Chicago Pneumatic to build $3 million factory in Frankfort: This week in history

1897, 126 years ago

Utica loses part of its historic past

Marie Antoinette Varick, who grew up in West Utica as the granddaughter of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies in her home in New York City.

Her mother, Ann, was the daughter of William Floyd, one of four New Yorkers who signed the document in 1776 (the other three were Francis Lewis, Philip Livingston and Lewis Morris). In 1803, Floyd left his home on Long Island and settled in the town of Western in Oneida County. He died in 1821 and was buried in Westernville.

Her father, Abraham Varick Jr., left Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1804 and settled in Utica. He purchased much land in West Utica, including what is today Varick Street. (That street was named for him and is one of the city's busiest streets in its Brewery District, being the home of popular restaurants, bars and cafes and the F.X. Matt Brewing Company.)

1923, 100 years ago

A new city hall?

"Tear down city hall and build a new one!"

That's the cry from many of Utica's leading citizens and office holders who want to replace the one built in 1854 on Genesee Street (across from today's State Office Building). Mayor Fred J. Douglas, however, doesn't agree. He says, "It would not be advisable to erect a new municipal building at this time because of the many necessary improvements we must undertake in 1923 if Utica is to stay in the front ranks of one of the state's most progressive cities." Among the improvements needed, he adds, are the erection of three sewage disposal plants and the widening of Hopper, Court and Washington streets.

Mohawk Valley history: Week of remembrance, unity and tending horses

Mohawk Valley history: Christmas arrives for the loneliest boys and girls in Utica

1948, 75 years ago

New factory

The Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company will build a $3 million factory on the Bleecker Street Extension in the town of Frankfort, just east of the Masonic Home and just over the Utica-Herkimer County line. It is the world's largest manufacturer of portable power tools and will employ about 2,000 in the plant. W.L. Lewis, company president, says, "We were attracted to the Utica area by the city's excellent transportation facilities, its large supply of skilled labor, its splendid record of labor-management relations, its excellent water supply and the cooperative spirit of the city and Oneida and Herkimer counties, the Utica Chamber of Commerce and the state Department of Commerce."

1973, 50 years ago

School plan criticized

The Rev. James H. Miller, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Utica, says he is "appalled" by the proposed $15.5 million building plan now before the Board of Education. About $9 million is earmarked for building three schools. Miller says that the city already has a 10 percent surplus of classroom space. "I am appalled by the plan's shortsightedness, its horrendous waste of taxpayer dollars and its total failure to recognize the educational advantages of school consolidation," Miller says. "Utica is long overdue for a major school construction program, but it should be aimed at replacing or eliminating our oldest and most dilapidated buildings."

1998, 25 years ago

Edmonds dies

Walter D. Edmonds, local writer best known for his historical novels -- including "Drums Along the Mohawk" -- dies at age 94 in his home in Concord, Massachusetts. Francis Bergmann, professor of English at Utica College, says, "Edmonds was one of the great regional writers in this century in America. What made him popular and beloved was his way of giving the common man his due -- he never had an attitude."

Edmonds was born in his family home near the Black River near Hawkinsville in Northern Oneida County in the town of Boonville. There he also wrote about life on the Erie and Black River canals in the 19th century, including "Rome Haul," "Erie Waters," "Chad Hanna," and "The Boyds of Black River." (Dave Dudajek, former opinion editor of the Observer-Dispatch, and his family visited Edmonds in his home in Concord years ago. Dudajek has put together an exhibit on Edmonds that now is on display at the entrance of the Dunham Public Library in Whitesboro and will be there until the end of January,)

In high school hockey, New Hartford defeats Whitesboro, 6-3. Adam Foote has a hat trick for the winners and Sean Kotary adds two goals. Goalie George Spinella has nine saves. Kyle Bostik and John Collis get goals for Whitesborio and Goalie Ben Schoen has 28 saves. Earle C. Reed is named "humanitarian of the year" by the Utica chapter of the American Red Cross. He is chief executive officer of the Utica Companies (the Utica Boilers, Oneida Royal and EMI) and founded the Boilermaker Road Race in 1978 as a way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Utica Radiator Company, his father's company. He is involved in many non-profit organizations, including the Red Cross, Boys' and Girls' Club, United Way and United Cerebral Palsy.

2013, 10 years ago

Art contest winners

First-place winners in an art contest at the Utica Public Library are: Dakota Balio, ages 5-7; Ava Maya, ages 8-9; Danielle Mangini, ages 10-12; Hannah Goerner, ages 13-15, and Dana Hagberg, ages 16-18.

Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks is named grand marshal of this year's St Patrick's Day Parade.

Ashley Roser, of Taberg and former Camden Central School basketball star, is a junior at Wells College and is chosen "women's basketball student-athlete of the week" by the North Eastern Athletic Conference. In three games, she averaged 21.7 points with 17 rebounds, 10 assists and six blocked shots.

Trivia quiz

Name the U.S. president who had the most children. (a) Herbert Hoover, (b) John Tyler, (c) Franklin Delano Roosevelt or (d) Andrew Jackson. (Answer will appear here next week.)

Answer to last week's question: U.S. presidents and their places of birth -- Kinderhook, New York (Martin Van Buren) … Hyde Park, New York (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) … Hope, Arkansas (Bill Clinton) … Lamar, Missouri (Harry Truman) … Stonewall, Texas (Lyndon B. Johnson) … Plains, Georgia (Jimmy Carter) … Niles, Ohio (William McKinley) … Hillsboro, New Hampshire (Franklin Pierce).

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: Chicago Pneumatic plans $3 million factory: Mohawk Valley history