Rodman honors oldest residents

RODMAN — When Doris D. Blodgett was a young girl, she accompanied her truck-driving father many times to the old cheese factory here, and she thought to herself, "Why would anyone want to stay here?"

Decades later, Mrs. Blodgett was one of more than a dozen town residents honored Saturday afternoon at the Golden Harvest Celebration in town hall, 12509 School St., for having lived in the town for at least 50 years.

"We just needed to get a house, and my sister was selling hers; that's how we got here," she said.

Formerly of Sackets Harbor, Mrs. Blodgett said good neighbors, shared meals, the fire department and a quiet country setting have kept her in Rodman for 55 years. During the celebration, Mrs. Blodgett reminisced with friend Grace M. Baderman about what has changed in the town during the past several decades.

"I went to the one-room schoolhouse, and graduated in Adams Center in 1937," Mrs. Baderman said.

Mrs. Baderman, the oldest living female town resident at 92, said she saw the former school close down and become the current town hall in the mid-1960s. She and Mrs. Blodgett, former Rodman postmaster, said they remember the post office being in a private residence more than four decades ago. The post office relocated to the town hall in the late 1970s.

While the women swapped stories, Councilman Jed J. Wall presented Mrs. Baderman with a recognition letter from both the Jefferson County Board of Legislators and state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, as well as a small gift from the Town Council.

Honored with similar letters and a gift was Robert F. Merrill, 95, the town's oldest male resident. Both Mr. Merrill and Mrs. Baderman were born and raised in the town.

Mrs. Baderman's son, Councilman Arthur F. Baderman, was born in his parents' farmhouse 64 years ago.

"I was born on the farm, and went to Cornell for agriculture farming. I like doing it, and everybody here grew up with it," he said. "There are a lot less farms now than there was, though."

The Badermans are just one of many three- and four-generation families that live in Rodman today, Mr. Wall said. People who live outside of Rodman sometimes ask him, "What makes you stay?" and Mr. Wall said the answer's simple: the people.

"Everyone for the most part gets along good," he said. "I think it says people like the quality of life here. We're close-knit, and that's why people stay."