Twenty years ago — 1998

Two Forestville residents have filed a lawsuit against Bailey Manufacturing on Bennett State Road in Forestville. Sherman Bailey and Joseph Dolce, also of Bennett State Road, are seeking an injunction to stop Bailey from operating presses that have excessive noise, disrupting the two men who both live no more than 100 to 200 feet from the plant. Both men are seeking $500,000 for actual damages for the loss of value to their property and $1 million each for punitive damages. Bailey officials countered that their engineers say the sound levels that emanate from the plant are far below that of any other industry.

Thirty years ago — 1988

Dunkirk Postal Service employee John Szwejbka was honored at a retirement dinner held at the Kosciuszko Club. Among the gifts presented to him was an engraved watch. A 45-year postal service employee, Mr. Szwejbka noted First Class postal rates of 1943: “A 3-cent stamp delivered a letter to any place in the world, and 2 cents was the rate for local delivery.” He hopes to do some traveling, hiking, fishing and just relaxing during his retirement.

Forty years ago — 1978

Fredonia State recently ended two months of speculation with the announcement that Greg Prechtl will succeed Bill Hughes as the school’s varsity basketball coach. Prechtl was chosen for the FSUC job from a list of more than 50 applicants in a nationwide search that began when Hughes accepted the varsity basketball coaching position at the University of Buffalo in early June. A 1969 graduate of Fredonia State where he played for Coach Hughes after a high school career at Cardinal Mindszenty High School, Prechtl’s reaction to his hiring was, “This is something that I’ve dreamt about since my playing days began at Fredonia State 13 years ago.”

Fifty years ago — 1968

Dunkirk’s first participants in the American Abroad program of the American Field Service are Kenneth Sage, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Sage of Dunkirk and Neal Rzepkowski, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Rzepkowski, also of Dunkirk. Kenneth will be living with the Friedrich Geiger family in Kettwig, Germany, and will attend school six days a week. Neal will reside with the Jean-Paul Gimbert family in Hameau de Morat, France, who are avid skiers in the beautiful Alpine country.