100 Years Ago
In 1912, New York state Sen. Charles M. Hamilton of the Chautauqua Cattaraugus district, this day introduced in the Senate a bill appropriating the sum of $25,000 for the purpose of establishing a state fish hatchery on Lake Erie in Chautauqua County. Plans had been in progress for this project for some time and a tentative site for the proposed hatchery had been chosen at Dunkirk where a splendid site was available adjacent to the U.S. government property at Point Gratiot.
"That is my decision. I will not grant a license for any 15-year-old girl to get married," said Jamestown City Clerk Jones to a party of applicants for a marriage license the previous afternoon. "There will be no discussion over the matter. The only way you can get a license from this office is to compel me to issue it by a mandamus order." The case had some elements of unusual interest, although for good reasons the names of the parties were not made public by the clerk. A man, about 26 years old and a girl, evidently in her early teens, accompanied by her mother, appeared asking for a license.
75 Years Ago
In 1937, with the approval of the state Department of Labor, the Legislature would be asked to amend the state labor law to specify an eight-hour day and maximum 48-hour week for approximately 60,000 women employed in hotels and restaurants. Terms of the proposed legislation had been agreed upon by the State Industrial Commission, the State Hotel Association and representatives of organized labor. The proposed amendment was designed to put hotel employees on a parity with other industries as far as hours were concerned.
Clarence K. McCallum, of Elizabeth, N.J., formerly of Jamestown, a son of former Chautauqua County sheriff James S. McCallum, died at his home Saturday night as the result of an accident. He was 36 years of age. It was believed that Mr. McCallum was either knocked off or fell off a ladder when an explosion or short-circuit occurred while he was changing a bulb in an electric light fixture.
50 Years Ago
In 1962, Virgil L. Eggleston, a veteran of 22 years with the Jamestown Fire Department, was named acting chief. He had served as assistant chief since 1954 and replaced John F. Martyn, whose retirement was announced the previous day for reasons of ill health. Mayor William D. Whitehead announced Eggleston's appointment as acting chief. At the same time, he voiced assurance that Jamestown's next fire chief would be named from the ranks, rather than appointing an "outsider." The mayor said the fire department had "several excellent men" who could qualify as chief. It was expected, however, that either Eggleston or Theodore F. Hubbard, a veteran of 32 years with the department, would be named chief.
Evidence of what could be accomplished by a city through an effectively organized attack on blighted areas was obtained firsthand by a group of Jamestown officials and business leaders during an inspection of the Peach St.-Sassafras Project at Erie, Pa. The Jamestown party, headed by Mayor William D. Whitehead, was conducted on a tour of the project the previous afternoon by Charles B. Williamson, mayor of Erie. The project occupied an area of eight square blocks in what, less than five years before, was one of the city's most severely blighted slum districts. Already completed was a shopping plaza, completely under cover and equipped with parking facilities for 1,200 cars and a luxurious four-story motel with its own restaurant, swimming pool and tennis courts. Under construction was a five-story office building.