Bound Volumes, Hometown History
Thursday, October 16
70 YEARS AGO
Clifford D. Beach, 69, of 398 Main Street, a noted postage stamp enthusiast, died in his sleep. He had lived in Oneonta all his life. Mr. Beach was born January 10, 1886, in Oneonta, the son of Orrin G. and Adelee (Champlin) Beach. He married Grace Stone, September 27, 1913, in their home on Main Street. He was a salesman at Gardner’s Shoe Store, and for 40 years was a stamp collector. His collection took the Miscellaneous First Prize award in 1946 and the Canadian Collection Awards in 1951, 1952 and 1953. He was a member of the First Baptist Church for 40 years, treasurer of that church for 22 years, served on the Board of Trustees, was treasurer of the Sunday School for several years, and was a church usher for most of his membership.
October 1955
50 YEARS AGO
Oneonta’s second refugee family arrived last night from Indiantown Gap. Nguyen Van Duc, his wife, three daughters and two sons were driven to Oneonta from Pennsylvania by representatives of their sponsors, the First United Methodist Church and the First Baptist Church. Nguyen Van Duc, the father, was a tailor in the Vietnamese military and will be a tailor for Winan’s clothing store. They will stay temporarily in a cottage at Knott’s Motel on Goodyear Lake. A joint committee from the two churches is working on more permanent housing for the family. They know very little English. Volunteers from the churches will be their language teachers. A SUCO student, Tran Thi Hoang Anh, acting as interpreter, helped the family through the initial period with their new friends in Oneonta. The family began their trek in a boat they owned in Vietnam, two days before the Communist takeover of Saigon by the U.S. government. They have been in Indian Gap for two months.
October 1975
40 YEARS AGO
The richest of the rich in America is worth $2.8 billion, while the poorest of the rich checks in at a mere $150 million. Forbes magazine’s list of the 400 richest people is topped by Sam Moore Walton of Bentonville, Arkansas, who has made $2.8 billion through his Walmart discount stores. Walton replaces Gordon Getty the front-runner for the past two years. Getty dropped all the way to 15th. Second place went to Henry Ross Perot of Dallas, founder of Electronic Data Systems, who was a billion dollars behind Walton.
October 1985
30 YEARS AGO
Black men converging on the nation’s capital for the Million Man March describe it as a “unifying, uplifting event that transcends its controversial originator, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.” “It’s not about a march, a man or his words. It’s about a movement,” the Rev. Vernor Clay said after a Sunday sermon urging the men of Congregational Temple in Washington to attend. Supporters describe it as “a call for black men to take responsibility for their own lives and families, and to dedicate themselves to fighting the scourges of drugs, violence and unemployment.”
October 1995
20 YEARS AGO
Railing against the delayed relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan said Saturday the federal government should be charged with “criminal neglect of the people of New Orleans. For five days, the government did not act. Lives were lost,” Farrakhan charged at the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March. “A crowd of thousands cheered and sang songs while speakers recited poetry and delivered speeches during a 12-hour program on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. “A new day is dawning in America,” Farrakhan said.
October 2005
