THINK SPRING — photo from 1977

Let me tell you, 72 years ago there was a lot of competition for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Never mind about the Plattsburgh and Malone newspapers that were on the newsstands in our three mountain villages, but there was also the Syracuse Post-Standard, with a full-time correspondent stationed in Saranac Lake, and the Syracuse Herald Tribune.

No television back then — it did exist, but not for the working man. Radios, newspapers and gossip kept the public informed — and did a helluva good job of it.

So again, researching for news in my vast filing system … what falls off the shelf but a pristine copy of the Syracuse Post-Standard from 1948. Alongside the paper’s logo at the top of a special section in big letters read: Tupper Lake, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Malone. So let’s see what kind of coverage resulted.

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Saranac Lake

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“The resignation of Mrs. Genevieve O’Brian as superintendent of the General Hospital, effective October 1, has been announced by the board of directors.

“It was the second resignation of a major executive at the local institution announced recently. Charles Johnston, who had been business manager and auditor since January, tendered his resignation, effective September 15, to accept a position with Dairy Dell, Inc., here. [Dairy Dell, a Plattsburgh firm, had bought out the big A.C. Bartz Dairy, located on the upper end of the Old Lake Colby Road across from what is today Tissot Construction Incorporated.]

“Members of the board highly commended the work of Mrs. O’Brien, who succeeded Mrs. Katherine M. Collins in the post in September, 1943. A native of this village, Mrs. O’Brien was on the hospital nursing staff when promoted to the superintendency.”

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“The fifth annual Adirondack Craftsman’s exhibit which was installed from Wednesday through Saturday last week in the town hall attracted a total of 2,290 visitors from 24 states and eight foreign countries, a study of the registry revealed Tuesday.

“E. Blanchard Brown, director of the arts and crafts department of the Study and Crafts Guild which sponsored the exhibit also announced that $400 worth of craft objects were sold during the big show and orders were also placed with exhibitors for several hundred dollars worth. Brown was general chairman of the exhibition, assisted by 60 local workers.”

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“Young Doug Bombard Tuesday was officially declared winner of the ‘Muskrats Special’ race in Sunday’s regatta with his ‘hot-rod’ outboard ‘Madame X’ by the racing committee of the Boat and waterways Club.

“Disqualification of the driver of the first boat to cross the finish line, and elimination of an ‘outsider’ who did not enter to compete for a trophy led to Doug’s craft being declared the winner. The award of second and third place went to Jimmy Whitelaw and Bud Wentworth. The race was designed exclusively for Saranac lake ‘teenagers’ with their ‘hot-rods.'”

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Tupper Lake

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“Coney Beach, Tupper Lake’s popular bathing center on Little Wolf Lake was officially closed for the season on Tuesday.

“Supervisor George H. Delair said the beach, however, would reopen for the Labor Day weekend.

“Under the general direction of Ray Brunette, town highway superintendent, Percy Forkey served as caretaker at Coney Beach this summer, with Ezra Savage in charge of policing the beach and Vincent Jay and Sherwood Hough as life guards. Beach facilities were expanded and improved and despite the daily crowds there, no accidents were reported this season.”

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“Dedication of the new town building at 62 Pine Street originally scheduled for Sunday will be postponed because of a delay in obtaining materials needed for completing the kitchen and stairway, Supervisor George H. Delair announces.

“The dedication date will be published later. The building housing equipment and meeting room for Hose Company 3 of the Tupper Lake Fire Department, polling places for Districts 4 and 5, kitchen facilities and a spacious hall, is virtually completed, and the opening event there, the Labor Day Ball sponsored by Hose Company 3 will be held as scheduled Monday night, September 6.”

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Lake Placid

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“Mrs. Ann Parker of Brooklyn will always have faith in the Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce and the Lake Placid diner owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. (Mac) McLoughlin.

“Mrs. Parker had breakfast in the diner Monday morning, then drove to Montpelior, Vt., where she discovered her handbag missing. She immediately called the Chamber of Commerce, explained her plight and asked them to see what could be done. Following a C. of C. phone call to the McLoughlin establishment, the handbag intact, was forwarded at once to Mrs. Parker’s Brooklyn address.”

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“Word had been received here of the drowning Sunday of Al Leonard while swimming near his home in Clark City, Quebec.

“Leonard was one of the most colorful and popular players on the Lake Placid Roamers hockey team during the 1947-48 season. Last season he performed with the Army Ordnance Spartans of Montreal and was seen in action here several times in Lake Placid-Montreal International League games. Leonard also attended the fall training session of the New York Rovers held here last October.”

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More about the Trudeau School

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The column here published Jan. 23 carried a story about the Trudeau School of Tuberculosis holding its annual classes at the Trudeau Laboratory, now Historic Saranac Lake headquarters on Church Street.

The story mentioned one of the guest speakers that summer would be Prof. Philip Drinker of Harvard University.

Talk about connecting the dots … I then received the following from Paul Herrmann … edited for space:

“You mentioned Prof. Philip Drinker of Harvard as attending a symposium at Saranac Lab. His sister, Katherine, wrote biographies, including one about her family. Philip helped invent the iron lung, his brother Cecil was the dean of Harvard Medical School, his brother Henry was the lawyer for the Pennsylvania railroad, their father was president of Lehigh University, and Katherine’s sister was an artist in New York City.

“Her book, ‘Family Portrait’ came out in 1971 when I was in college at Haverford. She lived nearby, so I called up and asked if she would sign my copy. She lived in a plain ranch house but had a butler. Told her Penn Law School had rejected me. She told me to go to Villanova. She also invited me back for tea that afternoon, but I declined, never having been to a tea.

“She died two years later while working on a biography of Benjamin Franklin called ‘The Most Dangerous Man in America.’ It was posthumously published.”

Paul has served the community as village attorney, village trustee and town justice.