The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
5 to join History Hall of Fame
UTICA, N.Y. >> The Oneida County Historical Hall of Fame, begun in 1946, has named five individuals to its 2019 inductee class: Spanish American and World War I veteran Sgt. Charles Adrean; Utica Mayor Boyd Golder; Jewish community advocate Libby Sherman Kowalsky; broadcast personality and Holocaust survivor Julian Noga; and “the father of college hockey,” Albert Prettyman.
The Hall of Famers will be inducted alongside the 2019 Richard W. Couper ‘ Living Legends’ class: Congressman Sherwood Boehlert; Observer-Dispatch Editor Donna Donovan; bakery and restaurant owners Segean and Mary Ann Karam; jazz musician and Hamilton College Professor Monk Rowe; and Oneida County Legislator Ed Welsh.
Sgt. Charles Adrean (1877-1918)
Utica native Charles Henry Adrean was born in 1877. He joined the National Guard after high school and served in the Spanish American War. He rose to corporal and sergeant before receiving an honorable discharge at the age of 40 for purposes of entering theU.S. Army during World War I. He joined the 107th Infantry Regiment of the 27th Infantry (Orion) Division, which shipped out to Europe in May 1918. Adrean was gravely wounded in combat and died of his injuries on Oct. 1, 1918. He was one of 437 men of the 107th Infantry to lose his life, out of a total of nearly 3,000 men. He was awarded the U.S. Army’s Distinguished Service Cross for his gallantry, the highest award for valor short of theMedal of Honor. Today he is remembered as the namesake of the Adrean Terrace housing complex next to the State Armory on CulverAvenue. American Legion Post No. 625 in Utica is also named in his honor. Adrean was 41 whenhe lost his life and is buried in St. Agnes Cemetery on Arthur Street in Utica.
Boyd Golder (18921978)
Boyd E. Golder was born inUtica andgraduated from the Utica Free Academy. He attended Union College and received his Master’sDegree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He served as first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Golder was mayor of Utica from Jan. 1, 1946 to Dec. 31, 1955 during the city’s “loomto-boom” era, which were the years that most of the city’s knit goods mills relocated to the south and were replaced by such firms as Chicago Pneumatic, General Electric, Bendix Aviation, Sperry UNIVAC, and Mohawk Airlines. Thus, he led the city in its transition from a mill town to a light electronics-machinemanufacturing town. He
was a charter member of the Utica College Foundation Board, and was instrumental in getting the state to locate the College of Applied Arts and Sciences in Utica in 1946 (todayMVCC). Golder was a member of the Kiwanis Club for more than 60 years, active in the Boys State program, and a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Utica. Libby Sherman Kowalsky (18721959)
Libby Sherman was born in Poland and immigrated to Utica at the age of 13. She married Wolf Kowalsky and the couple had four sons. Libby was known as the pioneer woman of the Utica Jewish community and was the leading unofficial social worker in the area. She was instrumental in establishing the Charles T. Sitrin Home, which originally opened as a 6-bed facility for convalescent Jewish men and women in 1951. She helped organize the Bikor Cholim Society, a society for caring for the sick, and served as the organization’s first president. She was a member of the Hadassah, Zionists Organization of America, New Israel Club, Council of Jewish Women, Sisterhood of Temple Beth El, Miller Street School Auxiliary, St. Elizabeth Hospital Guild, and the Red Cross. She received a letter of commendation from President Eisenhower in 1958 for her years of community service. Libby passed away in 1959 and is buried in theHouse of Israel Cemetery in Whitesboro.
Julian Noga (1921
Julian Noga was born in Szczucin, Poland on July 31, 1921, and relocated with his family to Austria after the Nazis invaded his homeland. He survived 4 years in the Flossenberg concentration camp before marrying Frieda Greinegger, also a Holocaust survivor, and immigrating to New York Mills in 1948. Noga owned Lincoln Jenny Memorials, and was the founder and president of the Kopernik Association. He served as president of the Polish Community Club, was an honorary member of the PLAV Edward Bator Post No. 21, and president of the White Eagle Association. He was dedicated to sharing his story to any who would listen. He started a weekly radio broadcast on WIBX called “Polonaise,” which kept Polish traditions vibrant while capturing his love for his homeland. The program aired for 24 years. His memoirs were translated for the first New York State Education Department curriculum guidelines and he provided testimony about his experience for the National Holocaust MuseuminWashington, DC. Noga lived in New Hartford when he passed away at the age of 93 on Oct. 10, 2014.
Albert Prettyman (1883-1963)
Albert Ira Prettyman was born in Virginia, but had a significant impact on hockey and Central New York. Prettyman brought ice hockey to the Utica area in 1917 and helped make the village of Clinton one of most passionate hockey towns in America. A major figure in collegiate hockey, he was the head of Hamilton College’s Department of Education and coached 25 seasons of ice hockey with a winning percentage of 0.643. He also coached 27 seasons of other sports, including football, basketball, baseball, track, tennis and golf. He founded the N.C. A. A. ice hockey rules committee in 1925, and served as its ice hockey rules committee chairman for 18 years. He served on three Olympic committees, and led the AmericanOlympic ice hockey team to victory, wining a bronze medal at the 1936 games in Berlin, Germany. Prettyman passed away at the age of 80. After his death, the American Hockey Coaches Association called him“the father of college hockey,” and said, “During his active years, there was no more respected name in hockey circles the world over than that of Albert I. Prettyman.”
The Oneida County Historical Hall of Fame is named after benefactors David and Carolyn Ellis. David Ellis was a former history professor at Hamilton College, past president of the History Center, and author of state and local histories. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002. The Living Legend Award, started in 2001, is named after benefactor Richard W. Couper. He was a former acting president of Hamilton College, president of the New York Public Library, and a trustee of the History Center.
This year’s inductees are being recognized for their service as civic leaders and community advocates, and for their efforts in furthering the region’s industries, culture, and educational opportunities. They will be honored at the History Center’s annual Historical Hall of Fame and Living Legends Awards Banquet at Hart’s Hill Inn on Wednesday, September 25, starting at 5:00 pm. Tickets should be purchased in advance by calling the History Center at 315-735-3642. Prices are $50 for current OCHC members, $60 for the general public, and $440 for tables of eight.