Bound Volumes, Hometown History

September 7, 2023

40 Years Ago
Leo Wickoff began working for the Delaware & Hudson Railway on January 27, 1942. Wickoff’s memory of the D&H yard is one of a bustling, busy place, with as many as 25 switch engines working during a single 24-hour work day. Wickoff considered himself to be lucky. “Some of the men went as long as 20 years before getting a regular job,” he said. “I was pretty fortunate. I had a couple of different ones before I put my 20 years in.” His first regular job was on the midnight shift. “I spent extra board time picking up work tips from the other trainmen,” he recalled. Before joining the railroad, Wickoff worked at Spaulding’s Bakery in Oneonta, doing a variety of odd jobs such as wrapping bread, greasing pans, and sweeping up the floors. Every week, Wickoff applied for work at the railroad and was finally hired in January 1942.

September 1983

30 Years Ago
The United States ranks 40th in literacy in the world and 12th in per capita income, according to New York State Regent Carl Hayden. “For the first time in U.S. history, students today will not enjoy the same level of life their teachers now enjoy. The Regents Action Plan of 1984 called for more “rigor” in the schools. The plan perpetuated the myth that more “seat time” meant reaching better outcomes. However, educators found there wasn’t enough time in the day for programs. “We need to have new ideas, new visions,” Hayden said.

September 1993

20 Years Ago
A 25-year-old Oneonta man was recovering at A.O. Fox hospital Wednesday after being stabbed by a mental patient on Tuesday afternoon, Oneonta police reported. Tim Mullinnex, a groundskeeper at the State University College at Oneonta was stabbed in the back apparently without motive outside his 19 Watkins Avenue apartment at about 4 p.m. Mullinnex was transported to the hospital where a Cutco brand kitchen knife with a six-inch blade was removed from his upper back. A woman residing in the same apartment building was arrested Tuesday afternoon. When placed in the rear of the police cruiser she kicked out the back window. She was taken to Fox’s psychiatric crisis center. Mullinnex was stabbed while installing speakers in his car and he called 911.

September 2003