100 Years Ago
In 1912, formalities for the completion of the new 5-million-gallon reservoir on English Hill by the Jamestown Water Commission had been completed and the commission voted to resume work Thursday morning. Mr. Bame last week abandoned the job and so informed the commission. It was necessary, however, to serve a formal notice on him and on the bonding company which had guaranteed the performance of his contract. He was notified and assistant engineer Hapgood went to Buffalo this day to notify the bonding company. Work at covering the portion of the reservoir that was finished would be begun at once. There was, however, little likelihood that the job would be finished by the start of winter.
A special meeting of the Jamestown Park Commission was held at which the matter of telegraph and telephone poles along the streets of the city was considered. It was unanimously agreed by the members of the commission that proper improvements should be made. The public service commission had a man in Jamestown inspecting the poles and found many of them in a dangerous as well as unsightly condition. The Postal Telegraph Company had begun repairs upon some of its poles and seemed to have been acting without proper authority from the park commission.
75 Years Ago
In 1937, John Carley, age 7, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert Carley of Walrod's Corners, south of Busti, was shot through the right foot by his brother, Joseph, age 9, when an old .22-caliber rifle which they boys had attempted to overhaul, was accidentally discharged near their home. The two boys, believing the weapon to be harmless because of its age, loaded it with a cartridge which they found on a kitchen shelf and began playing with it. Mrs. Carley, who was at home at the time of the shooting, was reported to have known about the boys' possession of the rifle. Mr. Carley was working at a nearby farm and, when summoned, took his son to Jamestown for treatment by a doctor, after which the boy was removed to his home. Upon investigation it was reported that the bullet pierced the boy's foot and became lodged in his shoe.
Final plans for the observance of Armistice Day in Jamestown were completed at a meeting of Ira Lou Spring Post 149, American Legion, in the Gov. Fenton Mansion, Soldiers' Memorial park. Public memorial services would be held in the Winter Garden theater on Sunday. Following the services at the theater, the Legionnaires, auxiliary and Jamestown squadron, Sons of the American Legion, would hold brief services at Soldiers' Circle, Lakeview Cemetery. Commander George E. Bergquist and Mrs. Thomas M. Clarke, president of the auxiliary, would place wreaths on the World War memorial.
50 Years Ago
In 1962, Rep. Charles E. Goodell of Jamestown nailed down his second full term in Congress the previous day by capturing more than double the number of votes of his democratic opponent, T. Joseph Lynch of Andover. The GOP congressman swept his home county of Chautauqua by an unofficial tally of 30,835 against a total of 15,338 for Lynch. Although he had been a strong winner in previous elections, it was apparent that Goodell grew even stronger with the results of yesterday's election, GOP leaders said.
Sheriff Charles C. McCloskey Jr., had assigned several more men to assist in the investigation of the vandalism at Notre Dame du Lac at Bemus Point in order to speed the apprehension of the vandals. The main building and garage were heavily damaged Saturday by stones. Sheriff McCloskey announced he ordered these men to assist Deputy William Waite, who conducted the preliminary investigation. Meanwhile, the Rev. H.T. Seymour, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, who was overseer of the place, said further investigation disclosed the vandals also damaged the small chapel, adjacent to the garage.
25 Years Ago
In 1987, when Sven Johansson became tired of sharing his last name with 378,000 Swedes, he asked to change it. So had thousands of other Johanssons, Peterssons, and Svenssons - names so common that mix-ups were inevitable. The Stockholm, Sweden, telephone book had 48 pages of Anderssons. To avoid confusion, people could have their occupations listed next to their name. Each year, about 4,000 people in Sweden applied to the Patent and Registration Board to change at least one of their names. Over the last few decades, the number of Johanssons had fallen from 5 percent to 3.7 percent of the population.
The girl in the palm of King Kong's hand was in the Jamestown area and she was still very interested in the performing arts. Fay Wray made 77 feature films and in 67 of them she had the female lead but America would always remember her as the screaming blonde carried to the top of the Empire State Building by the great ape himself. Miss Wray was staying in Warren, where her full-length play The Meadowlark was being produced by the Library Theatre's Autumn Playhouse. She had made a number of appearances in the area, including a reception at Jamestown Community College. Although 80 years old, the actress was energetic and quick.