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Down the Decades

January 18, 2022 Edition

Compiled by Lee Hermann, Muse, & Ruth Huggler
Posted 1/18/22

100 Years Ago - 1922

Supervisors Freeman and Holcomb, on the Committee on Free Bridges Across the Delaware, reported to the Board of Supervisors that progress has been made. The report says the …

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Down the Decades

January 18, 2022 Edition

Posted

100 Years Ago - 1922

Supervisors Freeman and Holcomb, on the Committee on Free Bridges Across the Delaware, reported to the Board of Supervisors that progress has been made. The report says the state has offered to buy the bridges at Barryville, Skinner’s Falls, Cochecton, Callicoon and Hancock, and other offers will follow. It is said that the Cochecton Bridge Co. considers the price offered for their structure and its belongings as too small. It may be more however, than a board of appraisers would award them for the same after it had been condemned by the states’ joint commission.
Some 15 or 16 years ago, when Charles Beck moved from Brooklyn to North Branch, where he had purchased a property, he claimed that a phonograph, valued at $150, was lost in transit. He sued the Erie before Justice of the Peace Chas. F. Starck of Callicoon and secured a judgment of $150. The case was carried to the county court, Bacon & Rorty appearing for the Erie and Frank S. Anderson for Beck. Later Atty. Anderson left the state and Robt. B. McGinn of Jeffersonville was substituted as Beck’s attorney. Subsequently, Mr. Beck died and his wife, Rosa Beck, became the plaintiff in the action. Mr. Bacon died and later Mr. McGinn. Atty. Deckelman of Jeffersonville took the latter’s place as attorney. Two years ago, Mrs. Beck died and her son, Andrew Beck, was substituted as plaintiff. He proceeded to settle the estate and secured Atty. Lemon of Middletown as his lawyer. The latter has had the original judgment set aside. Justice Starck died in 1917, being one of the five connected with the case to die before the litigation was ended.
Postmaster Bergner of Callicoon announces that those holding partially filled Thrift Stamp books may present them at the post office and have them redeemed. No more War Saving or Thrift Stamps are offered for sale.
The people along the river in Narrowsburg were surprised to see the ice go out of the Delaware Friday evening on such short notice.
Melvin Brining, son of Mrs. Anna Brining, and Cora Nearing, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Theo. Nearing were united in marriage in Brooklyn. They sailed to the Bermudas where they spent their honeymoon. — Narrowsburg Corresp.

90 Years Ago - 1932

William T. McCaffrey, son of Mrs. Alice McCaffrey of Pond Eddy, has been chosen as principal appointee to the United State Military Academy at West Point and is one of three Sullivan County young men given recognition as the result of competitive tests held for this Congressional district. Morris L. Levy of Woodridge has been appointed first alternate. Herman Fracke of Eldred has been named second alternate to the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
Miss Elizabeth Baer of Mileses and Eugene Newman of Obernburg were married yesterday afternoon at St. Mary’s Parish House in Obernburg. They were attended by their sister and brother, Tessie Baer and Henry Newman, respectively.
Michael Hoffmann, who has made his home here for the past few months, has just purchased the O’Connor home in Callicoon. The property is part of the W.H. Ihrig estate and is considered to be one of the most desirable locations in Callicoon.
Western Sullivan County was considerably shocked last Saturday evening when it became generally known that the Callicoon National Bank has been reorganized. The Callicoon National Bank as such has gone out of existence and the new named, The First National Bank of Callicoon, has been substituted.
A benefit bridge party is being given for the Callicoon Hospital at the Charles G. Curtis home Saturday afternoon. It is planned to have about 12 tables in play.
“Thanks, Happy New Year, Christian R.” This was the King of Denmark’s response to the New Year greeting cabled to him by Otto Hillig, Liberty photographer, who was a guest of the king shortly after his successful landing at Copenhagen, following a trans-Atlantic flight.

80 Years Ago - 1942

A new Buckeye incubator has just been installed in the main plant of H.E. Ohls Co. in Callicoon. The giant machine is the latest work in hatching devices and holds about 56,000 eggs at one setting.
Francis Fink and Kenneth Caden both employed by the Erie R.R. Co., have been accepted in the U.S. Navy. They are enjoying a week’s vacation before reporting for training at Newport, R.I.
The farm home of Mrs. Minnie Pratt of Acidalia was destroyed by a fire which ori­ginated from an overheated chimney last Sunday morning. The house was a total loss.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Marks of Callicoon are the parents of a baby girl born January 11 at the Callicoon Hospital.
Mrs. Sylvia Kenney, postmistress of the Long Eddy Post Office, has reported that bond sold during the December quarter amounted to $2,156.25 while the sale of stamps during this quarter reached the sum of $55.

70 Years Ago - 1952

Irving Bershader, Callicoon attorney, was named by the Sullivan County Board of Supervisors last Friday afternoon as the County Attorney. John Kenney of Fremont was elected chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
An old landmark disappeared in Callicoon last Friday afternoon when the 60-foot chimney on the lumber mill was blasted down. Built about 1904 or 1905 by the late Martin Hermann, the chimney provided draft for the large boiler which produced the steam to run the entire mill. The chimney was built by Robb Bros. of Galilee, PA., and was six feet square at the base. It contained about two carloads of brick.
J. Bruce Lindsley, retired county clerk, and Mrs. Lindsley celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary on New Year’s Day with an open house.
Former supervisor of Dela­ware Township, Law­rence R. Milk, will go to Albany next Monday where he is secretary to Assemblyman Hyman E. Mintz. He will be in Albany several days every week during the legislative session.
Miss Cathleen Cullen of Chester became the bride of Frank Tonjes of Jeffersonville Saturday. The bride is editor and co-publisher of the Sullivan County Record in Jeffersonville and former society editor of the Middletown Times-Herald.
Eighteen hundred names are on the petition circulated by Oscar Spielman of White Sulphur Springs for the improvement of the state road from Jeffersonville to Liberty. This is one of the first state roads in the county and was built in 1904 through the efforts of the late Valentine Scheidell, supervisor of the Town of Callicoon at that time. It has never been resurfaced.

60 Years Ago - 1962

Carl “Dick” Beiling of Narrowsburg was seated as supervisor of the Town of Tusten. He was appointed the night before by the Tusten town Board to fill the position left vacant by the December 7th death of Supervisor Henry Zehner. Mrs. Zehner had held the post the past several weeks.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Chellis have announced the engagement of their daughter, Joann Marie, to Elliott P. Moran, son of Mrs. Marion Moran. Both are from Jeffersonville.
Clarence Adams recently shot a large bobcat, or Canadian lynx, in the Mehof area of the Town of Fremont.
The contract for the new bridge over the Callicoon Creek has been signed. The Binghamton Bridge and Foundation Co. is to begin work any day.
Mrs. Sylvia F. Kenney, postmaster at Long Eddy, who will soon retire after 28 years of faithful service, was honored with a dinner given by the post office staff at Kazmark’s Hotel in Long Eddy on Saturday evening. Present were Mr. and Mrs. Kenney, Mr. and Mrs. William Wheeler, Elizabeth Kenney, Fred Evers and Mr. and Mrs. F.W. English.
A son was born Monday to Rev. and Mrs. Alfred Siegel of Cochecton.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Barley of Monticello will celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary Wednesday of next week. Both are in excellent health. Mr. Barley still works every day as a carpenter at the Monticello Courthouse. She was the former Catherine Avery. They were married at the Hurleyville Methodist Church on January 17, 1899. He will be 84 in September and his wife will be 83 January 26.
Mrs. Anita Mullen, Parks­ville’s grand old lady, died at her home Sunday, January 7, at the age of 101. She had lived her entire lifetime in the north Sullivan village. She is survived by ten children, 22 grandchildren, 45 great-grand­children, and a great-great-grandchild.

50 years ago - 1972

Liberty Fire Department has constructed a new wing on the firehouse of Liberty Hose and Truck Co. No. 2 to accommodate the new aerial truck assigned to that division.
Marc Stier, a junior at Liberty Central School, has achieved a perfect score on the college Board Achievement Examinations in Biology according to notification from the College Entrance Examination Board in Princeton, N.J. He is considering a career in law and will be applying for early admission, which means acceptance to a college of his choice at the end of his junior year.
Apparently some of the big deals, the little deals and the in-between deals fell apart at the Friday organizational meeting of the county supervisors at Monticello. They adjourned at 2 p.m. Friday of this week without organizing.
Serious tragedy was fortunately avoided last Thursday when an exploding bottled gas tank failed to ignite. The incident occurred at the three-family apartment unit on Route 52 just north of Jeffersonville. The tank exploded when a pressure release valve on top apparently failed to function. The building was occupied at the time by three housewives and their children, two in each family.
Horsemen competing at Monticello Raceway’s Winter Meet received a belated Christmas gift today when it was announced that an additional bonus of forty percent of the purses distributed to date would be issued to all horsemen who participated at the meet.
The $2,000,000 building fund campaign for Community General Hospital went into high gear last Wednesday night at Grossinger’s Hotel with the open dinner for more than 200 workers in the Community Campaign Division. Mr. and Mrs. John S. McBride of Rock Hill are co-chairmen of the county Community Division.

40 Years Ago - 1982

The County of Sullivan has scheduled a memorial service honoring John J.J. McGough on Tuesday, January 19 at the Sullivan County International Airport in White Lake. Former commissioner of Public Works and Airport Manager Jack McGough and his wife, “Jimmy” were tragically lost in an airplane crash on October 17, 1980.
Gary Chupp, 13, of Reindeer Trail in Smallwood, was pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Community General Hospital in Harris, following a sledding accident near his home… David J. Beach, 24, of Hurleyville was struck and killed by a vehicle as he stood by his disabled vehicle on Route 42. No charges have been filed against the driver.
Miss Jody Sternlicht of Brooklyn became the bride of Steven Budoff, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jules Budoff of Monticello, at a twilight ceremony on January 3 in Manhattan… Dr. Bradley W. Layton and Mariellen O’Donnell were married at the St. Hilory of Poiter Church of Rydal, PA. A reception followed at the North Hills Country Club before the couple left for a wedding trip to Aruba.
Kim Lewis, 1981 Miss Sullivan County Teen, and Susan Tremper, Miss Catskill World, were on hand at the Concord to cheer on the New York Special Winter Olympics last week.
An open house was held at the Englehard home in Stalker, PA., to celebrate the 90th birthday of Kurt’s mother.
Mrs. Florence Leewe of Hortonville has been appointed postmistress at the White Lake Post Office. She succeeds Carmela Amatucci who retired in June of 1981.

30 Years Ago - 1992

Mitchel Grossinger Etess has been named senior vice president of marketing at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. He is the grandson of the late Harry and Jennie Grossinger of the famous Grossinger Hotel in Ferndale.
The Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen, PA., will be open on Friday, January 31 in honor of the 120th birthday of the famous author known as the “father of the western novel.” He lived in Lackawaxen, PA., from 1905 to 1918. Tours of the home will be given as well as the showing of videos of Zane Grey’s movies.
It used to be that photographers could get the pictures of the wedding back to the newlyweds within a week. Modern day technology delays are the reason why so many weddings are not printed in the paper until several months after the event as shown by the following: Alice Faye Beach and Richard Gonzalez, both of Liberty were married September 7, 1991, at the Woodbourne Firemen’s Social Hall… Jacqueline Jean Pilny and Kevin J. Graham were united in marriage on September 21, 1991, at St. Francis Catholic Church in Youngsville. Father Joseph Bambera, cousin of the bride, officiated at the ceremony… Robin Marie Blaisdell and Vernon Edward Turner were married at the Second Baptist Church in Auburn on September 21. He is the son of Nancy Turner of Hankins and the late Vernon Turner.
Bob Longo of Woodridge painted a mural of an O&W Railroad steam engine which was unveiled last July. Now Sol Okun would like to see similar murals painted throughout Sullivan County as a way of attracting tourists.

20 Years Ago - 2002

Traffic at the four-way intersection in Fosterdale has some people wishing they were seeing red. A town supervisor and the president of the local school board said that if the state doesn’t install a red stop light controlling all approaches to the intersection, some day somebody is going to get killed or seriously injured.
The tradition continues this year as the Livingston Manor Rotary’s Ice Carnival will take place on January 19 and 20. Amateur skaters of all ages who train at Kutsher’s Country Club and Time Skating Rink in Newburgh will provide entertainment, including local favorites Amanda Ward and Jenna Diaco.
The Kenneth L. Rutherford School in Monticello recently held its school-level Geography Bee, and fifth grader Matthew Thomas edged out fourth grader Shaun Meddaugh to win the competition. Thomas now has a chance to win a $25,000 college Scholarship.
The winners of the Roscoe-Rockland Garden Club holiday decorating contest are: Artistic, Mr. and Mrs. Tesse Niforiatos; Religious, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Buck; Holiday, Mr. and Mrs. Elvin Wood; Business, The Reynolds House Inn and Motel; Public Building, Roscoe Community Nursing Home.
Tri-Valley’s Heather Iatauro captured first place in the girls’ mile race at last Saturday’s Hispanic Games in New York City. Iatauro, a sophomore, won the event with a time of 5:09.15.

10 Years Ago - 2012

Dov Lowin, a Hatzalah emergency responder, is the proud father of a new baby girl, his eighth child and the first born in 2012 at Catskill Regional Medical Center. Dov and Miryam Lowin’s little baby girl doesn’t have a name yet, but she’s already earned the distinction of being Catskill Regional Medical Center’s (CRMC’s) first baby born in 2012 at 1:01 p.m. on January 1st. The Lowins are ultra-Orthodox Jews, and their 71⁄2-pound, 21-inch-long daughter will receive her name in a special ceremony this Saturday, on the Sabbath. They hinted that she will be named after her late great-grandmother of Australia, who died 12 hours prior to her birth.
Wayne Memorial Hospital welcomed the first baby of the Year 2012 born in its New Beginnings Birthing Suites on January 2 at 12:31 a.m. Little Charles Rey weighed in at 8 lb., 2 oz. and stretched 19 inches long. His mom, Jessica Rey, delivered with the help of Certified Nurse Midwife Sheela Porter-Smith, one of only a few nurse midwives who actually perform delivery procedures in northeastern Pennsylvania. New Beginnings’ Mary Lou Eimers, RN, presented Charles and his family with a basket of goodies, including a handmade blanket, piggy bank, stuffed animal and onesies.
Quick action saved an historic building from a potentially damaging fire. The Callicoon Fire Department got a call at 4:05 p.m. after smoke was spotted billowing from the mansard-roofed Zimmerman Building at 24 Upper Main St. (Lisa’s Autumn Inn) in Callicoon. Several minutes later Assistant Chief Willie Maxwell ventured into the basement as a hookup was made to the hydrant near the old firehouse just down the street. Maxwell said within 10 minutes flames on both the basement and first floor of the building, which dates back to the 19th century, “were knocked down.” He speculated that the fire was electrical in origin. Smoke, thick at times, continued to be visible as the fire went to two alarms and Hortonville, Jeffersonville and Lake Huntington also responded. In all, about 60 firefighters were on the scene, with hoses stretching across the railroad tracks and down to the Callicoon Creek near Lander’s Café. Though additional water wasn’t ultimately needed, the responders were not taking any chances.
Bethel’s longstanding Youth Board was dissolved Wednesday by the town board, and a Parks and Recreation Department was created in its place. The move was recommended by the director, Cathy McFadden, and assistant director, Cathleen Doherty, of the youth program and supported by the Youth Board itself, though Board Chair Eileen Morey said it wasn’t the board’s idea.
With the holidays wrapping up, some drivers in the Northeast are being given an additional gift, as the Bethel Motor Speedway (BMS) office announced plans to add a limited number of Empire Sport Truck series races to the 2012 schedule. The Empire Sport Truck series made two stops at BMS during the 2011 season and drew in enough interest for drivers to approach speedway management to request additional shows in the upcoming season.

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