In 1912, the final chapter in the story of the failure of the Fredonia National Bank was being written. Dividend statements for the final dividend were mailed out on Oct. 17 and were being received by those still living in Fredonia and Chautauqua County. The bank's doors were closed by order of the Comptroller of the currency on June 19, 1905. Four different receivers had been in charge of its affairs since that date, collecting its assets, liquidating the claims against the institution, fighting bankruptcy cases and performing usual business. There had been a net loss to depositors and claimants of just .25 of 1 percent less than 30 percent or just 29 and .075 percent loss, based on the total original deposits. Considering the wild rumors which were circulating at the time of the failure, this record was not bad.
The Jamestown Athletic Club football team would meet the hardest proposition of the season on Sunday afternoon at Celoron when it would line up against the heavy Lancaster, N.Y. team. The local team expected to be outweighed fully 30 pounds to the man but hoped to offset this advantage by speed, having a large amount of it this year. Lancaster would arrive here on a special train with some 200 or 300 backers. The local Orange and Blue eleven had put in some hard licks at practice over the week, realizing fully what kind of a team it was to run up against.
In 1937, efforts to locate 3 year old Timothy Michael Heer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leo J. Heer, who disappeared from the yard of his home on Winchester Road, Lakewood, the previous afternoon were redoubled this day as belief grew that the child might have been abducted in an automobile by a degenerate. An investigator from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and four members of the New York State Police Scotland Yard joined with county, Jamestown and Lakewood authorities in a determined effort to exhaust every possible clue or tip. Volunteer workers turned out in large numbers again in the afternoon to assist in the search. It was expected that several hundred persons would be participating in an exhaustive, systematic combing of the entire area about Lakewood before nightfall. Nearly 500 such volunteer joined in the hunt late the previous afternoon after the parents and village police became alarmed at the child's continued absence.
Students of Lakewood High School were dismissed from school early in the afternoon so they might aid in the search for little Timothy Heer. About 80 older boys started out at 1 p.m. under the direction of former Sheriff Major Samuel A. Brown. They were being assisted by scores of other volunteers. Jamestown Boy Scouts were summoned from their classrooms in the afternoon to join in the search. They were ordered to report to Major Brown at headquarters in Lakewood immediately after reporting to their homes and were asked to take a light lunch and a flashlight or lantern. Thirty-six were excused from classes at Jefferson and an equal number from Washington and Lincoln.
In 1962, the International Circulation Managers Association released a letter of best wishes to newspaperboys from President Kennedy. National Newspaperboy Day would be observed this day, the last day of National Newspaper Week. The message said: "I am happy to join my fellow citizens in paying tribute to the newspaperboys in America. Our press plays a vital role in the education of a democracy. Its effectiveness must depend in a large measure on the 700,000 newspaperboys who deliver the newspaper into millions of American homes every day. A newspaper route is the introduction to individual initiative and enterprise for many young people. That this experience will prove invaluable in later years is evidenced by the many outstanding citizens in all fields of endeavor who began their working careers as newspaperboys."
Charles F. Stuart, 54, of West Ellicott, Saturday Magazine and feature editor of The Post-Journal, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at 10 p.m. the previous evening. At the time of the attack, Mr. Stuart was en route home from the Fredonia-Southwestern football game at Fredonia. He was stricken about three miles south of Cassadaga, on Route 60. Youngsters in the car steered it to a stop. The eight children in the car were uninjured, including his own son and daughter. Dr. William Ellis of Lakewood, also en route home from the game, reached the scene almost immediately. He pronounced Stuart dead and returned several of the youngsters, including the two Stuart children, to their homes.
In 1987, the names of Gov. Mario Cuomo and his wife Matilda were added to the list of people who had sent gifts to 18-month-old Jessica McClure who spent 2 days trapped in a cramped well. The Cuomos sent the Midland Texas girl a stuffed beaver on Monday, said Cuomo's press secretary, Gary Fryer. The beaver is New York state's official animal.
Chautauqua County roads could see more flooding and erosion, especially in Jamestown's wetland next to Jones and Gifford Avenue, because of an expanding beaver population that was hard at work building dams. It appeared the problem could get worse before it got better.
