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This Sunday, April 24, 2022-Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Monday's Amsterdam Recorder-Junior High, serve it with loyal devotion
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Amsterdam remembers Teddy Roosevelt
By Bob Cudmore
Memories of Amsterdam’s Theodore Roosevelt Junior High on Guy Park Avenue where a senior housing project exists today continue to come in.
Evelyn Riccio, retired schoolteacher and librarian, said that the song about junior high quoted in a previous column had a verse, which indicates the song was written specifically for the Amsterdam school. Otherwise, the words—to the tune of “Stars and Stripes Forever”—could be applied to any junior high.
Riccio said the verse went like this:
Other students may think their school’s the best
And serve it with loyal devotion.
But the school that is dear to you and me
Is this school of ours with colors blue and silver.
Riccio said that longtime Roosevelt principal Fritz Heil compiled the lyrics, although another alumna recalled that a student named Barbara Casey wrote the words as part of a school contest.
TEDDY REMEMBERED
` Former student Paul Russo remembered that Heil addressed students on the first day of school in the auditorium, “He said that when he was a kid, Teddy Roosevelt came to town and Heil jumped up on the running board of Roosevelt’s car and shock hands with him.”
There are 20 references to Theodore Roosevelt in Frank Yunker’s online database of newspaper headlines from the early twentieth century in Amsterdam (www.mohawkvalleyweb.com). Roosevelt spoke in Amsterdam in 1898, 1900, 1910 and 1914. When he died in 1919, the city held a Roosevelt Day in which clergymen paid tribute to “the great statesman.”
The junior high was dedicated to the former President on October 2, 1925 with the main address given by state education commissioner Dr. Frank P. Graves.
At Roosevelt Junior High in the late 1950s, student reporter Elizabeth Dye Russo found a ladder sticking up into the attic of the building and covered the story for The Broadcaster, the school newspaper.
“We got permission to go up in the attic and see all the old stuff and I wrote an article about it. I can't remember, however what was up there!”
Several people informed me that the name of my eighth grade homeroom and art teacher was Marian Gode Carnwright, married to John Carnwright, the printing shop teacher.
As Amsterdam was the carpet city, a shop course was taught in textiles, first by a Mr. Noble and then by Bill Fennhahn. My mother was a sewing teacher and my father a carpet weaver so I felt pressure to excel in Fennhahn’s course. I did all right on the sewing machine but, alas, my partner Tom Christman and I messed up the threading of our loom so much that it was beyond help.
Another alumnus recalled that physical education teacher Richard Ruback, who passed away recently, coached a seventh grade basketball team sponsored by a private sports club, the Hurricana Club. Some of the outstanding players in Amsterdam High basketball received a solid foundation in the sport by participating in that club.
A popular student stop near the junior high was Eddie Doyle’s confectionery store, where Eileen Macvean of Amsterdam recalled the big item in her day was the Jo-Jo Pop.
` Students bought school supplies at Sam Soula’s card and magazine store.
Former student Peter Betz said, “We also bought the little glass bottles of colored ink there which in the spring we loaded in our water pistols to shoot at each other as the class lines moved from room to room. That brought a lot of parent complaints so there was a crackdown---locker inspections, confiscation of weapons, etc.
“Sometimes we put cheap perfume in them too but that was a give away as to who was 'armed' so we didn't do that much.”
Friday, April 22, 2022
Episode 419-English classics professor Edmund Richardson is author of The King’s Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria, the story of a deserter who discovered a civilization founded by Alexander the Great in Afghanistan in the fourth century B.C.
Mabee Farm Historic Site Rotterdam, Schenectady County, will celebrate Earth Night tomorrow, Friday, April 22, 2022 with an evening of music, art, and workshops that honor Earth and its natural surroundings.
http://schenectadyhistorical.org/events/
Saturday, April 23, 2022-From the Archives-May 21, 2021-Episode 371-Bevis Longstreth is author of Chains Across the River, a historical novel dealing with the great chains that American forces stretched across the Hudson River during the American Revolution to prevent the British fleet from sailing from New York City to Albany.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, April 21, 2022
Rain likely, mainly after 1pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 56. East wind 6 to 14 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
A chance of rain, mainly before 8pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 43. Southwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Thursday, April 21, 2022
Daily Gazette
Schenectady County SummerNight set for July 22; Headlining act still to be named
SCHENECTADY – Schenectady County has slated SummerNight to take place on July 22 this year. However, who will be playing…
SCHENECTADY – Schenectady County has slated SummerNight to take place on July 22 this year. However, who will be playing…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Two days later, utility continues power restoration work
More than 1,500 customers in Fulton County and more than 2,000 customers in Saratoga County remained without power on Wednesday evening as of 8 p.m., two nights after a forceful spring snowstorm swept through the Capital Region...
https://www.recordernews.com/
National Grid: Remaining Fulton County power outages to be restored by Thursday at 4 p.m.
https://www.leaderherald.com/
View all episodes
By Bob Cudmore...call me "Bob"
This Sunday, April 24, 2022-Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Monday's Amsterdam Recorder-Junior High, serve it with loyal devotion
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Amsterdam remembers Teddy Roosevelt
By Bob Cudmore
Memories of Amsterdam’s Theodore Roosevelt Junior High on Guy Park Avenue where a senior housing project exists today continue to come in.
Evelyn Riccio, retired schoolteacher and librarian, said that the song about junior high quoted in a previous column had a verse, which indicates the song was written specifically for the Amsterdam school. Otherwise, the words—to the tune of “Stars and Stripes Forever”—could be applied to any junior high.
Riccio said the verse went like this:
Other students may think their school’s the best
And serve it with loyal devotion.
But the school that is dear to you and me
Is this school of ours with colors blue and silver.
Riccio said that longtime Roosevelt principal Fritz Heil compiled the lyrics, although another alumna recalled that a student named Barbara Casey wrote the words as part of a school contest.
TEDDY REMEMBERED
` Former student Paul Russo remembered that Heil addressed students on the first day of school in the auditorium, “He said that when he was a kid, Teddy Roosevelt came to town and Heil jumped up on the running board of Roosevelt’s car and shock hands with him.”
There are 20 references to Theodore Roosevelt in Frank Yunker’s online database of newspaper headlines from the early twentieth century in Amsterdam (www.mohawkvalleyweb.com). Roosevelt spoke in Amsterdam in 1898, 1900, 1910 and 1914. When he died in 1919, the city held a Roosevelt Day in which clergymen paid tribute to “the great statesman.”
The junior high was dedicated to the former President on October 2, 1925 with the main address given by state education commissioner Dr. Frank P. Graves.
At Roosevelt Junior High in the late 1950s, student reporter Elizabeth Dye Russo found a ladder sticking up into the attic of the building and covered the story for The Broadcaster, the school newspaper.
“We got permission to go up in the attic and see all the old stuff and I wrote an article about it. I can't remember, however what was up there!”
Several people informed me that the name of my eighth grade homeroom and art teacher was Marian Gode Carnwright, married to John Carnwright, the printing shop teacher.
As Amsterdam was the carpet city, a shop course was taught in textiles, first by a Mr. Noble and then by Bill Fennhahn. My mother was a sewing teacher and my father a carpet weaver so I felt pressure to excel in Fennhahn’s course. I did all right on the sewing machine but, alas, my partner Tom Christman and I messed up the threading of our loom so much that it was beyond help.
Another alumnus recalled that physical education teacher Richard Ruback, who passed away recently, coached a seventh grade basketball team sponsored by a private sports club, the Hurricana Club. Some of the outstanding players in Amsterdam High basketball received a solid foundation in the sport by participating in that club.
A popular student stop near the junior high was Eddie Doyle’s confectionery store, where Eileen Macvean of Amsterdam recalled the big item in her day was the Jo-Jo Pop.
` Students bought school supplies at Sam Soula’s card and magazine store.
Former student Peter Betz said, “We also bought the little glass bottles of colored ink there which in the spring we loaded in our water pistols to shoot at each other as the class lines moved from room to room. That brought a lot of parent complaints so there was a crackdown---locker inspections, confiscation of weapons, etc.
“Sometimes we put cheap perfume in them too but that was a give away as to who was 'armed' so we didn't do that much.”
Friday, April 22, 2022
Episode 419-English classics professor Edmund Richardson is author of The King’s Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria, the story of a deserter who discovered a civilization founded by Alexander the Great in Afghanistan in the fourth century B.C.
Mabee Farm Historic Site Rotterdam, Schenectady County, will celebrate Earth Night tomorrow, Friday, April 22, 2022 with an evening of music, art, and workshops that honor Earth and its natural surroundings.
http://schenectadyhistorical.org/events/
Saturday, April 23, 2022-From the Archives-May 21, 2021-Episode 371-Bevis Longstreth is author of Chains Across the River, a historical novel dealing with the great chains that American forces stretched across the Hudson River during the American Revolution to prevent the British fleet from sailing from New York City to Albany.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, April 21, 2022
Rain likely, mainly after 1pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 56. East wind 6 to 14 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
A chance of rain, mainly before 8pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 43. Southwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Thursday, April 21, 2022
Daily Gazette
Schenectady County SummerNight set for July 22; Headlining act still to be named
SCHENECTADY – Schenectady County has slated SummerNight to take place on July 22 this year. However, who will be playing…
SCHENECTADY – Schenectady County has slated SummerNight to take place on July 22 this year. However, who will be playing…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Two days later, utility continues power restoration work
More than 1,500 customers in Fulton County and more than 2,000 customers in Saratoga County remained without power on Wednesday evening as of 8 p.m., two nights after a forceful spring snowstorm swept through the Capital Region...
https://www.recordernews.com/
National Grid: Remaining Fulton County power outages to be restored by Thursday at 4 p.m.
https://www.leaderherald.com/