BOUND VOLUMES, December 13, 2012

200 YEARS AGO
Indians – The Ontario Messenger states, on the authority of E. Granger, Esq., Indian Agent, that neither our government nor any officer connected with it, has ever authorized the employment of Indians in the present war. The instructions from the War Department to Judge Granger are explicit. With a view to keep them from going over to the enemy, the agents were authorized as a last resource to embody as few of them as possible and report them to General Smyth who would order them to be supplied with rations. But this was solely to keep them easy.
December 12, 1812

175 YEARS AGO
It is with feelings of saddened regret that we announce to our readers the death of the Hon. James O. Morse, first Judge of Otsego County Courts, at Little Falls, Herkimer County, on the morning of December 4th, aged 49 years. He had been in attendance at the Montgomery County Circuit at Fonda, where he was violently seized with an affection of the brain. He was immediately removed to the residence of his daughter at Little Falls, where he received all the aid which medical skill and filial attention could bestow; but his disease baffled all human power. His name, his influence, his character and exertions, all were identified with and devoted to, the progress of society. To a clear and vigorous intellect, he brought the aids of indefatigable industry and indomitable perseverance. In his private relations he was beloved and esteemed by all; in his public stations respected and honored.
December 11, 1837

150 YEARS AGO
Fire! How startling the cry in our streets ever since the succession of fires which last spring desolated our Village. Perhaps most of our citizens are now resting under the belief that the local authorities are better prepared than then for battling the dreadful element, in the event of another fire. If so, let them be undeceived, and learn that their safety lies in their own carefulness. True, the citizens of the village, in public meeting assembled, passed a resolution calling on the Trustees to make the necessary appropriations for securing a better and surer supply of water, and all necessary fire apparatus. But nothing has been done. There is not a good and complete organization of the Fire Department. There is not a good supply of water. There is no hook and ladder company, axe company, nor hose company. The
engines are in good order, but would be of little use in case of a large fire.
December 12, 1862

125 YEARS AGO
Robert Parshall, a farm laborer in Pierstown, sustained quite severe injuries one day last week, under singular circumstances. He was engaged in removing old apple trees for a neighbor, and had just dug and cut around one preparatory to pulling it over, and rather unwisely, as he afterward found out, ascended the tree to attach a rope for that purpose. He had no sooner reached the desired height, than the tree, without the aid of a rope, came crashing down. Between the frozen ground and the tree, Mr. Parshall sustained a broken cheek bone and several ugly cuts about the face, which required a number of stitches to hasten recovery. He was attended by Dr. Babbitt. Even as old a man as Mr. Parshall is, we believe he has learned a lesson that he will not forget, and that is, to fasten a rope to the tree he wishes to remove, just before digging and chopping around it.
December 16, 1887

100 YEARS AGO
The parcels post system which goes into effect January 1, 1913, may eventually prove to be a great step toward the reduction of the high cost of living and will certainly prove useful in connecting the farmer with the city buyer. The parcels post is a system by which the government agrees to carry, at a nominal cost, parcels not weighing in excess of eleven pounds, or in excess length of 72 inches, and the contents of which are not such as defined as first, second, or third-class matter. This means that the U.S. is taking away from the express companies their business in packages up to eleven pounds in weight, and doing so to benefit the people at a greatly reduced cost. The housewife can telephone out to the farmer and order an eleven-pound ham and the delivery of it will cost only 15 cents.
December 11, 1912

75 YEARS AGO
The Cooperstown high school basketball team won its first Schohanna League game of the season on Saturday night of last week at the expense of Cobleskill at the latter place by a score of 33 to 19. It was the first win of the season for the Burseymen who started the year by playing seasoned teams like Canajoharie and Albany Academy where they met defeat in both contests. The local defense held up very well considering the fact that it was only the third contest the Orange and Black had played under the new rules, namely the elimination of the center jump except at the beginning of the game and the second half.
December 15, 1937

50 YEARS AGO
Dr. James Bordley III, director of the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital foresees a continuing rise in the cost of hospital operations despite efforts of administrators to seek out cost-cutting methods through better regional hospital planning and the elimination of duplicate facilities in small geographic areas. For example, in 1953 the cost of staffing the Bassett Hospital operating room was $22,000; last year it was $49,000.
December 12, 1962

25 YEARS AGO
“Fashion Fantasy Alive” was the title of a winter clothing style show produced by junior troop 381 of the Girl Scouts of America and presented to an audience numbering nearly 50 at the First Presbyterian Church in Cooperstown last Saturday afternoon. Some 25 children and adults participated as models and extras in the event. Acting as the Mistress of Ceremonies was local textile designer Sandra Hall. Both men’s and women’s fashions were featured.
December 11, 1987