It was one year ago that Hazel Kleinbach retired as historian of the Town of Clarkson and I became the new historian. How time passes. Over the past year I have met many wonderful and interesting people and am excited when I look forward to the year to come. I have found that one of the jobs of historian is to wade through and categorize all sorts of printed material. Yesterday's news is now history. This fact was brought home to me while watching President Ronald Reagan's funeral procession. I remembered a newspaper clipping I had saved from the fall of 1958 when 46-year-old Ronald Reagan, TV and film actor, came to Brockport. He was on a good will tour of communities where General Electric plants were located and was then one of the stars of General Electric TV theater. During one day, he met with the Chamber of Commerce at the old Roxbury Inn, (see photo) spoke to employees at the General Electric plant, stopped at the Brockport grade school and spoke at an assembly at Brockport High. The subject of his talk to the Chamber of Commerce was, "Business, Bureaus and Ballots." "It's getting to the point where bureaus and bureaucracy have more to do with determining government policy and programs than do the elected representatives," he was quoted as saying. He analyzed the free enterprise system and its advantages and called for a "realistic tax policy." I don't remember much about what he said at that high school assembly but the impression he left with me was that he loved what he did and he really showed concern and love for this country. I do remember though when he ran for governor of California I wasn't in the least surprised. Note: Looking forward to July 4, if you reside in Clarkson and have any stories about relatives who served in the Revolutionary War, feel free to drop me a line at the town hall or e-mail me at historianclarksonny@yahoo.com. My office hours are Tuesday evenings (first through fourth weeks of the month), 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Leanna Blodgett Hale |
