The Historians

... Harrison Sr.’s namesake Harrison Wilson, Jr., born in 1925, shined shoes and delivered newspapers as a seven-year-old.  His mother told him he looked like his grandfather and that instilled pride in the young man. 

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U.S. Mail

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

WGY’s Mike Patrick interviews Bob Cudmore on Bob’s years at the 100 year old radio station. 

Football star Russell Wilson’s Amsterdam roots

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History 

   NFL quarterback Russell Wilson’s roots go back to an African American family in Amsterdam.

   Wilson’s great grandfather, Harrison Wilson, Sr., was born in 1888, the son of a formerly enslaved man in Falmouth, Kentucky.  Harrison Sr. migrated north to Amsterdam in 1910 where he had relatives.

   Harrison Sr. and his wife Marguerite (Ayers), also from Kentucky, raised eight children and stressed education.  Marguerite’s grandmother had taught at a one room school in Kentucky.  In Amsterdam the Wilson family lived at locations including West Main, Cedar and Pine Streets. 

   Harrison Sr. was a plasterer, although racial discrimination kept him out of the union.  He later was maintenance man for Amsterdam builder and landlord Thomas McGibbon.

   Harrison Sr. saved the lives of two young female pin setters working at a bowling alley in a downtown building owned by McGibbon, which caught fire in 1943. 

   McGibbon died later that year.  The Wilsons were then able to make their livelihood by operating a private parking lot in busy downtown Amsterdam on land behind East Main Street that had been owned by McGibbon.

   All the Wilson children pursued careers in education, health care, industry, the law and sports.

   Harrison Sr.’s namesake Harrison Wilson, Jr., born in 1925, shined shoes and delivered newspapers as a seven-year-old.  His mother told him he looked like his grandfather and that instilled pride in the young man. 

   He was the only African American on Amsterdam High School’s championship basketball team during the 1942-43 season.  Coach Ed Cionek called him the team’s “key player.”

   Harrison Jr. and his siblings were childhood friends of the late restaurateur Sam Pepe Jr. when both families lived on West Main Street.  Pepe recalled going to YMCA summer camp with Harrison, Jr. and his brother Willis. 

   Harrison Jr. played every sport he could in high school, even speed skating.  After graduation, he entered the U.S. Navy and was tops in his class at basic training.  He was a hospital corpsman.

   When World War II ended, Harrison Jr. became a student and basketball star at Kentucky State, and then basketball coach at Jackson State in Mississippi.  He taught at Jackson State and earned a doctorate at Indiana University.  He served as president of Norfolk State University, a historically black institution in Virginia, from 1975 to 1997.

   Harrison Jr. frequently visited his parents in Amsterdam and provided help to young African Americans who wanted to pursue higher education.  He spoke at a 1957 vesper service at St. Paul’s AME Zion Church then on Cedar Street.  He was guest speaker at an Amsterdam High graduation ceremony in the 1990s.

   Marguerite Wilson died in 1960.  Soloist Marilyn Lyons sang “He Will Understand and Say Well Done” at Marguerite’s funeral.  Harrison Sr. died in 1982 at age 94.  Harrison Jr. passed away in 2019, also at 94.

   One of Harrison Jr.’s six children, Harrison Wilson III, was a Dartmouth graduate and attorney who almost got into playing professional football with the San Diego Chargers.  Harrison III died from complications from diabetes in 2010.

   NFL quarterback Russell Wilson is the son of Harrison Wilson III and grandson of Harrison Jr.

   Russell was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1988 and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He played football with his father and older brother at age four.  He had a college career at North Carolina State and the University of Wisconsin.  He played professional baseball with the Colorado Rockies organization.

   Russell Wilson was named starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks in 2013.  He and the Seahawks defeated Denver in the 2014 Super Bowl.  The Seahawks lost to New England in the 2015 Super Bowl.

Jim Kaplan

Historians updates from New York City

Tomorrow

Wednesday, February 16, 2022-From the Archives-Episode 376-Jim Kaplan considers the impact of black separatist leader Marcus Garvey on African independence.

March 4-Episode 412-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan discusses the life of Revolutionary war officer and New York City mayor Marinus Willett. 

Thursday, February 17, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Dixie Veal, a prominent Amsterdam porter

In 1882 Veal married Lavina Hunter of Central Bridge.  They had one daughter and lived near the Warner Hotel at 15 Walnut Street.

Peter Betz this Friday

February 18, 2022-Episode 410-Historian Peter explains how he was able to help a Perth NY family acquire a gravestone at no cost for a deceased family member, Howard Forgette, who was a US Army veteran.  Betz also discusses a program on Fulton County immigrants taking place at the museum in Gloversville.  And he has the story of a bear who did groundhog weather forecasting work in Sacandaga Park.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 16, 2022

The Rome Historical Society will present “Erie Canal Exhibit Talk,” a virtual program looking at the ways the Erie Canal provided a way of life for Central New Yorkers in the 19th Century.

https://romehistoricalsociety.org/ 

This program will be led by Brad Utter, Senior Historian/Curator, Science and Technological History at the New York State Museum in Albany. Utter will review the NYS Museum’s Erie Canal Exhibit Catalog from 2017 with a special focus on Rome, NY. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcoc-mgpjsiEtBL3QiAud4QJ_7Onkcn7Y-E

 Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Mohawk Valley News, Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Daily Gazette

Instagram Super Bowl halftime post to Schenectady mayor’s account draws criticism
SCHENECTADY — A social media post regarding the Super Bowl halftime show shared to an Instagram account belonging to Schenectady Mayor…

https://dailygazette.com/

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Make Us Part of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

...knew him as a sweet man

Story Behind the Story podcast is an audio version of Saturday’s column on World War II soldier Alton Swann of Gloversville fought in the Philippines and was a Japanese POW for three years. 

New this Friday, February 18, 2022

Episode #410

Historian Peter Betz explains how he was able to help a Perth NY family acquire a gravestone at no cost for a deceased family member, Howard Forgette, who was a US Army veteran.  Betz also discusses a program on Fulton County immigrants taking place at the museum in Gloversville.  And he has the story of a bear who did groundhog weather forecasting work in Sacandaga Park.

Nothing to report, just Bob on "the bridge"

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 15, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s Amsterdam roots 

   Harrison Sr. was a plasterer, although racial discrimination kept him out of the union. 

Wednesday, February 16, 2022-From the Archives-Friday, June 25, 2021-Episode 376-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan considers the impact of black separatist leader Marcus Garvey on African independence.

Thursday, February 17, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Dixie Veal, a prominent Amsterdam porter

When the Warner Hotel was built at East Main and Walnut Streets in Amsterdam in 1881, Lewis became the proprietor and Veal began a 20-year career as porter there.

Focus on History is a feature of The Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder, each Saturday

This Saturday, February 19, 2022 Bobsled coasting events in hilly Amsterdam.    

 Triumph after three years as a Japanese POW

By Bob Cudmore

   Michael Swann’s mother told him, “Don’t ever talk to your father about the war.”  Many years later after their father had passed Michael and his brothers learned some of the reasons.

   Michael’s father, Alton R. Swann, was born in Schenectady in 1916, son of Ora and Helen Swann.  At eight years old he moved to Gloversville with his mother and four siblings after Ora Swann died.

   Alton was on the debate team, edited the school newspaper and excelled in track at Gloversville High.  After high school he graduated from Gloversville Business School in 1937.  He was hired as an accountant at Schenectady General Electric. 

   He was drafted by the Army in May 1941.  He was assigned to Clark Air Base in the Philippines with the 803rd Engineer Battalion.

   Within hours of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese bombing attack on December 8 resulted in destruction of Clark Field.  Swann was reassigned to the battle for Bataan which the Americans lost to the Japanese.  He fought at Aglaloma where his 803rd battalion was decimated.  

   Swann was put on board a transport ship which took survivors to the American island fortress of Corregidor.  Swann told his eldest son that his superiors were impressed he was able to maintain his composure when Japanese planes strafed their ship. 

   Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese in May 1942.  Taken prisoner, Swann survived a death march on Bataan where hundreds were killed or died while marching to internment camps. 

   He was held at Camp 10C in the Philippines until September 1944 when transported to Japan aboard a “hell” ship, the Noto Maru.  Hundreds of prisoners were forced to stand upright in the hold in tropical heat.  U.S. submarines mistakenly sank many such overcrowded ships carrying American prisoners.

   In Japan he was imprisoned at a POW camp and used as slave labor, shoveling manganese ore into furnaces.  Tooth decay and gum diseases developed as well as malaria, beriberi, and dysentery. Treatment by prison guards was brutal.

   Liberated in September 1945 after the Japanese surrender, he was put aboard a hospital ship, the Monitor, where he wrote his fiancé, Glendean Brooks in Gloversville, asking if she was still waiting for him.  She was.

   He spent time in Manila before returning to San Francisco aboard the transport Bolivar.  All his teeth were pulled, and he was fitted with dentures.

   For his part in the Philippines campaign, Sergeant Swann received the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal and various campaign ribbons.

   In his first letter home he said memories of loved ones “brought him through experiences better left undescribed.”  Alton’s mother received a telegram saying her son was on his way home.  He arrived in November. 

   Alton married Glendean at the parsonage of Gloversville’s Methodist Church Thanksgiving afternoon, 1945.

   Their son Michael Swann was born nine months later.  As a child he never was really aware of it but his mother told him his father suffered from what we would call PTSD.  He had a lifelong issue with sleeplessness and nightmares of the war.

   Alton went back to work at Schenectady GE.  The couple had two more sons, David and Thomas.  In 1953 Alton was transferred to a GE plant in Connecticut and lived many years in Monroe, Connecticut.

   Alton’s son Michael made frequent business trips to Japan.  He was “humbled by a visit to the site of the Nomachi POW camp near Toyama.” The factory where his father slaved still stands.

  Glendean Swann died in 1992.  Alton Swann died in 2002 at age 86.  Burial with full military honors took place at Pine Hill Cemetery in Southbury, Connecticut.

The Historians Radio Schedule

Monday, February 14, 2022

Public Radio Albany WMHT89.1FM RISE

The Great Backyard Bird Count

https://www.birdcount.org/

Webinar this Wednesday, February 16, 2022

The Cornell Lab

Join our experts as we brush up on bird ID, unlock the mystery of bird songs, and practice counting birds no matter how large the flock or busy the feeder. This webinar is designed for birders of all ages and experience—you’ll leave confident and ready to be part of the GBBC!

 Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, February 14, 2022

Mohawk Valley News, Monday, February 14, 2022

Daily Gazette

Creative Connections fundraising for new gym to enhance youth programs in Amsterdam
AMSTERDAM — Creating an atmosphere of fun is part of the hook that gets kids in the door to receive…

https://dailygazette.com/

Fonda-Fultonville/Johnstown’s Hicks, Canajoharie/Fort Plain’s Douglass win Section II wrestling titles; 4 local wrestlers punch tickets to state tournament

GLENS FALLS — Owen Hicks went into the Section II wrestling finals with a definitive mindset.“I..

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Make Us Part of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Keep The Historians Podcast on the Radio and Internet

Radio schedule posted "Down the Page"

The 2022 Historians Podcast fund drive needs your help!  Thanks to donors who have contributed $1,000 so far toward our $6,000 yearly goal.  For more information or to donate online click 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. 

From the Archives-Episode 284–Duncan White talks about Howard Fast (who wrote the novel that was the basis for Kirk Douglas’s movie Spartacus), Boris Pasternak and other authors described in White’s book: “The Cold Warriors: Writers Who Waged The Literary Cold War.” 

Tomorrow, Monday, February 14, 2022- Story Behind the Story podcast is an audio version of Saturday’s column on World War II soldier Alton Swann of Gloversville fought in the Philippines and was a Japanese POW for three years. Monday Podcast  "7 Minutes"

Tuesday, February 15, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s Amsterdam roots

   NFL quarterback Russell Wilson’s roots go back to an African American family in Amsterdam.

   Wilson’s great grandfather, Harrison Wilson, Sr., was born in 1888...

Wednesday, February 16, 2022-From the Archives-Friday, June 25, 2021-Episode 376-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan considers the impact of black separatist leader Marcus Garvey on African independence.

Thursday, February 17, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—Dixie Veal, a prominent Amsterdam porter

An African-American slave who joined up with New York State troops marching through Georgia in the Civil War was eulogized when he died for having become one of the best-known citizens of Amsterdam.

Friday, February 18, 2022-Episode 410-Historian Peter Betz explains how he was able to help a Perth NY family acquire a gravestone at no cost for a deceased family member, Howard Forgette, who was a US Army veteran.  Betz also discusses a program on Fulton County immigrants taking place at the museum in Gloversville.  And he has the story of a bear who did groundhog weather forecasting work in Sacandaga Park.

 Triumph after three years as a Japanese POW

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History

   Michael Swann’s mother told him, “Don’t ever talk to your father about the war.”  Many years later after their father had passed Michael and his brothers learned some of the reasons.

   Michael’s father, Alton R. Swann, was born in Schenectady in 1916, son of Ora and Helen Swann.  At eight years old he moved to Gloversville with his mother and four siblings after Ora Swann died.

   Alton was on the debate team, edited the school newspaper and excelled in track at Gloversville High.  After high school he graduated from Gloversville Business School in 1937.  He was hired as an accountant at Schenectady General Electric. 

   He was drafted by the Army in May 1941.  He was assigned to Clark Air Base in the Philippines with the 803rd Engineer Battalion.

   Within hours of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese bombing attack on December 8 resulted in destruction of Clark Field.  Swann was reassigned to the battle for Bataan which the Americans lost to the Japanese.  He fought at Aglaloma where his 803rd battalion was decimated.  

   Swann was put on board a transport ship which took survivors to the American island fortress of Corregidor.  Swann told his eldest son that his superiors were impressed he was able to maintain his composure when Japanese planes strafed their ship. 

   Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese in May 1942.  Taken prisoner, Swann survived a death march on Bataan where hundreds were killed or died while marching to internment camps. 

   He was held at Camp 10C in the Philippines until September 1944 when transported to Japan aboard a “hell” ship, the Noto Maru.  Hundreds of prisoners were forced to stand upright in the hold in tropical heat.  U.S. submarines mistakenly sank many such overcrowded ships carrying American prisoners.

   In Japan he was imprisoned at a POW camp and used as slave labor, shoveling manganese ore into furnaces.  Tooth decay and gum diseases developed as well as malaria, beriberi, and dysentery. Treatment by prison guards was brutal.

   Liberated in September 1945 after the Japanese surrender, he was put aboard a hospital ship, the Monitor, where he wrote his fiancé, Glendean Brooks in Gloversville, asking if she was still waiting for him.  She was.

   He spent time in Manila before returning to San Francisco aboard the transport Bolivar.  All his teeth were pulled, and he was fitted with dentures.

   For his part in the Philippines campaign, Sergeant Swann received the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal and various campaign ribbons.

   In his first letter home he said memories of loved ones “brought him through experiences better left undescribed.”  Alton’s mother received a telegram saying her son was on his way home.  He arrived in November. 

   Alton married Glendean at the parsonage of Gloversville’s Methodist Church Thanksgiving afternoon, 1945.

   Their son Michael Swann was born nine months later.  As a child he never was really aware of it but his mother told him his father suffered from what we would call PTSD.  He had a lifelong issue with sleeplessness and nightmares of the war.

   Alton went back to work at Schenectady GE.  The couple had two more sons, David and Thomas.  In 1953 Alton was transferred to a GE plant in Connecticut and lived many years in Monroe, Connecticut.

   Alton’s son Michael made frequent business trips to Japan.  He was “humbled by a visit to the site of the Nomachi POW camp near Toyama.” The factory where his father slaved still stands.

  Glendean Swann died in 1992.  Alton Swann died in 2002 at age 86.  Burial with full military honors took place at Pine Hill Cemetery in Southbury, Connecticut.

The Historians Radio Schedule

Sunday, February 13, 2022

5:30 p.m. on WBDY 99.5 FM in Binghamton N.Y.

 Mohawk Valley Weather, Sunday, February 13, 2022

Mohawk Valley News, Sunday, February 13, 2022

Daily Gazette

Montgomery County dairy farmers say overtime threshold threatens their industry
The onesies make Kyle Dykeman sad. The writing on the baby clothes says things like “My dad’s a farmer.” “New…

https://dailygazette.com/

Root parts ways with longtime town attorne

Lack of volunteers delays reapportionment in Montgomery County...

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

For the first time in more than a decade, the town of Root is looking for a new attorney. That’s...

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Focus on History in Today’s Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-World War II soldier Alton Swann of Gloversville fought in the Philippines and was a Japanese POW for three years and James Kirby Martin is executive producer of the documentary Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed.  The film is based on Martin’s 1997 book Benedict Arnold Revolutionary Hero.  The documentary is streaming on several TV platforms, narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Peter O’Meara.  Three men from the Mohawk Valley area created the documentary: Niskayuna native Chris Stearns, Saratoga Springs native Tom Mercer and Fort Johnson native Anthony Vertucci. Saturday Historians Podcast "38 Minutes"

 Triumph after three years as a Japanese POW

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History

   Michael Swann’s mother told him, “Don’t ever talk to your father about the war.”  Many years later after their father had passed Michael and his brothers learned some of the reasons.

   Michael’s father, Alton R. Swann, was born in Schenectady in 1916, son of Ora and Helen Swann.  At eight years old he moved to Gloversville with his mother and four siblings after Ora Swann died.

   Alton was on the debate team, edited the school newspaper and excelled in track at Gloversville High.  After high school he graduated from Gloversville Business School in 1937.  He was hired as an accountant at Schenectady General Electric. 

   He was drafted by the Army in May 1941.  He was assigned to Clark Air Base in the Philippines with the 803rd Engineer Battalion.

   Within hours of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese bombing attack on December 8 resulted in destruction of Clark Field.  Swann was reassigned to the battle for Bataan which the Americans lost to the Japanese.  He fought at Aglaloma where his 803rd battalion was decimated.  

   Swann was put on board a transport ship which took survivors to the American island fortress of Corregidor.  Swann told his eldest son that his superiors were impressed he was able to maintain his composure when Japanese planes strafed their ship. 

   Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese in May 1942.  Taken prisoner, Swann survived a death march on Bataan where hundreds were killed or died while marching to internment camps. 

   He was held at Camp 10C in the Philippines until September 1944 when transported to Japan aboard a “hell” ship, the Noto Maru.  Hundreds of prisoners were forced to stand upright in the hold in tropical heat.  U.S. submarines mistakenly sank many such overcrowded ships carrying American prisoners.

   In Japan he was imprisoned at a POW camp and used as slave labor, shoveling manganese ore into furnaces.  Tooth decay and gum diseases developed as well as malaria, beriberi, and dysentery. Treatment by prison guards was brutal.

This Monday, February 14, 2022- Story Behind the Story podcast is an audio version of Saturday’s column on World War II soldier Alton Swann of Gloversville fought in the Philippines and was a Japanese POW for three years. Monday Podcast  "7 Minutes"

   Liberated in September 1945 after the Japanese surrender, he was put aboard a hospital ship, the Monitor, where he wrote his fiancé, Glendean Brooks in Gloversville, asking if she was still waiting for him.  She was.

   He spent time in Manila before returning to San Francisco aboard the transport Bolivar.  All his teeth were pulled, and he was fitted with dentures.

   For his part in the Philippines campaign, Sergeant Swann received the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal and various campaign ribbons.

   In his first letter home he said memories of loved ones “brought him through experiences better left undescribed.”  Alton’s mother received a telegram saying her son was on his way home.  He arrived in November. 

   Alton married Glendean at the parsonage of Gloversville’s Methodist Church Thanksgiving afternoon, 1945.

   Their son Michael Swann was born nine months later.  As a child he never was really aware of it but his mother told him his father suffered from what we would call PTSD.  He had a lifelong issue with sleeplessness and nightmares of the war.

   Alton went back to work at Schenectady GE.  The couple had two more sons, David and Thomas.  In 1953 Alton was transferred to a GE plant in Connecticut and lived many years in Monroe, Connecticut.

   Alton’s son Michael made frequent business trips to Japan.  He was “humbled by a visit to the site of the Nomachi POW camp near Toyama.” The factory where his father slaved still stands.

  Glendean Swann died in 1992.  Alton Swann died in 2002 at age 86.  Burial with full military honors took place at Pine Hill Cemetery in Southbury, Connecticut.

Tomorrow, Sunday, February 13, 2022--From the Archives-Friday, September 20, 2019-Episode 284–Duncan White talks about Howard Fast (who wrote the novel that was the basis for Kirk Douglas’s movie Spartacus), Boris Pasternak and other authors described in White’s book: “The Cold Warriors: Writers Who Waged The Literary Cold War.” 

“Rediscovering the Forgotten History of Blacks in Schoharie County” an educational series led by the Schohaire County Historical Society will continue on Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Library, located at 110 Union Street, in Cobleskill, NY. https://theoldstonefort.org/category/2022-events/

Episode #409 James Kirby Martin

 Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Saturday, February 12, 2022

Mohawk Valley News, Saturday, February 12, 2022

Daily Gazette

Tugboat breaks ice on Mohawk River, jams still a concern
This winter has been significantly colder than last winter, resulting in one of the heaviest ice buildups in years along…

https://dailygazette.com/

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Amsterdam boys’ basketball runs past Broadalbin-Perth

by Stan Hudy

https://www.leaderherald.com/

...we had at least six feet of snow in our driveway except for a small area that was cleared out by the wind.

The 2022 Historians Podcast fund drive is off to a good start!  Thanks to the donors who have contributed $1,000 so far toward our $6,000 goal.  Our most recent donation was from Amsterdam Reads.  For more information or to donate online click 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. 

Thursday, February 10, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette

Winter of 1958

By Bob Cudmore

Ralph Bohlke of Ballston Spa has vivid memories of the February 1958 snowstorm that isolated rural Mohawk Valley families for two weeks or more.  For four days a U.S. Army helicopter was used to evacuate isolated families and bring in food, fuel and medicine to Charleston and other towns. 

Bohlke lived on the border between Princetown and the town of Florida in the hamlet of Scotch Church.  The hamlet was named for Scottish settlers who came there at the end of the Revolutionary War and built a Presbyterian Church.  A cemetery near the former church has gravestones dating back to 1802, some of them for Revolutionary War soldiers.

Bohlke was 13 years old in 1958.  Snowed in for seven days, relief arrived in the form of a Schenectady County plow that eventually got to Bohlke’s home on Route 160.  That evening, a Sunday, produced another big snowfall and they were snowed in for another seven days.  Relief finally came about day sixteen from a town of Florida plow. 

Bohlke wrote, “The snow was almost even with the telephone lines in Scotch Church because I remember touching them with my hand in front of the church.

“I remember that there was so much blowing snow that it was the only time in my life that I could not get out the front or back door.  There was even a porch on the front door, but the snow was still blown up against the door so we couldn’t get outdoors.  We had a wood shed attached to the back of the house with a dog door.  I climbed out of the dog door to get outside.”

New Print Story this Weekend

This Saturday, February 12, 2022- Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-World War II soldier Alton Swann of Gloversville fought in the Philippines and was a Japanese POW for three years.

Bohlke and his mother Genevieve stayed home in Scotch Church to make sure the furnace kept working.  His father, Harley Bohlke, stayed in Amsterdam with an aunt, Elizabeth Folmsbee on Guy Park Avenue, as he had to operate his business, Mohawk Cleaners & Dyers, on the old Cedar Street.  

Bohlke wrote, “I remember digging a tunnel out to the road in the driveway.  When my father came home after the two weeks, he had a black bear hat on and when I first saw it I wasn’t sure who or what was coming through that tunnel.  Fortunately it was my father with groceries in both arms.

“We had at least six feet of snow in our driveway except for a small area that was cleared out by the wind.  My father and I spent a half day with our tractor and a scoop.  We only got about 50 feet cleaned out and decided it would take us two more days to get to the road. “ 

Bohlke’s father called a friend at Rotterdam Septic in Rotterdam Junction to come with a front end loader to clear out the driveway.  

Bohlke said, “As kids, we loved the two weeks off.  We played basketball in Aucompaugh’s barn and did a lot of tobogganing.  We would go right over apple trees, going airborne, and crash into the snow.  Since there was so much snow, we would just go right into the snow and get buried.  You could not sleigh ride as the snow was too powdery and too deep.  Those were the days.”

There were about 100 rescues in rural Montgomery County in February 1958.  Grateful families provided plow operators with coffee and sandwiches and even full meals.  Some farmers had to dump their spoiling supplies of milk.  Amsterdam city schools closed for a week.

The spring of 1958 brought major flooding along the Mohawk River. After that, the Army Corps of Engineers built retaining walls along the south side of the river in Amsterdam.

Tomorrow, Friday, February 11, 2022

Episode #409

James Kirby Martin is executive producer of the documentary Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed.  The film is based on Martin’s 1997 book Benedict Arnold Revolutionary Hero.  The documentary is streaming on several TV platforms, narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Peter O’Meara.  Three men from the Mohawk Valley area created the documentary: Niskayuna native Chris Stearns, Saratoga Springs native Tom Mercer and Fort Johnson native Anthony Vertucci.

The New York State Canal Corporation, through the Reimagine the Canals initiative, and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor are launching a new competitive grant program to support tourism and recreation along the New York State Canal System.

https://eriecanalway.org/resources/grants

The 2022 program will provide funding to support tourism infrastructure and amenity improvements, and events. Grant funding is open to counties, municipalities, units of local government, not-for-profit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes.

 Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, February 10, 2022

Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Thursday, February 10, 2022

Daily Gazette

NY school mask mandate continues at least 3 more weeks
ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday lifted her mask mandate for businesses, effective Thursday, but left it in place…

https://dailygazette.com/

Governor lifts mask mandate for businesses, retains it for schools

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday lifted her mask-or-vaccine mandate for businesses...

https://www.recordernews.com/

Leader Herald

Pharmacy opens inside The Family Counseling Center in Gloversville

by Andrew Waite

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Wednesday, February 9, 2022-From the Archives-Episode 207, March 23, 2018, Samuel Marquis explores the world of eighteenth century pirates and privateers in his historical novel, “Blackbeard: The Birth of America.” Wednesday Podcast "35 Minutes"

Blackbeard: The Birth of America is the true story of Edward Thache--former British Navy seaman and notorious privateer-turned-pirate, who lorded over the Atlantic seaboard and Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy.

Tomorrow

Thursday, February 10, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-The winter of 1958

Bohlke lived on the border between Princetown and the town of Florida in the hamlet of Scotch Church. 

Friday, February 11, 2022

Episode 409-James Kirby Martin is executive producer of the documentary Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed.  The film is based on Martin’s 1997 book Benedict Arnold Revolutionary Hero.  The documentary is streaming on several TV platforms, narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Peter O’Meara.  Three men from the Mohawk Valley area created the documentary: Niskayuna native Chris Stearns, Saratoga Springs native Tom Mercer and Fort Johnson native Anthony Vertucci.

Benedict Arnold stands as one of the most vilified figures in American history. Stories of his treason have so come to define him that his name, like that of Judas, is virtually synonymous with treason.

Yet Arnold was one of the most heroic and remarkable men of his time, indeed in all of American history

 Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Mohawk Valley News, Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Daily Gazette

Amsterdam boys’ basketball defeats Gloversville
AMSTERDAM — The Amsterdam boys basketball team seized the day in easily defeating Gloversville 50-25 in Foothills Council action on…

https://dailygazette.com/

State leadership changes coming under redrawn maps

MOHAWK VALLEY — Voters could see familiar names of state leaders that are altogether new to their...

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Bobsled center

By Bob Cudmore

   Being a city of hills, Amsterdam was ideal for the winter sport of bobsledding.  In the late 1800s and early 1900s, winter coasting carnivals brought visitors from miles around to slide down steep city thoroughfares including Market, Northampton, Bell and Locust.

   The Amsterdam Daily Democrat gave a full account of a nighttime coasting carnival in February 1887 on Market Street. There was a parade and parties after the races, which went on into the night.  Red flares and Japanese lanterns lighted the course.

   The bobsleds had front and rear steering, clanging bells and brake systems, according to historian Hugh Donlon, “Much depended on the steersmen and brakeman of the teams that ranged from 10 to 20 men, all colorfully uniformed. The Joker Club, for instance, wore red St. Nicholas caps, red coats, blue cuffs and collars, blue knee breeches, red stockings and low shoes.”

   Despite the precautions, serious and even fatal accidents sometimes resulted and the sport was finally banned in the 1920s, when motor traffic increased.

   For the coasting carnival on Valentine’s night in 1887 the weather was not ideal according to the Daily Democrat.  Amsterdam had thaw and slush, not the clear, bracing weather that was desired.  Nonetheless the newspaper reported the evening was “fairly successful.”

   A dozen or more coasting clubs arrived from Albany on the 6:16 p.m. train, which included a special car for their handsome bobsleds or bobs.  The Thirteenth Brigade Band of the National Guard played to greet them.  The “hungry bobbers” did “ample justice” to food provided at the Y.M.C.A. and the Hotel Warner.  

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

   The band played again at 7:30 p.m. for a parade through downtown and up Market Street hill for a fireworks display. Albany’s clubs included several named Yum Yum.  Other clubs included Beverwyck, Monitor and even a club named for Tammany Hall, the New York Democratic Party political machine. 

    The newspaper reported, “The bobbers presented a very pleasing appearance in their neat and tasteful uniforms. The Beverwyck club were attired in dark blue and white, the Yum Yums in orange, the Monitor club in gray, and the Tammany Hall club in plaid suits.”

   Clubs from Fort Plain and other points west arrived on the 8:43 p.m. train.  Coasting began at 9 p.m.  There were no races as it was too dark.

   The Democrat wrote, “The bob Beverwyck made the first trip down the slide. As it was turning the corner at the foot of the hill it went over the bank. The bobs Niagara, Bob Moore and Nonpareil, which were close behind, ran into the Beverwyck. The crews of

the bobs were thrown into a confused mass. Several persons received injuries.”

   The bobs were hauled by teams of horses up Northampton Road to the top of Market Street hill for the next event.  Yum Yum ’88 tipped over during the second slide down the hill.  On that run, Yum Yum ’87 collided with Yum Yum ‘86.

   The wounded were taken to the house of Dr. Timmerman.  One injured man spent the night at the Hotel Warner and was attended by two Amsterdam doctors. 

   Despite the accidents, the Democrat wrote, “The heavy bobs sped down the hill like lightning and the coasters greatly enjoyed the sport. The Tammany Hall was one of the fastest, if not the most fleet bob on the slide. The Flyway of Fort Plain made good time.”

   The Amsterdam Coasting Association entertained at a party at the Y.M.C.A. after the event.  The out of town teams left on midnight trains east and west.

   Some Albanians stayed overnight and enjoyed a barouche ride the next day.  A barouche is a stylish horse drawn carriage.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 9, 2022-From the Archives-Episode 207, March 23, 2018, Samuel Marquis explores the world of eighteenth century pirates and privateers in his historical novel, “Blackbeard: The Birth of America.”

Thursday, February 10, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-The winter of 1958

Bohlke was 13 years old in 1958.  Snowed in for seven days, relief arrived in the form of a Schenectady County plow that eventually got to Bohlke’s home on Route 160. 

Friday, February 11, 2022-Episode 409-James Kirby Martin is executive producer of the documentary Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed.  The film is based on Martin’s 1997 book Benedict Arnold Revolutionary Hero.  The documentary is streaming on several TV platforms, narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Peter O’Meara.  Three men from the Mohawk Valley area created the documentary: Niskayuna native Chris Stearns, Saratoga Springs native Tom Mercer and Fort Johnson native Anthony Vertucci.

This Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.

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Oneida County History Center https://www.oneidacountyhistory.org/programs.html

Who Were the First Americans? ​Recent discoveries, including some in central New York, have challenged traditional knowledge on the subject. Join Mike Beardsley, archaeologist and Town of Sullivan Historian, to discuss this complex question and learn about the Owlville Pine, South site, a Crowfield Paleoindian site near Canastota site that dates back approximately 12,000 years !

 Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Mohawk Valley News, Tuesday, February 8, 2022

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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. 

 Story Behind the Story podcast is an audio version of Saturday’s column on an Amsterdam barber who was an African American political leader. Podcast "7 Minutes"

...despite the precautions, serious and even fatal accidents sometimes resulted and the sport was finally banned in the 1920s

Tuesday, February 8, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam was a bobsled center

   Being a city of hills, Amsterdam was ideal for the winter sport of bobsledding.  In the late 1800s and early 1900s, winter coasting carnivals brought visitors from miles around to slide down steep city thoroughfares including Market, Northampton, Bell and Locust.

Wednesday, February 9, 2022-From the Archives-Episode 207, March 23, 2018, Samuel Marquis explores the world of eighteenth century pirates and privateers in his historical novel, “Blackbeard: The Birth of America.”

Thursday, February 10, 2022-From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-The winter of 1958

Ralph Bohlke of Ballston Spa has vivid memories of the February 1958 snowstorm that isolated rural Mohawk Valley families for two weeks or more.  For four days a U.S. Army helicopter was used to evacuate isolated families and bring in food, fuel and medicine to Charleston and other towns. 

Friday, February 11, 2022-Episode 409-James Kirby Martin is executive producer of the documentary Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed.  The film is based on Martin’s 1997 book Benedict Arnold Revolutionary Hero.  The documentary is streaming on several TV platforms, narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Peter O’Meara.  Three men from the Mohawk Valley area created the documentary: Niskayuna native Chris Stearns, Saratoga Springs native Tom Mercer and Fort Johnson native Anthony Vertucci.

Focus on History

Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-Amsterdam barber was an African American political leader.

By Bob Cudmore

   The African American community of Montgomery County had events including a parade, music and a reading of the emancipation proclamation in August 1884 to celebrate the anniversary of emancipation.

   There was also a rousing political speech by Amsterdam barber Robert Jackson in support of Republican Presidential candidate James Blaine and his running mate John Logan. 

   The Amsterdam Daily Democrat reported Jackson’s speech was enthusiastic and applauded throughout, “Mr. Jackson clearly and forcibly reviewed the history of his people since the war, showing the marked difference between the attitudes of the two great parties toward them.

   “The Republicans, he said, had given them the treatment they deserved and had done all in their power to dignify their condition, whereas the policy of the Democrats toward them has resulted only in their detriment.”

   Presidential candidate Blaine had been elected to the House and Senate from Maine.  He also served as Secretary of State.

   Blaine and Logan narrowly lost the bitter 1884 Presidential election to New York Governor Grover Cleveland and his running mate Thomas Hendricks.

   Cleveland was the first Democrat elected President since 1856, before the Civil War.  He carried his own state, New York, by a margin of just over a thousand votes.

   Jackson, the barber frim Amsterdam, was chosen as a delegate to political Colored Conventions held at Montgomery County and state levels

   According to research compiled by historian Christopher Philippo, Jackson in prior years was named to the committee on principles and rules of the Colored Men’s Montgomery County Convention in Fonda.  He was chosen as an at-large delegate to the group’s state convention.

   These conventions began before the Civil War and continued after the war with delegates, mostly men, who represented the leaders of African American society.

   Montgomery County historian Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar said, “It is very possible that (Jackson) had Underground Railroad connections (before the Civil War) because he was not too far away from Chandler Bartlett’s shoe store that also reputedly sheltered freedom seekers.  Jackson’s barber shop was in an upper floor over 69 East Main Street which would be approximately where the Riverfront Center now sits.  He lived on Charles Street.”

   African American barbers, many of whom served primarily a white clientele, were known to aid freedom seekers and were important members of the community.   After the war, black barbers continued to be an important link between the races. 

   In October 1884 the Amsterdam Daily Democrat did an interview with Jackson who had returned to his shop from a trip to Philadelphia for the national convention of the Colored Masons.  Jackson was originally from Troy and may have joined the Masons there.

   Jackson said the convention was the largest ever because it celebrated the 100th anniversary of the creation in Boston of the first lodge of black Free Masons in America.

   Jackson said, “(The convention) was marked by a grand parade in which 25 lodges were represented in a membership of 2,000, comprising delegates from Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Mississippi, Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Ohio.”

   Farquhar said, “According to my records Jackson was married to Hannah Herod and they had at least five children.  One of their daughters, Agnes, died at the age of seven in 1882 due to meningitis.  Agnes, Hannah and Robert are all buried in Green Hill Cemetery, possibly along with a couple of other daughters.”

   The local paper sometimes gave social news coverage to Jackson.  In 1886 the Amsterdam Daily Democrat reported “tonsorial artist Robert Jackson” was spending Sunday with friends in Minaville

   Jackson died in 1893 according to the Troy Daily Times and was about sixty years old.

 Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, February 7, 2022

Mohawk Valley News, Monday, February 7, 2022

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