It’s that time of year again. The “snowbirds” are headed south to escape our winter in the Northeast.
You notice it if you drive west on Interstate 88 to Binghamton. Usually a great big RV, towing a vehicle, with license plates from New England states or Canadian provinces.
Some still had the means to make their way Florida in 1934, despite the Great Depression. Those who weren’t travelling dealt with issues around Oneonta regarding other travelers.
The Oneonta Herald had some advice to motorists in the Nov. 22 edition, from the editor.
“There are several good motor routes from Oneonta to St. Petersburg, Florida, especially south from Washington with one or two usually chosen between Oneonta and the national capital. I prefer the one via Windsor, Hallstead, Nicholson, Tunkhannock, West Pittston, Kingston, Berwick, Bloomsburg, Sunbury, Harrisburg and Gettysburg.
“There may be better routes from Otsego county to Florida, but the one described above is, all things considered, the best I found. The highways are the best surfaced and there is less twisting and turning in small villages, as well as in large cities and there are more straight miles of good concrete than I have found by any other route.”
St. Petersburg was reportedly prospering at that time, as The Herald continued, “Every indication is that the resort is to have one of the most successful seasons in years. The number of winter visitors already registered is nearly 10,500, which number is not usually reached until December 20, or later. Chamber of Commerce officials are predicting 60,000 before the winter ends, which is about 15,000 more than last winter.
“To accommodate this large influx of winter visitors there are 186 modern hotels, 1,122 apartment houses and innumerable bungalows with small houses and camp sites galore, so that none will be unable to find accommodations.”
One place had an Oneonta connection on St. Petersburg’s south side. “The Rexmere hotel…is popular with many Otsego residents. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Coy, formerly and well known in Oneonta, being the owners and managers. The building is being renovated and repainted, inside and out, and it is cozy and home like, while Mrs. Coy is known as providing good meals always. Numerous reservations are being booked and it is the expectation that the dining room will be open for Thanksgiving day.”
While several from Oneonta enjoyed this leisurely travel, some others in Oneonta had traveled from elsewhere, and not under favorable circumstances.
As The Herald also reported on Nov. 22, “‘A Municipal Problem’ was the subject of an address delivered by Mayor Francis H. Marx at the meeting of the Lions club Monday in the Hotel Oneonta.
“‘The main municipal problem in this city and country is the question of relief.’ He stated that the present type of men on the road are different than they were some time ago and consequently create the problem.
“Mayor Marx cited ‘three reasons why we should not be charitably inclined to the transient of today.’ His reasons were, ‘They are not the proper type of men in the community and too many are criminals of one form or another; they do not appreciate what is done for them and the more you do for them the more you will have to; they do not want to work.’
“The mayor told the Lions members that only 62 were on unemployment relief on August 1, 1933. One year later, when conditions were supposed to be better there were 162 on relief here. He said that 93 per cent of Oneonta’s unemployed are on work relief and that this is the best average of any city in the state.
“‘Are we going to work our men or put them on the dole system which is home relief?’ asked Mayor Marx, who asserted, ‘Work relief is far better for everyone concerned.’
“Administration of relief has got to be reduced and the elaborate set-up done away with, he said.”
On Wednesday, our local life and times in November 1974.