140 Years Ago - 1886

Mongaup Valley – A few small flocks of wild pigeons have put in their appearance. They are the first seen here in several years.

The canal opened for navigation April 1st, and several boats passed through the night.

130 Years Ago - 1896

W.B. Dell of Livingston Manor, also known as “Bome,” has purchased a log barn of J.D. Woolsey and one of J.D.W.M. Decker, made a raft of the logs and intends to start for Philadelphia at the first freshet.

R.J. Hoag of Lew Beach has 1200 maple trees tapped and yet is unable to supply the demand for sugar and syrup.

George Metzger, well-known resident of Callicoon Depot, died on April 6,  at the age of 62. He was the oldest of four brothers, born in Germany, two of whom Jacob of New York, and Conrad of Jeffersonville, survive as does his mother who is 84, and resides with the family of her deceased son, Philip, near this village. He was married to Katie Rieber, the daughter of a former hotel keeper at North Branch, who survives, as do five children.

Bethel – Thad Peck and daughter had a runaway yesterday, and were thrown out of the wagon.

Mr. Quick, who resides near Barryville, opens up a blacksmith shop at the stand of the late William Cross and will commence work in about two weeks.

Briscoe – Alfred Judson’s place has a new tenant, a Mr. Quick.

Kenoza Lake – The first of April was immensely enjoyed by the younger element. It was nothing unusual to see a person on the street displaying a strip of paper at the rear of his clothing.

Roscoe – Fred Henry, formerly a clerk of Maybee & Gregory, broke ground for a general store on First Street.

Callicoon Depot – The Delaware River Musical Association will hold their semi-annual convention at Callicoon Depot beginning May 5, for four days, ending with a grand musical concert.

120 Years Ago - 1906

The trout season opens in Sullivan County next Monday.

Conrad Metzger of this place has disposed of the brewery property at Obernburg to Joseph Kille of New York, who owned it and conducted a brewery business there years ago.

David Pintler of Bethel and W.F. Henry of Lake Huntington have taken the general store and post office of John Brining Jr. at the latter place, and intend to do business on a strictly cash basis.

A movement is again on foot to change the name of Callicoon  Depot to Delaware. The name of Callicoon Depot is the name of the village and post office,  and the railroad station is called Callicoon, while the village and post office of Callicoon is nine miles distant and in the town of Callicoon. Delaware is a good name and would be in its proper place in the town of Delaware. Callicoon belongs in the town of Callicoon where it is.

Among those drawn to serve as trial jurors at the County  Court to begin at Monticello are  Richard O. Segar, George Weyrauch and Wm. Hessinger of Callicoon, Henry Gabel of the Beechwoods, Walter  Robisch of Hortonville, Jacob Bauer of Kenoza Lake, Henry Sipple of Fremont Center and Leon C. Happich and Fred C. Dorrer of North Branch.

A pleasant time was had by those who attended the social dance given by Charles Homer of the Eagle Hotel Friday evening. Music was provided by Kohler and Osterhout of Kenoza Lake with violin and cornet, Frank Jacobs with bass viol and Peter Fuchs on piano.

The medal for wood chopping perhaps belongs to Hank Revoir, who on Tuesday, he says, chopped for John Ludwig five cords of dam-hard wood (we never heard of that kind before) in just four hours and fifteen minutes, and the only power producer he had in the meantime were two gallons of cider. That’s chopping some!

110 Years Ago - 1916

Mrs. Creighton Deighton, familiarly known as “Grandma,” a resident of Kenoza Lake for many years died at her home on March 31 in her 89th year.

Patrick Carr, aged 72, died at his home in Youngsville last evening.

In order to keep Jeffersonville  on the map and provide the people of this community with the most popular and economical form of amusement of the present day, the Masonic Lodge of this place has decided to install moving pictures in its amusement hall permanently and give shows at regular intervals, as often as the patronage demands.

Gene Sheridan, the rural carrier from Livingston Manor, made the full trip on his route Monday, for the first time in four weeks.  The road on one part of the route was one continuous snow drift.

Rev. R. Neufeld of Union Seminary was yesterday unanimously elected to the pastorate of the Cochecton and Lake Huntington Presbyterian Churches. Congregational meetings to act in the matter were held by Rev. J. K. Stadelman of Jeffersonville.

The Campfire Girls have organized with about 20 members of 12 years and over. Mrs. Ella Schmidt is the leader. The girls entertained the Boy Scouts at a supper at Union Chapel Tuesday night.

Oswald Goodman of the Jeffersonville Boy Scouts has been promoted to the rank of second class scout and has received the badge from the superior organization. Herman Becker and Carl Ranft have also  passed the test for second class scouts and are awaiting their badges.

100 Years Ago - 1926

Fire of undetermined origin, started at 6 o’clock Wednesday night last week, destroyed the Dairymen’s League creamery at Stevensville.

Joseph Brownstein, who bought the Andrew Kohler store property at the corner of Beechwood Road in Delaware, will soon commence the erection of a 40x40 dance hall at the rear of the building.

A daughter, Margaret, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Herbert W. Grishaber of this village on April 2nd.

Murray’s Pharmacy has added greatly to the bright lights of our Broadway by erecting a large electric “Drugs” sign over the sidewalk. If more of our business places would do likewise, Jeff would look like a real place at night.

Smith, the barber, has placed a revolving striped pole in front of his parlors. Now if Mr. Smith will put a merry-go-round in his shop for his customers to pass the time, he’d soon have to put a few more chairs in his busy place.

Merel Scheidell, Robert Metzger and Osmer Wilkin were home from college for Easter.

Lincoln chapter of the Eastern Star is preparing for a big night tonight when the district deputy grand matron, Mrs. Harriet Shaw of Liberty, will make her official visit with the assistant grand lecturer, G.T. Cross of Callicoon.

William H. Lixfield, aged 65, Jeffersonville’s harness-maker, died of  heart trouble April 5 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John J. Bischoff at Lake Huntington. He was married to Miss Cora Heidt of Kenoza Lake, who died several years ago.

Mrs. Louis Reinheimer, aged 85, and an old resident of Callicoon Center, was found dead in bed there at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Jacob Merklin, on Sunday, April 4th.

90 Years Ago - 1936

At the meeting of the Youngsville Board of Education last Monday night, George B. Cooke of Monticello, who is teaching his second year and first job in the Youngsville Central School was elected principal for the coming  new term to succeed Carol A. Mider, who has resigned after serving there for five years.

The annual spring primary election is held today. Party delegates and members of state committees are to be chosen. There are no contests in Sullivan County.

Postmaster Fred W. Schadt has installed a telephone (144) in the post office for the accommodation of patrons of the office. So if you want to call up and have your postal cards read to you. It’s OK.

The trout fishing season opens next Saturday, April 4th.

Charles Frederick Hartig, aged 73, and one of Livingston Manor’s highly esteemed and substantial citizens, died at Sarasota, Fla., on March 22. Burial was at Callicoon.

Youngsville – Mrs. Ray Cahalan of the  Ropke apartments has removed with her little son to Jeffersonville where they will make their home with Mrs. Cahalan’s mother, Mrs. Pecsi, who spent the winter here.

White Sulphur Springs – A March community birthday party was held in the firemen’s club rooms last Wednesday night. The affair was planned by Mrs. E.H. Lawrence.

North Branch – Jacob Bauernfeind and Robert Euker are home from Cornell for a week’s vacation.

80 Years Ago - 1946

Tumble Inn at Callicoon Center has been sold by Harry C. Schuler to John  Tecklenburg, 35, a New  York delicatessen man, who will take possession as soon as the liquor license can be transferred.

Leon and Frances Rosen have purchased the Lake View House on East Main Street, Jeffersonville, through Alfred E. Adler, Kenoza Lake broker.

Mrs. Margaret Black of Obernburg has bought the Jauernig bungalow at Shandelee. She has been spending the winter with  her brother, Conrad Tempel.

Miss Elma Ruth Thony, youngest daughter of Mrs. Ruth Thony of Jeffersonville, and Carl H.R. Hansen of Dyberry, Pa., were married in Honesdale on March 30th.

Miss Dorothy Norris, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Norris of Briscoe, and Colman Christensen, son of Mrs. Walter Mall of Jeffersonville, were married in Hancock on April 1st.

A double wedding took place in Liberty when Miss Myrtle Roser of Livingston Manor and William Henkelman of Liberty and Miss Alma Barnhart of Lew Beach and William Roberts of Livingston Manor were married on March 23, at the Presbyterian Church.

Lieut. Commander Irving Robisch and family of Brooklyn spent the weekend with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Robisch of the Beechwoods House.

George A. Wood, 80, native of Briscoe, died March 24 at South Fallsburg, where he had lived for the last dozen years.

At the meeting of the Presbyterian Ladies Aid yesterday, Mrs. William Kohler, retiring president, finished the business of the year and turned over the office to her successor, Mrs. Leonard Huff, who presented Mrs. Kohler with a potted plant from the Aid.

70 Years Ago - 1956

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day even though the snow on the ground and the cold weather made winter clothes more prevalent than Easter finery.

The Jeffersonville Village Board adopted  a new fiscal year to begin on June 1, 1956, to May 31, 1957. The 1926 issue of Village Water Bonds has been redeemed and water rents now cover the operating expenses.

Max  Yasgur of Yasgur Farms, Bethel, has purchased the Jeff Dairy from Elliott and Gilbert Weiss.

Anna Abplanalp of Jeffersonville and Youngsville, died at her home on East Hill, Youngsville, at the age of 74.

Mrs. Frank Eagin of  Youngs­ville is nursing a badly bruised knee acquired in an auto mishap on Friday.

Between 150 and 200 persons attended Easter Sunrise Services and breakfast at the White Sulphur Springs Methodist Church.

Charles Sipple, well-known Roscoe druggist, died at Liberty Loomis following surgery. He was 67.

Janet Rosenberger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Rosenberger of Hortonville, has been placed on the Dean’s List at Ithaca College.

On March 28th, the Ladies Auxiliary of the H. Russell Kenyon Post of VFW elected the following officers: President Roberta Lewis; Senior Vice-President Dorothy Krongel; Junior Vice-President Lillian Moran; Chaplain Ethel Schaefer; Conductress Nancy Levitt; Guard Frieda Mages; Treasurer Alice Eggler; Trustee Vera Bernhardt, Henrietta Smallbone and Helen Luckey.

Officers elected by the Callicoon Center Volunteer Firemen are Chief Clarence Krantz; John Amback, assistant chief; Floyd Korth, secretary; Valentine Hessinger, treasurer; Robert Schmidt, 1st Lieut. and Walter Stechmann, trustee.

60 Years Ago - 1966

The dividing line of the Thursday night snow storm seemed to be between Livingston Manor and Roscoe. Reports were that there was between two and three inches at Roscoe. The Manor has only a good sprinkling. Rockland Supervisor Cecil Stewart said that Johnson Mountain appeared to be the dividing line. There was two to three inches at Lew Beach. Fremont Supervisor Joseph Winkler said they had only a good sprinkling in his town.

“Eggs to the right of them, eggs to the left of them” is the theme of this year’s Easter Egg Hunt at the Delaware Youth Center field scheduled for Saturday, April 2, at 2 p.m. At present directors of the organization are soliciting for eggs in an effort to top last year’s all-time high of 1440 eggs.

Mrs. Josephine Orr, 90, a resident of Lake Huntington, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Harold Maas.

At Roche’s Garage, Callicoon, a wide-track Pontiac Catalina was advertised “for less than $3000.”

After many months of rehearsals, the trying on of costumes, the fixing of scenery and the collecting of props, the moment of final reckoning has arrived. Opening night faces the cast of “The King and I” which opens tonight at the Delaware Valley Central School, under the direction of Willard “Bud” Slausenberg.

50 Years Ago - 1976

On March 18, the Town of Delaware was officially designated a Bicentennial Community. A local ceremony, including official presentation of the township’s bicentennial flag and scroll will be announced at a later date.

Patricia Creegan and Charles Segar were united in marriage on March 16 at the Cochecton Presbyterian Church. Mr. and Mrs. James Creegan of Cochecton and Mrs. Catherine Segar and the late Charles M. Segar of Fosterdale are the parents of the newlyweds.

Margie Turner of Woodbourne and John Wilcox of Roscoe, chaperoned by Mrs. Anna Brucher of Bethel, joined 100 4-Hers in Albany for Capital Days held March 22 and 23.

Wayne Schroeder of Youngs­ville, Joan E. Redington of Jeffersonville, and Pamela Smith of Cochecton, have all been accepted for the Fall semester at State University Agricultural and Technical College at Delhi.

40 Years Ago - 1986

The student team of the Hotel Technology division of Sullivan County Community was awarded the gold medal of the International Chefs Association, at the recent International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show held in New York City. On the team are Adam Kreiger, Brett Gisser, Ben Abou, Larry Reynolds, Randy Rubin, Linda Gilbert and Assistant Professor Friedrich Klostermeier.

Sullivan County will receive $100,000 in state funds for its proposed emergency dispatch control center, thanks largely to the efforts of Sen. Charles D. Cook (R-C-40) of Delhi and Assemblyman Richard I. Coombe (R-C-98) of Grahamsville. County officials had asked for $300,000 but Paul Walsh, chairman of the 12-member control center committee, says the $100,000 will be a big help in defraying start-up costs. The control center is proposed for the Sullivan County International Airport in White Lake and will not likely be in operation before next Spring.

A rash of burglaries and attempted break-ins has hit Jeffersonville and given the residents there the idea that they have “been left out in the cold” when it comes to law enforcement protection.

The Sullivan County Red Cross will benefit from a Wrestle Mania 2 set for April 7 at the Stevensville Country Club. Seen via satellite, the main events feature WWF Champion Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy from the Los Angeles Sports Arena; “Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs Mr. T from the Nassau Coliseum and an open invitational 20-man “Over-the-Top-Rope” Battle Royal from Rosemont Horizon.

Nate Patton, longtime men’s basketball coach at Sullivan County Community College has been replaced by the college’s soon-to-be Athletic Director Paul Zintel. In another unexpected move, Delaware Valley boy’s basketball coach Ron Bernhardt has resigned his position to become assistant coach under Zintel, eventually to move into the role as head basketball coach at SCCC. As a student at Jeffersonville-Youngsville Central School, Bernhardt was a top player under the direction of Zintel, then the high school basketball coach there.

30 Years Ago - 1996

The Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) spared Apollo Plaza from likely foreclosure by renewing a six-year agreement with its mortgage company. 

The list of potential managers for Sullivan County has been reduced to three or four with plans to let the County Legislature make a final selection in about two weeks, Legislator Leni Binder (D-7) said Monday. The county hopes to have a new full-time manager to replace Linda Green Angus in place by early May, she noted.

Mr. and Mrs. John P. Wicks of White Sulphur Springs announce the engagement of their daughter, Valerie Marie, to Robert John Mooney, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Mooney of Niagara Falls. The wedding is planned for June 22, 1996. 

Gary Yaun, a junior at Tri-Valley Central School, had the fastest time in the 16-18  age group at Belleayre Mt. Ski Center in Highmount. A Coaches’ Slalom Race was set up on the steep Upper Peekamoose trail. Yaun won a gold medal for the race. One of those he beat was a Junior Olympic entrant.

Narrowsburg Central School seniors left Saturday afternoon for Austria.

Fishing enthusiasts converged on Junction Pool in Roscoe on April 1st for the first day of trout season in New York. Kevin Dausch of Roscoe claimed the first fish, a nice brown trout approximately 21 inches long, he caught at around 5:45 a.m. He reportedly broke his fishing rod in the struggle.

Delaware Valley’s third grade is participating in the worldwide “Travel Buddy” program. Mrs. Robisch’s third grade class sent a stuffed animal named DV Bear, along with a knapsack filled with other goodies, to Finland. In exchange they got a toy seal named R.K. Kuutti.

A baby boy, Scott Irving was born to Robert and Julie Pisall of North Branch on March 10, 1996. He was born at Wayne Memorial Hospital and weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. He joined an older sister, Jean. Maternal grandparents are Scottie and Jean Ogden of Beach Lake, Pa. Mr. Hartford Reed of Beach Lake, Pa., 92, is the great-grandfather.

Jenny Kelsey of Canastota, the granddaughter of Mrs. August Andersen, proprietor of Andersen’s Maple Farm in Long Eddy, was named First Alternate State Princess of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc. at the New York State Fair.

20 years ago - 2006

The second flood to devastate much of the county happened a year ago this week.

Bridget Maloney of Callicoon Center and Nicholas Stavola of Middle Village, Queens, have announced their engagement. The bride-elect is the daughter of the late Loretta Maloney and Thomas Maloney of Callicoon Center. The groom-to-be is the son of Carol and Nick Stavola of Queens.

Eugene and Jean Clark Albrecht, formerly of Rock Hill and now of Jupiter, Fla., recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Fifty years ago in November, the first structure for the Fort Delaware museum in Narrowsburg was constructed by a crew consisting of Charlie Nober, Si Freiermuth, Joe Meyer, M.O. Conklin and James Burbank. The log cabin is a model of the type used by settlers of the Upper Delaware area before the Revolutionary War.

10 Years Ago - 2016

It was a day of blessings and peace in Monticello when his Eminence, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, visited the Catholic Charities Recovery Center on Broadway in Monticello last Thursday. April 1 was the official one-year anniversary of Catholic Charities acquisition of the Center, so Cardinal Dolan came to tour and bless the facility. 

The staff and residents of the Sullivan County Adult Care Center thanked their Family Council and Kristt Company for delivery of 48 clocks for use in residents’ rooms at the Center. Family Council purchased the clocks at a discount thanks to the efforts of Les Kristt of the Kristt Company in Monticello. Sullivan County Adult Care Center Family Council representative Joan Dirie accepted delivery of the clocks.

Roscoe is home to the legendary Junction Pool, where the Beaverkill River and the Willowemoc Creek meet. It’s said that Junction Pool possesses strange and “mystifying” currents causing migrating trout to linger for days or weeks, deciding which stream to follow, bearing the legend of the “two-headed trout.” This past Friday, locals, tourists and the entire eighth grade class of Roscoe Central School gathered on the banks of the Willowemoc Creek, bright and early, to watch the first cast by expert fly fishermen Rick Miller and Dick Smith on Opening Day. The eighth graders came to Junction Pool prepared with fishing rods to test their skills.