100 Years Ago

ARRANGEMENTS were well in hand for the Skipton Gala in aid of hospital funds. The procession route was fixed, ending at the Gala field in the Bailey. The list of entertainers included: Madame Fillis on the rolling globe, Denelter triple bar gymnast; Almon hand balancer and Voldones, trapeze performers. The Carleton Gymnastic Club was to give a demonstration and the headmaster of the British School on Otley Street agreed that the school would provide some stage entertainment.

The paper applauded the RSPCA for action which would send a message to "members of the cattle droving fraternity who persist in practicing cruelty to dumb beasts which stand in Skipton's main thoroughfares every Monday". An RSPCA inspector had noticed a drover prodding cattle which jumped more than they would usually with a normal stick. He demanded to inspect the stick and, at first refused, persisted and found that the stick had a sharp spike on the end. The drover was brought before the Skipton magistrates and fined 10 shillings.

The council finally received deeds which transferred five acres of land from Lord Hothfield's Skipton Castle estate over to them. The land, The Firth, at Middletown, Skipton, was to be used as a recreation ground but the deeds stated that no fair could be held on the land.

50 Years Ago

THE Vicar of Cowling protested to the BBC about the standard of television. Rev Harry Clegg "to save fuel in the parish hall" invited members of the Youth Fellowship on Sunday evenings to watch his television set but he was dismayed that each Sunday there was a play broadcast usually of an unsuitable nature. "The play continues until long past the bedtime of provincial youths," said Mr Clegg. "This means they never see the play through to the end but I do see it through and I am often glad that the youths have gone home. Plays on sex and family disruption cannot be good for anyone."

Sylvia Saul, who lived on Marshfield, Settle, won a national competition in which the prize was a trip to Majorca. The competition related to the film 'It's a Wonderful Life' and was in the Picturegoer magazine. Miss Saul was taking her mother but back in 1954 a trip to Majorca was no easy matter. She had to take a train to London, a flight to Paris, change to an Air France flight to Barcelona and then a boat trip to the island.

Embsay was running out of space to bury its dead. The parish council identified a piece of land on the other side of the road to the churchyard as suitable for a burial ground and agreed to write to the landowner to see if he would sell.

25 Years Ago

AN Eastby farmer and his two sons had to dive for cover as rocks rained down on their field as they were working. The rocks had come from a blasting explosion at the nearby Skipton Rock Quarry and Richard Ayrton and his sons Mark and Andrew crouched behind their Land Rover. One rock knocked a four feet hole in a nearby wall and Mr Ayrton said some stones had been found three quarters of a mile away. A policeman took a statement from Mr Ayrton and then went to see the quarry manager. The quarry owners, Hargreaves, refused to comment.

Dennis Thornborrow, a 16-year-old Kettlewell schoolboy, received a bravery award from North Yorkshire's Chief Fire Officer. Dennis had rescued 92-year-old Lucy Cumberland from a fire at her home on the Green, Kettlewell, and then tackled the blaze using a fire extinguisher from the King's Head pub, undoubtedly reducing the damage caused.

Just in case you think summer is almost here, May 3 1979 saw Craven folk wake up to a covering of snow and temperatures fell to minus four centigrade. The Herald reported that on June 8 1881 snow had been recorded on Great Whernside after an unseasonal fall and this was the first May snowfall since 1967.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park said it was introducing "experimental" car parking charges at its car parks in Grassington, Malham and Clapham - but only if the local parish council agreed. The charge of 20p would be made during the months of July to September and would then be reviewed.

10 Years Ago

A YOUTH dubbed 'Blip Boy' was creating havoc in Skipton. He earned his name because he caused crime figures to "blip" wherever he went but because he was only 14 he could not be locked up. The social services had moved him out of York to a home in Skipton - with predictable results. The police admitted they had a surveillance team following him around but he still stole out at night to burgle local homes. Det Chief Inspector John Lacy said his home town, York, did not want him back but the people of Skipton were entitled to feel let down by the system and were suffering abnormal crime rates. He said the boy should be locked up for his own sake because one day someone would take the law into their own hands.

Tom Peel, a farmer from Embsay, won a national Adult Learners Award. Unable to read and write after leaving school he had attended a three year course at Craven College, never once missing or being late for a lesson despite a walk of around 16 miles and getting up at 4am in lambing time.