The Historians

Great Depression stories from the Mohawk Valley posted this Sunday, December 4, 2022 (Bob has more in today's back and forth)

 Historians Go Fund Me Link updated Thursday, December 1, 2022 https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 U.S. Mail Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.

2007 memories of Christmas

The Globe wrote, “(Cook) has been cook for the boys at Yosts (across the river from Randall) since the war broke out and 14 of ‘her boys’ are in France and seven more are in training camps. She has mothered them all and the boys look to her for smiles and other necessities as well as for their meals.

By Bob Cudmore

          Christmas always has been hard for people separated by war, whether it is today’s war on terror or World War I, when my grandmother was alive.

Margaret Cook was a widow living with her three small children in Randall, supporting herself by feeding soldiers who guarded Lock 13 on the canal against saboteurs.

One of the soldiers was Private William J. Allen of Fonda, a member of Company C, Second Regiment, New York Infantry.  Allen wrote to the Saturday Globe of November 22, 1917.  Grandmother saved the clipping.

The Globe wrote, “(Cook) has been cook for the boys at Yosts (across the river from Randall) since the war broke out and 14 of ‘her boys’ are in France and seven more are in training camps. She has mothered them all and the boys look to her for smiles and other necessities as well as for their meals.

“The boys in France who have boarded with her she does not forget but sends them cigarettes or money to buy them. She is now sending Christmas gifts. Her constant thought is to keep the boys happy and contented with army life.”

LIGHTED TREE

          One of the popular sights in Amsterdam during the heyday of carpet manufacturing was the lighted outline of a Christmas tree installed on the front of the Clock Building, then the headquarters of Bigelow-Sanford.  The building is still there.

          If snowbanks seemed bigger when we were young, it could be there was more snow.  But those approaching the century mark in age have told me another reason is that years ago in Amsterdam the snow was plowed, but not removed.

CROWDED CHURCH

Amsterdam native Donald Isburgh recalled Christmas Eve services at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church on Division Street years ago.

“This was in the years before other local churches had their own Christmas Eve services, and the church was so crowded that the ushers had to set up extra chairs in the center aisle to accommodate everyone,” Isburgh said.

SINGLE PANE GLASS

Frequent contributor Richard G. Ellers who now lives in Warren, Ohio, has memories of Christmas in Amsterdam in the 1940s.

In the cold weather, Ellers said the snow crunched underfoot, “That crunch is linked in my memory to walking to Christmas midnight Mass at St. Michael’s Church from our home, an apartment on East Main Street downtown.”

In the apartment, Ellers could hear the Salvation Army bell ringer on the street below. There was only single pane glass on the windows and Ellers said, “I can still hear the clink-clink-clink of snow chains on cars driving below. Occasionally every third or fourth clink would be counter pointed with a double thunk, which was the sound of the ends of a broken chain slapping the underside of a fender.”

CHILDREN’S HOME

          Shirley Spurles Baroody of Greensboro, North Carolina, spent 11 years of her childhood at the Children’s Home at 81 Guy Park Avenue in Amsterdam.  The home closed in 1957.

In December, the matrons asked each child for a list of three things wanted for Christmas.  Baroody remembered getting paper dolls, perhaps, or white socks. The women’s clubs of Amsterdam put on a big Christmas party every year for the home.

Tomorrow, Posted Early on The Historians

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.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, December 1, 2022

Leader Herald

Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Not to get in front of ourselves but this Sunday, December 4, 2022

The latest Bob Cudmore print story from The Daily Gazette 

Great Depression stories from the Mohawk Valley

(from the Great Depression an era  between 1929 and into the 30's, not a story about how you feel when starting a new day, not every day but from time to time)

The story starts..

Isadore Demsky, a native of Amsterdam who became the actor Kirk Douglas, received a few pieces of gold as Bar Mitzvah presents in 1929...

The Historians with Bob Cudmore from Radio to The World Wide Web starting in 2014 "450 Podcasts on-line" (and still on Local and Public Radio)

Historians Go Fund Me

Link updated Wednesday, November 30, 2022

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022

U.S. Mail

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

Month #12  

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

          Christmas always has been hard for people separated by war, whether it is today’s war on terror or World War I, when my grandmother was alive.

Margaret Cook was a widow living with her three small children in Randall, supporting herself by feeding soldiers who guarded Lock 13 on the canal against saboteurs.

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.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Leader Herald

Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Several readers have recollected a time in the late 1950s when the city held a Christmas Festival at Coessens Park in the East End.  Thomas F. Gregg, mayor from 1958 to 1960, organized the festivities. Down the page...

The Historians with Bob Cudmore from Radio to The WWW starting in 2014 "450 Podcasts on-line" 

Historians Go Fund Me

Link updated Tuesday, November 29, 2022

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022

The first heavy snow of the 2022-23 Winter season will likely tip this box over

U.S. Mail

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

Christmas memories

By Bob Cudmore

          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.

          In the 1950s, Fondacaro, now of Rotterdam Junction, used to spend Christmas Eve with her aunts in their home, keeping the traditional Polish vigil with an elaborate meatless feast.  Always, there was an empty chair at the table.  Fondacaro’s father, tending bar next door, would send people who were alone on Christmas Eve from the tavern to the house to enjoy the ongoing holiday meal.

CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL

          Amsterdam this year was home to two major holiday light displays, the Noteworthy Christmas Center and numerous musical performances.

          Several readers have recollected a time in the late 1950s when the city held a Christmas Festival at Coessens Park in the East End.  Thomas F. Gregg, mayor from 1958 to 1960, organized the festivities.  Santa Claus talked to children and animals were brought in from an Adirondack tourist attraction. Gregg was a butcher who operated a shop on what was then Railroad Street.

CHILDREN’S HOME

          Shirley Spurles Baroody, now of North Carolina, recalled Christmas at the Children’s Home at 81 Guy Park Avenue where she lived for 11 years in the 1940s and 1950s.

          The matrons who oversaw the home asked each child for a list of three things wanted for Christmas.  Baroody remembered getting her three items each year—paper dolls, perhaps, or white socks. The women’s clubs of Amsterdam put on a big Christmas party every year for the children at the home.

A COLD CHRISTMAS

          Richard G. Ellers, now of Ohio, recalled a cold Amsterdam December in 1943 or 1944.  Ellers said the snow crunched underfoot, adding, “That crunch is linked in my memory to walking to Christmas midnight mass at St. Michael’s from our home, an apartment on East Main Street downtown.”

          Ellers could hear the Salvation Army bell ringer on the street below. There was only single pane glass on the windows in the apartment and Ellers said, “I can still hear the clink-clink-clink of snow chains on cars driving below. Occasionally every third or fourth clink would be counter pointed with a double thunk, which was the sound of the ends of a broken chain slapping the underside of a fender.”

WORKING CHRISTMAS

          Jacki Vogel’s parents, Alphonso and Catherine D'Alessandro, owned the Gift & Hobby Shop at Lark and East Main Street in Amsterdam.

          Vogel wrote, “I vividly remember Christmas Eves when others were gathering to celebrate the holiday.  My dad would still be in the store, awaiting people coming to pick up their layaways. They always went the extra mile to try and locate a special toy that someone would want for a child.”

CHRISTMAS WITH THE CUDMORES

          When I was young, we usually went to a candlelight service Christmas Eve at the long gone First Methodist Church on Division Street.  I was always impressed that the choir managed to march in holding a hymnbook in one hand and a candle in the other while singing Joy to the World.  No one ever tripped and started a fire.

          One memorable holiday our cat did knock over the Christmas tree.  My grandmother was sitting nearby and simply stretched out her hand and grabbed the tree trunk before it hit the ground, holding it until my father could get the tree upright again.

          We sang a lot on Christmas and, as the favored son, I had way too many presents.  Dinner was always good and, after visiting my aunt and uncle and their three sons, we came home and somehow managed to eat yet another meal.  

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

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.

Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Leader Herald

Hochul announces $10M DRI projects
Twelve Gloversville Downtown Revitalization Initiative projects announced; Gov. Hochul announces from Glove Theatre
GLOVERSVILLE – Twelve Downtown Revitalization projects were announced Monday for Gloversville by Gov. Kathy Hochul at the Glove Theatre.

Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

The Historians with Bob Cudmore from Radio to The WWW starting in 2014 "450 Podcasts on-line" 

Historians Go Fund Me

Link updated Monday, November 28, 2022

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022

U.S. Mail

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

Leader Herald

Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

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

Leader Herald

Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

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.

Historians Go Fund Me

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

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

Leader Herald

Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Historians Go Fund Me

$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

Leader Herald

Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

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.

Historians Go Fund Me

$150.00 this Week

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

Leader Herald

Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/