Feb 07

100 years ago in The Saratogian: February 7

From the George S. Bolster Collection of the Saratoga Springs History Museum

Posted: 02/07/16, 1:00 AM EST

From the George S. Bolster Collection of the Saratoga Springs History Museum

From the George S. Bolster Collection of the Saratoga Springs History Museum

MONDAY, FEB. 7, 1916

Saratoga Lake is being overfished in the winter to the detriment of summer fishing and should have a longer closed season to preserve the fish stock, according to a New York angler quoted in today’s Saratogian.

In a letter to the editor of the New York Press, Murray R. Fonda recommended that fishing in Saratoga Lake be governed by the same schedule that applies to Lake George.

In Lake George, the fishing season for pike, pickerel and wall-eyes runs from June 16 through December 31, leaving the lake closed to ice fishers most of the winter. By comparison, Saratoga Lake is open for fishing for all but two months each year, its season running from May 1 to March 1.

“I can state from personal experience that I have found the fishing poorer at Saratoga Lake every successive summer for the past four years until last summer the game was hardly worth the candle,” Fonda wrote, “and until the fish are better protected there and the fishing consequently improves I would not advise my brother anglers to seriously consider Saratoga Lake.”

Saratoga Lake Postcard 1914

Saratoga Lake Postcard 1914

The Saratoga Lake Association has already considered conservation measures, but despite his admiration for Mayor Walter P. Butler, who is also the Association president, Fonda feels that the changes proposed last December 27 were inadequate to the situation.

“The only remedy favorably considered by the [conservation] commission seems to be the elimination of night fishing through the ice and the limiting of each person to five tip-ups [i.e. bait lines] instead of the fifteen now allowed.”

To put this recommendation in perspective, Thomas C. Luther, who lives at the south end of the lake, told the commission that there were “about two thousand” tip-ups just in the vicinity of his place.

“Though this protection is good as far as it goes, it is entirely inadequate even as to winter fishing,” Fonda wrote.

Since Saratoga Lake is just a fraction of the size of Lake George – “You could in fact put it into one of the big bays of Lake George” – Fonda believes that Saratoga Lake has more need of a shorter fishing season. “Other things being equal, the smaller the lake the more protection is needed, for the less chance is there for the fish to escape destruction.”

IN THE RED. The organizers of the Russian Symphony Orchestra concerts at the Convention Hall last Saturday will end up losing approximately $500, according to manager Alfred Hallam. Poor sales for the afternoon concert, attended by 902 people compared to the 1,373 who attended the evening show, are blamed for the shortfall.

– Kevin Gilbert

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Aug 31

At The Railyard: Fonda Johnstown & Gloversville Review

Post by trmania on Sun Aug 19, 2012 10:13 pm

…when the sewing machine came into popularity in the middle of the 19th century, it caused a boom in textile production. In Gloversville, New York, the main product of the textile industries was fine leather gloves. 20 years later, there were 116 glove and mitten manufacturers, and the Fonda Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad was constructed to haul their products out to market. What would it be like to experience the railroad 80 years later, in a simulator? We’ll find out in this review…at the railyard!

———
LINKS
———

Official “At The Railyard” website:
http://www.attherailyard.com/

Have your own opinions about this route? Share them here:
http://www.attherailyard.com/apps/forum … e-railroad

Fonda Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad by Paul Charland:
http://www.trainsim.com/file.php?cm=SEA … fjg_v1.zip

FJ&G Historical Information and Photos:
http://www.fjgrr.org/FJGRR.ORG.html

Nick

Other links:
CSX & Amtrak Trains in Fonda, NY

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Mar 22

Fonda buildings become history

Written By: Michelle Monroe

ST. ALBANS CITY — The buildings at former Fonda paper products plant site have been taken down and now meticulous cleanup work will begin, according to St. Albans City Director of Planning Chip Sawyer.  “It’s coming along really well,” said Sawyer of the demolition that’s taking place on Lower Newton Street.

Only a small structure, outfitted with hoppers remained at the site this morning and those soon will be taken down with a crane. Materials from that portion of the complex will then undergo asbestos abatement and any recyclable metal will be reclaimed.  Thus far, 1,160 tons of general debris have been removed from the site along with 65 tons of mildly contaminated debris, Sawyer reported this morning.

There are a couple of areas within the former factory where there is a high level of PCBs – a class of chemicals which have been linked to cancer – and those areas will be sealed off and permanently fenced, explained Sawyer.  Currently, the pieces of the buildings are still being sorted through and cleaned. Recyclable materials are being gathered and recycled as part of that process, as well.

About a month of work remains, said Sawyer today. The basement will be filled in and all of the cleaning areas and materials will need to be dismantled and cleaned.  As part of the demolition, steps have been taken to insure water does not leave the site and stormwater is being treated on site before being sent to the wastewater treatment facility.  Funds for the demolition project have come from the State of Vermont and the Northwest Regional Planning brownfield’s loan program. Total cost of the demolition, which began on Sept. 15, is roughly $900,000.

The paper products factory was built in 1942 and was acquired by Fonda in 1980. In 2002, about 245 people were employed at the plant, which was sold to Solo in 2004. A year later Solo announced its intention to close the factory, and the doors were shut for good in 2006. When Solo announced the closing there were 168 employees. In some local families multiple generations have been employed at the plant.  The site, which straddles the town-city divide, is now owned by the city.

The future of the site is still undecided, but a feasibility study for a co-generation facility found that a facility generating 10 megawatts of electricity along with steam heat — fueled by wood chips — would be able to pay for itself in approximately seven years. The city is investigating the possibility of a private company building such a facility at the Fonda site.

Clock ticks for Fonda building

Written By: Leon Thompson, St. Albans Messenger

Demolition bids’ deadline Tuesday

The Fonda Solo Building will be demolished this summer.

ST. ALBANS CITY, VT –– Crews responsible for demolition of the vacant Fonda/Solo plant on Lower Newton Street could be mobilized and ready by May 1, according to one of the city’s development leaders.  Contractors’ bids to raze one of the largest enclosed spaces in the city, are due at City Hall Tuesday. Jim Tischler, planning and development director, told aldermen during their regular meeting last week that he hopes to have a contractor’s bid to them by the second week of April.
The city has secured all funding necessary for the $600,000 demolition project, including two grants totaling $400,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and $200,000 from a state brownfields program.
The city purchased the 120,500-square-foot building on a 4.5-acre parcel in 2007 for $300,000.  Toward the end of 2010, the state approved a phased-in mitigation plan to clean the contaminated site, once used to manufacture paper products. The first phase calls for demolition of the two buildings and to keep the area protected until the city has a development project in place.  “It was the administration’s position that the best way to show the community that the project needs to move forward is to proceed with the use of that grant money and get the buildings demolished,” Tischler told the city council last week.

The Fonda / Solo brand lives on, with headquarters in Illinois and manufacturing worldwide.

Two weeks ago, about 65 people – more than has graced the inside of the plant for years – went on a walk-through of the site for potential bidders.  Tischler said the city has already received 24 sets of plans from bidders all over New England and the Midwest.  Ward 5 Alderman Joe Luneau wondered $600,000 was adequate. Tischler said demolition could come in under bid. Project specifications also require the city to recycle some materials at the site.  During demolition, workers will fence off the area and post signs that warn of contamination in the area. Contaminated areas will be covered with gravel for protection.  The winning contractor will provide flaggers for traffic control and also remove debris without going through neighborhoods, Tischler said.
Last November, the city council unanimously chose Weston and Sampson, a Peabody, Mass., environmental consulting firm, to oversee razing of the Fonda/Solo plant. Weston and Sampson also facilitated the bidding process for demolition.  During the demolition process, the city has been working with three EPA officials, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the Northwest Regional Planning Commission.  The city had wanted to raze the building by the end of 2010, but delays bumped that goal to this July, the end of the current fiscal year.  The city has a redevelopment concept in mind for the site, with several contenders interested in it, but city officials have been reticent in releasing any details.
The Solo Cup Company, which purchased the paper products manufacturing plant from Fonda, closed the facility in 2005 and laid-off 168 employees.  The proposed remediation would occur at the surface level, with sub-grade remediation (soil clean-up) occurring once a new business has committed to the site, so that remediation and construction can happen simultaneously.  Brownfields testing in 2008 revealed contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), trichloroethene (TCE), and some metals were in concentrations above regulatory limits.
In the 1960s and 1970s Fonda was a leading U.S. food container company that provided paper cups and other paper products which among other uses, were found at large professional sports venues. The ink used to manufacture other products contained PCBs – potentially toxic environmental compounds – and was spilled on the concrete floor, leaving it contaminated.  Groundwater on the western side of the building also contained TCE, a cleaning solvent that previously was used in anesthesia.
Also see previous post here.  Solo Cup Company info here.

Note: It is not certain why the company originally took the Fonda name, but there is a family branch which settled in the area in the mid-1800’s and a local town used to be called Fonda Junction.

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Jan 01

Landmarks with the Fonda Name

Towns

Fonda, New York, USA – East central N.Y., on Mohawk River, and the Barge Canal, and 10 mi/16 km W of Amsterdam; Formerly a freight transfer point on the N.Y. Central RR. Mfg. of aluminum prods., apparel, and textiles. Inc. 1850. Name origin – named after Douw Jellis Fonda (1700-1780) in 1850. (Note: A nearby town was once called Fonda’s Bush, but is now Broadalbin, Fulton Co., New York). Fonda Speedway is a 1/2 mile dirt oval, located at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Fonda, NY. Racing at Fonda Speedway started in 1927; 6 events were held from 1927 to 1938. Racing began in earnest in the late 40s. A 1/8th mile drag strip was added in 1957, and was apparently used through 1968. Shirley Muldowney’s drag racing career started on this strip in 1958. [Google Map]

Dirt Race Track - Fonda, NY

Train Depot - Fonda, Iowa (1894)

Fonda, Iowa, USA – North central Iowa, on Cedar Creek, and 14 mi/23 km SW of Pocahontas. Name origin – “Marvin was the name first given to the station and express office, and Cedarville was the name accorded to the post office in Cedar township, located on the banks of Cedar Creek. By the time Cedar township was formed, the town and post office were called Marvin. Marvin was the name picked by the man who donated the land, ordered the plat, and designated that this new little town be named after his friend. The use of the names Marvin and Manson caused confusion to those sorting mail on the trains, and it was suggested that the name be changed. In 1874, AO Garlock and George Fairburn took the post office directory and selected a new name that was not common in Iowa. The name Fonda only appeared once in the directory, the name of a town in western New York state.” [American Towns] [Google Map]
Fonda, Vermont, USA – probably named after William Beecher Fonda (1846-) whose family settled in the St. Albans, Franklin County, Vermont area in the 1870’s. [Vermont Gazetteer] [Google Map]

Could have been... Port Fonda

Fonde, Kentucky, USA – Bell County, SE KY., in the Cumberland Mts. at Tenn. state line, 10 mi/16 km W of Middlesboro. [Google Map]
Fonda, North Dakota, USA – Rolette County [Google Map] [North Dakota News]
Fonda, Wyoming, USA – Goshen County [Google Map]
Port Fonda, Missouri, USA – proposed name for what is now Kansas City (see Abraham Fonda) [Google Map]
Fonda’s Bush, Montgomery Co., NY, USA (now Broadalbin, Fulton Co.) – Three Rivers – Trappers of New York: “Fonda’s Bush, a place in the Johnstown settlements, so called after Major Jelles Fonda, who took a patent for the lands. The place is situated about ten miles north of each from the village of Johnstown, and the same distance west of north from Amsterdam. Fonda’s Bush signifies the same as if it were called Fonda’s Woods, a dense forest covering the soil at that early period-bush being the usual term for woods on the frontiers of New York.”; Spafford’s 1824 Gazetteer of the State of New York – Profile of Montgomery County: “The principal Village is on the W. line of this Town, in a quarter called Fonda’s Bush, where is the Broadalbin Post-Office, 10 miles from Johnstown. It is situated on both sides of Fonda’s Creek, on the main road from Johnstown to Glen’s Falls, and contains 1 church, 27 dwellings, 14 mechanics’ shops, 4 stores, 2 tanneries, 1 paper mill, a school-house, 2 taverns, and an ashery. This has always been called Fonda’s Bush, but by a late act of incorporation, its cognomen is changed, as a lawyer would say, to Rawsonsville, though the people still adhere to the old name, and probably always will.” [Google Map]

Oklahoma Ghost Town

Fonda, Oklahoma, USA (Place – now a ghost town; Dewey County; 36ºN 98ºW; Zip Code none; Elev. 1630 ft.) Many, many years ago and approximately 8 miles or so east of Seiling, Oklahoma there was a small community called Fonda, Oklahoma. At that time Fonda consisted of a General store, Blacksmith shop, Post Office and several residences. The store was run by the Tyree family. Near Fonda, Oklahoma and the Canadian River there was a school called Diamond. It was a typical elementary school of the era. A one room, one teacher teaching grades one through nine. There was a barn for the students riding horses, a windmill for drinking water and two out houses. There was no electricity and light came from kerosene lamps. In cold weather heat was provided by a large wood stove in the rear of the room. In 1928 there were about twenty students the majority of which were Indian. Today the original site of Fonda is only an open wheat field. see [Dewey County History] [TopoZone Map]

Roads

Fonda Road - Waterford, NY

Fonda Street (renamed Water St. in 1799), Schenectady, NY 12302 – [Google Map] [Schenectady History]
Fonda Road, Rockville Center, NY 11570 – [Google Map]
Fonda Road, Cohoes, NY 12047 – [Google Map]
Fonda Road, Waterford, NY 12188 – [Google Map]
Fonda Ave, Oneonta, NY 13820 – [Google Map]
Fonda Ave, Battle Creek, MI 49014 – [Google Map] [Battle Creek History]
Fonda Road, Firth, NE 68358 – [Google Map]
Fonda Street, Paradis, LA 70080 – [Google Map]
Fonda Road , Santa Fe, NM 87505 – [Google Map]
Fonda Way, Los Angeles, CA 90031 – [Google Map]
Fonda Street, La Habra, CA 90631 – [Google Map]
Fonda Road, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3S 3X3 – [Google Map]
Fonda Way S.E., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2A 2K2 – [Google Map]

Water

Fonda’s Island – a small island in the Mohawk river within the town of Schenectady – containing five morgens (ten acres) – lying to the north of the Hoek – in 1736, Philip Livingston of Albany sold it to Jellis Fonda by whose will made Sept. 8, 1737, it was divided among his three sons, Pieter, Abraham and Jacob. The island is now part of the [Isle of the Oneidas], see [Bouwlands Map 1664] [Schenectady Map 1690]
Fonda Reservoir – Randall, Montgomery Co., NY – 6.4 Acre Lake – [U.S. Geological Survey] [TopoZone Map]

Fonda Lake - Brighton, Michigan

Fonda’s Creek – History of Broadalbin: It (Broadalbin) is abundantly watered by numerous creeks and small streams flowing in all directions throughout the town, chief among which is Kennyetto Creek – often, incorrectly, called Fly creek, Fonda’s creek, and sometimes Little Sacondaga. [Google Map]
Fonda Lake (now Lake Kora) – Wakely Mountain, Hamilton Co., NY – Most of the Blue Ridge Wilderness Area was at one time owned or controlled by William West Durant, an Adirondack developer active from the mid-1870s through 1904. Former Durant lands include Townships 6, 19, 33 and 34 in the Totten and Crossfield Purchase. 1898 – Durant sells Lake Tuscarora (aka Sumner Lake or Fonda Lake), now Lake Kora, and the surrounding estate to Lieutenant Governor Timothy L. Woodruff, who constructed Kamp Kill Kare. – [Hamilton Co. Reservoirs] [Google Map]
Fonda Lake – Brighton Twp., Livingston Co., MI – named for Lewis B. Fonda family which settled in Brighton, Michigan in 1832 from Wynantskill, Rensselaer Co., NY – [Google Map]also Fonda Island & Briggs Lake Joint Water Authority, 11510 Grand River Road, Brighton, MI 48116and Fonda Place Office Center, 10321 Grand River Road, Brighton, MI – [Google Map]

Buildings

Fonda Reformed Church

Fonda Reformed Church - Fonda, New York

Fonda Reformed Church – 19-21 Broadway, Fonda, New York 12068 – The Reformed Dutch Church of Caughnawaga was organized about the year 1758, but the first church edifice was not erected until 1763, when with financial aid from Sir William Johnson, who was entirely non-sectarian in his benefactions, a stone building was erected, along the line of what is now the main street of Fonda, but in this eastern, or Caughnawaga district of the village. The village of Fonda proper, was not built till after 1830. The town Caughnawaga took its name from the old Indian village which had stood there. Fonda was named for Douw Fonda, one of the first settlers of the town, and a Revolutionary patriot. The first pastor of the Caughnawaga church was Rev. Thomas Romeyn, who served the charge 22 years. He was succeeded by Rev. Abraham Van Horne, who was pastor 38 years and preached in both Dutch and English, as Dutch was then giving place to English, in the valley. With his pastorate, the use of Dutch ceased at Caughnawaga. [Church History] [Google Map]

Henry Fonda Theatre Hollywood, CA

Henry Fonda Theatre – 6126 Hollywood Blvd. – Los Angeles, CA 90028 – A trip down Hollywood Boulevard going east to west first brings you to the Henry Fonda Theatre. Famous for the actor of the same name, the Fonda Theatre is home to many local plays. Originally called the Hollywood Music Box, the newly refurbished theatre has staged many Broadway productions such as Driving Ms. Daisy and concert acts including Adam Ant and Tori Amos. Opened as the Music Box, this theater went through several owners and corresponding name changes. Before being renamed as the Henry Fonda Theater, it became the Fox (not the Fox at Hollywood and Wilcox, which was the old Iris Theatre) and then the Pix Theater. When the theater was still known as the Pix, it had a really nice neon marquee. The Pix was the movie house that premiered “Jaws” on Hollywood Boulevard in 1975. A year later they showed “Rocky”. Not a very large theater but it showed many blockbuster’s in the 70’s before becoming a live venue. [Cinema Treasures] [Google Map]

Henry Fonda Theatre Stage

Schools & Parks

Elizabeth Fonde Elementary School Mobile, AL

Elizabeth Fonde Elementary School – school named after Elizabeth Fonde [Rootsweb] (1873-1947) who was born in Mobile, AL, educated at Barton Academy in Mobile. From 1918 to 1924 she served as a member of the Mobile County Board of School Commissioners and in 1926 became President of the Alabama Conference of Social Work. She is buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile. – [Google Map] [SchoolTree] [Arkema] Note: Elizabeth Fonde and Corinne Fonde (Fonde Park, below) were cousins.
Fonde Park – On Saturday, November 4, 2006, Houston Parks and Recreation Department rededicated southeast Houston’s Fonde Park. Located at 5500 Carrollton and accessible from 2500 Hansford, at its opposite end, the 12.7-acre park was acquired by the city in 1950. The park’s name honors Miss Corinne Fonde [Rootsweb] (1883-1950), a long-time administrator of the Recreation Department
and the first deputy director when the Parks Department and the Recreation Department were combined into one city department.

Fonde Park - Houston, TX

Fonde Community Center - Houston, TX

The Fonde Community Center, just off Buffalo Bayou near downtown and the Victorian homes of the Sixth Ward, is also named for Miss Fonde. This not-so-ordinary city Parks Department neighborhood recreational facility has well-maintained basketball courts for pickup games where many NBA stars come to play.Throughout the year, the center features a variety of free activities and classes – tai chi classes are popular, and the weight room is always occupied. – [Google Map] [Google Map]

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