BOUND VOLUMES, August 16, 2012

175 YEARS AGO
State Lunatic Asylum – The commissioners for locating a site for the State Lunatic Asylum, have purchased a farm in Utica, consisting of 125 acres, at an expense to the state of $10,000, which sum has been paid from the Treasury. The location is believed to be a very favorable one, and as the same farm sold one year ago for $100,000, there is very little doubt that the locating commissioners have made a good bargain for the state. The commissioners to contract for the erection of the asylum have recently been appointed, and are, Elam Lynds of Onondaga County, William Clarke of Oneida County, and Francis E. Spinner of Herkimer County. The building is to be constructed on such plan and on such terms as the commissioners deem proper.
August 14, 1837

150 YEARS AGO
Causes of fires: The aggregate number of fires for six months in New York is reported at 183. The causes and frequency are as follows: Stoves and stove pipes, 55; Gas in windows and leakage of gas and window curtains, 21; Carelessness with lights, communicating fire to beds or bedding, 20; Defective chimney flues, 10; Sparks on roofs, 11; Grates, fire places and fire boards, 9; Children playing with fire or lights, 8; Furnaces, 8; Steam boilers, 6; Hot air registers, 6; Intoxication 6; Matches 6; Fluid and camphene lamp explosions, 5; Dripping fat in smoke houses, 5; Ashes, 5; Spontaneous combustion, 5.
August 15, 1862

125 YEARS AGO
(Editor’s note: The following tribute was penned by a guest at The Cooper House, a large resort hotel in 1887. The building was originally the Cooperstown Seminary, a co-educational institution that opened in the mid-1850s. When the seminary failed, the building was converted to a hotel in the mid-1860s. The Cooper House structure was located on the current grounds of Cooper Lane Apartments which in 1972 replaced the Cooperstown High School opened in 1908 on the same site, after the Cooper House burned to the ground in 1893) The Cooper House, at which I am booked for the season, is certainly worthy of special mention. This fine hotel, under the management of Mr. S.E. Crittenden, has attained a reputation as a first-class summer resort second to none in the country. This large edifice is located in the center of a beautiful park of several acres, and all the modern appliances exist in it – spacious parlors and hallways; large and well-equipped rooms for families and others; and an abundant table with excellent service in every department. The hotel contains a large number of guests, among which are many prominent families from different cities.
August 19, 1887

100 YEARS AGO
Joseph Stewart, who runs a candy and cigar store in the Otsego Lake Transit Company pavilion at the foot of Pioneer Street, was relieved of about $150 worth of goods between 10:30 p.m. Monday evening and 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. When Mr. Stewart arrived at his place of business Tuesday morning he found the door open, the staple having been forced. A piece of steel three inches in length, broken from a longer piece was lying on the ground near the door. Upon entering Mr. Stewart discovered that a large quantity of stock had been taken, consisting of several thousand cigars, $50 worth of cigarettes, ten boxes of milk chocolate and four boxes of gum. The thieves also took 75 cents in pennies from the change drawer. Sheriff Holbrook was notified and Deputy Sheriff Orlo J. Brown is working on the case.
August 14, 1912

75 YEARS AGO
The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital of this village figures prominently in a survey announced on Saturday by the Hon. Owen D. Young to determine the relationship of health to scholarship. The survey is to be conducted at the Van Hornesville Central School. The study, Mr. Young said, will be made by Dr. Anne Bahlke, school physician, in cooperation with the hospital. “There will be no experimentation on the children. The purpose will be to compare their scholastic ability to their general health. The school doctor will not attempt to replace the family doctor. It is in no sense socialized medicine,” Mr. Young said.
August 18, 1937

50 YEARS AGO
Cooperstown’s new Area Master Plan, prepared by Blair Associates, lists 23 recommended courses of action to implement economic control and development. Among the measures are several that would result in revisions of the zoning law, and the establishment of a planning commission to administer subdivision regulations and architectural controls. Also recommended is the establishment of an agency of village government to pursue arrangements for acquisition and development of park areas. Another recommendation urges establishment of a Main Street Committee to stimulate and coordinate the improvement and appearance of buildings in the business section.
August 15, 1962

25 YEARS AGO
Apparently, the projected Masi-Soule condominium development in the Glen Garage area still lacks official village approval. After village trustees voted 3-2 approving the controversial project on August 10, questions were raised about the legality of the zoning change that is a key to the development. Village Clerk Douglas K. Walrath was asked to research village law on the subject and found a provision that requires any change to the zoning law be adopted by a three-fourths vote of the board if a protest by nearby residents meets established percentage thresholds. Walrath confirmed that the percentage of objecting landowners met the requirement for a three-quarter majority.
August 19, 1987
10 YEARS AGO
Otsego County officials gathered on Phoenix Mills Road Wednesday morning to break ground at the future site of the new 176-bed adult care facility currently dubbed the “New Meadows.” The event came shortly after the New York State Department of Health approved design plans and granted $25,036,000 toward project reimbursement. The county will pick up the remaining cost on the nearly $30 million project. The call for a new facility began in 1994 with the appointment of a Board of Representatives committee to study the future of adult care in Otsego County.
August 16, 2002