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 freshmen of Skaneateles High School started using a new computer program called Choices to explore job opportunities. This was important for the students because, as ninth graders, it was the first time they were thinking about their futures in a school environment. Today Skaneateles High School uses the website Naviance to help guide students through future decisions. According to the website Study Breaks, about 20 to 50 percent of students entering college have an undecided major, and approximately 75 percent change their major at least once before graduation. Naviance incorporates college research and admissions in addition to the career exploration that Choices also offered. In this way students are more involved in making decisions that will determine their future education and career. With such a wide array of options, Naviance helps navigate students through important decisions as they begin to lead their independent lives.

40 Years Ago
…a committee appointed by Town Supervisor Charles Major Jr. established a plan to make a memorial plaque for the Skaneateles veterans who fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. It was determined that the plaque was to be placed in Shotwell Park alongside the already standing World War I memorial. Major mentioned that there were currently memorials for Skaneateles veterans involved in the Spanish American War, Civil War, World War I, and World War II but not one for the more recent Asian conflicts. The village put aside $500 for the cause and hoped that the townspeople would continue to contribute. Today, the stone monument stands as discussed, in Shotwell Park. The town of Skaneateles continues to be motivated to build more plaques for residents involved in any current or future conflicts.

60 Years Ago
…Researchers had identified the correct number of hours of sleep for “everybody.” George S. Stevenson, of the National Association for Mental Health, thought that six hours of sleep was required “to be mentally healthy.” However, studies today say different. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it is suggested that children ages 5-12 get 10 to 13 hours, and kids ages 13-18 get eight to ten hours. In the past, the number of recommended hours of sleep was the same regardless of age. Now, we know that the right number of hours of sleep varies greatly between age groups. Even adults have a higher number of recommended hours of sleep than they did in the past. Young to middle-aged healthy adults are advised to sleep seven to nine hours each night. Even though we have the information on the right number of hours, not enough people are sleeping as long as they should. More than a third of American adults are not getting the right amount of sleep on a regular basis. Do you think you are apart of the third of adults not getting enough sleep? For more information on this topic, go to cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html.

80 Years Ago
…the Skaneateles Press published an advertisement for the Auburn Schine Theatre. On it was listed the movies showing at the time including, “Gone With the Wind,” “The Fighting 69th,” and “Charlie McCarthy Detective.” Now theaters are playing movies like “Little Women,” “Spies in Disguise,” and “Cats.” The Auburn Schine Theatre opened in 1938 and is still in existence, although has been in need of major repair for decades. In the year 2000, the theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, the theatre was recently bought by Bryan Bowers of East Syracuse, the founder and president of Asbestos & Environmental Consulting Corporation and Bowers Development. After receiving a few grants for the project, he is working on restoring the theatre to its original beauty.

100 Years Ago
… The Democrat published numerous advertisements that are very interesting to look back on. Digging deeper into articles we are perplexed on the items we found that were for sale. For example, “bigger, better, brighter” goldfish that you could get for free with the purchase of cough syrup. There was another advertisement offering “ever sharp pencils,” and one selling an international tractor disk, as well as one stating that drinking whiskey would help with the flu. There were also strange warnings posted throughout the paper, saying, “If the boys that killed my two ducks Tuesday afternoon do not come and settled by Monday they will be prosecuted, as they are known,” and another warning against flattery, stating, “‘Flattery,’ said Uncle Eben, is generally a scheme foh easy money makin’, wifout even goin’ to de trouble of fixin’ up a gold brick or a satchel of green goods” [sic] .Today there continue to be many advertisements that are entertaining to read. We found some strange job advertisements from craigslist, such as one “looking for a beard mentor”. There was also another one looking for ghosts who were surfing the web for a “documentary style program” as well as one looking for a “superhero sidekick”. Finally there was one for a “dragon slayer” that stated there was no payment, “dragon slaying is its own reward.” As readers can see, people have been using public forums in order to advertise oddities for over a hundred years.