It was to be the biggest event in Utica's history, so its neighbors decided to come.

From Syracuse and Sangerfield they would come, and from places like Sauquoit, New Hartford and Whitesboro.  From Herkimer and Ilion they would come, and from places like Mohawk, Frankfort and Old Forge. And from Boonville and Remsen, Chadwicks and Camden, Rome and Ava.  And from Albany and Washington, too.

Store clerks and seamstresses, factory workers and doctors, lawyers and mechanics, members of the United States Congress and Senate ... they and others would be in Utica to help its citizens celebrate their biggest and proudest day ever. There would be parades, marching and concert bands and fireworks galore.  There would be food and drink and games for young and old.

Yes, July 2, 1908, would be the day Utica and its visitors honored "the gentleman who lives in that big house on Genesee Street" ... the day they would tip their hats to the Utica man who two weeks earlier in Chicago had put "Utica" on the political map and in newspaper headlines throughout the country.

So as the Utica man prepared to leave Chicago and head home, Uticans and their neighbors prepared to greet him with the biggest event the city had ever known, Festivities were to begin at 8 at night at Bagg's Square when his train was due to arrive. The Conkling Unconditionals @ the local high-stepping Republican Party marching club @ would lead a parade up Genesee Street followed by dozens of other groups including the Knights of Columbus, 120 employees of the Homer P. Snyder Manufacturing Company of Little Falls and marching bands from many surrounding villages.

And when he arrived from Chicago, he was to ... "what's that?" ... "what did you say?" ... "he's here?" ... "you're right, there he is!"  The train slowly pulled into the train depot and was greeted by a gun-salute and a large group of area dignitaries. The guest of honor walked to a nearby carriage and the festivities and parade began.

Thousands lined Genesee Street from Bagg's Square to Oneida Square to cheer the man they had come to see.  The bell in the tall tower at City Hall rang out and whistles atop every factory in the city whistled their welcome. Fireworks exploded in all sections of the city lighting up the now-dark skies. Flags and banners were everywhere.

The man smiled and waved as his carriage slowly proceeded up Genesee Street. When spectators would approach the carriage, he would shake their hands.  They noticed that he looked tired. He had become ill while in Chicago and just now was beginning to feel better.

The parade moved past Hopper Street and then on to Oneida Square. There, it paused so that marchers could rest for a moment. Then it proceeded to the Utica man's home on the east side of Genesee, between Clinton Place and Jewett Place, Thousands were gathered in front of his house, most having had waited there for hours. Some were sitting, some
were standing and many were singing.  What a memorable night!

The man of the hour left his carriage and walked to his front porch that faced Genesee. Thousands cheered.  He lifted his arms and waved for silence.  He didn't get it. What he got was more cheers. After all, only one other Utican had ever achieved what he had and his neighbors were damn proud and wanted him to know it.

After several minutes, he sat down... and let the cheering continue.  When the cheering finally stopped, others on the porch spoke. In fact, there were many speeches. Long ones. Short ones. Rousing ones. Dull ones.

Then, the man who was being honored spoke briefly... the man who two weeks earlier in Chicago had been nominated by delegates to the Republican National Convention to run for vice president of the United States ... the man known to the nation as James Schoolcraft Sherman and one of the top Republicans in the country @ but known to Uticans as "the gentleman who lives in that big house on Genesee Street" ... the man who on July 2, 1908, gave the Mohawk Valley something to be proud of... the man who was only the second Utican to be chosen to run for national office (the first being Democrat Horatio Seymour who, in 1868, ran for president of the United States and was narrowly defeated by Ulysses S. Grant).

(On November 3, 1908, four months after Utica's big celebration, William Howard Taft, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was elected 27th president of the United States.  And his running mate, James Schootcraft Sherman, "the gentleman with the big house on Genesee Street," became the nation's 27th vice president.)