130 Years Ago - 1895

The Sander farm at Youngsville which was sold at partition sale at Eagle Hotel on Saturday, was struck off to Mrs. Brittom of Jersey City, one of the heirs, for $625. She has since sold it to Mr. Tremper of East Hill at the above figure.

Butcher Schmidt has departed from the old custom of red meat wagons, and now comes out with his hearse all polished up in butter tub blue. You made a mistake, John. If that particular hue should happen at certain times to be reflected upon your nice fresh meats, it would be apt to injure sales somewhat.

The strangest and most damaging work of a single stroke of lightning unaccompanied by fire struck the home of Thomas Taylor near Kenoza Lake. The bolt seems to have entered the main section of the building, and after raising havoc with the house left it and followed a stone wall to a pig sty, where it stunned two pigs and probably rendered them worthless; then it plowed a furrow in the ground under the snow to the road, where it came out, leaving a round basin in the snow. The house did not take fire but it is so badly wrecked that it is thought it will have to be torn down and rebuilt.

A bill to tax bachelors and establish an old maid’s home when the tax fund shall have reached $50,000 was introduced to the Illinois Legislature. The bill defines bachelors as single men of thirty-two years of age who have never married and exempts men who have reached sixty-five who are unfit to marry, or who can prove to a board of unmarried women, each over sixty, that they have proposed marriage at least three times to marriage-able females and have been refused each time.

Kollikoon Tribe of Red Men were on the warpath again the other night and took the scalps of two more palefaces, Adam Homer and John Schmidt being the victims. Adam might do well in a pow-wow or council of war, and when it comes to following the hunt, I opine he wouldn’t be in it.

120 Years Ago - 1905

Edward Huggler, who bought the Arnold Moore farm of 25 acres near Jeffersonville three years ago sold it this week to George Yager, retired merchant, for $850. Mr. Huggler will sell his chattels at auction next month and return with his family to Scranton.

There has been a great religious revival at Long Eddy. As the result of the revival work of Rev. R.L. Rose and K.M. Reynolds, 82 persons have been taken into the church on probation and many others by letter and otherwise.

Rufus C. Maltby and wife, former residents of this place, and lately of Brooklyn and New York, are now located in Massachusetts. Mr. Maltby, we understand, found the practice of law in the city too confining and has given it up to engage in some other occupation.

The next prominent social event in the town will be the opening ball and supper which Messrs. Knell and Durr the new proprietors of the Mansion House, will give to the public on April  20. This will be a treat.

The home of Miss Eunice Rose, better known as “Aunt Eunice,” situated a mile and a quarter west of Callicoon Depot, took fire Monday morning. The fire started from the chimney and Miss Rose did not discover it until it had gained considerable headway. Luckily, the section gang and an eastbound train were near at the time. The section gang worked diligently while the engineer of the train reported the fire at the station.

T.J. Dermody, inspector of the Standard Oil Pipe line between Hancock and Cochecton, was still wearing snow shoes last week in his tramp – 66 miles the round trip, which is his regular weekly schedule.

110 Years Ago - 1915

W.J. Grishaber returned from New York with his Mitchell car, which he had taken down a couple of weeks before for some changes to be made. Bill says he left New York at 20 minutes after 10 and arrived here at 20 minutes after 4, stopping over an hour en route. That’s running some.

George Lowe of Jeffersonville went to New York last week and took a job printing a Greek newspaper. Mr. Lowe is an old hand in the printing line and was formerly superintendent of the press room of the New York Daily American. 

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Hoffman of the Mansion House celebrated the first anniversary of their marriage with a card party Monday night.

A new band, under the leadership of William Hess, has been organized on the hill and rehearsing at the different houses has started. Among the members are Bill, Frank and Roy Hess, Walter Mall, Harry Layman, William Mape from the hill; and Ed Manny, Theodore and Otto Bollenbach and George Hauschild from Jeffersonville.

The first meeting of the consolidated school district of Youngsville brought out an attendance of about 125 voters and taxpayers, among them many were women. The school house where the meeting was called proved too small to accommodate the attendance and the meeting was transferred to Inderlied’s Hall.

“The undersigned residents of Jeffersonville and vicinity, feeling that a great danger point to human life exists at the stone bridge in the above village, respectfully petition you to have the wall on the south side of the bridge removed, a sidewalk built there, a suitable guard rail erected on each side of same and walk raised where needed. We ask this for public safety and to lessen the possibility of future damage claims against the town.”

100 Years Ago - 1925

Our postmistress, Mrs. Kohler, had received word that a new half-cent stamp will be issued in addition to the 1 1/2-cent stamp. The half-cent stamp is necessary to use up the existing private and post office stocks of one-cent stamps and stamped envelopes to meet the increased postal rates effective April 15.

A cooperative grange store in Liberty may result from the bitter opposition of the Granges there against daylight saving. A committee has been selected to get an opinion on the old creamery building. Members of the Grange profess themselves as disgusted with the proposed “new time” system,  claiming that it works innumerable hardships on them. According to one official of the organization, if stores follow the new line, the local grange may open a store of their own.

To get in line with all regular and well governed incorporated villages, Jeffersonville through its Board of Trustees, has adopted a set of village ordinances which limit its speed to 20 miles an hour, prohibits riding bicycles on the sidewalk at any time; prohibits the running of public hacks, buses or transportation vehicles, the peddle of any wares except certain foods. Don’t appear on the streets or in any public place in your bathing suit, or you’ll be taken into custody. The disposition of garbage or waste material in any of the highways, creeks or public places is prohibited. The erection of gasoline pumps, oil tanks, water stands or other obstructions on the streets or sidewalks within the village is prohibited.

Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Heinle have bought a house in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and are very happy in their new home.

George Wood, a lifelong resident of Jeffersonville, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Hubert. Mr. Wood’s great-grandfather was the first settler in this town in 1814.

90 Years Ago - 1935

What might have developed into a great conflagration in Jeff was nipped in the bud about 2 o’clock Tuesday morning when Harold Leave returning home from a party, noticed a strange haziness in the store windows of Sam Rudolph’s meat market. On closer examination he saw a blaze under the meat cutting bench. He awoke Sam and they extinguished the blaze.

Pomona Grange at Woodbourne Saturday opposed any further milk advertising by the state and assessing the farmers for it.

The trial of the suit for $40,000 damages brought by Mrs. Laura Wood Robisch of Cochecton against Charles and Martin Dermody for alleged permanent injury to her spine is expected to come to Supreme Court this week.

The old LeFevre paper mill at Old Fallsburg has been sold to the Pearl Tissue Company of Brooklyn, who will install additional machinery. The mill runs by water from the Neversink River.

Mathern and Miller, specialists in truck body building, are just now working on a truck for the U.S. Army at West Point. They get orders from near and far away.

County Judge Cooke, on the petition of the Board of Supervisors, appointed a commission to condemn and appraise six parcels of land for the right of way on state Route 3A between Hankins and Long Eddy in the Town of Fremont.

Union bricklayers employed on the new state prison at Woodbourne, went on strike when they refused to accept eight dollars a day pay and asked for ten. The union leaders ordered them to quit work. And the state who is now constructing the prison, will probably knuckle down to the union and pay the ten dollars. If we cannot have the Townsend pension plan we suggest that everybody join a labor union, which seems to be the next best thing.

80 Years Ago - 1945

Adolph Wagner of North Branch, who has been gathering eggs around here for several years and taking them to the city markets, has sold the business and trucks to Lester Burn of Monticello.

Many planes pass over this village daily — some of them so low that it seems they like the looks of the place and would like to land. Why not make a place for them to land here? “Jefferson Airport” would sound good to all flyers – high or low. Who will start the movement for an airfield here? Don’t look at me: my high flying days are over.

Mrs. William Baum intends to reopen Bucky’s Inn May 1 if she can arrange for some sort of refrigeration since no more ice is to be had.

A son the second, was born March 27 at the Callicoon Hospital to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin VonBergen of Jeffersonville.

Mrs. Albert Felske (Katherine Schadt) last week received a message from her husband which says, “I am in the best of health. Keep smiling.” This message was broadcast from a German station and was transferred here by the War Department. A woman in New Jersey also picked up the message on short wave and wrote to Mrs. Felske about it. The message came from the German prison camp Stalag 4-F which is located near Dresden.

The former boarding house operated for many years by Philip Geib and family on the hill midway between Jeff and Callicoon Center, was destroyed by fire that started from the kitchen stove. None of the contents was saved.

70 Years Ago - 1955

Services were held at the Jeffersonville Synagogue Saturday morning in honor of Jeffrey Krongel’s Bar Mitzvah. A reception followed the ceremony at the synagogue rooms at 12 noon with 200 guests in attendance. The traditional birthday candles were blown out followed by a speech in which Jeffrey accepted his new position in life.

The properties of John C. Beck, deceased, of this village were sold in executor’s sale at the law office of Frederick W.V. Schadt Friday, March 25. Mrs. Marion Moran received the bid of $4900 for two buildings on Main Street and the storehouse in the rear. The vacant lot next to Bucky’s Inn, also on Main Street, went to Russell Peters of Callicoon Center for $7100.

Frank A. Pesci of Jeffersonville has been appointed feature editor of the Integrator, student newspaper at Clarkson College of Technology for 1955-56. Frank, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pesci, is a freshman majoring in business administration. He is a graduate of JCS where he was editor of Hi-on-the-Hill. 

Route 17 group prepare an action program. Want four lane expressway for Route 17 to serve area communities. Invite all served by Route 17 to join group (guess that became a reality!)

60 Years Ago - 1965

Officers were elected to serve the Callicoon Fire Department at a meeting on Thursday, April 8, 1965. The department will be headed by Warren Sausmikat, president; Joseph Klimchok, vice president; Paul Hermann, secretary; William Bergner, treasurer; Audley Dorrer, Floyd Schultz and James Brown, directors.

Midshipman First Class Edmund T. Rumble III, son of Dr. and Mrs. Edmund T. Rumble of Callicoon, has been named to both the Superintendent’s List and the Dean’s List at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

Paul J. Brennan, 51, town clerk of the town of Lumberland, died Tuesday morning April 13, 1965, in the garage of his Pond Eddy home.

Charles Lewis of Matamoras, Pa., was in town Friday evening. Mr. Lewis came up to take in the presentation of “My Fair Lady” at DVCS.

50 Years Ago - 1975

Glenn Hanson wielded a shovel as the Liberty Volunteer Ambulance Corps marks the start of construction of their proposed building and addition.

Miss Theresa Redington and Douglas Many were married April 5 at St. Peter’s R.C. Church in Monticello. The bride is from Illinois and Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Many of Long Drive, Liberty, are the parents of the bridegroom.

Faridas A. Maslauskas and Margaret A. Naughton were married by Pastor Donald Walter at the Callicoon United Methodist Church on April 12.

Twenty-one competitive classes are listed for the Monticello Riding Club’s Annual Spring Horse Show to be held on May 4 at St. Joseph’s Field, four miles south of Monticello on Route 42.

40 Years Ago - 1985

In place of the usual ribbon cutting for the opening of a new business, Liberty Supervisor Abe Kleinman sawed a board (the appropriate symbol for a hardware store) as the Trading Post opened its new store in Liberty. The store is owned by Steve and Howard Gottlieb and Steve Rosen is the store manager.

Dr. and Mrs. Paul Salzberg are the parents of a girl, Holly Alison, born March 21 at the Harris hospital.

The Honesdale Chamber of Commerce recently acquired three new coaches to add to the already world famous Stourbridge Lion, the first locomotive to run on rails in the United States. The three new cars are the final installment of the plans made in 1979 following the sesquicentennial celebration of the Stourbridge Lion’s monumental trip in 1829. Starting in July the train will make trips to Lackawaxen. More than 4,000 passengers are expected to ride the train this year.

Input gathered from a public hearing in the Town of Fremont (scheduled for May 10) could decide the fate of the proposed $10 million Titan Land Development project located outside Tennanah Lake. According to Sullivan County Department of Planning Specialist Richard Baker, an amendment to the current zoning ordinance is being sought that would allow for the construction of Planned Unit Developments (PUD).

At least 20 fire companies from as far away as Monticello, Middletown and the neighboring state of Pennsylvania responded to a Port Jervis warehouse blaze on Wednesday night which caused the evacuation of surrounding buildings. The building, owned by Samuel Levin, was a former hat and clothing factory and stood in the heart of the Port Jervis business district. Flames shot out about a hundred feet in the air.

At a meeting in Livingston Manor about 60 people listened to officials of the New York Power Authority explain the reasons for and the ramifications of the power line in the Catskill By-Pass area. Many in the audience questioned the need for the line and the impacts it would have on their health and the environment. NYPA Pubic Affairs Officer Michael Fiumarelli began the meeting by stressing the need for the 205 mile 245kv line, while admitting that the electricity is not now needed in New York, Fiumarelli said that the line is necessary in order to ensure an adequate supply of electricity in the future to reduce dependence on foreign oil and reduce the cost of electricity. The average consumer’s savings would be about $25 to $30 a year.

30 Years Ago - 1995

Henry M. “Hank” Greenberg, a native of Fallsburg, has been named Chief Counsel to New York’s Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey. He will work on policy matters as the top lawyer for the lieutenant governor. The son of Leon Greenberg of Grahamsville and Elaine Greenberg of South Fallsburg, he served as a law clerk for now Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye of the New York State Court of Appeals.

The Bethel Presbyterian Church, built in 1805, is probably the oldest house of worship in Sullivan County, in celebrating its 190th anniversary, features the modern convenience of a fully-handicapped accessible entrance.

Jaroslav Vasata, the owner of Czechslovak Restaurant Vasata and a landmark on New York City’s Upper Eastside for 42 years,  died at the age of 89 following surgery. He was a part-time resident of Callicoon. Mr. Vasata was a leader in the anti-Nazi  underground in Czechoslovakia in World War II and was forced to leave his native country following the Russian coup in 1948. At one time, he owned the largest restaurant in Prague.

A brush fire in the Wurtsboro Hills area on Sunday required the efforts of nearly 100 firefighters to bring it under control.

20 Years Ago - 2005

In 1885, at the age of 16, Neils Peter Rasmussen arrived in America from his native Denmark. Upon his arrival, he traveled to his uncle Peter Fisher’s home in Atco, Pennsylvania, right across the Delaware River from Narrowsburg, where he attended school, working at the same time farming, lumbering and quarrying. In his later years, he went to Brooklyn to learn the trades of wagon builder and wheelwright. When he mastered the trades, he returned to the local area and found work at the blacksmith’s shop owned by Fred S. Price of Tyler Hill, Pa. In 1898 he purchased what is now the Rasmussen Funeral Home, and in 1905 he opened the Rasmussen Furniture Store. The Narrowsburg furniture store is now celebrating its 100th anniversary.

About three years ago, Allan Berube and Maurice Gerry laid out the funds to purchase the Shelburne Playhouse in Ferndale, and started what’s been a three-year process of restoring the old building. According to Berube, the playhouse, which has existed on Upper Ferndale Road since the 1930s, will soon be a community building. “The plan is to use it as a multi-use community center for workshops and dances, shows, weddings, [and] parties,” Berube explained. But first, the building needs to be finished.

The Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop presents “A Trio of Appetizers” – three free one-act plays to whet your theatrical appetite for its 2005 season. Founded in 1950, this year marks the workshop’s 55th anniversary of providing quality, community theatre in the area. These free performances are the workshop’s gift to you, its audience for its 55th anniversary.

10 Years Ago - 2015

Former Tri-Valley 2013 MVP Rodney T. Jester lit up the collegiate scoreboard at Broome County Community College April 14 by getting seven hits in eight at bats in a doubleheader between Tompkins-Cortland Community College (TC3) and Broome. Playing in his second year of college ball for TC3 in Dryden, the former Tri-Valley shortstop, who now plays second base, ripped three doubles while going 4-for-5 with four RBIs in the first game of the twin bill. Jester continued with the hot bat by going 3-for-3 and scoring two runs in the second game. TC3 won both games, 15-5 and 10-5.

Members of Leadership Sullivan Class of 2015 met in the Liberty Central High School Media Center on April 8 for an education program led by  the superintendents of the Liberty, Livingston Manor, and Tri-Valley school districts. The class is comprised of educators, business owners, and representatives from non-profit organizations. Members came to learn more about the roles of superintendents and how they interact with their respective school boards. Leadership Sullivan, coordinated through the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advance of scientific, educational, and charitable purposes. The mission statement of the  program is to “recruit and develop responsive leadership in order to meet the challenges facing Sullivan County today, as well as in the future.”