Years Ago
This week’s column was researched and written by Kenneth Byrne, Colin Cox and Erin Guthrie.
10 Years Ago
… from June 25 Mrs. Buff and Mr. Benjamin’s fifth grade classes celebrated the start to summer and end to the 2008 school year. They started off their day by walking into the village of Skaneateles and having a nice breakfast together at Johnny Angels. After their breakfast they then walked down the pier and fished together to get a jump start on their summer. Today, the fifth grade classes and many others celebrate the end of the school year with parties in class and even going on field trips, such as Sea Breeze. This way, the children get a jumpstart to their summer and get to celebrate the warm weather at the end of the school year. Skaneateles Schools are constantly finding new and fun ways to celebrate the successes of the school year and the beginning of the summer.
25 Years Ago
… The Skaneateles Press published an article announcing the beginning of another year of summer band concerts. The 1993 program consisted of a year of patriotic music and sing-along songs. Similar to today, concerts were held each Friday night in the gazebo at Clift Park surrounding Skaneateles Lake. After decades of summer concerts in the park, they have come to be a tradition for many, and a lasting symbol of the community. The sounds of pleasant, well-performed music combined with the view of a beautiful lake can create an enjoyable night for people of all ages.
50 Years Ago
… on the week of June 27, an advertisement for the Boy Scouts of Skaneateles and Scout Troop 161 was published. This article alerted the people of Skaneateles that the Boy Scouts would be selling flares for the Fourth of July, starting June 29th and ending July 4th, near Fennel Street and along West Lake Road. The selling of flares is still a tradition carried on today by the Boy Scouts of Skaneateles, but Boy Scouts are changing. For 108 years, Boy Scouts has been a group for only boys while Girl Scouts was an option for girls. In May of 2018, a decision was made to remove the word “boy” from Boy Scouts and change it to Scouts BSA. This change is being made because of the addition of girls. This obviously has created much controversy among the people of the U.S. Some believe that this destroys the roots and purpose of Boy Scouts and others believe that this is necessary to be more inclusive.
75 Years Ago
In 1943, an article about a sudden increase in juvenile offenses around the nation, specifically in boys, was published in The Skaneateles Press. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover expressed his immediate concern based on the understanding that these offenses “can prove as serious a menace to the success of America’s war effort as deliberate, enemy inspired sabotage.” Hoover furthermore urged parents, families, churches, schools, and youth organizations to provide constructive outlets for American youth to expend their energies. The article described Skaneateles as being “free from the hoodlum element…” 75 years later, it’s reassuring to know Skaneateles has not changed much.
100 Years Ago
… on June 27, an informative article about the consumption of whales, dolphins, and porpoises was published in the Skaneateles Press. The article talked about how the Bureau of Fisheries was advocating the consumption of whale, dolphin, and porpoise meat as a delicacy. These “cetaceans” were placed on the market in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The meat was soon put on the menus of hotels and restaurants, and dolphin and porpoise meat were turned into canned foods which were highly regarded by all who consumed it. By contrast, not only is dolphin meat no longer widely consumed in this country, but great efforts are being taken to protect the species. Since dolphins swim close to schools of tuna and close to the surface of the water, tuna fisherman use the dolphins as signs to alert them to schools of tuna swimming below the dolphins. Precautions are being taken to prevent the dolphins from getting caught in the nets, meant for catching tuna. Packages of tuna are now labeled as “dolphin safe” so consumers know that steps have been taken to prevent dolphin fatalities during tuna fishing.
