Hometown History

May 11, 2023

135 Years Ago
The assembly has passed the Fassett bill prohibiting the sale of cigarettes, tobacco, etc., to children under sixteen, and it has gone to the governor for his signature. There has been a strong demand for the passage of the bill from all portions of the state, and there seems no doubt of its becoming a law. Nowhere is the urgency of a law regulating the sale of cigarettes more strongly felt than in Oneonta where boys of eight and ten years of age are daily to be seen with cigarettes in their mouths, and where certain dealers appear to take an especial pride in inducing the little youngsters to learn to smoke.

May 1888

110 Years Ago
The General Concrete Company of Chicago, under the direction of General Foreman J. G. Prewett, has started work on the huge stack for the power station of the Delaware & Hudson Company. Mr. Prewett states that the entire work of construction of the smoke stack will be completed within 60 days. The excavation for the base of the stack measures 21 by 21 feet and at a depth of nine and one-half feet a good quantity of gravel has been struck, through which piles will be driven to support the great mass of the stack. The stack will be 160 feet in height, measuring 12.6 x 12.6 feet at the base and the inside measurement will be 8 feet square at the top. It will be constructed of concrete throughout, reinforced with steel and heavy wire mesh. The ample size of the flue will furnish sufficient draft for the demands of two 400 horse power boilers to operate the new generators that will yield 2,500 kilowatts of electric energy, or double the present capacity of the plant. Two new boilers, each of 225 horse power, are being installed at the roundhouse and they will double the capacity there.

May 1913

70 Years Ago
The Oneonta Town Board will conduct a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Town Hall at West Oneonta on a petition for a fire district in West Oneonta and adjacent territory to the north. The petition, signed by about 200 resident taxpayers is the first presented to the board since the City of Oneonta called for a new deal in supplying fire protection for the town. Oneonta City Mayor Robert G. Hughes and the Public Safety Board gave notice that the old system of pay at so much per fire call would be terminated on July 15. If the town as a whole would organize a fire protection district, the city would provide protection at $7,500 per year. But the city would not contract for anything less than the entire town. Such was the new offer. Town residents thus had the choice of contracting with the city or forming their own fire district or districts to provide their own protection. The petition proposes that the area in question set up its own fire house, provide its own apparatus, and its own volunteer firemen. The petition is said to represent 80 percent of the resident taxpayers, and more than 50 percent of the assessed value.

May 1953

50 Years Ago
Assemblyman Harold C. Luther said Tuesday the Rockefeller administration has agreed to form a committee to start a study in June on the future of the soon-to-be defunct Homer Folks tuberculosis hospital in Oneonta. The committee will make an inventory of the hospital facilities and then make recommendations on what it should be used for after it is finally closed down. The state-run home is to be phased out this year because new methods in treating the once-dread disease have cut down the hospital’s patient load in recent years. The committee will be looking at the hospital with an eye toward turning it into a center for convalescents, civil defense, veterans’ rehabilitation, or drug rehabilitation. The idea of using the hospital as a drug rehab facility has been kicking around the capitol since Rockefeller announced his intention to close it. That idea has particular appeal in the wake of the governor’s tough new drug penalty law and the possibility that the state may find itself with more addicts to treat than it has beds available around the state.

May 1973

40 Years Ago
The National Soccer Hall of Fame opened the doors on its second exhibit Sunday – a tribute to the landmark teams in American Soccer history and the individuals who were the backbones of their respective teams. Albert L. Colone, director of the Hall of Fame, located in the Wilber Mansion at 11 Ford Avenue, said a large part of the reason for planning the Landmark Teams exhibit was that “many people believe soccer is a new baby in the national sports arena. We were trying to highlight achieving teams in the history of our country.” According to Colone the first soccer team was formed in the United States in 1862. “The sport has been here a long time, perhaps residing in obscurity,” he said. About 30 people showed up for the opening of the display.

May 1983

30 Years Ago
Two decades ago A.O. Fox Hospital nurse Dottie Zeh’s main duties were offering emotional support and routine care to patients. Today, she educates them about complicated tests and operates technical equipment, taking a more active role in patient care. Medical technology and a growing focus on outpatient care have changed the nursing profession, making it more of a challenge, area nurses say. The days when nurses were expected to rise when doctors entered the room are long gone. “The doctors write the orders but the nurse is really the doctor’s eyes and ears,” said Harry Schultes, one of 14 male nurses at Fox Hospital.

May 1993

20 Years Ago
Joseph E. Sutaris was recently named chief financial officer of Wilber National Bank and its holding company, the Wilber Corp. Sutaris is responsible for overseeing the financial management/accounting systems and policies of the companies as well as planning and implementing new business strategies. Sutaris also serves as secretary of both companies.

May 2003