Bound Volumes, Hometown History
September 5, 2024
70 YEARS AGO
President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon appealed to the nation’s business and labor union leaders for more help in the administration’s program for ending discrimination among whites and Negroes. Under the auspices of the President’s Committee on Government Contracts, nearly 500,000 pamphlets discussing the problem are being distributed. Two points are being emphasized: First, the growing industrial might of this country requires the largest possible reserve of skilled manpower. Second, in the world struggle for the minds of men, America’s position of leadership makes it mandatory that we not be subject to the charge of racial prejudice which is being hurled at us every day by the Communists.
September 1954
50 YEARS AGO
About 165 members of the Oneonta Teachers Association formed a wide circle around the Oneonta School District offices last night chanting, “We want a contract,” to board members gathered inside. The chanting rang loud in the crisp evening air, and was easily audible inside the district offices, where school board members and district officials had gathered for a special public meeting to vote on a routine tax note. The meeting, about 10 minutes long, had been called to vote on a routine tax note and for the board’s annual inspection of the schools. The teachers began their chant about 10 minutes before the meeting opened and continued until board members pulled away in their cars. No mention of the teachers’ contract was made during the meeting. However, John Miller, President of the Oneonta Teachers’ Association, was granted the floor after the meeting adjourned. He read a brief statement urging the board to direct Dr. Francis Doherty, district negotiator, to return to the negotiating table with the authority to bargain a contract.
September 1974
40 YEARS AGO
Southside Mall’s management company has paid a $5,000 fine and agreed to meet a November 1 deadline to repair a faulty septic system that is dumping improperly treated waste into the Susquehanna River, a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) official said. DEC attorney Charles Sarris said Pantlin Associates, of Paramus, New Jersey, returned a signed order on consent agreement to the agency’s Schenectady office. The agreement has the force of a court order and is equivalent to an admission of guilt on the part of the mall’s owners. Five violations, first cited in November, 1983, must be corrected.
September 1984
30 YEARS AGO
September 1994
20 YEARS AGO
The second annual Peace Festival will be held Sunday, September 12, from 1-4 p.m. in Neahwa Park. Its aim is to provide a time when people of all ages can come together, enjoy each other’s company and visualize peace. The event is sponsored by Citizens’ Alternative Voice of Oneonta, Delaware County Voices for Peace, and Peace Action of Chenango County. Activities will be offered for all ages. Music will be provided by Skip West, Jo Mish and the Tuesday Night Jazz Band. Stories will be told by Khuki Woolever and Suzanne Hollist.
September 2004