Bound Volumes, Hometown History
April 4, 2024
50 Years Ago
April Fools’ Day did not go unheralded in Oneonta. A bomb scare in Tommy’s Place on West Broadway forced proprietor Tommy Pondolfino to close his establishment early last night but the promised explosion never happened.
The motive behind the bomb scare, Pondolfino suspects was a late night April Fools’ prank. A waitress at the bar received a call around 10:50 p.m. last night from a man who warned that the bomb would detonate within half an hour. Pondolfino contacted city police who evacuated about 20 customers still in the building.
April 1974
40 Years Ago
Pregnant teenagers have friends in the area waiting to help them. The Respect for Human Life Committee was organized in 1979 by several people who felt some action was needed to fight the U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing abortion and to assist local pregnant teens. Though the group remains small, they have sponsored several informational advertisements and hold yearly collections of baby items which are distributed through Community Maternity Services and Birthright. Community Maternity Services is a Catholic charity of the Albany Diocese funded by monies from the State Division for Youth and from the Diocese Development Program of the Catholic Church. Last year CMS social worker Sherry Frohme assisted 40 pregnant teenagers, making 300 home visits, plus office visits and transportation.
April 1984
30 Years Ago
With support from the City of Oneonta, merchants and property owners plan a downtown clean-up Sunday morning thanks to the Downtown Oneonta Improvement Task Force, known by the acronym DOIT. The group will convene today at City Hall to reach a consensus on a plan for downtown’s future, and to form a Downtown Council. The plan proposes hiring a manager for downtown. DOIT will be considering the impact of losing Bresee’s Oneonta Department Store which has served as the anchor retail store on Main Street for decades. Bresee’s President Marc Bresee announced that his store will close by the end of June.
April 1994
20 Years Ago
A dead cow has been beached in the Susquehanna River for more than a week. City officials, who are waiting for water levels to recede, are pondering how to safely extricate the carcass from a clog of debris in the middle of the swollen river. During the week, the cow drifted downstream and under the lower Main Street Bridge. It had been on the east side of the bridge. By Wednesday afternoon, it was stuck with other debris in the middle of the river on the west side of the road. A small memorial someone set up includes two candles, some fake flowers and two signs. One reads Kow Gone with a backwards “e”. The other is inscribed “Kow Gone but not forgotten.”
April 2004
