100 Years Ago
In 1912, in addition to the theater, there were all sorts of attractions for the amusement seeker at Celoron Park, chief among them being the open-air concerts by Victor's Royal Venetian band every afternoon and evening; the singing of Mlle. Louise Bertram, the soloist with the band; the moving picture exhibition on the grounds every evening and the illustrated songs by Ed Connelly.
Manager Lerow of the Celoron baseball team had finally completed arrangements for the appearance of the team representing the Chinese University at Hawaii in a game with the Celoron team on the Celoron grounds the following Monday afternoon, June 10, and this would doubtless prove the greatest local baseball attraction of the entire season. The university team consisted entirely of native Chinese students and was touring the United States, meeting the leading colleges and independent teams.
75 Years Ago
In 1937, Col. Charles A. Lindbergh predicted that commerce "must look to the rocket if we hope to attain speeds of transport above a few hundred miles an hour." In a letter to President Wallace W. Atwood of Clark University in Worcester, Mass., read during Clark's commencement exercises, the aviator-scientist said rocket experiments by Professor Robert H. Goddard of Clark U. might lead "a rocket enthusiast" to predict "in an unguarded moment that we will eventually travel at speeds governed only by the acceleration which the human body can stand."
With the closing of the Erie passenger station in Lakewood and the passing of railroad service to the village, the older residents recalled regretfully the days of not so long ago, when the station was known as the Gateway to Chautauqua and bristled with crowds and excitement from morning until late at night. Trains crowded with passengers for Chautauqua and other points up the lake were unloaded in Lakewood. There were the two big hotels at the lake front, The Sterlingworth Inn, afterwards known as the Waldemere and the Kent House, crowded each season and several smaller hotels located in the center of the village. It was a gay little station, too, in the gala days with long train sheds both east and west with seats for passengers and trains were met by the summer people to welcome friends and residents. Flower beds filled with red geraniums spelled the words "Lakewood."
50 Years Ago
In 1962, membership by the United States in the European Common Market was successfully argued by the senior team of Jamestown High School the previous night to win the 41st annual Charles E. Hall Memorial Debate by a 2-1 verdict. On the winning team, coached by Robert E. Letro, history teacher, were Sally Hardenburg, David Beckman and Gaylord Thayer. They would have their names engraved on the permanent debate trophy and share a cash award from the memorial fund. On the losing team were Geoffrey Sigworth, Louis Bellardo and Mark Cannan, all juniors. They were coached by Joseph Zampogna, language instructor. The debate, held in the school auditorium, was attended by several hundred students and adults.
Construction of the 300-car North Main Street parking ramp in Jamestown was expected to get underway the following month. Officials were aiming for a completion date prior to Thanksgiving Day so the ramp would be ready for the Christmas shopping season.
25 Years Ago
In 1987, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed regulations requiring airlines to limit carry-on baggage and make certain that items were properly stored before a jetliner left the boarding gate. The agency said "too much baggage is being taken aboard some flights (and) being stowed improperly, creating unsafe conditions" because airlines have become "lax in their compliance" to existing baggage requirements. Each airline within six months must establish a specific limit on how much carry-on baggage will be allowed and put into place a screening system before the passenger boards the aircraft, the agency said.
Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium, home to championship football and baseball's mythical Roy Hobbs, celebrates its golden anniversary in the coming fall by closing. The bowl that locals call "The Rockpile" had baseball players such as Tom Seaver, Johnny Bench, and Tony Pena play in it. Football stars like O.J. Simpson and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron "Whizzer" White did, too. But in the 1988 season, the Buffalo Bisons, the Cleveland Indians' Class AAA farm team and the sole users of the field, were scheduled to move into new $56.4 million Pilot Field downtown. The new ballpark would feature a symmetrical playing field, a stylish exterior and ample fan accommodations. All of those things would be new to the city's baseball fans, who had endured War Memorial's rust-streaked, crumbling concrete facade and its abrupt right field. "It is an arena that looks as if whatever war it memorializes was fought within its confines," wrote Brock Yates in Sports Illustrated.