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- It was a local Gem
Tomorrow, Wednesday, at first we had no idea what was on the schedule...
A baseball oracle
By Bob Cudmore
A man who spent the last four months of his life in Amsterdam was living in Rome, New York, when he correctly predicted the outcome of 21 St. Louis Cardinals baseball games at the end of the 1930 season.
According to his son, James J. Sheridan III of Amsterdam, James J. Sheridan II was operating a candy store called the Smoke Shop in Rome when he began sending uncannily accurate telegrams to the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Charles “Gabby” Street. The messages predicted the outcome of pending games and often gave Street instruction on who should pitch.
According to a 1930 column by Harry T. Brundidge in the St. Louis Star about “this fellow Sheridan in Rome, N.Y.,” the first telegram came September 9 when the Cardinals were in fourth place, “Do not worry, you will lose today, regardless of your pitching choice; you will win the next three.”
That day the Cardinals lost to the New York Giants before winning the next three games. The following day another message promised, “Everything O.K. You will win two and lose one.”
Street read the prediction to the team. "Say," he exclaimed, "it's from the same nut who sent me the telegram in New York." But the Cardinals performed as the “nut” predicted.
The telegrams continued and on the final weekend of the season, St. Louis hosted Pittsburgh for a four-game series. Street received a telegram stating, “Have no worries. Pitch (Burleigh) Grimes and (Jesse) Haines in first two games and Cards are in the bag. The pennant will be clinched Friday so you can have some rest.”
Grimes pitched a shutout. Haines helped clinch the pennant the next night as St. Louis won again.
The Cards moved into the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. A telegram from Sheridan said Sylvester Johnson should pitch. He warned Street that St. Louis would lose two in a row if Grimes pitched that day. Street ignored his oracle, put Grimes on the mound and St. Louis lost two games.
The next telegram from Sheridan in Rome said, “Don't worry. I'm praying. (Bill) Hallahan and Haines will win Saturday and Sunday. I'll wire you about Monday's game.” Hallahan and Haines won their two games.
The Monday telegram failed to arrive. Team members were reported unsettled by their loss of direction from Sheridan and lost Monday’s game.
A final telegram arrived before game six, “Hallahan and Haines will win the championship for St. Louis tomorrow and Thursday.” For the first time, Sheridan was wrong. Philadelphia defeated St. Louis by a score of 7 to 1 and won the World Series.
Sheridan left Rome in 1931 and lived in other valley municipalities such as Herkimer. In late 1934, the family moved to Stewart Street in Amsterdam. He was working as a cigar salesman. Overwhelmed when he lost that job, Sheridan sent a goodbye note to a friend, a reporter at the Rome Sentinel. The reporter contacted the Recorder newsroom in Amsterdam and their reporters went to Sheridan’s house; the 42-year old already had hung himself.
The Sentinel wrote in an editor’s note following Sheridan’s death, “This fellow Sheridan of Rome, N.Y.” was one of the best-liked men ever to live in this city. Although beset by financial difficulties, he seldom lost his smile for his friends, his spirit of good fellowship. Many Romans knew and liked Jimmie Sheridan.”
James Sheridan III said his mother Ursula and two sisters briefly went on welfare but his mother soon found work in finance. Ursula Sheridan became well known for operating a finance company on Chuctanunda Street in Amsterdam.
Wednesday on The Historians with Bob Cudmore
Richard Hamm on what really happened during Prohibition. He is co-editor of “Prohibition’s Greatest Myths: The Distilled Truth About America’s Anti-Alcohol Crusade.”
Thursday, September 8, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette— The Chalmers building
Chalmers advertised in a spectacular way for a decade with a large lighted sign above New York’s Times Square, touting the superiority of Porosknit and its other products.
Four Historians podcasts "rolled into One"
Friday, September 9, 2022
Episode 439-2022 Highlights Episode Four with excerpts from a history of the Mohawk River with Mary Zawacki of Schenectady County Historical Society; Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar, Montgomery County New York historian, on a national family history TV show visit to Fonda; Susanne Dunlap discusses The Portraitist, a novel based on the life of an 18th century French artist; Stephen Williams, author of Off the Northway on the history of the GlobalFoundries semiconductor facility in Malta; Bob Cudmore on Ukrainians in Amsterdam and Rick Herrera, author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Rain likely, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 67. Northeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.TonightA chance of rain, mainly before 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 58. Northeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.WednesdayA chance of rain. Patchy fog between 7am and 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Northeast wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, September 6, 2022Daily GazetteHere’s where some of ARPA’s $1.9 trillion is going in the Capital Region
Towns, villages, cities and counties this summer are reeling in the second tranche of COVID-era federal relief money that has…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderDygert Farms Creamery named second-best milk in New York StateRobbie and Shannon Dygert are part of the 13th generation of milk producers at their 650-acre...https://www.recordernews.com/
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10 min - Story started a year Ago with The Judge
The courthouse booklet is for sale online at Amazon and at Mysteries on Main Street Bookstore in Johnstown.
https://www.facebook.com/MysteriesOnMainStreet/
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Everything-West-Albany-1772-Courthouse/dp/057836431X
Tuesday, September 6, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—A baseball oracle
According to his son, James J. Sheridan III of Amsterdam, James J. Sheridan II was operating a candy store called the Smoke Shop in Rome when he began sending uncannily accurate telegrams to the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Charles “Gabby” Street.
The Fulton County Courthouse
By Bob Cudmore
Robert P. Best’s booklet “Everything West of Albany in 1772” on the history of the Fulton County Courthouse in Johnstown has been published.
Built in 1772 when New York State was still a British colony, the structure at 223 West Main Street is the oldest existing courthouse in the state and one of the oldest buildings in the nation still in use as a courthouse.
Best, who retired in 2006, worked in the historic building as a State Supreme Court Justice for 15 years, a Fulton County Judge for 10 years and District Attorney. A Pennsylvania native and U.S. Navy veteran, Best previously was mayor of Gloversville and before that law clerk to his uncle Willard Best, also a Fulton County judge.
Best said, “So holding court in it was just a habit with me. It was there before I was elected and I hoped that it would stay after I was elected. It was like a movie scene from an old movie of what a courthouse looks like and it still does.
“In 1980 something, an architectural firm went through, gave (the building) good marks as continuing as a courthouse. It needed air conditioning and a few other things but otherwise it passed muster.”
Best’s daughter, art teacher Meredith Best, designed artwork for the booklet including pictures of the courthouse, Sir William Johnson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others. Sandy Maceyka contributed a foreword to the booklet.
Sir William Johnson who had founded Johnstown suggested to colonial Governor William Tryon that a county be created west of Albany “for doing legal business.” The Governor liked the idea that the new jurisdiction was to be named Tryon County. The first judges were relatives or friends of Johnson, Britain’s Indian agent.
Johnson contributed 500 pounds toward constructing the courthouse in the summer of 1772. Best said Johnson “also provided 25 gallons of rum to refresh the brick masons, the mill wrights and the other sundry help who built the courthouse during the hot months.” It was the only courthouse west of Albany when it first opened.
Two years after the courthouse was completed Johnson died and soon the Revolutionary War began. After the war the name of the county was changed from Tryon to Montgomery to honor patriot General Richard Montgomery who died while leading an attack on Quebec City in the Revolutionary War. The Johnstown building became the Montgomery County Courthouse.
Development along the Mohawk River including the Erie Canal and railroad became the “big thing” economically, according to Best. The Montgomery County seat moved to Fonda, located on the river, in 1836. The courthouse, jail and clerk’s office in Johnstown were sold at public auction for $2,040 the next year.
The people in and around Johnstown were dissatisfied that the county seat had moved and convinced the State Legislature to create a new county from part of northern Montgomery County, naming the new jurisdiction after Robert Fulton who had improved on the invention of the steam engine.
The Johnstown courthouse, jail and clerk’s office were repurchased. Best said that lawyer and later judge Daniel Cady is called the Father of Fulton County for presiding over this transaction.
Cady’s daughter was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the pioneer suffragist. She spent time when she was young considering how laws discriminated against the rights of women.
The last execution ordered in a criminal case at the Fulton County Courthouse was the 1846 hanging of Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh of West Perth, convicted of poisoning two abusive husbands.
Tuesday, September 6, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—A baseball oracle
According to his son, James J. Sheridan III of Amsterdam, James J. Sheridan II was operating a candy store called the Smoke Shop in Rome when he began sending uncannily accurate telegrams to the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Charles “Gabby” Street.
Wednesday, September 7, 2022-From the Archives of The Historians Podcast- May 1, 2020-Episode 316-Richard Hamm on what really happened during Prohibition. He is co-editor of “Prohibition’s Greatest Myths: The Distilled Truth About America’s Anti-Alcohol Crusade.”
Thursday, September 8, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette— The Chalmers building
Friday, September 9, 2022-Episode 439-2022 Highlights Episode Four with excerpts from a history of the Mohawk River with Mary Zawacki of Schenectady County Historical Society; Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar, Montgomery County New York historian, on a national family history TV show visit to Fonda; Susanne Dunlap discusses The Portraitist, a novel based on the life of an 18th century French artist; Stephen Williams, author of Off the Northway on the history of the GlobalFoundries semiconductor facility in Malta; Bob Cudmore on Ukrainians in Amsterdam and Rick Herrera, author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778.
Mohawk Valley Labor Day Weather, Monday, September 5, 2022
A frontal system will remain just south of the region throughTuesday, as waves of low pressure track along it. This willbring periods of rain today and tonight, with some locally heavyrain possible. Rain will gradually taper to showers from northto south during Tuesday. Clouds and a few showers may lingerWednesday, followed by dry and warmer weather for later thisweek.Rain, mainly after 7am. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 67. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.TonightRain, mainly before 3am. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 59. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.TuesdayA chance of rain before 1pm, then a chance of showers after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Monday, September 5, 2022Daily GazetteRegional businesses employing creative strategies to attract workersWhether it’s offering prospective employees subsidized housing, college tuition reimbursement or simply a workplace that no longer has staid oil…Next generation reopening Schenectady’s La Gioia Italian Deli this fallSCHENECTADY — La Gioia Italian Deli, a beloved city fixture that closed its doors after 33 years in June, is now…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderConvoy for a Cause goes extra distance to help kids againFONDA — Santa’s sleigh can carry a lighter load once again this Christmas season, thanks to...https://www.recordernews.com/
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9 min - Sunday Back and Forth/New this Week
The Fulton County Courthouse
By Bob Cudmore
Robert P. Best’s booklet “Everything West of Albany in 1772” on the history of the Fulton County Courthouse in Johnstown has been published.
Built in 1772 when New York State was still a British colony, the structure at 223 West Main Street is the oldest existing courthouse in the state and one of the oldest buildings in the nation still in use as a courthouse.
Best, who retired in 2006, worked in the historic building as a State Supreme Court Justice for 15 years, a Fulton County Judge for 10 years and District Attorney. A Pennsylvania native and U.S. Navy veteran, Best previously was mayor of Gloversville and before that law clerk to his uncle Willard Best, also a Fulton County judge.
Best said, “So holding court in it was just a habit with me. It was there before I was elected and I hoped that it would stay after I was elected. It was like a movie scene from an old movie of what a courthouse looks like and it still does.
“In 1980 something, an architectural firm went through, gave (the building) good marks as continuing as a courthouse. It needed air conditioning and a few other things but otherwise it passed muster.”
Best’s daughter, art teacher Meredith Best, designed artwork for the booklet including pictures of the courthouse, Sir William Johnson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others. Sandy Maceyka contributed a foreword to the booklet.
Sir William Johnson who had founded Johnstown suggested to colonial Governor William Tryon that a county be created west of Albany “for doing legal business.” The Governor liked the idea that the new jurisdiction was to be named Tryon County. The first judges were relatives or friends of Johnson, Britain’s Indian agent.
Johnson contributed 500 pounds toward constructing the courthouse in the summer of 1772. Best said Johnson “also provided 25 gallons of rum to refresh the brick masons, the mill wrights and the other sundry help who built the courthouse during the hot months.” It was the only courthouse west of Albany when it first opened.
Two years after the courthouse was completed Johnson died and soon the Revolutionary War began. After the war the name of the county was changed from Tryon to Montgomery to honor patriot General Richard Montgomery who died while leading an attack on Quebec City in the Revolutionary War. The Johnstown building became the Montgomery County Courthouse.
Tomorrow, Monday, September 5, 2022- The story behind the story podcast-The Fulton County Courthouse. A short audio piece about eight minutes with more what's what...
Development along the Mohawk River including the Erie Canal and railroad became the “big thing” economically, according to Best. The Montgomery County seat moved to Fonda, located on the river, in 1836. The courthouse, jail and clerk’s office in Johnstown were sold at public auction for $2,040 the next year.
The people in and around Johnstown were dissatisfied that the county seat had moved and convinced the State Legislature to create a new county from part of northern Montgomery County, naming the new jurisdiction after Robert Fulton who had improved on the invention of the steam engine.
The Johnstown courthouse, jail and clerk’s office were repurchased. Best said that lawyer and later judge Daniel Cady is called the Father of Fulton County for presiding over this transaction.
Cady’s daughter was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the pioneer suffragist. She spent time when she was young considering how laws discriminated against the rights of women.
The last execution ordered in a criminal case at the Fulton County Courthouse was the 1846 hanging of Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh of West Perth, convicted of poisoning two abusive husbands.
The courthouse booklet is for sale online at Amazon and at Mysteries on Main Street Bookstore in Johnstown.
https://www.facebook.com/MysteriesOnMainStreet/
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Everything-West-Albany-1772-Courthouse/dp/057836431X
Tuesday, September 6, 2022—A baseball oracle
Mohawk Valley Holiday Weather, Sunday, September 4, 2022
The weather turns unsettled this afternoon through Monday as acold front slowly moves southward across the area and waves oflow pressure track along it. Scattered showers and isolatedthunderstorms develop this afternoon, followed by a widespreadrainfall Monday into Monday night, with the heaviest rainoccurring mainly south of Interstate 90. Showers may linger intoTuesday before the region dries out for mid to late week.Isolated showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming east 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.TonightScattered showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.Labor DayShowers likely, mainly after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 68. Calm wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Sunday, September 4, 2022Daily GazetteLocal schools bolster safety ahead of new academic year
With the start of school just days away, ensuring students are safe in the classroom has been a top priority…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorderhttps://www.recordernews.com/
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7 min - Pick up the Ball
September 3, 2022 on The Historians
Mohawk Valley Holiday Weather
A widespread soaking rainfall is expected across the area Monday and Monday night
Our holiday weekend will start out with fair and warm weather as high pressure maintains control for one more day. However, as the weekend goes on the weather turns unsettled as a front moves slowly southward across the area Sunday into Monday as waves of low pressure moves along it. A widespread soaking rainfall is expected across the area Monday and Monday night with unsettled weather persisting into Tuesday.
In The Month of September "Historians Go Fund Me needs a Dash of Help"
Write and Record History in The Mohawk Valley
$250.00 to reach the $6000 goal for the year. https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or direct a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
The Saturday Podcast
Rachel Slade is the author of “Into the Raging Sea: 33 Mariners, One Megastorm and the Sinking of El Faro.” The container ship sank and all on board died during Hurricane Joaquin in the Atlantic Ocean in 2015.
Sunday, September 4, 2022 "The new print story" A new booklet on the historic Fulton County courthouse
Robert P. Best’s booklet “Everything West of Albany in 1772” on the history of the Fulton County Courthouse in Johnstown has been published.
Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Saturday, September 3, 2022
Our holiday weekend will start out with fair and warm weatheras high pressure maintains control for one more day. However, asthe weekend goes on the weather turns unsettled as a frontmoves slowly southward across the area Sunday into Monday aswaves of low pressure moves along it. A widespread soakingrainfall is expected across the area Monday and Monday nightwith unsettled weather persisting into Tuesday.Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the morning.TonightMostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Light southeast wind.SundayA chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Light south wind. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Saturday, September 3, 2022Daily GazetteCritical care and compassion mix on Schenectady’s busiest fire truck
SCHENECTADY — The call comes in like so many others: short on detail and only hinting at how much danger the…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderHigh schools: Fonda-Fultonville, Broadalbin-Perth get wins for debuting football coachesFonda-Fultonville gave head football coach Mike Mancini a win in his debut as the Braves rallied...https://www.recordernews.com/
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9 min - 29 min
- The Latest Interview posted Tomorrow
September on The Historians
Thank You to Joseph Collea Jr.
Friday, September 16, 2022-Episode 440-Joe Collea Junior is author of Our Town--Ilion, New York: a Selective Look at 300 Years of History. An Ilion native, Collea was a teacher and administrator in Ilion schools and served three terms as mayor of the village.
Go Fund Me-We need to raise $420 in September to stay on track to reach our $6000 goal for 2022. Donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
A parade sent wedding party outside
Benefits of ginger ale were touted
By Bob Cudmore
When did people start taking wedding pictures outdoors as opposed to a photographer s studio?
Sophie Bodak Gomula of Amsterdam said her wedding pictures were among the first taken outdoors locally because of a big parade.
Sophie s wedding to the late Stanley Gomula, who became a special investigator for the Amsterdam Police Department, was scheduled for September 15th, 1945 at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church. A Marine private first class who had served in numerous Pacific campaigns, Stanley was just back from the war. And because of America s victory, city officials decided to hold a mammoth parade in downtown Amsterdam on Sophie and Stanley s wedding day.
Their photographer, Emil Zillgitt, had his studio downtown at 13-15 East Main Street, which would have been inaccessible during the parade. Zillgitt suggested the Gomulas have their wedding pictures taken outdoors in his backyard on Locust Avenue. The photographer did their first year anniversary pictures in the same location and Sophie recalled that after that, outdoor wedding pictures became more common.
Zillgitt did house calls, said Amsterdam native Peter Betz, The reason I know that is I have a picture of myself in a sailor suit taken at home by Zillgitt sometime around 1944. I was about two years old and vaguely remember the gent because he was a very humorous man who knew how to get a nervous kid to sit for him.
Zillgitt s name came up in a previous column because he took pictures of the Amsterdam Progress Exposition in 1925. He and his wife Eunice lived on Grand Street on Park Hill before moving to Locust Avenue. He died in the 1950s.
DRINK GINGER ALE
Several calls and emails came in response to the story on the Amsterdam Progress Exposition. Elizabeth Russo of Johnstown, who grew up in Hagaman, said she always wondered why her mother told her to drink ginger ale when she was sick.
The Exposition display created by Fitzgerald s Bottling Works touted the health benefits of ginger ale. The safest drinks--kills disease germs, said an advertising poster.
The 1932 Amsterdam city directory stated that Fitzgerald s ginger ale was for the discriminate and that the Fitzgeralds were the people who made that good ginger ale.
Fitzgerald s Bottling Works was founded in 1882 and was located for many years at 465 East Main Street Extension, what is now Chapman Drive in the town of Amsterdam.
Harold Watermann, who lived on Fairview Place on Amsterdam s Market Hill, worked for Fitzgerald s until shortly before his death in 1971. Hap or Watty Watermann was a soda machine expert who traveled as far as Speculator and Cobleskill installing and fixing machines. Watermann s son Bill said his father would lift soda machines off the back of his truck unassisted in those days.
Bill Watermann, who operates Amsterdam Auto Parts and lives in West Galway, recalled that Gerald Fitzgerald ran the bottling company and lived near the plant. Watermann said Fitzgerald was a generous man who gave to the YMCA. The 1932 city directory listed Gerald Fitzgerald as general manager of the bottling works.
Long affiliated with Pepsi Cola, Fitzgerald s relocated to Freeman s Bridge Road in Glenville in the 1960s. Apparently, the firm closed some years after that.Friday, September 2, 2022-Episode 438-Ricardo Herrera is author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778. Herrara is visiting professor at the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Previously he was a professor of military history at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He served as an armor and cavalry officer in the US Army.
Saturday, September 3, 2022
From the Archives of The Historians Podcast-May 25, 2018-Historians Episode 216- Rachel Slade is the author of “Into the Raging Sea: 33 Mariners, One Megastorm and the Sinking of El Faro.” The container ship sank and all on board died during Hurricane Joaquin in the Atlantic Ocean in 2015.
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Focus on History from Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-A new booklet on the historic Fulton County courthouse
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, September 1, 2022
A cold front will settle south of the region today, ashigh pressure builds in late this afternoon through Friday. Belownormal temperatures are expected today and seasonable levels forFriday. The surface high will shift east of New England Fridaynight into Saturday with temperatures rising back above normal. Acold front will bring the next chance of showers and a fewthunderstorms for Sunday.A slight chance of showers before 8am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. West wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.TonightPatchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, clear, with a low around 43. West wind 3 to 8 mph.FridayPatchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, September 1, 2022Daily GazetteJudge rejects plea deal; Trial likely in Schoharie limo disaster that killed 20
SCHOHARIE — In a surprise move Wednesday, a judge rejected the plea deal reached a year ago in the Schoharie…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderDOT to finish bridge deck replacement in Glen next weekGLEN — The bridge that carries Route 5S over the Auries Creek in the Town of Glen will be closed...https://www.recordernews.com/
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10 min - The Historians/Wednesday and Friday
Destination September on The Historians
Go Fund Me- So far we’ve raised $4350. We need to raise $420 in September to stay on track to reach our $6000 goal for 2022. Donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
Fonda Fair Opens Today (Pictures in the on-line Gazette)
David Jennings
Wednesday, August 31, 2022-From the Archives of The Historians Podcast-Episode 72, August 2, 2015-David Jennings is author of the historical novel “After Bondage and War.” The novel tells of people impacted by slavery through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Thursday, September 1, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Outdoor wedding pictures.
When did people start taking wedding pictures outdoors as opposed to a photographer's studio? Sophie Bodak Gomula of Amsterdam said her wedding pictures were among the first taken outdoors locally because of a big parade.Friday, September 2, 2022-Episode 438-Ricardo Herrara is author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778. Herrara is visiting professor at the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Previously he was a professor of military history at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He served as an armor and cavalry officer in the US Army.
Highlighting the missteps and triumphs of both General George Washington and his officers as well as ordinary soldiers, sailors, and militiamen, Feeding Washington's Army moves far beyond oft-told, heroic, and mythical tales of Valley Forge and digs deeply into its daily reality
Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, August 31, 2022
A drier and less humid air mass will move into theregion today. A secondary cold front and an upper level disturbancewill bring some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms to thewestern Adirondacks and western Mohawk Valley late this afternooninto tonight. High pressure will build in Thursday into Friday withdry weather, comfortable humidity levels and slightly below normalto seasonal temperatures to open September.Mostly sunny. Not as warm with highs in the mid 70s. West winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.TonightPartly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.ThursdayMostly sunny. Highs around 70. West winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Wednesday, August 31, 2022Daily GazetteScrapbook 1988, 1990: Images from The Fonda Fair of more than 30 years ago (10 photos)
FONDA – This year’s Fonda Fair is set to begin Wednesday and run through Monday, Sept. 5, Labor Day. Capital…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderInflux of concealed carry applicants, gun shoppers in Fulton, Montgomery countiesAs new gun laws take effect Thursday, both the Montgomery and Fulton county sheriff departments...https://www.recordernews.com/
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5 min - ...and auto show at the East End
Egress into September, or do we egress out of August
Go Fund Me—Thanks to Scott Lorenz for the latest donation to The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive. So far we’ve raised $4350. We need to raise $420 in September to stay on track to reach our $6000 goal for the year. Please help by donating online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
Mohawk Valley Pepole The 181st Fonda Fair opens tomorrow, Wednesday and will run August 31- September 5.
Bustling Amsterdam sparkled in 1925 expo
By Bob Cudmore
America was prospering in 1925 and local businesses staged Amsterdam’s Progress Exposition and Auto Show that year to show off that prosperity.
“In the twenties, that was the heyday here,” said anthropologist Susan Dauria. “The population was about 35,000, the biggest it’s ever been.” Dauria wrote her doctoral dissertation on the rise and decline of manufacturing in Amsterdam.
The Progress Exposition was organized by the Board of Trade, predecessor of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. The event was held from September 11th through the 19th, 1925 at Ross’ Flats in the East End, next to the railroad tracks. Admission was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children.
According to the Schenectady Gazette of that day, a windmill was erected as the entrance to a series of huge tents that contained more than a hundred booths where manufacturers and businessmen showed their wares. One “mammoth tent” was dedicated to the display of automobiles. Socony (Standard Oil of New York) displayed a gasoline pump.
A Main Street parade preceded opening night. The Gazette reported: “All the industrial concerns and stores in this city have been invited to have their old employees in point of service participate in the parade, as the parade will feature those who have had part in the building up of Amsterdam.”
Schenectady General Electric furnished floodlights. “The whole city is in gala attire, with the merchants making displays of their flags on the poles along the curbs,” reported the Gazette.
State Senator William T. Byrne of Albany gave a speech. There was a fashion show, baby contest and a pet show. A billboard advertised music and entertainment daily.
This Sunday, September 4, 2022-Focus on History from Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-A new booklet on the historic Fulton County Courthouse
The Walter Elwood Museum in Amsterdam has a book of pictures of the Progress Exposition taken by photographer Emil Zillgitt for the Board of Trade. The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce donated the book to the museum in 1982. Museum director Ann Thane would like to know more about Zillgitt. His photography studio was at 13-15 East Main Street and he is listed in city directories through the early 1950s when he died. He and his wife Eunice lived at 118 Grand Street.
One picture shows the booth of real estate agent Monroe Gray who is selling suburban lots at Tribes Hill Heights. “A lot means a home and a home means a lot,” states a poster. Gray is seated at his booth, which is next to Quist Lumber, smartly dressed in a three-piece suit with well-shined shoes, holding what may be a rolled up blueprint. Another poster promises: “Invest now and double your money at Tribes Hill Heights.” Gray has blueprints of the lots and pictures of homes stacked on a table underneath an American flag. He has a promotional item: a calendar depicting an elegant woman.
The carpet mills—Mohawk and Stephen Sanford & Sons--had booths in the Exposition, as did other manufacturers.
Main Street merchant Holzheimer & Shaul occupied several booths that look like store window displays. A cardboard cutout of a young girl is behind a new Hoover vacuum cleaner, offered with “unusually easy terms.” A female mannequin wearing an apron sits amid a display of Glenwood gas and wood stoves. One of the firm’s principals, P. Dater Shaul, is pictured at a planning session for the Exposition. To tout the city’s role in making rugs, Holzheimer’s put a Sanford carpet on the sidewalk in front of its East Main Street store during the Exposition.
In Amsterdam since 1882, Fitzgerald’s Bottling Works offered ginger ale for five cents a bottle at its booth. “The safest drinks--kills disease germs,” states an advertising poster.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022-From the Archives of The Historians Podcast-Episode 72, August 2, 2015-David Jennings is author of the historical novel “After Bondage and War.” The novel tells of people impacted by slavery through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Josiah Ashford struggled through his early life as a slave in Missouri and Savannah Oaks plantation near Natchez, Mississippi. Marcus Taylor grew up in Savannah, Georgia as a privileged dilettante. Rebecca Stanley from Charleston desired a grand life full of refinement and social graces.
Thursday, September 1, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Outdoor wedding pictures.
Sophie’s wedding to the late Stanley Gomula, who became a special investigator for the Amsterdam Police Department, was scheduled for September 15th, 1945 at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church. A Marine private first class who had served in numerous Pacific campaigns, Stanley was just back from the war.
Friday, September 2, 2022-Episode 438-Ricardo Herrara is author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778. Herrara is visiting professor at the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Previously he was a professor of military history at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He served as an armor and cavalry officer in the US Army.
In this major new history of the Continental Army's Grand Forage of 1778, award-winning military historian Ricardo A. Herrera uncovers what daily life was like for soldiers during the darkest and coldest days of the American Revolution: the Valley Forge winter. Here, the army launched its largest and riskiest operation—not a bloody battle against British forces but a campaign to feed itself and prevent starvation or dispersal during the long encampment.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Another hot and humid day is expected today. Showers andthunderstorms will become likely this afternoon and evening from theHudson Valley west, spreading across the rest of the area tonight.Temperatures will return closer to seasonal levels with lowerhumidity for Wednesday and Thursday. It will be mainly dry asidefrom a few showers over the western Adirondacks Wednesday.A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Partly sunny and hot, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 96. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.TonightShowers and thunderstorms, mainly before 3am, then a slight chance of thunderstorms after 5am. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Low around 62. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.WednesdayA slight chance of showers between 11am and noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. West wind 6 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, August 30, 2022Daily Gazettehttps://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderThe Fonda Fair opens for its 181st year WednesdayFONDA – The 181st Fonda Fair opens Wednesday and will run August 31- September 5. This year...https://www.recordernews.com/
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6 min - A nose for News
Monday, August 29, 2022- The story behind the story podcast-newsman Richard Ellers
The flat was a few doors west of Coogan's Grill, operated by local Democratic political leader William Coogan.
Tuesday, August 30, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Amsterdam’s Progress exhibition of 1925
Wednesday, August 31, 2022-From the Archives of The Historians Podcast-Episode 72, August 2, 2015-David Jennings is author of the historical novel “After Bondage and War.” The novel tells of people impacted by slavery through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Thursday, September 1, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Outdoor wedding pictures.
Friday, September 2, 2022-Episode 438-Ricardo Herrara is author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778. Herrara is visiting professor at the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Previously he was a professor of military history at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He served as an armor and cavalry officer in the US Army.
Go Fund Me—Thanks to Scott Lorenz for the latest donation to The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive. So far we’ve raised $4350. We need to raise $420 in September to stay on track to reach our $6000 goal for the year. Please help by donating online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
This Sunday, September 4, 2022-Focus on History from Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-A new booklet on the historic Fulton County Courthouse
An eye for a good story
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
Amsterdam High School 1945 graduate Richard Ellers had a sharp eye for a good story.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Ellers and his family moved to Amsterdam and rented a flat or apartment on an upper floor of a commercial building on East Main Street.
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 counterpointed with a double thunk, which was the sound of the ends of a broken chain slapping the underside of a fender.”
The flat was a few doors west of Coogan's Grill, operated by local Democratic political leader William Coogan.
There was a side door to Coogan's in the hall, originally the lady's entrance. Ellers said, “I knew this door well because, before I was of age, my dad would send me to Coogan’s to buy him a quart of beer. I would enter that side door, pay Mr. Coogan, who would then deliver the quart to me, in a bag, out in the hall.
When Mohawk and Bigelow-Sanford carpet mills in Amsterdam were producing canvas, not carpet, for the armed forces in World War II, high school boys became part of the work force.
The Board of Education changed the high school day to start and end early, so that male students could take part time jobs in the mills.
The students worked four hour shifts after school. Ellers worked at Bigelow-Sanford Carpet, helping make Army squad tents out of canvas woven in the factory.
Ellers wrote, “Our job was pulling large sections of canvas for women who sat at huge industrial sewing machines putting sections together.
“We helpers pulled the canvas as the women sewed. You wore your oldest clothes because the dark green sealant/fireproofing on the canvas came off on anything it touched.
“The sewing women wore really big aprons, plus long cuffs on their forearms. I think that when summer vacation came, they put us on full eight-hour shifts. I cannot remember if the high school girls took jobs, too.”
Ellers paid tribute to a Market Street pool hall proprietor known as Reverend Louie Allen, “We called him Reverend, partly because he was strict about behavior.”
Ellers said no cussing was allowed at Louie’s, “But he was always ready to shake ‘buck dice’ for money or just for a soda pop and his back room was a haunt of poker players and some crap shooting.”
Allen’s first floor pool hall was on Market Street at an alley that led to the police station. The building was torn down for urban renewal in the 1970s.
Ellers was voted by his 1945 high school classmates as the wittiest and noisiest boy. He witnessed FDR’s Presidential funeral and wrote a first person account for the school paper, The Item.
Ellers skipped his May 1945 high school graduation ceremony to enlist in the United States Navy, serving as a gunner's mate on minesweepers in the Pacific Theater, reaching the Philippines and Japan before the war ended.
Taking advantage of the G.I. Bill, he studied at Kent State University's school of journalism, graduating in 1953. He worked as a reporter and photographer for the Warren Ohio Tribune Chronicle from 1954 to 1965 and then for the Cleveland Plain Dealer until his retirement in 1992. His reporting beats included presidential political campaigns, science and nature, industry, and human interest.
Ellers, 93, died in July 2021 at his home in Warren, Ohio. He had married Martha McLaughlin in 1956 who survives, as do two children.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, August 29, 2022
Very warm and fairly humid conditions are expected todayinto Tuesday. Dry weather today will give way to increasing chancesfor showers and thunderstorms, mainly Tuesday afternoon into Tuesdaynight. It will be not as hot and less humid for Wednesday, withscattered midday showers possible, mainly along and north of I-90.Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 92. Heat index values as high as 96. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning.TonightPartly cloudy, with a low around 67. Light and variable wind.TuesdayA chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 92. Heat index values as high as 98. Light southeast wind becoming south 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Monday, August 29, 2022Daily GazetteMiss Fonda Fair Pageant crowns new winners
During the question-and-answer portion of the Miss Fonda Fair Pageant Saturday, Fort Plain native Lillian Grace Lighthall was asked the…Drought slows growth but concentrates sugar in apples at some area orchards
Pick-your-own season is underway, and some of the pickings are a little smaller and a little sweeter. Three commercial apple…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderMemories Along the Mohawk on August 28thAmsterdam’s boardwalk project coming next year, may be built in two phaseshttps://www.recordernews.com/
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7 min - Sunday, August 28, 2022
The Board of Education changed the high school day to start and end early, so that male students could take part time jobs in the mills.
An eye for a good story
By Bob Cudmore
Amsterdam High School 1945 graduate Richard Ellers had a sharp eye for a good story.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Ellers and his family moved to Amsterdam and rented a flat or apartment on an upper floor of a commercial building on East Main Street.
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 counterpointed with a double thunk, which was the sound of the ends of a broken chain slapping the underside of a fender.”
The flat was a few doors west of Coogan's Grill, operated by local Democratic political leader William Coogan.
There was a side door to Coogan's in the hall, originally the lady's entrance. Ellers said, “I knew this door well because, before I was of age, my dad would send me to Coogan’s to buy him a quart of beer. I would enter that side door, pay Mr. Coogan, who would then deliver the quart to me, in a bag, out in the hall.
When Mohawk and Bigelow-Sanford carpet mills in Amsterdam were producing canvas, not carpet, for the armed forces in World War II, high school boys became part of the work force.
The Board of Education changed the high school day to start and end early, so that male students could take part time jobs in the mills.
The students worked four hour shifts after school. Ellers worked at Bigelow-Sanford Carpet, helping make Army squad tents out of canvas woven in the factory.
Ellers wrote, “Our job was pulling large sections of canvas for women who sat at huge industrial sewing machines putting sections together.
“We helpers pulled the canvas as the women sewed. You wore your oldest clothes because the dark green sealant/fireproofing on the canvas came off on anything it touched.
“The sewing women wore really big aprons, plus long cuffs on their forearms. I think that when summer vacation came, they put us on full eight-hour shifts. I cannot remember if the high school girls took jobs, too.”
Ellers paid tribute to a Market Street pool hall proprietor known as Reverend Louie Allen, “We called him Reverend, partly because he was strict about behavior.”
Ellers said no cussing was allowed at Louie’s, “But he was always ready to shake ‘buck dice’ for money or just for a soda pop and his back room was a haunt of poker players and some crap shooting.”
Next Sunday, September 4, 2022-Focus on History from Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-A new booklet on the historic Fulton County Courthouse
Allen’s first floor pool hall was on Market Street at an alley that led to the police station. The building was torn down for urban renewal in the 1970s.
Ellers was voted by his 1945 high school classmates as the wittiest and noisiest boy. He witnessed FDR’s Presidential funeral and wrote a first person account for the school paper, The Item.
Ellers skipped his May 1945 high school graduation ceremony to enlist in the United States Navy, serving as a gunner's mate on minesweepers in the Pacific Theater, reaching the Philippines and Japan before the war ended.
Taking advantage of the G.I. Bill, he studied at Kent State University's school of journalism, graduating in 1953. He worked as a reporter and photographer for the Warren Ohio Tribune Chronicle from 1954 to 1965 and then for the Cleveland Plain Dealer until his retirement in 1992. His reporting beats included presidential political campaigns, science and nature, industry, and human interest.
Ellers, 93, died in July 2021 at his home in Warren, Ohio. He had married Martha McLaughlin in 1956 who survives, as do two children.
Monday, August 29, 2022- The story behind the story podcast-newsman Richard Ellers
Tuesday, August 30, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Amsterdam’s Progress exhibition of 1925
Wednesday, August 31, 2022-From the Archives of The Historians Podcast-Episode 72, August 2, 2015-David Jennings is author of the historical novel “After Bondage and War.” The novel tells of people impacted by slavery through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Thursday, September 1, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Outdoor wedding pictures.
Friday, September 2, 2022-Episode 438-Ricardo Herrara is author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778. Herrara is visiting professor at the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Previously he was a professor of military history at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He served as an armor and cavalry officer in the US Army.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Sunday, August 28, 2022
Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the morning.TonightPartly cloudy, with a low around 63. Light east wind.MondayMostly sunny and hot, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 95. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Sunday, August 28, 2022Daily GazetteAnother dominating performance by Epicenter, this time in the Travers
SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Kentucky Derby was the one that got away. Then the Preakness was the one that got…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderStill no charges, tickets one year after fatal Amsterdam MVAAMSTERDAM — The driver who slammed into a car stopped at a stop sign, killing one of the occupants...https://www.recordernews.com/
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4 min
About The Historians
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The Historians is a weekly audio interview podcast that features authors and other guests who discuss the rich heritage of the Mohawk Valley NY region and the nation.