The Historians

Oneonta man researching life of Kirk Douglas

By Bob Cudmore

  SUNY Oneonta history professor emeritus William Simons is a braver man then I.

   Both of us are fascinated by Kirk Douglas, the movie actor and producer who was born in Amsterdam, my home town.  Douglas, 103, died in California four years ago.

   The house where Kirk Douglas lived as a child stands on Eagle Street in Amsterdam’s East End.  I have thought of knocking on the door but never have had the courage to do so.

   Simons wrote in his latest article that he too wanted to visit the home, “Although I wanted to go inside the house at 46 Eagle St., where so many of (Douglas’s) formative experiences took place, that long eluded me. 

   “It is a private residence, unmarked, not open to the public.  I felt entry into the house would heighten my understanding of (the actor’s) genesis years.”

   Simons said, “John Naple, a former Peace Corps volunteer, retired science teacher and angel to the (Amsterdam) library, emerged as my benefactor.  Back in the day, the Naple family resided on Eagle Street.”

   Meeting the home’s current owner, Eddie Gegzno, and visiting the building was worthwhile according to Simons, even though Eddie never met the actor’s family and the house was extensively remodeled through the years.

  Gegzno is retired from General Electric after nearly four decades. Through John’s intercession, Eddie allowed Simons to spend some time inside 46 Eagle St. on a Saturday afternoon, May 20, 2023.

   Another issue in studying Kirk Douglas is what to call him.  His birth name was Issur Danielovitch. When Issur was in grade school, his parents changed their surname to Demsky and Issur’s name to Isadore or Izzy. Like many actors of his day Isadore Demsky Anglicized his name.  Izzy became Kirk Douglas.

    Simons, who grew up in the greater Boston area, was a big fan of Kirk Douglas in the movie Spartacus.  As a Jewish man, Simons was intrigued that as Spartacus, Kirk Douglas did not appear to be Jewish.

   Simons wrote, “On the screen, Issur/Izzy/Kirk morphed into Spartacus, Odysseus, Doc Holliday, George Patton, Vincent van Gogh, Midge Kelly Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Mickey Marcus, Hans Muller, Colonel Dax, Jiggs Casey, Matthew Harrison Brady and countless others.”

   Simons wrote, “Although young Izzy endured beatings by anti-Semitic gangs, he also had good

friends in the neighborhood.  But the house

on Eagle Street offered little refuge to the

boy.  Only later did he come to appreciate his mother Bryna and sisters. Izzy yearned for the larger world outside the house, his father’s domain. And he wanted his father’s attention and approval, both of

which proved elusive.”

   When Simons emerged from his visit to the former Demsky home, he and John Naple walked the length

of Eagle Street.

   Simons wrote, “When we reached 29 Eagle St., John’s friend Emil Suda came out to join us. At the end of Eagle Street, the three of us turned left on East Main Street to see the former site of Harry’s

favorite bar and the lodging house where he lived, courtesy of Kirk’s rent money, after Bryna left him.

   “Then, our discussion switched to Kirk’s films. I never met anyone who knew more about the plots,

characters and dialogues of Kirk Douglas films or spoke more enthusiastically of them than Emil.”

   “Perhaps Izzy and Kirk never truly escaped Eagle Street, but they came to terms with it.” Simons said. “And Izzy and Kirk left quite a legacy not just for Jews, but for all aspirants of the American Dream.”

   Simons’ latest article on Kirk Douglas is published in The Reporter, the newspaper of the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton.

Mohawk Valley News The Daily Gazette, The Recorder News, The Leader-Herald and Nippertown. https://www.dailygazette.com/

Oneonta man researching life of Kirk Douglas

By Bob Cudmore

  SUNY Oneonta history professor emeritus William Simons is a braver man then I.

   Both of us are fascinated by Kirk Douglas, the movie actor and producer who was born in Amsterdam, my home town.  Douglas, 103, died in California four years ago.

   The house where Kirk Douglas lived as a child stands on Eagle Street in Amsterdam’s East End.  I have thought of knocking on the door but never have had the courage to do so.

   Simons wrote in his latest article that he too wanted to visit the home, “Although I wanted to go inside the house at 46 Eagle St., where so many of (Douglas’s) formative experiences took place, that long eluded me. 

   “It is a private residence, unmarked, not open to the public.  I felt entry into the house would heighten my understanding of (the actor’s) genesis years.”

   Simons said, “John Naple, a former Peace Corps volunteer, retired science teacher and angel to the (Amsterdam) library, emerged as my benefactor.  Back in the day, the Naple family resided on Eagle Street.”

   Meeting the home’s current owner, Eddie Gegzno, and visiting the building was worthwhile according to Simons, even though Eddie never met the actor’s family and the house was extensively remodeled through the years.

  Gegzno is retired from General Electric after nearly four decades. Through John’s intercession, Eddie allowed Simons to spend some time inside 46 Eagle St. on a Saturday afternoon, May 20, 2023.

   Another issue in studying Kirk Douglas is what to call him.  His birth name was Issur Danielovitch. When Issur was in grade school, his parents changed their surname to Demsky and Issur’s name to Isadore or Izzy. Like many actors of his day Isadore Demsky Anglicized his name.  Izzy became Kirk Douglas.

    Simons, who grew up in the greater Boston area, was a big fan of Kirk Douglas in the movie Spartacus.  As a Jewish man, Simons was intrigued that as Spartacus, Kirk Douglas did not appear to be Jewish.

   Simons wrote, “On the screen, Issur/Izzy/Kirk morphed into Spartacus, Odysseus, Doc Holliday, George Patton, Vincent van Gogh, Midge Kelly Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Mickey Marcus, Hans Muller, Colonel Dax, Jiggs Casey, Matthew Harrison Brady and countless others.”

   Simons wrote, “Although young Izzy endured beatings by anti-Semitic gangs, he also had good

friends in the neighborhood.  But the house

on Eagle Street offered little refuge to the

boy.  Only later did he come to appreciate his mother Bryna and sisters. Izzy yearned for the larger world outside the house, his father’s domain. And he wanted his father’s attention and approval, both of

which proved elusive.”

   When Simons emerged from his visit to the former Demsky home, he and John Naple walked the length

of Eagle Street.

   Simons wrote, “When we reached 29 Eagle St., John’s friend Emil Suda came out to join us. At the end of Eagle Street, the three of us turned left on East Main Street to see the former site of Harry’s

favorite bar and the lodging house where he lived, courtesy of Kirk’s rent money, after Bryna left him.

   “Then, our discussion switched to Kirk’s films. I never met anyone who knew more about the plots,

characters and dialogues of Kirk Douglas films or spoke more enthusiastically of them than Emil.”

   “Perhaps Izzy and Kirk never truly escaped Eagle Street, but they came to terms with it.” Simons said. “And Izzy and Kirk left quite a legacy not just for Jews, but for all aspirants of the American Dream.”

   Simons’ latest article on Kirk Douglas is published in The Reporter, the newspaper of the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton.

Mohawk Valley News The Daily Gazette, The Recorder News, The Leader-Herald and Nippertown. https://www.dailygazette.com/

I don't remember too much about snow plows in those days and I don't recall any snow blowers.

Winter and summer in the 1960s
By Bob Cudmore

Amsterdam native Liz Andryszczyk Biondi has come across diaries from her youth describing a snowstorm that blanketed the Mohawk Valley in the winter of 1965-66.

What a time of freedom that was, Biondi wrote. I still remember it, do you? Snow piled so high that cars couldn't fit in the streets. I don't know where we put them, since very few people had garages on Jay Street. We were happy enough to have a car. That is, one car per household, not one car per person.

I don't remember too much about snow plows in those days and I don't recall any snow blowers. Certainly nobody on my street owned one. All the families, parents and kids, were out shoveling, although we kids were mostly playing, jumping from high porch banisters and landing safely in soft, pillowy snow. It was like a big winter festival--and no school!

According to newspaper accounts, there was one a Mohawk Valley storm that began Sunday, January 30 in 1966, depositing nine inches of snow with winds of 50 to 60 miles per hour. Roads could not be kept open because of drifting snow until Tuesday of that week. Route 30 was closed for 28 hours between Amsterdam and Perth. Snow drifts as high as 15 feet were reported.

Snowmobiles owned by Steve Mormile and Glen Gay were used to bring a doctor and at least two patients to Amsterdam Memorial Hospital, which had opened just over two years earlier on Route 30. One man who had taken sick was transported by snowmobile from Galway Lake to Amsterdam. The same mode of transportation took engineers to the WAFS radio transmitter on Route 30 in the town of Florida to get the station, now known as WVTL, back on the air.

About 60 people spent Sunday night at the Thruway rest stop near Amsterdam and local motels were full of stranded travelers. On Monday night eight visitors and 65 staff members spent the night at Memorial Hospital.

SUMMER FUN
Biondi also recalled fun in the summertime in the 1960s, Sundays were spent with families at Caroga Lake riding the Ferris wheel, spending a day at the beach on the Great Sacandaga or at my aunt's house playing Monopoly.

When ice cream from May's News at the corner of James and Hibbard Streets was on the bill, Biondi liked and licked coffee, pistachio or peppermint. Her sister preferred chocolate.

On hot summer nights (no air conditioning, of course) we played hide and seek until almost midnight with a gang of kids that ranged from about age 7 to about 17, Biondi said. We were never at a loss for someone to play with and despite the lack of computer games, we were never bored.

Our parents hardly knew where we were during the day. Where could we be but somewhere in the neighborhood on our bicycles or roller skates, only a "whistle" away? We played in the street and very few cars chose to interrupt our kickball games. We didn't wear helmets and I don't remember anybody being abducted either.

Parents spent their summer evenings outside on the porch visiting with each other with only one eye on the kids. Two eyes weren't necessary, not on Jay Street in Amsterdam, New York.

I also don't remember seeing my parents looking stressed. Time ticked slowly in those days. We took our lunch to school in brown paper bags. We saved our money for a rainy day.

Biondi also saved love letters and other mementos from those days, If you want to call passing notes in between class periods in high school, love letters.

Mohawk Valley News The Daily Gazette, The Recorder News, The Leader-Herald and Nippertown. https://www.dailygazette.com/

Oneonta man researching life of Kirk Douglas

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History

this Weekend in The Gazette and Recorder, Sunday on The Historians. SUNY Oneonta history professor emeritus William Simons is a braver man then I....

Mohawk Valley News The Daily Gazette, The Recorder News, The Leader-Herald and Nippertown. https://www.dailygazette.com/

Coming on Friday, March 15, 2024-Episode 513-Actor Kirk Douglas died four years ago at age 103.  Emeritus history professor Bill Simons from SUNY Oneonta has done extensive research on the life of Amsterdam native Kirk Douglas and tells the story of visiting the actor’s childhood home.

Three members of Amsterdam's carpet-making Sanford family served in Congress. Two were named John and one was named Stephen.

Congressmen from Amsterdam
By Bob Cudmore

Paul Tonko is the eighth member of Congress to call the city of Amsterdam home. He is now in his seventh Congressional term.

Amsterdam is being moved out of Tonko's 20th Congressional district and will become part of the 21st district. Tonko is expected to seek reelection in the 20th district, even though that district no longer includes his home town,

Benedict Arnold was the first Amsterdamian elected to Congress in 1828. Arnold was a House member during the administration of President Andrew Jackson, although he opposed Jackson politically.

The Benedict Arnold elected to Congress was not the infamous traitor but a merchant and brewer. Arnold served in the State Assembly and was a general in the War of 1812. Arnold Avenue was named for his family. He died in 1849.

Three members of Amsterdam's carpet-making Sanford family served in Congress. Two were named John and one was named Stephen.

The first John Sanford was born in Roxbury, Connecticut and migrated to Amsterdam. He served in Congress as a Democrat from 1841 to 1843.

That was when President William Henry Harrison caught cold at his inaugural and died shortly thereafter, propelling John Tyler into the Presidency.

After John Sanford came home he went into the carpet manufacturing business, bringing his son Stephen into the firm. John Sanford died in 1857.

Stephen Sanford, born in Amsterdam in 1826, made the family carpet business prosper but did not ignore public service. He attended West Point and was a friend of Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant. A Republican, Stephen Sanford served one term in Congress during Grant's first term.

According to historian Hugh Donlon, Sanford did not enjoy Congress, saying, "It is a thankless job to work for the public and I have had enough of it." Stephen Sanford died in 1913.

Stephen's son John Sanford served two terms in Congress as a Republican from 1889 to 1893 while Benjamin Harrison was President.

After returning from Congress, John Sanford headed the family carpet business and oversaw the Sanford horse racing operation until his death in 1939.

John Knox Stewart was born in Perth in 1853 and moved to Amsterdam in 1860. He was an industrialist, making paper and textiles. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1889.

Stewart served two terms as a Republican in Congress from 1899 through 1903. Republican William McKinley was President when Stewart was elected. McKinley was assassinated in 1901 and Theodore Roosevelt became President. Stewart lost his bid for reelection in 1902 and went back into the textile business. He died in 1919.

While a resident of what was then called the village of Akin outside the city of Amsterdam, Theron Akin was elected a Progressive Republican member of Congress during the Presidency of William Howard Taft from 1911 to 1913. Akin later became the village of Fort Johnson. In the early 1920s Theron Akin lived in Amsterdam and served two controversy-filled terms as mayor. He died in 1933.

Samuel Wallin, a Republican from Amsterdam, served one term in the House during the Presidency of Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Wallin was a native of Pennsylvania, born 1856. He was a principal in the carpet firm of McCleary, Wallin and Crouse which owned the factory complex known as the Upper Mill. Wallin was an Amsterdam mayor. He died in 1917.

Samuel Stratton, a Democrat who served in Congress from 1959 to 1989 lived for a time in Amsterdam. Schenectady"where Stratton had been mayor--was taken from his district in a redistricting in the 1960s, and the Congressman moved to a rented apartment on Amsterdam's Guy Park Avenue.

Mohawk Valley News The Daily Gazette, The Recorder News, The Leader-Herald and Nippertown. https://www.dailygazette.com/

Coming on Friday, March 15, 2024-Episode 513-Actor Kirk Douglas died four years ago at age 103.  Emeritus history professor Bill Simons from SUNY Oneonta has done extensive research on the life of Amsterdam native Kirk Douglas and tells the story of visiting the actor’s childhood home.

Mohawk Valley News The Daily Gazette, The Recorder News, The Leader-Herald and Nippertown. https://www.dailygazette.com/

91 years later, Slezak's gas station in Amsterdam still runs in the family
By Charles Erickson

Life of a salesman

By Bob Cudmore

   Ted Krown of Amsterdam was 16 when he went to work at Larrabee’s, a Market Street hardware store.

   Krown was a salesman at Larrabee’s for more than fifty years.  During the 1969 company Christmas party at the former Tower Inn in Cranesville, Krown recalled what Market Street was like a half century earlier.  He received a wristwatch and tie clasp at the party from fellow workers.

   John E. Larrabee began his hardware career working for merchant E. T. Leavenworth.  In 1889 Larrabee married Louise Leavenworth. They had two daughters.

   When the Sanford Homestead Building was constructed in 1891 by carpet magnate Stephen Sanford on the east side of Market Street, Larrabee opened his own hardware store in the building. 

   The Recorder reported that Krown was born on Amsterdam’s Union Street and attended Eighth Ward Elementary School, “The veteran salesman began (at Larrabee’s) under the tutelage of E. Warner Leavenworth and after an apprenticeship of ‘lugging in freight and unpacking’ he was entrusted with clerking responsibilities.”

   The Recorder wrote that for salesman Krown, “Household wares were the early emphasis and gradually he graduated to appliances as labor savers were introduced to lighten housework.

   Krown married Laura Martin in 1930.  They lived at 344 Division Street.  Laura worked at Blood Knitting Mill.  They had no children.       

   Krown said, “I started the other day to jot down names of people with whom I've worked in this store and I stopped when I reached 200. About 85 of them are dead."  The workers Krown mentioned were Irving DeGraff, Harley DeGraff and Frank Dean.

   Krown was one of the pall bearers when E. Warner Leavenworth died in 1940. 

   Larrabee’s sold retail and wholesale hardware and provided supplies for industries.  Located at 5 Market Street the store expanded to 3 Market Street, previously home to the Odd Figure Bazaar.  Larrabee’s also expanded in the other direction and took over 9 Market Street. 

   Larrabee’s offered Ike Walton fishing boots for $6.95 in March of 1937 as over a thousand hunters and fishermen attended the annual Sportsmen’s Show in Amsterdam.

   E. Warner Leavenworth’s son Tom, who had joined the firm in 1931, became company president in 1940.

    In the 1950s Larrabee’s sold toys especially at Christmas, including Lionel and American Flyer model trains.  Each brand installed a model train layout in the store. 

   Larrabee’s was sold in 1960 and Tom Leavenworth pursued other business ventures, including his work as treasurer of Inman Manufacturing, which made machinery for the box making industry.

   The new owners of Larrabee’s, Ailing Beardsley and Mary Louise Rossiter, began an expansion in 1961, putting emphasis on selling items to new industries that were starting as Amsterdam’s carpet mills exited.  Beardsley and Rossiter expanded appliance sales along with Larrabee’s previous emphasis on hardware, housewares, gifts and toys.

   Beardsley, a World War II infantry veteran, had operated an industrial supply firm in New Jersey.  He was married to Carol Rossiter.  She was originally from Albany and related to Mary Louise Rossiter, who lived in Slingerlands and headed an Albany real estate firm.

   Samuel H. Anderson, who was active in local politics, continued for a time as Larrabee’s manager.  Within a few years though Anderson started his own sporting goods store.  In 1967 he left for a department store position in Los Angeles.

   In late 1971 Larrabee’s moved to the former Sears store at 86 East Main Street to make way for a new bank building on Market Street.

   In 1972 Beardsley’s son, also named Ailing, was made retail manager and was up for an award from the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

   Larrabee’s filed for bankruptcy in 1973.

Mohawk Valley News The Daily Gazette, The Recorder News, The Leader-Herald and Nippertown. https://www.dailygazette.com/

91 years later, Slezak's gas station in Amsterdam still runs in the family
By Charles Erickson

By Bob Cudmore

   Ted Krown of Amsterdam was 16 when he went to work at Larrabee’s, a Market Street hardware store.

   Krown was a salesman at Larrabee’s for more than fifty years.  During the 1969 company Christmas party at the former Tower Inn in Cranesville, Krown recalled what Market Street was like a half century earlier.  He received a wristwatch and tie clasp at the party from fellow workers.

   John E. Larrabee began his hardware career working for merchant E. T. Leavenworth.  In 1889 Larrabee married Louise Leavenworth. They had two daughters.

   When the Sanford Homestead Building was constructed in 1891 by carpet magnate Stephen Sanford on the east side of Market Street, Larrabee opened his own hardware store in the building. 

   The Recorder reported that Krown was born on Amsterdam’s Union Street and attended Eighth Ward Elementary School, “The veteran salesman began (at Larrabee’s) under the tutelage of E. Warner Leavenworth and after an apprenticeship of ‘lugging in freight and unpacking’ he was entrusted with clerking responsibilities.”

   The Recorder wrote that for salesman Krown, “Household wares were the early emphasis and gradually he graduated to appliances as labor savers were introduced to lighten housework.

   Krown married Laura Martin in 1930.  They lived at 344 Division Street.  Laura worked at Blood Knitting Mill.  They had no children.       

   Krown said, “I started the other day to jot down names of people with whom I've worked in this store and I stopped when I reached 200. About 85 of them are dead."  The workers Krown mentioned were Irving DeGraff, Harley DeGraff and Frank Dean.

   Krown was one of the pall bearers when E. Warner Leavenworth died in 1940. 

   Larrabee’s sold retail and wholesale hardware and provided supplies for industries.  Located at 5 Market Street the store expanded to 3 Market Street, previously home to the Odd Figure Bazaar.  Larrabee’s also expanded in the other direction and took over 9 Market Street. 

   Larrabee’s offered Ike Walton fishing boots for $6.95 in March of 1937 as over a thousand hunters and fishermen attended the annual Sportsmen’s Show in Amsterdam.

   E. Warner Leavenworth’s son Tom, who had joined the firm in 1931, became company president in 1940.

    In the 1950s Larrabee’s sold toys especially at Christmas, including Lionel and American Flyer model trains.  Each brand installed a model train layout in the store. 

   Larrabee’s was sold in 1960 and Tom Leavenworth pursued other business ventures, including his work as treasurer of Inman Manufacturing, which made machinery for the box making industry.

   The new owners of Larrabee’s, Ailing Beardsley and Mary Louise Rossiter, began an expansion in 1961, putting emphasis on selling items to new industries that were starting as Amsterdam’s carpet mills exited.  Beardsley and Rossiter expanded appliance sales along with Larrabee’s previous emphasis on hardware, housewares, gifts and toys.

   Beardsley, a World War II infantry veteran, had operated an industrial supply firm in New Jersey.  He was married to Carol Rossiter.  She was originally from Albany and related to Mary Louise Rossiter, who lived in Slingerlands and headed an Albany real estate firm.

   Samuel H. Anderson, who was active in local politics, continued for a time as Larrabee’s manager.  Within a few years though Anderson started his own sporting goods store.  In 1967 he left for a department store position in Los Angeles.

   In late 1971 Larrabee’s moved to the former Sears store at 86 East Main Street to make way for a new bank building on Market Street.

   In 1972 Beardsley’s son, also named Ailing, was made retail manager and was up for an award from the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

   Larrabee’s filed for bankruptcy in 1973.

Mohawk Valley News The Daily Gazette, The Recorder News, The Leader-Herald and Nippertown. https://www.dailygazette.com/