The Freemans Journal - Cooperstowns Newspaper Since 1808

Friday, May 22, 2009

175 YEARS AGO

The mail bags continue to be loaded with sealed packets from opposition members of Congress, franked to persons in this and the neighboring counties. Abner Hazeltine, Jr., the Representative from Chautauqua, figures conspicuously in this way. It is said that sixty thousand copies of each of the speeches of Messrs. Adams, McDuffie, Calhoun, Clay, Binney, Frelinghuysen, Webster, &c. &c., have been printed by order of the Bank, and are thus distributed over the country through the abuse of the franking privilege, for electioneering purposes.
June 2, 1834

150 YEARS AGO

The post master at this place (Cooperstown) has been notified from Washington that on and after June 1 next, the mail route on the east side of the Lake, from this place to Fort Plain, will be discontinued; and the mail from Cooperstown to Morris will be every other day instead of daily. It is very much to be regretted that the necessity for curtailment of expenses in the post office department should be so great as to render such abridgement of mail service.
May 27, 1859

125 YEARS AGO

Sensible suggestions about funerals – Before fixing the hour for a funeral, consult the minister who is expected to officiate. If he is expected to go any distance, provide him with a carriage. Do not have a funeral on Sunday, if Saturday or Monday can as well be designated. Unless men are specially engaged to do the lifting – as is now the uniform custom in large towns – select bearers who have the requisite strength; and they should be of nearly the same height. Do not insist on the delivery of a funeral sermon; leave that to the Minister. Simple services, especially in cases of young people and children, are better. There is no impropriety in quietly sending the officiating minister a fee, if the deceased belonged to a family of means.
May 31, 1884

100 YEARS AGO

Briefs – The contract for building the new Willowbrook culvert under Main Street has been let to E.A. Potter. The course will be changed to accommodate the building to be erected by the Arthur H. Crist Co. and the trustees will pay $1,184.59 toward the construction. The new culvert will be made of concrete. Howe’s moving pictures will show in Cooperstown June 10 under the auspices of the Ladies Aid Society of the Methodist Church. A baseball game between the Oneonta and Cooperstown high school teams was played on the Y.M.C.A. Field Saturday last with a score of 11-4 in favor of the visiting team.
May 27, 1909

75 YEARS AGO

The Public Service Commission has rescinded its prior orders requiring the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company (which operates the Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad) to operate at least one passenger train daily, except Sunday, in each direction between Cooperstown and Colliers. This action authorizes the railroad company to discontinue the operation of passenger train service between these points. However, the commission also ruled “the agency at Cooperstown cannot be discontinued and the passenger station cannot be dismantled or removed without a further application to the commission.” Freight trains will be operated and service for express will be continued and handled on the freight trains. Testimony showed that the number of revenue passengers declined from 42,713 in 1920 to 847 in 1933.
May 30, 1934

50 YEARS AGO

H.P. Patenheimer of Cuyahoga, Ohio, lead-off hitter and third baseman for the Richfield Springs baseball team of 1911 was a recent visitor to Cooperstown. Those were the days when Cooperstown, Oneonta, Richfield Springs and Morris were represented on the diamond by players largely brought in from several New England colleges including Williams, Holy Cross, Amherst, Brown, Colgate, and others. Cooperstown won the title that year with a record of 27 wins and 17 losses. Mr. Patenheimer was accompanied by his son, who like his father had played at Amherst. The party was on their way to the Amherst-Williams celebration of their 100th anniversary as diamond opponents.
May 27, 1959

25 YEARS AGO

Dr. William F. Streck, endocrinologist, last week was appointed acting director of Bassett Hospital. Streck is described by those who know him as “innovative,” “open to change,” and “someone with vision.” Streck, who is 37, said, “people have been extremely generous,” adding that he’s also “been provided with a lot of unsolicited advice” on how to handle the job which he began immediately.
May 30, 1984

10 YEARS AGO

Private and group lessons on the 1847 Giles Beach organ at The Farmers’ Museum’s Cornwallville church will be offered this summer. The program, led by Katie Boardman, associate director of programs for The Farmers’ Museum, is designed for musicians from middle-school age to adult who would like to learn about pipe organs, their history in America, and basic playing technique. Sessions will include an introduction to pipe organs and organ music of the 19th century, six private lessons on the Giles Beach organ, instructional and historic music selections, practice time and a recital.
May 28, 1999

Bound Volumes is compiled from resources provided courtesy of the New York State Historical Association Library. Tom Heitz is the Town of Otsego historian.

Labels: 05-22-09, Bound Volumes, Columns

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Cooperstown and Around

The Cooperstown Graduate Program is “the jewel” of SUNY Oneonta, President Nancy Kleniewski told 17 graduates during commencement exercises Saturday, May 16, at The Fenimore Art Museum.

REWARD OFFERED: NBT Bank is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who robbed its Edmeston branch at 9:10 a.m. Tuesday, May 19. Call (607) 226-0509. All information is confidential.

CHANGE AT HALL: Jonathan D. Ullman of Fly Creek has been named President & COO of the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta when the board of directors met Saturday, May 16, in New York City. He replaces Steve Baumann of Cooperstown, who resigned after 21 months.

RELAY COMING: The 11th annual Cooperstown Relay for Life’s opening ceremonyi is 6 p.m. Friday, May 29, at the Westville Airport. Cancer survivor Bob Hage will speak. Cancer survivors will then take the first lap. The fundraiser continues overnight.

THEY’RE OFF: 47th Annual General Clinton Canoe Regatta embarks from Cooperstown’s Lake Front Park at 6 a.m.

DON’T FORGET: Cooperstown’s Memorial Day Parade steps off at 11 a.m. Monday, May 25, from the Cooper Grounds to the Soldier & Sailors Monument in front of the county building.

STARS VISIT: Hall of Famers Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda will be at the National Baseball Hall of Fame at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 23, to cut the ribbon on “Viva, Baseball,” celebrating the Hispanic influence in the game.

Labels: 05-22-09, Cooperstown and Around, Front Page

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Tony Mongillo Born By The RR Tracks, Worked On Tracks, Inspired By Tracks

By JIM KEVLIN

Tony Mongillo was born by the railroad tracks.
After a stint in the Navy, he worked for the railroads for almost four decades.
Ever since he was a boy, Tony, now 85, has been drawing and painting.
Naturally, his topic – the one he’s most known for – is railroads, including precise, detailed depictions of the steam horses that wheezed and puffed through town early in his career.
If Oneonta is railroads, then Tony – apologies to Sam Nader, Sid Lavine, Diz Lamonica, Tony Drago, Dave Brenner, Bill Davis – is Mister Oneonta, or at least one of several Misters Oneonta, defined by the love of their city and affection that’s widely returned.
Tony, born in 1924 in the family home at 2 West Broadway, was raised at the other end of that track-4-lined street from the Vagliardos – Joe, his contemporary, is another of the ever fewer Oneontans who can bridge the railroad and post-railroad era – but this was hardly an Italian-American enclave: His boyhood pals were Lebanese, Polish, Russian, Syrian and Hungarian, as well as Colones, Mastros, Pizzas.
“Most of us were born here,” he said in an interview, along with wife, Annie, at their immaculate Primrose Lane home the other day. “Our parents came from different countries.”
His father, Pasquale, used to recall the sun-cracked fields in his native Alvignano, and refused to go back – even when his wife, Rose, went back for a visit in 1954, sailing on The Rex from Pier 92 in New York City more than three decades after she’d arrived in the States.
Tony’s dad arrived in 1909, having been recruited from the Old Country. A contractor was waiting at Ellis Island, whisked him up to Schenectady, and the next morning he was working on a D&H section gang. Over the first six months, the contractor took pretty much all of the young man’s hard-earned wages, so he hopped a train to Binghamton, where he continued working on the railroad.
He eventually settled in Oneonta, where the famous yards contained the second-largest roundhouse in the world. (The biggest was in Germany, until it was destroyed by Allied bombing in World War II.)
As it happens, his future bride was from Alvignano as well, although they never knew each other there; she lived in town, he in the countryside. They were introduced through the owners of a Broadway boarding house where he was staying, and married in 1921.
Philomena (Washburn) arrived in 1923, followed by Tony, Virginia (Naples) in 1925, Mike in 1926, and Hope (Davidson) – originally Speranza – in 1928. All the siblings remained in their natal place.
Everybody made wine in the Mongillos’ neighborhood – how much was a secret closely guarded from neighbors. The grapes – big, juicy ones – were ordered from California through Ranella’s on Market Street – the building is still there, next to the new Foothills Performing Arts Center – and delivered down the back steps out of sight of prying eyes.
The juice of the squeezed grapes would sit for a year in a big barrel in the basement, then drawn off to a smaller barrel. The remains were squeezed again, and the result was mixed with sugar for a kind of muscatel; it could be drunk immediately, but was pretty rough stuff.
By then, the remaining pulp had been so squeezed that all that remained was what Annie described as “the first hula hoop.” Boys could be seen running the hoops through the neighborhood until, a few weeks on, they fell apart.
Another neighborhood novelty was a Mr. Sabatini, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, all pretty well formed, too.
Pasquale Mongillo was small – 5-foot-2 – but so strong his nickname was “Jumbo.” He would pick up a rail tie with one arm, swing his body underneath it and carry it away on a shoulder.
Tony wasn’t aware he was living through The Depression. His father always worked – from 1909 to 1956 – on the section gang, although sometimes only 2-3 days a week. The family also tended a huge vegetable garden out back.
Tony and Philomena went to the Mitchell Street School (Nader Towers is there now), then River Street (where Oakdale Apartments is now), but shifted to St. Mary’s in fifth grade, finishing up at Oneonta High School. His mother put a lot of stock in a high school diploma, and all the kids graduated, except Philomena, whose sweetheart was drafted at the start of World War II; she left school to marry him.
When Tony got out, Class of 1942, he expected to be drafted.
He joined Bendix in Sidney, where sparkplugs were being made for aircraft – later, on the USS Nassau, “a baby flattop” that shot planes into the air by catapult – he would see “Bendix, Sidney, N.Y.” marked on many an engine part.
During a break after a few weeks at Bendix, he sketched a sparkplug with such precision that he was soon called before Mr. Eggley, the general manager, who reassigned him to updating blueprints.
Soon the letter came, “Greetings!” And Tony found himself waiting in line for physical at an induction center in Utica. To his surprise, it was discovered he was fighting Scarlett Fever, and he was sent home. Recovering, he joined the D&H, but soon the letter came again, “Greetings!” Most draftees ended up in the Army, but a Navy recruiter, noting his size – ideal for the smaller proportions shipboard – talked him into the Navy instead.
Exciting years followed, from training as a radioman – “Da-Di-Di-Di” is “A,” etc. – at Sampson Naval Base in the Finger Lakes to the bowels of the Nassau, where 40 radiomen fluently translated thousands of cables 24 hours a day.
The fleet island-hopped through the South Pacific toward the Philippines. He remembers Pearl Harbor, with the bones of the Arizona sticking up from the harbor bottom, with nearby Honolulu as the favored destination after months at sea.
Sent across the world to the European Theatre, he was in New York when V-E Day happened, and recounts a long return trek to the Pacific. At Treasure Island in San Franciso, he ran across fellow Oneontan Fran Bagnardi. Later, as radioman for the USS Grasp, involved in submarine salvage, he ran across Jackie Raineiri.
It was in the Philippines, waiting to invade Japan, that he and his comrades learned “The Bomb” had been dropped and the war was over. “What is The Bomb?” they all wondered.
Back in Oneonta, he rejoined the D&H, and it was just like he’d never left. The railroad honored his military service as time served on the railroad, and it counted toward his benefits and pension.
At a recent gathering at the Greater Oneonta Historical Society’s History Center, Tony Mongillo remembered the hubbub of tending farm – and, in one case – circus animals that came through the busy railroad center at the end of Broadway – in the vicinity of today’s Stella Luna.
Once, as he was trying to slip an escaped pig back in car, all the pigs escaped; it took all the neighbors working together to retrieve them.
Another time, the circus came and went, emptying the contents of the elephant car before departing. Tony was sent out to remove what turned out to be a ceiling-high pile of elephant manure. Where have you been? he boss asked him when he returned hours later.
He became a clerk, then chief clerk, then yardmaster, observing the shift from steam to deisel, the first layoffs and the continuing decline of the industry from the days when four trains could depart from Oneonta at the same time. He retired in 1985.
Before he returned to the railroad in earnest, Tony spent a couple of semesters at the Newark (N.J.) School of Fine & Industrial Arts. Throughout the war, he’d been cartooning aboard ship to pass the time, and thought he’d like to make a career in the graphic arts.
It didn’t work out, but his production has been constant. On the side, he used to do menus for local restaurants. For a while, he did all the illustrations for newspaper ads placed by Brackett’s Book Store, across main from Bresee’s. Mr. Brackett preferred them to photos.
With one detour into depictions of Biblical scenes, almost his entire output has been railroad-related. In his home office, beyond the drafting table, painting after painting is stacked against the wall. In the bedroom, more stacks. “I never have to worry about changing pictures,” said Annie; the couple met in 1970 at The Coffee Pot, a popular hangout of the time, and soon married. Both have grown children.
At 85, he’s spryer than many people half his age, although he says he’s dropped from his wartime trim of 5-foot-6, 128, to about his father’s 5-foot-2 today.
His friends say Tony and Ann Mongillo have a reputation for helping people, and not telling anyone about it.
That’s evident in one hobby Tony’s developed in recent years. If he reads or hears about someone’s accomplishment, he send them a hand-drawn card of congratulations, no matter where they may be living, whether he knows them or not. He has a box full of thank you notes from people far and wide.
“He loves life,” says Annie. And you believe her.

Labels: 05-22-09, Glimmerglass

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Trustees Agree On Ball Team Proposal

COOPERSTOWN

And that’s the ball game ... or pretty much so.
The village trustees have approved a “proposal” and asked the owner of Cooperstown’s prospective minor league baseball team to make final changes and come back with a contract that would bring a New York Collegiate Baseball League franchise to Doubleday Field, beginning in June 2010.
“We’re very close to having a deal,” said the owner, Tom Hickey of Fly Creek. Key points include:
• The franchise commits to pay $10,000 a year for a five-year contract, double the original $5,000 proposed. $500 per playoff game.
• Beer sales, ending at the end of the seventh inning. The franchise will pay for a police officer to keep an eye on things. A family-seating section will be designated..
• Food, with the franchise permitted to establish concessions within the Doubleday Field grounds and to send vendors into the stands.
• Entertainment, music, an announcer and prize give-aways, but only until 8:45 p.m.

Labels: 05-22-09, Front Page

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‘America’s Rome’ Highlight Of Fenimore Season

COOPERSTOWN

More than 100 works by celebrated Hudson River School artists celebrating “America’s Rome” are hanging at The Fenimore Art Museum, awaiting the Saturday, May 23, Memorial Day Weekend opening.
Meanwhile, though, you can welcome in the first-of-its-kind exhibit with a little fun: cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dancing to the pop sounds of Italy and “Rome inspired” activities. Italian-style fashion – think designer shoes – are encouraged. Admission is $12 per person, $20 per couple at the door, including tours, 9 p.m.
to midnight.
Subtitled “Artists in the Eternal City, 1800-1900,” the exhibit that will open more sedately the next morning is the centerpiece of this year’s NYSHA-museum offerings, featuring such artists as Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt, Childe Hassam, George Inness, Thomas Hicks and Jasper Francis Cropsey.
The centerpiece is Sanford Gifford’s “Tivoli,” on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Inspired by William L. Vance, whose two-volume book of the same title reinterpreted the influence of Italy in 19th century American painting, the exhibit was prepared by Paul D’Ambrosio, NYSHA chief curator and vice president.
Ranging the Upstate wilds, “they wanted a landscape that had historical associations,” explained D’Ambrosio in an earlier interview. “Ruins sparked the imagination.”
At The Farmer’s Museum, “Wild Times! A New York Animal Road Trip,” also opens Saturday.

Labels: 05-22-09, Front Page

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Water Flows, Turning Turbines, Creating Light. It’s That Simple

Chuck Hage, Sustainability Committee Propose Hydro Project for Susquehanna

By JIM KEVLIN

COOPERSTOWN

The attraction of hydropower is its apparent simplicity.
Water pours down hill, turns a turbine, creates a spark – electricity, lots of it.
Evaporation brings water back to Otsego Lake, and the process starts all over again.
Yes, Otsego Lake.
Chuck Hage, the R&D executive who retired from Kodak in Rochester in 1991 to pursue other careers and interests from a Cooperstown base, has been intrigued about what that simple cycle might do for Cooperstown for the past two years now since reading about a self-sustaining village in South America.
Why not Cooperstown? he reasoned, and he was off.
If you know Chuck Hage, he’s nothing if not thorough.
When he was named to the village’s new Sustainability Committee last fall, he presented a densely researched 11-page report on his findings to date.
Monday, May 18, acknowledging he’s gone as far as he can – it’s now up the village trustees to decide whether to go forward – he reported to the village board as follows:
• Total upfront costs of an installed system are $300,000
• Funding sources would pay $100,000 of that.
• The system would generate $63,000 a year, translating into a three-year payback.
• The system lasts an estimated quarter-century.
“Do you like the proposition?” he asked the assembled trustees.
“I don’t see any negatives,” he said Wednesday morning, May 20, pacing the banks of the Susquehanna River at the Mill Street bridge, where the village maintains a dam to control Otsego Lake’s level. “I don’t see a show stopper.”
The average “head” – the amount the water drops – at the 70-foot dam averages 7 feet, ranging up to 10 feet in the spring. That translates into 100 million gallons a day at Mill Street.
“That’s a lot of potential energy that’s not being used,” he said.
Since reading that first article, Hage has been exploring options from around the world.
An Australian company looked promising. A developer on the Battenkill that flows through Manchester, N.H., had some intriguing ideas.
Hage finally settled on Mavel Inc., a century-old Czech company now based in Boston, because – among other things – its system requires virtually no construction.
First, Mavel installs a stand that would straddle the existing dam, anchored on each side. Then, it would place its water-tight turbine on top of the stand. Presto. Job done.
“There would be no modification of the dam, except for the catwalk,” Hage said. “You sacrifice some power, but it saves a lot on installation. And it’s not at all harmful to the environment.”
The company’s president, Jeanne Hilsinger, took a personal interest in the Cooperstown site, and she and her father toured it last Thanksgiving.
There would be several ways for the village to go if it decided to pursue the H-option, but Hage was intrigued by the “turnkey” approach of Waterline Industries, based in New Hampshire.
Waterline would arrange the financing, handle the engineering, put the management in place.
So what could this plant do?
Hage estimates that, at maximum efficiency, the flow would produce 790 kilowatt hours of electricity. So he cut that in half.
Say about 400 kilowatt hours were produced, that would be sufficient to power the village’s nearby sewer and water plants.
The village pays NYSEG $155,000 a year right now, so it could reduce that bill by about 40 percent.
“It might save up to half of that,” he concluded.

Labels: 05-22-09, Front Page

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2nd Mountain Lion Reported Near Lake

DEC Says It May Be Freed Pet

By JIM KEVLIN

A big cat was reported again a few days after a first sighting, and a DEC spokesman said it’s possible a former pet cougar may be ranging the west side of Otsego Lake.
“There is that possibility,” according to Maureen Wren, spokesperson for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
She also said the animal could have been a fisher cat or a bobcat, but she repeated the DEC policy that no native eastern cougars – the last verified sighting in New York State was in 1894 – are living in the state’s wilds.
Bradley Goodyear Smith reports she and another person spotted the cat at about 4:40 p.m. Friday in a field across Route 80 from her residence, Cary Meade.
At first, she thought it might be a deer, but it turned its leonine face in her direction, as if trying to decide what to do, before loping away, waving its tail.
Mrs. Smith estimated the cat weighed about 120 pounds.
Cary Meade is 2-3 miles northwest off Tanner Hill Road, Pierstown, where Chris and Christine Vuolo of the Fly Creek Valley reported seeing a big cat on Tuesday, May 12.
Vuolo, a retired police officer from Long Island, said parents of young children should be alert to the possibility.
The DEC’s expert on cougars, Scott Van Arsdale in the Stamford office, wasn’t immediately available for comment, but wrote what his bosses consider the definitive piece on the animal. It appeared in The Conservationist magazine a year ago February.
The DEC has received hundreds of reports of mountain-lion sightings, but the only confirmed ones – through hair, tracks or scat – have been former pets.
Pet cougars, imported illegally from South America, can be cute kittens, but grow into strong, aggressive 120-pound animals that require a lot of expensive fresh meat.
At that point, Van Arsdale concluded, they either escape or are let loose by their rattled owners.
Such was the case in 1995, when multiple sightings were reported in the Oneonta area.

Labels: 05-22-09, Big Cat, Front Page

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Trip To Butterfly Conservatory Whet Otsego Manor’s Appetite For Travel

By LAURA COX

INDEX

A couple of weeks ago, a Birnie Bus-load of Otsego Manor residents headed south on Route 28 to the Joseph L. Popp Jr. Butterfly Conservatory in Emmons.
“It was beautiful, I never saw so many butterflies before,” said May Archer, who said it’s the first time residents of the Manor’s Sleeping Lion household had gone on an excursion together since she moved there four years ago.
That revelation, the fun everybody had, and the realization that some folks haven’t left the Manor since they arrived, spurred staffers Sue Pylyoski, Amber Schilling and Marzena Gabron into action.
The result: A first-time benefit Chinese auction 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Friday, June 5, to raise money to underwrite regular field trips for the residents of the county-run facility. Drawings will take place at the conclusion of the second day.
It was the women of Sleeping Lion who, through bake sales, a raffle, and selling breakfast sandwiches raised enough for the trip to the Butterfly Conservatory on May 13 for half of their household. On May 27, the other half will go.
Trips are now planned to Glimmerglass State Park for a picnic, to the Fly Creek Cider Mill and on a boat tour of Otsego Lake.
The organizers hope the auction will raise enough money to do all this.

Laura Cox - The ladies of the Otsego Manor Sleeping Lion household gather to share excitement about the upcoming auction. In front, from left, are May Archer, Caroline Tuinkaus, Arlene Palmer, Beverley Thomas and Rosalie “Dolly” Angellotii; in back, Trudy Williams, Marzena Gabron, Ruth Youket, Erin Yaw, Merri Lynn Fish, Cindy Babcock and Amber Schilling. Missing are resident Elizabeth Peterson and organizer Sue Pylyoski.

Labels: 05-22-09, Glimmerglass

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WEEKEND’S BEST BETS

CLINTON REGATTA: The 47th annual canoe race takes off from Cooperstown’s Lake Front Park at 6 p.m. Memorial Day then proceeds through Oneonta to Bainbridge, where a weekend of carnival fun and entertainment is planned. Details at www.canoeregatta.org/

UNDER THE STARS: 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 22, Glimmerglass State Park will offer a free outdoor movie of “Operation Dumbo Drop” in the West Shelter. Refreshments will be available, bring a blanket or folding chairs. Donations appreciated. Information, 547-8662.

YARD AND BAKE SALE: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday , May 23, Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home. By the “Walk of Ages” Relay for Life team to benefit the American Cancer Society. Yard sale items by donation. Bake sale includes pies, breads, cookies and muffins. Information, 547-8844.

HARTWICK CEREMONY: The Hartwick College class of 2009 will graduate at the 11:30 a.m. commencement ceremony held on Saturday, May 23 at Elmore Field.

NYSHA EXHIBITS: “America’s Rome” opens at The Fenimore Art Museum Saturday of Memorial Day, and “Wild Times, a New York Animal Road Trip,” at The Farmers’ Museum, both in Cooperstown.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST: 8-11 a.m. Sunday, May 24, Cooperstown Fire Department. By donation, proceeds go to Fire Police Department.

PARADES APLENTY: In addition to Cooperstown’s Memorial Day parade at 11 a.m. from Cooper Park to the War Memorial, parades are planned at 9 a.m. in Sidney and Schuyler Lake, and 10 a.m. in Oneonta.

VIVA BASEBALL: The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s newest exhibit Viva Baseball – an exhibit chronicling the history of Latin American players in the game – will open with an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, May 23.

Labels: 05-22-09, Glimmerglass, Weekend's Best Bets

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Obituaries

Rev. William A. Highfield, 79; UM Pastor

COOPERSTOWN – The Rev. William A. Highfield died on Monday, May 18, 2009, at Folts Home, a United Methodist Care Facility in Herkimer. He was 79 years old.
Born Nov. 1, 1929, in Scranton, Pa., he had come with a “crash.” The stock market collapse had occurred only three days prior.
The son of Jay Anderson and Sarah Stainsby Highfield grew up in the Depression and came of age during the war years. There were three older half-sisters, Mabel, Lee, and Peggy. Bill always said he had four “mothers” while growing up.
He graduated from Scranton Central High School in 1947. He earned a B.A. in 1951 and a master’s of divinity in 1954 from Drew University, and later studied at Syracuse and Yale divinity schools.
He was ordained deacon in 1953 and an elder (priest) in the Methodist Church on May 23, 1954, at a session of the Wyoming Annual Conference in the first Methodist Church of Oneonta.
He became a student pastor of the Harford and Harford Mills Methodist Churches on April 8, 1951, later serving in Springville-Dimock, Lynn-Lymanville, Pa. (five years); Cooperstown and Fly Creek, (three years); Christ Church, Mountaintop, Pa. (five years); St Paul’s Church, Endicott, (two years); Chenango St. Church, Binghamton, (two years); Clarks Summit, Pa. (13 years); Vestal, (seven years).
He retired from full-time ministry in 1992, but accepted a part-time appointment at Burlington Flats, Exeter Center and West Exeter United Methodist churches, serving until 2001. He served as West Winfield Federated Church interim pastor in 2002.
In 2001, he and Carol moved to their home on Beaver Street in Cooperstown, the home where Carol grew up. He continued to preach in nearby churches until illness prevented him from doing so, then he turned to active participation in the Cooperstown United Methodist Church.
On Jan. 20, 1962, he married Carol Louise Adams. Carol was his help-mate, “adjunct pastor,” secretary, spell-checker, nurse, counselor, sermon critic, companion and love for 47 years.
They have two children: Jay Adams Highfield, Johnson City, and Ann Carol Highfield-Lomonaco, Endicott. He is also survived by his son from an earlier marriage, William Jr., his wife Leann and Bill Jr.’s children; Ben, Kate (Rob White), Brad and step-daughter Briana. He is also survived by his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jack and Hetty Adams, by his daughter-in-law Dottie Highfield, great-grandsons: Jackson and Liam, his cousin Isabel Harrison and several nieces and nephews.
Of special memory are Episcopal priests Dick Chapin and Tom Davis and United Methodist Pastor George Mamourian, Drew classmates who met frequently during 60+ years of friendship. Bill’s other companion was Rookie, the family’s black lab.
Bill’s primary church interests were United Methodist liturgical worship, preaching, lectionary study and ecumenism. He always thought of his congregations as extensions of his own family. He was affectionately known as “Pastor Bill” for most of his ministry. Bill was involved in many community agencies and organizations throughout his life. The Rotary Clubs of Cooperstown, Clarks Summit, Vestal, Edmeston and Cooperstown (again) benefitted from his participation and leadership. He was honored in July 2008 by the Rotary Clubs of Cooperstown and Binghamton as a Paul Harris Fellow. Wyoming United Methodist Conference used his talent in worship, ecumenism, mentoring, rural ministry, communication and administration. He proudly considered himself a social, political and theological progressive.
Hobbies included Saint Nicholas collectibles totaling over 600 figurines, pictures, icons, books, stories and postage stamps (a world-wide collection). Pastor Bill tried to recapture the true identity of Santa Claus as the pastor, priest and bishop St. Nicholas of Myra. Bill was also interested in U.S. stamps, compiling collections of sports stamps and covers (especially baseball), African-Americans, Love and Christmas issues. He was a member of the Leatherstocking Stamp Club.
His sports teams, the Phillies and the Eagles, always had his support; no matter how futile were many of their seasons... but not the Phillies World Championship of 2008.
Holy Communion and the Service of Death and Resurrection will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 23, at Cooperstown United Methodist Church, 66 Chestnut St., with The Rev, Sundar R. Samuel, celebrant, and The Rev. Beverly Butler, homilist. All clergy are invited to vest and walk in processional.
Calling hours for family and friends are 4-7 p.m. Friday, May 22, at the church. The family will also receive family and friends an hour before Saturday’s service.
A reception hosted by the Cooperstown United Methodist Church Women in the church hall follows the service.
Burial will be in Hartwick Seminary Cemetery at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, please make a memorial contribution to: Cooperstown United Methodist Church, 66 Chestnut St. Cooperstown, NY 13326; Catskill Area Hospice, 542 Main St. Oneonta, NY 13820 or the Cooperstown Food Bank, 25 Church St. Cooperstown, NY 13326.
A special thanks to all of Bill’s care givers.
When asked what his mission in life was, Bill would always answer, “I hope I can be useful to someone.” Praise God!
Funeral arrangements are under the supervision of Tillapaugh Funeral Service, Cooperstown and Milford.

Gary M. Nichols, 61; Bassett Veteran

COOPERSTOWN – Gary M. Nichols, 61, of Cooperstown died Saturday May 9, 2009 at Bassett Hospital.
Born September 13, 1947 in Walton, Gary was the only child of Howard and Ella (Allen) Nichols. In 1953 the family moved to Westville where his dad was employed on a farm. Within a year of their move, Gary’s father died. In 1956 Gary’s mother married Robert Combs who brought his three children from a prior marriage (Linda, Karen and Bob) to the family.
In 1969, following his attendance at Cooperstown Central School, Gary began working at Bassett Hospital as a member of the housekeeping department. A dedicated and extremely devoted employee, he rarely missed a day of work and was always willing to work extra hours. He worked at Bassett in housekeeping until his death.
Gary appreciated the simple things in life. He was never concerned about material possessions and, although he thoroughly enjoyed collecting small trinkets and gadgets (i.e. Swiss Army knives, CB radios, scanners, pins, keys and memorabilia, etc.) he was just as likely to give them away to his friends.
Because Gary was an only child, and because of his long tenure at Bassett his “family” consisted of his many Bassett co-workers and his friends and acquaintances at the Pratt Hotel (now Sherman’s Tavern) above which he rented a room for over thirty years. His greatest pleasure simply came from spending time with his buddies and the women he loved to call his “sweethearts and girlfriends.”
Gary will be fondly remembered as a man without enemies and as a person who accepted his friends at face value and without judgment.
The jingle of keys on his key ring, which gave notice of his approach, will be solely missed by all.
Arrangements were under the supervision of Tillapaugh Funeral Service, Cooperstown and Milford.

Memorial Service For Frank Entwisle

Frank Entwisle’s family will host a memorial service in his memory on Sunday, May 24th near Monticello, NY. As noted in a previously published obituary, Frank lived in Cooperstown for many years and passed away January 4, 2009 in Saint Croix, US Virgin Islands. Those who wish to come and celebrate his long and vibrant life are asked to contact Pat Entwisle at 908-246-8319 for details.

Celebration Of Life For Jean Wychoff

Jean Wertz Wyckoff – Join us in celebrating the life of Jean Wertz Wyckoff at noon, Saturday, May 30 at the Cooperstown United Methodist Church, 66 Main St. Please bring your stories and memories. We will continue the celebration at the Hoffman Lane Bistro following the service. In lieu of flowers, please donate perennials to the Memory Garden at Cooperstown Central School. Our family extends gracious thanks to all those who have been so caring and supportive.

Labels: 05-22-09, Obituaries

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Let No One Miss Out On Exciting New e- (For Education) World

Despite the downpour, the atmosphere was upbeat.
The occasion was the groundbreaking for the Worcester Central School District’s new bus garage, a $2 million undertaking behind Stewart’s at I-88’s Exit 19. The school board president, Michelle Empie, was there with hubby Jim Empie, Worcester fire chief and manager of Key Bank’s Cooperstown office. Gary Kuch, the much-revered former CCS high school principal, now Worcester superintendent, emceed.
The six-bay, 8,000-square-foot building is the first of three phases in a $32 million construction project expected to play out over the next couple of years, the largest such undertaking now under way in Otsego County.
Right now, the bus garage takes up about one-third of a building behind the handsome, be-pillared main school on Main Street – Route 7. The other two-thirds is classrooms. When the new garage is complete, the garage-classroom building will be demolished and a multi-purpose wing will be added (Phase 2). Finally, the impressive 1930s original building will be rewired and restored (Phase 3).
If you haven’t been to Worcester lately, it looks great. The imposing homes are well-maintained. The downtown is mostly filled. The Worcester White House Inn – it’s like a time-capsule, all knotty pine, very neat – is thriving under new ownership.
Cutting across backroads to Cooperstown, however, you’re reminded of Otsego County’s schizophrenia – or better, multiple personalities. If you want to travel the full scale from wealth to poverty, you can do so in 20 minutes, from Cooperstown’s Lake Street to the hamlet of Decatur, one of the towns in the Worcester school district.
You’re reminded that Otesgo County’s median family income, $42,572 as of 2007, is 20 percent below the state average of $53,448, and there’s a wide spread between town to town in the county.
•
That was Thursday, May 14. A few days later, Tuesday, May 19, voters rejected Worcester’s school budget, 207 to 169, the only district in the county to have its budget defeated this year. The increases, 1.4 percent overall and a 2.9 percent in the tax levy, weren’t out of line with anywhere else, so perhaps the defeat reflects a combination of worry about the economic malaise in the face of a $32 million expenditure. (The defeat will have no impact on the project, which voters approved separetely last spring.)
That may seem like a lot of money, but – as architect Paul Bedford of Keystone Associates, Binghamton, explained – 95 percent of the cost of the construction will be reimbursed by the state. So you spend a nickel, and you get 95 cents. That’s a deal no one could resist, (as long as you have the nickel.)
Cooperstown Central School is considered a relatively wealthy district, so the proportion of construction aid covered by the state is much less. The middle/high school is a very adequate building. Sterling Auditorium is fine, and the cafeteria and Bursey Gym. And the outcomes are good, too.
But take a trip up the road to Richfield Springs Central School, and you see what money can buy these days.
The wing completed five years ago is high-ceilinged, bright, welcoming, fully wired. The lecture hall at the far end, with rows of computer-adaptable desks terraced down to the front, arena-like – the two local boys who made good at NASA, Mike and Jim Sarafin, spoke there the other week – is very impressive.
While CCS debates how much resources to put into cursive writing – which is fine – Richfield Superintendent of Schools Bob Barraco and his tech guru, Jim Hill of Cooperstown, surrounded by a school bristling with Macs, are contemplating how to adapt the curriculum to take advantage of cell phones, and Blackberries, and laptops, and Twitter, and Facebook.
The kids are glued to them; how can they be used as handmaidens of learning, not viewed as obstacles. The McGuffey e-Readers of the future, if you will.
Interesting.
•
Good word. It IS an interesting world.
It’s a shame if Worcester, or Cooperstown, or any other school district can’t fully take advantage of what the world now has to offer.
There must be a way to communicate the excitement of the world of learning that is opening up before us to everyone, even those who, in the midst of financial worries from other sources, are disinclined to support expansive ventures.
Looking down the road – to restate a point made here before – it just makes too much sense not to develop the Interstate 88 intersections for commerce and light industry, injecting paychecks and prosperity into the off-Interstate towns, preserving and developing them as lovely bedroom communities.
This would require county involvement, so far missing in most places, but it can turn around. The county’s Economic Development Office has become involved in some forward-thinking initiatives in Oneonta, and can expand that new way of thinking countywide.
If all our fellow Otsego County citizens could feel confident in a more prosperous future, decisions about that future would be better made today, out of hope and with optimism, rather than in a crimped and fearful way.

Labels: 05-22-09, Editorial, Opinion, Perspectives

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Letters to the Editor

Thanks For Showing Pride; You Can Do So Again

To the Editor:
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported the Village Pride Committees 2008 Adopt-a-site program on Main Street. What a success for the program’s first year!
This success would not have been possible without support from the mayor, current and former trustees, and private citizens. The greatest support came from all those who volunteered their time, money, efforts and pride to adopt and care for a tree spot on Main Street.
The compliments that our village received were just amazing. The compliments came from village citizens, local citizens, tourists and business owners.
What an awesome feeling it is to be part of this project and see a community stand up and take pride in our village and make such a difference. This community effort demonstrates how much can be accomplished if we all work together with a common goal.
Finally, spring has arrived! And so we begin planning our second year to beautify our Main Street. Adoptees from last year will have first choice to adopt their sites again. We do have several sites available now for adoption.
The adoption process involves being assigned a site; you then can plant seasonal annuals and perennials such as hosta and daylilies. You are then responsible for watering, weeding and caring for your site for the rest of the season. We also encourage adoptees to change to seasonal flowers and plant spring bulbs in the fall.
Last year, many adoptees enjoyed a sense of camaraderie when we would all meet down on Main Street to tend to our sites and walk, talk and even shop on Main Street. It was so much fun to enjoy a summer evening on Main Street.
Our planting date deadline for this year is June 11, so we will be beautiful for all of our June festivities. Our community planting date will be Monday May 25, 2009 all afternoon after the parade.
Because of the tremendous community support we will be offering a gift certificate prize to the most beautiful site this year. The voting will be done by Village Pride Committee members in July 2009.
We look forward to another beautiful year on Main Street. We will once again be happy to accept hosta, perennial and flower donations. For adoption information, donation information or questions please call Charlene or Jim at 547-2483.
CHARLENE & JIM VROOMAN
Village Pride Committee Co-Chairs
Cooperstown

New Books At Jordanville Library Just In Time For Summer Vacation

To the Editor:
The Friends of the Jordanville Library would like to thank the staff of The Freeman’s Journal & Richfield Springs Newspaper for helping us get the word out about our new acquisition.
The Midstate Sportsman’s Club helped us raise the $350 needed to qualify for a grant from the Libri Foundation, an organization dedicated to enriching small rural libraries and the communities they serve. Thanks to the very generous donors of the Libri Foundation, the Jordanville Library has recently received $1,400 worth of children’s books.
We encourage the local community to stop in and “check-out” these beautiful new picture books, young adult novels, and math and science books with their eye-popping illustrations. Summer vacation is right around the corner and a great time to catch up on a good book or two.
We look forward to seeing you!
LAURIE CROCKETT
Secretary
Friends of the Jordanville Library

Murphy Hill Road Speeders Beware!

To the Editor:
You may have noticed a work crew on Murphy Hill Road (County Highway 52) on Saturday morning, May 16.
This was the first work day of the newly formed Murphy Hill Neighbors group, which officially adopted the highway from the bridge all the way over to Route 166.
Kudos to Maureen and Dennis Murray for conceiving of the project and making it happen! And thank you to the 30 Murphy Hill neighbors, spanning three generations, who worked so hard to clean the roadside that day – it looks beautiful! 
In addition to the work done that day, among the topics of discussion was the utter disregard for the 30-mph speed limit near the bridge, and the many requests Murphy Hill neighbors have made of the Sheriff’s Department to put a speed trap in the Bowerstown section of Murphy Hill Road.
This is an area replete with hidden driveways, small children, and pets – an accident waiting to happen. 
So consider yourselves warned, and “Slow Down in Bowerstown!”
KIM JASTREMSKI
& GEORGE HOVIS
Bowerstown

Never Again Trust Republicans With Handling U.S. Economy

To The Editor:
The first day of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the U.S. National Debt was a little over $900 billion.
This debt represents all the national deficits from all the wars, depressions, recessions, etc., going back to George Washington.
This week the debt is over $11 trillion (that’s $11,000 billion) and last year it cost us taxpayers around $450 billion in interest.
This means that Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and the Republicans have bankrupted the U.S. with their low-tax and spend philosophies.
President Bill Clinton reduced the national debt by $350 billion and left George Bush a surplus of $250 billion.
Ronald Reagan, the second worse president in U.S. history, started all the red ink when he and the Soviet Union both lost the Cold War by investing insanely and stupidly in their militaries.
Reagan’s tax cuts, drastically favoring the fat cats, also caused huge deficits and a raging recession at the end of his term.
Conservative Republican non-elected Alan Greenspan launched a housing bubble by ridiculously lowering the federal reserve interest rate to 1 percent and keeping it there for years.
Borrowers went crazy with bargains for mortgage loans and other credit. Republican brokers in George Bush’s deregulated environment sold mortgages with poorly documented assets which became sub-prime junk loans.
Greedy Republican banks willingly bought the junk, hid it in packages of decent mortgages and sold it, thereby infecting themselves and the world with poisonous financial products.
This is entirely a Conservative Republican and capitalistic financial disaster. George Bush proposed a no-strings-attached bailout for the banks of $700 billion, $350 billion of which immediately disappeared down a rat hole of blank checks. No responsibilities required. No regulation.
Now the Republicans are whining and howling over the costs and content of any stimulus package. They are of course in denial.
Where were they when Reagan and Bush blew away almost $11 trillion with little to show for it. The Republicans also should have spent an estimated $2 trillion on America’s crumbling infrastructure, which is only now being addressed in Obama’s stimulus package.
The Conservative Republican-caused worldwide financial depression should prove that America never again needs any advice by Republicans on how to run our country.
BOB JOYCE
Cooperstown

Labels: 05-22-09, Letters to the Editor, Opinion, Perspectives

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Locals

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Clark, Leatherstocking Employees Honored For Longevity Of Service

The Leatherstocking Corporation and The Clark Foundation celebrated the anniversaries of nine of their employees at a breakfast held at The Otesaga Hotel on May 15. Jane Forbes Clark, President of The Clark Foundation and Leatherstocking Corporation, presented awards to those who have completed 10, 20, and 30 years of service.
Receiving an award for thirty years of service was William Stockdale of The Clark Foundation. Danny Jones and Mark Weir of The Clark Foundation received 20 year awards, and Michael Barown of The Clark Foundation and Mary Higgins of the Leatherstocking Corporation received fifteen year awards.
Awards for ten years of service were presented to Rich Jantzi, Kim Marie Phillips, and Donna Bogart of The Clark Foundation and to Lyman Townsend of the Leatherstocking Corporation.

HONORS GRADUATE: On May 17, Tyler Sams, Cooperstown, graduated cum laude from the College of William and Mary with a BA in Government with a 3.64 GPA. Tyler is the son of Willis Monie and Dina Sams-Monie of Cooperstown and Mark and Ellen Sams of Washington , PA.

DEANS LIST: Chelsea Sams recently completed her sophmore year in the Physician’s Assistant Program at Philadelphia University with a 3.92 GPA. Chelsea is the daughter of Willis Monie and Dina Sams- Monie of Cooperstown and Mark and Ellen Sams of Washington , PA.

PAUL SMITHS GRAD: Bethany Garretson, daughter of Tom and Amy Garretson, Cherry Valley, received a B.A. from Paul Smiths College in the Adirondacks on Sunday, May 17. The CV-S graduate majored in Nature and Culture and is exploring a career in journalism.

ON TO MASTERS: Amanda Doolin McGown, daughter of Frederick H. McGown III of Albany, niece of Margaret McGown and Mark Seek, and granddaughter of Elizabeth McGown and the late Frederick H. McGown Jr. of Cooperstown graduated from the State University of Albany on Saturday, May 16. Amanda received a B.A. with Honors in English and a minor in French. She will begin studying for a Master’s Degree in France starting in September 2009.

Labels: 05-22-09, Locals

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