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Hometown History

135 Years Ago
The new truck of the D.F. Wilber hook-and-ladder company arrived on Saturday. It is said to be the finest truck for hand service in the world. Rumsey & Co. of Seneca Falls are the builders. It is very handsomely decorated, and it is equipped with the latest appliances, including a Bangor extension ladder. On each side is a portrait in oil of D.F. Wilber. We congratulate the company, and the Oneonta Fire Department, upon the possession of so handsome a piece of furniture.
An important real estate sale was the transfer, on Thursday last, of the Wilber Mill property at Main and Front streets, to D.F. Wilber and Reuben Reynolds. The property has a Main street frontage of 92 feet. The consideration was $6,500. Mr. Wilber will continue to use the mill until spring, at which time it is not unlikely that a business block will be put up in its place.
December 1886

70 Years Ago
Maurice F. Taylor at Keyes airfield has just repaired $50 worth of damage to a Piper Cub airplane owned by Clyde Holbert, Jr., of Hancock. Mr. Holbert is but one of numerous victims of mice who find their way into airplanes. It’s almost as common for mice to go aboard planes as for rats to infest ships, Mr. Taylor said. This is particularly true where planes are stored on farms or near farm buildings, and are not flown regularly.
December 1951

50 Years Ago
A state appeals court has ruled that state aid cannot be denied for an educational institution solely on the basis of its religious affiliations. The controversial Blaine Amendment to the New York State Constitution prohibits the use of public funds to aid “any school or institution of learning wholly or in part under the control or direction of any religious denomination, or in which any denominational tenet or doctrine is taught.” The court said the prohibition could stand only when the educational program is designed primarily for religious purposes rather than secular education.
December 1971

40 Years Ago
Millicent M. Schneider, age 70, is still working at her first job as head librarian at Huntington Memorial Library. This week she starts her 51st year. She prefers not to talk a lot about her career. Talking is not her business. “If you don’t talk too much, people will tell you something,” she says. “We don’t talk much.” Schneider came from Madison County and attended Syracuse University’s school for librarians. As a girl of 19, she took the $1,300-a-year job at Huntington Library without looking elsewhere. Schneider still works six days a week and stays on the job into the evening hours. She has no regrets.
December 1981

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Hometown History: February 22, 2024

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The computer is going to summer camp. James LeMonn, a spokesman for the American Camping Association said his organization’s “Parents Guide” for 1984 lists 180 camps with computer instruction programs. The fad started about two years ago, he said. “We view it as a temporary phenomenon,” LeMonn said. He pointed out that camps providing foreign language classes were very popular in the 1950s. When schools started including more complete language programs, the camps faded. He predicts the same thing will happen with computers. LeMonn said there are a handful of camps operated by computer manufacturers where each camper has a terminal and there is intensive instruction. For most of the camps, the computer instruction is but one of many opportunities offered. Computers notwithstanding LeMonn said the prime purpose of camping remains unchanged: “The real focus is group-living in the out-of-doors.”
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