Born:
Died: 1957
Married: Alice Duprey
Children: Charles Keough, Eugene Keough
John E. Keough was a salesman for Armour & Co., meat packers, and operated Keough's Motel on Lake Flower Avenue. He was a Village Trustee in 1922-23 and 1932-33.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, September 21, 1954
Keough And Anderson Will Run For Mayor
John E. Keough officially announced today that he would candidate for mayor of Saranac Lake. He said:
"If elected, I will give the Village the best business administration it ever had."
Mayor Alton (Tony) B. Anderson said today for the first time that he will be a candidate to succeed himself. Mr. Anderson has been Mayor of Saranac Lake for the last seven years.
"May the best man win," said Mr. Anderson. Mr. Keough was asked:
"Suppose you don't get the Republican nomination?"
"Then I'll run as an independent," he declared.
Mr. Keough was born in Buffalo and came to Saranac Lake in 1903. His wife is a native of Saranac Lake — she was Alice Duprey. They have two sons, Charles, the boat dealer and manufacturer, and Eugene, the mortician. John Keough lives at 148 Lake Flower avenue. He has been a salesman for Armour & Co., meat packers, for 38 years and will retire Nov. 1. He and his wife are owners and operators of Keough's Motel on Lake Flower ave.
Mr. Keough was in the past, a member of the Village Board of Trustees for three terms and a president of the Board of Education. He is a past Grand Knight of the Saranac Lake Council of the Knights of Columbus, a past Exalted Ruler of the Elks in the Village and past Deputy Grand Ruler of Northern District, BPOE.
"If I am elected Mayor, I will see that the public is kept fully informed of every move I and the Trustees make," Mr. Keough said. "There will be no star chamber meetings of the Board.
"No matter whether I run as a Republican or an Independent, my campaign will be clean. There will be no mud slinging.
"I feel that I am qualified to take over the duties of Mayor and I will have time to give the office 100 per cent attention.
"Anyone and everyone who presents a problem to the Board of Trustees is entitled to know where the entire Board stands on his or her proposition, and discussions will be made in the presence of the persons involved. Nothing will be 'laid on the table' unless it is to the interest of the Village to be discussed at a later date.
"I do not believe that it is necessary for me to state that I am 100 per cent in favor of everyone's cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce in everything that organization does in the interest of the Village.
"After my retirement I will have the entire day to devote to anything and everything pertaining to the Village and its affairs. And I will be in a position to supervise all activities connected with the community. No problem will be too big or too small to receive my entire attention."
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, October 1, 1957
TRIBUTE TO A DOER: JOHN KEOUGH
Saranac Lake won't be quite the same without John Keough.
For 54 years he lived in this village, and for 54 years he took an active interest in community affairs of all sorts: his church, the Elks, the Village itself.
John Keough was an activist. It was part of his chemistry to have opinions, to express them frankly and outspokenly, and to do something about them.
An old cliche can be used with respect to John Keough without fear of sentimentalism: he had the courage of his convictions.
Sometimes these convictions brought him into sharp conflict with other people. He didn't care. Since he believed in the justice of his own viewpoint, he was willing to take whatever consequences there might be in expressing it.
This sometimes made for controversy, as in the mayoralty election of 1955, but that controversy, in our view, was healthy for Saranac Lake even if we didn't think he was right in all his charges.
However anyone could disagree with John Keough—and they certainly could, no one could ever question his absolute devotion to Saranac Lake and to the Adirondacks.
No community can afford to be without its John Keoughs. It is they who give spark to the give-and-take of local affairs. It is they who are the doers.
We join with the rest of the community in offering our condolences to his wife, his two sons, his daughters-in-law and his grandchildren. The community shares in their loss.
