Hometown Oneonta - The Otesgo-Delaware Dispatch

IN THE CITY OF THE HILLS

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hartwick Installs Its 10th President

Hartwick College inaugurates its 10th President, Dr. Margaret L. Drugovich, at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, during a ceremony on the front lawn of Yager Hall.
Delegates from more than 50 colleges and universities are expected to attend.
Previously, Drugovich was vice president for strategic communications and university enrollment at Ohio Wesleyan University. She arrived on campus July 1.

WATCH FOR AUGIE: During OHS alumni events, be sure to keep an eye out for Augie Gardella from the Class of 1932, the school’s oldest alumni.

HONOREES: Five OHS alumni will be placed on the Wall of Distinction and another eight inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, in Belden Auditorium. Doors open at 8:30 a.m.

Alumni Events

Friday, Oct. 3

9 a.m. – OHS Alumni Golf Tournament, Oneonta Country Club.
7-11 p.m. – Alumni Gathering, National Soccer Hall of Fame. 8 p.m., Madolyn Palmer honored as Alumni of 2008.
Saturday, Oct. 4

9:30 a.m. – OHS Wall of Distinction & Athletic HoF Induction, Belden Auditorium.
11 a.m. – Principal Nancy Osborn leads tour of OHS and Memory Garden.
11:30 a.m. – Alumni Tailgate Party at OHS.
1:30 p.m. – Kickoff of Homecoming Game vs Vernon-Verona-Sherrill. Halftime ceremonies include recognition of court and returning alumni.
4:30 p.m. – City of Oneonta’s Centennial Parade; 100 units march down Main Street.
4:30-8 p.m. – “Pit” Run Pasta Dinner, Elks Club, sponsored by Lions.

Sunday, Oct. 5

9 a.m. – Community Breakfast, Elks Club
10:45 a.m. – 15th Ricky J. Parisian “Pit” Run, Neawha Park.
•
For other activities planned this weekend, please turn to Hometown Happenings, Page 13.

Labels: 10-03-08, Alumni, Front Page, In The City of the Hills, Oneonta High School

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100-Unit Parade To Mark Oneonta’s 100th Birthday

OHS Homecoming, 15th ‘Pit’ Run Bolster Festivities

By JIM KEVLIN

As Oneonta’s Centennial continues to ramp up toward the 100th anniversary of the city’s creation on Jan. 1, 2009, Mark Simonson has had a lot to mull over.
In an interview in advance of 100 units marching in the Centennial Parade at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, the city historian painted the picture of a community that adapted as the world changed.
Asked to identify the 10 most important developments of the past century, here’s what he said:
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ONE: In 1906, talk of becoming a city “turns into action” after the old village hall is knocked down to prevent a big fire from razing all of Main Street.
As it turns out, the fire was doused before it would have reached village hall, Simonson said, but “damage done, there was no going back on that one.”
Some $50,000 was allocated for a new building, that would become the Municipal Building at 242 Main that now houses county offices.
On March 22, 1907, the Oneonta Merchants Association held a meeting to discuss the city option “fully and fairly.” Frank H. Bressee, Michael G. Ronan, Henry G. Bishop and T. Waldo Stevens were appointed to a committee of exploration.
They studied Oneida and Herkimer and received a letter from the City of Cortland, which had formed in 1900, saying “government was better and expenses lower; that was the turning point,” Simonson said.
In 1908, the Assembly and state Senate approved the creation of the City of Oneonta, and Gov. Charles Evans Hughes, later U.S. Supreme Court justice, signed it into law on May 21, 1908, effective the following Jan. 1.
TWO: 1928, a failing Hartwick Seminary, at the suggestion of Herbert C. Getman and Arthur Seybolt, two Oneonta supporters, moved to Oneonta and was transformed into Hartwick College.
THREE: In 1948, the GI Bill and the formation of the State University of New York set the stage for the expansion of Oneonta State Teachers College into the SUNY Oneonta we know today.
At the time, the college had only one building – Old Main, at the top of Maple Street, used until 1977.
FOUR: In 1950, the arrival of deisel locomotives, which required a lot less maintenance than steam locomotives, began the declined of the Oneonta roundhouse and repair shops.
FIVE: In the 1950s-60s, the Oneonta Chamber of Commerce harnessed local energies and recruited small industries – Medical Coaches, Astrocom, Custom Electronics, Modomatic and others – to replace the railroads. Among other efforts, $50,0000 was raised to lure Enterprise Aluminum, although it departed in 1953.
SIX: In the 1960s, urban renewal led to demolition of the old Stanton Opera House and many other buildings to the west and south of Main Street. Broad Street, which ran where the Clarion Hotel is today, was removed.
Meanwhile, Route 7 began developing as a secondary shopping area, with a Jamesway and a Grant department store locating there. The first covered mall – a Pyramid – opened in 1972; it is now the Foxcare Center.
SEVEN: In 1983, Interstate 88 – the Warren B. Anderson Highway, after the state Senate majority leader who bristled at driving Route 7 from his Binghamtom home to Albany – is completed.
EIGHT: In the 1980s, medical options increase, as Fox Hospital expands and Bassett Healthcare opens Oneonta operations.
NINE: In 1999, the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, the brainchild of Albert Colone, opens on a new campus on the west side after various incarnations from a display case at Hartwick College in 1979.
TEN: In the 1990s, accelerating since 2000, the City of Oneonta, in Simonson’s view, has demonstrated a new interest in its history and quality of life, which had begun earlier with the restoration of the 201-year-old Swart-Wilcox House near Riverside Elementary and Norma Hutman’s revival of the local historical society as the Greater Oneonta Historical Society in 1995.
Meanwhile, Dr. Charles Hunt, retired SUCO president, helped form the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts, and Peter Macris pioneer the Glimmerglass Opera, Orpheus Theater and, later, the Foothills PAC.

Labels: 10-03-08, Centennial, Front Page, Oneonta

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Hometown Sports

Monday, September 29, 2008

Anita Briggs/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Eighth-grader Kari Knudson, 13, swims the butterfly stroke in the 200 I.M. competition at the swim meet in Oneonta Thursday, Sept. 25, against Windsor. OHS’ 101-84 win propelled them to 1-4 and gave them momentum in traveling to Friday, Oct. 3, to Chenango Bridge. Kari came in third with a time of 2:45.60; her 100 breakstroke time was 1:24.00

Sophomore Christie O’Conner swims the breast stroke during the 100 competition, which she
won with a time of 1:21.81. She also took first in freestyle, with 1:02.75.

Labels: 10-03-08, Hometown Sports

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In Memoriam

Sister Rose Finnerty, CSJ
Dedicated, energetic, compassionate

Sister Rose Finnerty, CSJ (Sister John Patrick), 77, a lifelong special education teacher, died Monday, Sept. 22, 2008, in Oneonta. Sister Rose had been a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 57 years.
Born in Williamstown, on Aug. 17, 1931, Sister Rose was the daughter of the late Joseph Peter and Rose Murray Finnerty. She graduated from St. Aloysius Academy, Rome, and entered the novitiate of the Sisters of St. Joseph on March 19, 1951.
For 25 years, Sister Rose taught in elementary schools in the Albany and Syracuse Dioceses, and for 28 years, she served as a special-education teacher at Pathfinder Village, in Edmeston. For the past two years, Sister Rose visited patients at A.O. Fox Hospital, Oneonta.
Survivors include two sisters who were also nuns.

John C. Hill
Donates Cornea at Time of Death

John C. Hill, 48, of Oneonta, who donated his corneas so another person may see, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008, at the M.I. Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown.
John was born on Nov. 21, 1959 in Cobleskill, the son of John D. and Doris (Longe) Hill.
He worked for many years as an automobile mechanic for Country Club Chevrolet in Oneonta, where he specialized in transmission repair. He lived free and loved to ride his Harley with his companion, Jacqueline Negron.
Local survivors include his mother, Doris J. Carman of Oneonta; his stepmother, Joan Hill of Oneonta; his companion and her daughter, Amanda E. Lavery. He is also survived by his brothers and sisters, Brenda Rozsa of Otego, David (Mary) Hill of Oneonta, Richard Hill of Laurens, Thomas (Chris) Hill of Oneonta,

Labels: 10-03-08, In Memoriam

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Hometown Profile: Whether Market’s Up, Down, Erna McReynolds’ Stock Rises

First Barron’s, Now Girl Scouts Single Her Out For Honors

By JIM KEVLIN

Growing up in Gilbertsville in the 1960s, how did Erna Morgan McReynolds know her family was poor?
In seventh grade, she cleaned houses after school.
Other families had color TV.
She and her sisters made their own clothes.
The girl next door would give Erna her castoffs, and everyone on the school bus – or so it seemed to Erna – saw what she was wearing and recognized what was going on.
Christmas gifts consisted of a book – one book – and underwear.
Her father, Bill, born in Northern Ireland, had moved to Otsego County from farming in Long Island to raise horses, but a lung ailment from his days as a railroad fireman caught up with him and he couldn’t work.
Her mother, Caroline, had a job with Bendix in Sidney, but “women worked for ‘pin money’ in those days,” the daughter remembers. “Men worked to support families.”
So whenever there was a layoff, and they were frequent, her mother would be the first to go.
Through all of it, Erna doesn’t remember being discouraged, (although her favorite girlhood book was “Heidi,” she remembered. “Maybe because Heidi was rescued.”)
“I always thought – I DID believe in the American Dream,” she said in an interview in the corner office at Smith Barney on outer Chestnut Street, where she is senior vice president. “I always thought I could be president if I wanted to be.”
That attitude took her on a long journey, from a Gilbertsville farm to Scranton, Oneonta, New Zealand, London and Rockefeller Center before returning her to Otsego County two decades ago and a segment of her life as fulfilling as any other. She and husband Tom, formerly of Smith Barney, the writer and business journalist, in recent years moved from Oneonta to Franklin fulltime.

On Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Hartwick College, the Girls Scouts of America, Indian Hills Council, will be naming Erna McReynolds its Woman of Distinction for 2008, for exemplifying the council’s ideals: “courage, confidence, character.” It is an honor she treasures – in particular, she is an adherent of the Girl Scouts’ focus on at-risk girls – but it is one of many, with many more to come, no doubt.
Earlier this year, Barron’s put her on its list of Top 100 Women Financial Advisers, a coveted recognition in her industry; there are 7,500 nominees annually. She received a call from a female broker in Florida, wondering how a broker in a relatively rural Upstate New York office could ever make it.
Even back in Gilbertsville, Erna McReynolds was a young woman in a hurry.
A voracious reader, she received special permission to take out six books every two days from the Gilbertsville Free Library.
By seventh-grade, she had come to the conclusion that she had to know everything she would need to know by the time she graduated from Gilbertsville High School, so she collaborated with her teachers to develop an independent study program – in addition to completing the regular curriculum – that is still in place today.
It perhaps is no surprise she graduated valedictorian.
A teacher, a Mrs. Gilbert, had encouraged her to apply for a Dow Jones journalism internship. She won it, spent the summer after graduation at Blair Academy in New Jersey, returning home determined to become a journalist.
After a year at Bible college in Scranton – her curiousity was evolving in another direction – she transferred to SUNY Oneonta, and immediately began pursuing her dream.
She approached a local radio station that offered no local news and volunteered to be news director. Fine, she was told, as long as she earned her keep selling ads on the side.
That led to a job with Charlie Ryder’s Mirror Recorder Group, a weekly newspaper company in Delaware and Otsego counties, on the same terms. She dropped out of school, sold ads, and wrote every chance she got.
About that time, she met her future husband, Tom Morgan, who encouraged her to move to New Zealand, and got her a job at The Dominion in Wellington.
En route, she visited Europe for the first time, avoided Israel where a war was then in progres, and soon found herself in “a paradise.” New Zealand at the time was “a heaven for young people.”
This was the early ‘70s, when few women were in the news business anywhere. All the choice beats – “rounds,” they were called there – were taken. By happenstance, the young reporter picked the energy beat. Within literally weeks, the Energy Crisis of 1973 was upon New Zealand as well as the rest of the world, and Erna’s byline became a front-page staple.
She shifted to the NZBC, learning on-air and production skills on radio and TV. A boyfriend talk her into moving to London, and by the time she was 23, she was producing the most widely listened to radio broadcast in Europe, “The A.M. Show” for London Broadcasting, the first privately run British broadcasting company after BBC lost its monopoly.
Tom turned up and the two eventually married and in 1981 moved to New York, where he had a syndicated radio column and she held various high-powered broadcasting positions with NBC.
Phew.
By this time it was the late ‘80s, and Erna was in the second half of her 30s, having accomplished more than most people do in several lifetimes. Journalism was a grind, working nights and weekends, “everyone had blonde hair and smooth skin. I didn’t think it was a career to grow old in.”
Tom was already in stockbroking, so Erna joined him, and found her old skills were in demand.
“I knew how to listen; how to hear where they are,” she said of her new customers, “so you can help them plan. I’d spent a career learning to communicate.”
Arriving in Oneonta, she was soon taken up by Barbara Wilder, wife of the Hartwick College president, who told Erna, “you’re going to be a success here.”
And so she was. Soon she was on the United Way board, involved in expanding its role beyond Oneonta to Delaware and Otsego counties.
She and Tom co-chaired the Catskill Symphony Orchestra endowment drive.
Every year, the Morgans grow 80,000 daffodils on their Franklin Mountain property, because they enjoy the dancing flowers, but also so they may be used as a fundraising device for Catskill Area Hospice & Palliative Care.
Together couple built their business, to the point that, among many other clients, they are guiding the investment policies of two West Indian nations, Anguilla and St. Lucia.
When Erna says success took perserverance and energy, you tend to believe her.
But all that success hit a wall when Tom had two cardiac arrests, followed by six stents in 14 months, bypass surgery and a long period of recovery, which reinforced the importance and family and the support it can provide. She calls her younger sister Wendy, who works with her, “my second skin.”
Another secret of success: “Asking wise people to put you on their shoulders. Whenever we’ve needed advice or help, people were there.”

Labels: 10-03-08, Erna Morgan McReynolds, Hometown Profile, The City of the Hills

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Rousing Season Kick-Off

ART BEAT

SAM GOODYEAR

Have you noticed all the hand-wringing that goes on about the state of classical music?
I’ve heard “these days this” and “these days that” all my days. No one is ever optimistic and it seems every generation is “these days,” like a broken record (remember records?).
The recording industry is going down the tubes one day, and then a study comes out saying it is staging an astonishing and heartening comeback.
Orchestras are suffering (along with theaters, and other arts institutions, not to mention artists themselves) but it seems that this is inherent in the artistic enterprise to begin with. When have they not “suffered”?
I look at some of the programming of the more august orchestras in major cities and I say to myself, no wonder! I rarely am induced to want to fly to Cleveland or wherever. They are great orchestras, the best, but I question the choice and juxtaposition of works. Lackluster for the most part, in my humble opinion.
There is good news, however: the program for the Catskill Symphony Orchestra’s opening concert Saturday, Sept. 27, was a stroke of genius. A bit risky (which we like), with two relatively unfamiliar works, but providing a BIG pay-off as well (which we also like).
Learning something new and reveling in something of long acquaintance is an unbeatable combination, especially when one of the two less familiar works is Erik Satie’s “Jack-in-the-Box,” a curtain-raiser with accessible melodies, jazzy rhythms, colorful and humorous light-hearted effects- hard to resist.
The second piece demanded more work from the listener: the Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra by English composer Frederick Delius. I had not thought it before, but Delius came across as the English Brahms with this performance: moody, atmospheric, thick-textured, darkly passionate. And if one wasn’t catching everything on first hearing of this music, the display of artistry on the part of the soloists was breath-taking.
The Parnas Duo, composed of sisters Cicely Parnas, cellist (15), and Madalyn Parnas, violinist (17), entranced the audience not just because they are so young, and so very appealing, and so very properly dressed, and so clearly devoted to each other (smiles and encouragement were exchanged throughout their playing), but because they play so beautifully, with such mastery, and- most important- generosity. Bring them back! (There was an unannounced bonus in their performing a Vivaldi concerto for their two instruments- in its entirety- as an “encore.”)
Then came Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, dubbed by Wagner “the apotheosis of the dance.” I made a special point of testing this assertion, and looked at all the feet I could see from on the aisle of the fourth row, and by gum, feet were tapping all around me. The playing was ispirited, cohesive, and the brass section outdid itself in superb intonation and inspiring phrasing. Boy, did everyone feel good at conductor Charles Schneider.

Labels: 10-03-08, Art Beat, Sam Goodyear, The City of the Hills

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WEEKEND’S BEST BETS

Centennial, Alumni Fetes Not Enough?

If you have time between all of the Alumni Weekend, “Pit” Run and Centennial events, there’s even more to do this weekend, Oct. 3-5.
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Enjoy some great music and help raise funds to keep the Oneonta Theater up and running. The Horseshoe Lounge Playboys and JIMKATA will be playing a special Centennial Performance at the Oneonta Theater at 9 p.m. on Friday to help support the local landmark.
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If theater is your thing, head over to the Foothills Performing Arts Center and catch a performance of “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Shows will be held Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. with dinner theater Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
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Up for some dancing? Drive up to Cooperstown at 8 p.m. on Friday night and participate in the “Harvest Dance” with some contradancing at the Presbyterian church on the corner of Pioneer and Church streets.
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The Song and Dance Ensemble of West Africa are sure to be a crowd pleaser with their performance, Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Oneonta High School.
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Oneonta Elks Club is hosting the Oneonta Community Buffet Breakfast with pancakes, eggs, and biscuits for everyone, take the family and have a relaxing Sunday morning. Serving 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
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Sunday afternoon have your animals blessed at St. James Episcopal Church’s “Blessing of the Animals.” The blessing will be held in the courtyard off of Elm Street at 1:30 p.m.

Labels: 10-03-08, The City of the Hills, weekend's best bets

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Hometown History

125 Years Ago

Advertisement: Of course it is easy enough for any and all to advertise their stock as the “largest on the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad,” “largest in the county,” “largest in this section of the state.” So many advertising just the same thing, it must be the truth; at least they have said it so many times that some of them might possibly believe it themselves. That’s right, keep it up! D.C. Davis – Dealer in Dry Goods and Carpets – Lewis Block, Main Street, Oneonta, N.Y.
October 1883

100 Years Ago

Glen Shove and Joseph White of Oneonta are, with just cause, much exasperated. They have cultivated nice gardens on their plots on Academy Street. Recently, some mean thieves, during the night, entered the same and took about everything there was in them. The former lost all his corn, tomatoes and cucumbers, while the latter had a nice bed of maturing onions stripped, and tomatoes and corn are also gone.
October 1908

80 Years Ago

Dean O.M. Norlie of Hartwick College spent a short time last week in Albany in conference with the officials of the state department of education and during the day final approval of the courses of study to be offered by the instructors was granted. This means that the college is placed on the approved list of colleges in the state and university scholarships may be used with full value at Hartwick College. The Hartwick College faculty will consist of 10 teachers, five professors, and five part-time instructors, and 44 courses will be offered, 22 in the first semester and 22 in the last half-year. Among the courses are two in biology, two in education, four in English, two in French, two in German, two in Greek, four in history, four in mathematics, two in orientation, two in psychology, four in religion, two in sociology, two in business science, two in musical harmony, two in piano, two in pipe organ, two in violin, and two in voice.
October 1928

60 Years Ago

Recent figures released by the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Communicable Disease Control indicate that Otsego County made a poor showing during the month of August. Out of 46 cases of rabies reported for the counties of upstate New York, 15 were reported in Otsego County – about 33 percent. All 15 cases were in cows. Of the 46 cases reported overall, 25 were infected cows. Fifteen infected foxes were found and six other animals. None of the cases involved dogs. Otsego County is one of the several counties of the state in which a vaccinated dog can run at large.
October 1948

40 Years Ago

Supreme Court Justice Joseph P. Molinari of Oneonta has placed his stamp of approval on Otsego County’s proposed new reapportionment plan. Justice Molinari has signed an order to that effect and a local law adopted by the Otsego County Board of Supervisors last summer creating a 14-member county board to replace the current 27-member board now goes on the ballot November 5 for approval by county residents. Court approval of the reapportionment was necessary after three residents brought suit against the county to force reapportionment of the legislative branch. Plaintiffs in the action were John T. Daley, Patricia Pantaleoni, both of Oneonta, and Theron J. Hotaling of Milford.
October 1968

20 Years Ago

A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital’s new interfaith meditation room, dedicated in September, is intended to be a quiet place for prayer, meditation, and peaceful reflection according to the Rev. Judith Thistle, director of the chaplaincy at the hospital. The focal point of the room is a pastoral scene in stained glass, designed by local artisan Bruce Mack. The finished product was set in a wooden cabinet built by Oneonta resident Kenneth Wells. The chaplains are collecting sacred texts representing all religious denominations to add to the room which is located off the main lobby.
October 1988

10 Years Ago

More than 200 children are expected to participate this year in the Fifth Annual Pit Run ‘Fun Run,’ to be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 5. The ‘Fun Run’ is free, though pre-registration is required. This marks the fifth year that the Pit Run has been held in Oneonta in memory of Ricky J. ‘Pit’ Parisian, a state police investigator who was killed while attempting to stop a robbery at an Oneonta grocery store. “The Pit Run is a 10K race and community celebration consisting of a picnic, a walk, and a ‘fun run’ to celebrate Rick’s life by bringing the community together for a fun, healthy day of outdoor activities,” said Ellen Falduto, ‘Fun Run’ committee chair.
October 1998

Resources for Hometown History have been provided courtesy of the New York State Historical Association Library.

Labels: 10-03-08, Columns, Hometown History

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Ready to Roll

Labels: 10-03-08, Centennial Parade, Hometown People

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Letters to the Editor

Senator Seward Works With All

To the Editor:
Throughout a long career I have had many opportunities to work with state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford. When I was serving on the Otsego County Board of Representatives and as mayor of Oneonta, he was always accessible, and provided both advocacy and support for items that were needed to make a positive difference in our lives.
Senator Seward supported municipal revenue sharing – a welcome relief to help out businesses and taxpayers while keeping local spending in check.
While working as a volunteer for SUNY Oneonta, I have seen Senator Seward on many occasions as he sought funding for both students and facilities, with the goal of providing the best educational opportunties at the lowest cost.
Recently, he assisted in providing funding for the renovation of Fitzelle Hall, the Physical Science Building and their on-going maintenance; these projects are now more energy efficient and provide a better academic environment for both faculty and students.
The senator also supports the newest plans for combat veterans to receive tuition assistance as they return to civilian life.
Senator Seward knows that effective representation requires working for all his constituents throughout the year.
These are just some of the reasons why I am supporting Senator Jim Seward in his reelection bid.
DAVID W. BRENNER
Oneonta

Kudos To Office On Aging

To the Editor:
I write this to say “thank you” to the Office of the Aging, a true treasure that Otsego County offers its residents.
In September I made an appointment with the Office of the Aging in Cooperstown to learn more about Medicare Supplemental Health Insurance plans and Medicare D prescription plans. I was changing plans and wanted to become more informed about new possibilities.
During my meeting with David Polley, coordinator for services of the aging, we learned that my current heath insurance plan had just been cancelled retroactive to last October without any notification to me. We both were shocked and needless to say I was frightened. To be without health insurance and to know that I would now be responsible for all doctor, hospital and drug bills incurred since last year was a was a helpless feeling.
David was relentless in weaving his way through the health-insurance and Medicare bureaucracy. It was a case that he will never forget, and we were both relieved when he was successful in having my health insurance reinstated until Dec. 1, 2008.
Since then he has helped me immensely in determining what future programs are now best for me.
I write this because I was so impressed with the professionalism, the knowledge, and the caring that this county official demonstrated as he handled my case.
BARBARA LASHER
Cooperstown

Labels: 10-03-08, Hometown Views, Letters to the Editor, Opinion

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Past Challenges Well Prepare City For Future Ones

EDITORIAL

Resilience is a quality that surfaces again and again in City Historian Mark Simonson’s recitation of 100 years of Oneonta history since the village became a city on Jan. 1, 1909.
When Hartwick Seminary was floundering, Oneonta brought it into the fold and, except for a period or two, Hartwick College has prospered.
When SUNY was formed in 1948, Oneonta fully capitalized on the opportunity to expand the state teachers’ college that, in a more modest way, had been serving the region since 1888.
When the railroads went down – beginning locally when less-repair-intensive deisel engines replaced more balky steam locomotives in 1950 – the then-Oneonta Chamber of Commerce pulled the community together and attracted manufacturer after manufacturer, many of which are still operating here today – Medical Coaches, Astrocom, Mold-A-Matic and others.
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Another part of the story is how the city has developed and promoted its quality of life.
There’s a human tendency to take things for granted. But the Upper Catskills Community Council of the Arts, the Greater Oneonta Historical Association, the National Soccer Hall of Fame, the Catskill Symphony Orchestra – by all accounts, those Parnas sister, cellist Cicely and violinist Madalyn, were knockouts at the Saturday, Sept. 26, season opener – didn’t just happen.
Listening to Simonson, that bumper sticker, “History Matters,” issued a few years ago by the Minnesota State Historical Association, comes to mind.
The ambitions of energetic individuals – former SUCO president Charles Hunt at UCCCA, Norma Hutman at GOHS, Albert Colone at the Hall of Fame, or Erna Morgan McReynolds, this week’s Hometown Profile, among others at the Catskill Symphony – made the difference.
Peter Macris! He gets credit not only for launching Glimmerglass Opera and Orpheus Theatre, but his Foothills Performing Arts Center is under construction as he moved to Connecticut to retire near his daughter.
That’s important to realize going forward into uncharted waters, given the economic turmoil nationally which, given Congress’ failure in recent days to come to a consensus, may worsen at least and, at worst, spin out of control.
People have made a difference in the past locally, and can do so in the future.
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As Simonson sees it, Oneonta faces some of the same challenges as the rest of Upstate – losing its young people, tackling the high cost of doing business, rising energy costs.
Happily, the institutions – SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick in particular – create a stable foundation, but they may not be enough.
The relatively fledgling Soccer Hall of Fame has not fully developed the synergy with Cooperstown’s more established Hall, but the potential’s there, and for further development of tourism in general.
It’s curious that, as the City of Oneonta approaches its 100th birthday, the state Commission on Local Government Competitiveness and Efficiency cited Oneonta – as well as Cortland and Norwich – as prime candidates to merge with their adjoining towns.
There are efficiencies to be realized and money to be saved, according to the 21st Century Local Government report.
It would be, not ironic, but apt for a community that 100 years ago reached out to a more efficient means of governance to do so again at this transitional point in its history.

Labels: 10-03-08, Editorial, Hometown Views, Opinion

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Reservations Due For Dinner Feting Small Businesses

Reservations are due Monday, Oct. 6, for the Otsego County Chamber’s ninth annual Small Business Banquet Thursday, Oct. 9, at The Otesaga in Cooperstown.
The honorees are:
• The Shipping Room owner Gary J. Laing, who will receive the KeyBank Small Business Award.
• The Cooperstown Cookie Company’s Pati Drumm Grady, who will receive the James Jordan Associates, Architects, Breakthrough Award.
Cocktails are at 6, dinner at 7. The price is $50 per person. Call Pam at 432-4500, extension 201, e-mail her at pam@otsegocountychamber.com.

Labels: 10-03-08, Hometown People

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Hometown People

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Oneontan Through And Through Honored As OHS Alumni Of 2008

By JIM KEVLIN

In the summer of 1999, Madolyn Palmer walked into Brooks’ Bar-B-Q, saw four other Oneonta City School District retirees and then-superintendent Jim Piscatelli, and just had the feeling she was in trouble.
“Come over here and have a cup of coffee with us,” they asked her. “We’ve got an idea.”
And what an idea it turned out to be: The formation of an OHS Alumni Association so successful that, looking back, Mrs. Palmer, Class of 1953, can hardly believe what’s happened.
The others at that meeting were William “Bud” Pirone, retired OHS principal, Geoff Smith, Tony Drago and Frank Gallucci, and by July 7 they had a constitution and bylaws. That October, in conjunction with the Ricky J. Parisian “Pit” Run, 180 attended the first annual Alumni Day picnic in Neawha Park, and no one ever looked back.
Within a few years, the reunion had expanded to the Armory – scene of many dances and other happy times when the old high school was on nearby Academy Street. “The acoustics weren’t great,” Madolyn remembers, “but the nostalgia was wonderful.” (This year, for the first time, the Alumni Gathering will be at the Soccer Hall of Fame, 7-11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3.)
A newsletter was launched in 2000, mailed to every alumni who could be found. A scholarship program was founded, and thousands of dollars have been distributed.
Mr. Pirone was the first president, passing the gavel to Mr. Gallucci in 2003. For the first seven years, Mrs. Palmer – retired business administrator for city schools – shouldered the thankless responsibilities of treasurer, before assuming the presidency herself.
In passing the gavel on to Kathy Dailey Sason, Class of 1973, and bringing in Michael Maben, Class of 1982, as vice president, she has helped set the stage for a thriving alumni foundation for many years to come.
For all these contributions, Madolyn Oliver Palmer will be honored as 2008 Alumnus of the Year at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Wall of Distinction & Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the high school’s Belden Auditorium.
Mrs. Palmer isn’t just a native Oneontan, she’s an Oneontan through and through.
She met her husband, Carver, another native, at Candy Land, the Main Street hangout fondly esconced in the memory of high schoolers from the mid-20th century. (At the time, he was teaching scuba diving at the Y; the couple and their children pursued the hobby for years to come.)
After a stint as a New York Telephone operator, she joined school district’s business office and spent 30 years there, negotiating many contracts on the district’s behalf and serving 11 superintendents in all, beginning with Edward Onody, “my mentor.”
For five years, she was co-coach of the cheerleading squad – “I didn’t know anything about cheerleading, but I knew kids” – winning the nickname “Mom Pom.”
The Palmers bought a home on Telford Street, have lived there for a half-century, and raised three children – Randy, a surgical engineer in Mason, Ohio; Sandra Rudebush, a guidance officer in Saugerties, and Carla Belnis, business manager at Central New York Radio. The kids have provided five grandchildren.
“Our children are our best friends, no doubt about it,” said Madolyn, and she is particularly proud of Carla’s son Joey, 15, who is involved in the MDA Telethon, the annual reunions and other community activities his grandmother has embraced.
“Everybody knows him,” she says. He and his grandparents had been fishing for bass –- very successfully – on Goodyear Lake the evening before she was interviewed.
Don’t forget other civic activities: Mrs. Palmer was a Kiwanian, a member of the DAR, active in the Girl Scouts and the Salvation Army – the list goes on and on.
One unifying string through all this was the United Methodist Church.
The Palmers were married there, and renewed their vows there on their 10th, 25th and 40th anniversaries. (The couple celebrated their 50th last year.)
Their children were confirmed there, and all their grandchildren baptized there.
“I’m really proud of that,” Madolyn said.
In the 15 years since retiring, the Palmers have ranged the country, settling in recent winters in the Bradenton, Fla., area.
But when the geese come north, so do they to their beloved City of the Hills.
“Sometimes people ask, ‘If you had to do it all over again, what would you change,’” said Madolyn. “I can’t think of a thing.”

Labels: 10-03-08, Alumni, Front Page, Madolyn Palmer, Oneonta High School

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 6:32 AM 0 comments

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Memories of Ricky Parisian Strong As 15th ‘Pit’ Run About To Happen

The memory of Trooper Ricky J. Parisian, killed in the line of duty in 1994, remains strong as the 15th “Pit” Run in his memory heads for the starting line this Sunday, Oct. 5.
In part, it may be because the Ricky J. Parisian “Pit” Run – Pit was his nickname – has raised and contributed $200,000 to youth-related community events.
But that’s not all.
“He was just a community-minded guy,” says his brother, Steve. “He was involved in everything – Little League, Babe Ruth, Peewee Football.”
As an Oneonta police officer, he took on its kids programs, and began the fingerprinting program to protect youngsters from abductions, a program he introduced locally when he moved to the state police.
People participate because “they’re doing it for Rich,” said his brother, but also because there’s something for everyone – the 10K run is certified by the U.S. Association of Track and Field, but there’s also a 5K run, a 2-mile stroll and a Fun Run for kids.
Registration – $20 for the 10K and 5K, $15 for the stroll‌, including a T-shirt and Brooks’ Bar-B-Q lunch – was already at 800 a week before the event, but with folks increasingly registering day-of, Steve expects the total to hit or surpass the 1,800 mark again.
All the events begin at 10:45 a.m. in Neahwa Park; participants will start lining up at 10:25.
The day before, the Oneonta Lions Club is again offering an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner, 4:30-7 p.m. at the Elks Club.
Steve said many of the participants will be stopping at the Oneonta Centennial Parade, which also steps off at 4:30.
Officer Parisian, an Oneonta native and stand-out athlete at OHS, had his life cut short at age 34 on May 20, 1994, when, off duty, he and his wife Debra happened on a hold-up in progress at a Southside grocery store.
Ricky Parisian made sure all the customers were safe, then confronted the robbers and, in attempting to disarm them, was shot in the chest.

Labels: 10-03-08, Front Page, Pit Run, Ricky Parisian

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 6:28 AM 0 comments

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Centenarians, City Grew Together

Whigham, LaMonica, Gardella, Ross, Others Walked The Whole Walk

By LAURA COX

When Pearl Whigham was a girl, she and her family would ride down the mountain in a horse-drawn cart from their farm four miles outside Franklin to shop in the big city.
“It was such a thrill to go into town” said Pearl Whigham, 99, now living in Oneonta.
For some of Oneonta’s oldest residents, the centennial celebrations this year have brought back many fond memories of life in the city over the past 100 years.
“Going to Oneonta was special because it was getting away from the farm and doing something different.
“We used to ... come down to Oneonta, have dinner at the Wilson House, do some shopping, and then hurry up back to Franklin and do all the chores. It was such a thrill to go into town,” Pearl said.
Oneonta was a shopping destination in the early 1900s, as it still is today, because of the variety of stores offered: Sisson’s, Bresee’s and Woolworth’s.
“We would get 10 cents and see what we could buy with it. We appreciated things more then, than we do now; one dress lasted you three to four years,” Pearl said.
When Frank “Diz” LaMonica, 97, talks about Oneonta he talks about business: the LaMonica family ran a wholesale banana business, a bowling alley and rec center, and a beer distributorship.
“Oneonta has been very good to the LaMonicas and our businesses,” said Diz.
During the Great Depression, “we lost everything, our home, the rec building and the trucks for the banana business,” he recalled.
“Dad got us all together and we worked it all out. We paid all of our creditors 100 cents on the dollar, and refinanced the trucks and got everything going again.”
As a known prankster, Diz confesses to putting manure at the foot of the Paul Revere statue at the old high school, as well as giving money to camel wranglers during a circus parade to lead camels into a Market Street garage.
He remembers when the Ku Klux Klan came to town, planning a parade, and they would have if not for two young men who stood at River and Main and pulled the fire alarm.
In the ensuring disorder, the parade was cancelled.
“I didn’t have anything to do with breaking it up, but my father paid the police fines for those two men because he thought I should have been in on it.”
Oneonta has changed a lot over 100 years, according to August “Augie” Gardella, 95, one of the OHS alumni with longest tenure.
The railroad is no longer the main source of employment, Old Main was torn town, and the Lower River footbridge is long gone.
“As a boy I would go swimming at the old swimming hole at the river, my friends and I would go hiking over the hills on the lower south side, and we would play baseball.
“That’s what we did for fun,” he said.
Augie pulled out his high school yearbook from his senior year and pointed to his picture proudly; the book contains fond memories.
“I didn’t do my homework for a while my last year, and so my teacher gave me a talking to and said she would kick me out of class if I didn’t buckle down. My strictest teachers were my best teachers, I never resented them because I knew I was wrong.”

Muriel Ross Lawyer, 90, of Oneonta, isn’t a native, but is probably among some of the best-remembered old-time residents because of her 35 years as a waitress at Bresee’s.
Muriel came to Oneonta in search of a job, and after working a few shorter jobs, she was hired by Fred Bresee.
“In 1944, I was working down at Candy Land and it was the talk of the town that Fred Bresee had come back from the service and was not happy with the staff at the Health Bar, and so he fired them all.
“After school one day, I took my two sons and walked up to Bresee’s and told Mr. Fred, ‘I have two willing hands and I care for these two boys alone and I want a job.’ He said he couldn’t hire me because I already had a job, and so I said ‘you stand right there and I will go and quit,’ and I did.”
Muriel has vivid memories of the days when Main St. Oneonta was booming with activity and business. “Thursday nights you would hardly be able to get through the streets because the stores were open late, on a Thursday night now you could shoot a cannon down Main without hitting anyone. I used to have people lined up three deep in my section to sit down”
During Muriel’s time at Bresee’s she remembers meeting many interesting people including movie star Robert Taylor and jazz legend Louis Armstrong. She was also pictured behind the Health Bar counter in an article done about Bresee’s in Collier’s Weekly Magazine in November of 1949.
Oneonta’s oldest residents are happy to be here and happy to celebrate Oneonta’s centennial. When asked if he has ever thought of moving away from Oneonta Augie responded, “After my years away in the service, I think I got away long enough that I craved it [Oneonta].”
Diz said, “ I have never had a desire to leave.”

Labels: 10-03-08, August “Augie” Gardella, Frank “Diz” LaMonica, Front Page, Muriel Ross Lawye, Pearl Whigham

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 6:10 AM 0 comments

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