HOMETOWN HISTORY

June 24, 2021

Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART, with resources
courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library

100 Years Ago

The death of Harlow Lithbridge, son of Mrs. W.N. Millard, reported last week, from diphtheria, has been followed by the deaths from the same disease of Earnest M. Blend, nine-year-old child of Dr. G.W. Blend, which occurred on Saturday on Dietz Street, and of the wife of Dr. Blend, who died Wednesday evening and was, by order of the Board of Health, buried a few hours afterward. Another child of Dr. Blend is ill from diphtheria, with a prospect of recovery. These cases are the only ones reported to the Board of Health, despite rumors to the contrary. They are thought to be purely sporadic, and due solely to bad sanitary surroundings. The Board of Health has taken every possible precaution against a spread of the disease, and there appears to be no cause for further alarm, particularly if the rules and regulations of the board are properly observed.

June 1861

110 Years Ago

Motor bonnets are being worn by every woman or girl who rides in an automobile, and these dainty little affairs are quite simple in construction. In fact, they are so simple that a girl can easily make several of them with very little expense. The main idea is to get the proper shape, following that of the “peasant cap.” The bonnet is designed for the purpose of staying on the head firmly and protecting the hair from dust. For this reason, the bonnet fits well over the forehead and the nape of the neck. With the peasant bonnets are worn three-yard square veils of chiffon, broadly hemmed all around and heavily weighed at each corner. The dainty bonnets can be quite bewitching affairs in lace, silk and ribbon, and the maker can show her individuality by the way in which she trims her work. Bonnets are more popular than ever before and this summer will see many pretty creations worn. They are never made too elaborate on account of the rough usage they are supposed to stand.

June 1911

90 Years Ago

Federal agents of the Binghamton enforcement office and state police seized three dozen bottles of gin, a 20-gallon keg of whiskey, a five gallon jug of wine, and a quantity of alcohol and bottled beer in a raid on the vacant house of the Clara Myers farm in the Town of Maryland on Tuesday afternoon. Arrested in the raid were John Rosa, 46-years-old, of 383 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, and Paul Gerlande, 27-years-old, of 555 Willowby Avenue, Brooklyn.
State police said attention was called to the liquor plant after a number of cars and trucks were seen traveling the lonely highway leading to the farmhouse at all hours of the day and night. Following their arrest by troopers Maynard and Keefe, who led the raid, the men were brought to Oneonta and jailed. Later in the evening, the two men posted bonds of $1,000 each and were released by U.S. Commissioner Arthur Seyboldt for an appearance this morning at 9:30 ‘o’clock.

June 1931

70 Years Ago

Bloodhounds were called in late last night to aid in one of the most intensive manhunts in the area’s history, as more than 50 state troopers, scores of deputies and hundreds of volunteers blanketed the Winney Hill area searching for the man who earlier in the day at about 3:10 p.m. shot and killed Corporal Arthur M. Diffendale, 33, of the Oneonta substation. Officer Diffendale had halted the driver of a half-ton cattle truck about 1,000 yards northeast of Chestnut Street and was shot by his assailant in the back.
The bullet pierced his right lung. At a late hour last night, state police, sheriff’s deputies and American Legion volunteers were setting up and maintaining road blocks in a 25-mile radius as the search was temporarily stalemated due to darkness, fog and muddy roads in the area. The cattle truck and the single cow it carried were found abandoned about an hour after the shooting in a wooded area about three miles north of the shooting scene.

June 1951

50 Years Ago

Oneonta High School students have completed an experimental two-week period of “open noon hours.” Under the plan, students were free during the noon hour, from 11:27 a.m. until 12:27 p.m. to do whatever they wished.
The free hour ended when afternoon sessions began.
During the hour, students were free to go home or elsewhere for lunch, study in the library or on the school lawns, or engage in any other activity they might wish to organize such as a softball game. During the test period students used the time to relax, talk with friends, hold review classes with teachers, attend club meetings, and do homework. Charles Belden, principal at the high school described the experiment as “quite successful.”
Nearly all students surveyed by questionnaire favored continuing the free hour. Teachers favored it by three to one.

June 1971

40 Years Ago

The Oneonta Yankees will open the 1981 season on Friday at Damaschke Field against the Elmira Red Sox and continue a three-game series through the weekend. John Nader, general manager of this year’s O-Yank club, was optimistic Monday about the upcoming season, projecting gates of 1,200 fans on average this season. Last year’s average attendance was about 1,000. “We’ve got the best entertainment around,” Nader said.

June 1981

30 Years Ago

America will not be taking off into a booming recovery according to Robert B. Carson, a SUCO of economics. The U.S. is gliding into the end of a recession, if it hasn’t entered that stage already, Carson said. Carson’s predictions for the 1990s include the following: Lifestyles will change. Consumers will be less willing to take on high debt for cars, will eat out less often, and fly away less on expensive vacations. Borrowing money to buy a home will continue to be difficult as banks are less willing to loan money and demand larger down payments. Real estate prices will continue to fall.

June 1991