Brown County Library hopes 'Miracle of Green Bay' banners will teach NFL draft visitors the small Packers stories
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Tony Canadeo Jr., son of the Gray Ghost of Gonzaga, sat in the audience April 29 at the Brown County Library's lower level in Green Bay.
In the back was "Vince Lombardi" played by actor Jeremy Pelegrin in a brown hat, white button-up, and New York accent. Green Bay Packers Professional Cheerleaders alumni members spanning three generations rustled their pom-poms, preparing to unveil the six display boards at the front.
The cues to the Packers' past underlined the history lesson that the Brown County Library wants to tell visitors coming for the 2025 NFL Draft. Six giant banners hanging off of several downtown buildings were officially unveiled at the event. Given the name "The Miracle of Green Bay" by Packers historian Cliff Christl, the banners tell the smaller, more intimate stories behind the often-told big brushstrokes of early Packers history highlighting the community's ordinary efforts to keep its national football team.
The context behind the archival photos plastered across the banners are summarized on the project's website, www.browncountylibrary.org/miracle-of-green-bay, that library staff said they hope visitors see what has been dug up out of months of research.
"I'm hoping that individuals will see the banners, see the stories, come to the Neville Museum, and see the heart of the story and get a sense of place, a hometown feel," said Brown County executive Troy Strekenbach.
Written across the display boards waiting to be revealed were the locations of the banners that started to be installed April 12. The Brown County Library at 515 Pine St. has three hanging off its sides. The Brown County Courthouse at 100 S. Jefferson St. has one, as will Associated Bank at 200 N. Adams St. whose banner is not yet installed. The largest banner ― showing Tony Canadeo Sr. nearly 35 feet tall ― was approved by the Green Bay Landmarks Commission to hang off the Brown County Northern Building at 305 E. Walnut St.
One by one, the former Packers cheerleaders revealed the pictures fractions of the size of the banners they were splashed across outside, and anecdotes flew out from local historians Mary Jane Herber and Jeff Gilderson-Duwe.
One picture showed children huddled around Packers player Travis Williams, and the attendees roared with laughter at Herber's retelling of how the Packers' bike tradition started out with the kids casually running into Packers players while out and about.
Another picture showed Tony Canadeo at the Astor Hotel with assistant manager Sue Wallen. Attendees murmured with acknowledgement at Gilderson-Duwe's description of Wallen's mother-hen care for the Packers players, dressing them down after nights downtown and donning their socks.
"She took care of those guys," Gilderson-Duwe said. He believed it came out of the loss of her own son in the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor. "It shows the Midwest spirit of help and support."
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. Contact him at 920-834-4250 or jlin@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Downtown Green Bay banners tell small Packers stories for NFL Draft
