Bound Volumes, Hometown History
June 19, 2025
90 YEARS AGO
The final plea for the life of Mrs. Eva Coo, buxom keeper of Woodbine Inn on the Oneonta-Maryland road, awaiting execution in Sing Sing’s death house next week will be made to Governor Herbert H. Lehman today. Mrs. Coo, who observed her 43rd birthday Sunday in her death cell, was found guilty of plotting the death of Harry Wright, her handyman, by felling him with a mallet and then having an automobile run back and forth over his body. The crime was committed near the top of lonely Crumhorn Mountain, not far from here. Prior to the killing, Mrs. Coo had placed a large amount of insurance on Wright’s life, with herself as beneficiary. An alleged accomplice, Mrs. Martha Clift, 28-year-old mother, turned state’s evidence, pleaded guilty to a lesser degree of homicide and was given 20 years. The Court of Appeals unanimously sustained the conviction of Mrs. Coo, and she was sentenced to die the week of June 24. Unless Governor Lehman should commute her sentence to life imprisonment, the condemned woman will walk the “last mile” a week from Thursday night.
June 1935
50 YEARS AGO
Oneonta may get the most benefit of the economic impact of Interstate 88 when it is finished, but neither the economic nor the environmental effects of the highway are expected to be dramatic, according to the NYS Department of Transportation. In its draft Environmental Impact Statement released Monday, the department analyzed 19.7 miles of the project, including the Oneonta bypass, and three projects in Broome County near Belden Hill. New York State as a whole is losing population, the reports notes. It concludes that the highway “is not likely to reverse the basic economic and population trends in the state.” The road probably won’t generate substantial permanent population growth beyond what is presently projected for the area, the report continues. However, industrial and commercial development is projected for the area between Oneonta and Bainbridge. “Downtown Oneonta will be a major beneficiary of retail growth attributable to I-88,” the report predicts. The Oneonta bypass is supposed to reduce downtown congestion, making it more attractive to shoppers. More shopping centers are not predicted though. “There seems to be an excess of shopping centers in Oneonta, especially to the east of the city, the report said. These will draw more shoppers from up and down the river, though.
June 1975
30 YEARS AGO
Lynn Johnson, marketing representative from Microsoft Corporation, will demonstrate Microsoft’s new operating system, Microsoft 95, at the next meeting of the Leatherstocking Computer User’s Club on Tuesday in Room 346, Clark Hall on the Hartwick College Campus. Windows 95 is the long-anticipated, next-generation operating system from Microsoft, the largest computer software company in the world. It incorporates a new user interface, and a host of new features including software to access the new Microsoft network on-line system. It is capable of running multiple programs simultaneously using “pre-emptive multitasking.” The new Microsoft Office for Windows 95 will also be demonstrated.
June 1995
20 YEARS AGO
Delaware Democrats will honor Gretel Bachler of East Meredith with the “Peg Pandick” Democrat of the Year Award at their annual dinner at the Hidden Inn on Saturday. Bachler grew up on a farm near Hillsdale and graduated from the State University College at Oneonta with a bachelor’s degree in secondary social studies. She and Frank married in 1965 and have since owned and operated Sky-High Farm. For many years, Bachler taught fifth and sixth grade classes at Delaware Academy. In 1978, Bachler became the first woman elected to the Meredith Town Board, serving for eight years.
June 2005
