BOUND VOLUMES, October 31, 2013
200 YEARS AGO
Village Ordinance – Whereas the present law for the restraining of Swine within the Village of Cooperstown has proved ineffectual from the difficulty of discovering the owners of the Swine with which the streets are infested, for remedy whereof, Be it ordained by the Trustees of the Village of Cooperstown, That it shall and may be lawful for any of the inhabitants residing within the said village to distrain any hog, shoat or pig, being at large in the said village, contrary to the bye laws enacted by the trustees of said village for the restraining of swine, and the same so distrained to impound in the common pound of said village. Be it further ordained that Bartlett Rogers be and he is hereby appointed Pound Master. (Ed. Note: The ordinance further provides a scheme for “bailing out” an impounded hog, shoat, or pig)
October 30, 1813
175 YEARS AGO
A New Song – Sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle” – Verse: “The Fed’ral ship, in her last trip, Went rather to the leeward; Her mainmast creak’d, her bottom leak,d, But now she’s rigged for Seward.” Refrain: “Corn cob twist your hair, Cart wheel run round you, Great dragon draw you up, And mortar pestle pound you.” Verse: “Throughout, they say, she’s daubed with Clay, Which makes the Whiggies vapor, And all her seams are caulk’d with reams of Biddle’s foolscap paper.” Refrain: “Corn cob,” &c. Verse: “On deck the Gentile and the Jew are cock’d and prim’d for battle; A streaked, speckled, piebald crew, Like Jacob’s Durham cattle.” Refrain: “Corn cob,” &c.
October 29, 1838
150 YEARS AGO
The Republican Mass Meeting, advertised so extensively to come off at this place on Tuesday, was a rather slim affair. The fair grounds were not resorted to – Bowne Hall being found large enough to accommodate the “masses” in attendance, including the women and children who composed so large a proportion of the two petite processions which moved through the streets of the village, one of them occupying at least three minutes in passing a given point! Neither Dickinson nor Tremain (ashamed to show their faces at an Abolition gathering in Old Otsego) were present, and the speaking was done by the lesser lights. “Nobody hurt!
October 30, 1863
125 YEARS AGO
Local: One of our M.D.s, Dr. M. Imogene Bassett, now instructor in Electra Therapeutics in Philadelphia, one day last week, at Brockley Hospital, assisted in making eight post mortems, and removed and retained two brains and spinal cords to preserve and make microscopic specimens for the study of diseases of the nervous system.
Keep a watch on those Pennsylvania Negroes who have been sent into Otsego County within the past week, and see to it that none of them vote. Cause the arrest of any man, black or white, who attempts to cast an illegal vote.
November 2, 1888
100 YEARS AGO
The Otsego County Board of Supervisors should be commended for the prompt action which was taken to provide the County Farm with an adequate water supply for the use of the house and for fire protection. On September 30th it was voted to install a gravity water system, receiving the pressure from the hillside springs nearby. The reservoir, which is located about a mile from the county buildings, has a capacity of about 100,000 gallons and the pressure will be sufficient to furnish water for three hydrants, streams from all of which could be thrown at once over all the buildings. The reservoir proper is 29 feet wide, 52 feet long and 9 feet high and is buried one foot underneath the ground except for a space ten foot square which is enclosed by a wooden building. The side walls are constructed of re-enforced concrete fourteen inches in thickness; with a two-inch waterproof coating. The entire water supply comes from two springs high up in the Middlefield Hills, one located on the farm of John Scott and the other on the farm of the Bell brothers. The total cost of installing the system will be about $7,000.
November 5, 1913
75 YEARS AGO
The 14th renewal of the annual Oneonta-Cooperstown high school football classic will be staged in Oneonta on Friday. The date has been shifted from Saturday, as originally scheduled, and will start at 2:30 o’clock. The local school will be dismissed early to enable all students to attend who desire to do so. Sensational battles with last-minute rallies, long runs, and brilliant punting have marked the past meetings of these teams. In 1925, Cooperstown high played Oneonta high two games. The city boys took one game 6-0 and the Redskins won the other 19-0. In 1926, Cooperstown, with the aid of Greg Lippitt, one of the greatest running backs in its history, gave Oneonta a 51-0 defeat that will long be remembered. A gold football fills an important place in the school trophy case, so that the memory of this victory will be an incentive for all teams to come.
November 2, 1938
50 YEARS AGO
According to Frank Snyder, vice-president of the Canadarago Lake Improvement Association, Inc., state support has been received for construction of a dam to raise the water level of the lake. Estimated cost of the dam to be constructed in Oak Creek at the southern end of the lake at the expense of the association is between $5,000 and $6,000. Mr. Snyder said construction would start immediately. Camp owners claim that the lake’s water level has dropped more than 24 inches over the past six to ten years. It is hoped that the dam will raise the water level 18 inches.
November 6, 1963
10 YEARS AGO
The last round and square dance of the season will be held on Saturday, November 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Fly Creek Historical Building on Cemetery Road. Squares will be called by Bill Powers to music from the 50s and earlier. The dance will be preceded by a covered dish supper at 6 p.m.
October 31, 2003