Utica grad makes Hollywood debut in new Western: Mohawk Valley history

Frank Tomaino
·5 min read

1799, 224 years ago

Brick hotel is a first in Utica

The village of Utica's first hotel — and brick structure — opens on Whitesboro Street at the foot of Hotel Street. It is simply called "Hotel," for high up the exterior front of the three-story building are the chiseled letters H-O-T-E-L. It will accommodate the many men, women and children — mostly from New England — who stop in the village each week before heading for the territories to the west.

The hotel (which was called the York House after 1814) was built by the Holland Land Company with bricks manufactured by Heli Foot in Deerfield. It was designed by Samuel Hooker, of Albany. (His son, Philip, became a well-known architect who designed the original New York State capitol building in Albany, the historic mansion at No. 3 Rutger Park in Utica and the tower-and-steeple façade of Hamilton College's Chapel.)

The hotel's host is Philip Schwartze. (Utica historian Penelope Conkling later wrote that "Schwartze was a corpulent, genial Dutchman who also presided over the bubbling iron pots, the deep Dutch oven and the roasting spits that turned a savory suckling pig, plump fowl and a haunch of venison in front of the blazing fireplaces. In fact, the skill of his cookery made the hotel so popular that the discomfort of overcrowded sleeping quarters was ignored.")

In 1911, John Roberts opened his five-story department store on the northeast corner of Genesee and Devereux streets in downtown Utica. The first four floors had thousands of items, from clothing to carpets, furs to jewelry and dry goods to sewing machines and appliances. The fifth floor was something special, though, for it had a magnificent tea room (shown here in 1913). Diners also enjoyed a spectacular view of downtown Utica and the Adirondacks to the north. Many groups had their luncheon meetings there. Roberts died in 1929 and the building became the home of J. B. Wells & Son department store and Neisner’s five and dime store. Today, the building houses apartments.

1923, 100 years ago

Rare stamp

Utica now is the home of the most celebrated stamp collection in the world, a collection that includes the world's rarest stamp — the 1856 British Guiana one-cent magneta.

Arthur Hind, of Maple Street in West Utica, owns the collection that is valued at more than $2 million. It includes several stamps valued at $10,000 each. He obtained the 1856 stamp at an auction last year in Paris. His winning bid was $34,000. Great Britain's King George V was interested in the stamp, but then decided not to bid. (Hind, who was born in Yorkshire, England, made his fortune as a senior partner in the textile manufacturing company in Clark Mills, the Hind & Harrison Plush Company. He also was president of the company that operated the Hotel Utica. He died in 1933 at age 77. In 1940, his widow sold the rare stamp for $45,000. Today, it is owned by a British firm and is worth nearly $10 million.)

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

More history:This famous actor once had high praise for Utica

1948, 75 years ago

Joseph Garro in Hollywood

Joseph Garro, son of Mr. and Mrs. Santo Garro of Mary Street in Utica, plays "Joe" in the latest Roy Rogers and Dale Evans western movie, "Under California Stars." Garro, a graduate of Utica Free Academy, has been studying dramatics in Los Angeles under the G.I. Bill.

1973, 50 years ago

Top bowlers honored

The Utica Bowling Association's Hall of Fame inducts four area bowlers: Joe Rzepka, Lou Cook, Ralph Allinger and Liewellyn (Lou) Scott.

Local stock prices include Oneida National Bank at 50, Cogar Corporation at 6, Daniel Green at 10, Digimetrics at 2 and Hamilton Digital at 8.

Utica College's Dave Owens, a 6-5 senior center, scores 14 points in a 70-65 loss to Union College to break UC's individual career scoring record. The previous mark of 1,293 points was set by Larry Calabrese — a graduate of Thomas R. Proctor High School — from 1958-62.

1998, 25 years ago

Curling spotlight

An international spotlight shines on the area as the Utica Curling Club, of Whitesboro, hosts the 114-year-old Mitchell Bonspiel — the largest men's invitation bonspiel (tournament) in the United States. The Utica club has been the event's full-time host since 1916. Forty-eight teams from the United States and Canada will compete, the largest number in the Mitchell's history.

Leslie Olivera-VanWormer, an advisor for 13 years for the Student Council at Waterville Central School, is named "advisor of the year" by the New York State Advisor/Student Association at its convention in Syracuse. She also in a speech teacher in the Waterville School District.

In high school basketball, New York Mills defeats Richfield Springs, 69 to 42, and is led by Matt Larkin's 14 points. The winners get 12 points each from Colin Pezdek, Josh Fuller and Ryan Miller. Richfield gets 17 points from Tim Snyder and 10 points and 17 rebounds from Fernando Medieros.

Denise DiGiorgio, a 1976 graduate of Mohawk Valley Community College, is named the college's vice president of student services. She has worked at MVCC since 1978.

2013, 10 years ago

Karen community celebrates New Year 2752

The local Karen community celebrates its New Year 2752 with a program in Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Utica. Since 1997, the Mohawk Valley Resource Center has welcomed more than 2,600 Karen refugees, made up of refugees from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). As part of the program, Soe Win plays the Karen Harp and sings.

The Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce names five members to its board of directors: Matthew Wilson, Catherine Cucharale, Rudy D'Amico, Denese Hanna and Meghan Fraser.

John DeMarco is named "employee of the year" by the Cardiac Research Institute at the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory in Utica. He is a maintenance facility technician.

Trivia quiz

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945. He was elected four times and served 12 years and 39 days until his death on April 12, 1945. Three men served as his vice presidents. Name them. (Answer will appear here next week.)

Answer to last week's question: Presidents and their nicknames — Father of His Country (George Washington) … Father of the Constitution (James Madison) … Hero of New Orleans (Andrew Jackson) … Red Fox of Kinderhook (Martin Van Buren) … Old Tippecanoe (William Henry Harrison) … Squire of Hyde Park (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) … Dutch (Ronald Reagan).

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: Utica grad makes Hollywood debut in Western: Mohawk Valley history