Letter from Marcela Micucci

Micucci: Heroes Banner Cycle Announced

In 2023, the Greater Oneonta Historical Society launched the Oneonta Hometown Heroes Banner Program. The program honors Oneonta’s hometown veterans with a custom 18”x48” banner, mounted along the light poles in the town and city of Oneonta to honor veterans or those currently serving in the Armed Forces.

The Hometown Heroes banners are displayed from Memorial Day to Veterans Day each year, and each banner includes a photo of the veteran, their name and branch of service, time served, and any medals received.

GOHS would like to thank their sponsors, veterans, and the City and Town of Oneonta for helping make the 2023 and 2024 Hometown Heroes programs a success. GOHS looks forward to continuing the Hometown Heroes program honoring current and past service members in 2025. Banners can be sponsored by anyone who would like to honor a veteran. A sponsor may be a business, a friend or family member of a veteran (or a group of friends or family members), or the veterans themselves. The honoree does not need to be a native of Oneonta.

Like last year, display locations for banners in 2025 will include light poles down Main Street, River Street, and Chestnut Street (up to Church Street) in the City of Oneonta and Chestnut Street (from West End Avenue) and Oneida Street in the Town of Oneonta.

The 2024 banners will come down in late November. They will be cleaned and stored at the Oneonta History Center at 183 Main Street. If you are a banner sponsor that would like to pick up your banner(s), banner pickup will be available at the History Center after December 15 during business hours, Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The History Center will be closed for the month of January.

Banner sponsors in 2023 and 2024 who wish to renew the display of their banner for the 2025 season may submit a renewal application for a small annual fee. Their banners will remain stored at the History Center until next season and will be put back on display. Any banner that is damaged or in need of repair will be reordered, at no cost to the sponsor.

Current and new banner sponsors also have the option to apply for new banners for the 2025 cycle. Both renewal applications and new banner applications for 2025 were released on November 15. Applications will be available at the Oneonta History Center and for download on the GOHS website, www.oneontahistory.org).

Banner sponsors will also have the option of choosing their preferred location(s) for their banner(s). All banners (new and renewed) and their locations are on a first come, first served basis and spaces are limited, so be sure to renew your banner, or apply for a new banner, soon. The deadline for applications for new banners for the 2025 cycle is Friday, March 28, 2025. The deadline for applications for renewal banners for the 2025 cycle is Friday, May 2, 2025, availability permitting.

For additional inquiries, please e-mail directormm@oneontahistory.org or call the History Center at (607) 432-0960.

GOHS looks forward to the 2025 cycle of the Hometown Heroes Banner Program.

Marcela Micucci
Executive Director
Greater Oneonta Historical Society