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
… The Skaneateles Press published an article reminiscing eventful moments of 1999. Since it was the end of the millenium, decade, and year, many indelible events were listed to honor the contributions and achievements of Skaneateles and its neighboring towns. Ranging from the St. John’s Episcopal Church celebrating its 175th anniversary in March to Welch Allyn opening the Lodge in August, the article was filled with nostalgia as it expounded upon the significance 1999 had on the lives of numerous people. What made it even more evocative was how all those contributions and events are still evident today. For example, the article discusses the 21st annual boat show, an event that has provided Skaneateles with entertainment for the past 41 years. Another memory from 20 years ago was the Skaneateles High School students winning 1st place in the regional competition for Envirothon – a trivia-based competition on all things environment related – in Onondaga County. Very recently our 2019 Skaneateles Envirothon team placed first in the regional competition again. While many traditions have continued from 1999 to 2019, there are still new traditions made every year. This year, West Genesee Central School District’s elementary schools all joined together to host a special olympics. They had many events and 59 participants from four different elementary schools. Perhaps 20 years from now, there will be a “Years Ago” column talking about new traditions like the special olympics and past traditions like the boat show continuing on.
40 Years Ago
…Local Bowling Scores were published from Dec. 16 – Dec. 26, with five different leagues listed. Today, local bowling alleys include Cedar House Lanes, Marcellus Lanes, Falcons Lanes, and Rainbow Lanes. In the 1980s, the most popular forms of entertainment included bowling, casinos, the arcade, shopping at the mall, and watching television. Today, the most popular form of entertainment worldwide is video games. Other popular activities include watching movies and TV, reading books, and watching sporting events. According to marketwatch.com, in 2004, Americans spent $705.9 billion on entertainment. It costs $13.96 to buy a movie ticket for an adult; however, at Marcellus Lanes, one bowling game costs $2.50, so an entire family could bowl one game for the price of a single movie ticket. If you’re watching your spending after the holidays, consider a trip to your local bowling alley as a cost-efficient form of family entertainment.
60 Years Ago
…After its invention in 1973, the cell phone has become a must-have item. In 1960, it was reported that the average American used their home phone 472 times a year. 71 million phones were used in the United States. Today, 96% of Americans have cell phones, totalling 327 million phones. The average American will spend 1,971 hours on their phone every year. Per day, Americans will check their phones anywhere from 80 to 150 times. The constant use of cell phones can lead to eye strain, trouble sleeping, and even increased illness- cell phones carry 10 times more bacteria than toilet seats. These problems can be prevented by limiting your cell phone use and conversing with the people around you instead of those far away.
80 Years Ago
… On the last week of December 1939, The Skaneateles Press featured, amongst many other news stories and advertisements, an entire page dedicated to the next weeks’ radio program schedule. This came as a surprise to us because we had never seen a radio schedule in a newspaper before. Today, radio is seen as a dying media form; it’s still prominent, but it’s slowly fading into irrelevance. Today, it would make virtually no sense to include a radio schedule in a newspaper; but in 1939, radio was in its prime. It was the main form of entertainment, and it would retain this spot until the rise of television. But now, even the television market is falling behind, as streaming services are on the rise. This begs the question, what comes next? What will be the radio of the 2020s? Some people believe that podcasts will fill that role. Podcasts are similar to radio programs in that both incorporate long pieces of entertainment that are able to be digested in a leisurely way. The difference is that podcasts can be listened to anywhere, at any time. But what does that mean? What will the future of podcasts look like? Will there be podcast plays? Will FDR’s fireside chat be reincarnated in the form of a presidential podcast? Only time will tell, but it seems certain that the podcast will have a large impact on the 2020s, just as the radio did 80 years ago.
100 Years Ago
… there was an article in The Democrat describing a cold front that was predicted to pass over the entire continent in January of 1920. The weekly publication of Foster’s Reliable Weather Forecast informed Skaneateles residents of upcoming storms and weather fronts. While today, weather forecasts can easily be found on many TV channels every hour, back in 1920, weather reports could only be found in newspapers, and in our town that meant once a week. With modern technologies residents can now choose from several sources either on TV, their phones, and most other electronic devices. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which was founded in October 1970 is a major collecting source of weather data. One common technology used by the NOAA is satellites.The NOAA’s three satellites are orbiting a million miles away from Earth. The backbone of the NOAA’s operation is their supercomputers. The supercomputers can make quadrillions of calculations per second which makes them almost 6 million times more powerful than an average desktop computer. Observational data collected by tools and technologies like satellites are fed into computerized NWS numerical forecast models. These models make equations with past and new weather data to help guide meteorologists. Not only are weather forecasts available with more frequency they’re also far more accurate.