Wow! We all know what a difference a day makes. What about 113 years?

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1911 program highlights

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“In the village are nearly eighty hotels and boarding houses where more than 2,000 patrons can find accommodations, the expense being from $8 to $35 per week. The town has a population of about 5,000, and during the summer season almost the same number of tourists are entertained in and near the place.

“Saranac Lake has naturally become the capital of the Adirondacks and some hundred business places sell all kinds of goods to the townspeople and tourists.

“Saranac Lake has two banks, the Adirondack National Bank and the Saranac Lake National Bank, each with a capital of $50,000.

“Saranac Lake has an efficient Board of Trade, (later the Chamber of Commerce), an active Board of Health as well as a Village Improvement Society composed of energetic ladies; as well as, street cleaning, disposal of garbage and an arrangement of parks and playgrounds.”

(The President, ‘Mayor’, in 1911 was Isaiah Vosburgh. Trustees were Frank E. Sheldon, Max Harold Westhoff, J. Woods Price and Daniel E. Ames.)

Included in the program:

¯ First Day — Jan. 24

¯Grand parade of decorated sleighs, autos and floats

¯Skating races for local amateurs, exhibition of fancy skating by Miss Pope and children’s fancy dress skating carnival.

In the evening:

¯ Hockey match, Pontiacs vs. Empires of Valleyfield, Quebec.

¯ Fireworks and illumination of Ice Palace

The second day, Jan. 25, the National Outdoor Speed Skating Championships were scheduled. John Harding of Saranac Lake was first vice president of the International Skating Union of America.

There were many skating exhibitions scheduled and another Fireworks and Illumination of the Ice Palace.

The third day, Jan. 26 were the final events of the Speed Skating Championships; a “hockey match” between the Pontiacs and the Outremont’s of Montreal. Many skating exhibitions and that evening the grand finale, magnificent display of fireworks and storming of the Ice Palace.

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1971 program highlights

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Without any careful research, it seems that the 1969 Winter Carnival was the last year that the king and queen were celebrities. I don’t have the 1970 program, but by 1971 the king and queen were local celebrities. Because the names of the king and queen were kept secret until the coronation ceremony, there are no Royalty pictures in the program.

King was Charles “Chuck” Pandolph and queen was Norman Allen. Chuck was a combat Marine veteran of the biggest battles in the Pacific; he was later a village police officer, bobsledder and owned and operated two bars and restaurants at different locations, at different times. He was married to Marie Niles. Their son, Charles, a tall, handsome guy, is a Life Flight Nurse stationed at the Adirondack Regional Airport in Lake Clear.

Norman and her husband Bill were one of the nicest couples in Saranac Lake. Norman was in charge of the cash register checkout lanes at the Grand Union and I believe was assistant manager at the time to Halsey Seguin. She had the most beautiful smile and pleasant personality that brought many shoppers to the store. Bill, guide and camp caretaker, in his time off, was a fixture at the Blue Line Sport Shop, especially when it was owned by my former brother-in-law, Howard Ellithorpe and Al Homburger. It was a hangout for characters right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Everyone knows the two popular Allen kids, Billy the former Waterhole czar and his charming sister Ona.

None of the above information was in the program so as not to give away their identity ahead of the coronation. So I hope my memory, sometimes unreliable, is correct.

This was the 74th Winter Carnival — theme “Our Town – 1971” — Friday, Feb. 12 through Sunday, Feb. 14.

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Friday

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Store window judging, skating races, hockey games. Coronation and Rotary Show at the Pontiac Theater and a reception for special guests and royalty at the Elks Club.

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Saturday

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Snow sculpture judging, hockey games, Mosquitoes, Bantams and Pee Wees, ice golf, Paul Smith’s College wood chopping, parade, band concert and awards at the Harrietstown Town Hall following the parade and the carnival dances at 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Elks Club and The Store.

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Sunday

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Golden Ski Races at Mount Pisgah, sponsored by the Enterprise; broom hockey, many more hockey games, more ice golf and closing with fireworks and the storming of the Ice Palace.