11 minute read
hiSTOrY
70 years ago – nov. 27, 1952
Robert Loomis, second mate of the “Yankee,” one of the young amateur crew under Commander Irving Johnson, U.S.N.R., which sailed on an 18-months cruise to the romantic “South Pacific” and other out-ofthe-way places around the world, will give his full color movie lecture at Cazenovia Central School assembly on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 10:35. From eight miles of film taken on this great expedition the film of “The World-Cruising Yankee” and others were culled and edited by Commander Johnson and Mr. Loomis. Mr. Loomis received his B.A. degree from Yale University in 1950, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Among the many yachting races in which he has participated are the Marblehead-Halifax in 1947, the NewportAnnapolis in 1948, the Rochester in 1949, the Bermuda in 1950. The “Yankee’s” amateur crew equipped with 30 cameras, diving gear and underwater photographic equipment spent a year and a half just looking for the odd places and excitement you will see in this modern epic adventure story.
65 years ago – nov. 28, 1957
Postmaster Hendrix today reemphasized to the citizens of Cazenovia, the need to shop and mail early this Christmas season, to speed the processing of Christmas mail. Mr. Hendrix cautioned that putting off mailing Christmas cards and parcels until the last moment results in an extremely heavy burden being placed on the postal employees and postal facilities of Cazenovia and slows up the processing of mail. Every facility of the local post office, he added, will be pressed into maximum service again this year so that the post office will be cleared of all Christmas mail that has been deposited in time for delivery by Dec. 25.
60 years ago – nov. 29, 1962
William S. Hults, chairman of the New York State Traffic Commission, has announced the recent issuance of the following orders by the commission which are on file with the secretary of state’s office: Madison County – Town of Cazenovia. Prohibited the standing or vehicles on the north side of Route US 20 between the village line and a point 1,058 feet west of the village line. Prohibited the standing of vehicles on the south side of Route US 20 between the village line and a point 898 feet west of the village line.
55 years ago – nov. 29, 1967
In what could be the mismatch of the century, the “Fearless Faculty” of Cazenovia Central School will contest the Harlem Astronauts in a game of basketball at the high school gymnasium on Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. Fortunately, the Astros play it for laughs as well as baskets, so the exhibition should be an orbiting good time for the spectators. The Harlem players are noted for their clowning, but also will provide a show of good basketball, featuring their trademark, clever ball handling. As their advance notices say, “there is always humor in seeing the other fellow get fooled.” The Astros top laughmakers are Wiley Briggs and Joe Joe Byers. Joe Parker is their ace shotmaker. This season, the Astros will travel 60,000 miles and play 200 games. They are shooting for a perfect record.
Jewl is a gem
By Donna newman
what can we say about miss Jewl? She’s truly a gem. you could say she’s a diamond in the “ruff.” She has a good heart and a gentle soul. She’s almost two years old, and came to the shelter when her family could no longer take care of her. She loves to play, she loves to learn, and she loves people. She also loves car rides. Because she’s so energetic, she would do best with older, respectful kids. like all dogs, she would benefit from training. She’s so pretty, and the best smile, and those ears – adorable! She loves helping out in the front office at the shelter and as much as we’ll miss her, she belongs in a loving home that can truly appreciate her winning ways. for more information about adoption, email frontdesk1@cnyspca.org, call 315-454-4479, or clickcnyspca.org.
You started hearing about it early in the week, breathless talk about it.
As the week progressed, the prognostications got more outlandish, and more than a few folks may have started to tune out, convinced that they knew more than the experts or wanting self-serving rectitude in case it didn’t happen.
Oh, but then it happened.
Active weather fronts swooped down from Canada, combining with high winds from the west and moisture from two warm (50-plus degrees) Great Lakes to form a massive, unstoppable snow machine.
Anyone on the eastern shore of these bodies of water was fair game. Talk of 3 to 4 inches falling an hour, temperatures warm enough to make that snow heavy, compact, tough to shovel or blow clear. Even thunder and lightning.
When all was done a few days later, the numbers were numbing. Hamburg had 81.2 inches. Orchard Park, 80 inches. Elma, 67 inches, Watertown, 57.4 inches. East Aurora, 51.3 inches. And so on.
To think that being “spared” meant a mere two feet on the ground tells you all that is necessary about how extreme this was, that an entire season’s snowfall can get squeezed into a 36-hour window.
That’s part of the story. The one with all the ridiculous pictures of houses, cars, mail boxes disappearing under monstrous white drifts, garages opening and no daylight emerging until the door was six feet off the ground.
What follows, though, is quite instructive. Outside of this realm, it’s quite easy to (literally) pile on the jokes, to wonder why in heaven’s name anyone would want to live in a place that can get this buried….in November, a month before the “official” first day of winter.
Inside of it, though, a different mindset takes over. One that sheds personal comfort and warmth for community spirit and the old-fashioned notion of helping one another.
This was especially the case in the Buffalo area, where tens of thousands experienced this latest snowstorm (spare me the clever titles) and then went straight to work digging out.
Admittedly, some VIPs who play professional football got first dibs. With the Bills’ stadium in Orchard Park absolutely inundated, it required Random an army of fans, shovels and heavy equipment just Thoughts to get the players out of Phil Blackwell their homes and toward a (less-buried) airport so they could fly to Detroit. Beyond that, though, there were innumerable instances of cars and people stuck outside who got a helping hand, a helping push or a warm place to spend the night, no one thinking twice about helping total strangers survive. Some of this is just an outgrowth of having decades of experience dealing with snowstorms and blizzards, just as residents in other parts of the country are well-versed with hurricanes on coastlines, tornadoes in the middle of the country and earthquakes along fault lines. Yet there’s also the notion, perhaps quaint and certainly not celebrated, of neighbor helping neighbor, no questions asked. This is a bigger deal than you think. Whenever any kind of disaster or tragedy strikes these days, it doesn’t take long for the political and social divides to emerge, coloring and warping our priorities. It doesn’t take an ideology, though, to reach out and be kind. If we condition our behavior strictly along the lines of who agrees with us, we isolate ourselves from one another and, worse yet, choose to learn nothing. By the time all those families in the
Buffalo and Watertown areas and other related lake-effect outlets gathered together for Thanksgiving feasts (and to see if the Bills beat the Lions), perhaps they got a greater appreciation for the simple gift of time with those they loved. Most years, they would only have to overcome the virtual and literal headaches travel can cause. In 2022, it involved winding their way down streets where, a few days earlier, no one could move, only cleared out through hard, concentrated work and a community spirit that cannot be taught. If only this spirit, shown in our most dangerous, vulnerable and extreme moments, manifested itself on ordinary days, too. It should not take a weather emergency, or some other kind of crisis, to bring out the best in humans. Besides, there’s still a long way to go in winter. We might have to join up to dig out again. Phil Blackwell is sports editor at Eagle
News. He can be reached at pblackwell@ eaglenewsonline.com.
Letters
l From page 4 cere thanks to the voters in DeWitt who elected me on Nov. 8, 2022 to represent them in 2023. I will keep working hard to improve the way of life in DeWitt on a full-time basis. A special thank you to my committee of 12 people who worked so hard in getting signs and palm cards distributed. Sometimes difficult years like this year makes us especially thankful for what we do have and what’s really important.
I will be working for all the citizens in DeWitt so please feel free to reach out to me on email jhdpad@twcny.rr.com or on my cell at (315) 278-0495. Thank you.
Jack Dooling Town of DewiTTcouncilor
Setting the record straight
To the editor:
On Nov. 9, the day after my election, I attended the Town of Manlius budget hearing. This was not in retaliation from my election, but as a concerned citizen. My sole purpose for even running for the town board was to be a voice for those that are unaware of what was going on in our town. As I have said before, a unanimous board is not a good thing.
There needs to be a different perspective to formulate good decisions.Very rarely have you seen the board, through scripted motions, not vote unanimously. When I spoke at the public hearing it was not only as a concerned resident but as a way for those who do not know what may be going on to understand the issues.
The board has touted themselves as transparent and open to the residents, but this is far from the truth in my opinion.
After asking a series of questions that the board could not answer or refused to, a week later passed the budget.
This budget increased spending by almost $3 million dollars and lowered the tax rate by increasing home assessments and the use of the fund balance (savings) to make themselves look appealing.
In a time when inflation is rising and the cost of living is skyrocketing, the board missed an opportunity to use ARPA funds for one-time projects. Instead of getting ahead and completing some long overdue projects, the board chose options that would add cost to our tax base. Adding a comptroller to the budget expense with little or no discussion between the public hearing and the final budget, surely does not show transparency.
To me this was a calculated plan that will add expense to the town for years to come. Cutting from our police department and no other department or special interest projects does not seem quite right either.
Cutting the core services that the town expects seems careless. My intent is not to be “contentious”, but to let the board know someone is paying attention and to hold the board accountable. Trying to create a better town that reflects the majority of the town’s views should not be seen as a partisan issue. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, I would think that we all would want safety on our streets, a highway department that maintains our roads, a fire department that is there for us in need and a fiscally responsible town.
Reacting to your tax bill after it arrives in the mail is too late to make change. I was only one of two people that took the time to attend the public hearing for the town budget. As a whole we missed an opportunity to diversify our board, begin to work together, put political divisiveness aside and truly begin to work together for the good of our community.
DaviD Barnwell
Manlius
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