HOMETOWN HISTORY

June 3, 2021

Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART, with resources
courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library

135 Years Ago

The board of trustees has effected a settlement with Harvey Baker whereby Mr. Baker releases the village from the contract made by the board of trustees of two years ago to grade Main Street from Grove Street to the railroad crossing, to give Mechanic Street a true grade from Main Street to the easterly limits of Mr. Baker’s property and to put a culvert in Mechanic Street, all in consideration of a vacant lot from Mr. Baker on which to erect a building for Wilber Hose Co. The board, as a compromise, agrees to drain the Baker ditch from Victor Street to Mechanic Street, to lay a culvert across Mechanic Street and to grade the Mechanic Street hill as soon as practicable. Mr. Baker withdraws all claims against the village, including that for $600 damages accruing from the time of the commencement of his action against the village to the rendering of judgment in his favor. Under this arrangement, the lot reverts to Mr. Baker, the hose building having been constructed elsewhere.

June 1886

100 Years Ago

Residents of Oneonta Honor Veterans Living and Dead – Memorial services in Oneonta began this year on Sunday evening, when the annual memorial sermon was preached at the First Presbyterian Church by the pastor Dr. James C. Russell. Other churches of the city were closed for the evening and congregations and pastors attended the service. There were also large delegations from Farmer post, Walter Scott camp, and allied bodies, and from Company G, all joining in the common observance. The sermon of Dr. Russell had for its text the words of Paul to Timothy, beginning “I have fought the good fight.” The sermon dealt first with the struggle of Paul as a soldier of the cross against the massed squadron of Roman idolatry and intolerance, and later with the fight which the living veterans and their dead comrades made for the Union and against the vested right of man in man. In conclusion, Dr. Russell paid high tribute to the work of the soldiers, but looked forward with hopeful eyes to the good time coming when there shall be world-wide peace.

June 1911

90 Years Ago

Memorial Day is particularly a day of remembrance for those who fought for the Union in 1861-65, and seven former wearers of the Blue were among those who had places of honor in the day’s program. These were Charles G. Morrison, A.J. Barlow, William Kelley, Mordicia Knapp, C.E. Ford, George Dugan and Darwin F. Vandeburg. Unable to march as in their younger days, these men, together with members of the Woman’s Relief Corps, were provided with cars so they might take part in the parade.

June 1931

70 Years Ago

Initial steps in the formation of an Oneonta team to cooperate with 323 other Civil Defense Mobile Welfare teams throughout the state are underway. William W. Hughes, deputy director of Civil Defense, said he expects to organize a team in the registration and information category to function in the event of an atomic blast anywhere in the state. There are requirements for four types of mobile welfare teams – emergency feeding teams, welfare center teams, registration and information teams and emergency financial assistance teams. All teams are being organized in communities outside New York.

June 1951

50 Years Ago

A measure to create a new category of medical personnel to treat patients gained final legislative passage in the Assembly Thursday after nearly two hours of debate in which opponents charged that the quality of care would suffer. The bill, passed 94-45, allows certification as a physician’s assistant or a specialist’s assistant after completion of 40 credit hours of clinical training and
32 credit hours of classroom work. The assistants will be able to perform such tasks as laboratory tests. All of their efforts would be supervised by physicians.

June 1971

30 Years Ago

The U.S. government could extend health care to all its citizens and still save money by adopting Canada’s national system, according to a draft congressional report. The General Accounting Office’s study of Canada’s 20-year-old health care program concluded that the United States has much to learn from its neighbor’s government run system, which streamlines administrative costs and reduces paperwork for physicians and hospitals. If the universal coverage and single-payer features of the Canadian system were applied in the United States, the savings in administrative costs alone would be more than enough to finance insurance coverage for the 35 million Americans who are currently uninsured. The savings might even be large enough to eliminate deductibles and co-payments that insure citizens now pay, making health care free for everyone.

June 1991

20 Years Ago

More than 130 people have signed up to participate in an Economic Development Summit at SUCO. Oneonta Mayor Kim Muller, who convened the summit, said “the issues we are addressing are perennial challenges for us. I am hopeful that we may get some new ideas and create a realistic vision of what we should try to achieve.” Breakout sessions will cover Public Safety, Taxation and Assessment, Housing, and Business Recruitment.
William Simons, professor in the history department at the State University College at Oneonta will speak at the 13th annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Simons will present his study titled “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg: Aviva Kempner’s Mythic Hero and Our Fathers.” Author and actor George Plimpton will present the keynote address.

June 2001