OCPL Local History & Genealogy

On one of her many local appearances, Irish born singer and entertainer Carmel Quinn performed at the Hotel Syracuse ballroom shortly before St. Patrick’s Day in 1972. This event benefited the American Cancer Society and Carmel briefly shared the microphone with event chairwoman Mrs. A. Andrew Shaffer. The red-haired singer was nursing a bad throat but pleased the afternoon crowd with renditions of “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” and “Look to the Rainbow” along with a few contemporary hits such as “Put Your Hand in the Hand of the Man who Stilled the Water.” Her ‘discovery’ on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts launched her American career. However, she became a frequent performer at many local venues over several decades, often headlining charity events. Mayor Lee Alexander confirmed her Syracuse popularity, declaring April 16 “Carmel Quinn Day” in 1978.

This was snowmobiling - 1952 style – when State Troopers of Troop B used an Eliason Motor Toboggan to rescue an injured hunter in December of that year. The State Police acquired the motorized sled after WWII to use during the north country winters. The sled proved its worth shortly after its purchase when troopers used it to overtake a fleeing thief across frozen Lake Titus, solving a string of burglaries at closed summer camps. Eliasons were produced until the early 1960s, just before snowmobiling gained widespread popularity and newer designs replaced the toboggan style.