Question: The bewhiskered gentleman seen above was no stranger to change. In 1850 he and his wife brought their five young children across the Atlantic from England to New York State where they settled in the town of DeWitt. Two years later, with yet another child in tow, they moved further west to Lysander, where they set up housekeeping in the log house seen here. Do you know anything about this man and his family, where they lived or what they did?
Last week’s answer: Last week’s photo was taken in October of 1975. The subjects are the newly elected officers of the Baldwinsville Lions Club. They are, left to right: Samuel Murrow, third vice-president; William Jenks, second vice-president; Harlow Kisselstein, first vice-president; Willard Gunther, past president; and Chester Smith, president. Not present for the photo were secretary Wesley Gridley and treasurer Milton Cooper.
The new officers are examining a proclamation issued by President Gerald Ford declaring that October 15 of each year would be observed as “White Cane Safety Day.” The president’s proclamation stated: “The white cane is universally recognized as one of the simplest yet most effective aids to the independent mobility of the blind.”
Dedicated to community service, Baldwinsville’s Lions Club continues to support efforts to improve conditions for the blind and visually impaired. In addition to this national effort, the local organization has developed recreation resources at Community Park, maintains the Lions Clubhouse and sponsors Camp Hickory, a specialized day camp for youngsters dealing with diabetes.
In 1948 the Lions Club was hailed as “Baldwinsville’s newest service club” as it received its charter that October. Three hundred guests were expected at the event, which was held at the Masonic temple at the Four Corners. Glenn Goodfellow, Sr., served as toastmaster, and Mayor Dalton Brooks welcomed the new club. The ceremonial activities, dinner and entertainment were followed by dancing with music provided by Gus Rowe’s Ramblers.
Several readers checked in to identify the men in the photo, but none could get everyone. Terry Miller picked out Chester Smith, while Rheta Jenks got Smith and her ex-husband William and correctly guessed at Sam Murrow and Harlow Kisselstein.
Contact Editor Sarah Hall at [email protected] or leave a message at 434-8889 ext. 310 with your guess by 5 p.m. Friday (please leave the information in the message; we are not generally able to return calls regarding History Mystery responses). If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo, your name and guess will appear in next week’s Messenger, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
