Bound Volumes
September 23, 2021

210 YEARS AGO
Domestic Difficulty — Elopement — Whereas my wife Polly has refused to live with me and behaved herself in such a manner that I do not think proper to live with her — I therefore forbid all persons harboring or trusting her on my account as I will pay no debt of her contracting after this date. John Pringle, Jun.

Absconded — From my father’s house and this country, the above-named John Pringle, Jun., with my Snuff Box and Handkerchief pin, and every small article my father gave me that he could lay his hands on. Johnny, do not fear that any person will trust me on your account, when you have twice fled your country in the night.

I was 15 years old when I married you — I hope no other young girl will be deceived by you as I have been.

Polly Pringle, Exeter.
September 21, 1811

160 YEARS AGO
The County Fair, to be held in this place on Wednesday and Thursday next, promises with good weather, to be as attractive as any of its predecessors — and our farmers have it in their power to make it even more so.
Agricultural Ball! H.M. Seaton’s Spacious Hall at Oaksville, will be opened on Wednesday Evening, October 2, 1861, (evening of the first day of the Fair at Cooperstown,) for a GRAND BALL, to which the dancing public are invited. H.M. Seaton, Proprietor.
September 27, 1861

125 YEARS AGO
Why we can’t fly — Painters who represent angels floating in the air may make a charming picture, but it is sadly unscientific. To carry the body of even a small woman, weighing 100 pounds, would require a machine having at least four horsepower, one horse-power required for every 25 pounds. This would call for wings, supposing we had the machine to work them, of enormous size. The birds found far out at sea, known as Mother Carey’s chickens, seem to be large, but when the body is stripped of feathers, are not much bigger than a canary bird. Man’s strength, it is
estimated, would have to be increased some thirty-fold before he could fly, and then he would have to confine himself to calm weather. It seems to be settled by scientists that air navigation must be by means of physical flight — that gas can never solve the problem.
September 25, 1886

110 YEARS AGO
The new gun law – There is much ignorance on the part of many in regard to the provisions of the new “anti-gun-toting” law as it is called. The law went into effect September 1. It is a misdemeanor for any person in the State of New York under the age of 16 years to have a revolver in his possession, even if in his own home, and it will be a felony for him to have such revolver concealed on his person. It is also illegal for a dealer to sell a firearm small enough to be concealed about the person to anyone who has not a written permit from the chief of police or other person in authority.
September 20, 1911

85 YEARS AGO
At 4:50 o’clock, on the morning of August 31, a staunch canoe, well-packed with camping equipment shot between the Clinton Dam marker and Council Rock, out of Otsego Lake and into the Susquehanna River. The craft was manned by two Cooperstown boys, Thomas Iuliucci and George Cooper. Both cherished a desire to explore the vast reaches of the long and winding river. On the afternoon of September 17, at about dusk, their ambition was fulfilled when, weary but jubilant, they drew their canoe out of the waters of the Chesapeake Bay onto the dock at Havre de Grace, Maryland. It was an expedition that many have longed to make but in which few have succeeded. Weather conditions were practically perfect and they never once felt the necessity of pitching the tent they carried as a protection against rain. Fifteen dams were encountered along the way, but only four required a portage.
September 23, 1936