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May 12, 2023

State & Union: Turning back the clock on Olean

From remembering a titan of Olean business to the shutdown of Thatcher Glass,

From remembering a titan of Olean business to the shutdown of Thatcher Glass, from gutter talk to a triple appearance on "Jeopardy!", here's a look back on the week that was 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago in this edition of Turning Back the Clock.

1923

June 5 — Merrill Rogers, 35, was killed by gas last night when he descended into his oil well at North Seventh Street and Lincoln Avenue. Merrill went into the 21-foot well "to look around," his family reported, having been down there a week earlier. However, gas had accumulated by that time. The well was a dug well in the pitcher pump oil field of the section in Wayne and Seventh streets and Lincoln Avenue, operated by a pitcher pump. Two other men were overcome in recovering the body, and not even a gas mask was enough to keep the men from fainting.

June 9 — Every profession and walk of life was represented at the memorial service held in the First Presbyterian Church as a tribute to the memory of the late Frank L. Bartlett. The gathering listened with close attention and deep interest to the reading of a memorial to Bartlett, prepared by his lifelong friend Judge E.W. Hatch of Friendship, and read by Alfred University President Boothe C. Davis. Bartlett, a railroad investor and president of the Exchange National Bank, had died the previous December. Today, his home across the street from the church is owned by the city and serves as a museum.

1948

June 7 — Production at the Olean plant of the Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Co. will cease at the end of the week, company officials reported. Notification of the shutdown was given to 285 men and women. The company announcement said the $2 million plant would be maintained on a stand-by basis if needed again. Company officials noted the decline in glass demand of 30% is due to reduction in a demand for packaged products, a heavy inventory of containers and the availability of tin cans, which were packaged in glass during the war when tin was not available.

June 7 — St. Bonaventure College held its 89th commencement exercises on Sunday, with solemn rites and colorful ceremonies. The largest graduating class in the college's history — 128 — received masters and bachelors degrees. Graduate speaker Charles Tobin of Albany used his speech to urge his fellow graduates to fight the "powerful forces of atheism and irreligion abroad," and to criticize the recent creation of the State University of New York as a serious challenge to long-term stability of private institutions such as St. Bonaventure.

1973

June 6 — About 3,500 Olean property owners are being sent letters asking them to unhook their roof gutters from the city's sewer system. City DPW officials reported the sewer plant is overloaded every time there is a heavy rain, leading to backups and discharges into the river. While illegal for years, the city only began inspecting the drains in 2018 following the approval of an inspection law every time a property is sold or an apartment vacated. Many properties that have not been sold in the last five years are still connected, however.

June 11 — Olean's entry in the Alle-Catt baseball league flexed its muscles over the weekend with 53 runs in two games. On Saturday, Olean toppled Rushford, 22-5, thanks to six strikeouts from Mark Moran and 3-for-5 batting by Mickey Yusko and Jim Brewer. On Sunday, the squad blanked Shinglehouse at 31-0. Yusko pitched no-hit ball for seven innings and retired 19 batters in a row before letting Mike Martello take over for the final two innings.

1998

June 8 — After 12 days of searching, the body of 82-year-old Charles Sheets of San Bernardino, Calif., was discovered 2 miles north of Thunder Rocks in Allegany State Park. Sheets, who had returned to the park where he lived as a child 75 years prior, died of an apparent heart attack, family and county coroners reported. He had grown up in the settlement known as Little Ireland, and was seeking a can of coins he buried there as a child. "We were hoping it would turn out better than it did, but at least we didn't have to leave him in the forest," said family member Jan Anderson.

June 10 — Joe Mecca Jr. of Allegany ended his three-day run as champion on the TV quiz show "Jeopardy!" with $25,500 in winnings. "I had a goal when I went out there. I said if I win one game and $10,000, I will be thrilled because I didn't know where I would fit in among other good players," he said. "As it turns out, I was very good, I can say that." The former Times Herald reporter joined the New York State Police in 1985.

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