110 Years Ago - 1913

A. Brown and A. Mitchell of the garage firm of Mitchell and Brown have dissolved partnership. Mr. Brown will open and conduct a machine shop and garage on the completion of a new building on the site of the one recently destroyed by fire on the property of Martin Hermann.

Mrs. Charles Neumann, the milliner of Callicoon, will go to Cochecton next Saturday where she will hold a sale. Mrs. Neumann makes this trip every season.

George Schultz, stage driver from Kenoza Lake, has purchased an auto truck from Wesley Dorrer of Hortonville, and is now using it on his mail route.

George Lowe of Jeffersonville has enlarged his facilities for repair work on automobiles, and has leased for this purpose the garage and the garage sheds at the rear of the Eagle Hotel, from Thomas Conlin. He is now able to shelter and repair quite a number of cars.

George Heller of Atco was at Beach Lake, Pa., Tuesday to survey the land on which the new school is to be erected. The men have since commenced work for the building which is to be completed by September 1st.

A stabbing affray is a rare thing in the quiet town of Honesdale, but a mix-up occurred last Saturday night causing Dr. P.F. Griffin to be awakened from his peaceful slumbers at midnight. He took care of two slight wounds in the face of Leonard Mebs, said to be inflicted by a knife in the hands of “Pete” Polt, a notorious character around town. Polt was apprehended at Beach Lake early Monday morning.

Sam Pethick of Damascus, Pa., was instantly killed Tuesday afternoon in the Dodson lumber camp near Tyler Hill by a falling tree, being too deaf to hear the cry of warning from a neighboring workman. He is survived by a widow and three sons, Leslie, Cecil and Russell.

Charles Winters of White Lake recently received from Washington a very handsome medal in recognition of special services in connection with a flying squadron which took part in important Marine maneuvers during the Civil War. That this medal should have been delivered nearly 50 years after the event it is in recognition of does not at all decrease Mr. Winters’ pride in its possession. In eloquent testimony of the complete obliteration of the line between north and south, this medal hangs from silk ribbons in which the blue and grey are intermingled.

Charles Stecker and Miss Josephine Baum of Beechwoods were married Wednesday by Rev. J.E. Straub of Callicoon Center at the home of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Baum. They were attended by Conrad Baum and Miss Gertrude Lahm of Hortonville. They will set up housekeeping on the former Fred Hubbert farm and boarding house in Beechwoods, which Mr. Stecker recently bought after being employed there for three years.

Most of the men employed at the Luzerne Chemical Co. in Long Eddy went on a strike Tuesday. They demanded a raise of 15¢ a day which they were refused. Some of them went back Wednesday while others secured work elsewhere.

100 Years Ago - 1923

William P. Mauer, a native of the Town of Callicoon, who is now conducting a successful meat market in Liberty, is planning to erect a large building on his property adjoining his market on Main Street. It will measure 56x60 feet, three stories high, of brick with a terra cotta front.

A third daughter was recently born to Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Stalker of Lookout, Pa.

Born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Weiss of Callicoon, a daughter, March 28.

Fred B. Grimm, a native of Fremont, has been elected chief of the Liberty Fire Department.

Thomas Whitmore has resigned his position at Borden’s Ice Cream plant in Cochecton and will be engaged in mixed farming, including poultry raising on a farm he purchased on Conklin Hill. We wish him much success. He was at the Borden plant seven years.

Little Emma Baum of Callicoon was flower girl at the wedding of Henry W. Hermann and Miss Genevieve Bertha Walters of New York City which took place in New York City on April 14.

90 Years Ago - 1933

What authorities declared was a bomb explosion in his car as he drove to work early yesterday near Liberty, left Milford Hathaway of Cold Spring Road near Liberty, probably fatally injured amid the car wreckage and left police with virtually no clues whatever. Every police official in the county was at work on the case at least part of the day. Hathaway himself remained unconscious in Maimonides Hospital today while members of his family disputed the police theory, but declared themselves unable to offer any other explanation of the occurrence. Wires were found attached to the battery in the car and shavings of wire insulation found on the floor of the private garage five hundred feet from his home.

Eighteen seniors of the Callicoon High School will make the trip to Washington, D.C., leaving on Train 4 Saturday.

A fire company was organized in Kenoza Lake last week with the following officers chosen: President Wm. C. Fuhrer; Vice President Robert Sherman; Chief Leroy A. Busing; 1st and 2nd Lieutenants Fred Schwenger and Fred Wenz; Fire Surgeon Robert R. Armbrust; Secretary-Treasurer Fred V. Poppe.

Elsie M. Roemer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Roemer of Jeffersonville, was married April 2 to Chester A. Ray of Deposit.

Miss Winifred C. Lieb, daughter of Editor and Mrs. Wm. Lieb of Jeffersonville, and John H. Joyner of White Sulphur Springs, were married April 7 at the M.E. Parsonage at Chester.

Last Sunday night as Karl Liebetruth and Herman Birth of Callicoon were returning home from Monticello their Graham sedan was hit and damaged considerably by the Pontiac coupe belonging to Walter Tyler of Callicoon. The accident happened on the sharp curve near the Cade residence. Tyler was found guilty of reckless driving and fined $5, ordered to pay $100 damages to the other car, and given a 60 day suspended sentence for driving without a license.

Monticello Chief of Police James A. Brown was responsible Friday for one of the biggest hauls of alcohol in the history of the county. The capture included a ten-ton tank truck, carrying 2,400 gallons of bootleg alcohol. Search for the driver of the truck, with a Rochester commercial license, was continued in Monticello Saturday. The truck bore license number 448-323 New York. Prohibition men, after a brief inspection, took the truck to Kingston.

80 Years Ago - 1943

Mr. and Mrs. Edw. C. Hoffmann announced this week that they are closing out the merchandise in their store at Callicoon. The Hoffmann Store was established here in 1915 and for 20 years was located in the Kautz block. In 1935, the Junior Hoffmann’s took over the management of the business and continued it in the Hornung building where it is located at the present time. The emergencies of war have now forced Mr. and Mrs. Hoffmann to make other plans.

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Diefenbach of Barryville are the parents of a baby girl born Sunday, April 4th; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Keegan of Callicoon are the parents of a baby born Monday, April 5; Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Crandall of Eldred are the parents of a baby boy, born April 7, all at the Callicoon Hospital.

Francis Hartmann, who makes his home with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hartmann of East Cochecton, left yesterday for Rome, N.Y., where he has a Civil Service appointment as airplane mechanic. He is a graduate of the ground school at Newburgh. Robert Eldred and Henry Pfeifer are also employed at the Rome Army Air Base.

Miss Edith Helen Curtis started teaching Aircraft Recognition to a class of observers last Tuesday night. Four gold stars, one for each week in March, have been posted at the Callicoon Observation Post. The gold stars are for perfection in the conduct of the post which was continuously and properly manned for the entire month.

Miss Marion Helen Hawerkamp of North Branch will be conferred a degree in nursing April 28 at St. Luke’s Hospital, New York City.

Corp. George R. Mitchell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Mitchell, Tyler Hill, Pa., has been listed as missing in action by the War Department. He has been serving in North Africa.

Evelyn Kohler Eggler, native of Kenoza Lake, has been serving in the armed forces in North Africa.

Miss Wilda Stewart of North Branch and Sgt. Albert G. Priebe of Midland, Tex., were wed at the Church of the Master, Bronx, New York City. Mrs. Priebe is employed at Remington Arms, Bridgeport, Conn.

70 Years Ago - 1953

It was a girl Monday to Mr. and Mrs. George Marks of Roscoe; a girl, Tuesday, to Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Crum of Milanville, Pa.; and a boy, Tuesday, to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Forsblom of Hankins, all at the Callicoon Hospital.

Announcement has been made of the engagement of Janet Hoth to Donald Ramsey of Liberty. The bride-elect is employed at the Jeffersonville School.

Getting the deck of the Bridgeville viaduct ready for pouring of concrete, which was scheduled to start this week, is a slow and dangerous process. Carpenters and steelworkers must work 75 feet above the Neversink River. One steelworker fell to his death from the structure last winter.

Douglas, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Miller, Callicoon, was baptized in the Callicoon Methodist Church on Easter Sunday. More than 100 attended a breakfast in the church hall after the service, and had a chance to view the newly remodeled kitchen and decorated hall.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sehm of Rochester announce the engagement of their daughter, Helen, to Leo Graham of Jeffersonville. Miss Sehm is librarian at the Jeff school.

David Francis, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Allison of Fosterdale, was baptized at the church service in that village last Sunday.

Margaret Fulton of Kenoza Lake was the guest of honor at a surprise bridal shower on March 25 at the home of Mrs. Rudy Noetzel in North Branch.

60 Years Ago - 1963

Miss Helen Scardefield, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Scardefield, Jeffersonville, became the bride of Malcolm M. Back Jr. in an Easter weekend wedding at the First Presbyterian Church in Jeffersonville.

George Widmann of Callicoon was honored at a luncheon on April 10 for 40 years service with the New York Telephone Company, held at the Lenape Hotel in Liberty. He is a construction supervisor for the company.

Mr. and Mrs. Marvin O. Ross of Conklin Hill, Pa., celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Sullivan County District Attorney Robert C. Williams, his wife and another Monticello couple were asked to leave the Senate Chambers in Washington, D. C., Thursday for a closed session of the Senate, the first time in 20 years that the Chambers have been closed. Sen. Strom Thurmond made the request because he wanted to discuss missiles.

The New York State Fish Hatchery at DeBruce will supply 71,400 trout for Sullivan County Catskills streams this year.

Russell “Rusty” Hodge of Roscoe will compete in the Pan American Games beginning this week at Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is a member of the United States Track and Field Team. He is the son of Russell and Alice Arden Hodge of Roscoe. His mother is a former Olympic women’s high jump champion, and will fly to Sao Paulo on April 24 to attend the competition.

At the Callicoon Hospital, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Ward Keesler of Equinunk, Pa., on Saturday; a son to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ostrander of Lookout, Pa.; a daughter, Tuesday, to Mr. and Mrs. Vilho Makela of Hankins.

Paul H. Starck, nephew of the Misses Ida and Elsie Halladay of Callicoon, graduated from the New York State Police Academy in Sidney and the ladies attended the ceremonies.

More than 200 youngsters swooped down upon 696 hidden eggs at the Delaware Youth Center and found them all in less than an hour. The hunt was divided into three groups. In the pre-school group, David Tuttle found 17 eggs and JoAnn Rhinebeck found 16 eggs. The kindergarten grades 1-3 winners were Terry Moran and Amy Andersen with nine eggs; grades 4-6 winners were Ruth Baker with 13 eggs and Wendy Dirie with 12 eggs. Pairs of live rabbits were won on a drawing by Douglas Miller and Raymond Rhinebeck.

50 Years Ago - 1973

The Sullivan County Board of Supervisors, at its regular April meeting held in Monticello Monday night, approved expenditures amounting to $300,000 to reconstruct the Sullivan County Infirmary and install a sewage treatment plant on its premises and also made public a report from an independent auditing firm which exonerated Department of Public Works Commissioner John J.J. McGough from any implications of improperly handling overtime pay in his department.

Mrs. Evelyn Haas of Livingston Manor was elected to a 5-year seat on the BOCES Board at an election held Wednesday night in Liberty and defeated Mrs. Muriel Jaffe by a 29-10 vote for the vacancy created by the retirement of Otto C. Hoos of Livingston Manor, president of the Board.

In the Binghamton Southern Tier Elimination Tourney, Dick Schellberg and Bill Trivelpiece have completed their 3rd successful week. Next week they enter the semi-final round.

40 Years Ago - 1983

Liberty Village Clerk Emagene Travis announced her retirement at a Liberty Village Board meeting on Monday. She has served in that capacity for the past 16 years.

Judith Kautz of Callicoon Center and Dean Bradley of White Sulphur Springs were married at the home of the bride’s parents on March 20.

Jim Hammett of Jeffersonville caught his limit of ten brown trout on opening day. The largest measured 14 1/2 inches and weighed one pound, 2 1/2 ounces. Ian Ernst of Cochecton caught a 13 1/4 inch brown trout which weighed one pound 2 3/4 ounces. . . Bill Saul Sr. of Cochecton caught a one pound eight ounce rainbow that measured 16 1 /8 inches.

Callicoon’s Main Street is undergoing a major transformation with two buildings being extensively renovated. Popolillo’s Clothing and Shoes, which has been in operation since 1946, will begin a going-out of business liquidation sale on Thursday. Lander’s Canoe Base and George Burkle Insurance will open separate businesses and the Tudor Apartments will become the home of the Wagon Wheel Restaurant. Other renovations in the area include the remodeling of a 120-year-old house in Hortonville which will be the home of Teb and Kathy Fink.

30 Years Ago - 1993

Helen Peters of Jeffersonville was guest of honor at an 85th birthday party held at the Stone Arch Inn on March 27. Friends gathered again at her home on March 28 to honor Helen on this special occasion. Mrs. Peters was named Town of Callicoon Senior Citizen of the Year and Sullivan County Senior Citizen of the Year in 1990 and in 1991 was named Catholic Senior Citizen of the Year.

Bids are being solicited for the intricate dismantling and transportation of the old Eric Cochecton Railroad State, which now sits on the property of Cochecton Mills. The Cochecton Preservation Society plans to relocate  the station to a new site just off Route 97 a little north of Cochecton and near the railroad tracks.

Myrtle Salonich of Liberty, senior vice president of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Sullivan County Council, presented a book, “America’s National Parks,” on  behalf of VFW Auxiliary State President Helen Weeks to Meike Cryan, librarian of the Liberty Public Library. As Mrs. Weeks makes her official visits to the 35 county councils in New York State, she presents a book for public or school libraries.

The Sullivan County Community College cafeteria, Center for Learning Assistance and student union has been renamed the Lazare and  Charlotte Kaplan Student Center in honor of the world-famous diamond cutter and his wife and in recognition of the Kaplan’s generous contributions which have benefitted the college and the community.

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Foss of Zephyrhills, Fla., formerly of Rock Hill, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a celebration held March 25 in Florida, hosted by their children at the home of Darrel and Sharon Foss in Spring Hill, Fla.

As early as the end of this week, the new Jeffersonville-Youngsville High School building addition will literally take shape as workers erect the massive steel framework. At 51,975 square feet with space for 27 classrooms, the annex will actually be larger than the 1938 original portion of the J-Y school building. Construction began in late October 1992.

The new building of Key Bank, located at the corner of Route 17 and North Road in the village of Bloomingburg is nearing completion. It replaces a trailer that had occupied the site for years.

Sullivan County officials are scheduled to meet Friday with the reputed owner of the Woodstock Festival site in Bethel and the organization that hopes to stage a 25th anniversary celebration there to discover what will be staged there in August 1994, who will control it and what part the county will play. Last week, the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society advised county officials that it had signed a seven-year lease with June Gelish, the reported owner of the 38-acre site and was prepared to move forward with its concert plans now that it had secured exclusive access to the former Max Yasgur farm in Bethel.

20 Years Ago - 2003

In appreciative public recognition of decades of service (32 years) as Liberty Village Historian, the Liberty Village Board honored Delbert Van Etten Monday night with a certificate of honor. Van Etten also served as the Liberty Town Historian for 27 years and as the historian for the Liberty Museum and Arts Center since it opened in 1997, as well as past president of the Sullivan County Historical Society and of the Hudson Valley Historical Association. Van Etten is credited with donating much of his personal collection to the Liberty Museum, which in 2002 mounted an exhibit based on that collection.

An enthusiastic group of 31 persons with Sullivan County roots met and dined in Tampa, Florida, on March 1 to celebrate the 40th annual Suncoast Reunion. Once the largest of the five such annual gatherings, the West Florida party had been losing favor in recent years, but last month’s gathering proved that renewing old acquaintances is still important. Arlene Stephenson chaired the function.

Robert and Marie Grund were planning a quiet move to Tennessee to retire, but word got out. Ironically, the Grunds were the last to know what everyone else knew, however, and they were surprised with a going-away party on Saturday at the Lava Firehouse. Robert Grund was assessor in the Town of Cochecton for more than 22 years, and served as supervisor for six years.

The Town of Thompson partnered with the Monticello Post Office last week to offer a commemorative cancellation on the date of the town’s formation 200 years ago, April 8. The town is celebrating its bicentennial with numerous events this year.

Joy Bertsch, a registered nurse at Catskill Regional Medical Center, was named the New York State Healthy Women’s Partnership Partner of the Year 2002. Bertsch has worked with the Sullivan County Healthy Women’s Partnership since the program began over eight years ago.

10 Years Ago - 2013

His 26th floor office at 599 Lexington Avenue affords Casey Laffey stunning vistas of midtown Manhattan. But it’s doubtful whether Laffey has much time to enjoy the views, what with the inexorable demands of building billable hours and managing complex cases. The 1997 graduate of Delaware Valley CS was one of 22 associates at law firm Reed Smith recently promoted to partner. The globe-circling firm is one of the largest in the world, employing over 1,700 attorneys. Laffey, 33, is formerly of Fremont Center.

The Conservatory at Bethel Woods is soon to open. Located across West Shore Road from Bethel Woods’ Harvest Festival grounds, the palatial house is within walking distance of the main complex, as well. Youth will be the first beneficiaries, as this summer, a range of children- and teen-focused programs will be shifted from the Museum/Events Gallery building to the Conservatory, including Broadway, opera and jazz classes.

The 2013 Sullivan West National Honor Society inductees [in no particular order] are Leanne Bruetsch, Jessica Smith, Elizabeth Nicoletti, Cougar MacDowell, Justin Dorman, Daniel Paparella, Jack Rajlevsky, Cecilia Brey, Pooja Parikh, Carly Grishaber, Deshjamber Stewart, Daphne Muzuruk, Brooke Hemmer, John Daniel Corcillo, Andrew Stabbert, Noah Bauer, Isabella Kent, Lucas Vertrees, Dale Mercado, Cody Kubenik, Cole Sensiba, Julius Krentz, Sean Hart, Gavin Owen, Jacob Keller, Anthony Rydell, Kevin Hart.