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
… the 70th anniversary of the Lightning Regatta was celebrated at the Skaneateles Country Club. The Lightning Regatta features many boats including classic wood boats and antiques. Besides having some cool boats, they also provide information on boat upkeep and restoration. Every ten years the lightning boats return to their home and celebrate with races on the north end of the lake. The lightning class sailboat was invented in Skaneateles 80 years ago and is now an Olympic class racing boat. This year the Skaneateles Country Club will once again host the celebration starting on July 6 through July 8. This special event only occurs every 10 years so don’t miss out.
25 Years Ago
… the organization, Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York, held a fundraiser called “The Softball Extravaganza”. At this event, they invited many NFL football players to play in a game of softball in hopes of attracting people to join and raise money. One of the NFL players that attended was the Falcons’ very own Tim Green, who lives in Skaneateles today. The Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York offers services to children and adults with learning disabilities by providing advocacy, programs, and educational resources. On Monday, June 25th, a golf tournament will be held at Beaver Meadows Golf Club in order to support the organization. Lunch will start at 10:30am while the actual tournament will start at noon. This is a new event in replace of the softball “extravaganza”. If you are interested in participating and supporting the organization, find more information on the launchcny.org website to sign up a team today.
50 Years Ago
… there was an article in the Skaneateles Press alerting readers of the upcoming school district budget vote and election. In the 1968 election, scheduled for June 12, Robert Van Order was running for re-election on the school board. The article said that all participants running for the school board had to sign a petition of 25 voters to be in the running. The petition also had to specifically state how long the candidate wanted their term to be and the position they were running for. The Budget vote, on June 11, was to authorize spending $18,000 more than the regular budget for elementary transportation. Voters were also asked to approve the buying of two new school buses. Yesterday, May 15, the Skaneateles School District had its budget and school board elections. Voters made decisions on several topics, including the general fund budget, student transportation, and the capital reserve fund. The money that could be gained if approved by voters would go to replacing buses, updating special education, expanding world languages, providing elementary students with more STEM opportunities, like coding and music technology courses, and improving school safety and security.
75 Years Ago
… there was an article in the Skaneateles Press about women helping out with the war effort during World War II. Skaneateles women contributed food items including milk and other farm goods. Training centers were issued in order to teach different skills to back the war effort. The centers trained women in different fields such as finance, technology, medicine, and agriculture. The organization was abbreviated as WAAC, American Women’s Answer to the Axis. The organization attracted attention from female residents of Skaneateles. Women were trained to take over men’s jobs during World War ll. By filling the jobs and needs left by the men who had to serve in the war, communities were able to continue to flourish due to women’s contributions to society.
100 Years Ago
… an article was published announcing which elementary students had received honor roll in April. As we read this article, two very intriguing components stuck out to us; the first being the requirements for honor roll, and the second being the names of the students. In 1918, students were on honor roll if they had an average of seventy-five or higher, and were not absent or tardy over the course of the month. This has changed significantly since then. Now, the requirement is that students have an overall average of at least eighty-five percent, and luckily for us, there is no penalty against absences. In regards to names, some that appeared in the article included Wilbur, Mildred, Asaph, Olin, Muriel, and Forest. Although these names were popular in 1918, they are not commonly used today. This year, the names at the top of the popularity chart are Noah, Liam, William, Emma, Olivia, and Ava. However, some parents want their children to have unique names and are therefore sometimes reverting to more old-fashioned names, so be prepared for the comeback of Mildred, Wilbur and more!
