Mohawk Valley history: Hamilton College founded; Utica firefighters and police retire

Hamilton College at 200

2012, 10 years ago

Two hundred years ago – on May 26, 1812 – the Board of Regents of the State of New York issued a statement declaring “that a College … shall be and hereby is founded and established and is named Hamilton College.” The college’s trustees then appointed Azel Backus as Hamilton’s first president. He was a native of Norwich, Connecticut, and a 1787 graduate of Yale College.

The college’s beginnings date back to 1793 when the Rev. Samuel Kirkland founded the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in Clinton. It was named for then Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who had agreed to be a trustee on the academy’s board. The first class entered a small school house at the foot of (today’s) College Hill. The class included four Native American children and 25 children of area settlers.

In other news, the St. Elizabeth College of Nursing selects its top students: Weekday valedictorians – Heather Marusic of Herkimer and Christopher Money of Utica. Weekend valedictorian – Leanna Sweet of Rome. Weekday salutatorians – Marie Burr of Woodgate and Jennifer Curtis of Utica. Weekend salutatorian – Charles Oliver of Waterville.

Mohawk Valley history: New Hartford High School wins championship

The USA Sewing company, on Broad Street in Utica, receives a $3.5 million contract from the army to make Kevlar gloves and will hire about 100 workers to do the job. Typically, the firm’s work force is cyclical and it adds employees when an order is received. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, says the firm was given the contract for flame resistant gloves “because of its proven record of excellence.”

Robert Raffle of Ilion is named executive director of the Masonic Care Community in Utica. In 2009, he became associate executive director and has been interim executive director since August.

American Legion Auxiliary, Utica Unit 229, elects officers: Peggy Kohler, president; Pat Dodge, first vice president; Donna Wojcik, second vice president and historian; Pam Vogel, treasurer; Rosetta LaPaglia, secretary; Marie Dodge, chaplain; and Gail Greco, sergeant-at-arms.

1997, 25 years ago

Memorial Day

Area communities are on the march as they observe Memorial Day with crowd-attracting parades. Marybeth Kempeny of New Hartford is at the parade in Utica and says, “My father was in World War II and died 12 years ago today. Today also was his birthday so the day serves more of a memorial purpose for us than anything.”

Carl Ciccarelli, a color guardsman with the Whitestown Veterans of Foreign Wars, says, “Today is a very special day. It is a day for veterans who were lost in the wars. More people should get out and realize the price those veterans paid.”

In high school baseball, Chris Morse and Shaun Sergott each get two hits to lead Oriskany to a 6-3 win over Poland. Meanwhile, West Canada Valley defeats Frankfort-Schuyler, 7-4, behind the pitching and hitting of Seth Crossett (a six-hitter with 16 strikeouts and a two-run homer). Jonah Margulis adds a single, a homer and two runs batted in and Dan Petkovsek has two hits.

1972, 50 years ago

16 retirements

Eight Utica firefighters and eight police officers retire – a total of nearly 500 years experience. In the fire department, they are Chief James Mullen, Capt. Russell J. McCoy, Lt. Amadio (John) Rasi, Lt. Edward Dillon, Lt. Walter Way, Lt. Kenneth Slade, firefighters Robert E. Sullivan and Joseph R. Toomey.

In the police department, they are: Capt. Kenneth Wiediger and patrolmen Joseph Cittadino, John Prumo, Cosmo Leogrande, Philip Palumbo, Alfred Stivali Sr., Chester Jagiello and Stanley Dombrowski.

Paul Hahn is elected president of the Utica Bowling Association. Others elected include: Frank Brisson, secretary-treasurer, and vice presidents Nick Martellotto, Ralph Long, William Schultz, Henry Hart and Vin Belden.

Among those at a mother-daughter dinner- dance at the Utica Cosmopolitan Community Center are: guest speaker Roberta Frank, President Peggy Robertson, Girl Scout leader Hattie Broome, mistress of ceremonies Lorraine Tanner and director of female activities Joyce Vowels.

1947, 75 years ago

Burke elected

William E. Burke of Utica is elected state deputy of the New York Council of the Knights of Columbus at its 52nd annual meeting in Jamestown. It is the highest position a Roman Catholic layman can hold in the state.

1922, 100 years ago

War medals

Abigail C. Dimon, Utica’s city historian, says that 3,029 war medals have been distributed so far to the city’s war veterans. The city decided to honor veterans with a medal after the World War ended in 1918.

1897, 125 years ago

James visits Utica

Thomas James, who was born in Utica in 1831 and 50 years later was appointed U.S. postmaster general by President James Garfield, speaks at a meeting of the Oneida County Historical Society (today the Oneida County History Center). He is introduced by Thomas R. Proctor, who says with a smile, “I trust the postmaster general will explain why letters of importance are at times delayed for weeks while my bills arrive promptly the first of each month.” James, also with a smile, has no answer.

Trivia quiz

Answer to last week’s question: In the presidential election of 1856, John Charles Fremont became the first candidate for the recently formed Republican Party. He was defeated by Democrat James Buchanan. The Republican Party had been organized in 1854. Fremont was well-known to most Americans as an explorer. He had once headed an expedition that explored, surveyed and mapped most of the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican to be elected president.

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

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Mohawk Valley history: Hamilton College founded in May 1812