140 Years Ago - 1879

The friends of Mr. Peter Eggan will be glad to learn that he is recovering from his late illness... Several parties have left this place this week to chop cord wood for the acid factory in the northern part of Fremont. Our old friend, Mr. Warren Rose, formerly of North Branch, is foreman of the establishment.

The public school of this village closed Wednesday afternoon for a holiday vacation and will open Monday, January 5.

A new barn has been erected on Mr. C. Barkmeyer's premises in North Branch.

Up to Monday, December 15, 292 rafts have passed Lackawaxen on the late Delaware freshet. The run was composed of about equal quantities of sawed log and toggle and a few rafts of wharf timber.

Morrston — The sleighing for the past two or three days has been utilized by the teamsters in this section in drawing logs and lumber.

On November 30, 1879 at St. Luke's Church in New York, Jacob Weishelmer, formerly of Jeffersonville, and Kate M. Hafner were married.

An infant son, three months old, of George and Lena Filweber of North Branch, died on December 9.

North Branch — Joseph Mesler of this place shot a doe over near the Beaverkill one day last week. He forgot to send us a piece of venison.

We have always supposed Henry Inderlied to be a first class businessman, a man of rare intelligence, and until lately have supposed that nothing more could be added to his abilities or resources. He has, however, one failing. He does not subscribe to the “Record.”

Callicoon — Frank Harding of Cornell University is home for the holidays.

The man who pays more for shop rent than for advertising, doesn't know his business. — Horace Greeley.

130 Years Ago - 1889

Livingston Manor, Dec. 23 — W. Coleman, while working on one of the small saws in Wool­sey's sash and blind factory last Saturday, cut off three fingers of his left hand... There was considerable sleigh riding during the recent storm. The snow is only about 6 inches deep and sleighing was poor, but everybody had to have a “whack” at sleigh riding...O.B. Parks has moved to DeBruce, where he is having a large quantity of 4-foot wood cut for the acid works of this place... The merchants of this place are doing a rushing business.

White Lake, Dec. 24 — The building of the new Episcopal chapel at this place is under construction. The frame is already erected and trustees are using better English.

George Kinch, an Army veteran of Beaverkill, has received a back pension of $700 and will receive $6 per month thereafter.

The Watchman secured the printing of the Supervisor's proceedings at $2.39 per page. This is one cent below the Record's bid.

At the recent election of Callicoon Lodge No. 521, F.&A.M., the following officers were elected: H. Krenrich, Master; A. Glassel, S.W.; T. Bird, J.W.; V. Schmidt, Treas.; M.J. Weyrauch, Sec.; W.B. Coventry, S.D.; C. Homer, J.D.; H. Reinheimer, Trustee; F.B. Ward, Tiler. The officers were installed by R.W.D.D. Benjamin Odell of Newburgh.

Whooping cough is said to be quite prevalent on Swiss Hill.

It is said that Bauernfeind's hotel in North Branch, when completed, will accommodate more guests at one time than the Walnut Mountain House.

120 Years Ago - 1899

W. Tompkins, a farmer living near Long Eddy, lost a barn, 24 cows, 2 horses, all his hay and farming utensils, by fire, Saturday night, December 16. There was no insurance.

Ernest W. Kinnie of Mongaup Valley has been appointed a local warden of the League of American Sportsmen, an organization for the protection of fish and game.

School closed for a vacation of two weeks.

Rev. and Mrs. William Meyer received a large Christmas box of provisions from the M.E. congregation Saturday night.

Measles are raging in the families of William H. Pfeiffer, Fred Trachsel, Rudolph Krantz and Charles Gabriel of near this place.

Miss Barbara Homer is endeavoring to organize a ladies bowling club.

At the annual election of Callicoon Lodge No. 521, F.&A.M., Saturday night, Valentine Scheidell was re-elected master; Philip Bietz, senior warden; Conrad Metz­ger, treasurer; William Lieb, secretary; and Thomas Taylor, trustee. William P. Miller was elected junior warden.

Mrs. E.D. Maynard died of pneumonia at her home near Lew Beach December 24, aged 64 years. She leaves a husband, a son, Dr. S. Maynard of Roscoe, and two daughters.

Philip Hembdt Jr. of Carmel is spending his holiday vacation at his home near Kenoza Lake.

Mrs. Fred Faubel, who has been ill for some time, was removed to the home of her sister, Mrs. H. Bauernfeind in Beechwoods, last week.

Freddie Schadt and Charles Scheidell are home from Scranton for the holiday vacation. They are accompanied by the former's nephew, Carl Schadt.

Callicoon — John Zahoric Jr. of Roscoe is doing some carpentry work for Conrad Gilbert… A daughter was born to John Yager Jr. and wife on December 22.

110 Years Ago - 1909

We are getting some real winter weather now. A couple of inches of snow would give us fine sleighing.

Farmers are now hauling logs to Kohler's lumber mill.

Hazel Brand is home from school at Kingston for the holidays.

John vonBergen is hauling logs from his wood lot this side of Youngsville.

Phil Coventry of Roscoe spent Sunday and Monday with his sister, Mrs. H.U. Krenrich.

Philip Dorrer has built an ice house and is filling it with ten inch ice from his private pond.

Ice harvesting has begun. The frozen liquid is now from 10 to 15 inches in thickness.

School will close today, December 23, to reopen on Tuesday, January 4. Principal McCall and Misses Clett and McCoy will spend the vacation at their respective homes upstate.

Webster Kohler, son of Mr. and Mrs. John N. Kohler of Jeffersonville, and Miss Matilda Isabelle Frey, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Frey of Youngsville, were married at the home of the bride's sister, Mrs. Adolph Schneider in Middletown on Saturday, December 18. The couple will reside in Middletown where the groom is employed by the Western Union Company.

Yager, Grishaber and Company are still busy experimenting on their homemade automobile which promises to be a hummer - unless they can put several mufflers on it. It can go at a 60-mile clip on low speed. What it will do at high speed has not been ventured, but it probably will convert itself into an air ship. It is called a runabout, because it can run about a block.

Val Scheidell is having his Maxwell car taken apart for repainting and rebuilding. Val expects to get a new Maxwell next year.

100 Years Ago - 1919

The dedication of the new schoolhouse in Kenoza Lake took place at the new building on Saturday afternoon. The principal is E.C. Neiger. The principal speaker of the day was Hon. C.O. DuBois, director of the state school of agriculture at Delhi. His topic was “Saving the Farm Boy for the Farm.” About 100 people were present, including the children. Among those who spoke were Attorney William Deckelman of Jeffersonville.

The members of the building committee for the school were: Wm. C. Fuhrer, George Raum, W.N. Moulthrop, George Puerschner, John Bossley and Theron Taylor. The trustees are Wm. C. Fuhrer, W.N. Moulthrop and George Brey. The building is constructed of concrete blocks with an asbestos roof. It has two large classrooms on the main floor and a large amusement hall in the basement. It cost about $8,000.

Wm. Abplanalp of Youngsville and Caspar Girard of Callicoon Center have been appointed census enumerators for the two election districts in the Town of Callicoon. Ralph Bossley of Kenoza Lake, an ex-serviceman, has the appointment for the second district of Delaware.

E. F. Kohler, the local dealer has just sold four cars of the new Overland model.

Basil, the new son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Hick, was baptized at Vincent de Paul's R.C. Church in Syracuse last Sunday.

Clarence Brog of Jeffersonville and Miss Violet Tyler of Bethel are to be married today.

School closes Friday for two weeks vacation over the holidays. Snow for Christmas, which makes the Yuletide real.

Miss Anna Scheidell and Alan F. Lieb have come home from Middletown for the Christmas joys.

90 Years Ago - 1929

Benjamin F. Eldred of Callicoon has been elected master of Delaware Lodge 561, F.&A.M. Edwin F. Kelley was elected Senior Warden; Raymond J. Metzger, Junior Warden; L.E. Bock, Treasurer; George N. Homer, Secretary and Dr. W.W. Appley, Trustee. Raymond C. Tate is the retiring master. The election meeting was attended by one of the largest crowds to attend an election meeting in recent years.

A “Whoopee Party” will be staged by the C.H.S. Alumni Association at Harmonie Hall here Friday evening, December 27. The affair is not private as some suppose, but everybody is welcome and invited to attend. Jesse's famous “Harmony Boys” will furnish the syncopation.

Dr. Mills has purchased a steed, with which he expects to negotiate the snow banks in this section during the present winter. It is mounted on four wheels and is known as a new Model A. Ford coupe.

Miss Lillie Bock won the doll at Kenney's movies last Sunday evening. Buddy Hermann, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hermann, was the lucky one on Saturday evening.

Soldiers are getting the best food served in the history of the United States Army and it is costing the government only 51 cents a day per man, according to an annual report of Maj. Gen. Frank B. Cheatham, quartermaster general. Extension of the use of rayon, adoption of roll collar overcoats, and plans to provide mounted troops with leather-laced boots to replace shoes and leggings are expected by Cheatham to contribute to appearance and morale. The problem of obtaining satisfactory cotton cloth for uniforms has been so difficult Cheatham has recommended adoption of a khaki shade identical with that used by the Marine Corps in place of the familiar olive drab.

The students of the Damascus (Pa.) High School and the grade pupils are enjoying a three week vacation due to the fact that the new high school building is not yet ready for occupancy.

Born to Mr. and Mrs. N.G. Persbacker of Narrowsburg, Saturday evening, December 7, a daughter. Both Mr. and Mrs. Persbacker are former residents of Callicoon and well-known here. Also a daughter, Eileen Marie, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wahl of RFD 2 on Tuesday, December 10.

F.A. Canfield loaded his household goods and a pair of horses in an Erie car at Cochecton and the car was hitched into the westbound way freight today en route for their new home near Alle­ghany, Cattaraugus County, eleven miles west of Olean. Five members of the family started yesterday, Sunday, by auto. Henry Reager of Rural City is chauffeur for the party. — Damascus Corresp.

A report has been given by Harvey A. Gordon, chief of construction of the Scout Camps within the Town of Tusten, and small portions of Cochecton and Highland townships. The property has an area of nearly 11,000 acres. The report is:

Buildings erected

11 - 33x40 mess halls, capacity 100 campers

2 - 33x72 mess halls, capacity 200 campers

2 - 44x88 mess halls with two 32x33 kitchen annexes, capacity 260 campers

1 - 48x64 2-story log and administration buildings, capacity 100 campers in addition to offices and conveyance

1 - 6-car garage

1 - 2-car garage

3 spring houses

2 gravity tank roofs

3 collecting reservoir houses

1 - 24x32 camp director living quarters

1 200-ton ice house

1 500-ton ice house

1 50-ton ice house

36 automatic flush latrine, wash houses, capacity 65 campers each

4 pump houses

4 - 16x18 red jacket log cabins

4 - 9x18 Adirondack shelters

1 25-foot Indian Teepee

16 - 20-20 slab cabins

214 - 16x16 tent platforms, capacity 8 each

26 - 8x16 tent platforms, capacity 4 each

1 central kitchen with capacity of 4,000 meals a day

1 - 24x56 commissary store house

1 - 16x16 cold storage room

2 - 8x8 cold storage rooms

1 - 16x16 bake shop

8 old-fashioned field stone fireplaces

1 steam heating plant for 20-room house

1 construction material storehouse, 16x96

1 acre of material store yard

1 carpenter shop, 24x32

3 - 100 camper capacity dock, swimming crib and float

5 - 200-camper capacity dock; swimming crib and float

3 - 260-capacity dock, swimming crib and float

8 1/2 miles of stone base road through virgin country

The report also lists extensive construction of water systems, sewage and miscellaneous improvements planned for the future. This is indeed quite a project!

John Wilfert, aged 78, died at his home in Jeffersonville on December 22. He was born in the village of Mahring, Bohemia, Austria. He came to this country at the age of 19.

James Trudden, for many years well-known as a quarryman at Roscoe, died in New York on December 18, in his 64th year. The family came to Roscoe in 1881 and bought a farm on Spring Brook, where they opened a quarry. Up until about 12 years ago, when the use of concrete ruined the blue stone business, Mr. Trudden continued to operate the quarry.

A son, Valleau Edward, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Valleau C. Curtis of Callicoon at the Liberty Hospital on December 15.

A son, Joseph Leander, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Robertson of Youngsville on December 17.

80 Years Ago - 1939

Miss Frances Knapp, who would have been 103 years old next February 19, died at her home in Narrowsburg on December 23. She was born in Bloomingburg, February 19, 1837, one of eight children of Hiram Knapp and Nancy Jane Sears. The family later moved to Bethel and when Frances was 14 they settled in Narrowsburg, where the father worked at shoemaking. She saw the village grow from a small rafting hamlet to an important station on the Erie Railroad, whose first train she witnessed runover the road. She was the last of her family. Her father, John, died in the Civil War. Her grandfather, Walter Knapp, was a bodyguard to General Washington at the Newburgh Headquarters during the Revolutionary War.

Three Sullivan postmasters will retire on January 1st, having reached the age of at least 70 and served 15 years or more under a new law. They are Daniel Gillespie of Glen Spey, 72; Mother Polycarpa of St. Joseph's who has served 41 years; and George F. Hamilton, 77, of Burlingham, who has served 44 years.

Philip Justin, for many years a successful farmer and summer boarding housekeeper in Beechwoods, will reach his 90th birthday anniversary on January 16.

The marriage of Ruth L. Palmer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Palmer of Richmondville and Merle K. Scheidell, son of the late Charles and Mary Scheidell of Jeff­ersonville, took place on December 24th at the home of the bride. Mr. Scheidell is an attorney, practicing in Goshen. The bride has been teaching on Long Island and is a graduate of Oneonta Normal School and will receive a Master's degree from Columbia next month. Mr. Scheidell is a graduate of Syracuse and NYU.

70 Years Ago - 1949

Val Ernst was seriously injured in NYC while, with his wife for the Christmas holidays, he was decorating a Christmas tree. He required 28 stitches.

Libby Manzolillo will fight a five-round bout in Kingston on January 5 against Willie Smith of Poughkeepsie, according to word received by his manager Ray Shaara. No word has yet been received as to when Libby will have his first Golden Gloves fight.

Word has been received that the State Education Department plans to conduct a photographic survey of all historical sites in Sullivan County. James Burbank, the county historian, will give an account of the proposed survey at the next meeting of the county historical society at the courthouse in Monticello on January 9.

Kenneth Zieres of Livingston Manor has been elected master of Livingston Manor Lodge No. 791, F.&A.M. He succeeds Otto R. Hoos.

In Liberty, Floyd L. Tewsbury has been elected master of Mongaup Lodge No. 81, succeeding Anthony Raffa Jr.

Delaware Lodge No. 561 of Callicoon has elected Charles J. Dexter of Narrowsburg as master. He succeeds Rev. John E. Straub of Short Hills, N.J.

Mrs. William Kautz of Callicoon died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ruth Ackerman, Callicoon, on December 26. Born Margaret Schubert at Cochecton Center, she was a daughter of George and Julia Petrie Schubert. She was married to William Kautz at the Schubert homestead July 4, 1899, by Judge John Breining.

Arthur Wilfert, son of Charles and Margaret Wilfert (nee Margaret Durr) died December 25, 1949. He was born January 11, 1898, in Jeffersonville.

60 Years Ago - 1959

You hear all sorts of things if you keep your ear to the ground on Main Street. One apocryphal story of how Dave Sims got a deer in the recent deer of either sex season, was that he fed it one of Harold's pizzas.

Santa Claus had quite a ball when he held court in the former Ilse Glassel studio in the Rudolph Building last Saturday afternoon for all the children of the area. He was busy handing out candy to some 200 children, and listening carefully to their requests for Christmas presents. There is a rumor that the jolly gentleman bore a strange resemblance to Sam Baer.

Walter Scardefield Jr., stationed in the Middle West with the U.S. Army, is on leave and visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Scardefield.

The migrant farm worker is disappearing from New York State. The traveling workmen, who are seen each year harvesting fruits and vegetables, are gradually being replaced by machines.

James Bleakley, a resident of Roscoe for 19 years, died last Thursday at the Veterans Hospital in Albany after a long illness. He was 36.

50 years ago - 1969

The new 50'x100' dairy barn on the farm of Sydney Peters of Callicoon, RD, collapsed Monday morning, apparently under the weight of the heavy snow which was falling. Mr. Peters and his son, David, were working in the new barn, trying desperately to tie it together, when the side walls gave way. Mr. Peters said he had noticed a crack in the side wall earlier and decided to put additional ties across the barn in the form of cables, reaching from side to side.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jubar, nee Gail Sadenwater, of Rhinebeck, announce the birth of a daughter, Elaine Marie, on December 22. She has a little sister, Kimberly Ann, at home.

A snowstorm of blizzard proportions hit this area of the country late Sunday evening and continuing all night and all day Monday, dumped some 14 to 16 inches of snow on beleaguered residents. Area merchants, ready for the last minute Christmas rush, were almost without customers as traffic ground to a standstill. The Sullivan County Court House was closed at 2 p.m., and all county employees were sent home early.

Percy Keesler of Fosterdale died December 19, at the age of 64. He is survived by his wife, Hazel; a daughter; four grandchildren; two brothers and five sisters.

Funeral services were held Tuesday for Jack Fisher, 60, of Jeffersonville, who died December 20 at Community Hospital in Liberty. He is survived by his wife, Ethel, a son and two sisters.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Szabo on the birth of a son, December 16, at the Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale. He has an older sister.

40 Years Ago - 1979

Former Supreme Court Justice Milton Levine of Monticello was unanimously appointed as a trustee of Sullivan County Community College by the Sullivan County Board of Supervisors at its year-end meeting last Thursday and will fill the unexpired term of Frederick Starck who resigned last September. His term will run through June 30th, 1981.

Jesse P. Brown, a well-known Sullivan County dairyman, was named to the county Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee by delegates to the county ASC Convention held December 14, 1979. William Keesler Jr. and George Glassel were chosen as first and second alternates to the committee.

The 1610-acre Boy Scout Camp in the Town of Hardenburgh will be taken over by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) by the end of this month. The state is buying the land from the Nassau Boy Scout Council, which had previously resisted the sale. This formerly tax-exempt property will now generate about $12,000 a year in state paid revenue, of which the Livingston Manor School District will receive $6,000.

30 Years Ago - 1989

Donald Cooper Jr., 28, of Long Eddy is suffering from a broken pelvis, broken ribs and a broken elbow following a fall from the Kellams Bridge onto the ice covered Delaware River at Stalker, Pa. He is in guarded condition at the Wayne County Memorial Hospital in Honesdale, Pa., where he was taken immediately after his rescue. A canoe was used to pull him over the ice to an ambulance.

In a quid pro quo, the owners of Grossinger's Hotel in Liberty have filed a $535 million lawsuit against the builders of a second-home development on Grossinger grounds and filed for bankruptcy to protect themselves from foreclosure by the banks that hold the mortgage on the property and from a $50 million suit by the developer.

Tina Gorr, daughter of Louise Gorr and the late Jack Gorr, and Kenneth Hillriegel, son of James Hillriegel of Wolf Lake and Linda Hillriegel of Binghamton, were married December 7 at the Youngsville Reformed Church.

Yvonne Patrice Kaiser of Eldred and Douglas Scott Johnston of Highland Falls were married on Saturday, November 11, at St. Peter's Church in Monticello.

Dr. and Mrs. Morton Fox of Woodridge celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Cincinnati, Ohio, with their family. A former dentist in Woodridge, the Foxes now live in Las Vegas, Nev.

Merel Scheidell recently presented a $25,000 check to Jeffersonville-Youngsville Central School Principal Judith Highhouse to establish the Scheidell Families' Memorial Scholarship. The Scheidell family has long been associated with the Jeffersonville area. The interest from the gift will provide about $2,000 to be awarded annually. In giving the money, Mr. Scheidell noted that his family once owned the property on which the school is built.

A daughter, Jamie Lynn, was born December 10, at the Wayne Memorial Hospital to Mr. and Mrs. James Hughson of Jeffersonville.

Certificates of appreciation were presented to Charles Kozora, superintendent, and Roy Sebastiano, a sixth grade teacher at Delaware Valley Central School, for the contribution of the students in the Toys for Tots program.

20 Years Ago - 1999

It was anything but business as usual for Tilly's ‘50s Diner in Monticello Christmas morning. Customers had to write their own orders. Waitresses were in short supply. The cash register never rang up a sale. Meals cost anywhere from nothing to as much as you wanted to spend. Tilly's owner Dick Smith decided to give all the day's receipts to a charity. Smith said the money raised during the six hours the diner was open Christmas morning will be sent to radio personality Don Imus, who sponsors several charities.

Thompson Town Board members Tuesday gave their okay to a single zone on the 325 acres that were once the site of the Laurels Hotel and cleared the way for the new owners to present plans for their proposed development. Prior to the zoning change, the property was divided into SR, AR and NC zones. The change creates a single SR zone for the entire site.

The Hessinger Building in Callicoon Center — viewed by some as an historic landmark to be preserved and used as an artists' colony and by others as an unsafe eyesore to be demolished — will stand for at least a few more days. If owner Palline Plum does not complete necessary improvements to the building by January 5, 2000, the Town of Callicoon may proceed with its demolition plans, which it had hoped to complete earlier this week.

Children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews all gathered together on Sunday, December 5, to honor Bill and Verna Kimmes on their 60th wedding anniversary at the Rockland House in Roscoe. The occasion was festive and celebrated their real anniversary date, which was December 2.

Louis Vincent Failla, the son of Robert Failla of Liberty and Diane and Ron Rice of Colorado Springs, and Rebeckah Lee Hust, the daughter of Barbara and the late Philip Hust of Kenoza Lake, will be married on January 9, 2000 at the Rocky Mountain Christian Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

10 Years Ago - 2009

State Police responded to the scene of a motor vehicle accident off of State Route 97 in the Town of Fremont. Upon arrival, Troopers found the driver, 28-year-old Christopher Drake of Long Eddy, in his 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt approximately thirty feet down an earth embankment off the road. Drake, who is paralyzed, was not injured. Drake was saved after his vehicle was spotted by a student riding the bus home from school. The 14 year old student told his mother who stopped at the site and managed to get Sullivan West custodian Ricky Layton across the street at the old Delaware Valley school grounds where buses are still stationed. Layton climbed down the bank and found Drake alive.

On October 11 the families of Benjamin R. and Angeline Gerow (deceased, from Liberty) and Thomas Mangan, Sr. (deceased, from Liberty) honored Robert Gerow of Liberty; Henry Gerow of Winter Park, FL; William Gerow of Burr Ridge, IL; Benjamin Gerow (deceased) and Irving Gerow (deceased) at the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, for their dedicated military service in World War II. The five Gerow sons are Charter Members of the World War II Memorial. These five brothers served during the years of 1942-1946 in various branches of the military.