100 Years Ago
In 1912, failure on the part of an Erie engineer to see the headlight of a locomotive taking water at Beechwood resulted in a collision which piled six loaded stock cars by the right of way, killed a number of sheep, cattle and hogs and temporarily transferred the country in the vicinity of Beechwood into a good sized stockyard. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured but unfortunately several cars were smashed to kindling. Erie train No. 6 was delayed several hours and the wrecking crews of the road had an all-night job. The impact of the two locomotives made a report that was heard all over Beechwood. The wreckers from Meadville and Salamanca were summoned and in an incredibly short period of time were on the scene. Jamestown dealers reaped a small harvest from the wreck. They butchered several of the animals that were slightly injured and the carcasses were taken to Jamestown.
The Republican rally at Watts Flats Saturday evening was well attended in spite of other meetings there that evening which took away many who would otherwise have attended. Music was furnished by the Ashville band. Charles H. Wicks of the Republican county committee took the place of surrogate H.N. Crosby who was detained at home by serious illness in his family. Wicks spoke chiefly on national issues, confining his attention largely to the tariff issue, stating that Woodrow Wilson meant business when he talked of reducing the tariff and he pointed out what a repetition of business disorganization and the idleness of the workingmen of the industries would mean to this country.
75 Years Ago
In 1937, the ringing that people were failing to hear in September was the silence of stilled wedding bells. Marriage licenses issued at the Jamestown city clerk's office during September dropped to about half the total issued during the same month of 1936, due almost entirely to the new three-day "breathing spell" marriage law which went into effect Sept. 1. The total number of licenses issued in Jamestown the previous month was 35, compared with 68 during the same month a year ago. New York state's Cupid statistics revealed the drop in marriage license issuance was extremely marked. But Chautauqua County, with its famous Ripley "Gretna Green" showed the most marked decrease. The decrease in the county in September marriages was 73 percent below the previous September.
The Jamestown fall furniture market opened with a noontime attendance of about 150 buyers as compared with a total first-day registration of 303 for the fall of 1936 and 250 the past spring. Commenting upon the somewhat slow start, Earle O. Hultquist, furniture market association president, pointed out that the current semi-annual mart opened a day earlier than in previous years, which might account for the small opening attendance. The general lull in business conditions throughout the country appeared to be reflected in the local market, according to leading manufacturers of the city and vicinity, who anticipated the arrival of western and large syndicate buyers the following week.
25 Years Ago
In 1987, to cut city taxes, Jamestown mayoral candidate Ronald F. Rine said he would eliminate the posts of finance director and city attorneys. Rine said he would put the comptroller in charge of all financial affairs and would contract out for legal services when needed. The incumbent, Democrat Steven B. Carlson, dismissed Rine's budget as naive, saying anyone could make cuts when unaware of their effects. Rine's proposed 1988 budget totaled $21,077,003, $342,231 less than the city's 1987 plan. The candidate said his proposal would cut taxes $1.65 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
The deteriorating Mee Road bridge, intersecting with Dry Brook Road in the town of Poland would be closed to traffic permanently, beginning Nov. 4. Traffic would be detoured to Dry Brook, Cobb and Sprague Hill roads. The 53-foot long steel span, also known as Chautauqua County bridge 1,009, would not be repaired, said Richard Sturges, civil engineer with the county Department of Public Works and deputy county highway superintendent. The bridge, moved from Dry Brook Road to Mee Road in 1954, was originally scheduled to be replaced under the county's 1988 bridge replacement program, Sturges said. But the bridge was cut from that program when the program had to be re-evaluated in the proposed 1988 county budget.