140 Years Ago - 1880

Four calves and an ox owned by Conrad Fried of this town died a few days ago. It is supposed that the calves died of hoose and the ox by black leg.

Joseph Kille has been making a great many improvements in and around his brewery in the Town of Fremont. Joe is confident that he can make as good a lager as any brewer in the state.

Pike Pond — Our Sabbath School has closed for the winter …The ladies of the church are making preparations for a grand fair and festival to be held in a few weeks.…Bark in abundance is being delivered to the tannery.

Youngsville — Mr. George Miller teaches our village school very satisfactorily.… Revival meetings were commenced in the M.E. Church last Monday evening by the Rev. Mr. Ramsey. They will be held every evening of this week.

Callicoon Depot — Snow is falling lively today (December 31) and if it keeps on we will have splendid sleighing tomorrow… The Delaware ice bridge at this place is finished; Tuesday night's cold snap having done the work.

A young horse which Philip Rose had recently bought from Wm. C. Brand for $125 broke one of its hind legs below the knee last Monday by stepping down be­tween two flagstones laid over a small ditch crossing the road between Jeffersonville to the Cochecton depot. The animal was taken to the latter place and shot. Mr. Rose is a poor man and can ill afford to lose his horse.

130 Years Ago - 1890

August P., son of John Shafer, formerly of Jeffersonville, died in New York City last night of typhoid fever, after an illness of over two weeks. He was 26.

It is said that Eli Hathaway sold the Liberty Stage route to Peter Hubbert.

Lewis R. Hardenburgh and Mrs. Mary Frey were married on December 25, 1889, at the home of R.C. Rumsey, by the Justice of the Peace A.P. Bush.

C. Bauer and Charlotte Hommel were married near Hankins on December 24, 1889, by Rev. S. Muery.

Have you learned to write 1890?

During the heavy wind last Thursday night, the roof of John Kouche's barn in Beechwoods was lifted off and smashed to kindling wood.

Next Saturday, January 4, 1890, will be the annual meeting of the Callicoon Agricultural Mutual Relief Association at Chris Bauernfeind's, North Branch.

Peter Menges of Youngsville met with a serious accident Tuesday. A report is current here to the effect that he fell from his wagon and injured his head. Dr. Rice was summoned.

It is said that the barn of D. LeRoy, between Robertsonville and Liberty, was unroofed during a gale last Friday.

The first day of the New Year was a rainy one.

120 Years Ago - 1900

The Board of Supervisors made their annual visit to the county farm, December 2nd, and feasted on turkey, cigars and sweet cider, after which they inspected the institution. They found everything in first-class order. There are at present 84 inmates dependent on the county for sustenance, several of whom are over eighty years old.

Peter DeWitt, commissioner of highways of Liberty, is putting in seven iron bridges.

James F. Wood of Roscoe has added a large tract of land to his farm, running from the former line down to Tennanah Lake. This added property will give his boarders the privilege of using both Round Pond and Tennanah Lake.

The Merklen Furniture Company of Livingston Manor has been incorporated to manufacture and sell furniture and woodwork. Capital, $4,000. Directors are Benjamin Merklen Jr., Rosina Merklen and Magdelena Merklen.

Israel Miller, an indigent soldier of the Town of Rockland, was sent to the soldier's home at Bath, December 21. He was a member of Co. H, 56th NY Volunteers.

Mrs. Clara E. Potts died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. O. Eshleman, Scranton, Pa., on Christ­mas morning. She was born near Monticello, May 12, 1825, the daughter of the late Simon M. Jordan and she is the widow of Nelson J. Potts.

Eva Krantz, wife of Henry Mauer of the Town of Fremont, died January 1st, aged about 49 years. She was the eldest child of the late Henry Krantz of Beechwoods. Her husband and eight children survive.

Lewis L. Weed has been chosen by County Clerk-elect W.C. Brand for deputy. Mr. Weed was deputy under County Clerk Gildersleeve and is conversant with the intricate details of the office as well as a fine penman.

110 Years Ago - 1910

Miss Florence Glassel has gone to the city for a visit.

Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Keim left on Sunday for a visit to Blossburg, Pa.

Miss Nora Bollenbach is home for a week and will return to New York tomorrow.

Sidney Royce, formerly of this place, is now an undertaker at Lorraine, Ohio. He is here visiting relatives for a week. Sid looks prosperous.

Wm. Bollenbach has just completed setting up a 25-horsepower gasoline engine in his gristmill to help run his machinery when the water power is weak. Bill is enterprising.

The businessmen in Kenoza Lake have arranged for horse racing on the ice on the lake there next Monday, and offer liberal purses in two events. The ice is now in fine condition. The judges selected are John Bosley, A.J. Osterhout and Joseph Welch Jr., and the starters are John Keegan, Henry Kahrlie and W.P. Keegan.

With the passing of the old year, Charles F. Starck of Callicoon completed 32 years of service as justice of the peace in the Town of Delaware. Mr. Starck must have handed out the popular kind of justice, or he could not have held the job so long.

Roland Hauschild and Mrs. Hattie Hahn were married Tuesday noon at the groom's house on East Hill by Rev. S. Muery. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. Mary Siegelhalter of East Hill and the widow of the late Jacob Hahn of Callicoon Center.

Michael Detlinger, aged 82, of Kenoza Lake, died Tuesday of congestion of the lungs. He was a native of Germany and a resident of Kenoza Lake for 30 years.

100 Years Ago - 1920

Wilford Laymon and Miss Viola Townsend, both of Hurd, were married at the Kenoza Lake M.E. parsonage by Rev. W.H. Austin, Saturday, January 3. The bride is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Townsend and the groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Laymon.

Waldron E. Tyler and Miss Olive Conklin, both of Callicoon, were married at the Kenoza Lake parsonage on New Year's Day. The bridegroom is a returned soldier.

Announcement has been made of the marriage on January 7 of George William Sauer and Miss Alice Margaret Kort, both of Cochecton.

The following engagements have been announced: Miss Grace Gregory of Roscoe to Albert Van Dyke of Liberty; Miss Mary Albee of Roscoe to Clyde Baxter of Rock Rift.

Mr. and Mrs. Wm. C. Fuhrer and daughter Bernice of Kenoza Lake sailed from New York on Monday for Florida, where they will spend the winter. Their destination is St. Augustine.

Otto W. Meyer has qualified for the office of justice of the peace and it is expected he will soon hang out his shingle. In order to promote prosperity he may offer to perform marriages at half price and furnish husbands and wives on short notice.

90 Years Ago - 1930

Fully a thousand piled into the New Year's Eve dance held by the American Legion boys at the new Lake Jefferson Hotel. Only 250 were expected. The place was completely overwhelmed. The Legion post will net nearly $400 from the dance admission. The hotel served a midnight supper free. Over 200 pounds of turkey and 40 pounds of beef failed to supply the demand.

Richard Schoaf, prominent Kenoza Lake hotelman, died suddenly at the age of 54 Monday morning, December 30, from acute gastritis.

Miss Adelaide Molusky of Callicoon Center is spending the week with Mrs. Oscar Will.

The State Department of Public Works has announced that 24 miles of road will be built in Sullivan County next summer. Seventeen miles will be the concreting of Route 17 between Monticello and the county line at Bloomingburg and seven miles will be Route 3-A from Pond Eddy to Barryville.

80 Years Ago - 1940

The wedding of Mrs. Ada Hessinger Weyrauch of Richmond Hill to Andrew H. Bower of Jamaica, took place at the home of the bride's sister, Emma (Mrs. Fred Ludwig) in Flushing on December 27, with Rev. John E. Straub of Callicoon Center officiating. The groom is a widower and an old friend of the Weyrauchs. The bride is a daughter of the late Frederick and Ann Hessinger of Callicoon Center, and is the widow of George W. Weyrauch, native of Callicoon Center, who died in 1935.

Miss Margaret G. Amback, daugh­ter of Mr. and Mrs. Clay Amback of the Gulf Road, near Roscoe, and John M. Hammer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Hammer of Liberty, were married at the Reformed Church parsonage in Callicoon Center by Rev. John E. Straub on Sunday afternoon, December 31.

Miss Evelyn Travis and J.R. Gerow Jr., both of Liberty, are engaged. Both are employed by the same firm in Liberty.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Jacobs of Youngsville have announced the engagement of their only daughter, Evelyn Loretta Keesler, to E. Bernard Wolff, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. Wolff of Kenoza Lake.

The engagement of Miss Mildred Hahn, daughter of Fred Hahn of Callicoon Center, to Charles Danzer, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Danzer of Youngs­ville, has been announced.

A double celebration anniversary of the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew vonBergen of Jeffersonville, and the 38th wedding anniversary of County Clerk and Mrs. J. Bruce Lindsley of White Sulphur Springs, was held at the vonBergen home. It was also the birthday of Mrs. vonBergen. Mr. vonBergen and the former Magdalena Wilfert were married in 1900 by Rev. Algers Black, who was pastor of the Presbyterian Church from December 1899 to June 1900. They have since lived here on the vonBergen farm and have one son, Edwin, and a grandson. Mr. and Mrs. Lindsley, the former Lillian Ryder of Honesdale, were married in 1902, and have since lived in White Sulphur Springs They have five sons, Jesse, Horton, Nial, Feldon and Milton, and one daughter, Irene.

70 Years Ago - 1950

William K. David, aged about 70, and head of the Liberty Wood Products Co. of White Sulphur Springs, died suddenly of a heart attack in his New York City apartment on December 31. A native of Virginia, he was one of Sullivan County's largest manufacturers. He set up his firm in White Sulphur a dozen or so years ago and developed it into a $100,000 project, employing 40 to 50 native men at good wages. The chief product was table legs and considerable Sullivan County timber was used.

On December 29, 1949, Mr. and Mrs. Percy Kohler of Jeffersonville celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. In the evening they were taken to dinner at the Paddock by their daughter, Shirley. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Beiling, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Stabbert and son, Fred Jr., of Callicoon were in the party. The evening was later spent playing cards at the Kohler home. Katherine Hill and Percy Kohler were married at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Hill, in White Sulphur Springs.

On Friday, January 6, William Lieb, former publisher of the Sullivan County Record, will be 80 years old. He is in good health after a brief illness last summer.

Mrs. Alan F. Lieb, 46, for the past 14 years an operator in the New York Telephone Company's office in Jeffersonville, passed away Saturday morning, December 31, 1949, at the University Hospital in New York, following a futile attempt by six specialists to bring relief from what was discovered to be a spreading brain tumor.

Attorney and Mrs. Hyman C. Levine are the proud parents of a son, Stephen Jacob, born December 28, 1949, at the Liberty Hospital. They have two daughters, Phyllis, 13, and Carol, 7.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Hick of Jeffersonville have announced the engagement of their youngest daughter, Marcella, to Kenneth Felleisen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Felleisen of Buffalo.

60 Years Ago - 1960

Margaret Menges died at the age of 93 on the 23rd of December at Miami, Fla. Born August 24, 1866, she was the daughter of John Miller and the former Anne Bossley. Except for the last few years, she spent most of her life in Youngsville, She is the widow of Wm. Menges.

Fred O. Edelman died Sunday at home in Bridgeville. He was 60 and owned and operated the Homestead Restaurant in Bridgeville for many years.

Joseph Shagrin, about 75, founder of Shagrin's Hotel be­tween Swan Lake and White Lake, died suddenly while watching a wrestling match at a Miami Beach auditorium on December 25. He and his wife were wintering in Florida.

Benjamin Knapp of Hurleyville died Sunday at his home there. He was 62. The son of John H. Knapp, he owned and operated the Columbia Farms Hotel, founded by his parents.

Mrs. Winifred Bevins, the former Jean Westervelt, is the proud mother of the first baby to be born in Sullivan County in 1960. Mrs. Bevins attended J-YCS.

Henry P. Bollenbach, a native of Beechwoods and for many years a resident of Monroe, died at Cornwall Hospital on December 27th. A retired school teacher, he had taught in New York City schools for 30 years. He was born January 8, 1896, the son of Wm. F. Bollenbach and Louise Geib.

Mr. and Mrs. Louis Bertelone of Brooklyn have announced the engagement of their daughter, Marie, to John Pecsi, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pecsi, also of Brooklyn. Both are employed by the A&P Co. They formerly lived in Jeffersonville.

A Liberty jurist has been appointed to the highest court in New York State. Judge Sydney F. Foster of Liberty was appointed by Gov. Rockefeller on Wednesday, December 30th, to be an associate judge of the State Court of Appeals, the highest court of the state. Judge Foster, a former Sullivan County district attorney, holds the longest service record of any Supreme Court justice in the state. He has served since 1928.

The former Victoria Hotel burned to the ground shortly after 3:30 p.m. last Friday, after Wm. H. Seechaaf, 48, for whom police had no address, reportedly started a fire in an imitation fireplace.

Mr. and Mrs. Lester Gute of Jeffersonville, announce the engagement of their daughter, Judith Ann, to Robert Kingsley House, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. House of Jeff. Both are college seniors, having graduated from JCS.

50 years ago - 1970

Funeral services were held Saturday, January 3, for Mrs. Rudy Schwartz, 70, who died December 31 in Liberty Community General Hospital after a long illness. She was born February 27, 1899, the daughter of George and Lizzie Nieger Smith.

Mrs. Elsie Kromholz, 77, of Hortonville, died December 31, following a short illness. She is survived by her husband, Robert.

Steven N. Steka, 59, chairman of the Sullivan County Board of Supervisors, died late Tuesday evening, January 6. He had long been active in the civic, fraternal and political activities of Cochecton and Sullivan County.

Walter Sipple of Mileses narrowly missed injury when a truckload of lumber shifted in front of the Holy Cross School, Callicoon, flopping the truck. A utility pole at the site was sheared off and repairmen worked late into the night to replace it.

Sullivan County nearly began the new year without a New Year's baby, but at 11:58 on New Year's night, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Richard Foshchino at the Monticello Community General Hospital. They live on West Shore Road in White Lake.

Miss Kathleen Boyle of Callicoon, daughter of Mrs. Henry Dernbach, and Terrance Fink of Hortonville, son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Fink, were united in marriage on Saturday, December 12, at Holy Cross Church.

Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Ray of Long Eddy have made known the marriage of their son, Calvin, to Miss Geraldine Ryan of Cumberland, Md., on December 23.

40 Years Ago - 1980

Fred Weiss, owner of Weiss' Meat and Poultry on Main St., South Fallsburg, was rescued from a second floor window by firemen as his store was destroyed in a Saturday morning blaze. More than 100 firemen from five different companies fought the blaze in which no injuries were reported.

Two-term Democratic Fallsburg Supervisor Brian Ingber pulled off a stunning political coup on Monday afternoon when he aligned him­self with the Republican min­ority to gain chairmanship of the Sullivan County Board of Supervisors, ending the four-year regime of Town of Thompson's David Kaufman, a fellow Democrat.

A fire started shortly after 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve at the Pines Hotel on Route 113 in Lake Huntington, leaving one resident dead and another injured. The fire started when Christopher Flerx, 71, was filling a kerosene heater while the heater was still burning and the bottle of fuel ignited. Another man, Walter Olsen, 51, was also in the kitchen at the time of the fire and suffered smoke inhalation before being rescued. The hotel involved over 100 firefighters in freeing the other residents and moving them to an adjacent building.

Mrs. Julia Hermann of Callicoon was feted at an 85th birthday party on January 4, with a dinner at the home of her son, Paul and Lee Hermann, which all the family who live locally attended. She is the mother of three sons and two daughters and a goodly number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Peggy Zurn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Zurn Jr. of Long Eddy has been accepted into Crouse-Irving Memorial School of Nursing at Syracuse, where she will be enrolled in a two and one-half year program of nursing in August of 1980.

Miss Joyce Guttzeit, daughter of Helen and Richard Guttzeit of Lake Huntington, became the bride of William F. Gunn of Albany on November 4 at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Albany. The couple will reside in Albany.

The day prior to Christmas, December 24, a present in the form of a newborn boy was delivered to Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Hendrix, RD Cochecton, and Mrs. and Mrs. George H. Zablocky, RD 4, Honesdale, Pa. Andrew Hendrix was born at 8:30 a.m. and Kevin George Zablocky was born at 10:31 a.m.

30 Years Ago - 1990

The Village of Liberty plans to hold a number of events through 1990 to celebrate its 120th anniversary. The Village of Liberty was formally incorporated in 1870 and celebrated its 100th anniversary 20 years ago.

Icy roads over the New Year's weekend caused mostly minor fender benders, but miraculously no fatalities were reported in the county. There were three automobile accidents in the village of Monticello over the weekend, half of those recorded in last year's records.

A new piano has been donated by the Rev. Robert Houghtaling and family in memory of Harold Houghtaling, a former 35-year Sunday School director, at the Woodbourne Reformed Church.

Colleen McKeon, a senior at the Tri-Valley Central School in Grahamsville, recently finished second in the New York State Farm Bureau Citizenship Contest held at the Granit Hotel in Kerhonkson.

The first baby of the new year born (8:30 a.m.) at Community General Hospital was a girl to Teresa and Gary Couitt of Ferndale. She has been named Megan Lynne. At the Wayne Memorial Hospital, it was a girl, Leslie Jean, to Brian and Amy Smith of Honesdale. She joins two sisters at home, Chelsea and Jesse.

Philip J. Speer was installed postmaster at South Fallsburg on Thursday. Carol Scanell was installed postmaster at the Mongaup Valley post office. Mary Bordonaro, M.S.C. Manager and Poughkeepsie postmaster, officiated at both ceremonies.

George Watson was joined by his wife, Ida, when he was honored on his 75th birthday and for over 50 years service to Liberty's No. 2 Hose Co. He recalled three major fires in which he participated as a fireman: Grossinger's, Top of the Hill at Parksville and the Vogel Building on Main Street where several lives were lost nearly 15 years ago.

Richard Bates became the fifth member of Monticello Elks Lodge to have donated two gallons of blood to the club's blood project. He received a certificate of honor and congratulations from Project Chairman Ed Decker.

20 Years Ago - 2000

Town of Thompson Supervisor Tony Cellini and the town board have found a buyer for the Holiday Mt. Ski Area and are waiting for a lease/purchase agreement to be drawn up that will keep the ski area open but remove it from the town's control. If all goes well the new owner of the area will be Craig Passante, the son of the Villa Roma Resort's Marty Passante.

Retired Sullivan County Community College professor Joel Lerner and Bethel resident Jeryl Abramson have joined the Sullivan County Democrat as columnists.

Harold Roeder Jr., John McKay and Larry Richardson were unanimously elected to serve respectively as The Upper Delaware Council's Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer for this year. Roeder was appointed as the Town of Delaware representative to the UDC in 1997.

One of the most recognizable and most highly involved men the farming community, Jesse P. Brown died Saturday, January 8, 2000 at his home on Brown Farms in Kenoza Lake. He was 90 years of age. He was born on the homestead which his father established in 1908, and was very proud that his son, Robert, became his partner in farming and that his grandson, Thomas, later joined them. He was the widower of Margaret Wilfert Brown who died in 1980.

Annette Perry and Richard and Elaine Stamp of Kingston announce the engagement of their daughter, Doreen Marie Stamp, to Douglas Joseph Erlwein, son of Joseph and Marjory Erlwein of Callicoon Center. An August 2000 wedding is planned.

10 Years Ago - 2010

Inside a packed courtroom at the County Courthouse in Monticello, retiring Supreme Court Associate Justice Tony Kane, in one of his last acts, gave the oath of office to Jim Farrell the new Sullivan County District Attorney.

Allan Speirs and Gina Varall, an engaged Wurtsboro couple, are the happy parents of the first baby of the New Year born in Sullivan County, William Alfred Speirs, born on January 1 and named after two lovingly remembered men: Allan's maternal grandfather William and Gina's biological father Alfred.

Katherine and Kyle Young of Glen Spey welcomed their first child and first baby born of the New Year in Wayne County, Daniel David Young, on January 2.

Eldred and Liberty Central School Districts were selected to receive specialized recycling help from the NorthEast Recycling Council (NERC). The project, funded by the US Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Services Solid Waste Management Grant Program, is to work with rural schools to increase solid waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and toxic product use reduction. Both Liberty and Eldred already recycle, but NERC is pairing the $40,000 USDA grant with $20,000 of its own money to help the districts find new ways of dealing with their waste.

Sullivan West settled its second-to-last lawsuit over the construction of the Lake Huntington high school. The district had withheld $103,000 in payments to the Albany firm based on SW's contention that the air-conditioning units, ductwork and air exchanges in the high school's roof were incorrectly installed and contributed to water leakage. Sullivan West Superintendent Ken Hilton was getting indications the courts might not rule in its favor. So based on the school's attorney's recommendation, the board agreed to pay what it owed to Albany Specialties and drop the litigation.