110 years ago - 1912

Buildings were demolished, railroad cars blown from the rails, trees uprooted and many persons injured by a tornado which devastated South Fallsburg at 4 o’clock a week ago Sunday afternoon. The storm developed from what at first appeared to be an April shower. There had been several light showers, and the temperature dropped from 64 to 40 degrees when a black cloud made its appearance in the west. Such a storm never before had come at this time of the year. The three-story general store of Chester Couch disappeared. In its place was a heap of debris, and a trail of boards and building material strung across lots for 500 yards. Just as the crowd began to clean up the rubble there was a shout and a man’s head popped out of the hole where the chimney had stood. It was Couch, owner of the store. Seven other persons were alive under the roof. The reserves then lifted out the Rev. J.C. Carley, who had a broken leg, Postmaster Charles Denniston and wife, Mr. and Mrs. George Atwell and Samuel Lynch. All were cut, bruised and badly shaken up. Hatch’s feed mill and Gardener’s cider mill had been unroofed but not otherwise damaged. The livery stable connected with the Fallsburg Hotel was wrecked, a fruit store across the street had been moved off its foundation, trees lay in the streets and there was a general aspect of ruin throughout the village. A number of houses were twisted on their foundations. At the Ontario and Western station, loaded fruit cars on a switch were unroofed and empty cars were blown from the rails.
John L. Roesner of Jeffersonville and Miss Edna Denslow Turner of Kenoza Lake were married at the Thornwood home of the bride’s mother on Wednesday. Lawrence Muell­er of New York and Miss Lena I. Neiger, aunt of the bride, attended the couple.
Monday morning at 4 a.m., fire destroyed the barns belonging to Gales & Anderson, Peter Blecke, Thomas Carey and Samuel Wheeler, including all wagons, harness, etc. and eight horses belonging to Gales & Anderson. The latter firm did not carry any insurance.
Corwin Valentine has purchased of George Abraham, the undertaking business and furniture store.
An infant child of Fred Long of the Beechwoods fell from a chair and broke its collarbone.

100 years ago - 1922

Joseph Welch, 75 years of age, died suddenly of heart trouble at his home, the Kenoza Dell House, on April 5. Following dinner he had laid down on the couch where he died.
The blacksmith school held at Liberty Wednesday and Thursday, first of its kind in New York State and probably in the entire country, was a success. More than 75 shoers and farmers, came to see how it was done by men who combined the scientific with the practical.
L. Oswald Goodman, a student at Cornell University where he is taking an engineering course, is busy while home on Easter vacation in surveying and mapping the new streets to be opened in Jeffersonville. Mr. Goodman will spend his summer vacation as a surveyor for those who may desire such services.
C.B. Starck of Callicoon caught the first big trout of the season Friday when fishing in the Callicoon Creek. He landed a 20-inch rainbow trout.
It is very seldom that anything of importance gets by the Democrat but we must say the marriage of Miss Rosetta Conklin and Samuel Batchler, both of Conklin Hill, who were married some six weeks ago in Hancock, completely slipped by.
Ernest Miller of Callicoon and Miss Maude Reubman of New York City were married Thursday at Jeffersonville by the Rev. Bohrer. Mr. Miller is employed by Edwin Schultz as a chauffeur.
Hoffmann’s Dry Goods Store, Callicoon, offers house dresses, good quality gingham, yoke, collar, cuffs, trimmed with rickrack, sizes 40 to 44, at $1.69 each, house dresses in navy blue figured percale, $1.40, extra large sizes in dark blue and dark gray percales at $1.59 each; tea aprons, 47¢ each; men’s overalls, extra heavy, blue, extra large sizes, $1.79 a pair.
Myrtle Hull of Hillside is working for Mrs. Roscoe Tyler who has a new baby.
Supervisor Ralph Bush of the Damascus road district, just across the Delaware from Callicoon, is seeking to purchase a large stone crusher by public subscription. Last year, the Milanville community bought a crusher by public subscription and proceeded to build stone roads. The success of the enterprise led Abrahamsville and Galilee to attempt a like plan.
At a special meeting held Monday the Shandelee school district voted to appropriate $2,500 for the erection of a new schoolhouse. It is expected to be ready for the opening of school in September.
The annual Sullivan County Fair, which last year was recorded as the best in the county’s history, will be held this year in Monticello the last three days of August and the first of September. Edison D. Knapp of Bloomingburg, has been chosen the general superintendent to succeed Joseph Engelmann of Monticello. Mrs. A.M. Scriber of Monticello is superintendent of the women’s department.

90 years ago - 1932

Gerald Nearing, son of Frank Nearing of Long Eddy, has been elected to a position in the Monticello High School to teach algebra beginning in September. He will receive his Master’s degree from Columbia University in June.
Clarence M. Pethick, 74, prominent merchant at Tyler Hill, Pa., was found drowned in Laurel Lake about 8 o’clock yesterday morning. In his car was found a pail, soap and a chamois with which he apparently intended to wash the car. A verdict of accidental drowning was rendered by Coroner Oliver Osborne of Honesdale, Pa.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Huebsch announce the engagement of their daughter, Frances, to Wm. Kautz Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. William Kautz of Callicoon RFD #2.
The Elmont Hotel, also known as The Piney Woods Inn, at Liberty, was burned early yesterday with losses said to exceed $33,000. The hotel was constructed thirty years ago by John Guinack. The hotel had been closed all winter and was to open next month for summer business.
Four men suffered slight injury while fighting a $100,000 fire that menaced the entire business area of South Fallsburg last Saturday night. The four-story building and grain elevator of the Fallsburg Feed and Coal Co. was virtually destroyed and serious damage was done to the Hatch Feed Mill and the J.R. Gardner cider mill across the O&W Railroad.

80 years ago - 1942

Margaret, daughter of Mrs. Clara Powers, became the bride of John, son of Mr. and Mrs. Theron T. Taylor of Kenoza Lake on April 5 at the Jeffersonville Lutheran Church.
Charles C. Hoffman, one of the better known citizens and businessmen of the Delaware Valley, died at his home in Hankins on April 7 after a short illness of cerebral hemorrhage. He had been engaged in the general merchan­dise business at Hankins since 1923 and he had been the Hankins Postmaster for about 35 years.
Frances Mosher of Obernburg and Pvt. Michael Francis Loughrey, M.P., were united in marriage at St. Mary’s Church in Obernburg on April 5.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Boehmer of Hortonville are the parents of an infant son born Wednesday . . . Mr. and Mrs. Harry Parsons of Cochecton are also parents of a baby boy born Wednesday, all at the Callicoon Hospital.
Fisher’s Hall in Hortonville will have two free movies - “In Our Own American Way” and “Thunderheads Over the Pacific” - on April 11. Refreshments will be served during intermission.
John A. Hill, who was seriously injured on March 12 by a block of hickory wood which was hurled from an electric saw he was operating and whose skull was fractured by the impact, has returned to his home in Lookout, Pa., after a sixteen day stay in Wayne Memorial Hospital.
Work started this week on the razing of the old J.C. Branning Company Mill, one of Narrowsburg’s oldest landmarks located on Upper Main St., near the Siebert Drug Store. It was erected in the early 1890s.

70 years ago - 1952

A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Osmer Long of Callicoon on April 7; a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Weiss of Callicoon Center on April 7; a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Calkins of Cochecton on April 8; a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Francis English of Livingston Manor on April 8; a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Ferber of Callicoon was born on April 10, all at the Callicoon Hospital.
The first spring show in the auditorium of the new Delaware Valley Central School was presented last week, under the direction of Willard Slausenberg.
A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rosetta of Roscoe at the Maimonides Hospital in Liberty. They also have a daughter.
Friends of Miss Dorothy Bertsch attended the miscellaneous shower given her Saturday evening at the Foster­dale Grange Hall.
Miss Betty Jane Metzger, Miss Claire Schmidt and Miss Edith Knack were among the 34 student nurses to be capped at Binghamton City Hospital April 7. The girls are members of the class of ‘51 from DVCS and have been attending Harpur College.
A son was born last week to Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Fitch of Jeffersonville.
Otto G. Tegeler of Narrowsburg, will become affiliated with Rasmussen’s, Inc. on April 14. He had previously been employed at Dexter Precision Mfg. Corp.

60 years ago - 1962

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Merritt of Monticello celebrated 50 years of marriage on April 8 with an open house.
Considerable interest was aroused in the community Monday and Tuesday when workmen for L.D. Dexheimer & Sons moved the large transformer which had come here via Erie Lackawanna for the New York State Electric & Gas Corporation. It will be installed in a sub-station at Ferndale. The huge transformer, which weighs 48 tons, is over 16 feet high when loaded on a heavy trailer.
Anthony John, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Schanil of Obernburg, was christened on Sunday at St. Mary’s Church by Rev. Virgil McKuskey.
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Tempel of Obernburg celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary and Mr. and Mrs. John Schick celebrated their 41st the same day.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Emery Jr. of Livingston Manor are the proud parents of a daughter born April 1.
At the Callicoon Hospital, it was a son Monday to Mr. and Mrs. John Dannotta of Milanville and a daughter the same day to Mr. and Mrs. John Lang of Narrowsburg.

50 years ago - 1972

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Storer of Livingston Manor are the parents of a boy, Toby Christopher, born March 31, at the Liberty-Loomis Hospital; it was a girl, Brandy Lynne, April 3, to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Leonardo of Kenoza Lake; a boy to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Curry of Neversink, April 5; a boy to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lynch of Liberty on April 5; and a boy to Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Harvey of Liberty on April 5.
Miss Anne Marie Robisch became the bride of Thomas E. Willi of Liberty on April 1 at the Callicoon Methodist Church. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Robisch of Callicoon.
Thomas H. Maas, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold C. Maas of Cochecton, has been awarded a half scholarship to the School of Orchestral Studies of the Talent Network at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Tom is a junior at Narrowsburg Central School and has studied violin with Miss Emma Guhring of Cochecton.
The Jeffersonville Trojanette Basketball team, under the coaching of Miss Marie Tate, captured the championship honor in WSL girls basketball competition.
Lt. Col. William C. Pfeifer has retired from the U.S. Air Force after more than 20 years service. He is a former resident of Callicoon and a graduate of Delaware Valley Central School.
Jerry Jergensen of Callicoon and Hilda Dagrosa of Cochecton were married April 1 at the Callicoon Methodist Church.

40 years ago - 1982

The engagement of Maureen Masterson of Liberty and Randy Townsend, son of Mrs. Arthur Townsend and the late Mr. Townsend, has been announced by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Masterson Jr.
The Monticello Raceway has returned about $462,000 in unclaimed winning tickets and refunds to the State Department of Taxation and Finance since 1975 according to track officials. Winning or void tickets must be cashed by a March 31st deadline or they are returned to the state of New York according to the Pari-Mutuel Law.
Former Town of Fremont Supervisor Joseph Winkler and his wife, the former Madelyn Hogancamp, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 12. He and Mrs. Winkler were married at St. Paul’s R.C. Church in Hancock in 1932.
Dr. Joy Mendelsohn has opened a medical clinic in the Town of Bethel. More than 150 people attended an open house hosted by her last Sunday.
At the monthly meeting of the Town of Delaware Board it was noted that new signal lights will be installed at the railroad crossing in Callicoon. The board also passed a resolution authorizing the letting of bids for Sewer District #1.

30 years ago - 1992

In a historic appointment, Josephine Victoria Finn was named the Village of Monticello’s acting village justice Monday night. Ms. Finn is the first woman to sit on the village of Monticello bench and the county’s first black justice.
Two Sullivan streams, nationally known for flyfishing, are among 25 rivers listed as “endangered” by American Rivers, North America’s leading river preservation organization. The Willowemoc and the Beaverkill, both of which flow through the town of Roscoe, share the distinction of being among the world’s most celebrated trout streams together with the East Branch of the Delaware River in Sullivan County and the Esopus in Ulster County.
The Yerkes farm, located between Milanville, Pa., and Honesdale, Pa., was established in 1813 and is now owned and operated by the eighth generation of family members. There are 55 milkers and 108 total cows, calves and heifers. The farm was featured in the April 10 issue of the Democrat.
A truckload of granite arrived at the Sullivan County Courthouse on Wednesday from Quebec to be used in the reconstruction of the steps at the courthouse in Monticello. Work on the project, expected to cost in the neighborhood of $83,000, is expected to be completed before the snow flies again.

20 years ago - 2002

Two controversial issues boiled to the surface during last Monday’s (April 8) regularly scheduled board of education meeting in the Fallsburg Middle School. Amidst some allegations of threats by the superintendent and other administrators, Superintendent Gary Holbert announced that a well-respected teacher wouldn’t be recommended for tenure; also, the district is without a Director of Physical Education, which is a state requirement.
With program and staffing cuts potentially looming for the financially strapped Sullivan West district, officials were relieved to hear that the second round of bids on the new Lake Huntington high school project had come in under budget.
The Sullivan County Expo 2002 was held in the Liberty High School gymnasium, and although rain plagued the area, many attended the event.
Unofficially, it looks like the White Sulphur Springs Elementary School in Liberty will stay open. Like school districts across the county, Liberty is struggling with a funding deficit this year.
Main Street in Jeffersonville is getting ready for another close up. Jeffersonville Enhances Main Street (JEMS), the community group working together for the second Sullivan Renaissance project this year, has already begun their next major project for the Main Street landscape.

10 years ago - 2012

In what officials are calling possibly the largest blaze of an occupied building in Sullivan County history, five of the Grandview Palace’s seven structures were lost Saturday night, with the main building reduced to smoldering rubble by Sunday morning. Forty-five fire departments from Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties responded to the massive blaze which – as of Sunday afternoon – was still not completely extinguished. Save for four firefighters who were injured, no one was killed or hurt in the fire at the Grandview – which in its heyday as Brown’s, hosted some of entertainment’s giants.
The First National Bank of Jeffersonville (Jeff Bank) announced the appointment of Debbie Muzuruk, Rhonda Owens and LeighAnne Pfriender as assistant vice presidents.
Allstate Insurance agent Allison Simpson has received the “Agency Hands in the Community Award” for her commitment to volunteering in the community.
Emma C. Chase fifth grade students participated in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fine Arts & Essay Display in Albany. Sara Grodin, Noah Rogers, Ryan Grodin, Allison Monroy, Ashley Mancroni, Cheyenne Guadalope and Reginald Mingo submitted original artwork illustrating Dr. King’s Six Principles and Steps of Nonviolence.