| Notes |
- - 1925 New York State census: Earl C. Como was 5 years old and living at 106 Riverside Ave. with his parents, John E. and Elizabeth Como.
- May 29, 1932: The list of the awards made at the St. Lawrence county Boy Scout court of honor held Tuesday night in the courthouse at Canton: Tenderfoot Troop 1- Earl C. Como.
- March 10, 1934. Journal published a poem by Earl Como:
The Dying Cowboy
I'm beyond all human care,
Stand back sisters, give me air.
Hear before you while you stand,
The last words of a passing man.
I've rode the trails through and through,
And now I will be leaving you.
Take me out where I can lie,
And watch the roundup while I die.
Tell my son, his dad has gone,
O'er the divide into the Great Beyond.
Tell him that I will be gone,
To the happy hunting ground.
A gun in hand since I was born,
A gun that shot me just this morn.
So silently bow your reverent heads,
For a passing man, who is passed and dead.
Earl Como, 14 years old of 8 Jackson St.
- Republican Journal, March 14, 1934: (Earl Como writes in his autobiography that he wrote a "sarcastic piece about the mayor, Ralph Morisette, which was published in the local paper. But the mayor, thinking my sarcasm was due to the inability of a kid my age to rhyme, actually invited me down to City Hall to congratulate me."
MAYOR MORISSETTE
Listen children, and do not fret,
And I'll tell you the story of Mayor Morissette.
It was just three years ago that he,
Brought back to our town prosperity.
He said to his friends in the city hall.
"In the belfry go, but that isn't all,
"If hard times come by land or sea,
"Just up and ring that bell for me."
On the opposite street stood Mayor Morissette,
A dauntless man all ready and set.
He heard the frogs and the crickets sing,
When hark! Did that darn bell just ring?
He started out with a sword in hand,
And kicked depression from the land.
He chased hard times through house and street,
'Till depression fell in the swamp of defeat.
From every barn and tomato can,
There comes a cry, "God, what a man!"
Poems are made by fools like me,
But who can make a man like he?
Earl Como, 14, 8 Jackson St
- Earl Como notes in his autobiography that he was expelled from school in his sophomore year in March, 1935, when he was 15. His report card showed he was expelled in March, 1936, when he was 16. "The difficulty I have in dating these events was the fact that my family told me, and I believed, that I was a year older than I actually was," he wrote. "Therefore, when I was expelled in March of my sophomore year, I was only 15, not 16. I did not know this until some years later. But I can state with certainty that the year was 1935." But it was 1936, not 1935. That same year, he joined the CCCs and writes, "Miss Westbrook suggested that I wait until my birthday in December, then add a year to my age and join the CCCs. Bear in mind that a year had already been added to my age, therefore when I joined the CCCs in December, supposedly at the age of 18, I would in reality be only 16." He later writes that he started for the CCC camp "Dec. 10. 1935." However, it was 1936, not 1935, and he was 17, not 16. The Avance News of Jan. 21, 1937: "Five Ogdensburg boys have been sent to CCC camps in this district, Welfare Commissooner Lawrence J. McCarthy announced yesternay. Allen Lovely, Earl Como and Chester Vinch were sent to the Benson Mines camp and Leo Tynon and Carl Hebert to the Pierrepont camp."
- Nov. 24, 1930: MISSING $100 BILL CASE IS BEFORE JUDGE. Earl Como Dismissed For Lack of Evidence That Felix Boyer Gave His Son $100 Bill in Change.
Earl Como, 1518 River street, testified in police court this morning he knew nothing about a $100 bill which Felix Boyer, Lake Street groceryman, claimed was given Como's son by mistake Friday afternoon. Others who testified under oath were Mr. Boyer, Earl Como, Jr., about six years old, and Joseph Dishaw. This case was finally dismissed for lack of evidence. The little Como boy when questioned by Attorney Alford Wells, who represented Mir. Boyer, denied he told the police Saturday night he got a $100 bill in change from the Boyer store. Mr. Boyer testified the Como boy came into the store between two and three o'clock Friday afternoon with a check amounting to about $11. He wanted it cashed for his father. About 15 minutes after the boy left, the $100 billl was discovered missing. Como claimed it was a ten dollar bill his son brought home. Joseph Dishaw was questioned about changing the bill for Como Saturday night said he was crossing the Lafayette street bridge with Mrs. Dishaw and he met Como. He was asked by Como if he could change a $10 bill. Como handed him the $10 bill, Dishaw testified, and he gave him two fives for it. The case was then dismissed by Judge Edward Ewart.
- June 15, 1933: June 15-Jury was unable to agree in the case of Elizabeth Como as administratrix of the estate of Richard Como against Earl Fleming after a trial yesterday in county court. At 5:30 o'clock the jury reported it was unable to agree and County Judge James C. Doleu sent it back with instructions to try and arrive at a verdict by 6. When that time came, the panel announced it was hopelessly divided.
Mrs. Como, mother of the 13 year old Ogdensburg boy who was fatally injured while coasting down Ford Avenue at Main Street, Ogdensburg, early the evening of Jan. 3, 1932, was represented by Attorney John Livingston while Attorney Edmund FitzGerald handled the case for the defendant. At the conclusion of the plaintiffs presentation Attorney FitzGerald moved for dismissal of the action on the ground that the plaintiff had failed to make out a case. Motion was denied whereupon Mr. FitzGerald declined to offer an evidence and let the case go to the jury.
Witnesses for the plaintiff were; Mrs. Como, Edward Kiah, Earl Como, Salina Recore, Paul Recore and Miss Irene Slamsky, all of Ogdensburg. The boys told of sliding down Ford Avenue with Richard Como while Mr. and Mrs. Recore testified about hearing a crash and going to the scene and finding the Como boy seriously injured. Miss Slamsky testified about seeing the boy and the car go by but did not witness the crash.
Police Chief Herbert S. Myers of Ogdensburg told of talking with Fleming at the police station during which the driver of the car declared he was afraid to report the accident becaxise of a previous crash and believed he would lose his license to drive. Attorney FitzGerald brought out the fact that there was no city ordinance allowing sliding on any street in Ogdensburg and that there was no light on the sled. He quoted highway statutes relative to use of streets for sliding.
- Oct. 3, 1942: Pvt. Earl Como transferred from the quartermasters corps at Camp Lee, Va., to the Army Air Base at Daniel Field, Augusta, Ga. He graduated from the B.C. school at Camp Lee.
- Oct. 30, 1942: Pvt. Earl Como transferred from Daniel Field, Ga., to the 903 Quartermaster Co., 7th Detachment, U.S. Army Air Forces, Drew Field, Tampa Fla. has served six months in the service.
- Nov. 6, 1942: Soldier Takes Bride. Pvt. and Mrs. Earl C. Como. Miss.Cayen Is Bride Of Pvt, E. C. Como
In an informal ceremony yesterday at 4 p.m., Elizabeth Mae Cayen, 19, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Caven of 923 Congress St., became the bride of Private Earl Como, 22, son ot Mrs. Elizabeth Como of Utica, N. Y. at St. John's Episcopal Church with Rev. Charles E. Kennedy officiating. They were attended by Mrs. Catherine Martin, sister of the bride and George Pitcher, brother-in-law of the groom.
The bride was atired in a royal blue velvet street length dress with matching accessories and her shoulder bouquet was of pink roses. The matron of honor wore brown wool with matching accessories and a corsage of yellow roses identical to those worn by the bride. Following the ceremony, a wedding supper was held at the home of the bride's parents with members of the immediate families attending.
Due to the brevity of Pvt. Como's stay, they will be unable to make a wedding trip. He is home on furlough from Drew Field located at Tampa, Florida, where he has recently been stationed. Pvt. Como entered the army in June of this year. The bride is a graduate of the June class of the Ogdensburg Free Academy. The groom also attended the Academy and the George Hall Trade School Defense Classes prior to his induction. Mrs. Como plans to remain in Ogdensburg when Pvt. Como returns to his station Sunday of this week.
- Oct. 1, 1943: Private Earl Como is enjoying a 17-day furlough at the home of his wife and son, 923 Congress St. He is stationed at Drew Field, Tampa, FL.
- Feb. 25, 1962: Two area men were hospitalized following a two-car head-on collission at the intersection of the Canton-Ogdensburg road and the Arterial Highway Monday, Feb. 19. Injured were Earl Calvin Como, 826 Mechanic St., operator of a 1954 Dodge station wagon. He complained of back, knee and chest injuries. Also injured was Reggie Laton Roy, Heuvelton, who was o9perating a 1960 Pontiac registered to his wife. The front end of the Pontiac operated bv Rov was badly damaged. The left front of the Como wagon was struck and it appears to be a total wreck. The collission took place just west of the intersection.
- Jan. 12, 1975: In the 1812 map of Ogdensburg at left, lines have been drawn extending Ford and Washington Streets, from the point of the penninsula to the Lafayette Street Bridge and directly through the Oswegatchie dam to act as a reference in locating Fort LaPresentation, (indicated by black arrow). Lines drawn from the same reference points in the aerial photo at right, taken in 1962, indicate that at the same spot, there appears a faint white outline of the same dimensions as Fort LaPresentation, (White arrow). A local man, Earl Como, believes that the outline is the foundation of the Fort and said that an on-site inspection reveals the presence of a ridge which could be the foundation wall of the stone structure, (Map courtesy of Elizabeth Baxter)
Local Man Believes Fort Site Now Pinpointed
BY ELIZABETH BAXTER City Historian
Earl Como, 826 Mechanic St., who has a special enthusiasm for the City of Ogdensburg and its history, has been making a study of its old forts and has come up with some very shrewd and interesting conclusions. He believes the best available map of two of the forts is that published opposite Page 145 in St. Lawrence County by Gates Curtis, printed by D. Mason and Co., Syracuse, in 1894.
This map shows the French Fort, La Presentation, on the west side of the Oswegatchie River, near the St. Lawrence River, and Oswegatchie Fort, or Redbout, beside the St. Lawrence River, approximately between what now are the north ends of Hamilton and Patterson Streets
The fort was first built of wood but the same year was rebuilt of stone. The map, titled Ogdensburg in 1812, was prepared by H. J.O. Eng. Co. of Syracuse, according to an identifiying caption. Page 146 of the Curtis history refers to the old stone garrison and its role in the Battle of Ogdensburgh on Feb. 22, 1813.
The Curtis account refers to \the gateway between the two buildings which formed the stone garrison, protected by cannon. Como points out, particularly, the footnote to Page 149 of the Curtis volume, which reads: The place was left unguarded thereafter (after the Battle of Ogdensburgh), and the barracks were never repaired. The walls and chimneys stood for many years, a monument recalling to mind the efforts made and privations endured by the first white settlers for our benefit.
The place should have been repaired and preserved by the government, instead of having been ruthlessly destroyed by thoughtless men for mercenary objects. Some of the stone of these ruins may now be seen in the road bed west of the Rome depot. (The Curtis history was published in 1894. The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburgh Railroad reached the old Village of Ogdensburgh in 1862. Later, the line became the New York Central. What's left of if now is Penn Central.)
Como doubts that ruins of either fort sank 20 feet in the water, as certain divers have indicated, and points out that the base there is indigenous limestone. "Marine deposits, such as limestone, when near a coastline, generally grade into sandstone and then into shale, Como said. Since the local limestone is of a uniform grade and color, it would appear that the ancient seas that laid them down were a long way from any coast, therefore indicating that the stone under the penninsula are solid strata, ruling out a fracture or fault in this area.
"The penninsula itself is composed of glacial till heavily intermixed with clay, a combination which is extremely resistant to wave action. It is quite unlikely that any subsidence could deposit the fort under water, nor could it slide off the penninsula. When the R.W and O Railroad reached here what remained of the ruins of the fort were used for fill and the ground was filled in to deep water to provide a freight house for both the railroad and navigation.
"When this dock was built, the workers built it over the remains of a French gun boat that was scuttled by the French during the French and Indian War. As far as I can determine, she carried 12 guns, three of which were recovered by Nathan Ford in 1802. The other nine, along with the gunboat, are enclosed in the now Mobil dock. It would seem unlikely that the old fort could leapfrog over this dock and deposit itself practically intact, into the bed of the Oswegatchie."
Como said he contacted Dr. Morey, head of the geology department at St. Lawrence University, and "he agreed with the information I gave him without being definite. Scientists are a cautious lot and a slight affirmative from one of them is analogous to a firm conviction on the part of most anyone else. He suggested that I send him any material that I could find and he and with his associates would study it."
Como maintains that a point 150 feet north of the dock, mentioned by the divers, would put the ruins in the ship channel which has been periodically dredged by the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain a depth of 19 feet, as indicated by navigation maps printed in 1939 and 1959. "These also check with the depths given by Gates Curtis," he said. Como said that his investigation places the site of Fort LaPresentation at the end of Commerce Street and just east of railroad tracks which extend to the end of the penninsula. He said he located the site by using triangulation, drawing lines from physical objects which were known to exist and are located on the map drawn in 1812.
"Extending Ford and Washington Streets placed the fort just between these two lines. Extending a line through the Oswegatchie dam left the fort just east of this line as it bisected the other two and a fourth line drawn from the east side of the penninsula and south, passed directly through the fort."
Como then took an aerial photo of the site taken in 1962, and drew the same lines. He discovered that at the exact spot where the fort should be located, there appeared on the aerial photo a faint outline the same size as the fort was indicated to be. Located at one corner of the site is a home occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Duffy.
An investigation at the site on Friday revealed the presence of a distinct ridge circiling the area and forming a rough square, indicate that there exists a solid mass running under the soil which is about two feet wide. "It appeared that two foundation walls of the Duffy home were a part of the square and an examination of these walls revealed a curious angle in their construction which indicated that they cold have been a part of a butress of the fort and that the house was built using these walls as part of the foundation. We found that there is a distinct difference in the style of construction of the walls which is further evidence that some portions were added to what was already there."
Como said that there is no doubt in his mind that the fort was located at this site and that the presence of the ridge, and the odd construction of the walls indicate that they may very well be the foundations of LaPresentation. Permission is being sought from the owners to probe the ridge areas to determine if a foundation wall actually exists at these areas, he said. This would be, for Mr. Como, a contribution to the success of the American bicentennial locally.
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1919 - 1996 (76 years)
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