BOUND VOLUMES, October 18, 2012

175 YEARS AGO
Democracy in Harmony with Social Progress – Equality Against Privilege – The doctrine that government should rest on property is no American doctrine. It belongs to the school of the English aristocracy; it may suit the aristocracy of finance that seeks to plant itself firmly in the court of Louis Philippe; America rejects the doctrine; and the men of Massachusetts, who, in the first days of the Commonwealth, unhappily disenfranchised many, were more apt to disenfranchise the wealthy and the powerful, than to wrong the humblest Christian. We contend for equal rights; we contend for equality against privilege.
October 16, 1837

150 YEARS AGO
Choice Fruit – There was quite a display of choice fruit in our sanctum on Monday last, Dr. Byram, of this village, being the sole exhibitor. He might have carried off a premium had he made the exhibition at the Fair last week. He had three varieties of grapes, all grown in the open air (for which the present season has been unusually favorable) – the Green Cheslass, the Black Gamut, and the Isabella; the first named is a white grape which grows in large clusters. Of the pears there were four varieties, including the sickle and virgule. The people of Otsego are finding out that the choice varieties of certain fruits can be grown in this county. They can make it a source of pleasure and profit.
October 17, 1862

125 YEARS AGO
The seventy-fourth anniversary of the Otsego County Bible Society was held in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Laurens on October 12, 1887. This time-honored institution is still doing good service. One year more will complete three-quarters of a century’s work in the important work of giving the Bible to the destitute and poor of Otsego County, besides giving material aid to similar work in other fields. Rev. P.F. Sanborn, the president, occupied the chair during the session. The afternoon session was devoted to the business of the society. At the evening session Rev. A.F. Chaffee of Cooperstown, gave a most interesting and impressive address on the work of the Bible, in the fields of art, literature and thought.
October 21, 1887

100 YEARS AGO
Unless the recommendations of scientific men from the federal and state agricultural departments are followed by hop growers the much-coveted and valuable blossom essential to the brewer will soon cease to be available. Hop mildew, a fungus disease cut down the hop yield alarmingly. New York State has long been known for its splendid hop yield, the central section of the state being the location of most of the hop fields. This year a poor crop was gathered, owing to the presence of the mildew, which attacked practically all of the yards which had been set out with hops early in the year. According to Dr. Donald Raddick, professor of pathology of plants at Cornell University, Ithaca, hop mildew made its first appearance in this state about four years ago in the yards at Waterville, Oneida County, and Milford, Otsego County. The plant disease was diagnosed as being the same as that which has been so destructive in Europe and Germany. New York State hop conditions, so far as the yield is concerned, are significantly set forth by the fact that in 1899 there were 12,023 acres of hops which produced 18,677,138 pounds, a value of $2,597,981. Over 2,000 hop yards are represented by the above figures. Nowhere near this amount of hops were harvested this year according to George G. Atwood, chief of the bureau of horticulture at the New York State Department of Agriculture. The best method of fighting the hop mildew is through the use of sulphur spraying machines.
October 16, 1912

75 YEARS AGO
Where Nature Smiles: College football contests are attracting their quota of Cooperstown people these autumn days. Principal games this coming Saturday will be the intersectional battle at Hamilton between Colgate, the “pride of the Chenango Valley,” as one of the announcers persisted in saying last week, and the Blue Devils of Duke University, Durham, N.C. Cornell goes to New Haven to meet Yale and this game will draw a goodly number of alumni from this locality. Syracuse is playing the University of Maryland at Baltimore.
October 20, 1937

50 YEARS AGO
Advice for the Elderly: A good appearance gives men and women of all ages a lift. An older person who is well-dressed and makes a good appearance is usually one who takes an interest in others and the world about him, his neighbors and community affairs. For the mature woman or man, clothes should be both attractive and comfortable and should be immaculate and well-fitting. A youngster can get away with sloppy jeans and dirty sweat shirt, but a man or woman over 60 who is not neatly dressed and well-groomed arouses pity or dislike. Good posture and a good foundation support do much to enhance the appearance of a mature woman.
October 17, 1962

25 YEARS AGO
All of Robert Leathers’ playgrounds are different, but Cooperstown’s Kid City is really different, the architect told a gathering of several hundred parents and children. Organized into five zones, the facility will feature areas for toddlers and handicapped children, as well as a central amphitheater, an obstacle course maze, and swings. The playground will contain a bridge of tires, steering wheels arranged to form a mock car, a sand table, a tunnel, a haunted castle, mirrors, a double slide, a tree house, parallel bars and a space ship.
October 21, 1987

10 YEARS AGO
Richard Hanna spends a great deal of his time involved in construction projects, but his current endeavor has a much more personal air. Hanna, construction company owner and avid aviator, recently purchased the Westville Airport, and he is in the process of giving it a major facelift. His company, Hanna Construction of Darnville, has been contracted by Otsego County to build the new adult care facility on State Hwy. 28 south of Cooperstown. Workers are also engaged in replacing hangars at the airport site.
October 18, 2002