In the 1950’s it was referred to as an orphanage. Cortland’s Home for Children was located on Port Watson Street alongside the river. It was couple blocks from my home on River St. I occasionally played with kids at the orphanage on their playground. The remembrance of them sitting in the swing-sets under the shade trees is a melancholy one. I had a family to go home to, and they did not. Kids never forget being alone. They always want to get back home. For some, these images help salve the memory, for others maybe not.

Goodfellas

Reruns of the movie GoodFellas reflect memories of the neighborhood during 1950 & 60’s. I felt like I had known Goodfellas characters like Henry and Karen, Jimmy, Tommy, Paulie, Billy Batts, Morris, and more. They all seemed to belong to the corner of Elm & Pomeroy. Their hangouts were bars at Sardo’s, the Alton, Palm Garden, and the Imperial. They got married at a Catholic church like St Anthony’s Church. They filled the air with Italian and Irish joviality and bravado. I remember seeing them hang out the door on a summer day yelling “Hey, paisanos” to their buddies coming down Elm Street. Radios blared Tony Bennet and Bobby Darin hits. Spaghetti dinners were on every table. Hey, paison, it was the best of times.

Comment: This story was posted then withdrawn after some criticism. Here it is rewritten.

CORTLAND HIGHLANDERS

Cortland was the highest elevated city in NY for years, and that certainly qualifies folks there as being NY’s Highlanders. Back in the factory days, they always loved their Scotch, too. In Scotland, New Year’s is called Hogmanay and is celebrated with feisty partying as only the Scots do and it lasts a week. If you visit there, show them that Cortlandites know Scotch malt liquors, too. Happy New Year.

CORTLAND’S MEDITERREAN IRISH

Bill Costello, the cheerful supervisor at the Forging Plant back in the ‘70s, was asked the ethnicity of his name. He chuckled and explained that it was Mediterranean Irish. Costello is a classic Irish name, but it sounded Mediterranean. Cortland’s heritage is 11% Irish, with names like Murphy, Kelly, Sullivan, Lynch, Collins, Fitzgerald, O’Brien, McNeil, Flynn, Duffy, Hogan, Clancy, Mack, Sheridan, O’Patriaco, Walsh, MacLean and more. Cortland Irish eyes are smiling, but their cheerful ways mask a tragic history. St. Patrick converted all of Ireland to Catholicism in AD 432. In year AD 1155, the Pope gave Ireland to the king of England. The King distributed all the land to his barons. The Irish farmers became tenants on their own property with absentee landlords. That lasted for the next 800 years, but not without a fight. Starting in 1605, England moved many Scots to Ireland and again gave them land taken from the Irish. The Irish were Catholic. The Scots were Protestants. The struggle between them has always been over the land confiscation, not religion. During the digging of the Erie Canal 1820 and then the Irish Potato Famine 20 years later, many Irish found their way to central New York State and Cortland. This St. Patrick’s Day, we’re glad they’re here. As the Irish say, “May the wind always be at your back.”

Comment: In America, the Irish had it rough at first with signs “No Irish Need Apply”, but they did well in the long run. Back in Ireland, the recent takeover of land by Wall Street financiers has put the Irish back as debtors and indentured servants for another 800 years.

HISTORY

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The historical documents show that Cortland was a stop for the Underground Railroad that brought slaves to freedom before the Civil War. The Universalist Church on Church St., one of Cortland’s oldest churches, was a way-station on the Underground Railroad as slaves hid and trekked their way thru Cortland to Canada. Church members supplied blankets, clothing, and food to these hunted and haunted people. Residents of Cortland and Homer are still unearthing and discovering dugouts in their basements and barns that were originally constructed to hide runaway slaves. Those people who harbored the runaways were taking great personal risks. Helping a runaway slave in the Underground Railroad was a federal felony punishable by prison time. Cheers to Cortland folks for their moral conviction and bravery. This post goes on the Cortland page every year during Black History Month. The Cortland Historical Society held a special meeting on the role of Cortland in the Underground Rail Road and for sponsoring abolitionist activities. The society wrote that this Face Book post was the inspiration for their program. Thanks to all of you.

HIAWATHA.

School children at Pomeroy School were taught that Cortland was the summer camping grounds for the Iroquois Indian Hiawatha. Longfellow’s poem Song of Hiawatha immortalized Hiawatha and made him in to myth as well as a fact. Research confirms that he was Aiionwatha (Hi-a-wa-tha), leader of the Onondagas and Mohawks. They camped, hunted, and farmed in the flats of Cortland valley. As school boys, we searched along the banks of the Tioughnioga River for Indian arrow heads and hatchets, excitedly finding a pointed stone that was a “maybe”. The “Classics Illustrated” booklets sold in the comic section of stores in those days were well prepared and learning tools and made reading fuller, richer. They contributed perhaps to many a book report.

MEASURE OF MANHATTAN IN VIRGIL

One of the finest surveyors in American history was John Randel, Jr. He laid out the square street grid in Manhattan, then went upstate to layout the Erie Canal and much of the farmland in Virgil, Truxton, Homer, Solon, and Truxton. He was fanatical about precision and straight lines, hence the farms in Cortland follow the beeline of an arrow, not their natural boundaries. Much of the land about 1820 had been taken or snookered away from the Indians and awarded to Revolutionary War veterans as pensions for their service. Randel’s complete story is recently published in a new book which mentions of Virgil and Homer.

His work in the early 1800’s included Virgil, New York. His thinking and planning in terms of straight lines was rigid and he did not make exceptions for houses, businesses, or natural landscape obstacles in his way. That explains why the two Congdon farms and the abutting Van Donsel farms on Page Green Road sweep straight back and up the hill. Roads did have to follow natural obstacles, and that explains why Lash Road cuts down through the Congdon land and leaves about 10 feet of it on the other side as part of the Van Donsel front yard.

PILGRIMS LANDED IN CORTLAND

The response to this “Pilgrims in Cortland” post last year was heartwarming, both from immigrants who now call Cortland their home, and yourselves as natives who welcomed them here. The diversity of cultures made Cortland an interesting and a culturally enriching environment. Posted again for Thanksgiving:

Not all the emigrants came over on the Mayflower. Some came later and found their landing not on Plymouth Rock but in Cortland. The Protas family, including my childhood friend Walter, arrived here in 1951 along with other families from war torn Europe. They quickly found jobs, his father at Smith Corona on Hubbard St. and his mother as a domestic helper. They moved in to a small house on River Street and became good neighbors. They saw the decorations going up in stores, offices and homes for Thanksgiving. But, they did not knowing our traditions. It appeared to them that Cortland was celebrating Christmas in November with a turkey dinner. So, they did the same. They had a turkey dinner at home, and shared small Christmas gifts afterwards. Later they learned that the holiday was actually Thanksgiving and that Christmas was a month later. Just like the original Pilgrims, they had met friendly natives who became generous and helpful to new neighbors. They felt blessed to be here and to say, “Happy Thanksgiving, Cortland.”

Hurricane Hazel

Hurricane Hazel hit Cortland in 1954. At that time River Street with lined with mature maple trees. I was small, but I remember seeing large branches blown down and in the street. The hurricane passed up through Binghamton and across Cortland, doing extensive damage across central New York. Now I am in Tampa with the same thing. As Yogi Berra said, “Déjà vu all over again”.

UKRAINE STORY

Cortland has a Ukrainian community. Most of them, like by childhood friend Walter Protas, r.i.p., came here as displaced persons after WWII. They went mostly to local schools then later contributed to Cortland’s era of prosperity. Walter spent a lifetime concerned about Ukrainian issues. His worries did not seem relevant to the rest of us. Now they do. A small war 5,000 miles away is about defending the homeland to these Cortlandites.

Response to Comment by Kaaren Pierce

Reference your post on ethnic groups in Cortland, I was just preparing a post on the multi-lingual makeup of the East side, where I grew up. Several of the families on or near River Street were native Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Italian, German, Indonesian-Dutch, Japanese. Names included Protas, Juras, Barnowski, Along, Neu and more. I’ll ask other friends from those days (Ken Clark, Rommo Baranowski, and David Lane). Cheers.

IMMIGRANTS MADE CORTLAND SMART

In the 1950’s many students in the east end of Cortland came from multilingual homes where the first language was Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Italian, Indonesian Dutch, German, and even Japanese. They worked at the factories and businesses and were proud that their kids were learning English at schools like Pomeroy and Randall. Being from a non-English speaking home can be an impediment to learning. However, studies of bilingual children who regularly use their native language at home have shown them to be of higher intelligence . Their brains work on two tracks at once. Maybe that’s why Cortland kids have always been so smart!

CORTLAND STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE

Cortland State Teachers College, SUNY-CORTLAND, was part of the city but lived a world apart from the factory life. Bounded by Groton Ave., Main Street, and Thompkins Ave., college students seldom crossed those lines into the industrial east and south sides or the residential neighborhood to its north. There was no need to. The college was vital to Cortland’s economy and educational system. Jobs were there. Cortlandites worked in grounds & building maintenance and food service. Some were instructors. Student teachers practiced throughout the Cortland system. A few lucky kids went to the Campus School. Others, including myself, were bussed there for special training in speech therapy. Cortland State, we were always glad to have you here!

McGRAW NY COLLEGE STORY

The FB Under Ground Rail Road post brought comments on McGraw’s history. The New York Central College, in McGraw, NY, was the first college in the country that accepted all students, black and white, male and female, from the very first. It is also the first college in the United States with black faculty. It lasted from 1849 to 1859.Chartered by New York State and a predecessor to Cornell Univ. “A little town tried to create a place without any prejudice, and it did make a difference. It created humanitarians and heroes in a time where nothing else existed like this.” McGraw and Cortlandites can be proud of their history on this MLK Day.

ICE SKATING

Old fashioned country life is not always the treat it looks to be. Years ago my uncle and I ice skated on a farm pond in Virgil after trudging up to it through deep snow and clearing the snow off an area large enough to allow gliding. We checked whether it was thick enough to support us. We stayed away from the side where a hillside spring drizzled in water. The boyhood fun worked out safely, but we certainly would not let our grandkids do the same today.

My fall through the ice happened in the lot at the forging plant on River Street. A pool about a foot deep formed. We hiked down there on a frigid winter night with sleds to glide across it. I fell through and trudged home with wet clothes freezing to my legs. That was the lesson about staying off the ice!

MEMORIAL DAY VIETNAM

When posted last year this post received over 500 Likes and comments. Thank you, Cortland, for remembering our heroes.

In the early stages of the Vietnam War, many young Cortland boys were imbued with patriotism. They admired friends who joined the Marines and told them about the tough training. Others, just as patriotic, waited for the draft and went in the Army. They all went overseas and waded through the rice paddies of southeast Asia. The war became controversial, but not the soldiers in it. All were brave. At the time, we showed them our respect. At The Tavern on Main Street, the entire bar went silent and many stood whenever the Ballad Of The Green Beret played. Some Cortland boys, now men, never came back. But those that did, remember them. We all do on Memorial Day.

CORTLAND HAS GAS!

A CORTLAND HERO

Eleanor Charlotte Congdon graduated from CHS in 1939, and joined the Women’s Army Corps to pay for her nursing education. She was posted to the Philippines, as one of the 100 military nurses there when the Japanese attacked as the sun rose there a few hours after Pearl Harbor. The attack was massive. Nurses were treating 5,000 army, marine, and navy casualties, all with horrific wounds. Eleanor and the other nurses were transported with the wounded men between field hospitals in Manila, Corregidor, and Bataan, caring for the wounded while being bombed and strafed. Malaria, dengue fever, and other tropical diseases along with shortages and malnutrition made conditions worse as the months went by. In May, 1942, at few nurses were evacuated by submarine. They left alphabetically. Eleanor was on the list to leave, but she turned back stay with the wounded. After the US surrender, she witnessed unspeakable atrocities. American soldiers, marines, and sailors were marched on the infamous Bataan Death March. The 67 American nurses who remained were liberated three years later, in Feb., 1945. By that time, food rations were near a starvation level. Thirteen nurses came back on litters. War news glossed over all the suffering. Eleanor was in no victory parade. She came back to Cortland emaciated and listed by the Army in shell shock. She recovered on the family farm on Page Green Rd. in Virgil. She was promoted to lieutenant and received the Navy Cross. She had married an Air Force flier while in the Philippines who rejoined her after the war ended. Eleanor later moved to Phoenix, AZ, remarried, and continued her nursing career, becoming Director of Nurses. She was my aunt. Her younger sister, a retired nurse, provided many details. Thank you, Cortland, for remembering Eleanor’s service on Memorial Day.

VETERANS DAY STORY

World War II brought the Ardis family to Cortland, NY. The war effort needed workers, and the War Board found them there. Arlene and Mable Hilliard from Kellogg Road were recruited to work in the shipyards in Baltimore, MD. Likewise, several of the Ardis men in South Carolina who were too old for combat were recruited north to build ships. These included great-uncles Kaiser, Jim, and Fred. There in the shipyards they met the Cortland girls and married. Kaiser and Jim moved with them to Cortland to continue the war work in the busy factories. As the war ended and Cortland remained a booming industrial hub, they stayed on. Other family followed. Ardis veterans including my father Clarence joined them after the war. Coming to Cortland was a victory for all.

MAPLE SYRUP TIME

Maple syrup time is almost upon Cortland again. Sixty years ago, several farmsteads along Page Green Rd. in Virgil had maple syrup cabins like this one. Men and boys trudged through melting snow to hang sap pails on the maple trees as the Spring thaw sent sap upwards under the bark. My grandmother boiled down the sap on a wood0buring stove in the kitchen. The distilling process took hours, and you can imagine the warm and mellow aromas in the farm house as maple aromatics wafted through the house. Some of the syrup was crystalized to make maple sugar for use all year.

NEIGHBORS HELPED NEIGHBORS

Farm Accident-Henry VanDonsel Tried to Save Irving Congdon

Life on the dairy farm was hard and hazardous work. Out where Lash Road meets Page Green Road, Irving Congdon was driving farm horses when they spooked and ran over him with the thresher machine. Nearby neighbors Henry VanDonsel and Vern Stafford rushed to his aid, but it was too late to get him to the hospital. That may have been a blessing, since a ride like that with a broken back would have been horrendous. The real blessing was the kindness of good neighbors. The active farms are pretty much gone. The good neighbors are still there. Irving Congdon was my great-grandfather

MAY DAY GIRL’S DAY

A century ago in Cortland, May Day was celebrated by youngsters by girls hanging baskets of flowers or candy on the doors of boys that they had a fondness for. One May Day 50 years ago, my grandmother out on the farm on Page Green Road mentioned to me that she remembered a little Betty Sue-girl that hung such a basket on the door of the boy who became my grandfather. Hearing her telling me this, Granddad got upset and huffed, “You still holding that over my head!”.

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