Bound Volumes

July 20. 2023

210 YEARS AGO
British Monsters—Excerpt of a letter from Captain Cooper to Charles K. Mallory, Esq. Lieut. Gov. of Virginia—“I was in Hampton with my troop; that place having been evacuated in the morning by the British. My blood ran cold at what I saw and heard. The few distressed inhabitants running up in every direction to congratulate us; tears were shedding in every corner – the infamous scoundrels, monsters, destroyed everything but the houses, and (my pen is almost unwilling to describe it) the women were ravished by the abandoned ruffians. Great God! My dear friend, can you figure to yourself our Hampton females seized and treated with violence by those monsters, and not a solitary American arm present to avenge their wrongs! But enough – I can no more of this.”

July 17, 1813

160 YEARS AGO
The President has called for 300,000 more troops and the draft is being made in the different states as fast as the enrollment can be completed. The forces enrolled for the draft comprise all able-bodied male citizens and aliens who have declared their intention to become citizens who are between the ages of twenty and forty-five. Among those exempted from the draft are such as may be rejected as physically or mentally unfit for the service; also, first, the Vice President of the U.S., the judges of the various courts of the U.S.; the heads of the various executive departments of the government, and the governors of the several states; second, the only son liable to military duty of a widow dependent upon his labor for support; third, the only son of aged or infirm parents dependent upon his labor for support etc. The forces are subject to draft for two years from the first day of July following the enrollment, and if drawn are liable to serve during the rebellion, not exceeding three years, having the same pay and bounty as the volunteers for three years.

July 17, 1863

135 YEARS AGO
Personal—L.I. Burditt, Esq., with his daughter Mrs. Lynes, and Miss Lynes, went to Otsego camping grounds on the St. Lawrence last Saturday. They will be joined by several members of the club in a few days.
The young men composing the Cooperstown Athletic Association are in camp at Gravelly Point.
Mr. Lane last week bought of Mr. Lamb a wire screen, made to fasten in front of a door to keep out insects, etc., for which he is to pay double the usual price in case Harrison is elected, and nothing in case he is defeated. When he got the contrivance home, he found it was about eight inches too short – and he argues that in like proportion Harrison will fall short of the electoral votes necessary to be elected.

July 20, 1888

111 YEARS AGO
A new departure in the work of the suffrage cause is the establishment of a library by the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. A branch library will be opened in Cooperstown this week at the Western Union Telegraph Office in charge of Miss Helen Davison. These books are to be loaned in the same manner as books in public libraries for two weeks with privilege of renewing. There will be no charge. Among the titles available are “The Newer Ideals of Peace” by Jane Addams, “Why Women Are So” by Mary Robert Coolidge, and “Women and Economics” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

July 16, 1912

85 YEARS AGO
Henry Fabian, who has charge of the baseball field at the Polo Grounds where the New York Giants play when at home, came to Cooperstown Monday to lend his cooperation and advice in the enlargement of Doubleday Field which the village trustees plan to undertake in the near future. After an inspection of the property with the Mayor, the veteran grounds expert was asked his opinion and replied: “I don’t see why not. At the Polo Grounds the distance from home plate to the left field barrier is 287 feet and to the right field limits 257 feet. You have grounds available to construct a field that will provide even more space than that and all that is necessary for anybody’s ball field.”

July 20, 1938

60 YEARS AGO
Dr. Alexander Puza, aged 34, a Czechoslovakian doctor who worked in the research laboratories at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, was found dead at 4 p.m. on Saturday in his room at Bassett Hall. Dr. Puza of the Research Laboratory at Safarik University at Kosice Czechoslovakia, had slashed his neck and wrists, according to Oneonta BCI investigator John Gorence. No apparent reason for the act was established. An autopsy was performed Sunday morning and Dr. Charles A. Ashley, Otsego County Coroner, rendered a verdict of suicide. Dr. Puza came to Cooperstown in April to work under Dr. Joseph W. Ferrebee, research physician.

July 17, 1963

35 YEARS AGO
Lester A. Sittler has announced the opening of his office for the general practice of law. Mr. Sittler, formerly general counsel of the Delaware-Otsego Corporation and the New York Susquehanna and Western Railway, said his practice would specialize in real estate, business, litigation, and transportation matters. Mr. Sittler has been general counsel of Delaware-Otsego Corp. and its subsidiary companies since 1984. He is a graduate of the SUNY at Buffalo School of Law and Hartwick College and a native of Hartwick. He and his wife Karen live in Fly Creek with three children.

July 20, 1988

20 YEARS AGO
Beginning this month, the LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addictions is reaching out to individuals and families whose lives are disrupted and harmed by compulsive gambling. With support from Human Technologies Corp. (HTC) LEAF will provide gambling addiction information and counseling services to Otsego County residents and families as part of its commitment to reclaim lives torn by addiction, strengthen families, and build healthier communities. “We already have clients from Otsego County traveling to Utica for assistance,” said James Klein, HTC’s director of gambling information and counseling program.

July 18, 2003