Civil War Hero (originally published 2005-10-01)
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Civil War Hero (originally published 2005-10-01)

By: Bob Cudmore

Date: 2025-07-14

Civil War hero snagged 2 Confederate markers

Mix master’s skill was secret to Fitzgerald’s ginger ale

By Bob Cudmore. Focus on History, Daily Gazette, 10-01-05



A Canajoharie man was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at the battle of Petersburg, Virginia in April 1865.

Reader Ed Archinal of Amsterdam sent information on Frank Shubert, a sergeant with Company E of the 43rd New York Infantry in response to an earlier column on the Civil War. According to Civil War web sites, Shubert was born in Germany in 1841 and died in 1920. He is buried at Canajoharie’s Prospect Hill Cemetery.

In the battle, Shubert captured two Confederate markers. “I believe that Confederate markers were the flags of either companies or regiments,” wrote Archinal.

A postwar directory listed Shubert as a manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes with his partner, Christopher Sticht.

“I came across Frank Shubert (Franz Joubert) when researching my genealogy,” Archinal said. “He was the brother of my great grandmother. The store he sold shoes from still stands (on Church Street) in Canajoharie.”

According to Archinal, a document at the county archives indicated that Shubert made $10,000 per year, making him one of the leading businessmen in Canajoharie. Shubert’s daughter Bertelle married Edward W. Shineman, chairman of the board of Beech-Nut in Canajoharie from 1948 to 1954.

THE MIX MASTER

In response to columns on Fitzgerald’s Bottling Works, Patrick Constantine of Amsterdam wrote that the secret to the local company’s ginger ale years ago was the skill of the mix master.

“The main mix master was a man named Anthony Kosiba,” wrote Constantine, who worked at Fitzgerald’s 60 years ago. “The ginger extract was shipped in from Jamaica in a powder form in sealed containers. Mr. Kosiba’s formula consisted of lots of ginger extract, lots of sugar, plus hot water. The mixture was put into stainless steel vats to mix for 12 hours. The next day it was ready for bottling.”

MAYFIELD EXHIBITS

This month, Mayfield historian Betty Tabor has an exhibit on the Great Sacandaga Lake at the library of the Junior-Senior High School on School Street. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library, the exhibit of articles, postcards and artifacts marks the 75th anniversary of the lake.

In December, Tabor is planning an exhibit on the impact of World War II in Mayfield. No location has been selected yet but Tabor is looking for photos and other artifacts. If you have items for the exhibit, call 661-5085.

A BANK’S TAVERN

At a recent reunion of the Amsterdam High class of 1945, some remembered that the downtown skyscraper bank building on East Main Street, which still stands, used to have a tavern on the first floor.

According to class member Richard Ellers of Ohio, the brother of an Amsterdam dentist owned the establishment. A caller to my WVTL talk show recalled that the tavern was the Esquire and the brother of dentist Arthur Cushing, whose office was nearby, operated it. The caller said it was a romantic spot, not very wide but with a long bar. However, city directories of the 1940s fail to mention the Esquire or any other tavern at the bank’s address.

RADIO STARS

A 1927 Amsterdam newspaper clipping provided information on popular radio stars of that day, when national networks were starting to replace local performers.

WGY’s Harmony Twins—William Fay and A.O. Coggeshall—came from Schenectady in February as the surprise entertainment for the Faithful Daughters Class of Trinity German Lutheran Church. Fay and Coggeshall sang songs and told amusing stories to the 40 women at their meeting at the Barnes Hotel on Market Street. In its radio column, the Recorder newspaper listed the Harmony Twins as one of the Best Bets on WGY that night.

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