Bound Volumes

April 13, 2023

210 YEARS AGO
Another gratification – His Britannic majesty’s brig Emu, of 12 guns, a prize to the privateer Holkar of New York, arrived on Sunday last at Providence, and saluted the town. She is an uncommonly strong and well found vessel, burthened upward of 200 tons; was fitted with a new patent defence surmounting her bulwarks, composed of spring bayonets, and had a great quantity of ammunition and provisions for Botany Bay, whither she was conveying a number of convicts. She was commanded by an arrogant Lieutenant of the British Navy who could not persuade his crew to fight the Yankees. The ammunition and provisions were taken on board the Holkar; the crew and convicts were landed on one of the Cape Verde Islands.

April 10, 1813

185 YEARS AGO
A discussion upon the merits of the Anti-Slavery or Abolition movements which at present so deeply agitate the whole Union, transpired at the Court House in this village, on Friday evening and Saturday, the 30 and 31 of March and on Monday, April 2. On Friday evening the lecture by Gerrit Smith, Esq. of Peterborough, New York, was presented upon the following propositions: 1. That slavery is a moral and political evil. 2. That we (this community) are bound to exercise our political power, to the extent of its constitutional limit, effect its immediate abolition. On Saturday morning, after a sort of random discussion, during which some reasons were offered by the mover why the resolutions should pass, separate motions were made, under which both resolutions were laid on the table, and the meeting adjourned sine die. Mr. Smith lectured on the same subject in the afternoon, which he did, and likewise in the evening. J. Fenimore Cooper, Esq. submitted a few brief remarks at the afternoon session. On Monday morning, a large auditory was in attendance. Mr. Cooper enchained the attention of the assemblage for two and a half hours, in a speech characterized by great compactness and masculine power of thought, logical accuracy, and a great diversity of valuable information; and so perfect was his amenity of manner, his candor, and so happy the strain of genuine eloquence in which he clothed his arguments, that men of all parties freely expressed their high gratification at the intellectual feast to which the discussion had introduced our citizens.

April 9, 1838

160 YEARS AGO
One year ago today there occurred the Great Fire of Cooperstown. The spectacle which the eye rested upon, on the morning of April 11 was saddening in the extreme. Dwellings, hotels, stores and shops had all been consumed in a night – that grandly awful sight! Who that witnessed it will ever forget it? Property to the amount of $100,000 had been swept away in a few hours and there were those who thought that Cooperstown could scarcely recover from the effects of so severe a blow. A brief year has passed by, and what do we behold! An expenditure of $10,000 has secured the widening and grading of Main Street from the old Eagle Hotel corner to the Court House; twelve new stores, two of iron, six of brick, one of stone, two of brick and wood, and one of wood, have been erected; also a large three-story brick dwelling house, and one large hotel.

April 10, 1863

135 YEARS AGO
Local – L.I. Burditt, Esq., has returned home from Florida, where he has spent about three months.
A very successful operation for cataract was recently performed on one of Mr. Marcus Field’s eyes, and he expects to be out again as usual in a few days.
On Tuesday evening the Masons conferred the Royal Arch degree on Mr. E.A. Potter after which Otsego Chapter partook of their annual banquet at the “New Central.”
Boys are warned not to monkey with the electric light wires if they do not wish shocking results.

April 13, 1888

110 YEARS AGO
The Prayer of Nelson Avenue: “Look down upon me, O Village Fathers, and observe my many faults. I am homely and rough and uncouth, and am no more worthy to be called a thoroughfare in the beautiful village of Cooperstown. I am a useful street. Many visitors travel over me or along beside me and comment upon my neglected appearance. Teamsters swear at me and automobiles sputter and curse. I am called a wart on the fair face of Cooperstown. I am a proud street, proud of the good people who have chosen their habitation beside me. Help me O Village Fathers, to rise out of the mire and create of me a clean and commendable thoroughfare.”

April 16, 1913

60 YEARS AGO
The Board of Trustees amended and replaced the village’s 21-year-old zoning code by voting in proposals contained in the village section of the Cooperstown Area Plan. The new ordinance takes the place of a code which was originally passed in April 1942, becoming effective on April 22 of that year.

April 10, 1963

35 YEARS AGO
Pittsburgh Pirates star Willie Stargell will be inducted on July 31st as the 200th member of baseball’s Hall of Fame. Born March 6, 1940, at Earlsboro, Oklahoma, the big Bucaneer spent 21 seasons on the Pirate ship raiding National League cities coast to coast and defending Forbes Field, the home port. Willie and the Bucs played for the National League treasure chest six times in that span, but made it to the World Series only twice – in 1971 and 1979. They won the World Series crown both times in seven games. Stargell’s 12 hits, three home runs and seven RBI’s earned him MVP booty in the 1979 fall classic.

April 13, 1988

20 YEARS AGO
Mike Staffin rolled a 780 – 290, 269, 221 to lead all other bowlers in the Wednesday night Bowling League on April 2. Reid Nagelschmidt tossed a high series of 674 – 226 277, 171, followed by Jason Tabor, 652, Barry Gray, 646, Gerry Gage, Jr., 642, Jim Jordan, 625, Buddy Lippitt, 605, and Richie Anderson, 600.

April 11, 2003