The Historians

By Bob Cudmore

   George Washington Phillips, a leading citizen of the Montgomery County hamlet of Cranesville, made his home a lighthouse to guide motorists on busy Route 5.

   Phillips was born in the town of Florida in 1890.  His father, Myron, bought property at the start of Crane’s Hollow Road in Cranesville and had a house built there in 1900.

   Young George Phillips attended Amsterdam schools and studied stenography.  He worked for S.H. Swift for thirty-five years in the knit goods business.

   Phillips became president of Amsterdam, Chuctanunda & Northern Railroad, a short spur built to connect the main line with Amsterdam factories.

   Phillips joined the Cranesville Reformed Church next door to the family home in 1915.  That year he married Ethel Ann DeForest from Cranesville.  Their one child, Roy DeForest Phillips, was born two years later. 

   Route 5 became busier.  A 1960 reconstruction, called the Cranesville Arterial brought the road next to the Phillips home and the adjacent Temple of Israel Cemetery. 

   Phillips told a reporter, “They can’t get much closer.”  Fearing for the safety of motorists, he began illuminating his home by putting lights in the windows and on the front and back porches.  At its peak there were forty-five lights.

   Hugh Donlon of the Recorder wrote, “The beacon (was) visible as far east as Swart Hill, adding an atmosphere of friendliness that well reflects sentiments of both home owner and community.”

   Phillips shut off his lights before midnight saying, “If they’re not in by eleven, they can find their own way home.”

   Phillips’s trademark was a flower in his lapel.  In summer he grew his own and in winter made a daily trip to an Amsterdam florist.

      Phillips’s wife Ethel died in 1964.  Phillips died at age 98 in 1989. 

   The church next door bought his home and used it for Sunday school and other purposes.  Eventually church activities that had been held in the former lighthouse were transferred to a smaller residence across the road.

   There was some damage to church properties in the 2011 Cranesville tornado.  The former lighthouse of Cranesville was torn down in 2014.

PBR at the Ivy Leaf?

   “Nice to hear about the old place,” wrote reader Paul Miknavich about the column describing a 1947 brawl at the Ivy Leaf Tavern in Amsterdam.

   Miknavich delivered large boxes of groceries there on Saturday mornings with his Dad.  Paul’s uncle Ray ran Forbes Street Market.

  Paul said, “One thing that stood out about (Ivy Leaf) was that there were cuspidors on the floor at the bar - old school!”

   As Paul was a young teenager he never drank there.  During his tenure the Saturday night special meal cost fifty cents. 

   Paul said, “I imagine how it could have been turned into a real hipster destination, dripping with authenticity.  Cans of PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon beer) for $8. Atmosphere.”

   East Ender and retired teacher John Naple wrote, “After your column about the fight at the bar on Schuyler and Forbes Streets, my brothers and I tried to list the bars we passed walking to St. Mary's School from Eagle Street. Thanks for the memories.

FIX IT

   East End resident Emil Suda said his family had a supposedly portable Philco television in 1962.  Suda’s father was able to wrestle the rather large device up the stairs to Bill Hojohn’s repair shop on Grove Street. 

  “Today one would not consider such a TV as being portable,” Suda said.

   Hojohn also repaired scale model trains.  After retiring to a Wall Street flat, he regaled Suda with stories about visits to model train stores and manufacturers’ show rooms in New York City.

February on The Historians with Bob Cudmore

Friday, February 9, 2024-Episode 509-Highlights Edition from 2023 and 2024` with excerpts from podcasts on Civil War volunteers from Saratoga,  the story of Benedict Arnold, an ancient elephant tusk found in Maine and much more.

Friday, February 16, 2024-Episode 510-Former Albany Politico bureau chief Terry Golway is author of I Never Did like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters.  Golway tells the story of LaGuardia’s life through colorful episodes that relate to people today.

Friday, February 23, 2024-Episode 511-Photojournalist Richard Frishman and essayist and professor Dr. B. Brian Foster are authors of Ghosts of Segregation, a photojournalism collection depicting a visual history of segregation through buildings and landscapes where racism has left its mark.

By Bob Cudmore

   George Washington Phillips, a leading citizen of the Montgomery County hamlet of Cranesville, made his home a lighthouse to guide motorists on busy Route 5.

   Phillips was born in the town of Florida in 1890.  His father, Myron, bought property at the start of Crane’s Hollow Road in Cranesville and had a house built there in 1900.

   Young George Phillips attended Amsterdam schools and studied stenography.  He worked for S.H. Swift for thirty-five years in the knit goods business.

   Phillips became president of Amsterdam, Chuctanunda & Northern Railroad, a short spur built to connect the main line with Amsterdam factories.

   Phillips joined the Cranesville Reformed Church next door to the family home in 1915.  That year he married Ethel Ann DeForest from Cranesville.  Their one child, Roy DeForest Phillips, was born two years later. 

   Route 5 became busier.  A 1960 reconstruction, called the Cranesville Arterial brought the road next to the Phillips home and the adjacent Temple of Israel Cemetery. 

   Phillips told a reporter, “They can’t get much closer.”  Fearing for the safety of motorists, he began illuminating his home by putting lights in the windows and on the front and back porches.  At its peak there were forty-five lights.

   Hugh Donlon of the Recorder wrote, “The beacon (was) visible as far east as Swart Hill, adding an atmosphere of friendliness that well reflects sentiments of both home owner and community.”

   Phillips shut off his lights before midnight saying, “If they’re not in by eleven, they can find their own way home.”

   Phillips’s trademark was a flower in his lapel.  In summer he grew his own and in winter made a daily trip to an Amsterdam florist.

      Phillips’s wife Ethel died in 1964.  Phillips died at age 98 in 1989. 

   The church next door bought his home and used it for Sunday school and other purposes.  Eventually church activities that had been held in the former lighthouse were transferred to a smaller residence across the road.

   There was some damage to church properties in the 2011 Cranesville tornado.  The former lighthouse of Cranesville was torn down in 2014.

PBR at the Ivy Leaf?

   “Nice to hear about the old place,” wrote reader Paul Miknavich about the column describing a 1947 brawl at the Ivy Leaf Tavern in Amsterdam.

   Miknavich delivered large boxes of groceries there on Saturday mornings with his Dad.  Paul’s uncle Ray ran Forbes Street Market.

  Paul said, “One thing that stood out about (Ivy Leaf) was that there were cuspidors on the floor at the bar - old school!”

   As Paul was a young teenager he never drank there.  During his tenure the Saturday night special meal cost fifty cents. 

   Paul said, “I imagine how it could have been turned into a real hipster destination, dripping with authenticity.  Cans of PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon beer) for $8. Atmosphere.”

   East Ender and retired teacher John Naple wrote, “After your column about the fight at the bar on Schuyler and Forbes Streets, my brothers and I tried to list the bars we passed walking to St. Mary's School from Eagle Street. Thanks for the memories.

FIX IT

   East End resident Emil Suda said his family had a supposedly portable Philco television in 1962.  Suda’s father was able to wrestle the rather large device up the stairs to Bill Hojohn’s repair shop on Grove Street. 

  “Today one would not consider such a TV as being portable,” Suda said.

   Hojohn also repaired scale model trains.  After retiring to a Wall Street flat, he regaled Suda with stories about visits to model train stores and manufacturers’ show rooms in New York City.

February on The Historians with Bob Cudmore

Friday, February 9, 2024-Episode 509-Highlights Edition from 2023 and 2024` with excerpts from podcasts on Civil War volunteers from Saratoga,  the story of Benedict Arnold, an ancient elephant tusk found in Maine and much more.

Friday, February 16, 2024-Episode 510-Former Albany Politico bureau chief Terry Golway is author of I Never Did like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters.  Golway tells the story of LaGuardia’s life through colorful episodes that relate to people today.

Friday, February 23, 2024-Episode 511-Photojournalist Richard Frishman and essayist and professor Dr. B. Brian Foster are authors of Ghosts of Segregation, a photojournalism collection depicting a visual history of segregation through buildings and landscapes where racism has left its mark.

34 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 7:07AM

Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, February 1, 2024

Friday, February 2, 2024-Episode 508-Jerry Madden discusses his historical novel Steel Valley: Coming of Age in the Ohio Valley in the 1960s.  Madden sets his story in the Rust Belt in cities like Steubenville, Ohio, where the steel mills have moved out.   

Friday, February 9, 2024-Episode 509-Highlights Edition from 2023 and 2024` with excerpts from podcasts on Civil War volunteers from Saratoga,  the story of Benedict Arnold, an ancient elephant tusk found in Maine and much more.

Friday, February 16, 2024-Episode 510-Former Albany Politico bureau chief Terry Golway is author of I Never Did like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters.  Golway tells the story of LaGuardia’s life through colorful episodes that sound familiar to people today.

Friday, February 23, 2024-Episode 511-Photojournalist Richard Frishman and essayist and professor Dr. B. Brian Foster are authors of Ghosts of Segregation, a photojournalism collection depicting a visual history of segregation through the buildings and landscapes where racism has left its mark.

Triumph after three years as a Japanese POW
By Bob Cudmore

Michael Swann's mother told him, "Don't ever talk to your father about the war." Many years later after their father had passed Michael and his brothers learned some of the reasons.

Michael's father, Alton R. Swann, was born in Schenectady in 1916, son of Ora and Helen Swann. At eight years old he moved to Gloversville with his mother and four siblings after Ora Swann died.

Alton was on the debate team, edited the school newspaper and excelled in track at Gloversville High. After high school he graduated from Gloversville Business School in 1937. He was hired as an accountant at Schenectady General Electric.

He was drafted by the Army in May 1941. He was assigned to Clark Air Base in the Philippines with the 803rd Engineer Battalion.

Within hours of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese bombing attack on December 8 resulted in destruction of Clark Field. Swann was reassigned to the battle for Bataan which the Americans lost to the Japanese. He fought at Aglaloma where his 803rd battalion was decimated.

Swann was put on board a transport ship which took survivors to the American island fortress of Corregidor. Swann told his eldest son that his superiors were impressed he was able to maintain his composure when Japanese planes strafed their ship.

Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese in May 1942. Taken prisoner, Swann survived a death march on Bataan where hundreds were killed or died while marching to internment camps.

He was held at Camp 10C in the Philippines until September 1944 when transported to Japan aboard a "hell" ship, the Noto Maru. Hundreds of prisoners were forced to stand upright in the hold in tropical heat. U.S. submarines mistakenly sank many such overcrowded ships carrying American prisoners.

In Japan he was imprisoned at a POW camp and used as slave labor, shoveling manganese ore into furnaces. Tooth decay and gum diseases developed. Other prisoners developed malaria, beriberi, and dysentery. Treatment by prison guards was brutal.

Liberated in September 1945 after the Japanese surrender, he was put aboard a hospital ship, the Monitor, where he wrote his fiancé, Glendean Brooks in Gloversville, asking if she was still waiting for him. She was.

He spent time in Manila before returning to San Francisco aboard the transport Bolivar. All his teeth were pulled, and he was fitted with dentures.

For his part in the Philippines campaign, Sergeant Swann received the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal and various campaign ribbons.

In his first letter home he said memories of loved ones "brought him through experiences better left undescribed." Alton's mother received a telegram saying her son was on his way home. He arrived in November.
Alton married Glendean at the parsonage of Gloversville's Methodist Church Thanksgiving afternoon, 1945.

Their son Michael Swann was born nine months later. As a child he never was really aware of it but his mother told him his father suffered from what we would call PTSD. He had a lifelong issue with sleeplessness and nightmares of the war.

Alton went back to work at Schenectady GE. The couple had two more sons, David and Thomas. In 1953 Alton was transferred to a GE plant in Connecticut and lived many years in Monroe, Connecticut.

Alton's son Michael made frequent business trips to Japan. He was "humbled by a visit to the site of the Nomachi POW camp near Toyama." The factory where his father slaved still stands.

Glendean Swann died in 1992. Alton Swann died in 2002 at age 86. Burial with full military honors took place at Pine Hill Cemetery in Southbury, Connecticut.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, Janaury 31, 2024-32 degrees in The City of Amsterdam on the last day of January. Scattered flurries before 9am. Cloudy, with a high near 38. Light and variable wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Southwest wind 3 to 5 mph. Thursday A slight chance of rain and snow showers between 9am and noon, then a chance of rain showers. Cloudy, with a high near 39. West wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. Scroll down for The Story of The Secret Cord

Holiday IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030241/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_45_act

The Historians Podcast with Bob Cudmore - February 2024 Here’s the schedule (subject to change):

Friday, February 2, 2024-Episode 508-Jerry Madden discusses his historical novel Steel Valley: Coming of Age in the Ohio Valley in the 1960s.  Madden sets his story in the Rust Belt in cities like Steubenville, Ohio, where the steel mills have moved out.   

Friday, February 9, 2024-Episode 509-Highlights Edition from 2023 and 2024` with excerpts from podcasts on Civil War volunteers from Saratoga,  the story of Benedict Arnold, an ancient elephant tusk found in Maine and much more.

Friday, February 16, 2024-Episode 510-Former Albany Politico bureau chief Terry Golway is author of I Never Did like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters.  Golway tells the story of LaGuardia’s life through colorful episodes that sound familiar to people today.

Friday, February 23, 2024-Episode 511-Photojournalist Richard Frishman and essayist and professor Dr. B. Brian Foster are authors of Ghosts of Segregation, a photojournalism collection depicting a visual history of segregation through the buildings and landscapes where racism has left its mark.

Amsterdam's "Hallelujah" Connection
By Bob Cudmore

There is a connection between Amsterdam and singer Jeff Buckley, who recorded the most popular version of Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen's anthem "Hallelujah."

Cohen, who died in 2016, recorded "Hallelujah" himself in 1984. The song took a long time to gain popularity.

After hearing a cover version by John Cale, Jeff Buckley recorded his own "Hallelujah" cover at Bearsville Recording Studio in Ulster County, releasing the song in "Grace," a 1994 album.

Jeff Buckley's father was musician Tim Buckley III who spent his early years in Amsterdam and Fort Johnson.

Tim Buckley III died in 1975 of a heroin and morphine overdose at age 28 in Santa Monica, California. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

Music critic David Browne wrote, "Jeff Buckley, who grew up barely knowing his father and being resentful of it, himself died in 1997 from drowning in Memphis, in the Mississippi River. A sad story, almost a Greek tragedy." Jeff Buckley's death was ruled accidental.

Browne is author of the book "Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley."

Jeff Buckley's recording of "Hallelujah" did not become popular until after his death. Buckley's version has been featured in film and television dramas. His "Hallelujah" was inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2014.

AMSTERDAM BUCKLEYS

The first member of the Buckley family to settle in Amsterdam was Tim Buckley, Tim III's grandfather and Jeff's great-grandfather,

Tim Buckley had come from Ireland in the early 1900s. He and Frank Graff briefly operated an auto repair shop on Mechanic Street called Buckley and Graff. Buckley and his wife Charlotte lived on Mechanic Street and Buckley, a World War I veteran, was house steward at an American Legion post.

Son Tim II, whose nickname was Buck, was born in 1916. Buck worked at the Strand movie theater and later at Bigelow Sanford Carpet.

Browne wrote, "In 1942, Tim II was drafted and served in the Screaming Eagles (a paratroopers division) in Europe, receiving a Purple Heart but also a head injury that resulted in a head plate, and many psychological problems, like thinking he was still in the war decades later.

"Tim Buckley III--the singer, also known as Timothy Charles Buckley III--was born (on Valentine's Day 1947) in the District of Columbia, where his father stayed after World War II."

Tim II, his wife Elaine Scalia Buckley and their son moved back to Amsterdam and lived on Garden Street. Tim II worked for General Electric. Tim III's mother was a Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra fan who introduced her son to jazz recordings.

Browne wrote, "In 1955, the family moved to Fort Johnson. When Tim III was in second grade, the family moved again--this time to Southern California, where Tim Buckley's music career began to take root, resulting in a string of albums and tours between 1966 and his death in 1975."

Buckley did not find commercial success, but is admired for musical innovation and vocal ability. Buckley's first album in 1966 was mainly folk music. Later he incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul and a sound in which his voice was used as an instrument.

Tim Buckley fan Charles Frank of Niskayuna said, "He seems to have had a five octave range to his voice and liked to show it."

Jeff Buckley's relationship with his father figures in a movie called "Greetings from Tim Buckley" produced in 2012. Penn Badgley played Jeff Buckley and Ben Rosenfeld portrayed his father Tim. "Variety" reported that the film included a train trip to Amsterdam where Jeff's father once lived.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, January 30, 2024-29 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:12AM-Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. East wind around 6 mph. Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph. Wednesday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

Tomorrow Amsterdam’s wealthy Sanford family inspired a 1938 motion picture starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant Holiday IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030241/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_45_act

The Historians Podcast with

Bob Cudmore - February 2024

Here’s the schedule (subject to change):

Friday, February 2, 2024-Episode 508-Jerry Madden discusses his historical novel Steel Valley: Coming of Age in the Ohio Valley in the 1960s.  Madden sets his story in the Rust Belt in cities like Steubenville, Ohio, where the steel mills have moved out.   

Friday, February 9, 2024-Episode 509-Highlights Edition from 2023 and 2024` with excerpts from podcasts on Civil War volunteers from Saratoga,  the story of Benedict Arnold, an ancient elephant tusk found in Maine and much more.

Friday, February 16, 2024-Episode 510-Former Albany Politico bureau chief Terry Golway is author of I Never Did like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters.  Golway tells the story of LaGuardia’s life through colorful episodes that sound familiar to people today.

Friday, February 23, 2024-Episode 511-Photojournalist Richard Frishman and essayist and professor Dr. B. Brian Foster are authors of Ghosts of Segregation, a photojournalism collection depicting a visual history of segregation through the buildings and landscapes where racism has left its mark.

People, pigeons and a coin collection were all at risk on Friday, November 23, 1962 in a major fire at 29-31 Market Street in Amsterdam.

by Bob Cudmore

Information was provided by Joseph Inglese of the town of Florida. Piccolo's Candy Store, badly damaged in the blaze, was owned by Frank and Sophie Piccolo, relatives of Inglese's wife, Lucille. Fire Chief Samuel A. Palombo, who commanded operations that night, was Inglese's great uncle.

The story reminded Inglese of the Gazette retrospective on Amsterdam fires that followed the recent factory building arson on Brookside Avenue.

"I'm not leaving here until you get my pigeon," was what one female apartment resident told a firefighter trying to lead her out of the building, according to a Recorder account.

"So the gallant smoke-eater located the pet bird, resting comfortably in a cardboard box, and carried it down the stairs," wrote reporter Richard C. Healy. "The woman followed."

However, another pet pigeon perished. An onlooker cradled the victim in her arms and left the fire scene.

A man who had been led to safety told firefighters he had forgotten his coin collection. Firemen went back inside but gave up the effort because of heavy smoke.

No apartment dwellers were injured but two firefighters"Edward Lampkin and Stanley Lomnicki--were treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries.

About 60 men battled the flames. Chief Palombo said, "When I saw what a beating the men were taking from the smoke, I ordered all apparatus to the scene."

One person was heard to stick up for the firemen, "Where are all these people who squawked about these guys getting a raise?"

The fire apparently started at the rear of Piccolo's Candy Store in an area rented by John Picco, proprietor of the adjacent Vallee curtain and drapery store.

Smoke also made its way into Britell insurance agency, Ottavio's luggage shop and Sochin's men's store.

The apartment dwellers who were led to safety were M.C. McLouth, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kowalski, Louis Gatto and Raymond Moore.

The Salvation Army and Nicholas Meola of the nearby Rialto Restaurant provided hot coffee to the firefighters and victims.

The flames broke out at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and firefighters finally left the scene about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

LIFE GOES ON
Advertisements that November day 48 years ago touted an active social scene in the Amsterdam area that weekend. The Oasis Café at 50-52 Market Street featured music by the Casuals and vocalist Lenny Rocco. The New Yorkers "a band "that speaks for itself" were playing at the Wil-Ton bowling alley lounge at 31 West Main Street. Ferris Tavern out at Mariaville Lake featured round. square and polka dancing to the music of the De-Lo-Ters.

If you were into entertainment for the whole family, Auction City on the Amsterdam-Schenectady Road urged you to bring the kiddies to see the largest Christmas stocking in the world, over six feet tall. An auction was scheduled that Saturday night and Kiss'n Dolls were the weekend special at five dollars each.

If you wanted to stay at home, you could pay a visit to Eugene W. Brach at his "electronic hospital" on Broadway Avenue Extension on Amsterdam's South Side. He would fix your TVs and radios and also offered rock bottom prices, such as a $289 console TV for just $169.95. A transistor radio with a leather case, listing at $22.95, could be had for $13.95 at Brach's.

And for the health conscious, apples were still on sale at T.J. Murphy's Appleland Farm on Swart Hill or at Raymond Rector's on Scotch Bush-Scotch Church Road. In each case, you were advised to bring your own containers.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, January 29, 2024-32 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:52AM A chance of snow showers, mainly before 7am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. North wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Tuesday Partly sunny, with a high near 32. East wind 5 to 7 mph.

Into a new Week on The Historians

Steel Valley: Coming of Age in the Ohio Valley in the 1960s.

Jerry Madden

Love is never easy...even in easier times, like the 1950s and 1960s in the Ohio Valley with the steel industry booming. Second-generation immigrant families were reaching for the American middle class. And Catholic schools-made feasible by selfless Catholic nuns-promised bigger lives for everyone, including Jack Clark and Laurie Carmine. As they spent years searching for their separate futures, though, they were also stumbling toward love just as their world came crashing down.

Steel Valley depicts a story of love longed for, lost, and perhaps still within reach, just as our nation's mythic yesterday became our troubled today, our last summer of innocence.

Families are friends for four generations

By Bob Cudmore

   Salvatore Morrella, Joseph Sapia and John Russo told police they were fruit merchants on their way back to Amsterdam from New York City with what they said was a load of grapes when they were stopped by authorities in Hudson, New York, according to the Daily Gazette on September 3, 1921.

   The police, being curious. looked under the grapes and found the men also had 100 gallons of distilled alcohol. 

   The alcohol was covered on all sides by crates of Malaga grapes.  Malaga grapes are grown in Spain and can be used used to make a sweet fortified wine.

  After the alcohol was discovered the trio of Amsterdam men admitted their guilt and were charged with felonies.

   Pasquale DiMezza, a friend of Russo and Sapia and a prominent Amsterdam banker, went to Hudson and furnished cash bail of 500 dollars for each after the men were held for the grand jury on the charge of violating the Volstead Act.  Five hundred dollars in 1921 would be worth $8400 today because of inflation.

   Those charged under the Volstead Act faced expensive bail but usually were able to make bail and then were released.

   The Volstead Act was an act of Congress that enforced the 18th amendment which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks starting in 1921.  Andrew Volstead was a Minnesota Congressman who championed prohibition.

   Amsterdam Town Supervisor, and retired Amsterdam city detective chief Thomas DiMezza said, “Russo’s Grill (on West Main Street) has been in business for 103 years now.  The Russo and DiMezza families go back four generations.”

    DiMezza explained, “The four generations comes in being that our grandparents were friends, our parents were good friends,  I played golf regularly with Jim Russo. I continue to be friends with the children, and our children are friends. In fact Dan Russo’s daughter works with my son Michael (in education).  What a small world.”

   Banker Pasquale DiMezza, a native of Melizanno in Benevento province, also published an Italian newspaper and sold real estate and products ranging from steamship tickets to macaroni.

   In 1916, the DiMezza Bank, originally on the South Side, relocated across the river to 75 West Main Street at the corner of Mohawk Place. When Pasquale DiMezza closed the bank in 1930, state examiners said his adherence to state banking laws had been perfect.  He was known for serving customers at any hour of the day or night.

   DiMezza even wanted to erect a merry-go-round in 1908 on Railroad Street, a project humorously deplored by the Recorder newspaper whose offices were nearby, “It is sincerely hoped that some natural phenomenon destroys the aforesaid music before the first shrill blast of the whistle stuns the fish in the river.”

   As pressure mounted to repeal Prohibition in 1932, local Methodists continued to advocate for continuation of the ban.  Meeting in Saratoga Springs, ministers from throughout the area argued that the anti-alcohol law had not been given a fair chance of success.

   When Prohibition was repealed jn 1933, the bank became a liquor store operated by Pasquale DiMezza’s son Alphonse starting in 1945.  Hundreds paid their respects when Pasquale DiMezza, at age 75, died in1947. The DiMezza Bank was torn down for urban renewal highway work in 1966.

   Once Prohibition ended, the government issued beer and wine licenses to some establishments and full liquor license to others. 

   Amsterdam Mayor Arthur Carter was reported to flip flop on enforcing that law. 

   At first, Carter told local police to leave enforcement to federal undercover agents.  But after pressure from the state, Carter changed his mind and told local uniformed police to enforce the law.

Friday, February 9, 2024-Episode 509-Highlights Edition from 2023 and 2024`with excerpts from podcasts on Civil War volunteers from Saratoga, African Americans who settled in the Adirondacks, the story of Benedict Arnold, an ancient elephant tusk found in Maine and much more.

The Volstead Act was an act of Congress that enforced the 18th amendment which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks starting in 1921.  Andrew Volstead was a Minnesota Congressman who championed prohibition.

Families are friends for four generations

By Bob Cudmore

   Salvatore Morrella, Joseph Sapia and John Russo told police they were fruit merchants on their way back to Amsterdam from New York City with what they said was a load of grapes when they were stopped by authorities in Hudson, New York, according to the Daily Gazette on September 3, 1921.

   The police, being curious. looked under the grapes and found the men also had 100 gallons of distilled alcohol. 

   The alcohol was covered on all sides by crates of Malaga grapes.  Malaga grapes are grown in Spain and can be used used to make a sweet fortified wine.

  After the alcohol was discovered the trio of Amsterdam men admitted their guilt and were charged with felonies.

   Pasquale DiMezza, a friend of Russo and Sapia and a prominent Amsterdam banker, went to Hudson and furnished cash bail of 500 dollars for each after the men were held for the grand jury on the charge of violating the Volstead Act.  Five hundred dollars in 1921 would be worth $8400 today because of inflation.

   Those charged under the Volstead Act faced expensive bail but usually were able to make bail and then were released.

   The Volstead Act was an act of Congress that enforced the 18th amendment which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks starting in 1921.  Andrew Volstead was a Minnesota Congressman who championed prohibition.

   Amsterdam Town Supervisor, and retired Amsterdam city detective chief Thomas DiMezza said, “Russo’s Grill (on West Main Street) has been in business for 103 years now.  The Russo and DiMezza families go back four generations.”

    DiMezza explained, “The four generations comes in being that our grandparents were friends, our parents were good friends,  I played golf regularly with Jim Russo. I continue to be friends with the children, and our children are friends. In fact Dan Russo’s daughter works with my son Michael (in education).  What a small world.”

   Banker Pasquale DiMezza, a native of Melizanno in Benevento province, also published an Italian newspaper and sold real estate and products ranging from steamship tickets to macaroni.

   In 1916, the DiMezza Bank, originally on the South Side, relocated across the river to 75 West Main Street at the corner of Mohawk Place. When Pasquale DiMezza closed the bank in 1930, state examiners said his adherence to state banking laws had been perfect.  He was known for serving customers at any hour of the day or night.

   DiMezza even wanted to erect a merry-go-round in 1908 on Railroad Street, a project humorously deplored by the Recorder newspaper whose offices were nearby, “It is sincerely hoped that some natural phenomenon destroys the aforesaid music before the first shrill blast of the whistle stuns the fish in the river.”

   As pressure mounted to repeal Prohibition in 1932, local Methodists continued to advocate for continuation of the ban.  Meeting in Saratoga Springs, ministers from throughout the area argued that the anti-alcohol law had not been given a fair chance of success.

   When Prohibition was repealed jn 1933, the bank became a liquor store operated by Pasquale DiMezza’s son Alphonse starting in 1945.  Hundreds paid their respects when Pasquale DiMezza, at age 75, died in1947. The DiMezza Bank was torn down for urban renewal highway work in 1966.

   Once Prohibition ended, the government issued beer and wine licenses to some establishments and full liquor license to others. 

   Amsterdam Mayor Arthur Carter was reported to flip flop on enforcing that law. 

   At first, Carter told local police to leave enforcement to federal undercover agents.  But after pressure from the state, Carter changed his mind and told local uniformed police to enforce the law.

February on The Hisrorians 

Jerry Madden

Steel Valley: Coming of Age in the Ohio Valley in the 1960s.

Love is never easy...even in easier times, like the 1950s and 1960s in the Ohio Valley with the steel industry booming. Second-generation immigrant families were reaching for the American middle class. And Catholic schools-made feasible by selfless Catholic nuns-promised bigger lives for everyone, including Jack Clark and Laurie Carmine. As they spent years searching for their separate futures, though, they were also stumbling toward love just as their world came crashing down.

Steel Valley depicts a story of love longed for, lost, and perhaps still within reach, just as our nation's mythic yesterday became our troubled today, our last summer of innocence.

Terry Golway's I Never Did Like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters (St. Martin’s Press) tells the story of his life through colorful, dramatic and amusing episodes that often speak to issues that will sound familiar to twenty-first century readers.

Terry Golway was POLITICO's Albany editor and the author of several works of history, including Frank and Al and Machine Made. He worked as a reporter on Staten Island. He has been a columnist and city editor at the New York Observer, a member of the editorial board of the New York Times, and a columnist for the Irish Echo. He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History from Rutgers University and has taught at the New School, New York University, and the College of Staten Island.

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Sunday, January 28, 2024-38 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:23AM

Picture of Downtown Amsterdam taken on October 15, 1941

It was a Wednesday

On The Historians schedule in early February

Terry Golway's I Never Did Like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters (St. Martin’s Press) tells the story of his life through colorful, dramatic and amusing episodes that often speak to issues that will sound familiar to twenty-first century readers.

Terry Golway was POLITICO's Albany editor and the author of several works of history, including Frank and Al and Machine Made. He worked as a reporter on Staten Island. He has been a columnist and city editor at the New York Observer, a member of the editorial board of the New York Times, and a columnist for the Irish Echo. He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History from Rutgers University and has taught at the New School, New York University, and the College of Staten Island.

A Bob story to read while you wait for The Gazette to show up on your doorstep

The good old days?
By Bob Cudmore

The Chamber of Commerce published a booklet of essays submitted by local people for a city improvement contest in 1946 called "What I Don't Like About Amsterdam."

Few of us today actually remember 1946, but many who grew up in Amsterdam after World War II would probably regard that postwar year of 1946 as part of the good old days.

The carpet mills, other Amsterdam factories and businesses were still thriving. Downtown was busy. People enjoyed bowling, softball and other amateur sports. The war had ended.

Nonetheless Charles H. Schenck, Chamber Executive Secretary, said the essays submitted in the contest cited multiple complaints.

Lack of recreational facilities was mentioned in 230 essays. The poor condition of streets was cited in 177 entries. There were 139 ash and garbage collection complaints. Seventy nine people wrote Amsterdam had too many bars and deplored the sale of alcohol to minors. Some essays called for more hotel accommodations, transportation and theatrical facilities.

A numbering system enabled the Chamber judges to anonymously award cash prizes to individuals whose essays were deemed the best among the 850 entries. The judges were also anonymous.

"We are quick to criticize those who make an honest effort to do something," wrote the first prize winner, who was awarded $40.

Forty dollars in 1946 would translate into over $500 today because of inflation, making it a rather substantial prize.

The winning writer continued, "Misguided leadership has done a lot to put nationalism above civic responsibility and has tended to build up group interest with selfish motives. We are all Americans and we should work together."

The second place essay was awarded $20 and called for Sunday evening services in the churches and an end to competition among local veterans groups. The writer suggested city employees only get 10 days in sick leave each year, that the city buy sidewalk snow plows and that the proposed athletic field near the Lynch School be designated a World War II memorial.

The Recorder announced the conclusion of the contest on March 26, "The project to secure a self-portrait of Amsterdam by her own residents was started about one month ago when blanks were distributed through the public schools and mercantile establishments of the city.

"In expression of approximately 100 words, men, women and children were invited to say what they think about the city and its weak points."

The third place finisher, who was awarded $10, suggested a waste disposal system so that sewage would no longer be dumped into the Mohawk River. The writer also called for beautification of the riverfront.

Here are more critiques from 1946:

"I don't like the taste of city water. It has too much chlorine in it. They admit the water looks bad and tastes bad but say it's harmless. It should be "the way it's been drugged."

"Amsterdam should have a curfew law for children up to 16 years, and it should be enforced, even if it means bringing parents into court."

"The streets are a hodge-podge of houses, dinky little stores (often empty), gas stations, vacant lots (used as dumping grounds) and unoccupied buildings with broken windows."

"The characters that clutter up the streets in front of some of the downtown cigar stores are no ad for the police department."

"Amsterdam needs a sort of night club just for us kids, with special attractions by kids who can sing, dance, play an instrument or perform."

This Weekend what is not on the Radio

WCSS Radio Amsterdam 106.9FM and 1490AM will preempt The Historians Podcast on two weekends.  Our podcast will not be heard this Saturday, January 27 or Saturday, February 3 as WCSS broadcasts college basketball.  The historians podcasts for those dates can be heard online hear on BobCudmore dot com and on our other podcast Websites. 

Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, January 25, 2024-39 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 7:05AM 

All in One Day, spent part of that day at Lock 11-October 15, 1941

It was raining that Day, a guess as to the time, how about One till 3 in the afternoon

A story to read while you wait for dinner

Fort Plain native keeps Dutch heritage alive
By Bob Cudmore

In 1994 Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred a Dutch knighthood in the Order of Orange-Nassau on Fort Plain native Charles Gehring.

Part German and part Italian, Gehring was born in his grandmother's house in Fort Plain. His family moved to Nelliston after World War II. His doctoral dissertation at Indiana University was a linguistic investigation of the survival of the Dutch language in colonial New York.

His career has been spent translating Old Dutch documents from the New Netherland Colony which included cities now called Albany and New York City. Old Dutch is hard to understand even for people fluent in modern Dutch. Many surviving hand written documents are barely legible.

Gehring works in Albany as director of the New Netherland Research Center housed at the New York State Library.

He said, "I've been translating Dutch records for 40 some years. These are the original records of the Dutch colony here in the 17th century. I'm also busy promoting people's knowledge of Dutch heritage in the area. So it's not just a translation project but a dissemination project as well, and an education project. We try to make people aware of the unique area that they live in in the Hudson Valley and Mohawk Valley."

For 35 years Gehring had help with the translations from Janny Venema, a Dutch school teacher who moved to the Capital District and began working with Gehring in Albany in the mid 1980s.

In a 2020 interview Venema said she and Gehring for example translated New Netherland council minutes, "The council would be Peter Stuyvesant and a few other men. They were the government of the entire colony of New Netherland."

Venema retired in 2020 and moved back to Holland. Gehring said he will continue translating, "Well I'll take it as long as I can. As long as my eyes hold out."

Many scholars and popular authors have used Gehring's translations. The Albany translations, for example, made possible Russell Shorto's acclaimed 2004 bestseller, "The Island at the Center of the World." Shorto's book is a history of Manhattan's founding by the Dutch which Shorto argues led to New York and America's immigrant culture.

In the 1990s Gehring and William Starna, a longtime friend originally from St. Johnsville, translated their own book, Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert's journal, "A Journey into Mohawk and Oneida Country, 1634-1635."

Van den Bogaert was a Dutch barber-surgeon who lived in what we call Albany and what was then called Fort Orange. He was the first European to document a journey through the Mohawk Valley.

His journal also makes the first printed reference to the Iroquois confederacy of nations.

Van den Bogaert and two other men set out in December 1634 to learn why the Fort Orange fur trade had dropped off with Iroquois tribes to the west. The travelers returned to Fort Orange with gifts.

Van den Bogaert became commander of Fort Orange. In 1648 he became embroiled in a sexual controversy, accused of having a sexual relationship with a male slave named Tobias. Van den Bogaert was charged with sodomy, a capital offense.

He fled to Indian country. A bounty hunter caught up with him at an Oneida longhouse and in an exchange of gunfire, the longhouse was set ablaze and destroyed. Van den Bogaert was taken back to Fort Orange.

He escaped again when a sheet of floating ice badly damaged the fort. However, he then drowned in the Hudson River. Ironically, the penalty for sodomy was drowning.

Gehring said, "If you were to write all this in a novel it would seem too absurd."

Friday, January 26, 2024-Author John Gearing and editor Chris Leonard discuss their book Schenectady Genesis, Volume II: The Creation of an American City from an Anglo-Dutch Town, ca. 1760-1800.

A Radio Note about this Weekend

WCSS Radio Amsterdam 106.9FM and 1490AM will preempt The Historians Podcast on two weekends.  Our podcast will not be heard this Saturday, January 27 or Saturday, February 3 as WCSS broadcasts college basketball.  The historians podcasts for those dates can be heard online hear on BobCudmore dot com and on our other podcast Websites. 

Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, January 24, 2024-35 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:56AM