It's time for another "freeze frame." The month of August 1948 had plenty going on, and some of it was significant, while other events were just trivial or one-time efforts worth mentioning.
Just as in 2008, local residents were caught up in the Summer Olympics that month. The games were held in Wembley, England. You couldn't watch it on TV unless you were closer to the Albany area or had a really good antenna. Channel 12 in Binghamton, today's WBNG-TV, didn't sign on until 1949.
Cooperstown had a festive occasion on Sunday, Aug. 15, as the new Otsego County Extension Service building, today's Cornell Cooperative Extension, was dedicated at 123 Lake St., just south of the Farmers' Museum. According to The Oneonta Star, a search for building space to house all extension services under one roof had been going on for three years.
"The quest ended when the Clark family of Cooperstown donated a large residential building, remodeled it and redecorated it."
Not far from there, the State Bar Committee met Aug. 28 to draw up plans for the restoration of the old law office of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Nelson.
Judge Nelson's office, built in 1829, was originally located on the site of the present Fenimore Art Museum but was almost destroyed when the new structure was built. It was moved and restored to its current site, at the Farmers' Museum.
Also on Aug. 28, it was announced that Charles Evans Hughes, former chief justice had died. Forty years earlier, when he was governor, Hughes visited Oneonta several times after signing the legislation making Oneonta the 46th city in New York state.
Oneonta was grappling with some traffic problems that month. We know the corner of Center and Maple streets is a very busy intersection these days. It was that month as well, not to mention very dangerous. There was no stoplight at the time, and many failed to stop at the stop signs on Maple Street. Crash scenes were regular photos in The Oneonta Star. It was anticipated that a light would be installed in 45 to 60 days.
A number of Oneontans had a bad habit of getting in their cars and following fire trucks in 1948. The city Board of Public Safety was "preparing to crack down on motorists and curiosity seekers' who have obstructed Oneonta fire trucks that are going to fires."
Commissioners Maurice Schwaninger and George Kershaw were appointed to study local ordinances and see what penalties could be imposed on these violators.
West End had a branch post office at that time. It was at Johnston's Service Station, 378 Chestnut St. West End was destined to get a new name, Elm Park, because of New York state having too many West Ends. Mail meant for our area was going to West Ends in Albany and Middletown.
Elm Park had been suggested, because when land developers Ceperley & Morgan laid out their subdivisions earlier in the century, they designated the area as Elm Park. A Methodist church goes by that name. Obviously, the new name never gained popularity and the branch post office was eventually closed.
Also in the West End, D.F. Keyes, another longtime land developer, said on Aug. 13 that the Keyes airfield, Oneonta's first municipal airport, would most likely be discontinued and the ground subdivided into building lots. It took awhile, but the first major new tenant of the subdivision was NYSEG, when it built a structure on Country Club Road in 1960. It took until 1966 to get the next municipal airport built.
Additionally, on Aug. 13 the first annual Oneonta Horse Show opened a three-day event on Webb Island, formerly near Neahwa Park and today's Catella Park. Nearly 200 entered in the 73 classes of the 12 show divisions, competing for $7,500 in prizes.
The Oneonta Recreation Fair Association, sponsor of the event had hopes of establishing Oneonta as one of the key equestrian centers in the state. Proceeds from the show were to be used to develop Webb Island into a show center. Participants were pleased, but the crowds were described as "curtailed," because of rain.
The show was repeated in 1949 and the area was gradually developed, but the event apparently didn't last much longer, if the lack of newspaper coverage from 1950 and beyond was indicative.
This weekend: Oneonta's Labor Day in 1908.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.
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