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From: Michael Connor mjconnor_rr AT hotmail DOT com
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 12:58:02 -0400
Subject: O & W history
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Our Annual Meeting in Middletown will touch on several NYO&W aspects of the Erie and DL&W--the writer (in 1959) of one of the first solid new era railroad histories died Thursday. A loss for all railroad historians.
MJC

From:
Subject: fyi O & W history
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 11:17:21 -0400
To: mjconnor_rr@hotmail.com

Dr. William F. HelmerObituaryWilliam F. Helmer, 87, of Skyline Drive, Morrisville, passed away on July 10, 2014, surrounded by his loving family. He was born on November 12, 1926 in Oneida, NY, at the original Broad Street Hospital, the son of Floyd Nelson Helmer and Helen Ottaway Helmer and spent his early years in Oneida Castle. A 1944 graduate of Oneida High School, Bill earned an A.A.S. in Auto Mechanics at Morrisville Agricultural & Technical Institute (now Morrisville State College) and a B.A. at the New York State College for Teachers at Albany. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Old English Literature at the University of Pennsylvania.After a courtship of five years, on August 27, 1955 Bill married Joan E. Smith at St. Patrick's Church in Oneida, and they were almost inseparable ever after. He was a devoted family man who liked nothing more than spending time with his loved ones. He lost his beloved wife and best friend, Joan, on January 17, 2010.Bill had a lifelong fascination with railroading and wrote two railroad histories: "O&W: The Long Life and Slow Death of the New York, Ontario & Western Railway (1959), considered a "classic" in the genre and Rip Van Winkle Railroads (1970), deemed to be a "definitive history" of railroading in the northern Catskills. More recently, Bill was featured in the new documentary, Rails to the Catskills. For several years he was the Morrisville correspondent for the Mid-York Weekly newspaper. He was also a contributor to The Encyclopedia of New York State and the local histories, Country Roads and Country Roads Revisited. He had an extraordinary level of knowledge about Upstate New York history and his Helmer ancestors who settled in the Mohawk Valley in the early 1700's.Bill taught English in the Stockbridge Valley and Whitesboro Central Schools before accepting a position at what was then Morrisville Agricultural and Technical Institute (which became Morrisville State College). Dr. Helmer retired in 1985 after serving the College for 30 years, first as an English Professor and for the last 12 years he was the Dean of the Liberal Arts Division.Bill was active in community affairs, as the first leader of the Madison Hall Association, the Morrisville Improvement Committee, and the Morrisville Historic Preservation Commission. He also served on the Boards of the Morrisville Library, the Mid-York Foundation, and was the Morrisville Village Historian for many years. He also was an usher and served on the Parish Council at St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church for several years. He was an ardent supporter of environmental causes and a tireless advocate for historical preservation.During World War II, Bill served as a heavy equipment mechanic with the U.S. Army 748th Engineer Depot Company in Manila and the 410th Engineer Construction Battalion at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and during the Korean Was he was a member of the 984th Engineer Field Maintenance Company. He was awarded several military honors and received the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in Korea.Bill was a proud father and is survived by his adored children, William S. (Maureen) of Delmar, Stephen (Susan) of Manlius, Mary Claire of Morrisville and Guilderland, and Michael (Lori) of Summit, New Jersey. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Billy, Katie and Elizabeth of Delmar, John (Jackie), Maura, Caroline and Meggie of Manlius, and Annie, Michael, Jr., Grace Catherine, Andrew, Christopher, Daniel, Mary, Grace Elizabeth and Sean of Summit; his sister Barbara Sanderson of Sherrill; brother, Daniel Helmer and wife, Patricia of Bel Air, Maryland; sister-in-law, Phyllis King of Oneida Castle; a very special niece, Christine Calogero, her husband, Michael and children, Matthew and Clare; and many other devoted nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by a daughter-in-law, Eileen Kenny Helmer in 2006; and by a special nephew, John J. King, in 1995.Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m. Wednesday from Campbell-Dean Funeral Home, Inc. 260 Main Street, Oneida and 11 a.m. from St. Patrick's Church. Interment will be made in St. Patrick's Cemetery. Friends may call 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at St. Joan of Arc's Church, Morrisville and 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Campbell-Dean Funeral Home.Contributions in Bill's memory may be made to SEVAC Ambulance Corps, Box 1030, Morrisville, NY 13408, or Madison Hall Association, P.O. Box 115, Morrisville, NY 13408. Envelopes for these funds may be obtained at the funeral home. To leave a message of condolence, please visitwww.campbell-dean.com.CAMPBELL-DEANFUNERAL HOME, INC.OneidaDate of Death: July 10, 2014- See more at: http://obits.syracuse.com/obituaries/syracuse/obituary.aspx?n=william-f-helmer&pid=171695543&fhid=13160#sthash.BZTBMW5D.dpuf

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