A former popular hotel in the region could be yours for the highest bid, how to take care of pet rocks, and an exit and entrance of sports activities were all a part of our local life and times during January 1976.
With a dateline of Cobleskill, readers of The Daily Star on Jan. 24 found out, “To the highest bidder goes the Hotel Augustan on Cobleskill’s Main Street when the stately landmark is up for auction February 20.”
This came as a result of a foreclosure, as the hotel had closed about four months earlier, at which time there were three tenants. The hotel had three floors with rooms, a luncheonette and bar. The building had fallen into decay, with obvious cracks in walls and ceilings.
“The hotel in its heyday was a thriving business, with folks from all over New York saying overnight or dining. It is located in the center of Cobleskill village, and currently serves as a roost for birds.” It had been built by Augustus C. Smith in 1874 following a devastating fire in 1873.
The building was eventually bought by the Scholet family, and turned it into a furniture store. They too had lost their original store due to fire.
A fading national fad of the year had been no stranger to the area, as The Star of Jan. 28 reported, “Pets given as surprises at Christmas are often subject to neglect once the holidays are over. And so it may be with ‘pet rocks’ presented this year to unsuspecting friends and relatives. But they are still on sale and the line is expanding. There was even a ‘pet rock show’ at Niagara Falls last Sunday.
“Rock Bottom Productions in Santa Clara, Calif., figured it sold a million pet rocks in less than 90 days before Christmas.
“The item — a small rock sitting on straw in a cardboard box plus an instruction booklet for the rock’s ‘care and training’ — sold for $4.
“In Oneonta, 144 pet rocks were sold before Christmas at the Golden Rooster Gift Shop and there were calls for more.
“However Jack Bresee, owner, said he won’t order any more. He does still have three in stock but the sheets for detailed instructions for ‘pure bred rock pet’ owners have been stolen.
“Among a dozen people interviewed on Main Street in Oneonta, most had heard of pet rocks but none had any.”
Another fading part of our local life was in the sports world. As The Star of Jan. 22 reported, “The Oneonta Indians of the Empire Football League received some disquieting news this week when a report out of Binghamton said that Ray Stanton, the 1971 organizer of the Triple Cities Jets, was trying to revive the team. Should the Jets come back to life, their rebirth could decimate the Oneonta team, many of the players who wear Oneonta on their jackets live and work in the Triple Cities area.
“There were eleven Binghamton area players on the 1975 roster of the Indians plus six more who live between Oneonta and Binghamton, many of them vital to the Indians’ attack and defense.”
The Oneonta team had formed in 1968, playing games mostly at Damaschke Field. They won one league championship in 1973 and went undefeated that year. Rising insurance costs and Stanton’s success in luring players to the T.C. Jets led to the demise of the Indians.
While the American game of football left Oneonta, another type of “foot ball” was on a major rise that year. According to the Star of Jan. 20, “The First Annual Oneonta Mayor’s Cup pre-season intercollegiate soccer tournament proposed by Albert L. Colone, recreation assistant to, to the Oneonta Recreation Commission last fall will be recommended to the Common Council, the commission decided Monday night.
“Colone reported acceptances to participate have been received from the United States Naval Academy, Howard University, Brown University, Southern Illinois University and Quincy College.” Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta were also set to compete.
“The matches would be played on Oneonta’s Damaschke Field on September 10 and 11, 1976.”
Hartwick defeated Southern Illinois University to win the first Mayor’s Cup that year.
This weekend, general prosperity in Oneonta during January 1926.