Bound Volumes
Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART, with resources
courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library
210 YEARS AGO
We are informed that Walter Rodgers, the boy wounded on board the frigate, and who behaved with so much firmness, has been appointed a midshipman in the Navy of the United States.
To Farmers—The clear profit in the produce of a farm is nearly all that can give it a certain value, and all that can ever make a farmer wealthy. If he derives no more from the produce of his farm than the mere worth of the labor bestowed on it, his situation is but little better than that of the daily laborer who works for his substance. It is well known that farms in this state
do not average more than a third of the clear profit which is in general derived from the same number of acres in Great Britain; and it is equally certain that farms here,
are upon an average, of better soil than those of that country.
June 22, 1811
185 YEARS AGO
Monument to General Washington – Mr. Samuel Betts of Unadilla, is now engaged in making a tour of this county to collect subscriptions in aid of the erection of a national monument at the seat of government in memory of General George Washington, the Father of his Country. Mr. Betts’ instructions are to call upon every white inhabitant and to receive no subscription over $1. We hope and trust our citizens will all readily contribute their mites in support of an object which is to redound to the glory of the Republic, and to do credit to the munificence and taste of the present age.
June 27, 1836
160 YEARS AGO
Col. John H. Prentiss departed this life on Wednesday morning last, after an illness of about three months. Col. Prentiss was born in Worcester, Mass., April 17, 1784. In 1808 he was foreman in the office of the N.Y. Evening Post; and, on October 8 in that year he came to Cooperstown and established this paper, which he continued to edit and publish—with the exception of a single year —until January, 1849, a period of over forty years. (Editor’s note: Contrary to the above, Prentiss was not the founding editor. The first editor’s name was William Andrews. Andrews was dismissed from the editorship in March 1809 by William Cooper and Prentiss then became editor)
We are glad to notice, in the organization of the new regiments of the regular army, the promotion of several worthy officers. J.G. Foster, Captain of Engineers at Fort Sumter, is made a Major in the Eleventh Infantry; Capt. Abner Doubleday of the First Artillery, also of “Sumter,” a Major in the Seventeenth Infantry; and First Lieut. Adam J. Slemmer, of the First Artillery, of Fort Pickens, Major in the Sixteenth Infantry.
June 28, 1861
135 YEARS AGO
Useful hints for farmers – For the best egg production in heavy fowls, oats are as good feed as any. They give bulk, while the nutriment they contain is of the kind which goes to make eggs rather than fat. Horses are not fully matured until six years of age, nor do they arrive at their full strength until eight years old. Immature animals are often overtaxed and their future usefulness injured. While feasting on strawberries it is well to be looking ahead a little for the crop next year. All the buds for fruit must be in the plant this season, and therefore early planting and good care are necessary now in order to ensure a full crop. There is little to be gained by turning under a crop of timothy as green manure, Its roots do not run so deeply as those of clover, and the crop, even when used a green manure, does not ameliorate the subsoil. It is more valuable for a hay crop for market than either clover or any other grass.
June 26, 1886
110 YEARS AGO
Personal – The first baseball game of the season will be played on Tuesday next, July 4, with Richfield. The morning game will be at Cooperstown. The first issue of
the Glimmerglass Daily will appear on Saturday. The indications are that the subscription list will be even larger than last year. Rowan D. Spraker and A. Paul Cooke will constitute the reportorial staff this season. Professor Clarence M. Bahr of New York and some young men, who have been camping on the river near the pump house, started today on a canoe trip down the Susquehanna to Chesapeake Bay. They will make observations en route with the intention of publishing a guidebook.
June 28, 1911
85 YEARS AGO
The plate glass window, exactly half an inch thick, at the right of the entrance to Lippitt Brothers jewelry store in this village was smashed at an early hour on Monday morning. Then, through an opening large enough to reach the hand, jewelry to the value of about $900 was stolen. M.E. Lippitt, one of the proprietors of the store, described the loot as consisting of seven ladies’ diamond rings, eight wrist watches, both men’s and women’s styles, and several pieces of antique jewelry including cameos, earrings, bracelets, etc.
June 24, 1936
35 YEARS AGO
Two gaming booths were shut down by the Cooperstown police at the village fire department’s annual carnival at Lake Front Park two weekends ago because they constituted gambling according to Michael Crippen, the village chief of police. Several firemen were upset by the shutdown since they have been running the wheel uninterrupted at their annual carnival for about 27 years. The gaming wheel brings in the majority of the money for the department’s general fund according to Richard Whiteman, fire department president.
June 25, 1986
20 YEARS AGO
Bassett Healthcare resident Frederick Reynolds, M.D., is the recipient of the 2001 E. Donnall Thomas Outstanding Research Presentation Award. Dr. Reynolds’ research on the use of melatonin as a treatment for multi-organ dysfunction syndrome may lead to an effective treatment for this often fatal condition, according to Dr. Anne Nafziger, chair of the E. Donnall Thomas Resident Research Committee.
June 22, 2001