Canajoharie

Twenty Years Ago

A very special three-day history program will be held in Canajoharie, a program sponsored jointly by the New York State Department of Education and the Canajoharie-Palatine Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the New York State Museum. The Living History program will commemorate the bicentennial of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, New York’s first canal company [1792-1820], a part of which will be the delivery of merchandise shipped by the school children of Schenectady to the children of Canajoharie. The shipment of goods will be sent via the bateau Discovery from Schenectady, and will be arriving in Canajoharie in the Mohawk River waterfront area.

Canajoharie Exempt Firemen and Auxiliary celebrated their 35th anniversary recently with dinner at Ripepi’s Restaurant, St. Johnsville. Twenty members enjoyed the cocktail hour and dinner.

Thirty Years Ago

District Superintendent Kenneth Smith, acting chairman of the Joint Merger Study Committee of the Canajoharie and Fort Plain Central School districts, has announced that a meeting of the committee will be held in the high school. The committee will review the charge to the advisory committee by the boards of education, and select advisory committee members to serve on the subcommittees to include representation from both schools.

With all of their scoring being in the first half of play, the Canajoharie Central School Redskins dropped their opening football contest of the 1982 season to Bishop Scully, 20-6 at Nellis Field.

Forty Years Ago

Canajoharie Mayor John Tooker received a telegram signed jointly by New York State Senators John Buckley and Jacob Javits, notifying him that Canajoharie’s application for urban development in the business section of the village has been approved.

CCS District Principal Thomas Mickle received notification from the Narcotics Control Commission that the Canajoharie Central School District’s Drug Education Program will be funded for a second year.

In an effort to keep parents more continually informed, a new reporting process was placed into operation in the local district. Involving grades 2-6, a new report card was developed, which covers all aspects of elementary education. Emphasis on the new report card is placed on effort and achievement.

Fort Plain

Twenty Years Ago

It was under threatening skies that Fort Plain’s Grand Encampment took place. After a long morning of rain, most of the nearly 1,000 British, Indians, Canadians and American Colonial troops had packed up their gear and were long gone by mid-afternoon Sunday. Saturday, however, was a different story, although the skies looked like rain all day, a scheduled skirmish did take place. The British, along with their regular troops, special regimens and Indian warriors attempted to take over the village of Fort Plain. For more than an hour, the streets of the downtown area were filled with smoke and the sound of musket and cannon fire as the American forces pounded the British until they forced the retreat of the Redcoats back into the hills of Wiles Park and the relative safety of their tent city.

Anita Miller was among more than 450 leaders of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion, taking part in a National Leadership workshop held recently in Charleston, WVA. Miller, a member of Fort Plain Unit 554, shared ideas with volunteer leaders from five other states gathered for the workshop. Among the topics discussed were Americanism, Children and Youth, Membership Motivation, Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation and Public Relations.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanton Hudson, of Fort Plain, were honored recently on their 50th wedding anniversary at a party held in the Canajoharie-Fort Plain Elks Lodge in Nelliston. The couple were married on Sept. 26, 1942, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church parsonage, Canajoharie, by the Rev. Herman Vesper.

Thirty Years Ago

Replacement of the 1925 water standpipe on High Street will be an expensive proposition. The only alternative, repairs to the existing structure, would be like “putting a Band Aid on the problem,” according to Rheim Vogel, of C.T. Male Engineering Consultants, Schenectady. Vogel presented estimates to the Village Board at a recent meeting, putting the cost of a new tank at between $230,000 and $300,000, depending upon the materials used in its construction. He said that if not replaced, the roof of the present tank would require repair and then could only be expected to last a few more years. Whatever this cost, it apparently would be on top of repair of serious leaks which have developed in the sixth and seventh rings of the aging tank, according to the Kessler Tank Company, which made a visual inspection of the structure recently.

The 21st annual reunion of the descendants of Stephen and Mary Heiser was held at the Cherry Valley Fish and Game Club with 27 members attending.

Forty Years Ago

An open house, parade, banquet and dedication of a new eternal flame highlighted the activities marking the homecoming of State Department Commander Earl Stock Jr., of the Veterans of Foreign Wars to Mohawk Valley Post No. 3275.

St. Johnsville

Twenty Years Ago

The St. Johnsville Firemen’s Auxiliary celebrated its 50th anniversary at a dinner at the Harry C. Smith Benefit Club recently. Two charter and 50-year members, Mary Gray and Pearl Carter, were given special recognition. The guest speaker was another charter member, Betty Bilobrowka, who described the formation and early years of the Auxiliary. She stated that the diversity of the group and the fact that they worked together so well were a lesson for everyone to look for the good in others and to follow their example.

St. Johnsville High School’s agriculture teacher was recognized by the National FFA Organization as the New York State winner of the Agriscience Teacher of the Award. According to Teacher Services Specialist Carol L. Duval, of the National FFA Center in Alexandria, Va., the statewide recognition recognizes agriculture teacher Ben Conte’s ability to “capture his students’ attention.” “The big deal is this highlights his ability as an ag instructor,” Duval said. “This shows he gets right into the dirt and the fish by bringing the teaching to a hands on level rather than [teaching] right out of the book.”

Thirty Years Ago

The Village Board decided during its September meeting that it will meet with Morrell Vrooman Consulting Engineers, Gloversville, to discuss the installation of a hydroelectric turbine at Scudder Falls. Mayor Wilfred Kraft told board members that the proposed site for the turbine is near the village’s water reservoir, about one-half mile outside the village.

Forty Years Ago

Dodson’s News and Smith’s Market have undergone facelifts.

Elizabeth Bilobrowka has been installed as vice president of New York State Volunteer Ambulance and First Aid Association, District No. 14.