Twenty years ago — 1998

An article by Jerry Reilly notes that sometime in the next few months, members of United Steelworkers Local 2693 will be asked to decide the fate of AL Tech Specialty Steel Corp. They will be offered a contract by a new buyer, probably Universal Steel and Alloy Products Inc., which will probably represent a cut in wages and benefits. If they agree to take less, they will do so at their own expense and at the expense of those who came before them. If they turn down the contract, the last chance they have of keeping the plant open may be dashed. Or it might not be. It’s a Catch 22.

Thirty years ago — 1988

Ripley Central School has been named a Texas Tie-In Star School, the only school in the state to be named to the star school project. The project is a pilot program which will link schools nationwide and internationally through an already-in-place satellite. The program will bring over $100,000 worth of equipment to Ripley for use in connection with the program and will permit the school district to provide unheard of learning opportunities to the students. The program can also offer staff and community development programs. There will be no cost to Ripley for the program of the equipment.

Forty years ago — 1978

Hardy wishes in Polish were extended by Sister Mary Gracille to newly-installed Pope John Paul II as he approached her during an Oct. 23 audience with 6,000 other people from Poland and others of Polish heritage. The former Miss Laura Ryby of Dunkirk recalled that special audience with the Pope with deep emotion. She first met the Pope, then a bishop, when he and 12 other bishops were housed in the Felician Generalate in Rome during the Vatican Council. Sister Gracille has been a Felician nun for 43 years.

Fifty years ago –1968

To the area shopper, the two words — Dunkirk Days — hold the promise of one of the best and most gratifying shopping opportunities of the year. This has been true for many years. It was back in the mid-1930s that the idea for Dunkirk Days was conceived and born through the cooperation of the merchants division of the Dunkirk Chamber of Commerce and the advertising and editorial departments of the OBSERVER and Grape Belt. Currently, 28 stores are participating in the three-day promotional sales event.