110 Years Ago -1912

Arthur Sipple of Mileses, while at work cutting logs last week with a force of men, had the misfortune to lose one of his horses. The men were at work, cutting down a large tree when it fell so suddenly that the horses could not be taken away. It struck one horse and almost instantly killed it and slightly injured its mate.
The butter factory at South Branch, between Lookout and Equinunk, Pa., was destroyed by fire Thursday night.
Sawyer & Engert, the liverymen, have entered into the automobile business by taking the local agency for the Ford cars. They have purchased a carload of Fords, one having arrived and others to be delivered soon.
O&W train No. 7. known as the Scoot, northbound, was wrecked near the old sawmill, one-half mile north of Parksville on Tuesday night of last week, and the whole train was derailed, except the rear truck of the engine tender and the forward truck of the baggage car. At the point where the wreck occurred there is a forty foot dug way fill with a brook at the bottom. Had the train been running at its usual speed there is no doubt that the whole train would have plunged down this bank and the entire train crew and sixteen passengers on board either killed outright or badly maimed.
One of the worst fires which has ever occurred in Jeffersonville resulted early Saturday morning when the gristmill of William Bollenbach was burned to the ground. The fire was a fierce one and for over two hours the flames and cinders reached a height of over 100 feet. The mill was built 58 years ago by a man named Seibert. Loss is estimated to be between $7,000 and $8,000 with $2,500 insurance on same.
While at the Madison Square Garden horse sale two weeks age. Frank Hahn of Liberty purchased Graymore, a stallion, and Maggie Silver, both two-year-olds, bred from speedy stock. Murray Davidson of Monticello also bought a high-priced colt.

100 Years Ago - 1922

Fifty-six plantations with a total of 225,845 trees have been set out in Sullivan County since the beginning of the reforesting movement, according to figures compiled by the Conservation Commission. In addition to the plantations established by individuals, reforesting operations have been conducted by the Board of Education of Jeffersonville, the Lenape Fish and Game Club of Roscoe, the Liberty Board of Water Commissioners, the Loomis Sanitarium, St. Joseph’s Sanitarium, and the Workmen’s Circle Sanitarium at Liberty. Fifteen plantations in western Sullivan have 45,350 trees, that of CDA Schmidt being the largest. It has 10,900 trees. These plantations are Philip Berhman, Kenoza Lake, 250; David Carr, Long Eddy, 500; Chas. F. Hick, Jeffersonville, 5,200; F. W. Hilberling, Hortonville, 5,000; F. C. Hust, Jeffersonville, 2,300; Board of Education, Jeffersonville, 1,000; Emor Kimber, Pond Eddy, 2,000; H.W. McCoon, Long Eddy, 5,000: W.N. Moulthrop, Kenoza Lake, 6,000: Ralph Meyers, Jeffersonville, 1,000; Frank Stabbert, Obernburg, 1,200; C.D.A. Schmidt, North Branch, 10,700; Helen Smith, Mileses, 1,000; and H.J. Weiden, Narrowsburg, 3,000. Shortly the Monticello tannery will be closed and the machinery moved to Newark, N.J. This is the last of the scores of tanneries that were in operation in Sullivan County half a century ago.
Miss Adams, the Home Bureau manager, held a meeting at Mr. Heuser’s in Cochecton, coming all the way from Liberty on horseback with the temperature but 5 degrees above zero.
A bill has been passed by the Assembly changing the town law in relation to the compensation of assessors and overseers of the poor. If this becomes a law, the town boards may fix the salary of these officers. Salaries of assessors are not to exceed $250 for each assessor, and the annual compensation of overseer of the poor is not to be in excess of $600.

90 Years Ago - 1932

The engagement of Paul McDermott, son of Principal and Mrs. Edward V. McDermott of Jeffersonville and Miss Anna Kelly of Liberty has been announced.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Dorrer of Callicoon were tendered a surprise dinner last Saturday evening in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary.
The third southeastern New York baby chick show will be held in Liberty on March 17 and 18, under the auspices of the Sullivan, Orange, Ulster and Delaware County Farm Bureaus. Nearly 200 hatcherymen and breeders have been invited to exhibit chicks and several equipment dealers and manufacturers have requested space to show all kinds of brooding equipment.
Jesse Lindsley and Miss Hilda von Bergen were married at the home of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew von Bergen of Jeffersonville, on February 15, by Rev. L. William Hones of Roscoe.

80 Years Ago - 1942

Some time ago, the old Erie platform was torn down and now the Erie carpenters are rebuilding it.
Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Keesler announce the marriage of their daughter, Martha, to Leslie P. Gabel of Fort Bragg, N.C., on February 14.
Herman Krauser of the Monticello Hardware Co. was among the 2,200 workmen aboard the giant $60,000,000 steamship Normandie Monday afternoon last week when it caught fire and sank at her berth in the Hudson River. Krauser, a steamfitter, had been working on the ship about two weeks.
The biggest bowl of soup ever projected in Sullivan County appeared to be in the making on Route 17 last Wednesday, just west of the O&W underpass above Wurtsboro, when a huge truckload of 20 tons of canned soup slipped backward and doused itself into the frog pond, which lies at the foot of the gully there. The soup was not damaged and the truck was pulled out with its load Thursday while state troopers directed traffic.

70 Years Ago - 1952

Thomas Fair, well-known area merchant, died suddenly of a heart attack on February 7, at Bamberg, S.C., while en route to Florida. He was intrigued by a summer vacation to Hankins in 1927 and purchased the general store there. In l935, he bought Kelly Hardware concern in Callicoon and moved to the present site of the Fair Hardware Store a year later.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hubert of Hankins are the parents of a son, born Friday; Mr. and Mrs. John Egan of Youngsville are the parents of a son, born Monday, both at the Callicoon Hospital.
Mr and Mrs. Harold Kellam of Fremont Center announce the engagement of their daughter, Eleanor, to Harry Wilcox, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Wilcox of Roscoe. No date has been set for the wedding.
Triplet bull calves were born on the John Herbert farm at Obernburg last week.
Mr and Mrs. Fred W. Stabbert left at noon to attend the 100th annual convention of the New York Press Association at Syracuse.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ray of Long Eddy announce the engagement of their daughter, Iris, to William Knight of Hancock.
Sullivan County stone, from the DeBruce area, will be used in the exhibit of Daisimer, Inc., at the National Flower Show at the Grand Central Palace in New York from March 16-22, it was reported this week by Michael Ardito, local landscape artist, who has already trucked several truck loads of cut flag and river stone to be used in a rustic exhibit.
Martin Siegel, Monticello Attorney since 1946, has been appointed as an associate attorney for the Bureau of Law in the State Department of Taxation and Finance at Albany.

60 Years Ago - 1962

Members of the Sullivan County Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association, including Helen Mitchell, Leonore Adam, Jean McCoach, Phyllis Hahn, Pat Lunging, Edna Beemer and Edna Kinney visited at the Sullivan County Infirmary on February 5th and gave 16 permanent waves, 11 haircuts and three sets. The 37 ladies at the Infirmary also received hairbrushes from the unit which is celebrating National Beauty Salon Week February 11-17.
Harry William Voorhees, $139 a week president of the Livingston Manor National Bank, was sentenced to a year and one day in jail for embezzlement. A bank audit showed a loss of $50,000 of the bank’s funds over a period of 20 years, but Voorhees was allowed to plead guilty to stealing $1500 between March and September of 1961.
John Hantla Jr., former pastor of the Callicoon Meth­odist Charge, has been named “Young Man of the Year” in Sioux City, Iowa, by the junior Chamber of Commerce.
Funeral services were held Monday for Leonard W. Beach Jr., 13, who died at Monticello Hospital Thursday after being struck by a car near Fallsburg earlier that afternoon. No charges were placed against the driver.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Donald Miller, a daughter on February 8, at the Callicoon Hospital.
The 32-year-old firm of G.P. & K. Insurance Co. has been renamed Mike Preis, Inc., as of March 1. The former partnership of Gebhart, Persbacker and Kille, Inc., became dissolved when the sole remaining member of the triumvirate, retired from the business, leaving Mike Preis holding the offices of president, treasurer and general manager.

50 Years Ago - 1972

Students of Delaware Valley Central School rated fourth in the county with six regents scholarships and two nursing scholarships. Fallsburg Central dominated the field with 15 regents scholarships, three of whom were to local top scorers.
Mrs. Annie Tyler of Lake Huntington was given a surprise 95th birthday party at the Grover M. Hermann Division of Community General Hospital, Callicoon, on February 11, where she is a patient.
Dr. Edward Miller of Jeffersonville was honored with a dinner by the Sullivan County Mental Health Board in recognition of his eleven years of service to mental health services as a chartered board member, on February 9, at the Holiday Inn in Liberty.
At the Liberty-Loomis Hospital, it was a girl, Shannon Dee, February 6, to Mr and Mrs. Vernon Turner of Roscoe; a girl, Marivelisse to Mr. and Mrs. Gilberto Colon of Swan Lake, on February 7; a girl. February 8, to Mr. and Mrs. William Danzer of Liberty; and a girl, February 10, to Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Bogert of Youngsville.
Larry Brauser, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Brauser of Narrowsburg, was attacked, robbed and beaten on the way home from a fraternity party at Syracuse University School of Forestry which he attends. He received a broken back in the beating, but is now able to move his one leg very slightly.
Mr. and Mrs. Miles Teller of Liberty have announced the engagement of their daughter, Hope Linda, to Carl Huber of Livingston Manor.
Representatives of the Narrowsburg and Eldred Schools spent Monday and Tuesday of last week in Albany with various bureaus of the State Education Department, discussing the advantages and-disadvantages of a merger between the two districts.

40 Years Ago - 1982

More than 300 past and present residents of Sullivan County will gather on February 21, in Boca Raton, Fla., for a trip down Memory Lane. This annual event gives those attending a chance to catch up on the events of the lives of their friends. . . Other Sullivanites are planning their annual luncheon to be held March 7 at Bradford’s Coach House in St. Petersburg, Fla.
A fire Sunday at Roark’s Tavern in Monticello has resulted in the arrest of an employee of the tavern at the time of the fire. He is being held without bail pending a hearing before Justice Mark Schulman.
The Rev. Edward Greene will be installed as pastor of St. George’s R.C. Church in Jeffersonville on Sunday, February 14. The parish of St. George’s and St. Francis of Youngsville will be established as a separate parish from the Holy Cross Parish in Callicoon.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell S. Johnston of Jeffersonville have announced the engagement of their daughter, Joan Elizabeth Ann, to Sgt. Robert William Hert of Phoenix, Ariz. An April 24 wedding is planned at St. George’s R.C. Church in Jeffersonville. . . Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Grosser of RD 1, Cochecton, have announced the engagement of their daughter, Mary, to Peter Barberi of Valley Cottage. A May 8 wedding is planned to be held at St. Francis Xavier Church in Narrowsburg.
The competition to become the nursing home for the county heated up this week with the announcement that Community General Hospital plans to construct a 160-bed nursing home near the hospital site. The hospital filed a certificate of need application with the state concerning the construction of 120 skilled nursing beds and 40 health- related bed nursing home.
About 160 persons attended the Frederick Doug­lass Breakfast in South Fallsburg Sunday as part of the Black History Month celebration.
Laurie Meckle of Narrowsburg will be attending the Presidential Classroom Program in Washington from March 6 to 13. The program is a week-long study of national government.
Jeff Peters, son of Pat and Bob Peters of North Branch, won a unanimous decision beating Louis Vega of New York in a three-round fight Friday. Libby Manzolillo is his trainer.

30 Years Ago - 1992

An official photograph of Village of Monticello Mayor John Diuguid was unveiled by photographer Linda Rand Satenstein and Monticello Village Manager Bob Norris. The photo will be hung in the gallery of mayors in the village hall meeting room.
Margo Jones, the Sullivan County Director of Public Information for the past 11 years, has been selected to head the state tourism program. In her new position, she will head a staff of about 20 people.
Rene David of Livingston Manor scored 38 points to lead the Lady Wildcats past Roscoe on Wednesday and to secure the Western Sullivan League crown for Manor, breaking the 11-year Eldred reign.
Jay Cross of Monticello, an Abraham Lincoln look alike, told kindergartners about Lincoln’s life as a student in Kentucky, on the anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. February 12, 1809. Cross enjoys entertaining children with stories of Lincoln.
More than 600 people tended a Christian revival at the Liberty Free Methodist Church on February 2-4. Pastor Skip Hellwig is assisted by Associate Pastor Dave McCarthy in the fast growing church.
Dr. Samuel Schectman is celebrating his 40th anniversary as an optometrist in Honesdale, Pa. A native of Scranton, Pa., he graduated from the Pennsylvania School of Optometry in l952 and that same year purchased the practice of Dr. Robert Steele.
The Loch Sheldrake Fire Department has won the Chief’s cup in the Hurleyville Fire Company’s annual ice fishing contest at Morningside Lake Saturday for the fourth consecutive time. More than 200 people took part in the event. Every child who caught a fish was awarded a prize.
Ray and Noula Dexter of Damascus will celebrate their 50th anniversary on February 22 with an open house at the Damascus Volunteer Ambulance Building.

20 years ago - 2002

Literacy Volunteers of America Sullivan County of Monticello has received a $1,504 grant from Laubach Literacy through its National Book Scholarship Fund (NBSF). LVA-Sullivan County is a volunteer-based program that provides literacy instruction to adults functioning at low literacy levels.
A fire destroyed the Lake Jefferson Hotel, just days after the company which owns the property announced they were requesting bids for demolition and removal of the structure. The blaze is under investigation, as there was no running electric or gas hookups in the building at the time of the incident. Investigators confirm that the incident is indeed suspicious, but there is very little evidence to go on, to determine the cause.
A group of individuals from the Thompson area traveled to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, to explore the possibilities of what a Mohegan Sun facility could bring to Sullivan County. Alas, there was no gambling, but a fact-finding trip, to see what impact a casino might have on the area. The group met with representatives from the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans and Trading Cove Associations, and took a tour of the facility. If all goes as planned, there would be two phases of development, with a casino, and a hotel based upon the Mystic Marriott.

10 years ago - 2012

Monticello Central School District communications specialist Renata Gittler, third from left, was named as a finalist Empire Award winner in the non-profit campaign category by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Capital Region Chapter. She received the honorable designation for her work on the “Celebrating Culture and Diversity in the Monticello Central School District” initiative. She was presented with the award by PRSA President Penny Vavura (far right) at a recent ceremony in Albany. As part of the campaign, Gittler created a web section with dozens of culture and diversity stories, postings and links, and a seven-minute digital photo and audio slideshow highlighting Monticello’s staff and students. Earlier this year, Ms. Gittler, who is employed by Capital Region BOCES and subcontracted by the MCSD, was honored with a Golden Achievement Award from the National School Public Relations Association for her work on the same initiative.
At the same Senate House State Historic Site in Kingston where he declared his first campaign for Congress in 1992, Maurice Hinchey announced that he will not seek reelection at the end of this, his 10th congressional term. “While it is incredibly hard to leave a job I truly love, I know in my heart of hearts that now is the right time for me to move on,” Hinchey said in a statement announcing his retirement.
Areli Diaz, an eight-year-old second grader at the Benjamin Cosor Elementary School in Fallsburg, had a fright in early December in the cafeteria as she was eating her lunch. A meatball got stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t breathe. Luckily for Areli, Margaret Benizzi, one of the cafeteria monitors, was sitting sit directly opposite her. When Benizzi noticed Areli was in distress and realized the child was choking, she sprang into action, moved around the table, and performed the Heimlich maneuver. The meatball came flying out, and Areli could breathe again. Benizzi’s quick action had saved her life. Fallsburg Central School District’s Superintendent Ivan Katz added he is very proud of Benizzi’s actions, and as a result she got an invite to the Board of Education meeting on January 4 where she received a STAR of Fallsburg Central School District Staff/Teacher Award for her quick thinking and life-saving action.