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 Ago

… a short blurb was published in the Skaneateles Press, called “This Week in History”. It bulleted several important events that had occurred the second week of April in previous years. Three of the featured events included the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (4/14/1865), the sinking of the Titanic (4/15/1912), and Paul Revere alerting the American revolutionaries of the British (4/18/1775). Since the publication in 1999, there have been a few more noteworthy events which have occurred in the middle of April. In 2013, same-sex marriage was legalized in New Zealand. New Zealand was the first country in Oceania, and the fifteenth overall to legalize same-sex marriages. In the same year, two earth-like planets were discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62. These planets are possibly habitable planets and are much bigger than the size of Earth. The star in their solar system has less mass than that of our sun, which means it can live to about 30 billion years without dying out.

40 Years Ago

… an article was published recounting the experiences 51 local teens had after completing a babysitter training course. In the training sessions, participants were taught etiquette and job responsibilities of babysitting, fire safety, first aid, infant care, games, and how to cope with children’s behavior. The course even had two infants that acted as models. Today, the Red Cross offers babysitting courses at community centers and online that can be taken at a participant’s own convenience. Parents: are you looking to get your child a job this summer? Many opportunities are available through Red Cross affiliated courses such as babysitting and lifeguarding. Such courses can lead to lucrative summer work as well as provide invaluable life skills. You can find out more information at redcross.org/take-a-class.

60 Years Ago

… an article was published about a nationwide alert that Skaneateles would take part in. A warning siren would sound at 11:30 a.m. and the drill would officially start at the sound of the second siren at 1:30 p.m. which would halt all motor traffic while pedestrians took cover. This took place in the middle of the Cold War with the threat of nuclear warfare at hand. Skaneateles Central Schools also participated and had the students walk out into the halls with their heads against the walls. These frightening images may seem like a thing of the past, of a Cold War that has long thawed. However, at least one country from the Cold War remains completely frozen, and seems to reawaken the themes of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other such nuclear close-calls. Especially in recent years, North Korea has made it known in startling fashion that they have nuclear capabilities. The first nuclear crisis with North Korea occurred in the early 1990’s, and, according to a Brookings article, “…was defused when the Clinton administration…a deal that halted a programme which might have produced by now enough plutonium for scores of nuclear bombs.” The scare resurfaced two years ago, when the North Korean dictator began flaunting their nuclear developments with tests and pugnacious comments. President Trump notoriously went so far as to say that it was the “calm before the storm.” But recent summits with North Korea have taken place. At first, promises were made that pointed towards denuclearization. However, when Trump brought up photographs of testing sites in North Korea at the most recent meeting with Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, the talks were suspended, leaving the future once again doubtful. Perhaps the students of Skaneateles High School may be posing once again with their hands shielding their heads.

80 Years Ago

On April 14, 1939, the Skaneateles Press published an announcement for an event at the local library. Readers were encouraged to visit and explore the collection of newly available picture books. New releases included ‘Pig-O-Wee,’ ‘Casey joins the circus,’ and ‘The F-u-n book.’ This event took the place during the weekly ‘Story Hour.’ Libraries today still hold events designed to encourage readers and promote literature. On April 25 bestselling author, Laurie Halse Anderson, writer of the young adult novel Speak among others, will be visiting the OCC campus for the OCC Foundation’s annual Celebration of Success. Laurie Halse Anderson will speak about her experience as an author and how her work has affected the world. Tickets to The Celebration of Success are $50 each and can be purchased through the College’s website. More information about the event can be discovered by contacting the OCC Foundation.

100 Years Ago
… the Ford motor company had recently announced its prices for various models of new cars, and The Chamberlain Garage, an authorized Ford Agency and Service Station located in Skaneateles, advertised these cars in The Democrat. Ford’s cheapest model at the time was the Runabout, which sold for $500, and the most expensive model was the Sedan, costing $775. All of Ford’s models mentioned in the ad were priced significantly below average; in 1919 the average price for a new car was $826. For comparison, new Ford cars today range in price from the $14,000 Fiesta to the $75,000 Expedition Platinum. However, Ford makes other, more expensive cars for racing and commercial use. Back in 1919, cars came with many features that we now take for granted, such as that year’s newest innovation, the electric starter. The top speed in 1919 was 40 mph, which today wouldn’t be fast enough to drive on most roads. Automotive technology has greatly advanced over the past 100 years