Historic Moment: The Biden connection
By Beth and Jorge Batlle
Skaneateles Municipal Historians
When we went into our historian’s files and pulled out a folder of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., we were in for a big surprise.
According to an article in the Skaneateles Press written by former Village Historian Donald Stinson, Biden had numerous local connections.
One connection began when in 1965, he was attending Syracuse University School of Law, he met co-ed Neilia Hunter, who was the daughter of Robert Hunter, owner of Hunter’s Dinerant in Auburn.
The Hunters lived 45 West Lake St. in the village. They were engaged and during this courtship, the young law student worked as a night clerk at the Sherwood Inn. The Hunters moved to Fleming, south of Auburn in 1968 and later to Florida. Neilia graduated from Syracuse University in 1964. Biden received his law degree from Syracuse University in 1968
Aug. 27, 1966 Joe Biden and Neilia Hunter were married at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church in Skaneateles.
The Bidens went to Delaware in 1968, where he became a trail lawyer and admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. At age 30 Joseph Biden was elected to the Senate, being one of the youngest senators to serve in the chamber.
Aug. 20, 1979, the Skaneateles Democratic Committee sponsored a reception for Senator Biden at the home of Mr. & Mrs. John J. Ginley at 45 West Lake St. Many dignitaries from Onondaga and Cayuga County attended this event.
Local residents were also invited, according to the article in the Skaneateles Press. Prior to the reception a news conference was held at the Sherwood Inn.
Political Analyst Gus Bliven of the Syracuse Post Standard said of Biden: “U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden is a refreshing figure on the national political scene. He is young, intelligent, well-informed, articulate and candid…Area residents have every right to be proud of him, even though he represents the state of Delaware in the U.S. Senate – because he was once one of them.”
Earlier in the week, Biden visited with Mr. & Mrs. Robert Hunter, the parents of his first wife Neilia, who was killed in a 1972 car crash.
In Historian Stinson’s 1979 article there are two interesting statements.
The first is “Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware has not yet announced his candidacy for the President of the United States on the Democratic ticket. That awesome decision, however, could be made soon and several local residents will be pleased that they can say that they met our next President at a reception (in Skaneateles).”
Stinson concludes, “In that event, many Skaneateles residents will be delighted to say that they shook hands with Joe Biden the candidate for the highest office in the land.”
