150 Years Ago

May 30, 1866 — It will be noticed by the time table published in our columns that Messrs. Hubbard & Webber now run four stages daily between this village and the railroad. They have expended, recently, upwards of $1,600 in providing additional accommodations for passengers, and now incur the expense of running an extra coach every day. A large and commodious coach runs each day to and from DeRuyter. With the facilities now at their command they can, at short notice, furnish seats for ninety passengers on one trip, either to or from the railroad. The drivers on this line are all reliable, experienced, and obliging, as our community well knows. The proprietors should meet with the continued success their enterprise and public spirit so evidently merit.

125 Years Ago

May 28, 1891 — An interesting measurement of the pressure of the water in the village mains, was made in front of this office Wednesday afternoon. A tap was being made for supplying a stand pipe for the street sprinkler, and after the drill had cut through the pipe and before the tapping machine was removed, a water gauge was screwed on. The pressure varied from 60 to 70 pounds to the square inch, never being the same for two successive minutes. It hovered closely around the calculated pressure, 65 pounds, however, most of the time during the measurement. Our motor, the tap for which is only a few feet distant from the one where the measurements were made, was opened, and the pressure instantly fell to 55 pounds and immediately ran up to 75 pounds, gradually subsiding to about 65. A hydrant was rapidly opened and the pressure fell to 30 pounds, but gradually raised about 60 pounds. The hydrant was closed suddenly and the gauge recorded 100 pounds. It fell to below its normal pressure and then showed a reaction which measured 180 pounds. Several distinct pulsations of pressure were recorded, each being less than the preceding one, until the normal pressure was reached. The experiment clearly showed that the pressure on the mains varies every time water is drawn from the pipes anywhere in the village, and also indicated the danger from extreme pressure which results in the sudden closing of the hydrants or other pipes connected with the system.

100 Years Ago

June 1, 1916 — Miss Hattie Randall, who spent the winter in Ft. Pierce, Fla. had four little alligators sent north which arrived last week and which have attracted considerable attention among her friends. The little creatures were stiff with the cold when they arrived but soon warmed up. Their board bill isn’t going to be very heavy, as they are only fed once in two weeks. Miss Randall took them to her home in Perryville Sunday.

50 Years Ago

June 2, 1966 — Honesty Bring Bennett Fame, Reward, on Find- Floyd W. Bennett, 43 Farnham St., won area-wide fame last week by his instinctive honesty in returning thousands of dollars worth of jewels and valuable papers to their owner.

Police had little hope of finding a suitcase lost between Bouckville and Cazenovia Monday by Eric W. Gates, antique dealer of Syracuse, New York City and London. The loss included Gates’ wallet, credit cards, jewelry, a $600 watch and a diamond ring, along with immigration papers for the London-born dealer.

Bennett and Mrs. Bennett, driving along Route 20 Monday night, passed the bag lying at the edge of the pavement near an intersection. Thinking, he said, that it might indicate a hitchhiker knocked off the road by a hit-run driver. He turned the car around and searched the area. Finding no one, he picked up the bag and took it home.

Tuesday Bennett called Morrisville college, on the chance that the bag belonged to a college student. Later that day he opened the unlocked suitcase to search for identification. Gates’ name was given in a newspaper clipping, and Bennett tried the New York address given. There was no answer, so he next looked for the name in the Syracuse telephone directory.

Gates answered the telephone call, was delighted, Bennett said, and appeared at Bennett’s home soon after. Gates insisted on suitable rewards for Mr. and Mrs. Bennett.

One area newspaper referred to Bennett as “the man Diogenes would have found with his lantern had his search for an honest man continued until today.”

Years Ago is compiled by Erica Barnes. She is a contributing writer for The Cazenovia Republican with a degree in history and communications from Flagler College. She compiles the column from the archives of the Cazenovia Public Library. It is written in the style of the time.