HOMETOWN HISTORY, July 27, 2012

125 Years Ago
Since January 1st the officers of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company have been well aware that goods were being stolen from freight trains running to and from Oneonta. The losses grew in frequency as the thieves became bolder, until of late every few days something would turn up missing – now a barrel of flour, then some cheese, or a package of this, that or the other of the multitudinous variety of articles that come to or are sent from the freight depot at Oneonta. All told, a great many goods have been taken, but in spite of vigilant watchfulness on the part of those who knew of the stealing, the plunderers escaped detection until recently, when facts were brought to light which resulted in the arrest, late last week, of Albert Lawrence, Lavergne Doolittle, and Chas. Mann, brakemen, and George Burrhus, a conductor. On July 4, while at Schenevus, Deputy-sheriff Wolcott was approached by an intoxicated man from Oneonta, who told him confidentially, after borrowing a quarter of a dollar, that he knew the railroad company was being robbed and that he would put him on the track of the thieves. The information subsequently obtained from the man led to the issuing of a number of search warrants and to the discovery last Friday of a large amount of the plunder.
July 1887

80 Years Ago
“Buck” Ewing’s Mohawk Giants of Schenectady nosed out Company G Sunday, 9 to 8 in nine innings of spectacular baseball on the Neahwa Park diamond. By far the largest crowd of the season, estimated at over 900, attended the game. Oneonta outhit the famous colored club, 16 to 11, but loose playing in several innings enabled the visitors to push across several unearned runs. Each club committed four errors. Rhem twirled fairly good for Oneonta, but five walks and faulty miscues placed him in hot water on several occasions. Wright for Schenectady was effective until the eighth inning when a barrage of Oneonta hits sent six runs across the plate. For Schenectady, Kinard’s drive to the right field fence in the second inning was the longest drive seen here in some time. He also collected a double and single for a perfect day at bat. Assoli and Pondolfino led the local stickwork, each netting three hits in five trips.
July 1932

60 Years Ago
Two Oneonta policemen were injured Saturday night when called to oust a brawler who reportedly seized a heavy metal ice scoop and took command of the bar in the Klipnockie Restaurant at 18 Broad Street. The brawler, Glenn H. Evans, 36, who has three previous convictions for barroom fighting and resisting arrest, slammed Sgt. Fawcett against the bar and severely injured the officer’s left hand according to Patrolman John L. Corsi. Corsi himself reported that he suffered a pulled muscle in his right arm while disarming Evans and placing him under control. Evans was behind the bar and had refused proprietor Thomas A. Cummings’ requests to leave, police said. Evans is in the city jail on charges of second degree assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Evans, a plumber residing in Milford, formerly lived here and once created a ruction in Klipnockie Restaurant, during which he resisted arrest, kicking Patrolman H.R. Wenck in the groin. Evans has paid fines of $15, $25 and $50 for his three previous convictions.
July 1952

40 Years Ago
Oneonta will have a third non-campus radio station, with “middle-of-the-road” music on 103.1 on the FM dial. Caleb Brackett received final Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to operate an FM station transmitting from a tower on Franklin Mountain. The Franklin Mountain Broadcasting Corporation had filed the application in February. The call letters for the station are yet to be assigned. Plans call for the station to be on the air 16 hours a day. Brackett said he hopes to have the station in operation by mid-October.
July 1972

30 Years Ago
Oneonta Fire Chief George McGurl wants a 29 percent pay increase to keep pace with the salary of the city’s new police chief. The council unanimously appointed John J. Donadio, 37, the New Hope, Pennsylvania police chief as the Oneonta police chief. He will start work Monday, August 9, and receive an annual salary of $26,500. McGurl, who receives $20,592 a year, said he should receive the same pay as Donadio. He noted the city had paid the two chiefs the same pay in past years. He will appeal this fall to the council when it prepares next year’s budget. Third Ward Alderman Ron Whalen, who headed the committee that screened and recommended the new police chief, said the chief’s salary was raised because the current one was significantly lower than what many candidates were receiving. “It was a very competitive market,” Whalen said.
July 1982

20 Years Ago
Lounge singing artist Tommy Joy grew up in Oneonta, attended Oneonta high school and recalls being inspired by a music class taught by Richard Picolla, now principal at Riverside Elementary School. Joy’s parents, Dawn and Michael, still live in Oneonta. Tuesday, Joy will be a featured singer on the television show Entertainment Tonight and will sing “Feelings,” “What Kind of Fool Am I,” and “Here’s That Rainy Day.” “I’m the last of a dying breed,” Joy laments.
July 1992

10 Years Ago
A contract has been finalized between the city of Oneonta and the Foothills Performing Arts Center for the sale of the West Nesbitt Feed Mill. The Market Street property is slated as the site for construction of a $37 million center. “This will be the most significant project for our community,” Muller said Friday. The contract includes a clause which returns the property to the city if it is not completed within a certain time frame.
July 2002