First Family

SYRACUSE -- The city was a far cry from sprawling suburban homes when Joseph and Isabella Bodily settled there in the spring of 1877.
In fact, they had the first one-room cabin on an 80-acre homestead at the time. Eventually, that cabin was joined by a house, which burned down in the 1940s.
Those pieces of history are now preserved in a new display at the Syracuse City Museum.
The city is hosting an open house to honor the Bodily family, who was one of the first families to live in Syracuse.
Museum worker Bev Gooch said the Bodily family was believed to be the first in many aspects, from having the first home to the first baby and more.
The display honoring them includes poster boards filled with photos and written information about some of the family descendants. Artifacts, such as old temple recommends from as far back as 1941 and bricks from the old home, are part of the display.
At the open house at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the Bodily family will be honored. The ceremony will include a performance by Robert Bodily, who is believed to be the oldest living descendant of the Bodily settlers.
Though Robert Bodily, who is in his 90s, left Syracuse in 1946 to live in surrounding cities before settling permanently in North Ogden, he said he has many memories of his original home.
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His love for music started when he was just 14 and living in Syracuse. He remembers having a dream about being in a band. That dream inspired him to walk the seven miles to Glen Brothers Music on 25th Street in Ogden from his Syracuse home.
There he bought a guitar and had one music lesson. He said it took many hours of working on the farm to get the money for that, but it was well worth it.
He remembers singing songs while strumming his guitar to entertain his fellow servicemen during World War II.
He served three years, two months and one day in the Army, spending time in Japan and the Philippines. When he left for the war, his daughter was 2 months old, and he returned to find her a toddler.
Long after that service, though, he still continued with his love for music.
Bob's Band is still playing today. His group used to go to local senior centers. Though it performs less, he said the group still producing its own CDs and he is even writing music.
He is excited to perform at the celebration honoring his family. Even more than that, he thinks the display is a wonderful tribute.
"I was tickled to death when I found out," Bodily said.
Gooch said having such displays is important.
"Kids are forgetting about the history. The land is gone. The farming is gone. We have to keep reminding them and showing them."
Just last month, the museum had 600 school-age children at the museum looking at the different displays.
This new display adds another touch of history. Gooch said it honors people such as Mae Bodily, who was a teacher at Syracuse Elementary for 40-plus years before retiring.
"The kids are really interested in what went on," she said.
The display on the Bodily family will continue to be part of the museum indefinitely.
Gooch said museum organizers hope to continue to add to the city's rich history by building displays of other first settling families.
"We want to keep that history alive in Syracuse," she said.
"We want to honor the families that were the first here in Syracuse."