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Colman’s Spirit Of Service Lives On In Otsego County

Colman’s Spirit Of Service Lives On In Otsego County Name Rare Locally, But Relatives Of First USDA Secretary Plentiful By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com RICHFIELD SPRINGS – There may be no “Colmans” around here, but there’s plenty of Colman kin: Burches, Osterhoudts, Ainslies and Blisses, among others. “It’s an honor to have somebody at that level in our government related to me,” said Orlo C. Burch Jr. of Hartwick, who called after reading last week’s article about a…

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Indiana Remembers Tiny Greenville Erects 1st Marker To USDA Chief, Richfield Native

Indiana Remembers Tiny Greenville Erects 1st Marker To USDA Chief, Richfield Native By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com RICHFIELD SPRINGS – From 655 miles away, Greenville, Ind., is claiming Norman Jay Colman, the nation’s first U.S. secretary of agriculture, born on May 16, 1827, in Richfield Springs, as its own. “We wanted to honor him:  He was the first to hold a national office,” said Matt Uhl, chairman of the Greenville Historic Preservation Commission, which is planning to unveil…