25 YEARS AGO — 1987
▶ Plattsburgh State's Dr. Thomas Rumney, assistant professor of geography in the Center for Earth and Environmental Science, received a grant from Canada supporting his research on "Canadian Economic Impacts on the Northern Borderland of N.Y. State: A Geographical Inquiry," which takes a look at the economic impact of Canadians on northern New York counties such as Clinton, Essex, Franklin and St. Lawrence.
▶ The proposal to ban smoking from city-owned buildings — backed by Mayor Carlton Rennell — deemed smoking harmful to the public health and welfare, a fire hazard, and a nuisance. The proposal's purpose was to limit smoking to designated areas and would present a $100 fine to violators. The proposal was snuffed out by the Common Council.
▶ Ever wondered the history of Plattsburgh street names? Books of local history yielded the following harvest of trivia: Broad Street used to be South Street until Nathanial Platt donated land to "broaden" it. Durkee Street used to be River Street, but was renamed after Sheldon Durkee, a soldier who captured three British soldiers after the Battle of Plattsburgh. Main Mill Street was actually Maine Mill, after a Maine paper company built a mill there, until someone misspelled it.
▶ The Rouses Point-Champlain Chamber of Commerce planned a Winter Carnival Ball for the 14th of February in Rouses Point. Tickets had officially gone on sale, and were available at four locations in the Northern Tier for $12.50.
50 YEARS AGO — 1962
▶ The remains of two of the four missing crew members of the crashed B-47 jet bomber have been identified. The bodies of Pilot Lt. Rodney D. Bloomgren and Co-Pilot Lt. Melvin Spencer have been shipped to their individual homes. The Air Force has listed the remaining two crew members — Lt. Albert W. Kandetski and Kenneth R. Jensen — as officially dead, though their bodies have yet to be identified.
▶ The Town of Plattsburgh Planning Board is searching for an 8-to-10-acre stretch of beach on Cumberland Head. The Planning Board is hoping to create a beach strictly for town residents and is still awaiting approval for federal master-plan aid.
▶ Nearly 40 gallons of gasoline spilled onto Marion and Court streets after the valve on the rear tank of a gasoline delivery truck jammed and the gasoline that was being delivered to the Gulf Service station leaked out. The Plattsburgh Fire Department was called in to wash down the streets.
▶ Mrs. Lloyd Jock, a Malone resident, gave birth just a day after losing her other three children in a farmhouse fire. She had suffered first degree burns in the fire and was under sedation, unaware of the death of her children. Both her and the new baby are in good condition.
75 YEARS AGO — 1937
▶ Fire departments from Malone to Fort Covington fought a Trout River blaze of unknown origin. The fire caused $10,000 damage to the Lennark Smellie store, which is in Canada, and the empty Hames McFadden store in New York.
▶ The body of Saranac Lake woman Mrs. Henry Methe, 46, was found deep in the woods by a group of boys. Her husband had reported her missing, saying that she had been melancholy and left the house. He assumed she had been staying with friends. The coroner said the death was due to exposure.
▶ Ray Harrington of Edwards won two contests at the St. Lawrence County woodchoppers' championship held in Canton.
▶ Wrecking crews from Rouses Point worked to get the Laurentian, a Montreal-bound express train, back on its course after it derailed in Wadhams. No one was injured, though the train arrived in Plattsburgh three hours later than scheduled. The cause of the derailment is unknown.
100 YEARS AGO — 1912
▶ District Attorney Parsons of Dunkirk, N.Y., has been appointed foreman of the Tinsmith Department at the Clinton County Prison and will receive an annual salary of $1,200.
▶ District Deputy Patrick J. Tierney has received a letter from the committee selected by the Supreme Counsel of the Knights of Columbus stating that he is to select the meeting place for the National Convention. Delegates from every state in the union — Canada, Mexico, and Cuba — will attend. It is hoped that Tierney will choose to hold the convention here in Plattsburgh.
▶ Saranac Lake's speed-skating marvel Ed Lamy won two out of three races against Morris Wood at Saranac Lake.
▶ Patrons of the Plattsburgh Theater were in for a pleasant surprise, a new moving picture machine having been installed in the theater. The machine projected pictures on the screen as plainly as though they had been painted there.
— Compiled By Contributing Writer Kaitlyn Wait
