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

Monday, November 28, 2022  

Myron Swidersky

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Christmas memories

          Alberta Zierak Fondacaro’s aunts lived next door to Kiddo’s, then the family tavern, on Reid Street in Amsterdam.  The tavern was named for Fondacaro’s father, Albert Zierak whose nickname was Kiddo.

Wednesday, November 30, 2022, From the Archives, Friday, May 28, 2021-Episode 372-Julia Sweig is author of “Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight” that draws on diaries kept by Lady Bird when her husband Lyndon was President from 1963 through 1968.

Thursday, December 1, 2022, From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—-Christmas memories 2007 

Friday, December 2, 2022-Episode 451-Environmental educator Anita Sanchez is author of Meltdown: Discover Earth’s Irreplaceable Glaciers And Learn What You Can Do To Save Them.

A loyal son of Ukraine

By Bob Cudmore

   Myron Swidersky’s voice of support for his native Ukraine has passed from the scene as we near the nine month anniversary of the Russian invasion. 

   His voice was often heard on Amsterdam radio in support of Ukraine and of fund raising projects at local Ukrainian churches.

   Born in 1925 near Zolochiv, Ukraine, Swidersky grew up knowing his wife-to-be, Domna, from childhood.  They were married for 67 years, prior to her passing in 2016.

   In the mid 1940s, Myron and Domna escaped Russian and German fronts that were converging near their home village.  They lived in a displaced persons’ camp in Germany.  Myron learned English in preparation for their new life in the United States.  

   In 1951, they settled in New York’s Capital District area and quickly became involved in the local Ukrainian-American communities of Amsterdam, Watervliet, Cohoes, and Troy.

   Myron was a draftsman for American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady and a mechanical engineer at Mechanical Technology Incorporated Turbonetics in Latham.  He retired as a chief engineer from Atlas Copco Comptec in Voorheesville.

   Myron devoted his life to his homeland. The center of his work was in Amsterdam at the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church and Ukrainian–American Citizens’ Club.  During Ukrainian Saturday school, he taught the Ukrainian language, history, and traditions.

   As president of the Amsterdam Branch of the Organization for the Defense of the Four Freedoms for Ukraine, he chaired the greatly anticipated annual Ukrainian Easter Bazaar for more than 30 years.  He was also president of the local branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) and active within the Ukrainian–American Youth Association.

   Myron is survived by his daughters, Martha Swidersky and Iryna (Wolodymyr) Kohut; granddaughter Adriana Kohut (Gabriel) Galvao; great-granddaughter Sofia; nephews Bohdan and Ivan Kwasowsky; and nieces and their families as well as extended family in Ukraine.  He is predeceased by his younger sister and brother, Irena Kwasowsky and Orest Swidersky.

   Interment will be in St. Nicholas Cemetery, Widow Susan Road, Amsterdam.

   The history of Ukrainians in America goes back more than 200 years; possibly even farther. Individuals arrived perhaps as early as 1607, at the time of the founding of the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Ukrainian names have appeared on the roster of enlisted men in both the American Revolutionary War and Civil War.

   Mass immigration of Ukrainians did not begin until 1875, and followed a pattern of four major waves: 1) 1875–1914; 2) 1920–1939; 3) 1947–1955; and 4) post-1991, after Ukraine declared its independence on August 24 of that year.  Although each group faced unique problems in the United States, the first group set the basic groundwork for future generations.

   The first Ukrainians to migrate to Amsterdam did so about 1903.  These early settlers included Simon Kolodeychuk and Elias Yurkwych.

   St. Nicholas Brotherhood formed in 1907 with 26 members from Amsterdam and other communities.  Construction of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Amsterdam began that year on Pulaski Street.  The church was completed and dedicated to St. Nicholas in 1910. 

   There were about 70 Ukrainian families in Amsterdam before World War I.  In 1914 the Sisterhood of the Immaculate Conception of Mary started. 

   At St. Nicholas in Amsterdam in the twenties and thirties, the church sponsored an orchestra, dance troupe and dramatic group.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, November 28, 2022

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Myron devoted his life to his homeland. The center of his work was in Amsterdam at the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church and Ukrainian–American Citizens’ Club.  During Ukrainian Saturday school, he taught the Ukrainian language, history, and traditions.

A loyal son of Ukraine

By Bob Cudmore

   Myron Swidersky’s voice of support for his native Ukraine has passed from the scene as we near the nine month anniversary of the Russian invasion. 

   His voice was often heard on Amsterdam radio in support of Ukraine and of fund raising projects at local Ukrainian churches.

   Born in 1925 near Zolochiv, Ukraine, Swidersky grew up knowing his wife-to-be, Domna, from childhood.  They were married for 67 years, prior to her passing in 2016.

   In the mid 1940s, Myron and Domna escaped Russian and German fronts that were converging near their home village.  They lived in a displaced persons’ camp in Germany.  Myron learned English in preparation for their new life in the United States.  

   In 1951, they settled in New York’s Capital District area and quickly became involved in the local Ukrainian-American communities of Amsterdam, Watervliet, Cohoes, and Troy.

   Myron was a draftsman for American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady and a mechanical engineer at Mechanical Technology Incorporated Turbonetics in Latham.  He retired as a chief engineer from Atlas Copco Comptec in Voorheesville.

   Myron devoted his life to his homeland. The center of his work was in Amsterdam at the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church and Ukrainian–American Citizens’ Club.  During Ukrainian Saturday school, he taught the Ukrainian language, history, and traditions.

   As president of the Amsterdam Branch of the Organization for the Defense of the Four Freedoms for Ukraine, he chaired the greatly anticipated annual Ukrainian Easter Bazaar for more than 30 years.  He was also president of the local branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) and active within the Ukrainian–American Youth Association.

Tomorrow, Monday, November 28, 2022 The Story Behind the Story "Ukarine" More about Myron Swidersky

   Myron is survived by his daughters, Martha Swidersky and Iryna (Wolodymyr) Kohut; granddaughter Adriana Kohut (Gabriel) Galvao; great-granddaughter Sofia; nephews Bohdan and Ivan Kwasowsky; and nieces and their families as well as extended family in Ukraine.  He is predeceased by his younger sister and brother, Irena Kwasowsky and Orest Swidersky.

   Interment will be in St. Nicholas Cemetery, Widow Susan Road, Amsterdam.

   The history of Ukrainians in America goes back more than 200 years; possibly even farther. Individuals arrived perhaps as early as 1607, at the time of the founding of the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Ukrainian names have appeared on the roster of enlisted men in both the American Revolutionary War and Civil War.

   Mass immigration of Ukrainians did not begin until 1875, and followed a pattern of four major waves: 1) 1875–1914; 2) 1920–1939; 3) 1947–1955; and 4) post-1991, after Ukraine declared its independence on August 24 of that year.  Although each group faced unique problems in the United States, the first group set the basic groundwork for future generations.

   The first Ukrainians to migrate to Amsterdam did so about 1903.  These early settlers included Simon Kolodeychuk and Elias Yurkwych.

   St. Nicholas Brotherhood formed in 1907 with 26 members from Amsterdam and other communities.  Construction of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Amsterdam began that year on Pulaski Street.  The church was completed and dedicated to St. Nicholas in 1910. 

   There were about 70 Ukrainian families in Amsterdam before World War I.  In 1914 the Sisterhood of the Immaculate Conception of Mary started. 

   At St. Nicholas in Amsterdam in the twenties and thirties, the church sponsored an orchestra, dance troupe and dramatic group.

Off the digital press Next Month

Friday, December 2, 2022

Episode 451-Environmental educator Anita Sanchez is author of Meltdown: Discover Earth’s Irreplaceable Glaciers And Learn What You Can Do To Save Them.

Friday, December 9, 2022

Episode 452-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan looks at the Revolutionary War historical importance of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Sunday, November 27, 2022

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According to his obituary, Newnham’s designs for transducers, devices that convert energy from one form to another, helped make ultrasound imaging possible.

Amsterdam N.Y.

Ultrasound pioneer an Amsterdam native

By Bob Cudmore         

An Amsterdam native who died in 2009 in Pennsylvania was a prominent scientist whose research helped make ultrasound machines and cell phones possible.

Robert Newnham was born in 1929 in Amsterdam and died April 16 at Penn State Hershey Medical Center at age 80, according to the Centre Daily Times of State College, Pennsylvania.

His parents were William Newnham and Dorothy Hamm Newnham, a janitor and a telephone operator.  Newnham was the first in his family to go to college, earning his bachelor’s degree at Hartwick College in Oneonta. 

Newnham earned advanced degrees at Colorado State, Penn State and Cambridge University in England.  Before joining Penn State’s faculty to teach materials science in 1966, he taught at Cambridge University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

According to his obituary, Newnham’s designs for transducers, devices that convert energy from one form to another, helped make ultrasound imaging possible.

The Penn State Web site reported, “His basic discoveries in ferroelectric materials have helped propel the growth of electronic devices such as cell phones, while his work for the U.S. Navy on sonar arrays helped the Navy keep a watchful eye on Soviet submarines during the Cold War. One of his 20 patents, pertaining to off-shore oil explorations, has generated more than a million dollars in licensing fees for the University.”

Described by a colleague as a giant in science, Newnham and his wife Patricia were said to be unabashed supporters of liberal causes and the local peace movement.  Newnham’s daughter Rosemary Newnham said her parents would invite as many as 30 graduate students for Thanksgiving dinner.  She said her father would explain the American Thanksgiving custom to his foreign guests and display their gifts of curry and sushi on the Thanksgiving table. 

She also said her father had a “goofy sense of humor” and would paint mustaches on the tiny pilots in his extensive model airplane collection to match his own mustache. 

Bernadine Olbrych of Amsterdam suggested this story.

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COLONIAL HORSE RACING

Wanda Burch, site manager of Johnson Hall State Historic Site in Johnstown, has been researching horse racing in Colonial days.

“The sport of horse racing was an integral part of American culture long before the American Revolution,” Burch said.

In 1748, prominent colonist Sir William Johnson was complaining, according to Burch, “that most of the good New York horses were snatched up by New England and Philadelphia jockeys at ‘Extravigant prices.’” 

Racing horses at a specialized racetrack was developed at Newmarket in England by 1622.   America’s first racetrack was called Newmarket in honor of the old country and established on Long Island in 1665. 

Burch said, “Johnson purchased prints of the racehorses at Newmarket in England and hung them in the best rooms at Johnson Hall, his 1763 home. He made references to bets on races and was particularly taken with a horse born in 1764 named Goldfinder, whose image had a prominent place on the wall of his best parlor.  Goldfinder raced at Newmarket in England and was undefeated in three years of racing.”

Burch said horse thievery was a big issue in the colonies, “Hundreds of letters dealt with complaints of stolen horses and even Johnson's brother lamented in his journal that ‘there are no highwaymen in America, but great Horse stealers.’"

According to Burch, Johnson took great care in ordering bridles, harnesses and saddles, “Brass work on harnesses was important, and a particularly expensive saddle ordered for Sir William's son John had ‘blue housings, elegant stirrups, English made’ and was described as a ‘handsome’ parade saddle with a secret compartment in the pommel for pistols.”

The Old House down by The Mohawk River 

Friday, November 25, 2022

Episode 450-Bob Cudmore and Dave Greene take a look at Guy Park Manor, arguably Amsterdam’s oldest house. We also look at the leather business.

Mohawk Valley Thanksgiving Weather and News Headlines, Thursday, November 24, 2022

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$125.00 this Week -$400 by the end of November.

Wednesday, November 23, 2022, From the Archives, Episode 99, February 21, 2016-David Fiske is author of “Solomon Northup’s Kindred: The Kidnapping of Free Citizens before the Civil War.”

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Thanksgiving Day Read about 10 minutes while they set the table

The Ultrasound  pioneer

Newnham earned advanced degrees at Colorado State, Penn State and Cambridge University in England.  Before joining Penn State’s faculty to teach materials science in 1966, he taught at Cambridge University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

New York Sate is putting some money into it...

Friday, November 25, 2022-Episode 450-Bob Cudmore and Dave Greene take a look at Guy Park Manor, arguably Amsterdam’s oldest house. We also look at the leather business.

Mohawk Valley Weather and News Headlines, Wednesday, November 23, 2022

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John V. Riggs was born in Schenectady in 1839.  His father was a printer and publisher of a local newspaper, the Schenectady Cabinet.  Young Riggs studied medicine at Albany Medical College and the Buffalo College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Doctor Riggs and his stomach globules

By Bob Cudmore

The great-granddaughter of a homeopathic physician and pharmaceutical maker from Amsterdam finally has secured one of her ancestor’s signature products, Dr. Riggs’ Stomach Globules for Dyspepsia and Indigestion.  According to Merriam Webster, dyspepsia is pain in the stomach caused by difficulty digesting food.

Anne DeGroff of Amsterdam said she has been looking for the stomach globules for 40 years and finally secured them from eBay with the help of Jerry Snyder, president of Historic Amsterdam League.

John V. Riggs was born in Schenectady in 1839.  His father was a printer and publisher of a local newspaper, the Schenectady Cabinet.  Young Riggs studied medicine at Albany Medical College and the Buffalo College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Medicine and music dominated his life.  After becoming a doctor, he joined a minstrel troupe based in San Francisco as an interlocutor and bass soloist.  While on tour in the south though he left the troupe to study yellow fever, which was widespread there. 

He came back to the Mohawk Valley, opening a doctor’s office at 29 Market Street in Amsterdam.  He married Annie Wilds of Schenectady in 1861. 

He founded and directed the Arion Society, an Amsterdam singing group. He was known for singing pieces called “Queen Esther” and “Belzhazzar’s Feast” in performances at the Sanford Hall on West Main Street and the Union Hall on East Main Street. 

In 1889 Riggs took a chance.  He sold his medical practice and went to New York City to become a professional singer.  Alas, Riggs came back within two years, opened a drug store on Market Street and made a living manufacturing medicines, including the stomach globules.

A 1911 newspaper ad for the product stated, “Every man is a rascal as soon as he is ill.  At least that was the eminent opinion of the late Dr. (Samuel) Johnson.  It is well understood that a morbid and grouchy condition irritates men and women.  It’s my liver you say, and you diet, eat new food-stuffs, take quack remedies etc. 

“More likely the trouble is with the stomach: not the liver at all.  Some one of the powerful fluids that aid indigestion is not performing its duties.  Dr. Riggs’ Stomach Globules will give you almost instant relief.  Try it and you’ll be surprised with the result.  They’re little medicated pellets, easy to carry and easy to take.

“Prepared from Dr. J.V. Riggs’ original formula by the Riggs’ Medicine Co., in the Blood Building.  At all leading drugstores. Price 50c. Only genuine when bearing Dr. Riggs’ signature.”

The packaging states the globules are recommended for heartburn and acidity of the mouth and that the product is guaranteed under the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

While marketing his potions (also including Dr. Riggs’ Wine of Cod Liver Oil, the great reconstructor), Riggs continued to perform as a singer.  He was a member and one time director of the St. Ann’s Episcopal Church choir.  Choir member and poet Emily Devendorf wrote rhymes describing her fellow choristers.  Devendorf wrote of Riggs that “his voice is deep and tremendous strong, and without him, we do not so well get along.”

Annie Wilds Riggs died in 1909 and John died in 1917. The Recorder noted that Riggs provided the local paper with daily Amsterdam temperature statistics for 20 years. Husband and wife are buried at Fairview Cemetery.

The doctor died Thanksgiving eve and Thanksgiving night his son James S. Riggs carried on the family musical tradition. The younger Riggs conducted the Liberty Bond Vocal Club at a concert that raised $150 to make life easier for Amsterdam soldiers who had been drafted into the U.S. Army.

Wednesday, November 23, 2022, From the Archives, Episode 99, February 21, 2016-David Fiske is author of “Solomon Northup’s Kindred: The Kidnapping of Free Citizens before the Civil War.”

Thursday, November 24, 2022

The Ultrasound  pioneer

An Amsterdam native who died in 2009 in Pennsylvania was a prominent scientist whose research helped make ultrasound machines and cell phones possible.

Robert Newnham was born in 1929 in Amsterdam and died April 16 at Penn State Hershey Medical Center at age 80, according to the Centre Daily Times of State College, Pennsylvania.

Friday, November 25, 2022-Episode 450-Bob Cudmore and Dave Greene take a look at Guy Park Manor, arguably Amsterdam’s oldest house. We also look at the leather business.

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Mohawk Valley Weather and News Headlines, Tuesday, November 22, 2022

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Monday, November 21, 2022-The story behind the story- Pigeons and people in 1962 fire as Amsterdamians celebrate holidays.

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Dr. Riggs stomach globules

The great-granddaughter of a homeopathic physician and pharmaceutical maker from Amsterdam finally has secured one of her ancestor’s signature products, Dr. Riggs’ Stomach Globules for Dyspepsia and Indigestion.  According to Merriam Webster, dyspepsia is pain in the stomach caused by difficulty digesting food.

Wednesday, November 23, 2022, From the Archives, Episode 99, February 21, 2016-David Fiske is author of “Solomon Northup’s Kindred: The Kidnapping of Free Citizens before the Civil War.”

Thursday, November 24, 2022, From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—-The Ultrasound  pioneer

Friday, November 25, 2022-Episode 450-Bob Cudmore and Dave Greene take a look at Guy Park Manor, arguably Amsterdam’s oldest house. We also look at the leather business.

 People and pigeons at risk in Amsterdam fire

By Bob Cudmore

   People and pigeons were at risk on Friday, November 23, 1962—the night after Thanksgiving--when fire broke out at 29-31 Market Street in Amsterdam.

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

   “I’m not leaving here until you get my pigeon,” was what one female apartment dweller 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.”

   Another person’s pet pigeon perished.  An onlooker cradled the victim in her arms and left the scene. 

   A man who had been led to safety told firefighters he had forgotten his coin collection.  Firemen went back inside but returned empty-handed because of heavy smoke.

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

   No civilians were injured but two firefighters—Edward Lampkin and Stanley Lomnicki--were treated for smoke inhalation. 

   About 60 men battled the flames.  One person in the crowd was heard to stick up for the firemen, “Where are all these people who squawked about these guys getting a raise?”

   Chief Palombo said, “When I saw what a beating the men were taking from the smoke, I ordered all apparatus to the scene.” 

   The fire 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 made its way into Britell insurance agency, Ottavio’s luggage shop and Sochin’s men’s store.

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

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

   Advertisements that November day 60 years ago, the start of the holiday season, touted an active social and shopping scene in the Amsterdam area.  Local college students came home for the festivities and New York State’s 18-year old drinking age.

   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.

   You didn’t need to buy a drink to have a good time.  Auction City on the Amsterdam-Schenectady Road urged you to bring the kids to see the largest Christmas stocking in the world, over six feet tall.  An auction was scheduled Saturday night and Kiss’n Dolls were Auction City’s weekend special at five dollars each.

   If you wanted to stay home but your TV and radio were on the fritz, 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 yours for $13.95 at Brach’s.

   And for the health conscious, apples were 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.

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Mohawk Valley Weather and News Headlines, Monday, November 21, 2022

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Saturday, November 19, 2022-Susanne Dunlap discusses her book The Portraitist, a novel based on the life of 18th century French artist Adélaïde Labilleo-Guiard whose life went on amid the changes and terror of the French Revolution.

Based on a true story, this is the tale of Adélaïe Labille-Guiard’s fight to take her rightful place in the competitive art world of eighteenth-century Paris. 

 With a beautiful rival who’s better connected and better trained than she is, Adélaïde faces an uphill battle. Her love affair with her young instructor in oil painting gives rise to suspicions that he touches up her work, and her decision to make much-needed money by executing erotic pastels threatens to create as many problems as it solves.

Amsterdam N.Y.

People and pigeons were at risk on Friday, November 23, 1962

Sunday Print story from Bob Cudmore

Focus on History from Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder. Pigeons and people in 1962 fire as Amsterdamians celebrate holidays.

Episode 449-Bob Gumson of Albany, author of In Blind Sight: From Canarsie, Brooklyn with Love, Music and Mischief", his autobiography about living blind.

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Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather and News Headlines, Saturday, November 19, 2022

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Gene Tunney was born in New York City in 1897, one of seven children of an Irish immigrant family.  Tunney was in the Marines in World War I and fought in the ring rather than in the trenches, becoming champion of the U.S. Expeditionary Forces.

Speculator was a training site for famous boxers

By Bob Cudmore

   World heavyweight champion James Joseph “Gene” Tunney trained for his most important fights in Speculator in the Adirondacks in the 1920s.  One of the champion’s sons spoke this summer at a talk arranged by the Friends of the Lake Pleasant Library.  Speculator is a village in the town of Lake Pleasant in Hamilton County.

   Jay R. Tunney has written a book called “The Prizefighter and the Playwright” about the seemingly improbable friendship between his father and playwright George Bernard Shaw, who was a boxing fan.

   Gene Tunney was born in New York City in 1897, one of seven children of an Irish immigrant family.  Tunney was in the Marines in World War I and fought in the ring rather than in the trenches, becoming champion of the U.S. Expeditionary Forces.

   Tunney met William Osborne from Speculator in the Marines and Osborne invited Tunney to come to Speculator and establish a training camp.

   In 1926 Tunney trained for his first world heavyweight championship fight against Jack Dempsey in Speculator where the Osbornes owned the Osborne Inn.  Tunney won the fight in a ten round decision. 

   Tunney also trained in Speculator for his 1927 rematch with Dempsey.  Tunney won that fight in a unanimous decision despite the controversial “long count.”  Dempsey knocked Tunney down in the seventh round but the referee did not start the count on Tunney for several seconds as Dempsey did not immediately go to a neutral corner.  The two boxers later became good friends.

   Tunney trained in Speculator in 1928 for one more fight as world champion, defeating Tom Heeney of New Zealand.  Tunney then resigned from boxing, apparently a promise made to Mary “Polly” Lauder, the socialite he married that year.

   Other fighters including Max Baer, Max Schmeling, Maxie Rosenbloom, Jim Slattery and Knute Hansen also trained in Speculator, according to a pamphlet prepared by Lake Pleasant seventh graders in 1986 under the supervision of former town historian Ernest D. Virgil. 

   The fighters who came in later years were more ostentatious than Tunney, who is sometimes pictured reading a book, said to be his favorite form of recreation.  Max Baer for one was said to love attention.

   Famous people came to see the fighters train.  According to the student report, “Bernard Gimbel of Gimbel’s (department store) in New York suffered a few bruises when his plane, leaving the golf course in Lake Pleasant, failed to climb high enough to miss the trees at the end of the fairway.”

   After retiring from boxing, Tunney first wrote a book and then went into business.  He reenlisted in the military in World War II and was a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, heading the Navy physical fitness program.  He died in 1978.

Off the digital press tomorrow

Friday, November 18, 2022- Episode 449-Bob Gumson of Albany, author of In Blind Sight: From Canarsie, Brooklyn with Love, Music and Mischief", his autobiography about living blind.

Amsterdam N.Y.

Mohawk Valley Weather and News Headlines, Thursday, November 17, 2022

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