Twenty years ago — 1998

State, county and local dignitaries joined a number of community residents to help kick off the $400,000 fund drive for a new library in Sinclairville. A $10,000 donation had been made by Edward and Harriet Terry which went for the purchase of the property. The cost of the new structure is $350,000 with an additional $50,000 earmarked for equipment, which the fund-raising team hopes to have in hand within two years. A total of $50,000 has already been obtained for the new library. The current library is located in the basement of the community building. The new building’s site is on Main Street.

Thirty years ago — 1988

Headed by Raymond Gawronski, a former Dunkirk resident, the Wayne Division of Dresser Industries, Inc., was recently awarded the “E” Award by President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Gawronski, president, is the son of Josephine Gawronski of South Roberts Road, Dunkirk and the late Frank Gawronski. Presented at a ceremony in the White House Garden, the award recognizes companies that contribute significantly to increasing United States imports. Dresser is one of only 50 companies nationwide to receive the “E” Award this year. The Wayne Division manufactures for export retail petroleum dispensers, “gas pumps” and related point-of-sale management systems.

Forty years ago — 1978

Sister Aloysia, a Dunkirk native, recently relinquished her position as administrator of St. Vincent’s Home to her successor, Sister Catherine Gallagher. The former Pauline Galbraith has been transferred to the Clarence residence of the Sisters of St. Joseph, where she will care for the aged and infirmed sisters.

Fifty years ago — 1968

Mr. and Mrs. Leo A. Pacos of Chautauqua Road, Fredonia have received a letter of thanks from Sen. and Mrs. Edward M. Kennedy. Mr. and Mrs. Pacos had dedicated a flagpole to the late President John F. Kennedy and the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy following Sen. Kennedy’s assassination in June. The letter postmarked from Boston Aug. 19 bears a black-bordered engraving of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and a card engraved with a quatrain from Robert Browning’s “The Lost Leader.”