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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, SEPT. 19-20, 2013
At Last, Revived Bresee’s Ready First In, Bunny, Howard Joseph Rent Penthouse By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
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fter nearly two decades of vacancy, Bresee’s Oneonta Department Store will finally be bustling again.
Downtown Oneonta’s heyday
In early 2014, Chip Klugo will open Klugo Parkview Place, 13 upstairs apartments and four first-floor stores inside a renovated structure. “We built a building inside a building,” he said. After a number of false starts, Klugo, who had done a number of downtown projPlease See BRESEE’S, B3
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Ian Austin/
Bunny and Howard Joseph put down the first deposit – on the penthouse.
YESTERYEAR LIVES! Upstairs Tours Reveal Relics of Oneonta’s Past
By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
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n abandoned boarding house. Santa’s workshop, now dusty and forgotten. Ballrooms, doctors’ offices and old elevators. Some 300 visitors took a rare peek into long-hidFrance examines the fireplace in Oneonta’s Kathy and Spike Paranya pass through den spaces during “Look- Roger the former J.J. Newberry Department what used to be Santa’s workshop on the second ing Up! Tour of DownStore, 219-225 Main St. floor of the former Newberry’s. town Oneonta,” Sunday, Sept. 16, sponsored by Main Street Oneonta (MSO) and the Greater Oneonta Historical Society. “My husband, Doug, has lived in Oneonta his whole life and never seen some of these places!” exclaimed Ellen Cannistra. The tour started in the ballroom above the History Center, 183 Main. “I got thinking that we have a lot of ballrooms,” said GOHS Executive Director Bob Brzozowski. “Why don’t we have a ballroom tour?” Friends Carol Dean, Though that ballroom was Oneonta, and Cindy the only one featured, the Donaldson, Walton, tour evolved – with the help Above Key Bank, overlooking Muller Plaza, City Council memcomplete their examinaof MSO’s Julia Goff and ber Madolyn O. Palmer, left; Marie Iannotti, Laurens, and Julie tion of the third floor City Manager Mike Long, Lewis, Oneonta, examine a long-neglected work table. None at the Masonic Temple, was brave enough to look in the coffee cups. to showcase long-vacant Main and Grand Avenue. upper-floor spaces. “It was part of the city’s initiative to get more people on the streets,” said Brzozowski. The headline was the new apartments on One Dietz St., part of the Bresee’s project. Developer Chip Klugo showed visitors one living room available for rent – now that the New York Telephone’s switchboard is gone. “This was a really high-end office building,” he said. “Terrazo flooring, marble treads on the stairs. Bret Bresee, Wendy Alley and Connie Oneonta’s Rudy Laguna snaps a photo of an old This building connected Herzig examine a mirrored cabinet where safe on the upper floors of the former Stevens the whole community.” railroad workers would shave in a boardHardware, 153 Main, which closed last year ing house on the third floor of the Newwith the passing of longtime proprietor John O. One Dietz even had a berry building. Stevens last November. It was the downtown’s fallout shelter in the longest-operating store. Please See TOUR, B3 Photos by Ian Austin/ OTSEGO.life
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Emcee Danielle Newell, right, announces Paul Sweet, Great Barrington, Mass., as the winner in the 2012 Pumpkinfest weigh-off with his 1,509.5pound entry.
It’s The Great Pumpkinfest, Charlie Brown!
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he Annual Cooperstown Pumpkin Fest has pumpkin growers competing from across the Northeast for the heaviest entry Saturday, Sept. 21, in the Doubleday Field parking lot. On Sunday the 22nd, rowers brave the frigid waters off Lakefront Park in the hollowed-out Pumpkin Regatta. Crafts, food and live music throughout the weekend. Info, schedule (607) 5479983, www.cooperstownchamber.org. FAB FOUR FRIDAY: Sgt. Pepper’s Phony Heart’s Club Band recreates the Beatles’ rooftop concert and plays “Please Please Me” as part of Fabulous Friday in downtown Oneonta. At the History Center, bring in your unknown objects for “Stump The Antique Experts” and maybe find out what they were used for. Also featuring art at CANO, Tae Kwon Do demonstrations and more. 5-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, downtown, Oneonta. Info, (607) 4328871, www.mainstreetoneonta.com. REMEMBER THE RAILROAD: The Greater Oneonta Historical Society honors 130th anniversary of the formation of the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen with weekend of speakers, tours, events. At 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, Hartwick professor Lisle Dalton will speak on “Railroad Memories: Narrative to Nostalgia” at the History Center, 183 Main St., Oneonta. Tour railroad sites and the Red Caboose, and hear speakers discuss the BRT’s history, starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, in Neahwa Park, Oneonta. Info, www. oneontahistory.org. GOLF BALL DROP: Buy a golf ball to benefit the Family Service Association for your chance to win a cash prize in the annual Golf Ball Drop. Also featuring a Chinese Auction, a bounce house and the ZooMobile starting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, Sixth Ward Booster Club Field, Oneonta. Info, (607) 432-2870. BRING MINTS: The Susquehanna Garlic Festival features local garlic, gardening talks, braiding workshops and, of course, plenty of garlicky goodies. 10 a.m Saturday, Sept. 21, Woodbull Antiques, 3920 County Highway 28, Milford. Info, (607) 286-9021. QUILTING: Learn about old-fashioned needlework with the Quilts and Quilting: Needles, Thread and Fabric weekend. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 21-22. The Farmers’ Museum, 5775 St. Hwy. 80, Cooperstown. Info, (607) 547-1450.
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