TOM MIX: Our story on Tom Mix, which appeared a couple weeks
ago, was of special interest to L.J. Gorske of Johnsonburg.
He writes, “I was born in Erie, and we lived near the circus
grounds where all the circuses enter the place. I was about 8 or 10
years old when the Tom Mix Wild West Show came to Erie.”
“I remember watching Tom Mix practice roping, etc., during the
day times he wasn’t performing.
“What I remember most is running down and telling my parents I
petted Tony, Tom’s horse. I’ll never forget. P.S. That was 80-plus
years ago.”
THOSE COLORS: Jessica Howard of Mount Jewett offers some input
on half of the reason Smethport and Port Allegany have the same
school colors.
“First, as a graduate of Smethport (2003) let me clarify one
thing first. Smethport is orange and black, and Port Allegany is
black and orange.
“My aunt from Florida was up recently so I asked her (she
graduated from Smethport Class of ’64). When Smethport combined all
the high schools into one (1961) they needed their own school
colors.
“The other schools did not want to give up their colors because
they still existed as elementary schools so Smethport decided to go
with the only color that was not in use, orange. And what goes best
with orange? Black.
“I do not know the answer to how Port Allegany decided their
colors.”
HISTORY LESSON: Retired history teacher Rick Benton corrects a
part of an item we carried Monday about the writing of the U.S.
Constitution. Quoting a reader, we had said the Whiskey Rebellion
was among the events that led to the calling of the Constitutional
Convention in 1787.
That cannot be so, Rick notes; the Whiskey Rebellion didn’t take
place until the 1790s.
We all need to brush up on our American history, that’s for
sure.
TODD EVANS: We carried a recent inquiry about a long-ago office
supply store in Bradford owned by a Todd Evans. A reader had a
promotional item carrying that name and we now know how far back
this store goes into Bradford history.
Willie Oliver of Jamestown, N.Y., a former Derrick City
resident, writes: “Todd Evans was my father-in-law. I think he
owned an office supply store sometime in the 1930s. He died in
December 1936 or January 1937 while on a Caribbean cruise.”
