From the front page of The Adirondack Arrow on Feb. 11, 1932:

DIRECTORS MEET

The Board of Directors of the Central Adirondack Association, Inc., with several invited guests were again royally entertained by Messrs. A. Augustus and Seth Low at the wonderful estate, Hitchins Park, Sabattis, over the past weekend. It was the regular monthly meeting of the directors and there were present A. August Low, president; A. R. Chaffee, treasurer; William J. Foley, secretary; and Messrs. Earl B. Barrett, Dennis Dillon, F. A. Puffer, P. Edward Hurley, B. F. Sperry, H. D. Jennings and R. J. Dobell, second vice president. The directors voted in as active members of the Association the following: George Boyle, Glens Falls; Harley Brown, Inlet, and Meachem-Finn, Syracuse. The proposed law regarding the placing of signs which is being sponsored by the Conservation Department was read and thoroughly discussed and the legal status of same was given by Attorney J. Theodore Cross, Utica, who was a guest at the meeting. It would seem from the reading of the proposed legislation and Attorney Cross’ interpretation of same that its passage would be detrimental both to the traveling public coming into the Central Adirondacks and to especially the hotels doing business there and the following resolution was adopted: RESOLVED THAT: The Central Adirondack Association, Inc., is opposed to the bill for Licensing and Taxing of Sign Boards in the form in which said bill has been presented to the Legislature by the Conservation Department; and believes that the photographs of the sign board as submitted in connection with this bill, tend to mislead the public; and further condemns the theory of any such taxing and licensing legislation. The report of the treasurer reflected the organization as being in a prosperous condition with some 160 active members and the following budget for the coming year was duly authorized: Accounts payable,  $945; Information Bureau and Publicity Service,  $2,060; Advertising , $200; Signs, $200; Miscellaneous, $75. Total $3,500.

RATES REDUCED

Few villages in the state of New York can claim a more pretentious street lighting system than Old Forge. And the White Way through the village and on to Thendara is not only artistic but as an evidence of its value there has been no bodily injury on the highway since the installation. In spite of this the Village Board has reported of getting complaints regarding the cost of same. This of course is an inopportune time to make a complaint with any expectation of a reduction either in cost or equipment as the contract was entered into between the Village and the Old Forge Electric Corporation and because of same they expended a large sum of money in installing a most modern and artistic lighting system. The matter of rates has been investigated and it is found that Old Forge compared with other municipalities is getting a most favorable rate. As evidence we find that the Associated Gas and Electric Co. charges the Town of Long Lake $55 per year for their 250 candlepower lamps with overhead wires and ordinary poles and lighting fixtures while Old Forge pays but $64.88 with an underground cable ornamented poles and the latest ornamented fixtures. On last week Thursday evening Messrs. A. Augustus Low and L. D. Harwood of the Old Forge Electric Corporation met with the Village Trustees in a conference in reference to the subject of prices and while the Old Forge Electric Corporation could not do anything but abide by their contract as to the number of lights, candlepower, etc., they did voluntarily reduce the cost of the lights off the Main Street from $33.75 to $30 per light per year. This is the second reduction they have made, the original contract being $37.50. This decrease came voluntarily as it should be understood that, with the existing contract, no reduction could have been demanded and an outside corporation would have given the welfare of the Village no consideration. It is also worthwhile to note something of the value of the Corporation to the Village from a Village standpoint. We find that the total electric current sales within the Village, aside from the streetlights, amounts to $28,181.36. Streetlights amount to $5,585.98. The Corporation purchased from merchants of the Village a total of $18,544.21; paid rents and postage of $2,079.21; paid Edward Bedford rent of $2,500; paid Village taxes of $640, and payroll to residents of Old Forge Village of $43,510.04, for a total expenditure of $67,273.46.

Ray Carr of Old Forge kept a bundle of issues of Old Forge’s first

newspaper, The Adirondack Arrow (a weekly), that he found in the attic

of a house he bought on Main Street Old Forge 48 years ago. The papers

date from the 1930s when the economic climate was not unlike today. He

had this idea to share them with readers of the Adirondack Express

through this History & Heritage column, defined his concept,

organized the old issues and pinpointed articles he thought would be of

special interest to readers. So in the weeks ahead, thanks to Ray Carr,

readers will go back in time and see what was news some 80 years ago on

the Fulton Chain of Lakes during The Great Depression.