Almost everyone I've ever spoken with about Pearl Harbor can remember exactly where they were when hearing news of the attack on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941. For those who lived along the state Route 7 corridor at the time, the military was still very fresh upon their minds. In the two days leading up to the attack, places like Sidney, Oneonta and Cobleskill saw 10,000 soldiers in 1,900 vehicles passing through.
This was a viewing, as the Oneonta Star of Friday, Dec. 5, reported, "of Uncle Sam's up-to-the-minute men, en route home, bronzed and fit after two months of maneuvers in the Carolinas."
"First echelon, which will camp overnight in Colliers, will arrive here at approximately 5:30 this afternoon with 1,100 vehicles containing the 16th and 26th infantry regiment, and the Fifth, Seventh and 33rd field artillery." The remaining 800 vehicles were set to come through Saturday morning.
There had been more than a day's notice of this convoy's arrival. An advance detail had arrived in the Oneonta area on Thursday. They secured some land in Colliersville and speedily set up shelter halves, pup tents and large tents for the officers. The area was described as "16 acres behind the Goodyear homestead, a short distance from the Colliers corner."
Oneonta residents were given advance warning of the Friday and Saturday convoys. The Star had made arrangements to have the fire siren sounded when the convoy left Otego, giving enough time for residents to assemble in the downtown area. The Star also installed its portable public address system on Main Street, near Dietz Street. It secured an Army staff person who described the various items of equipment as they passed.
Eight blasts at 10-second intervals on what was a recently installed fire alarm alerted the locals. The convoy ran a bit late, arriving just after 6:35 p.m. Friday. It took about two-and-a-half hours to pass in front of an estimated 5,000 onlookers in the downtown area alone. Saturday's convoy arrived after 9:30 a.m.
Some noted military personnel in Friday's convoy included Col. Theodore Roosevelt, son of the former U.S. president, commanding the 26th infantry, and his son, Lt. Quentin Roosevelt, a member of the 33rd field artillery. Col. Roosevelt rode near the head of the long line in his own personal Jeep.
As the Friday and Saturday convoys headed northeast on state Route 7, they split at U.S. Route 20 in Duanesburg. Some of the convoy went north to Plattsburgh while others continued east to Fort Devens, near Leominster/Fitchburg, Mass.
Many of these troops the local residents saw would soon be heading overseas, as the attack on Pearl Harbor happened about 24 hours after the last of the convoy departed Oneonta.
The morning after the attack, Dr. Charles W. Hunt of the Oneonta State Normal School and Dr. Henry J. Arnold, president of Hartwick College, addressed their students in morning assemblies.
"We do not know what is ahead," Dr. Arnold said, "but whatever it is, it is going to require the strength and might of every citizen, and we can best serve our country by doing what we are called upon to do and by doing it well."
Male college students on both campuses soon became a rare sight. Hartwick College came perilously close to permanent closure during the war, due to the lack of enrollment.
The Star reported that the Army and Navy recruiting offices were busy on Monday, Dec. 8, at the Oneonta post office, then at 258 Main St. More than 75 young men came in to seek information about the branches or to enlist. Bruce Decker, a Maryland man was the first area applicant.
It was reported on Thursday, Dec. 11, that William W. Merithew of Otego became the first area casualty of the war. Merithew died Sunday at the Hickam Field territory of Hawaii.
On Monday: While the war put an end to a men's basketball rivalry between Hartwick and Oneonta Normal in 1942, the contest was resumed in 1991.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/marksimonson.
Mark Simonson
Military convoy passing through area displayed U.S. readiness in 1941
- Mark Simonson
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A Main Street facelift for Oneonta in the 1920s
It has been just a little over 30 years, 1980 in fact, that Main Street in Oneonta went through a major transformation in appearance. Even now I'll hear mixed comments about the changes, which included antique style lamps, trees, planters and brick trim. Some liked the changes while others liked the wider street with the even-sized sidewalks.
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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
Oneonta became a settlement and has been a place to do one's "trading," whether it was the 18th century, or 2012, because of the five valleys that converge here. Only the places of doing the "trading" have changed a bit over the last 100 years, and Oneonta remains a place that attracts visitors and has always been a decent place to live and work.
100 Years Ago -
Recalling the Hindenburg, John D. Rockefeller in May 1937
A young person of 75 years ago may still recall where they were or what they were doing in the month of May, as two big news events took place. They were the Hindenburg disaster and the passing of billionaire John D. Rockefeller. There were some local connections with both news items.
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Oneonta residents had diversions aplenty in the spring of 1952
It is always good to keep up with current events. However, it is starting to become an unwritten requirement to seek some diversions from staying up to date on news, as for some it can become overwhelming or depressing.
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Damaschke essential to ensuring Oneonta baseball in 1927
Oftentimes, in the distant past, the place you worked for became a social nucleus in the village or town. Employees at large companies such as Endicott-Johnson Shoe Co. or IBM in the Binghamton area took part in activities after work such as sports, music and theater, both in and out of town, to represent their company.
- Monday, May 7, 2012
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Area tunes to WONT in November 1972
As a youngster growing up in the area and having a fascination with radio broadcasting, I used to consider it a part-time hobby to put the earphone into my transistor radio and go exploring what was out there to listen to, up and down the dial. It was indeed a long-distance journey at night when listening to AM radio, as you could hear live and locally staffed stations from Chicago, Windsor/Detroit, Atlanta and New Orleans, to name a few cities. I never spent a lot of time listening to FM radio 40 years ago, simply because there wasn't the same "excitement" of the long-distance journey. Little did I realize, things were changing locally on that "other" band of radio frequencies that included decimal points.
- Saturday, May 5, 2012
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Congressman Fairchild added downtown growth in 1912
Another case of wandering imagination struck this historian recently, while learning about the building at 244-248 Main St. in Oneonta, storefronts for the Autumn Café and Razzle Dazzle. This structure is known as the Fairchild block, and it turns 100 this year.
- Monday, April 30, 2012
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From no TV to saving eagles, it was life in April 1982
No television. No place to pay the phone bill. No more Spaulding's baked goods. Possibly no more Center Street School. While these were some of the noes in the news of our area in April 1982, there were some yeses as well, including a new structure at Corning Inc. of Oneonta and help to save bald eagles.
- Saturday, April 28, 2012
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A daily newspaper for Oneonta was an achievement in 1887
Depending on the electronic device you have these days, accessing news can be made nearly as soon as something happens. Oneontans of 125 years ago got their news on a weekly basis, courtesy of The Oneonta Herald.
- Monday, April 23, 2012
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Area saw Hollywood stars up close in April 1952
It has been a mighty long time since Greer Garson, Victor Jory, Don Taylor and Audrey Totter drew big numbers of people at the box office of our local movie theaters. Make it 60 years, in fact. Now generations removed from popularity, some are still able to remember the names of these four movie stars who paid a visit to our area in late April 1952.
- Saturday, April 21, 2012
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Spring tree plantings were numerous in 1927
None of my calendars at home or at my other workplaces show that April 27 of this year is Arbor Day.
- Monday, April 16, 2012
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Nuclear weapon debates were plentiful in April 1982
Plan for a nuclear war -- or seek a nuclear weapons freeze. That was a frequent debate going on in our region during the month of April 1982.
- Saturday, April 14, 2012
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A Titanic survivor stopped in Oneonta days after disaster
Edward Bean was one amongst the lucky one-third of the passengers aboard the Titanic who lived to tell about the disaster of the ill-fated ship that sank after hitting an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Only about a week after the disaster, Bean was in Oneonta, on his way home to Cincinnati.
- Monday, April 9, 2012
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Simonson: April 1952 brought educational developments in Oneonta
There were some interesting new developments in education in Oneonta during the month of April 1952. These took place in the public and private schools, as well as on the Hartwick College campus.
- Saturday, April 7, 2012
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Oneonta's first automobile exhibition took place in April 1917
An automobile show as large as those in Albany or Utica. That was the heady claim of the organizers of Oneonta's first such show, set for early April 1917.
- Monday, April 2, 2012
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Thruway bridge collapsed 25 years ago into Schoharie Creek
I had just started my evening music shift at a Binghamton radio station on Sunday evening, April 5, 1987, with a network newscast at the top of the hour.
- Saturday, March 31, 2012
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Oneonta responded to declaration of World War I
"President Asks For War."
- Monday, March 26, 2012
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Devastating fire, loss in sports status, education made major area news in March 1982
A fire destroyed a foundry in Morris, Hartwick College basketball dropped a division level, two schools considered a merger, and a local Odyssey of the Mind was born. These news items and more made for a busy month in March 1982.
- Saturday, March 24, 2012
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Useful advice for farmers came to the area in 1912
It is practically a rite of autumn for high school students, or college students looking to transfer to a different college.
- Monday, March 19, 2012
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St. Mary's Church of Oneonta dedicated 55 years ago
"With solemn, historic pageantry, the Most Rev. William A. Scully, bishop of Albany, yesterday dedicated the new St. Mary's Church."
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A Main Street facelift for Oneonta in the 1920s
