First of all, this is written on Veterans Day and I want to thank all military veterans for their service to this great country. Thank you for protecting our freedoms.

I was reading three Kewaunee Star Newspapers from 1963 and was amazed at some of the changes that have taken place since that time, especially concerning prices in the various ads. The papers belong to Denny Laurent, who brought them to a resident in Linden manor.

On the front page of each paper is an ad for the Pastry Shoppe in Kewaunee. You could buy a cake and one loaf of bread for $1. Four dozen cookies were $1, and a pound-and-a-half loaf of bread sold for 29 cents. And if you wanted to call in an order, the phone number was 218.

In an ad for Crabbe’s market,  cantaloupe sold at four for $1, peaches were 49 cents for two pounds and 10 pounds of new potatoes were 49 cents. Also, you could purchase a 10-roll pack of toilet tissue for 69 cents.

Then, if you wanted to feed the family, Wagner’s Meat market on Harrison Street was selling chop meat and pork steak at 39 cents a pound, beef liver (ugh) for 29 cents, and round steak or T-bone steak at 69 cents a pound. Wieners (and I’m sure they weren’t the skinless kind) were 49 cents a pound, and summer sausage was 59 cents.

Moving on, I found a small ad for Wavrunek’s Grocery, selling Fox Deluxe Beer at $2.40 for a case of 24 12-ounce bottles. And speaking of beer, the Downtowner Bar (now a part of Harv’s Electric) was advertising a Beer Bust Party every Wednesday evening. You could have all of your favorite tap beer that you could drink for 99 cents. Can you imagine? Jergenson’s at Norman featured an ad for a Father’s Day Smorgasbord for $1.50.

One issue advertised a year-round men’s suit for Dad priced from $44.95 to $55 at Ludlow’s Clothing store, owned by my parents. Sport jackets, now called sport coats, were selling for $24.95. Slacks to go with your new sport coat ranged from $4.99 to $14.98. In another issue, Ludlow’s featured “Your favorite” the Shirtdress, for $5.99.

In those days, you could buy Red Wing Safety Toe shoes at Lazansky’s Shoe Store for $12.95.

Obituaries were scattered through out the paper, unlike today when they are all in one section. And if you went away for the weekend to visit relatives or whatever, it usually made the paper.

And unlike today’s current privacy rules and regulations, there was a listing  of all the St. Mary’s Kewaunee Area Memorial Hospital admissions for the week. In this day and age, you’d probably get arrested for publishing that.

Have a great week, everyone!

Barb Ludlow is a former Kewaunee County reporter. Email her at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press Gazette: Barb Ludlow: Much has changed in 50 years