130 Years Ago - 1896

The deciding games between the Callicoon and North Branch Bowling clubs will be rolled at Neumann’s Alley at Callicoon on July 18. After the match, a social hop will be held in the hall and everybody is invited to attend. Clam chowder will be served free of charge. Music by Gilbert’s Band.

Abram Ruth died suddenly of a  heart attack at his home in Youngsville Sunday morning, aged 75 years. Henry Wagner, a retired New York businessman, died at his home in Jeffersonville Monday night of Bright’s Disease, aged 62. His illness caused him to purchase the Kitz property three years ago. He was born in Germany and came to New York at the age of 16. He is survived by his wife; a daughter, Maggie, wife of E. Fimpel; and a son, Jacob, both of New York. Mr. Wagner was a cousin of Peter Wagner of Jeffersonville.

Youngsville – a son was born to Frank Jacobs last week.

Fosterdale – The festival held here on the Fourth for the Ladies Aid was a success both socially and financially, in spite of the unpleasant weather. They cleared $16.50.

Bethel – Reuben Schoonmaker has purchased a new piano for his daughter.

Briscoe – John Miller has two boarders, but not many have made their appearance in this neighborhood.

S.M. Nelson, the Callicoon Depot clothier, will be at Eagle Hall, Jeffersonville, for one week commencing July 15, with a large stock of merchandise.

120 Years Ago - 1906

A.S. Pierson has sold an interest in the Liberty lumber yard to A.B. Blatchly.

The boarding houses are rapidly filling up and the height of the season will show a greater number of city people here than ever before.

Guests at James Robisch’s are Henry Luhrs, wife, and son and daughter; H. William Schmidt and wife; Mrs. Anna C. Stoeber, Mrs. Jacob Metzger, Miss Nellie Metzger, J.A. Grossman, all of New York City.

Peter Eckhard Sr. of New York is a guest at Peter Wagner’s. Uncle Peter will lose all his sleep now, playing pinochle. 

Villa Eden, Andrew Glassel’s well patronized boarding house, is now illuminated by acetylene gas, a plant having just been installed by C. Pauli of Jeff.

Philip Erdman has completed a two-story addition to the rear of his residence, and is putting in sanitary plumbing, taking water from the village main.

Mrs. E. Fimpel, Paul and Marjorie Fimpel of Brooklyn, are at the summer home of the former’s mother, Mrs. B. Wagner. Mr. and Mrs. Fimpel returned recently from a delightful trip to Europe.

Knell and Durr have improved and enlarged the interior of the Mansion House. Periodical hops will be held during the summer.

Kenoza Lake – City people are flocking in every day and these are lively times. Behrmann’s and DeLap’s new bowling alleys were opened to the public Monday. The venerable Capt. Pinney rolled the first ball, making a strike. The nerve is still steady, although he is moving onto 90 years.

110 Years Ago - 1916

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kelp of Brooklyn brought their 20-month-old son, Charles, to the Heilman farm, a mile back of Callicoon last Thursday. On Friday morning, Dr. Mayer was called and found the child a victim of infantile paralysis. The child died at 2:30 Friday afternoon.

Because of the spread of infantile paralysis in the city, and the rush of parents with their children from the infected districts to the country to escape the disease, causing much anxiety on the part of the rural dwellers, the local Health Board has issued a warning, through a circular, to all boarding houses, hotels and others entertaining guests from the city, outlining the dangers, symptoms and possible methods of dealing with infantile paralysis cases.

In the Local Health Board’s circular, the following statement is made: “About 25 percent of all cases die, 35 percent remain more or less permanently paralyzed and about 40 percent of all cases make a complete recovery, showing that in the larger number of cases, the final results of unfavorable.”

Starting in Brooklyn, the epidemic spread to three boroughs of the city. In one day, 44 new cases were reported and up to June 30 there were 64 cases in Greater New York at the present time. In the last few days, over 50,000 children have been taken out of the city. The Record, noting this, stated 50 years ago: “Many of these have come to this county; and it is probably that the disease may develop in some of the children after coming here. It is therefore well for our people to take the precautions given by our Health Board.”

100 Years Ago - 1926

Mr. and Mrs. William Fitchen are spending a few days at Louis Faubel’s in this village. Mr. Fitchen has just celebrated his 74th birthday and is looking over the chickens as he always did.

Mr. and Mrs. John W. Murray, who came from the city two years ago and bought the Bennett Pharmacy, have purchased of William J. Grishaber the lower part of the old Eagle Hotel lot.

Mrs. Josephine Runde of New York has bought for her son, George, the George Baim property of one acre in Jeffersonville.

The George Hahn house and lot in North Branch, formerly the Wesley Dorrer property, has been sold by the widow, Mrs. Mary Hahn, to Eugenia Stockberger of Cliffside, N.J.

Politicians, like motorists, in an effort to better conditions in their community, should stay on one side of the road – the right side.

The National Bank of Liberty will celebrate its fifteenth birthday this month.

North Branch – L.H. Goodman of Jeffersonville is employed at the butcher shop of his brother, Herman.

Youngsville – The Standard Oil Co. has erected a gasoline and oil station on a lot next to the Catholic Church, which lot they leased to Mrs. Geneva Inderlied for five years.

White Sulphur Springs – J. Bruce Lindsley and Edward Everett are painting the Dairymen’s League plant in Jeff.

Fosterdale – L.V. Abplanalp and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Terwilliger and Miss Decker of Middletown were guests at the former’s home here.

Dahlia – Lee Hansen of Callicoon Center has joined the force working on the new White Sulphur Springs-Dahlia stone road.

90 Years Ago - 1936

The waterless Lake Jefferson is not a pleasant sight these summer days, especially to those who like to take a dip, or row, or fish. Men are still at work repairing two large holes in the dam due to the dam being built on sand and gravel instead of a solid foundation. It will be a couple of weeks more before repairs can be completed.

Punch, the pet Boston terrier in the home of District Attorney William Deckelman, died Tuesday evening from strychnine poisoning, picked up in some neighborhood yard.

Dr. H.E. McGee, late of St. Mary’s Hospital in Union City, N.J., has located in Jeffersonville for the practice of medicine.

Mayor Huff says he has the promise that the WPA force will start work on the new village reservoir on August 1.

Principal E.L. Baker was in town Thursday en route from Rome to Flushing where he and his family will summer while he is attending Columbia University for a course. Mrs. Lester Gute of the faculty will also take a summer course at Columbia.

When County Judge George L. Cooke seeks rest and relaxation from his arduous duties, he very frequently comes over to Jeffersonville, a place of peace and quiet and neighborliness. And so the judge and his younger son, Lawrence, law student, came over last Sunday to see the ball game in the shade of an apple tree and with a restful background of a mountain of green trees across the ball field. A ball game in Jeffersonville is usually a quiet, peaceful affair, because the fans enjoy and appreciate the pastime without getting excited about it.

Fred Joergle, mason contractor, has the contract for excavating and foundation wall for the new house to be erected for Harry C. Schumacher of Montclair, N.J., on the Urban farm  near Callicoon Center.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Kautz and Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Curtis left on Train 1 last Sunday for a month’s vacation which will take them across the United States and on an ocean trip to Alaska.

As a result of efforts of the Narrowsburg Chamber of Commerce two State Troopers will be stationed at Narrowsburg during the summer months. They will reside at Miller’s and will probably leave in the fall.

Supervisors Lawrence Milk of the Town of Delaware, Wm. Chandler of the Town of Neversink and Fred Hessinger of the Town of Callicoon attended the dedication of the New York State Tuberculosis Hospital in Oneonta on July 9.

80 Years Ago - 1946

Eleanore Lillian Layman, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Layman of the Beechwoods, and Warren W. Mall, hardware merchant of this village, were married at the Presbyterian Manse by Rev. J.C. Kovach, at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, July 7th.

William Heidt Jr., former publisher of the Callicoon Democrat and now linotype operator on the Ithaca Journal, has been selected as candidate for Congress by Democratic leaders of the 39th District, comprising five counties.

William R. Schafer, Sullivan County Chairman, has been designated for the Democratic nomination for state senator from this district, and James K. Welsh of Chester, veteran of both World Wars, for member of Congress.

Benjamin Yaeger, the Liberty gas distributor, last week flew to Orlando, Fla., where he made arrangements to build a winter home.

Mrs. Anne Reilly Mages had 75 guests at her boarding house, the former Duttweiler place on Swiss Hill, for the Fourth of July holiday, a number of them having to room out. The reservations are all taken for the summer. Ten are employed in help.

Bertha H. Gaebel, wife of Frank W. Yaeger of Flushing, died at the Flushing Hospital Sunday morning, July 7, following an operation for a ruptured appendix the day before. She was born in this township 66 years ago.

John VonBergen, 81, died at his home in the Delaware section of Jeffersonville Wednesday morning, July 10. He was born in this village January 1, 1865, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Casper VonBergen, natives of Switzerland. On December 25, 1893, he married Miss Barbara Schubert of Cochecton Center.

70 Years Ago - 1956

Mayor Frederick W.V. Schadt of Jeffersonville has been designated Jeffersonville Chairman of Brotherhood, under sponsorship of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

One of Adolf Edelman’s hens hit the jackpot last week. It laid an egg that weighed ten ounces and measured 7 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches. The jubilant poultry-man defies anyone to match the record set on his poultry farm on the North Road in Youngsville.

A Carbondale, Pa., couple were killed instantly and a New York City woman was fatally injured Sunday night when their sports car careened out of control and crashed into the guard posts on Route 97 just north of Callicoon Sunday night.

Three hundred chickens and an undetermined quantity of farm machinery were lost in a fire which destroyed a large barn on the David Clements farm east of Liberty Monday afternoon.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Schaefer celebrated their 25th anniversary with a gathering of family and friends at Kennedy’s Korners in Lake Huntington.

Herbert H. Hassis of Jeffersonville has been awarded a $410 scholarship for the next acade­mic year at Clarkson Tech at Potsdam.

Band concerts under the direction of Mr. Stephen A’Zary will be given every Tuesday night beginning July 10th in Callicoon Center. The Kenoza Lake Band will have its first concert Sunday evening at 9.

The Town of Callicoon and Village of Jeffersonville have been awarded $940 in state aid for a summer recreation project at the Lions Field.

The Arts, Crafts and Hobby Show at the Presbyterian Ladies Aid rooms drew a large crowd last Tuesday.

The Jay Dreher Supply Co. of Roscoe had a most successful grand opening of their redecorated store.

60 Years Ago - 1966

Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Whitmore of Callicoon RD 2 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at an open house July 3 at the Abrahamsville Methodist Church.

Miss Nancy Meyer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Meyer of Pea Brook, became the July 2nd bride of Philip Hillriegel, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lester R. Hillriegel, Callicoon RD 1. The ceremony took place at Holy Cross Church in Callicoon.

Miss Candice Baker of Cochecton was named queen of the Narrowsburg Firemen’s Field Day on July 4th.

Miss Sandra Bertholf, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Bertholf of Divine Corners, was named Miss New York State Queen of Posture on  June 24 in  Brooklyn. She will go to Texas to compete in the Miss World Queen of Posture contest to be held later. Drs. Barry Bodenstein, James Spina and Robert Small, local chiropractors, accompanied the Sullivan County candidates, Miss Bertholf, Miss Linda Kazansky and Miss Diane Schaefer, to the contest.

Frank E. Smith, native of Fremont Center, and presently executive head of the Schenectady Chamber of Commerce, was elected president of the New York State Chamber of Commerce Executives at the annual meeting of the organization recently. An invitation has been extended to the NYSCCE to hold its 1967 convention in Sullivan County.

Norman G. Persbacker was guest of honor at a dinner held at Reber’s, Barryville, June 29, to note his retirement from the United National Bank. Mr. Persbacker had been employed both at Callicoon and Narrowsburg for a total of 55 years service.

Mrs. Ainsley Keesler of Callicoon RD 2 was the lucky winner of $500 in the Victory Money contest.

Deaths are noted: Ross Baldwin, 85, of Callicoon Center, on July 4; Hattie Monington, 86, of Tyler Hill, Pa., on July 4; Mrs. Gertrude Tuleweit, 61, of Kenoza Lake, on July 1; Tracy Brown, 76, of Callicoon, July 3.

Miss Helene Hartmann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hartmann of Cochecton, and Thomas Bennedum of Hortonville, were united in marriage at Our Lady of the Lake Church, Lake Huntington, on Saturday, June 25. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bennedum of Hortonville.

50 Years Ago - 1976

A bicentennial worship service was held Sunday at St. Joseph’s Friary, Callicoon, with Fr. Laurence Hardy, OFM, Rev. Shubert Frye, Congressman Matthew F. McHugh, lay rabbi Irving Krongel, Rev. James Moore, Leota S. Hermann, Junior Vice President of the  State of New York Ladies Auxiliary to  Veterans of Foreign Wars, Rev. Christine Wolfe, Rev. David Kasper and Fr. Myron McCormick, OFM, participating. More than 400 persons joined in this bicentennial celebration.

Belinda Kreller of Welcome Lake, Pa., was selected to be Queen of the Town of Tusten’s Bicentennial Weekend Festival. The Fourth of July Celebration is a tradition, sponsored by the Narrowsburg Fire Department.

Elaine Neer, a student of the Jeffersonville Central School, has the enviable record of 11  years of perfect attendance at her school.

Part of the bicentennial celebration at the Monticello Raceway on Saturday featured a presentation of the Little Big Horns, a drum and bugle corps from Liberty.

Information about early frontier life in Sullivan County will be collected and preserved by  Fort Delaware, Inc., which has been granted an absolute charter by the Board of Regents. The corporation plans to build and operate a museum and frontier settlement for the display of historical objects usual in the Delaware River area, and pertaining to life in Colonial days.  Historical and educational tours will be conducted.

A letter from Mrs. Ida C. Myers of Richmond Hill, whose great-grandfather was the first Joseph Seibert, says her family has not missed one published edition of the Record in 74 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Alex Krongel have sold their home on Mill Street to Williams Burns, son of Mrs. Ben Weiland.

PFC Arthur S. Moller, military policeman stationed in Nuremberg, Germany, spent 15 days leave in Taastrup, Denmark, visiting relatives.

The Jeff unit of the Liberty-Loomis Hospital Auxiliary will sponsor a Mid-summer Mardi Gras at the Jeff Firehouse on July 31st.

40 Years Ago - 1986

Daniel Smythe has designed a tribute to the Statue of Liberty to be displayed at the town of Neversink town hall. A light will shine on the sign until the official 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, October 28.

A farewell party was held at the Milanville United Methodist Church so that parishioners could extend best wishes to Rev. Carlos Munoz and his wife Elizabeth who are leaving this area to pastor a Methodist Church at York, Pa.

A law passed by the State Assembly will require all persons applying for or renewing their driver’s license to indicate whether or not they wish to be an organ donor.

Two athletic directors retired at the end of this school year. Paul Zintel, after 28 years in the post, has left Jeffersonville-Youngsville Central School to become the athletic director and basketball coach at Sullivan County Community College. After a 30-year reign at Monticello High School, Ed Kennedy has retired from  his alma mater, Monticello High School. A 1948 graduate, he attended Notre Dame and received his Master’s Degree from Penn State, only to return to Monticello in 1956 to coach soccer for the next thirty years.

After three ballots, the $7,392 budget at Fallsburg was finally adopted Wednesday night by a vote of 431-348.

30 Years Ago - 1996

Sullivan County’s new tax amnesty program returned more than $600,000 in delinquent taxes to county coffers in the past two months. The program lets delinquent taxpayers, commercial and residential, pay off back taxes without penalty between May 2 to Sept. 30 so long as current tax payments don’t fall behind.

Port Jervis was hard hit by Monday afternoon’s high winds and heavy rains, causing 6,200 Orange and Rockland electric customers to lose power for up to 10 hours.

The Liberty Chamber of Commerce announces its Fridays in the Park series. After the Farmer’s Market on Darbee Lane from 3-7 p.m., there will be entertainment at the Liberty Music & Arts Pavilion in LaPolt Park beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Mr. and Mrs. John Mootz of Callicoon Center announce the engagement of their daughter, Melissa Ann, to Jeffery M. Jacobson, son of Jon Jacobson of Albany and Donna Susi of Saratoga Springs. A July 19, 1997 wedding is planned.

Tim Hamblin, the entertaining singer/pianist, will present an evening of Broadway favorites and popular standards at Home at Roy’s in Fosterdale on July 13. Hamblin teaches music in Liberty.

St. John’s Episcopal Church in Monticello will be celebrating its 180th anniversary as a parish this year. 

Ronald and Marguerite Phillips of Ellenville announce the engagement of their daughter, Melinda, to Jim Benson, son of Jane Benson of North Branch and Charles Benson of Monticello. A July 4, 1997 wedding is planned.

Fiction writer Eileen Curtis-Israel of White Lake will be on hand to sign her first novel, “Sisters and Strangers,” at Lauriat’s in the Galleria at Crystal Run, Middletown on July 13. The book was published last month by Harper Collins and is centered on three sisters, a secret, and an archaeological find in the Catskills.

20 Years Ago - 2006

Six hundred fifty-two homes were damaged county-wide. Thirty homes have been condemned. The “1-in-500-years flood” left behind at least $13.8 million in damage to municipalities and another $13 million in private damage. Public safety commissioner of Sullivan County Dick Martinkovic cautioned that those numbers may go up and down again “depending on what we find as we proceed.” 

The Kauneonga Lake Farmers’ Market opened for the first time on Friday, located in the firemen’s pavilion off Route 55.

For the first time in its century-long history, the Callicoon Center Band canceled its concert June 28 because of the floods.

The Beaverkill Chapter DAR recently welcomed guest speaker B.J. Gettel of the Briscoe Community Association who spoke on the grassroots organization formed to raise funds to repair the Briscoe Lake Dam.

Tami Alderson and David Stollman were united in marriage on May 13, 2006 at the Sheraton at Bal Harbour, Florida. The bride’s parents are Fran Alderson and the late Ron Alderson of Shamokin, Pa. The groom is the son of Linda and Gerald Stollman of South Fallsburg.

10 Years Ago - 2016

The Time and the Valleys Museum in Grahamsville is riding a wave of nostalgia, taking part in the Lost Farm Project, currently reconstructing and repairing the Huff Barn from the area of South Hill. The building is being raised high on a hill behind the museum. The Lost Farm Project will showcase not only the simplicity of life in the past, but also the stress caused when lands were seized to build the New York City reservoirs. Zeke Boyle of Beechwoods Barns in Narrowsburg is taking the lead on the Huff Barn project, which is a post and beam barn from the 1860s. 

Throughout the 2015-2016 school year, George L. Cooke Elementary third grade teacher Dennis Lankau has been using his lunch time to work with Joana Dutcher and Jessica Ashcraft’s second grade class to build self-esteem and to care about how students dress, treat themselves and their surroundings so that they are better prepared for how to treat others. To end the year, Mr. Lankau taught the students how to tie a tie.