HOMETOWN HISTORY

March 4, 2021

100 Years Ago

Oneonta & Vicinity – General Manager C.S. Sims of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, said today that the purpose of removal of the headquarters of the Susquehanna Division, now located at the Delaware & Hudson building at Steuben and Pearl streets in Albany, to Oneonta, is to bring the superintendent of the division and his men in closer touch with the work. It will necessitate the relocation of about 15 men, including the superintendent, J.C. Rosenstalk, who recently succeeded F.H. Wait, along with several clerks, train dispatchers and time keepers. The Susquehanna Division is devoted mostly to the freight business. Between 35 and 40 trains pass over the road each way every day, including the freight trains from the coal fields and those carrying merchandise, which connect with the Boston & Maine railroad at Mechanicville for New England. Most of the freight trains are made up at the freight yards in Oneonta.

March 1911

80 Years Ago

Local Mention – Three hundred persons were served at the pancake supper held in the Masonic Temple Monday and it was estimated that nearly $90 was cleared. Two deer made their appearance on the hill opposite the Chinese wall on Chestnut Street Thursday noon. Both animals were seen by several persons, but departed in haste when their presence became known. J.T. Smith, superintendent of the Elmira Reformatory, will be the speaker at the Kiwanis at the Elks’ Club on Wednesday. His topic will be “Crimes and Criminals – What, Who and Why?” Guy Fay of 46 Maple Street, who recently purchased the building at 3-5 Dietz Street, from Dan Franklin of 43 Walnut Street, will open the Pioneer Restaurant on the premises in the near future. About 15 members of the Otsego County Medical Society attended a lecture at the Elks’ Club restaurant on Tuesday evening. Dr. R.R. Moloten of New York City spoke on “The Classification of Goiter.”

March 1931

40 Years Ago

More than 3,000 nurses from across New York State thronged the New York State Capitol complex in Albany on Tuesday to demand legislative recognition for their profession. Attending the gathering were registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nursing students, all intent on lobbying for a bill that would define nursing as “diagnosing and treating human responses to actual or potential health problems through such services as case finding, health teaching, health counseling, and provision of care supportive to or restorative of life and well-being. With shouts of “We want Rocky” and “Pass our bill,” the nurses rallied at the front of the Capitol to listen to speeches. With waving banners, they rushed into the building and up a flight of stairs to the doors where they believed Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller’s office was located. Finding those doors locked, they filtered into other entrances, buttonholing every available legislator to promote the legislation that would add nursing to the ranks of professional vocations in the state’s labor force.

March 1971

30 Years Ago

The evening Oneonta LaLeche League will hold a series of meetings in coming months at 35 Fair Street, Oneonta. The gatherings will start at 7:30 p.m. and discussions are based on “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.” Participants share personal experiences and receive the latest medical information. The LaLeche League is international in scope, and counts more than 4,500 groups in the U.S., Canada and 45 other countries. All women and nursing babies are welcome. The March 11 topic will be the advantages of breastfeeding to mother and baby. The April 8 topic will be the art of breastfeeding and overcoming difficulties. The May 13 topic will be “Baby arrives, childbirth and the family.” The June 10 topic will be nutrition and weaning.

March 1981

20 Years Ago

Students at Hartwick College will face an 8.9 percent increase next fall to attend the college and live on campus. The total 1991-1992 school year bill pegged at $17,800 includes $13,350 for tuition, $2,050 for a room, $2,300 for board, and a $100 activity fee. Tuition alone will rise 9.4 percent from $12,200 to $13,350. The 8.9 percent increase overall is above the national average. College official say that is because recent past increases have been below average. The college’s current enrollment is 1,480. However, Hartwick’s tuition rate remains about $2,000 less than comparable colleges in Hartwick’s peer group.

March 1991

10 Years Ago

Democrat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Oneonta this coming Saturday to promote plans to boost the upstate economy and meet with Republican Congressman Sherwood Boehlert and Oneonta Mayor Kim Muller has angered members of freerepublic.com, a grassroots conservative website. The website claims to have 50,000 members with tens of thousands of daily visitors. Website members are referred to as “freepers” and they are calling for demonstrations against Senator Clinton as the “evil one.” A doctored photo of Senator Clinton in a Nazi uniform appears on the site with the name “Hitlery.” Postings on the site also attack Representative Boehlert for his plans to appear with Clinton at the Telecenter Building on Main Street at 11:45 a.m. Clinton’s plan provides tax breaks for small businesses up to $3,000 per employee Upstate that are losing population, have low job-growth rates with high poverty levels.

March 2001