BOUND VOLUMES

January 28, 2021

200 YEARS AGO

“Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” The exemplification of this moral is perpetually occurring on the most common objects of daily attention. The very paper on which I am now writing, affords me an example. A little while ago it was clipped off from an old garment, a useless rag. Betty would have swept it to the door. But the industrious rag man took it up and gave it to the paper-maker who returned to me the in a new form, no less pleasing than useful. My gentle friends, in obedience to the Great Master, gather up the fragments which remain; the little piece of cloth which falls from your scissors, may become the means of carrying the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God to far distant and benighted lands.

January 29, 1821

175 YEARS AGO

Land Purchase – From 1795 to 1838 there were 91 Treaties between the United States and the Indian Tribes by which the Indian Tribes ceded to the United States, 2,442,699,366 acres of land
for which the United States stipulated to be paid to them therefor since the year 1794, $85,974,053. In the Treaty of 1818 with the Peorias, the United States received 6,865,280 acres, for $6,400, a little over ten acres for one cent! But, in the Treaty with the Shawnee tribe, in 1825, the United States received 400,000 acres for $244,005, or a fraction over five dollars per acre. Yet the average price per acre, of the whole 2,442,699,366 acres ceded to the United States by the Indian Tribes from 1794 to 1838, was only a mere fraction over three cents per acre.
Armament: It is estimated that there are at least one million finished muskets in the different armories and arsenals of the United States.

January 31, 1846

150 Years Ago

Semi-Annual Meeting of the Otsego County Medical Society – The meeting was held at the Otego House in Otego. Dr. E. O’Dell of Unadilla was elected President Pro-Tem. Those in attendance from Cooperstown were Wilson T. Bassett, T.B. Smith, and H. Lathrop. Dr. O’Dell, delegate to the American Medical Association, reported that he had attended the annual meeting in May 1870 and gave a synopsis of the proceedings. Dr. Boden introduced a clinical case which was duly examined and prescribed for. The use and indications of the Thermometer in disease was discussed at some length. Dr. Smith of Chenango, a visitor, exhibited a portion of bone from the humerus of a child, and gave a history of the case. The Society adjourned to meet at Cooperstown on the third Tuesday in July next.

January 26, 1871

100 Years Ago

Marking the first move in a long-anticipated fight to be waged by the federal government to ban the art of home brewing of alcohol, the Syracuse Home Brewing Enforcement headquarters has announced that it will seek the indictment of a home brew artist at the February session of the U.S. Grand Jury at Albany. The recently inaugurated governmental chemistry sub-bureau at New York City reports that a first batch of samples has been shown to have a “kick” equal to that of the stuff that the breweries used to turn out before the days of federal prohibition. According to government chemists the highest alcohol content in the home brew stands at 3.78. Under the Volstead Act beer with an alcoholic content exceeding 3.50 is banned. The home brew percentage is about that of high ale or porter, which prevailed in days gone by. In short, federal machinery apparently is to be set in motion to make Central New York absolutely “bone dry.”

January 26, 1921

75 Years Ago

The Redskin basketball quintet of the Cooperstown Central School hit the deck three times last week and ran into strong opposition at Sherburne and Oneonta and then lost to Milford at home. The trouble began at Sherburne where they lost 40-20 and continued in Oneonta where the score was 39-25. At home against Milford the Redskins made it close but lost 31-28.
William T. Hyde, well-known local resident, announced plans for reconstruction of the interior of the former Second National Bank building at 62 Main Street. Plans call for the construction of six modern offices and a large waiting room. The space provided would be suitable for a large law firm or for several smaller firms. Entrance to the building is directly from Main Street. For the past several years the building has been occupied by the Leatherstocking Council, Knights of Columbus.
An oil-burning heating system is to be installed.

January 30, 1946

50 YEARS AGO

Eighteen-Year-Olds Eligible for National Voting. To what extent will Otsego County be affected by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision lowering the voting age to 18 for national elections? When the next general election for federal offices takes place in November 1972, there will be approximately 3,160 Otsego County residents in the 18, 19 and 20-year group, it is estimated. They are the ones who are 16, 17 and 18 years old now. Those who are 19 and 20 at this time will have qualified by 1972. The new voters will be eligible to participate in Federal elections for president, vice-president, and for members of the Senate and House of Representatives, subject only to a 30-day residency requirement. Literacy tests are outlawed.

January 27, 1971

25 YEARS AGO

Gallery 53 at 118 Main Street, Cooperstown, will offer an alternative to the Super Bowl on Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Cellar Stage Theater. Chuck Brodsky of Weaverville, North Carolina will give a live performance of groove-oriented acoustic guitar playing, and soulful, compassionate lyrics intertwined with wisdom and humor.

January 28, 1996

10 YEARS AGO

It’s a story that merits retelling – often – and Fred Lemister, one of the longest-serving members of the Emergency Squad of the Cooperstown Fire Department, did so at the squad’s 40th anniversary celebration Saturday, January 22 at St. Mary’s “Our Lady of The Lake” church hall. Joe Carentz, the squad’s last surviving charter member, Brian Clancy, Carol Affourtit, Mike Welch, Joe Booan, Bruce Maxson, Fire Chief Paul Bedworth and Police Chief Diana Nicols were also present.

January 27, 2011