New bridge openings just don't attract audiences as they used to.
I'm sure the residents and businesses in the Pony Farm Road area of Oneonta are happy to have the recently opened bridge from state Route 7 back in service. Other than perhaps some observant crows flying by or a woodchuck or two in the vicinity, that bridge opening was quiet.
Back in 1936, however, a new bridge opening in Sidney turned into a festive occasion for the village. This was back in a time when Bridge Street actually had a bridge, an iron structure built in the late 19th century, spanning the Susquehanna River.
Traffic had increased and heavy trucks and buses had necessitated a better bridge, so the iron structure's days became numbered by late 1936. There had been a long history of bridges on Bridge Street. The first toll bridge on the site was washed away by a flood in 1852, replaced by a covered bridge that lasted until 1894 and also required a toll. The iron bridge was next, and was toll free.
Throughout 1936, Sidney residents had followed construction progress on the new, stronger bridge a few hundred feet down the river from Bridge Street. They'd also seen a lot of re-shuffling of properties to make way for the continuation of Main Street to approach the new bridge. The three story Music Hall block was demolished, land was acquired from the Congregational Church, several Pioneer Cemetery graves had to be relocated, and what was then a narrow Clark Street was widened and became the extension of Main Street.
The day finally arrived for the new bridge to be opened to traffic. It was Saturday, Dec. 5, 1936. The festive day began with a luncheon at 12:30 at the Hotel DeCumber on Main Street with invited guests, hosted by the Sidney Chamber of Commerce. Speaker of the New York State Assembly Irving M. Ives of Norwich was the guest speaker.
At 2 p.m., a parade formed in the area of the hotel and Cartwright Avenue. The Sidney band, members of state police Troop C, Sidney Fire Department and Boy Scouts formed the line of march, which proceeded down Main Street to the new bridge.
The bridge was trimmed with Christmas greens and lights. The entire Main Street was already decorated for the holidays, and all stores closed between 2 to 3 p.m. so people could attend the ceremony.
A temporary platform was set up at the center of the new $220,000 structure. There were a number of speeches made, including one by Frank W. Donovan, state district highway engineer of Binghamton. Nearly 1,000 residents witnessed Donovan cutting the ribbon to open traffic.
According to The Oneonta Star, "Glenn Whitaker, Jr. was the operator of the first car to cross the bridge. With him were Mr. Donovan, Supervisor Wayne Tyson of Unadilla, William Howland, superintendent of highways, and William Storie, chairman of the Highway committee of the Delaware county board of Supervisors."
Considering that the Whitaker family had a car dealership on Main Street from 1920 to 2007, the ceremonial first vehicle probably came out of the Whitaker & Son showroom.
The Sidney Enterprise reported on Dec. 10 that crews with acetylene torches had been busy cutting apart the Bridge Street bridge and getting it ready for removal as junk.
Driving along state Route 7 in Riverside today, some stone bridge abutments for the old iron bridge are still visible, having survived the floods of 2006 and 2011.
On Monday: An interesting business adventure for Fred Bresee in 1956.
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 e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/marksimonson.
Mark Simonson
Opening of bridge in Sidney marked with celebration in 1936
- 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
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- 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
