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Lots of meat in this!
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I really have no idea what Henry L. Smith & Bro. meant when they said there’s “Lots of Meat in this!” They were referring, in 1891, to their sale on boys’ skating coats or reefers, knee pants, and short-pants suits. “This will be a week for the boys.” Smith’s place had previously been known…
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Finding Ethelda Bleibtrey
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More from the 1952 Knickerbocker News article on Waterford native and Olympic swimming medalist Ethelda Bleibtrey, which we started yesterday: Although the younger generation may not have heard of Ethelda Bleibtrey, the preceding generation knew of the young lady’s remarkable swimming exploits, though it may have forgotten about her down through the years .…
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More on Ethelda Bleibtrey
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The Knickerbocker News of July 30, 1952, had an article by Julius J. Heller reminding readers of the important career of championship swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Ethelda Bleibtrey, who was born in and grew up in Waterford. When a slim, 16-year-old [sic: she was 18] girl plunged into the water at Antwerp, Belgium,…
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Waterford’s Own Ethelda Bleibtrey
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I couldn’t count how many times I must have biked past this historical marker in the park at the end of the Troy-Waterford bridge without ever noticing it until a few weeks ago. Maybe a construction detour that forced me onto the sidewalk made the difference. In any event, it was the very first…
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Neat and Intelligent Plumbers
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1900: Horace F. Westcott of 27 Howard St. in Albany. Neat and intelligent plumbers. Up to date! And, apparently, quite dapper. And I’m reminded of this wonderful image that used to hang in the window of Farrell Bros. Plumbing on Delaware Avenue. The plumber protects the health of the nation!
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The Elevated Highway That Would Ruin Albany
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Discussions about the tangle of aerial concrete that serves as downtown Albany’s highway system inevitably center on the blindness of the planners and urban “renewal” advocates who saved our cities by making it much easier to commute to them and much harder to live in them. And so we curse the visionaries of the…
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Viacide?
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Seems like wherever there’s a tall structure, people will end up flinging themselves off of it. The Hawk Street Viaduct was no exception. From the Albany Evening Journal, March 6, 1900: “The body of Harvey M. Hidley, jr., was found on Sheridan avenue under the Hawk street viaduct this morning. “Mrs. John Grogan, who…
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True Crime, 1914 Albany Edition
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Make no mistake, the Albany of a century ago was a tough town. There was murder, drunkenness, and larceny of all kinds. And there was also at least a little rabbit-related crime, as related in this Albany Evening Journal story from April 11, 1914: “Coogan Worried Over an Unexpected Easter Gift “It might be…
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