The events were taking place at the “Home of 1,000 Animals” or at the time known as “The Sterling Alaska Fur and Game Farm” and today known by me as “The Home of 1,000 Antiques” owned and operated by Greg Peacock … located in Lake Placid diagonally across from Kinney Drugs. I’ve been giving Greg so much ink lately I believe I should get a discount on everything I buy at one of his many emporiums of history.

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The chimps story

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As readers will notice, the second to last line in the caption is upside down. Each of those lines is a separate line-of-type, in the hot type days. Apparently there was a correction in that line and when the printer making up that page attempted to place in the corrected line, he put it in upside down. I hope it wasn’t done by my composing room pal, Roger Stephenson.

“Contrary to popular belief, a chimpanzee is more than just a furry wretch who lofts coconuts into the porridge of Tarzan’s mate and spits jungle epithets at passing safaris.

“One only has to stop at the Sterling Game Farm attraction outside of Lake Placid to reclassify his opinion of this jungle clown while getting in a full afternoon’s education.

“Perhaps it is the cultural influence of the Adirondacks which elevates our monkey-like forerunner of the human animal above his African contemporaries. Then again they may be feeding the local anthropoids a modified form of tranquilizers.

“The two top performers at Sterling’s are a male and female aged respectively 4 and 7 whose repertoire of crowd pleasers includes tight-rope walking, playing ball, riding bicycles, racing in miniature autos, roller skating, stilt walking and self-applause.

“The well-trained individualists prove to be above average in their adaptability to human-inspired manners and this is most evident when the table is set for the daily repast. Yelly, the female, places the chairs for both her and Mike. After seating themselves, they eat with table silver and carry on much as their human counterparts at mealtime.” (Excerpts from a much longer story.)

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Hotel Saranac asks tax cut

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“A $142,750 reduction in town tax assessment is being sought by the Saranac Holding Company, owner and operator of the Hotel Saranac. The company’s vice-president, Norman Meyer filed for a certiorari proceeding charging that the present assessment of $175,000 is ‘illegal, unequal and erroneous in that (it) has been made at a higher rate than other assessments on the same roll made by the town officers.

“The Harrietstown Board meeting in regular session last night, named Supervisor Hayward Plumadore to represent them in the Johnstown Supreme Court on September 8. Plumadore (an attorney) will act without fee, but will be reimbursed for expenses.

“The company’s statement said that the average assessment in the town was 43 percent of actual value and the hotel is assessed at ‘greater than 200 per cent of its true market value.’

“The statement said that the value of the real property was $75,000 and that it could be sold for no more than $90,000. (Where was Fred Rodel when we needed him?)

“Board members noted that the Hotel Alpine is assessed at $30,000 and the Berkeley Hotel at $45,000.

“Town Assessors are George Donaldson Sr., Albert H. Homburger Jr., and Theodore Hillman.

“A similar case is pending with the Village of Saranac Lake.”

Now jumping ahead to about 1964 when Paul Smith’s College bought the Hotel Saranac; a team of college officials accompanied by a lawyer came to the Saranac Lake Village Board requesting an educational facility tax deduction.

Mayor John Campion discussed the question briefly with the Board of Trustees including

Myron Skeels, Charles Lavery, George Stearns and Yours Truly and then said to the college group “we can’t decide that question.”

The spokesman for the college said something like, “then we’ll have to go to court” and Mayor Campion replied, without a pause, “that is exactly what we want you to do.”

The court ultimately gave the college a 35% educational tax reduction as the hotel was used to train the students for their Culinary and Hotel Management degree. The students popular

Thursday Night Buffet always created a long waiting line.

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Petrova roof repairs

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“The members of the Saranac Lake Board of Education spent a good deal of time last night discussing problems connected with the new roofing job which has just been completed on the Petrova Avenue School.

“The roof on the main part of the building is apparently satisfactory although final inspection has not been accomplished and the bond has not been received from the bonding company.

“Ferdinand Venditti, of the contracting firm that did the work stated that the bond was in the process of being issued and he believed that it was probably in the mail. (Boy, that’s an old line if I ever heard one!)

“On that basis, payment of about $8,000 was made to his company while $1,467 was withheld since board members are not satisfied with the roof over the boiler room. There are one or two low spots where water does not drain but after an inspection by Head Custodian Frank Ferguson and Mr. Venditti they assured the board that installation of a drain would fix the problem.”