Editor remembered for his work at The Recorder 

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History for Daily Gazette and Recorder 

        Silvernail, the last name of an important and  long-tenured Amsterdam Recorder editor during the 20th century, seems to invoke a possible Native American origin. The family says though that Silvernail was not a Native American name but an Anglicized version of Silbernagel, a word of Palatine German origin brought to New York by settlers in the 1700s.

Stanley Silvernail was born in the town of Unadilla in Otsego County in 1917, the son of Harry and Olive Brownell Silvernail,  His father died when Stanley was a child and he was raised mainly by an aunt and uncle. He worked for the Amsterdam newspaper for 41 years, retiring in 1982.  In a news story on Silvernail’s death in 1990, Recorder reporter John Becker, wrote Silvernail was both a “fierce competitor and a kind, compassionate person.”

He was a graduate of Syracuse University, working his way through college with a job at the Syracuse Post Standard newspaper.  He earned a degree in journalism and liberal arts at Syracuse.   

He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps serving in Europe and Africa during World War II.  He was recalled to the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War as public relations director of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.  He earned the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force reserves.

He married Wilhelmina Anna Phillips in 1945.  They lived on Black Street in Vail Mills.  They are survived by two sons, Joel and Jeffrey.  SIlvernail was buried at Fairview Cemetery. He became Recorder city editor in 1953.  In 1970 he was appointed managing editor and in 1978 was named editorial page editor.

When Silvernail died, former Recorder editor Brad Broyles said “Stan was one of the warmest, toughest, most honest and decent people I ever knew.”Stanley Silvernail’s son Jeff reminisced about what it was like growing up as the son of a newspaper man:

 “Journalism was a demanding career. Dad worked full days Monday through Friday plus Saturday mornings. He also often wrote at home on his old manual typewriter on his own time. It made quite a racket.

     “We had a private line before anyone on Black Street because people were always calling for him usually with things that no one wanted to share on a party line. Until I was 12 his 2 week vacation was spent fulfilling his Air Force Reserve obligation. Once he retired from the service we were finally able to take family vacations.

 “Every year we spent 2 weeks at the Recorder's camp on Lake Pleasant, Pine Knoll Lodge. I have many great memories of those vacations fishing with my Dad. 

 “When I was little sometimes Dad would take me to work with him on Saturday morning. This was long before computers. Watching the stories come in on the teletype was fascinating and then they were dispatched to the correct desk with a pneumatic tube system. “In spite of his long hours, my father made a point of coming to our baseball games. He was a rabid baseball fan, especially of his beloved Phillies. He watched TV with a transistor radio by his ear so he could follow the progress of the Phil's games on evenings during the season.

 “His work connected him with many politicians. He was essentially fond of Rep. Sam Stratton who was also in the Air Force Reserve. We were on the Nixon's Christmas card list. After his death State Senator Hugh Farley called me to personally tell me how much my Dad meant to him. “Around the dinner table family discussions often revolved around current events and politics.”

Bob Cudmore is a freelance writer.

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