  Once I got past that and all the cool things that were stored inside them, I was then drawn to the brand of potato chips I had never heard of along with its eye-catching clown.  I wanted to find out more. The Company's Mascot - Ta-to (rhymes with potato) the Clown Were clowns not considered creepy back then? A quick google search revealed an interesting story of an entrepreneur with a tragic ending from right here in Madison, WI. I encourage you to check out this i...

I come across two boxes up in the dance hall/storage space that have my dad's name written on them......Henry Joe (note my dad's full name is Henry Joseph Mautz)......ahhh, I have to see what is in them.  I clear a path and dig them out of the corner they were in. Red Dot Foods - A local Madison, WI company that merged with  Lays in 1961 - There's an interesting story there I still have yet to go through and fully process all that was in those two boxes.  There were letters in there written to my dad - some from girls.  There was a binder full of schoolwork.  Book reports he had written from I'm guessing high school (my dad graduated in 1955).  Strange to see the handwriting of your father from his high school days, particularly when you haven't seen his face or heard his voice in over 23 years.  Oh how I wish he was still here. I have so many questions about the stuff in this box that I want to ask him. My first questions after "Who is Gail?"...

Hatboxes What is it about hatboxes? I think many women are drawn to them in an unfamiliar way. I say unfamiliar because they are not a modern thing.  My generation and the generation before me didn't wear hats, at least certainly not the kind that would come in a hatbox.  Yet, for some reason we find them artistic enough that you will often find them used in modern home decor.  Without consciously knowing it, we think of them of them as an art piece. Because of how they look, they will stand out even in a room full of stuff.  And that is exactly what happened when we discovered them stored in what was at one time, the dance hall. Dance Hall/Storage Space Discoveries Back when my great grandfather started Mautz's Tavern, the large open space on the second floor, directly above the bar was used as a dance hall.  I don't know exactly what year it stopped being that. I only know that in my lifetime, that space was only ever used as storage. On an early ...