Tomorrow, Friday, April 12-Episode 261-Richard Ratajak, now 87, looks back on his life as a child in Amsterdam, a soldier in the Korean War, and a priest in training who served summers at Auriesville Shrine. Ratajak left the priesthood to marry the woman he loved and held jobs in state government as he gradually lost his eyesight. He worked for the state agency that helped blind people find meaningful work and served on the board of RISE, WMHT’s radio service for the blind.
Richard Ratajak
The library on the western edge of Collins Park is located in the Abraham Glen House, which was built in 1728 by the family for whom the town of Glenville is named---Scroll Down for the story
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, April 11, 2019-Sunny, with a high near 52. Some rain this weekend
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Perth valedictorian may be memorialized on the Moon
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History, Daily Gazette, 07-19-14
According to his family, the name of the class of 1938 valedictorian at Perth High School is inscribed on a plaque left on the Moon.
Stanley J. Jevitt, Sr., was born in Avoca, Pennsylvania, the son of Antoni and Julia Dziewit. The spelling later was changed to Jevitt. Stanley was the sixth of eight children.
Antoni and Julia were Polish immigrants who originally settled in Amsterdam. They moved to Pennsylvania where they had a farm and where Antoni worked in the mines. A doctor told Antoni he had early stages of black lung disease and advised him to stop mining. The family relocated to Perth, buying a farm on McQueen Road.
After high school, where he was also class president, Stanley Jevitt earned a degree in aeronautical engineering at the University of Alabama. He was the first of his siblings to go to college; Perth school superintendent John Paris said if his parents couldn’t afford college, he would see to it that Stanley’s bill was paid. One of Jevitt’s college classmates was future Alabama governor George Wallace.
Jevitt learned to fly while in college, graduated in 1942 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Stationed in Alameda, California, he was crew chief on the Martin Mars flying boat, a huge seaplane that flew supplies between California and Honolulu.
After the war Jevitt worked at Schenectady General Electric on development and testing of jet engines. He also operated Sacandaga Sea Plane in Mayfield. He gave flying lessons and transported customers by seaplane on fishing and scenic trips. Jevitt taught his wife Dorothy, an Indianapolis native, several of their six children and three of his brothers to fly.
In February 1948 Jevitt survived an airplane accident on snow covered Mayfield Lake. According to the Leader Republican, Jevitt was landing on what he believed was a couple inches of snow on top of the frozen lake. However there was actually 16 to 18 inches of snow cover. The plane nosedived and turned over on landing. No one was injured but volunteers worked for hours turning the plane upright and towing it off the lake using toboggans.
Jevitt left GE and worked for other aeronautical companies: Bell Aircraft, Lockheed and Martin Marietta. He joined NASA in 1966 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. In a news release in May 1969 NASA reported that Jevitt was playing a key role in the launch of Apollo 10 that month.
His niece Frances Luzinas said Jevitt was included on a list of engineers whose names were inscribed on a plaque left on the moon, most likely during Apollo 11 in July 1969. The family has a picture of the names on the plaque.
NASA’s public information office said it does not have information on official plaques left on the Moon with Apollo employee names on them. However, NASA said there were unsanctioned actions by employees and contractors that were not formally documented. The NASA statement continued, “Unfortunately, we have no way of confirming whether or not Mr. Jevitt's name was on an unofficial list/plaque.”
In later years, Jevitt was assistant to the chief engineer on the Space Shuttle and contributed to development of the shuttle’s rocket booster.
He died at age 77 on April 18, 1998 at Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach, Florida and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
AMSTERDAM’S ROCKET MAN
Petrone Square, the corner of Church and Main streets in Amsterdam, is named in honor of Rocco Petrone. Petrone was born in Amsterdam in 1926, the son of Italian immigrants. He was launch director and what the New York Times called a “driving force” in the Apollo moon program. He died in 2006.
Thursday, April 11, 2019, the American Revolution Round Table: Hudson/Mohawk Valleys and Siena College’s McCormick Center for the Study of the American Revolution are proud to present, Decision-Making in the British Military Justice Process by William P. Tatum III, Ph.D. The event starts at 6:30 PM with time for socializing and networking followed by the program at 7:00 PM. The event will be held at Siena College, 515 Loudon Rd, Albany, NY 12211, in the Roger Bacon Building, Room 202, also known as Key Auditorium. Parking is free and please park in Lots L, F or G. To register, please provide your names(s), telephone number in an email to arrthudsonmohawkvalleys@gmail.com or by phone at 518-774-5669.
County gets grant for historic Scotia library
Plans call for repairs this year, an addition in 2020
Stephen Williams Daily Gazette https://dailygazette.com/article/2019/04/10/county-gets-grant-for-historic-scotia-library
Gazette File Photo
Bob Cudmore’s guest this weekend on Magic 590’s Talk of the Town is Siena College men’s basketball coach Carmen Maciariello. The coach stepped up to lead the team from an assistant coaching position with the Saints when the previous head coach left for a job with a bigger college. Talk of the Town is Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 6:30 a.m. on Magic 590 plus 100.5 and on 96.9 and 1410 in the North Country.
Amsterdam Talk and Information Posted as a Video Podcast on The Historians Jason Subik Show, WCSS Radio Amsterdam 106.9FM and 1490AM Monday-Thursday at 9 Jason Subik Facebook Feed https://www.facebook.com/jason.subik Wednesday, April 10, 2019 The Historians Podcast is heard Saturday at 8:40 a.m. on WCSS 1490 AM and 106.9 FM in Amsterdam; Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on WBDY (99.5 FM) in Binghamton.
RISE, WMHT’s radio service for the blind in Albany and the Hudson Valley, airs each episode Monday at 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 11:00 a.m... http://www.wmht.org/radio/rise/historians/
To invite Bob to speak to your organization, please email bobcudmore@yahoo.com
FORT PLAIN Interested local history lovers are encouraged to share memories, family histories, vintage photo albums, post cards, memorabilia, scrapbooks, and more during the next gathering of the Fort Plain Free Library’s Local History Round Table from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on April 17, 2019 at the library 19 Willett St. The free discussion does not require registration and meets on the third Wednesday of each month. The forum will be facilitated by town and village historians. (518) 993-4646 The Fort Plain Museum Presents the 5th Annual American Revolution Mohawk Valley Conference June 6-9, 2019 http://www.fortplainmuseum.com/ With the 2018 Conference being a sell-out, we wanted our past attendees to have an early chance to sign-up. Plus, we have an early bird special, save $10 by signing up by May 1, 2019. Also, please note the change in conference venue and our bus trips are now one bus per trip instead of two.
We have a great line-up of 12 notable historian/authors presenting on a wide variety of topics related to the American Revolution. Presenting this year are as follows:
David L. Preston – First in Peace: The Delaware Indian Nation and its 1778 Treaty with the United States
Eric H. Schnitzer – Benedict Arnold at Saratoga: How a Newly Discovered Letter Changed History
Mark Edward Lender – The Plot against General Washington: The Conway Cabal Reconsidered
James Kirby Martin – The Man Who Wouldn't Be King: George Washington, an Exceptional Revolutionary Leader
Holly A. Mayer – Women at War: Continental Army Followers
John Buchanan – The Road to Charleston: How Major General Nathanael Greene Dealt with Logistics, Savage Civil War, and Politics in the Carolina's and Georgia
Bruce M. Venter – Defending the Mohawk Valley: Forts and Homes Illustrated by Rufus Grider's Art Work
Glenn F. Williams - Groveland Massacre part of the Sullivan Expedition, 1779 (240th Anniversary)
Albert Louis Zambone – The Rewards of Persistence: Daniel Morgan in the Saratoga Campaign
Tony Williams – George Washington & Alexander Hamilton: A Revolutionary Relationship
Christian Di Spigna – Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution's Lost Hero
Douglas J. Pippin – The American Revolution in the St. Lawrence Valley
Mohawk Valley Legend, Historian, Radio/Podcast Host and Author, Bob Cudmore will return as Conference Master of Ceremonies.
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