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Hidden History of the Mohawk Valley

The Baseball Oracle, the Mohawk Encampment and More

By Bob Cudmore

Many remarkable individuals overlooked in history books have called the Mohawk Valley home--baseball oracle James Sheridan, weather prophet Cousin George Casabonne and “Dixie” Veal, an African American from Georgia who joined up with Union soldiers in the Civil War and became one of the Mohawk Valley’s most famous citizens.

“Hidden History of the Mohawk Valley” contains photographs taken in Amsterdam by renowned photographer John Collier in October 1941. His pictures captured the spirit of scrappy Mohawk Valley residents battered by the Great Depression and about to be thrust into World War II.

Bob Cudmore’s new book takes you back to these forgotten places and stories.

  • Find out why renowned man of letters Edmund Wilson visited a Mohawk Indian encampment on the Schoharie Creek in 1957.

  • Read about Camp Agaming in the Adirondacks where Kirk Douglas was a counselor.

  • Hear the tale of an incredible journey made by a Dutch barber-surgeon in 1634, the first trip through the valley documented by a European.

  • Mrs. Marion Bennett, a friend of Governor Thomas Dewey, owned the Tower restaurant and lived in the unique Cranesville building.

  • An Amsterdam sailor cheated death aboard a stricken submarine.

Bob Cudmore wrote the 2011 History Press book, “Stories from the Mohawk Valley-the Painted Rocks, the Good Benedict Arnold and More.” A native of Amsterdam, he writes a weekly column on local history for the Daily Gazette newspaper. He and Steve Dunn co-produced the WMHT-TV documentary about Amsterdam history - Carpet City - in 2000. That same year, Cudmore published "You Can’t Go Wrong: Stories from Nero, N.Y.", a satirical book on Upstate life.

A radio personality, Cudmore hosted the morning show on Lite 104.7/1570 AM WVTL in Amsterdam from 2004 to 2014. From 1980 to 1993, he hosted the nightly Contact talk show on WGY radio in Albany. A former adjunct instructor at Albany’s College of St. Rose, Cudmore has worked in public relations for the State University of New York.

For a signed copy of “Hidden History of the Mohawk Valley”, please send signing instructions and a check for $27. to Nero Publishing, Bob Cudmore, 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, N.Y. 12302 - Please allow four to six weeks for delivery - Includes postage, handling and sales tax if applicable - bobcudmore@yahoo.com - 518 346 6657