Albert Dow Fonda was born March 8, 1893, on the Fonda Farm in the town of Mohawk. His early life was rooted in the family’s agricultural property, but his education took him to Cornell University, where he participated in cadet training and graduated during the First World War.
After graduation in 1917 he enlisted in the United States Marines and was assigned to flight training at Key West. The Armistice came before his training led to overseas aviation service. Like many servicemen in 1918, he also encountered the influenza epidemic and spent a period recovering while still in service.
Back to the farm
Fonda remained in the reserves for several years, then returned to the Mohawk Valley and to agriculture. His later record connects military service to the less dramatic but equally durable work of maintaining a family farm and participating in local institutions.
He served for years on the Fonda-Fultonville Board of Education and was remembered at his death in 1962 as a farmer, Cornell graduate, Marine veteran, and active member of the local community.
The arc is particularly appropriate for the Stories section because it ties together two themes already central to the website: the continuity of the Fonda Farm and the rapid technological shift from traditional agriculture to military aviation in the early twentieth century.
Sources and references
- Fonda-Genealogy.pdf: Current genealogy report, Updated July 2026; biographical notes and cited source extracts.