Years Ago

This column is a revitalized weekly addition to the paper.  The following moments in history are selected, researched, and edited by Skaneateles High School students enrolled in Kate Hardy’s 10th grade Honors English class. For the next school year they hope to celebrate the past and remember the days from years ago. Thank you to the Skaneateles Library and the Historical Society for providing the Press archives.

20 Years

… According to the National Conference of State Legislators, 33 out of the 50 states have legalized medical marijuana as of Jan. 2, 2018, and are actively using it on patients. Patients that are prescribed medical marijuana may have conditions such as AIDS, cancers, or chronic illnesses. Although there is little controversy around medical marijuana use today, 20 years ago there was still much debate regarding the prescription of it. Medical marijuana was said to lessen negative side effects, but cause short term memory loss among other consequences which is what people are skeptical about. Medical marijuana has many benefits for patients suffering from pain and can even help with anxiety. Now legislators have shifted to the debate of recreational use of marijuana. According to Vox.com, 11 states have legalized recreational marijuana. Has the acceptance of medical marijuana paved the way for recreational marijuana legalization?

40 Years

… the ice rink in Austin Park had been remodeled.  This project required $112,000, but the village surpassed this amount and had no problem coming up with the funds for the construction of the Austin Park Rink.  In fact, a total of 908 shares of common stock in Welch-Allyn, worth about $50,000, were donated to this rink by William Allyn Sr.  This was a significant donation, one large enough to have the next ice rink, built in 2002 in the community center, named after him.  Now, there are two functioning ice rinks in town, both housed in the Skaneateles YMCA: the William G Allyn Rink, and the Duke Schneider Rink, which was completed in 2016.  These ice rinks are constantly being used today, by the community and sports clubs.  The William Allyn Rink is home of the Skaneateles High School Varsity Hockey team, who claimed the title of New York State Champions in 2015.  Along with having an ice rink named in his honor, William Allyn was president of Welch-Allyn, a major medical device company.  All-in-all, William Allyn has left an impactful legacy for current and future residents of Skaneateles that will not soon be forgotten.

60 Years

… the Skaneateles Press issued an article titled “Personal and Social Items” that detailed some of the lives of people in the town of Skaneateles. Two such people highlighted in the article were Robert and John Waterbury who spent Christmas with their mother on East Genesee Street. Many contributors to this column spent the holidays similarly to the Waterbury brothers, whereas others had much more adventurous holidays traveling to places like Toronto, Florida, and Arizona. The Norris family welcomed home their daughter Emily from a life-changing semester in South Africa. However you spent the season, we, as contributors to the Press, hope you had a happy holiday and wish you the best in the New Year.

80 Years

… the Skaneateles Press published an ad for Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, an herbal remedy made specifically for women that suffer from nerves. The writer claimed that the wholesome herbs in the compound would calm your shrieking nerves, tone up your system, and help to lessen distress. Anxiety has been a large and growing problem in our world. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), 40 million Americans over the age of 18 are affected by anxiety. This is roughly 18 percent of our country’s population. If you believe you may be suffering with some form of anxiety, make sure to talk to a professional to get the proper care.

100 Years

…The Democrat, which was the equivalent to the Skaneateles Press a century ago, published an article that explained an outbreak of fleas infecting poultry, specifically roosters. Contact between poultry and other animals facilitated the spread of fleas’ eggs. In 2015, a similar issue occurred where chickens were banned from the New York State Fair, due to the fear of spreading a virus that had killed millions of birds in the United States that year (newyorkupstate.com). One preventative measure that poultry owners can take to protect their birds is to check birds for fleas periodically, and if roosters do become infected, separate the affected birds from healthy birds.