Bound Volumes

April 25, 2024

160 YEARS AGO

A melancholy affair—Our whole village was shocked last Saturday by the report suddenly circulated through the streets, that Mr. James Cockett had taken his life by shooting himself at his own home with a shot gun. Mr. C. had for more than six months been an invalid, whose recovery from severe illness and general prostration was a matter of much doubt. By careful management and nursing he was able to get outdoors a little during recent pleasant days, but was still extremely debilitated and feeble. His nervous system was shattered, and to some extent, probably, his brain was affected. He had frequent turns of mental depression and apprehension; at one time he related to his physician the effort it had required to keep from ending his gloomy days. The gun was kept in a closet near his room, and it was not known he had the means of loading it. He died immediately.

April 22, 1864

135 YEARS AGO

Women’s Rights—Letter to the Editor: I have just read the following: “Our Otsego Members of the Assembly are both married gentlemen and evidently very gallant, as they voted in favor of the woman suffrage bill—and yet we have never heard one Otsego County woman express a wish to see it become a law.” I know two Otsego women who are interested in the equal suffrage movement. These two women are not ignorant of the fact, that the old argument that all men support all women is fallacious, for in our State alone there are 80,000 more women than men and 20,000 men in New York State are supported by women. These two Otsego women believe the right of American women to vote rests upon the Declaration of Independence, that governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,” and upon the constitution of the United States which declares that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens thereof, and of the states in which they reside.” If these two women are persons, they are citizens; they are governed; therefore women, equally with other citizens, have a moral right, and should have a legal right to vote.

April 26, 1889

60 YEARS AGO

The April Board meeting of the Northern Otsego Chapter of the American Red Cross was held April 21 at the Cooperstown Community House, with Hubert Wilmot, Chapter Chairman presiding. Following the Surgeon General’s statement of the dangers of lung cancer from smoking, the National Red Cross will discontinue giving cigarettes to patients in military and Veterans’ Hospitals, which the organization has done over a period of many years.

April 29, 1964

40 YEARS AGO

The Susquehanna SPCA’s thrift shop, The Better Exchange, will open Thursday, May 17, at 139C Main Street in Cooperstown. Staffed by volunteers, the shop will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The Better Exchange will offer toys, books, small appliances and furniture as well as clothing.

April 25, 1984

20 YEARS AGO

As the Bush administration’s War on Terrorism progresses, questions about the reinstatement of the military draft have surfaced. Tom Heitz, of Fly Creek, historian and columnist for The Freeman’s Journal, will address the Citizens’ Alternative Voice group on the subject of the Selective Service Laws in the village meeting room at 22 Main Street on April 26. Heitz was appointed to Local Draft Board 43 in 2002 having served as a Marine Corps Judge Advocate during the Vietnam era.

April 23, 2004