140 Years Ago - 1885

The annual Beechwoods Picnic and Harvest Festival for the season of 1885 will be held at Weber’s Grove, Beechwoods. As the preceding festivals were a complete success no pains will be spared to make this far better than any other and a large new platform 40x60 will be erected for the accommodation of the dancing public, and the grove will generally be fixed with new benches, tables, etc. The refreshments saloons will all be supplied with the wants of all, and Rupert’s celebrated Extra Lager will be on draught. The music will be furnished by the Jeffersonville Brass and String Band.

130 Years Ago - 1895

The school building at Callicoon Depot will be enlarged.

Messrs. Wenzel, Fisk and Matthews, the commissioners appointed with reference to the establishing  of a new road in Bethel township, have decided in favor of opening the new highway, it being a necessity in their opinion.

Ringling Day is almost here. Nothing is talked of but the Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Show, and next Friday, July 26, will be the gala day in Liberty.

The farmer’s lot is a hard one this year. The drought in the early part of the season ruined all chances for any kind of hay crop, and now come along the grasshoppers – myriads and myriads of them – to eat what the dry spell did not kill. Oats, buckwheat and cornfield alike are feasted on by these insects and there is nothing but stalks left.

Miss Carrie Bauer of Kenoza Lake brought a civil action against Charles Heidt of the same place, claiming $10 damage for the removal of a flower from a grave in the Kenoza Lake Cemetery. The plant, which both parties claim, has been transferred back and forth from the grave of one family to that of the other, until finally last week, Mr. Heidt took it home.

Rudolph Gute, a guest at the Mansion House, is one of America’s crack rifle shots and has held the championship of Queens County since 1892. At the national Scheutzenfest, held in Glendale, L.I., he made the twenty-first  best record out of five thousand marksmen from all parts of the country.

120 Years Ago - 1905

Two mysterious fires were discovered in two different rooms at two different times at Behrman’s Hotel at Kenoza Lake last Thursday. Probably the result of too much booze and cigarettes.

Miss Kate Scheidell, bookkeeper for her brother, Valentine, was suddenly made blind after using an eye medicine. She was taken to New York by Val to consult Dr. Knapp, the eye specialist, and returned home with her eyesight restored.

James Robisch is erecting a new house in Beechwoods on a site a short distance from his present home, which latter we understand, will be occupied by his son, Charles.

The bottom of the acetylene gas machine at the Western Hotel, Callicoon Depot, was blown out the other day for the second time, and the proprietor now considers tapping the village gas main to avoid further trouble.

Mrs. Fred Scheidell has her house, barns and about twenty-five acres of land in this village sold to John H. Wagner of Hortonville, who will take possession in September.

William G. Wilson, the painter of Kenoza Lake, has received the appointment of foreman of the Erie Railroad painters on the Delaware Division, which extends from Port Jervis to Susquehanna.

A son was born to milkman Charles Robisch and wife on Sunday.

Mrs. Ada Moffett of White Sulphur Springs is making preparations to bottle and sell water from the sulphur springs at that place. She has also provided facilities for sulphur baths.

110 Years Ago - 1915

It is rumored that a pumping station of the Standard Oil Company below Cochecton will be shortly discontinued and the building torn down. No reason has been given for the unexpected move on the part of the company. The men employed there will be transferred to other stations.

A daughter was born July 8 to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bernhardt of Kenoza Lake.

The post office at White Lake was entered by burglars between two and three o’clock Tuesday morning and the safe blown open. All the robbers got for their work was four dollars.

The following item was taken from the Niagara Falls paper concerning Elmer Knack, a Buck Brook boy, who has become a noted athlete up north: “Before the largest audience that ever filled the athletic area at the Ferari Shows, Elmer Knack, a local YMCA boy, stayed with the show’s best wrestler, Cyclone Thompson, for 30 minutes without being put on his back. This is the second time that Knack has stayed with the big fellow since the show arrived. “He is the roughest proposition that I have ever run up against,” said Thompson, “ and this makes him the champion 135 pound wrestler of Niagara Falls.” Knack is also a long distance runner.

Next Sunday the Jeffersonville Braves will play their first game at home, and the Loomis team will be their guests. Otto Hillig of Liberty will be on hand to take moving pictures of the interesting features of the game.

100 Years Ago - 1925

It is reported that the Arthur Leighton Company of Cooks Falls has sold the Mongaup Pond to a group of Episcopal clergymen from New York, who will organize a fishing and hunting club.

Welcome news to the many students who “flunked” the recent Regents examination in algebra was contained in a communication from the state education department in which it was admitted that the test had been too hard, and permission was given to pass those with a satisfactory class rating. Under this arrangement many hundreds of pupils throughout the state will be granted credit for their work in elementary algebra.

The new electric siren on the engine house was connected up and tested for the first time yesterday. It is powered by a five horse power motor, driven by current from the electric company’s lines.

A formal complaint to the Public Service Commission with a request for action to remedy what has been called the “disgraceful mis-service” furnished by Associated Gas and Electric Corp., has been made by the Board of Directors and the Businessmen’s Association in company with other merchants and professional men in Liberty.

Miss Marjorie Morman and Howard M. Case were married Sunday afternoon at the home of the bride’s mother in Port Jervis. The bride is a granddaughter of the late Thomas Brown of Jeff and has many relatives in this section.

District No. 5 at Hartwood, town of Forestburgh, probably enjoys the distinction of being the only  one of its kind in the state. The district has just one pupil, Anna Hickey, and the teacher, Mrs. Mary Hickey, is Anna’s mother.

90 Years Ago - 1935

The Board of Education at their last meeting engaged as principal Erwin L. Baker, for the past eight years principal of the high school at  Staatsburg, Dutchess County. Mr. Baker is a native of Rome, N.Y., is married and has one child.

The 30x40 ft. barn on the farm of Mrs. Margaret Yager on Sixteen, north of Jeffersonville, was burned by lightning last Monday night,  together with wagons, sleighs, a couple tons of hay and other chattel. The barn also housed 190 broilers and 100 hens, which perished in the fire.

The Board of Supervisors at a special  meeting last week took up the option procured by chairman C.F. Baudendistel for the purchase of the Bushnell property in back of the courthouse in Monticello at the price of $8,000.

Robert Nagele, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Nagele of Freeport, narrowly escaped being swept away in the floods which struck Hornell last week. Robert had brought his folks to the Thornwood in Kenoza Lake and was returning a girlfriend to her home in Almond. At Hornell the flood suddenly swept down upon them and Robert had difficulty getting his Buick car out in high farm land. A couple just ahead had to leave their car and escaped in Robert’s.

The elaborate new gas station erected on North Main Street, Liberty, by Benjamin Kaeger of Sullivan County Oil Co., has been leased by Dewey J. Starck, native of Callicoon and late of Unadilla.

Krongel’s bakery truck from Callicoon ran off the road at Tiemann’s this morning, smashing several concrete posts on the left side of the culvert. No one was injured.

80 Years Ago - 1945

During the heavy rains last night a section of the road between Ray Shaara’s house and the August Lott residence was torn out. The Kohlertown section of the state road during the night was covered with water but had gone down by morning.

Village Officer Kluckas has started handing out tickets for traffic violations, the first one going to Jack Reilly, who drives the milk truck in from Swan Lake. Jack was alleged to have obstructed traffic for nearly an hour by parking his truck illegally at the corner of Main and Center Streets.

The Faubel building is now under alterations for occupancy by the Nathan Bodensteins, who bought the building for store and residence purposes and expect to move there in September.

Frank Doughty  of Liberty, employed by the NY State Electric & Gas Corp., has been transferred to Oneonta. Frank is the son of James Doughty, native of Jeffersonville, and Elizabeth Brandt, native of the town of Bethel. Frank has been prominent in the Liberty firematics circles and was tendered a testimonial dinner by the firemen at the Hotel Lenape last Thursday night. The electric company presented him with a $100 war bond.

A daughter was born July 15 to Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Brown of Bethel at Hamilton Avenue Hospital. Mrs. Brown is the former Theresa Pecsi of Jeffersonville.

If you see a couple of fellows in town who look like they belong to the House of  David, they do not. Irving Krongel and his chief baker, Frank Leonardo, entered into a pact to not shave before Labor Day and the one who weakens pays the other five dollars. It is strictly a case of humor.

70 Years Ago - 1955

A uniform price of $3.47 per hundred weight (46.5 quarts) for June milk deliveries to 396 approved plants in the N.Y. milkshed was announced last week.

At 10 p.m. on Friday, July 15, almost a million residents and vacationists in Sullivan County observed 2 minutes of silence and prayer for peace throughout the world. The observance marked the departure of President Eisenhower, his wife, and staff to the Big 4 parley in Geneva.

The Appellate Division has approved a request by the Supreme Court Justices of the Sullivan area that trial jurors be required to serve the full trial term, rather than only two weeks as originally provided in the new state unit from jury system law.

Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Trump of Chicago are spending a few days in town at the home of Mrs. Inez Huebner of Kohlertown.

From four to eight prisoners from the Sullivan County Jail at Monticello are cutting hay and brush and taking care of the lawns at Workmen’s Circle, according to Welfare Commissioner Robert Travis.

The county ragweed spraying will not be carried out this summer, county Attorney Irving Bershader disclosed at a recent meeting.

Walter P. Lux, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hans Lux of Kenoza Lake returned home Saturday after spending 14 months in French Morocco, North Africa, with the Air Force.

Miss Ann Parkhurst Baker became the bride of Conrad H. Schminke at Holy Cross Church, Callicoon, on Sunday, July 3.

60 Years Ago - 1965

The Women’s Literary Club of Callicoon, after unsuccessful negotiations with the  Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, have decided to launch “Operation Paint” themselves. Volunteers have come forward to paint the Callicoon station, starting this Saturday.

Dairy farmers will receive a uniform price of $3.75 per hundredweight for milk delivered to pool handlers during June. The May price was $3.68 and $3.66 was paid last year.

The openings of the Grahamsville, Delaware County and Wayne County fairs in August were announced.

Boy Scout Troop 115 of Fosterdale, along with Scoutmaster Fred Bunt, is spending the week at Beech Mountain Scout Camp.

A 475-acre site in Bethel, plus water and sewer, has been offered to the Sullivan County Community College as a gift.

A bill to create the 72,000 acre Delaware Valley National Recreational Area, known as Tocks Island, was passed by the House of Representatives Monday and sent to the Senate.

50 Years Ago - 1975

Moving day is fast approaching as Sullivan County government plans to relocate offices now housed in at least 11 buildings in Monticello, South Fallsburg, Barryville and Liberty. Joseph Raffa, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, has indicated that the move to the new county office building will begin about August 1st and may take at least two weeks.

A blaze in one of the apartments adjacent to the former Olympia Hotel, Callicoon, is thought to have been started by lightning passing through the TV cable. The apartment, occupied by Fred and Maggie Maslauskas, is one of several owned by Joseph Naughton. Jeffersonville was hard hit as a result of the storm which struck Sunday, leaving the village without drinking water as late as Tuesday afternoon. A turkey farm, owned by Wallace Keller in Kohlertown, reported 615 dead turkeys. At North Branch, a home reported heavy damage as the result of water pouring down a hill. Liberty, Parksville and Neversink were hard hit.

Copies of an 1858 map of the Town of Cochecton, when Delaware was included, have been made to be sold at $2 a copy and made available by the Cochecton Fire Department through the efforts of Peter Loewer.

Dr. Arnold Bennett, 58, dentist with offices in Callicoon and Narrowsburg, died Thursday, July 17, at home, suddenly in Narrowsburg. He is survived by his wife, Bertha, and two daughters, Beverly Green of Philadelphia, Pa., and Carolyn Bennett of Saratoga Springs; and two grandchildren.

40 Years Ago - 1985

A flag, 10’x20’, which was used in the “1776” production, a play sponsored by the Town of Delaware and Tusten Bi-Centennial Committee in 1976, will be displayed at the Callicoon Street Fair on Saturday, July 27. The flag was the idea of Bud Slausenberg, director of the play and was made by Toby Terranova of Callicoon.

White Lake firemen were called back for the second rekindle of a barn fire at the Ellen Jacobson property on Route 17B West after 7 o’clock Monday morning. Lightning struck the barn about 1 a.m. which was destroyed along with its contents which included furniture and equipment.

The 9th annual Summerfest of Our Lady of Assumption Church in Bloomingburg was held last Sunday.

The Cochecton Yankees captured the Delaware Valley Little Fellows League championship with a 12-2 record.

Bob Catalano of Sackett Lake will be skiing in Austria this October. He hopes to be a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic Ski Team. He was ranked 18th in the U.S. in the giant slalom among 17-year-old skiers this past winter.

The Liberty Volunteer Ambulance Corps formally received the keys to a new ambulance at an open house and “wet down” held last week at the Corps headquarters on Mill Street. Officials of the Town of Liberty provided $40,000 toward the $50,000 cost of the ambulance.

30 Years Ago - 1995

After a cross country trip from the Pacific Northwest, the light poles arrived at the Mountain Dew Park in Mountaindale. Because of the 110-foot poles,  special permission was  needed as they traveled through each state. They arrived with police escort.

Four generations of the Stauch family gathered in Las Vegas, Nev., to celebrate the 80th birthday of Ralph Stauch. In a picture in the Democrat were shown Ralph Stauch, Roger Stauch of Callicoon, Michael Stauch and his son, Benjamin Stauch. Michael, a graduate of Delaware Valley Central School, and a star track competitor, lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Donna, and their son.

Narrowsburg’s Fifth Annual Riverfest was held July 23. A picture by William Richie of Grahamsville was auctioned off.

Edith Shapiro of Wurtsboro won an honorable mention for editorial writing in the 1995 National Federation of Press Women’s Communications Contest. The contest attracted 1,319 entries.

Jane Eggleton of Roscoe was feted on the occasion of her 95th birthday at a party, hosted by her children and grandchildren, at the Hankins Firehouse, on July 8.

Tony “Deck” Deckelman of Obernburg, a lifelong area resident and a popular retired mail route carrier out of the Callicoon post office, died July 19, at the age of 73.

A memorial service was held for Frances Erickson, a former Callicoon resident, at the Hortonville Presbyterian Church.

Paul and Lillian Long of West Yarmouth, Mass., recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. He was a longtime Callicoon resident.

20 Years Ago - 2005

Six young people were killed Wednesday after their car, driven by a camp counselor, crashed into a large Sullivan County Department of Public Works truck and was crushed as it went underneath. The westbound car crossed a double yellow line before colliding with the eastbound truck, which was traveling in its own lane. The deadly accident occurred at noontime at the top of a hill on Route 17B in Mongaup Valley. The truck driver was minorly hurt and not charged.

Elizabeth Lounsbury of Montgomery was named Ms. Monticello Raceway 2005 on Sunday afternoon at the raceway.

Joseph and Marie Cappelletti of Jeffersonville celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 17 with a gathering of friends and neighbors.

The descendents of Sullivan and Mary Hawley came together at the Pine Mill Community Hall in Equinunk, Pa. for a reunion on July 10, with 52 in attendance.

David Moore and Phyllis Thomas-Moore of Grahamsville announce the engagement of their son, Adam, to Rebecca Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Smith of Kinnelon, N.J. 

A story in the June 2 issue of The New York Times related the issues confronting a midwife in New York City. Included in the article was Joan Bryson, daughter of Joan Sykes of Callicoon, and the late Edward Sykes. Bryson has been practicing midwifery for 14 years.

10 Years Ago - 2015

Changing the Callicoon Street Fair to the Callicoon Country Fair was a gamble that paid off for the hamlet’s business association this past Saturday. The first ever country fair packed town with not only new vendors and activities offering everything from archery lessons for kids to operatic performances, but a steady stream of visitors. The fair shut down Lower Main Street and filled both the municipal lot in the center of town and the Callicoon Creek Park with booths for families to visit. The biggest hit – with the kids anyway – seemed to be the numerous animals for petting, from alpacas to calves.   

This past Saturday saw the inaugural Trout Town Summer Fest, sponsored by the Roscoe NY Beer Company, and it featured a wide variety of crafts from local vendors, a pig roast provided by the Roscoe Rockland Fire Department, beer tastings from the Roscoe NY Beer Co., local distilled spirits from Roscoe’s Prohibition Distillery and Walton’s Gravity Ciders, Inc., and music from Orange County singer-songwriter Ben Riley.

Rodney Paul Gaebel of Youngsville, a Commissioner for the Sullivan County Board of Elections and lifetime area resident, died Thursday, July 23, 2015 after a brief illness. He was the former owner of the Youngsville Garage; former Town Supervisor for the Town of Callicoon; and a former Sullivan County Legislator.

Eleanor “Ellie” Goldsmith of White Sulphur Springs, a retired cashier of Eddie’s Market in Jeffersonville, died Saturday, July 25, 2015. She was born in Deposit.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the nation’s premier Hispanic youth leadership development and educational organization, is hosting Liberty native Magali Ramirez for its nationally recognized summer Congressional Internship Program. Ramirez was one of 41 interns chosen out of hundreds of applicants from across the country to work in the nation’s capital for eight weeks.