In some form, Oneonta has always had a community band through its history as a village and city.
First evidence of this was published in an edition of The Oneonta Herald, a brand new weekly newspaper, in 1853. Oneonta had been incorporated as a village in 1848.
Although it wasn’t a significant anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it was a time to celebrate due to some big news to affect the village for years to come.
The Herald of June 18, 1853 reported in a headline, “All Hail the Fourth,” that a celebration was planned, and one of the features was “Music by the Oneonta Brass Band,” no doubt the community band of the time, to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the Declaration.
Interestingly, the present day Oneonta Community Concert Band will be part of Oneonta’s America 250th celebration at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 5, under a big white tent at Huntington Park.
The ensemble consists of professional musicians from the Oneonta area, talented amateurs and students who play programs which contain favorite marches, turn-of-the-century overtures, waltzes, popular show selections, and other concert favorites.
The late Rene Prins, who once led the Oneonta Community Band, wrote an article in 1998 telling of the history of a community band in Oneonta, under a few other names, but always made up of musicians looking to play for the local citizens, not only of Oneonta, but also traveling to local towns such as Franklin, Delhi and Andes.
There was another big story in that 1853 Herald edition, something that changed our area from being remote into bustling. In addition to that big “All Hail to the Fourth” headline there was a sub-headline, “and Rail Road Letting Celebration.”
Printed just days earlier in the Binghamton Republican and re-printed here, came a letter to the editor from Edward C. Delevan, Esq., President of the Albany & Binghamton Railroad Co., which said, “Dear Sir: The Contract recently made for the completion of your Road with the Strongest Company that has ever undertaken a similar work in America, has removed it entirely from among the doubtful projects of the day, and rendered its construction a fixed fact.” Surveyors were in Oneonta in 1854, laying out the route.
Later to be named the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad, and eventually the Delaware and Hudson, the 1853 July Fourth celebration was not only for the nation, but for our area, a move toward the end of geographic isolation, when getting in and out of Oneonta required a stagecoach. It took until 1865 for the first train to arrive in Oneonta, and 1869 in Binghamton.
The Oneonta Community Concert Band performance at 1 p.m. July 5 is but a small part of the day’s — and long weekend’s — festivities, beginning Thursday, July 2. Sunday’s events at Huntington Park will be preceded by a community worship service at 10 a.m. under a big tent in the park’s upper level. Several local pastors are putting together a service for all. Bring lawn chairs or blankets to all the day’s events. The tent will be set up to create a Chautauqua-like event, which Oneonta had on this same site in 1914.
Following the 1 p.m. concert, several local people will read the Declaration of Independence. There will be some special guests from the past to give presentations. More music will follow from the Realtime Dixieland Band. Plenty of family-friendly activities are set, along with games, ice cream, food trucks and more.
For details, search for “Oneonta 250” on Facebook.