There is so much history in this 1994 special edition by Publisher Catherine Moore and Editor John Penney.

Maybe sometime in the future I will find a way for the Enterprise to publish some of the complete stories in that special edition, especially one by John J. Duquette and another four or five great stories all by J. Ripley “Rip” Allen.

Since only having space for snippets of long stories this is what Ms. Moore had to say 30 years ago: “I am proud to say that I have been at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise for more than 20 years now. During that time I have very fond memories of the people and have discovered what a unique place the Adirondacks have been in which to live. I hope, as you read our centennial issue, you will see and feel how special these communities are and how the Enterprise has portrayed them throughout its 100 years.”

Editor John Penney:

“As you read the following stories in this special centennial issue and began to reminisce about some of the area’s biggest news events, you may notice a common thread in statements by former Adirondack Daily Enterprise employees: That they were like family, that they had fun, and that the job was difficult but ultimately rewarding.

“The same holds true to today.”

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Harry Nason

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Next is Harry Nason, former Enterprise editor, former editor of a New York City Daily who arrived here as a tuberculosis patient at Will Rogers Hospital. He was a tough talking, sarcastic, witty guy who moved to Florida when he retired. When I was appointed mayor at a late board meeting one night I dressed up in a suit and tie the next day, and posed, looking “serious” so Bill McLaughlin could use the picture with the announcement. I never wore a suit and tie except to our meetings, when board members all dressed that way.

So when Harry received his Enterprise in Florida with my photo on page one, he wrote to me saying; “Congratulations — and Riley, it’s all right to be important, but for Chri#*-sakes, quit trying to look important.” And that is exactly what I was attempting to do in the photo.

This brief piece from Mr. Nason’s story is from the middle of a long, long tale: “I was almost ready to be discharged from Will Rogers when the famed and beloved Bill White asked me to a cocktail party out at Camp Intermission where the only other soused-up guest was Fred Kury, then owner and publisher of the Enterprise.

“Fred and I were introduced and being polite and gentlemanly, he asked me what I was going to do after I left Will Rogers. Fred didn’t really care, he was just making conversation. But I shocked him.

“Smiling, I said, ‘Mr. Kury, why don’t you drop dead?’ He was still pale when I went on, ‘I always wanted to get my hands on a small town newspaper. You kick in and I’ll take over.’ The next day he called me at the hospital and said, ‘I have no thought of dropping dead, Mr. Nason, and I don’t believe it will be necessary. But were you serious about working for the Enterprise?’ “A few days later I went to work as managing editor with Helen, my late wife, as city editor. Both of us had a little newspaper experience.”

Of course they had both worked at that New York City newspaper and had plenty of experience. They worked at the Enterprise from 1949 to 1956.

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Jim Munn

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The following brief is by Jim Munn, Washington, D.C. reporter for the Associated Press. Jim is a local guy, John Munn’s brother so that makes him an uncle to my pal, Gar Munn. He had interviewed many big-shots including Winston Churchill.

“Some of us Saranac natives, thankfully, don’t match the 100-year span of the Enterprise.

“But one, whose memory chain of the ol’ town began to shape in the ‘teen years of the century, remembers when: The Enterprise, then a twice-weekly, was written, edited, printed and distributed from the original Town Hall. When the hall was leveled by fire in the mid-1920s, the Enterprise shifted to the present location (then 76 Main St.) a space that Munn Brothers grocery store had occupied from about 1907.

“Except for an addition to the rear of the building, built when the Enterprise was owned by John S. Ridenour, the structure is substantially the same today as it was 50, or more years ago.

“But the changes along Main Street and Broadway have been many.

“Gone are such once-familiar places at Tommy Daley’s tobacco shop — The Humidor — distinguished not only by the owner’s colorful personality, but also by a store front of curved glass, from Belgium. There was big excitement one year when the glass was broken and a replacement — at great expense and long delay — came from abroad.

“The Humidor, tiny and narrow, stood between Munn Brothers and the old Adirondack Bank & Trust Company, which proclaimed itself, ‘Big Strong and Friendly.’ The irreverent, or perhaps those whose loan applications had been summarily rejected, had their own slogan — ‘Big, Strong and Stingy.'”

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Howard Riley

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I was former Enterprise editor, composing room foreman and circulation manager who had left the Enterprise 20 years before this centennial edition. My contribution was a long story, which, of course, I really hate to abbreviate.

The following then is a much edited story: “Any history of any newspaper would not be complete without a story about the composing room, the guts of the newspaper, and the men and women who take care of the sophisticated machinery and who do the skillful ‘makeup.’ And a history of this newspaper would not be complete without telling about Leo McKillip, of 15 Winona Avenue, who started work for the Enterprise in 1912 when the paper was a weekly.

“The metal pot on the one linotype machine was heated by gas at that time and a man had to come to work at 6 a.m. to light the pot so the metal would be ready when the regular crew started at 7.

“The late, beloved George LaPan was the man Mr. McKillip replaced on a June day 57 years ago when Mr. LaPan ‘went to work at the bank,’ became President, and stayed there his entire working life.

“Mr. McKillip had left for the Army in 1917 and after his service went to work at the Buffalo Express. When the printers went on strike (demanding a 44 hour, McKillip had worked a 54 hour week at the Enterprise), so he came home and went back to work at the Enterprise.”

My story went on to tell about the guys (and their skills) I had worked with in the composing room including pressman Don Renadette, Armand Amell, Destry Lewis, Jim Bishop, Roger Stephenson, Dave Munn, Dave Hunter and Fred Charland. Dave Munn had worked for Mr. McKillip and later for Jim Finn at Currier Press when he bought out the McKillip business.

So there you have it, an excellent history of not just the Enterprise but of the wonderful village of Saranac Lake.

Wait, there’s more. The 1994 special edition also published the entire front page of the Enterprise, dated Feb. 21, 1985, with an eight-column photo of the village with a simple caption — “Saranac Lake — The Gem of the Adirondacks.”

History matters: I have saved this quote from Robert Weible, then New York state historian: “History can have the power to influence and hold together communities, making the study of history an important endeavor.”