The Historians

...sounds like The Music Man

Monday, March 28, 2022-The story behind the story podcast-a tavern, a pool hall and a paint brush factory in Amsterdam

The Historians Podcast 2022 fund drive at $1675. The goal $6000.00

Please donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  

The official Historians Mailbox

Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. 

to-be Tomorrow

Tuesday, March 29, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Fooling the ragman from 2016

In his day, ragman Harry Demsky was better known in Amsterdam than his son Isadore.

Isadore, whose nickname was Izzy, changed his name to Kirk Douglas and became a famous Hollywood actor and producer...

Wednesday, March 30, 2022-From the Archives- Episode 205, March 9, 2018-Late film historian Rob Edelman discusses his book “From Spring Training to Screen Test: Baseball Players Turned Actors.” Rob’s wife and retired film professor Audrey Kupferberg has stories of Jewish merchants in the thriving downtown of the 1950s in her native Amsterdam, New York. Rob Edelman died in 2019.

For well over a century, stars and supporting players on baseball diamonds have become stars and supporting players in the movies, on Broadway, in vaudeville and, eventually, on television and in concert halls. After all, ballplayers are celebrities.

Thursday, March 31, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Fred Wojcicki’s memories of Amsterdam. 

Fred Wojcicki, a source of information for this column for ten years, passed away December 20th of 2017 in Hacienda Heights, California at the age of 91. 

Friday, April 1, 2022-Episode 416-Neil Lanctot is author of The Approaching Storm: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jane Addams and Their Clash Over America’s Future.  The book recounts the debate over whether America should enter World War I.

Bob Cudmore in The Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder every Saturday

Saturday, April 2, 2022- Focus on History-Local angles and a new book on the sinking of the Titanic 110 years ago in the month of April.  

An Amsterdam tavern, a paint brush factory and a pool hall

By Bob Cudmore

   The late Shawn Kevin Duffy contributed tales to this column on many topics including O’Shaughnessy’s, his family's East End tavern.

   O'Shaughnessy's Tavern was once owned by Duffy's grandfather Martin J. O'Shaughnessy.  Located at East Main and Eagle Streets in a building no longer there, O'Shaughnessy's regulars included movie actor Kirk Douglas's father, Harry Demsky. The Demskys lived at 46 Eagle Street at the end of the dead end street.

   The Historic Amsterdam League marker for Kirk Douglas’s boyhood neighborhood was placed where the tavern used to be on East Main at Eagle.

   Duffy wrote, "The bar survived Prohibition as so many did not. My mom, Mary O'Shaughnessy Duffy, told me that she used to help make bathtub gin when she was around ten, actually in the bathtub. Her brother Martin Junior (who had polio) sold the moonshine off the back porch to make ends meet during these hard times."

   Eventually the “O” was dropped from the tavern’s name and it became known as Shaughnessy’s.

   Duffy also has memories of working at Edy Brush Company on Brookside Avenue in Amsterdam, a firm that made paint brushes out of hog bristles imported from Poland in the late 1960s.  Edy Brush closed in the 1980s and the building, originally the Wasserman broom factory, was destroyed by fire in 2010. 

   Duffy’s job was to dye the hog bristles black in a large vat of boiling dye.  He also cut long tubes of synthetic bristles with a hand chopper.  He sometimes thought his arm was going to fall off.

   “I broke the elevator by loading boxes of bristle almost up to the limit of the elevator,” Duffy wrote.  “A co-worker and I were also told to stack boxes of bristle in a large storage room as high as we could.  The ceiling was probably 30 to 40 feet.  We made stairs out of the boxes as we stacked and therefore got right up to the ceiling.  I don't think the foreman really expected this and we were in trouble again for doing what we were asked.”

   Duffy used to visit his aunt, Loretta Mullarkey Curran, who worked at a building on the grounds of Amsterdam City Hall on Church Street, the former Sanford mansion.

   He wrote, “At that time, the landscaping at City Hall was outstanding, with three levels of gardens and hedge bordered walkways.”

   Duffy also spent some time at Louie Allen’s pool hall on Market Street near the old Rialto Theatre.

   Duffy wrote, “Louie Allen would occasionally play the good players that would sometimes come around as he was a very good player himself.  The strange thing was that Louie had one crippled arm and played with only his good arm, using the rail as a bridge.  The story was that in his younger years Louie once hustled the wrong person at the wrong time, and they made sure he would never do that again by taking him out back and giving him a non-pool lesson, (not sure if this story was true or just hype). Louie also had an assistant by the name of Joe Corrigan who was close to a world-class player while still in his teens.”

   Corrigan joined the Navy and Duffy was informed that Corrigan was killed in an auto accident in about 1970 while still in the Navy.

   Duffy, born in Amsterdam in 1949, died in 2019 at his home in Lake St. Louis, Missouri at age 69. He was a Navy veteran and worked for General Electric and other firms in the turbine generator business.  When he retired he was part owner of Turbine Generator Technical Services.

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather and News Headlines

Monday, March 28, 2022

https://dailygazette.com/

Amsterdam native Marcus Jackson to join UAlbany men’s basketball program

Marcus Jackson, an Amsterdam native, will join the UAlbany men’s basketball program for the...

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Azarel Gifts & Bikes in Gloversville endures test of time
GLOVERSVILLE – When Nathan Jancek walked through the narrow aisles of Azarel Gifts & Bikes late on a Saturday afternoon…

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Curator Dennis Malcolm talks about the eclectic collections at the Village of Ames Museum.  Ames, between Canajoharie and Sharon Springs, is one of the smallest incorporated villages in New York State.  Writer E.B. White’s talking mouse, Stuart Little, visited Ames and liked it very much

The Historians Podcast 2022 fund drive now totals $1675.  That’s just over 27% of our $6,000 goal for the year. 

Please 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. On the production schedule: Episode 418-Historian Bruce Dearstyne on celebrating New York State’s birthday and Episode 419-Edmund Richardson is author of The King’s Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria, the story of a deserter who discovered a civilization founded by Alexander the Great in Afghanistan in the fourth century B.C.

An Amsterdam tavern, a paint brush factory and a pool hall

By Bob Cudmore, Focus

   The late Shawn Kevin Duffy contributed tales to this column on many topics including O’Shaughnessy’s, his family's East End tavern.

   O'Shaughnessy's Tavern was once owned by Duffy's grandfather Martin J. O'Shaughnessy.  Located at East Main and Eagle Streets in a building no longer there, O'Shaughnessy's regulars included movie actor Kirk Douglas's father, Harry Demsky. The Demskys lived at 46 Eagle Street at the end of the dead end street.

   The Historic Amsterdam League marker for Kirk Douglas’s boyhood neighborhood was placed where the tavern used to be on East Main at Eagle.

   Duffy wrote, "The bar survived Prohibition as so many did not. My mom, Mary O'Shaughnessy Duffy, told me that she used to help make bathtub gin when she was around ten, actually in the bathtub. Her brother Martin Junior (who had polio) sold the moonshine off the back porch to make ends meet during these hard times."

   Eventually the “O” was dropped from the tavern’s name and it became known as Shaughnessy’s.

   Duffy also has memories of working at Edy Brush Company on Brookside Avenue in Amsterdam, a firm that made paint brushes out of hog bristles imported from Poland in the late 1960s.  Edy Brush closed in the 1980s and the building, originally the Wasserman broom factory, was destroyed by fire in 2010. 

   Duffy’s job was to dye the hog bristles black in a large vat of boiling dye.  He also cut long tubes of synthetic bristles with a hand chopper.  He sometimes thought his arm was going to fall off.

   “I broke the elevator by loading boxes of bristle almost up to the limit of the elevator,” Duffy wrote.  “A co-worker and I were also told to stack boxes of bristle in a large storage room as high as we could.  The ceiling was probably 30 to 40 feet.  We made stairs out of the boxes as we stacked and therefore got right up to the ceiling.  I don't think the foreman really expected this and we were in trouble again for doing what we were asked.”

   Duffy used to visit his aunt, Loretta Mullarkey Curran, who worked at a building on the grounds of Amsterdam City Hall on Church Street, the former Sanford mansion.

   He wrote, “At that time, the landscaping at City Hall was outstanding, with three levels of gardens and hedge bordered walkways.”

   Duffy also spent some time at Louie Allen’s pool hall on Market Street near the old Rialto Theatre.

   Duffy wrote, “Louie Allen would occasionally play the good players that would sometimes come around as he was a very good player himself.  The strange thing was that Louie had one crippled arm and played with only his good arm, using the rail as a bridge.  The story was that in his younger years Louie once hustled the wrong person at the wrong time, and they made sure he would never do that again by taking him out back and giving him a non-pool lesson, (not sure if this story was true or just hype). Louie also had an assistant by the name of Joe Corrigan who was close to a world-class player while still in his teens.”

   Corrigan joined the Navy and Duffy was informed that Corrigan was killed in an auto accident in about 1970 while still in the Navy.

   Duffy, born in Amsterdam in 1949, died in 2019 at his home in Lake St. Louis, Missouri at age 69. He was a Navy veteran and worked for General Electric and other firms in the turbine generator business.  When he retired he was part owner of Turbine Generator Technical Services.

“Labor’s Slaves in the Adirondacks”: Building the Adirondack Railroad

by John Warren

Adirondack Almanack 

The St. Lawrence & Adirondack Railroad, also known as the Mohawk & Malone – eventually owned by the New York Central and called the Adirondack Line or the Adirondack Railroad ran directly through the Adirondacks from Herkimer (near Utica) to Malone connecting the rail lines along the Mohawk River to the Main Trunk Line running into Montreal.

https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2022/03/labors-slaves-in-the-adirondacks-building-the-adirondack-railroad/

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather and News Headlines

Sunday, March 27, 2022

https://dailygazette.com/

Guge’s Dogs moving from food cart to Bridge Street storefront in Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM — A long running food truck is making the move to a permanent storefront on Amsterdam’s...

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Troopers: Two rob Northville bank Saturday, lead police on Saratoga County chase
NORTHVILLE – Two men robbed a Northville bank and then led police on a brief chase in Saratoga County afterward,…

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Serenity Now

A quiet time talking books

Sunday afternoon at 2, March 27, 2022

Bob Cudmore will join Amsterdam Reads at the Amsterdam Free Library on Church Street for a virtual question and answer session with author Susan Meissner.  Meissner will discuss her book The Nature of Fragile Things.  The book explores the power and resilience of female friendship set in the time of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

The Historians Podcast 2022 fund drive now totals $1625.  That’s just over 25% of our $6,000 goal for the year.  Please 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. Keep history alive at The Historians Podcast—where we’re working on Episode 418-Historian Bruce Dearstyne on celebrating New York State’s birthday and Episode 419-Edmund Richardson is author of The King’s Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria, the story of a deserter who discovered a civilization founded by Alexander the Great in Afghanistan in the fourth century B.C.

...they made buttons

An Amsterdam tavern, a paint brush factory and a pool hall

By Bob Cudmore, Focus

   The late Shawn Kevin Duffy contributed tales to this column on many topics including O’Shaughnessy’s, his family's East End tavern.

   O'Shaughnessy's Tavern was once owned by Duffy's grandfather Martin J. O'Shaughnessy.  Located at East Main and Eagle Streets in a building no longer there, O'Shaughnessy's regulars included movie actor Kirk Douglas's father, Harry Demsky. The Demskys lived at 46 Eagle Street at the end of the dead end street.

   The Historic Amsterdam League marker for Kirk Douglas’s boyhood neighborhood was placed where the tavern used to be on East Main at Eagle.

   Duffy wrote, "The bar survived Prohibition as so many did not. My mom, Mary O'Shaughnessy Duffy, told me that she used to help make bathtub gin when she was around ten, actually in the bathtub. Her brother Martin Junior (who had polio) sold the moonshine off the back porch to make ends meet during these hard times."

   Eventually the “O” was dropped from the tavern’s name and it became known as Shaughnessy’s.

   Duffy also has memories of working at Edy Brush Company on Brookside Avenue in Amsterdam, a firm that made paint brushes out of hog bristles imported from Poland in the late 1960s.  Edy Brush closed in the 1980s and the building, originally the Wasserman broom factory, was destroyed by fire in 2010. 

   Duffy’s job was to dye the hog bristles black in a large vat of boiling dye.  He also cut long tubes of synthetic bristles with a hand chopper.  He sometimes thought his arm was going to fall off.

   “I broke the elevator by loading boxes of bristle almost up to the limit of the elevator,” Duffy wrote.  “A co-worker and I were also told to stack boxes of bristle in a large storage room as high as we could.  The ceiling was probably 30 to 40 feet.  We made stairs out of the boxes as we stacked and therefore got right up to the ceiling.  I don't think the foreman really expected this and we were in trouble again for doing what we were asked.”

   Duffy used to visit his aunt, Loretta Mullarkey Curran, who worked at a building on the grounds of Amsterdam City Hall on Church Street, the former Sanford mansion.

   He wrote, “At that time, the landscaping at City Hall was outstanding, with three levels of gardens and hedge bordered walkways.”

Historians on the Radio this afternoon at 12:05 WCSS Amsterdam 106.9FM 1490AM

   Duffy also spent some time at Louie Allen’s pool hall on Market Street near the old Rialto Theatre.

   Duffy wrote, “Louie Allen would occasionally play the good players that would sometimes come around as he was a very good player himself.  The strange thing was that Louie had one crippled arm and played with only his good arm, using the rail as a bridge.  The story was that in his younger years Louie once hustled the wrong person at the wrong time, and they made sure he would never do that again by taking him out back and giving him a non-pool lesson, (not sure if this story was true or just hype). Louie also had an assistant by the name of Joe Corrigan who was close to a world-class player while still in his teens.”

   Corrigan joined the Navy and Duffy was informed that Corrigan was killed in an auto accident in about 1970 while still in the Navy.

   Duffy, born in Amsterdam in 1949, died in 2019 at his home in Lake St. Louis, Missouri at age 69. He was a Navy veteran and worked for General Electric and other firms in the turbine generator business.  When he retired he was part owner of Turbine Generator Technical Services.

  Violinist Ann-Marie Barker Schwarz explores the history of high quality music in the early days of radio.  Edward Rice played the violin during WGY Schenectady’s first broadcast on February 20, 1922.  Barker Schwarz is the founder of Musicians of Ma’alwyck and took part in WGY’s 100th anniversary broadcast.

Tomorrow, Sunday, March 27, 2022-From the Archives- Episode 179, September 8, 2017, Curator Dennis Malcolm talks about the eclectic collections at the Village of Ames Museum.  Ames, between Canajoharie and Sharon Springs, is one of the smallest incorporated villages in New York State.  Writer E.B. White’s talking mouse, Stuart Little, visited Ames and liked it very much

Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather and News Headlines, Saturday, March 26, 2022

https://dailygazette.com/

Deer friends: Venison for Vets donation campaign shows community spirit in Fulton County

JOHNSTOWN–When Venison for Vets first started 14 years ago, the “event” was little more than...

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Arrested former Johnstown funeral home director sued by home’s previous owner over mortgage balance
JOHNSTOWN – The former owner of the Johnstown funeral home where the current owner has been accused of improperly handling…

https://www.leaderherald.com/

...Carpet magnate Stephen Sanford bought Cornell’s house at 61 Church Street in 1869, according to city historian Robert von Hasseln.  Through the years, Sanford and his son John renovated and expanded the structure.  In 1932, John Sanford conveyed the property for one dollar to the city, which has used it as the City Hall ever since.

The Historians is Amsterdams all-history website, updated every 24 hours

History interviews and stories "people you know"

[email protected]

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Advertising in old Amsterdam

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History

As some newspapers do today, the Amsterdam Morning Sentinel printed advertisements on its front page on September 17, 1886.

Albany jeweler Henry Rowlands had the largest large front page ad and other large ads were taken by Bradford & Dickinson at 46 East Main Street and Larrabee & Barnes, then at 38 East Main. 

Bradford wanted people to buy Town and Country mixed paints, “It is conceded by all to be the best paint in the market.”

Larrabee’s was pushing stoves, ranges, furnaces and much more, “Hardware iron and nails, blacksmiths’ supplies, saddlery, wheels, horse blankets, halters, collars, whips, guns, Dupont gunpowder, hay wire and carpenters’ tools.” 

If you didn’t want to invest in a new stove, Harvey Chalmers at 23 East Main would repair “any stove made,” promising the lowest prices.

The Central Hotel, Ernst Kurlbaum proprietor, advertised moderate terms at its 12 Market Street location, plus choice wines, liquors, lager and cigars always on hand.  Grocer L. Ostrom promised the best brands of flour were always on hand at his East Main and Schuyler Street location, along with family groceries, teas, coffees and spices.

Reasonable terms were promised at Wilmot’s Livery Stable on Spring Street, which we know as Guy Park Avenue.  Horses and carriages were available at all times of the day or night.

Providing meats on short notice was a selling point for J. B. Sprague, advertised as the Market Street butcher.

The Historians Podcast 2022 Go Fund Me undertaking now totals $1625.00

Bottom line $6,000 

Here is the link  https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302

JOSEPH CORNELL

Fulton County historian Peter Betz is a native of Amsterdam in neighboring Montgomery County and has added to the story of 19th century Amsterdam farmer and businessman Joseph Cornell.

Carpet magnate Stephen Sanford bought Cornell’s house at 61 Church Street in 1869, according to city historian Robert von Hasseln.  Through the years, Sanford and his son John renovated and expanded the structure.  In 1932, John Sanford conveyed the property for one dollar to the city, which has used it as the City Hall ever since.

Von Hasseln said it appears likely the main house at 61 Church was built by Cornell in the early 1850s, possibly using a foundation from an earlier home on the site built by S. and A. Waters. 

Betz has found that Cornell was born in Queens, New York in 1778 and was listed in the 1830 census as a resident of Southampton on Long Island.  He moved to Amsterdam in 1833. 

In 1843, Cornell and ten other people united with the Presbyterian Church.  Land for the then new Green Hill Cemetery was purchased from Cornell in the 1850s, about the time he built his home at 61 Church Street.  Cornell’s son was the first person buried in the cemetery.  Cornell’s wife was a woman named Maria Stryker from New York City.  She died in 1868. 

After selling his Amsterdam home to Sanford in 1869, Cornell moved to Brooklyn to live with a nephew.  He returned to Amsterdam in 1870 to attend the dedication ceremony for the new Presbyterian Church on Church Street.  That building was destroyed by fire in year 2000.  The new United Presbyterian Church currently stands on the site.

Cornell took sick while visiting Amsterdam.  According to his obituary from June 8, “Attended by his nephew from Brooklyn, he traveled about town calling upon his numerous friends and as it seemed to be, these were his farewell calls.  The deceased was much respected by all who knew him.  He died after a few hours of illness (at the Amsterdam Hotel) in his 92nd year.” 

Cornell was buried from the residence of Mrs. G.W. Stryker.  His funeral service was the first one held at the new Presbyterian Church.  His grave is in Green Hill Cemetery. 

Tomorrow, Episode 415

Violinist Ann-Marie Barker Schwarz

...explores the history of high quality music in the early days of radio.  Edward Rice played the violin during WGY Schenectady’s first broadcast on February 20, 1922.  Barker Schwarz is the founder of Musicians of Ma’alwyck and took part in WGY’s 100th anniversary broadcast.

Spring is Here

Oil Up the Two Wheeler

Erie Canalway https://eriecanalway.org/

Cycle a few miles or all 365! The Erie Canalway Trail between Albany and Buffalo is 87-percent off road and suitable for all ages and abilities. The trail closely parallels both active and historic sections of the Erie Canal. You'll enjoy great cycling and easy access to communities, attractions, and amenities throughout the Canalway Corridor.

Mohawk Valley Weather and News Headlines, Thursday, March 24, 2022

https://dailygazette.com/

Planning Commission approves nightclub in downtown Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM — Despite concerns over potential noise and safety issues, plans for a nightclub..

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Nathan Littauer-Albany Med facility in Amsterdam gaining patients

by John Cropley

https://www.leaderherald.com/

...whats it all about

Episode 348-Chris Carola, veteran Associated Press reporter, with the story of Jack Wilpers, who grew up in Saratoga Springs, and the key role Wilpers played in the capture of former Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo in 1945.

Historians Go Fund Me

The Historians Podcast 2022 fund drive now totals $1625.00

$6,000 goal for the year

Please donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. 

Tomorrow, Thursday, March 24, 2022

Advertising in old Amsterdam

Larrabee’s was pushing stoves, ranges, furnaces and much more, “Hardware iron and nails, blacksmiths’ supplies, saddlery, wheels, horse blankets, halters, collars, whips, guns, Dupont gunpowder, hay wire and carpenters’ tools.” 

Episode 415

This Friday, March 25, 2022-Violinist Ann-Marie Barker Schwarz explores the history of high quality music in the early days of radio.  Edward Rice played the violin during WGY Schenectady’s first broadcast on February 20, 1922.  Barker Schwarz is the founder of Musicians of Ma’alwyck and took part in WGY’s 100th anniversary broadcast.

$5 million to support community projects in Amsterdam
WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Lucas Willard

Lucas Willard and Bob Cudmore

https://www.wamc.org/news/2022-03-22/5-million-to-support-community-projects-in-amsterdam

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

https://dailygazette.com/

Sheriff: Three Montgomery County women charged in separate welfare fraud cases

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Gloversville hires videographer for 9-month contract

by Jason Subik

https://www.leaderherald.com/

test, test, test on the radio, OH and whistle while you work

...Keesler concluded, “It was from Nelson that I learned that if not for the Mohawks and Sir William Johnson, we could well be a part of French speaking Canada, and that the Battle of Oriskany really did affect the outcome of the Revolutionary War.” 

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Picture:Schenectady County Public Library http://www.scpl.org/

Nelson Greene wrote Mohawk Valley history

By Bob Cudmore

          According to the late historian Paul Keesler of Newport, no one published more information on the Mohawk Valley than Nelson Greene.

          Recently, an inquiry about Greene’s four-volume history came from Amsterdam native Jim Michaelson of Canton.  Michaelson is looking for information on these books and Peter Betz, Fulton County historian and Amsterdam native, said Greene’s books are widely known.

Historians Go Fund Me Lore

The Historians Podcast 2022 fund drive now totals $1625.00

$6,000 goal for the year

Please donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. An envelope in the US Mail, they sill do that. 

          Most local libraries have Greene’s three-volume history, according to Betz, and a companion volume of biographies, commissioned by the notables who are described.  

Greene published the books that Michaelson owns in 1925, a set called “The Mohawk Valley – Gateway to the West, 1614-1925.” 

Historian Keesler at first was put off by some discrepancies in Greene’s volumes but said his appreciation of the Fort Plain writer increased dramatically when he read more of Greene’s work.   

Keesler wrote, “Considering the astounding amount of information he gathered and published in 1925 when communications, travel and publishing technologies were relatively primitive, it is amazing how few errors there are in his books.”

Keesler concluded, “It was from Nelson that I learned that if not for the Mohawks and Sir William Johnson, we could well be a part of French speaking Canada, and that the Battle of Oriskany really did affect the outcome of the Revolutionary War.”      

Keesler died in 2005 and at last report family and friends were hoping to publish the history book on the Mohawk Valley that he was working on when he died.

According to Keesler, Greene was born in Little Falls in the 19th century. His father Horace Greene moved to Fort Plain and became the owner of the Mohawk Valley Register newspaper in the early 1900s. 

Nelson Greene contributed articles on local history to his father's newspaper.  Nelson studied art in New York City and was both an artist and writer.  In addition to his books on Mohawk Valley history, Greene became editor of the Fort Plain Standard newspaper.

 AMSTERDAM’S GRADE SCHOOLS

          The Woodrow Wilson School was left off a list of Amsterdam’s elementary schools from the 1930s in a recent column. 

City native Richard Ippolito wrote that Woodrow Wilson School, on Clizbe Avenue in the Rockton section, was built in 1931 and he attended it in the 1940s.  The structure is now gone.

According to historian Hugh Donlon, 1931 marked the city’s largest school enrollment of over 8,000 with some 6,800 in the public schools.   The rest were students in Roman Catholic schools: St. Mary’s, St. Stanislaus, St. Joseph’s and St. Casimir’s.

The other public elementary schools in Amsterdam in the 1930s were Academy, Arnold, Fourth Ward, Fifth Ward, Guy Park, McCleary, Milton, New East Main, Old East Main, West Spring, and Vrooman.

          Postcard and picture collector Jerry Snyder has contributed an image of the Fourth Ward School on lower Vrooman Avenue in Amsterdam, built in 1894 and destroyed in a fire in about 1940.  Snyder believes the photo was taken around 1899.

The imposing stone structure is fortress-like with a full basement.  The back part of the building is three stories.  The front section is two stories with two round balls capping the front corners.  A peaked roof slopes sharply in the front from the taller part of the building in the rear.  A dormer with windows in this front section seems to be at the top of the third floor level of the rear of the building.  This top floor was the gymnasium. 

The front door is recessed behind a curved stone archway.  There are large chimneys on opposite sides of the building and a tower jutting from the middle of the roof is topped with a lightning rod.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Episode 348-Chris Carola, veteran Associated Press reporter, with the story of Jack Wilpers, who grew up in Saratoga Springs, and the key role Wilpers played in the capture of former Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo in 1945.

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Advertising in old Amsterdam

Reasonable terms were promised at Wilmot’s Livery Stable on Spring Street, which we know as Guy Park Avenue.  Horses and carriages were available at all times of the day or night.

Episode 415

This Friday, March 25, 2022-Violinist Ann-Marie Barker Schwarz explores the history of high quality music in the early days of radio.  Edward Rice played the violin during WGY Schenectady’s first broadcast on February 20, 1922.  Barker Schwarz is the founder of Musicians of Ma’alwyck and took part in WGY’s 100th anniversary broadcast. 

32 at 4:17AM (Work week, day two)

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

https://dailygazette.com/

Schoharie limo disaster lawsuits finally progressing

ALBANY — Long postponed discovery proceedings in lawsuits filed over the October 2018 Schoharie...

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Gloversville Common Council set to modify blight codes

by Jason Subik

https://www.leaderherald.com/

...this time there was more information

March 21, 2022-The story behind the story-Aviator Amelia Earhart helped Beech Nut advertise chewing gum during 1931 autogiro flights. Story to start the week, 9 Minutes

The just completed Historians Podcast that will post this Friday

March 25, 2022-Episode 415-Violinist Ann-Marie Barker Schwarz explores the history of high quality music in the early days of radio.  Edward Rice played the violin during WGY Schenectady’s first broadcast on February 20, 1922.  Barker Schwarz is the founder of Musicians of Ma’alwyck and took part in WGY’s 100th anniversary broadcast. 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Journalist and history writer Nelson Greene

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Episode 348-Chris Carola, veteran Associated Press reporter, with the story of Jack Wilpers, who grew up in Saratoga Springs, and the key role Wilpers played in the capture of former Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo in 1945.

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Advertising in old Amsterdam

***

...the editor of the Fort Plain Standard newspaper, Mohawk Valley historian Nelson Greene, longtime friend of Bartlett Arkell, did advance publicity for Earhart’s autogiro tour through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

Advertising Beech Nut chewing gum with an aviation pioneer

By Bob Cudmore

   Famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart once went on a national tour piloting an unusual aircraft to help Beech Nut sell chewing gum.

   Beech Nut was then in Canajoharie.  In 2010 Beech Nut, best known today for baby food, left Canajoharie and moved to the Town of Florida near Thruway Exit 27.

   Earhart had come to the region in 1929 to read letters to Admiral Richard Byrd’s Antarctic expedition on WGY shortwave station W2XAF,

   Beech Nut sponsored Earhart’s 1931 cross-country flights in the Pitcairn Auto Gyro. The craft combined features of an airplane and a helicopter.

   Historian Carl Johnson’s Website Hoxie reported the autogiro is “an odd hybrid craft that uses an unpowered rotor to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller to develop thrust.”

   In the 1930s some thought the autogiro, with its ability to fly slowly and land in small places, would be the future of aviation.  Others feared the autogiro was dangerous.

   Bruce H. Charnov of Hofstra University wrote. “The autogiro was invented by Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva in an attempt to create an aircraft that could fly safely at low speeds.”   He flew the first one in 1923 in Madrid.

   Earhart was born in 1897 in Atchison, Kansas.  In 1931 she had established one record for the autogiro, piloting it to an altitude of 18,500 feet.

   Charnov wrote Earhart had ordered her own autogiro when Beech Nut made an offer, “Seeing a publicity bonanza, the Beech Nut Packing Company, offered Earhart the use of its previously ordered (autogiro) if she would fly it coast-to-coast with the company logo painted on its side and accompanying promotion efforts related to its chewing gum.  Brokered by her husband (George Palmer Putnam), who was known for his acumen at garnering publicity, she promptly canceled her order in favor of the Beech Nut Autogiro.”

   "I'm delighted to have the opportunity of making extensive tests with this plane through the helpfulness of Bartlett Arkell, president of Beech Nut," Earhart commented to the Canajoharie Courier.  Earhart is pictured in the cockpit of the autogiro which had Beech Nut logos in several places. 

   There was one mishap which damaged an autogiro during a landing on a field n Canajoharie.  Earhart was not the pilot in that incident.

   The editor of the Fort Plain Standard newspaper, Mohawk Valley historian Nelson Greene, longtime friend of Bartlett Arkell, did advance publicity for Earhart’s autogiro tour through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

   After much preparation and orchestrated publicity, Earhart took off from Newark, New Jersey in May 1931 on her first transcontinental autogiro tour.

   Charnov wrote, “At each stop (Earhart) lifted children to see the cockpit, shook hands with spectators, gave interviews, and often gave out samples of the Beech Nut chewing gum.”

   However another aviator, John Miller, was also trying to set the autogiro record for the first transcontinental trip.  Charnov wrote, “Arriving on June 6, 1931, in Oakland, California, (Earhart) discovered much to her amazement and her husband’s mercurial anger that John M. Miller had arrived in San Diego on May 28th.”

   Deprived of the westbound transcontinental record, Earhart tried to claim a record flying the autogiro back to the East Coast.  This didn’t happen as she had the first of three autogiro crashes in Abilene, Kansas.  She ended up returning by train.

   Some police agencies today use autogiros as they are less expensive to buy and maintain than helicopters.

   Amelia Earhart was to come to a sudden, mysterious and tragic end in 1937.  While on a round-the-world flight she and navigator Fred Noonan vanished over the Pacific Ocean enroute from New Guinea to tiny Howland Island.

The Saratoga County History Roundtable and Saratoga County History Center will present a program by County Historian Lauren Roberts on the 130-year history of the County Poorhouse.

Saratoga County Poor House

https://brooksidemuseum.networkforgood.com/events/39903-supporting-the-poor-in-saratoga-county

In-person talk

At Brookside Museum: 6 Charlton Street Ballston Spa, NY 

518-885-4000

The Poorhouse was established in 1827, when the county purchased land to accommodate an Alms House for "the victims of misfortune." As the county grew, so did the number of people who needed care. The Poor House complex included a large-scale farm, schoolhouse, imposing brick residence and an infirmary.

Bob Cudmore spoke with Lauren Roberts on July 29, 2018

Podcast posted "Down this Page"

Excerpts are heard from the popular new documentary: Harnessing Nature-Building the Great Sacandaga Lake. One of the producers, Saratoga County historian Lauren Roberts, discusses how the film came to be. 

38 at 5AM to embark on the day

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

https://dailygazette.com/

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

https://www.leaderherald.com/

...first a little bit about what's in the "bin"on The Historians in April

Episode 392-Dana Cudmore is the author of Underground Empires: Two Centuries of Exploration, Adventure and Enterprise in New York’s Cave Country.  Cudmore focuses on caves of Schoharie and Albany counties, including Howe Caverns.

The Historians Podcast 2022 fund drive now totals $1625.  That’s just over 25% of our $6,000 goal for the year.  Please donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or delegate a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. On the production schedule, we’re working on Episode 418-Historian Bruce Dearstyne on celebrating New York State’s birthday. Much Thanks

...by-and-by Monday

March 21, 2022-The story behind the story-Aviator Amelia Earhart helped Beech Nut advertise chewing gum during 1931 autogiro flights. Story to start the week, 9 Minutes

Tuesday, March 22, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Journalist and history writer Nelson Greene

Recently, an inquiry about Greene’s four-volume history came from Amsterdam native Jim Michaelson of Canton. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2022-From the Archives-December 11, 2020-Episode 348-Chris Carola, veteran Associated Press reporter, with the story of Jack Wilpers, who grew up in Saratoga Springs, and the key role Wilpers played in the capture of former Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo in 1945.

Thursday, March 24, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Advertising in old Amsterdam

As some newspapers do today, the Amsterdam Morning Sentinel printed advertisements on its front page on September 17, 1886.

Friday, March 25, 2022-Episode 415-Violinist Ann-Marie Barker Schwarz explores the history of high quality music in the early days of radio.  Edward Rice played the violin during WGY Schenectady’s first broadcast on February 20, 1922.  Barker Schwarz is the founder of Musicians of Ma’alwyck and took part in WGY’s 100th anniversary broadcast. 

Advertising Beech Nut chewing gum with an aviation pioneer

By Bob Cudmore

   Famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart once went on a national tour piloting an unusual aircraft to help Beech Nut sell chewing gum.

   Beech Nut was then in Canajoharie.  In 2010 Beech Nut, best known today for baby food, left Canajoharie and moved to the Town of Florida near Thruway Exit 27.

   Earhart had come to the region in 1929 to read letters to Admiral Richard Byrd’s Antarctic expedition on WGY shortwave station W2XAF,

   Beech Nut sponsored Earhart’s 1931 cross-country flights in the Pitcairn Auto Gyro. The craft combined features of an airplane and a helicopter.

   Historian Carl Johnson’s Website Hoxie reported the autogiro is “an odd hybrid craft that uses an unpowered rotor to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller to develop thrust.”

   In the 1930s some thought the autogiro, with its ability to fly slowly and land in small places, would be the future of aviation.  Others feared the autogiro was dangerous.

   Bruce H. Charnov of Hofstra University wrote. “The autogiro was invented by Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva in an attempt to create an aircraft that could fly safely at low speeds.”   He flew the first one in 1923 in Madrid.

   Earhart was born in 1897 in Atchison, Kansas.  In 1931 she had established one record for the autogiro, piloting it to an altitude of 18,500 feet.

   Charnov wrote Earhart had ordered her own autogiro when Beech Nut made an offer, “Seeing a publicity bonanza, the Beech Nut Packing Company, offered Earhart the use of its previously ordered (autogiro) if she would fly it coast-to-coast with the company logo painted on its side and accompanying promotion efforts related to its chewing gum.  Brokered by her husband (George Palmer Putnam), who was known for his acumen at garnering publicity, she promptly canceled her order in favor of the Beech Nut Autogiro.”

   "I'm delighted to have the opportunity of making extensive tests with this plane through the helpfulness of Bartlett Arkell, president of Beech Nut," Earhart commented to the Canajoharie Courier.  Earhart is pictured in the cockpit of the autogiro which had Beech Nut logos in several places. 

   There was one mishap which damaged an autogiro during a landing on a field n Canajoharie.  Earhart was not the pilot in that incident.

   The editor of the Fort Plain Standard newspaper, Mohawk Valley historian Nelson Greene, longtime friend of Bartlett Arkell, did advance publicity for Earhart’s autogiro tour through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

   After much preparation and orchestrated publicity, Earhart took off from Newark, New Jersey in May 1931 on her first transcontinental autogiro tour.

   Charnov wrote, “At each stop (Earhart) lifted children to see the cockpit, shook hands with spectators, gave interviews, and often gave out samples of the Beech Nut chewing gum.”

   However another aviator, John Miller, was also trying to set the autogiro record for the first transcontinental trip.  Charnov wrote, “Arriving on June 6, 1931, in Oakland, California, (Earhart) discovered much to her amazement and her husband’s mercurial anger that John M. Miller had arrived in San Diego on May 28th.”

   Deprived of the westbound transcontinental record, Earhart tried to claim a record flying the autogiro back to the East Coast.  This didn’t happen as she had the first of three autogiro crashes in Abilene, Kansas.  She ended up returning by train.

   Some police agencies today use autogiros as they are less expensive to buy and maintain than helicopters.

   Amelia Earhart was to come to a sudden, mysterious and tragic end in 1937.  While on a round-the-world flight she and navigator Fred Noonan vanished over the Pacific Ocean enroute from New Guinea to tiny Howland Island.

Episode 392-Dana Cudmore is the author of Underground Empires: Two Centuries of Exploration, Adventure and Enterprise in New York’s Cave Country.  Cudmore focuses on caves of Schoharie and Albany counties, including Howe Caverns. 

The Oneida County History Center will host “Women of the Civil War,” Saturday, March 26, 2022

...in person at the History Center, and via Zoom.

Historian Cheryl Pula will look at the contributions made by women during the Civil War including their role as doctors, nurses, spies, and combat soldiers. Cheryl will also include a discussion of Oneida County’s own Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the first female U.S. Army surgeon, and only female Medal of Honor recipient.

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUocumgpzkvHt3q6cnNyA-DB_L8Nc5Nh3t9

Ann Maria Bullock Schram of Amsterdam was a volunteer nurse in the American Civil War.  Montgomery County NY historian Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar discusses her research on Schram’s life.

The Bob Cudmore interview with Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar-Episode 378-Friday, July 9, 2021 can be found "Down this Page"

Mohawk Valley Weather and News Headlines, Sunday, March 20, 2022

https://dailygazette.com/

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

https://www.leaderherald.com/

The Historians Podcast 2022 fund drive now totals $1600.  That’s just over 25% of our $6,000 goal for the year.  Please 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. Keep history alive at The Historians Podcast—where we’re working on Episode 418-Historian Bruce Dearstyne on celebrating New York State’s birthday. Thank you. 

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity of making extensive tests with this plane through the helpfulness of Bartlett Arkell, president of Beech Nut," Earhart commented to the Canajoharie Courier... 

Advertising Beech Nut chewing gum with an aviation pioneer

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History for March 19, 2022

   Famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart once went on a national tour piloting an unusual aircraft to help Beech Nut sell chewing gum.

   Beech Nut was then in Canajoharie.  In 2010 Beech Nut, best known today for baby food, left Canajoharie and moved to the Town of Florida near Thruway Exit 27.

   Earhart had come to the region in 1929 to read letters to Admiral Richard Byrd’s Antarctic expedition on WGY shortwave station W2XAF,

   Beech Nut sponsored Earhart’s 1931 cross-country flights in the Pitcairn Auto Gyro. The craft combined features of an airplane and a helicopter.

   Historian Carl Johnson’s Website Hoxie reported the autogiro is “an odd hybrid craft that uses an unpowered rotor to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller to develop thrust.”

   In the 1930s some thought the autogiro, with its ability to fly slowly and land in small places, would be the future of aviation.  Others feared the autogiro was dangerous.

   Bruce H. Charnov of Hofstra University wrote. “The autogiro was invented by Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva in an attempt to create an aircraft that could fly safely at low speeds.”   He flew the first one in 1923 in Madrid.

   Earhart was born in 1897 in Atchison, Kansas.  In 1931 she had established one record for the autogiro, piloting it to an altitude of 18,500 feet.

   Charnov wrote Earhart had ordered her own autogiro when Beech Nut made an offer, “Seeing a publicity bonanza, the Beech Nut Packing Company, offered Earhart the use of its previously ordered (autogiro) if she would fly it coast-to-coast with the company logo painted on its side and accompanying promotion efforts related to its chewing gum.  Brokered by her husband (George Palmer Putnam), who was known for his acumen at garnering publicity, she promptly canceled her order in favor of the Beech Nut Autogiro.”

   "I'm delighted to have the opportunity of making extensive tests with this plane through the helpfulness of Bartlett Arkell, president of Beech Nut," Earhart commented to the Canajoharie Courier.  Earhart is pictured in the cockpit of the autogiro which had Beech Nut logos in several places. 

   There was one mishap which damaged an autogiro during a landing on a field n Canajoharie.  Earhart was not the pilot in that incident.

   The editor of the Fort Plain Standard newspaper, Mohawk Valley historian Nelson Greene, longtime friend of Bartlett Arkell, did advance publicity for Earhart’s autogiro tour through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

   After much preparation and orchestrated publicity, Earhart took off from Newark, New Jersey in May 1931 on her first transcontinental autogiro tour.

   Charnov wrote, “At each stop (Earhart) lifted children to see the cockpit, shook hands with spectators, gave interviews, and often gave out samples of the Beech Nut chewing gum.”

   However another aviator, John Miller, was also trying to set the autogiro record for the first transcontinental trip.  Charnov wrote, “Arriving on June 6, 1931, in Oakland, California, (Earhart) discovered much to her amazement and her husband’s mercurial anger that John M. Miller had arrived in San Diego on May 28th.”

   Deprived of the westbound transcontinental record, Earhart tried to claim a record flying the autogiro back to the East Coast.  This didn’t happen as she had the first of three autogiro crashes in Abilene, Kansas.  She ended up returning by train.

   Some police agencies today use autogiros as they are less expensive to buy and maintain than helicopters.

   Amelia Earhart was to come to a sudden, mysterious and tragic end in 1937.  While on a round-the-world flight she and navigator Fred Noonan vanished over the Pacific Ocean enroute from New Guinea to tiny Howland Island.

New York State Maple Weekend(Twice)

Today and Tomorrow, March 19-20, 2022

Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27, 2022

https://mapleweekend.nysmaple.com/

Episode 414-Annette Libeskind Berkovits discusses her historical novel “The Corset Maker” which tells the story of a courageous Orthodox Jewish teen, Rifka, who was living in Warsaw Poland in the late 1920s and early ‘30s.  Rifka is loosely based on Annette’s mother Dora.

The Historians Internet and Radio Schedule

SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/obudmore/annette-berkovitsthe-historiansfriday-march-18-022

Google https://podcasts.google.com/search/The%20Historians

This weekend on The New York Almanack https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/

Historians Podcast on the Radio in the city of Amsterdam

WCSS

106.9FM and1490 AM, following the Noon news today, Saturday, March 19, 2022.

Historians Podcast is also carried on Public Radio Albany WMHT 89.1FM RISE, WMHT’s radio service for the blind in the Capital District, Monday at 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. And listen to The Historians 5:30 p.m. Sunday on WBDY 99.5 FM in Binghamton, Southern Tier Radio

When the schedule updates the interview posts on the main news page of The New York State Museum and the on-line newsletter. http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/state-history/news

No relation

The Bob Cudmore confab with Dana Cudmore

Tomorrow, Sunday, March 20, 2022

Episode 392-Dana Cudmore is the author of Underground Empires: Two Centuries of Exploration, Adventure and Enterprise in New York’s Cave Country.  Cudmore focuses on caves of Schoharie and Albany counties, including Howe Caverns. 

Mohawk Valley Weekend Elements and News Headlines, Saturday, March 19, 2022

https://dailygazette.com/

Amsterdam Water Department eyes filtration improvements

AMSTERDAM — An engineering firm has been hired for $34,500 to design a project to replace filters...

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Staging a comeback: Johnstown High theater set to return after pandemic and resignation of longtime director

by Andrew Waite

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Utica OD

Mohawk Valley History in Lifestyle

https://www.uticaod.com/lifestyle/