Thirty years ago — 1990 The “Citizens for Sports” has now been formed after a large turnout of residents gathered to discuss how to fund interscholastic sports in the Fredonia Central School District for the 1990-91 school year. The Fredonia All-Sports Booster Club does not have the ...

Thirty years ago — 1989 Fredonia High School graduate Jack Hesslink is retiring after 34 years as athletic director and physical education teacher in the Clarence Central School District. While at Fredonia, Mr. Hesslink helped organize and participated on the school’s first cross-country ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 Mara Goodman of Dunkirk attended the July 14-21 Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop at the Chautauqua Institution. She joined 100 other writers for children and a faculty of 36 writers, editors and publishers from 26 states. The workshop on writing was conducted ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 In light of the three defeats by district voters of the 1990-91 sports proposition, it appears the Fredonia Central School Board of Education may opt for a self-supporting sports program instead of putting up the sports proposition for a fourth district vote. The ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 The man at least two Chautauqua County executives have called “the devil’s advocate” is cleaning out his desk in the Gerace Office Building in Mayville after 30 years of service. John R. Luensman began as county planner on Aug. 19, 1960 and has seen and ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 The Fredonia Central School District will be getting a new football scoreboard, thanks to a local fraternal organization. The Dunkirk Moose Lodge 89 has offered to purchase the new 12-foot-long solid-state scoreboard at an undisclosed amount and it should be ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 James P. Coon of Franklinville was named Ripley Central School superintendent. He will be filling the post left vacant by Kenneth Wasmund. Mr. Coon will be leaving his job as junior-senior high school principal of Franklinville Central School to take the Ripley post. ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 The Ripley Improvement Association recently welcomed three new businesses: Kellie’s Sugar and Spice, a restaurant owned by Kellie and Roger Troyer, is located on Shortman Road. Westlake Enterprises is a miniature golf course and bait shop owned by Craig and Tracie ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 The 1990 federal census will show Chautauqua County not only has fewer residents than it did a decade ago, but those people are marginally poorer than they were in 1980. One prediction is that when the April 1, 1990 nose count is finally released, it will show the ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 Preliminary plans for Cherry Creek Woodcraft Inc. of Cherry Creek to construct a new facility in Brocton have been called off, with the company now looking at a South Dayton site in Cattaraugus County for its expansion program. Plans had called for Woodcraft to ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 Marcy Jo Kubera, 15, of Dunkirk was chosen in a chain-wide search for recognition in the Hills Department Store “Back to Schools” insert that recently appeared in the OBSERVER. A Dunkirk High school student, Marcy was selected based on a submitted photo and ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 The 1990 Dairy of Distinction award winners in Chautauqua County include Howard and Lucy Ivett of South Dayton. Located on the corner of Butcher and Villenova roads, the Ivett farm boasts 63 registered Holsteins, 50 young stock and 257 acres of cropland. The couple ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 Christopher Small of Brocton, a participant in the Christian Torch Run, is shown handing the torch to the Rev. Frank S. St. Amour III, rector of St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Dunkirk during services at Memorial Park. Runners carried the torch from Irving ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 Dunkirk Mayor Greg Krauza made a whirlwind one-day trip to Washington, D.C., to promote a proposal for a local zebra mussel research program and to check on the possibility of obtaining extended unemployment benefits for workers who lost their jobs earlier this year ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 At the recent meeting of the Fredonia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Reva Kuczenski, president of Citizens Against Illegal Fireworks (CAIF) was honored with the Spirit of Fredonia Award. The award recognizes individuals who have dedicated themselves to ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 Dunkirk’s newest restaurant, Silly Willy’s, 332 Central Avenue near City Hall, is slated to open Aug. 1. Owner Mark Moser said the menu will be geared to all ages and financial levels. Originally from the Buffalo area, Mr. Moser was a chef in some of Buffalo’s ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 Rare sighting — a Snowy Egret of the Heron family, rare to this area, was spotted feeding on frogs in the Edwin Woodcock pond located behind Department of State Environmental Conservation officer Jim Shuler’s home on Lamberton Road in the town of Pomfret. The ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 Dunkirk Mayor Greg Krauza presented certificates welcoming three Irish children from Londonderry, Northern Ireland who are staying with members of the Dunkirk Irish Society for six weeks this summer. Lyra Lapham, 13, and her sister Lorna, 9, are staying with the Bill ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 On his 60th birthday this month, Sam Conti Sr. had his children and grandchildren watching him play softball for the J & L Oilers. A pitcher and former third baseman, Conti has played softball and baseball for 45 years and competed in sports for 50 years. He has ...

Thirty years ago — 1990 President George H.W. Bush has signed the formal commission for Michael S. Gelacak, a Dunkirk native, to serve as a commissioner on the United States Sentencing Commission. The full Senate had confirmed Mr. Gelacak’s nomination June 29. Commissioner Gelacak received ...