100 Years Ago - 1919

Attorney Guernsey T. Cross of Callicoon was elected member of assembly on the Democratic ticket at the polls yesterday. From 38 of the 40 election districts, he has a majority over Frank Kinne, his Republican opponent, of 1250.

Jane Eldridge Hawley, widow of James I. Curtis, Esq., died at her home at Callicoon on October 29.

Dwight T. Griffith of Tyler Hill lost a registered Holstein cow the other day that he valued at $400. The animal was apparently in good health when turned into the pasture and a short time afterward was found lying lifeless.

There will be a meeting at Long Eddy Saturday afternoon to discuss the creamery question. All farmers and persons interested in bringing milk to Long Eddy are invited to be present.

A party of successful hunters returned here Saturday morning after a two-week trip to the Adiron­dacks, laden with several of the finest specimen of deer ever brought into the town. The party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. John Milk and Abe Milk of Rock Valley, Mr. and Mrs. L.B. Chandler and R.C. LaValle of this place, George Molusky of Callicoon, F. Chandler of Binghamton, and Harold Owens of Syracuse.

News Across the Delaware by J.B.T. — Squire Wm. McIntyre married Melvin Quinn and Miss Annabel Shepstone at his office here the 25th. Both bride and groom are residents of the Abrahamsville district.

Fremont Center, Nov. 3 — Souvenir cards have been received from Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Minckler who are spending their two weeks' honeymoon in Niagara Falls, Buffalo and other places. They will spend most of their time with Mr. and Mrs. Earl Fickett in Buffalo, the latter being Mr. Minckler's sister.

Bethel, Nov. 3 — Mr. and Mrs. John Naylor announce the engage­ment of their daughter, Gladys, to Harry Van Tyle of this place.

Fosterdale, Nov. 3 — School opened here today with Miss Edith Armbrust of Kenoza Lake as teacher, the third this term.

90 Years Ago - 1929

Western Sullivan County will have its first football game Saturday afternoon when the teams of the Callicoon and Jeffersonville High Schools clash at Jeffersonville. Both teams have been under the direction of Physical Director Kenneth C. Fuller.

Relatives and friends gathered at the home of Percy J. Cade Monday evening, November 4, in celebration of the wedding of Midge Vera, only daughter of Mr. Cade, the date being the Golden Wedding anni­versary of the bride's paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John R. Cade. Rev. John Straub of Callicoon Center was present to announce to the assemblage that Howard Page and Miss Vera Cade had been married at Middletown by Rev. J.J. Jones on June 15th this year.

The vacant store in the Hornung building here is being remodeled. Paint and paper is being applied to make room for the barber shop of Kenneth Bernhardt, who will move there next Sunday. The Bernhardt family will occupy the former Dr. Mayer house near the Jacob Long residence. — Callicoon Corr.

A bowling club organized this year met for the first session Monday evening at Kenny's Alleys.

Editorial: Armistice Day will always be an occasion for pride and patriotic sentiment. It should always be a day of gratitude for the wonderful service and sacrifice of the World War veterans. Most of us, who never saw any real war, and who came no closer to that conflict than subscribing to Liberty Bonds or making surgical bandages, have no conception whatever of the horror of it.

War was dreadful enough be­fore that awful struggle, but it seemed at that time as the most fiendish ingenuity and the vilest skills had been used to make war as cruel as possible. Everything that science could do in the way that barbarity and savagery was used. Men who could go through that hell and now show fear have faced the most terrible things that earth has to offer.

We called on these soldiers to go through this awful experience and they responded cheerfully. The only complaint was that they were too bold and daring and took too many risks.

They created for our country and themselves an imperishable crown of glory. They accomplished far more than had been thought possible for hastily trained troops, and proved themselves able to cope with the most veteran soldier.

As they did so much for us, the American people must never fail in gratitude to them. We must always do them honor, and yield them a place of special dignity and affection and do everything that we can to assist the ones who suffered permanent injuries. For many of these disabled ones, life was ruined and we can never make up the loss they suffered. Let Armistice Day be the time when we show the warmth of our feeling for them, and make them realize that we shall cherish them forever. — Fred W. Stabbert, Publisher. (The Sullivan County Democrat sold for $2 per yearly subscription; 20¢ per month for shorter periods; 5¢ per single copy.)

80 Years Ago - 1939

Within the next three months Callicoon will have one of the most modern milk receiving stations in the New York Milk Shed, according to J.W. Shaw, division engineer for the Dairymen's League Co-op Assn. The overall size of the new structure is 74 feet by 37 feet, 8 inches.

Lawrence R. Milk, supervisor of the Town of Delaware the past four years, was re-elected to that position yesterday.

Miss Emma Bernitt of New York City and Fred Weyer of Callicoon were married last Sunday afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bartik were the attendants.

Mrs. William Leschorn of Swan Lake announces the engagement of her daughter, Miss Marie Elizabeth Leschorn of New York City, to Harold Ellsworth Hoxie of Port Jefferson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hoxie of Boston, Mass.

Miss Helen Kohl and Edward Donovan were honor attendants at the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. George Meehan. A dinner was served to members of the immediate families at the Hessinger home on Delaware Avenue, (Pa. side) following the ceremony.

Miss Betty Werlau, daughter of Mrs. John Werlau of Hortonville, was married October 29 to Anthony J. Cappilla of Arlington, NJ.

Last Sunday afternoon and evening provided the first real winter weather of the season. According to the Middletown Times, between 1,000 and 1,500 cars were estimated to have been stalled between 3:30 and 8:15 p.m. on the Bridgeville Hill. Most of them were southbound and the waiting line extended almost to Monticello. On Route 6, between Hawley and Milford, Pa., more than 1,000 cars were halted while highway crews worked furiously to clear snow from the highway. All this because of only several inches of snow, but very poor visibility.

For the second year in a row the athletes of the local school have been champions in the Western Sullivan Football League. Led by Captain “Bud” Henry Hoffman, the squad did outstanding work for the season and came out the undisputed, undefeated and untied Western Sullivan Champs. They have been scored upon only once in six games, and have scored 246 points against their opponents. This entire scoring was done in the first three quarters of each game played, when the second squad came in to hold the opponents scoreless. On the squad with Hoffman are Fred Knack, Paul Hermann, James Schneider, Gerald Robisch, Harold Bjorklund, Clinton Long, Victor Werlau, George Rivenburg, Fred Baer, George Molusky, Thom­as Burns, Bernard Smith, Jack Swords, Allen Heyn and Fred Okkonen. Fred Fehling is the coach.

Francis Davis had an unusual experience while hunting one day recently. He saw a partridge fly behind a hemlock. He quickly fired, then went to investigate. To his surprise, he found two birds fluttering on the ground, both mortally wounded. “No doubt people will be skeptical about believing this but all the same the fact remains that I killed both birds with one shot. That's my story and I'm going to stick to it,” he said. — Roscoe Review.

Mrs. Charles Denner and infant daughter of Obernburg were discharged from the Callicoon Hospital this week.

Edward Dollard, a member of the Monticello police force, left there last week to assume his new duties as sergeant of Erie Railroad police at Jersey City. He is the son of the only member of the Monticello police force to die in the line of duty. The elder Mr. Dollard was shot to death by two burglars in Monticello about fifteen years ago.

Voters of the school district were asked to vote on the purchase of a proposed site for a school athletic field on Monday, October 30, at the Narrowsburg High School auditorium. Sixty-three of the voters voted on favoring the 17-acre parcel of land owned by the Narrowsburg Lumber Co. and Mrs. Carrie Hankins; 46 voters were opposed.

Mr. and Mrs. William Kellam of Acidalia celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Sunday, October 29th.

70 Years Ago - 1949

Mr. and Mrs. John Brockner of Jeffersonville are the parents of a daughter, born Friday; Mr. and Mrs. Edward Baum of Jeffersonville are the parents of a son, born Sunday; and Mr. and Mrs. Emil Thol of Milanville, Pa., are the parents of a son born Wednesday, all at the Callicoon Hospital.

Decker A. Chandler, 68, a highly respected resident of Callicoon, died at his home on Monday, November 7, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife, the former Lena E. Oestrich; town sons, Ralph and Alvah; and a daughter, Mrs. Helen Evans.

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wachter of Middletown are the parents of a son, Glenn Frederick, born October 27. She is the former Helen Gabel.

Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Reum Sr. on Wednesday of this week celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary. — Jeff Record.

Troop C State Police will be without its famous twins for the first time in 32 years with the retirement of Sergeant James Cunningham. His brother, Sergeant John L. Cunningham is still on duty at Cooperstown. The brothers enlisted in Troop G. They were transferred together to Troop C when that unit was formed in 1921.

John P. Kenney, who has been supervisor in the town of Fremont since the middle 30s, narrowly missed defeat Tuesday when he was returned to office by the slim margin of 13 votes. Robert Ruppert, also of Long Eddy, was his opponent.

A single vote was the margin of victory last Tuesday of Henry C. Johnson, Youngs Gap Democrat, over incumbent Stanley Law­rence, White Sulphur Springs, for the position of assessor in Liberty township.

Sidney Wilfert and Wm. Arch­ibald riding on Wilfert's motorcycle, were in an accident Saturday afternoon about 5 o'clock at the junction of the North Branch road and Main St. When stopped short because of a car, they were thrown over the handlebars. Archibald was taken to the Callicoon Hospital where they found he had a bad cut on the back of his neck requiring a number of stitches. — Jeff Corresp.

Relatives and friends gathered at the home of Henry Gabel, Callicoon, to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Philip Plotkin of Kenoza Lake has sold the general store he has owned for the past 19 years. The new owners are Mr. and Mrs. Ben Fibert of Brooklyn.

John P. Zopf of Fremont Center will start his practice teaching requirement for a degree from Ithaca College soon. He will be at Roscoe Central School from November 14 to January 25. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Zopf of Fremont Center.

60 Years Ago - 1959

Fred Freyberger in his 92nd year, was the oldest voter in District No. 1, Town of Delaware, on Tuesday. This honor has been held in previous years by George K. Rosenberger, who is now 97, but is unable to get about due to ill health.

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Krum celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary at Pippo's with their children.… C.S.2 John B. Yewchuck returned to the U.S.S. Tanner after a 15-day leave with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Yewchuck. — Jeff Corresp.

Richard R. Freda, son of Mr. and Mrs. F.J. Freda, Callicoon, is one of the Cornell University students who will be under the flight instructions program recently provided. This program comes in their last year of Air Science study.

When the Gibber Poultry Farm puts their 60' x 200' chicken coop (it holds 24,000 birds) in operation next month, they will be one of the largest egg producers in the state with a capacity of 90,000 layers.

The Delaware Valley Central School Band, conducted by Willard Slausenberg, will compete November 11 for their share of the $1,050 being offered in the 1959 Tournament of Bands in Binghamton.

At the Callicoon Hospital, it was a son to Rev. and Mrs. Donald Jones of Damascus, Pa.; a son Friday to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Tenbus of Hortonville; a son Sunday to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Erhardt of Galilee, Pa.; and a son Wednesday to Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore DeMauro of Narrowsburg.

No additional cases of polio have been reported in Orange County in the past two weeks and the last reported polio case in Sullivan County was eight weeks ago.

50 years ago - 1969

Mr. and Mrs. John Prezioso of Wurtsboro announce the birth of a daughter, Frances Ann, on October 31. The mother is the former Corinne Medlar of Callicoon.

Assistant Postmaster Milton Keim of Callicoon turned in his keys on his retirement day, October 31. Mr. Keim has served 32 years including his service in World War II in the armed forces.

Lt. Col. William E. Ebel, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ebel of Cochecton, was wounded August 12 in Vietnam. He is home now with his family in Leavenworth, Kans.

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kehrley of White Sulphur Springs observed their 50th wedding anniversary at the White Sulphur Springs Firehouse on Saturday evening, November 1.

The lookout Methodist Church was the scene of the wedding of Miss Eloise Mary Hinkley and John Elwin Kelsey on Saturday, October 18.

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Fredo of Callicoon were honored guests at a surprise party on Sunday, October 26, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Pat Fredo, Mileses, to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

Radio Seaman Daniel E. Smith, USN, son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Smith, Callicoon, is serving on the staff of the Commander of Service Group Three aboard the repair ship USS Ajax in Sasebo, Japan.

JoAnne Hoffman was guest of honor at a bridal shower held Saturday evening at the Lake Jefferson Hotel. She will be married December 13th to Fred Baker.

It definitely was anger over the Bethel Rock Festival which brought about the 10-vote defeat of Daniel J. Amatucci in the November 4th election.

Mrs. Norma Stengel was the lucky winner of a handsome Dresden Plate quilt, pieced by Mrs. Ila Bury of Fremont Center and quilted by Mrs. Bury, Mrs. Lillian Gillette of Callicoon Center, Mrs. Katie Wilcox of Fremont Center and Mrs. Berthold Thiele, also of Fremont Center. The raffle brought $900.88 to the treasury of the Callicoon hospital building fund.

40 Years Ago - 1979

Richard I. Coombe, a Republican from Neversink, built up a commanding lead early and went on to capture the post of Sullivan County treasurer at press time late Tuesday in the most spirited of a series of local elections. The biggest surprise was a clear-cut win by Republican Craig Stewart over Democratic incumbent William Dirie for the race for supervisor in the Town of Dela­ware. David Kaufman was easily returned to his position as supervisor in the Town of Thompson and Brian Ingber of the town of Fallsburg and Dennis Greenwald, town of Mamakating, scored victories in their races. Paul Kean was elected supervisor in the town of Lumberland over Barbara Hugel. Sheriff Robert Flynn and the four coroners were unopposed for their positions.

A strike by the nurses at Wayne County Memorial Hospital in Honesdale, Pa., entered its sixth day Tuesday, virtually closing the facility, with no relief in sight.

Donald A. Nenna, 14, of Ferndale, died Monday at Community General Hospital, Harris, from gun shot wounds from a stray bullet while turkey hunting Sunday near White Lake. He was the first hunting fatality of the season.

Mrs. Blanche Hector, formerly of Narrowsburg, now of Pittston, Pa., celebrated her 93rd birthday on Tuesday. She is the mother of Claude Hector of Narrowsburg.

30 Years Ago - 1989

The Villa Roma Country Club will host professional boxing on Nov. 10 which will be televised nationally as part of the Madison Square Garden Network's regular Friday Night Fights telecast.

An award to highlight the achievements of Alan Gerry will be presented to him at the 16th Annual Distinguished Citizen dinner on November 19 at Kutsher's Country Club in Monticello. Mr. Gerry founded Cablevision Industries in 1965 and has since expanded to employ 2,300 in seventeen states. The company is the 12th largest cable operator in the United States, serving nearly one million customers.

More than 300 attended the 21st USHWA (U.S. Harness Writers Association) awards banquet honoring Bill Brown and Phil Pines at Kutsher's Country Club on October 29. Sixteen-year-old Greg Merton of Swan Lake received the Goshen Amateur driver of the Year Award for reining four winners in eight races at the Historical Track this past season.

Michael J. Reddy, a former elections commissioner for Sullivan County and a resident of Callicoon, died Friday, November 3, at Community General Hospital in Harris. Burial was made in Riverview Cemetery in Roscoe. A World War II veteran, he was a prisoner of war for 30 months after being captured during the North African invasion. He is survived by his wife, Bertha K. Reddy.

20 Years Ago - 1999

Saturday was a celebration of the ubiquitous apple at the United Methodist Church in Liberty. It all began 16 years ago as a way for the church to raise a little money and give the community a Saturday afternoon's entertainment, said Paul Kellam, who has run the event every year since its inception.

An Obernburg man was on his way to work early Saturday morning when he took an unexpected detour and wound up driving his car into Lake Jefferson. Don Glendon, was heading eastbound on Route 52 when a deer crossed the highway in front of him, causing him to veer off the road and down a steep, 100-foot embankment into the lake. Glendon quickly got out and scrambled to shore. He was treated for hypothermia at the scene and was taken to Community General Hospital in Callicoon, where he was released.

Joseph and Helen Dillon of Calicoon recently renewed their vows at Holy Cross Church as part of their celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary.

The Sullivan County Bar Association is planning a portrait dedication ceremony honoring former Court of Appeals Judge Sidney Foster.

The 4-H youth program leader Shawn Thayer presented Monticello Raceway manager of publicity and public relations John Manzi and Monticello Raceway general manager Bill Sullivan with the 1999 Friend of 4-H Award.

10 Years Ago - 2009

On Saturday August 29, the very first Fiber Festival was held on the historic grounds of Fort Delaware in Narrowsburg. The festival consisted of vendors offering a wide variety of fiber art, homespun yarn, antique spinning wheels, natural fiber clothing and more.

Stacy Cohen and Monte Sachs started construction on the Dancing Cat Distillery in Bethel right down from Bethel Woods. A total of nine acres spanning 17B will host a vineyard and various fruit-bearing plants which along with local farmers' wheat and rye crops will be distilled into various types of alcoholic beverages.

One of the Town of Fallsburg's most prominent citizens, Nat Kagen, died on Sunday, September 13 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 77 years of age.

The Monticello Motor Club applied to build a go-kart track next to its year-old auto track, where wealthy car enthusiasts have been indulging their hobby of pushing expensive sports cars to their limits. Interestingly the bulk of the opposing commentators from the Thompson Planning Board meeting were asking for sound barriers and sound control instead of shutting down the project.

On September 27th, St. Francis in Youngsville celebrated their Centennial Mass, honoring the 100 years since the Rt. Rev. Thomas Cusack, auxiliary bishop of New York, dedicated their church.

Constable Mark Anthony was honored for his fast response to a drowning teen near Barryville on Route 97 over the summer. He was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by Chief Constable Michael Walton at the September Highland Town Board Meeting.