Years Ago

This column, contributed by Skaneateles Honors English students from the class of 2022, is written to connect the past to the present by revisiting articles from years ago. The students would like to thank the Skaneateles Historical Society for providing the archives and Eagle Newspapers for publishing their words.

20 Years Ago

…a student letter featured in The Skaneateles Press written by Stephen J. Bryant, a former Skaneateles Middle School student, covered the topic of gun safety locks. He wrote that gun locks are a necessity for the safety of everyone, especially children, so they cannot fire the gun on accident. Twenty years later, in 2019, the argument over gun safety continues. With hunting season approaching, be sure to use all safety precautions regarding guns. Always lock your guns in a secure area away from children and all ammunition, make sure they’re unloaded when you’re not using them, point the gun in a safe direction, keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot, and never aim the gun at anyone. By following these safety precautions, a great and secure hunting season is guaranteed.

40 Years Ago

On Oct. 1, 1979, Pope John Paul II visited Boston, Massachusetts. Among the crowd was Skaneateles resident Mrs. Veronica Tokarz. Mrs. Tokarz, of Polish nationality, felt immense pride to see someone of her country representing the Roman Catholic Church. Today’s Pope, Pope Francis of Argentina, is focusing on the importance of caring for the environment. According to Pope Francis, climate change is the greatest threat our Earth has ever seen. In the Pope’s published work, Laudato si’, he calls for global action against environmental degradation. If you are interested in joining the Pope in his stand against climate change, visit greenpeace.org and donate to any one of their numerous causes centered around environmental conservation.

60 Years Ago

Les Harvey, the spokesman for a group of local ski enthusiasts including Charles Hinds, H. Bradford Arnold, John  A. Berning, Gordon Lipe, Donald Cross, A. S. Wikstrom, Siegfried Wuerslin, James Hyde, and Craig Bradley, announced that the group had purchased a hill in the Marietta area planning to turn it into a ski jump. Today, this ski jump is better known to the residents of Onondaga County as the Skaneateles Ski Hill. An article published in The Skaneateles Press 60 years ago today revealed plans to install a t-bar lift, lodge and refreshment stand, and probably a skating rink. Although the plans for the skating rink fell through, the Ski Hill is currently home to all of the other projects. For more information on prices, hours, year round activities, and upcoming events visit The Skaneateles Ski Hill website at skiskan.com.

80 Years Ago

… the Skaneateles High School offered a series of programs which brought outside entertainment into the school. The program highlighted in the Oct. 6 edition of the 1939 Press was a Mexican dancer who gave the students of the High School a better understanding of Mexican Culture. Other topics explored in the series were music, lectures, travel talks, science, and motion pictures. The assemblies were held in the morning and the public was allowed to watch with the Junior and Senior High students. While the school does not offer assemblies like this today, they do offer students opportunities to learn about career paths through a job shadowing program. While students can look into almost any job with the program, the fields that are explored the most often are Money Management, Graphic Design, Sports Medicine, Police Work, and Teaching. Opportunities like these help students make the jump from school to the real world.

100 Years Ago

… The Democrat published an article regarding the illustrious New York specialist, Dr. Swinburne, who had devoted over twenty years in pursuit of formulating an advanced treatment to cure all kinds of stomach diseases. This treatment was so beneficial towards human existence that the disquisition went on to elucidate the possible dangers that the world might face if not being fortunate enough to gain it, declaring that this treatment had “evolved relief for many sufferers of the most common and dreaded ills of mankind.” This is slightly questionable because stomach diseases have never been a massive threat to human existence and there is still no panacea developed to wipe away these illnesses from the face of the world. The only way to become healthy again is to merely make alterations in your lifestyle. Dr. Swinburne’s “miracle cure” is obviously an over exaggeration deluding our brains towards something that is non-existent. Unclear to what the treatment method was, this was seemingly just an advertisement, provoking us to wonder whether this was all reality, or just a mere hyperbole. Unfortunately, this breach of people’s trust still exists today and has regrettably even been amplified, especially when pictures can be doctored and false statements or propaganda can be spread easily. One has to thank the writer of this article for incorporating all those embellishments, for that is what taught us to dig deeper into the actual story before finally giving credence to it.