HOMETOWN HISTORY, August 10, 2012

125 Years Ago
The ball game at the fair grounds on Saturday between the Oneonta and Laurens clubs ended in a row. Members of the Oneonta club objected to the rulings of umpire Pixley, and protested so vehemently that the Laurens boys, justly enough, refused to play any longer. It would appear that the Oneonta ball nine is neglectful in extending to visiting clubs the courtesy to which visitors should be entitled. We regret to say we frequently note complaints of unfair treatment from outside ball clubs while here, and unless more forbearing treatment is extended it would not be surprising if it should prove difficult to induce clubs from neighboring towns to come to Oneonta at all. We trust that in baseball matters, as in everything else, Oneonta may win the reputation of being fair even to generosity.
August 1887

100 Years Ago
With Prairie Lillie’s and Nebraska Bill’s Historical Wild West exhibition this season and which is billed to appear in Oneonta Friday, August 9, are a number of famous Indian chiefs – among whom will be found Bear Wolf, Spike Head, Big Little Horse, Thunder Cloud, Yellow Feather, and others. They are accompanied by their squaws and papooses. They are willing at all times to converse with visitors to the show and a talk with them is exceptionally entertaining and interesting. They appear to take a special delight in talking to the little folks.
Mssrs. J.O. and O.B. Rowe and Fred N. Van Wie, recently purchased a desirable site at Southworth Point on the west shore of Goodyear Lake and are building a modern and attractive camp house thereon. Saturday the Rowes and Van Wie placed on the lake a handsome new motor boat 25 feet long, purchased of the Fay & Bowen Engine Co. of Geneva. It is equipped with a two-cylinder gasoline engine of 10-horse power and is finely equipped with automobile top and other improvements. The boat has been named Romona.
August 1912

80 Years Ago
From Berlin – The German government tonight invoked extraordinary powers, including the death penalty, in an effort to put a stop to outbursts of political violence which have resulted in the killing of at least 140 persons and serious injuries to more than 1,000 since June 1. With the approval of President Paul von Hindenburg, three emergency decrees were issued by Chancellor Franz von Papen. One extended the political truce to September 1; another set up heavy penalties, including a sentence of death for acts of terrorism; and the third instituted special “speed” courts to deal summarily with offenders. Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler, whose Nazi storm troopers are held accountable for much of the violence, took steps to check the political passions of his followers. Herr Hitler issued most stringent orders that discipline must be maintained. Complete statistics on the casualties are not available but it is certain that the dead include 50 Communists, 18 members of the Republican Reichsbanner organization, 27 Nazis, one member of the Steel Helmet war veterans’ organization, five policemen and 39 innocent bystanders, including four women.
August 1932

40 Years Ago
A spirited debate on the future of one of Delaware County’s most famous landmarks highlighted Wednesday’s meeting of the County Board of Supervisors. Kenneth Kelso, owner of the “Old Mill” at East Meredith has offered to sell the property to the county for $100,000. Included in the proposed sale would be the mill, the old Davenport Center Railroad building and a right-of-way along the track of the railroad. Historical societies have urged the county to buy and rehabilitate the mill and open it as a tourist attraction.
Representative Van Valkenburgh noted that federal aid could be given to a non-profit organization for the purpose of rehabilitating an old structure and asked “Why can’t the Chamber of Commerce buy it? I can’t see why the taxpayers should have to put up $100,000 for this kind of project.” The Delaware Chamber of Commerce has been among the leaders of those supporting the mill’s purchase by the county. Supporters of the plan have said that the mill could turn into a tourist attraction as popular as the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown.
August 1972

30 Years Ago
Cean Brick, dressed in jeans, suspenders and straw hat, spent an hour Tuesday teaching kids in Worcester the art of hobo cooking as part of Otsego County Cooperative Extension’s “Munch Bunch” summer program. What’s hobo cooking? “It’s kinda lazy, summertime make-it-easy-on-yourself cooking,” Mrs. Brick explained, as she showed a group of ten youngsters how to make a tin can stove. The “Munch Bunch” program also featured a puppet show and games designed to teach youngsters about nutrition in a fun way. This summer the “Munch Bunch” program has reached more than 700 Otsego County youngsters at 14 different sites, drawing up to 50 participants a program with multiple programs at some stops.
August 1982

20 Years Ago
On Sunday, scenes from “A Piece of the Action,” a motion picture produced by Bovina filmmaker J. Christian Ingvordsen, were filmed in downtown Oneonta in front of City Hall and on the corner of Main and Dietz streets. Whitney Wileman, location manager for the film company, said those sections of Oneonta were chosen for the film because they looked the way they might have 60 years ago.
“Everything changes so quickly and this block of Dietz Street between Wall and Main looks like it’s still in the 1930s,” he said. “The biggest problem is Subway (the Subway Sandwiches and Salads shop). We might have to put fabric in front of that sign.”
August 1992

10 Years Ago
A temporary ban on the importation of deer into New York will be extended so state officials have more time to develop a long-term plan aimed at preventing the spread of a fatal disease now afflicting wildlife in other parts of the country. The ban, which also applies to moose and elk, is needed to keep chronic wasting disease from spreading throughout wild herds here and also necessary to protect New York’s growing venison industry which produces $1.3 million worth of venison annually.
August 2002