Bound Volumes, Hometown History

May 21, 2026

135 YEARS AGO

What mothers are made for—A home is what a woman makes it. A daughter is, in nine cases out of every ten, the reflection of her mother. The training of the girl of fifteen is shown in the woman of fifty. A son, by contact with the rougher world, sometimes outlives his early home influences—a daughter rarely does. She may take a misstep. Indiscretion may be to her a necessary teacher; but her early training will manifest itself sooner or later. A mother’s word, a domestic proverb, told at eventide by the quiet fireside, has been recalled by many a woman years after it was uttered. “I thank God that my mother told me what other women have been taught by the world,” said a gentlewoman to me. This, my friend, is the tribute which your daughter and mine should be able to pay to our memories long after we are gone.

May 1891

110 YEARS AGO

The Divine Law of Healing—There was a good attendance Friday evening at the Woman’s Club Rooms, where an address was given by Bliss Knapp, C.S.B., a member of the Board of Lectureship of the Christian Science mother church in Boston. Mr. Knapp is a very able speaker, and his talk on “The Divine Law of Healing,” had the close attention of all present. The speaker, whose talk was of an hour’s duration, was introduced by T.W. Stevens, who since the early days of the Christian Science church in Oneonta has been one of its leading members. “Moses,” the speaker said, “was the first man to know God well enough to know that he could heal sickness and sin.”

May 1916

50 YEARS AGO

David Frick, 21, a SUCO student was treated at Fox Hospital early Monday morning after he sustained minor head injuries as Oneonta police officers were arresting him. Police said he was making obscene gestures and yelling obscenities to “pigs” while standing at the corner of Chestnut and Main. When police tried to apprehend Frick, he became more abusive and refused to cooperate with officers. Frick sustained a bump on the head while they assisted him into the patrol car. He was charged with harassment. Frick appeared in City Court before City Judge Frank Getman who instructed Frick to “get a lawyer” before entering a plea. Frick was released on $50 bail.

May 1976

30 YEARS AGO

Activities at Neahwa Park should be part of the solution to Oneonta’s drug problems according to Michael C. Lawson, 18, a junior at Oneonta high school. “There ain’t much activity in Oneonta to do to keep the teenagers out of trouble,” Lawson said. “Mostly, it’s the park and that’s where most of the drugs are—in the park. Lawson said the pickup basketball games and other informal Neahwa gatherings are ripe for drug dealers. The three-sport athlete at the high school says there ought to be more organized leagues and other social activities for the city’s youth. Lawson made his comments Sunday at a “Martin Luther King Forum” sponsored by the local chapter of the NAACP. Another teenager, 17-year-old Steven A. Melendez, said the drug problems will be resolved through actions, not words.

May 1996

20 YEARS AGO

May 2006