Bound Volumes

April 28, 2022

162 YEARS AGO
Fine Horses – There are more fine horses, especially matched teams, now in Cooperstown than we ever saw here at any one time before. The farmers of Otsego are turning their attention more to the raising of fine horses than formerly. It is a business that pays better than the growing of hops – at present rates!
The weather – Snow squalls and cold weather ‘about these days.’ Where is the man who got up Phinney’s Almanac for 1860?

April 27, 1860

112 YEARS AGO
The Moving Picture Industry – There are at present between 11,000 and 12,000 motion picture houses in the United States – auditoriums big and little, where moving film photographs thrown on a screen are the main or only source of entertainment. In New York alone there are approximately 700; Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston each possesses upward of 500. In every city, in every country, in every state of the Union, the picture machine has settled and is literally coining money. The beauty of the business is its simplicity. An empty store, some chairs, a white curtain, a machine, half a dozen films and a ticket taker are all that the impresario really needs.

April 30, 1910

87 YEARS AGO
Acting at the suggestion of the Otsego County Historical Society, The Freeman’s Journal Company has prepared a supply of post cards of two historical subjects of special interest at this time. One shows the Abner Doubleday baseball recently donated to the National Baseball Museum in this village, and the other a picture of Major General Abner Doubleday who devised and with his fellow students first played the national game here in 1839. These cards are available to dealers at a very low price. (Ed. Note: The Abner Doubleday baseball has no known connection to Major General Abner Doubleday. The latter was never a student at a school in Cooperstown and, as far as can be ascertained, never visited the village.)

May 1, 1935

62 YEARS AGO
The Fly Creek Methodist Church celebrated its 125th Anniversary with services of rededication on Sunday, April 24. In anticipation, many improvements and repairs have been made in recent months. The entire sanctuary
has been painted, the narthex has been insulated, refinished and painted, new library shelves have been installed, a new literature rack has been purchased, and a new wrought iron railing has been installed on the front porch. Also, a new set of hangings for the Choir screen and pulpit and a covering for the communion table are being made by the women to match the upholstery on the chancel furniture, which was also recently redone. The Rev. Frederick W. Connell, in his rededication sermon, reviewed the history of the church, indicating in summary the many things that had taken place in the 125 years.

April 27, 1960

37 YEARS AGO
The hamlet of Middlefield is well on its way to earning a spot on both the state and national registers of historic places. Rod and Jean Johnson, residents of Middlefield spearheaded the push for the historic district in their hamlet. Rod said he expected to receive final confirmation of Middlefield’s status this summer. The historic district includes 28 properties with a series of architectural styles from the beginning of the 19th century to the start of the Civil War. “It should be a feeling of satisfaction for each person in Middlefield to realize that enough of the past is preserved in this tiny hamlet so there is an identification with a 19th century village,” Johnson said.

May 1, 1985

22 YEARS AGO
The Town of Middlefield issued a building permit for a two-story, 6,800 square-foot New York State Police K9 training facility last Friday, according to town code enforcer Ed Olsen. The K9 training facility will be located on Chicken Farm Hill road and owned by the Clark Foundation, but leased to the state police. The grounds are expected to contain the building, including dining and sleeping facilities, along with roughly 2,500 acres in the surrounding area for dogs and their handlers to undergo training.

April 28, 2000