HOMETOWN HISTORY, January 11, 2013

125 YEARS AGO
The Local News: Some sixteen of the ladies of the Universalist Sunday School in Mr. Tompkins’ Bible class met on Tuesday evening and organized a society to be known as the “Murray Club.” Miss May Whipple was elected president, Mrs. Charles Paul, vice-president, Miss Anna Haswell, secretary, and Miss Alta Price, treasurer. A committee on entertainment, consisting of Misses Carrie Campbell, Ethel Doolittle and Grace Green was appointed, and it is proposed through the means of sociable, entertainments, lectures, etc. to raise a fund to help build the new church.
The Guy Table Company has been moving their machinery to the new factory at the East End. The building has been constructed under the supervision of S.R. Barnes, and when in running order will be one of the best equipped and most complete table factories in the country. Last year there were upwards of 10,000 tables made by the company, double the number of the year previous. Next year it is estimated that fully 20,000 tables will be made.
January 1888

80 Years Ago
Calvin Coolidge, president of the United States from August 3, 1923 to March 4, 1929, died suddenly today (January 5, 1933). He was 60 years old on July 4, 1932. President Coolidge was stricken with a heart attack as he was preparing to shave in a dressing room of his Northampton home “The Beeches.” He died alone. A few minutes later Mrs. Coolidge, returning from a shopping tour, found his body lying upon the floor. There was apparently no warning, and he died without suffering. His face was calm and bore no sign of pain. He had been dead about 15 minutes.
January 1933

60 Years Ago
The United States Senate Internal Security Sub-Committee said yesterday there are hundreds of American school teachers who are Communists and who must be rooted out to protect future generations. In a 13-page report, the sub-committee recommended further investigation of Red influences in the nation’s schools and colleges. The report concludes: “Despite the unquestioned loyalty and self-sacrificing devotion to duty of the preponderant bulk of America’s teachers, there are yet many hundreds of teachers who are Communists.”

The City of Oneonta’s Public Safety Board served formal notice last night on the Town of Oneonta that on and after July 15, the city will no longer provide fire protection for any part of the town. The action was taken following a series of negotiations with the Town Board beginning last July 14 when the board requested the town to pay for the service in proportion to the amount paid by city taxpayers. Fire protection then was costing city taxpayers $1.92 per thousand of assessed valuation. Under the 1953 budget, fire protection will cost city taxpayers $2.12 per $1,000.
January 1953

40 Years Ago
A young West Oneonta woman was forced into a terrifying cross-town drive at gunpoint late Tuesday after a man jumped into her car as she was driving out of the West End Shopping Plaza. The woman, whose name police are withholding for her own protection, told State Police she had just come out of the Grand Union store about 5:45 p.m. and was preparing to drive away, when the man – described as appearing to be a Puerto Rican with a mustache and short, kinky hair – jumped into her car, pointed a gun at her and told her to drive as directed. The woman, who had a small child with her, explained that the man directed her along a route through Oneonta and east to the Jamesway parking lot where he ordered her to stop the car and sit still. After waiting for 15 to 20 minutes, the man ordered her out of the car and told her to go into the store and not to come out. Once in the store, the woman summoned police. When police arrived, they found the car parked and empty with the key in the ignition.
January 1973

30 Years Ago
Taxpayers in the Oneonta City School District owe over $350,000 in delinquent taxes, slightly more than last year’s figure. “This year we collected 92% of the tax warrant,” Madolyn O. Palmer, district business manager said. “Last year we collected about 94 percent. In the city of Oneonta, unpaid school taxes total $183,761, Mrs. Palmer said, which is about $80,000 more than last year. The single largest taxpayer in the city with an unpaid bill is the financially ailing Delaware & Hudson Railway which owes more than $40,000.
January 1983

10 Years Ago
Joe Quandt, a teacher, writer and activist who recently spent time in Iraq, will address the Peace and Justice Forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howe’s Cave. The public is invited to participate. “View from a Baghdad Street” is the title of Quandt’s presentation. It is based on his experiences in Iraq’s capital city during a month-long visit in October under the auspices of Voices in the Wilderness, an international organization advocating for peace. Presented by Peacemakers of Schoharie County.
January 2003