The Fonda Blog

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.

written by admin \\ tags: Business, News, Vermont

The gravestone of E. Raymond Fonda at Albany Rural Cemetery, who gave his life in battle during the Civil War, has been restored.
The work was performed by Grave Stone Matters on August 24, 2010. (click on images to enlarge)

The work scope was more extensive than planned because of the discovery of marble side rails in addition to the three-piece headstone and the footstone. Great care and expertise was taken by Joe Ferrannini of GSM, assisted by Civil War Historian Mark Bodnar (credits for photos).  Thanks also to Colonie Historian Kevin Franklin for his interest and coordination efforts.

E. Raymond Fonda Sgt-Maj, Co.H, 115th NY Infantry Regiment

Eldert Raymond Fonda; b. 1837 in Watertown, MA; 1850 & 1860 Census, Edinburgh, Saratoga Co., NY; 1860 Census, Vergennes, Addison, VT; d. 7/22/1864 in New York City from wounds sustained in battle; bur. John Fonda Lot, Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, Albany Co., NY; DAR Library, GRC National Index: Fonda, E Raymond, State IL, Series/Vol s1 v10, Page 175

Civil War Service: 1). E Raymond Fonda; Vergennes, Vermont; enlisted as a Private on 02-May-1861; enlisted in Co.G, 1st Infantry Regiment Vermont on 09-May-1861; mustered out Co.G, 1st Infantry Regiment Vermont on 15-Aug-1861 in Bradtleboro, VT; 2). E Raymond Fonda; enlisted as a Private on 21-Jul-1862 at the age of 24; enlisted in Co.H, 115th Infantry Regiment New York on 01-Aug-1862; POW on 15-Sep-1862 at Harper’s Ferry, VA; paroled on 16-Sep-1862 at Harper’s Ferry, VA; promoted to Full Sergeant MAJ on 16-Oct-1862; wounded on 07-May-1864 at Chester Station, VA; died of wounds Co.H, 115th Infantry Regiment New York on 22-Jul-1864 in New York, NY

Battle of Chesterfield Heights, Virginia - May 1864

Sgt.-Maj. Civil War; mortally wounded at Chesterfield Heights, VA on May 7th, 1864; born in Watertown, Mass., but resided in Cohoes, Albany county, when he enlisted in Co. H. He was a mechanic by trade, and twenty-four years of age. Besides the hard service seen in the 115th NY Infantry, he served his country three months in the 1st VT Infantry, early in the war. His father had been in the employ of the government for nearly forty years; a younger brother held the position of sergeant in the regular army, and Raymond himself had been familiar with military operations from his youth up, so that he was a finished and well drilled soldier. Possessed of a brave and resolute will, he was a good soldier. Blest with a kind and loving heart, he won many friends. Pleasant and amiable to both officers and men, he was highly respected. His military career was without a single blot, and he died a true patriot and esteemed by all who knew him.

The battle of Chesterfield Heights, Va., was his last battle with the rebels. The regiment was lying behind a bank of earth, firing at the rebels, and Raymond refused to lie down with the rest, but kept walking along the lines while the bloody conflict was progressing, making his person a mark for the enemy’s bullets. Suddenly he sang out to the commanding officer, “Major, we are flanked right and left!” And sure enough we were flanked, and many brave men shed their blood before we cut our way out. Among the first to fall was E. Raymond Fonda, and two frightful wounds sent out streams of blood. The soldiers carried his bleeding form from the field, and in due time he reached the city of NY. After many weeks of suffering he died in the arms of his friends.

...was treated in a field hospital until the 10th, when he was admitted into Hampton Hospital, Fort Monroe; thence transferred to New York, and admitted to Ladies' Home Hospital on the 23d of May.

I did some more searching and found this (rather gruesome) account of Sgt-Major Fonda’s hospital treatment:
http://www.braceface.com/medical/Medical_Authors_Faculty/Mott_Alexander_B.htm
CASE 973 –Sergeant-Major E. Raymond Fonda, 45th New York, aged 28 years, was wounded at Drury’s Bluff. May 7, 1864, by a minié ball, which entered one inch to the right of the coccyx, passed upward and out to within half an inch of the surface, just above the trochanter major of the right side. The ball was cut down upon and removed on the same day; it did not injure the bone. The wounded man was treated in a field hospital until the 10th, when he was admitted into Hampton Hospital, Fort Monroe; thence transferred to New York, and admitted to Ladies’ Home Hospital on the 23d of May. Surgeon A. B. Mott, U. S. V., reported: “When admitted, the patient was very much emaciated; the wound healed unhealthy and inflamed, the discharges thin and offensive, and there was a disposition to slough. The sloughing increased on the 26th; the discharge was sanious and thin, the patient weak and restless. On the 28th, the wounds were still unhealthy in condition and showing evidence of gangrene. June 1st: The discharge was slightly increased and the wound painful. Five ounces of sherry wine daily, with extra diet. was ordered. On the 8th, the wounds were still painful, and the discharge continued to look unhealthy. Hemorrhage occurred on the 13th, coming probably from the sciatic artery; persulphate of iron was applied and the wound plugged. On the 14th. there was a very profuse hemorrhage, which was arrested by persulphate of iron with pressure. Hemorrhage recurred on the 15th, and was checked by the application of Lambert’s tourniquet with compresses. The patient was much reduced in strength; pulse 130. Beef-tea and five ounces of sherry wine were given and frequently repeated during the day. There was no hemorrhage the next day; beef-tea and wine continued. The patient was much better on the 17th; his pulse 160. After consultation, it was decided that the only chance for the patient’s recovery would be to ligate the right internal iliac artery. He was put under the influence of a mixture of chloroform and ether, and the operation was performed by Surgeon A. B. Mott, U. S. V.

... and the brave young soldier who saved the regiment was E. Raymond Fonda...

And more on the battle where he was wounded:
http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/115thInf/115thInfCWN.htm
Sergeant-Major E. Raymond Fonda, of Cohoes, who, during the fight, bravely and almost recklessly exposed himself to the storm of bullets, but escaped unhurt, until we were falling back, after the accomplishment of our object, when he was struck in the leg and arm. Our flag-staff was cut in two, the same ball glancing and severely wounding the bearer, Serg’t Keck.
E. RAYMOND FONDA, Sergeant-Major of the 115th regiment, died at the Ladies Home U. S. Hospital, in New York, July 22d, of wounds received in one of the actions near Petersburg. The 115th regiment has returned from Florida, and was at Gloucester Point, opposite Yorktown, on the York river, at last advices. Other troops came on at the same time.

History of Cohoes:
http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofcohoesn00mast/historyofcohoesn00mast_djvu.txt
July 22, Sergeant Major E. Raymond Fonda, aged 27. Was a member of the 115th Reg’t N. Y. Vols. He was severely wounded May 7th, in one of the battles near Petersburg, Va., from the effects of which he died in the Lady’s Home Hospital, New York.

History of Saratoga County:
http://saratoganygenweb.com/Sylvester/chap36.html
E. Raymond Fonda, enl. July 21, 1862, 115th Regt., Co. H; pro. to sergt.-major; mortally wounded at Chesterfield Heights, Va., May 7, 1864; died in hospital, New York city.

True Stories of the War For the Union – Personal Experiences and Observations of Union Soldiers in the Several Campaigns:
http://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/oca/Books2008-05/truestoriesofwar00gris/truestoriesofwar00gris_djvu.txt
All at once the men in gray started down the hill ; then the men in blue gave a wild cheer and charged down the other hillside, reaching the railroad trick first, when they instantly dropped behind an embankment and poured a withering fire into the hosts in gray, stopping their advance. In the mist he dimly saw a fight which chilled his blood – a large body of men in gray stealing around the flank of a regiment in blue, which seemed to be his own brothers, and he felt that they were lost, when suddenly a, fine-looking young soldier from the midst of the regiment in blue rose up from the ground, and at a glance saw their peril, and in the face of a thousand bullets, gave the alarm: the men in blue cut their way through the hosts of gray and escaped, but many scores had fallen in the conflict, among the number being the fine-looking young soldier, who had saved his brothers. This proved to be a description of the battle of Chesterfield Heights and of our regiment, and the brave young soldier who saved the regiment was E. Raymond Fonda, of our company.

written by admin \\ tags: Albany Co., Cemeteries, Civil War, Gravestones, Miltary

I was back east last month (September 2009) and I took three days to go cemetery hopping in Upstate New York, taking as many photos of Fonda gravestones as I could.  I hit 11 cemeteries in 5 counties and shot about 150 gravestones of Fonda’s, most of which have not been taken before, to my knowledge.  Here is the list… if you would like any of these images I would be glad to forward a high-res file, or you can wait until I get them all posted on Find-A-Grave in med-res within the next month (now done).  I have about 110 Fonda gravestone photos already posted there from various sources.  I appreciate all those who have contributed to this collection.  Special thanks to Adrienne Buckland Knight who accompanied me at the Caughnawaga and Evergreen cemeteries and to Darlene and Larry Nielsen who pointed me in the right direction in Albany.  Here are a few of the nicer gravestone photos which I just took:

[Show as slideshow]

written by admin \\ tags: Cemeteries, Fonda Family, New York

Photos from the Caughnawaga Cemetery in Fonda, New York recently taken by Adrienne Buckland Knight:

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written by admin \\ tags: Cemeteries, Fonda Family, History, Landmarks, Montgomery Co.

I received these photos from Becky Kaufman of Seattle who is tracing her lineage from Michigan back to the Knickerbocker family of Rensselaer, New York.

Rebeckah Fonda is buried in Schagticoke, Rensselear, New York in the Knickerbocker Family Cemetery. She was born 14 Apr 1718 in Albany, New York and died 8 Jan 1800 in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer Co., New York.  The Find-A-Grave cemetery listing is here.

Rebeckah Fonda Knickerbocker gravestone.	Knickerbocker Cemetery next to mansion in Schaghticoke.
	Recent picture of the Knickerbocker Mansion in Schaghticoke.
Oil painting which hangs in the Knickerbocker Mansion.	The sketch which appeared in Harper's Magazine in Dec. 1876 (Vol. 54, p. 42)

written by admin \\ tags: Cemeteries, Landmarks, Notables, Rensselaer Co.