Bound Volumes, Hometown History
June 5, 2025
110 YEARS AGO
Many persons are very fond of frogs’ legs as an occasional article of diet, and are willing to pay a good price for them in season. In consequence of the demand for them many men and boys devote their attention to catching frogs and selling the legs, especially during the summer months. For the information of those who catch frogs as well as those who eat the legs, attention is called to the fact that they cannot be legally taken or possessed until the first of June. The section of the Conservation Law designed for their protection says: “Bullfrogs, green frogs, and spring frogs may be taken in any manner, possessed, bought, and sold from June 1 to March 31, both inclusive. They shall not be taken, possessed, bought or sold at any other time.”
Letter to the Editor: As one of those specially marked out from their fellows in this city by having my name posted in the hotels and saloons as a man to whom liquor must not be sold or given away, I wish not so much to protest against this undesired notoriety as to ask why the younger men who are becoming addicted to the habit should not be posted instead of ourselves. So far as we are concerned, there is no hope for us; we are too far along the road and too old for that. But the same steps taken in the case of younger men would be a different matter and far more effectual.
June 1915
50 YEARS AGO
The best in television shows: “Good Times” This series usually bypasses street life for blacks, but in this two-part program, young J.J. is forced to run with a gang or else. Characters like Mad Dog, Neck Bone and Sweet Pea pressure the skinny artist until the comedy turns serious. There’s a light touch to the loving family life that dominates the early scenes of part one, as if to say, this is the way ghetto life can be, as opposed to life with marauding street gangs.
“MASH” Nonsense played with style, as this ace series has a little fun with the CIA. Colonel Flagg, from the intelligence agency, investigates a penicillin robbery in the unit, and everyone the colonel questions appears to have an alias, in this wacky, tricky story. Poor Colonel Flagg doesn’t stand a chance playing detective, checking out wise guys like Hawkeye, Trapper John, and Klinger.
June 1975
40 YEARS AGO
President Reagan is seeking support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution in what he describes as the “uphill battle” to overturn a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling outlawing organized prayer in public schools. The 6-3 high court decision struck down an Alabama school prayer law that provided a “daily minute of silence” for “meditation or voluntary prayer” because the statute violates the constitutional separation of church and state. Speaking to an Alabama audience, Reagan said: “I know that there has been a strong push here in Birmingham to help restore voluntary prayer in public schools. As this week’s Supreme Court decision shows, we still have an uphill battle before us.
June 1985
20 YEARS AGO
Song Birds on the Decline—Doug Hulick, wildlife control expert, believes that song bird populations in the Oneonta area are declining. Backyard birdfeeders also attract skunks and raccoons, and Hulick believes that live songbirds often become entrees for the skunks and raccoons. Both animals are known to eat songbird eggs. Cats also pose a threat to songbirds, even if they are otherwise well-fed. As deer populations increase and devour forest underbrush, there is less cover and seed for bird species. According to sources, there are more deer in America now than when Columbus discovered the New World.
June 2005