-By Carolann Fisher-Linn-
Setterstix: Anyone who has driven through the village of Cattaraugus NY undoubtedly has seen the sprawling (for Cattaraugus) Setterstix plant. It’s been there since 1938 turning out billions of paper sticks. Chances are that your lollipops, Q-tips, and candy apples have Setterstix sticking out of them. They are the only paper stick manufacturer in North America which prompted the recent purchase by a German company. This put Setterstix products into the international market, but sadly, moved them from Cattaraugus to So. Carolina, as told to this writer by Little Valley native, Jenny Horning, who bravely moved with the company. A native resident with Cattaraugus County in her DNA, Jenny acutely misses the area, especially now with the fall season upon us. (You get it, right?) Jenny sends her fondest regards. Don’t you wonder how the Setter Brothers got the idea to turn insignificant paper sticks into cash? Imagine!
Original American Kazoo Company: The small town of Eden, in Erie County is home to The Original American Kazoo Company. This little sheet metal plant brought the manufacturing of wooden kazoos up from Macon, Georgia and decided to make them out of metal. Ever since 1915, this has been the original kazoo factory,” said Karen Smith, owner of the Kazoo Boutique. It is the last manufacturer of metal kazoos in North America using the same machines from over a hundred years ago. For $6 you can make your own kazoo during their museum and factory tours. (Edenkazoo.com)
Louis Zamperini: The 2014 movie “Unbroken” reveals the amazing story of Olean born, Louis Zamperini – one of America’s greatest war heroes. As a 19-year-old he competed as a runner in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, finishing 8th while setting a new lap record in the process. During World War II, his plane was shot down and he survived an unheard of 47 days adrift in the Pacific. When found by the Japanese, he was imprisoned and tortured. He survived it all, battled depression on his return home, then became a Christian evangelist with a strong belief in forgiveness. From 1952 onwards, he devoted himself to at-risk youth. Zamperini is the subject of two more biographical films: Unbroken: Path to Redemption (2018), and Captured by Grace (2015).
Invention of the Voting Machine: With voting season upon us, here is a local tidbit you might not know. In the 1890’s, a Rochester man named Jacob Myers invented a machine to replace hand-tabulated ballots which led to voter fraud. The Automatic Voting Machine, aka Jamestown Machine, is one of the country’s largest manufacturers of lever-based voting machines. They were manufactured in Jamestown for over 100 years until 1983, controlling 80% of the mechanical voting machine market. The Smithsonian Institution currently possesses and exhibits a voting machine manufactured in Jamestown NY in the late 1890s.
More Jamestown: The city of Jamestown also specialized in wooden furniture. It was once called the “Furniture Capital of the World,” as furniture manufacturing was its predominant industry. By the 20th century, the local furniture manufacturing had boomed so much that Jamestown became an industry destination. “Jamestown area furniture manufacturers are part of nearly 200 other manufacturing facilities located within Chautauqua County, which employ approximately 10,000 and make nearly $5.1 billion in annual manufacturing shipments.” (blog.artonemfg.com)
Robert H. Jackson: Pretty much everyone knows that Jamestown is the birthplace of Lucille Ball. You can’t get much more famous than Lucy. But coming in second is Justice Robert H. Jackson who was also brought up in Jamestown and attended high school there. The Robert H. Jackson Center at 305 E. Fourth Street has honored and promoted the legacy of Robert H. Jackson, U.S. Solicitor General, U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and Chief U.S. Prosecutor of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Jackson is the only person to ever hold those top three law positions in the United States. With renewed interest in the Holocaust thanks to the NPR showing of Ken Burns’ new documentary, The Robert H. Jackson Center is making available and organizing both audio and video recordings of the Nuremberg trial proceedings. (roberthjackson.org)
Check back next week when The Villager shares more unique facts from the area, many in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus County.
Caption: The small town of Eden, in Erie County is home to The Original American Kazoo Company. It is the last manufacturer of metal kazoos in North America using the same machines from over a hundred years ago. For $6 you can make your own kazoo during their museum and factory tours. (Edenkazoo.com)