As someone who still used a bunch of Classic apps -- sometimes with no choice, like QuarkXpress, sometime just becuase I like to use fast old apps when appropriate (Photoshop 3.0 is FAST for simple things), I am often frustrated that my recent documents don't show up in the OSX 'recent item' option in the apple menu. I used to keep the Chooser, or some other control panel (the Classic Calculator works, too) in the dock, just to have a lightweight application launch to give me the Classic Apple menu, with its Recent Docs and Recent Apps options.
But then I remembered that those Classic menu options reference a directory on the hard drive, so I just put that folder in the dock. To find it, just go to the Classic Apple menu, choose Recent Documents and let go without choosing a document. You'll see the folder opened in the Finder. Use Command-3 to see column view and drag the Recent Documents folder to the dock. I love having the click-and-hold access to the list of documents so handy. This would also, obviously, work with Recent Applications, but I already have the "Applications (Mac OS 9)" directory in the dock. Long live slim and speedy old apps!!
Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20040715225528340