Rik Cassidy, manager of the Olympic Center box office, said the Alabama concert was the second-biggest crowd ever; the largest was the Kenny Rogers concert the previous December, when there were 63 more tickets sold.

There is a finite number of seats in the Olympic rink, 8,500, but for concerts the ice sheet is covered and used for seating. The configuration for the Rogers concert probably accounted for the added 63 tickets.

–

The square dance festival

–

Reporter Deborah Wright had three stories on the front page — here is a brief from the square dancers:

“Bearer of a ‘Big Bernie Baker’ name tag [I can tell you, he was a very big guy], this local man is remembered each fall for a dream he had 14 years ago.

“His ‘idea’ has materialized and matured into an annual Lake Placid affair called the ‘Flaming Leaves Square & Round Dance Festival,’ which attracted 1,300 dancers to the village last weekend.

“Mr. Baker said the three-day dancer get-together grows every year.

“‘We started back in 1971 as a one-day event with only 15 squares, which is 120 people,’ he said.

“‘The following year,’ he said, ‘they got brave and turned it into a week-end long festival. And added, ‘it is probably the only non-competitive sport in Lake Placid.'”

–

Lead story is the horse show

–

“A future that looked dim the past few months has brightened as officials of the Lake Placid Horse Show Association optimistically tackle the $170,000 debt and anticipate successful future seasons.

“Last Thursday, the most recently occurring debt of $10,000 in New York state sales taxes were paid, according to Association Chairman Martin Stone.

“‘And we’ve raised all necessary loan guarantees to pay creditors a portion of what they’re owed,’ Mr. Stone said. ‘It was a frantic effort, but we are going to make it.'”

–

The news in brief

–

This was a very big (14 pages) edition of the Lake Placid News … long stories and every inch filled with events. Other events were covered by Editor Ron Landfried and Karen Clark.

——

“Can the Village of Lake Placid legally ban snowmobiles from Mirror Lake?

“That question was raised repeatedly Tuesday night during a public forum on snowmobiles at the Olympic Convention Center. The forum was held to discuss the findings of a special village committee, which recently recommended a ban on snowmobiles on Mirror Lake.

“Attorney Ed Finnerty of Lake Placid spoke as a representative of the International Snowmobile Industry Association. He said after extensive research with enforcement officers and the New York Department of Parks and Recreation, ‘they strongly advise me that the Village of Lake Placid has no authority to enact a total ban of snowmobiles on Mirror Lake.'”

——

Only in its third year, the Lake Placid Hall of Fame announced the induction of four new members: Alice P. Beeckel, George Carrol, Gordon McKellen and Eric Heiden.

——

North Country Community College President David Petty announced that the college ended its 1984-85 fiscal year in the black, overcoming a previous year’s deficit. The college had overspent its budget by $447,000 and eroded its fund balance cushion to zero.

Full-time student enrollment was up 7.8%, creating a record enrollment for fall semester.

In a separate story it was announced that the college would offer 16 courses for every level of swimmer, beginning in mid-October.

——

The reason I saved this copy of the LPN: It has a photo and brief story about our son Kelby Riley.

“Riley, a member of the Lake Placid Figure Skating Club, has passed the United States Figure Skating Association Gold Test and the Canadian Figure Skating Gold Test. He is a member of the National Honor Society and is currently on the Dean’s List at Plattsburgh State University.”

Kelby went on to perform as a soloist with Ice Capades.