28 YEARS AGO — 1997
• The cameras are rolling as a new action-packed movie features the capture of its star, Dolph Lundgren, in the small upstate New York village of Malone. Chances are the movie — called “The Minion” — won’t make Malone a household name, but it’s still exciting for the village. Malone Village Police Assistant Chief Gerald Moll said they were contacted by a production company in Montreal that wanted to shoot their station and cars for a movie being filmed for a Hollywood, Calif., company. “In the movie, the actors start off in New York City and are basically on the run,” Moll said. “They end up in Malone, where they’re pulled over and arrested. They’re brought to the Malone Police Department.” Moll said that in one of the scenes in New York City, a guy rushes into the room and says, “We have them in Malone.” And that’s when they were arrested. Any cost to the village will be minimal. Moll said he has spent a few hours on the project and does most of the work on the phone. Incidental expenses—like FedExing a county map, phone calls, and faxes—will be reimbursed by the production company. He’s hoping to get some of the badges and shot-up uniforms to use in a display at the station after the movie is finished. The company also promised them a copy of the movie.
• Vaudeville acts, silent pictures, and singing minstrels were once a common sight around Ellenburg Center. With a little help from their friends, a residents committee hopes to once again make live entertainment an option for local folks. Town Councilor Hilda Danforth went upstairs in the Town Hall in Ellenburg Center looking for old town records. But when she got to the top of the stairs, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “There, as though frozen in time, was a stage, sloped floor and rows and rows of seats, just waiting for someone to breathe life into it again.” “I was amazed at what I saw. Now it has become my dream to make it happen. It was too lovely a room to let it just sit there.” Danforth and the Town Hall Theater Committee—Chairman Reamsen, Phyllis LaBombard, Thelma LaBombard, Dr. Dave Claydon, Dybihia Claydon—are all about finding financing and community support. “The Town Board has been very supportive, supplying us paint, brushes and anything we need in supplies,” Danforth said. The Clinton County Probation Department even called the town looking to do community service. “They thought the theater was a ‘great winter project,’” Danforth said.
50 YEARS AGO — 1975
• An assortment of 18th-century armies attacked the “great stone fortress” of Fort Ticonderoga six times when it controlled Lake Champlain. Three times Fort Ticonderoga’s defenders won out. On Saturday, their batting average will drop. If it doesn’t, there won’t be any acting awards for the reconstituted British regiment being brought in for a trio of bicentennial reenactments. The script calls for the redcoats to go 0 for 3 against Columbia University Urology Department chairman Dr. John Lattimer and his 83 “Green Mountain Boys.” Lattimer and his followers are direct descendants of Ethan Allen and the real Green Mountain Boys. A host of dignitaries is expected to attend, including Gov. Hugh Carey. A White House spokesman indicated Sunday that a decision is due by mid-week on a possible Presidential visit. The affair is costing the association somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000. Estimates of the turnout range from 10,000 to 50,000 and community officials are working to ensure that the crowd is handled properly.
• An intensive investigation by state police has resulted in the sentencing of a city man to Clinton County Jail for eight months, and closed out several burglaries that occurred in Dannemora over the last two months. State Trooper Robert Fish conducted an investigation that included break-ins at The Sugar Bowl Restaurant, The B&J Market and St. Joseph’s School. There were also complaints that alcoholic beverages were being given to juveniles in Dannemora. The city resident arrested in connection with the burglaries was Louis J. Chester, 20, of 6 Trombley Ave. He was arrested Sunday on a warrant issued by Dannemora Town Justice Kenneth Boissey, charging him with third-degree burglary.
75 YEARS AGO — 1950
• Champlain College students will couple one of the oldest themes in history with what is now being billed as “the newest music in America,” when Boyd Raeburn and his orchestra play for dancing at the Parthenon Prom on May 13. The semi-formal dance will be a feature of the annual Spring weekend at the college on May 12, 13 and 14. Dubbed by students the “Rituals of Spring,” the program will abound with references to classic Greece. Raeburn’s music is attracting nation-wide attention as a blend of jazz and modern classical forms. Its introduction to the Champlain College gymnasium at the Spring prom will be an event for Plattsburgh and the area, the student committee feels. Raeburn yesterday completed a week’s engagement at the Radio City Music Hall in Minneapolis. For three months, he and the orchestra have been on an extensive tour which opened at the Paramount Theatre in New York City and included Atlantic City, Buffalo, Erie, Hartford, Chicago and Omaha.
• The Clinton County Tuberculosis and Public Health Association will launch its direct campaign against tuberculosis for 1950 by again promoting chest X-ray surveys in Clinton County. With the cooperation of the County Medical Society and the State Health Department, the Tuberculosis Association has scheduled the Powers X-ray Trailer to come into Clinton County for one week beginning Monday, June 5. The survey is made for two reasons: to give people the sense of security that comes from knowing their chests are free from tuberculosis and to find those who need treatment, help them get that treatment early, and at the same time, check the spread of tuberculosis in the community.
100 YEARS AGO — 1925
• Mayor Cross had his first run as temporary chief of the fire department last night. Business had been dull over the weekend. The mayor bid the boys goodnight about 10 p.m. They assured him they would take care of the city if any fire broke out. Acting Chief Cross got as far as the corner of Clinton and Margaret streets when the alarm rang out from Box 16, back of the Normal School. “Rush me up there as fast as you can,” said the acting chief to Fred Mischler. “Right,” said Fred. He kept his word. Working up visions of rubber boots and hoses, dense clouds of smoke, heroic rescues, Mr. Cross arrived on the scene of action. Not a smidgen of smoke. Not a trace of flame. “False alarm,” said the firemen. “Well,” said Mr. Cross, “you have to break a green man in somehow.”
• One of the largest dancing pavilions north of Albany will be erected on the lake shore road between Plattsburgh Barracks and the Summer School by Prof. W. J. Leonard, it was announced yesterday. Prof. Leonard has purchased 2½ acres of land from Charles Warren and has given LaMarche and Brault the contract to build the pavilion. It will be located just north of Mary’s Tea Room. Work will begin Monday, the contractors stated. The pavilion will be built with A-1 maple. The interior floor space will be 96 by 70 feet, while the exterior of the building will be 125 by 102 feet. The pavilion will be modern in every way and is expected to prove very popular this summer.
— Compiled by Night Editor Ben Rowe