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HOMETOWN HISTORY, May 18, 2012

125 Years Ago
The Normal School – A free country never yet had too many schools, nor has human ingenuity ever yet devised a method of investment which returns so heavy an interest as the money devoted to the good cause of education. The establishment of this school in Oneonta is an event of supreme importance in the history of this community and of this locality. It means advantages not to be estimated, not merely to those who now are, but to those who should follow; not merely to those who will be within the circle of its immediate influence, but to those, unnumbered, who are destined indirectly to feel its impulse.
May 1887

100 Years Ago
Local News – Fishermen report that Otsego bass have been caught in Goodyear Lake, as also have pike. The presence of the former fish, which are among the most palatable that reach Oneonta, in the nearby lake, will be learned with satisfaction by many. If that lake should become well stocked it would make the campsites upon its shores even more valuable than at present.
Two runaway boys from Schenectady were taken from a freight car in the D & H yards in this city on Tuesday evening. They were of Slavish parentage and said they were on their way to Binghamton to secure work in a cigar factory. Their parents in Schenectady were notified and money for their transportation forwarded. The boys were about 13 years of age.
May 1912

80 Years Ago
Aaron Burman, Betts Hill farmer in Delaware County drove his herd of cows into Delhi on Monday. The change from the cool breezes of his hilltop farm to the torrid pavement of Main Street seemed to call for a cooling drink. Mr. Burman parked his bovines and stopped at a soda fountain. Not at all interested in such fodder, one of the bossies became attracted to an inviting array of dainty feminine underthings in the window of George D. Arbuckle’s store and without further ado, she went to investigate. The surprise of customers and clerks alike can be well imagined at the spectacle of a full grown cow tripping down the aisle of the store with mincing steps. Evidently, bossy felt insulted at such a frigid welcome for, after reaching the back of the store, she hoisted her nose in the air in a gesture of injured pride, trotted up the other aisle and out the open door to rejoin her sisters on the street.
May 1932

60 Years Ago
If Hartwick College students had their way, a military man would occupy the White House next year in preference to a coonskin-capped crime buster. Yesterday’s mock college presidential election gave General Dwight D. Eisenhower an almost three to one victory over his Democratic opponent Estes Kefauver. Eisenhower and his running mate, California governor Earl Warren, received 154 votes as compared to 52 for Kefauver and vice-presidential aspirant W. Averell Harriman. Even political observers seemed amazed at the runaway lead compiled by Ike, a Kansas farm boy who grew up to become one of America’s most famous generals and later President of Columbia University. “I guess it shows that Ike’s the popular man,” said Hartwick College Dean Wallace R. Klinger, whose American Politics class conducted the student mock election. Over 90 percent of those who registered voted, Dr. Klinger said, a very high percentage, even for students.
May 1952

40 Years Ago
Russell G. Oswald, Commissioner of Correctional Services for New York State, will be the guest speaker on Thursday, May 18, as part of Hartwick College’s Negley K. Teeters Symposium on Crime in America. Oswald is familiar to many for his role in quelling the riot at Attica State prison. Four days prior to the outbreak at Attica on September 10, Oswald announced a program of reforms. These included furloughs for selected inmates, establishing law libraries in prisons, community centers to ease the transition from prison to society, the abandonment of censoring inmates’ letters to lawyers and public officials, extended training for new prison employees, encouragement of prison tours by private individuals and community groups, evening vocational and academic courses, and the conversion of several prisons to minimum security facilities within the next three years.
May 1972

30 Years Ago
No one seems to know exactly what the centerpiece of the city’s $1.2 million Main Street actually is. The twelve-foot high wooden structure is located in the center of a circular seating area that overlooks the Broad Street parcel. “I have absolutely no idea what it is,” said Roger G. Hughes, a former Oneonta mayor. Vernon Roberts, who spends hours each day resting on a Main Street bench, said, “You got me. I have no idea. I never paid much attention to it.” Betsy Miller, owner of the Oneonta Paperback Exchange, directly across the street also “had no idea.” Kevin Bligh, owner of the nearby Tri-County Electronics said, “Nobody knows what it is.” The answer came from Assistant City Engineer Bruno Bruni who explained that the wood structure is a “play structure” for youngsters to climb upon.
May 1982
20 Years Ago
The Oneonta Town Planning Board on Monday approved the National Soccer Hall of Fame’s proposal to build a pump house to help irrigate its soccer fields situated along State Highways 205 and 7. However, the board added as a condition a requirement that, within the next year, the Hall also build a chain link fence at least six feet high along their property’s entire border separating the soccer fields from the Peaceful Flats residences. Peaceful Flats residents have complained of soccer players urinating on their property and coming to their houses for water, or to use telephones. Albert Colone, NSHOF executive director, said, “It seems to me that it’s up to the landlord of Peaceful Flats to provide the fence.” The original site plan, approved by the board for the NSHOF site, called for shrubs to be planted along the border as a “sight barrier.” Though admitting the shrubs were never intended as a security fence, planning board members still decided the construction of a fence was the responsibility of the Hall.
May 1992

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