100 Years Ago

In 1913, officials of the state laboratories at Ithaca, to whom the head of a valuable bulldog belonging to R.D. Ramstack of Olean, was submitted for examination, reported that the dog did have rabies. The dog bit George Thornbury, a milkman, and little Helen Cameron, before it was killed several days previously. This was the fourth rabid dog known to have been at large recently in Olean. Nearly 70 dogs had been put to death since the beginning of the quarantine enforcement. The parents of the little Cameron girl took her to New York for treatment at the Pasteur Institute. Mr. Thornbury and the little son of Charles Weldon of North Olean, who was bitten in the face by the family pet, were receiving the Pasteur treatment, administered by local physicians and as yet had exhibited no symptoms of hydrophobia.

The ladies of the Twentieth Century Club in Clymer were constantly enjoying some social event, quite forgetful of the husbands who were always left at home – but on Saturday evening Mr. and Mrs. C. Abbott remembered the husbands in a way all men enjoyed, by inviting them to partake of a bounteous dinner. Guests spoke in the highest praise of the delicious six-course dinner. The dining room was elaborately decorated with flags and potted plants. The tables were resplendent with red and white carnations and red and white candles. The dainty place cards bore pictures of George Washington and appropriate quotations.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, the C. Ray Smith Marionette Company of Los Angeles, Calif., came to Jamestown to appear in “The Pied Piper of Hamelin and the Continental Revue” Friday at the Jefferson Junior High School, under the auspices of the Parent-Teacher Association. The Pied Piper proved excellent puppet material, one of those happy combinations of entertainment that appealed equally to the children at the afternoon performances and the adults in the evening. The evening cast required more than 100 sculptured puppets, representing a cast of marionette movie stars which had made this company famous. It was perhaps one of the finest marionette companies ever to appear here.

An aged Westfield pedestrian was struck and killed by a car while walking near his home. J.C. Taylor, 63, died in Jamestown General Hospital at 7:30 a.m. this day, 12 hours after being admitted with head injuries received the previous evening near his home, where he was struck by an automobile driven by Richard Elwell, 29, of Salamanca. According to state police, Taylor was walking along the road in the same direction as moving traffic. Authorities who investigated the fatality, reported Elwell, who was driving about 30 miles per hour, attempted to avoid hitting the pedestrian, who was struck by the right rear fender of the car. Following an investigation, Elwell was released. Taylor, who resided on the main road about a mile and a half west of the village, left no near relatives.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, it was just plain ridiculous! Chautauqua County found itself practically frozen solid again on this morning as the mercury for the second day in a row plunged to spectacular lows which ranged from 40 below zero in Blockville to a comparative balmy reading of 13 below in Falconer. The official reading in Jamestown was 20 degrees below zero, for the coldest weather of an already overlong and irritating winter. It was noticeably warmer in the 49th state of Alaska with Juneau, for example, basking in 39 degrees. With spring just 22 days away, the weather man promised only slight relief for this day and tomorrow with the mercury expected to climb bravely up to the 20 degree mark

The girl next door might well be “Miss Jamestown of 1963” or even “Miss America,” Jamestown Junior Chamber of Commerce officials said as they started their search for the city’s most beautiful and talented girl. This girl was being sought for the “Miss Jamestown Pageant” conducted annually by the Jaycees and scheduled for May 27. The winner would receive a scholarship and other awards and would represent Jamestown in the Miss New York State Pageant at Kingston in July. The winner of the state pageant would capture a host of prizes including a $1,000 Pepsi-Cola scholarship and would go on to compete in the Miss America pageant at Atlantic City in September.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, New York Gov. Hugh Carey proposed a state budget of $11.97 billion 10 years ago for the 1978-79 fiscal budget – and it passed. The fact was the budget that year was 40 times greater than the $306.6 million budget 50 years before, in 1928-29. New York’s budget had been growing ever since. And beginning in April of this year, barring any complications from the state Legislature, New York would operate on a $28.42 billion spending plan – that was 92 times larger than the one in 1928 and nearly 2 times greater than the one 10 years ago.

Longer days, a warmer sun and singing birds heralded the approach of spring and also triggered a reaction among the area’s maple syrup producers. It was expected soon to be time for the sap in the sugar maples to begin the journey from the roots to the branches, with part of it intercepted en route and converted to maple syrup. Such had already been done in limited quantities at two sugar bushes checked. Dexter DeGolier of the Hopper Road, Forestville, made about 50 gallons of “real good quality” syrup during an early warm spell, his wife reported. Mrs. Lewis C. Rice of Ellington, said their little sugar bush produced about a dozen gallons during the recent warm spell that saw much of the snow disappear.

In years past

• In 1913, it was a curious accident which nearly cost Swain Johnson of Sheffield, a valuable mare at the dam at Deerlick, where he was engaged in cutting ice. Busily at work with his team, Johnson drove over a spot which was apparently sound. The ice would not support the team and the horses crashed through into the icy waters beneath. The gelding at once vigorously commenced swimming in the open spaces of water but the mare was only kept above the surface by the strenuous efforts of the ice workers. Mr. Johnson thought it wise to shoot her as she could not be rescued. Sounder sense prevailed, however, and after a delay of one hour in order to secure a pulling team, the horses were rescued. The team was quickly blanketed and taken to the barn. After being vigorously exercised, they were put in their stalls, fully recovered from their icy bath.

• A bad train wreck occurred on the Lake Shore at Berry Street, Van Buren, the previous morning, twenty cars of an eastbound freight being piled up. A number of the cars were loaded with flour. The flour cars were demolished and their contents strewn along the tracks so that it looked as if there had been a heavy fall of snow. The entire four-track system of the Lake Shore was blockaded for several hours. Finally, after wrecking crews had dug away at the wreckage for two hours, two tracks were cleared. It was supposed that one of the cars developed a broken wheel and thus caused the wreck. No one was injured. The property loss would be very heavy.

• In 1938, Buffalo’s Elmwood Music Hall, for nearly two score years the scene of political conventions and musical events, stood empty and doomed this day. At each entrance a huge, red-lettered sign warned: “Building Dangerous.” The 53-year-old pile was suddenly condemned by building inspectors the previous day, a few hours before a college basketball game was to have been played within its walls. Only two nights ago, thousands gathered there to hear Nelson Eddy sing. Engineers discovered the roof was weak and recommended instant condemnation to avert a possible catastrophe.

• Getting out a newspaper was the interesting subject of the paper of the day presented by Miss Martha Alden at the Wednesday afternoon meeting of the Minerva Club in Sherman. Miss Alden spoke from personal experience having been employed in a newspaper office for several years. She opened her paper with how Webster defined a “newspaper” and took her listeners through the varied processes from which a feature story, an advertisement or an item of news passed before it was presented to the readers. In closing she emphasized “the value of the daily newspaper in the home of today.”

• In 1963, it was bitter cold the previous night – in Siberia and Chautauqua County. In the latter, an unofficial low of 40 degrees below zero was reported in Kiantone, a short crow-fly from Jamestown. Forty below was also reported in Clymer. With spring only three weeks away, the mercury ranged down to what might be record lows in several sections of the county. The overnight low in Jamestown was a minus 14 early in the morning after taking a fast dip from three degrees above zero at midnight. Sinclairville reported one of its coldest nights of the winter, 32 degrees below zero. And at Frewsburg, it was 24 below. It was supposed to “warm up” during the day. Weathermen predicted area temperatures would reach a high of around 10 above zero.

• The public drive-through and dedication ceremonies at Jamestown’s Main Street Parking Ramp, originally set for Sunday and Monday, had been postponed one week according to Russell C Bloomquist, dedication arrangements committee chairman. Mr. Bloomquist said snow and continued cold weather had slowed work on such details as applying concrete preservative and outlining parking stalls. Further postponement was possible if weather conditions did not permit completion of the work by March 10, he said.

• In 1988, the frigid winds that howled across the Buffalo State campus had transformed a flowing fountain into an icy sculpture. But it wasn’t another example of winter’s ravages. It was art. In a city that was ultra-sensitive about its snowbound image, the Butler Ice Fountain was one of the few celebrations of winter. For about five months of the year, mists from the fountain formed icicles that constantly changed in size and appearance, shaped by the wind and temperatures. At night, the ice was bathed in the glow of spotlights. The fountain, 20-feet-tall at its highest point, had nine steel arms radiating from a reflecting pool. The fountain’s rows of icicles conjured images of a shimmering ice castle.

• A young Titusville boy died from the effects of a car crash Wednesday that plunged him into the icy waters of Pine Valley Creek near Bear Lake in Freehold Township. Daniel Drake, 4, died at 1 a.m. after a struggle for life in the intensive care unit at St. Vincent’s Health Center, where he was taken by Lifestar helicopter. Susan White, manager of Communications at St. Vincent, said that although the boy responded to the icy plunge with a natural condition known as the mammalian dive reflex, being in the frigid water for an hour may have been too long. The accident also resulted in the death of the boy’s grandmother despite a dramatic rescue effort by volunteer firefighters and police. The boy and Mrs. Burt were passengers in the vehicle being driven by Kenneth Burt, 68, which slid on an icy spot on Pine Valley Road.

In Years Past

In 1913, Ralph Case and his sister, Mrs. Annie Boltz of Portland, Chautauqua County, were at the hospital in Dunkirk, seriously ill of typhoid fever. Their grandmother, Mrs. Pulaski Case, was ill of the same disease at the family home in Portland and Miss Elsie Storms, who resided with her parents on the second floor of the Case residence, also had the fever. Ransford Case, a brother of Ralph Case and Mrs. Boltz, died of the disease on February 13. Polluted water was believed to be the cause of the epidemic.

Leo F. McNally, a member of Company I, Third infantry, N.G.N.Y. of Olean, during his spare time from his regular employment over the winter, had about completed the building of an aeroplane of original design at the local armory. McNally had previously been associated with Aviators Calvin P. Rodgers and Weldon B. Cook and was employed in the plant of the National Aeroplane Company of Chicago. With the installation of the engine, the machine, which had the propeller and engine in front of the driver, would be completed. It was designed to carry one passenger.

In 1938, sale of alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of age, instead of 18, would be prohibited under a bill in New York’s legislature. The measure was proposed by Assemblyman Fred S. Hollowell, Yates Republican with another measure which would make it a misdemeanor for a minor to give his age as 21 years in an effort to purchase or receive alcoholic beverages as a gift.

A large delegation of Western New Yorkers, including more than 30 from Jamestown and Chautauqua County, left the Hotel Commodore ballroom in New York, firm in the conviction that their favorite New Deal son, Robert H. Jackson, had entrenched his position as an administration leader and greatly enhanced his prestige. Mr. Jackson was given a splendid ovation by the 1,500 dinner guests. There could be no doubt, following the dinner given in his honor by the New York City Young Democratic Club, that his strength as a potential candidate for governor was greatly increased.

In 1963, a dare was a dare, particularly if you were a 5-year-old boy, as Jamestown police and fire officials discovered Sunday afternoon. Within a few moments after firemen were summoned to South Main and Barker Streets at 1:27 p.m., a group of youngsters were rounded up. A 5-year-old boy readily admitted that he pulled the fire alarm box lever – because a playmate dared him, Officer Lydell Gay reported.

Frigid air and blizzard conditions again failed to prevent walkers from rising to President Kennedy’s challenge during the weekend, as four teen-agers circumnavigated the lake and two members of Jamestown’s Parks Department trudged 50 weary miles to Sheridan, by way of Westfield. The 50-milers, Herbert Anderson and Rudy Ahlgren, were the survivors of a group of six Parks Department employees who left the Town Hall Restaurant in Brooklyn Square at 7 p.m. Saturday for the long trek. Anderson reported blizzard conditions prevailed from Chautauqua all the way to Sheridan during the chilly night. He and Ahlgren arrived at their goal, a mile east of Sheridan, at 11 a.m. this day.

In 1988, a Titusville boy was fighting for his life in an Erie hospital after being rescued from a vehicle that plunged into the icy waters of Pine Valley Creek near Bear lake in Warren County the previous afternoon. The boy’s grandmother drowned in the mishap, which saw a dramatic rescue effort undertaken by police and volunteer firefighters in an effort to save the child and woman. Daniel Drake, 4, was listed in critical condition at St. Vincent’s Health Center where he was taken by Lifestar helicopter. The boy was trapped inside a Jeep Wagoneer along with his grandmother, Marva S. Burt, 62, also of Titusville, who could not be saved after being submerged for about an hour in the 10-foot-deep creek. As many as 50 people aided in the rescue, mostly volunteer firefighters from Bear Lake, Wrightsville, Sugar Grove, Corry, Columbus, Beaver Dam and Panama, along with State Police and Corry police.

The rocky condition of Route 62, whose narrow shoulders could make tough going for Amish buggies, was a concern that Leon leaders were carrying to the state level. Leon Town Supervisor David Snyder told The Post-Journal, “If you travel from the Leon town line on to Conewango Valley, you will probably see the worst section of Route 62.” Snyder pointed out the road was narrow in sections, lacked proper road shoulders and was pitted with potholes making travel difficult.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, the February meeting of the Interstate Furniture Manufacturers’ Association was held at Salamanca Saturday afternoon, the Dudley House being the scene of the gathering and a dinner being served there at the conclusion of the business session. About 20 manufacturers, representing 10 different establishments engaged in the manufacture of case goods were present and among other matters, the annual meeting of the National Furniture Manufacturers’ Association to be held in Jamestown in June, was discussed. This meeting of the national association was to be a big affair, with furniture manufacturers from all parts of the country in attendance.

An accident to one of the powerful turbines in the power plant of the Jamestown Street Railway and Chautauqua Traction line Saturday afternoon completely tied up traffic on the traction line for about six hours and severely crippled the service on the city and suburban lines. Had it not been for the auxiliary plant, consisting of the old engines formerly used for operating the city lines, the service would have been completely stopped. As it was, the auxiliary plant could not carry the complete load and until a part could be brought to the barns even the city and suburban service was uncertain. The accident could not have happened at a more unfortunate time for one of the great turbines was already out of commission and could not be used. Parts ordered for the second turbine would arrive in a few days and would be installed as promptly as possible.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, apparently the victim of a sudden heart attack, Joseph Murgatroyd, 65, of Prendergast Avenue, Jamestown, night watchman of the Jamestown Wood Finishing Company, was found dead at the Blackstone Avenue plant when workmen arrived in the morning. Death was believed to have occurred between 2 and 3 a.m. as Murgatroyd had punched the time clock for the last time at 2 a.m. He was found lying on his back on the elevator at the first floor and discovered by Frank Cullenne. The electric lantern the watchman carried on his rounds was still burning beside him. Murgatroyd had been employed at the east end factory for six years. He had been born in Yorkshire, England, in 1872 and came to Jamestown from Toronto in 1928.

Jamestown’s Robert H. Jackson was “political dynamite” in the opinion of a writer of a sympathetic article in the current issue of Fortune magazine. Accompanied by a splendid full-page color picture of Jackson, the article gave the author’s impression of Jackson’s political philosophy and briefly referred to his life and activities in this community. In the opening paragraph the article said: “When Robert Houghwot Jackson talks of his life in Jamestown, N.Y., his usually unemotional voice grows warm. ‘I can never make anybody believe me,’ he says, ‘when I say that I want to go back to Jamestown, but that’s what I want to do. It’s a delightful place to live. I have a farm, I have a bunch of horses, the people know me. There are hard winters and delightful summers.”

25 Years Ago

In 1988, a program that could expand recreation opportunities to 8,326 elderly people in 24 Chautauqua County municipalities at a total cost to them of $4,136 had been backed by the County Legislature’s Human Services Committee. Members agreed to request the state Legislature to amend the executive law to provide equal opportunity for all municipalities to take part in the Recreation for the Elderly Program. Francis “Mac” McCoy, director of the county’s Office for the Aging, explained the program was voluntary and there also was no indication how many local municipalities would choose to participate.

Concerns for the health of “mom and pop” beer distributors kept the Senate from approving an amendment to allow beer price advertising in Pennsylvania. Senators defeated the amendment 29-18 after arguing over what was more important: consumers knowing the lowest beer prices or small beer distributors surviving the onslaught of discount beer moguls. “This situation is intolerable,” said Sen. Anthony “Buzz” Andrezeski, D-Erie, who proposed the amendment. “We owe the consumers in this commonwealth a little bit more in terms of finding out what the price is.” Senators took turns defending small beer distributors on the one hand and railing against unbridled drinking on the other.

In Years Past

• In 1913, Erick A. Olson and A. Bruno Anderson had formed a partnership for the purpose of conducting a wholesale branch of the John F. Jelke Butterine Company of Chicago at Buffalo. Olson had been engaged in this business for some time and had a branch of the Jelke Company in Jamestown, which was doing a flourishing business. He would remain in charge of the local branch and Anderson would devote most of his time to the branch at Buffalo. Anderson had been for some years the proprietor of the Hotel Rathskeller and he expected to dispose of that business before he would take up residence in Buffalo. His departure from Jamestown would be a matter of sincere regret to a large number of his friends.

• Jamestown lodge, Loyal Order of Moose, entertained about 50 couples at an old folks’ dance in the club house at Celoron on Friday evening and the affair was one of the most successful ever held under the supervision of the lodge. The program consisted largely of old-fashioned square dances which were interspersed with round dances so that both old and young enjoyed themselves.

• In 1938, the State Narcotic Control Bureau launched a drive against the marihuana traffic in Western New York. George C. Aronstann, agent for the state bureau, said a narcotic-addict crime wave was feared unless the marijuana business was soon broken up. Buffalo, he said, was Western New York’s distributing center.

• Final plans for the fifth annual frolic sponsored by the Jamestown Democratic Club were made at a special meeting of the club held at Jamestown city hall the previous evening. The frolic was to be staged at the Gold Dollar supper club Monday night. Dancing would start at 9 p.m. Charles J. Finch, manager of the local office of the New York State Unemployment Insurance, spoke regarding his work. The club sent a message of greeting to the New York City Democratic Club which was sponsoring a dinner in honor of Robert H. Jackson, at New York City the following night.

• In 1963, two West Ellicott youths embarked early in the morning on a stroll around Chautauqua Lake and were reported making good progress at midmorning. The youths were Kristy Swan, 14, son of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Swan, 98 Howard Ave., and Mike Coon, 15, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Coon, 57 Glidden Ave. The pair, well-bundled against the sub-zero cold, left their homes at 4 a.m. By 9 a.m., they had reached the home of Kristy’s grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Courtney Johnson, Bemus Point and were averaging about three miles an hour. They planned to have lunch in Mayville at the Lakeview Hotel, operated by Kristy’s cousin. At the time of their short rest at Bemus Point, the two reported they were not tired and were not particularly bothered by the cold.

• Warren police, fire and civil defense authorities conducted a house-to-house alert on this morning after gas pressure in lines of the Columbia Gas Co. dropped to nothing, then was returned to normal. Officials feared gas space heaters not protected by safety valves would pour gas into homes when the pressure returned. Warren Police Department received a call at 1:58 a.m. from Mrs. Edward Sowacki, Starbrick, who reported gas pressure was low and her furnace was almost out. At 2 a.m. the department received a call from an apartment building on Pennsylvania Ave. in Warren. Portable loudspeakers were used as well as police and firemen going house to house to alert residents. It had not yet been determined what caused the drop in pressure which was restored to normal by 10 a.m.

• In 1988, Secretary of State George P. Shultz left Moscow without a firm timetable for a Soviet pullout from Afghanistan, but U.S. intelligence sources said the Red Army was taking initial steps to leave. Soviet troops were retreating to defensive positions and dependents were being withdrawn, a solid sign the soldiers would not be far behind, a senior U.S. official said. Shultz said at the end of two days of talks in Moscow that he did not have “the slightest doubt” the Red Army would depart.

• The former Bells Markets in Jamestown and West Ellicott were to reopen the following morning as Apple Supermarkets featuring a new discount pricing system. The location at 39 S. Main St., in Jamestown had announced its grand opening for 10 a.m. with Mayor Steven B. Carlson expected to be on hand to help out. The store at 1001 Fairmount Ave, West Ellicott, was to follow suit at 11 a.m., with Lakewood Mayor Anthony C. Caprino and Ellicott Supervisor Frances C. Morgan assisting with the grand opening program.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, Edward Stuart, an employee of the Hamond Iron Works, lost his life at the Conewango Refining Plant late the previous afternoon when the base of a large tank upon which they were working, slipped from its supports and caught the young man’s head between the tank and a block. Death was instantaneous. Stuart was 19 years of age and for some time had been boarding at Smith’s in the West End. He had a brother employed at Jacobson’s Machine Shop and he was immediately summoned. He also had a sister in Warren.

C.J. Miles, the game protector, was on the Indian reservation near Salamanca recently and found that three Indians were spearing fish through the ice which covered that portion of the Allegany River. Mr. Miles had reported the matter to the state conservation commission and intended to make this a test case, if the state authorities approved of such action. It seemed that the Indians had claimed the right to fish, trap and hunt on their reservations regardless of the restrictions of the state game laws which they held did not apply to the reservations. They based their claims on their supposed treaty rights.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, the speed limit for passenger automobiles would be increased from 40 to 50 miles an hour on state highways under a bill before New York’s Legislature. The measure was one of a series of amendments to the motor vehicle law proposed by Assemblyman Herbert A. Rapp, Genesee Republican. He also recommended legislation which would revoke operator and registration license of a motorist convicted of criminal negligence resulting in death.

Turned down on five previous occasions, Theodore J. Wagner, proprietor of a restaurant at 2-4 East Main St., Ripley, proved his persistency when, at a hearing in the state building, he submitted a sixth request for a restaurant liquor license in a village where no restaurant ever had been legally licensed to sell liquor. Charles I. Martina, executive officer of the State Liquor Authority, reserved decision after listening to Wagner’s plea for a license, the issuance of which would create history in the village of Ripley, known more familiarly as the Gretna Green of New York state.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, a fast-burning fire fed by gallons of cooking grease destroyed or damaged thousand of dollars worth of restaurant equipment on this morning at the Colonial Whip, 239 Fluvanna Ave., Jamestown. The interior of the cinder block building was damaged by the flames which apparently started in a deep-fryer. Fire Chief Virgil Eggleston said the investigation would be continued in line with present indications showing that a thermostatic switch was not operating in a grease tank. Walls of the building did not collapse but were badly damaged and warped. The owner, N. David Goldstein, told fire officials he had just moved a quantity of equipment from another building at Big Tree near Ashville. No one was in the building when the fire broke out.

Frozen-fingered Chautauqua County residents could expect little respite from a relentless winter weather pattern. Most of the county huddled in sub-zero weather overnight and this night was expected to be just as cold. Frewsburg recorded 15 below zero and Sinclairville shivered at 10 below. All county roads were open and the previous day’s gusty winds, which created poor visibility for drivers, had just about subsided although some drifting was reported. Stillwater, in the Adirondacks reported 26 below, the lowest in the state.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, total costs of operating Chautauqua County Department of Social Services were up by $1.1 million in 1987 from 1986 but local expenses were reduced by $810,000, according to the annual report of Commissioner Charles A. Ferraro. He said of the result, “I’m very pleased with it. I’d be happy to have this kind of report every year.”

For the present, beaver in Jamestown’s wetland would apparently be left to do as they pleased in the wildlife area between Jones and Gifford Avenue and the Chadakoin River. Beaver dams combined with the fluctuating level of Chautauqua Lake had long been blamed for increased water levels in the area, resulting in drainage problems. Still, the city seemed willing to wait it out until spring, when it planned to check the dam buildup. Even then, city officials would look to the state for action, if necessary.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, another strange and interesting incident in connection with the recent disastrous Shaw House fire at Sheffield had just come to light. As soon as the ruins were sufficiently cooled to permit entering the building, Mull Swanson, the “Bell Telephone man” of Warren went in to ascertain the damage done to the pay phone which the company had installed. To his surprise when he took off the cash box he found the contents with the exception of one nickel, a molten mass of metal. He took the five-cent piece out for a souvenir and laid the rest down outside and returned to finish taking the damaged instrument out. While he was doing that, someone came along and took the molten metal which was estimated to be worth near to $40.

A team of horses hitched to a hay rack became frightened at a train at the First Street crossing of the Pennsylvania railroad in Olean and started out on a dead run. When they reached the corner of First and Union streets, they turned toward the Erie depot. When they reached a point about halfway to the station, they suddenly made a turn to the left and ended up on the Erie tracks, continuing down the tracks. Upon reaching the Empire Mills, the wagon became entangled with a boxcar. The frenzied animals pulled and tugged until they had pulled the wagon to pieces and continued their mad rush. They passed over the railroad bridge, dragging what was left of the hay rack after them. How they ever passed over this bridge without entangling their feet in the ties was a mystery to those who witnessed it. They were finally stopped just before reaching Hinsdale and returned to their owner, a farmer from Cuba.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, Assistant Attorney General Robert H. Jackson called on “liberal lawyers” Sunday night to aid in advancing the “frontiers of justice under the law into economic affairs.” In an address prepared for delivery before the National Lawyers Guild, he declared: “Our generation is groping toward an economic bill of rights that will protect our people from irresponsible exercise of economic power, just as past generations worked toward the constitutional bill of rights which has long restrained the irresponsible exercise of political power.” The assistant attorney general, whose nomination by President Roosevelt to be solicitor general was pending before the Senate, and Sen. Robert M. LaFollette Jr. (Prog.-Wis.) were the principal speakers of a banquet of the guild.

Merchants who availed themselves of the opportunities afforded by newspaper advertising reported successful results from Saturday’s semi-annual Dollar Day sales, which attracted large crowds of shoppers to downtown Jamestown from the city and Chautauqua region throughout the day. Favored by mild weather, men, women and children thronged stores and shops from morning to night in response to the many seasonable values offered by the establishments cooperating in the event. Some merchants reported one of the most successful Dollar Days in their history.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, Jamestown General Hospital recorded the greatest number of patients in more than 10 years – 178 – and other hospitals about the county were at capacity peak. However, Cattaraugus County and Warren County, Pa., hospitals said the patient load was normal, indicating Chautauqua County had been hit harder by respiratory ailments than its neighbors. WCA Hospital in Jamestown reported its facilities taxed and a problem existed from illness to its employees. Mark W. Lyons told the General Hospital Board members that 178 patients included 13 babies. The superintendent emphasized that the hospital had refused no admissions but if a person had only a cold no effort should be made to be admitted.

Biting winds tore across New York state this day as highway crews cleared drifts that had stranded residents of some areas overnight. The weather bureau said temperatures would be generally around zero or below at night after daytime highs between 5 and 25 amid the stiff winds. Nearly 300 school children were unable to reach their homes the previous night in Western New York, after up to 6 inches of snow fell and gusts of more than 50 miles an hour turned the snow into blinding curtains. Attica Central School in Wyoming County dismissed its 1,660 pupils early because of the storm, but 182 whose homes were in rural areas were given places to stay in Attica overnight when school buses could not operate. The snow belts off the Great Lakes were the sections hardest hit. Highways leading to suburbs south of Buffalo were closed.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, the 13th Separate Company band had begun rehearsing for the first of a series of concerts which was to take place in Samuels Opera House on Sunday, March 9. Judging from the splendid work of these Jamestown musicians on the occasion of every appearance before the public, these concerts would afford an opportunity for the people of this city to hear some of the finest band music ever heard here. The band, which would consist of between 25 and 28 pieces for this concert, would be under the leadership of Prof. A.C. Bratt and this meant that wonderful results would be accomplished.

Returning to her home at 837 Prendergast Ave., Jamestown, Thursday afternoon, Dr. Emma L. Jordan was greeted by her brother, Judge H.A. Pierce of Los Angeles, Calif., who had found her door unlocked and had walked into the house. They had not seen each other in 24 years and Judge Pierce would spend a few days here, while on his way home from a journey around the world. In the past eight months he had traveled about 34,000 miles, visiting Japan, the Philippine Islands, China, Ceylon, India, Egypt, Palestine and many countries in Europe and showed little, if any, effects from the trip than he would were he much younger than the three score and 10 years to which he pled guilty.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, local police solved five recent automobile thefts and nipped three promising criminal careers in the bud with the arrest of three lads, aged 14, 15 and 16 years respectively, as the result of a stolen joyride. Police said the trio had confessed to the theft of five automobiles since the middle of January. The arrests and cleanup were brought about when the parents of one of the boys called police headquarters to report that their son had been away from home all night. Police were already investigating two automobile thefts and suspected there might be a connection between the boy’s absence and the car thefts.

Several rooms in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Carlson, Ashville Bay, were damaged considerably Friday evening when a broken rear axle on a Jamestown-bound West Ridge Transportation Company motor bus snapped, sending a double wheel crashing into the dwelling some 500 feet from the lake shore highway. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson were playing cards with some friends when the wheel came hurtling through their dwelling with the din of a bomb. The wheel went through the wall, entering the bathroom where the plumbing fixtures were practically demolished. Plaster was torn from walls and ceilings in adjoining rooms as a result of the accident. The bus company estimated the damage to the house would not exceed $100.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, quick action by a young Corry man the previous afternoon possibly saved the life of his grandmother, Mrs. Violet Ferry, 83, as he carried her from their burning home to the safety of a neighbor’s residence. Peter Parker, 21, the son of Mrs. Lilah Parker, carried Mrs. Ferry to safety when he discovered a fire in the kitchen of her home. The fire started in the kitchen over the stove, causing extensive loss to that area of the house and smoke damage to the rest of the two-story frame home. The firemen had to use smoke masks because of the thick smoke.

The flu-like respiratory illness which had resulted in absenteeism of nearly 10 percent in Jamestown schools had hit other schools in the area with even more intensity. Dr. Lyle D. Franzen, NYS district health officer, termed the influenza-type disease as reaching near epidemic proportions but said it was of a mild variety, lasting between three or four days and accompanied by aches and fever. Frewsburg and Panama Schools had been hardest hit by the illnesses with the number of absentees reaching 16 percent of the student population.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, Jamestown’s Board of Public Utilities had agreed to supply water to two developments planned for West Ellicott but not to connect to any other customers there until receiving a signed contract with the town of Ellicott. It was explained that the PenNYline Group, Inc., planned to build a new Burger King restaurant adjacent to McDonalds’ Restaurant on Fairmount Avenue in West Ellicott. Also, Westbury Development proposed to build 11 new homes behind Bethel Baptist Church. It was noted that the BPU had supplied water to most of West Ellicott for more than 50 years, with about 780 customers in the water district.

Gov. Mario Cuomo said the number of New Yorkers living in poverty declined by almost half a million in 1986, the last year statistics were available. Charles Ferraro, Chautauqua County Social Services commissioner, said the numbers seemed to be declining in Chautauqua County as well. Ferraro said the number of county residents on welfare had dropped steadily each month since a peak in March 1985.

In Years Past

• In 1913, the abolition of town and village boards of health and the substitution of a state system of district sanitary supervision was recommended by the special commission appointed by Gov. Suizer to suggest changes in the public health laws of New York. “The abolition of town and village boards of health and the creation of state district sanitary supervisors,” said the commission, “will not involve additional expense and will substitute trained expert full-time supervision in place of perfunctory, untrained inexpert supervision, which too often exists.”

• The Journal hereby nominated for membership in the Big Game club, Will Fairbanks, George Chatfield, Charles Haas and Clyde G. Jones. According to the information available, they had been bear hunting for three days and had killed three bears. The three bears consisted of the mother bear and two cubs. They were received at Fairbanks’ meat market Tuesday night, together with the information that the bear hunters mentioned were responsible for their demise. The exact location of the bear hunt was a mystery for no wise hunter had any more disposition to tell where he found his game than had the wise trout fisherman.

• In 1938, Mark L. Herald of Isabella Avenue in Jamestown, who was injured in a fall down an abandoned elevator shaft at the Arcade building Tuesday night, died at Jamestown General Hospital Thursday evening only a half hour after a $25,000 claim against the city for damages resulting from the fall had been filed with City Clerk Neil C. Olsen. Mr. Herald had been associated with his brothers in operating a local barber shop for many years. He was nearly 42 years old. Herald had been investigating the second floor of the Arcade building with the view of securing additional quarters for the colored Elks lodge when he stepped through an opening into the abandoned shaft and plunged to the basement. The claim against the city was based on the city’s ownership of the structure.

• Strengthening of New York’s laws against drunken driving was proposed in the legislature in a new move to promote highway safety. Outstanding among six bills sponsored by Republican Senator Thomas C. Desmond, Newburgh, was a measure which would require the motor vehicle commissioner to revoke permanently the license of every person convicted of drunken driving.

• In 1963, officials of Blackstone Corp., Jamestown, said they hoped to be able to occupy their new Ultrasonic, Inc. plant in Sheffield, Pa., by mid May. Ground-breaking for the plant, a subsidiary of Blackstone, took place the previous afternoon in ceremonies attended by Blackstone officials and Sheffield community leaders. Plant production would be devoted mainly to the manufacture of ultrasonic cleaning devices, a field in which Blackstone began research several years ago. The community had raised $3,000 so far to provide gravel at the building site as part of the project. The goal was $5,000.

• About 500 persons paid a final tribute the previous afternoon to Fred E. Bigelow, 80, dean of Jamestown area merchants and civic leader, at funeral services in the First Baptist Church. Rev. George H. Tolley, pastor referred to the turnout of civic and business leaders, employees and representatives of the organizations in which he had long been active, as an expression of the loss to the community of a man whose warm personality, fighting spirit and unswerving loyalty to his God and his principles had resulted in a long life and a full one.

• In 1988, it looked like the measles alert at the State College at Fredonia was well-founded. The college was quarantined for 36 hours two days ago while doctors looked into the illness of a female student. Though blood samples from the student had yet to be returned from the laboratory, two physicians had diagnosed the student’s disease as Rubella, or the nine-day measles. County Health Commissioner Robert Berke extended the college’s quarantine until the blood tests could be returned sometime in the middle of the following week. Although measles infection was not fatal in adults, it was highly contagious.

• Todd Putman of Mayville held the plastic container which housed the treasure hunt medallion as his partner, Diane Depas of Busti, removed the gold-leafed wooden coin. The two found the treasure in a small park near the corner of Chautauqua and Erie streets in Mayville the previous afternoon. Their find earned them $1,500 to share, which they would receive at the Ice Castle dance this night. It marked the second time Ms. Depas had found the treasure. The festivities would continue through the following day with a parade in Mayville.

In Years Past

In 1913, the mid-winter picnic given at Bemus Point Friday afternoon and evening for the benefit of the Bemus Point Library was one of the most successful events ever planned and given in the village. The affair was held in the two halls, I.O.O.F. hall and the Mrs. Hobbs hall next door to the post office. Both were filled to capacity by the crowds which turned out to see every part of the big amusement program. Many were here from Jamestown and other places along the lake to enjoy the novelty of a picnic in the winter time and none were disappointed.

A. Harrison Reynolds of East Fourth Street in Jamestown recently sent a hurry call to the plumbers to thaw out some frozen water pipes. Over the telephone he was informed that the matter would be immediately attended to. Of course, on cold mornings, when water pipes were frozen, the plumbers were all busy and Mr. Reynolds was not particularly surprised that no plumber appeared in the first hour or two. When, however, the forenoon had sped away and no plumber was in evidence he once more engaged in a telephone conversation with headquarters. Investigation disclosed a somewhat surprising state of affairs. Mistaking the address for West Fourth Street, the plumber found a house owned by a man named Reynolds in which the waterpipe had frozen and burst with disastrous results. He had been busy all forenoon repairing the mess. Mr. Reynolds of East Fourth Street got the water pipes in his house thawed out later in the day.

In 1938, the giant powerhouse of the Ontario hydro-electric commission at the foot of Niagara Falls resembled an ice house as conveyors carried out blocks of ice carried into it by the January jam. A. S. Robertson, district superintendent of the commission, estimated that half the 10,000 tons of ice packed around the generators in the plant had been removed. He said the work of cleaning up might be completed in the following week. The ice jam which filled the power plant was the same which caused the collapse of Niagara’s famed “honeymoon bridge.”

Walter Jones of Buffalo was sent to Mayville jail for 10 days when he pleaded guilty to a charge of impersonating a bus inspector before Judge Allen E. Bargar in Jamestown city court this morning. Jones gave no more reason for his weird action in stopping two local buses “for inspection” when brought before Judge Bargar than he did when questioned by police. He first repeated his original story that he had pretended to be a bus inspector to impress a Jamestown girl with the fact that he was a “big shot.” He had asked the girl to marry him, he said. This story failed to impress the police whose investigation revealed Jones had a wife and two children in Buffalo. Jones then said he “likes trucks, but loves buses.” He told the judge, “I’ve driven a bus and I like to see how they work.”

In 1963, sore feet and frigid weather seemed to be deciding factors in daunting the spirits of would-be 50-mile hikers in spite of that “young-at-heart” feeling. Four school teachers and a Boy Scout returned to Fredonia Saturday night after completing only 21 miles of a 50-mile hike. The following advice was given to future hikers – do not wear too many socks; wear light weight shoes; and last but not least, hiking is for the summertime. However, there were two 14-year-old Boy Scouts who did make the long walk from Erie, Pa., to Fredonia. They were Paul Stebbins and Joseph Tabasco, both of Fredonia.

Frewsburg’s new Post Office at 21 E. Main St., was formally dedicated Saturday afternoon at a program held in Frewsburg Central School auditorium. Guests included New York State Senator Jeremiah J. Moriarty, who spoke briefly and Postal Service Officer B. J. Kerwin, Buffalo, who told of advancements made in postal service. A flag which had been flown over the Capitol was presented by Willard W. Cass, Jr., secretary of the Chautauqua County Republican committee and member of the Carroll Town Board. The flag was presented on behalf of Rep. Charles Goodell.

In 1988, the ice castle that was part of the Ice Castle Extravaganza in Mayville might be the official residence of the ice king and queen in the area, but the 7-foot snow castle built by little Keith Anthony McNeal of Broadhead Avenue, Jamestown, and his father, Charles, also seemed to be a dwelling worthy of royalty. Keith invited his mother, Joni, into the spacious residence which had numerous windows through which the inhabitants could observe weather conditions and watch for possible enemies.

An effort to seek funding for restoration of the fish-rearing ponds at Prendergast Point Fish Hatchery of the state Department of Environmental Conservation had been initiated by a committee of the Chautauqua County Legislature. The group considered a proposal by committee Chairman Robert H. Kolodziej, R-Fredonia, to petition the state government for the money needed for the project. The motion said the once-flourishing muskellunge hatchery for which Chautauqua Lake long had a national reputation had experienced “a serious decade-long decline.”

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, the annual junior midwinter party was held in the Jamestown YWCA assembly hall Saturday afternoon with about 150 young girls present. The affair was in the nature of a St. Valentine’s party and the children all seemed to have a very delightful time. The program included vocal selections by Miss Hazel Shaffer and Miss Myra Devoe; recitations by Miss Twila Kitch and Miss Signe Swensson and a story told by Mrs. Mabel E. Parks. There was a big valentine box from which nearly 1,000 valentines were distributed. Refreshments were served.

While at work preparing dinner on Sunday, shortly before noon, Mrs. Andrew Jensen of Camp Street in Jamestown suddenly dropped dead. She was walking from one room to another when she suddenly staggered and fell. Relatives present hastened to her assistance and a physician was summoned but she lived only a few minutes in spite of every effort. She never regained consciousness and was dead when the physician arrived. The cause of death was given as acute heart disease. Jensen was survived by her husband, who had been ill himself several weeks, having undergone an operation. Needless to say, the shock was to him very great. She was also survived by a daughter, Mrs. Sanfrid Peterson of Frewsburg. It was a remarkable fact that Jensen’s heart beat but 32 times per minute when the usual normal pulse beat of a person was 72 times per minute. This low heart beat was unusual and it was hoped that Jensen would go before the medical society that her case might be studied.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, Walter T. Jones, 33, who said he had rented a room at 8 South Main St. in Jamestown but whose home was in Buffalo, was being questioned carefully as police sought to determine why he impersonated a state bus inspector and spread false statements about the equipment of the local bus company the previous day. Jones was arrested after he had stopped two buses during the day. On both occasions he made the bus drivers test their brakes and other safety equipment, throwing the buses several minutes off schedule. Jones told police a weird story to explain his unusual conduct. When first brought into headquarters he insisted he was acting with authority. When police became too inquisitive, Jones finally admitted that he had pretended to be a “bus inspector” to make his wife believe he had a job. It was possible that Jones would be subjected to a mental examination.

Only the presence of mind and quick action of Ralph Schroeder saved the large barn, one of the best and largest in Charlotte Center, owned by A. J. Rood of Sinclairville. There were 60 head of cattle in the structure and large quantities of hay and grain in proportion to their needs. As Schroeder was coming down the stairs in the barn his lantern bumped against his knee and before he could retrieve it, the lantern crashed to the floor and exploded. Schroeder was quick to action and saved the barn with only a small loss to its owner. The barn had not yet been wired for electricity which had just recently become available to the neighborhood.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, control of the beaver population in the wetlands between Jamestown’s Jones and Gifford Avenue and the Chautauqua Lake outlet (the Chadakoin River) was a problem to be solved by land owners and the city. This was the conclusion voiced by Legislator Thomas Erlandson, D-Lakewood, at a meeting of Chautauqua County Legislature’s Environmental Committee. It came near the end of a lengthy discussion regarding the extensive nuisance problems caused by the energetic, chisel-toothed fur-bearers. Richard Sturges, civil engineer with the county’s Department of Public Works said he felt it was a matter of having to learn to co-exist with the problem. The engineer said that if an area constituted prime beaver habitat, the big broad-tailed rodents would be back. Sturges said he felt it was not the county Highway Department’s responsibility to destroy the beavers and their dams.

The state Legislature’s top Republican had endorsed the design, if not the details, of Gov. Mario Cuomo’s plan to increase New York state’s minimum wage, workers’ compensation payments and unemployment insurance benefits. “I think that all three of those require some revisions but don’t pin me down to the amount,” said Senate Majority Leader Warren Anderson. Anderson said he would like to see hikes in all three areas worked out at the same time in negotiations involving the Legislature, governor and representatives of labor groups and businesses of the state. Hikes in all three areas had to be approved by the Legislature.

In Years Past

• In 1913, excitement in the Allegany oil field was at fever heat over the striking of an oil well near Whitesville which was flowing at the rate of 250 barrels a day. The well was located on the Oscar Potter farm and was owned by the Quintette Oil Company of Wellsville. Real estate had gone up by leaps and bounds. Oil men were confident that the well would increase to 300 barrels before the week was out. It was thought that the well had struck a vein which supplied Bradford and the Scio fields.

• The measles epidemic in Jamestown showed little signs of subsiding. The report of the health superintendent submitted to the board of health at the regular meeting showed that in the past two weeks 468 cases had been reported, making a total of over 1,000 cases in the city since the epidemic began. Health superintendent Mahoney, speaking of the epidemic, reiterated the statement that it was not the harmless child disease many supposed but instead it was liable to attack adults and was dangerous.

• In 1938, a sharp decline in fatal accidents involving New York transportation utilities was attributed in part by the public service commission to elimination of 1,288 railroad grade crossings in the past 11 years. “For a number of years accidents did not decrease but tended to increase because of the increasing use of automobiles,” the commission told the legislature. “In recent years, however, the increased vigilance in the inspection of facilities and equipment, the installation of modern safety devices, the enforcement of safety rules and the elimination of hundreds of railroad crossings have produced gratifying progress in the battle against the waste of human life and property.”

• Mark Herald, 40, well-known local barber, was seriously injured the previous evening when he tumbled from the second floor to the basement of the Arcade building. His condition had been considered critical but was reported much improved at edition time. Herald and a companion, William Hawkins, both members of the Negro Elks Lodge, were investigating the possibility of using a second floor room for lodge purposes when the accident occurred. Hawkins was walking behind Herald when the latter suddenly dropped out of sight. Observing that Herald had fallen through a large hole in the floor, Hawkins raced to the basement. There he found Herald, standing in a dazed condition. The Arcade building, long in need of rehabilitation, was now city-owned property, having been taken over for non-payment of taxes.

• In 1963, the controversial Gifford Building, cited as a key property in Brooklyn Square redevelopment, again was owned by the City of Jamestown, the high bidder at a public auction at the site. Samuel S. Edson, corporation counsel acting on the city’s behalf, submitted the final bid of $4,000. The sprawling, five-story, red masonry structure was built in 1890 and for years was the city’s most palatial residence. The building gradually deteriorated and eventually was condemned as a multiple dwelling structure. It then housed a few ground-level businesses until 1961 when an eviction notice on the last tenant was served by the city as a means of effecting an insurance savings. Previous sale of the building to Albert C. Walter for $1,500 at public auction on Oct. 29 of the past year was later declared an illegal sale because of improper advertising.

• Samuel Guiffre, part owner of the Liberty Restaurant, 904 Pennsylvania Ave., Warren, was an unhappy and then a happy man all in the space of a couple of hours. Guiffre, on his way to the east side branch of the Warren National Bank, lost a money bag containing $700 in bills and coins. The police were notified and the unhappy man’s movements were retraced but no sign of the money was found. In the meantime, Officer Willard Zerbe had arrived at the bank and found that Peter Linder of Conewango Avenue, had found the money bag just outside of the bank and had turned it in to the bank teller.

• In 1988, the Unigard complex of three connected buildings at 110 E. Fourth St., in downtown Jamestown had been acquired by James V. Paige Jr. of Lakewood who planned to develop it into quality professional office space. He told The Post-Journal that he had exercised his option to purchase the property with his Paige Development Co. expected to take title to the premises in 30 to 60 days. The announcement left Chautauqua County looking elsewhere for office space in downtown Jamestown. Social Services Commissioner Charles Ferraro said negotiations between the county and Paige broke down, causing his department to look for other options in the city.

• Two members of the Falconer High School Band, Wendy Johnson of Water Street and Randy Hofgren of Horton Road, called their families from a local pay phone upon their return from New Orleans, where they took part in the seven-hour Mardi Gras parade. Band members, arriving home, would undoubtedly be telling their friends and relatives many exciting things about their experiences at the carnival.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, residents of Jamestown would learn with interest that various transactions in connection with the recent transfer of control of the Art Metal Construction Company of Jamestown, was likely to become a matter of court record. In fact, litigation had already been started by certain stockholders to restrain the company from certain acts which the plaintiffs regarded as unbusinesslike to say the least.

The Ashville Improvement Society would meet with Mrs. Julia Sperry on Thursday, Feb. 20. All were cordially invited. The Men’s Club of Ashville entertained the general public on Tuesday evening last with a stereopticon lecture given by D.F.M. Stone. There was a good attendance. The pictures were mostly wartime pictures, the lecture was instructive and thanks were due to the club for a pleasant evening.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities plan for retiring the entire bonded debt of the city over a 14-year period, by systematic payments from profits of the water and light systems in lieu of taxes, was unanimously approved by city council the previous night. The plan would greatly increase the city’s revenues from municipal utility profits and establish a policy which should preclude future “raids” on utility funds by extravagant city legislative bodies and, it was hoped, killed as a political issue the question of how profits from municipal utility operations should be used.

Appointment of Marketmaster DeForest W. Peterson to another two-year term in that office was confirmed by Jamestown city council after a move by Council President Paul A. Clark and four of his conferees to block the appointment was defeated. Although the opposition of Clark and his supporters was based on a desire to consolidate the office of marketmaster with that of the sealer of weights and measures, it was actually founded in the most bitter patronage feud in which the new council had yet engaged. Certain labor groups which supported Clark and his colleagues at the last election demanded the appointment of Alfred Larson, local butcher, as marketmaster. Some of those who had voted for confirmation of Peterson were approached by persons well known in labor circles and were told: “We’ll remember you two years from now.”

50 Years Ago

In 1963, Frederick E. Bigelow, 80, of 287 Hunt Road, West Ellicott, president emeritus and treasurer of Bigelow’s Department Store and a leader in community affairs for many years, died Feb. 14 in Jamestown General Hospital. His wife, the former Maude Harold, died just about a month ago on Jan. 18. Bigelow was one of the best-known merchants in the area, not only for his long leadership at Jamestown’s largest department store but also because of his generous contribution to many civic and welfare activities in the community. He had been connected with the store since 1914 and president since 1934. History of the store went back to 1888.

Eight persons were injured, two critically, in a rash of accidents the previous day and night as a severe snowstorm with near-zero temperatures buffeted the area. The wind-whipped snow severely restricted visibility in the northern part of Chautauqua County and brought with it a warning to motorists to refrain from driving unless necessary. A state highway spokesman said visibility on the Thruway was very limited and efforts were being made to curb use of the superhighway until conditions improved.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, blizzard-like conditions Saturday caused a two-vehicle fatal accident at 11:10 a.m. on Route 394 in the Cattaraugus County town of Coldspring, police said. John W. Draves, 47, of Elm Creek Road, Randolph, was pronounced dead at the scene by Cattaraugus County Coroner Howard VanRenssalaer after his truck collided with a car being driven by Henry C. Thomas, 41, of Erie. Falconer-based state police attributed the cause of the accident to slippery, snow-covered roads and poor visibility. Police said Draves’ Strohman’s delivery truck, which was westbound on Route 394, slid out of control while rounding a curve and slid into the eastbound lane and into the path of the Thomas vehicle.

An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 people turned out for the opening day of the Ice Castle Extravaganza at Mayville on Sunday with an even bigger crowd expected the following Sunday, weather permitting, according to Peter Wiemer, chairman. The grand opening had been set for Saturday but blizzard-like conditions postponed festivities until Sunday which was almost spring-like. “It was a dynamite day,” Wiemer said, with a shuttle bus from Chautauqua Area Regional Transit System kept busy.

In Years Past

• In 1913, not since the past summer, when Baggage Master Beasey on the Salamanca branch of the railroad arrived in town from Olean with a cargo of live rattlers, had anything Train No. 34 brought to town attracted more attention than a pig consigned to W.E. Chelton, from Walnut Bend, said the Oil City Derrick. The porker weighed 250 pounds, was nearly 2 years old, pure white in color and perfect in condition. But these were not the only attractions. The pig had six legs and all were perfectly formed. Current rumor had it that Mr. Chelton paid $25 for the freak and had already refused twice that much for his find. He was planning to go south with it and feature it for exhibition purposes.

• H.E.V. Porter, president of the Jamestown Business College, had been invited to deliver the address in Lake View Cemetery in connection with the Memorial Day exercises on May 30. He had accepted the invitation which was extended to him by L.L. Hanchett, chairman of the committee of members of James M. Brown Post 285, Grand Army of the Republic. The committee was unanimous in its choice of Porter and every member felt that no better nor more appropriate choice could have been made. The selection of Porter to perform this highly important duty on the Sabbath day of the nation was peculiarly fitting and appropriate as he was not only an orator of unusual talent with a voice that could be heard distinctly for long distances but he was a son of a veteran of the Civil War and had always taken a deep interest in everything pertaining to that contest.

• In 1938, while heavy weekend rains caused nearby streams to overflow their banks and in some places inundate roads, county highway department officials reported that the only gravel road now under water was that running from Clark’s Corners to Poland Center. Because of the rapid rise of the Stillwater Creek, Spencer Road was closed to traffic and there was water on the main road to Frewsburg, making it necessary for traffic to move slowly through the lakelike conditions. Water was high at Goose Creek and many stretches of lowlands along Chautauqua Lake were covered. Ice on the lake was reported as honeycombed and unsafe in some places as a result of the recent mild weather and rains.

• That Chautauqua County officials knew or should have known that a prisoner they sought was not in custody when they went to California in December, was alleged by a committee of the Good Government Club in a letter sent to G. Clayton Damon, Gerry, chairman of the district attorney’s expense committee of the county board of supervisors which had deferred action on the audit of the expense account of David L. Brunstrom, county prosecutor. The letter urged that the entire expense bill be rejected on the grounds that the unsuccessful trip, described as a “vacation jaunt,” was not necessary, did not follow the usual procedure and that payment would be an imposition on the taxpayers.

• In 1963, the possibility of replacing the restaurant in the Jamestown Municipal Airport with a battery of food vending machines was suggested by Mayor William D. Whitehead at a meeting of the Airport Commission in his office. Mayor Whitehead said the machines could dispense a variety of foods and beverages, including soups, sandwiches, hot dishes and desserts. He said he had recently inspected several vending machine installations in industrial plants and public buildings and had been impressed by what he saw.

• New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, who had failed to stem a rank-and-file revolt in the Legislature would make a new television appeal directly to the people this night in an effort to salvage his plan to raise motor-vehicle registration charges $48 million a year. The program would originate in New York City and be carried on various Upstate stations over the next few days. It would be Rockefeller’s second appeal to voters for support of his fiscal plan. The governor had submitted a record new budget calling for nearly $2.9 billion in spending in the fiscal year beginning April 1. The higher fees were among several steps he proposed to meet a $290 million increase in spending.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, crazed by the excessive cold and frightened after slipping upon the ice, Ella, a performing elephant of the Robinson Spellman indoor circus, ran wild through the streets of Watertown the previous afternoon, smashing into business places, causing two runaways, almost trampling women and children under foot and leaving a trail of wreckage behind her course. Two thousand men, led by five employees of the circus, armed with spiked poles, followed the animal through the streets. Firemen and policemen joined in the chase, though keeping a safe distance. The mercury stood at 15 below as the animals picked their way over the icy streets to the train to be loaded. Just at the car, Ella slipped and fell. In a flash the entire herd trumpeted and dashed in every direction, the onlookers running for their lives. Eventually John Robinson, owner of the animal, arrived and quieted the crazed brute. Another elephant was brought up and a huge rope tied about the runaway served to give assurance and then she was loaded onto the train.

Groote Winkel, the fair in Jamestown City Hall being conducted by Mt. Tabor Lodge, I.O.O.F., was bigger and busier than ever the previous evening. Over 1,200 persons passed the door-tenders during the evening. It was Fraternity Night and many lodge men of the city visited the fair, among them 30 members of Jamestown division, No. 5, Uniform rank, K.O.T.M., many members of the Eagles, the Moose, the Masons and other organizations. The hall was packed, every highway and byway of Groote Winkel being thronged with happy, fun-seeking crowds which left substantial sums of money in the cash drawers of the various business establishements. The bird booth was the center of interest until the supply was actually sold out.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, while the movement to stay out of the 1940 Olympics unless Japan decided to stay out of China seemed to be gaining headway in some quarters, current indications were that it was largely confined to the United States and the British Empire. Battle lines already had been drawn up for some brisk skirmished in New York with Jeremiah T. Mahoney, former president of the Amateur Athletic Union, heading the opposition and his old rival in such matters, Avery Brundage, favoring participation.

William Walsh, about 50 years old, of Bradford, Pa., was killed when he fell from a moving Erie freight train at Horseshoe Bend, near Carrollton. The body, cut in two under the wheels, was identified by relatives at the morgue in Salamanca. Coroner P.H. Bourne said Walsh may have been trying to alight from the train after he had boarded it in Salamanca with two other men. Railroad police who had been informed the men were seen getting on the train had pursued it and took the other two from the train at Carrollton. Walsh left a wife, two daughters and three sons.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, an aerial view of the Niagara River ice jam ended in death the previous day for four men when their single-engine airplane crashed a mile from the famed Horseshoe Falls. The men, night-shift employees of the Carborundum Company in Niagara Falls were Theodore Stevens, 27, the pilot; James Dowling, 20; Robert J. Dutko, 26 and John Barclay, 24, all of Niagara Falls, N.Y.

At Maple Springs, a 32-year-old mother of two children was injured when she jumped through a closed first-floor bedroom window as a fire of undetermined origin roared through the first floor of her two-story frame dwelling shortly after midnight. Injured was Mrs. Adrienne Hoover, who was admitted as a patient at the WCA Hospital after she was treated for lacerations on both hands, smoke inhalation and shock. Her 4-year-old son Richard, who jumped through the same window, was unhurt. They both landed in a snowbank. Her husband was D. Richard Hoover, a Bemus Point Central School guidance counselor. The couple’s other child, Shelly Ann, 12, was staying at the home of a friend.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, wildly fluctuating temperatures and a lack of snow had made it difficult for ski area operators around New York state to match the previous year’s record business. But most were hoping for a comeback during the following week’s school vacations and the weather appeared to be cooperating “It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster ride,” Dave Hanson, the manager of Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks, said of the year so far. “We haven’t had as much snow (as last year) and we’ve had some major thaws. Last year was one of those premium years that comes along every once in a while.”

Concern over recent Amish buggy/car accidents had prompted action to improve the visibility of the black horse-drawn buggies but some said educating their operators about safety was the key. Cattaraugus County Legislator Don Winship told The Post-Journal some improvements had been agreed to by the Amish after several meetings with Sheriff’s Department deputies and state troopers. Improvements included a lantern system which would be mounted above the wheel in a box lined with stainless steel to reflect more light. The buggies were also outlined with reflective tape along with the use of a triangular emblem on the rear that reads, “slow-moving vehicle.”

In Years Past

• In 1913, “Votes for women. Votes for women. Washington, Washington, Wilson!” This was the shrill feminine yell which attracted crowds of early morning workers to the Hudson terminal in downtown New York this day to watch the department of the “army” of suffragists who were going to march to Washington to take part in the woman suffrage pageant on March 3.

• In Sandusky, Ohio, an aviator claimed to have invented an aeroplane that would fly in a direct line without an aviator and have devices by which bombs could be dropped from it at any indicated time after the start. Henry N. Atwood, Boston aviator said, “It will travel 100 miles or more and could drop its bombs over a besieged city or hostile fleet.” The aeroplane itself would be built of dynamite and gun cotton so that when it had discharged its cargo, it would fall to the earth and explode, destroying the engine. Atwood said his torpedo plane would be 10 feet wide and weight about 30 pounds. Atwood said Secretary Meyer of the navy department had approved his plans.

• In 1938, a swelling wave of resentment swept Nazidom over foreign rumors of army unrest and there was belief Reichsfuehrer Hitler might decide upon a dramatic step to restore confidence at home and respect abroad for Germany’s military might. A “we will show them” spirit dominated editorial comment in the government controlled press. Recent history had shown that Hitler was expert at concealing his immediate intentions so any guess as to what he would do would be dangerous.

• The automobile accident which brought death to Floyd Ebling, 21 years old, of Silver Creek, also brought serious injuries to five other persons who were, however, expected to recover. Ebling sustained a fractured skull when an automobile driven by Donald Harvey, 27, of Leon, left the road and crashed into a tree.

• In 1963, Dr. Robert P. Morgenstern, a Jamestown Chiropodist, and his wife, Mary Elizabeth, miraculously escaped injury in the morning following an accident in which their late model car flipped over on its top. The accident occurred at about 8:45 a.m. on route 17J as Mrs. Morgenstern was driving Dr. Morgenstern to his office in Jamestown. The couple resided in Lakewood. Mrs. Morgenstern stated she hit the shoulder of the road causing the car to skid into a snowbank. The auto then flipped over on its top and came to rest in the driveway of Dr. Maurice B. Furlong at 649 Fairmount Ave., West Ellicott.

• Editor William Stevenson and his assistant, Susan Martin, checked as the first edition of the R. R. Rogers School newspaper “rolled off the press.” The newspaper, published by sixth grade pupils of Mrs. Hildur Sheldon, included school news, editorials, poetry, book reports and stories of hobbies and history.

• In 1988, winter storm warnings were in effect for all of upstate New York this day and much of eastern New York, according to the National Weather Service in Albany. A classic Noreaster storm whipped eastern New York this day with up to a foot of snow, making traveling tough, with motorists sliding into drifts and some air travelers grounded. Up to 20 inches of snow were expected in parts of New York state before the storm waned overnight. A mix of snow, rain and sleet fell over most of Pennsylvania in the morning with snow accumulations of up to eight inches reported in Philadelphia.

• Jamestown General Hospital’s multi-million dollar plan for a mental health complex continued to be criticized by the Health Systems Agency of western New York. Alcohol rehabilitation and psychiatric services in Jamestown should be split between the two hospitals in the city instead of having Jamestown General build a $3.6 million mental health complex, a committee of the health care review agency recommended.

In Years Past

In 1913, the office of the Johnson Ice & Coal Company on West Eighth Street, near the boatlanding in Jamestown, was burglarized some time during the night and the safe blown open. The yeggmen did a clean job and were evidently professionals. They got away with the valuables in the safe, bills, silver, stamps, etc., amounting to something over $400. Nothing else in the office was disturbed. The deed was discovered by Superintendent Cederquist when he opened the offices in the morning. The safe door hung ajar and a pile of old horse blankets in the middle of the floor, together with an unpleasant odor, told the story.

Trousers tighter, tighter than ever, coats shortened and close fitting. These were the 1913 spring styles promised to those men who planned to dress in the mode, according to delegates to the annual convention of the National Association of Merchant Tailors of America, which opened in Cleveland this day. Thin men and fat men would have trouble with the new fashions. Only the athletic ones would be in their glory. Delegates said this was a tribute to the vastly increasing number of athletic-looking, well-built American men.

In 1938, many routine matters were considered and acted upon by the Health and Hospital Board at Jamestown General Hospital. A letter received by Superintendent of Public Health William M. Sill from the State Department of Health was read. It stated that the district office had full cooperation from the health and dairy officials. As to pasteurization of milk, the letter pointed out that there was no municipality of comparable size in the state which showed any better compliance with the provisions of the pasteurization requirements.

A disposition to repair the Arcade building in downtown Jamestown so it would be suitable for continued occupancy, if a purchaser for the structure could not be found, was voiced at a meeting of the city’s tax sale property committee held at City Hall. No definite action was taken with regard to the proposed repairs but that action was inescapable if the property was to remain in the city’s hands. Inspection of the building recently by the committee revealed that a new fire escape and a new roof were necessary.

In 1963, four sisters died under the ice on a lake in Babylon, N.Y. but the oldest – an 11 year old girl – was saved. Paul Barnard, 23, a Suffolk County policeman, saved the girl after hearing her screams. The girls’ father, Frank Corridan, was in another area of the lake, fishing. His wife was at home tending their 6-month-old twin daughters and a 2-year-old son. The five other Corridan children frolicked on the ice 100 yards from Barnard. He heard a scream and saw Lorraine Corridan, 11, clutch desperately at ice forming a hole through which she had slipped. Barnard pulled the hysterical girl to safety. She was screaming that her sisters were under the ice. Hours later, their bodies were brought to the surface. “I never saw the other girls,” Barnard said. “I’ll never forget that day. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”

David Lee Brainard, 37, of Kennedy, injured in a tractor accident, died Feb. 9 in WCA Hospital. The accident occurred shortly before 5 p.m., Feb. 6 when Mr. Brainard was pinned between the tractor and a bridge abutment as he was clearing ice from under a bridge to avert a possible ice jam or flood. The victim was a member of the Ellington Grange, the Ellington Fire Department and the Ellington Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

In 1988, cold temperatures were making it possible for work to progress steadily on the ice castle at Lakeside Park in Mayville and the structure was expected to be completed in time for Ice Castle Extravaganza activities over the coming weekend. Warm weather during the past few weeks caused two meltdowns, making it necessary to revise plans for the castle somewhat. Festivities would include demonstrations of figure skating and cross country skiing, free snowmobile rides for children and horse-drawn sleigh rides.

Falconer Village Trustee and Public Safety Officer Ken Lyon and Fire Chief Skip Cavallaro examined the Falconer Fire Department’s 1930s alarm system, which was soon to be replaced by an $18,000 computerized system. The system served 24 industries and the village street box alarms.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, Captain Robert F. Scott and party had lost their lives in the far south. They had reached the South Pole, it was learned, and were headed northward when they were overwhelmed by a blizzard. The expedition consisted of 28 officers and scientists in addition to a crew of 23 picked men from the British Royal Navy. The entire party had perished. Mrs. Scott, now tragically the widow of the British Antarctic explorer, sailed from San Francisco Feb. 5 for New Zealand, expecting to meet her husband there. She sailed on the Aorangi, and it was improbable that she would learn of her husband’s death until she reached New Zealand, although efforts were being made to reach the Aorangi by wireless.

At 10 p.m. Friday night, fire was discovered in the barber shop on the Kinney property near the Pennsylvania depot in Brocton. An oil stove left lighted to keep the building warm during the night had apparently exploded and the fire was well under way before discovered. A heavy wind was blowing and as the barber shop was located in the alley between the large frame buildings occupied by DeHart Lynch as a grocery and Harlow Rhinehart as a saloon, it was necessary to get the fire under control at once if those buildings were to be saved. Fortunately, the hoserooms of the Brocton Hose Company were only 100 feet away and prompt action on the part of the firemen put the blaze under control with slight damage to the adjoining buildings.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, Robert H. Jackson, Jamestown, assistant attorney general of the U.S., told a Senate committee examining his qualifications to be President Roosevelt’s solicitor general, that he did not leave private law practice for government service with any desire “to change the government of the United States in any way.” Closely questioned by members of a Senate judiciary sub-committee on his opinions regarding the Supreme Court, democracy and the Constitution, Jackson summed up his constitutional views by saying: “All I desire is that the government of the United States function in such a way as to be the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people.”

Ripley Grange met Saturday with Master John Emminger in the chair. Dinner was served at noon by the men of the grange, who were proficient in serving oyster stew and pies. They were gowned in their caps and aprons and proved they understood the art of serving. The lecturer’s hour consisted of a Lincoln program with readings and music.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, window service at Jamestown’s post office would be suspended from 1-2:30 p.m. weekdays, effective as of the following week according to Postmaster Ronald E. Atkinson. In Warren, Postmaster Tim Primerano said the daily opening time there would be a half hour later – at 9 a.m. rather than the present 8:30 – but the windows would be open continuously until 5 p.m. weekdays and noon Saturdays. Both he and Atkinson pointed out that the service cutbacks were the result of implementation by the U.S. Postal Service of provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 which mandated a savings of $1.25 billion by the agency during the next two years.

A Dunkirk man was killed the previous morning in a car-train collision at the Newell Road crossing in the town of Sheridan. Ignacio Ramos Jr., 32, a former Dunkirk city clerk, was thrown from his car at 10:40 a.m. after failing to yield to a westbound 100-car two-engine freight train on Newell Road, a Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said. The intersection, about three miles from the South Roberts Road crossing in Dunkirk where six high school students were killed when a freight train struck the car they were in on Nov. 1, had no flashing lights or crossing gates.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, the Little Falls authorities called upon Gov. Sulzer to affirm or deny a story that he was treated discourteously by the Little Falls police during his campaign tour, or submit to an official investigation. The story was related by Mayor Lunn of Schenectary, who was arrested the past fall for addressing a meeting of strikers in the public street. According to Mayor Lunn, it was authorized by the governor. The chief of police denied the charge and when President Leary of the police and fire board wrote to Gov. Sulzer for his version, the governor’s secretary said the governor requested that the matter be dropped.

At the hearing held in the Dunkirk City Hall by the police and fire board to reference the charge of attempted bribery made against Police Chief Fred W. Quandt by Assemblyman John Sullivan, city Attorney Lyman Kilburg and Police Sergeant Frederick Krohn were the chief witnesses called. Krohn testified that he was night sergeant on Feb. 9, 1912, the date of the alleged bribery. He stated that Chief Quandt told him that he had approached the assemblyman in the interest of the bill in question and had offered him $200 if he would get it passed by the legislature. Krohn quoted Quandt as saying that he had remarked to Assemblyman Sullivan that the money could be thrown into the assemblyman’s office some night if the transom were left conveniently open.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, reports were current that Al Capone, under observation in the hospital ward at Alcatraz Island federal prison, might be transferred to the federal hospital for insane criminals at Springfield, Mo. The rumor persisted that the Chicago gangster, serving time for income tax law violation, was suffering from paresis, a condition which would bring about destruction of the brain cells. A spokesman for the department of justice at Washington admitted the Chicago gangster was under observation but insisted staff physicians had made no definite diagnosis.

The Falconer Rod and Gun Club held its regular meeting in the old village hall with Peter Gregg presiding. The field secretary reported that a permit had been received for the importation of rabbits from Missouri and Kansas. The pheasant feeding committee announced that there was plenty of feed on hand at the club rooms and at the Star Wallpaper Company store on South Main Street, Jamestown. After a discussion on whether or not the size for legal take of bass and muskellunge should be changed, the club went on record opposing any change from the present regulations.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, fire of undetermined origin caused $100,000 in building and stock damage Friday afternoon at Tri-State Hardwood Co., Pennsylvania Avenue, Corry, Pa. Fifty firemen from Corry and Columbus spent five hours fighting the blaze in sub-zero weather. F.T. Griffin of Union City, plant manager, said 70,000 board feet of hardwood lumber was lost in the fire. Fire Chief Jerome Davis of Corry said the exact cause of the fire was not determined but it apparently started in the southeast corner of the cement block and frame building above one of two drying kilns. The fact that there was a fire was not immediately discernible, since the kiln drying process made use of steam which billowed around the outside of the building.

The cold wave gripping Chautauqua County and the Northeastern portion of the nation moved into its second day as temperatures continued to hover around the zero mark. An overnight low of 10-below was registered in Jamestown and the temperature had risen to only five-below by 8 a.m. The sub-zero weather failed to daunt half a dozen boy scouts of Troop 76 who spent the night in tents in Baker Park, West Fourth and Clinton streets. The scouts set up their tents just after supper the previous evening and were all in bed by 10 p.m. The boys had breakfast in the park this morning and planned to stay in their frigid camp until after lunch.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, George Bush once claimed he’d found “big mo” in Iowa. This time it was more like “slo mo.” The Republican momentum belonged to Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas and, in an embarrassing setback to the vice president, to former television evangelist Pat Robertson. Bush was relegated to third place in the Iowa precinct caucuses the previous night. Dole gained 38 percent of the vote in a caucus night straw poll that gave Robertson 24 percent and Bush 19 percent.

Jamestown City Council members approved a $100,000 10-year loan to Dahlstrom Manufacturing Co., 443 Buffalo St., as part of a $2,003,000 project expected to create 100 new jobs. The loan, approved in late January by the Jamestown Local Development Corp., was part of a project to renovate the building and acquire new machinery. Company spokesmen had said the project called for setting up a high volume manufacturing cell so the firm could manufacture a different type of metal line than it was producing at present. The company had yet to disclose what that product would be, but officials said the cell would allow the company to enter new markets which it previously couldn’t be competitive in.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, the many friends of Harry J. Fellows, formerly of Jamestown but residing in Buffalo, would learn with keen regret that he succumbed to heart disease at Dayton, Ohio, while on a tour with his musical organization known as the Fellows Grand Opera Quartet. He was found dead on this morning in his room at the Algonquin Hotel. It was learned that after the concert which his organization gave at Dayton Friday evening, he retired apparently in his usual health. He was 47 years, 6 months and 27 days of age and was survived by a wife and two daughters. During his residence in Jamestown, Fellows was employed in the Western Union Telegraph office. He was an expert telegrapher. He was a genial and companionable man and those who knew him during his residence in this city would regret to learn of his untimely death.

Every effort of Coroner O.S. Martin and the Salamanca police to establish the identity of the unknown man who was killed in a fall from a window of the city building several days previously had thus far proved fruitless. Any number of clues had been worked out but as yet nothing had been determined. The following notice was being sent to the different places in this locality by Coroner Martin: “Wanted – information of a man aged from 45 to 50; 5-feet-8 or 9 inches in height; weighed from 170 to 180 pounds; light brown mustache, quite long; sandy hair, slightly gray and curly; no teeth. Name said to be J. or F. Crowley.”

75 Years Ago

In 1938, Jamestown stood 16th in the number of motor vehicle accidents and 24th in the number of deaths among the 66 cities of the state the past year, according to the record for 1937 announced by Charles A. Hartnett, Albany, commissioner of the state bureau of motor vehicles. This city was tied with Corning, Freeport, Gloversville, Kingston, New Rochelle, Oswego and Saratoga Springs in the number of fatalities. According to the statistics furnished by the state bureau, there were 217 automobile accidents in Jamestown the past year with 266 persons injured and five killed. The state was divided into three groups, Greater New York, the 65 cities and villages of 10,000 or more population and the remainder of the state consisting of rural sections.

The Jamestown High School a cappella choir would present a concert in the high school auditorium Tuesday, March 22, in an effort to raise a portion – a large one, it was hoped – of the $1,500 estimated to be needed for the group’s trip to the national choral competition in St. Louis, March 31 and April 1. Arrangements for the huge affair expected to feature other divisions of the school music department. The choristers would be the lone representatives of New York state being selected on the basis of their standing as Class A champions of the state, an honor acquired at Elmira the past year.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, bitter cold hit Chautauqua County leaving in its trail at least four serious fires. One in Jamestown was a grim echo of a blaze the past week in Ellington which took the lives of three small children. Jamestown firemen from four companies battled a blaze at 219 Allen St., started in an attempt to thaw a frozen water pipe. Among the occupants of the Allen Street home was Mrs. James Kitchell, grandmother of the three children who died Jan. 29 when fire swept the home of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert L. Hitchcock Jr., of Bentley Hill Road, Ellington. The five-room, second-floor apartment at the Allen Street address was occupied by Mrs. Kitchell, her husband, their son, Wesley Hallowell, 21, his wife, Josephine, 18, their daughter, Betty Jean, 6 weeks old and two other Kitchell children, Barbara, 13 and Martin, 11. Mrs. Kitchell’s daughter, Mrs. Marguerite Hitchcock, 23, burned in the Ellington fire, remained in critical condition at Jamestown General Hospital.

Two persons were injured slightly and a third person was hospitalized because of a heart condition as fires in three communities in the area caused extensive damage the previous day and this morning. At Leon, an unidentified teenage boy was injured when he jumped through a first-floor window after a living room oil stove exploded. At Findley Lake, flames from the explosion of a soft coal furnace ignited the clothing of Maynard Duink, 35, in his home on the Marks-Ottaway Road. At Fredonia, Andrew Kolb, who had a heart condition, was hospitalized after he became upset as flames destroyed a barn filled with valuable merchandise. A dog in the barn died of smoke inhalation.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, the past week’s springlike weather was gone with the wind and people reveled in a winter wonderland during one-horse open sleigh rides at the ninth annual horseman’s sleigh rally at Chautauqua Institution on Sunday. Bundled up to ward off the cold, Ray Stevens of Orchard Park drove a 6-year-old Belgian horse through the snow. Rally events included a pleasure drive and Courier & Ives, timed and obstacle classes.

At last, Steven Spielberg’s movie, “E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial” would be released worldwide as a videocassette in time for Christmas, then withdrawn from the market, MCA Home Entertainment Group announced. The movie, which grossed a record $700 million at the box office after it premiered in June 1982, was re-released in the summer of 1985 but had not been available to the public since that time. The videocassette price had not been announced.

In Years Past

• In 1913, the Dunkirk City Clerk had received a letter from Assemblyman John Leo Sullivan that a year previously he had been improperly and corruptly approached and asked to introduce into the state legislature a measure providing for amendment to the city charter so as to provide for an increase in policemen’s salaries. Sullivan stated that he had been offered $200 the past February as a bribe to induce him to secure introduction and passage of the bill. The board of police commissioners had a meeting of investigation late the previous afternoon. Sullivan named Chief F.W. Quandt of the Dunkirk Police force as the man who approached him and made the offer mentioned in the letter.

• Carlton Kapple died at his home on Hamilton Street in Jamestown on this morning, aged 71 years 6 months and 21 days. Kapple would be remembered as the flagman employed in the summer season to flag the street cars across the old boatlanding bridge when it was a single track and previous to that as a conductor both on the electric cars and before that on the old horse cars. He was for many years Conductor No. 1 and had a remarkably long service with the company.

• In 1938, permitted to plead guilty to a reduced charge of operating a motor vehicle without a license, Harold Mason, 16, Fredonia, who was at the wheel of an automobile which struck and killed Gladys A. Morrison, a young girl, on Webster Street, Fredonia, the past Sept. 23, was fined $50 by County Judge Lee L. Ottaway at Mayville. The youth who was represented by Glenn W. Woodlin, Dunkirk, was indicted by the county grand jury on a charge of first-degree manslaughter. When the defendant was arraigned by Assistant District Attorney Edwin G. O’Connor, Brocton, that official filed a statement with the court reducing the charge to driving without a license. Judge Ottaway gave the youth a week to pay the fine.

• The Bemus Point School band not only made a splendid appearance in its new uniforms, which were worn for the first time at Saturday evening’s concert in the school auditorium, but also presented a well prepared program of classical and popular numbers under the direction of Albert W. Harvey, head of the Music department. The smart uniforms and military caps were scarlet and white, the school colors. The scarlet jackets boasted capes lined with white and the costumes were completed with white trousers for the boys and white skirts for the girls. Mr. Harvey’s uniform was of cream-colored flannel with military cap.

• In 1963, 10 frogs that escaped from the box in which they were being shipped, kept things hopping aboard a Mohawk Airlines plane. The plane had just left Syracuse on a flight from Buffalo to Boston when stewardess Dottie Pratt, 21, of Erie, Pa., was handed a bag by a passenger and told there were three frogs in it. “I opened the bag and what do you know,” said Miss Pratt. “There was this big frog looking at me.” With the encouragement of the 40 human passengers on the plane, Miss Pratt began what was probably the first airborne frog hunt in history. The last frog was rounded up, “over Providence,” she said.

• A beer drinking party at the home of one of 10 unidentified Dunkirk High School male students the past Friday afternoon during school hours, resulted in their suspension from school. A neighbor reported the incident to school officials and a Dunkirk policeman checked out the report and found the boys at the home of one of the students. Neither parent was home. Superintendent Franklin Hazard sent registered letters to fathers of each of the students requesting a conference on the incident. Two mothers of the boys attempted to speak with the superintendent but he refused. Seven fathers had conferred with Hazard. When the remaining three fathers conferred with the Superintendent, the boys would be taken off suspension.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, an early morning fire the previous day at Dunkirk ruined the large two-story frame building on Lion Street owned by Stephen Schweda, threatened for a time to wipe out an entire block of business buildings, caused injury to three firemen and nearly resulted in the death of an entire family. The ground floor of the building was divided into three stores, while the upper floor was given over to dwelling purposes. The middle store, occupied by Mrs. Emma Wright, who conducted a confectionery and tobacco business was where the fire originated. Mrs. Adam Schweda and her six children were asleep on the second floor when the fire broke out but Mr. Schweda was out of the city on a business trip. Mrs. Schweda and the children hurried out, attired only in their night clothes.

Al Aldrich, a brakeman employed by the Nickle Plate Railroad, had his leg broken late Tuesday night when he jumped from an eastbound freight three miles west of Westfield. Aldrich thought that the train was not going to stop in time to avoid crashing into another eastbound freight which was stalled on the same track. When the engine was within a few yards of the train ahead Aldrich jumped. The train on which he was riding came to a stop within a few feet of the head freight. He was taken to Westfield and attended to by Doctors Hunter and Foster. They found he suffered from a broken leg and a severe shaking. On this morning he was taken to his home in Conneaut, Ohio.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, four juveniles, three of whom were only 11 years old and the fourth of whom was 14, had been arrested by Jamestown police for the theft of about $15 worth of candy and $2.50 in change from the automobile of Robert Rice, 211 Broadhead Ave., a candy salesman. With arrest of the boys, police announced most of the candy and a bushel basket full of cigars was recovered from underneath the porch of one of their homes. The money stolen from the Rice automobile was divided among the boys and had already been spent, police were informed. Police learned that the cigars were stolen from the automobile of a salesman for Tinkham Brothers.

Mrs. Percy V. Pennybacker, internationally known woman leader, died at her home in Austin, Texas, on Friday. She was 76 years old. She had long been in failing health. Mrs. Pennybacker was a former president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, a leader in the women’s suffrage movement and at the time of her death was president of the Chautauqua Woman’s Club of Chautauqua Institution. A close friend of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mrs. Pennybacker was often a guest at the White House.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, fire of undetermined origin in Cassadaga resulted in extensive damage to a garage owned by Robert Tyler of Maple Avenue. Thirty-four firemen were called out at 8:45 p.m. Mrs. Tyler called in the alarm when she glanced out the window to see the garage in flames. Mr. Tyler hurried to the 20-by-40-foot garage, which was about 35 feet from the house and tried to save a 1960 pickup truck but was unable to because of the intense flames. He was able to save a tractor-plow combination. Machinery destroyed included two bulldozers, the pickup truck, two new chain saws, one arc welder, an acetylene torch and an air compressor. The second floor had been stocked with tires and valuable parts for maintenance of heavy equipment. Neighbors served coffee to water-soaked firemen in below freezing temperatures.

When the 26 men and women of the Warner Home family moved into their new residence on West Third in Jamestown on Saturday morning, they would find beautiful quarters waiting to welcome them. The crowd that went through the home at open house the previous evening was thrilled with what they saw. They found the Tudor style brick house, known through the years as the Freeburg Apts., spacious and cheerful and comfortably furnished. The richness of the beamed ceilings complemented with the warm wall colorings. The current Warner Home, the charming and gracious old house at 58 Forest Ave., a prominent landmark, would be torn down to make way for the approach to the new Washington Street Bridge.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, Dunkirk Dave, the Southern Tier’s groundhog who earlier in the week failed to see his shadow, signaling an early spring, might want to crawl back out of his burrow and check again for his shadow. Biting cold weather with weekend overnight temperatures predicted to hover around the near-zero mark, had area residents bundling up once again and most likely grumbling about battling blowing, drifting snow on the roads. “There’s a lot of foul weather out there,” said Trooper William Keane at the Fredonia state police barracks.

Gov. Mario Cuomo said he threatened to veto the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s budget for 1989 if the authority didn’t freeze the salaries of its top executives, which went as high as $170,000. Cuomo also said that the top authority salaries were “a joke” because they had built-in 5 percent raises like those included in the civil service contracts of Port Authority employees. “This is a joke,” Cuomo told The Associated Press in an interview. “This means that after 20 years, I get 100 percent more salary just because I’m there?”

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, telephones were kept busy at the bankrupt Hill Piano Company store in Jamestown, selling pianos to buyers in distant towns and cities who in their eagerness to get some particular bargain advertised, would not risk the delay incurred in making a personal visit to the store. It simply illustrated what a tremendous sensation the wholesale unloading of high class pianos at giveaway prices had made. Its effect was felt from Buffalo to Pittsburgh. There seemed to be no end of anxious buyers and no end of princely bargains.

The Erie Herald gave details to the fire which wrecked their plant the previous afternoon and which was briefly mentioned by an Associated Press dispatch. The fire had gained considerable headway before it was discovered. In the composing room much damage was done by water. The five linotypes were wet from top to bottom and cases full of type were flooded. Water to the depth of 3 or 4 inches covered the composing room floor and every scrap of advertisement and news copy that was not well protected was ruined by the water. The water also drained through into the press room in the basement, where considerable more damage was done.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, so that it would not block the Niagara River channel, workmen sliced the Falls View bridge, crumbled by Niagara’s great ice jam, into small sections that would sink to the river bottom. Heavy rains made footing slippery on the slanting boards of the bridge floor and the work of the men who operated the acetylene torches used in cutting the bridge girders was exceedingly dangerous. Workmen pried loose the roadbed planks with crowbars to gain access to the steel frame before the blasting operations early this day.

Jamestown Mayor Harry C. Erickson had accepted an invitation to serve on the committee which was arranging a dinner to be held at the Hotel Commodore, New York City, on Feb. 24, honoring Robert H. Jackson, recently appointed by President Roosevelt to the post of United States solicitor general. The dinner was being held under general auspices of the New York Young Democratic Club, Inc. Joseph P. Kennedy, the new ambassador to Great Britain, would be honorary chairman of the affair.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, enough snow lay in the Chautauqua Lake watershed so that “the month of March could be one of breathtaking uncertainty for lake shore residents and property owners,” a survey of snow in the watershed indicated. The Chadakoin River Commission was expected to discuss the survey at a meeting the following day at Jamestown City Hall. The amount of moisture in the watershed was calculated by John R. Luensman of Mayville, following a six-hour tour of the watershed Saturday afternoon, taking snow samples at 27 points around the lake.

Lawrence Alva Rudd, 52, of Porter Avenue, Fredonia, unemployed, was killed at 6:30 p.m. the previous day when he was struck while walking to his home, by a car which was sliding on ice. He was the second 1963 highway victim in Chautauqua County. The accident occurred on Liberty Street, police said. The car’s driver, Paul Salhoff, 36, of Cassadaga, an automobile salesman for Dudley Motors Inc., was absolved of blame by Coroner Anson E. Steward. Sgt. William Morse reported both the pedestrian and the car were traveling south. Salhoff was quoted as saying that he saw Rudd walking with traffic and, in an attempt to avoid an accident, applied the brakes but the vehicle slid on the icy pavement and struck Rudd.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, a cocaine cache with a retail value in the millions of dollars was uncovered the previous afternoon in the Heart’s Content picnic area of the Allegheny National Forest, according to federal drug and forest officials. James Porten, resident agent-in-charge of the Pittsburgh office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said his office became aware of the cache through an investigation involving a DEA office in Alabama. He said the cache was located by a team made up of members of the DEA, the Forest Ranger Service and the U.S. Forest Service. Personnel from the Sheffield Ranger District were among those taking part. The cocaine was found near pines at the edge of the picnic area in the forest’s Heart’s Content region. The cache was two feet underground in an insulated ice chest.

Federal deficits for the next three years would soar above the $148 billion level of 1987, even with the spending cuts and tax hikes approved in the previous year’s budget summit, the Congressional Budget Office said. CBO officials told the Senate Budget Committee that they projected a $157 billion deficit for fiscal 1988, $176 billion for fiscal 1989 and $167 billion for fiscal 1990. Sen. Lawton Chiles, D-Fla., the budget panel’s chairman, acknowledged what all of Washington knew to be true: Spending cuts and tax increases, while always distasteful for legislators, became tortuous in an election year. “We know election-year politics makes it unlikely that we’ll do much that’s new this year,” Chiles said.

In Years Past

In 1938, the theft of 12 fur coats with a total value of $290 from an automobile parked at the corner of East Fourth and Pine streets in Jamestown was reported to local police early in the afternoon by Fred Federman of Monroe Street, Buffalo. Mr. Federman, a fur salesman, said he parked his car for less than an hour while he went to a restaurant for lunch. When he returned to his machine, two large cases containing the coats were gone, he told police.

Emil N. Johnson, president and general manager of the Jamestown Steel Partitions Company, Inc. of Falconer, which concern he organized two years previously, died suddenly of a heart attack at 3:20 in the morning at his home on Newland Avenue, aged 44 years. He was born in Jamestown, August 1, 1893, was confirmed in the First Mission Church in 1908 and was a member of Jamestown lodge, B.P.O. Elks, at which club the funeral service would be held. Mr. Johnson was employed for several years at the General Electric Company plant, Erie, Pa., and was at one time employment manager of the Art Metal Construction Company. He had lived in Jamestown practically all of his life.

In 1963, a little boy and his father were both in Jamestown General Hospital as the result of a freak accident Sunday, the youngster’s first birthday. Gordon Daniels, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Daniels, R.D. 2, Frewsburg, tumbled down the cellar stairs of the home and his father, 28, fell also when he rushed to help the tyke. A spokesman at the Daniels home said the father was expected to be released this day after treatment for a heel fracture. The one-year-old would remain for observation of a head injury.

Elmer Sheffield, 56, a Great Valley chicken farmer, became the first victim of a Cattaraugus County motor vehicle fatality at 12:10 p.m. Saturday following a two-car crash in which another person was injured. The accident occurred at 10:50 a.m. on Route 242 four miles east of Little Valley. While county police were investigating that accident, another occurred 20 minutes later within sight of it on the same road and in which two other motorists were injured.

In 1988, Sherman reigned this day as the area’s snow capital, with 14 inches recorded as landing there overnight as a consequence of the East’s heaviest general snowfall of the season. Meteorologist Alan Blackburn of the Buffalo office of the National Weather Service said that the amount reported for the western Chautauqua Community was the most in the area. Jamestown measured between 9 and 10 inches of new snowfall overnight while weather observers Patricia Webb at Sinclairville and Roger Trump near Westfield reported 7 and 9-10 inches respectively. Blackburn said this was the heaviest general snowfall – covering an area from Western Ohio to the East Coast with a soft white blanket.

With the following week’s Iowa caucuses only days away, Jamestown Mayor Steven B. Carlson announced his endorsement of Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis to be president, predicting that the governor could end up finishing first or second in the caucus. “I believe Gov. Dukakis is the most capable candidate running for the Democratic nomination for president and I intend to do what I can to see that he is the Democratic standard-bearer in the fall election,” Carlson said.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, two special cars were chartered by the Jamestown friends of Sheriff Gust A. Anderson Monday night to take them to Mayville to join with others in the same class, in a surprise banquet in his honor at the Mayville House. Sheriff Anderson was the most surprised man in Chautauqua County when he and turnkey Gerry Colegove were summoned to the hotel to meet a “party that wanted to see them” and found the place filled with the sheriff’s friends and the banquet table ready for the spread which followed. After the banquet, Postmaster A.F. Allen of Jamestown took charge as toastmaster and introduced a number of speakers, including Supreme Court Justice Herbert P. Bissell and Jamestown Mayor Samuel A. Carlson.

The Sunday meetings of the Spiritualist Society of Jamestown was of an interesting nature. The afternoon thought exchange service was participated in by a goodly number. There was a large audience present at the evening meeting which was opened with a song service in which the audience heartily joined. The address by Frank T. Ripley, upon the familiar subject, “What Shall the Harvest Be?” was interestingly enlarged upon. One saying was: “A life well spent – a life of usefulness, of nobility, of character, of kindness, of good deeds, would reap the harvest of peace, of love, of rest, of joy, of happiness, of blessedness in this life and in the life to come regardless of creed or belief.” The speaker took occasion to utter his emphatic protest against the false and misleading charges preferred against Spiritualists by their bitter opponents but in a kindly and courteous manner, no slander nor abuse of those holding counterviews was indulged in.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, John Carlson of Newland Avenue, Jamestown, received one of the first local unemployment insurance benefit checks to be issued from the division of placement and unemployment insurance, Charles L. Finch, manager of the Jamestown office of the New York state Employment service announced. First checks were issued in the state Jan. 29. The checks were distributed to those unemployed persons who qualifyed under the unemployment insurance law. To qualify, they must be unemployed, fill out a blank including their name, address, name of last employer, the last day on which they worked for wages and one or two other details. After they received their benefit, effort was made by the state to help them secure employment. The state paid between $7 and $15 a week to jobless persons for a period of 16 weeks.

The New York Yankees were World Series champions but in the opinion of Ralph “Babe” Pinelli, better baseball was played in the National league than in the American league year in and year out. Pinelli, who umpired in the National league, said that fact did not influence his opinion. He had played in both leagues with the White Sox and Detroit of the American and Cincinnati of the senior circuit. As Pinelli saw it, the National loop played tighter ball; was superior defensively and had the better pitching. The American League provided more hitting and had more long distance swatsmiths, but eliminate the Yankees and he gave the edge to the National League.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, child star Heather O’Rourke, the angelic little blonde who was sucked into a swirling supernatural vacuum in the terrifying “Poltergeist” movies, died on the operating table during intestinal surgery. She was 12. The actress, who warned, “They’re heeeere!” in “Poltergeist” and “They’re baaaack!” in the spooky sequel, died shortly after arrival at Children’s Hospital of San Diego. The cause of death was septic shock due to congenital stenosis of the intestine. “I’m devastated by the news of Heather’s death,” said actor Craig T. Nelson, who portrayed her character’s father. “It’s very difficult when a member of your family dies so suddenly. I loved her very much.” “I’m deeply saddened and shocked by the news,” actress JoBeth Williams said. “Having played Heather’s mother twice, I grew to love her and respect her talent. My heart goes out to her mother and her family.”

Despite warm temperatures and rain received the past weekend, work was continuing on the Mayville ice castle. According to ice castle extravaganza committee member Robert Martin, a large canvas was used to protect the portion of the castle which was already completed to avoid excessive melting. Temperatures had since returned to normal and ice cutting would resume when the lake surface was frozen. Volunteers would be working long hours to ensure completion of the ice castle in time for the Feb. 12 kickoff of the winter festival at Lakeside Park which would run through Feb. 21.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, the Fortnightly Club held its annual midwinter merry-making in the YWCA auditorium in Jamestown Friday afternoon, with a number of guests present, in addition to the members of the club. The program, which was of a very delightful character, consisted of 17 tableaux taken from studies included in the club’s program during the past few years. At the conclusion of the program, supper was served and a social hour was enjoyed. The tableaux were in the charge of Miss Gertrude Clemont and the supper was in the charge of Mrs. C.C. Wilson. The affair was in celebration of the club’s 20th birthday.

Had it not been for the fact that Policeman Albert Harrison was on duty on East First Street in Jamestown early the previous morning, it was safe to say that the Arcade building on Main Street, one of the largest business blocks in the city, would have been destroyed or at least damaged to the extent of many thousands of dollars by fire and the danger would have been great for the reason that the building was located in the business center of the city and adjoining other buildings. About 4 o’clock in the morning Policeman Harrison noticed flames in the windows in the rear of the fourth floor and without losing any time he turned in an alarm of fire. When the firemen arrived they discovered a roaring blaze in the kitchen of Jamestown aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles. The firemen succeeded in extinguishing the fire with the use of chemicals and the chemical truck demonstrated that the purchase was a good investment on the part of the city.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, Mr. and Mrs. Silas Himelein met with a serious accident Monday evening when they were enroute home to Findley Lake from Westfield. During the severe wind storm their car left the highway of Route 20 between the state line and North East and plunged into a bank throwing Mr. Himelein through the windshield and inflicting severe head cuts that necessitated several stitches. Ralph Hugg took them to Dr. Simmons in North East where they were treated for lacerations and bruises.

Dorothy Wilson, 14, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Wilson, 43 W. 10th St., Jamestown, was overcome by fumes from a gas heater in the bathroom of their home in the morning. Her condition was reported as satisfactory at the General Hospital where she was taken by police ambulance. The girl was found lying on the floor of the bathroom by William Bubb, who lived on the second floor of the house. He summoned Mrs. Wilson, who in turn, notified the police. The girl had been found lying on the floor in a semi-conscious condition with a bump on her forehead. The gas was turned on but not burning. There was a pipe on the stove leading to the chimney and this, together with the fact the girl was on the floor probably saved her life as most of the fumes rose and were carried away.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, an early-morning fire destroyed the Van Buren Bay Inn, a plush roadhouse which was recently purchased by two Buffalo men. The loss was estimated at $150,000, according to D. Purdy Monroe, Dunkirk insurance man. He said the restaurant was completely covered by fire insurance. Winds reaching 70 miles per hour caused blowing snow and clogged roads which led to the restaurant, located approximately five miles west of Dunkirk on Route 5. Anthony Randazzo, who had moved to Fredonia, was in the restaurant at the time of the fire, it was learned. However, he did not know the cause of the fire. Firemen were unable to determine the fire’s origin. Anthony Gugino of Buffalo was Randazzo’s partner in the business. The well-known steak house had been completely renovated by the previous owner about a year ago.

High winds, diminished visibility, and freezing drizzle created extremely hazardous driving conditions throughout the county in the morning. The note of optimism in the weather picture, however, was the fact that cloudy skies undoubtedly prevented the groundhog from seeing his shadow – possibly presaging an early spring. Wind-whipped snow obscured visibility along Routes 5 and 20, forcing authorities to close those highways to traffic from midnight to 8:30 a.m.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, debris was all that was left of a former gas station on Sixth Street in Jamestown, leading into Fairmount and Livingston avenues, where work was being done to straighten the street for the west end of the new Sixth Street bridge. Demolition work was also being finished on another gas station at the corner of Hall Avenue, looking east toward the Sixth Street bridge.

Punxsutawney Phil reportedly failed to see his shadow from atop Gobbler’s Knob this morning, signifying another six weeks of winter. And, while professional weather observers didn’t necessarily put too much confidence in the prognostications of the meteorological marmot, they did admit winter appeared ready to make its return. In Dunkirk, Dunkirk Dave crawled out of his groundhog burrow at dawn and found himself in remarkably unfamiliar weather. It was wet and soggy but there was no snow. No shadow, either. So he predicted an early spring.

In Years Past

100 Years Ago

In 1913, a fire which totally destroyed the office building of the Warren Ross Lumber Company about a quarter of a mile east of the village of Falconer, was discovered at 11:30 in the morning. The office force, with the exception of a stenographer, Miss Mable Spencer, was away at the time. Miss Spencer was working in the main office when she noticed that the room was filling with smoke. Going to the door to the other office room, she discovered that the room was in flames and quickly notified the men employed in the yards. A number of yard men hurried to the office and assisted Miss Spencer who was busily engaged in getting the files and records out of the burning building. Although firemen worked hard, the flames worked faster and the building was a total wreck in a short time. Fire was caused by an overheated steam pipe.

One of the largest wildcats that had ever been seen in this section was brought to Warren by Bert Dennison, a hunter and trapper, who resided at Kinzua. Dennison was trapping for small game and found the wildcat in one of his traps struggling for freedom. Taking aim, Dennison fired at the beast but missed and it tore free from the trap and sprang at him. Grasping his gun as a club, Dennison dealt the beast a blow that drove it back. Again, the animal came at him and fortunately, he knocked it down and killed it with his knife. It weighed 36 pounds and was a handsome specimen.

75 Years Ago

In 1938, the groundhog was likely to get a glimpse of his shadow almost anywhere in Upstate New York the following day, government meteorologist predicted – not that they took the legend seriously. If the groundhog, traditionally emerging on Feb. 2 from his hibernation, saw his shadow, that was supposed to portend six more weeks of winter. Otherwise, according to the legend, spring could come tripping in whenever she pleased. “The groundhog has nothing to do with the seasons,” said meteorologists at Albany and Buffalo as they forecast fair weather and slightly rising temperatures for Feb. 2.

Cattaraugus County authorities had meager clues to the identities of two masked and armed men who attempted to hold up Mrs. Frank James and her sister, Mrs. Mable Myers of Conneaut, Ohio, after they had broken into the James home at Franklinville. Screams of the two women, accosted when they entered the house on coming home from downtown on Saturday night, brought Mr. James, who was putting the car in the garage, into the house on the run. The two men, both believed by the women to have been young men, escaped out a rear door.

50 Years Ago

In 1963, Chautauqua County’s first highway fatality of 1963 was recorded the previous afternoon when Mrs. Audrey Neebe Janisch, 27, of Sherman, was killed in a two-car crash at Nettle Hill School, three miles north of Sherman. Mrs. Janisch, a bride of four months, was a passenger in a car driven by her husband, the Rev. James Janisch, 39, trustee of Shiloh. Mr. Janisch and the driver of the other car, Ray John Saari, 32, of Batavia, were injured. Saari, a baby chick salesman, was not held. Mrs. Janisch was a former Lakewood Elementary School teacher. Both she and her husband were thrown from their Volkswagen car and landed upon the snow-covered highway.

Blackstone Corp. announced plans for construction soon of a new plant in Sheffield, Pa., for the manufacture of a wide range of ultrasonic products. The plant would be built on Center Street. It would be known as Blackstone Ultrasonics, Inc. Cost estimates were being sought and company officials hoped the one-story structure would be ready for occupancy sometime in May.

25 Years Ago

In 1988, local representatives in Washington had their feet firmly planted on opposite sides of the Contra aid issue scheduled to come to a vote in two days time. “I’m in favor of the plan, said U.S. Rep. William F. Clinger Jr., R-Warren. U.S. Rep. Amory Houghton Jr., R-Corning, was maintaining the stance he took in March. He was against the idea of sending military aid to the Contras. “I plan to vote against any military aid,” Houghton said. He said that he was doing it “for the sake of the peace plan” which he thought ought to be given a chance to work.

Move over Hollywood and make room for South Dayton, Western New York’s own version of the motion picture studios. “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” finally premiered Friday in Gowanda, nearly a full year after the location was used for filming. Although locations were set in Gowanda, South Dayton, Cottage, Cherry Creek, Batavia and along Route 219 near Yorkshire, only the village of South Dayton and its square were clearly recognizable in the Paramount Pictures production.

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