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What’s A ‘Studshaker’?

In February 1852, two brothers began making horse-drawn wagons and buggies in South Bend, Indiana. They eventually transitioned to building automobiles, including electric and gas-powered vehicles. Nearly 160 years later my family attended an auto show in Western New York state where we experienced one of those vehicles for the very first time. Its shiny red paint, clean lines, and chrome trim, reflecting the sun and highlighting its recently waxed exterior, caught the attention of many onlookers. While exploring the car’s meticulous craftsmanship, its make, year, and model ...

Lessons Learned On A Trip To Ohio

Recently, we took a road trip to Ohio with another couple. It was a good break from the winter doldrums. We stopped to see old friends, renew old memories and revisit old, familiar places. Ohio seems like it will never end. There are places of beautiful rolling hills, but then there are the seemingly endless, flat plains of the great craton...the corn belt that spans across several states in the Midwest. We drove for three days and never left the State of Ohio. One of the rewards of seeing old friends is that it is easy. Though you may not have seen them for several years, you ...

Lake Alliance Needs More Than A ‘Cone Of Silence’

Remember the television show Get Smart with Don Adams and Barbara Feldon and their “cone of silence” which they used for top secret conversations? Recall that it never really worked. Our own Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance has unsuccessfully attempted to operate in such a “cone” for several years now. Readers may recall the Post-Journal editorial of November 22, 2025, which concluded: “It’s time for the Alliance’s failed closed meeting experiment to end.” That editorial addressed only one of the organizational and procedural defects preventing ...

Airport Commission Has Right Approach

Members of the Chautauqua County Airport Commission have the right approach on the pending Essential Air Services, or EAS, application to the federal government to resume commercial-air service at the Chautauqua County Jamestown airport. Patience. Patience. Patience. Their patience was evident at their March 11 meeting. The commission, as part of Chautauqua County government, supported a well-thought-out EAS application that includes everything it could reasonably be expected to include. The application was submitted in 2025. We all but knew this: It would take not many weeks ...

Something To Know About Trees

By Margot Russell Next time you are walking through a swath of trees, whether on a trail near Westfield or in the shady confines of your backyard, I want you to picture this: that the trees all live in their own small village, with rambunctious saplings playing the role of the village youngsters, the elder trees playing the stately kings and their court, and the newly established trees the princes waiting for their elders to fall so they can take their rightful place in the sunshine. And don’t believe for a second that the trees are inanimate and idol. There are dramas being played ...

Ah, The Luck Of The Irish

There are many celebrations of holidays where we gather with friends and party with strangers, depending on where we might be, that might involve special dress, special colors, special greetings, songs, and/or traditions. Themes are very important in the celebrations of these days. Some come with a day off from work or school, some become a little more excitable (rowdy?), but celebrating them makes for a very enjoyable time. This coming Tuesday, March 17, is one of those days. It’s the yearly celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, where we see many shamrocks, green clothes, festive ...