Bound Volumes, Hometown History

September 14, 2023

40 Years Ago
The city’s new Wilber Park pool created a big splash in its first season of use and made it through the summer with just a few minor problems, Assistant City Engineer Bruno Bruni said. “The main pool held up fine,” Bruni said, adding, “The wading pool was the one that gave us the most problems.” The wading pool was closed twice because of a broken part in the filtration system and on another occasion when there was a problem with chlorination. The cost of constructing the pool was $433,200. Attendance over the past summer reached nearly 45,000. More than 1,000 people turned out on several extremely hot days and holidays. The Common Council voted to keep the main Wilber Park pool open on weekends past Labor Day on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to dusk as long as weather permits. The wading pool was closed after Labor Day.

September 1983

30 Years Ago
Someday, people from all over the world will come to Oneonta to play soccer. They’ll play in a 10,000 seat stadium, or a larger indoor arena. They’ll stay in dormitories just a short walk from seven state-of-the-art playing fields and a huge museum honoring the world’s soccer legends. For 15 years, Oneonta’s Wright National Soccer Hall of Fame Campus was mostly talk, blueprints and the dream of a handful of local soccer enthusiasts. A promise of $4.5 million to build a stadium is an indication that other people believe in that dream. The state is also promising $250,000 to promote the Hall when World Cup games come to the U.S. next fall.

September 1993

20 Years Ago
The annual southbound migration of birds through the upper Susquehanna region and the Catskills has begun signaling the local Audubon Society’s hawk watch at the group’s sanctuary on Franklin Mountain near Oneonta. This season marks the 15th consecutive year of counting raptors at the site. “We get excellent numbers of red-tailed hawks and golden eagles,” said Andy Mason, conservation chair of the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society. Franklin Mountain is considered one of the prime observation spots in the eastern United States for raptor species. The first wave of hawks is expected between September 10 and 21. Last year’s total count was 4,764 raptors of 15 different species, well above the 3,000 bird average.” Just the sight of one soaring eagle makes it all worthwhile,” Mason said.

September 2003