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Otsego Lake and the legacy of polly renckens, page 7 VISIT www.ALLOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE Volume 217, No. 26
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, June 26, 2025
nday u S g n i s o Cl the r o f h t 9 2 June . Come get seasongreat deals some you can! while ew Asbury Gardens
Newsstand Price $1
Pentagon Reporter Speaks on the Importance of a Local Press at League’s Annual Meeting
N Street 248 River Oneonta 703 607-432-8 gardens.com ry newasbu 0-4, Sun. 11-2 1 t a Mon-S
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COOPERSTOWN .J. Green, the national security correspondent for radio station WTOP in Washington, D.C., was the guest speaker at the League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area’s annual meeting on Thursday, June 5. Green, who focuses on the Pentagon and reports on international security, terrorism, and cyber developments, spoke via Zoom
to LWV members and guests. He outlined his concerns about the current state of our country, focusing on the importance of journalism to democracy. “Because at the end of the day, journalism isn’t about journalists,” he said. “It’s about the people who practice it. It’s about creating the kind of informed public that democracy depends on, especially now, in America.”
He noted that the League of Women Voters is an important part of creating an informed public. “That’s why I am here with you, tonight. Because the League of Women Voters is more than just a civic organization.” he said. “You are part of the solution, because you are part of the fabric of America. You are defenders of democracy not in theory, but in practice.” Continued on page 10
First Historical Marker of the Season Unveiled at Center St. School By BILL BELLEN
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ONEONTA n the afternoon of Friday, June 13 at 2 p.m., generations of Oneontans gathered beside one another outside the city’s historic Center Street School building. This congregation was to celebrate the unveiling of the first of five New York State historical markers being placed in Oneonta throughout the coming summer months. The effort this day was spearheaded jointly by the Greater Oneonta Historical Society and the Oneonta City School District. When asked what sparked interest in the placement of these new markers, Marcela Micucci, executive director of GOHS, said that it came down to “just realizing that there were actually so few in the town and city of Oneonta and wanting to bring some of that to Oneonta in order to preserve some of our local history. We had a few markers here in Oneonta prior to 2022 that were historical in nature, but they weren’t New York State [official markers].” INSIDE ► Scholarships Awarded to oneonta highschoolers, page 2
Photo by Bhanupratap Gaur
Celebrating installation of the Center Street School historical marker are, from left: Oneonta City School District School Board President Susan Kurkowski; City of Oneonta Mayor Mark Dmek; OCSD Assistant Superintendent Coleen Moore; former Center Street Principal John Cook (1983-2010); OCSD Superintendent Tom Brindley; Greater Oneonta Historical Society Executive Director Marcela Micucci; and OCSD Secretary to the Superintendent/District Clerk Reggie McGuinness.
As Micucci noted, the Center Street School building first opened its doors
on October 25, 1897. The facility was used to train teachers for the Oneonta
Normal School—which would go on to become the State University of New York at Oneonta—between 1906 and 1933. The school would then be integrated into the city school district, where it saw usage in this manner up until its closing in 2012. Since then, it has been maintained and utilized as the district office building for the OCSD. With such a long and rich history surrounding the building, it was a no-brainer for GOHS to pursue the location as a premiere spot for a new historical marker. The Center Street School’s status as the oldest standing school building in all of Oneonta lent itself well to formulating an argument for the necessity of a historical marker at the site. Through the collective efforts of OCSD officials and GOHS historians, the organizations were able to piece together enough information on the building’s history to receive funding for the purchase of the historical marker. With regard to the process of Continued on page 9
Summer Music Festival Will ‘Redefine’ a Night Out
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COOPERSTOWN his isn’t your typical summer concert ► employees added to series,” reads a bassett healthcare staff, page 3 press release announcing the Cooperstown Summer ► editorial: is your voice Music Festival’s 27th season. being heard? page 4 “When jazz artists perform ► torosyan: an account live soundtracks to animated of soviet life, films, matching every pratfall page 4 and punchline in real time, or when musicians uncover lost ► SUN SHINES ON CITY’S PERFORMING ARTS, page 5 compositions from library archives, you know you’re ► BOAT PARADE, CABARET in for something completely AND TALKING OPERA, different.” page 6 The five performances this July and August “will redefine what a night out can Follow Breaking News On be,” organizers contend, “whether you’re a music aficionado or someone who simply stumbled upon an intriguing experience.”
The festival opens on Monday, July 21 with the American String Quartet, featuring flutist Linda Chesis and violist Daniel Avshalomov performing Brahms’ viola quintet, Mozart’s String Quartet No. 22 in B-flat major, K. 589, and “a colorful Mahler-esque suite inspired by Basque folk traditions.” The Queen’s Cartoonists, a six-piece band that synchronizes their music perfectly with animated films projected on stage—recreating original soundtracks note-for-note while adding their own compositions to modern pieces—takes the stage on Wednesday, July 30. “Think of it as a live concert, comedy
show, and movie night rolled into one experience that celebrates both jazz and animation as uniquely American art forms,” organizers said. Baroque violinist Rachell Ellen Wong returns on Monday, August 4 with her ensemble, Twelfth Night, for a program that includes Tartini’s technically demanding “Devil’s Trill,” a piece so challenging it was once rumored to be inspired by a dream about the devil himself playing violin. The Caroga Arts Ensemble returns to Cooperstown on Wednesday, August 13, featuring KASA Quartet, Chesis, and clarinetists Graeme Steele Johnson and Bixby Kennedy as they perform works by Debussy, Ravel, and the recently rediscovered Charles Martin Loeffler Octet, “a kaleidoscopic masterpiece nearly lost to history.” The season concludes on Thursday, Continued on page 11
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING WEEKLIES 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD