BOUND VOLUMES, August 30, 2012

200 YEARS AGO
Federal Doctrine in 1792 (20 years earlier): “Revere and cling to the Federal constitution – Be ever vigorous in support of the constituted authorities – Submit proudly to the will of the majority – Keep the union inviolate – Be the Friends of law and order – Oppose all combinations and popular societies, by whatever names they may be called, viz. Democratic or Malevolent – Frown indignantly on all combinations and societies, by whatever popular name they are called who attempt to overawe the proceedings of government. Are these the principles of the modern federalists? Or, are they much worse than those whom they then called Democrats, disorganizers, and Jacobins?”
August 29, 1812

175 YEARS AGO
The discharge of public duties which have devolved upon the editor (of The Freeman’s Journal), as the representative-elect of the Congressional district, requiring his attendance at the Seat of the National Government during five or six weeks, and perhaps eight or nine months to come, he has made an arrangement with Mr. William L. Crandal to superintend the publication of the paper while he is absent. Mr. C. is a native of the county, and is familiar with its general interests. He is a Democrat in principle, and possesses respectable talents, with good common sense to direct a right use of them. I have strong confidence that, under his management, the paper will be judiciously conducted, and prove satisfactory to the generality of its numerous readers. At any event, he now takes my place, occupying a highly responsible position, and I commend him to the favor of those with whom it has been my good fortune to hold weekly converse for 29 years past.
August 28, 1837

125 YEARS AGO
Local – W.H. Bunn, Jr., was not a little elated on Saturday evening last, when he assisted in landing safely in the boat a 14 pound trout from the waters of Otsego Lake.
W.E. Eldred of New York and his brother John M., of this village, were the lucky fishermen who took a handsome seven-pound trout from Otsego Lake a few days since. This catch, with the other fascinating sports attending camping on the shores of the lake, prompted them to lease of A.T. Van Horne, for a term of 15 years, the point and house thereon just south of the Bundy Brothers’ lake resort. The boys contemplate making attractive improvements on the building in the early springtime.
September 2, 1887

100 YEARS AGO
(Editor’s note: The then prevalent practice of spreading tar and oil on road surfaces to reduce dust resulted in the following poetic response from Seymour Barnard): “It is not raining rain to me – It’s raining oil around! The road is sprayed, the dust is laid, the modern method found. They smear the way afresh each day, they smudge the hedges too; It is not raining rain to me, It’s raining gum and glue. It is not raining rain to me – It’s raining pitch and tar – That stick to the boot of either foot; and speeds the touring car. The dusty street is obsolete; and all the way to town, the road is wet and black as jet – It’s raining greases down.”
August 28, 1912

75 YEARS AGO
The work of demolishing the building on Main Street adjoining the Alfred Corning Clark gymnasium is approaching completion, and construction of the new home of the National Baseball Museum on the site will be in progress in the near future. The Bedford Construction Company of Utica will have the general contract and the heating and lighting contracts will be let locally. The building is to be completed by January 1.
There was great rejoicing among the inhabitants of the Richfield Springs Central School District at the announcement last week that the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works had granted the district $206,744 toward the expense of its new school building that is to cost about $460,000. This amounts to 45 percent of the total cost. Architect Myron Jordan is already hard at work preparing detailed plans for the contractors to bid upon.
September 1, 1937

50 YEARS AGO
The directors of the National Baseball Hall of Fame last week changed a rule for the method of electing retired players in the “old-timers” category. Paul S. Kerr, the president of the Hall of Fame, said that henceforth players retired for 20 or more years will be considered for election by the special Old-Timers Committee, rather than the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The make-up of the 12-member Old-Timers Committee will now include former baseball players. That committee was formerly made up of Hall of Fame officials, leading baseball officials and baseball writers.
August 29, 1962

25 YEARS AGO
Figures released last week by the NYS Department of Labor show Otsego County has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the State of New York. Otsego showed a workforce of 28,600 in June, up from 27,700 in May of this year and even more of an improvement over the June 1986 figures of 27,200. The unemployment rate for June 1987 was 3.5 percent, a nice drop from figures a month earlier and a lot better than June 1986 numbers of 5.4 percent. The state’s unemployment rate has now been below 5.0 percent for three consecutive months and has declined 1.4 percentage points from June 1986.
September 2, 1987

10 YEARS AGO
The make-over of Main Street Cooperstown is set to commence on September 4. The project entails digging up and removal of old sewer lines and replacing them along with lateral connections. The work also involves the removal of surface paving and underlying trolley track rails from the turn of the 20th century and eventual repaving of the street with curbing and sidewalk repair and replacement as well. Meanwhile, a revamping of the Main Street bridge over the Susquehanna River is set to go out for bids, but work on that project will not proceed for another four to six weeks.
August 30, 2002