Log in Subscribe
Down the Decades

March 21, 2023 Edition

Compiled by Lee Hermann, Muse, & Ruth Huggler
Posted 3/21/23

150 Years Ago -  1873

The following is the result of the recent elections which we did not publish last week and are borrowed from the Watchman: Mamakating, Lewis Rhodes, Dem., elected …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in
Down the Decades

March 21, 2023 Edition

Posted

150 Years Ago -  1873

The following is the result of the recent elections which we did not publish last week and are borrowed from the Watchman: Mamakating, Lewis Rhodes, Dem., elected supervisor by a majority of 2; Forestburgh, Benj. Case, Dem., by 40 over Edward Hartwell; Bethel  — R. Morrison supervisor by 72 majority over Post, Rep. The rest of the Democratic ticket was elected: Tusten elected Lewis Stanton, Dem.; Fallsburgh elected R. Oliver, Rep., supervisor; Thompson elected supervisor without opposition; Cochecton, George Knapp, supervisor, John Barwig Jr., town clerk.

140 Years Ago - 1883

Frank Neuberger has purchased the house and lot on the island known as the Pendell place from Mr. Potts, consideration, $600.

The congregation of the German Reformed Church of this village have purchased a new Mason and Hamlin Chapel Organ.

Mr. August Neuberger has purchased the Willi property, one door above Josiah Smith’s store.

Wallace Hill of Butternut Grove, former proprietor of the Jeffersonville House, purchased the Clements House from Mrs. A.J. Clements. The consideration was $10,000 and included the hotel property, its furniture and garden plot below the village of about an acre. The Clements House is one of the finest hotels in the county. It is a four story building.

Your correspondent went less than two miles from the village last summer and in less than two hours had 87 of the speckled beauties. It is about time to look for your fishing tackle and the can to carry your bait.

The Willowemoc Valley Times, speaking of the late town meeting in the Town of Neversink, said that Lon Briggs, Rep., candidate for supervisor, was defeated by the local dominie.

130 Years Ago - 1893

There will be a post office established at Lake Huntington April 1. John Brining Jr. will be postmaster.

Jay Morton of Rockland, a brother-in-law of the late “Diamond Joe” Reynolds will attend the World’s Fair.

Dr. Gillespie of Bethel village dropped dead Thursday morning of heart failure. He was 84. He had arisen as usual, built a fire and lighted his pipe for a morning smoke, as was his custom, and in a moment or two dropped dead. Dr. Gillespie was for many years the leading physician of that part of the county and did a large practice.

Four children were confirmed in the German Presbyterian Church of this village last Sunday. They are Tillie Justin of Beechwoods, Libbie Rohrback, and Libbie and Anthony Boszli of Roscoe.

Black diphtheria is said to be prevalent in the Town of Delaware. In the family of John Sadenwater three children have died within the past week and two others are afflicted. The smallpox patient in the Hermann family nearby this place is doing well. The disease is being kept in close quarantine and there is no fear of any further outbreaks.

The case of John Breiner against George Heller for damage done by the defendant’s cattle will be tried in justice’s court in Callicoon. Officer Girard was in town summoning jurors. John Ludwig, C. Metzger and Fred Lieb of this place were drawn.

Charles Scheidell shipped a carload of cattle by rail to New York on Tuesday.

Post offices were rated by Post Master General John Wanamaker in four classes: Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor. The post offices in Sullivan County given an “excellent” rating are Callicoon Depot, Claryville, Eldred, Grahamsville, Hurleyville, Jeffersonville, Liberty, Livingston Manor, Loch Sheldrake, Narrowsburg, Summitville, White Sulphur Springs, Woodbourne and Wurtsboro.

There are 41 log schoolhouses in New York State.

Thomas O’Meara has had a dandy new sign painted for his hotel and livery stable at Hankins.

120 Years Ago - 1903

John Miller Jr. of Beechwoods has passed the examination and now awaits an appointment on the New York Police.

Rumor has it that work on the Liberty-Jeffersonville trolley will shortly be resumed.

The home of Supervisor and Mrs. Valentine Scheidell was thrown into a state of great sorrow last Friday when their first and only child, Vallie, died after an illness of only four hours. There was no alarm over his condition until about 4 o’clock Friday afternoon when he suddenly went into convulsion. He died at 8:45.

The Delaware House of Callicoon was sold by ex-Sheriff Dietz, the owner, to a Deposit man. The price is said to be $11,000 which includes everything but the livery which is owned by Balser Brandt.

The Halfway House on the Kenoza Lake road was sold on Monday to Abe Feinberg. The Halfway House has been owned and conducted by Philip Hembdt for the past 27 years. The price is said to be $9,000. The Hembdt couple will probably move to Jeffersonville.

William Bollenbach, the miller, has bought a 150 ft. stretch of land from the lot of Miles Bomberger adjoining the mill.

A son was born to William Grishaber and wife.

C.W. Chapin continues to purchase more farms for the purpose of enlarging his deer park.

Peter Redington of Ferndale, southeastern Sullivan County, died at the age of 75 years. He was born in Ireland and came to this country in 1847 and has lived in Liberty township ever since. He is survived by his wife and three brothers, Martin of Brooklyn, Michael of Ferndale and John of Liberty.

Louis B. Goodman of North Branch died yesterday morning at his home. He was 82 years of age. He was born in Germany and was a butcher by trade.

110 Years Ago - 1913

“Gunboat” Edward Smith, who recently shattered the aspirations of “Bombardier” Wells, the champion heavyweight of England in New York, was a  Sullivan County farm boy. He spent eight years on the farm of Joseph Moser at Obernburg, who took him from a home as an orphan when he was about 10 years old. Gunboat enlisted in the Navy at about 20 where he learned the fight game. Today he looks like the brightest “White Hope” in the fistic firmament.

The confirmation class at the Presbyterian Church is composed of Oliver W. Trageser, Wm. Becker, Edward W. Kohler, Arthur W. Wilfert, Kenneth W. Bernhardt, Charles F. Lixfield, Bertha L. Schmidt, Elise Becker, Hilda M. Hast, Margaret L. Weber, Thelma E. Neiger, Florence C. Schaefer and Hazel V. Brand.

Hotel Wawonda, the largest summer hotel in Liberty, is to be sold at auction in New York City today.

W.M. Roosa, Wm. A. Buckley, Wm. Intemann and James Goodsin, trustees of the Village of Liberty, have been threatened with a taxpayer’s suit by George H. Carpenter, unless they refund to the village treasury $996 which they paid to a firm of expert accountants for examining the village books and records.

Andrew Bengel died March 17 at Liberty at age 66. He was born in Germany and was a soldier in the war with France. He came to America in 1872, coming first to Callicoon Center. He was a shoemaker by trade. He was married in 1873 to Charlotte Meyer, daughter of the late David Meyer of Youngsville.

Harry E. Steffens and Mabel C. Wagner were married at the home of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred V. Wagner, at North Branch, at noon Sunday by Rev. John E. Straub.

Miss Nettie Ward will sever her connection with the village (Liberty) school on Friday next. Previous to locating in Liberty, Miss Ward lived and taught in Jeffersonville.

100 Years Ago - 1923

An order from Washington has gone forth to federal prohibition agents  to arrest anyone seen drinking intoxicating liquor on railroad trains.

Tons of fish were smothered in Glenmore Lake, Orange County, by the ice which covered the lake two feet thick from shore to shore. The taste of the water was found objectionable by the community that uses it for domestic use. Upon cutting a hole through the ice thousands of dead fish came to the surface together with many live ones.

Suckers by the carload are being hooked in the upper branches of the Delaware. One party of fishermen is reported to have taken six bushels in one day.

Wm. Breimer, a boardinghouse keeper in Livingston Manor, has been sued for $25,000. Miss Frances T. Lunevsky, who came there to board and stepped through a stovepipe hole in the floor, claims injury as a result.

Peter Will, native of Callicoon Center, died in his 70th year at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Charles Schicerb in Jersey City. The body was brought to Callicoon Center for burial.

Cars are running on the state road but the traveling is still far from agreeable. If you can keep in track you can get through, but if you have to turn out, you are likely to get stuck.

Benj. Yaeger, James Holmes and Sam Shapiro were the first from here to make the trip to New York by auto this spring. There are still some snowbanks on the road at this end.

90 Years Ago - 1933

A fire company was organized in Kenoza Lake this week and the following officers were elected: President William C. Fuhrer; Vice President Robert Shorman, Chief LeRoy Busing, First and Second Lieutenants Fred Schwenger and Fred Wenz, Fire Surgeon Robert Armbrust and Secretary-Treasurer Fred V. Poppe.

Miss Elsie M. Roemer was quietly married Sunday afternoon to Chester A. Ray at North Branch by Rev. John E. Straub.

Mrs. Mary Scheidell, who left last November 12 for Los Angeles to spend the winter with her sons, Floyd and Merel, is expected home today. She left by train on Sunday. She sailed on her way out.

On Palm Sunday at 10:30 a.m., there will be German services at the Lutheran Church.

Otto Hillig, the Liberty photographer and trans-Atlantic flier, was a guest of Assemblyman Benjamin R. Gerow at Albany this week and was extended the privileges of the floor and made a short address.

Among the college students home for spring vacation are Gerald Hick, Cornell; Fred Schadt, Albany Law; Hugh Fitch, Union; Warren Gareiss, New York; and Robert Meyer, Syracuse.

Miss Mary Huff of Hankins and sister of Deputy Sheriff Francis Huff, has taken the clerkship in the law office of Stanton and Goldstein in Monticello, vacated by the marriage of Miss Marion Shapiro.

George Engert, 63, a native of the town of Fremont, died in the Delhi hospital early Monday morning. Oxen, cunningly yoked, were his specialty. He was a great hunter and whittler. 

William N. Lawrence, 80, a native of Falls Mills in the Town of Delaware, died at Matamoras, Pa. His father, Edwin R. Lawrence, owned a large tract of land at Falls Mills where he had a saw mill, a large hotel and was postmaster until the office was abolished.

The Pratt bill now before the legislature would repeal all mandatory salary laws and permit local authorities to reduce salaries as needs compel — whether of policemen, of judges or teachers. There is need to take this fight ahead that has just begun here and throughout the nation.

80 Years Ago - 1943

The John H. Helck farm at Callicoon Center, about 137 acres of land, was sold by John Purgh to Malvin Radar of New York. Mr. Helck, a wealthy man of New York City, where he was a member of Tammany Hall, bought it many years ago and made a very fine estate of it. Mr. Helck, after the 1850s, was prominent in Sullivan County Democratic politics and for many years the party leadership emanated from Callicoon Center. Adam Neuman purchased it from Helck who sold it to Henry Fries, who in turn sold it to John Purgh.

It has been confirmed that Pvt. Michael J. Reddy and Pvt. Donald Rose are “missing in action.”

Miss Gertrude E. Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George B. Smith of Grahamsville, and Pvt. Earl Kohler of Jeffersonville were united in marriage at the bride’s home on Tuesday morning.

70 Years Ago - 1953

A son, weighing 8 lbs. 9 oz., was born to Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Weiss at the Liberty-Loomis Hospital. He has an older brother, Ray.

Miss Margery Mootz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Mootz, was pleasantly surprised with a bridal shower March 14 at the Clarence Krantz home.

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Harth of the Beechwoods entertained some friends last week in honor of their 35th wedding anniversary. Plans are underway for the 75th anniversary of the Callicoon Agricultural Mutual Fire Relief Assn. to be held at the Jeffersonville School April 13.

Frederick Banuat, aged 71, died March 18 at Bloomingburg. He was born at Callicoon Center July 3, 1881, a son of Henry and Mary Banuat. He was married to Caroline Bergman in 1910.

The Kenoza Lake firemen were called out at 12:30 p.m. Sunday to extinguish a chimney fire at the Harold Brey place.

Miss Beatrice Massopust, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Massopust of White Sulphur Springs, has been chosen to sing with the Champlain College Quintones.

60 Years Ago - 1963

Lloyd Eldred Sr., senior partner in Eldred’s Farm Supply, reported last week that so far this winter his concern had bought and sold over 500 carloads of hay, most of which came from the mid-west. Last Saturday, the concern had 19 carloads of hay in Erie-Lackawanna sidings at Honesdale and Callicoon.

Eldred’s Yellowjackets have won the Western Sullivan League championship, winning 10 games and being upset only by Tri-Valley.

Miss Jane Willis of Fosterdale placed second in extemporaneous speaking at Monticello during a recent two-day debate tournament. The Sullivan County Bar Association furnished trophies. Miss Willis is a student at Jeffersonville-Youngsville School.

Raymond L. Rose of Will-Rose Hardware, Livingston Manor, has been elected second vice president of the New York State Retail Hardware Association at its 61st annual convention held in Rochester, February 26.

An accumulation of snow accounted for the collapse of the roof on a multiple apartment property of the Spring Lake Hotel, Route 52, just north of Youngsville. The building was unoccupied.

Richard Haase, 17, of Narrowsburg, was recently selected as one of eight young people who will represent Pennsylvania at the National Youth Power Congress in Chicago near the end of March.

A.P. Davis, 104, a retired photographer for the Erie Railroad, died in Binghamton last week. He was at one time associated with the late Howard Thompson in the photographic business in Monticello.

50 Years Ago - 1973

Arthur Peck of Narrowsburg, owner of Peck’s Grocery and Department Store, has purchased the old Ford Motor Sales building on Main St., Callicoon, and will renovate it to have a new grocery store in operation by June 1 of this year. This announcement comes a week after the A&P WEO Store closed its doors Saturday. The A&P has had a store in Callicoon  for about 40 years.

The Liberty Grange marked its 60th anniversary with a special program at their Saturday meeting. Harold Richardson is the master.

A picture, taken by Barton Silverman of the New York Times staff, taken during the first annual Sullivan County Catskill Columbus Day Bicycle Marathon, entitled “Not Over the Hill, Yet,” was awarded first prize in the sports feature division of the annual New York Press Photographers Association Contest. Silverman’s keen eye spotted a little old lady  patiently pushing her bike up a steep hill after a shopping trip while the leaders of the marathon passed her. The event was held October 8 and will be a yearly event.

A bridal shower was given Debra Ann Welton in the WSS church hall on March 2nd. She will be married to  Dwayne LaBagh April 7.

At the Liberty-Loomis Hospital, it was a boy, Kyle Charles, March 2, to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Sherwood of White Sulphur Springs; a boy, Michael Edward, to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Schmidt of Jeffersonville; a boy, Jason Avery, March 6, to Mr. and Mrs. James Morse of Livingston Manor; March 7, a boy, Scott Arthur, to Mr. and Mrs. John Mentnech of Woodbourne; a girl, Jeanne Marie, to Mr. and Mrs. William Golden of White Sulphur Springs; and a girl, Susan Elizabeth, to Mr. and Mrs. Catalo Manzi of Liberty.

40 Years Ago - 1983

Mr. and Mrs. Irving Avery of Livingston Manor celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on January 9 with an open house at King’s Catering House for about 300 friends and neighbors. The former Marjorie Marks of Roscoe and Irving Avery of Livingston Manor were married January 18, 1933 in Roscoe.

Al “Flap” Ingber, CEO of Apollo Scaffold Co., announces the sale of the firm’s building on Route 17 south of Monticello, to Marcel Dekker, Inc., publishers of New York City and Switzerland. Apollo will move to a new location and at present has four sites in view.

The Delaware Valley Eagles were the winners of the New York State Section 9, Class D, championship basketball tournament on Saturday at Sullivan County Community College. They will participate in the Capitol Conference Tournament at Glens Falls this coming weekend... The Varsity and Junior Varsity Cheerleaders of DVCS placed first during the Sectionals Tournament at Orange County Community College in Middletown on Sunday... Over 2,700 daffodils were sold by students at DVCS in the recent Daffodils for Cancer Research sale.

The Sullivan County Board of Supervisors Monday gave a green light to a proposal to create a county-owned veterans cemetery which is to be located on 10.88 acres adjacent to Infirmary Road in the Town of Liberty.

On Tuesday, March 8, a Jeffersonville landmark, the old Maple Theatre, was demolished to make way for a parking lot for the employees of the First National Bank in Jeffersonville. A lot of memories go with the building.

William Murray, Berline Deutsche Opera baritone soloist, will conduct a series of master classes in opera interpretation and technique, sponsored by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance. Having sung with major opera companies in Europe as well as New York City, he makes his home in Sparrowbush.

For the Diehl brothers of Callicoon, conservation is more than a 12-letter word. They were recently awarded the Sullivan County Soil and Water Conservation plaque for their “outstanding achievements in soil and water conservation on their land.”

The hamlet of Yulan sponsored their 12th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday. Parade marshals were Joseph Rutherford and Pat Frey.

Mike Stauch of Callicoon placed first in the New York State Intersectional Indoor Track and Field Meet 1600 meter walk (in which he was disqualified last year for “lifting” — walking illegally) in 6:52, just three seconds off his best ever indoor time. The gold medal is his first indoor although he won the gold at the Empire State Games last summer. Also from Sullivan County, Monticello’s Gwen McRae finished second in the 300 meter race and sixth in the 55 meter race as the Section 9 girls finished first. Stephanie Moore, a junior at Monticello, finished second in a personal best toss of 39’ 5 1/4”. Brian Walker took fifth in the high jump, clearing 6’-2” while his teammate Rodney Morgan was in a four-way tie for seventh in that event, clearing 6’. The Section 9 boys finished fourth overall.

30 Years Ago - 1993

Joe and Esperanza Prato of Eldred built their dream house, a  38- by 80-foot structure, that would also house handicapped adults from Westchester. Now, because of the high taxes in the Town of Highland, they have torn part of the structure down in order to decrease their tax base. A practicing dentist in Yonkers, the adults were housed in the building where Mrs. Prato had her dental office and she felt it was “only fair” that they should also be able to enjoy the country air, thereby providing the extra space in her home. Joe Prato is a commercial builder. Their two children are in college, one studying to be a doctor and the other studying to become a dentist like her mother.

Sullivan County Sheriff Joseph Wasser has been elected to the Executive Committee of the New York State Sheriff’s Association at the conclusion of their 59th Annual Conference. The association works to improve the delivery of sheriffs’ services in the areas of law enforcement, corrections and civil process.

Dolores Gabriel of Swan Lake recently received the Golden Cow Award for her dedication to the dairy industry at the New York State Dairy Princess Pageant held in Syracuse.

More than 24 inches of snow fell during Saturday’s snowstorm. Blasting in one week before the official start of spring, the “Blizzard of ‘93” caused 112 known deaths along the East Coast and 15 fatalities in New York State over the weekend.

The Wurtsboro Fire Department is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year. The complement of fire fighters consists of 32 men and four women. They handled 133 alarms last year.

The Fallsburg Comets dropped an opening round Class D intersection game to Tuckahoe by a score of 52 to 45. “We just weren’t hitting our shots in the third and fourth quarters,” said Coach Paul Marsden.

The Monticello gymnastics team completed a successful season, finishing second both in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League and Section IX competition. Senior Jennifer Furchak was the top all-around performer for Monticello and an alternate to the state meet while senior Elizabeth Popick did very well on the uneven bars. Junior Lisa Cali-cchio qualified for the state tournament and finished third in that event in the section meet held February 27.

20 Years Ago - 2003

The Monticello High School’s musical production of “Annie Get Your Gun,” will be held this weekend. 

Lorilee Mae Evans and David Hoag, both of Livingston Manor, announced their engagement. She is the daughter of Marion and Janet Evans of Livingston Manor. He is the son of David Hoag of Lew Beach and Lucilla Calkin of Jeffersonville. Due to the Iraq situation and Mr. Hoag’s recent deployment, no wedding plans have been made.

10 Years Ago - 2013

Helen Kutsher was unforgettable in every sense of the word. The memories of her kindness, her hospitality, her eye to detail won’t soon  be forgotten either – by her family or the thousands of people who visited, performed and worked at Kutsher’s Country Club near Monticello. Mrs. Kutsher, as she was known to almost all, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 89, shortly after being hospitalized in Philadelphia with an infection. It was perhaps the only challenge she couldn’t overcome. “She was a really hard worker,” said her son Mark, who learned the resort business under her and dad Milton’s tutelage. “She had a day-to-day job that was really difficult,”adding, “The guests loved her, the staff loved her.” 

Spring sports pre-seasons have been virtually non-existent for most high school teams in Sullivan County due to the late season snow squalls that have become the recent trend. Though New York State high school rules don’t require teams to have any set number of outdoor practices, field, course, and track conditions have already affected game scheduling and teams’ ability to effectively prepare for their upcoming seasons. The Roscoe/Downsville teams face a unique challenge because Roscoe’s spring break will last through next week, and Downsville’s, the week after. 

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here