Bound Volumes

July 28, 2022

135 YEARS AGO
A pleasant affair — Thanks to the kindness and efficiency of the Misses Hamlin, Cuyler, Chase and Cooke, the guests of the Hotel Fenimore and a few friends had the pleasure of attending a very enjoyable impromptu entertainment Saturday evening, consisting of reading, music and tableaux. Miss Hamlin is a very cultured elocutionist, and shows excellent taste in her selections. Miss Cuyler is a favorite, not only on account of the excellence of her performance as a pianist, but for the cheerfulness with which she responds to the many requests for music.

July 29, 1887

110 YEARS AGO
Cooperstown’s new fire alarm system in the shape of a special telephone placed in the International Milk Products Company has gone into operation. From now on the International’s whistle will be blown for the sounding of an alarm. In case of fire, instead of giving a number, merely say “Fire” to the operator, who will forward the message to the International Products Company. Anyone who can sleep peacefully while the International whistle is shrieking will be awarded a gold medal by the proper authorities.

July 24, 1912

75 YEARS AGO
The opinion of A. Leo Stevens of Fly Creek, pioneer aeronaut and former chief of the United States Army Bureau of Aeronautics, was given new weight when the Federal Bureau of Air Commerce at Washington reported its findings as to the cause of the destruction of the dirigible Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey, May 6, with a loss of 36 lives. In an interview published in Cooperstown newspapers, Mr. Stevens said that, through all the information he had been able to obtain in the few days that had elapsed since the disaster, and from his own personal experiences, the fire resulted from a charge of static electricity touching off a pocket of highly inflammable hydrogen gas which had leaked from a gas cell in the dirigible. The report essentially confirms Stevens’ opinion of the cause, finding that, when the landing ropes touched the ground the charge of electricity on the ship became equalized with that of the ground and the resulting electrostatic discharge ignited the mixture of air and leaking hydrogen which had accumulated in the dirigible’s stern.

July 28, 1937

35 YEARS AGO
Linda Selover and Terri Lynch, representing the Cooperstown School Community Association (CSCA), a non-profit local group engaged in raising funds for the Kid City playground project, recently updated the Cooperstown School Board about the project. CSCA seeks to build a new playground on school district property, replacing an older playground that was razed to make way for expansion of elementary school facilities.

July 29, 1987

20 YEARS AGO
Patricia Donnelly and Sue King Elkan have been named co-chairs for the Cooperstown Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk at the Clark Sports Center on September 7. Grand Marshals for the event are Cooperstown Mayor Carol Waller and her father, Otsego County Representative Charles Bateman.

July 26, 2002