HOMETOWN History April 3, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 04/02/2020 4:02 pm

HOMETOWN History

April 3, 2020

150 Years Ago

Death of Bees – During the past few weeks, mortality among the bees about Portlandville has been very great. One gentleman having 48 hives has lost 43 out of the number, and others have lost in nearly the same proportion. The cause is attributed to a scarcity of the store laid up last season, which may be true, and if true, makes neglect on the part of the owners the more culpable.
Chicago is receiving California quail, salmon, asparagus, cauliflower, green peas, and mounting trout, by express from the Pacific Coast.
The edition of The London Times is now printed upon presses that take in the paper in a continuous roll.

April 1870

125 Years Ago

Records of a Week – The Yale faculty has ordered Harry Moffat Wilson to leave the college for refusing to be vaccinated. He is a freshman from Newburgh, New York. His father is opposed to vaccination.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rendered its decision on the income tax law. By a majority of five to three the court declares unconstitutional so much of the law as taxes incomes from rents and state, municipal and county bonds. By an even division, four to four, it fails to affirm or deny the constitutionality of what remains in the law. The first effect of this decision will be to cut down by at least one-third, the estimated revenue of $30,000,000 which the Treasury Department expected to receive from the income tax law during the first year of its operation.

April 1895

80 Years Ago

Oneonta Sports Chatter – After opening the baseball season at Utica, on the afternoon of May 9, the Oneonta Indians will play the Braves at Neahwa Park the following day. The Indians will be at home for 63 games, including two or three holiday dates. “Jumping Joe” Polcha, tall substitute center for the Troy Basketball Celtics, will be farmed by Albany to Gloversville. Polcha hit over .500 with two fast semi-pro leagues. Carl Delberta wired us yesterday that he came through his bout with Melio Theodorescu without a scratch. Delberta was a “last-minute” substitute for the Cocoa Kid and scored a unanimous 10-round decision over the Rumanian welter-weight champion. The National Boxing Association has ranked Arturo Godoy as the number one Heavyweight contender for Joe Louis’s title. But, personally, it’s about time for the boys along “Jacob’s Beach to check their fountain pens for a spell and seek a “white hope” capable of giving the “Brown Bomber” and the customers a fair run for their money.

April 1940

60 Years Ago

The United States bolted past a new frontier in space Friday by firing the first-known weather-eye satellite into orbit. It photographed the Earth and its cloud cover from 450 miles up and televised back the images. A triumphant space agency rushed the pictures to President Eisenhower who exclaimed “I think it’s a marvelous development.” NASA Chief Dr. T. Keith Glennan brought Eisenhower a four-picture sequence showing an 800-mile-square area comprising the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

April 1960

40 Years Ago

West Oneonta – Danny Forbes is ten pounds lighter this morning – and he’s glad. The ten pounds he lost yesterday comprised the weight of a metal head brace that he wore for more than two months to help heal a broken neck. The five-year-old son of David and Kathy Forbes of Route 23, West Oneonta, had the brace removed Monday afternoon, his mother said. Mrs. Forbes said Danny’s first words when he woke Monday morning were “Look Ma, my brace is all off.” He was able to come home tonight,” his mother said. Danny suffered a broken vertebra on January 27 in a sledding accident on a hill behind his home. The brace was installed by two physicians, Bruce Harris, a neurologist at Bassett Hospital, and William Hopper of Fox Hospital. Danny now wears a foam-filled neck collar.

April 1980

20 Years Ago

Construction to replace the Rose Avenue Bridge in the City of Oneonta could begin by the end of April. The concrete and steel structure which crosses Glenwood Creek on Rose Avenue at the intersection of Hudson Street was closed by the city on March 3 after a significant section of its top deck broke off and fell into the water. Work on a replacement, estimated to cost close to $90,000 is hoped to begin soon. The city is expected to award a construction contract on April 18 Oneonta City Engineer Joseph Bernier said. Meanwhile, nearby businesses have suffered as normal through traffic has been diverted. Even though local traffic is permitted past a barricade at the top of Rose Avenue, the barriers have discouraged customers from patronizing Coddington’s Florist at 12 Rose Avenue, said Kathryn Kroll, owner of the business. “I am truly affected by this,” Kroll said. The Oneonta Tennis Club and Otsego Iron and Metal are also affected by the bridge closing signs.

April 2000

10 Years Ago

The mission of the Oneonta Mural Project is “To realize a vision for original and professional murals that promotes community and economic growth.” The project, founded in 1999, is under the umbrella of the Upper Catskill Community Council on the Arts and was adopted by the City of Oneonta Beautification Committee. Now, 10 years later, at least 13 interior and exterior public murals have been painted in the Oneonta area by various artists and students. Why murals? Because public art communicates ideas.

April 2010

HOMETOWN History March 25, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 03/25/2020 3:25 pm

HOMETOWN History

March 25, 2020

150 Years Ago

The Technologist – The second number of this journal has reached us and is fully up to the promises held out by the first. It contains a very fine full page engraving on tinted paper, giving the details of the East River Bridge Caisson. Other articles of great interest serve to render this number valuable, both to the practical man and to the general reader. Amongst them may be mentioned the “Manufacture of Porcelain,” “Recent Improvements in Distillation,” Street Railways,” “Ocean Lines of Telegraph,” “The Paris System of Drainage,” “Influence of Occupation on Health,” “The History of the Lucifer Match,” “Isemetrical Projection,” “The Science of Little Things” &c. Those desiring to examine a copy of this journal should send twenty cents to the Industrial Publishing Company, 176 Broadway, New York

March 1870

100 Years Ago

Miss Evangeline C. Booth, Commander of the Salvation Army in the United States. With the $14 million fund generously contributed by the country to the Salvation Army last May all but exhausted through the Army’s unparalleled year of activities and service throughout
the country, Commander Miss Booth is now marshalling her forces for the organization’s second nation-wide Home Service Appeal to be held May 10 to 20. “Never before in the history of the organization in this country, has the Salvation Army been able to accomplish so much for the poor, the distressed, the sick, the unfortunate and the erring,” Miss Booth states. “All this is because of the magnificent way America has supported our efforts. We are deeply grateful for God and country for the opportunities of Christian and humanitarian service that have been afforded us the last few months.”

March 1920

80 Years Ago

One of Ithaca College’s outstanding athletes, Louis “Ducky” Pond of 32 West Broadway, Oneonta, is among the first seniors at the college to obtain a position and has accepted the post of Supervisor of Physical Education at Mineville, High School for 1940-1941. He will receive a B.S. in Physical Education from Ithaca College in June. As Catcher on the varsity baseball team he is expected to be in the lineup regularly this spring. He also starred on the football eleven for two seasons at halfback. A member of Sigma Delta Psi, national physical education fraternity, he is a 1934 graduate of Kellogg High School and spent his freshman year at Colgate University.
A huge “spot” on the sun played hob with communications today. The east to west disruption of telegraph and short wave radio service was the worst in 30 years. The American Telephone and Telegraph Co. said it was the worst case of traffic impairment its engineers could recall. Cable communications between Europe and the New York and Associated Press office broke suddenly at 10:30 a.m. One channel was restored at 1:50 p.m. and a second at 3:07 p.m.

March 1940

60 Years Ago

For eight long minutes, he had $1,406 on his person, police said. He had it until police took it from him along with the gun he’d used to take the money from a local loan company.
It was Oneonta’s first armed robbery in more than 25 years, said police. Arthur A. Wanamaker, 33, a farmer from Middlefield, Cooperstown, RD 2, is charged with entering the Upstate Loan Co. on Main Street late yesterday afternoon and taking $1,406 at gunpoint. Wannamaker was apprehended minutes later in Huntington Park between the library and the Oneonta Building and Loan Company by Patrolmen George Donlin and H.P. Wenck. At the time of his arrest, Wanamaker had the $1,406 stuffed into his sweater and a nine-shot 22-caliber pistol loaded with 22 rifle bullets. The pistol was concealed beneath the coat Wanamaker carried in his hand. The robbery was first reported by telephone to police at 4:25 p.m. by Ralph Nielsen, collection manager for the loan company. A call was sent out on the police radio.

March 1960

40 Years Ago

Hartwick – Cyrus Budine, 14, of Hartwick, was listed in serious condition at Bassett Hospital Thursday night, more than 24 hours after he was struck by a car that killed his 12 year-old brother and a 10-year-old girl, also of Hartwick. Budine suffered head injuries when a car driven by Olive Bush, 59, of Hartwick struck a group of eight children walking in the street about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday on the way home from the town library. Deceased after the Hartwick accident are Christopher Budine, 12 year-old son of Cyrus and Joyce Budine of 206 North Street in Hartwick and 10-year-old Sarah Storey, daughter of Rev. George and June Storey of 48 North Street in Hartwick. No ticket was issued by investigating state police from Oneonta.
Two Oneonta youths were also struck by cars in unrelated incidents in the past 48 hours. Both were listed in satisfactory condition at Fox Hospital Thursday night. Joseph Harkenreader, age 9, and Robert Brienza, age 8, both of Oneonta were sharing a hospital room Thursday night while being treated for broken legs. Brienza was struck by a car at the corner of Ford and Center Street on his way to school Thursday morning. Harkenreader was hit by a car driven by Iva F. Burdick of Cozy Avenue. Tickets were not issued in either case.

March 1980

20 Years Ago

Four graduates of the State University at Oneonta will return to Campus on March 30 to share their experience and expertise with current students in a workshop titled “Careers in the Earth Sciences.” The workshop is designed to help current students make informed career decisions. Darwin Roosa, a 1972 graduate with a degree in science education will discuss “Careers in the Public Sector for Earth Scientists.” Roosa is a “Citizen Participation Specialist” with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Albany. Bill Soukup will present “Careers in Environmental Consulting.” A 1976 Geology graduate, he works for Brown & Caldwell, an environmental and engineering consulting firm. Windsor High School Earth Science teacher Irving Soden, a 1970 graduate with a degree in geography, will address teaching as a profession in his presentation titled “So You Want to Be a Teacher.”

March 2000

10 Years Ago

Famed cartoonist Don Sherwood, who would slip caricatures of his Oneonta buddies into “Dan Flagg” and his other strips, has passed away March 6, 2010, at the Levine & Dickson Hospice House, Huntersville, N.C., where his
wife, Dolly and their son, Jason, both live. He was 79.

March 26. 201

HOMETOWN History March 20, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 03/18/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

March 20, 2020

150 Years Ago

Shooting Affray – Nobody Killed: A disgraceful affair occurred in Shafer’s Store at Pepacton last Saturday evening. It appears that two men, James Frazier and Ad. Shafer, proprietor of the store, got into some dispute which brought on a war of words, when Frazier struck Shafer on the nose with some instrument which proved hard enough to break the said nose, and necessitate the sending for a medical man, who reconstructed it in the best possible manner. We are informed that revolvers were drawn by both parties and shots were fired, but by the exercise of their dodging powers the combatants were not hit. Frazier was in this village (Andes) last Monday with a small wound above his eye, which was caused by a blow from his antagonist. It is a disgrace that these young husbands should disgrace themselves in the manner stated. They should lay their revolvers to one side until a more honorable calling requires their use.

March 1870

125 Years Ago

The President Home Again – President Cleveland came back to Washington this afternoon after eleven days of recreation on the water. There was a glow of health upon his cheeks which was not there when he left Washington on March 5, the day after Congress had adjourned. St. Clair, the White House steward had provided a large express
wagon to carry away the game, and the Presidential baggage.
Enough game was brought back to send hampers to all the Cabinet officers in town, to Mr. Thurber, and to the homes of the President’s companions, not to speak of a plentiful supply for the White House table. Most of the sport was had in Pimlico Sound, and the President bagged a fair share.

March 1895

100 Years Ago

At a recent public hearing in Albany, relative to the proposed bill abolishing the death penalty in this state, there was not a single voice raised in opposition thereto. Of those favoring it there were two classes – humanitarians who were for the bill on what sometimes are called sentimental reasons, who exploited the sacredness of human life and declared that the Commonwealth had no right under any circumstances to violate its sanctities. Another hard-headed sort, mainly practitioners of law, who held for abolition of the extreme penalty on the quite different ground that it made convictions difficult, and often through sentiment, permitted the guilty to escape. In an earlier age punishment was considered primarily an act of revenge. A more modern conception of so-called punitive measures is that its primary purpose is the reformation of the wrongdoer. Another argument in favor of abolition is that the law, like everything else, is fallible.

March 1920

80 Years Ago

Opinion – It is true that our manner of meeting the economic troubles of the past decade – and fortunately, those of this country have been largely economic, does indicate that perhaps we are lacking in the virility which has made our nation great – that perhaps the character that looks to religion and reflects the Golden Rule has faded from the standards which once imbued us as a people. But it is equally true that in most people these qualities essential to a great nation have only been lulled asleep – that again awakened, Americans will exhibit once more the resolution, resourcefulness, and character which our way of life exemplified for all the world. Our need is a moral reawakening – and that we must have.
Personals: Clifford Jordan of Morris visited in this city yesterday. Miss Myrtle I. Buckley of 17 Watkins Avenue will leave today to spend Easter with relatives in Hartford, Connecticut. Mrs. Maria Polli and daughter of Grand Gorge were Monday business callers in Oneonta.

March 1940

60 Years Ago

Civil Defense Alert Drill Scheduled for May: CONELRAD Alert Drill and initial tactical warning will signal a Civil Defense test operation beginning at 2 p.m. on May 3 and ending at 2:30 p.m. on May 5. All Civil Defense control centers and headquarters will be activated for the period of the federal exercise on a 4-hour basis to ensure continuous communication, analysis of attack weapon phenomena and prompt reporting of this data and/or bomb strikes to appropriate higher and lower headquarters, and for processing and interpretation of radiation reports. A mandatory public participation drill is scheduled to be held May 3 in each of the Civil Defense jurisdictions of New York State, as directed in a letter of instructions to Robert Simmons, Director. A “take-cover” signal will sound at 2:15 p.m. and extend a period of 15 minutes. At 2:30 p.m. the alert signal will be sounded and the public informed to resume normal activities.

March 1960

40 Years Ago

Workshops on understanding themselves were the first choices of men and women attending the “Every-Woman’s Fair” Saturday in the First United Methodist Church, Oneonta. More than 100 men and women participated in one or more workshops in spite of blowing, drifting snow that hampered travel. Workshops on “Enhancing Self-Esteem,” led by Suzanne Clarke, “On Becoming Your Own Woman,” led by Anita May Thacker, and “Women Alone” led by Mary Ann Keenan drew the most participants. Other workshops that drew many sign-ups were “Natural Childbirth – A Holistic Perspective” led by Kathleen Grandison, M.D., “Menopause” led by Sandy Cohen and Norma Lee Havens, “Why Do They Stay?” led by Aid to Battered Women, “Assertiveness Training” led by Joan Slepian, “Shiatsu Massage” led by Sue Yates, and “Women and Therapy” led by Joan Slepian and Sandy Cohen.

March 1980

10 Years Ago

Food needs of area residents were the main course at a meeting organized by the Hunger Task Force. About 30 volunteers, clergy, food pantry representatives and other agency representatives met in the Great Hall of St. James Episcopal Church on Elm Street to identify existing programs, gaps and other resources to increase supplies and access to food. Services and resources are changing as needs grow because of the economy, organizers said. Janice Hinkley, a member of the Hunger Task Force that is affiliated with St. Mary’s Church, said the church’s food pantry helped about 6,000 people last year.

March 2010

HOMETOWN History March 13, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 03/11/2020 12:10 pm

HOMETOWN History

March 13, 2020

150 Years Ago

The Inebriate Asylum – A portion of this humbug institution, created and kept up at the expense of the State for the benefit of Binghamton, was burned a few days since – loss estimated at $75,000. The Legislature is already being called upon for an appropriation to repair the damage. The Binghamton Leader publishes a list of items of expenditures for the past three years, which foot up at $409,880.79. Receipts from patients amount to $86,517.95. The balance against the Institution is $323,362.84.

Shooting Affray – We understand that a difficulty occurred between two men at Pepacton on Saturday in which pistols were used, each firing two or three shots without much damage. It is said there was a woman in the case. We are not informed of the particulars or names of the parties.

March 1870

125 Years Ago

Got a Whale off Nahant – A whale about 75 feet long, evidently an old one, was killed off Nahant yesterday by a picked crew of experienced men made up in Nahant. Deeply embedded in the whale’s back was a harpoon, badly rusted, with the inscription, “Hiram K. Swain, Nantucket 1858,” still legible.

New Illuminating Gas Discovered – An illuminating gas to vie with electricity and to completely eclipse the present coal gas is said to be about to come into use. It is also said that gas bills will then be only at the rate of five cents a thousand cubic feet. The new gas is acetylene, made by a simple process. Professor P.L. Wilson discovered it in his laboratory in Spray, North Carolina. The chemists in the big gas companies in New York and Boston are looking into the gas a means of increasing the power of coal now used. In liquid form it burns in lamps. No wicks are necessary as the liquid turns to gas and ignites as soon as it rises in the tube.

March 1895

100 Years Ago

The Fairchild Camera – The current number of “The Aerial Age Weekly” has an interesting illustrated article describing the Fairchild Automatic Film Camera authored by Major Herbert E. Ives, who had charge of the photographic branch of the air service during the war. This camera, the invention of Sherman M. Fairchild of Oneonta, has many novel features. Ives sates: “When you compare its performance with that of other between-the-lens shutters, it shows the new shutter to be quite in a class by itself for speed and efficiency.” The article includes a photograph of a section of the City of Washington, D.C. photographed from the air during the government’s test of the camera and which demonstrates the accuracy of its work. The camera was designed to photograph the enemies’ lines to obtain military information such as the position of batteries and ammunition dumps, changes in trench systems, troop movements, etc. Had the war continued longer, the Fairchild camera would doubtless have been of great service to the government.

March 1920

80 Years Ago

Just as the telephone did not do away with the telegraph, and radio did not do away with the telephone, television will not do away with radio. But, it can aid these other great benefits by extending man’s horizons and contributing to his material comforts, Patrick H. Crafton of Schenectady told the Kiwanis Club at the Hotel Oneonta yesterday noon. Mr. Crafton described television as the result of thousands of experiments and discoveries in a dozen fields of chemistry, physics and mathematics. He described the work done by Dr. E.F.W. Alexanderson, General Electric engineer and said that many Schenectady residents were among the first in the world to witness television when a demonstration was held in Proctor’s Theatre there in May, 1930. Since that time unlimited improvements have been made. Mr. Crafton pointed out that nearly all sporting events are adapted to television and said that women will be able to view the season’s new hats and gowns paraded on live models, see cooking demonstrations and all kinds of products and appliances.

March 1940

60 Years Ago

Housewife Loses Grocery Money – Seeks its Return. “It may be extra money to the finder, but it is grocery money to us,” Mrs. Harold Grube said when reporting the loss of her purse “just about the time school got out,” between Bishop’s Drug Store and the Grand Union on Main Street. Mrs. Grube said it contained all of her grocery money, and had plenty of identification in the form of a Social Security Card, credit cards and other items. Mrs. Grube resides at 372 Main Street. Phone: GE2 -1256.

March 1960

20 Years Ago

Oneonta High School Second Quarter Honor Roll – Twelfth Grade High Honor: Kathryn Browner, Joy Forsythe,
Willa Friedman, Lindsay LaRose, Jami Mileski, Brian Murphy, Kristen Perry, Rachel Pollak. Marlies Roberts, Benjamin Scheim and Jennifer Woodam. Eleventh Grade High Honor: Jeremy Beck, Matthew Brown, Zahra Eagle, Kira Syvertsen, Nicole Thomas and Phillip Zimmerman. Tenth Grade High Honor: Claire Blechman, Elizabeth Brown, Michelle Cooper, Cheryl Downie, Alec Macaulay, Jenna Marmet, Liam Murray, Melissa Pigeon, Joseph Sandoli. Ninth Grade High Honor: Daniel DeThomas, Amanda Geisler, Isaiah Ilowit, Carlena Johnson, Katrina Kollgaard, Emily Maskin, Andrew Perry, Meghan Stetson, Joseph Tannenbaum, Allison Thomas, Parisa Zohoori.

March 2000

10 Years Ago

Andrew McIntosh aims to destroy doors on gay closets and he started with his own. Last year, as a newly appointed lacrosse team captain at SUNY Oneonta, McIntosh said he wrestled with suicidal thoughts until he decided to talk about being a gay man. First, he told a close friend from high school and his sister. Since then, he has told his coach, Dan Mahar, and his fellow lacrosse team captains. On February 5, McIntosh told his teammates, the same day Outsports.com, an on-line gay sports community published his article, “College lacrosse player comes out to his team.” McIntosh who is from Putnam Valley said, “Being honest is very important to me. I wanted them to hear it from me and not from anyone else,” he said. Coach Mahar said he is proud to say there has been no hint of negativity from players. “The guys see Andrew as Andrew,” said Mahar.
“It really didn’t faze anybody,” Tom Kelly, a SUNY Oneonta junior said after practice.

March 2010

HOMETOWN History March 5, 2020

By: Libby Cudmore 03/04/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

March 5, 2020

150 Years Ago

Railroad Rules of Travel: The following “Rules of the Road” are based upon legal decisions and ought to be universally made known. The courts have decided that applicants for tickets on railroads can be ejected from the cars if they do not offer the exact amount of fare. Conductors are not bound to make change. All railroad tickets are good until used. Limiting conditions such as “good for this day only” or otherwise admitting time of genuineness, are of no account.

March 1870

125 Years Ago

Organization Needed: It is an open question if the dairymen of the country realize how important their industry is in the aggregate. The newspapers of the day teem with the volume and immense
importance of the iron interest. The value of the wheat of the country is large, but it is insignificant when compared with that of dairy products. The lumber interest is of great importance, but it, too, dwindles into small proportions when contrasted with the products of the dairy. Lumber and iron have representatives in every legislative hall, but we know of hardly a single dairyman in public life. The reason for this is that the dairy interests of the country are not thoroughly organized. An industry that has an annual output of more than 1,250,000,000 pounds of butter and ten times that number of pounds of cheese, and billions of gallons of milk contributing to the aggregate, ought to possess influence enough to stamp out the manufacture of oleo.

March 1895

100 Years Ago

More than half the rural churches in New York State are in a state of decline, one in every nine literally dead, and three in every nine dying, was the statement made by Henry S. Huntington, Editor of Christian Work, in his presentation of the rural surveys of the inter-church world movement before an opening day’s meeting of the State Pastors three-day conference in Rochester. Close to 2,000 clergymen
representing about 30 denominations. Mr. Huntington was one of several speakers. An address was delivered by George C. Haynes, a prominent Negro educator and publisher, in which he demonstrated the neglect of the Negro’s spiritual welfare.

March 1920

80 Years Ago

Ex-Pitching Ace Turns “Water Boy” – The powerful right arm which Big Ed Walsh pitched with while managing Oneonta’s strong semi-pro baseball club back in 1921 twists gadgets these days so that 42,000 inhabitants of Meriden, Connecticut may be served with pure water. The former Chicago White Sox ace, famed for his feats on the twirling mound between 1904 and 1913 is supervisor of Meriden’s filtering plant and pumping station, a position which provides him with a modest home and a comfortable living. Big Ed, who will be 59 years old May 19, was appointed to the job by Meriden’s Mayor Francis Danaher. Back in 1902, Danaher’s father, Cornelius J. Danaher, brought Walsh to Meriden from Plains, Pennsylvania to pitch for the Meriden club in the old Connecticut baseball League. “I’m still in marvelous condition,” Ed says. Big Ed weighs 194 pounds – “exactly the same as when I was toiling for the White Sox.”

March 1940

40 Years Ago

Five students at Oneonta State were arrested for marijuana possession in a morning dormitory raid Monday by seven officers from state and city police and the Troop “C” Narcotics Investigation Squad. Mark Robert Barr, 23, of Gouverneur, was charged with third-degree possession of marijuana, a felony, and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, according to police. Police did not report how much marijuana Barr allegedly had, except that it was over the minimum 8-ounce amount
for the charge. Robert E. Snyder, 19, of Surprise, and Craig J. Hodges, 19, of East Meadow were both charged with fifth-degree marijuana possession, a misdemeanor. The other two men, David L. Wilder, 20, of West Hurley, and Michael J. Limar, 19, of Huntington, were charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, an offense punishable with up to a $100 fine and no jail term for first offenders. The five men were asleep in their dorm room, room 206 at McDuff Hall, at about 7 a.m. They offered no resistance. The search warrant was issued by City Judge Frank Getman based on an investigation by the State Police Narcotics Squad.

March 1980

20 Years Ago

The Oneonta School District is taking steps to strengthen its foreign language department as New York State tightens academic standards for students who study modern languages, school officials said. At the Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Joseph C. Piscitelli said he has received a proposal to hire a new foreign language teacher to work in the Middle School beginning next year, starting in the seventh grade. “As of now, it’s not in next year’s budget,” Piscitelli said. “We’re still looking at ways at reducing the budget and the tax levy – not increasing it.” The district needs to hire someone because foreign language teachers in the schools already have full course loads, Piscitelli said. “We could not give them an extra class to teach.” The position would require someone fluid in both French and Spanish. German would be added for eighth grade. Finding someone with those qualifications could be difficult.

March 2000

10 Years Ago

The Otsego County Sheriff’s Office was busier than ever last year, Sherriff Richard Devlin, Jr. says. “Arrests, complaints, domestic incidents and DWI’s all were up last year compared to 2008,” Devlin said. Statistics from 2009 confirm the trend and the increased demand for Sheriff’s office services.

March 2010

HOMETOWN History Feb. 28, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 02/26/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Feb. 28, 2020

150 Years Ago

(Excerpts from the following advertisement): Constitutional Recognition of Almighty God and the Christian Religion – Call for a National Convention: The Constitution of the United States makes no acknowledgement of Almighty God, the author of national existence; nor of Jesus Christ, who is the Ruler of Nations; nor of the Bible, which is the fountain of law and good morals as well as of religion. This has from the beginning been a matter of deep regret. It may have been an oversight, but it was, and it is, both an error and an evil. It does not reflect the views of the great majority of people upon these great matters. It dishonors God. It is inconsistent with the character of nearly all our State Constitutions, and with all the precedents of our early history. The National Association which has been formed for the purpose of securing such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States as will remedy this great defect and indicate that we are a Christian nation, invites all American citizens who favor such an amendment, without distinction of party or creed, to meet in convention at Pittsburgh, on Thursday, the Third Day of March, next, at 2 o’clock p.m. William Strong, President of National Association.

February 1870

125 Years Ago

At a meeting of the Veterans Association of Delaware and Otsego Counties at the Wilson House in Oneonta, New York, on February 18, 1895, at 1 p.m., on motion, it was ordered that the members of the “Women’s Relief Corps” throughout both counties be added to said organization.
It was also resolved that this organization include all veterans, sons of veterans, daughters of veterans, and their families within the counties of Otsego and Delaware; further that the first meeting of this organization shall be convened on June 20 and 21 at Wilber Park in Oneonta.

February 1895

100 Years Ago

At the opening of the County Court Monday afternoon, the business was the matter of naturalization. Sixteen were admitted to American citizenship: Alfred Richard Carr, Springfield Center (England); Omar Felix Chatauvert, Prattsvelle (Canada); David Douglas Laurie, Oneonta (Denmark); Armamd J. Vallie, Oneonta (Scotland); Peter Petersen, Oneonta (Denmark); Salvatore Galtano Puccio, Oneonta (Italy); Luigi Bachetta, Otego, Italy; Pietro Alotta, Cooperstown (Italy); Thomas Anthony Morris, Oneonta (Greece); Harry George Lambros, Oneonta (Greece); Angelo Banard, East Worcester (Italy); Joseph Kominski, Richfield Springs (Germany); Antonio Defiori, Oneonta (Italy); and Sisto Sardiello, Oneonta (Italy).

February 24, 1920

60 Years Ago

Atomic fallout, bomb shelters, air raid drills, two weeks of canned goods in the cellar? These are the phrases on the lips of many New Yorkers as Gov. Nelson Rockefeller pushes his “fallout shelter plan.” Most of those questioned about the “fallout shelter plan” seem to “pooh-pooh” the possibility of enemy attack. “Why worry about it? If it does come and I’ve been in a shelter for two weeks all the food and supplies will be contaminated anyway,” one person said when interviewed. “I’ve got more important things to do with my money,” said another, referring to that part of the plan that presumes homeowners would construct the shelters at their own expense. “After the landscaping I’ve done at my home, I’d be crazy to dig up my lawn.” A check with John Milsome, a British exchange teacher currently at Chestnut Street School, said “England is not undergoing this panicky feeling. There seems to be a different
attitude toward war. The average Englishman doesn’t believe there’s going to be a war. I was quite shocked when I came to America, Mr. Milsome said. “There were air raid drills here and we haven’t had any in England since the war. If I were an American,” Mr. Milsome said, “I’d oppose this construction of fall-out shelters.”

February 1960

40 Years Ago

The United States made “major errors in judgment” by selling computers which the Soviet Union used to help make army truck and other military equipment, William J. Perry, a senior Defense Department official said. Perry, the Pentagon’s research chief, said government officials have known for three years that U.S. supplied computers were used in the Kama River manufacturing plant to build trucks for the Soviet Army. Some of the trucks are now known to have been used in the Soviet move into Afghanistan. “Many people in a number of administrations believed that the political benefits were worth the risks of technology transfer,” Perry said. “As important as the drain of actual American technology,” he added, “is the flow of intellectual property – the knowledge of how to build and maintain computers and sophisticated electronic systems.”

February 1980

20 Years Ago

Rev. Roy Chamberlain will represent our region at the upcoming Global People’s Assembly in April to be convened at Apia on the island Samoa, April 2-8. At the turn of the millennium, the Global People’s Assembly is looking to usher in a new world order and set concrete goals for changing a human world that is increasingly dominated by corporations,” Chamberlain said. Toward that end Chamberlain will be advocating for specific proposals, including: Increase the use of electronic person-to-person communication; Check human population growth; Recognize and develop ways to control global climate change; Stop industrialized nations from engaging in high-tech warfare; and encourage people to grow their own food without genetic engineering.

February 2000

10 Years Ago

States of Emergency were declared in the city of Oneonta and across Chenango County because of Thursday snowstorm which dropped about 20 inches of snow across the area. Travel advisories were issued for both Delaware and Otsego counties. Within the City of Oneonta the state of emergency meant that city roads and streets would be closed to all but emergency traffic from 10 p.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Friday morning.

February 2010

HOMETOWN History Feb. 21, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 02/19/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Feb. 21, 2020

150 Years Ago

Humorous – A Case of Denied Non-Committal: Old Lady – “Can you tell me, my good man, where I can find Mr. Jones?” Pat: “Sure Ma’am, I expect it would be at his house you would find him.” Lady: “Does he live anywhere in the street here?” Pat: “Sure, no indeed, it’s not for the likes of him to be living in the street at all.” Lady: “You stupid fellow! I mean what number does his family stop at?” Pat: “Now Ma’am, you have me. He has six boys and four girls already, but whether he means to stop at that number, I know not.” Lady: “Oh, you blockhead.” Exit old lady in a tremor of indignation. (Editor’s note: The name “Pat” is code for an uneducated, droll person of Irish lineage).

February 1870

125 Years Ago

The Census Office has issued a bulletin showing the principal results of the investigation of farm and house proprietorship and indebtedness. It shows that there are 12,690,152 families in the United States – and of these families, 52.20 percent rent their farms or homes while 47.80 percent own them. Of the owning families 29.97
percent own properties subject to an encumbrance while 72.03 percent own free of an encumbrance. There are 420 cities and towns which have a population of 8,000 to 100,000, and in these cities and towns, 64.04 percent of the home-owning families rent and 35.95 percent own their homes. Of the home-owning families, 34.11 percent own with an encumbrance and 65.89 percent own without encumbrance. In cities having a population of 100,000 or greater, of which there are 28, 77.17 percent of home owners
rent and 22.83 percent own their dwellings, of which 37.80 percent have an encumbrance while 62.20 percent occupy their homes free of encumbrance.

February 1895

80 Years Ago

Thankful for a day of sunshine and blue sky, Oneontans leaned on their snow shovels yesterday and took a collective deep breath, hoping the shovels could be put away for a while.
Sidewalks which had been out of sight for two days since the start of the 19-inch snowstorm Tuesday, had been shoveled bare, and in many places the entire length of a block. But the shovels had to stay out until driveways, backyard walk paths to garbage cans and clothes lines and porches could be cleared.
Anxious to earn a few more quarters and half dollars, men were still going about the city, stopping wherever they saw snow-blocked drives or walks, and offering to clean them. Traffic in the business section proceeded at about its normal pace, and parking was possible close to the curbs. Plows cleared thoroughfares through the city’s principal streets. Main routes of travel were open and all buses to and from the city made their runs except for the Margaretville route. Many back roads awaited the attention of snow plows.

February 1940

60 Years Ago

Luther G. Cook, former blind operator of the concession store in the D&H yards for over 30 years, died Friday at Jones Nursing Home. Mr. Cook was 80 years of age and resided at 21 Otsego Street. Mr. Cook was born September 19, 1879 in Jefferson, the son of Elijah and Electa (Woodbeck) Cook. He married Sarah Wilsey, August 10, 1929 in Charlottesville. Although blind, Mr. Cook operated the concession store in the D&H yards until his retirement two years ago. In his home he maintained a business of re-caning chairs. He had lived in Oneonta about 35 years. He is survived by four stepdaughters – Mrs. Harriet Truesdale and Mrs. Bessie VanBuren, both of Oneonta, Mrs. Ruth Roe, Torrington, Connecticut, and Mrs. Evelyn Hisson, Chenango Bridge; two step-sons, Raymond Clapper of Watervliet and Kenneth Clapper of Buffalo as well as several nieces and nephews.

February 1960

40 Years Ago

Senior Meals: The menu of the Otsego County Nutrition Program for the Aging the week of February 18 to 22 will be: Monday: “Holiday” No meal served. Tuesday: Orange-apricot juice, hamburger steak, casserole potatoes, peas, sauerkraut salad, whole wheat bread, tapioca pudding, coffee, tea, milk. Wednesday: Baked haddock squares, mashed potatoes, broccoli, jellied cranberry fruit salad, rye bread, birthday cake, coffee, tea, milk. Thursday: Baked ham with raisin sauce, escalloped potatoes, green beans, roll, half grapefruit, coffee, tea, milk. Friday: Tuna-noodle casserole, mixed vegetables, coleslaw with shredded carrot, white bread, cherry breeze, coffee, tea, milk. Reservations must be made with site manager a day in advance. Monday reservations must be made on Friday.
A new community senior citizens group is being formed in the Elm Park United Methodist Church. A covered dish dinner will be held at Noon, Friday, February 15, in the church. It is hoped that all interested senior citizens in the community and area will attend.

February 1980

20 Years Ago

Headline: “Mayor Giuliani answers “Quid Pro Quo” charges
by Democrats.” The New York Senate race between Hilary Rodham Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani was focused this week on campaign contributions for political favors. Democratic State Committee Chairwoman Judith Hope accused Giuliani of taking money from developers in exchange for allowing them to build over a community garden. During a news conference at Democratic State Committee headquarters in Manhattan Ms. Hope called for Giuliani to return $32,799 in campaign contributions from a company and its executives benefitting from the city’s decision to bulldoze and build on a community garden site in the East Village. BFC Construction is set to erect a 79-unit building on the site. “I’m saying there is a quid pro quo, or there certainly appears to be,” she said.

February 2000

10 Years Ago

Judge Robert A. Harlem Sr. will receive the Eugene A. Bettiol, Jr. Distinguished Citizen Award. The Otesaga, which turns 100 this year, will be recognized at the NBT Bank Distinguished Business. In announcing the selections
this week, chamber President & CEO Rob Robinson recognized not only the Otesaga longevity and central role in Cooperstown-area tourism, but noted the resort hotel “generously supports area charities and non-profit agencies, including Hospice, American Red Cross, Bassett Healthcare, Otsego County Food Bank, the Cooperstown Fire Department and EMS, among others.”

February 2010

HOMETOWN History Feb. 14, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 02/12/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Feb. 14, 2020

150 Years Ago

The Bible in Ohio Public Schools – The Judges of the Superior Court have rendered their decision in the case involving the question of the exclusion of the Bible from the public schools. The action was to discuss an injunction heretofore granted to restrain the operations of the School Board, declaring that the reading of the Bible and religious books should not be permitted in the schools. Judge Hagens held that the provisions of the Constitution recognize the religion of Christianity, and acknowledge that religion and morality are necessary to good government, and therefore the exclusion of all religious instruction from the public schools is contrary to the provision of the Bill of Rights. Judge Storer concurred in these views and the injunction was made perpetual.

February 1870

100 Years Ago

“Big Bertha,” with two Cleveland tractors manned by Fred E. Wells and Dick Bennett, another of R.J. Warren’s trusty men, plowed through the snow to Portlandville and return yesterday and opened the state road down close to the ice foundation, putting it in as fully good condition as the Otego road. While the crown is probably one or two feet above the macadam in places, light motor cars could easily make the trip, barring trouble to turning out when meeting other vehicles. One car made the trip through to Emmons after the trip up, while the road was in much better condition after the return trip. The road was much
improved for horse-drawn vehicles, the track being widened and lowered to the hard and frozen snow. At least three
motor cars came through over the Otego road. C.A. Nichols came in from his farm, while Mr. Bennett and Mr. Foote came all the way from Otego and experienced no serious trouble. Use of this or the Portlandville road, while passable, is not recommended to the drivers of motor cars unless quite familiar with winter motoring and prepared to contend with snow.

February 1920

80 Years Ago

Snow Hill, Maryland – Five state troopers overtook a crowd estimated at 1,000 at nearby Stockton, Maryland and rescued two Negro women who had been dragged from the Worcester County jail several hours earlier. The women had been taken into custody Tuesday afternoon for “investigation” in connection with the Sunday night slaying of Harvey W. Pilchard, a Stockton farmer and the wounding of his wife Annie. The mob was dispersed by five troopers but one state officer was badly injured. The crowd of men broke into the Worcester County jail through a window late Tuesday night, pulled out a cell block door with a rope and seized the two screaming Negro women as they cowered in the cell. The men talked to the girls and from them ascertained who had done the shooting. The crowd placed the women in automobiles and headed toward Stockton, home of the farmer and his wife, who was wounded seriously when three Negroes entered the home demanding money. The troopers rescued the two women there after a brief melee.

February 1940

60 Years Ago

A total of 41 students, the “scholastic cream” of Oneonta State University College of Education, have been named to the spring honors list, according to Dr. Howard D. Austin, associate dean of the college. Included in the group are three residents of Oneonta: Mrs. Janet S. Kniskern, Mrs. Dorothy J. Shedlock, and Miss Mary Ann Molinari. The listing of top honor students includes those who have maintained a cumulative average of 3.50 or above.
What to do with delinquent canines? The problem has been referred to the Public Safety Board by the Oneonta Common Council. The ordinance reads: “No dog shall be allowed to run at large in any street, sidewalk, lane, or public places within the City of Oneonta without being properly muzzled, or under immediate care, custody and control of its owner or custodian.” “The ordinance is here in name only,” Mayor James Georgeson commented. According to the present law, it’s the Police Department’s job to enforce the “dog” ordinance.

February 1960

40 Years Ago

Twelve weathered stacks of $20 bills, part of the $200,000 given to legendary airline hijacker “D.B. Cooper” before he parachuted from an airliner more than eight years ago, were unveiled by the F.B.I. But, agents
said they still have no trace of Cooper.
The wads of money, bound by rubber bands, were found Sunday while Harold D. Ingram, his wife Patricia and their eight-year-old son, Brian, were preparing to build a picnic fire along the Columbia River, five miles northwest of the Interstate 5 bridge linking Portland and Vancouver, Washington.
Ingram said that the money was found
about 30 yards from the river’s edge under
a thin layer of sand.

February 1980

20 Years Ago

“Happy Birthday Marge” That phrase was abundant on Sunday as Marjory Hubler and 100 of her closest friends celebrated her 90th birthday at Elm Park Methodist Church. Parishioners held a potluck luncheon for Hubler and took turns telling jokes and stories about
Elm Park’s favorite grandma. Thank you, every one of you for being here on my birthday,” Hubler said. Hubler was born in 1910 and spent about the first half of her life in Pennsylvania. After her first husband died she remarried Graham “Grip” Hubler, who died six or seven years ago. Grip used to call his wife “Double Batch Marge” because whenever she baked cookies, pies or other treats she always made extra to give away, friends said.

February 2000

10 Years Ago

Walter Frederick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died. He was 90 years old. The manufacturing rights to the simple little toy originally named by Morrison as the “Pluto Platter, were licensed to a manufacturing firm in 1957 and later re-named the Frisbee. Sales have since surpassed 200 million. The Frisbee soon became a staple at beaches, college campuses and playgrounds and lately has spawned an official competition known as Ultimate Frisbee. There is also a licensed Frisbee Golf course that bears his name at Creekside Park in the Salt Lake City suburb of Holladay. “He was a nice guy. He helped a lot of people.

February 2010

HOMETOWN History Feb. 7, 2020

By: Libby Cudmore 02/05/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Feb. 7, 2020

150 Years Ago

Local: A heavy snow storm commenced on Tuesday and snow is about one foot in depth. There is tolerably good sleighing although the crossroads are badly drifted.
Advertisement: Chronic Constipation can be positively cured by the German Cathartic Lozenges, and by them alone. Thousands suffer Headache, Dyspepsia and untold ills because of a torpid and costive condition of the bowels. Especially is this the case with ladies and business men whose condition in life keeps them indoors. These lozenges were introduced in our section some months ago and although we have taken special pains to enquire about them, and they have been tried in hundreds of cases, we know not of one instance where they have not positively and speedily given relief and cure. The German Cathartic Lozenges are very pleasant to the taste, and act mildly but surely upon the bowels. We at least advise a trial. All our druggists have them.

February 1870

125 Years Ago

Needed Copyright Reform – The House of Representatives should lose no time in passing Representative Covert’s copyright amendment which the Committee on Patents has ordered to be favorably reported. Under the existing statute any publisher who prints without authority a cut of a copyrighted work of art, drawing, statue, or photograph is liable to a fine of ten dollars for every copy of the publication found in his possession. If a newspaper, for example, without any wrongful intent or knowledge of the copyright complained of, reproduces a photograph, it may be sued for a sum ridiculously out of all proportion to the value of the original or any damage done. In one suit of this kind more than eight hundred thousand dollars was claimed in the way of multiplied claims. Such a law is not only absurd, but opens the door to blackmailing suits. It should be amended so as to put a just and reasonable limit on the recoverable damages in such cases.

February 1895

100 Years Ago

War Takes 83,644 American Lives – Three Men Unaccounted For – The issuance of a final revised list of American war casualties shows the following: Killed in action (including 582 at sea): 34,844; Died of wounds: 19,960; Died of Disease: 23,738; Died from accident and other causes: 5,102; Wounded in action (Over 85 percent returning to duty: 215,423; Missing in action (not including prisoners released and returned): 3. Total: 293,070.

February 1920

80 Years Ago

Post-graduates and seniors attending Oneonta high school whose names appear on the High Honor List, having done passing work in all subjects including Post-Graduates: Howard Blanchard, Alberta Bowes, Albert Colone, Anthony Drago, Mary Gravelin, Dora Hartwell, Wanda Hartwell, Mary Hodges, Donald Starkweather; Special student: Alda Tippy. Seniors: Carmela Amarose, Shirley Anderson, Ruth Atkins, Jeanette Baldwin, Harry Bard, Phyllis Blizard, Thomas Broe, Madeline Burdick, Louise Carlson, Audrey Clark, Henry Cooley, William Drew, Robert Edwards, Marshall Elmendorf, Albert Fisher, Jane Gleason, Quentin Grant, Neal Heiner, Franklin Hall, Neil Heiner, Marion Howard, Virginia Howard, Virginia Johnson, Mary Krom, Gwendolyn Krothe, Robert Lange, Virginia Larabee, Flora MacFarlane, Virginia MacIntosh, Ellen Merchant, Charlotte Mornington, Howard Mulkins, Esther Norberg, Ethel Nordberg, Olga Panko, Gordon Roberts, Dorothy Sheldon, Bertha Sickler, Betty Southern, Dorothy Sperbeck,
Beulah Terrell, Jean Ward, June Westcott, Margaret Woods, Loretta Woolheater and Gerald Young.

February 1940

60 Years Ago

The Parks Commission has agreed to approve a request to provide lights for night baseball games during the coming season. Appearing before the Commission was Charles “Chuck” Glad on behalf of the Oneonta Indians. It was generally conceded by Mr. Glad and by Parks officials that lighting for night games might improve attendance at baseball games in Oneonta. Some concern was expressed over the cost of bulbs, estimated at 6 dollars each which sometimes “blow” the first time they are turned on. The lighting would be available for Little League games on occasion as well. The Parks Board obtained a promise from Mr. Glad that he would schedule a number of good night games during the coming season. “Your team hasn’t been too successful in the past,” John Wells, Parks Board chairman told Mr. Glad. “But, it’s a good enterprise. Our cooperation is with you.” When Mr. Glad posed the question of advertising within the park, to aid in financing the team through another season, a number of objections were posed. It was said that with advertising the park would become “commercialized, rather than for the townspeople.” Advertising within the park is currently banned, but this could be changed by a 3-1 vote.

February 1960

40 Years Ago

Eight members of Congress have been implicated in an FBI investigation of political corruption that was carefully monitored at the highest levels of the Justice Department in an effort to avert instances of entrapment. The sources said that FBI Director William Webster and top Justice Department lawyers closely policed the probe to make certain that the FBI was never the first to suggest bribes to public figures. One source said flatly that videotape evidence will show there was no entrapment. Code-named “Operation Abscam” the investigation used undercover FBI men posing as representatives of an Arab Sheik offering bribes to win a casino gambling license and other favors. FBI agents paid out almost $500,000 in cash to the officials, although fewer than ten took the money. Twenty public officials and 10 lawyers and businessmen have been implicated in the largest investigation of political corruption ever undertaken by the FBI. In addition to state and local officials in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, those Congressmen and Senators who became subjects of the probe are U.S. Senator Harrison A. Williams, D-NJ; U.S. Representatives John M. Murphy, D-NY and Franklin Thompson, Jr., D-NJ; Michael O. Myers, D-PA, Raymond F. Lederer, D-PA, John W. Jenrette, D-SC, John P. Murtha, D-PA, and Richard Kelly, R-Florida.

February 1980

10 Years Ago

First, it was the National Soccer Hall of Fame closing its doors. Then came turmoil at Foothills Performing Arts Center. News of the Oneonta Tigers plan to move to Norwich, Connecticut followed. Many were left wondering what this all means for the future of Oneonta. Is the
community in decline? Or, are these temporary setbacks for an otherwise vibrant community? What will Oneonta look like in five years?

February 2010

HOMETOWN History Jan. 31, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 01/29/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Jan. 31, 2020

150 Years Ago

Suicide – John VanBenscoten, a farmer in independent circumstances near New Kingston, committed suicide by hanging himself in his barn, Saturday morning last. He got up before daylight, took a lantern as was his usual custom and went out, as was supposed, to do the chores at the barn. Shortly after, other members of the family having gone to the barn, found the lantern with the light burning, on an inverted measure, and he hanging dead. He was about fifty years of age. No cause can be assigned for the act.
Fire at Schoharie – A destructive fire occurred at Schoharie Court House on January 17. It was first discovered about noon in a barn of the Eagle Hotel. The hotel, with outbuildings, the Court House, one or two stores, dwellings and other buildings were destroyed. The loss is estimated at $40,000.

January 1870

125 Years Ago

Local: A wholesale house for the sale of Chicago-dressed beef will soon be opened in Oneonta. Merlin L. Platt, who has built and stocked a large ice house, will handle meats directly from the famous Swift Company of Chicago, the goods being shipped in refrigerator cars.
A subscription paper was circulated in the railroad
shops at Oneonta last week for a fund towards funding
an Emergency Hospital for the sole benefit of D. & H. employees. Over $200 was at once subscribed among the shop men alone, and the sum will be augmented as soon as opportunity to subscribe is given to conductors, engineers, firemen, and trainmen.

January 1895

100 Years Ago

Among all the communities of Otsego County, West Laurens, one of the smallest is probably the hardest hit by the influenza, there being nearly 40 cases of that disease and five cases of pneumonia. Most of the flu victims are the children, the school being closed as nearly all the pupils are, or have been suffering from the disease. It has spread quite rapidly. It is now believed that the epidemic is at its crest as there were no new cases reported yesterday.
Last evening more than 100 ladies gathered at K. of P. Hall to spend a social evening and consider the proposed organization of a Mooseheart Legion” in this city. The speaker was Charles W. Southworth, the first member of the Loyal Order of Moose in the city. He pointed out the many merits of the organization. Mrs. C.A. Boswell of Binghamton followed with an address on Mooseheart, the home maintained by the order. T.E. Blanchard was the third speaker and spoke of the order’s aims, purposes and teachings. Some 15 new names for charter members were secured, bringing the total to date to 58.

January 1920

80 Years Ago

Adolf Hitler, his voice shrill with emotion and knife-sharp with bitter irony, predicted ominously before a vast mass meeting that England and France alike will get “the fight” he said they had asked for, and voiced his utmost confidence that Germany would win the war. It was the seventh anniversary of his elevation to Chancellor. Hitler’s speech was the first formal one he had made since November 8, when he barely escaped death in the Munich beer hall explosion. A wildly enthusiastic throng was there to hear him pronounce the determination of the German people and its leadership unshakeable; its army the greatest in the world; its position safe “from the rear” because of its alliance with Russia, and bulwarked by an unchanged “close friendship” with Italy. Hitler’s voice quivered, then rose to a high pitch as he told how Germany’s enemies at home had gotten the war which “they wanted.” Then, he threatened: “In 1939 the western powers dropped the mask and sent Germany a declaration of war despite all our attempts at an understanding. Today, they admit an understanding with Poland might have been possible, but they didn’t want it. They wanted war. I can only tell England and France, “They’ll get their fight!”

January 1940

60 Years Ago

Mayor James Georgeson said last night he disagreed with the theory that Oneonta’s present government needs “streamlining or revamping.” “It’s not that I won’t change my mind,” the Mayor said. “But, no one’s convinced me yet it needs changing.” Last Friday, Second Ward Alderman Francis Feeney advocated the present government be “streamlined and overhauled.” He suggested a strong-mayor type government and abolition of the present Commissions. Under Feeney’s proposal all department heads would replace the Commissions and be directly responsible to the Mayor. “The Commissions do a tremendous amount of work,” the Mayor said. “I think the board or commission government is sound.” Mayor Georgeson attributed the friction with Commissions in the past to lack of clarification and personalities who didn’t conduct themselves as city officials.

January 1960

20 Years Ago

While some stock market analysts are encouraging investors to buy Amazon’s stock, critics are wondering if the company will have enough cash on hand to operate the entire year. However, Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon.com, who recently was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, is laughing. “I’m just plain having fun at Amazon.com,” Bezos said. “I’m a change junkie, and I cannot imagine an environment more changing than the Internet in general and Amazon.com in particular.” The e-commerce company which began as a bookstore now sells most everything. Amazon’s fourth-quarter sales are expected to total more than $650 million compared to $253 million for the period in 1998 and greater than its $610 million in sales for all of 1998. The company boasts a customer base of 16 million people.

January 2000

10 Years Ago

Oneonta Mayor Dick Miller said Wednesday night that Andrew Weber, Oneonta Tigers General Manager, has confirmed that his NY-Penn League franchise will move to Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut for the 2010 season. Miller’s written statement states: “The fact that they are leaving a year earlier than planned is unfortunate but understandable given the unanticipated opportunity presented to them by the N.Y. Penn League in Connecticut.” Oneonta was among four N.Y. Penn League franchises in the running for Dodd Stadium. The N.Y. Penn League also considered moving the Batavia Muckdogs, the Jamestown Jammers and the Vermont Lake Monsters.

January 2010

HOMETOWN History Jan. 24, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 01/22/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Jan. 24, 2020

150 Years Ago

No Snow – Track Clear: Reports from the Pacific Railroad to January 20 say there is no snow on the Great Plains nor in the Black Hills, nor in the passes of the Rocky Mountains, nor in the lofty chain of the Sierra Nevada, to obstruct the trains – but a clear track from ocean to ocean. At the same time the record shows the Hudson open to Albany and the same is reported of all the European rivers emptying into the North Sea and the Lower Baltic, which are usually fast-locked in ice in mid-winter. Surely some wonderful things in the heavens and the earth, in the sun and his satellites are going on of momentous import to our little planet of which we know nothing.

January 1870

125 Years Ago

General County News – Miss Bertha Matteson of Morris, Raymond Snyder of Salt Springville Almon T. Olney of South Edmeston, and N.D. Root of Oneonta are among the students now at the Albany Business College from Otsego County. The revival of business is making an increase in
the demand for graduates of the college and the outlook for those who attend is highly encouraging.
H.W. Smith of Wells Bridge, recently sent a case of fresh eggs to New York City and the other day received word from the commission merchant that they were all hard-boiled when received. The cause can hardly be understood. But, it is supposed that they came in too close contact with the steam pipes in transportation.
Collections were taken in several of the village churches in Oneonta last Sunday in aid of the proposed hospital. The total amount secured was $137.81.

January 1895

100 Years Ago

Dorothy Garrique, playing a leading role with the musical comedy “My Soldier Girl,” coming to the Oneonta Theatre Monday, January 26, is a niece of Thomas Garrique Massaryk, president of Czecho-Slovakia, the new republic in Europe. Mr. Massaryck, previous to the war, was president of the University of Bohemia. He was a believer of free speech and at the outbreak of hostilities made many fiery speeches in behalf of the Allied cause. This so enraged the Central Powers that he was arrested, cast into prison and an order went forth to execute him. He avoided the death penalty only by a remarkable escape from prison. He succeeded in reaching London and afterward came to America. During his time in this country he visited relatives in Chicago and there met Miss Garrique.

January 1920

80 Years Ago

Hartwick Head Addresses Lions – “The whole world is in dire need of more and stronger centers of intellectual and spiritual activity which will leaven modern culture with Christian education and Christian philosophy of life,” Dr. Henry J. Arnold, President of Hartwick College, declared at last night’s meeting of the Lions Club at the Oneonta Hotel. Dr. Arnold talked on “The Education Democracy Needs.” He opened his address with a reference to a story in Rudyard Kipling’s second jungle book and said that “it is hardly necessary for us to use our imagination as to whether the jungle is creeping into our civilization. In international affairs, the jungle of might, of fear, of suspicion is quite wide-spread. In national policies, the Christian form of government – democracy – is giving
way to the totalitarian state, which controls the affairs of business, industry, the school, and to a large degree the church, and where men cannot read, cannot write, and cannot speak about what they wish. In secular education, naturalism has reduced man to matter, so that it does not matter what he does. Morals and morality are relative in such a philosophy and the end justifies the means. To the lawless, America means only a place in which to rob, to thieve, to destroy and plunder.”

January 1940

40 Years Ago

The SUCO Student Association wants to establish a center to distribute information on sex problems and sell birth control devices in spite of administration objections to the plan. S.A. President Greg Floyd said students need more information on venereal disease and other sex-related problems. “We wouldn’t be counseling or anything like that. We’d just be acting as a clearing house for information. We’d just give out pamphlets and things like that,” he said. In addition to passing out literature, the center will also sell birth control devices at a “reduced cost,” he said. “We have volunteers ready to man the thing. The only real problem is where to put it.” Dean of Students Francis Daley said Monday he won’t provide a home for such a center. “I wouldn’t provide them with a spot for their center if they asked me for one. It’s not the place of the college to provide an outlet for birth control devices. We do provide counseling and information on sex as part of our function as an educational institution.” Daley said SUCO has no more cases of venereal disease than most colleges its size. Daley had no information on the numbers of pregnancies on campus. “If we can help just one person avoid a pregnancy or keep them from getting VD, it would be worth it,” Greg Floyd said.

January 1980

20 Years Ago

Josh Brown, an Oneonta High graduate, hit a 15-foot jump shot at the buzzer to lift the Hartwick College men’s basketball team to a 62-60 victory over Alfred University on Saturday. Brown finished with 19 points on 5 for 8 shooting from the field and 8 of 10 from the charity line. The Hawks are 8-5 overall and 2-3 in the Empire Eight circuit. The Hawks have won four of their last five games.

January 2000

10 Years Ago

New York Governor David Patterson was among the estimated 2,000 mourners who paid their respects at the funeral of New York State Police trooper Jill E. Mattice. She was the first female trooper to die in the line of duty. There were 500 members of the state police – including
150 members of Mattice’s Troop “C” – attending the ceremony. Mattice, 31, had been a member of the state police for more than six years and had worked the past five years as a school resource officer, most recently in the Franklin and Unadilla Valley districts.

January 2010

HOMETOWN History Jan. 18, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 01/15/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Jan. 18, 2020

150 Years Ago

Increase of Crime – The attention of the public is properly becoming aroused to the alarming and terrible frequency of high crimes. One can scarcely take up a paper but what contains an account of some fresh murder or robbery, or more likely both. The time is within the memory of those who are yet considered young when a single murder would thrill the whole land and become the theme of general comment. Lately, it has become the exception when the news of a day does not contain an item of a life unlawfully taken. The frequency of capital crimes can be explained by the infrequency of capital punishment. It is safe to say that we hear of at least five murders to one execution. In many states capital punishment has been abolished. In others, it is well-nigh impossible to find a jury that will convict even the most atrocious murderer – and if convicted, the chances are that political influences will obtain a pardon. Our cities are filled with native and foreign “dangerous” persons – murderous robbers, pickpockets, thieves, burglars, by profession.
They are known to the police as such. Should not all such characters be transported, on sufficient evidence against them, to some penal colony?

January 1870

125 Years Ago

Local: The four children of W.A. Hunter of Oneonta have just had a handsome windfall of about $7,000 each from the estate of their great-grandfather, the late Hoadley B. Ives of New Haven, Connecticut.
Henry White of Gilbertsville sold to New York parties recently a bill of furs which included two thousand skunk skins, seven hundred muskrat skins and fox, coon and mink skins enough to run the number over three thousand skins in all. The gross sum paid for them was about $1,700.
Irving J. Pruyn of Oneonta has purchased of Ella Layman her entire real estate interests in the town which comprise the old Jared Goodyear estate and contains over thirty acres of land. The property has been in the possession of the Goodyear family for about 70 years.

January 1895

100 Years Ago

National Prohibition: When the clock strikes 12 tonight (January 16, 1920) its boom will not only announce the coming of a new day, but also of the going into full force and effect of the Volsted Act, the stringent regulations of which have been loudly denounced by the “wets” and as generously applauded by the “drys” who, without doubt, constitute the larger population of the country. In Oneonta, which has been bone-dry for a long period, it will hardly cause a ripple. But, in many cities the provisions of the law will occasion a great deal of concern. The greatest concern in Oneonta is the provision of the law relative to the sale of liquor under strict supervision and only on prescription of physicians by druggists. Some Oneonta druggists state that under no circumstances would they again engage in the sale of liquors. Others have said they have had the matter under consideration. According to Charles R. O’Connor, federal prohibition director for the State of New York, a jurisdiction such as Oneonta that has been entirely dry previously, will remain entirely so, regardless of the provisions of the federal law allowing for the prescription of liquor for patients by physicians allowing for provision by druggists.

January 1920

60 Years Ago

Mayor James Georgeson yesterday urged Oneonta residents to attend the open house at Huntington Library from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Mayor Georgeson, who has already toured the new wing, said “Oneonta is fortunate in having such an excellent library – one that compares favorably with libraries in large cities.” The recent addition of the three-floor wing will improve the already fine facilities for library patrons, he said. “It’s my opinion that this library is one of the finest assets our city has and we should be aware of it, and appreciate it.”
A three-professor team will teach a course in “Great
Issues of Modern Man” at Hartwick College starting with the fall semester 1960. The first of a projected series of inter-disciplinary courses, the “Great Issues” class will be taught by Dr. Forest W. Miller of the Biology Department, Dr. Herman Keiter of the Religion Department and Dr. William Coker of the Music Department. The course will be limited to 15 students, all seniors chosen from the top level of various departments.

January 1960

40 Years Ago

The Oneonta Rape Crisis Center Network has reports of at least 10 times as many rapes in and around Oneonta as the city police do. Tallying records for 19 months the network has been active, the organization counted 24 rape calls, all but one in the area, plus 11 others reported through other sources, such as “Project 85.” City police reported one case in 1978 and no more than one or two in 1979. In one 1979 case, an Oneonta State student was arrested. Members of the crisis network’s advisory board say the incidence of rape here is proportionately as high as in much larger cities. According to publicity director Margaret
Hathaway, the organization released “statistics to make people aware that rapes occur at a much greater rate than most of us suspected.” City Police Chief Joseph De Salvatore said he is not surprised at the discrepancies. “It’s entirely possible. They’re not reported to us.” He guessed the department has had less than five reports last year.

January 1980

20 Years Ago

Oneonta police are investigating two recent burglaries reported on the Hartwick College campus. A student in
Holmes Hall reported that someone stole his laptop computer valued at $1,300 between 7:25 a.m. and 7:35 a.m. Friday. Another burglary was reported at Wilder Hall sometime over the holiday break. A student reported that someone entered his room and stole 100 compact discs valued at $1,500, a Toshiba Satellite laptop computer valued at $2,000 and a $150 Canon 35mm camera. There were no signs of forced entry.

January 2000

10 Years Ago

“Martin Luther King, Jr. just had a way of speaking that got to your heart,” Lee Fisher, president of Oneonta’s chapter of the NAACP said at that organization’s celebration of Martin Luther King Day at Temple Beth El on Sunday.

January 2010

HOMETOWN History Jan. 3, 2020

By: Libby Cudmore 01/08/2020 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Jan. 10, 2020

150 Years Ago

“The Innocents Abroad” or “The New Pilgrim’s Progress” – This is the title by which Mark Twain designates his book, now attracting so much attention. We can describe the book which is a large handsome volume of over 650 pages, embellished with 234 spirited and appropriate engravings.
The contents are indescribable – the book must be seen and read to be appreciated. The name of Mark Twain, as the author, will be sufficient recommendation with many to ensure a rapid sale.
“Stories for Little Ones at Home” and “The Old Kitchen Fire and Other Poems” – These two neat and beautifully illustrated books are just published by the American Tract Society, from the gifted pen of
Mrs. C.E.R. Parker. The general appearance of the books commend them to notice, the paper type and pictures being of the first quality – but they must be read to be
appreciated. “Stories for Little Ones at Home” is every way attractive and full of instruction. “The Old Kitchen Fire” takes us back to the good old New England days when so much real happiness was found in the Chimney Corner. The Poems abound in pathos and beauty.

January 1870

125 Years Ago

Successful Operation – Charles Woodall, a boy whose home is in Oneonta is recovering from an operation for appendicitis. The operation was performed at the Albany City Hospital last Thursday. Young Woodall went to Bath to visit his aunt, Mrs. A.W. Skinner on December 22. That evening he complained of feeling quite ill. Some remedies were given him, but they offered no relief. Dr. Roberts was summoned. On Monday, the lad grew weaker, and his parents were called from Oneonta. Dr. Roberts consulted other physicians and their diagnosis showed that he had appendicitis. The boy was taken to the city hospital and Drs. VanderVeer and McDonald performed an operation. The boy is now improving rapidly.

January 1895

80 Years Ago

“Examples for Minorities” Iowans in California, Ohioans in New York, Hoosiers scattered all over the country, and other native sons and daughters who move for reasons of business or pleasure from one state to another, could teach those European peoples much about the valuation of a federation of states. The minorities that make insurmountable problems in Europe can never be completely unscrambled and returned to “homes” that will be natural and satisfactory to them. The great mass movements of population groups going on today are creating more anguish and hardship, rather than ending existing troubles. In this country state societies organize in the new state for social purposes, holding banquets and making speeches about the old home town, county or state. They recall childhood adventures and school-day dreams. But, all the while, they are tax-paying, law-abiding, civic-spirited citizens of the city and state into which they have migrated. They need no little Fuehrers to lead them in singing or cheering for the homeland. They motor back home for an occasional vacation, or move back as freely as they moved away. It is hard to see how Europe’s many nations and races can ever settle down to peaceful, side-by-side living until they stop taking their borders and national power so seriously.

January 1940

60 Years Ago

West Germany’s first major anti-Nazi demonstration in more than a quarter of a century rolled through the streets of Berlin Friday night. Authorities were cracking down on neo-Nazi activities, and outbursts of anti-Semitism, reflected in anti-Jewish slogans on walls from Hamburg to Hong Kong. Police estimated 10,000 West Berliners, mostly young people, began their mile-long parade despite weather near the freezing point. Thousands more joined them as they marched. They carried banners reading “Against Race Hate” and “Nazis Get Out.” New anti-Jewish activity throughout the Western world is reported to consist mainly of painting swastikas and slogans on synagogues and Jewish homes. Elsewhere in Germany, a public convention of the radical-rightist German Reich Party scheduled for Sunday was canceled by the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. Also, a West Berlin court sentenced Alfred Straats, 49, a city housing official, to 17 months in prison for giving the Nazi salute before rightist youths in a tavern this week.

January 1960

40 Years Ago

New York State Governor Hugh Carey has outlined a plan for reducing the state’s dependence on imported oil. In his State of the State message opening the 1980 session of the legislature, Carey said “If we are to restore our economy we must reduce our oil consumption.” He reiterated a program which he said last November would cut the state’s use of oil – currently 19 billion gallons annually – in half within ten years. But, neither that plan nor the other items in Carey’s budget message count on any expanded use of nuclear power. However, Carey has told reporters in recent weeks that the state “can’t foreclose the nuclear option” and that “future nuclear plants should be built and run by the federal government.”

January 1980

20 Years Ago

Dr. C. Douglas Rowley, 81, an Oneonta doctor known for making house calls, treating thousands of children and delivering more than 2,000 babies during his 38-year career, has died. Dr. Rowley had been admitted to A.O. Fox Hospital before Christmas for treatment of pneumonia. Starting in 1948, Dr. Rowley had a general practice in Oneonta. He later specialized in pediatrics and obstetrics and maintained an active file for 6,000 young patients.

January 2000

10 Years Ago

About 60 people turned out at the Autumn Café downtown Monday night
to ask about the past and future of the Foothills Performing Arts Center. The Foothills board recently decided to dismiss the executive director and three other employees. Two other Foothills staffers resigned in support of their colleagues. Doug Reeser, Foothills’ board president, cited dissatisfaction about spending on staff and programming and a lack of focus on finishing the main theater in the Foothills complex. Several people voiced surprise that the theater lacks an orchestra pit and other features typically needed to stage productions. Patrice Macaluso, a SUNY Oneonta theatre professor involved with renovations at the historic Oneonta Theatre, said the Foothills Board is “in a hole” and may not know how to get out. She urged the arts community to think creatively about how the Foothills building can be used.

January 2010

HOMETOWN History Jan. 3, 2020

By: Jim Kevlin 01/03/2020 11:12 am

HOMETOWN History

Jan. 3, 2020

150 Years Ago

Bank Robbery – The safe of the Schoharie County Bank, at Schoharie Court House, was blown open early Wednesday morning of last week, and robbed of about $5,000 belonging to the Bank, and a considerable larger amount in bonds, jewelry, &c. left on special deposit – amount unknown.
Small Pox – The Deposit Courier of last week says that much excitement prevails in parts of the Town of Masonville and of the adjoining Town of Sanford, resulting from the breaking out of small pox in a family named French. Several district schools have been temporarily closed.

January 1870

100 Years Ago

Flyers in the proposed 1920 world-girdling air derby will not travel by Mercator’s projection, but rather by a new “butterfly” map devised by J.S. Cahill of Oakland, California. The Cahill map has been adopted by Major Charles J. Glidden, Executive Secretary of the Aerial Derby Commission.
Mr. Cahill said that an aviator using the Mercator projection as a guide would go 1,000 miles out of his way in a trip from Panama to Yokohama. “If the North Pole were on an island a mile wide,” Cahill said, “it would appear on Mercator’s projection to be 25,000 miles wide, or nearly the total circumference of the Earth at the equator. The inventor of the new map, who worked on his drawings for 15 years said “an impartial and rational world geography is essential to world peace.”
He said, “Mercator’s projection, originally devised for ocean navigators, distorted and exaggerated the earth as it receded from the equator.” This, for instance, made it appear as if South America were much smaller than North America, when, as a matter of fact they were about the same area. The Cahill map is as though an actual sphere had been cut and flattened, its appearance somewhat resembling the outspread wings of a butterfly.

January 3, 1920

80 Years Ago

What Children Read – School children no longer read fairy tales and the old familiar fiction, says a report of the American Library Association, based on a survey of the reading habits of nine to eighteen-year-olds throughout the country. Exceptions are “Snow White” and “The Wizard of Oz” in which great interest developed when the movies appeared.
No doubt there will be a similar wave of interest in “Pinocchio” when that picture is released, and in the much-modified Gulliver’s Travels. Child readers today are said to prefer stories about horses and dogs, in which the animals do not talk. Beyond the sixth grade many are interested in vocational subjects, books about airplanes, submarines and war.
History books and biographies were listed as favorites, too. Stories about children in many lands and different sections of the United States have great appeal for youthful readers. There are such books about children in China, in Scandinavia, the Ozarks, the Gaspe Peninsula, the Kentucky Mountains and Indian Reservations. Children growing up today ought to be more aware of their fellows throughout the world than many of their elders have been.

January 1940

60 Years Ago

Forty-year-old James Georgeson, Oneonta’s youngest Mayor, was sworn into office yesterday along with another dozen officials in simple ceremonies at City Hall. Joseph P. Molinari, Supreme Court Justice, who presided at the oath-taking ceremonies, urged the group to “cast aside partisanship of any kind and to perform their duties to the best of their ability.”
Mr. Georgeson, formerly a state official with the Civil Service Commission, will begin a two-year term of office. Mr. Georgeson, a Democrat, has only one other party member on the Common Council – John Kreger, Sixth Ward Alderman. The other five Aldermen are Republicans. The Mayor’s salary is $3,000 a year. In his state post Georgeson drew more than $6,000 annually and his resignation was effective this week. For the first time in Oneonta history, the Alderman will draw a $600 a year salary. The Republican Aldermen are Wesley Coddington, First Ward; Francis Feeney, Second Ward; Morton Auerbach, Third Ward; Cecil Mathews, Fourth Ward; Harvey Fredericks, Fifth Ward.

January 1960

40 Years Ago

Opinion – Oneonta faces a big test in the 1980s. Between 1960 and 1970, the period of the greatest growth at Hartwick and Oneonta State, Oneonta’s population increased by about 2,500 to 16,030. But, the year-round permanent population remained the same or slightly less than it was in 1960. The golden era of easy community growth is over. There are few signs that Hartwick and Oneonta State will be any bigger five or ten years from now than they are today.
Moreover, the trend toward smaller faculties and staffs has already begun. Oneonta needs a new mission and a new commitment. We’ve got to start fighting to keep our town and area economically sound. Mayor Lettis and Town Supervisor Les Foster, and others, got off to a good start by fighting to get a federal Job Corp Training Center located here. But, that is not enough. We need to sell the community as a desirable site for light industry and intensify the commitment to making it easier for new companies to come here and present companies to expand.

January 1980

20 Years Ago

“I’ve never seen a crowd that big on Main Street, and I’ve been here sixteen years,” said First Night Committee Chairman Mark Drnek, speaking of the event that kicked off Friday night with a parade down Main Street and a fireworks preview in Neahwa Park. Anne Webster of Cherry Valley and her four-year-old son, Luke Zenir, were part of the parade crowd that was lined up six deep on much of Main Street. “This is Luke’s first, First Night,” said Webster. Warmer weather this year made walking from venue to venue much more enjoyable.

January 2000

10 Years Ago

Patricia Riddell Kent and Steven Kent will lead a five-mile winter snow-shoe hike in the Robert V. Riddell State Park to Mud Lake on Sunday January 10. The event, sponsored by the Otsego County Conservation Association, is free and open to the public. This excursion is on moderate grade terrain up South Hill and will take about three and one-half hours to complete. Highlights of the hike are waterfalls along the way and Mud Lake, a sphagnum bog, at the top of South Hill.

January 2010

HOMETOWN History Dec. 20, 2019

By: Libby Cudmore 12/18/2019 5:00 pm

HOMETOWN History

Dec. 20, 2019

150 Years Ago

Miscellaneous: It is authoritatively stated that the loss of life by kerosene is greater than by railroad and steamboat accidents combined.
A German astronomer says that we are soon to have another moon, and that it will be nearer the Earth than our present satellite.
Some of the Syracuse papers now call the Cardiff humbug the “Exposed Giant” The Rochester Chronicle thinks the term ought to have been adopted in the first place.
Young lady physicians are multiplying throughout the country, and consequently, the young men are more decidedly sickly than they used to be.
A Massachusetts paper says “The good old style of things is coming round again in Berkshire. A farmer takes a load of wood to market and it pays for a barrel of flour, which has not been the case in nearly ten years.

December 1869

125 Years Ago

News Items: L.M. Warriner of Franklin has killed a pig eight months and 15 days old that weighed 268 pounds.
Snow fell to the depth of about 14 inches last Saturday night. Beautiful sleighing for Christmas.
The American Hotel in Albany is to be conducted hereafter on the European plan. This cannot fail to please all who have occasion to stop in Albany. For a city of its size, it has the worst accommodations of any city in this state. Charles A. Watkins is the proprietor.
The hardware store of Edwards & Liddle in Franklin was entered by burglars on Wednesday evening last and $300 to $400 worth of fine cutlery, plated goods, etc. stolen therefrom. They offer a reward of $50 for the return of the property “and no questions asked.” This is the second time the store has been robbed within two years.
The Methodist Church, aided by its own and neighboring pastors has been holding evening services for several weeks, and are doing much good. Help these people, men and brethren, for Oneonta is full of sinners of the toughest kind to whom any kind of Christian religion will be a new and startling God-send.

December 1894

100 Years Ago

Anarchists and undesirables from all sections of the United States were being rushed by special trains tonight to Ellis Island to join the large colony of radicals already assembled there awaiting deportation to Soviet Russia. Immigration officials said that the transport which will take the radicals, including Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman on their homeward journey, will probably sail sometime Sunday. The radicals were told tonight to hold themselves in readiness to go aboard. Three special trains – one from Buffalo, another from Pittsburgh, and a third from Philadelphia – will arrive in New York City tomorrow with contingents of radicals for deportation, it was learned at Ellis Island.

December 1919

80 Years Ago

Fred Waring, the nationally-known band leader, will compose a song for Hartwick College and play it on his radio program at 7 p.m. Friday evening, February 9, 1940 according to Frank Hakanson, Hartwick Director of Music. When Mr. Waring announced during his college program that he would compose songs for any interested colleges, Professor wrote of the traditions of Hartwick College, its athletic teams, the history of the institution and its location and requested that Hartwick be considered. In reply Waring indicated that colleges whose students showed the most interest in the project would be considered first among a huge list. Hartwick students then worked on the idea and sent a number of cards requesting the composition for Hartwick. Mr. Hakanson received a telegram telling of the forthcoming broadcast.

December 1939

60 Years Ago

Fast-coming Hartwick College gave the New York Metropolis a large dose of its own “give-and-go” “pin-point shooting” brand of basketball Saturday night as it upset Yeshiva 77-72. The Warriors beat Yeshiva at its own game – shooting proficiency – scoring on 55 percent of their shots from the floor.
The Mighty-Mites were second among small college fives during the 1958-1959 campaign, averaging 50.4 percent. Yeshiva might have expected the 24 points scored by Barry Lewis, Hartwick’s ace. But the shocker of all was that Lewis was outscored by a guy who had previously confined his point-making to soccer. Jack McCormack, who in nine games last fall set a Warrior “booting” record of 16 goals, nearly doubled that output on the game’s High School of Fashion and Industry court, canning a personal high of 28 points. McCormack’s output was more than he had scored in three previous games combined.

December 1959

40 Years Ago

In the stiffest punishment of Pope John Paul II’s papacy, the Vatican ordered Professor Hans Kung stripped of his teaching post for continued “contempt” of church doctrine. But the liberal priest said he would fight to keep his job. The declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, once known as the Office of the Inquisition, said the Swiss-born Kung can no longer be considered a Roman Catholic theologian. A spokesman said Kung could remain a priest.
Kung, 51, one of Western Europe’s most liberal theologians said he would seek to keep his posts as professor of dogmatic and ecumenical theology, and also as Director of the Institute for Ecumenical Research at the prestigious University of Tubingen, West Germany, which he has held since 1963. “As a Catholic theologian, I will continue to stand up for Catholics and fight so that this step will be revoked,” Kung said. “I am ashamed of my church,” Kung said, adding that it was a scandal that “inquisitional trials were still conducted in the twentieth century.

December 1979

10 Years Ago

After months of playing it coy and flirting with a bid for statewide office, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday that he won’t return to the campaign trail next year, leaving a wide-open field for New York Republicans interested in gubernatorial and Senate races. Giuliani, who is viewed by many Republicans as a savior for the struggling party, said his “significant commitments” to his lucrative law and consulting businesses made it impossible for him to run for office in 2010. Giuliani’s
most recent foray into politics ended with a loss to John McCain in the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

December 2009

News of Otsego County

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