The Historians

Saturday April 15, 2023-Matthew Costello, author of “The Property of the Nation:  George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President.”

George Washington was an affluent slave owner who believed that republicanism and social hierarchy were vital to the young country’s survival. And yet, he remains largely free of the “elitist” label affixed to his contemporaries, as Washington evolved in public memory during the nineteenth century into a man of the common people, the father of democracy. This memory, we learn in The Property of the Nation, was a deliberately constructed image, shaped and reshaped over time, generally in service of one cause or another. 

Episode #500 coming this Fall

The Historians Podcast fund drive received a much needed boost from the Hagaman Historical Society and a donation from John Noble.  We’ve raised $1135 toward our $7000 goal.  PLEASE DONATE online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast  or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. Thank you-every contribution helps.

Focus on History 

Sunday, April 16, 2023-The Demskys of Eagle Street

Harry Demsky, also known as Herschel, was a legendary strong man, drinker and brawler.  Kirk Douglas wrote in his 1988 autobiography, “The Ragman’s Son,” that his father was “the toughest, strongest Jew” in Amsterdam.

Episode #470

Patrick Chaisson has written a multi-media presentation “Wings of Victory: Aircraft Production in New York State during WWII.” Patrick Chaisson is a retired (26 year) US Army Lieutenant Colonel now an author/historian from Scotia.

Bob Cudmore "History stories from The Mohawk Valley"

Email [email protected]

Bruce Dearstyne is encouraging New Yorkers to celebrate April 20 as the birthday of the Empire State. The first New York State constitution was adopted April 20, 1777 during a momentous year for the state during the Revolutionary War. Bruce Dearstyne was formerly on the staff of the Office of State History and the State Archives.

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Saturday, April 15, 2023

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

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  Frothingham began contributing columns on current events to newspapers in New York and other states during the Civil War.  He was an advocate for the Union and a supporter of President Abraham Lincoln.

Historians Go Fund Me 2023

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast  

The U.S. Mail. A check to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. The goal this year $7,000.00

Fonda area minister was pioneer syndicated journalist

By Bob Cudmore

   A minister who spent most of his 92-year life in the Fonda area was a pioneer syndicated journalist.

   The New York Herald interviewed Reverend Washington Frothingham in 1912, two years before his death, calling him the dean of American journalism.

   Frothingham began contributing columns on current events to newspapers in New York and other states during the Civil War.  He was an advocate for the Union and a supporter of President Abraham Lincoln.

   Frothingham used pseudonyms to obscure his identity, although several newspapers over the years did stories “outing” the columnist’s real name.

  He signed his columns as The Hermit of New York in the Troy Times and New York Herald.  He was Macauley in Rochester, the Rosicrucian in Utica and the Demon of Broadway in Hartford.

   Over the years his columns were printed by newspapers in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston and many other cities. 

   Much of the money he earned from the newspapers he gave to needy people and causes he considered worthwhile. 

   His will provided the funds needed to start the Frothingham Free Library in Fonda.  He paid for a bowling alley and public bath in Fonda and was still swimming there regularly when the Herald interviewed him in 1912.

   He told the newspaper he did not favor women’s suffrage.  He also expressed concern for the younger generation, saying he feared for the future unless young people turned to the Lord, honored the flag and became good citizens.

   Frothingham was born in 1822 in East Fonda and died at his home in Fonda in 1914.

   Frothingham’s family—he was the third of ten children—moved from Fonda to Johnstown when he was a young child.  His mother was a niece of author Washington Irving and his father was a judge. 

   Young Frothingham studied at Johnstown Academy and wanted to be a writer.  To please his father and help the family, at 18 he moved to New York City and worked in a Broadway store.

   He secured a better job with wholesale grocer Edwin D. Morgan.  Morgan later was elected governor.  After working some time for Morgan, Frothingham and a friend opened their own store.

   In 1850 at age 28, Frothingham felt called to the ministry. He sold his share of the business and prepared for the ministry at Princeton, developing skills as a speaker.  His first position was at a Presbyterian Church in Guilderland.  He opened a Sunday school and preaching station at an Albany machine shop. That effort led to the founding of Albany’s West End Presbyterian Church.

   In 1861 Frothingham was invited back to Fonda to restore the declining Reformed church.  He succeeded, although his pro-Union and pro-Lincoln political stance ran counter to the secessionist views of some church members. 

   In 1862 at age 40, Frothingham married Mary Middlemass, a native of Scotland who was a Sunday School teacher.  They had no children.

   He was called to serve the Tribes Hill Presbyterian Church where he was pastor until 1905.

   After his wife died, Frothingham in 1900 married a woman who had been his wife’s nurse, Ella Leavitt of Tribes Hill, a school teacher and correspondent for the Recorder.  One source said his first wife’s last words were, “Take care of Ella.”

   He was author of several books including histories of Montgomery and Fulton counties. He was friendly with newspaper men and writers including Horace Greeley and William Cullen Bryant.

   Frothingham died October 21, 1914 two weeks after suffering a paralyzing stroke.  The funeral was held at Fonda Reformed Church and his body was cremated in Troy.  There is a memorial to him in Fonda’s Caughnawaga Cemetery.

Historians Episode #470 tomorrow, Friday, April 14, 2023

Patrick Chaisson has written a multi-media presentation “Wings of Victory: Aircraft Production in New York State during WWII.” Patrick Chaisson is a retired (26 year) US Army Lieutenant Colonel now an author/historian from Scotia.

The Empire State Aerosciences Museum will hold its monthly Fly-In Breakfast on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 8:30 am – 10:30 am at 250 Rudy Chase Drive, Glenville, NY 12302 (off Route 50). Enjoy an assortment of pancakes, french toast, eggs, sausage, potatoes, juice, coffee, tea, fruit and more. The breakfast is open to the public.

At 10 am, Historian & Author, Patrick Chaisson, will host a multimedia presentation on the New York Air National Guard in the Vietnam War. Chaisson, himself the son of an Air Guard veteran and a retired Army officer, relates the story of how the New York Air National Guard went from a poorly-funded "flying club for weekend warriors" - as some saw it - to a professional organization that served with distinction in South Vietnam from 1965 to 1969.

His talk will combine period photographs with modern computer technology to share the story of Air Guard flight crews in combat. Those who attend may be surprised how many New York Air National Guard service members fought in the Vietnam conflict - including airmen and airwomen, who lived and served in the local area.  Veterans and the general public alike will enjoy this lively, fast-paced presentation about a little-known but important role played by the New York Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Fly-In if you would like. Pilots: Tower Frequency 121.3; Ground 121.9. Land at Schenectady County Airport and taxi to Richmor Aviation North. Tell them you are going to ESAM.

Bob Cudmore "History stories from The Mohawk Valley"

Email [email protected]

Donald Williams is author of “Grandfather’s Tool Chest.” The book has stories about 400 vintage and antique tools. Don Williams, 88, is a well-known educator, lecturer, columnist, and author. He has written eleven books on local and Adirondack history.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, April 13, 2023

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Historians Go Fund Me 2023

Wednesday Morning April 12, 2023 total $1,005.00

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast  or The U.S. Mail. A check to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. The goal this year $7,000.00

The Fort Plain Museum Presents The Revolutionary War Conference 250 in the Mohawk Valley June 9-11, 2023

Register on-line https://fortplainmuseum.square.site/conference

Wednesday, April 12, 2023-Tessa Bridal 

The Dark Side of Memory examines the largely unknown history of the state sponsored kidnapping of children in Uruguay and Argentina during the Cold War. The author interviewed parents, family members, and the children (now adults) for first person accounts detailing the circumstances of the kidnappings and the illegal adoption of newborns from the torture centers where they were born.

Thursday

April 13, 2023

Fonda minister was pioneer syndicated journalist

Frothingham began contributing columns on current events to newspapers in New York and other states during the Civil War.  He was an advocate for the Union and a supporter of President Abraham Lincoln.

Historians Episode #470 this Friday, April 14, 2023

Patrick Chaisson has written a multi-media presentation “Wings of Victory: Aircraft Production in New York State during WWII.” Patrick Chaisson is a retired (26 year) US Army Lieutenant Colonel now an author/historian from Scotia.

The Empire State Aerosciences Museum will hold its monthly Fly-In Breakfast on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 8:30 am – 10:30 am at 250 Rudy Chase Drive, Glenville, NY 12302 (off Route 50). Enjoy an assortment of pancakes, french toast, eggs, sausage, potatoes, juice, coffee, tea, fruit and more. The breakfast is open to the public.

At 10 am, Historian & Author, Patrick Chaisson, will host a multimedia presentation on the New York Air National Guard in the Vietnam War. Chaisson, himself the son of an Air Guard veteran and a retired Army officer, relates the story of how the New York Air National Guard went from a poorly-funded "flying club for weekend warriors" - as some saw it - to a professional organization that served with distinction in South Vietnam from 1965 to 1969.

His talk will combine period photographs with modern computer technology to share the story of Air Guard flight crews in combat. Those who attend may be surprised how many New York Air National Guard service members fought in the Vietnam conflict - including airmen and airwomen, who lived and served in the local area.  Veterans and the general public alike will enjoy this lively, fast-paced presentation about a little-known but important role played by the New York Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Fly-In if you would like. Pilots: Tower Frequency 121.3; Ground 121.9. Land at Schenectady County Airport and taxi to Richmor Aviation North. Tell them you are going to ESAM.

Email [email protected]

Bob Cudmore "History stories from The Mohawk Valley"

Ben Kemp from Grant Cottage in Wilton New York, where Civil War general and President Ulysses S. Grant died after completing his memoirs.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Fly-In if you would like. Pilots: Tower Frequency 121.3; Ground 121.9. Land at Schenectady County Airport and taxi to Richmor Aviation North. Tell them you are going to ESAM.

Small donations this year to The Go Fund Me Thing

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast  or The U.S. Mail. A check to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.

Historians Episode #470 this Friday, April 14, 2023

Patrick Chaisson has written a multi-media presentation “Wings of Victory: Aircraft Production in New York State during WWII.” Patrick Chaisson is a retired (26 year) US Army Lieutenant Colonel now an author/historian from Scotia.

The Empire State Aerosciences Museum will hold its monthly Fly-In Breakfast on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 8:30 am – 10:30 am at 250 Rudy Chase Drive, Glenville, NY 12302 (off Route 50). Enjoy an assortment of pancakes, french toast, eggs, sausage, potatoes, juice, coffee, tea, fruit and more. The breakfast is open to the public.

At 10 am, Historian & Author, Patrick Chaisson, will host a multimedia presentation on the New York Air National Guard in the Vietnam War. Chaisson, himself the son of an Air Guard veteran and a retired Army officer, relates the story of how the New York Air National Guard went from a poorly-funded "flying club for weekend warriors" - as some saw it - to a professional organization that served with distinction in South Vietnam from 1965 to 1969.

His talk will combine period photographs with modern computer technology to share the story of Air Guard flight crews in combat. Those who attend may be surprised how many New York Air National Guard service members fought in the Vietnam conflict - including airmen and airwomen, who lived and served in the local area.  Veterans and the general public alike will enjoy this lively, fast-paced presentation about a little-known but important role played by the New York Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Fly-In if you would like. Pilots: Tower Frequency 121.3; Ground 121.9. Land at Schenectady County Airport and taxi to Richmor Aviation North. Tell them you are going to ESAM.

Lonely hearts killing case linked to Amsterdam

By Bob Cudmore

   An Amsterdam woman was the step-daughter of a 1949 victim of a notorious murderous couple.

   Mary C. Fay was listed in the 1930 census as a hospital nurse living in Albany with her father, Matthew Fay, and step-mother, Janet J. Fay (nee Flinn). 

   Mary Fay married a prominent physician, Alton Spencer.  In 1940 Mary and Alton were living in Canajoharie with their daughter.  They subsequently moved to Amsterdam. 

   Matthew Fay, Janet Fay’s husband and Mary Spencer’s father, was a steamfitter.  Matthew and Janet lived on Caldwell Street in Albany until Matthew’s sudden death in 1946.

   At the end of 1948 Janet Fay, then about 60, was lured into a romantic relationship by Raymond Martinez Fernandez, a native of Hawaii who wore a toupee.

   Historian David Fiske wrote in a New York History Blog article, “The modus operandi was to use ‘lonely hearts’ ads to lure lonesome women into romantic situations in order to make use of their financial resources. In several cases (at least) the victims were then murdered.”

   Fernandez was joined in the scheme by Martha Beck.  Beck, who had children in Florida, was originally earmarked to be one of Fernandez’s victims, but the couple fell in love. 

   Fiske wrote that Fernandez began courting Fay at her Albany apartment on New Year’s Eve of 1948, “Beck stayed out of the way at a hotel. After their initial meeting, Beck was introduced as the sister of Fernandez (a ploy used with other victims).  Before long, Fernandez proposed marriage to the lonesome widow, and she accepted.”

   Fiske said Fay introduced her new friends to the Spencers at their Summit Avenue home in Amsterdam in early 1949.  Dr. Spencer told the Albany Times Union, “We weren’t suspicious in any way.”

   A short time later Fay took several thousand dollars from her bank account, left Albany and went to Valley Stream on Long Island with Fernandez and Beck. 

   Mary and Alton Spencer received a typed letter supposedly from Fay that did make them suspicious. 

   "We received many letters from Mrs. Spencer's stepmother," Dr. Spencer told the Times Union.  ''None ever were typed.  We thought it was very unusual."  Mary Spencer went to Albany and convinced police to search for her step-mother.

   Police found that Fay was murdered in Valley Stream after Beck became jealous when she saw Fernandez in an embrace with Fay.  Beck, who weighed 200 pounds, bludgeoned Fay with a hammer and Fernandez then strangled Fay with a scarf, according to prosecutors.

   The couple then went to Michigan, having found another lonely victim there.  Fiske wrote, “Their killing spree halted when they were arrested in Michigan, where they admitted to having murdered a woman and her young daughter.  Because they were in a state with no death penalty, they also felt comfortable telling police there about a widow they had murdered in New York State.”

   Police found Fay’s body in Ozone Park in Queens, buried in the cellar of a house the killers had rented.  Mary Spencer went to Queens to identify her step-mother’s body. 

   New York State, which had a death penalty then, extradited Fernandez and Beck.  Fernandez blamed Beck for the killing.  He did tell police he had murdered 17 women, but authorities could not confirm that.

   Both were found guilty after a 30 day trial that summer.  Mary Spencer testified about the visit the two killers had made to her Amsterdam home.

  Fernandez, 36, and Beck, 31, professed their love for each other before being executed by electric chair at Sing Sing prison in 1951.  The case has been the subject of a book, e-book and 1970 film.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023-Tessa Bridal, a native of Uruguay, tells the stories of people who disappeared during South American political turmoil in the 1970s in her book The Dark Side of Memory.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Fonda minister was pioneer syndicated journalist

The Fort Plain Museum Presents The Revolutionary War Conference 250 in the Mohawk Valley June 9-11, 2023

Register on-line https://fortplainmuseum.square.site/conference

Email [email protected]

Bob Cudmore "History stories from The Mohawk Valley"

Kevin Hall, author of a memoir on growing up in Ilion, New York. Follow this young boy from his ages of 6 through 13, as he explores his hometown of Ilion, the town he grew up in, the neighborhoods he lived in, and the many friends he enjoyed spending time with. Enjoy his many adventures and the sometimes-unexpected consequences of those adventures, not always anticipated by the young boy.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Small donations this year, a good thing(grassroots)

: not adapted from or added to an existing facility or operation : totally new

It's Monday, April 10, 2023

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast  or The U.S. Mail. A check to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.

Monday, April 10, 2023-Story behind the story, Pastries and popularity and a family of myopes.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023-Honeymoon killers linked to Amsterdam

   An Amsterdam woman was the step-daughter of a 1949 victim of a notorious murderous couple.

   Mary C. Fay was listed in the 1930 census as a hospital nurse living in Albany with her father, Matthew Fay, and step-mother, Janet J. Fay (nee Flinn). 

Wednesday, April 12, 2023-Tessa Bridal, a native of Uruguay, tells the stories of people who disappeared during South American political turmoil in the 1970s in her book The Dark Side of Memory.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Fonda minister was pioneer syndicated journalist

...this Friday

April 14, 2023-Episode 470-Patrick Chaisson has written a multi-media presentation “Wings of Victory: Aircraft Production in New York State during WWII.” Patrick Chaisson is a retired (26 year) US Army Lieutenant Colonel now an author/historian from Scotia.

Pastries added to popularity and a family of myopes

By Bob Cudmore

   John Vidulich, who became one of Amsterdam’s favorite bakers, was a native of Austria who came to America at age 14 in 1898.  Born into a family of seven, he and his wife Josephine Guiffre from Genoa, Italy, also had seven children.

   Their youngest daughter was Virginia Vidulich, known as Vidge, who attended high school at St. Mary’s Institute during the Great Depression,

   By then her father operated Vidulich’s Bakery at 63 Guy Park Avenue and would give his youngest daughter the key to the shop when St. Mary’s played basketball at home.

   After each game, Vidge led a parade of ball players and girlfriends to the bakeshop where they enjoyed the many treats inside.

   “It helped with my popularity,” said Vidge.  Izzy Demsky, who became the actor Kirk Douglas, came often to the bakery for his favorite, doughnuts.  Doughnuts were cream filled, jelly filled or plain.

    Vidge became Virginia Vidulich O’Brien after marrying Richard O’Brien of Glens Falls in 1946.

   The O’Briens lived in Saratoga Springs.  Vidge worked in press relations for the Saratoga Harness Track.  She conducted tours for school children.  She received kudos from sports columnist Art Hoefs for her role in Howard Tupper’s television coverage of harness racing on WRGB.

   She was director of the Saratoga Harness Hall of Fame for twenty years.  She was the first female member of the National Harness Racing Hall of Fame’s Communicators Corner in Goshen, N.Y. 

   Later in life she added another nickname, Gertie.  Childhood friend and later Malta resident John Bennison explained how Virginia became Vidge in the first place.

   John’s father, Harold Bennison, was a native of Frankfort, N.Y., an optometrist who moved to Amsterdam in 1932 with his wife Hazel. 

   The Bennisons and their seven children rented a home on McElwain Avenue.  Next door was the Vidulich family, well known because of their bakery.

   Bennison’s sister Anne was the same age as Virginia Vidulich and the girls became lifelong friends.

   Bennison added, “Virginia was in and out of our house a lot, and we all loved her.  A problem for the younger children was trying to pronounce Virginia Vidulich.  What came out was Vidge, which she happily accepted, as it was based on love and respect.  Everyone in my family called her Vidge and it was used all day at St, Mary’s school, and she was Vidge for life.”

   Bennison moved back to the area after retirement and attended St. Mary’s Church in Ballston Spa.

   Bennison wrote, “One Sunday, I saw Vidge across the church and after Mass, I followed her across the parking lot.  I called out, ‘Hi, Vidge!’  She stopped and without turning around, she said, ‘Oh, you must be a Bennison.’  We remained friends until her death in 2010.”  She was 91.

   Optometrist Harold Bennison died in 1944.  His widow put her husband’s optometric equipment in storage.  By then the family was living at 252 Guy Park Avenue in Amsterdam.

   Their son Robert became an optometrist after returning from service in the U.S. Navy in World War II.  Robert used his father’s equipment and established his office on Church Street and later moved his practice to a large store in the Albany area called GEX.

   He was the first eye doctor I ever saw.  My parents, sister and I all wore glasses and I recall Dr. Bennison used to joke that we were a family of myopes, a scientific word for nearsighted people.  Young Dr. Bennison eventually moved to Arizona where he died in the 1980s.    

   John Bennison, who worked many years for the Boy Scouts, died in 2021 at the age of 92.

The Fort Plain Museum Presents The Revolutionary War Conference 250 in the Mohawk Valley June 9-11, 2023

Register on-line https://fortplainmuseum.square.site/conference

Email [email protected]

Bob Cudmore "History stories from The Mohawk Valley"

The third Highlights Edition of 2022 has excerpts from 12 podcasts including stolen Little League Dreams, an Erie Canal balladeer and a boy’s life in Ilion, New York.
The Historians

Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, April 10, 2023

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

It is Sunday, April 9, 2023. The need is to raise $350.00 on-line by this eveneing

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast  or The U.S. Mail. A check to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.

Pastries added to popularity and a family of myopes

By Bob Cudmore

   John Vidulich, who became one of Amsterdam’s favorite bakers, was a native of Austria who came to America at age 14 in 1898.  Born into a family of seven, he and his wife Josephine Guiffre from Genoa, Italy, also had seven children.

   Their youngest daughter was Virginia Vidulich, known as Vidge, who attended high school at St. Mary’s Institute during the Great Depression,

   By then her father operated Vidulich’s Bakery at 63 Guy Park Avenue and would give his youngest daughter the key to the shop when St. Mary’s played basketball at home.

   After each game, Vidge led a parade of ball players and girlfriends to the bakeshop where they enjoyed the many treats inside.

   “It helped with my popularity,” said Vidge.  Izzy Demsky, who became the actor Kirk Douglas, came often to the bakery for his favorite, doughnuts.  Doughnuts were cream filled, jelly filled or plain.

    Vidge became Virginia Vidulich O’Brien after marrying Richard O’Brien of Glens Falls in 1946.

   The O’Briens lived in Saratoga Springs.  Vidge worked in press relations for the Saratoga Harness Track.  She conducted tours for school children.  She received kudos from sports columnist Art Hoefs for her role in Howard Tupper’s television coverage of harness racing on WRGB.

Early tomorrow morning, Monday, April 10, 2023-Story behind the story, Pastries and popularity and a family of myopes. Thoughts that did not make into the print story, you know, the things that pop into your brain as soon as you are done. This can happen as you are walking down the stairs to put the laundry in.

   She was director of the Saratoga Harness Hall of Fame for twenty years.  She was the first female member of the National Harness Racing Hall of Fame’s Communicators Corner in Goshen, N.Y. 

   Later in life she added another nickname, Gertie.  Childhood friend and later Malta resident John Bennison explained how Virginia became Vidge in the first place.

   John’s father, Harold Bennison, was a native of Frankfort, N.Y., an optometrist who moved to Amsterdam in 1932 with his wife Hazel. 

   The Bennisons and their seven children rented a home on McElwain Avenue.  Next door was the Vidulich family, well known because of their bakery.

   Bennison’s sister Anne was the same age as Virginia Vidulich and the girls became lifelong friends.

   Bennison added, “Virginia was in and out of our house a lot, and we all loved her.  A problem for the younger children was trying to pronounce Virginia Vidulich.  What came out was Vidge, which she happily accepted, as it was based on love and respect.  Everyone in my family called her Vidge and it was used all day at St, Mary’s school, and she was Vidge for life.”

   Bennison moved back to the area after retirement and attended St. Mary’s Church in Ballston Spa.

   Bennison wrote, “One Sunday, I saw Vidge across the church and after Mass, I followed her across the parking lot.  I called out, ‘Hi, Vidge!’  She stopped and without turning around, she said, ‘Oh, you must be a Bennison.’  We remained friends until her death in 2010.”  She was 91.

   Optometrist Harold Bennison died in 1944.  His widow put her husband’s optometric equipment in storage.  By then the family was living at 252 Guy Park Avenue in Amsterdam.

   Their son Robert became an optometrist after returning from service in the U.S. Navy in World War II.  Robert used his father’s equipment and established his office on Church Street and later moved his practice to a large store in the Albany area called GEX.

   He was the first eye doctor I ever saw.  My parents, sister and I all wore glasses and I recall Dr. Bennison used to joke that we were a family of myopes, a scientific word for nearsighted people.  Young Dr. Bennison eventually moved to Arizona where he died in the 1980s.    

   John Bennison, who worked many years for the Boy Scouts, died in 2021 at the age of 92.

The Fort Plain Museum Presents The Revolutionary War Conference 250 in the Mohawk Valley June 9-11, 2023

Register on-line https://fortplainmuseum.square.site/conference

Episode 469- Composer, choral director and pianist Maria Riccio Bryce, creator of a new work called Requiem: What Remains Is Love.  CD recordings are available at Amsterdam Free Library. On Friday, May 26, 2023 the Requiem will be performed at St Paul’s Episcopal on Hackett Blvd in Albany, Saturday, May 27, at First Reformed on N. Church St in the Schenectady Stockade and Sunday at 3pm on May 28, at Trinity Lutheran on Guy Park Avenue in Amsterdam.

Email [email protected]

Bob Cudmore "History stories from The Mohawk Valley"

A history of the Mohawk River with Mary Zawacki, executive director of the Schenectady County Historical Society. When the last Ice Age began to melt 22,000 years ago, the Mohawk River flowed with more force than Niagara Falls.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Sunday, April 9, 2023

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

It is Saturday, April 8, 2023 

This weekend the need to raise $350.00 on-line Go Fund Me

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast

or The U.S. Mail

A check to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.

Episode 469- Composer, choral director and pianist Maria Riccio Bryce, creator of a new work called Requiem: What Remains Is Love.  CD recordings are available at Amsterdam Free Library. On Friday, May 26, 2023 the Requiem will be performed at St Paul’s Episcopal on Hackett Blvd in Albany, Saturday, May 27, at First Reformed on N. Church St in the Schenectady Stockade and Sunday at 3pm on May 28, at Trinity Lutheran on Guy Park Avenue in Amsterdam.

Saturday April 8, 2023-Jennifer DeBruin is author of three historical novels and is working on a non-fiction-book on Loyalist espionage during the American Revolution. 

The unrivalled beauty and abundance of the Mohawk Valley, engulfed in the fight for liberty, forced the Eamers to choose between the freedom sought by many and the debt to the king who had provided refuge in the burgeoning colony of New York from the religious persecution in their homeland.

Sunday, April 9, 2023- Pastries and popularity and a family of myopes

John Vidulich, who became one of Amsterdam’s favorite bakers, was a native of Austria who came to America at age 14 in 1898.  Born into a family of seven, he and his wife Josephine Guiffre from Genoa, Italy, also had seven children.

Email [email protected]

Bob Cudmore "History stories from The Mohawk Valley"

NBC TV has aired an episode of their popular family history show Who Do You Think You Are including scenes filmed in Fonda and Johnstown. Actor Nick Offerman (who plays Ron Swanson in the sitcom Parks and Recreation) traced his ancestors to families from upstate New York. Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar, Montgomery County New York historian, explains why Fonda’s Old Courthouse is a mecca for genealogists and upstate New York historians.

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Saturday, April 8, 2023

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/