Mohawk Valley History: Train derails near Schuyler; landmark restaurant razed in Utica

Frank Tomaino
·5 min read
This 7-foot bronze statue of General George Washington -- at age 45 at Valley Forge -- stands in front of the Utica Public Library on Genesee Street. When it was unveiled on June 5, 1959, it was located on the north side of the building. More than 4,000 people – including many students – attended the unveiling. The highlight of the event was a parade and an address by Abram Zoller of Herkimer, president of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, sponsors of the statue project. The statue – titled “The Vision” – was created by Benjamin T. Gilbert, a Utica sculptor then living in Clayville. He sculpted a 2-foot model and then supervised its casting in Florence, Italy. The statue later was  moved to the front of the library.

2012, 10 years ago

Hospital honors 2

The St. Elizabeth Medical Center Foundation honors Terrance Mielnicki as “humanitarian of the year” and Dr. Gino Trevisani as “excelsior of the year.”

The village of Frankfort marina receives a $113,812 grant from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The marina will acquire 11 acres for small boat access for kayaks and canoes and walking trails. Frank Krone, president of Geo-Environmental Management Solutions and the grant writer, says, “The village, for a long time, has been discussing, and has felt, that the marina was an underutilized site that could be used to improve economic development.” Mayor Frank Morocco says that a restaurant, boat launches and floating docks already draw people to the marina off Railroad Street.

Bobby Davenport, of West Canada Valley High School, earns medalist honors with a three-over-par 75 in a Center State Conference boys golf tournament at the Skenandoah Club. Sauquoit Valley’s Trevor Hash (78) and Ryan Stalker (82) win the two-man team championship by defeating Frankfort-Schuyler’s Dante Migliore (79) and Brandon Marryott (83).

The New York State Thruway Authority proposes a 45 percent toll increase for big trucks. The current charge for a five-axel truck traveling from Buffalo to New York City is $93. That would increase to $135.  State Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, says, “If the authority understood the realities of the economy of Upstate New York, it would be rolling back tolls instead of increasing them.”

1997, 25 years ago

Derailment

A 28-car freight train for Conrail carrying toxic chemicals derails near Schuyler on a rural stretch of track just south of Route 5 between Miller Grove and Watkins roads. No one is injured, but a small leak in one tanker car prompts police to evacuate about 60 people living nearby.

Geraldine A. Ferraro, a Democrat who ran for vice president of the United States in 1984 with presidential candidate Walter Mondale (they lost to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush), visits Utica to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Café CaNole on Culver Avenue and to speak at a fundraiser for the Resource Center of Independent Living. She once represented New York City’s Queens borough in Congress.

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

A student art contest, sponsored by the WCNY, is won by Stephanie Lutz, a second-grader at New York Mills Elementary School, and Michelle Furlong, an eight-grader at Holland Patent Middle School.

The Rev. James Cardone, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in downtown Utica, is re-elected to the board of directors of the Downtown Utica Development Association. Others re-elected include: Alan Spoto, partner in the Friedlander, Spoto, Marloff and Miller insurance firm, president; Paul Williams, president of the Utica School of Commerce, vice president; Donna Donovan, president and publisher of the Observer-Dispatch, secretary, and Judy Rowlands, loan organization officer for Homestead Savings, treasurer.

1972, 50 years ago

Landmark razed

Marino’s Restaurant, headquarters for Utica’s Democrat Party for more than 50 years, is torn down to make room for an urban renewal project. The restaurant, on the southwest corner of First and Catherine streets, was labeled “Little City Hall” for it was a meeting place for party leaders such as Rufus P. Elefante, Charles Donnelley, Rufus Cavallo and Frank Emma.

Cantor Paul Niederland retires after 30 years at Utica’s Tempe Beth El.

Marcella Lally and Roland Chesley are honored by the members of the Utica Chorale and 200 music lovers during a program in Our Saviour Lutheran Church. Lally is a retired music supervisor of Utica public schools and Chesley is founder of the city’s Great Artist Series.

Francis Cole, of Ilion, is re-elected president of the Eastern Milk Producers Cooperative Association.

Edmund Wilson, internationally known writer and critic, dies at age 77 in his family home in Talcottville, three miles north of Boonville. The New York Times Book review once called him “our greatest living man of letters.”

1947, 75 years ago

Curran scholarships

Eight winners of Curran scholarships are announced by Roland Chesley, a trustee of the Gertrude D. Curran Musical Scholarship Fund for students who show great promise as musicians. The winners are: Lenora Hungerford, trumpet; Jerome Shapiro, clarinet; Angela Nudo, violin; Beatrice Caro, cello; Albert Bowen, piano; Arlene Schmitter, piano; Constance Ferguson, voice; and Carol Anthony, voice.

1922, 100 years ago

Physical education

Attendance in Whitesboro schools improves to nearly 100 percent and Rollin W. Thompson, principal of the high school, credits the school system’s physical education program. “We are strong believers in physical training,” he says. “We find that our students have better heath, posture and more energy to do school work because of it.” Students from second to 12 grades have two 30-minute periods of exercise each week, including sit-ups, push-ups, tumbling and pyramid-building.

1821, 201 years ago

What’s in the crate?

A large crowd gathers in front of George Dutton’s Musical Store in the village of Utica, on the east side of Genesee Street near Whitesboro Street. They wonder aloud what could be in the large crate on the wagon that just pulled up to Dutton’s front door. Dutton opens the crate and the villagers gasp as they see before them a beautiful piano. Most of them have never seen a piano and it quickly becomes the talk of the town. It also becomes the first piano ever sold in Utica when it is purchased by Alexander B. Johnson, prominent Utica banker and author.

Trivia quiz

Who was the first person to be elected president of the United States and be born after World War II ended in 1945? (Answer will appear here next week.)

Answer to last week’s question: The first and only president to represent Louisiana was Zachary Taylor, 12th president from March 4, 1847 to July 9, 1850 (the day he died in office at age 65).He was born in Virginia, but later owned land in Louisiana.

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: Train derails near Schuyler; hospital honors 2