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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Memorial day photo album, page 11
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COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, May 30, 2024
Volume 16, No. 31
New Exhibit, Statue Unveiled at BBHoF Black Baseball Experience Focus of Weekend, Season
W
We Remember
Top photo by Darla M. Youngs; photo above by Marie D. Iannotti
By Charlie Vascellaro
hen historic Doubleday Field in Cooperstown opened on the site of a cow pasture in September of 1920, who could have imagined a scene like this year’s inaugural EastWest Classic celebration and re-creation of the Negro Leagues All-Star game? Twenty-seven years before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, and 19 years before the opening of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, like much of American society, professional baseball at most levels was a segregated institution. And so, the appearance of two dozen recently-retired Black major leaguers, 10 Black Hall of Famers serving as honorary coaches, and 2014 Little League World Series legend Mo’ne Davis (the first girl, now woman, to earn a victory in Series play) may have constituted the largest gathering of Black players—certainly the biggest number of Black major leaguers—to participate in a game on Doubleday Field. Fueled by former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard’s three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, the East defeated the West 5-4 in front of a capacity crowd of 5,740 and Howard was named the game’s MVP. The game was marked more by its pageantry than its competition and was resplendent in celebrating Negro League’s history, with player’s donning uniforms of well-known and regionally applicable historic franchises including the Kansas City Monarchs, Homestead Grays, Birmingham Barons, Newark Eagles, and Detroit Stars. Former Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones looked perfectly at home in a Baltimore Elite (pronounced E-Light) Giants uniform. The Doubleday Field grandstand behind home plate was filled with family, friends, and descendants Continued on page 6
Attorney Honored by Local Chapter of State Bar Assn.
INSIDE ► craft center still going strong, page 2
By TERESA WINCHESTER
► Tarot decks cleansed, exchanged, page 2 ► disagreement about global warming, page 4 ► sprawl diminishes coop experience, page 4 ► chamber urges tourist welcome, page 5 ► land trust gets grant for brookwood, page 6 ► SFCU Officials meet with residents, page 8 ► things to do, page 12 Follow Breaking News On
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MOUNT UPTON he Del-Chen-O chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of New York State has named Claudette Newman as its 2024 “Member of Distinction.” The honor was conferred at a May 9 dinner held at the Old Mill Restaurant in Mount Upton. Newman is a founding member of the association, of which she speaks highly, saying that its continuing legal education classes and lunches with judges are “a huge benefit and offer moral support.” According to a statement from Del-ChenO, the chapter chose to recognize Newman based on her “unwavering commitment to serving others.” Service to others has always been foremost in Newman’s mind, which is the
Photo by Vantine Imaging
Hon. Elizabeth A. Garry with Claudette Newman at the Old Mill Restaurant in Mount Upton.
reason she chose to study law. “I always wanted to do something where I could help people. Becoming a lawyer went with my skill set,” Newman said. Newman also attributes her desire to serve others to her Christian values. “We are called to serve,” she said. Newman serves Gilbertsville Baptist Church, of which she is a member, by being a moderator for its business meetings. Another influence on Newman’s serviceoriented mindset was Sherburne attorney Patrick Joyce, with whom she worked just after passing the bar exam in 1995. “He believed strongly in helping those whom nobody else would help,” she said. Early on, Newman’s interest in practicing law was piqued by participating in mock trials at Bainbridge-Guilford High School. From that experience, she not only Continued on page 9
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER EDDM PRESORT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ONEONTA PERMIT NO. 890