Bound Volumes, Hometown History

January 9, 2025

50 YEARS AGO

The gold rush that generally started as a slow walk resumes Thursday after a one-day holiday break. Thomas W. Wolfe, head of the Treasury’s Office of Domestic Gold and Silver Operations, said the first day of legal sale of gold bullion to American citizens in 41 years showed that demand was extremely slow and almost nonexistent. Specialists had predicted that the end of the ban on private ownership of gold bullion might create a modern gold rush. But, with the precious metal selling in most areas at more than $200 an ounce, there were more curious questioners than buyers. The London fixing fell to $186.50 per troy ounce equal to 1.097 regular ounces. With a broker’s fees and commission involved, the price to the consumer was well over $200 an ounce.

January 1975

40 YEARS AGO

Velcro was invented by a man who had to pull burrs off his dog’s coat and thought he could duplicate the effect with synthetic materials. Velcro, a plastic material is made up of two parts—fabric embedded with tiny hooks and a matching pad covered with a dense web of matted fibers. And, Hartwick College art instructor Terry Slade has a vision and a lot of sticky Velcro. Soon, the Hartwick campus will become Slade’s Velcro canvas for the launching of the First National Velcro Art Show, a kind of artistic free-for-all for the masses. The idea to use Velcro as a medium of artistic expression occurred to Slade last year as he and other professors brainstormed ideas for Velcro at a meeting in the cafeteria. “You can Velcro anything,” Slade said. “You could Velcro a stuffed turkey. You can Velcro on a toupee or a tomato on a sandwich.” Not only is Velcro a tactile phenomenon. It also produces a distinctive ripping sound that some may find annoying. “A zipper zips. A snap snaps,” Slade said. Entries for Slade’s art exhibit are being solicited through notices in art journals. Slade has also received a case of Velcro from a manufacturer. He plans to use it to decorate Hartwick College elevators, hallways, offices and dorms. The National Velcro Art Show may be a one-time thing, however. Slade intends to dispose of any Velcro artworks that are submitted although a $50 cash prize will be awarded for the Velcro entry judged the best.

January 1985

30 YEARS AGO

Liz Callahan, 29, of Cooperstown, successor to Linda Norris last October as Director of the Delaware County Historical Association, has plans for celebrating DCHA’s 50th anniversary year that will culminate in a special September celebration. Along the way DCHA programs during the year will feature multi-generational farms, cake-decorating, Prohibition and Walton’s Italian families, humanities seminars, and a Restoration Fair focusing on a variety of restoration techniques that can be applied to furniture and homes. A native of Buffalo, Callahan is a graduate of LeMoyne College. She first joined DCHA last April as the museum’s program coordinator.

January 1995

20 YEARS AGO

The Violence Intervention Program of Opportunities for Otsego is offering training to be a rape crisis counselor. “Training is free,” Jonathan Allen, education coordinator for Violence Intervention, said. “All we ask is that you commit yourself to four hours a month to offset the cost of training.” The training will cover topics such as service provision for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, legal and medical advocacy, the cycle of violence and crisis intervention. “We are really looking for community members,” Allen said. Thirty hours of training is provided and ten hours of volunteer service to be certified.

January 2005