110 Years Ago - 1913

Mitchell & Brown, garage and machine shop of Callicoon and agent for Detroiter cars, offer the cars for sale at $850 and $900.

Mr. and Mrs. Alec Brown of Callicoon are entertaining a new baby girl, born Monday evening.

The new lights of the Callicoon M.E. Church were donated by the following ladies and gentlemen: Mrs. Ihrig, Messrs. L.C. Vandervort, C. Wizeman, W.L. Dodge, G. Howland, M.T. Collins, W. Hoffman, C. Young, Dr. McClellan, Mrs. and Miss A. Anderson and Mr. and Mrs. E. D. Bennett.

A raft made up of thirty-five telegraph poles left Little Equinunk on Wednesday and was to have been rafted to Callicoon but on account of the swift current and high water it could not be landed. William Turner and Nelson Conklin had charge of it and when they tried to make a landing in Eunice’s Eddy the raft turned around with them two or three times, striking a rock and nearly tore apart. They got it straightened around just in time to miss the bridge pier and when last seen they were endeavoring to nail it together before it broke apart. They went down the river and a landing was finally made at lower Cochecton. The run from Callicoon to the landing place was made in just one-half hour.

George  Hamel, who has been employed by Decker Chaffu for the past year, has resigned his position and has taken charge of the creamery at Briscoe.

John Roesner and wife of Jeffersonville expect to go to the city this week to attend the wedding of a friend. They will make the trip with horse and carriage going by way of Newburgh.

Barnard’s Moving Picture Show closed in Callicoon Saturday after a very successful week. The show was clean, entertaining and way above the usual moving picture shows. The most popular young ladies in the vote contest were Miss Dora Newman and little Edith Newmann, each one receiving a chip diamond ring. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Newman and Mr. and Mrs. Gus Newman wish to kindly thank all those who gave them votes.

The bell for the Presbyterian Church in Bethel arrived last week and was rung Easter morning. Mrs. Josephine Tracy deserves credit for raising the funds for the bell.

Mr. Frank Lewee, the Obernburg florist, is getting ready to build a hot house on his place to store the plants of Mr. Francis Tobias for the winter  . . . Fred Kille has made quite some improvements on his Obernburg Hotel to give more accommodation to his guests for the coming season. — Obernburg Corresp.

The teachers of the Long Eddy School sent a petition to the Board of Education asking for an Easter vacation of one day, but their request was refused by the  Board.

100 Years Ago - 1923

Mrs. C. Gould announces that she will, with the assistance of her son, Donald, run the Arlington Hotel in Long Eddy this season, taking in boarders and transients and serving lunches, etc.

Charles  Bjorklund has purchased the large house of Mr. and Mrs. M.B. Taylor of Binghamton and will move his family and the telephone control to that location in Long Eddy.

Born April 1 in Hortonville, a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Robisch.

At a meeting of Delaware Hose Co. No. 2 last evening, Arthur Brey, Chas. Wagner, Arthur Geiselmann, Elton Hughs and Alvin Wahl were elected to membership. Wm. Metzger was elected at a preceding meeting. A drill of the company will be held at 7:30 Thursday evening. If rainy, the drill will be held in the rooms. A fine of 25¢ will be levied on all members who do not attend.

Miss Millicent Stadler of Narrowsburg and Nelson Libolt of Atco were united in marriage at Honesdale, Pa., April 1, leaving immediately to spend their honeymoon at Elmira and Cortland.

Mr. and Mrs. Arlie Tyler of Milanville announce the birth of a son this week — their fourth son and seventh child.

90 Years Ago - 1933

Charles P. Kautz, conservator of the First National Bank in Callicoon, is optimistic regarding approval of the federal government of a proposed plan for rehabilitation. Since the bank holiday was declared, the bank has received more than 300 special accounts and the institution is doing everything except paying out money on old accounts and making loans.

Friends of Guernsey T. Cross of Callicoon, who was secretary to former Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, will tender him a testimonial dinner and dance at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Manhattan on April 24 to “commemorate his many years of public service.” The affair will be formal and tickets are $6 each. On the dinner committee are Ellsworth Baker, Wm. Deckelman, John K. Evans, James M. Kelly, Mrs. Gussie Machson, John J. Ryan, A.M. Scriber, Fred Stabbert and William White.

William F. Glaab of Narrowsburg was awarded $1,652 for injuries sustained while in the employ of the Boy Scout Foundation of New York City at the Scout camps near Narrowsburg.

Julius Hohenstein of Kauneonga Lake pleaded guilty Saturday to disorderly conduct and was fined fifty dollars after a raid on his establishment Friday night by Sheriff Walter Flynn, Sergeant Thos. M. Mangan and their aides. The raiders seized and destroyed 14 barrels of hard cider, six barrels of wine and 140 quart bottles of champagne cider. Troopers Weeks and Austin McGranaghan, former police chief at Hancock, were in the raiding party.

This morning contractor Herman Molusky started to raze the Martin Hermann barn in the village. The lumber from that will be used to erect a new grandstand on the lands of the Delaware A.A. The baseball field is nearly completed. According to a story in the Middletown Times-Herald, the D.A.A. Field will be the best equipped athletic field in Sullivan County. The diamond has been scaped and the outfield will be grassed over, while a quarter mile cinder track will extend around the grounds for use of the Callicoon High School track team. The grandstand is to seat 300 persons. Games are being booked from out of the area to bring one of the best baseball programs in the history of the association to the village.

“Back to Old Prices!” Bennett Bros. advertises ice cream sodas at 10 cents, sundaes - 15 cents.

The Long Eddy Rod and Gun Club held a dinner Saturday evening, April 1st, at the home of Jack Niflot at Basket to celebrate the opening of the trout season. A bountiful dinner of chicken, roast lamb and all other good eats that go with it were served. From Long Eddy were Willard English, Donald Rotzler, Chas. Milk, Clarence Baudendistel and John P. Kenney.

80 Years Ago - 1943

A ceremony will be held at the county courthouse at Monticello Saturday afternoon in connection with the award to Sullivan County of the Pennant for Excellence, won as a result of the scrap drive last autumn. The pennant will be flown on the flag pole below the national insignia.

The Town of Callicoon will dedicate an Honor Roll on Saturday, April 3, according to Walter C. Weiss, supervisor. The Honor Roll is erected in the village of Youngsville and contains the names of those in the service of their country.

The Christian World is observing the latest Lenten period of the 20th Century because of an astronomical condition occurring but once in a hundred years. March 10 and April 25 are the latest possible dates on the calendar on which Ash Wednesday and Easter, respectively may fall. The next time will be in 2038.

Miss Edith Helen Curtis has completed her work at the school of Observation Post Watchers in New York City. She will now start classes here and when a sufficient number have become proficient in the work a new system of reporting planes will be used.

Willard English of Long Eddy has been hired to wire the Rock Valley M.E. Church for electricity.

The main line of the O&W was tied up all day Sunday because of a bad freight wreck early that morning south of Ferndale. Thirteen cars left the track, six of them plunging down a steep embankment. No one was injured.

Virginia Schuler, 6-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Schuler, celebrated her birthday Saturday afternoon with about 40 youngsters and oldsters present at the Tumble Inn in Callicoon Center.

70 Years Ago - 1953

Jack Spring, a science teacher on the DVCS faculty, will resign at the end of the school term to go into the study of medicine.

Miss Ellen Mary Goodwin and Everett Earl Young, both of Equinunk, Pa., were married at a ceremony performed by her father, Rev. George Goodwin, and Rev. Morris L. Husted of Poughkeepsie, at the Equinunk Methodist Church on March 21.

A daughter was born Monday to Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Young of Damascus, Pa.; a son, Tuesday to Mr. and Mrs. Claude Hanson of Damascus, Pa.; a son, Wednesday, to Mr. and Mrs. Louis Hornung of Cooks Falls, all at the Callicoon Hospital.

PFC James B. Dexter, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Dexter of Narrowsburg, is now at Camp Desert, Nev., for the second in the current series of atomic tests. The maneuver, “Desert Rock V,” is designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of atomic weapons in support of ground action.

Ann Marie Soule and Robert Deppa, both of Swan Lake, were united in marriage March 22 at the Presbyterian Church in Liberty.

Stephen Wormuth of Lake Huntington, former Republican member of the Sullivan County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, was appointed jury commissioner for the county Tuesday. He immediately resigned as a member of the ABC Board. Roy Wood, Monticello real estate broker, is said to be the avowed candidate to replace Mr. Wormuth on the ABC Board.

Gary Taggart, known as the “Junior King of Yodeling,” will appear at the Honesdale Armory at the Easter Monday Ball on April 6.

The fifty-year-old Hotel Flagler, South Fallsburg, one of the landmarks of the Catskill resort area, was sold recently to Mr. and Mrs. Jack Barsky of New York City. The hotel, built in the early 1900s by the oil and railroad magnate, Henry Morrison Flagler, was under a rental management arrangement to the Barsky’s for the past five years. The hotel, on a 185-acre site, includes the first golf course in that resort area, and has five main buildings. The hotel has 220 guest rooms.

Announcement has been made of the engagement of Florence Bryan of White Sulphur Springs to Harold Kespert of Youngsville. A summer wedding is planned.

60 Years Ago - 1963

A new musical group is drawing considerable attention in the local area. Comprised of Kingsley Pilgrim, John and Arthur Flynn and Calvin Ray Jr., the boys have appeared before the Callicoon Kiwanis two times, on Channel 6 TV in Port Jervis and on April 8 will appear on Channel 12, Binghamton, on the Ralph Carroll Show. Willard Slausenberg, music director at the Delaware Valley Central School, is their mentor.

The men of the Lake Huntington Presbyterian Church were busy on Tuesday evening of last week, baking and serving pancakes to over 300 hungry customers.

Two of the older hotels in Sullivan County lost their main buildings early the morning of March 28 as flames destroyed Lesser Lodge near White Sulphur Springs and the Ambassador Hotel near Fallsburg. It was reported that Lesser Lodge was fully booked for the Passover holidays. Damage at the Fallsburg structure is said to be about $750,000.

A son was born Sunday to Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay Cole of Cochecton; a daughter, Tuesday, to Mr. and Mrs. Asa Blaine of Galilee, Pa.; a son, Wednesday, to Mr. and Mrs. Karl Sauer of Cochecton. Discharged from the Callicoon Hospital were Mrs. Ralph Neer and daughter of Long Eddy. 

Miss Edna Wilfert, organist of the Jeffersonville Presbyterian Church, has had an original anthem lyric accepted for future publication by the editors of the Volunteer Choir, Dayton, Ohio. Her anthem is entitled “God Guide Our Mothers.”

50 Years Ago - 1973

CBS newsmen got an unexpected story as they recorded opening of trout season at Junction Pool at Roscoe on Sunday when Richard Riccardi, 21, of Flushing, slipped into the stream and was pulled under after his waders filled up. He was rescued in the nick of time by Edward Varga, 37, of Cataret, N.J., who dived in after him and pulled him to safety. The entire incident was recorded by several television cameras and was shown coast to coast Sunday night.

Mrs. Rachel VanLoan was guest of honor at a surprise 98th birthday party in her honor at the home of her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Graydon Lindsley. Her birth date is March 28.

The Callicoon Kiwanis Club netted over $200 profit from a pancake supper Monday night.

Mr. and Mrs. Herman Kuck of Barryville have opened a House of Candy. Fran Warncke will assist in the operation which will sell candy made in their New Jersey shops.

Franklin VanGinhoven Jr., 14, caught a 2 pound 18-inch native trout; a most unusual size for this species. And Frank isn’t saying where he caught the beauty either.

40 Years Ago - 1983

The Town of Highland Lions Club honored William T. McCaffrey as the recipient of the club’s Citizen of the Year Award at a dinner meeting held at the Rustic Inn in Yulan on March 17.

Quinton Garcia of Wurtsboro has been named as the new director of the Delaware Valley Job Corps Center located in Callicoon.

The Cpl. Russell D. Sprague Post No. 109, American Legion, and Ladies Auxiliary celebrated the 64th anniversary of the founding of the post on Saturday. About 150 members and friends attended the celebration held at the Liberty Elks Social Hall.

The four champions of their respective divisions of stock car racing were crowned Sunday, March 20, at the 1982 White Lake Speedway Awards Dinner-Dance held at Lanza’s Hotel in Shandelee. Winning the honors were Bob Zimmer, street stock; Vicki Sands, ladies’ division; Mike Houghtaling, pure stock; and Robin Tyler, econo-stock. Each is expected to defend their crown when racing resumes on Sunday, April 17.

30 Years Ago - 1993

The 3rd Annual Mountain Fun Run/Walk/Crawl, sponsored by the Grover M. Hermann Hospital Auxiliary of Callicoon, will be held Saturday, April 24. Free blood pressure and cholesterol screenings by the staff of the hospital will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon.

Several area streams and rivers, including the Delaware River in Callicoon overflowed their banks Thursday morning, as heavy rains overnight and melting snow pushed water levels even higher than they had been earlier in the week. According to Delaware River Master William Harkness in Milford, Pa., the Delaware River crested at around 8:30 a.m Wednesday and started to recede, only to rise to even high levels with the combination of overnight rains and melting snow.

“First Brother” Roger Clinton was among those who came for opening day of trout season at Roscoe’s Junction Pool. He got a quick lesson from pro Art Lee on the tricks of fly fishing. (No report was made as to the success of his outing.) A native of Chatham, Lee is the northeast editor of Fly Fisherman Magazine and has made his home in Roscoe since 1975.

Dr. Linda F. Borrelli, a chiropractor has opened an office in Callicoon. She has had an office in the state of Florida for 12 years prior to coming to this area.

The Liberty Truck and Hose Co. No. 2 named Tim Vogler as their “Fireman of the Year” at their annual dinner, held March 27. He has been a member of the fire department for five years. Steve Johnstone was honored for having answered the most calls, 128 out of 165, and Bill Henkelman, a 30-year veteran, was honored for his dedication to Liberty Truck and Hose No. 2. Many other firemen were also honored for their activities with the fire company.

Rasmussen Sons Furniture Company in Narrowsburg hosted their annual old-fashioned open house, a tradition since 1926, this past Friday and Saturday. The store has been a fixture in Narrowsburg since it was opened in 1905 by the late Nials P. Rasmussen. The business was carried on by his sons, Oscar and Fred, and now is operated by his grandsons, Ron and Bob Rasmussen and their families.

20 years ago - 2003

The Sullivan County Legislature recently voted to increase the local sales tax from 7 percent to 7 3/4 percent, but the State Legislature has yet to approve it.

The Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce has a wide and varied membership, and one of those members is the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Chamber President and CEO Jacquie Leventoff announced that Radio City was looking for a place to rehearse for their annual “Christmas Spectacular,” and that negotiations are ongoing.

Scores of anglers welcomed trout season at famed Junction Pool in Roscoe on April 1. This season’s guest caster, Tom Valenti, a celebrated New York City chef, rubbed elbows with the legendary fly fisherman/author/fly tyer Poul Jorgensen. As the mystery of who would catch the first finned denizen of Junction Pool unfolded, it turned out to be Lisa Mastroeni, a winsome lady from  Oakland, NJ, who said that singing to the fish helped her land four beautiful brown trout during the first couple of hours of the 2003 season.

Lee and Deborah Hubbert of North Branch have announced the engagement of their daughter, Bobbi Lynn Hubbert, to Gregory Keesler, both of North Branch. He is the son of Phil and Linda Keesler of Damascus, Pa. An August 2004 wedding is planned.

Lee and Deborah Hubbert of North Branch announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Lynn Speicher of Roscoe, to Peter Brian Johnston, also of Roscoe. He is the son of Peter and Helen Johnston of Roscoe. A September 27, 2003, wedding is planned.

10 Years Ago - 2013

Donald Trump Jr. and Joan Wulff cast into the no-kill stretch of the Beaverkill River near the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum in Livingston Manor on Saturday. The “Open Cast” followed the ceremonial “First Cast” a few miles upstream at Junction Pool, where the Beaverkill and Willowemoc meet at one of the most famous trout fishing waters in the world. 

Well over 100 people attended the annual Roscoe-Rockland Chamber of Commerce Two-Headed Trout Dinner at the Rockland House last Saturday, continuing a tradition started by legendary sportswriter Red Smith and his fellow scribes at the now closed Antrim Lodge in Roscoe. Though the tradition of holding the dinner the night before the official opening of trout season has passed, it still shows off  the enduring allure of Trout Town USA. 

The Peters siblings will be participating in the NYC VisionWalk 2013, sponsored by the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Four of the seven Peters siblings have Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a blinding eye disease that gradually takes away all usable vision (a fifth sibling, Howard Peters, also had RP; Howard passed away in 2005). The purpose of VisionWalk is to raise money for research to help find a cure for blindness.