Oshkosh Pride

There are approximately 66 taverns in the City of Oshkosh. There may be a few more or less depending on how you define your terms, but the exact number doesn't really matter. What does matter is that 66 is far too small a number. We're falling behind, people!

On September 21, 1849 the Oshkosh True Democrat published a story reporting that "our town" had 1,032 inhabitants, one brewery and three taverns with "another nearly completed". You can sense the pride the paper took in reporting these numbers.

They were right to be proud. A ratio of 1,032 to 4 meant there was 1 tavern for every 258 people living in Oshkosh. Contrast that with today's sad numbers of 1 tavern for every 953 people (Oshkosh pop. 62,916) and it becomes clear that we all have a lot of work to do.

Let's start tonight. Do your part by going out and visiting two or three of your favorite spots and sampling their brews. You'll feel good knowing that you're working to improve Oshkosh. Let's all be proud, again!