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1938

Syracuse Journal, February 3
Village creates relief program

Barred from employing alien residents on federal work relief, the village of Solvay has set up its own work relief program to give 80 aliens now on relief an opportunity to work for what they get from the community

Hours of work for each relief case is working out on the basis of amount of assistance secured. The men are being employed clearing snow from skating rinks,, constructing cinder paths and working on other village projects.

Republicans go three for three
At stake in the village election were three trustee positions, all won by Republican candidates on March 15.. Adrian Grobsmith won in the First Ward, 912 votes to 477 for William O'Brien; Louis Valletta won in the Second Ward, 685 votes to 299 over Michael Trivison; Edward O'Brien won in the Third Ward, 558 to 448 over incumbent James Cottrell, the only Democrat on the village board the past year.

Needed, then rejected months later
Solvay firemen were called to fight a stubborn fire April 21 on the roof of the Coliseum at the New York State Fairgrounds. A three-foot hole burned through the roof and rafters on the south side of the building before the fire was put out. Fire Chief Norman James said the source was tar and paint left on the roof overnight by workmen making repairs.

The State Fairgrounds was the responsibility of the Solvay fire department, which is why, later in the year, the firemen were upset that they were replaced by the Syracuse fire department for the most important period — the week that began in late August when the fair was in session. Solvay Mayor John Degan, the fire department, and many citizens lobbied for fair officials to change their minds, but to no avail.

When the fair ended, the job of protecting the grounds again fell to Solvay fire fighters.

Syracuse Journal, May 23
Invitation to his own robbery

Slugged over the head with an automobile crank and robbed of his wallet containing $12 by three men who had offered him a ride home, Louis Speziali, 23, of 113 Summit Avenue, Solvay, then was pushed out of their car at Shonnard and South West Streets early today.

He was suffering from severe bruises of the head when he walked into a diner at West Onondaga and Oneida Streets a few minutes later. Detectives Harry Swain and Thomas Leach investigated.

Speziali told them that three men in a car offered him a ride home. One of the men asked him if he might borrow a dollar, but when he took out his wallet, Speziali said, the man grabbed it. Speziali said he fought back but one of the men in the front seat him him over the head with what seemed to be an automobile crank. Detective John Corcoran was seeking the trio today.

People

Syracuse American, March 27
Father Driscoll says good-bye

Expressing their gratitude and esteem, between 700 and 800 children of Solvay and Lakeland thronged St. Cecilia’s Church in Solvay yesterday morning to participate in the last mass celebrated by Rev. Thomas J. Driscoll before he assumed his new duties as pastor of St. Patrick’s Church.

The children are students of the weekly religious and vacation schools organized by Father Driscoll at St. Cecilia’s Church and at the chapel in Lakeland during his pastorate there.

Following the mass, the youngsters presented the priest with a spiritual bouquet together with a floral bouquet. Addressing them briefly, Father Driscoll said:

“One would have to be very indifferent to the finer things of life not to be deeply moved by this spontaneous manifestation of devotion and loyalty. Words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation to Almighty God for the privilege of having been allowed to serve you as pastor during the past four and a half years."

A farewell for Father Driscoll and a reception in honor of his successor, Rev. Richard J. Shields, will take place in the Solvay High School next Sunday night.

Duvall resigns as superintendent
Prof. Claude A. Duvall, one of the best-known educators in Central New York, resigned April 1 as superintendent of Solvay schools, it was announced today. He held the position since 1925. Prior to that he was principal of Solvay High School. Duvall is 71 years old.

This started a chain of appointments over the next several weeks. First Prof. Clinton H. Atwood of 2409 Milton Avenue was appointed to replaced Prof. Duvall. Atwood, a native of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, graduated from Colgate University in 1919 and received his master's degree from Syracuse University in 1923. Prior to his appointment as superintendent, Atwood was principal of Boyd School and Solvay High School

Next, in early May, Walter B. Weyant, principal of Intermediate and Prospect schools, was appointed principal of the high school. Then, in June, Miss Anna L. Murtagh was appointed principal of Prospect and Intermediate schools.

Syracuse American, April 3
Strike a pose, and he'll paint you

Painting his way through college, William Kasso of Solvay, a junior in the College of Fine Arts, Syracuse University, is one of the few students who has begun a profitable undergraduate enterprise in the field he later intends to pursue as a career.

By deft dabs of the brush and an artistic blending of color, the Solvay youth has developed an encouraging clientele on the Syracuse campus. He has been commissioned to do numerous portraits, many of which are now completed.

Saturday was a significant day for the budding artist as he applied the finishing touches to his 50th portrait, a likeness of Miss Betty Potter, co-ed cheerleader, who hails from Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Set in a large frame, the portrait was completed in remarkably few sittings, tribute to artist Kasso’s and Miss Potter’s patience.

The portrait, now in Miss Potter’s possession, is the cynosure of admiring eyes at Haven Hall, co-ed dormitory where Miss Potter resides.

Hackbarth named valedictorian
An average of 90.72 percent maintained during his three and one-half years of school work won for
Raymond Hackbarth, 17, of 112 Parsons Drive, town of Geddes, valedictory honors at Solvay High School. The graduating class of 90 was the largest of all county schools. (North Syracuse, with 80, had the second largest class. In contrast, Syracuse's Central High School handed out 300 diplomas.)

Syracuse Journal, May 26
Having fun with a broken heart

That professional litigant, Miss Julia A. Ryan, supervisor of the Seventh ward, displayed pieces of a broken heart to the public once again last night when she sued Justice of the Peace John D. Kelly of Solvay for breach of promise in a mock trial that played to standing room only in the auditorium of Solvay High School.

The hilarious production, presented to raise money to aid in sending boys of Troop 70, Boy Scouts of America, of St. Cecilia Church, Solvay, to Camp Woodland for two weeks during the summer, was written by Daniel F. Mathews, Solvay attorney, and convulsed an audience of fully 900 persons.

Miss Ryan, who has starred in other mock breach of promise cases, again proved herself the West End’s outstanding comedienne, especially in one bit of business where she leaped into the lap of Keith F. Driscoll, playing the role of the trial judge, and offered to throw up the case if Kelly “will take me back.” At the point, however, Mathews, as her attorney, interposed and told her she had no right “to sell me out now.”

Assistant District Attorney William H. Bowers appeared in the part of Kelly’s counsel, while among the jurors were Mayor John J. Degan of Solvay, Joseph J. Naughton, superintendent of the village water and lighting department; Charles J. Farrell, Anne O’Neil, Frank Conway, A. J. Kennedy and Margaret Tindall.

Mary Graziec is festival queen
The annual June Festival was held June 9; an estimated 6,000 persons attended, and 2,000 students participated. Mary Graziec was the queen of the event, escorted by Edward Durham.

Honor retired teacher
Miss Alice Gaffney, 2103 Milton Avenue, Solvay, who retired in June after teaching for 50 years, was honored October 18 at a dinner at Tubbert's Restaurant, attended by more than 50 past and present faculty members of Prospect School.

Deaths

Frank Alfonso Bailo, 39, 121 Freeman Avenue, Solvay, died April 5 at University Hospital of a broken back, suffered when his clothing got caught in a belt conveyor at the Solvay Process Company the day before. Bruno Miguel, 506 Second Street, Solvay, was severely injured attempted to free Bailo from the machinery.

Bailo's survivors included his wife, Mary; a son, John A. Bailo, and his mother, three brothers and a sister in Italy. He was a member of the Milton Athletic Club.

Sigmund Dadey, 106 Gertrude Street, Solvay, one of the pioneer Polish settlers in that village and father of Patrolman Peter Dadey of the Solvay police department, died April 13 Crouse-Irving Hospital after a brief illness.

He had been prominent in religious, civic and political affairs in Solvay and Syracuse and was one of the founders and first president of the Solvay Polish Citizens Club. he was also an organizer of Sacred Heart Polish Church, a member of the Polish National Alliance and St. Albert’s Society and was president of the Pulaski Republican Club of Solvay at the time of his death. During the World War Dadey was awarded the Polish cross for patriotic services to his country.

A native of Poland, he had been a resident of Solvay more than 50 years, and for 47 years conducted a restaurant in that village. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Anna Dadey; three sons, John, Joseph and Peter Dadey; four daughters, Mrs. Joseph Dombrowski Mrs. Arthur Larkin, Mrs. Theodore McKibben an Mrs. Francis Desimone, and eight grandchildren.

Melvin Jesse Darrow, 16, son of Mr. and Mrs. Byron Darrow, Lakeside Road, RD1, Solvay, drowned June 20 after he fell into the water while fishing in Onondaga Lake. Surviving besides his parents are three sisters, Bertha May, June Fern and Mary Jane Darrow, and two brothers, Fred Byron Darrow and Byron Darrow Jr.

Bernard Fraher, 52, of 307 Second Street, Solvay, died January 14 after he had a heart attack while working on a utility pole on Milton Avenue, near Hall Avenue. toppled to the ground unconscious. He was pronounced dead when brought to the office of Dr. James Wands, who lived nearby on Orchard Road.

Survivors were his wife, Mrs. Bertha Fraher; two sisters, Mrs. John Frost of Syracuse and Mrs. Clara Jamnatti of Brooklyn; a brother in Germany; several nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Mary J. Hildenbrand, 77, 109 Lionel Avenue, Solvay, died March 7 in Onondaga General Hospital of injuries suffered February 20 when she was a passenger in a car that collided with another vehicle. Survivors were her husband, Louis Hildenbrand; a son, Leslie Church; a daughter, Mrs. Loressa Lamson, a brother, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

John M. Keefe, 46, 220 Charles Avenue, Solvay, a World War veteran and soda packer at the Solvay Process Company, fell to his death June 16 from a conveyor while he was oiling its parts. Survivors: his wife, Mrs. Lillian Merrill Keefe; a son. John William Keefe, 14; his mother, Mrs. Johanna Keefe of Syracuse; a sister, Miss Josephine Keefe, and a brother, Francis Keefe.

John McCarthy Jr., 9, 106 Lamont Avenue, Solvay, drowned June 24 in an abandoned reservoir on Onondaga Hill. The boy attempted to leap from shore to a plank floating 10 feet out in the water. His body wasn't found until the next morning. The drowning occurred at a point where the reservoir drops off suddenly to a depth of 20 feet. The boy's uncle, Howard McCarthy, 22, also of the Lamont Avenue address, dove into the water, but failed to find the boy. Several other swimmers also attempted rescues.

Addison West, 76, 607 Second Street, widely known Solvay building contractor, succumbed to leukemia April 30 at University Hospital, where he had been a patient for two weeks.

A native of Zacharie, Mr. West came to Solvay more than 30 years ago and entered the contracting business. He built scores of homes in the village, as well as several of its larger buildings, retiring several years ago when his health failed.

Survivors were his wife Mrs. Electra Bourlier West, with whom he made his home with son-in-law, Roscoe Bourlier, and a son by his first marriage, Dr. Byron West of Hamilton.

Virginia White, of 104 Freeman Avenue, Solvay, a five-year-old kindergarten pupil at Prospect School, died of bronchial pneumonia that followed the measles she contracted a week ago. She was the area's second measles fatality in a month. She was survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Amos White; three brothers, Raymond, Robert and Ralph; a sister, Edna; her maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William Rosema, all of Solvay; her paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. George White of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, and several aunts and uncles.

Sports

Syracuse American, February 13
Milton A.C. celebrates anniversary

Celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Milton Athletic Club of Solvay will be held in the form of a dinner-dance at 7 o’clock Monday night at the Liederkranz Club. Sports notables are on the program of the affair which will be attended by 300 persons.

Mayor John J. Degan of Solvay heads the list of honor guests for the event, which will be presided over by Oscar J. Hurst as toastmaster. Dr. Ray J. Pieri of Solvay will be a prominent speaker.

Sports figures who will be heard at the speaker’s table during the course of the evening will include Vic Hanson, Syracuse’s greatest all-around athlete; Roy Simmons, coach of the Orange boxing and lacrosse teams; H. Earl Hadley, Solvay High School mentor and developer of some of the finest schoolboy athletes in this section; Ed Siskand, former Fordham football and basketball coach, and Ed Mullholland of Pittsburgh, semi-pro baseball mogul.

Varsity loses, but jayvees prevail
A strong finish put the slow-starting Solvay High School basketball team into a fourth place finish when the Onondaga County League ended its regular season. Tied with Marcellus, the Bearcats won a special playoff game, then surprised people by beating Split Rock and Skaneateles to advance to the league championship game against Fayetteville.

Solvay's hot streak ended when Fayetteville beat them, 39-27, but the Bearcat junior varsity won the league crown, beating North Syracuse, 28-14.

Solvay wins hockey championship
Solvay High School's hockey team won the Onondaga County League title by beating Skaneateles, 3-2, at the State Fair Coliseum. Fittingly, it was Russ Cadwell, the league's high scorer, who scored the winning goal in the second overtime period.

In its semi-final, Solvay beat East Syracuse, 12-3, registering the highest score ever recorded in a league playoff game. Solvay returned to the league that season after a two-year absence.

Deja vu for baseball team
Solvay High's baseball team suffered its first loss of the season on June 11. Unfortunately, it came in the County League championship game against North Syracuse, in a rain-shortened game called at the end of six innings. Not that it mattered to Solvay, because when the rains came, North Syracuse was at bat in the top of the seventh inning, having scored three runs to pad their lead, which had been 3-2, after six innings. This marked the third straight season the Bearcats were undefeated in the regular season, only to lose in the playoffs. It was the second consecutive year the loss came against North Syracuse in the league championship game.

Syracuse American, June 12
Another championship for track team

Coach Joe Paussa’s Solvay High tracksters won the Onondaga County League championship for the fourth straight year and their star, Mike McGraw, set a new record for the mile run in the annual county games yesterday at Griffin Field in Liverpool.

Solvay’s relay teams also won special trophies for their victories, the mile team bringing home the bacon for the fifth straight year and the half-mile team winning for the first time.

Solvay wound up with a total of 34 points to retain the title. Baldwinsville, led by Captain Appleton, who won three individual events, finished second with 30-1/4 points.

Coach Lou Gregory’s Manlius team was third with 22-1/4 points, followed by Liverpool with 13-3/4, Jordan with 12-3/4, Minoa 10, East Syracuse 8 and North Syracuse 2.

McGraw, Solvay star, who also anchored the victorious mile relay team, set up a new mark of four minutes and 40 seconds in clinching the championship for his team. The former record was 4:40.4, set by F. Loucks of Liverpool in 1936.

Solvay’s mile relay team also came close to a new record. Its time was 1:48, only four-tenths of a second behind the all-time record established by Solvay’s 1937 quartet.

Syracuse American, October 16
Girls' archery team wins tournament

In the largest tournament of its kind ever held in the United States, Solvay High School walked off with highest honors in the second annual New York State high school girls’ archery invitation shoot at the Onondaga Lake Parkway Saturday afternoon.

Competing in the shoot were 175 girls, a total established a national record for girls taking part in one shoot. amassing a total of 2,029 points, Solvay bested 31 other state high schools and was awarded a cup. Second place went to Cazenovia with 1,920. Camillus captured third spot with 1,776 and Phoenix, fourth, with 1,754, for which each received a banner.

Outstanding among the girl archers, though she was not on the winning combination, was Prude Farley of Camillus, who had a perfect end score, six targets in the bull’s eye.

Each team was composed of six girls with the four highest scores being counted in competition and the high scoring girl of each team received an award.

In the clout shoot, with each girl shooting for herself at a 48-foot target in the ground from a distance of 100 yards, Rose Pharis of Phoenix was high with 192 points, Barbara Roberts of Auburn Senior High, second, with 183, and Betty Schafer of Solvay, third, with 170 points.

Other schools taking part, and the order of their finish, were Skaneateles, Auburn, Onondaga Central, Sherbourne, Oxford, Canastota, Sauquoit, Onondaga Valley, North Syracuse, Carthage, Split Rock, Jamesville, Syracuse North, Central Square, Warners, DeRuyter, Morrisville-Eaton Central, Cobleskill, Tully, Elbridge, Gorham, Hamilton, Vocational, Hannibal, Cambridge, Mexico, Williamson and Syracuse Central.

Missed extra point proves costly
Solvay High School's football team finished in second place, behind Baldwinsville, in the Onondaga County League. Solvay's only loss of the season came against Baldwinsville, 7-6.

On another football note, promoter Joe Charles, who also operated a sporting goods store, was the force behind an attempt to popularize six-man football in Onondaga County in 1938. He also promoted it for girls. There were at least two girls' teams in Syracuse that fall.

 
Items are from stories in the Syracuse Journal
and its Sunday edition, the Journal-American
 
For more on Solvay way back when, check out
the Solvay-Geddes Historical Society
 
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