110 Years Ago - 1912

The second annual clam bake and Firemen’s Day held under the auspices of the Liberty Hose and Truck Company No. 2 was a huge success with about 550 visiting firemen. Delaware Hose Co. No. 2 of Callicoon had 26 men in line and with their light-colored uniforms presented a very pleasant appearance. The Callicoon Center Band led them in the parade. The clam bake was free to the uniformed visitors. Over 1,000 people were served. It is estimated that over 8,000 people took part in the festivities.

Mr. and Mrs. Elias Green (the former Rosa Newland) of Brooklyn were tendered a surprise 35th wedding anniversary party by their many friends at Hankins last Saturday night at the Hankins House.

J.K. Hornbeck of Equinunk, Pa., ex-commissioner of Wayne County, has purchased a gasoline engine which it is his intention to use to generate electricity to furnish light for the residents and streets of Equinunk.

Roswell Mercer, 16 years of age, son of John Mercer, was drowned in White Lake Monday morning.

Thieves entered the jewelry store of Albee Bros. at Roscoe Monday night by cutting out a large piece of the plate glass window, and stole 75 watches, some jewelry and other articles.

Married by Rev. Will H. Hiller at the Methodist parsonage Monday, August 26, John D. Shuman of Galilee, Pa., and Florence E. Conklin of Honesdale, Pa.

Miss Mary Geib, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Geib of Hankins, left for teachers’ training class last Monday which will be taught in Hancock.

100 Years Ago - 1922

Each with a pin hold to his credit, Jack Niflot of Long Eddy and Howard Zwald of Fosterdale consented to call their wrestling match at Callicoon Friday evening a draw. Zwald scored his first fall in     1 hour and 29 minutes and Niflot got his in 35 minutes. The match was before a packed house. Zwald, who is 24, weighed in at 145, and his opponent tipped the scales at 128. But the long professional experience of Niflot, former featherweight champion of America, offset the handicaps of youth, weight and height of his opponent. Elmer Knack refereed the match and is a wrestler of note himself.

The corner stone for the new St. Francis Xavier R.C. Church in Narrowsburg was laid in ceremonies at 3 p.m. Sunday.

During the week, the Erie has placed its bridges under guard and called in all passes to its premises usually visited by permission only. At Callicoon, two men are on guard at night and one by day. This is the first time the structure has been guarded since the summer of 1917.

Edward C. Hoffmann of Callicoon and Miss Henrietta May Reichmann of Petersburgh were united in marriage September 3 by Rev. John Straub at the Callicoon Center parsonage.

The Jeffersonville, Twin Village and Stevensville granges had exceptionally fine exhibits at the 4th Annual Fair of the Sullivan County Agricultural Association, with the Stevensville taking first prize. One of the most pleasing features of the entire fair was the baby contest. The award for babies under six months went to Ruth L. Gettel, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Gettel of North White Lake. The second premium went to George W. Kays Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. George Kays of Liberty. A special award was given for Ruth and Ruby Wylan, twins, of Briscoe. In the over one year, Walter Stapelton received the premium. Roy B. Bailey Jr. of Maplewood received the second award in this group.

90 Years Ago - 1932

Herbert Ropke is the first member of Delaware Valley Post to receive the Order of the Purple Heart. Mr. Ropke received the decoration from the war department a few days ago, properly engraved with his name. It was on September 30, 1918, that Mr. Ropke, then a private in Company C 311 Infantry of the 78th Division, was severely gassed at St. Michael.

Ernest A. Burton, 84, last Civil War survivor at Livingston Manor, dropped dead at his Lew Beach home Friday of heart disease. Coming from England at the age of four, he enlisted in Company G 134th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, when he was 17.

Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Schultz of Callicoon announce the engagement of their daughter, Gertrude, to John Wagner, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Wagner of Callicoon.

A girl, Janet Viola, arrived Thursday, September 1, to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hornung of Hortonville, at the Callicoon Hospital... Mr. and Mrs. Joe Linder of Hortonville welcomed the arrival of a girl on September 6... Mrs. Ellis Terrell and baby are doing fine and expect to be discharged soon.

Edson Tegeler and his sister, Helen, of Hankins, had quite an exciting experience Sunday when they chanced to come upon five people in a small boat near Rockaway, L.I., and assisted in their rescue. Edson is employed as an assistant at the First National Bank in Hankins, and Helen, a nurse, is connected with Holy Family Hospital in Brooklyn.

During the severe thunderstorm of Thursday night, lightning struck a big barn owned by Sampson Geer near Delaware Lake. The barn was full of hay and was totally destroyed in a very short time. —Long Eddy Corresp.

On Saturday afternoon, August 28, the Fishs Eddy Methodist Parsonage was the scene of a double wedding when Rev. Meiser united in marriage George Cooper of French Woods and Miss Dora Rickard of Goulds and Robert Trask and Miss Ruth Nead, both of Roscoe.

80 years ago - 1942

Miss Roberta Keesler became the bride of Ernest Bortree at the Conklin Hill Church on August 30. They were attended by Mary Keesler and David Bortree.

One of the factory buildings of the Long Eddy Chemical Co. caught fire yesterday in which all inflammable portions of the structure were quickly destroyed. The owners of the factory, Louis Liebman and Morris Diener, have had considerable hard luck. One of the buildings was destroyed by the flood on May 2 and it has just been rebuilt and is about ready for operation. The portion of the factory destroyed yesterday will also be rebuilt.

Mr. and Mrs. John Milk of Rock Valley were surprised by over 100 relatives, neighbors and friends who gathered to fete them on their 25th wedding anniversary last Friday.

Mr. and Mrs. E.H. Milligan announce the marriage of their daughter, Jeanette, to Frank Jirinec Jr. on August 26 at the Monticello Presbyterian Manse. Frank was inducted in the U.S. Army on August 27.

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Steffens of Cochecton Center are the parents of a baby girl, born August 28; Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Maurer of Callicoon are the parents of a baby boy, born September 1; Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Reeves of Narrowsburg are the parents of a baby girl, born August 29; Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Titus of Callicoon are the parents of a baby boy, born August 29; all at the Callicoon Hospital.

The first annual flower show of the Methodist Church of Callicoon was an overwhelming success. The heart of the show was the non-competitive display of gladiolus made by Clarence Fortnam from his nationwide Prize winning spikes, which tower to a height of four to six feet.

Sullivan County is the first and only county in New York State to have exceeded its entire August quota by August 22. The August quota was $174,000 and sales in the county totaled $268,000.

Mrs. Sarah E. Weir of Mileses celebrated her 91st birthday on August 30. Still physically and mentally alert, she likes to recall seeing the great, stern features of Abraham Lincoln, as his body lay in state in New York City; the visit of Edward VII, the Prince of Wales, to the United States; and her marriage in 1870 to Capt. Oliver Weir at Tottenville, S.I. She is the oldest member of the Tottenville Methodist Church.

Betty Knack, a Jeff Central graduate and honor student, has received a scholarship to Cornell.

By regulation of the OPA office, citizens of Wayne County (Pa.) who have been summoned to serve as jurors on the October term of court will be able to get gasoline to come to Honesdale and attend their duties.

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Fisher of Jeffersonville celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary last Tuesday by taking all their guests to the Presbyterian Ladies Aid supper held that day.

PFC Henry Rauch of Lake Huntington is now back again at Fort Bragg. He had been on maneuvers at sea... Floyd Korth, the obliging Liberty-Callicoon mail carrier, has been called for induction in the Army on September 14 .... Donald, son of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond C. Tate of Callicoon, has enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He has completed two years of work at Ohio State University in the School of Engineering... Cpl. Benjamin Gerow of Liberty is now in England.

70 years ago - 1952

Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Button celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a few friends gathered at their home.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Engert of Callicoon announce the engagement of her daughter, Patty Lou, to Richard, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Hoffmann of Hankins.

Births at the Callicoon Hospital list a son to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Fink of Hortonville, Sunday; a son to Mr. and Mrs. Bodan Chlypavka of Roscoe, Tuesday; and a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Orvis Hartman of Callicoon on Wednesday.

John E. Noble Jr., 27, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Ellis Noble of Damascus, Pa., died as the result of an accident while he was at work with the Erie R.R. carpenter gang in the Jersey City, N.J., yard. He was hit on the head with a board yesterday and suffered a fractured skull. He died last evening.

Six children of a family of eight that spent three weeks living in a cliffside cave near Narrowsburg have been placed in foster homes by the Wayne County Child Welfare Service. The parents, Mr. and Mrs. William VanGorden, were released by authorities. The children were reported in apparent good health despite a recent diet of soup, potato chips and various field berries. Lunches had been cooked over an open fireplace. In the cave were found a mattress, one blanket, a suitcase and a wooden box which contained a few clothes. The officers marveled at the apparent health of the family and the fact that such small children had avoided any serious falls down the steep cliff. The children included two boys and four girls. The cave sat above a sheer drop of about 50 feet.

Pvt. Allen Kellam, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Kellam of Roscoe RD 2, was shipped from Japan to Korea August 24.

One of the largest crowds at a Sullivan County Republican gathering in Sullivan County in the past several years attended the annual Fall Dinner at the Concord Hotel last night. The dining count was over 900.

Tomorrow evening voters in Union Free School District No. 1, Callicoon, will vote on whether or not to turn over the old Callicoon School building to the Callicoon Kiwanis Club. The Kiwanis club will in turn lease it to a factory owner, if they get title.

An inspection of the grounds of the Delaware Valley Central School shows that the bus garage has been completed, excepting the doors and heat. The parking lot and the driveway have been paved with stone and asphalt, covered with blacktop. The ball field has been graded and seeded. Landscaping around the main building is yet to be completed.

60 years ago - 1962

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Doyle of Long Eddy  were feted on the occasion of their 25th anniversary on August 28.

Barton L. Cargin, well-remembered in these parts for his traveling store in the 1930s and early 1940s, died August 31, in Binghamton.

A “friendship quilt” consisting of 120 blocks, which belonged to Rev. William Ferrie and his wife, Jessie Taylor Ferrie, has been donated to the Sullivan County Historical Society. Rev. Ferrie served in the Associate Reformed Church of Mongaup from 1869 to 1897. In the center of the block is written the name of a church member or former church members. It reads like a “Who’s Who” of the early families of the Towns of Bethel and western Thompson.

The $671,000 addition to the Damascus School will be put into use in January 1963.

Miss Althea Blatchly of Hankins, proud winner of a 4-H scholarship given by Representative Katherine St. George, left this week for the Kingston School of Nursing.

Special County Judge Frederick W.V. Schadt Saturday became a byproduct of the court reorganization plan. His office was eliminated under the act which was given final approval of voters at the 1961 General Election.

A retirement party for Mrs. Emily Stevens, for thirty-five years postmaster at Eldred, was held at Under the Pines Restaurant Wednesday. Her appointment was  made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mrs. Stevens had first gone to work in the Eldred Post Office in 1919.

Gladys Novak, 52, one of the county’s best known hotel women, died Thursday at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. In addition to being one of the principals in the Laurels Country Club at Sackett Lake, Mrs. Novak was also associated in ownership of the Fontainebleau at Miami Beach, Fla.

The Damascus Methodist Church was the scene of the wedding of Barbara  R. Turner, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Malvin Turner, and Frederick Henry Pingel, son of Henry Pingel of Narrowsburg.

50 years ago - 1972

Twelve hours after pulling his second bank robbery in Western Sullivan County, Harry Yates, 27, was arrested in Binghamton. Robbery of the First National Bank in Jeffersonville on Tuesday night came four and a half years after the March 7, 1968, robbery of the United National Bank in Callicoon. Good public observance aided greatly in a quick ending to the crime. 

Carole N. Kaplan and Terry D. Krantz were married at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Kaplan of Jeffersonville on August 20. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Krantz are the groom’s parents.

Allan Greenfield of Monticello has been named to fill the vacancy in the Sullivan County probation department with the office of probation officer.

Wedding bells rang for Judith Anne Schrumpf, and Dr. David Kopp at St. James Episcopal Church in New York City on August 26. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Schrumpf of Callicoon Center… Diane Bell and Jack Sherwood were united in marriage June 3rd but the write-up only appears in the Democrat this issue.

40 Years Ago - 1982

Construction of a portion of Route 17B in Callicoon has passed the hardest part workmen said recently, now that the retaining walls along the Callicoon Creek side of the roadway are complete. Two different types of retaining walls have been built at the site: one of steel I-beams driven into the bedrock for a minimum of 12 feet and then grouted into place, and the other containing heavy steel mesh bags filled with medium sized rocks and layered like bricks along the side of the bank. Other work includes straightening, widening and resurfacing of the roadway. All work is being done by the John Bernas Company of Cochecton.

Sal Viera of Monticello received a first place trophy and more than $500 worth of gifts when his wrecker truck, a GMC Conventional with a 13 speed 671 Detroit diesel engine took the beauty contest at the Pocono 500, beating out 40 other wreckers from all over the northeast.

Paul Ketro, son of Mr. and Mrs. Aatros Ketro, and Kevin Nicholas, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Nicholas, all of Fosterdale, were named Eagle Scouts at ceremonies held Wednesday night at Troop 115.

Mr. and Mrs. Earl Kent of North Branch were honored recently at the North Branch firehouse on the occasion of their 50th anniversary.

30 Years Ago - 1992

Jack Heeney was thinking of replacing his 1984 car, so what better way to gain a new set of wheels than winning a hole-in-one prize at a charity pro-am? Actually, the Newburgh resident and golf coach at the Newburgh Free Academy couldn’t have dreamed of accomplishing the feat, which had to be done on the Villa Roma’s ninth hole in last Monday’s United Way of Sullivan County Pro-Am. According to Grossinger’s assistant pro Paul Erbling, who achieved the same difficult golf rarity earlier that afternoon, the odds of an average golfer getting a hole-in-one, as calculated by Golf Digest magazine, are better than 8,000 to 1 in an 18-hole course with four par-3 holes. And getting it in a specific hole shoots the odds up.So when Heeney teed off at the ninth with a six-iron from the amateur tees, hitting downwind, he had no idea of what he had done, since the ball is lost from sight on that hole. Heeney first gained an inkling of what had happened when he noticed, as he drove toward the green, that “a man, standing nearby, kept on clapping.” 

A group of youngsters and young adults in Forestburgh received official thanks last week for their efforts this summer to raise funds in the fight against cancer. Twenty-three young people participated in the annual swim-a-thon at the town pool this July to raise funds in memory of David Griffin Jr., a young man from Forestburgh who died of cancer several years ago.

The Golden Age of Sullivan County – the era when the county was alive with summer vacationers from Roscoe to High View – will be featured in the November issue of the National Geographic magazine, County Historian William Smith advised the Education Committee recently. The illustrated essay in the National Geographic follows an analytical item in The New York Times of mid-August which notes there were more than 300 summer colonies and resorts in what was popularly known then as “the Borscht Belt.” 

20 Years Ago - 2002

Wednesday, September 11, 2002 will mark the one year anniversary of the terrorists’ attack on the United States of America, which included the bombings of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. More than 3,000 people lost their lives in these attacks on our country and to memorialize the event, there are numerous services planned in the area.

While it is difficult for anyone to understand what happened on September 11, 2001, it is most difficult for children to cope with those events. To help young people work through this, the Red Cross has created the “Facing Fear” program, a national effort aimed at children from kindergarten all the way through high school to deal with the difficult issues. Last week Sullivan County  Red Cross representatives visited both Tri-Valley and Liberty high schools to present the program, which has been well-received, according to Sullivan County Red Cross Director Bette Popovich.

Kassie and Katie Thelman of Bethel had their tresses shorn recently at Beth Bernitt’s Mane Street Styles in Jeffersonville, in order to donate their hair to Locks of Love in Lake Worth, Fla., a non-profit agency which fashions wigs for disadvantaged children suffering from a medical condition which causes them to lose their own hair.

Coming into the high school football season, opposing coaches knew that stopping Livingston Manor running back George Thomas would be a key factor in defeating the Wildcats. As a sophomore in 2001, Thomas rushed for over 1,300 yards. So on the second play from scrimmage of Saturday’s Class D non-league game between Manor and the visiting Eldred, the Yellowjacket defense reacted accordingly when Thomas took a handoff and ran to the right. But Thomas handed the ball to fellow running back Travis Morton, who ran back to the left side of the field, eluded a couple of would-be tacklers and raced down the sideline for 74 yards and a Manor touchdown. Just 44 seconds into the game, Manor had a 6-0 lead.

10 Years Ago - 2012

The loss of Sullivan County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Breihof’s K-9 partner, RC, in June reverberated far and wide – even to New Jersey, where a gentleman offered to donate a new canine trainee. Sheriff Michael Schiff told legislators on Thursday that Breihof had already taken possession of “Zeus” a month and a half ago. “He’s done the initial evaluation and said the dog is good,” Schiff related. Breihof was in attendance and said he’ll train the animal to be narcotics-certified and follow in RC’s footsteps (who partnered with Breihof for five years, averaging 50-75 calls per year, often for search-and-rescue). Legislator Gene Benson instantly approved, but others were more cautious. Legislator Alan Sorensen pointed out that the K-9 officer’s food, vehicle and veterinarian costs – plus Breihof’s state-mandated four hours of overtime to care for and train the dog every week – are budgeted through the end of this year. The matter will go before the full Legislature on September 20.

DEATHS: Antonia M. Keesler of Lake Huntington, 52; Lucis L. McAdams of Fremont Center, 84; Ellie Mae Benjamin Cohen of Woodridge, 84; Ronald Martinek of Monticello, 54; Benjamin H. Murray of Monticello, 84.

Four Eagle Scouts – Brian Hazen, Tyler Nutt, Peter Vorstadt and Matt Watts –  were sworn in a Troop 102 Court of Honor ceremony at the Young Life Lake Champion in Glen Spey earlier this year. Everyone present was addressed by the troop’s Committee Chair Jim Corcoran, Eagle Scout Dr. Douglas Miller, Scoutmaster Brian Worzel, and Sullivan County American Legion’s Robert Owens Jr. Father Tom Jones and Reverend Nancy Vonderhorst gave opening and closing prayers. Jack Shafer, Craig Burns, Kevin Vorstadt, and Richard Watts Jr. gave the Eagle Scout Charge.