If you happened to be looking for a place to live in Oneonta in January 1912, the pickings were pretty slim for the most part. You could blame it on the D&H Railroad, which was on a fast and furious growth spurt at the time. The railroad made quite a bit of news that month, in general.
“Despite the fact that fully 100 houses or living apartments were constructed in this city during the past year,” The Oneonta Star reported on Friday, Jan. 12, “There continues the same demand for houses and the demand promises to be even greater about April 1. The local shops have plans for the repair and addition of steel underframes to 800 additional cars upon which work will commence about April 1 and 250 additional employes (sic) will be required, some of whom will of necessity, have to be skilled workmen.”
Finding a place to live wasn’t impossible. Fred N. Van Wie regularly ran advertisements that month for “Real Estate Bargains.” Prices for homes near the center of the city ranged from $1,500 to $3,500. Another part of the ad copy on Jan. 31 read, “Best available building lot in Oneonta, corner of Main and Otsego streets. Size 50 feet front, 80 feet rear, depth 150 feet, large enough for two houses. A bargain if sold at once.” Van Wie’s office was at 163 Main St., or he could be reached on “Both Phones.”
Those working in the railroad shops in Oneonta could go home for lunch, or they could stay and take in an occasional speaker or listen to music while enjoying their meal. On Friday, Jan. 19, for example, the Rev. Edson J. Farley, pastor of the First Baptist Church, was the speaker in the Disbrow Shop. “A goodly number gathered,” it was reported to hear Mr. Farley speak on the subject, “Why there are not more working men who are Christians.”
Danger was the constant threat on most railroad jobs. On Monday, Jan. 22, it was reported, “Howard Durfee, a fireman in the employ of the D. & H. company, was brought to this city on fast freight 478 southbound Sunday morning and removed to the Fox Memorial hospital, where he was attended by Dr. Arthur W. Cutler. His injuries are serious, but it is thought he will recover unless he should develop pneumonia or other complications as a result of the exposure.” Durfee had somehow fallen from an engine between Cobleskill and West Richmondville, and train crews had to make a careful search along the tracks. They found Durfee around 7 a.m. after being reported missing at 4 a.m.
Train wrecks were also a part of railroad life, and fortunately a serious one was averted, as reported Wednesday, Jan. 23.
“One of the most unusual accidents recorded in this section in some time occurred one mile above Schenevus yesterday noon, when a one hundred foot hemlock log rolled from the mountain known as Pine hill to the Delaware and Hudson tracks that skirt the foot of this mountain. Both the south and north bound tracks were blocked and it was only by reason of the prompt action of Mr. and Mrs. J. Bankman that passenger trains 307and 304 were saved from what might have proven a serious wreck.”
It seems Mr. Bankman had been cutting a tree near the top of the mountain, and it fell off the steep incline. Bankman summoned his wife, who, with her apron was able to flag down the fast approaching passenger trains before striking the hemlock log.
It required about 45 minutes to repair the tracks. “Passengers on these trains were considerably unnerved by their narrow escape and the gratitude expressed to Mr. and Mrs. Bankman was profuse. The accident caused considerable comment throughout this section and there were a large number of visitors at the scene all yesterday afternoon.”
On Monday: What to do during two weeks of flu in 1952.
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
Railroad a steady newsmaker during January 1912
- Mark Simonson
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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.
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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."
- Saturday, March 17, 2012
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News in 1912: Pay at the gas pump, street extension, slogan ideas
We're once again experiencing "pain at the pump" as we fill our gas tanks. If we're short on cash, we can always get out the charge card and pay at the pump. This form of technology is fairly recent in development, but believe it or not, you could do the same 100 years ago in Sharon Springs, although it wasn't with the plastic card. This was one of a few interesting bits of news in our region during the winter months of 1912.
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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
