Twenty years ago — 1998

Dr. Richard Milazzo, a practicing internal medicine physician in Dunkirk for 25 years, will travel to Honduras to assist citizens of that country suffering from a wide variety of diseases in the wake of Hurricane Mitch, which ravaged portions of the region two months ago. Accompanied by two local nurses, Nancy Gonzales, a nurse at the Resource Center; and Sharon Swanson, a supervisor of nursing at Brooks Hospital, Dr. Milazzo will initially reside in the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras’ capital city where he will hold a clinic. He then will move on to several villages devastated by the hurricane.

Thirty years ago — 1988

The U. S. Coast Guard has awarded the Coast Guard Achievement Medal to Petty Officer Kurt P. Benson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Benson of Cassadaga. Presented recently by Cmdr. John Johnson of the Buffalo MSO, the award recognized Petty Officer Benson’s superior performance on duty from May 24, 1985 to Dec. 1, 1968 while serving in the Port Operations Department at the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Buffalo.

Forty years ago — 1978

The Fredonia Chamber of Commerce will present “Hooray for Hollywood,” a gala event to be held March 9 and 10 at the old Opera House and Winter Garden Theater, now the Cinema I located in the Village Building on Church Street. The idea originated with a successful mini-vaudeville show at the last Family Day and with the realization of how much the public enjoyed such entertainment, ideas flourished.

Fifty years ago — 1968

A pictorial review of news highlights of 1968 shows, among other events, the crowning of Barbara Ann Prouty as Miss Dunkirk-Fredonia; the new swimming pool at the Dunkirk Senior High School which opened Jan. 11; a Dec. 4 fire which leveled a two-story fish house in Barcelona; the introduction of mechanical grape pickers to area farms; a March 1 fire which destroyed Rusch’s Restaurant in Dunkirk; and the April 4 roof collapse of the Capitol Theater in Dunkirk caused by strong winds.