Canajoharie

Twenty Years Ago

For the second time in just over a year, Canajoharie’s unique pedestal traffic signal was damaged by a tractor-trailer making a turn through the intersection of five streets in the village, adjacent to the Central National Bank.

The Class of 1983 of the Canajoharie Central School are planning a tenth reunion.

Bob McFee of the Canajoharie Eagles Aerie 3846, recently presented a check for $1,000 to the Mid-County Volunteer Ambulance Corps to assist the local emergency volunteer organization purchase needed training equipment and other supplies.

Thirty Years Ago

The 18th annual Ames Old Home Days celebration is scheduled for three days in the community.

The Canajoharie Central School Board of Education will submit to the voters of the district a proposed bond issue, the cost not to exceed $285,000 to make necessary repairs to the various buildings in the district.

The Viking replica longboat Hjemkomst, running somewhat behind schedule, slipped through Barge Canal locks at Mindenville, Fort Plain and Canajoharie en-route on its 5,000 mile voyage from Duluth, Minn., to Oslo, Norway. The 75-foot vessel and its crew of 13 encountered a host of curious local residents despite the rainy weather. Norwegians among the crew met a countryman at Lock 14, Ragner Haug. Ragner is an American Field Service exchange student, a member of the Canajoharie Central School senior class, who has been residing during the school year at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Melancthon (Mickey) Spencer and family, Palatine Bridge. Ragner found out that one of the sailors, Bjorne Toreholtet, from Narvik, was an AFS student to the United States in 1975. The Spencers provided several gallon jugs of hot water for coffee for the crew, putting it aboard at Lock 13 in Randall.

Forty Years Ago

Commencement speakers for the 94th annual graduation ceremony will be Douglas Ayres Jr., retiring faculty member, class valedictorian Mary Memrick, salutatorian Marilyn Vedder and president Larry Mabie.

Fort Plain

Twenty Years Ago

Fort Plain Central School sponsored a workshop for 46 students in grades six and seven. Activities began immediately after school on Friday and concluded at 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon. Students and faculty chaperones spent the night in the Harry Hoag Elementary School gymnasium. The purpose of this unique project was to expose the participants to activities that help to build better decision-making skills, improve communication skills, and generally aid students in absorbing the kind of strategies which can help them avoid risky behavior.

Doris Horender Masi, author of the new book, Pride O’ the Hilltop, will be in Fort Plain. Mrs. Masi, a lifelong resident of the Mohawk Valley, will be at Diane’s Books and Gifts, 81 Canal St., to visit with local residents and to autograph copies of her book, which may be reserved by calling Diane’s. Pride O’ the Hilltop blends historical fact with fiction in an 1860s setting, recounting the life of a young man as he leaves his farm home in the Mohawk Valley and experiences the Civil War as a member of the 1st New York Cavalry Regiment. Set in the Firey Hill and Little Falls area of the valley, the book is rich in its descriptions of the countryside with area family names appearing throughout the work.

The Rev. Kenneth E. Dingman will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his ordination, followed with the 25th anniversary of the Rev. and Carol Dingman. In order to commemorate both occasions, the congregations of the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fort Plain and St. John’s Lutheran Church in Freysbush will hold a special anniversary dinner at the Masonic Temple on Mohawk Street, Fort Plain.

Thirty Years Ago

Canal Days, the week-long observance marking the village of Fort Plain’s Sesquicentennial, ended. The elements which soaked the parade postponed the fireworks display until Sunday when they were fired off from Prospect Park despite intermittent rain, which feel throughout the day. For the record, the final salute illuminated the skies. That the parade came off at all was a tribute to the planning of the Sesquicentennial and parade committees and the tenacity of the participants. There were a few no-shows because of the horrible weather, but it still took nearly two-and-a-half hours for the parade to pass the reviewing stand on Canal Street.

Carol Lynn D’Arcangelis and Steven Blaze, Fort Plain Central School seniors, were given honorable mention citations in the first Independent Study Project for high school students, sponsored by the New York State Association for Humanities Education.

Forty Years Ago

The Fort Plain Village Board adopted a resolution to authorize a $400,000 bond issue for construction of a water booster pumping station in the Reid Street area, the installation of a water main and steel water storage tank on Garfield Street.

About 200 persons flocked to the high school auditorium to ask questions about the record high $1,764,469 budget to be voted on June 13.

Despite rain, the Old Fashioned Days parade came off as scheduled, and only a handful of people got soaked.

St. Johnsville

Twenty Years Ago

The 20th high school class reunion of the St. Johnsville classes of 1971, ‘72 and ‘73, was held at the H.C. Smith Benefit Club. The classes’ theme was ‘I survived & enjoyed My 20th Class Reunion.’

Charlotte Thierrian, president, welcomed the large turnout of members to the May Fort Klock meeting. She remarked that she was glad to see so many because plans were being made for this year’s events. The new caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Reed, were welcomed and they said that they will move in this week. It was announced that the September craft fair is booked solid with 130 crafters and that applications are now closed. The grants committee reported that Fort Klock had received a Yerdon Foundation grant to assist with preservation projects this year.

Thirty Years Ago

Voters in the Oppenheim-Ephratah Central School District will ballot on the district’s 1982-83 school budget totaling $1,745,462, up $146,972; three vacancies on the school board, and two propositions, the first for a 16-passenger school bus, not to exceed more than $16,000 and the second, for a 66-passenger school bus, not to exceed $32,000.