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Down the Decades

January 25th, 2022 Edition

Compiled by Lee Hermann, Muse, & Ruth Huggler
Posted 1/25/22

110 Years Ago - 1912The stork visited at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Baer in Mileses and left a baby girl.
The Borden and Fulboam creameries at Cochecton and Milanville respectfully are taking …

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Down the Decades

January 25th, 2022 Edition

Posted

110 Years Ago - 1912


The stork visited at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Baer in Mileses and left a baby girl.
The Borden and Fulboam creameries at Cochecton and Milanville respectfully are taking advantage of the cold spell to fill their ice houses from the river… Mr. and Mrs. Frank Welsh are rejoicing over the possession of a girl born on the 14th inst.… David Fortnam was the recent recipient of a post card shower on the event of his 85th birthday. — Tyler Hill Corresp.



With the thermometer ranging from 24 to 26 degrees below zero, firemen were called out a week ago Sunday morning to fight the worst conflagration that has visited Honesdale in years. The fine Reif business block, known as the “Red Stone Front,” was destroyed completely, the two story structure, occupied by F.G. Teriwilliger’s H.K.B. store was badly damaged and the livery stables of the Allen House, which are now run by former sheriff M. Lee Braman, are partly des­troyed. Heavy damage was wrought to the stock of E.W. Gamble, who runs an automobile and a farming implement store in the Gramble Block. In the Reif Block were Reif’s shoe store, Spettigue’s hardware store, the law offices of Homer Greene and C.A. McCarty, the musical studio of Miss Mabel Broad, and the photograph gallery of J.A. Bodie. The fire started in Reig’s shoe store about 2:00 and the firemen soon had it under control apparently, but about 5 o’clock, it broke out afresh and spread rapidly to the other buildings. George Bergmann, one of the members of Protection Co. No. 3 has not been heard of since early morning and great fear is felt for his safety. He was seen in Eberhardt’s cigar store about 4 o’clock in the morning, where he had gone to warm up. A thorough search in town since has not revealed his whereabouts and it is feared that his life has been sacrificed in the performance of duty.

100 Years Ago - 1922


To insure protection to travelers in buses and stages, the New York State Public Service commission laid down this week requirements providing that all stages and buses must be brought to a standstill not less than 20 feet nor more than 60 feet from any grade crossing over which the vehicle must pass and to require the operator to look carefully in both directions before crossing.

90 Years Ago - 1932


Death gave 89-year-old Fanny M. Read Monday what life could never give – reunion with her dashing Civil War lover. When the drums of war rolled through Hancock in 1861, a young adjutant went to Fanny Read and told her of his love. The couple made plans to marry. But her father frowned on the idea and forbade his daughter to even say goodbye to her lover. The heartbroken girl refused to leave her room in the American Hotel, owned by her father. She refused to speak to her father and the weeks and months grew into years. Only three times in 70 years did she leave her room and they were to attend, heavily veiled, the funerals of near relatives. In 1929, “Aunt Fanny” was taken to the Binghamton Hospital where she saw for the first time electric lights and modern inventions. They did not interest her. She lived with her memories. Six weeks ago she fell and broke her hip. She died Monday with two nephews at her bedside.

At the election in the firehouse Friday, citizens voted to buy the firehouse of Jacob Klein. Walter Hunt and Edward Everett were also elected fire commissioners. — White Sulphur Springs Corresp.



A surprise party was given to Mr. and Mrs. Daniel C. Meyer Saturday evening, January 16, in honor of their 25th wedding anniversary. — Fremont Center Corresp.

A baby girl was born to Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Baker of Abrahamsville on January 6. Mrs. Tom Baker is caring for the mother and babe.



The Callicoon Hospital is now complete and ready for the installation of the furniture and other hospital fixtures. The monies realized at the recent benefit bridge at the Curtis home will be used to furnish the nursery. It is hoped that the furniture will arrive so the hospital can open about February 1.

80 Years Ago - 1942


Otto G. Tegeler, son of Mr. and Mrs. C.L. Tegeler of Damascus, Pa., has been notified that he has successfully passed the examination for licensed undertakers for the State of Pennsylvania.



Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wingert of Jeffersonville are the parents of a baby girl, born at the Callicoon Hospital.
The funeral of Dr. John Adams Miller, last of Sullivan County’s oldtime country doctors, was held in Roscoe on Monday. Dr. Miller was 79 years of age and died at the home of his son, Major Harry E. Miller, a reserve officer in Monticello.



Shopping at the Victory Chain, Inc., it was Ayrshire butter, 2 lbs., 83¢; Liberty Blend coffee, 2 lb. bag, 39¢; Florida oranges, 23¢ a dozen and Florida large grapefruit, 5 for 25¢; Hormel’s sausage, 31¢ a lb., in five pound bags.



Nelson Miller of Abrahamsville will not be able to go to camp for two more weeks as he had an unusually bad case of the mumps.



Mr. and Mrs. John Gill of Galilee, Pa., are the parents of a son born January 18.

A tree that fell across a high tension wire caused the death Friday, January 23, of Robert O’Neill, 30, of Monticello, a New York Telephone Co. lineman. He is survived by his wife, the former Louise Voss of Monticello and an infant son.

70 years ago - 1952


Miss Ethel Doetsch will become the bride of Richard Anderson on February 17 at St. Joseph’s Seminary.
Mrs. Forrest Calkin of Lake Huntington caught a prize pickerel, 26-1/2 inches long and weighing 5-1/2 pounds, in Swan Lake on Sunday, January 6, while fishing through the ice.



Saul Klein, Monticello High School senior, was awarded first place in the county American Legion oratorical contest last night at Narrowsburg. Roberta Sakofsky of Fallsburg Central School placed second and Thomas Halloran of Jeffersonville Central School was awarded third place.



Mr. and Mrs. Grover Bertsch of East Cochecton announce the engagement of their daughter, Miss Dorothy H. Bertsch, to Robert Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Williams of Bethel.



Erma Loretta Knack, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Augusta Knack of White Sulphur Springs, and David A. Carlson, son of Mr. and Mrs. G. Carlson of Shandelee exchanged wedding vows on January 13 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Youngsville.



At the Callicoon Hospital, it was a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Leavenworth of Narrowsburg on Friday; Rev. and Mrs. Gerard Morriello of Hankins are the parents of a daughter born Saturday; Mr. and Mrs. Silas Friermuth of Narrowsburg are the parents of a daughter, born Wednesday.



Sixty tons of steel were trucked into Bridgeville yesterday to be used in the construction of the viaduct across the Neversink River on Route 17. Three piers for the $832,000 structure are already in place.

60 years ago - 1962


Anthony L. Roos of Orchard Park arrived in Callicoon Monday morning to assume his duties as Executive Vice President of the First National Bank in Callicoon. An open house will be held at the bank on February 3 for all to meet Mr. Roos.



Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Neer of Long Eddy celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on the 14th... Mr. and Mrs. John Fischer of Fosterdale celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary Saturday evening at the Grange Hall.
According to Mack Weiner, head of the Livingston Manor Rotary Club, more than 400 were at the Saturday night dance in the school auditorium for the Ice Carnival. Bobby Comstock and the Counts, now appearing at the Peppermint Lounge in NYC, furnished the music for dancing. There were 1,500 at the Ice Carnival on Sunday, reported Mr. Weiner. Linda Weigand, a junior, was named queen, and Barbara Baker, Dorothy Kuttner, Janey Smith and Cissy Weiner were her ladies-in-waiting. The Ice Carnival has become one of the county’s major winter events.

A 400-foot long three-story cinder block chicken coop, with 18,000 birds, was destroyed by fire early Monday morning at the Louis Ganz poultry farm near Divine Corners. Loss is estimated at over $100,000. The birds had just been put in the coop.

Firemen from four companies poured water on the New Kensington Hotel at White Lake which caught fire near the kitchen on the north end of the structure Thursday afternoon. Damage was estimated at $300,000.



Consolidation of the Livingston Manor National Bank with the Sullivan County National Bank of Liberty was approved this week by Comptroller James J. Saxon. Official notice of the action was received by the Liberty bank on Monday. This is the second bank to have joined with the Liberty bank, the First National Bank and Trust of Roscoe having consolidated with the Sullivan County National Bank on February 16, 1960.

50 years ago - 1972


Mr. and Mrs. Edward Barley of Monticello celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary Sunday at a family dinner at the Antrim Lodge in Roscoe.



Milton Levine has been elected chairman of the board of supervisors.



A total of 14 persons were left homeless by two fires in Liberty. One blaze gutted a residence at 21 Lake Street, and the other at the residence of Donald Orseck at 1 Parr Road.



Town of Thompson Democratic Chairman Morris Rosenbloom, an attorney, was unanimously elected clerk at the Friday supervisors meeting at Monticello. He succeeds Abraham Kleinman of Liberty.



The 94th annual meeting of the Callicoon Co-Operative Insurance Co. was held January 8 at the firehouse in North Branch.



Construction got underway last week at the county Infirmary grounds in Liberty for a building to house the emergency equipment for the Civilian Defense department.



Sullivan County will once again be represented at the annual International Sport and Camping Show at the New York Coliseum March 4 to 12. Harry B. Woods Jr. of Roscoe is to handle the exhibit for the nine day run of the show. Design for the 1972 exhibit has been in the hands of Francis Davis, Long Eddy artist, who has been responsible for the attractive format the past several years.

40 years ago - 1982


Andrew Neiderman of South Fallsburg will be a guest on the Joe Franklin show Monday to discuss his most recent novel, “Brainchild.”



Members of the Cpl. Russell D. Sprague American Legion Post 109 in Liberty donated an American flag, to replace a stolen “Old Glory,” to the Golden Park Senior Citizens Club.



Delaware Valley’s Mike Stauch placed second in the mile walk at the Rockland County Track Meet Saturday. He finished first last week at a meet at the Rockland County Community College with a time of 7:09:6. Alex Pradere won the unseeded two mile in 10:22. In all, 37 schools participated in the meet.



Harry Nearing, a native of Lake Huntington and a longtime figure of prominence in Broome County bowling, died Saturday, December 26, at the Binghamton General Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was 84 years of age.

30 years ago - 1992


A strong wind that “sounded like a train” struck the Narrowsburg area late Tuesday morning, uprooting huge trees on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware, skipping across the river at the boat landing and dropping more trees on the Sullivan County side. Roger Johansen, who lives on the Pennsylvania side of The Flats in Narrowsburg, lost six huge trees, 60 to 100 feet tall, all of which fortunately missed hitting his home. The United Methodist Nursing Home, next to his property, lost 20 trees. Sean Pendergast was home on winter break from Hofstra College and was sleeping in his attic room when the storm hit. The roaring tornado – or whatever it was – split the tall pine tree in front of his house in half and sent one huge branch through the roof a few feet from his head. It impaled the dresser. The New York Gas and Electric Co. had power back on by 4:30 p.m.

Former Sullivan County District Attorney Frank J. LaBuda has been appointed as special counsel to the Town of Bethel in regard to the Woodstock site. The area, part of the old Max Yasgur farm where 500,000 revelers gathered in 1969 for the renowned three-day music festival, has been the perennial cause of controversy and trouble to the owners of luxury homes that surround the site, especially during the anniversary dates (August 15, 16 and 17) of the original Woodstock event. It is estimated that 20,000 people gathered for the 20th anniversary in 1989. “Whatever happens at Woodstock has a bearing on this whole town,” according to Town of Bethel Supervisor Allan Scott. Board member Harold Russell characterized the job of the attorney as a “fact-finding” mission and said that the attorney would also be expected to provide the town board with alternatives in dealing with the annual influx of people to the site. The action was taken in anticipation of the 25th anniversary in 1994.



A straw vote to test the public’s support for the idea of merging the Eldred Central School District and the Narrowsburg Central School District resulted in a defeat of the idea with a vote of 335 in favor and 429 against in Eldred and 335 in favor and 135 against in Narrowsburg. Support of both districts was needed in order for the state Department of Education to approve further exploration of the merger and set a formal voting date.
At the (December 12) 45th anniversary celebration of the Ladies Auxiliary to the H. Russell Kenyon Post No. 5808 at Mullally’s Pub, Rita Yewchuck of Jeffersonville was presented with the VFW Buddy Poppy theme, in recognition of her untiring efforts in promoting the poppy program.



An estimated crowd of 2,000 attended the 33rd Rotary Ice Carnival in Livingston Manor this past weekend. Former Olympic skater JoJo Starbuck made a guest performance, much to the delight of Sullivan County amateur skaters. Among those seeking autographs was 76-year-old Ronald Nearing who held two tiny medals in his hand cast in 1935 and won by him in high school competition at Sackett Lake. In 1934, he and his brother had won the trophy for Narrowsburg High School. Mr. Nearing still skates at home in Lake Huntington and had his skates with him Sunday.

20 Years Ago - 2002


While squadrons of seagulls circled overhead, local firefighters battled a fire at the Sullivan County landfill in a snowstorm. According to Brian Soller, chief of the Monticello Fire Department, Saturday morning’s fire was the third such incident to strike the county dump in the last six months. “It was an underground garbage fire,” said Soller. He added the cause of the series of fires is unknown.



Twelve-year-old Emily Hughes of Long Island wowed the crowd at the Livingston Manor Ice Carnival on Sunday. The rising young star is a member of the NYC Skating Club and was a featured performer at the ever-popular festival this weekend. Livingston Manor Ice Carnival Queen was Danielle Franco and King was Jesse Carlson.

It’s likely never to be viable, nevertheless, county legislators debated public transportation issues over the last few months.



DEATHS: Bernadene Kellam of Damascus, Pa., 86, died January 17, 2002. She was the daughter of the late William and Ada Hull Smith of Tyler Hill.... Ruth Kellam Hess of Callicoon, 96, died January 20, 2002 in Kenoza Lake. She was the daughter of the late William and Rose Baker Kellam.

10 Years Ago - 2012


The 2011 season at Monticello Raceway ended on Thursday, Dec. 29 with Bruce Aldrich Jr.’s 410 winners tops among drivers. Aldrich, who now has won back-to-back driving titles at Monticello Raceway, finished with 22 more wins than runner-up Billy “Zeke” Parker Jr., whose total was 388. Trailing Aldrich and Parker in driving victories for the season was Jimmy Taggart Jr. with 285, followed by Jimmy Marohn Jr. (184) and Mike Forte (155). Moreover, two horses regularly driven by Aldrich – Edie’s Desire and Blue Creek Angie – each finished with 19 seasonal triumphs, which tied them for top honors – with two others – in races won by a horse in North America in 2011. On the training side, Gary Messenger sent out 104 winners from his barn to garner top honors. Messenger harnessed 10 more winners than runner-up Elisha Lafreniere, who had 94. In years past Messenger was always among the leaders, but 2011 marks the first season that he is the track’s leading conditioner.



Editor’s note: Not leaving anything to chance, Ben Kaplan wrote his own obituary. His column “At Large” ran in the Democrat for part of three decades. Benjamin (Ben) Kaplan, retired director of Tourism and Publicity for Sullivan County, died on January 12, 2012 in Chatham, Massachusetts. He was 98 years of age. The son of the late Philip and Sarah Eig Kaplan, he was born in Brooklyn, NY, on June 13, 1913. Mr. Kaplan attended the schools in Monticello and went on to Syracuse University where he majored in journalism. He then published a national trade paper for the glove industry in Gloversville, NY, selling the business in 1942 to serve in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He engaged in a retail business on his return to Monticello and in 1957 was appointed executive director of the Sullivan County Hotel Association which had a membership of more than 200 active hotels. It was during this period that he served as treasurer of the nine-county Route 17 Association. After 12 years with the Hotel Association, Mr. Kaplan moved into the county publicity directorship where he served until his retirement at the end of 1978. In 1982, the Sullivan County Democrat added him to its staff of columnists, his Friday columns continuing through 2005.



What a difference a decade makes! Another piece of the Town of Callicoon’s efforts to turn a former junkyard into a community meeting place is in place in Callicoon Center. Town officials gathered with community members to cut the ribbon on a pavilion that will serve town residents and visitors alike. Helping do the honors were former Highway Superintendent Pete Cummings (whose crews spent countless hours helping create a park out of the junkyard), Deputy Supervisor Dave Kuebler, Park Caretaker Tom Schmidt, current Highway Superintendent Kris Scullion, Councilman Charlie Schadt, Councilman Howard Fuchs, Town Clerk Janet Brahm, Supervisor Tom Bose, former supervisor Gregg Semenetz (under whose helm the town was able to get the junkyard closed and the park project under way) and Boy Scout Joel Brundege (whose Eagle Scout project added an informational kiosk to the site). The site also includes a new holiday tree donated by Trees of the Woods owners Doug and Joan Woods which has been lit through the holi­day season.

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