HOMETOWN History
June 21, 2019
150 Years Ago
Definitions: Sisters of Charity? Faith and Hope. A Cow Belle? A beautiful milkmaid. Dearer than life? A fashionable funeral. High words? Conversation on Mount Blanc. What is everybody doing at the same time? Growing old. How to cure a “Girl of the Period?” Put a stop to her. What love’s young dream often turns out to be? A nightmare. Men who “take things easily as they come along? Thieves. How does time turn into money? A pawned watch. Who are the most interested followers of our fortunes? Our creditors.
June 1869
125 Years Ago
The Local News: One of the features of the Fourth of July celebration here will be a ten-mile road race starting from the foot of Dietz Street at 10 a.m. The trophy will be an elegant vase which must be won three times in succession before it becomes individual property. The race is open only to members of the wheel club.
The Merry-Go-Round now on Dietz Street will be moved to Wilber Park this week, where for a season it will be an added attraction for the young people.
T.E. Wainwright of West Oneonta has a mammoth seedling strawberry, discovered in the meadows two years ago and since carefully cultivated. A basket of the berries brought to the Herald office shows them to be uniformly of large size, oval in shape and of a delicious flavor commonly supposed to be found only in the smaller berries of the meadows.
June 1894
100 Years Ago
Among sixteen featured speakers and musicians appearing in Oneonta with the Redpath Cahatauqua (Admission $2) are the following: “Williams’ Jubilee Singers” Eight Colored Artists. Organized in 1904. Toured around the world. One hundred and thirty concerts in London. Educated and cultured, representing Fisk University, Knox College, Oberlin College and Rush University. Repertoire comprises the Jubilee of the Dixies and the grand old melodies of the years gone by. “Bhaskar P. Hivale” A native of India; graduate of Bombay University; post graduate course at Harvard. Mr. Hivale’s subject will be “What About India and the World Events?” A message of absorbing interest with flashes of wit to illuminate the seriousness of his discourse. Speaks in a simple, direct language, with a slight Oriental accent. “Princess Watahwaso” An Indian soprano of the Penobscot Tribe. Has had training under masters in musical art and besides is a born entertainer. Her program is a lecture recital, consisting of Indian songs, legends and descriptive dances. Her names means “Bright Star,” which is truly characteristic of her personality.
June 1919
80 Years Ago
The Manlius School will present two major awards to Charles Swart of Oneonta at its commencement exercises in Knox Hall at Noon today. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Loughgran Swart of 384 Main Street. The Stark Trophy, awarded annually to the most valuable member of the basketball team, will be presented to Swart, who was a high-scoring guard on the crack Manlius quintet last winter. He was named on the All-Star team following the Eastern Tournament at Glens Falls. Before matriculating at Manlius last fall, Swart was an outstanding athlete at Oneonta High School, earning letters in football, basketball, baseball and track. His ability as an athlete was recognized by leading coaches in the Southern Tier. Swart was captain of the 1938 Yellow and White basketball team, which swept to the championship of the Southern Tier Conference. He led the league in scoring, averaging 15 points per game during the season. Swart plans to enroll at Syracuse University next fall and may be playing with two former teammates on the Orange basketball team during the season of 1941-1942. Bill Ouimette and Sam Pondolfino were members of the freshman quintet at Syracuse last winter.
June 1939
60 Years Ago
One hundred and sixty-seven Oneonta High School students graduated in the 90th annual commencement exercises at the Oneonta Theatre. Twenty-five students received prizes, among which were Patricia Sweet, Mrs. D.F. Wilber Prize for the highest standing; Elizabeth Downie for the second highest standing; Patricia Seward for the Lynn, Clyde and Fred Bresee Award for highest average among senior girls for the senior year and the Mrs. D.F. Wilber prize for the highest standing in English and a certificate of acceptance from the National High School Poetry Association. Donald Plants was awarded the Lynn, Clyde and Fred Bresee prize for the highest average among senior boys. Donald Plants and Sandra Lare were given awards as the senior boy and girl who “have shown the greatest personal advancement during the years in high school.”
June 1959
40 Years Ago
Dr. Frank A. Burdick, associate professor of history with State University College at Cortland has been awarded a year-long research fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities to complete a detailed study on the American Military establishment’s evaluation of the Vietnam War. According to Dr. Burdick, the purpose of his study is to examine the way military thinkers have assessed the Vietnam experience and to consider if the pessimism and bitterness that exist represent “a threat to the historic concept of civilian control over the military” in American life.”
June 1979
10 Years Ago
Two former Oneonta Yankees did most of the damage at the inaugural Hall of Fame Classic. Mike Pagliarulo, who played for Oneonta in 1981, hit an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning as Team Wagner rallied for four runs to earn a 5-4 victory over Team Collins in front of 7,069 fans at Doubleday Field on a warm, but overcast Sunday afternoon. Another former O-Yank, Kevin Maas – hit a two-run homer during the third inning to give team Collins the 4-0 lead. Maas played for Oneonta in 1986. The team names were selected for Hall of Famers Eddie Collins and Honus Wagner.
June 2009