150 Years

• May 27, 1875: The Little Valley Cornet Band made an excursion to Gowanda last Saturday afternoon (May 22) and remained over Sunday, the guests of Louie Welgand, of the Union Hotel. They express themselves highly gratified with their treatment at Gowanda.
• May 27, 1875: The Railroad House was sold at auction by Sheriff Henry last Saturday (May 22). It was bid off by Alex Wentworth of Randolph. We have not learned that “Alex” will run the house himself, but we have no doubt he could do as well as the quaint, old Philip Dorsheimer, of Buffalo, did in his day.
• May 27, 1875: An unusual number of Indians have been in town for a few days past, attracted by the meeting of the commissioners to lay out the villages on the reservation. Now that the Indian Commissioners are on the ground and getting ready to work, our people feel that they will soon realize some of the benefits of the act passed by the late Congress.

100 Years

• May 22, 1925: Despite reports emanating from Quaker Bridge that the new general store in Allegany State Park will be completed about the first of June and that an influx of “campers” is expected about that time, definite announcement is made at the park headquarters here that the park will not be opened officially until July 1. Similar reports that new roads have been completed into the park are also denied.
• May 23, 1925: Salamanca’s new $88,000 municipal reservoir is the biggest engineering job that has been undertaken here. The reservoir covers more than an acre in area. Thirty thousand wagon loads of earth were taken out in the excavation; 2,700 cubic yards of concrete will have been laid when finished. Seventy tons of water pipe will go into the fittings and connections for valves designed to give perfect control of the water.
• May 27, 1925: A complete distillery with an estimated capacity of 100 gallons or more a day, believed by officers to be the biggest one uncover anywhere in this end of the state, was located on the old Iriving Flint farm at the end of a little-used road about a mile and a quarter almost due north of the church at Willoughby, Great Valley.

50 Years

• May 22, 1975: The Salamanca Human Resources Council is pressing for development of the island in the Allegany River between Main St. Bridge and Parkway Bridge as a recreational area. At its meeting Monday, the council heard Mrs. Ila Brown and student members propose developing the island for recreational facilities and a picnic area. Council members agreed to seek support for the idea from other community organizations.

Mayor Keith Reed said the danger of flooding would prevent any extensive building on the island, However, he said a picnic area with tables that could be removed during flood season, “is an idea worth considering.”

● May 27, 1975: (SALAMANCA —) “Every year, we see fewer and fewer people along the parade route,” said Mayor Keith Reed at the conclusion of Memorial Day ceremonies in Wildwood Cemetery Monday morning. “I guess people’s ideas of patriotism are changing.”

The memorial program at Wildwood Cemetery included brief remarks by veterans and city officials and the firing of a salute by the combined rifle squads of the Legion and VFW and the sounding of taps by a bugler. Participating in the parade were the Salamanca Central High School band, color guards and members of the veterans organizations, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and city officials.

25 Years

● May 22, 2000: LITTLE VALLEY — The Southern Tier Area Rails to Trails Association (START) hopes to have a trailhead recreation area at the end of Main Street completed by September. The demonstration project will kick off construction work on the future Iroquois Recreation Trail. The idea for the trail originally came from an Allegany State Park employee who envisioned trails connecting the park and Zoar Valley.

● May 23, 2000: SALAMANCA — Ronald Smith is already an award-winning author, and he’s only in kindergarten. The Prospect Elementary School 6-year-old was presented with an engraved, wooden plaque Saturday (May 20) after taking first place in the kindergarten “Short Fiction” category at the 3rd Annual Young Authors’ Conference, sponsored by the St. Bonaventure University Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa.

● May 23, 2000: SALAMANCA — City seventh and eighth graders planted a tree this morning in memory of a classmate who lost a battle to cancer. Eighth-grade honor student Sara Lafferty lost her battle with cancer last September. Class of 2004 President Dean Whitcomb presented a tree to Middle School Principal Robert Bell. They were joined by Betty Anderson, Sara’s mother, shoveling dirt around a sugar maple tree.

10 Years

● May 28, 2015: LITTLE VALLEY — On Memorial Day, Citizens Advocating Memorial Preservation (C.A.M.P.) honored the memory of the 3,500 Cattaraugus County Civil War Veterans. The ceremony took place at the Cattaraugus County Memorial and Historical Building in Little Valley.

With Civil War re-enactors as honor guard, the observance included the Pledge of Allegiance, a speech, the reading of a poem, and a wreath placed at the memorial to honor the Civil War soldiers and sailors from Cattaraugus County, to whom this memorial building was dedicated in 1914.

● May 28, 2015: STEAMBURG — Highbanks Campground has officially reopened after a long hiatus, but you may not recognize it. The campground, which closed after the summer of 2009, opened to visitors Memorial Day weekend and kicked things off right with an opening ceremony and picnic with Seneca Nation officials.

The reopening was made possible when the Seneca Nation Council took initiative to reinvest in the property, providing the capital and resources necessary to completely revamp the facility. Nation President Maurice John said the campground reopening “has been a long time coming,” but one which the Seneca Nation Council has made a priority.