Bound Volumes, Hometown History
December 11, 2025
90 YEARS AGO
“The Grange stands four-square against the legalized liquor traffic and will fight to the last ditch this greatest of all destroyers,” Fred J. Freestone, master of the New York State Grange, declared in his address opening the business session of the 63rd annual convention of the organization at the State Armory here in Oneonta yesterday. “We should remember that while the nation has repealed prohibition, the Grange has not done so,” he said. Mr. Freestone further asserted that “the repeal of national prohibition has plunged us into a state of chaos, lawlessness and disaster that was fully expected by all who remembered the liquor regime which preceded the enactment of national prohibition. Mr. Freestone also said, “Almost equally disturbing is the wild craze for gambling which is sweeping the country, resulting in the complete breakdown of anti-gambling laws. The state master criticized fraternities and churches for yielding to “the chance for easy money,” pointing out that they too “apparently hold the prevailing belief that we can gamble ourselves into prosperity. It behooves the Grange to maintain its well-known attitude of stern opposition to every form of dishonesty and make its influence felt at every possible point of contact.”
December 1935
70 YEARS AGO
A U.S. Congressional study says that many persons will suffer hardship with the advance of automation which may surpass the limits of imagination. This is the reported finding of a Senate-House Economic Sub-Committee headed by Representative Patman (D-Tex) following a series of hearings on the impact of automation and electrical processing. Witnesses included industrial and organized labor leaders as well as government specialists. The study predicts enormous strides in automation, ranging from computers capable of solving complicated mathematical problems to electronic devices that will make assembly lines almost automatic. But, the report says, the resulting displacement of workers will be offset in part by the probable development of whole new industries and service personnel. It also recommended that all levels of government “take to heart the need for a specific and broad program to promote secondary and higher education” to combat a dangerous shortage of scientists, technicians and skilled labor.
December 1955
40 YEARS AGO
After more than a decade of debate, the United Nations unanimously adopted a landmark resolution condemning all acts of terrorism as criminal. The resolution was a compromise to overcome heated exchanges on the legal definition of terrorism. Israel’s Ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu said his country supported the resolution but doubted that nations like Libya and Syria, which also supported the measure, would fully live up to the resolution. Cuba supported the measure but found fault with the resolution because it did not identify those who engage in “state terrorism,” which the Cubans say includes the United States, Israel and South Africa. The U.N. defines terrorism as “acts which endanger or take innocent lives, jeopardize fundamental freedoms and seriously impair the dignity of human beings.”
December 1985
20 YEARS AGO
Bryan Conroy, the New York City police officer who shot and killed an unarmed African immigrant in a Manhattan warehouse, was sentenced Friday to probation for five years and 500 hours of community service. He had faced up to four years in prison. State Supreme Court Justice Robert Straus said no sentence would restore life to the victim, Osmane Zongo. Judge Straus said he believed that Conroy was a decent man who had been poorly trained by the New York City Police Department.
December 2005
