Tally-Ho 2001
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December 2001
October 2001
September 2001
June 2001
December 2001
Table of Contents
Thursday, December 6, 2001
Adult Dining & Recreation Center-Sherman Street-New Hartford
Next to St. John the Evangelist’s Church
Pot-Luck SupperOur Christmas meeting will be an evening of sharing and getting to know one another a little better. Bring a main dish or salad and we will supply beverage and dessert. This is a good time to ask a neighbor or friend to come with you. There will be sharing of memories and singing of carols. Just a nice, relaxing evening among friends. Make a note on your calendar now. We hope to see you on the sixth.
Best Wishes and Holiday Greetings
Our appreciation for the 2001 invitation to join the Clinton Historical Society for a combined meeting on 11/1/01. I was very pleased that so many of our members chose to participate. The program about Chuckery, presented by Bonnie Jones Reyonold, was enlightening, enjoyable and entertaining.
Our many projects continue to progress with some early and current photos, listings, updating and material for our popular History Series:
The Historic Homes & Sites of New Hartford
New Hartford.
The Churches of New Hartford
The Farms of New Hartford
The Cemeteries ofWe are also sharing material with the New Hartford Public Library for our website.
Programs for the months of February through June are scheduled listed in this issue of the "Tally Ho!".
I am looking forward to our Holiday Party on December 6, 2001 as I know you all are.
See you there.
NEW HARTFORD PIONEERS REST UNDER SIMPLE MARKER
(The following was printed in February, 1976 in the O.D.)
Pioneers, veterans and founders of the Town and Village of New Hartford lie at rest in a shared grave in front of the Oxford Road School in the village. This final resting place, however, is not where they were originally buried.
More than 20 years ago, when the New Hartford Central School Board of Education built the High School building on Oxford Road, the site selected was that of the village cemetery. According to newspaper clippings, the choice was not a popular one. Many longtime residents of New Hartford voiced opposition at public hearings before the referendum to build the new school.
"All of our pioneers and soldiers, those who founded New Hartford, are buried there," said Charles Roberts, then a 77-year resident of New Hartford, at one meeting. "I couldn’t think of any less respect that could be paid to these men than by moving their graves."
The New Hartford Historical Society was also involved in a fight to save the cemetery, led by society president Mrs. Edwin L. Collins.
Other residents said the cemetery had to go because it stood in the way of progress.
"This would not be the first cemetery to be dug up to permit progress," said Mrs. Preston Smith. "In all due respect to those who have gone before us, I say what is left of their mortal remains is of less consequence than the spirit that was left behind."
On May 25, 1948 a referendum was held to decide the fate of the proposed school and the cemetery. Of 922 votes cast, 639 favored the school being built on the cemetery site, 58 were cast for another site on Oxford Road, 33 ballots were defective, and 192 voted for no new school.
When the site was cleared for the construction of the school in 1952, the remains of New Hartford’s founders, War of 1812 veterans and other pioneers were gathered together and laid to rest for a second time.
Today, there is a single headstone with the inscription: "THE SITE OF THE OLD BURYING GROUND 1788-1953. In memory of those hardy pioneers who helped found a nation and who settled this village and valley."
On the back of the memorial is another plaque bearing more than 100 names that were on the headstones.
Sons of the American Revolution
We received a letter from Burke Muller, President of the Oriskany Battle Chapter of the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) asking if we would mention something about this organization in our newsletter. Most people are aware of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) but have never heard of the men’s organization nor understand just what they stand for.
The SAR is dedicated to perpetuate the people and events of the American Revolution, to maintain the institutions of American Freedom, and to promote fellowship among the descendants of Revolutionary War patriots. To assist this endeavor the SAR maintains a number of youth awards and scholarship which are educational, historical and patriotic in nature.
They meet quarterly for a luncheon or dinner meeting plus participate in area historical events and ceremonies. Any man of age eighteen years or over, who is a lineal descendant of an ancestor who supported the war for American Independence and can provide verification both for him and each succeeding generation is eligible for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution. For further information contact Burke Muller at 315-735-8652 or e-mail: reddot@dreamscape.com
We are in the process of transferring our membership records to our recently acquired computer at the Society rooms. We want to have the membership accurate and for that we need your help. Let us know if your mailing label on this Tally-Ho! is not correct, either with address or date your dues are paid to. Also, if you have paid and did not receive a membership card, we want to remedy that by sending you one. That way you have a record of dues payment. If you have a card and the category of your membership is not accurate, we want to know that, too.
If you don’t let us know our mistakes we can’t correct them. Call Barb Munde at 737-8216 or Judy Wenner at 737-5910 if you have any questions about your membership.
Thanks!
Bob Dicker has donated a wool baseball uniform with Legion Post 1376 printed on one side and McPherson’s Laundry, New Hartford on the other side.. It belonged to Player #9. Can any of you tell us where McPherson’s Laundry was located?
Call 737-8216 if you have any information.
by Barbara Munde
Anyone that is old enough can tell you where they were when Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941. It was almost Sunday evening before I heard the news. My sister and I were getting ready to go to the Young People’s meeting at the Baptist Church when a phone call from my uncle told us to turn on the radio. The bombing was shocking and scary news and we were all shaken by it.
The memory of the day we heard about the first New Hartford class mate that was killed stays with me. I was in French class when the announcement came over the school intercom telling us that Judd Benton had been killed in action. Mrs. Fitzgerald, our French teacher, slowly closed her eyes and tears ran down her cheeks We were all sad and spoke haltingly of Judd to each other.
Christmas 1943 was a hard one. By this time my three brothers were all in the service, two in the Army, one in the Navy. The war was not going well for us and we were worried. The day we were let out of school for the holidays we had an assembly where we sang "White Christmas" under dim lights and cried. We held band concerts to sell War Bonds. One I remember in particular was in February, 1944, for the U.S.S. Carrier Oriskany when we played patriotic music to a filled auditorium.
The tradition at New Hartford was a picnic for the graduating class at Green Lake. When I graduated in 1944 where wasn’t enough gas to go that far. We went to Cedar Lake, sharing rides to use as little gas as possible. Our yearbook was soft covered and had fewer pages because paper was scarce and needed for the war effort. Seven of our classmates were in the service and did not graduate with us in June.
Rationing had affected everyone. We saved tinfoil from packages and rolled it into big balls. Our "butter" was oleo. It came in a plastic bag with a capsule of yellow food coloring in with it. We broke the capsule by massaging the oleo and kneading it until the coloring was all through it to make it look like butter. Because of the shortage of gas, car pooling was the rule rather than the exception. You could buy only so much sugar and meat. Each person in the family was issued a ration book. I remember one time we saved enough sugar to make fudge. My sister and I were so excited and looked forward to licking the pan and savoring that delicious chocolate. As the fudge was cooking, unbeknown to us, a couple of skunks who lived under our kitchen got in a fight and sprayed. The odor was terrific and, though it is hard to believe, the taste got into the fudge and we had to throw it out. We reeked of skunk. It got in our hair and on our clothes. No one wanted to come near me the next day at school.
One of the harder things to accept, being a young girl, was the absence of nylon stockings. We had to wear stockings that bagged at the knees and, after you had been sitting for a while, when you stood up there would be an ugly bulge of stocking where your knees had been. In the summer time we would wear leg makeup that was smoothed on to look like stockings, but, when it was really hot, the sweat would roll down your legs and leave white streaks where it took the make-up off. It also rubbed off on the inside of your slip. It was not a great substitute for stockings.
The air raid drills were scary. My father was an air raid warden and he had to walk around our block on Oxford Road making sure that all the lights were out. If they weren’t out he had to rap on the door and tell the people inside to turn them off or cover their windows. Not everybody took it kindly when being reminded. I used to sit on the front porch in the dark and watch the little pin prick of his flashlight as he made his way along the street. The sirens would wail and I would swear I heard airplanes. We never knew if it was just a drill or the real thing.
The ration board had its Oneida County headquarters in the Agricultural building on Oxford road where One Oxford Road is now. I believe all of the county applications for ration books came through these offices. My uncle was on the board and he told me they could use a girl to sort mail mornings during the summer of 1943. I was one of several that sorted mail and put it on the proper desk.
The town put up a plaque on the point in front of the Elementary school that named all the service men from New Hartford. I was proud to have my brothers listed on the roll. The day after they put it up I walked down to see it. It was warm, overcast, and threatening rain. I stood in front of the plaque and ran my fingers over their names praying they would return safely. The rain started in earnest and I was thoroughly soaked before I got back home.
When I turned sixteen the war was still on. My parents were hostesses at the USO (United Service Organization ) which was in a building near the Stanley Theater. This was a place for servicemen to come and relax for a while. There was a snack bar in the room, chairs, and reading material, and a juke box in the back for listening to or dancing. I was eligible to volunteer there two nights a week. I served toasted cheese sandwiches, talked and danced with the servicemen.. I did this for several years, even after the war was over. It is where I met my husband. I served him a toasted cheese sandwich one night and ended up feeding him for 42 years.
(to be continued)
More Than 100 Period Antiques In Hughes’ Colonial Collection
The following article, written by Barbara Jones, was in the July 31, 1966 edition of the Utica Observer-Dispatch. Elliott Hughes was a charter member and past president of the Society. He was, at the time of the article, director of elementary education at New Hartford Central School. Elliott Hughes Elementary School on Higby Road, where some of the antiques mentioned in this article are on display in the History Room, is named for him. He died in 1987.
Jack-of-all trades was one of the prerequisites for a Mohawk Valley colonist who had to make what he needed with the raw materials at hand. The occasion might have been a coffee grinder and sausage stuffer for his wife, a hair curling iron for his teen-age daughter or a sweat wiper for the horses.
For those too young to remember what a sweat wiper looks like, Elliott R. Hughes of Red Hill Road, Clinton, has one in his collection of more than 100 colonial period antiques.
Hughes, and his wife, Elizabeth, are organizing an exhibit for the Oriskany Day celebration Saturday. Mrs. Hughes is a teacher in the commercial department of New York Mills High School.
Two of the oldest items, a broad-axe and a hay bundling fork, date before the Revolutionary War. Several of the objects belonged to Hughes’ grandfather, Reese Hughes of Remsen. Upon his death, the collection was passed on to his son, Benjamin, superintendent of schools in Steuben. The family later moved to Boonville.
Hughes inherited the antiques after his father’s death and has since supplemented 50 percent of the collection with other pieces accumulated through the years. His interest began when he was 10 years old with his first exhibit in the annual Boonville Fair.
In addition to the personal, household and farm utensils, Hughes has included several rare books on colonial period farming for reference in his hobby. He is a frequent speaker to civic and fraternal groups on the colonial period.
The special display for the Oriskany Battlefield will be mounted and labeled on pegboards. Items will be divided into three classifications: fall, winter and summer-spring. Large articles will be displayed in specially designed racks.
The winter board includes a hay knife, ice skates, a child’s school slate, ice tongs and winter horse shoes. Exhibited on the summer-spring board are oxen shoes, hoe blade, yoke, sweat wiper for horses, horse tooth file, sickle and whetstone, sugar devil and thermos jug.
The fall display consists of a butter churn and ladle, scales, apple peeler, sausage stuffer, candle mold and hair curling iron.
Sunday, February 10, 2002 2:00 PM at the Train Station, Washington Mills.
"Immigration to the Area. The Museum and Mini Replica Buildings" by Tony D’Apice
Sunday , March 10, 2002 2:00 PM at the Welsh Church on Pearl Street
"The History of the Welsh Church and the Amicable Lodge" by Charles Haskin
Thursday Apr. 4, 2002 7:00 PM at the Train Station in Washington Mills
"The Tragedy of Delta" by Mary Centro
Thursday May 2, 2002 7:00 PM at the Train Station in Washington Mills
"Ken-Wel Manufacturing Co." by Scott Feisthamel
Thursday, June 6, 2002 7:00 PM at the Train Station in Washington Mills
"Show ‘n Tell" by Jack Yntema
Complete information on all these programs will be in the "Tally-Ho" for that month.
October 2001
Table of Contents
President's Portion
Temperance In New Hartford
From The Observer Dispatch, Jan 20, 1926
Religious Societies In New Hartford
CondolencesOctober 4, 2001 Meeting, Oneida County Historical Society
We will have a business meeting and then view the current exhibits : "Oneida County and the Civil War:" and "Oneida County Women who Have Made a Difference". These exhibits are quite extensive and well presented. There will also be an opportunity to visit the gift shop which has been rearranged and expanded. We hope you will take this opportunity to join us for an interesting evening. Refreshments will be served.
I am especially appreciative that so many members and guests (a record 120) decided to attend and participate in the 17th Annual Dinner and 25th Anniversary Celebration held last month. There is substantial gratification for the committee: Nellie Kazanjian, Barbara Munde, Janet Wenner, Barbara Couture, Floyd Smith, Barbara Zogby, Nelli Perri, and I helped a little
The church committee headed by Audry Percival and Coky Humphreys did an excellent job of preparing the delicious pork dinner and serving it.
Our fellow member Rev. Arden Coe did a fine job speaking about the past "25 Creative Years" in such a way as to bring back many memories. He emphasized the changes needed, with many accomplished, to keep the Society organization up to date and to prepare for a successful future.
My deep appreciation to:
* Barbara Munde and Barbara Couture for the excellent school exhibit.
* The Mum Farm for their very generous donation of mums.
* Mayor Rodger Reynolds for the Village support, funding, and well wishes for the future and a plaque with the wording:
"The Village of New Hartford is proud to honor the Historical Society for 25 years - 1976-2001- of dedicated service to our community".
* Supervisor William Keiser III for the Town support , funding, and well wishes for the future and a plaque with the wording:
"On the occasion of your 25th Anniversary the Town of New Hartford proudly recognizes the New Hartford Historical Society as an integral part of our community and applauds your continued dedication to the discovery, collection and preservation of our history for future generations."
The New Hartford Public Library Friends Family Fun Festival at Sherrillbrook Park on September 15, 2001 was a success. The Society participated as a result of the library’s invitation and generosity which we truly appreciate. The opportunity for the exposure was great as many New Hartford people visited with those tending the exhibit. My sincere appreciation to all those who assisted in making this another successful event: Art and Dorothy Chadbourne, Burke Galer, Bob and Jeanne Jones, Janet Burton and Barbara Reinshagen, Joe and Nancy Devaney, Floyd Smith, Marty Smith (for making the banner) and Barb Munde.
I look forward to meeting with you at the October meeting at the Oneida County Historical Society. We need to conduct some important Society business, do some updating on reports on a number of projects in progress and observe the outstanding exhibits at O.C.H.S.
I’ll see you there.
Lemonade was the thing in New Hartford back in the 1800’s. At least, it was a lot more "in" than any alcoholic beverage, according to an old journal now in the New Hartford Historical Society. The journal, dated 1865-1868, served at first as a meeting book for the Improved Order of Redmen, a fraternal organization started in New Hartford in 1865. Later, the journal was used as a personal journal by John Burton, who had been a club member.
The organization was short lived, but, according to the journal, it had strong leanings toward temperance, even to the point of frowning upon the consumption of apple cider.
An entry from June 8, 1886, says that a charge of breaking the pledge was made against a member, "but he was excused...as it was considered he did not willfully break the pledge by drinking cider,
The following resolution was offered by Burton which was adopted unanimously. "Resolved, that it be considered...a violation of the pledge for any member to drink cider at any time or place hereafter."
Another passage in the journal says that part of the order of business of one meeting was to promote the cause of temperance.
An established New Hartford institution, the New Hartford Presbyterian Church, has records of church members who were punished because of their drinking habits. For example, in 1807, the church Session met and discussed the case of one church member accused of drinking. Minutes from that meeting say that "By information from several members of the church it appeared that they had long laboured (sic) with...to bring him to confess certain irregularities which were publicly reported of him."
Church records also show that a party in 1806 resulted in some raised eyebrows among the church elders. An account of that affair says that "About seven o’clock on Thursday evening, on the 28th day of April last I went into the room back of the barroom in the public house...in which there were forty or fifty persons...liquor was passed freely thro’ the room...There were drummers and fifers playing various marches and tunes...The were pretty merry generally. Not so intoxicated as to tumble down but if I am a judge when persons have drunk too much, they had and more than any man ought to drink, they were affected very materially."
The same church was also the site of a speech by Charles Finney in 1826. The sermon did much to turn people’s attitudes away from the Calvinist idea that they were doomed to eternal sin.
Charles Todd, a professor at the State University of New York in New York City said, "The temperance movement had actually started up in Saratoga Springs in 1810, but it didn’t really get any impetus until the 1820’s after Finney spoke in New Hartford. Most of the early American reform movements; women’s rights, temperance, abolitionism, anti-slavery, had their beginnings in Oneida County, which became known as the ‘burned over’ district after Charles Finney began to preach here...And what Finney preached was simply that man can improve himself. Finney got people started on what is called social gospel, in other words, going out and improving things."
"New Hartford was very much an offspring of the movement in Saratoga Springs and also of the Utica Temperance Society, which was headed by some prominent Uticans."
Alexander Bryan Johnson, who lived during the 1800’s, was active in the temperance movement in the Utica area. Johnson made one of the first speeches at the Utica Temperance Society. He refused to let any women into the organization because he felt that nobody should ever assume that a woman would ever drink.
Utica was a very hard drinking place in those days. Liquor was imported from New York city, and the canalers, (workers on the Erie Canal) were hard-working men who got very drunk.
The temperance movement also got a boost from Eliphalet Knott, the President of Union College in those days. Knott addressed the Schenectady Temperance Society and he had all kinds of proof to the effect that, " if a student or anybody drank quite a lot and then stood near a stove, he would blow up in spontaneous combustion."
Two other temperance organization in the area were the Independent Order of Good Templars and the Women’s Christian Temperance Society. But eventually the temperance movement grew quiet, and prohibition came into the picture.
Todd said, "I think if the early temperance people had been able to foresee the awful corruption of the prohibition period, they would never have gone on with it."
Asked if the pendulum could swing back to another temperance movement he answered, "No. I think you can’t convince people by television the way you could in those day when you got a whole group together under a tent or in a church, and have that sort of marvelous oratory that used to take place."
He added, "I don’t think there would ever be an attempt to legalize morality like that. You just can’t ."
The above contains excerpts from an article in the Utica Observer Dispatch, Nov. 1977, written by Neil Thompson.
From The Observer Dispatch, Jan 20, 1926
Postmaster Eldred announces New Hartford will get city mail delivery, starting Feb. 1, according to information received from Representative Davenport. It won’t be necessary to go to the post office for mail anymore.
Religious Societies In New Hartford
From "Annals & Recollections of Oneida County" by Pomroy Jones 1851
The oldest religious society in New Hartford is the Presbyterian Church, which was organized, with thirteen members, August 27, 1791 , by the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D. D., of New Haven, Conn. It was organized in the same month, and by the same clergyman, as was the Congregational Church in Clinton. This was also formed as a Congregational Church, and so remained until 1802, but since which its discipline has been in strict accordance with the standards of the Presbyterian Church. Its first pastor was Dan Bradley, who was ordained in February, 1792, and was dismissed in December, 1794. On the 6th of September following, Mr. Bradley removed to Marcellus, Onondaga County, and it appears that he did not preach the Gospel, but entered on the business of farming, and in afterlife became one of the most skillful and scientific agriculturists of Onondaga County. He was appointed a County Judge in 1801, and First Judge in 1808, and was appointed President of the first Onondaga County Agricultural Society in 1819. He died at his residence, at Marcellus, September 19, 1838, aged 71 years, He wrote much for the different agricultural periodicals of his day.
The next pastor was the Rev. Joshua Johnson, who was installed October 26, 1795. It is said that the young people, to do honor to the occasion, held in the evening an Ordination Ball, but some persons living at the present day entertain doubts as to the correctness of this statement. The balance of testimony is, however, in favor of the assertion that a "ball" was actually got up for the occasion. Loth as the writer is to believe that so solemn an occasion should have been desecrated by the mirth and levity usually found in the ball room, still he finds the "Ordination Ball" noticed by two respectable authors, (Tracy’s Lectures, and Clark’s History of Onondaga) who have published histories of the times, and it is believed neither would have so done had not the evidence been to him entirely satisfactory.
Another circumstance in relation to the ordination of Mr. Johnson is deemed of sufficient importance to be preserved in the history of the times. At a day some time previous to his ordination, a council was called to examine him, and, if found worthy and competent to officiate in the ordination ceremonies, and so confident were the church and society in the fitness of their candidate, that public notice was given that the ordination would take place on the day succeeding the sitting of the council. The council convened and entered upon their duties, and on the next day a large course assembled to witness the ceremonies. After waiting some time, the chairman of the council came in , and informed the people that the council had found the candidate not sufficiently orthodox to admit of this ordination, but did not state the points upon which he was considered heterodox. Mr. Johnson was then requested, by one of the leading members of the society, to state why the council refused his ordination, and he complied with the request. The sentiment to which he could not give his assent, was one that had caused much agitation in the religious world at the time. It was this: "That before saving grace could be applied to the conversion of the soul, it must feel an entire willingness to be damned." The assembly dispersed, and a council was called from New England, which took a different view of the question, and Mr. Johnson was ordained and installed on the day above mentioned.
Mr. Johnson preached to this people five years, and was dismissed December 15, 1800. Rev. Samuel F. Snowden was installed in May, 1807, and was dismissed in August, 1813. The Rev, Noah Coe was installed pastor in June, 1814, and continued his pastoral labors for more than 20 years and was dismissed in February, 1835. He was highly respected and beloved by his people. The Rev. Moses C. Searle was installed July 8, 1835, and was dismissed in June, 1845. The present pastor, Rev. E. H. Payson, was installed October 14, 1885. There are now over 200 communicants in the church.
This church and society erected the first house for public worship in the county, and indeed in the State west of Herkimer. It was erected in 1793, although not completed, nor the steeple erected, until 1796. Great credit should certainly be awarded the architect, for although remodeled and repaired, the house is still occupied, and the steeple yet stands, and yet in appearance is a very respectable house of public worship, venerable for its age, it having outlived many of its juniors, and seniors it has none in the county. In this house was held the first County Court held within the limits of Oneida County. Judge Sanger gave the lot on which it was erected, and also gave a lot in Sangerfield for the benefit of the church.
(coming in the next issue -The Episcopal church, Episcopal Methodist, Friends and the Universalist Society)
We learned recently that Gordon Mcfadden passed away in Danville, Kentucky. Joining the Society in 1977, Gordon was made an Honorary Life member when he moved to Kentucky. He served as a trustee from 1979 to 1984. For many years he was in charge of the Show and Tell June meeting. Always ready to lend a helping hand, he participated in securing many of the program speakers during his years as an active member. Our sincere condolences to Gordon’s family.
September 2001
Table of Contents
"25 CREATIVE YEARS 1976-2001"
NEW HARTFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ANNUAL DINNER
Thursday, September 6, 2001
6:00 PM Social Hour 6:45 Roast Pork Dinner
$8.00 per person
First United Methodist Church, 105 Genesee Street, New Hartford
We invite you to the 25th year celebration of the New Hartford Historical Society at this, our 16th Annual Dinner. "25 Creative Years" is the title of the talk that will be given by our speaker, the Rev. Arden Coe. Also, a special exhibition of schools of New Hartford will be set up in the social hall. Reservations will be accepted through Thursday, August 30th. The flier mailed in August to all members has details and a reservation form.
We hope you will make every effort to attend this special event.
I hope all of you had a fine summer. History continues to be made on a daily basis regardless of the summer heat or the winter cold.
Our main concentration has been toward our Annual Dinner and program on September 6, 2001. Those of us working on the special event are convinced that we will have a very informative, enjoyable and festive event.
It’s the society’s 25th ANNIVERSARY!!!
Everyone is encouraged to attend, participate and celebrate.
See you there.
Excerpts from the First Officer and Board of Directors Meeting, April 4, 1976
The meeting was held at the home of Victor Fariello’s. Attending were Mr. Eliot Hughes, Mr. Victor Fariello, Mr. Toms Smith, Mr. Roy Seaman, Mrs. Mary Ann Buteux, Mrs. Nellie Kazanjian and Mrs. Cain Sloan.
Mr. Hughes reported that application had been made to the State of New York for a charter. The fee is $25.00.
Mrs. Buteux will reserve Butler Hall for meetings.
Mrs. Kazanjian reported a balance of $343.00. She was authorized to take out a day of deposit, day of withdrawal savings account while retaining a checking account.
Mr. Hughes suggested a newsletter be published in May, in the fall and after the first of the year. It will consist of news of the organization as well as an historical feature; an interview, legend, etc.
Roy Seaman is in charge of the May feature.
Program suggestions include the history of Butler Hall, and a joint meeting with the Clinton Historical Society.
It was suggested that in lieu of a town or village historian, the Historical Society be designated in that capacity.
Suggestions for fund raising were commemoratives could be sold and businesses asked for donations.
Mr. Hughes offered to donate a book of 80-100 pages on ice harvesting in Utica.
(minutes were written by Cain Sloan)
Chadwicks: The Story of its Origin
In 1789 the first settler, a negro slave, servant of an officer of some passing detachment en route up the valley who ran away from servitude and struck out into the farthest wilds, selected his future home at a point west of the Sauquoit creek on a hill above the village of Sauquoit. He built a log cabin and planted apple seeds that he obtained by fugitive visits to German Flatts; also corn and other crops. He was driven out by Indians who destroyed his home and crops but overlooked the thick sprouting clump of apple sprouts as they grew unmolested so that by the time the white pioneers came, they were large enough to transplant and some of the first orchards in the vicinity were set from the "Jim Crow Nursery," as it was called; the name, even, of this first actual settler being lost, but the fact of his title to pioneership outranking whites in priority is incontrovertible.
In 1791 Josiah Mosher of Pepperell, Mass, came to Paris with his brother and family. A sister, Mrs. Grimes, riding on horseback the entire distance. It took about two weeks to make the trip. For a riding whip, she cut a sprout from a cherished willow tree on the old homestead at Pepperill, and upon dismounting in the valley of Sauquoit, stuck it down in the moist ground near the creek, where it took root and grew to be a mighty tree from which other sprouts in great number were cut and set out in the same manner. The place became noted for the great number of those trees and in time came to be called Willowvale, most of which Hosiah Mosher settled in the Porter neighborhood. Later he exchange his farm with Seth Smith from Gere Tannery and farm located at East Sauquoit.
In the summer of 1813 Jon Chadwick, Abner Brownell and Ira Todd came from Toddville, Otsego County, to what is now Chadwicks and founded the Eagle Cotton Factory. They purchased John Greenleaf’s saw mill and moved it to the eastern part of the village and converted it into a dwelling house. On the present site of the Standard Silk Mill they built their factory. It was called Eagle Mills. The firm dissolved some years after. Mr. Chadwick remained at the Eagle and added improvements as his business demanded. Extensive additions were erected and filled with costly and improved machinery.
Near the close of one sultry summer day, June 25, 1884, the builders were putting on the finishing touches. The particular length of lightning rod with the weathervane had been erected high in the air without attaching the other lengths reaching to the ground connection, when the sharp clang of the bell beneath them announced the day’s work done. The builders slowly descended and went to their homes. An hour or two of another day and all would be finished. But the setting sun sank into a dense black cloud that overspread the valley. A few sudden puffs of wind, large scattering drops of rain, forerunners of the impending storm and from the inky blackness leaped a single vivid gleam of lightning. down the rod into the mill, glinting along the rows of machinery and bales of fleecy cotton, it ran. Instantly all seemed ablaze. Within a few hours nothing but the smoking ruins remained of those extensive mills with not one dollar of insurance and only courage and iron will left of yesterday's prosperity and affluence. A new Stone Mill was built and during the years they were largely extended by his son and successor, George W. Chadwick. After his death the mills were sold to a New York firm and they later turned them into the present Standard Silk Mills.
The Bleachery Glen, through which the people of Willowvale often stroll and admire its beauty, was laid out by Amos Rogers, who in his leisure hours built the walks quarried the stone and laid the walls to restrain the brook and performed all the labor with his own hands. This was called the Rogers’ Glen.
The Willowvale Bleachery was built about 1880 and the sheet room added in 1895 and since has grown into a large, thriving industry, employing many hands. In the thirty years Willowvale has grown very rapidly. Many business places have been built as well as dwelling houses.
Around 1890 the Episcopal Church was built by Mrs. Chadwick in memory of her husband, and for years was the only church in the place. The Catholic church was erected in 1908. The Methodist Church in 1907.
A new high school was built in 1914, combining the Chadwicks and Willowvale schools.
The Willowvale Club House was built in 1922 and the well remembered flood occurred the same year, caused by heavy rains that swelled the streams to overflowing and dams went out and water filled buildings and streets, causing a loss of thousands of dollars. After this the Bleachery company and residents along the creek built a high wall to restrain high water, thus protecting the town from an overflow of the stream.
The latest catastrophe was the fire that destroyed the interior of the Bleachery Club House on June 10, 1926. Since the fire equipment was stored in the building they had to summon aid from the city and adjoining town. The fire was kept under control and the building was not entirely destroyed. It is now being rebuilt.
(Author unknown. Written around 1926 or 1927.)
Another in a series of memories by Kenneth Fuller. Several of you requested continuation of the series.
There was a man named David Lloyd who had a small truck farm at the upper end of Sanger Avenue. His house was almost across from the big water tank. There was an actual reservoir there in my younger days, and the water was open to the air. They later built this big round tank to take care of water supply for that part of the town. Boys would get jobs working for Mr. Lloyd in the summer. They would get ten cents an hour to pull weeds and they later had berries, and the boys and girls and women would be hired to pick. You got two cents a quart for strawberries, and three cents a quart for raspberries.
My grandfather always had more berries than we could eat at home, and I used to sell them. I believe we used to get ten cents a quart for strawberries and a little more for raspberries. But I guess, at Lloyds, it got to the point where the cost of raising and picking them was more than they could get for selling them. They stopped raising raspberries. Of course, raspberries required pruning and cultivating, and it took quite a little work to maintain the berry patch. Strawberries did, too, but you could pick a quart of strawberries very fast.
I might say about the Lloyds, Porter Lloyd lived there for quite a while. Porter was sort of a town character. In his younger days, he was a great social dancer, and actually coached dancing in a dancing school. Later on he worked for the railroad for many years, and before that he trapped muskrats, skunks and other fur-bearing animals to sell commercially.
Sanger Ave went up as far as Lloyds’. Right at the head of Hillside Avenue, there was a big Victorian house where the lawyer James Hubbell lived. He had a big flower garden . He was a great flower grower and fancier. He was a very prominent Utica Lawyer, and he lived there for a long time.
Jordan Road is quite old. There is an old map about 1870 which showed it as Third Street. Now, that is the portion of Jordan Road which is south of Paris Road. The section of Jordan Road from Paris Road to Genesee Street was opened up about 1910. It was a terrible, mud road. I can remember that Judge Hugh R. Jones’ father built a house on Paris Road, where Judge Jones now lives. He was a great friend of my father’s. Hugh R. Jones, Sr., was in the real estate business, and he persuaded my father to buy some land on Jordan Road. I remember going to visit one rainy Sunday. We came on the trolley to the foot of Jordan Road, and the mud was terrible. We had to walk up in the mud, and I remember my rubbers and mother’s rubbers came off in the mud and we had quite a time getting up to Hugh R. Jones’ house. But they were used to things like that in those days. They didn’t expect the roads to be paved like they are now. In the village, they paved Genesee street along about 1910 or 1912, but the other village streets were done about 1920, because many of them were still mud when I was in high school.
A fellow named Ambrose Eldred, who lived on Hartford Terrace, was Mayor for a good many years. He was a tall, gaunt-looking man. He was a nice fellow, kind of a slow- speaking type of guy. It’s hard for me to remember, this was more than 50 or 60 years ago. He was Mayor for a long time. Then there was a fellow who lived in the big house on the corner of Oxford road and Sanger Avenue, and I can’t for the life of me remember whether he came after Ambrose Eldred or preceded him. I think his name was Morris, and he was Mayor for quite a little time. I’m a little bit hazy about the date because I was away at college and law school from 1923 to 1929. I went to Cornell University at Ithaca, and got both my AB and my law degree there. Then I came back and went to work in my father’s law firm. My father had a law firm in Utica known as Fuller, Brown and Hubbard. I worked there as a law clerk and later became a member of the firm.
In the J. Fred Law block, Ira Williams for many years had a drug store and soda fountain, and his soda fountain was a great place for the high school kids to gather. He had tables in the back of his establishment with those old wire hoop-backed chairs. That was a great place to go. It was on the corner of the alleyway when you come out of the parking lot behind Norstar Bank on Genesee Street. Ira Williams’ store was on the corner of Genesee Street. It was part of the three-store block that burned later.
Tony D’Apice for the Honorable Mention award he received for his entry in the "Forever Wild-Branching Out" show in June at the Old Forge Art Center.
From Press Scrapbook by H. Paul Draheim, July 23, 1960
When settlers first began to "squat" around Fort Schuyler, all that was anticipated was that it would be a landing upon the Mohawk. The first businessmen hoped that the village would be a port to the cities of New Hartford and Whitestown, and for years all business was transacted near the Mohawk by John Post, the first merchant. He came to Fort Schuyler in 1790. A fire in 1807 swept away his property and he died a poor man. The village was called Fort Schuyler until 1796 when it received the name of Utica.
Malio J. Cardarelli sent us a copy of his recent book, "Classical Music in Utica, New York; Featuring Nicholas D. Gualillo" to be placed in our library for patron use. Mr. Cardarelli stated that the book is a gift of the Bank of Utica. A letter of appreciation was sent to Mr. Roger Sinnott at the bank. We are very pleased to add this book to our collection.
President Robert Dicker 724-7293 Vice President Burke Galer Secretary Barbara Munde Treasurer Floyd Smith Archivist Burke Galer Tally Ho Barbara Munde 737-8216
Martha SmithTrustees Barbara Couture
Judith Wenner
Arthur Baker
Robert Jones
Jerome PitarresiHonorary Trustees Nellie Kazanjian
Robert Anderson
Highlights from May Board Meeting
A Reminder: June is Dues Month
Election of Officers and Trustee at Annual Meeting
Welcome to New Member
Congratulations To:
Correction
Dairy Month
A Reminder: June is Dues Month
The dues for the year 2001-2002 are as follows:
Individual $ 8.00
Family $12.00
Contributing $15.00
Corporate $50.00
Student $ 1.00Please keep these new rates in mind when you are renewing your membership for the year 2001-2002. The time to do that is now.
Check your mailing label. If you are current the date will read June 30, 2002. If you owe dues it will read Jug 30, 2001 or any date below that. We value your membership and your participation in the New Hartford Historical Society.
Election of Officers and Trustee at Annual Meeting
At our June meeting the slate of officers and one trustee for the year 2001-2002 will be voted on. Nominations from the floor will be accepted before the vote.
Nominations presented by the committee, chaired by Nellie Kazanjian, are as follows:
Robert Dicker
Burke Galer
Barbara Munde
John PitarresiPresident
Vice President
Secretary
Trustee to 2004We encourage you to attend this important meeting.
Mary L. Hughes Utica
In our April 2001 Tally-Ho! we noted that we send our newsletter to members in 18 different states. Roger Bancroft, former teacher at New Hartford High School, brought to our attention that we neglected to mentioned Nevada. Roger has been a member since May, 1987. At that time he lived in Kansas. He has moved several times over the years, always notifying us of his address changes, and now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are pleased to have you as a member, and we apologize, Roger, for overlooking Nevada. It was great hearing from you!
June is Dairy month so we are dedicating this issue of the Tally-Ho! to dairies and farms. Barbara Couture is compiling information on farms in the area and she has graciously loaned us some of the information to share with you in this issue.
PALMER FARM
Sessions Road
Washington Mills, NYThe Palmer family has owned and operated their farm on Sessions Road in the Town of New Hartford since 1870. They moved here from a farm, which is now the site of Old Forest Hill Cemetery. There are five generations named George Palmer who have lived and worked on this farm.
Dairy has always been the basic farm business. For many years a retail milk route provided a market for the milk and cream produced by the Holstein herd. In those days raw, unpasteurized milk was sold, initially ladled from the can to the customer's container. The milk was delivered daily in Utica. Horse and wagon brought it.
About 1918 the milk route was divided and given to two newly starting milk businesses. One later became Graffenburg Dairy. At that time the dairy herd was expanded and the milk was sold wholesale to Dairylea Cooperative. There are three generations of Palmers who have been members of Dairylea.
The farm is using modern methods including two huge blue sealed silos and an electric milking machine with a pipeline to carry the milk from the cow directly to the bulk tank, where it is cooled and kept cold for a pickup every day.
The present owners are George A. Palmer and his wife Beverly. Their children still live on the farm: George H and Barbara with their families.
George A. Palmer had a great love for horses and has always had a horse or two on the farm for driving. Many local residents have enjoyed the hayrides provided by the Palmer family.
In 1976 the Palmer Family received a Certificate of Recognition for having a New York Century Farm from the Kiwanis Club of New Hartford (1870-1976)
Written about the Palmer farm in the late 1800's or early 1900's was the following:
Evergreen Farm
"The owner of the farm is George A. Palmer, address, Washington Mills, New York. It is located on the Bridgewater Pike, five miles from Utica, its principal market. This is one of the fine farms of New Hartford. Twenty-six acres are under cultivation, and its soil is well adapted to the products common to this section. a prominent feature, however, of this farm is its apple orchards, containing five acres, and its graded Holstein dairy of twenty head, the products of the latter are delivered to customers in the city of Utica, Mr. Palmer having a milk route in that city. Forty-five acres are devoted to meadow and pasture. The water supply is furnished by springs and wells. Its name is derived from the beautiful evergreens bordering the lawn. The building improvements include a residence, dairy house, general barn 30' x 100', and convenient out-buildings. The father of George A. Palmer was a former owner, the title passing from him to his son, George A., the present owner, in 1886. Mr. Palmer is a native of New Hartford. "
The William Smith Farm
Mallory Road, Washington MillsIn 1792, Simeon Smith paid Jedediah Sanger 50 pounds for 100 acres east of the Sauquoit River in Herkimer county, that is presently the home farm of the Smith Homestead. Today the farm is on a hill over looking the Sauquoit valley and neighboring hills. The farm hasn't moved but the address is now Mallory road, Sauquoit, in the Town of New Hartford, in Oneida county. The exact amount of money, in today's terms, paid for the land is difficult to determine as the land was purchased at a time when each state still had its own currency. The fifty pounds referred to in the deed was probably paper money that changed in value frequently.
At this time, very little is known about Simeon Smith. It is known that his father, Joseph Smith, was from Bradford, Connecticut. He fought in the French and Indian wars and in the Revolutionary War. Powder horns made and used by him are still in the family.
Simeon Smith built a house and barn on the present site of William Smith's home. This became known as the "old house" and was used by future Smith sons to house their families while waiting to have their own homes. This house was torn down in the 1940's.In 1833, Simeon Smith died and control of the farm was taken over by his brother, Ransom Smith. Ransom Smith was married to Mary Ann Jackson, whose birth was recorded as the first white girl to be born in Oneida county. Through remembrance and stories it seems that Ransom Smith and his family of six children, were the first to live in the house that is now considered the "old house" and present home of Kristin Smith Holbert, her husband Roger and their three daughters. The first part of the present dairy barn was also built around this time. Water ran, gravity flow, to a wooden storage barrel in the barn from a spring. This spring was located on a hill about three hundred feet from the barn. Ransom Smith died in 1859. The next holder of the farm was his youngest son Ransom Abiram Smith.
Ransom Abiram Smith, better known as "Bi" to many people in Oneida County, carried on with the farm as well as having many other interests. At one time, he was off to the California Gold Rush and home again in two years "a little better off then he went". He was a carpenter, working for a time with John Land of Utica, to build the Hollister House, a book and stationery store on Genesee Street. An avid politician, first as a Whig and later a Republican, he served the Town of New Hartford as Supervisor, Justice of the Peace and as an assessor. Through all of these activities, the farm was maintained with two main products: milk and hops. Hops were sold to one of the local breweries in Utica.
Abiram Smith married Eveline Wadsworth and raised four children to adulthood. All four of the children, as adults, were to remain in the same general area as the farm. Abiram Smith died in 1902, a very popular and companionable man.
Harlow Smith was much more a farmer than his father had been. He was interested in many community groups such as the Oneida County Extension Service and the New Hartford Republican Club, but the farm was his main interest. Before joining the Dairymen's League, the farm used to take their milk in milk cans by horse and wagon to Roy Hart, a local milk peddler, who bottled the milk on Kossuth Ave in Utica , and then sold it. During the time that Harlow managed the farm, he was to see many significant changes. Electricity was installed, hand milking was no longer necessary, milk could be cooled easier, and the barn could be cleaned with less muscle power. Work horses lost their importance to the coming of the tractor, car and truck. Communications between farms and other businesses were improved with the advent of the telephone, radio and television. Harlow Smith also saw changes in the physical appearance of the farm. The "old house" and the hop barn were torn down because of lack of space and the ice house was moved to a less prominent place. A garage was turned around to make it more convenient for use by the tractors and an addition was added to the dairy barn. The wooden barrel that collected the water running down from the spring was changed to one made of cement. The present "old house" was remodeled and an enclosed porch was added.For much of Harlow Smith's life, the farm was a fairly self-sufficient operation providing mostly for the needs of the Smith family and not too concerned with making a big profit. There was a variety of animals around the farm, each with its own purpose to carry out for the Smith family - Harlow, Florence and their five children. However, the time was coming in Harlow's life span when he was to see the need for the farm to concentrate on one product and make a profit with it. The farm needed to become a business to survive.
Harlow Smith, with the help of his two sons, George and Floyd, operated the farm until 1957, at which time he retired and George Smith took control.
George and his wife Bernice managed the farm until 1963, and started its growth toward a paying business. They increased and upgraded the dairy herd, used more land to increase crop production and invested in newer time- saving equipment with which to run the farm.
In 1967, George Smith went into partnership with his son, William. This was the year that William graduated from Cornell University with the plan of returning home to help run the farm.
In 1969, William married Joan Dawley. Also in 1969, another addition was added to the dairy barn, another silo was built and the milk house was remodeled to make room for a thousand gallon bulk tank. In 1972, thirty acres of land were purchased by the farm. As adjoining land became available, the farm increased its acreage - forty acres and an abandoned house in 1978, and sixty acres with a barn and pond in 1982. Also in 1982, a fourth silo was erected.
Milking in the conventional barn continued but changed from machine with pails and cans to milking machines and a dumping station when the bulk tank was added. In 1978, a pipeline was installed.
In 1988, George and Bernice retired and Bill and Joan took over the farm. Bill and Joan have two children, Bill Jr. and Kristin.
In 1992, Bill Jr. graduated from SUNY Cobleskill with a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Equipment Technology, having already received an AAS in Agricultural Mechanics from SUNY Morrisville. Kristin graduated from HCCC, with a AAS degree in Physical Education. Also in 1992, Kristin married Roger Holbert. Billy, Kris and Roger all help on the farm occasionally.
In 1999, the spring that had been furnishing the barn with gravity fed water for two hundred years started to go dry at times and a new well had to be drilled.
At the present time, Kris, Roger and their three daughters, Casey, Samantha and Mackenzie, live in the "old house". Bill, Joan and Billy live on the site of the original "old house" and the abandoned house that was purchased in 1978 is slowly being remodeled. We currently employ one full time person. Billy has a full time job off the farm at Clinton Tractor in Clinton. Joan has two part-time jobs as an RN, one as an office nurse at Faxton Hospital in Utica. Kristin has a part-time volleyball coaching and officiating job and Roger is a full time truck driver. Bill, of course, is a full time dairy farmer.
Currently we have a dairy herd of mostly registered Holsteins and a small herd of colored breeds, Jerseys, Brown Swiss and Guernseys. Our herd average is over 20,000 pounds. Our main crops are hay and corn for grain and silage. Our milk is shipped to Dairylea. Bill followed in his grandfather's footsteps and has been a member of Dairylea since he was fourteen years old.
Family community and organizational activities are many. The whole family are members of the Sauquoit United Methodist Church. Bill and Joan are members of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Joan is also a member of the county Dairy Science committee and Ag-citement 2000 committee. Bill and Joan are both members of the Holstein Association. Bill and Joan are both members of the Oneida County Dairy Promotion Committee and Joan is Chairman. Joan is Chairman of District 13 (Oneida and Madison counties) committee and a state director for District 13 of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council Inc.. In 1999, Joan received the Golden Cow Award presented by ADA&DC Inc.. Joan volunteers to teach CPR for the American Heart Association and for the American Red Cross teaching CPR and first aid. In 2000, Bill received a Farmer of the Year Award presented at the Oneida County Dairy Princess Banquet. Billy is involved with a couple of snowmobile clubs, acting as secretary and working on trail grooming and on the trail grooming equipment in the farm's shop. Kris helps out with programs at Casey and Samantha's elementary school and Mackenzie's nursery school. Both Billy and Kris play sand volleyball in a summer league.
As we enter the new century, the Smith Homestead Farm is looking to the future to continue as a family farm and to continue to be proud of our heritage.