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.

Inside The Adirondack Arrow on February 11, 1932:

TAKES A BATH

One of the Old Forge Supply Corporation trucks took a bath in Gray Lake last Friday. A test had been made of the ice relative to cutting and it showed some six inches or better therefore the truck with a scraper attached was commissioned to clear the ice of snow preparatory to cutting. When nicely at work thin ice was encountered and the truck broke through, the men operating same jumping to safety. Nick Ginther salvaged the truck from its icy bath and same seems no worse for its experience.

HOLLAND PATENT WINS

The basketball game between the Town of Webb High School and their visitors, Holland Patent, was altogether too one-sided to be interesting to any marked degree. In the first quarter the locals were only able to garner three points to the visitors’ 12. The second quarter only netted the visitors four and the locals two, while the third quarter was two for the locals and three for the visitors but in the final stanza the Webb boys did better work gathering nine points to the visitors’ five and the final score was 16-24. Day was high scorer for the locals with five points and Breakey made four and Wilcox three. Gates of the visitors was high with 11 points, Hoffman ten and Humphrey eight.

SENIOR PLAY

The Senior Class of the Town of Webb High School presented their play, ìA Full House,î at the Masonic Temple in Forestport on Monday evening before a good sized audience. The many localites who saw the play when it was presented in the school auditorium in December will appreciate the fact that the play was well received. The Seniors have decided to forfeit their plans for a trip to Washington at Easter time in favor of the Olympic Games at Lake Placid this weekend and the entire class plans to go to Placid on Friday.

MAKES ANNUAL REPORT

County Clerk Water Van Wiggeren has just made his annual report showing a collection of $16,876 for hunting and fishing licenses. The report filed with the State Conservation Department in Albany shows receipts for hunting and trapping and fishing licenses for residents $13,734, fishing licenses for non-residents $430 and special deer licenses $2,712. The 1930 licenses amounted to $12,369, a gain of $1,365. Of the total amount 575 residents and five non-residents contributed $1,200. Of the special deer licenses Webb had 200 resident and 20 non-resident with $600. Non-resident fishing licenses from Webb amounted to $275.

CLUB REORGANIZED

For a considerable time a Men’s Club was maintained at the Niccolls Memorial Church. The meetings were held immediately after the morning church service with occasional dinners. In time the club ceased to function and a meeting of men at the church was held last month where the reorganization was discussed and another meeting was called for last Monday night. At this meeting there were 33 men in attendance and the first order of business was the disposal of stacks of pancakes, sausage, maple syrup, doughnuts and coffee, prepared by a committee for the occasion.  After supper there was community singing led by Harold Hollister with Mrs. Wilhemina Gebhardt at the piano. The nominating committee appointed at the previous meeting recommended the following for officers: president, Lynn Phillips; Vice President, Harold Hollister; Secretary, Perley Owens and Treasurer, William Gebhardt, and they were unanimously chosen by the assemblage. In the absence of President Phillips, Vice President Hollister presided and urged that each man take a personal interest in securing more men to attend the meetings and wanted at least 50 men present at the March meeting. Before the close of the meeting Postmaster Winterbotham suggested that the men forget formalities at the meeting by calling each other by their given names, a mighty good suggestion which was unanimously followed at the close of the meeting and you could hear Bill, Harry, Pete and Tom from all over the room.

ENTERTAINS

Mrs. Harold Hollister entertained a party of lady friends at a bridge party at the new Hollister home between Old Forge and Thendara on the evening of Feb. 3. The visiting ladies were Mrs. L. D. Harwood, Mrs. R. Hulburt and Mrs. Wm. MacDonald. Lunch was served after a few games of bridge such as neither Culbertson or Lenz ever equaled at their best. No foolin.’