100 Years Ago
In 1912, lightning entered the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Frank at Beechwood about 9 a.m., coming in over the telephone line, the lightning arrester on which, failed to work. Mrs. Frank was in another room but the destructive stuff seemed to be attracted that way and it rendered her unconscious. She was alone in the house at the time. It was nearly 15 minutes later, as near as she could ascertain, when she recovered consciousness and strength sufficient to get to the telephone to notify Mr. Frank who was at his office in Jamestown. No material damage was done in the house and nothing was set on fire by the lightning. By noon, she had nearly recovered from the effects of the shock.
The annual outing given to the employees and their families by the Empire Worsted Mills and the Acme Worsted Mills was held Saturday at Sylvan Park, with between 1,000 and 1,200 persons in attendance. The weather was ideal for an occasion of this sort and nothing was left undone to make the affair just as enjoyable as possible. The employers furnished ice cream, coffee, etc., to everyone and dinner was eaten in various parts of the park. Bratt's Orchestra furnished music for dancing during the afternoon and early evening. Many spent the time in this manner. A program of sports events was also held.
75 Years Ago
In 1937, officers of the Stewart Motor Company of Buffalo, truck manufacturers, this day identified the body of a drowning victim as that of Raymond G. Stewart, 59, vice president of the concern. His body was recovered in the Niagara River early in the day by a coast guard crew. Frederick Schreiber, a boathouse employee, said he rented Stewart a boat for fishing the previous night. Police said the position of overturned fishing tackle in the boat led them to believe the occupant had tripped and was thrown from the craft.
Representatives of the Automatic Voting Machine Company of Jamestown and the Shoup Voting Machine Corporation staged a four-hour debate over the relative merits of their machines for the benefit of the Board of Estimates and Board of Supervisors of Elections in Baltimore. Both firms sought a contract involving between $752,524 and $1,089,270. Spokesmen for the two firms were rarely in agreement during the session. Shoup representatives charged that the machines made by Automatic did not meet specifications and election law requirements. Spokesmen for the Automatic denied the charges but indicated that if their machines did not meet specifications, neither did Shoup's. Machines offered by Shoup were said to be superior because they listed officials involved in elections in perpendicular rows. Devices offered by Automatic were said to be superior because they listed officials in horizontal rows.
25 Years Ago
In 1987, the special assistant to the president for European and Soviet affairs responded to Soviet speakers at Chautauqua Institution by saying the arms race was not an issue of war and peace, it was only a symptom of the issues. Fritz W. Ermarth told the Soviets they had offered many peace proposals but they were known by their deeds rather than their words. He said the invasion of Afghanistan, for example, was not a peaceful action and the continued escalation of the war threatened to cross the border into the U.S.S.R. He said the United States would take more credence in Soviet statements about wanting peace in southern Asia when Soviet troops would leave Afghanistan.
The contributions of its employees to the success of Bush Industries was recognized when its Jamestown plant in the Joseph H. Mason South County Industrial Park in the town of Ellicott was dedicated to them. The occasion also was marked by the plant's acceptance of a "Partners in Progress" award from Sears, Roebuck and Co. as one of only 75 among the retailer's 10,000 suppliers nationally to be so recognized for 1986. Bush supplied microwave oven carts to Sears which had been the manufacturer's number one customer for the past 17 years. David Powell, assistant buyer from Sears' Chicago office, said the "Partners in Progress" award was symbolic of the finest in service. Powell said that this meant parts that fit, consistent fine quality, the proper amount of hardware for assembling and how the assembled product performed.