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Daily Update
The latest this Saturday, January 22, 2022-Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-Country western entertainers Jack Patton and Dusty Miller
Today it's Pals of the Saddle Podcast explanation "10 Minutes"
Barnell and Lopuch were bandleaders
By Bob Cudmore
The column on local music prompted a reader inquiry about former Amsterdam High School bandleader Gerald P. Barnell, wondering what was the name of his family’s dance band in the 1920s and 1930s.
The family was Italian although the name had been Anglicized from Baranello to Barnell. Gerald Barnell was the youngest of eight children who were raised on Amsterdam’s South Side where their father operated a grocery store and was one of the founders of Mount Carmel Church.
In 1915, brothers Angelo, Charles and Anthony organized Barnell’s Concert Orchestra. The group played for local society, such as carpet mill owner Stephen Sanford plus performances at the New York governor’s mansion, country clubs and Saratoga casinos.
The orchestra disbanded in 1932 when brother Anthony contracted a bone disease. Soon, however, the youngest Barnell organized Jerry Barnell and His Society Orchestra, playing local spots such as Jollyland in Amsterdam.
Gerald Barnell graduated from Amsterdam High School in 1929 and earned a bachelor’s degree at Ithaca College. A violinist, he did graduate work at several universities and the Juilliard School of Music.
He taught for a year at the Cazenovia Seminary and joined the Amsterdam Schools in 1934. He served until 1973 as instrumental director, leading the high school, junior high and elementary bands and orchestras.
In the 1950s, it was Barnell’s inspiration to meld the band with female cheerleaders and baton-twirling majorettes whose signature number became “Lullaby of Birdland,” featuring a Rockette-style kick line. Barnell’s traditions continue today in the performances of the Amsterdam High School Marching Rams. He also organized the first All County Music Festival in Montgomery County in 1956.
Barnell was active in Local 133 of the Professional Musicians’ Union and performed with his family’s Barnell Concert Orchestra and his own Union Orchestra. He had many private students, including popular local performer and music teacher Rachelle Cotugno.
Barnell married Antoinette Morini in 1940. For many years they lived on Phillips Street in Amsterdam. Their son, Jerry, pursued a career as a business educator at Schalmont High School in Rotterdam. His wife, Terri Mikolaitis, was one of Amsterdam’s majorettes in the late 1950s.
After Gerald Barnell retired in 1973, he taught music education at the College of St. Rose in Albany. He died in 1998 and his wife died in 2001.
Please help us reach our 2022 Historians Podcast fund drive goal of $6,000! For more information or to donate online click here, https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. Keep history alive by donating to The Historians Podcast
PALS OF THE SADDLE
Joan Ready of Amsterdam sent information on a musical group from the Mohawk Valley, Pals of the Saddle.
Steve Lopuch led the band. Other members were Frank Lopuch, Joseph Lopuch, Eddie Jarvis and Adam Orleanski, known as Tex Adams. Adam Orleanski is a cousin of Ready’s father, Walter Orleanski.
“The Pals of the Saddle were well known, having played on WRGB in Schenectady when television first came on,” Ready said. Those early appearances were in the 1940s.
Stephen Lopuch also wrote songs for prominent polka bandleader Jimmy Sturr, including the Blue Jeans Polka. Sturr won two Grammy awards for albums containing songs written by Lopuch in the 1980s.
Lopuch died in 2004 in a one-car motor vehicle crash in Rotterdam. He was 82. According to his Recorder obituary, Lopuch was a native of Auriesville who lived in the town of Florida where he was a dairy farmer and raised a family with his wife, Mary Ann. He could play guitar, fiddle and mandolin, teaching himself to play while listening to the radio as a youngster. He was a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He also wrote a book about his section of Florida called "Snook's Corners, One Hundred Years Plus."
Tomorrow Historians Episode #406
Friday, January 21, 2022
Bob Cudmore and Dave Greene discuss polo player and carpet executive Laddie Sanford, a 1940 Northville fire and a newspaper contest from the early 1900s.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, January 20, 2022
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING
TO 10 AM EST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...Very cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 15
to 30 below zero.
* WHERE...Portions of southern Vermont, northwestern
Connecticut, western Massachusetts and the southern
Adirondacks, the Taconics, eastern Catskills, the Mohawk
Valley, and Upper Hudson Valley in eastern New York.
* WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to 10 AM EST Friday.
* IMPACTS...The dangerously cold wind chills could cause
frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a
hat, and gloves.
Mohawk Valley News, Thursday, January 20, 2022
Daily Gazette
15-year-old student arrested, accused of making threats against Amsterdam schools via social media
AMSTERDAM — A 15-year-old Amsterdam schools student was arrested Wednesday, accused of making threats against Amsterdam schools on social media,…
Local historians to tell story of the Black experience in Saratoga County, spanning 200 years
BALLSTON SPA — A review of the struggles and successes of African-Americans in Saratoga County as of the mid-20th century is…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Study: Low rate of new COVID infections statewide among previously recovered
ALBANY — A new study finds people who have had a previous COVID infection enjoy substantial...
Amsterdam middle school remote through Friday following burst pipe
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Johnstown FD staff make up 70% of city’s highest paid employees; EMS OT cited as reason
by Andrew Waite
https://www.leaderherald.com/
View all episodes
By Bob Cudmore
The latest this Saturday, January 22, 2022-Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-Country western entertainers Jack Patton and Dusty Miller
Today it's Pals of the Saddle Podcast explanation "10 Minutes"
Barnell and Lopuch were bandleaders
By Bob Cudmore
The column on local music prompted a reader inquiry about former Amsterdam High School bandleader Gerald P. Barnell, wondering what was the name of his family’s dance band in the 1920s and 1930s.
The family was Italian although the name had been Anglicized from Baranello to Barnell. Gerald Barnell was the youngest of eight children who were raised on Amsterdam’s South Side where their father operated a grocery store and was one of the founders of Mount Carmel Church.
In 1915, brothers Angelo, Charles and Anthony organized Barnell’s Concert Orchestra. The group played for local society, such as carpet mill owner Stephen Sanford plus performances at the New York governor’s mansion, country clubs and Saratoga casinos.
The orchestra disbanded in 1932 when brother Anthony contracted a bone disease. Soon, however, the youngest Barnell organized Jerry Barnell and His Society Orchestra, playing local spots such as Jollyland in Amsterdam.
Gerald Barnell graduated from Amsterdam High School in 1929 and earned a bachelor’s degree at Ithaca College. A violinist, he did graduate work at several universities and the Juilliard School of Music.
He taught for a year at the Cazenovia Seminary and joined the Amsterdam Schools in 1934. He served until 1973 as instrumental director, leading the high school, junior high and elementary bands and orchestras.
In the 1950s, it was Barnell’s inspiration to meld the band with female cheerleaders and baton-twirling majorettes whose signature number became “Lullaby of Birdland,” featuring a Rockette-style kick line. Barnell’s traditions continue today in the performances of the Amsterdam High School Marching Rams. He also organized the first All County Music Festival in Montgomery County in 1956.
Barnell was active in Local 133 of the Professional Musicians’ Union and performed with his family’s Barnell Concert Orchestra and his own Union Orchestra. He had many private students, including popular local performer and music teacher Rachelle Cotugno.
Barnell married Antoinette Morini in 1940. For many years they lived on Phillips Street in Amsterdam. Their son, Jerry, pursued a career as a business educator at Schalmont High School in Rotterdam. His wife, Terri Mikolaitis, was one of Amsterdam’s majorettes in the late 1950s.
After Gerald Barnell retired in 1973, he taught music education at the College of St. Rose in Albany. He died in 1998 and his wife died in 2001.
Please help us reach our 2022 Historians Podcast fund drive goal of $6,000! For more information or to donate online click here, https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. Keep history alive by donating to The Historians Podcast
PALS OF THE SADDLE
Joan Ready of Amsterdam sent information on a musical group from the Mohawk Valley, Pals of the Saddle.
Steve Lopuch led the band. Other members were Frank Lopuch, Joseph Lopuch, Eddie Jarvis and Adam Orleanski, known as Tex Adams. Adam Orleanski is a cousin of Ready’s father, Walter Orleanski.
“The Pals of the Saddle were well known, having played on WRGB in Schenectady when television first came on,” Ready said. Those early appearances were in the 1940s.
Stephen Lopuch also wrote songs for prominent polka bandleader Jimmy Sturr, including the Blue Jeans Polka. Sturr won two Grammy awards for albums containing songs written by Lopuch in the 1980s.
Lopuch died in 2004 in a one-car motor vehicle crash in Rotterdam. He was 82. According to his Recorder obituary, Lopuch was a native of Auriesville who lived in the town of Florida where he was a dairy farmer and raised a family with his wife, Mary Ann. He could play guitar, fiddle and mandolin, teaching himself to play while listening to the radio as a youngster. He was a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He also wrote a book about his section of Florida called "Snook's Corners, One Hundred Years Plus."
Tomorrow Historians Episode #406
Friday, January 21, 2022
Bob Cudmore and Dave Greene discuss polo player and carpet executive Laddie Sanford, a 1940 Northville fire and a newspaper contest from the early 1900s.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, January 20, 2022
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING
TO 10 AM EST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...Very cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 15
to 30 below zero.
* WHERE...Portions of southern Vermont, northwestern
Connecticut, western Massachusetts and the southern
Adirondacks, the Taconics, eastern Catskills, the Mohawk
Valley, and Upper Hudson Valley in eastern New York.
* WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to 10 AM EST Friday.
* IMPACTS...The dangerously cold wind chills could cause
frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a
hat, and gloves.
Mohawk Valley News, Thursday, January 20, 2022
Daily Gazette
15-year-old student arrested, accused of making threats against Amsterdam schools via social media
AMSTERDAM — A 15-year-old Amsterdam schools student was arrested Wednesday, accused of making threats against Amsterdam schools on social media,…
Local historians to tell story of the Black experience in Saratoga County, spanning 200 years
BALLSTON SPA — A review of the struggles and successes of African-Americans in Saratoga County as of the mid-20th century is…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Study: Low rate of new COVID infections statewide among previously recovered
ALBANY — A new study finds people who have had a previous COVID infection enjoy substantial...
Amsterdam middle school remote through Friday following burst pipe
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Johnstown FD staff make up 70% of city’s highest paid employees; EMS OT cited as reason
by Andrew Waite
https://www.leaderherald.com/