Years Ago in History

By CinDy BEll tOBEy

50 years Ago – July 18, 1973

The refusal by the state to assume the cost of improvements to the portion of Rt. 80 in New Woodstock was scored by Justice John Libby at the Town Board meeting July 9.

“It’s called New York State Rt. 80,” Mr. Libby said. “We’ve held off improving that stretch because it’s a state road. If we take back, we’re taking back a cowpath. I think we should get a delegation to go to Albany on this we should burn up the wires to Governor Rockefeller and Malcolm Wilson. The state is welshing on a deal,” he said.

A letter from Raymond T. Schuler, commissioner of the State Department of Transportation, read by Supervisor Bernard T. Brown Jr., indicated that DOT’s refusal to improve Rt. 80 was based on the failure of the Legislature to include supplemental funds in the budget.

40 years Ago – July 20, 1983

Nitrates or no nitrates, the 124 families in the New Woodstock Water District want to go back to using the system’s spring water.

They say it tastes better than the water from an auxiliary well that was put into service after the state discovered a high nitrate level in the springs a year ago.

“And that’s not the only reason,” Town Councilman Ivan Slocum of New

Woodstock said. “It’s expensive to run the pump at the well. It’s costing about $240 a month, and the water wheel at the springs costs nothing to use.”

“Another reason it that there’s rust and iron in the well water – it stains everything.” The main danger of nitrates in drinking water is to infants under the age of six months who could suffer oxygen starvation (blue baby syndrome) because of the reaction of the nitrates to hemoglobin in the blood.

30 years Ago – July 21, 1993

The planned addition to the Cazenovia Public Library would mandate more parking space in a different area, and at last week’s Cazenovia Town Board meeting, councilmen had a look at the proposal put forth by architects Jack Teitsch and Robert Kent.

Bill LaRose was also there as a representative of the library.

The plan calls for a driveway leading up from Riverside Drive, near the town highway garage, to a drop-off point and 24-space parking lot to the rear of the library addition.

The addition itself will be behind the current library building on Albany Street, and offset to the southeast of the library barn.

The lot which is currently used in front of the library barn and along the library’s west side, will no longer be used for parking since it will direct foot traffic to the main entry in the new addition.

20 years Ago – July 16, 2003

Anyone walking by the former barber shop owned by Ford Lamb on Albany Street is in for a colorful surprise as Lavender Blue opened its doors in Cazenovia last week.

The business sells table linens, napkins, tea towels, aprons, breadbaskets and a few surprises. Eileen Lowe and Judith Warburton of Fayetteville are the owners and operators. They have been friends for more than 20 years.

The colorful atmosphere in the store matches their outgoing personalities. Lowe and Warburton said they always loved Cazenovia, but it wasn’t until they saw the building for sale in Cazenovia that they spontaneously decided to start their own business. They picked Cazenovia because they like the historic village.

Although there is a color lavender blue, the name came from an English nursery rhyme. All the work has been done by them, from painting ceilings, scrubbing walls to laying the tile.

“We worked very hard and it came together beautifully,” Warburton said. “We knew what we wanted to do and it evolved.”

Peaches have arrived early this year! Stand in Manlius opens Thurs, July 20th!

Thursday’s 3-6 pm at Manlius True Value 8225 Cazenovia Road, Manlius, NY 13104 Phone @ the Farm: 315-852-9821 from DeRuyter NY