Boundaries of Utica set, city charter granted: This week in Mohawk Valley history

1832, 192 years ago

City boundaries

The boundaries for the new city of Utica are established. The village was granted a city charter last week by the state Legislature. The boundaries extend from Bagg's Square on the north to Oneida Square on the south, and from Third Avenue on the east to the Utica State Hospital on the west.

The city has four wards. Next month, three men will be elected aldermen from each ward and the 12 will make up the Common Council. The councilmen then will elect a mayor. The council will meet every week on the second floor of the Clinton Market on Bleecker Street.

1918, 106 years ago

Angry hunters

Angry area hunters are sending hundreds of letters to their legislators in Albany protesting a move by some legislators to make it illegal to hunt on Sundays. They say the noise of shooting guns disturbs the "peace of the Sabbath." Area hunters, meanwhile, say wildlife cannot be found near populated areas so hunting is done many miles from folks who want to enjoy a quiet Sunday. Thay also write that hunting is a sport and it will be an act of discrimination to ban it on Sundays but continue to allow others to play tennis and golf.

1949, 75 years ago

Local artists

The trustees of Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute (today known as Munson) purchase works by local artists to add to the institute's lending collection -- sculptures "Bear Family" by Ruth A. Wickens of Utica, and "Horse" by Griffith M. Williams of Utica; and prints "The Old Wharf" by Hope B. Barrett of Rome, and "Upstate Village" by Grace Paull of Cold Brook.

1974, 50 years ago

Abelove honored

Milton A. Abelove, prominent Utica attorney and real estate developer, is named "man of the year" by B'nai B'rith, Utica Lodge 1844, for his many civic, charitable and social accomplishments.

The first annual Kopernik Memorial Award is presented posthumously to Utica's Valentine Bialas, a four-time member of the U.S. Olympic speed-skating team. He later served as Utica parks commissioner for former Mayor Frank M. Dulan.

In 1924, at the Olympics in Chamonix, France, the 20-year-old Bialas was a member of the U.S. speed-skating team, and he finished third in the 5,000 meters and eighth in the 10,000. The team finished third. In 1928, he was captain of the Olympic team in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and was sixth in the 1,500 meters and 5,000. In 1929 at Lake Placid, he set a world record by skating two miles in five minutes and 35 seconds. In the 1932 Olympics at Lake Placid, he finished fifth in the 10,000 meters. In 1935, tragedy struck as he was returning from the Olympic trials in Minneapolis. The car he was driving was struck by a train in Michigan City, Indiana. His right leg had to be amputated below the knee.

1999, 25 years ago

Trustees elect

Michael F. Damsky is elected chairman of the board of trustees at Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute (today known as Munson). He is an Oneida County legislator. Attorney Bartle J. Gorman is vice chairman, and Dr. Eugene Tobin, president of Hamilton College, is added to the board,

The Yorkville Volunteer Fire Department elects George Farley as its chief. Others elected include Joseph Koziarz and William Farley, assistant chiefs; James Collea, senior captain; Donald Robertson, junior captain; and lieutenants Joseph Jennings, Matt Sica and Mark Burnop. Ken Schaaf is elected president, Ronald Rosinski, vice president; Michael Spellman, recording secretary and Robert Kohlbrenner, treasurer. Members of the board of trustees are Gary Popielski, Matt Bolmer, Walter Wilczek, Joseph Morosco and Ed Szymko.

In high school basketball, Brett Barnard, a 6-8 center, scores 40 points to lead Frankfort-Schuyler to a 65-44 win over Mohawk. Barnard now owns the Frankfort-Schuyler career scoring record with 1,510 points. Sam Bono, a 5-8 guard, held the record with 1,479 points.

2014, 10 years ago

Centennial

The Utica National Insurance Group -- with headquarters in New Hartford -- celebrates its 100th anniversary. The company, with more than 1,400 employes, was founded by John L. Train, Merwin Kimball Hart and others. Today, the chief executive officer is J. Douglas Robinson.

In high school hockey, Rome Free Academy defeated Syracuse, 3-1. The winners got goals from Jason Rutkowski, J.T. Entelisano and Tyler Williams. Cameron Mecca has two assists.

Lt. Sandra Easton, of the Oneida County Sheriff's Department, was named "civil deputy of the year" by the New York State Sheriff's Association at its annual meeting in Albany. She is honored for her "exceptional degree of dedication and commitment in civil law enforcement."

Trivia quiz

The Washington Monument is a 556-foot-tall obelisk that serves as a memorial to George Washington in the nation's capital. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848, but in the next 10 years, only 156 feet were completed. Then, construction stopped for 20 years as the country faced other problems -- the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, etc. The monument finally was completed in 1878 at a cost of (a) $25,423, (b) $73,421, (c) $1,187,710 or $2,001,100. (Answer will appear here next week.)

Answer to last week's question: Abraham Lincoln was the first U.S. president born beyond the boundaries of the original 13 states -- Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire.

This Week in History is researched and written by Frank Tomaino. E-mail him at ftomaino221@gmail.com. 

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Mohawk Valley history: Taking a look back at this week