BOUND VOLUMES, August 15, 2013
200 YEARS AGO
Ran Away – From the subscriber on the night of the 30th, Henry Yagers, an indented apprentice about 17 years old, very large of his age, about five feet eight or ten inches high, thick set, his hair short and naturally curled. Any person who will return the said apprentice to the subscriber in the Town of Burlington, in the County of Otsego, or secure him in any Gaol and give information to the Subscriber, so that he may be found, shall be handsomely rewarded. All persons are forbid harboring said apprentice, under the penalty of the law, and are warned against trusting him on my account. Eliphaz Alexander, July 31, 1813.
August 14, 1813
175 YEARS AGO
A Cure for Summer Complaint – Blackberry Syrup: We are indebted to a friend for the following receipt for making Blackberry Syrup. This Syrup is said to be almost a specific for the summer complaint. In 1832 it was successful in more than one case of cholera. The fruit is now in market, and now is the proper time to make it. To two quarts of juice of blackberries, add one pound loaf sugar; one-half ounce nutmeg; one-half ounce cinnamon, pulverized; one-quarter ounce cloves; one-quarter ounce allspice. Boil all together for a short time, and when cold, add a pint of fourth proof brandy. You will save many bitter tears. From a teaspoonful to a wine glass according to the age of the patients till relieved, is to be given.
August 13, 1838
150 YEARS AGO
Editor’s Note: As the Civil War proceeded some Northerners argued that the armed resistance of many Southern rebels was predicated not on the emancipation of slaves but rather on the fear that along with emancipation the former slaves (who outnumbered their masters) would exercise their freedom as citizens to vote and hence control the governments of southern states where whites were in the minority. The following passage articulates this concern: “Their desperate valor is in resistance to the force which they are told comes from the North to free the Negroes and reduce the whole laboring, landless people of the South to one caste – the whites and the enfranchised blacks being put on the same level and having an equal share in the control of the Government. It is against this avowed purpose of conquering for the slaves, not emancipation, but a participation in the right of suffrage as a means of maintain it, and commanding an access to all association with the white race in that sovereignty, they have hitherto held, and assert the right to hold exclusively and forever over this continent, that the non-slaveholders enlist under the banners of Jeff Davis and pour out their blood like water.”
August 14, 1863
125 YEARS AGO
Tramps are filling up the rural districts in some sections of the country, making considerable trouble. They are beginning to put in an appearance here, and Otsego County will see hundreds of them before the first of October. Many of them belong to the criminal class. One day last week a couple of them drove a man off Point Judith into the lake and stole his provisions. It is no longer safe for women and children to visit such points unattended. It is presumed that the Village Trustees will employ a watch to be on duty until after hop picking is over.
August 17, 1888
100 YEARS AGO
When Mrs. Frank B. Shipman, the Treasurer of the Parish Guild of Christ Church deposited in the Second National Bank the money received at the fair held in the parish house recently, the discovery was made that one of the five dollar bills in the pile was a fake. A casual glance at the bill would disclose nothing unusual, but under the keen eye of the banker its “queerness” was easily detected. Close examination showed that that the figures “5” and “V” had been taken from five dollar bills and pasted over the figure “1” on a one dollar bill. The work is so crude that it seems as if it must have been done by a child. The person who passed the bill may have considered it a prank, but in reality it is a very grave violation of the counterfeit laws.
August 13, 1913
50 YEARS AGO
Mrs. Thomas M. Waller, a member of the Advisory Council to the New York State Conservation Department will speak at Fenimore House, Wednesday, August 14, at 8 p.m. During the past five years Mrs. Waller has spoken on conservation to Garden Clubs and other organizations in 29 states. The first half of Mrs. Waller’s talk will be devoted to the dangers of environmental pollution. In the second half, she will discuss Rachel Carson’s views as presented in her recent book “Silent Spring,” which has alarmed readers with its grim prediction of death and desolation.
August 14, 1963
25 YEARS AGO
The ideas brought forth at last week’s Otsego 2000 conference have brought ideas and issues first delineated by author James Fenimore Cooper back to life. According to his great-great-grandson, Henry S.F. Cooper, James Fenimore’s Leatherstocking Tales are arguably a major source of today’s environmental movement. That movement received considerable impetus at the Otsego 2000 meeting in the Cooperstown High School Auditorium.
August 17, 1988
10 YEARS AGO
Brian Henrici, of Boy Scout Troop 1254 in Cooperstown, will receive his Eagle Scout Award on Sunday, August 17 at 1 p.m. at Bear Pond Winery in Milford. Henrici is the son of Peter and Judi Henrici of Cooperstown. Henrici, a CCS graduate will attend Western New England College for general business studies this fall. “When I first came to the troop it was very well respected. There were eight seniors and I respected them and wanted to grow up like them by becoming an Eagle Scout. These days, scouting is not taken as seriously as it once was, but through scouting, I’ve seen some things I never would have seen otherwise.”
August 15, 2003
