HOMETOWN HISTORY, September 21, 2012
125 Years Ago
There has been a lively movement in real estate in the locality of the proposed Normal School the past week, property having been sold as follows: To L.H. Blend, four lots on Normal Street, $1,200; H.D. Yager, lot on Normal Street, $400; George Kirkland, two lots, corner of Maple and Cedar streets, $1,500; Dr. J.H. Van Rensselaer, lot on Cedar Street, $650; W.H. Mereness, lot on Cedar Street, $650, and lot between State and East streets, $350; Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Rockwell, two lots, corner East and Cedar streets, $1,300; Delos Yager, two lots on East Street, $1,000; E.M. Elmore, two corner lots, State and East streets, $700; F. Wilcox, lot on Cedar Street, $650; Dr. Goldsmith, lot between State and East streets, $300. It is very generally conceded that the lots at the prices at which they are offered, furnish a good opportunity for investment, as is proved by the fact that several of the best business men of Oneonta are buying and negotiating for the property.
September 1887
80 Years Ago
The City Council – The proposition “Shall the showing of moving pictures on Sunday evenings after the hour of 9 p.m. be permitted in the theatres of the city of Oneonta?” will be submitted to the registered voters of the city at the general election to be held November 8. The City Council, which alone has the power to permit Sunday movies, will not be bound by the result of the voting, but many members of the Council have indicated that they will be influenced in their vote by the expression of sentiment. Clarence C. Miller, former mayor and chairman of the Public Safety Commission, appeared before the Council and presented a resolution unanimously adopted by the members of the paid fire department and of the police department in which they voluntarily voted to refund five percent of their salaries from October 15, 1932 to September 30, 1933, to the City Chamberlain for the relief of the unemployed. This refund will amount to about $1,600.
September 1932
60 Years Ago
The first responsibilities of a minister’s wife are crystal-clear to Mrs. Edna Mae (Penny) Lyon, wife of the Rev. Roswell Lyon, pastor of the First Methodist Church. Her biggest duty, she staunchly maintained during an interview yesterday, is creating a pleasant atmosphere and background where a husband-pastor can relax after a hard day’s grind. “I’m definitely not a pastor’s assistant,” declared Mrs. Lyon. “I don’t like to see a minister’s wife running competition with her husband. It might lead to a jealous situation.” Mrs. Lyon admitted that she liked housework as an outcome of majoring in home economics in college at Ohio Wesleyan University where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mrs. Lyon has taught Sunday Schools at previous pastorates her husband has held, but she cautions, “A pastor’s wife should never be too prominent or too important in the church. My home is my most important job.”
September 1952
40 Years Ago
Private investigator Andrew Liddle will conclude his investigation of the Oneonta Police Department’s operations in mid-October. Liddle said the final report would run to approximately 200 pages and would include a new set of rules and regulations for the department and its officers. Liddle said that he, members of the Safety Board, and special counsel to the Safety Board, Robert Harlem, would interview Police Chief Joseph DeSalvatore last night. DeSalvatore has just returned from the prestigious 12-week FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, where the chief did exceptionally well, finishing in the top ten percent of the class of 200. Liddle is paid $10 per hour Mayor James Lettis said Liddle works upwards of 40 hours a week on his probe. Liddle and the Council are expected to get together in a private session to review the findings to date.
September 1972
30 Years Ago
The Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society wants to build a Delaware & Hudson Railroad museum, an art gallery, and park on the vacant urban renewal plot in downtown Oneonta. James Loudon, the society’s president said the group will ask the Oneonta Common Council for permission to build on the Broad Street parcel. The group has scrapped earlier plans to build the museum in Oneonta’s Neahwa Park. Loudon proposes to move the “Little Red Caboose,” the site where the Brotherhood of Railroad trainmen was organized in 1883, to the Broad Street parcel. The caboose would be enclosed in glass and visible during closing hours. Oneonta Mayor James F. Lettis opposes the society’s plan. “I’d rather see some retail there if we can get it. He noted that another attempt to build a local rail museum failed several years ago. Another proposal for the Broad Street site is a $10 million shopping mall. The site has been vacant for approximately 10 years.
September 1982
20 Years Ago
The Oneonta Common Council has approved a change in the city charter that gives petitioners the right to speak at the beginning of council meetings. The change puts into law a long-time practice which, however, was never a right, and thus could have been stopped at any time. The change was advocated by the Oneonta League of Women Voters. Alderman John Carney and Kathryn King opposed the measure because they were concerned about lengthy debates preventing the council from doing its work.
September 1992
10 Years Ago
Kate Hendrickson Borg, an Olympic kayaker and former Oneonta high school swimmer, competed in her first triathlon in Madison, Wisconsin, last Sunday. She finished 921st out of 1,801 competitors with a time of 12 hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds. The course started with a 2.4 mile open-water swim, followed by 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running. The Wisconsin Triathlon, held for the first time this year, was a qualifier for the Kona, Hawaii Ironman competition.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup, which normally resides at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, was displayed last week at the Michelle Akers Tribute Game and will be sent to FIFA before the next World Cup in November 2003.
September 2002