The Historians

David Pietrusza on organized crime in the 1920s in New York City, Gangsterland.

A site by site, crime by crime, outlaw by outlaw walking tour through the seedy underbelly of Roaring Twenties Manhattan—where gamblers and gangsters, crooks and cops, showgirls and speakeasies ruled the day and, always, the night.

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/stores/David-Pietrusza/author/B001HCYTWU?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

In Gangsterland, historian David Pietrusza tours the Big Apple’s rotten core.

The latest Bob Cudmore story in The Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder this weekend  

A man born in the Montgomery County town of Root went on to become a doctor and then the dean of Albany Medical College.

The war on alcohol in Amsterdam

By Bob Cudmore

“I can remember my Dad telling stories of him and buddies running illegal liquor from Johnstown into Amsterdam during Prohibition,” wrote a reader who only identified himself as Ralph.  “Would you be able to dig up more information and details on this seldom talked about occupation?”

In “Annals of a Mill Town,” historian Hugh Donlon wrote, “Amsterdam rum runners regularly hit the approved back roads toward Hamilton County and through the Adirondacks to provide supposedly discerning customers with supposedly genuine Canadian products.”

Bootleggers even may have used a long gone private airfield on Route 67 in the town of Amsterdam.  Residents reported nights when lighted barrels would appear along the runway during Prohibition and a plane would land, presumably carrying alcoholic beverages.

At home, people made wine, beer and even hard liquor.  Actor Kirk Douglas wrote in his autobiography “The Ragman’s Son” that his father, Amsterdam ragman Harry Demsky, always managed to find alcohol during Prohibition. Once the elder Demsky got into trouble for drinking ceremonial wine stored at his synagogue.

Bowler’s Brewery on West Main Street was converted into the Chuctanunda Dyeing & Dressing Company.  But Donlon wrote that the establishment continued to make products that smelled alcoholic and federal agents raided with “crippling frequency.”

Some saloons went underground during Prohibition—from 1920 to 1933.  Descendants of the O’Shaughnessy family recalled that their East Main Street bar in Amsterdam closed for the duration but reopened after repeal.  During what was called the Great Hypocrisy, the family sold moonshine off their back porch.

Federal agents based in Albany and state police appeared to handle most of the war on alcohol cases.  Donlon said troopers arrested 14 people at Ashley’s Tavern in Amsterdam in July 1921 and seized $10,000 worth of liquor.  Two years later the liquor was returned under court order. 

According to a Google search of Daily Gazette records, in December 1922 one of the largest raids so far in the Northern District of New York took place on Reid Street in Amsterdam.  Federal agents seized 50 cases of beer, four gallons of whisky, five quarts of gin and 15 quarts of what was described as alcohol.  Agents destroyed 20 gallons of whisky.  One man was charged.

Five days later for the first time in the Northern District, federal agents seized a horse and sleigh in Amsterdam allegedly being used to transport 50 gallons of wine in casks.  As is the case with drug raids today, testing was to be done to ensure the liquid seized really was wine.  Two grocery store proprietors loading the sleigh were charged with “illegally possessing and transporting intoxicants.”

Seven federal agents raided suspected saloons on Locust Avenue, Schuyler and East Main Streets in Amsterdam in September 1924, arresting four men described as saloonkeepers.

A story from October 1928 indicated that proof of operating a speakeasy came when an undercover officer was able to buy an alcoholic drink.  Federal agents bought such a beverage at 29 Schuyler Street in Amsterdam and then arrested two men.  Arrests came after a brief struggle in which one suspect sustained a badly discolored eye.

A report focusing on a raid at the Kit Kat Club in Saratoga Springs in August 1930 also noted that federal agents confiscated a half barrel of beer and several bottles of what they thought was beer at Amsterdam’s Hotel Griffin on West Main Street.  One man was arrested but was released on $2000 bail.

Bail for violators of the anti-alcohol law seems high--$1000 or $2000 per person—given that a dollar was worth much more back then.  However, those charged usually were able to make bail and were released.

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Friday, October 20, 2023

57 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:42AM 

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s father dies suddenly during first 24 hours of Israel trip
ALBANY – During her trip to Israel, Gov. Kathy Hochul gave an update Thursday afternoon about her experience so far…

Amsterdam Alderman Stephen Gomula scheduled to take plea next month
FONDA — Amsterdam 4th Ward Alderman Stephen Gomula is expected to take a plea offer in Montgomery County Court next…

Two Buttons Deep lost six figures after controversial Johnstown video
Two Buttons Deep is suspending all advertising for this year in the fallout of a since-deleted short featuring transphobic comments…

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The latest Bob Cudmore story from The Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder this weekend  

A man born in the Montgomery County town of Root went on to become a doctor and then the dean of Albany Medical College.

State Canal Corp. donates nearly century-old boat to Amsterdam for display at Riverlink Park
AMSTERDAM — Riverlink Park has a new attraction with the donation of a nearly 100-year-old work boat by the state…https://dailygazette.com/

Thursday, October 19, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam’s war on alcohol

“I can remember my Dad telling stories of him and buddies running illegal liquor from Johnstown into Amsterdam during Prohibition,” wrote a reader who only identified himself as Ralph.

Friday, October 20, 2023-Episode 496-David Pietrusza on organized crime in the 1920s in New York City, Gangsterland.

Amsterdam underwear played Times Square

by Bob Cudmore

   Visitors to New York’s Times Square a century ago saw the virtues of Amsterdam-made knit underwear up in lights.

   According to handwriting on the back of a picture that hung at an Amsterdam factory, the Times Square sign was in place from 1912 to 1922. The note stated the company paid $3000 a month for the sign, although the sign company wanted $6000 a month. 

   Spelled out in electric lights on the sign was the following—Chalmers underwear, makers of Porosknit, Inrox and Kruco for summer and winter.  A clock was below the sign.

   According to historian Hugh Donlon, Amsterdam visitors never wearied of gawking at the sign. Certainly the sign’s prominent placement was a talking point for company salesmen, who could point out that the Amsterdam company was serious about national advertising. 

   David W. Chalmers and his partners were the last industrialists to start a major knitting mill in the city in 1901. In the next decade, Chalmers built his factory complex, along the south shore of the Mohawk River.

   Long Island developer Uri Kaufman in recent years was unable to convince Amsterdam’s Common Council to give him the opportunity to turn the long vacant factory into apartments.  The structure was slated for demolition in 2010.

   Chalmers sold his mill in 1945 to Lester Martin and Company, which owned manufacturing plants in several cities.  In 1946, Martin company controller Joel Kaplan began making trips to Amsterdam to inventory the Chalmers operation.  In 1955, Kaplan moved to Amsterdam from New York City to oversee the Chalmers plant, which at one time during Martin’s ownership employed 650 people.  Martin died in 1959 and the Chalmers mill closed that same year.

   Kaplan stayed in Amsterdam and became widely known for his service to more than 20 local charities. Kaplan has donated artifacts from Chalmers Knitting to the Walter Elwood Museum. Among them are advertisements for union suits, long cotton underwear for men that was Chalmers’ main product in the old days.  Kaplan said long underwear was popular before central heating and indoor plumbing. 

   Chalmers even made long underwear for summertime, according to a sales brochure: “Here’s a ‘keep cool’ tip for hot weather days.  Chalmers Porosknit underwear is knit to let the air circulate freely through the fabric.  All perspiration is blotted up—no uncomfortable ‘clinginess.’  Porosknit ‘lets the body breathe.’”

   In the days when Lester Martin and Company owned Chalmers, the mill was mainly making ladies and children’s underwear and even handkerchiefs under the Fruit of the Loom label.

CHALM ERS BUTTONS

   Donlon also noted that another family named Chalmers, Harvey and his son Arthur, started a button manufacturing plant on the north side of the river in Amsterdam in 1898.  The Chalmers button plant spanned the Chuctanunda Creek and produced thousands of buttons, originally using clamshells from the Mississippi River area.

   Donlon said, “Employment at peak output was about 1,000, including Amsterdam housewives who added to family income by sewing buttons on cards at home.”  Buttons were so plentiful in Amsterdam that walkways at the Jollyland amusement park—now Shuttleworth Park--were paved with discarded buttons. 

Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, October 18, 2023

52 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:33AM 

Around Town: A snapshot of the week Oct. 10-17, Amsterdam, Schenectady, Johnstown, Niskayuna and Broadalbin — Images (10 photos)
AROUND TOWN — Each week, our staff photographers travel the roads of our region capturing a variety of moments from…

State Canal Corp. donates nearly century-old boat to Amsterdam for display at Riverlink Park
AMSTERDAM — Riverlink Park has a new attraction with the donation of a nearly 100-year-old work boat by the state…

Inclusive art show set for Wednesday in Amsterda

Liberty ARC staff set up for the agency’s 5th Annual Creative Expressions Art Show at the Century...

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Debuting this Friday, October 20, 2023-Episode 496-David Pietrusza with a guided tour of organized crime in the 1920s in New York City, Gangsterland.

A site by site, crime by crime, outlaw by outlaw walking tour through the seedy underbelly of Roaring Twenties Manhattan—where gamblers and gangsters, crooks and cops, showgirls and speakeasies ruled the day and, always, the night.

Amsterdam underwear played Times Square

by Bob Cudmore

   Visitors to New York’s Times Square a century ago saw the virtues of Amsterdam-made knit underwear up in lights.

   According to handwriting on the back of a picture that hung at an Amsterdam factory, the Times Square sign was in place from 1912 to 1922. The note stated the company paid $3000 a month for the sign, although the sign company wanted $6000 a month. 

   Spelled out in electric lights on the sign was the following—Chalmers underwear, makers of Porosknit, Inrox and Kruco for summer and winter.  A clock was below the sign.

   According to historian Hugh Donlon, Amsterdam visitors never wearied of gawking at the sign. Certainly the sign’s prominent placement was a talking point for company salesmen, who could point out that the Amsterdam company was serious about national advertising. 

   David W. Chalmers and his partners were the last industrialists to start a major knitting mill in the city in 1901. In the next decade, Chalmers built his factory complex, along the south shore of the Mohawk River.

   Long Island developer Uri Kaufman in recent years was unable to convince Amsterdam’s Common Council to give him the opportunity to turn the long vacant factory into apartments.  The structure was slated for demolition in 2010.

   Chalmers sold his mill in 1945 to Lester Martin and Company, which owned manufacturing plants in several cities.  In 1946, Martin company controller Joel Kaplan began making trips to Amsterdam to inventory the Chalmers operation.  In 1955, Kaplan moved to Amsterdam from New York City to oversee the Chalmers plant, which at one time during Martin’s ownership employed 650 people.  Martin died in 1959 and the Chalmers mill closed that same year.

   Kaplan stayed in Amsterdam and became widely known for his service to more than 20 local charities. Kaplan has donated artifacts from Chalmers Knitting to the Walter Elwood Museum. Among them are advertisements for union suits, long cotton underwear for men that was Chalmers’ main product in the old days.  Kaplan said long underwear was popular before central heating and indoor plumbing. 

   Chalmers even made long underwear for summertime, according to a sales brochure: “Here’s a ‘keep cool’ tip for hot weather days.  Chalmers Porosknit underwear is knit to let the air circulate freely through the fabric.  All perspiration is blotted up—no uncomfortable ‘clinginess.’  Porosknit ‘lets the body breathe.’”

   In the days when Lester Martin and Company owned Chalmers, the mill was mainly making ladies and children’s underwear and even handkerchiefs under the Fruit of the Loom label.

CHALM ERS BUTTONS

   Donlon also noted that another family named Chalmers, Harvey and his son Arthur, started a button manufacturing plant on the north side of the river in Amsterdam in 1898.  The Chalmers button plant spanned the Chuctanunda Creek and produced thousands of buttons, originally using clamshells from the Mississippi River area.

   Donlon said, “Employment at peak output was about 1,000, including Amsterdam housewives who added to family income by sewing buttons on cards at home.”  Buttons were so plentiful in Amsterdam that walkways at the Jollyland amusement park—now Shuttleworth Park--were paved with discarded buttons. 

Wednesday, October 18, 2023-From the Archives Episode 175, August 4, 2017, Baltimore sports writer John Eisenberg discusses his book “The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken Jr., and Baseball’s Most Historic Record.”  Eisenberg tells the story of baseball’s legendary Iron Men, Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig, who each achieved the record of most consecutive games played.

Thursday, October 19, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam’s war on alcohol

“I can remember my Dad telling stories of him and buddies running illegal liquor from Johnstown into Amsterdam during Prohibition,” wrote a reader who only identified himself as Ralph.

Friday, October 20, 2023-Episode 496-David Pietrusza on organized crime in the 1920s in New York City, Gangsterland.

Mohawk Valley Weather. Tuesday, October 17, 2023

46 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:18AM 

Duanesburg double-homicide trial: Defense to argue COVID-linked ‘psychosis’
SCHENECTADY — A Schenectady County jury will decide in the coming weeks if the Duanesburg man accused of killing his…

Longtime WENT journalist launches write-in campaign against Johnstown politician accused of making transphobic remarks
Retired 1340 WENT journalist Thomas Roehl anticipates an uphill battle. The 63-year-old has launched an eleventh-hour, write-in campaign for Johnstown’s…

Amsterdam police investigating break-ins at South Side businesses early Monday morning

AMSTERDAM — A string of break-ins at businesses on Amsterdam’s South Side early Monday morning are...

Fonda-Fultonville Winter Gear Night Wednesday offers free cold weather clothes for students

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

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Debuting this Friday, October 20, 2023-Episode 496-David Pietrusza with a guided tour of organized crime in the 1920s in New York City, Gangsterland.

A site by site, crime by crime, outlaw by outlaw walking tour through the seedy underbelly of Roaring Twenties Manhattan—where gamblers and gangsters, crooks and cops, showgirls and speakeasies ruled the day and, always, the night.

Monday, October 16, 2023-Story behind the story-No ice cream for the Seabees on USS Amsterdam.

Tuesday, October 17, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam underwear advertised in Times Square

Visitors to New York’s Times Square a century ago saw the virtues of Amsterdam-made knit underwear up in lights.

Wednesday, October 18, 2023-From the Archives Episode 175, August 4, 2017, Baltimore sports writer John Eisenberg discusses his book “The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken Jr., and Baseball’s Most Historic Record.”  Eisenberg tells the story of baseball’s legendary Iron Men, Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig, who each achieved the record of most consecutive games played.

Thursday, October 19, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam’s war on alcohol

“I can remember my Dad telling stories of him and buddies running illegal liquor from Johnstown into Amsterdam during Prohibition,” wrote a reader who only identified himself as Ralph.

Friday, October 20, 2023-Episode 496-David Pietrusza on organized crime in the 1920s in New York City, Gangsterland.

No ice cream for the Seabees on USS Amsterdam

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History

   The USS Amsterdam sailed back to America from Japan when World War II ended, picking up Seabees in Guam. 

   The passengers brought a different perspective on war to the Amsterdam’s sailors. 

   “We had a laundry, hot food, a ship’s newspaper and ice cream almost every day,” said former Seaman Steve Fitz. “As we were traveling back to America one of the crew in line for dinner shouted out there was no ice cream today.  One of the Seabees said, ‘Isn’t that a shame.  We haven’t seen ice cream in two years!’”

   Fitz, a native of Schenectady, was given a choice of three ships when leaving boot camp and chose USS Amsterdam because it reminded him of home. 

   When his Navy service ended, Fitz became a talk radio host.  His last radio work was commentary on Amsterdam's WVTL in 2012.

   The USS Amsterdam was named after the city by President Franklin Roosevelt, following a campaign organized by James T. Bergen American Legion post.

   Work began on the light cruiser, nicknamed the Flying Dutchman, in 1943.

   Mrs. Frieda Hasenfuss christened the ship April 25, 1944 at Newport News, Virginia.

   Mrs. Hasenfuss, who lived on Northampton Road, was Amsterdam’s first World War II Gold Star Mother.  One of her nine children, Army PFC William Hasenfuss, Jr., was killed at Hickam Field in Hawaii in the 1941 Japanese Pearl Harbor attack.

   “I was thinking of William when I smashed that bottle.” Mrs. Hasenfuss said as the vessel slid into the James River. 

   Andrew Lawton of Youngstown, Ohio, was captain.  The ship had a crew of 1,400.

   “About 55% of the crew was right out of boot camp,” Fitz said. “There was a decent amount of old salts who knew their way around ships.

   “The Amsterdam never crossed the equator, usually an occasion for something like a fraternity hazing for greenhorn sailors.  The ship did cross the International Date Line and veteran crew members convinced the captain to have some hours of frivolity at the expense of the new recruits.”

   The Amsterdam protected aircraft carriers sending planes to bomb Japan in July 1945. 

   Fitz said, “All of us were happy when they dropped the nuclear bombs.  We knew we would be part of an invasion of Japan and there would be a great loss of life.”

   The USS Amsterdam was among the American ships anchored in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered.

   Through his range finder, radar operator Fitz could see General Douglas Macarthur and Japanese officials who were on the battleship Missouri for the surrender.

   The Amsterdam was decommissioned in 1947 and scrapped in 1972.

   Fitz said some local politicians were reluctant to let USS Amsterdam veterans stage a reunion in the city, fearing things might get out of hand.

   The reunion took place in Amsterdam without incident.

   Fitz found the reunion very emotional, “It taught us that you’ve got do what you’re told and when you’re told.  It made men out of a lot of boys.”

   A model of USS Amsterdam was handmade by the late Albert M. Swager of Pennsylvania, a former crewman, who donated the model to Walter Elwood Museum in Amsterdam in 1995.  The eight foot replica was loaned for a crew reunion in central New York in 1998.  The model ended up at Sampson Memorial Museum in Romulus. 

   It was located through the efforts of Amsterdam history fan Stanley Krolikowski and returned to the Elwood museum September 30.

   Anyone who wishes to contribute time or money to the USS Amsterdam exhibit may contact Mike Parillo at the museum.  With artifacts, documents, and photos contact City Historian Robert von Hasseln.

Mohawk Valley Weather. Monday, October 16, 2023

50 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:54AM 

Schoharie limo crash, 5 years later: New wave of reform bills stalled in Albany
Following the five-year mark of the Schoharie limo crash that killed 20 people, many bills aimed at limousine industry reforms…

Xtreme Pickle indoor pickleball facility opens in Amsterdam

Xtreme Pickle brings indoor pickleball courts to the Riverfront Center in Amsterdam.

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Monday, October 16, 2023-Story behind the story-No ice cream for the Seabees on USS Amsterdam. Tuesday, October 17, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam underwear advertised in Times Square. Wednesday, October 18, 2023-From the Archives Episode 175, August 4, 2017, Baltimore sports writer John Eisenberg discusses his book “The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken Jr., and Baseball’s Most Historic Record.”  Eisenberg tells the story of baseball’s legendary Iron Men, Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig, who each achieved the record of most consecutive games played. Thursday, October 19, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam’s war on alcohol. Friday, October 20, 2023-Episode 496-David Pietrusza on organized crime in the 1920s in New York City, Gangsterland.

No ice cream for the Seabees on USS Amsterdam

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History

   The USS Amsterdam sailed back to America from Japan when World War II ended, picking up Seabees in Guam. 

   The passengers brought a different perspective on war to the Amsterdam’s sailors. 

   “We had a laundry, hot food, a ship’s newspaper and ice cream almost every day,” said former Seaman Steve Fitz. “As we were traveling back to America one of the crew in line for dinner shouted out there was no ice cream today.  One of the Seabees said, ‘Isn’t that a shame.  We haven’t seen ice cream in two years!’”

   Fitz, a native of Schenectady, was given a choice of three ships when leaving boot camp and chose USS Amsterdam because it reminded him of home. 

   When his Navy service ended, Fitz became a talk radio host.  His last radio work was commentary on Amsterdam's WVTL in 2012.

   The USS Amsterdam was named after the city by President Franklin Roosevelt, following a campaign organized by James T. Bergen American Legion post.

   Work began on the light cruiser, nicknamed the Flying Dutchman, in 1943.

   Mrs. Frieda Hasenfuss christened the ship April 25, 1944 at Newport News, Virginia.

   Mrs. Hasenfuss, who lived on Northampton Road, was Amsterdam’s first World War II Gold Star Mother.  One of her nine children, Army PFC William Hasenfuss, Jr., was killed at Hickam Field in Hawaii in the 1941 Japanese Pearl Harbor attack.

   “I was thinking of William when I smashed that bottle.” Mrs. Hasenfuss said as the vessel slid into the James River. 

   Andrew Lawton of Youngstown, Ohio, was captain.  The ship had a crew of 1,400.

   “About 55% of the crew was right out of boot camp,” Fitz said. “There was a decent amount of old salts who knew their way around ships.

   “The Amsterdam never crossed the equator, usually an occasion for something like a fraternity hazing for greenhorn sailors.  The ship did cross the International Date Line and veteran crew members convinced the captain to have some hours of frivolity at the expense of the new recruits.”

   The Amsterdam protected aircraft carriers sending planes to bomb Japan in July 1945. 

   Fitz said, “All of us were happy when they dropped the nuclear bombs.  We knew we would be part of an invasion of Japan and there would be a great loss of life.”

   The USS Amsterdam was among the American ships anchored in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered.

   Through his range finder, radar operator Fitz could see General Douglas Macarthur and Japanese officials who were on the battleship Missouri for the surrender.

   The Amsterdam was decommissioned in 1947 and scrapped in 1972.

   Fitz said some local politicians were reluctant to let USS Amsterdam veterans stage a reunion in the city, fearing things might get out of hand.

   The reunion took place in Amsterdam without incident.

   Fitz found the reunion very emotional, “It taught us that you’ve got do what you’re told and when you’re told.  It made men out of a lot of boys.”

   A model of USS Amsterdam was handmade by the late Albert M. Swager of Pennsylvania, a former crewman, who donated the model to Walter Elwood Museum in Amsterdam in 1995.  The eight foot replica was loaned for a crew reunion in central New York in 1998.  The model ended up at Sampson Memorial Museum in Romulus. 

   It was located through the efforts of Amsterdam history fan Stanley Krolikowski and returned to the Elwood museum September 30.

   Anyone who wishes to contribute time or money to the USS Amsterdam exhibit may contact Mike Parillo at the museum.  With artifacts, documents, and photos contact City Historian Robert von Hasseln.

An encore performance of Historians Podcast Episode 408, first aired on February 4, 2022-WGY radio’s 100th anniversary-featuring Kolin Hager, Martha Brooks, Howard Tupper, Earl Pudney, Don Tuttle, Elle Pankin, Diane Ward and Bob Cudmore.  WGY news anchor Mike Patrick describes podcasts he has recorded with many WGY veterans.  The station aired special programming on February 20, 2022, the actual 100th anniversary of WGY.

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Sunday, October 15, 2023

46 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:21AM 

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

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Old Fort Johnson to hold Fall Harvest Festival on Saturday

https://www.recordernews.com/

Bob Cudmore in The Gazette and Recorder this weekend

This Sunday, October 15, 2023-Focus on History-No ice cream for the Seabees on USS Amsterdam

Friday, October 13, 2023 An encore performance of Historians Podcast Episode 408, first aired on February 4, 2022-WGY radio’s 100th anniversary-featuring Kolin Hager, Martha Brooks, Howard Tupper, Earl Pudney, Don Tuttle, Elle Pankin, Diane Ward and Bob Cudmore.  WGY news anchor Mike Patrick describes podcasts he has recorded with many WGY veterans.  The station aired special programming on February 20, 2022, the actual 100th anniversary of WGY.

Saturday, October 14, 2023-From the archives- January 17, 2020-Episode 301-Caryl Hopson and Susan Perkins discuss their book “Murder and Mayhem in Herkimer County.”  One chapter describes the death of Grace Brown, one of the most famous cases in the country, inspiring Theodore Dreiser’s novel “An American Tragedy.”

Amsterdam’s most unforgettable day and other tales

By Bob Cudmore

   It has been good to see longtime readers while doing book signings for a collection of Focus on History columns, “Stories from the Mohawk Valley.”

   Sam Vomero has provided many insightful Amsterdam history leads, including memories of what Vomero calls Amsterdam’s most unforgettable day, July 20, 1942 when the New York Yankees and a huge carnival came to the city.

   The Yankees exhibition game against their farm team, the Rugmakers, on that date at Mohawk Mills Park, now Shuttleworth Park, is remembered by many. But Vomero said that on the same day, the James E. Strates Shows arrived in Amsterdam, traveling on its own train of 30 cars, including a private car used by Strates himself.  The carnival, sponsored by V.F.W. Post 55, set up at Karp’s Park on Upper Church Street and featured Adele Nelson’s “baseball playing elephants,” a trapeze artist and what was called “America’s best midway.”

   The Yankees arrived at 12:35 in the afternoon when the New York Central train the Empire State Express made a special stop, depositing Joe DiMaggio and his fellow Yankees into a sea of autograph-seeking fans. Police Chief Frank Kearns assigned a special detail of patrolmen to keep the crowd off the tracks.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

East End resident Emil Suda has a great interest in local history, for example providing a Mohawk Mills house magazine account of a day in the life of electrician George Rink, a typical worker in 1949.

   Rink was the subject of the cover story in an issue of Tomohawk, a magazine produced for factory employees. The piece is illustrated with pictures of George, his father, wife, children, fellow workers and teammates on the Mohawk Mills Association softball squad.  The article followed Rink from his home at 50 McCleary Avenue in Amsterdam to his job at Mohawk’s Upper Mill four blocks away. 

   Rink had met his wife Cecelia while stationed at the U.S. Army’s Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas where she was an office worker at a nearby air base. A first sergeant, he fought in France with a company whose job was to evacuate wounded soldiers.

   “George has five battle stars and a Bronze Star as souvenirs of this experience,” wrote the magazine author.

   One picture shows Rink, 5-year old Carolyn and 3-year old Donnie playing on the floor of their living room with the caption, “Like other young fathers who were separated from their families in the war, George spends lots of time with his children at home.”

LOST BLOCK AND LOST PARK

   Some people provided leads for new stories. Rosemary Forrest of Amsterdam remembers what she called “the lost block” on Guy Park Avenue at Market Street, a business and residential block that disappeared in the urban renewal era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

   Dan Weaver, proprietor of the Book Hound store in downtown Amsterdam, has a detailed promotional booklet touting Okwari Park, proposed as a recreation area in the towns of Charleston and Root in the 1960s and 1970s.  The project never materialized and apparently led to the defeat of several county supervisors who supported the idea.

   Frequent contributor Norma-Jean Qualls has been told by a longtime resident that Cranesville was damaged in a tornado in the late 1940s.  So far no record of that earlier event has been found.  Cranesville was badly damaged by a tornado last month.

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Friday, October 13, 2023

43 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:53AM 

Neil Golub resigns from Metroplex board; felt sidelined by organization
SCHENECTADY — Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority co-founder Neil Golub resigned from the organization’s board on Wednesday evening, with Golub…

Adirondack Park Agency tables request for more mining blasts, truck trips in Ephratah
Carver Sand & Gravel has been granted extra time to strengthen its case for expanding mining operations in Ephratah. The…

Residents urge the town of Florida to reject PUD to rezone farmland for business park

Lori Rulison urges the Florida Town Board to reject a proposal to rezone farmland for a business...

Johnstown Harvest Festival and costume parade this Saturday

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This Sunday, October 15, 2023-Focus on History-No ice cream for the Seabees on USS Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s most unforgettable day and other tales

By Bob Cudmore

   It has been good to see longtime readers while doing book signings for a collection of Focus on History columns, “Stories from the Mohawk Valley.”

   Sam Vomero has provided many insightful Amsterdam history leads, including memories of what Vomero calls Amsterdam’s most unforgettable day, July 20, 1942 when the New York Yankees and a huge carnival came to the city.

   The Yankees exhibition game against their farm team, the Rugmakers, on that date at Mohawk Mills Park, now Shuttleworth Park, is remembered by many. But Vomero said that on the same day, the James E. Strates Shows arrived in Amsterdam, traveling on its own train of 30 cars, including a private car used by Strates himself.  The carnival, sponsored by V.F.W. Post 55, set up at Karp’s Park on Upper Church Street and featured Adele Nelson’s “baseball playing elephants,” a trapeze artist and what was called “America’s best midway.”

   The Yankees arrived at 12:35 in the afternoon when the New York Central train the Empire State Express made a special stop, depositing Joe DiMaggio and his fellow Yankees into a sea of autograph-seeking fans. Police Chief Frank Kearns assigned a special detail of patrolmen to keep the crowd off the tracks.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

East End resident Emil Suda has a great interest in local history, for example providing a Mohawk Mills house magazine account of a day in the life of electrician George Rink, a typical worker in 1949.

   Rink was the subject of the cover story in an issue of Tomohawk, a magazine produced for factory employees. The piece is illustrated with pictures of George, his father, wife, children, fellow workers and teammates on the Mohawk Mills Association softball squad.  The article followed Rink from his home at 50 McCleary Avenue in Amsterdam to his job at Mohawk’s Upper Mill four blocks away. 

   Rink had met his wife Cecelia while stationed at the U.S. Army’s Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas where she was an office worker at a nearby air base. A first sergeant, he fought in France with a company whose job was to evacuate wounded soldiers.

   “George has five battle stars and a Bronze Star as souvenirs of this experience,” wrote the magazine author.

   One picture shows Rink, 5-year old Carolyn and 3-year old Donnie playing on the floor of their living room with the caption, “Like other young fathers who were separated from their families in the war, George spends lots of time with his children at home.”

LOST BLOCK AND LOST PARK

   Some people provided leads for new stories. Rosemary Forrest of Amsterdam remembers what she called “the lost block” on Guy Park Avenue at Market Street, a business and residential block that disappeared in the urban renewal era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

   Dan Weaver, proprietor of the Book Hound store in downtown Amsterdam, has a detailed promotional booklet touting Okwari Park, proposed as a recreation area in the towns of Charleston and Root in the 1960s and 1970s.  The project never materialized and apparently led to the defeat of several county supervisors who supported the idea.

   Frequent contributor Norma-Jean Qualls has been told by a longtime resident that Cranesville was damaged in a tornado in the late 1940s.  So far no record of that earlier event has been found.  Cranesville was badly damaged by a tornado last month.

Friday, October 13, 2023 An encore performance of Historians Podcast Episode 408, first aired on February 4, 2022-WGY radio’s 100th anniversary-featuring Kolin Hager, Martha Brooks, Howard Tupper, Earl Pudney, Don Tuttle, Elle Pankin, Diane Ward and Bob Cudmore.  WGY news anchor Mike Patrick describes podcasts he has recorded with many WGY veterans.  The station aired special programming on February 20, 2022, the actual 100th anniversary of WGY.

Saturday, October 14, 2023-From the archives- January 17, 2020-Episode 301-Caryl Hopson and Susan Perkins discuss their book “Murder and Mayhem in Herkimer County.”  One chapter describes the death of Grace Brown, one of the most famous cases in the country, inspiring Theodore Dreiser’s novel “An American Tragedy.”

Sunday, October 15, 2023-Focus on History-No ice cream for the Seabees on USS Amsterdam

Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, October 12, 2023

50 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:37AM 

Around Town: A snapshot of the week Oct. 4-11, Hagaman, Amsterdam, Glenville, Rotterdam, Rexford, Northville, Niskayuna — Images (10 photos)
AROUND TOWN — Each week, our staff photographers travel the roads of our region capturing a variety of moments from our communities….

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Wednesday, October 11, 2023-From the Archives- March 15-Episode 257-Mohawk Valley singer-songwriters Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle play songs and tell stories from their show on the 19th century lumberjacks of upstate New York.

Thursday, October 12, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam’s most unforgettable day and other tales 

Friday, October 13, 2023 An encore performance of Historians Podcast Episode 408, first aired on February 4, 2022-WGY radio’s 100th anniversary-featuring Kolin Hager, Martha Brooks, Howard Tupper, Earl Pudney, Don Tuttle, Elle Pankin, Diane Ward and Bob Cudmore.  WGY news anchor Mike Patrick describes podcasts he has recorded with many WGY veterans.  The station aired special programming on February 20, 2022, the actual 100th anniversary of WGY.

A prominent physician from Root

By Bob Cudmore

   A man born in the Montgomery County town of Root went on to become the dean of Albany Medical College from 1896 to 1904.  His obituary called him the dean of Albany’s physicians and an early pioneer of surgery.

   According to research done by archivist Jessica Watson at Albany Medical Center, Albert Vander Veer was born in Root in 1841.  Watson wrote, “He was educated in the Canajoharie public schools and worked in a pharmacy as a boy.” 

   Vander Veer’s local obituary reported that his parents were Abraham and Sarah Martin Vander Veer of Root.  Albert attended the Canajoharie public schools, Union Free School of Palatine and Canajoharie Academy.  He began studying medicine with Dr. Simeon Snow in Currytown, a hamlet in the town of Root.  He later married Dr. Snow’s daughter, Margaret, in 1867.

   Vander Veer was studying medicine in Albany in 1861 when he volunteered to join other students and physicians at a military hospital treating the wounded from Civil War battles near Richmond, Virginia.  He enlisted in the Union Army the next year and held the rank of major.  He was a surgeon with the 66th regiment of the New York Volunteers, taking part in most of their major engagements.

   Watson wrote that at war’s end in 1865, Vander Veer was present at Appomattox, Virginia for the historic meeting between Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.  According to Watson, Vander Veer attended lectures at Albany Medical College but received his medical degree from Columbian College in the District of Columbia, now George Washington University.

   Watson wrote, “In 1869 he became professor of anatomy at Albany Medical College, professor of surgery in 1876 and dean of the college in 1896.  Additionally, he served in the Albany Hospital as surgeon in chief and senior consulting surgeon.” 

   According to published accounts, Vander Veer was president of the American Surgical Association in 1895 and president of the American Medical Association in 1916.

   His obituary reported he may have been the first surgeon to successfully remove a thyroid gland.  He wrote professional articles primarily on the topic of abdominal surgery.  He also was the first physician to use a plaster of Paris jacket to treat curvature of the spine.

   His wife Margaret died in 1914 at their winter home in the state of Florida.  Their Albany residence was on State Street.  The Vander Veers had six children.  Three of their sons and at least one grandson became physicians.

   Vander Veer served the state for 31 years as a member of the education department’s Board of Regents.  He was Regents’ vice chancellor starting in 1915, the year he resigned his post as a surgery professor at Albany Medical College.  He was named Regents’ chancellor in 1921 but resigned the next year because of poor hearing.  When he retired altogether from the Regents in 1927, he was praised for advocating high standards in college education, especially medicine.

   Albert Vander Veer died at age 88 in December, 1929 and is buried at Albany Rural Cemetery.  Thanks to my wife Audrey Sears gpt the idea for this column.

ROOT’S HAMLETS

In her book “Montgomery County,” county historian Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar wrote that Root is named for Erastus Root, a political leader in Delaware County.  Currytown is the oldest hamlet in Root, taking its name from the Curry Patent.  The Currytown Massacre took place in 1781 during the Revolutionary War when residents were murdered and properties destroyed.

   Yatesville, today called Randall, and Sprakers were stops on the Erie Canal in Root.  Other hamlets include Flat Creek, Lyker’s Corners, Brown’s Hollow and Rural Grove, previously Leatherville.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, October 11, 2023

52 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:23AM 

Jury selection begins in Duanesburg double homicide trial
SCHENECTADY — Jury selection began Tuesday in the murder trial of Nelson Patino, the Duanesburg man accused of killing his…

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Wednesday, October 11, 2023-From the Archives- March 15-Episode 257-Mohawk Valley singer-songwriters Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle play songs and tell stories from their show on the 19th century lumberjacks of upstate New York.

Thursday, October 12, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam’s most unforgettable day and other tales 

Friday, October 13, 2023 An encore performance of Historians Podcast Episode 408, first aired on February 4, 2022-WGY radio’s 100th anniversary-featuring Kolin Hager, Martha Brooks, Howard Tupper, Earl Pudney, Don Tuttle, Elle Pankin, Diane Ward and Bob Cudmore.  WGY news anchor Mike Patrick describes podcasts he has recorded with many WGY veterans.  The station aired special programming on February 20, 2022, the actual 100th anniversary of WGY.

A prominent physician from Root

By Bob Cudmore

   A man born in the Montgomery County town of Root went on to become the dean of Albany Medical College from 1896 to 1904.  His obituary called him the dean of Albany’s physicians and an early pioneer of surgery.

   According to research done by archivist Jessica Watson at Albany Medical Center, Albert Vander Veer was born in Root in 1841.  Watson wrote, “He was educated in the Canajoharie public schools and worked in a pharmacy as a boy.” 

   Vander Veer’s local obituary reported that his parents were Abraham and Sarah Martin Vander Veer of Root.  Albert attended the Canajoharie public schools, Union Free School of Palatine and Canajoharie Academy.  He began studying medicine with Dr. Simeon Snow in Currytown, a hamlet in the town of Root.  He later married Dr. Snow’s daughter, Margaret, in 1867.

   Vander Veer was studying medicine in Albany in 1861 when he volunteered to join other students and physicians at a military hospital treating the wounded from Civil War battles near Richmond, Virginia.  He enlisted in the Union Army the next year and held the rank of major.  He was a surgeon with the 66th regiment of the New York Volunteers, taking part in most of their major engagements.

   Watson wrote that at war’s end in 1865, Vander Veer was present at Appomattox, Virginia for the historic meeting between Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.  According to Watson, Vander Veer attended lectures at Albany Medical College but received his medical degree from Columbian College in the District of Columbia, now George Washington University.

   Watson wrote, “In 1869 he became professor of anatomy at Albany Medical College, professor of surgery in 1876 and dean of the college in 1896.  Additionally, he served in the Albany Hospital as surgeon in chief and senior consulting surgeon.” 

   According to published accounts, Vander Veer was president of the American Surgical Association in 1895 and president of the American Medical Association in 1916.

   His obituary reported he may have been the first surgeon to successfully remove a thyroid gland.  He wrote professional articles primarily on the topic of abdominal surgery.  He also was the first physician to use a plaster of Paris jacket to treat curvature of the spine.

   His wife Margaret died in 1914 at their winter home in the state of Florida.  Their Albany residence was on State Street.  The Vander Veers had six children.  Three of their sons and at least one grandson became physicians.

   Vander Veer served the state for 31 years as a member of the education department’s Board of Regents.  He was Regents’ vice chancellor starting in 1915, the year he resigned his post as a surgery professor at Albany Medical College.  He was named Regents’ chancellor in 1921 but resigned the next year because of poor hearing.  When he retired altogether from the Regents in 1927, he was praised for advocating high standards in college education, especially medicine.

   Albert Vander Veer died at age 88 in December, 1929 and is buried at Albany Rural Cemetery.  Thanks to my wife Audrey Sears gpt the idea for this column.

ROOT’S HAMLETS

In her book “Montgomery County,” county historian Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar wrote that Root is named for Erastus Root, a political leader in Delaware County.  Currytown is the oldest hamlet in Root, taking its name from the Curry Patent.  The Currytown Massacre took place in 1781 during the Revolutionary War when residents were murdered and properties destroyed.

   Yatesville, today called Randall, and Sprakers were stops on the Erie Canal in Root.  Other hamlets include Flat Creek, Lyker’s Corners, Brown’s Hollow and Rural Grove, previously Leatherville.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, October 10, 2023

49 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:04AM 

Health care workers union blasts Nathan Littauer Hospital health plan proposals
Amber Frasier favors her health care plan. The mother of three has worked as a respiratory therapist for 15 years…

Canajoharie pot start-up E29 Labs pursues licensing
An application has been filed with the state to turn a post-industrial eyesore along Interstate 90 into a pot-growing machine….

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Monday, October 9, 2023-Story behind the story- Lightning Claimed the Life of Fort Johnson Speed Skater

Tuesday, October 10, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-A prominent physician from the town of Root

   A man born in the Montgomery County town of Root went on to become the dean of Albany Medical College from 1896 to 1904.  His obituary called him the dean of Albany’s physicians and an early pioneer of surgery.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023-From the Archives- March 15-Episode 257-Mohawk Valley singer-songwriters Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle play songs and tell stories from their show on the 19th century lumberjacks of upstate New York.

Thursday, October 12, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam’s most unforgettable day and other tales 

Friday, October 13, 2023 An encore performance of Historians Podcast Episode 408, first aired on February 4, 2022-WGY radio’s 100th anniversary-featuring Kolin Hager, Martha Brooks, Howard Tupper, Earl Pudney, Don Tuttle, Elle Pankin, Diane Ward and Bob Cudmore.  WGY news anchor Mike Patrick describes podcasts he has recorded with many WGY veterans.  The station aired special programming on February 20, 2022, the actual 100th anniversary of WGY.

Later this Month

Friday, October 20-Episode 496-David Pietrusza on organized crime in the 1920s in New York City, Gangsterland.  

Friday, October 27-An encore performance of Historians Podcast Episode 416 from April 1, 2022-Neil Lanctot is author of The Approaching Storm: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jane Addams and Their Clash Over America’s Future. 

Lightning Claimed the Life of Famed Fort Johnson Speed Skater 

By Bob Cudmore

   Speed skating champion Ted Ellenwood, Jr., 27, died instantly on June 11, 1946 when struck by lightning while golfing.

   A friend, Lee DeGroff, was ten feet away but not injured. The golf course then was called the Antlers, today it’s called Rolling Hills.

   Ellenwood had skated for the Fort Johnson Athletic Association, which produced other top speed skaters including George Hare, Hank Flesch, Don Talmadge and Gene Gage. 

   Born in Dunkirk, N.Y., in 1919, Ellenwood and his family moved to Fort Johnson when he was five. He started skating at age ten.

   He won the Eastern States Speed Skating Championship in Fort Johnson in 1941. He tied for third place at the North American races in Schenectady. He won the 220 and 440 yard races at the National Championships in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, just before entering the U.S. Navy in 1942. 

   Ellenwood served as a machinist’s mate in the war aboard the destroyer U.S.S. Cotton which took part in numerous actions in the South Pacific.

   He, his wife Lucia (from Portland, Maine) and their five month old son Ted III had returned to the local area to settle down by purchasing a gas station in Fort Johnson.

   Ellenwood never qualified for the U.S. Olympic speed skating teams because he was better at American style skating as opposed to European style used in the Olympics.  American skaters raced in a group while European skaters went in pairs and a time clock was used.

   George Hare of Fort Johnson was very good at European style racing and was on the U.S. Olympic team in 1939.  Hare competed in events in the United States as an Olympian but there were no Olympic games in 1940 and 1944 because of the war.

   Ellenwood was an inspiration to fellow speed skater Gene Gage and once gave him a fine pair of skates that Gage used in racing competitions until he was in his mid-30s.

   Among Fort Johnson skating coaches in the 1930s and early 1940s were Leroy Eckerson and W.C. Snyder.

   A top skater after the war for the Fort Johnson club was Raymond Knapik who won a gold medal in the 220-yard sprint at the national championships in Alpena, Michigan in 1948.  Knapik, who grew up in Amsterdam, also skated at Hasenfuss Field in that city. 

   Amsterdam native and longtime Californian Fred Wojcicki and LaVerne Colts managed the Fort Johnson skating rink in the winters of 1949 and 1950. Wojcicki was president of the Northeastern Skating Association.

   Describing himself as one of the “run of the mill” skaters in Fort Johnson, the late Dave Noyes said he picked up a few medals along the way.  He kept skating until knee and hip replacement surgeries in 2000.

   Noyes worked at Johns Manville Corporation as a research engineer at their world headquarters in Denver.

   Dave was the second of four brothers. His brother Dan drowned in the Mohawk River in 1947; his brother Randy died in an accident while serving the U.S. Air Force.

   Dave Noyes said when he was a child, adults in the village provided children lifetime values by deed and example and maintained an active community. 

   Noyes, who lived his last years in Colorado, recalled commercial institutions in Fort Johnson such as Whalen’s grocery, Huen’s gas station, Sweet’s furniture and Tollner’s ice cream.

   The village of Fort Johnson is scheduled to formally dissolve on the last day of this year, becoming a hamlet in the town of Amsterdam.  The town will become responsible for public works in Fort Johnson.  Residents voted 90 to 23 to dissolve the village in a referendum late last year.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, October 9, 2023

46 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:36AM 

Hochul approves school zone speed cameras in Albany, expands “Move Over” law
ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed new legislation to allow the use of traffic cameras in school zones and…

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