Bound Volumes, Hometown History

September 11, 2025

90 YEARS AGO

Thomas Jefferson said: “A free press has its evils, but a controlled debate is intolerable.” Democratic majority leader Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas says “The filibuster has disgusted the Senate and the country. There will be presented at the beginning of the next session an amendment to the rules designed to forestall another such.” Senator William E. Borah, Idaho Republican, champions the opposed viewpoint. “Controlled debate in both houses would simply be a national disaster. Free debate has killed many a bad piece of legislation and saved millions of dollars to taxpayers. Where cloture prevails, bad legislation prevails. No preliminary method of procedure can be perfect. But it is better to have the light eternally shining upon public transactions than to have it shut off. There are enough places in the government where it is shut off. I want one where it is not.”

September 1935

70 YEARS AGO

Americans regard auto driving and highway safety as a game,” State Police Sergeant Paul Vandermark told the Oneonta Kiwanis Club. And unless they change their minds he warned “this game” will continue to be “fatal and injurious. We have not adopted the proper attitude about it. We are not driving our cars as pleasure vehicles but as competition vehicles. Vehicle and traffic is the most unpopular of all our laws. But we cannot enforce it unless we get public acceptance. The responsibility for our neighbor on the road is ours.” He called for an educational publicity campaign. “By and large the American driver does not want a drunken driver prosecuted. There’s no moral stigma attached to speeding. Our speeds are high—85 percent of our highway hazards are created by the folks at home—not out-of-towners.” Better roads, he said, can lead to more accidents at higher speeds. “The mere fact that we have highways doesn’t mean we will have highway safety.” Sergeant Vandermark also blasted the courts and other agencies for a “lack of understanding” of the “seriousness” of highway slaughter. On Tuesday, Stewart Glen “Rex” Parker of 521 Main Street pleaded guilty in Oneonta City Court to a charge of driving with his license suspended. He drew a $50 fine and a 60-day suspended sentence in the Otsego County jail.

September 1955

30 YEARS AGO

Oneonta will have a community picnic in Neahwa Park from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, September 16. All that’s needed is a favorite dish to share and a blanket or lawn chair. Other foods will be available. The Oneonta Community Picnic is in the spirit and style of a traditional church picnic or family reunion. Activities include face painting, storytelling, basketball, softball, bid whist, music and prizes. The event is sponsored by the Oneonta Area Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP Collegiate Chapter and the Jewish Student Organization.

September 1995

20 YEARS AGO

Oneonta Athletic Corporation President Sam Nader has announced that his Oneonta Tigers have signed a four-year extension with their parent club in Detroit. The extension allows the Tigers to remain in Oneonta for short-season, Single-A baseball in the New York Penn League through the 2010 season. “It shows their dedication to us,” said Nader, who doubles as the owner of the O-Tigers. “They’ve been a great organization to work with and I’m pleased we have renewed for four years. The O-Tigers closed the 2005 regular season Thursday night with a 6-2 victory over the visiting Lowell Spinners. Oneonta finished 48-27, winning its third Stedler Division title in four seasons. Nader announced the new deal to a crowd of 345 fans at the beginning of the game.

September 2005