BOUND VOLUMES, May 15, 2014
200 YEARS AGO
Steam boat traveling has increased beyond all calculation on the Hudson since its introduction by Fulton and Livingston. There are now plying on the north river no less than five boats, four of which perform a passage from New York to Albany, and the other to Poughkeepsie and back again once in each week, several of which have carried upwards of two hundred passengers at a trip.
Of the Armistice, nothing farther having appeared within these last few days, we begin to doubt, and shall not expect its completion, if its confirmation is not soon obtained and promulgated. The injury to public enterprise as well as private speculation created by the present state of suspense requires that speedy and certain accounts be obtained of so important an event as the cessation of hostilities and revival of the coasting trade.
May 18, 1814
175 YEARS AGO
Items – Honeymoon – Though this word is in common use, its derivation is little known, as nothing respecting it is found in the dictionaries or encyclopedias. Its origin is from a custom of the Teutons, an ancient people of Germany, who drank mead or metheglin, a beverage made with honey, for thirty days after every wedding.
The great coal vein at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, for two miles is on fire. It is too elevated to turn a stream into it, and great destruction is anticipated.
We are sorry to learn that the fine steamer Highlander, belonging to Newburg, and plying regularly between that place and New York, bursted her boiler in going up on Saturday night last, and killed two or three persons. She was running with the Swallow, Rochester and Osceola, all swift boats bound to Albany.
May 13, 1839
150 YEARS AGO
Important War News – The very day upon which our last paper was printed, the powerful armies of Grant and Lee met in dreadful conflict and once more the blood-stained hills and valleys of Virginia echoed and re-echoed the sound of booming cannon, the rattling of musketry, the clash of arms, the groans of the wounded and the dying. For several weeks Gen. Grant had been concentrating his forces and perfecting his arrangements; and, as soon as ready, he “moved upon the enemy’s works.” The accounts at hand, up to the hour of writing this article are meager and mostly unofficial. The last mail may bring something more satisfactory and definite. The battles of Thursday and Friday were contested with an obstinate courage not excelled in all the history of the war. The losses of both sides were heavy and prisoners were captured by both armies. Gen. Grant brought up his reserves on the second day, when Lee was forced back after desperate fighting. That night Lee retreated and Grant started in pursuit Saturday morning. The skill of Gen Grant and the courage of our brave soldiers lead us to hope that the army of the rebels may be defeated and Richmond captured.
May 13, 1864
125 YEARS AGO
Medical Advice: “The best promoter of good health is the cultivation of a cheerful and hopeful spirit, which does not tolerate either fretting over the ordinary ills of life or worrying about possible troubles ahead. Add proper exercise, sufficient sleep, moderate but nutritious diet of well-cooked food, with a daily task of useful, mental or physical work, and there is little more to suggest.”
May 17, 1889
100 YEARS AGO
Something of the prosperity of a country and the standard of its intelligence may be gained by the necessary issuance of its postage stamps. Through the efforts of 600 men and women employed for this purpose by the bureau of engraving and printing, 40,000,000 stamps are each day manufactured, counted and put up in packages ready for shipment to the 60,000 post-offices throughout the United States. During the last fiscal year a total value of $185,504,550.20 was realized from this source by the government; 586,117 pounds of ink were required for printing such an output, and the paper used came from 1,500 spruce trees ground to pulp. These trees were cut on the mountains of North Carolina.
May 13, 1914
75 YEARS AGO
The Cooperstown Centennial nine opened its season here Sunday afternoon with a bang, providing some 250 spectators with a fourteen-inning thriller against the Utica Outlaws and winning in the last of the fourteenth when, with the score knotted at 4-all, and a man on base, Les Bursey poled a homer into the right field bleachers in true Horatio Alger style. Bursey had been out of baseball for the past two seasons and had not the remotest idea of coming back in this year, until after putting his high school team through spring practice. Les took a few swipes at the ball himself while the kids looked on and found his batting eye keener than ever. That put the idea in his head and there he was Sunday afternoon patrolling center field and banging away at the ball.
May 17, 1939
50 YEARS AGO
A trial away from Cooperstown was ordered Monday in a $625,000 lawsuit brought by a Cooperstown housewife who contends she was libeled in the paperback novel “The Sex Cure.” The book, authored by Mrs. Isabel Moore under the pen name of Elain Dorian, reportedly has Cooperstown as its setting. Supreme Court Justice Robert O. Brink found that a fair and impartial trial might not be held in Otsego County because “truthfully or not” the book allegedly exposes the private mores of local citizens. The trial will be held in Cortland, New York.
May 20, 1964
25 YEARS AGO
The Bop Till You Drop Spring Fever Dance Party will kick off at 8 p.m. on May 20 in the banquet room of the Sportsman’s Tavern in Fly Creek. The Rubber Band Band featuring lead guitarist Jack DuPont will play music that ranges from reggae to rock to rhythm and blues. The dance party is a Gallery 53 Artworks benefit sponsored by the Bold Dragoon, Northern Eagle, Oneonta Grocery Co. the Sportsman’s Tavern, Stewarts and Video-Deo.
May 17, 1989
