Bound Volumes

March 23, 2023

210 YEARS AGO
A Fair Set-Off – Poor unadvised Pace has placed into a newspaper of this village, and says, with his usual thoughtlessness that I have eloped from his bed and board; he might have had a board, but never had a bed of his own. I have bedded and boarded him fifteen years, in the same place which I now occupy and elsewhere – I regret saying that, I am wearied with it; the numerous debts which I have paid for him, he is welcome to, if, as he has now eloped from my bed and board, he will keep away for the future. To close, Henry, I am friendly enough to advise you to become steady and industrious, and drink less whiskey and buy a bed, which you may enjoy unmolested by Bethia Eaton, Otsego, March, 1813.

March 20, 1813

185 YEARS AGO
Local News – The weather here for the last two weeks has been most of the time extremely mild for the season. The sleighing has disappeared. Mr. Cooper has a new novel in press called “Homeward Bound.” It will be published by Carey, Lea & Blanchard. We are informed that the house of Mr. Voltaire Merrell was destroyed by fire on the night of the 10th inst. The house was occupied by Mr. Phillip Gardner, and the fire is supposed to have originated from ashes deposited in a box in the wood shed. Robert H. Shankland, formerly of this village, has, we are gratified to observe, received the appointment of Surrogate for the County of Cattaraugus.

March 26, 1838

135 YEARS AGO
Local – The Doctors Bassett have not lacked for professional practice – where the sense of doing good for 17 years has been their reward – during the past fortnight, they have had 36 cases of measles on their hands at the Orphanage, and no adequate accommodations for such a state of affairs.
The practice of catching on sleighs for short rides, which is carried on to a great extent by village youngsters, is one which is attended with more or less danger to life and limb, and should be discontinued.
To keep up with the spirit of the times the enterprising firm of B.F. Murdock & Sons, J.F. Reustle, the Boston Clothing House and D.M. Hunter are now among the additional merchants lighting their stores with electricity.
Some of our citizens could now do a good act, which would be appreciated by many, by clearing their sidewalks of snow and ice.

March 23, 1888

110 YEARS AGO
In Our Town – It is reported that Asa E. Acker intends to open soon a moving picture show in the location now occupied by his Main Street saloon. While opinions may differ as to the necessity for another moving picture show, there is no doubt that the village can get along with one less drinking place. Mr. Acker promises that the new show house will be up-to-date in every respect.
The old Board of Village Trustees, on the eve of the village elections, passed a resolution authorizing a salary of $300 per year for the incoming President. The office of Village President requires so much attention that there has been a growing sentiment for some time that there should be a salary attached to it. President Barnum, who had held the office for two terms without salary, favored the measure.

March 19, 1913

85 YEARS AGO
Under a state contract opening now for bids, the Otsego Lake highway, constructed in 1908 from Cooperstown to Three-Mile Point and in 1919 from Three-Mile Point to Warren, will soon be widened and paved with a surface of bitulithic macadam. The specifications also call for curves to be eliminated. The approximate length of the highway is 10.11 miles, and when completed it is to be about 20 feet in width. With the exception of the lands of Mr. and Mrs. John B. McManus at Five-Mile Point, where a sharp curve is to be eliminated, all rights of way were secured last fall. Condemnation proceedings were authorized by the Board of Supervisors in connection with the remaining right of way and a Commission appointed. Immediately upon the appointment of the Commission the land reverted to the state.

March 23, 1938

60 YEARS AGO
A tragic accident took the life of a Cooperstown village employee Monday afternoon when a dump truck he was driving was struck by a Delaware and Hudson freight train on a little-used crossing just south of the village limits. A. William Page, aged 44, of 59 Beaver Street, was burned to death despite valiant efforts of members of the train’s crew to pull him free of the flaming wreckage which ignited after the crash apparently ruptured the vehicle’s 20-gallon fuel tank just behind the cab. The accident occurred at 1:44 p.m. as Mr. Page was returning to Cooperstown from the sewage disposal plant.

March 20, 1963

35 YEARS AGO
Volunteers from the Otsego County Unit of the American Cancer Society will sell “flowers of hope” from March 23 to March 25 as part of a countywide campaign. This year’s goal is $14,000. The society raised $12,000 last year. Area merchants, schools and granges will participate in the effort. Flowers will also be sold by such organizations as Bassett Hospital, the Women’s Club of Cooperstown, and the Richfield Springs Lionesses.

March 23, 1988

20 YEARS AGO
Coach Dave Bertram’s 26-0 Cooperstown Redskins eliminated the Potsdam Sandstoners, 55-51, in the semi-final round of the Class C, New York State Boys’ Basketball tournament at Glens Falls on Friday night but they had to come from behind in the fourth period. A three-pointer from shooting guard Jeremy Holmes pulled the Redskins to within a point late in the period and they overtook the stubborn Sandstoners in the closing minutes. Holmes performance against Potsdam pushed his CCS career points total past the 1,000 mark. However, in the championship final the Redskins fell to the Buffalo City Honors Centaurs, 66-59. It was only the third time a team had scored more than 60 points against the CCS defense.

March 21, 2003