HOMETOWN History

Aug. 30, 2019

150 Years Ago
Delaware Academy – The fall term of this institution opened very favorably last week. The gentlemen in charge are men of large experience in teaching, and we can assure parents and scholars that an opportunity is now offered for a thorough and complete course of education. The corps of teachers in the Academy excel in scholarship, and are fully prepared to give scholars a full and complete Academic course. The buildings have been refitted and are in perfect condition. The library is the largest and best selected in the county, and the laboratory is in complete order, and the boarding halls are open for boarders on reasonable terms. We know of no institution so complete and perfect in all respects and so desirable for scholars seeking education.
September 1869

125 Years Ago
Stamford was visited by a big fire last week Tuesday evening. The Tanner House, just below the Village of Stamford, was discovered to be on fire. The fire was in the top of the house and spread rapidly. It was soon beyond control and all that could be done was to save furniture from the lower stories. Only one stream of water could be turned on the flames and what could be done had to be done very quickly. By midnight the building was burned to the ground.
September 1894

100 Years Ago
Two automobiles collided late Saturday afternoon at a sharp turn of the state road just west of Davenport Center. One of the cars was a large Auburn sedan driving west from Kingston, and the other a Buick six. The Auburn car skidded
on the slippery road in making the turn and sideswiped the Buick, itself landing on the bank. The driver, in righting the car, sideswiped a tree and then ran head-on into another tree, practically demolishing his car. The Buick was less seriously damaged and taken to the local garage for repairs. Of the occupants of the cars two women and a man were injured but none seriously. The occupants of the Auburn car, who were from New Jersey on their way to Norwich, were taken to Oneonta, where they caught the evening train.
September 1919

60 Years Ago
“All the little boys look the same with short haircuts and long trousers.” That was the observation of John Milsome, exchange teacher from England who will teach sixth grade at Chestnut Street school this year. Mr. Milsome, the assistant headmaster at Roe Green Primary School, Kingsbury, England replaces William Swain, who will teach in England.
The swap was made possible through the U.S. Office of Education and the Ministry of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Milsome along with his wife and daughter are living at 7 Cleveland Street. Mr. Milsome anticipates no problems with American youngsters. “I don’t know baseball but I’m sure the youngsters will teach me. I could tell them about cricket and football (soccer),” he said. Mr. Milsome in concluding the interview remarked that Bill Swain, the Oneonta teacher who replaced him in England, was probably being interviewed by one of our reporters.
September 1959

40 Years Ago
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the virtually all-male New York State police force to give half of its job openings for years to come to women and members of minority groups. U.S. District Judge James Foley set quotas for future hiring by the police division at 40 percent of all new trooper positions to blacks and Spanish surnamed citizens and 10 percent to women. The ruling will remain in place until the 3,400 member force reflects the racial make-up of the population it serves – a process estimated to require at least five years at current hiring and staffing levels. The civil suit originated with the U.S. Department of Justice in 1977. Judge Foley said he had found no evidence that the past hiring practices had been purposely discriminatory or to any extent selected and continued because of adverse impact upon Negroes, Spanish-surnamed Americans or women. However, he said they had a discriminatory effect in violation of federal law and that must change.
September 1979

20 Years Ago
The Upstate Home for Children opened a new home on Glens Bridge Road in the Town of Oneonta last week. Five people will live in the home which will be staffed by about 10 people on rotating shifts. The home meets a housing demand for adults with mental and physical handicaps. The home provides a home-like environment where residents are involved in cooking meals and other chores said Bill Twasutyn, Director of Adult Services at the Upstate Home. There is a similar home for six people under the age of 21 in West Oneonta. The residents at the Glens Bridge Road home will range in age from 23 to 29 and will attend programs at the Upstate Home Center on Water Street in Oneonta or a program with the Association for Retarded Citizens, Twasutyn said.
September 1999

10 Years Ago
Standing in the lobby of the 1897 Chestnut Street theatre, state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, announced a $10,000 senate grant to help the Friends of the Oneonta Theatre reopen the theater.”.
The money is an operating grant. Under an agreement with the new owner, Thomas Cormier of Burlington Flats, proprietor of Information Technologies, the Friends will manage the theater portion of the complex.
“The Oneonta Theatre has played an important role in local history and the downtown Oneonta economy,” said Seward in making his announcement. I am excited that the role will continue and expand in the future,” he said.
Septermber 2009