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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5-6, 2013
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Firefighter-Theme Playground To Honor Chief Russo By LIBBY CUDMORE
IF YOU GO: 5K Lower Deck Dash, noon, Sunday, Sept. 8, from Sixth Ward Playground, Scramling Avenue, Oneonta, to benefit Chief Russo Memorial Playground Fund. Registration 9:30-11:30 a.m.
ONEONTA
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rancis Russo, the former Oneonta fire chief who passed away earlier this summer, didn’t get the nickname “Cootie” amid playground horseplay. “When he was playing football, his teammates said he was fast, light and maneuverable, like the Cootie airplane,” said his wife, Sheila, a reference to the lightweight 1919 Waco Cootie. “The name stuck. You tell people about Francis, they have no idea who you’re talking about. Everyone here knew him as Cootie.” That nickname – as well as his full name – will soon adorn a plaque at a new addition to Sixth Ward Booster Club play-
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Ian Austin/
Former Oneonta Fire Chief Francis “Cootie” Russo’s widow Sheila reviews the fire-equipment-themed playset to be installed in the Sixth Ward Playground, behind her Scramling Avenue home.
ground: a red fire truck playset, complete with slides, poles and climbing gear to commemo-
rate Russo’s 33 years with the Oneonta Fire Department. The apparatus is produced by
Burke Premier Play Environments of Fond du Lac, Wisc., the nation’s oldest playground company. “After dad passed away, we were thinking of ways to memorialize him that would reflect his years of service to the community,” said son Frank Jr. “I was out running, and I came up with the idea to build a playground. It has the chance to impact kids for years, and it’s unique – no other place around here has one like it.” Please See RUSSO, B2
NEW, YET ANTIQUE
South Valley’s Alden Witham not only makes antique-style windows, he uses antique machines from the early days of the republic to do so in his Sharon Springs workshop.
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Want Authentic Windows? Withams Have ’em By LIBBY CUDMORE SHARON SPRINGS
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BEST BETS Party With Puppets, Waffles To Celebrate Ommegang’s 16th
W
affles & Puppets is succeeding Applefest. Cooperstown Rotary joins forces with Ommegang to celebrate the brewery’s 16th birthday! Start the day with the 5K eRACEr: Run to Erase Polio at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Ommegang. Then head onto brewery grounds for waffles, puppet shows, music and more. Noon-5 p.m. Saturday; also Sunday, Sept. 8. MAKEUP CONCERT: The Black Crowes bring their sensual blues rock sound to Brewery Ommegang. All tickets from the canceled July concert will be honored. $45 advance, $50 day of show. 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5. Brewery Ommegang, 656 County Highway 33, Cooperstown. Info, tickets, www.ommegang.com. WOMEN WRITE: Celebrate Upstate New York’s women writers with lectures, workshops and panel discussions during the Festival of Women Writers. $10 for three days, Friday-Sunday, Sept. 6-8 at Hobart Book Village, Main Street, Hobart. Info, registration, schedule, www.hobartbookvillage.com
BROADWAY SHOW: SUNY Oneon-
ta’s Apollo Music Club presents “Jesus Christ Superstar” in concert, with Steve Fabrizio returning to the stage in the role of Pontius Pilate. $10, $5 students. 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at The Oneonta Theatre, 47 Chestnut St.. Oneonta. Info, www.oneontatheatre.com. YUMMY ARTWORK: “Food Glorious Food” showcases work inspired by mealtime 5-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6 at the Main View Gallery, 73 Main St., Oneonta. Info, (607) 432-1890. Additional works at the B-Side Ball“Happy Hour” by room and Green Monica Marglio will be Earth. The on display at the Main View Gallery starting opening reFriday, Sept. 6. ception at the gallery will also mark the debut of the anthology “Suddenly There Were Leaves,” from Bright Hill Press.
Ian Austin/
Son Steve, who has helped his dad since age 9, is now a partner in Contractor’s Millwork, Sharon Springs.
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elts loop and wind their way along the ceiling, powering loud cast-iron machinery that is more than 100 years old. Sawdust is piled knee-high. Step into Alden Witham’s antique-window manufacturing plant in Sharon Springs, and you might wonder if you’ve stepped back in time.
Antique tools abound in the Withams’ shop.
“People think it’s a museum,” he said of the old train station. “And they think we’re magic.” Witham and his son and partner in Contractor’s Mill-
work, Steve, build windows the way they were built in the 18th and 19th centuries for proud homeowners who want to restore their older homes to exactly the way they were. And there’s a reason why there’s not a lot of competition in the business. “Window restoration is one of the most trying things in the industry,” said the father. “The joiners” – a type of carpenter who cuts and fits Please See WOOD, B3
ART EVERYWHERE: Colorscapes Arts Festival is two days celebrating all aspects of art. Demonstrations, festive food, dance, poetry, film and plenty of music, all for free. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7 and 11-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, downtown Norwich, Info, schedule, www.colorscape.org. SPIRITUAL RETREAT: Stressed and out of balance? Renew mind, body and spirit with an afternoon of Gentle Prana yoga, psychic messages and spiritual connections. Noon-4 p.m Saturday, Sept. 7. Holiday Inn, 5206 St. Hwy 23, Oneonta. Info, (607) 4332089, www.tuningin-tuningup.com.
POETRY: Ina Jones, poet laureate of
Cobleskill, reads from her collection “A Final Wine.” 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8. Cooperstown Village Library, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. Info, (607) 547-8344. MORE HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO, B4
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