SUNY at Cobleskill - Voice Yearbook (Cobleskill, NY)

Page 13 text:

In Memonam I ION. I AXI Kfj I). FKINimC Novkmkbk .‘Ml, 18. 0 - Ar ;rsT ( , HKU The passing of Daniel Dodge Frisbie truly leaves an empty space in I he life « r this i list i I ill ion. Therefore, il is fitting and propel dial we chronicle in (his annual some of I In out si a inline fads in regard lo his life. Failing this, we should he very much amiss. Mr. Frisbie was horn November -»0, I Soil a( Middlcburgh. N. Y., which was his home town throughout his life and il. was then dial In-died August ( , l!Kll. Mr. Frisbie was educated in tin- schools of his native- town and al llariwick Seminary. Al (lie laller institution In acijuired a broad ami liberal educalion. developing marked literary tastes, which in after years led him lo adopt journalism as a profession. I le also altained prominence as a public speaker and dcbalor. Leaving the seminary in LS7( , he -n!ered upon an active business cam-r with liis lather and later with his brother, which proved singularly sueeessful. and from ISiM) on. in addition lo journalism, he was privately interested in many important enterprises. Mr. Frisbie was a life long member of Si. Marks’ Lutheran ('linrch of Middlcburgh and lo (hat church he gave mist ini ingly of lime and funds. In public life Speaker Frisbie may justly and proudly be called one of Schoharie County's outstanding sons. He was first elected lo Un-assembly in IllOO and during this term secured immediate recognition as a statesman and leader so that when lie was returned by his county in mtU he at once became l he minority leader of his party. Again in IOOX lie was elected to the Assembly and served continuously in I his capacity up lo and including 1011. During this time he was the democratic leader and in 1011 was elected lo the position of Speaker. Il was during his Speakership in 1011 that Mr. Frisbie introduced and secured the passage of the Dill creating this New York Stale School of Agriculture til Cobleskill. incidentally, the birth certificate- gave the name of I lie Schoharie Stale School of Agriculture and that name is now engraved over tin front entrance lo Frisbie Hall. In ihe words of Mr. Frisbie this school got its first start in Ihe city of Kcussclacr February 2, mitt, when he presented a similar proposition al a (’handier of Commerce banquet and proposed that with assistance the school could be located in Kcnsselacr County. An extract of the statement in regard to this meeting, is on file in I he office and reads as follows: The promised •surprise' for I he evening was a petition lo Mrs. Itusscll Sage. New York City, to buy Seven

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DANIEL DODGE FRISBIE 1859-1931 (ilTlSSN CH UKCHMAN- STATESMAN SOMETIME. SPEAKER OF THE MEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLF AS A MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY FOR SCHOHARIE COUNTY HE INTRODUCED AND CARRIED THROUGH THE LEGISLATION WHICH RESULTED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS INSTITUTION « • ♦ t THIS TABLET 18 IRK6TID 111 AFFECTIONATE ;«eoofuriofi of ms faithful amd unselfish 8E0!I)6E DURING TWENTY YEARS A3 FRIEND MU COUNSELOR OF T5 113 8SB00L AMO FIRST PRESIDENT OF ITS BOAR9 OF TRUSTEES il r » APftll 1033 '

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Forbes Manor, Rensselaer, X. Y„ for an A n 11111 ami Manual Train- ing school. “The principal speaker of (In evening. Assemblyman Daniel Frisbie, spent the greater portion of his address in extolling the merits of an educational institution as suggested. “All members and visitors present signed the petition and same was mailed to Mrs. Sage for her consideration. After several months' study by her advisors the proposition was turned down. “Eventually, Speaker Frisbie introduced the bill for the location of a school at Cobleskill as mentioned above.” Mr. Frisi ie’s relationship to this school was something far beyond being merely the originator and sponsor in the Legislature of the Act by which it was established. Me was, from the beginning, its ardent supporter and guide and in his crowded and busy life he found time to serve as president of its Board of Trustees through twenty years. The bronze tablet in the entrance of the hall which bears his name was erected by his associates in recognition of his perennial zeal and enthusiastic loyalty toward this institution. The biographer of Mr. Frisbie who would seek among his many public addresses for utterance which would best characterize the man and his ideals and motives in life, can do no better than to select his inaugural address delivered upon tin assumption of the Speakership of the New York Assembly. This pronouncement, signalizing as it does a most remarkable personal triumph, may fairly be taken as his declaration of political, social, and economic faith, It. is in no way, as perhaps might be expected, a mere appeal for party regularity and partisan advantage. Bather, it is a clear, statesmanlike call to all good men to unite in an effort to carry on the welfare of the Commonwealth. Rending it, one cannot but be impressed that, it was no mean citizen upon whom the County of Schoharie bestowed tint highest honor within the gift of her electorate. Politically he was since the days of Governor Botick, the County’s most outstanding son. Daniel Frisbic’searthly career may seem to be ended but to him there remains an enduring monument. It is not set above him in the cemetery on the hillside overlooking tin ijuiet village where he was born and where his life work was done. Bather it is symbolized in the brick and mortar of the buildings that crown the hilltop at Cobleskill. We say perhaps that he has gone on into the silence but through the boys and girls that daily go across the lawns and up and down the corridors of this school, he still makes his contribution to the life of the County of Schoharie and the wider community of the State of New York. A blight