{"cutline"/}The mood of our country changed quickly after we entered World War II. It became more somber, and people came together in the overall effort for victory.

Even some of the entertainment of the era focused on the war. For Cooperstown, a traditional summertime event called "Community Sings" changed in 1942. That year and for a few to follow, they became "Victory Sings." Many a Sunday afternoon was spent in the back of the Hotel Otesaga for Community Sings, with Otsego Lake as its scenic backdrop. The first Victory Sing took place on Sunday, Aug. 2, 1942.

"Instead of the musical interludes of former years," reported The Otsego Farmer, "the Victory Sings are bringing to Cooperstown a series of addresses on subjects connected to the war by speakers of national and international distinction. It is the objective of this committee to give the people of this locality the opportunity of hearing the best speakers available in order that they may have first-hand information as to what is going on in this world-wide conflict."

Despite the threat of rain and gasoline rationing, about 2,000 gathered on the grounds of the Otesaga. Although this became a more informational format, there was still music before each program. It came under the leadership of Elmer A. Tidmarsh, director of music at Union College.

"His magnetic baton held the same power as last year," said The Otsego Farmer. "Accompaniments were provided by a Hammond electric organ played by Miss Helen Henshaw, organist at the First Presbyterian church at Albany." The audience heard featured speaker Cecil Brown, a "distinguished reporter" for the Columbia Broadcasting System, who gave a "deeply stirring account of his experiences in the Far East and what those experiences and observations ought to mean to the people of the United States."

Brown worked closely with fellow broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow during the war. Brown had been aboard the British battleship Repulse when it was torpedoed and sunk, and he gave descriptions of his escape and return to safety. It was a story that made journalistic history when he told it for the first time in Singapore in December 1941.

The Victory Sings continued each Sunday through August, with the last of the season on Aug. 30. That day nearly 3,000 gathered at the Otesaga.

In the musical portion of that program, Tidmarsh invited Jerry B. Wilson of Oneonta to lead a song, who chose an inspiring rendition of "God Bless America." The Otsego Farmer summed up the series saying, "If it be true that �you can never beat a singing army or a singing nation,’ as a preceding speaker so truthfully maintained in his talk on the international situation, then the Cooperstown Victory Sings have been tremendous builders of morale in this part of the country."

In that same edition of the newspaper, it was reported that the village trustees had approved plans for the immediate removal of 75 to 100 tons of steel rails concealed under Chestnut and Grove streets that had been abandoned by the former Southern New York railway, an interurban line that connected Oneonta with the Mohawk Valley. The action was an answer to a patriotic appeal for steel salvage in the war effort.

The Victory Sings continued for the next few years. The first in August 1944 attracted 1,200. In 1945, the Aug. 14 edition of The Freeman’s Journal reported that the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II was greeted here with joy, and it set off a community-wide celebration. Fire engines ran through the streets with "sirens wide open." Thus ended the short era of Victory Sings.

This weekend: We’ll visit the former Pond Lily House on Oneida Street.

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City Historian Mark Simonson’s column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.