Bound Volumes, Hometown History

January 4, 2024

90 YEARS AGO

Dr. Charles W. Letizell, President of Hartwick College, welcomed the members of the faculty and student body at the opening Chapel exercises of 1934 yesterday morning. “I trust,” he said, “that you have all had a happy and delightful Christmas season, and I wish you a happy and successful new year. I pledge you the best that is in me that this may be the most successful year in the history of the college. I think that one of the emotions that ought to be in each of our hearts as we go into the New Year is a feeling of dissatisfaction. There are, there can be, but few who are truly satisfied with the accomplishments in the past year. If there are any, I feel sorry for them, for theirs is a miserable plight. We should always remember that no matter how well we do a thing, it could have been done better. By trying to attain that better standard, the product which results from our toil will be much nearer perfection.”

January 1934

70 YEARS AGO

President Eisenhower solemnly assured the American people tonight that “every legitimate means” is being used to maintain the “nation’s prosperity” and will continue to be used “as necessary.” But, the President said, he does not intend to deal in “pie-in-the-sky promises to all, or in bribes to a few, nor in threats to any.” In a nationwide television-radio talk, Eisenhower hit out at “self-appointed peddlers of gloom and doom” and said his administration will not tolerate a “boom and bust” America, dependent on war or threats of war for prosperity.

January 1954

40 YEARS AGO

The U.S. dollar reached new heights in hectic trading Wednesday against the currencies of France, Italy, Norway and Finland, a posted a ten-year high against the once-mighty West German mark. The Federal Reserve Board said its measure of the dollar weighted on the basis of international trade with ten nations, climbed nearly two percent in the first two trading days of 1984. The only currency to gain ground on the dollar was the Japanese yen. As the dollar rose, the price of gold fell, winding up the day at $377 ($1,114.13 in 2023) a troy ounce, off $1.50 from the late bid Tuesday, and far below its peak of $875 ($2,585.85 in 2023 an ounce in January 1980.

January 1984

30 YEARS AGO

Contributions to the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties reached an all-time high during the 1993 fundraising campaign which netted a record-breaking $333,412. “The support from United Way volunteers and the many people who contributed demonstrates a strong sense of community. People care about each other and that makes this area a good place to live,” Mary Ellen Duncan, campaign chairwoman, said. Beating the $290,000 goal by more than $40,000 was the result of increased contributions from employee campaigns, new donors and money raised at special events, according to Kathy Lindberg, the chapter’s executive director.

January 1994

20 YEARS AGO

City Police Chief John Donadio requested five to seven more officers at an Oneonta Board of Public Safety meeting, but Sean Farrell, Seventh Ward alderman and board chair, said the $300,000 to $500,000 price tag was too expensive. Donadio wants to establish a crimes prevention unit that patrols where known drug dealers operate. Beside the crime prevention unit, Donadio wants to add a patrol officer that would allow him to increase the detective division’s size. “I’d love to have 10 more police officers and 10 more firemen, but we need to keep a balance,” Farrell said. “A significant part of the city’s budget goes to police and fire already.”

January 2004