110 Years Ago - 1910

Chester G. Yager and Wm. J. Grishaber were in New York last week and purchased a large second-hand French touring car of 50 horse power, double chain drive and capacity for nine passengers. The machine was ship­ped to Liberty and was brought to Jeff on sleighs Monday. In the Spring it will be put on the road as a stage between Jeffersonville and Liberty.

Real estate transfers filed with the County Clerk to January 8th are as follows: Dennis J. Golden and other heirs, etc., to James L. Golden and others, town of Fremont, 100 acres, $1; Comptroller of the State of New York to Trustees of the Narrowsburg Methodist Episcopal Church, village of Narrowsburg, 5 sq. ft., $1.

The thirty-second annual ball of the Sullivan County Social Club will be held at the Harlem Casino, 124th St. and 7th Ave., New York, on Thursday evening, February 17. Tickets, admitting gentleman and lady, fifty cents. Music by the 71st Regiment Band.

One of the most fashionable weddings that have taken place in Carbondale, Pa., in some time was the marriage of Miss Agnes C. Coughlin to William E. Halladay of Callicoon on January 11. Miss Ida Halladay was the bridesmaid. Among the Callicoon people attending the wedding were Mr. and Mrs. C.B. Starck, Mr. and Mrs. C.F. Starck, Mrs. C.P. Kautz, Misses Ida and Elsie Halladay, Mr. and Mrs. H.M. Darling, Miss Laura Darling, Grover Hermann and Edward Gardner.

The Women's Literary Club held its usual weekly meeting at the home of Mrs. George Sawyer on the evening of January 10.

A fair crowd witnessed the horse races on Kenoza Lake yesterday afternoon.

100 Years Ago - 1920

At the Lookout parsonage Tuesday evening, January 13, Arno Gregg of Abrahamsville and Miss Ethel Eldred of Lookout were united in marriage by Rev. Merle Watson.

Herbert Buddenhagen of Hortonville, who had been in the city several weeks, Henry and DeWitt Weiss, Herschel Sherwood and Ralph Werlau, all of Callicoon, went to New York Sunday and have secured positions with Uncle Sam in the customs house there.

George Clauson of Galilee has added to his already up-to-date farm a fine new electric lighting plant which provides light for both the residence and the barn.

Many are taking advantage of the fine sleighing and hauling their ice which is of a very fine quality, about 14 inches thick.

The farmers of Buck Brook who have formerly taken their milk to Roscoe have decided to take it to the Callicoon creamery.

Wayne County is to have a hospital. A building has been bought, the $50,000 needed has nearly all been raised by voluntary subscriptions and the work of remodeling the structure has been commenced. It will have three floors. The first will be 14 feet between floor and ceiling, the second 12 and third 10 feet. The third floor will be used mainly for operations and x-ray equipment. The project has hung fire for nearly 20 years but it now an assurance. It will be known as a memorial hospital in honor of the soldiers and sailors who went to do battle for their country and will be in the borough of Honesdale.

90 Years Ago - 1930

Many people attended the funeral services of Dr. W.W. Appley held at the Presbyterian Church in Cochecton last Friday afternoon. Nearly every doctor from the surrounding section attended the last rites of their fellow physician.

The family of Wm. H. Werlau is quarantined to their home because of an attack of scarlatina.

In a general house cleaning of the sheriff's office recently, Sheriff Benjamin R. Gerow and his assistants found many relics in several baskets of rubbish they committed to the scrap heap. Among them were five scrap books filled with newspaper clippings of obituaries and tragic deaths that occurred in Sullivan County thirty to forty years ago. Deaths of men and women of national reputation of a generation ago were also included. There were also clippings on farm topics and many poems. Old handcuffs, leg irons, guns and revolvers were found and articles which prisoners confined years ago had failed to reclaim. Four Masonic aprons were recovered. Sheriff Gerow will send these to the Monticello Lodge. One copy of the Sullivan County Record of March 16, 1888. On the front page is a column and a quarter story of the blizzard four days before. It is signed “A Shoveler” and here is what he wrote:

“First it snowed about four feet and then the wind began to roll it in heaps. The wind picked up chunks of snow as big as Eagle Hall, stone walls, stumps and kept rolling them in the gulleys below and it didn't take long before the gulleys were full.” Describing the opening of the road, “A Shoveler” says:

“When we started out, we were fifty men strong, well armed with garden spades, pick axes and crow bars. We waded along until we got a little above the Catholic cemetery, there by the bridge. We dug a deep canal for a long distance and finally the snow got so deep that shoveling it over the edge of the canal became impossible and Coventry proposed we dig a tunnel. We dug a regular tunnel and when we got dug in about a quarter of a mile we all sat down on the ends of our implements to take a rest. Coventry dug down about two feet and by George, he struck the top of a chimney. After we got the snow cleared from the chimney, we heard a voice issuing from below saying, “What's the matter?” Further investigating proved there was really a woman living there snowed under. Finally Peter Wagner stuck his head down the chimney and told her how deep her house was under the snow and we heard her say, ‘By gosh, no wonder my stove don't draw.'

“Further up we saw Mike Scott standing on a terrible big drift with a shovel in his hand. Lewis Faubel asked him what he was doing and Scott said, ‘I thought I'd shovel out my barn and am trying to find out where it is located.' Further up we encountered a snow bank that extended from the hill up there clean across the top of the mountain on the other side of the North Branch creek and so we got discouraged and came home.”

The annual meeting of the Callicoon Agricultural Mutual Fire Relief Association of Sullivan County was held at Mechanics Hall, North Branch, on Saturday afternoon, January 4. The secretary's report showed 2,621 policies are in force at the present time.

80 Years Ago - 1940

Narrowsburg got considerable publicity for a few days this week when it was reported in metropolitan papers that 18 plotters against the Federal Government had their “camp” there. The first news of the incident came over the radio Sunday evening and a short time later New York City news hawks arrived on the scene and they continued to arrive from various newspapers and news and picture services until the town was fairly well filled up. Search as they might, however, they could not locate the so-called camp. They did find however that two of the alleged plotters, John F. Cassidy and John A. Viebrock were well-known there, having been guests at Feagle's Hillside. They also discovered that a number of men, including Cassidy and Viebrock, did practice shooting on an abandoned rifle range south of Narrowsburg along the Erie tracks. The camp, referred to by Mr. Hoover of the G-Men, is still a mystery. According to an account in the New York Herald-Tribune, on Monday, “Eighteen men, clerks, salesmen, chauffeurs and the like were in the hand of Federal authorities in New York yesterday accused of a fantastic plot to overthrow the government by force, install a dictator and eliminate the Jews.” Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had been watching them for months and were familiar with their grandiose plans and even with some of their informal discussion, it was revealed in an announcement last night by J. Edgar Hoover, head of the bureau.

As to whether any of the eighteen prisoners had any connection with the outlawed Irish Republican Army or with any foreign nation or agent, Mr. Hoover refused to say. They are charged with seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to overthrow, put down and destroy by force the government of the United States, conspiracy to oppose by force the authority thereof and conspiracy to seize, take and possess the property of the United States. The penalty for this is a fine of $5,000 or imprisonment for six years or both.

The Ohls Hatchery at Callicoon is now operating in full swing for the 1940 season. The first hatch came off shortly after the first of the year and new chicks are scheduled each week. More and more eggs will be placed in the new electric incubators until the full capacity is reached in February. When fully set the 12 large incubators hold a quarter of a million eggs at once. Last year over 800,000 chicks were sold at the Ohls Callicoon plant.

Peter Hick, recently retired New York City fireman, has purchased the restaurant and bar owned by Chet Sheeley on Route 17, three miles west of Livingston Manor on the road to Roscoe. Mr. Hick is a brother of Charles S. Hick, superintendent of Schools and a son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. William Breiner of Livingston Manor.

The North Branch local of the Dairymen's League re-elected Directors, Alfred L. Long of Callicoon and Winfield Hessinger of Callicoon Center at the annual meeting Monday afternoon. Mrs. Leigh Walker was elected Associate Delegate. The meeting was held in the Hortonville Grange Hall.

The Cushing Stone Company is installing a new crusher at its plant on Route 30 near East Branch. The machine has a capacity of 150 tons an hour, sufficient to meet all demands. The old crusher was broken last summer and the company has taken advantage of the usual winter shutdown to install new equipment at a cost of about $20,000.

70 Years Ago - 1950

Mrs. Katherine St. George, representative to Congress from the 29th Congressional District of New York, has awarded the appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis to Charles E. Button Jr. of Roscoe.

At the Callicoon Hospital it was a daughter Sunday to Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Kellam of Highland Lake; a son Sunday to Mr. and Mrs. William Logoda of Monticello; a daughter Tuesday to Mr. and Mrs. Roy Sawyer of Livingston Manor; a daughter Wednesday morning to Mr. and Mrs. William Schmauss of Kenoza Lake; a daughter Tuesday to Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Ropke of Milanville.

The Staten Island Milk and Cream Company moved into their new building on Tuesday at Rockland. P.H. MacFarlane will be the manager.

Howard Stewart early this week purchased the Gardner home in Callicoon from the estates of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence A. Gardner, through Atty. Rexford E. Gardner, executor.

William Heib Sr. picked a dandelion in his yard on January 14th. It was a nice healthy specimen. Another sign of the mild winter we are having. — Lake Huntington Corresp.

The new auditorium of the Youngsville School will be dedicated Friday evening, January 20.

The 61st anniversary of the Presbyterian Ladies Aid was celebrated at the church service Sunday morning. The ladies attended in a body. Chrysanthemums were placed on the altar in memory of deceased members. — Jeffersonville Corresp.

The officers of St. Tammany Chapter No. 492, OES, were installed Friday evening at the lodge rooms. Frances Hauser of Callicoon Center will be matron and J. Ellis Noble of Damascus, Pa., will serve as patron, Helen E. Maurer was appointed secretary and Mrs. Charles P. Kautz was re-elected treasurer.

Isidor Levy, 52, owner of the Banner Slipper Co. in Honesdale, Pa., died Friday, January 13, at his home in Brooklyn, of coronary thrombosis.

60 Years Ago - 1960

Judith Ann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ivan A. Swendsen, and John C., son of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Diehl, were united in marriage at the Damascus Methodist Church on January 7.

Wedding bells rang for Nancy Gettle, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Gettle of Callicoon, who was married on January 9 to William Arp of Bakersfield, Calif.

Klimchok's Bar and Grill, located on Route 97 just south of Callicoon, was gutted by fire at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

Rosemary Freda, RN, will accompany her friend, Mrs. Germaine Swain, former secretary at St. Joseph's Seminary, on a trip around the world. Included in the trip will be a visit with her sister, Sister Mary Montford (the former Peggy Freda) who is servicing with the Maryknoll Missions at St. Joseph's Hospital in the Philippine Islands. Plans for the two women are speaking broadly, to visit as many holy Catholic shrines as possible during their interesting and leisurely trip and to see as much of the Holy Land as their stay there will permit. They plan to be gone about six months.

A fishing trip to the St. Lawrence River was made by seven Jeffersonville men on January 3 to fish for northern pike. The party included Fred Schwartz, Ed Chellis, Emerson Bossley, Herb Grishaber, Peter Moran, Bud Mathern and Elliott Weiss. The party caught 35 fish among them, the largest of which weighed 7 1/2 pounds. The average was nearer 4 lbs.

George A. Yeager of Liberty has succeeded the late Lawrence R. Milk of Callicoon as legislative assistant and secretary to Sullivan County Assemblyman Hyman E. Mintz.

Dr. William A. Crawford, Monticello Presbyterian pastor, is expected home Saturday from a South American cruise. He acted as chaplain on a passenger ship.

A total of 1,345 commercial enterprises in Sullivan County have been listed in the January 1960 issue of the Dun and Bradstreet Reference Book. Since Dun and Bradstreet does not list certain service and professional type businesses, it is conceivable that the total number of businesses in Sullivan County would actually be somewhat higher than the quoted figures. The five top communities in number of business listings are Monticello with 281; Liberty with 230; South Fallsburg with 107; and Livingston Manor and Woodridge tied for fourth place with 59 each. These five towns, peculiarly, have not changed standings in the past ten years. Other communities listed are: Callicoon with 37 commercial business listings; Bethel, 3; Callicoon Center 11; Cochecton, 5; Fosterdale, 4; Hankins, 8; Jeffersonville, 40; Hortonville, 6; Lake Huntington, 13; Kenoza Lake, 3; Long Eddy, 5; Narrowsburg, 38; North Branch, 5; Roscoe, 45; Obernburg, 2; and Youngsville and White Sulphur Springs are in a close race with 10 and nine respectively. Lew Beach and Mileses are each listed as having one each.

50 years ago - 1970

Miss June Whitmore and Charles Sutliff Jr. were united in marriage at the Abrahamsville Methodist Church on December 27, 1969. Other members in the wedding party were Miss Mary Ellen Whitmore, Miss Betty Ann Whitmore and John Sutliff.

Mr. and Mrs. Merlin Stephens of Honesdale Star Route announce the engagement of their daughter, Barbara Jane, to George, son of Mr. and Mrs. George A. Walter of Cochecton Center. A May wedding is planned.

An estimated 350 attended the funeral of former Supervisors' Chairman Steven N. Stetka, 59, a Cochecton Center farmer, who died of a sudden heart seizure Tuesday night of last week. Eastern Star, Masonic and Elks services were held at the Rasmussen's Funeral Home in Narrowsburg on Friday evening.

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Harder of Youngsville became the parents of a daughter January 3, born at the Liberty-Loomis Hospital.

Forestburgh Supervisor Vincent Galligan, a Democrat, began his 13th 2-year term as Forestburgh supervisor with the new year.

Mr. and Mrs. Maynard Larsen have sold the last of their chinchillas and will close that operation at North Branch. The animals were sold to Alexander Kline and his daughter, Dr. Lovelace of Utica, Ill.

There will be an ice fishing contest at Lake Jefferson with prizes being $100, $50 and $25 savings bonds. There will be tagged fish for other prizes for the event to be held on January 17 and 18.

Harry Woods, 74, world-famous composer and former Callicoon resident, was killed Tuesday. He was struck by a car as he alighted from a taxicab in front of his home.

Mr. and Mrs. William Luckey of Kenoza Lake announce the en­gagement of their daughter, Cheryl, to Willis Armbrust, son of Mr. and Mrs. Willis J. Armbrust of Fremont Center.

Two new feed storage silos were recently completed on the Agway property in Callicoon. They have a capacity of approximately 100 tons and will be used to store grain to be ground in the new mill which is being installed.

40 Years Ago - 1980

Residents of a 22-acre section of Ferndale approved annexation to the Village of Liberty by a 16-5 vote in a special election held at the Liberty Town Hall on Thursday. The favorable vote allows property owners in the area to take advantage of village services. According to John Crary, town property taxes for the residents will drop by up to 50 percent.

The new Memorial Library at Jeffersonville is scheduled to open this coming Saturday, January 19. An official opening celebration will be held later in the spring.

The Town of Cochecton Recreation Program has postponed the up-and-coming Winter Carnival until February due to the unfavorable weather. According to the program director, Dorothy Horizny, “I hate to state the obvious, but we just haven't had any snow and now the last few days of high temperatures has threatened the ice on the lake.”

Jane Roberts of Livingston Man­or and Gary Mann of Liberty were united in marriage at a January 6 ceremony performed at the United Methodist Church in Liberty.

Deputy Game Protector George H. Snyder of Callicoon, received the Pennsylvania Game Commission 25 year service lapel pin.

30 Years Ago - 1990

In an unexpected announcement last Thursday, Kay Kelly Bogdan of Monticello resigned as chairman of the Sullivan County Democratic Party. The announcement came at the conclusion of a long series of events in which members of the party executive committee had called for a special meeting to discuss the possibility of her ouster. No successor has been an­bounced.

Daniel Lamberti of Forestburgh has been named majority leader of the newly reconstituted Sullivan County Board of Supervisors at the first session of the board in the new year. The Republicans on the board re-elected James Gorman of Neversink as their spokesman.

Alexi Smassanow, 11, of Woodbourne was the winner of the “Make Your Home Your Castle” contest sponsored by Norstar Bank of Upper New York on Route 52 in Liberty. At the Main Street, Liberty bank, Kristy Regina, 12, was named winner of the same contest.

Monticello firemen fought a stubborn blaze at Hillside Avenue early Friday morning. The blaze, believed to have been started from a cigarette, left seven people homeless.

Something new in proposals: Peter Cassaro of Mongaup Valley asked State Trooper Lynn Van Hage for her hand in marriage via a painted 30 foot billboard on a display by Keller Signs. She said “yes” and the wedding is planned for May 5.

20 Years Ago - 2000

The turnout was small but the feelings were strong at a tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Saturday at the Monticello Middle School. The event, sponsored by the Million Man March Community Action Group and the Committee of Sisters, featured performances in Dr. King's honor and a variety of speakers encouraging those in the audience to continue the dream. Among the performances was a demonstration by Esther Long's Stomp Troop, a step-dancing group she organized last year.

The Discovery Channel last Friday featured one of the homes recently built by Woodstone Development Corporation of Bethel on a show called “Gimme Shelter.”

The Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency is floating $10 million in bonds for SDTC-The Center for Discovery as it expands to meet the needs of an increasing number of people. The Center for Discovery's expansion is expected to create 100 new jobs.

The engagement of Amy Price and Jeffry Laffey, both of White Lake, has been announced. She is the daughter of Ralph Price of Damascus, Pa. and the late Barbara Price. Jeffry and Susan Laffey of Fremont Center are the parents of the groom-elect.

Melissa Barley and Scott Scheidelman were married August 14, 1999, at the Chittenango Meth­odist Church in Chittenango. The bride is the daughter of John and Linda Barley of Liberty. The groom is the son of Karen Scheidelman and the late Bruce Scheidelman of Lowville.

Ed. Note: A paragraph was omitted from last week's edition of Down the Decades. We are sorry for any confusion that may have resulted:

One of the most recognizable and most highly involved men in 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.

Mr. Brown and his wife of 18 years, Florence Otto Brown, shar­ed a love of antique automobiles and had exhibited their restored automobiles at several antique car shows. He served as a board member of the Catskill Antique Car Association and in 1993 was selected to be Grand Marshal of the Jeffersonville Jamboree Parade.

10 Years Ago - 2010

Focus Media Inc., announced the acquisition of Madden Communications & Marketing, the largest public relations and marketing firm in Rockland County, and plans an aggressive expansion into Westchester and Bergen counties. Focus Media has been the No. 1 ranked advertising agency in the Hudson Valley by HV Biz for the last two years.

Eaglefest 2010 took on a very special meaning as it honored the memory of Heidi Morse, a past creator of one of the annual Eaglefest Posters that are auctioned each year. Morse first created a poster in 2004 that was sold at the event and, before she was killed in a motor vehicle accident in 2009, she had created a poster for consideration for this year's event and organizers felt it was only fitting to use her poster, as well as dedicate this year' Eaglefest in her memory.

Senator Gillibrand made her first visit to Sullivan County. She chose to greet an enthusiastic crowd in town hall-style inside the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Various audience members asked tough questions, some of which Gillibrand admitted she'd need to do more research. But she assured one interviewer that she will fight for strict environmental regulations on gas drilling.

Entrepreneur JJ Pavese and his solar farm project slated for Maplewood Road and Sackett Lake Road sailed through a brief public hearing at a recent Thompson Planning Board meeting. About 30 acres of the 48-acre parcel are already cleared and ready for panels. Pavese plans to sell the electricity to the grid, not to individuals.