HOMETOWN History

Sept. 14, 2019

150 Years Ago

Temperance – If the temperance question could be withdrawn from the areas of party politics it would be far better for the morals of the rising generation. We have urged the same views in relation to Sabbath observances. The claims of truth upon the conscience are weakened by alliance with the demands of warring political factions. If faith in the Supreme Being were made the test of political orthodoxy, there are many who now reverence the Creator that would become infidel in the excitement of a party contest. The Springfield Republican comes out decidedly in favor of substituting moral suasion for the machinery of the statute. No moral progress was ever made by legal force. Temperance is a moral virtue, and can only be promoted by reason and argument.

September 1869

125 Years Ago

Architecture of the Future – The Eiffel Tower, built wholly
of metal, is an example, and a good example, of a step in the direction which architects will be forced to follow in the future. The great railway stations, exhibition buildings and other structures of steel, concrete, paper and glass, which the needs and inventions of our day have called into existence, show which way flows the stream of tendency. The new building material has come to stay. In another century houses may not be merely built with steel girders. They may be made of metal frames bolted together and gripping walls of paper. Then the age of the tent will return. A man will buy his house from a manufacturer and will hire a site to set it upon. When he moves from one place to another, he will take his home with him. Building leases will die a natural death. Towns will wander about and a great many curious results will arise.

September 1894

100 Years Ago

The Oneonta Electric Lighting Company’s pond at East End claimed another victim Friday when Clayton Anderson, a colored man, aged about 26 years, was seized with cramps while swimming. Anderson, who was a member of a section gang working on the D. & H. tracks near the pond, had gone in for a swim before he was to resume work at one o’clock. He had been swimming about for a short time when he gave a loud cry and sank out of sight. The other members of the gang, most of them Italians, were apparently somewhat confused. But, after finally reaching the scene they were unable to render any assistance because of the absence of any boats or other means of reaching the
unfortunate man. After about three hours search by policemen and others the body was located about 40 feet from shore in 20 feet of water. Anderson had no relatives in this vicinity. Others of his race said his home was in the south where his mother lived. He had lived in Oneonta for a year or two and had been employed on the section gang only five days before his death.

September 1919

80 Years Ago

Contrary to public belief, the majority of automobile accidents in Otsego County in 1939 have occurred during the daytime. Authority for this statement is Corporal W.E. Cadwell of Sidney, assistant to the Head of the New York State Police Traffic Division. Corporal Cadwell has addressed
many area organizations since being promoted to the post two years ago. The accident chart reveals that most of the crashes in Otsego County have occurred between the hours of 12 to 1 and 2 to 3 in the afternoon and from 6 to 7 in the evening. Since January 1, 1939, Otsego County has had 134 highway accidents involving injuries or deaths. Corporal Cadwell said 103 people have been injured and 10 killed. Of five accidents involving pedestrians, one resulted in death.

September 1939

40 Years Ago

Puerto Rican terrorists are freed by President – Four defiant Puerto Rican nationalists granted clemency by President Carter left U.S. jails Monday where they spent at least a quarter century for terrorist acts in Washington, D.C. All four were heading to a Chicago rally to renew pleas for independence for their Caribbean homeland. Three of the four nationalists were convicted in a 1954 shooting in the U.S. House of Representatives that left five Congressmen wounded. The fourth was jailed four years earlier for attempting to assassinate President Harry Truman. Released for the House shootings were Lolita Lebron, 59, Irving Flores Rodriguez, 54, and Rafael Concel Miranda, 49. The fourth nationalist, Oscar Coliazo, 65, told reporters, “The fight for freedom is always a long fight and always a hard fight. I have nothing to be disappointed about.” Steve Guerra, a spokesperson for Chicago’s Puerto Rican Cultural Center said the four would be brought together for a rally outside Roberto Clemente High School on the city’s northwest side, a home for many of Puerto Rican heritage.

September 1979

20 Years Ago

If legislators had passed the state budget sooner, the Oneonta school district probably would have its first universal pre-Kindergarten educational program in place. Classes must begin by October 6 in order for students to complete a 180-day school year. On October 1, the district will send applications to area childcare agencies that would provide pre-K services for the rest of the year. The state has awarded $51,300 or $2,700 per pupil, to fund 19 universal pre-K slots in Oneonta this school year. Exactly how the district will choose the 19 students has not been decided but “economically disadvantaged” students will be considered first. Experimental pre-K, the sister program to universal pre-K began this week with a class of 32 students. That program is reserved for students and families with special needs. Any child not in the experimental program would be eligible for universal pre-K.

September 1994

10 Years Ago

The eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 was remembered Friday night at the State University College at Oneonta. “Eight years ago Americans united to show that they would stand tall in the face of the terrorist threat,” said Student Association President Rick Heil as he addressed the crowd. “It was important because without a sense of unity and purpose, the terrorists would have achieved their purpose.”

September 2009