HOMETOWN HISTORY, December 7, 2012

125 Years Ago
The Local News – The Delaware & Hudson Canal Company recently paid out upwards of $2,000 for uniforms for its employees. The suits were furnished to employees at cost price – brakemen paying $17.20 and conductors $24.
The brakemen’s coats, a double-breasted blue sack, have no pockets at all in them, and the conductors’ coats, a double-breasted frock, are also almost devoid of pockets, having only one small receptacle for cash aside from the coat tail pockets. The trainmen and station men now present a very neat appearance.
Only words of praise are heard for the electric street lights. They burn steadily without flickering, their brightness giving the streets a cheery look upon the most dismal night and making the gas lamps look sickly indeed. Yet gas was considered upon its introduction, a great step in advance of the Naptha lamps it succeeded.
December 1887

100 Years Ago
Thanksgiving evening, Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Baker and Mr. and Mrs. F.M. Baker entertained a large party numbering nearly 400 at The Oneonta and the City Club parlors, the large dance hall of the latter organization being utilized for the reception and dancing which followed. Music was furnished by Gardner’s orchestra and the spacious hall was thronged with dancers throughout the evening. In the adjacent banquet hall of the club card tables were provided and rubbers of auction bridge were frequent. The evening was one of unalloyed pleasure for the guests. During the evening the guests were invited to the main dining room of the Oneonta where a collation was prepared and served in the inimitable manner of the Mssrs. Millard was equally enjoyable. Numbered among the guests were Henry E, Huntington of Los Angeles and New York, Dr. and Mrs. R.W. Ford, and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Blakely of Otego, Dr. and Mrs. B.W. Dewar of Cooperstown , Mr. and Mrs. John T. Knapp of Worcester, Miss Hart of Schenectady and Lieutenant and Mrs. Frank B. Edwards.
December 1912

80 Years Ago
Editorial – Advertising is a highly developed science and a valuable asset to business. As such it has a distinctive place in the affairs of the present day. But, like a good many other things, it must be properly used or it becomes a nuisance and a menace to progress and happiness. For one thing it is imperative that advertising be kept in its place. The beauty of newspaper and magazine advertising lies in the fact that it is perfectly possible for the subscriber to read an article or a story and never look at an ad unless he wishes to do so. He knows where the ads are, but they are not forced upon his attention against his will. But what can be said of the radio advertising as at present conducted? Like the billboards that despoil the scenery along God’s highway, it is a disgrace and a nuisance. What is taking place on the radio today? Tooth powder, patent medicines, cosmetics, motorcars, household appliances, tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, and breakfast foods arise to smite the sensibilities of the listener. And we are helpless, because we cannot turn to another station. They are all alike in this respect.
December 1932
60 Years Ago
Dr. Norman W. Getman of Oneonta, who has served as Otsego County Coroner for the past 26 years, began his 13th consecutive term in that office on Tuesday. Dr. Getman was re-elected at the November 6th general election. Oldtimers say he has held office longer than any elected official. Curiously, he never sought office, never campaigned, and never asked anyone to vote for him, “unless it was in a joking manner.” Dr. Getman entered public life after moving around a bit. Born in Richfield Springs, he was taken to Kansas City, Missouri when a year old. His father, attorney Herbert Getman, retired in 1910 and came back to Richfield Springs. That same year Dr. Getman graduated from University Medical College in Kansas City, and two years later, when his father’s health broke, he also came back, settling in Oneonta in 1912.
December 1952

30 Years Ago
Unseasonably high temperatures are saving highway budgets a bundle of money this year. Normally snowstorms would have eaten away thousands in road clearing and salting funds by now. Because the city and town of Oneonta spend a lot of money each winter for snow removal, the street and highway superintendents for the two municipalities indicated that easing into winter has been easy on their budgets. “It sure saves plenty of money. I can tell you that,” said Ted Christman of the City of Oneonta streets department. He said his department should have a surplus of money left over for materials and wages normally needed in a year of average snowfall. The city allocated $33,250 for salt and sand and has $11,000 left over to date. For workers’ wages to clear snow and sand roads, $20,000 is left over, out of $40,000 allotted.
December 1982

20 Years Ago
Girl Scouts from Oneonta and Laurens filled containers with baby items Saturday at Interskate 88. The items are bound for needy mothers and their newborns under the direction of the Prenatal Care Assistance Program (PCAP). Jennifer Holling, a 10-year-old from Oneonta, said donating baby items made her feel good. “There are babies that need things,” she said. Kim Perry, an 11-year-old from Oneonta, agreed. “Just the fact that you helped someone makes you feel good,” Perry said. Learning to give to others at a young age is beneficial for the scouts, said leader Amy Foutch. “It helps them understand that there are other people in the world besides them that need things,” Foutch said.
December 1992

10 Years Ago
Oneonta City School District students are among five confirmed and 21 probable cases of whooping cough, a highly contagious disease. The victims range in age from five months to 18 according to Otsego County Public Health Director Kathryn Abernethy. “It’s an unusually high number of cases compared to other years,” Abernethy said. “But we don’t want people to worry unnecessarily, because generally this is a disease people don’t contract.”
December 2002