HOMETOWN HISTORY, October 11, 2013
100 Years Ago
Local News: Members of the Woman’s Club of Oneonta to the number of about fifty assembled Saturday at Neahwah Park for a day’s outing. The morning was pleasantly spent in wandering through the park, listening to the autumn bird notes and admiring the deep-tinted foliage of the October day. Tables were spread a little later, and at 1 p.m., all sat down to a most delicious picnic luncheon to which ample justice was done. Later, the ancient game of quoits and the more recent one of clock golf were indulged in. At about 5 o’clock, the members adjourned to their several homes well pleased with the first picnic of the club and determined to make it at least an annual event. Much credit is due Mrs. G.W. Augustin, who had the arrangements in charge, for the success of the day’s outing.
The present season has been one very favorable to the growth of mushrooms and probably a larger quantity has been secured by Oneontans than ever before. Nearly every day, parties are seen in fields nearby the city gathering them and by many they are considered a great delicacy. Care should be exercised in gathering them that no mistake is made.
October 1913
80 Years Ago
A lean, grey timber wolf snapped and snarled in a cage tonight while the State of New York organized a hunt for a band of wolves which trappers say have been heard howling far in the depths of the Adirondack wilderness. The lone wolf, which a startled trapper found when he inspected his fox trap line, was said by the conservation department to have been the first wolf trapped in New York since 1853. For several years reports have come out of the forests that wolves had returned to the mountains, but trappers who bore these tales were pooh-poohed as a rule. “Until last night,” said John L. Halpin, secretary of the department, “we thought the wolves were bands of dogs. Now it appears that Canadian wolves may have returned to the state. Halpin said the trapped wolf, husky and nearly fully grown, was caught by Rod Kimpton of Owl’s Head. An expedition of game protectors and state police has been organized and will set out from the hamlet of Owl’s Head into the forest as soon as the first snow comes. Inspector Ray L. Burmaster will lead the hunt.
October 1933
60 Years Ago
The do’s and don’ts of home decorating will be revealed to members of the Oneonta Woman’s Club in a series of six lectures to be given at the club by specialists on the staff of Mayfair Inc., nationally known decorators of Albany. The first lecture on Monday will be given by George J. Morgan, senior decorator of Mayfair and a member of the American Institute of Decorators. The six lectures are in reality a short course in how to decorate a home. Each speaker will be given by Mayfair specialists who are fully aware of the newest trends and fully conversant with the best available options and materials in their fields. The first lecture will be an overview of the course. Lectures on succeeding Mondays will address “China, Glass Lamps and Accessories,” by Harold Zickfeld; “Carpeting,” by John Pollard, former head of Mohawk Carpet School; “Wallpapers and Their Use,” by Edwin C. Parkhill; “Fabrics,” by James H. Thomson; and “Sequence Application of Carpets, Wallpapers, Fabrics and Accessories into Room Schemes,” by Mr. Morgan.
October 1953
40 Years Ago
Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew resigned abruptly from office Wednesday and pleaded no contest to a charge of federal income tax evasion. A judge sentenced him to a $10,000 fine and three years’ probation. President Richard Nixon expressed “a sense of deep personal loss” over the stunning development. The President met with Democratic congressional leaders at the White House to discuss procedural questions on the selection of a successor. U.S. Attorney-General Elliott L. Richardson declared that the corruption investigation involving the Agnew had “established a pattern of substantial cash payments” to him by contractors when he was Baltimore County executive, governor, and as vice-president. These payments continued from the early 1960s into 1971. One engineer doing business with the state of Maryland made payments up to and including December 1972. Although the Justice Department agreed to drop the charges of bribery, extortion and conspiracy that Agnew also faced, they were detailed in a 40-page document released through the court. Agnew, while not contesting the tax evasion charge, denied all the others.
October 1973
30 Years Ago
A shower of balloons will float down onto Main Street on Thursday morning as the Oneonta High School Pep Band fills the air with music. Overhead, a soaring airplane will tote a trailing streamer announcing the start of a 10-day festival centered on the theme “Made in New York.” The celebration is being sponsored by Bresee’s Department Store which will showcase many of the products and services generated in the state along with 30 area firms and businesses. Entertainment will be provided by local groups and individuals throughout the celebration.
October 1983
20 Years Ago
Hot dogs, pretzels and shaving cream pies to throw at the principal will be featured during a “Fall Festival” at Center Street Elementary School from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday. The event, sponsored by the school’s Parent Teacher Organization, will raise money for playground and gymnasium renovations. Participants can throw shaving-cream pies at Principal John Cook, squirt water at teachers and bob for apples hanging from strings. Toddlers can try their luck at a fishing pond. Parents and staff will spend time planting bulbs donated by local businesses.
October 1993
10 Years Ago
The 10th Annual Pit Run – a 10-Kilometer road race in honor of Ricky J. “Pit” Parisian, a NYS Trooper killed in a 1994 grocery store robbery, drew nearly 1,400 people to the starting line on the Main Street viaduct on Sunday. Katrina Rabeler, a 14-year-old Oneonta High School freshman, took first place in her age group with a time of 0:46:42. Among all women runners Rabeler ranked 14th.
October 2003
