Years Ago

These moments in history are selected and edited by students enrolled in Kate Hardy’s tenth grade Honors English class. Thank you to the Skaneateles Library and the Historical Society for providing the Press Archives.

10 Years Ago

Ten years ago, Crouse Hospital Auxiliary hosted a fashion show in order to raise money for the patients and events held at Crouse Hospital. The fashion show featured creations made by Syracuse University’s school of Design students. These creations were made from recycled men’s suits, tablecloths, and wool sweaters and were presented at the Nicholas J. Pirro Conservation center. Although the fashion show no longer exists, the team of Crouse Hospital Auxiliary volunteers, still work to support the hospital to this day. Crouse Hospital Auxiliary hosts numerous fundraising events. The most important is the Lights of Love campaign. Lights of love is an event in which the Crouse clock tower is lit up with 3,000 white lights in honor of or in memory of a loved one. This past holiday season marked the 30th anniversary of the campaign, which was successful thanks to plenty of volunteers and donors. The proceeds were enough to replace some critical medical equipment at the Pomeroy Emergency Services Department at Crouse Hospital. If you would like to volunteer please go to crouse.org/give/auxiliary/ and join other volunteers in helping the patients of Crouse Hospital.

25 Years Ago

Twenty five years ago there was an article published in the Skaneateles Press recognizing the students from Skaneateles and Marcellus who won awards for their artwork and writing in the annual Scholastic National Art contest. The artwork that was entered in the contest was displayed at SUNY Oswego on January 24, 1993. Students from Marcellus High School and Skaneateles Central Schools won Gold Key and Special Awards for their exceptional creativity. The Scholastics competition was founded in 1927 and is still going on to this day. This year, Skaneateles students once again submitted art and writing pieces into the competition. The artwork is being displayed at SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College and is able to be viewed until March 3rd.

50 Years Ago

The Skaneateles Schools’ lunch menu for the week was posted in the Skaneateles Press. It featured meat everyday with mainly American and German meals. The school served frankfurters, beef pinwheels, turkey, and hamburgers with a variation of sides. Now, in the Middle and High School the cafeteria serves more diverse and at times healthier options like tacos, popcorn chicken, salads, and spaghetti with sides such as assorted fruit and veggies with dip. Also, they now have a snack bar which sells yogurts, chips, granola bars, and much more.

75 Years Ago

Seventy five years ago the Skaneateles Press published an article about the new physical exams that 18-37-year-old draft participants would face. First they underwent a mental exam, which determined whether or not they were capable of handling all that accompanies fighting on the battlefield. If they passed, they went on to take the new physical exam which was created by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. It was more rigorous and harder to pass only leaving the most physically capable to be drafted. According to artofmanliness.com, once they were enlisted, the army assessed their ability to do squat-jumps, sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, and a 300 yard run. Physical capability is important in many aspects and is still an issue we face today. Earlier this year there was controversy over whether or not student athletes in seventh and eighth grade should be allowed to play up a level or if they should be forced to stay with their age group. The current system in place includes 5 requirements, the last of which being participation in a physical fitness test and earning a rating in the 85th percentile for their age in four of the five fitness tests. If the student does not earn a qualifying score on the first try, they have two more opportunities to earn a qualifying score. If the student does not earn the required score after the third attempt, the process is over, and they will not be offered a tryout. The student athletes of today have to go through testing similar to that of the men drafted into World War II!

100 Years Ago

One hundred years ago, there was an article published in the Skaneateles Press about High School students assisting with agricultural work. At this time, the Board of Regents voted to allow high school students to leave school early during the spring to help work on farms. In order to leave school, the students needed to earn a scholarship. This was the second year that this had been offered by the school. In 1918, there was a demand for more people to work on farms, because the United States needed to increase food production, in order to fund the war effort. Today, students can only leave school with parent permission or if they are attending a BOCES program. BOCES programs are very different from the farming program offered in 1918. In fact, BOCES offers coursework in a variety of career paths, and focuses on project based learning.