That was a very interesting article (March 29) about the city of Auburn “key.” I also have one of the keys.

They were, in fact, handed out to friends and supporters by the then-Mayor Merle S. Merrill. He and my dad, Clifford A. LaChance, were great friends and we, as families, would get together from time to time. Merrill and his wife, along with their two daughters, would come up to our home on Maple Hill. My dad would play the piano for them and, from time to time, we would have a sing-along. I have pictures of our gatherings.

Merrill and Walter Rand ran the Merrand Furniture company in Greene for a while.

My dad made an unsuccessful run for councilman in Ward 1 back in the 1950s. I was on the Auburn City Council, elected in 1981. I will always remember that date as it was 40 years, to the day, of the declaration of World War II that I was sworn in.

Richard LaChance, Liverpool, N.Y.