Our area’s landscape was noticeably changing during June 1975.
A noteworthy gain came in news from The Daily Star of June 2, as, “Oneonta is at last the owner of the old Swart-Wilcox property in the Sixth Ward.
“The sale was closed last week by representatives of the state Attorney General’s office, City Attorney Albert Baldo, former owner Van Smith and Smith’s attorney.
“The 18-acre property, which includes the old homestead, believed to be the oldest building in the city, changed hands for $130,000.
The property will be used as a park, while the homestead may be refurbished as a museum or for some other use.”
Star readers of June 3 learned that Oneonta’s Bicentennial Committee was planning many events, including some at the Swart-Wilcox House, in 1976. While plans are in the works, the same will hold true in 2026 when America turns 250.
In Cooperstown, as The Star of June 12 reported, “The Glimmerglass Opera Theatre will begin its first year with a production of Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’ at the Cooperstown High School in mid-July as the beginning of a continuing series of summer professional performing arts festivals in Cooperstown.
“The opera theatre will form the nucleus of the festival with one full opera this year, two or three planned for 1976 and four or five in subsequent summers, according to Peter J. Macris, artistic director.
“The Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra of professional musicians will play under Charles Schneider, musical director of the festival.”
Oxford breathed a sigh of relief while Oneonta heaved a heavy sigh, as Star readers of June 23 found out, “Utilization of the vacant Homer Folks facility as a veterans’ nursing home appears doomed this year because the state is taking plans to rebuild the Oxford Home for Veterans off the shelf.”
The Homer Folks grounds remained mostly vacant until a Job Corps center opened here in 1980.
The face of downtown Oneonta continued to change, as the city’s urban renewal program moved forward.
“The official histories of Oneonta that remain from the early 20th century are long on churches and the stately homes of prominent citizens,” The Star reported on June 14.
“Eating places are seldom mentioned, and drinking spots are tactfully ignored.
“Even though Molinari’s Restaurant first opened on South Broad Street in 1887, the city’s boosters didn’t say much about it that survives.
“Now the maroon building itself, one of Oneonta’s oldest eating places, will be demolished in September. Only a few yards from City Hall, it’s been the scene of gatherings of city officials for years, as well as being a popular haven for railroaders and travelers from the depot.
“Molinari’s will be demolished by the Urban Renewal people, who have decreed that a new building — probably a tavern, will be located on the site of the one the area’s best known Italian restaurants.”
The building was originally a house, years before the Molinari family bought it and turned it into a tavern. South Main Street was then known as Front Street. It didn’t become a restaurant until 1933, when Prohibition ended, when taverns were then required to serve food.
The owners were preparing to move to the new Bookhout-Friery Building on Dietz Street.
Also being disrupted by urban renewal, The Star of June 21 said, “Bern Furniture, which is now advertising a closeout sale as Urban Renewal forces it to leave its Broad Street establishment, will not re-locate in Oneonta.
“Bern executive Michael Moss said the 12-store chain is going to pull out of the Oneonta area altogether because no satisfactory place to move to could be found.” Rents elsewhere were too high for the amount of floor space needed.
The store had once housed The Oneonta Star until it moved to Chestnut Street in 1950.
This weekend, our area’s life and times in June 1930.