Charles Barkley’s recent appearance, a possible historic breakthrough and a sailboat wreck highlight 2024.
SOUND AROUND MOUND
A mysterious town of Pomfret landowner authored an anonymous article in November about what could be a Native American earthen mound on their property.
The person said they determined that an 1894 photo of the mound matched the one on the Pomfret property “using various computer technology and mathematical calculations.”
However, the article acknowledged, two experts in the field think it might be a natural feature.
The article concluded, “Rest assured that the goal remains the same, to preserve, protect and respect the area if it is a mound. For this reason, the exact location and people involved is being kept confidential at this point until more is known. Stay tuned.”
SAILBOAT SLAMS INTO BEACH
Dunkirk’s Wright Park Beach is always busy on sultry August evenings, but an accident drew even more spectators. A sailboat ran aground on the beach.
Workers needed a crane to remove the boat, an endeavor that drew lots of gawkers. A gorgeous Lake Erie sunset encouraged people to come view the scene.
The boat got attached to a trailer on a pickup truck, which hauled it away.
The captain of the boat was reportedly uninjured.
“SIR CHARLES” FINDS NEW COURT
Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, nicknamed “Sir Charles,” found some loyal subjects in Fredonia during an early December visit.
Barkley visited for a SUNY Fredonia hockey game and a fundraiser for the team. He is reportedly friends with a former member of the team.
The retired NBA star, currently host of the long-running, wildly popular “Inside the NBA,” really made a splash when he went downtown. Accompanied by SUNY Fredonia folks, he visited several establishments for food and drink.
Local social media accounts soon lit up with photos of Barkley, and accounts of bumping into him. One particularly well-known photo, featuring Barkley with three members of the Fredonia Police Department at the recently reopened White Inn, has garnered nearly 2,200 “likes” and “loves” on the department’s Facebook Page as of this writing.
TAYLOR SWIFT’S LOCAL FAMILY
She’s arguably the biggest star in pop music right now, and her great-grandma lived in Dunkirk. Taylor Swift visited Western New York in January to see her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, beat the Buffalo Bills — and the OBSERVER used the occasion to detail her local family ties.
Dunkirk was the home of Eleanor Mayer, Swift’s great-grandmother, in the early 1900s. Eleanor was the daughter of Julius and Delia Mayer, who ran the Mayer Music Store on Central Avenue.
Eleanor Mayer later married a Cleveland man, Lance Finlay. Their son, Robert Finlay, born in 1920, is Taylor Swift’s grandfather.
Swift’s family lineage was confirmed to the OBSERVER by an area resident who is an expert on genealogy.
FACEBOOK GROUP BREAKS INTO OLD CHURCH
Neil Burns got an unpleasant surprise when his wife told him about a Facebook post featuring a former church in Cherry Creek he owns. The post was from a group that looks at abandoned buildings.
However, according to Burns, the building is not abandoned and the posters broke in to look around. In fact, he’s restoring the place. He alleges the Facebook trespassers broke an 100-year-old door to get in.
The post featuring the former church is no longer online. “They did send me an apology and offered to help pay to fix up the place but denied breaking in and denied breaking my door,” Burns said of the alleged trespassers.