140 Years Ago - 1884

All hands are at Court this week.

C.A. Heinley of Narrowsburg made his usual trip through this village last Thursday.

Joseph Seibert Jr., who has been in New York for the past few years, is visiting his parents in Jeffersonville.

Miss Amanda Hogencamp of Birch Ridge and George C. Clark of Briscoe were married at the Presbyterian Church in this village on February 1, 1884.

John Ludwig purchased a team of horses of W.C. Brand last week and sold another horse to H. Ellsworth of Beaverkill and a cow to Lew Wiley.

Shingles and pine lumber can be found in great quantities at North Branch, sold by Messler and Bauernfeind. They sold a carload of shingles recently in one day.

Benjamin S. Ward of Pike Pond is from this day forth one of our public auctioneers. Mr. Ward says he will make public auctioneering the main branch of his business.

W.C. Brand drove his horse last Saturday from Callicoon Depot to this village in 62 minutes. Web Sherwood says he drove the same distance about two years ago in 45 minutes.

The Franzier Post G.A.R. held a meeting in their rooms at the Jeffersonville House Saturday.

Extra free lunch on Friday, February 22nd, and on Tuesday, February 26th, at Hotel Brand, North Branch.

Thirty-eight cases are on the calendar for the County Court to be held at Monticello this week.

130 Years Ago - 1894

There are many persons in this and adjoining towns who would vote against the removal of the county seat to Liberty lest the change would put a stop to their going the farthest way around to court for the sake of the mileage fees. This doesn’t look much like a place for the reduction of county taxes.

The following persons from this place attended the entertainment and ball given by the Liberty Shooting Club at Music Hall, Liberty, Monday evening: Charles Homer and his wife, William Lawrence, E.A. Brand, Misses Clara Faubel, Barbara Homer, Tillie Sherwood and Lizzie Brand.

George Fitzpatrick came home from New York the other day, after having been laid up in the hospital with a broken leg for eight weeks. He was run over by an ice wagon.

Burdett Beck, August Meyer and Edward McDermott of this place took the regent’s examination at Liberty last week.

The Jeffersonville Record states that a Liberty man has said that the Liberty people do not take much interest in the electric road from Jeffersonville to Liberty.

Dr. Richard Platz of New York, an English speaking German of experience in his profession, was in Jeffersonville Wednesday and made arrangements to take up the practice vacated by the late Dr. William Brand. He will have his office and residence in the Brand house.

Ice is being harvested by a number of our citizens this week. The best comes from Casper Fuhrer’s pond on Swiss Hill, where it is frozen clear and solid to a depth of fourteen inches.

120 Years Ago - 1904

Rudolph Winand of near Callicoon Depot has moved to Callicoon Center.

The young men of Hankins are about to organize a brass band.

A number of residents here took in the Sullivan County Ball in New York Tuesday.

Louis W. Rose and family, whose home near Kenoza Lake was burned recently, moved last week into the Grishaber cottage on the island, now owned by George Yager.

In the action for trespass at Black Lake, brought by Edward H. Fry against John Brucher, the court directed the jury to render a verdict of six cents.

Last Friday afternoon, Katherine Christina, the little daughter of W. Becker, was christened by Rev. S. Muery of the German Reformed Church. Miss Kate Scheidell was sponsorer for the child.

Civil Engineer Irving Righter finished his survey between here and Callicoon Depot yesterday for the Fallsburg, Monticello and White Lake Railroad Company. He also solicited the rights of way and found the property owners generally willing to grant them.

Mrs. Henry Mead died at her home in Liberty January 28, aged 77 years. She was the wife of the late Henry Mead, a pensioner of the War of 1812 and undoubtedly was the only woman in the Town of Liberty receiving a pension of that war.

Youngsville — On account of the bad weather there has been no services in our English churches for several weeks.

Miss Lillian Weisenfluh is visiting in the city. R. John Curran has returned from the city after a week’s visit. The people in town are anticipating a grand time at the Maccabee’s Ball Friday evening. Mrs. H.L. Goubelman of Jeffersonville is visiting her mother, Mrs. C. Lawrence. Commissioner H.J. Knoll visited schools in this vicinity this week.

Briscoe — Miss Carol Bailey has returned to the city. Miss Maud Segar is spending a few weeks with her sister, Mrs. H. Strong of Cochecton Center. Joseph Cox is spending a few days in Brooklyn. A dance was held at George Krum’s Wednesday night and one at Edward Norris’ Saturday night.

110 Years Ago - 1914

Just as our inhabitants are beginning to look for signs of spring along came a snowfall on Friday night which is said by some to be the greatest since the memorable blizzard of March 1888. Over 20 inches fell Friday night and Saturday.

Oscar Spielmann, who has leased the Thomas Brown farm near Youngsville the past year, has bought the Dudley Edwards farm at White Sulphur Springs.

Miss Amelia Schmidt of New York, who spent a year or more at the Erdman cottage in Jeffersonville for her health, died February 7th at Hudson Heights, N.J.

Jacob Enders, a resident of Hortonville for many years, died February 11, aged 57 years.

Miss Hazel Brand went to Kingston Thursday to visit her friend, Miss Katherine Pehlman. A Valentine party was given in her honor at the Pehlman home Saturday evening. Hazel has many friends in Kingston where she attended boarding school several years ago.

Charles Wizeman of Callicoon has leased the farm of John Schumacher in Beechwoods and will take possession April 1st.

Robert Howland of Walton has gone into partnership with his brother Gernet in the operation of the Hermann Garage in Callicoon.

The Liberty horse races, set for last Thursday, were postponed to this week, Thursday, on account of the cold weather, it is said.

Emmet Decker has been appointed postmaster at Willowemoc to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Matt Decker, who was postmaster for over thirty-five years.

Following are some of the new rules suggested for automobiles while driving on the highways:

1. Upon discovering an approaching team, the automobilist must stop offside and cover his machine with a blanket to correspond to the scenery.

2. In case an automobile makes a team run away, the penalty will be $50 for the first mile; $100 for the second; $200 for the third, etc., that the team runs in addition to the usual damages.

3. Automobiles must again be seasonably painted so that they will merge with the pastoral ensemble and not be startling.

4. In case a horse will not pass an automobile, the automobilist will take the machine apart as rapidly as possible and conceal the parts in the grass. 

Charges are being contemplated in the marriage license law which would make it considerably more difficult for couples to get married without their friends getting wind of their intentions. The changes would require the applicants to wait five days after securing the license before they are married.

100 Years Ago - 1924

George DeKay, a former native of Bethel township, has been visiting relatives in that town. Mr. DeKay is a representative of the Anti-Saloon League of Hawaii, Honolulu. He was born on the DeKay homestead at White Lake.

John P. Huff of this place underwent an operation in a New York hospital recently. George Eagin, a young man of Jeffersonville, was operated on at the St. Francis Hospital in New York on January 26th. Lawrence Hauschild, another young man of this place, is in the Deerpark Sanitarium in Port Jervis where he underwent an operation on Saturday.

The Manny family had a reunion on Sunday, January 31, at the home of one of the sisters, Mrs. Ed Casseman of South Orange, N.J.

 Henry Huth, aged about 68 and formerly of the Beechwoods, fell through a hole in the hay loft of Wm. Kabat’s farm at Fosterdale Saturday and struck his head on the floor below. He received a brain concussion.

New arrival – Jeanne Mildred is the name of the little miss who arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Buddenhagen of this village on February 2... A son, Harry Harold, was born on January 30 to Mr. and Mrs. Harold Stephenson of Birch Ridge.

The Jeffersonville Firemen will hold their annual ball and supper at the Grange Hall on Wednesday, February 27. The committee in charge are John Townsend, William H. Lawrence and Howard M. Smith.

Frank R. Leave, son of Charles Leave the Jeffersonville pharmacist, is at present musical director for Harry Lauder, the famous Scotch comedian. 

John Bossley of this place sent postcards from Havana on January 23 that he was sailing from there for the West Indies, thence through the Panama Canal to South America.

Editor L. Wm. Hones has turned his paper, the Sullivan County Review at Roscoe, over to his sons, Walter and Edward, and will devote the greater part of his time to writing and lecturing.

90 Years Ago - 1934

A still was found in the old barn at the Zophi farm above the new reservoir.

Miss Louise Brockman, teacher in the Quick School District, North Branch, sustained a fracture of her left forearm while sleighriding last Thursday night.

William J. Durr, Bronx grocer, fell on the ice recently and broke his leg. This will be hard on Bill because he has been active in his business.

Fifteen degrees below zero this morning. It’s a great winter if you don’t freeze to death.

The wedding of Miss Kathryn Layman and Frederick Hasenflue, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Hasenflue, will take place at the Lutheran Church next Sunday.

The Board of Education at its meeting the other night appointed William von Berg treasurer of the school district, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Conrad Metz-ger.

Sullivan County’s share of the beer taxes for the last quarter of 1933 amounts to $6,582. This will be apportioned among the towns according to population.

Sullivan County receives $51,188 as its share of the motor vehicle license fees paid to the state in 1933.

80 Years Ago - 1944

Miss Marion R. Carney, daughter of Mrs. Helen and the late Edward L. Carney of the Bronx, was married to Cpl. Alfred G. Wahl, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred J. Wahl of Jeffersonville on Saturday, January 29, at 5:30 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Family in the Bronx.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hoffman of Peekskill recently visited her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Rose of Kenoza Lake. During the past few years, Mr. Hoffman had a varied and interesting experience in Africa and Alaska.

Berlett F. Green, in his 78th year died at his home in Liberty Wednesday.

Mrs. Rose Ferguson, aged 80 years, died January 27th at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Taylor Blatchley at Liberty, where she had been ill of heart trouble the past two months. She was born in Briscoe in the Town of Liberty, July 28, 1863, a daughter of John Reyman and Magdalena Kehrlie, who spent their latter years in retirement in Jeffersonville.

Arthur Keller, a successful farmer of this place, died January 25 at the Horton Hospital in Middletown where he underwent an operation in December.

The son of Howard Wehner of Shandelee was rushed to the New York Hospital last week to have a peanut removed from his lung which the child accidentally swallowed while at play. The operation was successful.

70 Years Ago - 1954

The local A&P Store will open on Friday according to Harry Metzger, manager. Mr. Metzger said that Jeffersonville was among the 153 A&P stores affected by the strike of warehouse drivers in Scranton. The strike was settled on Tuesday of this week.

Libby Manzo of Jeff is booked to fight Pat Mullane in the “Garden” on Friday, February 28, in the semi-final to the Willie Pep-Lulu Perez fight.

Fred A. Hust, a native and a former school teacher, died suddenly at his home in Kenoza Lake. He was president of the Callicoon Agriculture Mutual Fire Relief Association of Sullivan County.

 Gary Brey and Daniel Fisher of the Jeff Blue Boys 4-Y Club of Jeffersonville, with Mrs. Lena O. Borden as leader, will receive 200 Hubbard chicks. These boys are two of 10 selected by Hubbard Farms to receive this award.

Supreme Court Justice Bookstein has ruled “no cause for action” in a suit brought by Herbert W. Grishaber of Jeffersonville against the Jeffersonville Central School District. The action stemmed from failure of voters to approve a school budget two years ago. Mr. Grishaber, a school bus operator, was advised not to transport the pupils the first two weeks of the school year. Total of the contract was to have been $18,000 but he was paid only $17,100. It was for $900 that he sued. Justice Bookstein ruled that until the voters authorize the necessary appropriations the school board was without authority to enter into a contract for the hauling of school pupils.

60 Years Ago - 1964

Mr. and Mrs. George Olsen of Callicoon announce the engagement of their daughter Helen Grace to Charles Hanslmaier, son of Mrs. Gerda Waldon of Swan Lake and the late George Hanslmaier. Miss Olsen is employed by Dr. George Hahn of Jeffersonville. Her fiance is employed by Harold Brey and Sons of Kenoza Lake. A May wedding is planned.

Young William Liedy of Middletown pulled a 25-inch, 4 1/2 pound pickerel from under the ice at White Lake last Sunday to top over 160 entrants in the first of an annual fishing contest.

A pall of smoke covered Woodbourne early Monday morning as a raging fire destroyed over one-third of the business district. Volunteer firemen from five surrounding communities contained the blaze in the district and prevented much loss of private property.

Fire Thursday night left a Briscoe family of six homeless and destitute for clothing and household furnishings and sent a local fireman, Milton Erdman, to the hospital. The 100-year-old house, completely gutted by the fire, is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hathaway and is located on the Briscoe Road.

Edwin Ferber of Callicoon was re-elected secretary of the Mutual Federation of Independent Cooperatives at that organization’s 10th annual meeting in Syracuse on January 31, 1964. Mr. Ferber is a member of the Sullivan County Cooperative Dairy Association and is known in Sullivan County as an outstanding dairyman.

A substantial interest in Hammond and Cooke of Monticello has been sold to Marvin A. Bemenfeld of Roslyn Heights, L.I., it was announced by Donald P. Hammond, managing partner of the department store, which in the sixty years since its founding in 1904, has grown to be a  Sullivan County institution.

Over 100 relatives and friends of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Schmidt, were entertained Saturday evening at the North Branch Firehouse in cerebration of their 50th wedding anniversary.

50 Years Ago - 1974

By a bare 6-4 vote of the Board of Directors of the Sullivan County Bar Association held last week, District Attorney Louis B. Scheinman will be recommended to Governor Wilson as the successor to former Family Court Judge Robert G. Williams, now resident Supreme Court Justice.

Phil Cordaro of Honesdale has been named as “Boss of the Year” by the Honesdale area Jaycees for his outstanding record of community service and willing attitude.

 A fire of undetermined origin damaged an egg processing and packing room on the Arnold  Euker farm on Monday late afternoon. Mr. Euker found his phone already out of order when he tried to call the Callicoon Fire Department and had to go to his neighbors at the Henke farm to call for help. The local firemen were credited with excellent work and a good stop by Donald P. Beck of Narrowsburg, deputy county fire coordinator.

Paul T. Zintel, athletic director at the Jeffersonville-Youngsville Central School, was honored at the annual meeting of the New York State Coaches Association at the Concord Hotel, Lake Kiamesha, on January 26, in recognition of outstanding coaching achievements.

Mrs. Janet  VonAhnen has returned to JYCS as the new music teacher, replacing Robert Kundreskas.

40 Years Ago - 1984

An area tradition has changed hands with the sale of the Kelly Candy and Tobacco Corporation in Monticello which has been sold to the Mountain Cigar and Candy Company in South Livingston. The Kelly company has been in the family for 81 years, opening in Monticello in 1901 and founded by James M. Kelly. He was later joined in the business by a brother, Thomas J. Kelly. They operated there until the great fire in 1909 which completely destroyed the business. Operating in “Shack Alley” after that, the present home of the business, a brick building, was erected on Landfield Avenue in 1921.

Bernard P. Kramer, a native of Hortonville, has been named executive director of Goodwill Industries of Battle Creek. His mother, Emma Kramer, still lives in Hortonville. Mr. Kramer is a 1963 graduate of DVCS.

Paul Kavleski of Liberty received a $25 check for his deer which sported a rack of 70 1/4 inches in the recent Buck Contest at the Sullivan County Democrat. Roy Cotton of Livingston Manor received a check for $50 for being the first place winner.

The Village of Jeffersonville plans to make another application for a grant to construct a new village water supply. The village is seeking a $225,000 grant from the Federal Housing and Urban Development Agency.

After stopping Roscoe 64-58 last week, the DVCS Eagles  were handed a shock when J-Y defeated them 53-51 on the Jeff court.

Dwayne Cabrera of Monticello likes what he has been doing with a bowling ball lately and from the looks of things to come the 21-year-old may be celebrating his birthday all year long. He continued his torrid scoring on the lanes when he smashed the maples for two perfect 300 games in two separate leagues on different nights last week at Kiamesha Lanes.

30 Years Ago - 1994

Carl W. Daub Sr. of Beach Lake, Pa., celebrated his 80th birthday on November 6, joined by four of his sisters who have also reached the 80 year mark before him: Anne Rutz, 88; Clara Meckle, 86; Elizabeth Walter, 84; and Helen Bernas, 82. They have a younger sister, Henrietta Pierce. An older brother, Fred, died in 1976.

The Monticello Village Board will operate until April 1 with three people, down from its usual five-member composition, due to the Supreme Court decision removing former Mayor Robert Friedland from the board, accompanied by Trustee Gladys Walker’s previous resignation. Trustees Evelyn VanDermark and Gloria Cahalan and Mayor David Rosenberg intend to hold off making any controversial decisions until after the election.

Douglas Immoor of Youngs-ville was recently installed as Potentate of Kalurah Temple in Endicott. Kalurah is one of 10 Shrine Temples in New York State. There are 22 Shrine Hospitals for Crippled Children and Burn Centers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The budget for 1993 is $365 million to support these facilities.

Bob Streeter of the Delaware Valley Raptor Center will present “Close Encounters With Birds of Prey” at the New York Audubon Society’s 2nd annual Bald Eagle Festival set for February 26 at the Eldred Preserve.

The 16th annual Heart-a-Thon raised $40,118 in a two-day fundraising campaign. The effort involved nearly 300 volunteers and was broadcast by WSUL from Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello.

The Sullivan County Board of Supervisors gave its unqualified blessing to a proposal by a European recreation firm to place its first vacation villa and headquarters in the Town of Forestburgh on Tuesday.   Each resort village is a mix of individual bungalows, indoor and outdoor sports and leisure facilities including geodesic domes with heated pools, waterfalls and palms, saunas, shops, restaurants and retail outlets, all in a relatively undisturbed woodland setting which is open to guests year-round. The average village contains at least 600 single-story villas capable of sleeping two to eight people. “This [Centre Parcs of England] is precisely the kind of enterprise we want here,” said Andrew Boyar, chairman of the Board of Supervisors.

20 years ago - 2004

The Sullivan County Legislature approved 16 businesses for Empire Zone tax credits on Thursday in a special meeting. If approved, the state will give tax credits to those businesses for property, payroll, and sales taxes for the village, town, county and state.

Dozens of children and their families came out on Saturday to the annual book and game fair at Liberty High School.

The Klondike Derby was held at the Town of Thompson Park in Monticello on Saturday with Boy Scouts from the Nava-Len District on hand to compete in various activities.

Timothy and Nora Manzolillo of Bethel announce the engagement of their daughter, Jessica, to Michael Kolinovsky, son of Elmer Kolinovsky of Taylor, Pa., and the late MaryAnn Kolinovsky. A May 2005 wedding is planned.

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Anderson of Barryville announce the engagement of their daughter, Jill Renee, to Philip Y. Youn, son of Dr. and Mrs. Chang-Ho Youn of San Jose, Calif. A fall wedding is planned.

Sullivan County may have a participant in the International Paralympics in 2010. Jessica Nesin, the 9-year-old daughter of Eugene and Ellen Nesin of Monticello, has been training to be a world-class disabled skiier. Jessica was born with a medical condition known as PFFD and has a shattered femur, for which she wears an above-knee prothesis.

10 Years Ago - 2014

Thanks to the efforts of the Sullivan County Veterans Coalition (SCVC), BOCES and the Robert Green family of dealerships, the SCVC will soon have a van to transport veterans places they otherwise can’t go. Vintage 1995, the four-passenger van (plus two wheelchair spots) has got some cosmetic issues, but BOCES students are even now in the process of putting it in beautiful condition. It will provide a life-changing transportation option for local veterans, many of whom rely on others to take them to doctors’ appointments and adult homes in the area. Coalition Chair Howie Goldsmith said the van will go where the county’s Veterans Service Agency fleet can’t due to funding constraints – mostly in-county trips, actually.

The Mahogany Ridge Hunting Club premises near Monticello served as a base for Saturday’s Klondike Derby, hosted by Rock Hill’s Troop 101.  A Boy Scout media website notes: “The point of a Klondike Derby… is to make Scouts use their heads, to put their Scouting skills to work in the field, to demonstrate teamwork and Scout spirit, and to have fun outdoors on winter days.”