BOUND VOLUMES, March 20, 2014

200 YEARS AGO
On Thursday morning last, between the hours of 3 and 4 o’clock, our citizens were aroused from their slumbers by the alarming cry of fire, which proved to be in the building occupied by Taylor and Graves as a Tailor’s and Barber’s shop, and had made such progress before the alarm became general, that it was impossible to save the building. The end of Messrs. Cook and Craft’s store, which stood about ten feet east, was several times on fire, but by the prompt exertions of the citizens in hastening supplies of water, and the well-directed application of it through the fire engine, united with the calmness of the weather, its desolating progress was arrested, and the whole range of buildings east to the corner saved from impending destruction. The shutters and windows in Col. Stranahan’s brick house, facing the fire, were burnt out; this building formed a barrier to the progress of the fire westward. The Ladies of the village deserve much praise for the promptitude and alacrity with which they volunteered their aid to the general exertions. They joined the ranks at an early hour, and continued during the whole time of danger, to render every assistance in their power.
March 19, 1814

175 YEARS AGO
The Proprietor (John H. Prentiss) of this paper has again returned to the resumption of his editorial duties, and will hereafter give his personal care to the management of the concerns of the office. The editorial matter furnished during his late absence has been characterized by good taste and talent, and was mainly contributed by Samuel B. Beach, Esq., to whose supervision that department of the sheet was specially entrusted. Mr. B’s views on some matters, discussed by him, do not exactly correspond with our own, but, in gross, his useful labors have our hearty approbation, with sincere thanks for the highly valued assistance rendered to the democratic cause. (Ed. Note: Prentiss was away in Washington D.C. serving the district as a U.S. Congressman)
March 18, 1839

150 YEARS AGO
First National Bank of Cooperstown – The organization of this institution dates to February 25th 1864. The Officers are: Geo. W. Ernst, President; J.H. Story, Vice President; Chas. W. Smith, Cashier; Directors: W.H. Averill, H. Scott, G.W. Ernst, J.H. Story, C.W. Smith. These gentlemen are all Directors or Officers in the Otsego County Bank; and for the present, the business of the First National will be conducted at the banking house of the Otsego.
March 18, 1864

125 YEARS AGO
Was it Rev. C. Hudson Smith, the missing pastor, formerly of Cooperstown? A dispatch from Rochester, Minnesota of March 18 informs: “William Robertson of this city left Minneapolis this Wednesday. At West St. Paul Robertson was reading in the Tribune an account of the supposed suicide of Rev. C. Hudson Smith, at Dorchester, Massachusetts. Looking up, he saw a man resembling Smith enter the car and pass rapidly through to the rear of the train. Robertson, who knew Smith well, and was at one time a member of his church in this city, followed him, and says he is sure it was Smith that he saw, though he did not speak to him because he had heard he was insane. Smith is a man easily identified. He arrived at West St. Paul on the Milwaukee and St. Paul road, and was there transferred to a Chicago and Kansas City train, and was on that train when it left Dodge Center. It is supposed he has gone to California. There are some other reasons for believing that Mr. Smith did not drown himself, as first supposed.
March 22, 1889

100 YEARS AGO
The general health of the pupils of the Cooperstown Union and High School is good according to Dr. Floyd J. Atwell, school physician. The work of examining the pupils required several months as each was examined very carefully. In some cases the parents took advantage of the fact that the family physician was allowed to make the examination, but in most cases the school physician did the work. The strangest fact shown by the results is the comparatively large number of children suffering from goiter. A total number of 15 cases are reported out of a total of 428 examined, or about 1 in every 28. Of the 15 cases, 7 are in the high school.
March 18, 1914

75 YEARS AGO
Cooperstown listeners were thrilled Sunday evening with the coast-to-coast salute to baseball as presented over the Blue Network of the National Broadcasting Co., under the title “Cavalcade of Baseball.” The broadcast was in the form of a dramatized history of the first 100 years of the national game, originating from NBC’s New York studios in Radio City, New York with the aid and supervision of the network’s ablest dramatic artists.
March 22, 1939

50 YEARS AGO
The will of the late F. Ambrose Clark, who died at his Westbury, Long Island home on February 26, was filed for probate on Friday. The 30-page typewritten document listed specific cash bequests totaling $275,000 to eight individuals and two churches, paintings to four individuals and three organizations, and certain personal items to friends and members of his family. The bulk of his estate will go to his widow, Mrs. Constance Augusta Clark, to the family of his nephew, Stephen C. Clark, Jr., either outright or in trust, and to the Scriven Foundation, a family philanthropic trust.
March 18, 1964

10 YEARS AGO
Following a complete rebuilding that has taken nearly 12 months, The Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home will host an Open House and Celebration on Monday, April 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. “This has been a very trying year and a half for the residents and staff,” said Jane Forbes Clark, chair of the CWTH Board of Directors. “Everyone, however, is excited about moving from their temporary accommodation in the Otesaga Hotel and back into their new home.” Last year, on March 26, the historic landmark that had been undergoing a $4 to $5 million renovation burned to the ground.
March 19, 2004