Hometown History

February 9, 2023

135 Years Ago
The Local News – The electric light company have decided to construct a building and supply their own power. A lot on Prospect Street opposite the freight house has been secured from Moody and Gould, and work will soon commence upon a new brick building 60 x 80 feet. Four steam engines will be used, for which steam will be furnished from a 250-horsepower boiler. A duplicate set of arc and incandescent dynamos will be put in, and set to be kept in reserve in case of accident. Plans for the building are being prepared in New York and the company hopes to have it completed within 60 days.

February 1888

110 Years Ago
T.J. Gendron described the virtues of the Standard Oil Company’s high pressure road oil sprinkler for the benefit of members of the Board of Public Works and City Engineer Gurney with Commissioner Elwood present. Using a high grade product known as Oil No. 4, the oil is applied not upon the gravity principle as formerly, but with the use of a high pressure sprinkler which forces the oil into the dirt and macadam with 85 pounds pressure to the square inch at a cost of 1.2 cents per square yard. The company is prepared to inform the public of the advantages of street oiling. Mr. Gendron figures that he would oil Elm Street by this process for the length of 3,048 feet over a width of 24 feet at $97.52 as compared with an actual cost of something like $350 under the method employed last year. The proposed contract would require assurance of using at least one large tank of oil here, enough to oil about 20 streets like Elm. Mr. Gendron displayed photographs of many streets in Massachusetts which have been treated with oil under pressure where it is claimed street maintenance costs have been reduced 60 to 80 percent while disposing of the dust problem.

February 1913

90 Years Ago
Arthur Jansen, 45 years old, 1745 Railroad Avenue “B,” Schenectady, a former resident of Oneonta, succumbed in Ellis hospital, Schenectady, Saturday morning after being critically burned in a fire that destroyed the cab of D & H Engine No. 1116. Jansen, a veteran engineer was operating a “pusher” engine on a Mechanicville-Binghamton freight train when a back draft from the locomotive’s firebox suddenly engulfed the interior of the cab. The train was then just south of the Crescent tower about five miles north of Schenectady. The blast of flame set the interior of the cab ablaze and also the clothing of the engineer. Jansen leaped from the cab with his clothes afire. His plight was discovered by other members of the crew who extinguished his burning clothes. However, little hope was given for his recovery and he died at 7:30 a.m. Jansen was well-known in railroad circles and for a number of years held a “run” out of Oneonta.

February 1933

70 Years Ago
Final arrangements are all but complete for the serving of ‘umteen thousand or so pancakes, with sausage and fixins, all for the benefit of Fox Hospital, on Thursday. The pancake meal will be served from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the electrical center of the Oneonta Department Store with all of the proceeds going to benefit the hospital. The event is staged under the auspices of the Oneonta Kiwanis Club, which hopes to raise at least $1,000. Mrs. Edith Rich, manager of the Health Bar, will supervise preparation of the pancakes, sausage and coffee. Mrs. Ursel Beach of the electrical center is in charge of table and serving arrangements. Kiwanians will serve as waiters throughout the day. Flour and syrup have been donated by Pillsbury Pancake Mills, milk and cream by Meridale Farms, Inc., and Oneonta Dairy Co. Coffee is the gift of Sexton Co. and Standard Brands. Hudson Falls Paper Mills are contributing paper plates, cups and napkins. Towels are furnished by Abelove’s Laundry. The American Legion Post is loaning the griddles and the First Methodist Church is providing tables and silverware. Entertainment will be supplied by the Waltones, a barbershop quartet.

February 1953

50 Years Ago
A ten-page report compiled by the State University Federation of Teachers (SUFT) shows that 33 faculty members and 10 administrators earn salaries of $20,000 or more. However, a cover letter accompanying the report states that SUCO is, overall, “the lowest paying of the state’s four-year colleges.” Union leaders say the information demonstrates that salary abuses exist and contend there are many people receiving salaries that are not commensurate with their degrees and experience. Sources said this is particularly true of teachers who do not have doctorates and also true of many women. “They know they can get away with paying less because these people won’t leave,” one SUFT member said. The Education Department has the most $20,000-plus personnel with 11 of 57 members in that range. The report notes that college vice-president Cary Brush’s salary increased $9,000 over two years to $31,925.

February 1973

30 Years Ago
Local poet, Carol K. Frost has won a $20,000 federal grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, making her a two-time recipient. Frost said the award for the calendar year 1993 is a vote of confidence in her work. The work Frost submitted to support her application includes several 11-line poems written in a complicated form of her own invention. The Otego resident was chosen from among about 2,500 applicants in poetry and fiction. About 89 grants were awarded.

February 1993

20 Years Ago
The price of gasoline is on the rise. The price of a gallon of regular unleaded went up to $1.69 Thursday, a seven-cent increase from the day before at a station in Cooperstown. At Stewart’s shop in Oneonta, a gallon of regular unleaded was $1.63 on Thursday afternoon. Earlier that morning, the price at the same pump was $1.59. “I’ve never seen it this high before ($1.59), and it looks like the sky’s the limit so far,” said Don Scanlon, district manager for Red Barrel. “It’s going up daily. Two weeks ago, unleaded regular was $1.55.”

February 2003