110 Years Ago - 1911

J.W. Houck, representing a Columbus, Ohio, corporation was in Callicoon Friday and Saturday with the intention of purchasing a plot of ground in this village upon which to erect a factory for the manufacture of farming implements and also a grain elevator. One of their representatives was here two weeks ago looking the ground over, but nothing was done until Mr. Houck came here and secured prices on lands owned by Anthony Freda, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Mrs. Hannah Traynor and others.
Capt. John F. Anderson is dead. He was born in Thompson April 30, 1827, and died at Callicoon on December 6, 1911. A history of his life will be published in a later issue.
As we go to press it is reported that W.J. Harding’s store and barn at Callicoon Center are burning and cannot be saved.
To the James Purcells of Narrowsburg, a girl, born December 3.
Pauline Oliver of Damascus celebrated her 12th birthday on the 2nd inst., with eighteen other young people to help her have a pleasant day.
Some of the Galilee creamery patrons have commenced to take their milk to the Fulboam Dairy Co.’s plant at Skinner’s Switch. – Damascus.
Mr. and Mrs. James Robb of Lookout, PA., have a new little daughter.
Callicoon Cash Store, C.H. Young, proprietor, advertises 4 lb. Very Best Ginger Snaps, 5lbs., whole rice, 1 lb. Very Best Cocoa and 5 lbs. Granulated Sugar for $1 or 1 lb. Very Best Coffee, 1 - 2 lb. Very Best Tea, 1 lb. Very Best Cocoa and 5 lb. Granulated Sugar for $1.00 as Christmas Sale Specials. Also 1 lb. Very Best Walnuts, 18¢; 20 varieties of candies at 18¢ lb.; 2 lbs. Chocolate Cream Drops, 25¢.

100 Years Ago - 1921

The records for this issue are missing from our files.

90 Years Ago - 1931

Miss Florence Stone and Herbert W. Reinheimer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Reinheimer of Callicoon Center, were married Thanksgiving Day at the home of the bride’s sister in Ozone Park.
Fred Morris of Liberty and Edith Spielmann of White Sulphur Springs were married at the M.E. parsonage in Port Jervis on December 6.
A number of people attended the skimmelton tendered Mr. and Mrs. John Ebert of North Branch at the Sinclair Hotel last Saturday night.
Raymond Oestrich and bride spent the weekend at the home of his parents in Fernwood before going to their new home in Liberty.
Mrs. Loretta Martin has been elected chairman of the new home bureau unit formed in Mongaup Valley. She will be assisted by Mabel Sanford as vice chairman and Celia Wood as secretary-treasurer.
A regular quarterly meeting of the Sullivan County Volunteer Firemens Association was held at the Western Hotel last evening with 108 firemen, representing 14 companies, attending. H.E. Williams of Kauneonga Lake and Wm. Birchall, as secretary, pre­sided at the meeting.

80 Years Ago - 1941

The U.S. is at War: With dramatic suddenness Japan struck Sunday morning, December 7, at U.S. naval bases in Hawaii and the Philippines. The attack was entirely unexpected and severe damage – as yet not revealed – was done to units of the United States fleet based at Pearl Harbor. Monday afternoon, Congress was assembled in joint session and after an address by President Roosevelt a resolution acknowledging a state of war with Japan was unanimously adopted. This morning, Germany and Italy de­clared war on the United States and this afternoon our country acknowledged that a state of war also existed with these other two partners of the Axis nations.
With the outbreak of war, Major Frank L. Bock and his family, stationed at Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, Hawaii, find themselves in the dangerous war zone. Nothing has been heard from them since the attack but they are thought to be safe. Raymond Lahm, son of Philip Lahm, Callicoon, is a radio operator on the U.S. Destroyer Farragut and one of the local boys in the danger zone. Every few weeks the Farragut returns to Pearl Harbor from their off-shore duties. Nothing has been heard from Lahm nor the whereabouts of the Farragut.
A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Kautz of Beechwoods on December 9.
A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Meyer of Lake Huntington on Dec. 9.
A site at Hortonville has been approved for a full 12-grade school for the Delaware Valley Central School District by the State Department of Education. The site includes portions of the lands of the heirs of the late George Lahm. Mrs. Henry Huebbe and others located directly in the rear of the Boehmer Grocery Store.
Fred Fendt, for the past 16 years manager of the Callicoon store of J.M. Schmidt & Sons, recently purchased the stock and fixtures of the store and since December 1 has been running it as his own business.
A petition is being circulated among resort owners in this section denouncing the request of the district Board of Health that pasteurized milk only be served to their guests. Many smaller resort owners particularly in western Sullivan County also have their own dairies. Under the new regulation they could not use their own milk for summer guests but would be compelled to buy pasteurized milk.
Those boys from Jeffersonville who were called to Fort Jay for examination last week were Warren Kess, Basil Hick, Robert Ruppert, Morris Katz and William Mullally.
Postmaster Ralph S. Washington of Monticello, former commander of the Third District of the American Legion, Department of New York, was advised this week that he has been appointed a member of the National Distinguished Guests Committee.

70 Years Ago - 1951

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gabriel of RD Cochecton became the parents of a baby girl at the Callicoon Hospital on Tuesday.
A lovely fall wedding was solemnized at the home of her grandmother, Mrs. Norman Card of Milanville, PA., when Betty Vannatta, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Vannatta of Damascus, became the bride of Orvis Harman, on November 25.
Mr. and Mrs. Hugo Mantwill of Hortonville have announced the engagement of their daughter, Eva, to Peter E. Boyle of Callicoon… Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wendland of Bloomingburg have announced the engagement of their daughter, Virginia Mae, to Donald Kelly, son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kelly of Roscoe, now serving aboard the U.S. Sicily at San Diego, Calif.
The Jolly Pinochle Club gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Korth at Fremont on November 29 to help them celebrate their 40th anniversary.
The 28-room Hillcrest Lodge on the Lew Beach-Union Grove Road burned to the ground from fire of unknown origin early Friday morning.
A dinner was tendered the Delaware Valley Central School football team at the Methodist Church with Principal Charles E. Lewis presenting the championship trophy to team captain Rich­ard Adam.

60 Years Ago - 1961

Ann McFarlane and Max Jara of Roscoe were united in marriage on November 11 at the Roscoe Presbyterian Church.
The Roscoe Blue Devils are the undefeated champions of the Western Sullivan League Football League.
Pvt. David Tobin of the Marine Corps arrived on the island of Okinawa on November 28. He was a recent participant in war games at Hawaii where he was stationed for four weeks.
S1C and Mrs. Verl Ringgenburg announce the birth of a daughter, Rhonda Lee, December 1. The mother is the former Betty Jane Buddenhagen of Hortonville.
The Sullivan County Coin Collectors Club will hold their charter membership meeting on Sunday, December 10, at the Monticello Police Station on Pleasant St., Monticello, at 8 p.m.
Miss Ethel Oestrich and John W. Miller were united in marriage on November 12 at Jeffersonville.
The new fire truck of the Callicoon Fire Department passed the required tests of the Underwriters yesterday. The 750-gal. front end pump performed at capacity for the required length of time. The truck, on a Ford F950 chassis, was received here about a week ago.
Miss Frances Polster, who was injured in an automobile accident, has been recuperating at home and expects to be able to return to her duties of practice teaching in South Fallsburg Central School tomorrow morning.
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. William Cramer of North Branch who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Sunday.
Herbert Hassis and his bride have just returned from Australia where Herbert was employed by the Esso Research and Engineering Co. of New Jersey for the past two years. They will spend a vacation with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Hassis of Jeff before reporting to his office in New Jersey.
At the Callicoon Hospital it was a son, Thursday, to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Erlwein of Callicoon Center; a daughter, Friday, to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mills of Callicoon; a son, Saturday, to Mr. and Mrs. E. Meyer of Callicoon Center, and also to Mr. and Mrs. Donald Adams of Lookout, PA..; a daughter was born Saturday to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schlichting of Hortonville; a daughter, Sunday, to Mr. and Mrs. Norman Swendsen of Milanville, PA.; a son, Tuesday, to Mr. and Mrs. William Gregg Jr. of Damascus, PA., and a son to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Gager of Honesdale, PA. Mrs. Alvin Tonjes and daughter were discharged from the hospital.

50 years ago - 1971

Amy Andersen of Long Eddy received an expense-paid trip to this year’s Chicago conference as a prize for her achievement at the national 4-H Club Congress program in conservation.
Monticello Raceway is readying itself for the first winter meet which will open December 15. Of the 909 stalls at the raceway, 654 have been winterized. To date 100 of these have been rented for the winter meet.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vakiener of Endicott (Carol Widmann of Callicoon) are the parents of a seven pound 14 ounce boy, named Keith Robert, born December 4.
At Liberty-Loomis Hospital it was a girl, Tamie Lynn, to Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Argent of Briscoe, November 26; a boy, Luis Manuel Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Luis Rosario of Liberty, November 26; a girl, Eleni, to Mr. and Mrs. Dimitrias Vinieris of Roscoe, November, 27; a boy, Harold George III, to Mr. and Mrs. Harold Huggler of Liberty, November 28; a girl to Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Davidson of Liberty, December 3; and a girl the same day to Mr. and Mrs. James Elwood of Ferndale.
At the A&P it was chicken for 27¢ a pound; Bounty towels, 3/$1; U.S. No. 1 potatoes, 20 lbs. for 98¢; Florida tangerines, 45¢ a doz. (4¢ below last year).

40 Years Ago - 1981

In lieu of having its own nursing program, Sullivan County pays Orange County Community College about $117,000 in fees for Sullivan County nursing students. The two major curriculums at the Sullivan County Community College at the present time are hotel technology and commercial art.
A Thursday morning fire destroyed the cabin owned by John Moore of Rhode Island located adjacent to the Jurgensen farm in Pennsylvania just off the River Road near Callicoon. Mr. Moore was reported hunting at the time.
The three-year delay concerning the construction of an emergency exit ramp at Community General Hospital will be discussed with state Department of Transportation Regional Director James Connors on December 10 with county officials.
Emerson Public Schools in Bergen County, New Jersey, are witnessing a rapid decline in enrollment. School officials Ann Murray, president of the Emerson Faculty Association, and Sal Montague, a school administrator, came to Delaware Valley Central School in Callicoon on Wed­nesday to see how things go in a central school which is already the size Emerson expects its school may soon be. Emerson heard of DVCS, said Superintendent Joseph C. Hembrooke, from the N.Y. Dept. of Education, who cited the school as having an outstanding program for a school of its size.
George Brey of Youngsville was feted on the occasion of his 95th birthday Sunday at the firehouse. More than 50 relatives attended, including his wife, Catherine, 86, and only great-grandchild, Dan­ielle Ackermann; also John Bargfrede, the 95-year-old neighbor of the Breys.
Capt. Harry Knight, U.S. Army, son of R. Myron and Ada Knight of Hancock, former residents of Long Eddy, were recently home on leave before going to South Korea for a year’s duty with an engineering battalion.
Alex Pradere, a student at the Delaware Valley School, has a chance to participate in the Junior Olympics in St. Louis, Mo., if he can raise enough money. He was the recipient of $100 from the DV Faculty Association toward his goal.

30 Years Ago - 1991

Sullivan County Community College hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for 130 senior citizens sponsored by the SCCC Honor Society, Student Government Association, and the Black Student Union. The Sullivan County Office for the Aging compiles the list and arranges for transportation for those who need it.
Derrick Riullano of Delaware Valley was picked as the most Valuable Player for the 1991 season by the Section I - Division V coaches. The running back rushed 1,524 yards this season and scored 25 touchdowns. Sal DeLuca of Eldred finished second on the MVP vote.
Nearly 23,000 NYSEG customers were without power when an ice storm hit about 9:30 p.m. Monday, leaving about a half-inch of ice on trees and powerlines, causing branches to snap and entire trees to split and fall, taking electric lines with them throughout Sullivan County. A target of Thursday night was thought to be the time needed to restore power to all the customers. At the Concord Hotel, a music teacher from the Valley Central School District in Orange County, said that one workshop was held Tuesday morning by the light of the big plate glass windows, but that most of the other presentations and concerts planned by the New York State Music Educators Conference were left in the dark. “I’ve lived here 47 years and I’ve never seen it like this,” said Monticello Mayor John Diuguid. A huge generator was brought in to supply water in the village of Monticello after power was knocked out at the village water plant on Kiamesha Lake.
A giant-sized MTA-1 license plate was signed by most of the 300 guests in attendance at a retirement dinner in honor of Sullivan County Motor Vehicles Department Supervisor Mary Ademek at a dinner in her honor at the Eldred Preserve last Sunday. She has served 33 years in public service, including 29 years in the Department of Motor Vehicles and was the first woman hired by the county’s Department of Public Works. She has also been the Town of Highland Democratic Committee chairman for the past 15 years.
“It is our solemn duty this day, December 7, 1991, to appropriately pay tribute to the individual sacrifices of those men and women who accepted the call to serve,” said Judge Robert Williams in the observance of the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor held at the Sullivan County Government Center Saturday. “The act triggered a war that lasted three years, nine months, and 22 days and resulted in the loss of life to 292,131 American citizens,” he said. Pearl Harbor survivors Harold Shimer of Wurtsboro, Rockwell Mason and Bernard Latimer, both of Monticello, were presented letters of commemoration and commendations from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion of Sullivan County.

20 Years Ago - 2001

Godfrey Meadows, a senior citizen housing facility in Bloomingburg, was officially unveiled Saturday. It was the accomplishment of a dream long held by the late Gordon MacKinnon, Legislator of District 4, whose widow, Joann, was in attendance at the opening of the complex.
Local volunteer firefighters had a busy day in the Swan Lake Fire District on Thursday. At 11:58 a.m., the first of two working structure fires in the district broke out at a residence along Lee Cole Road. The volunteer firefighters from Swan Lake were back at the station by 1:30 p.m. A few minutes later, the Sullivan County 911 Center notified them of a second working structure fire at the Red Barn Apartments.
Kristin Palmer, a 1999 graduate of Delaware Valley Central School, recently com­pleted her third season as a member of the McNeese State University women’s soccer team in Lake Charles, LA.
Tri-Valley Sophomore Heather Iatauro has placed second in the nation in the intermediate girls 5K 5000 meters at last weekend’s meet in Orlando, Fla. “This is Heather’s highest place ever in an AAU national meet,” said Joe Iatauro, T-V Athletic Director and Heather’s father.

10 Years Ago - 2011

The man who unsuccessfully tried to develop the former Smallwood Golf Course is dead, with police investigating it as a possible murder. Robert Van Zandt Jr. was the public face of Upstate Land and Properties, which had bought the 191-acre Smallwood property with the intention of siting upwards of 200 homes on it. According to several media reports, on September 6 the 44-year-old was found dead by his live-in caretaker, floating in a swimming pool at his Yonkers home. Yonkers Police said Van Zandt had a single gunshot wound to the head, but authorities still remain unsure if Van Zandt took his own life or was killed. Van Zandt’s widow, Kim, told the NY Daily News she doesn’t believe it was a suicide.
Jerry Davitt received a prestigious state baseball umpire’s award. Cliff Hamlin, the President of the Sullivan County Baseball Umpires Association, presented the New York State Baseball Umpires Association’s Tony DeVivo Memorial Award to Jerry Davitt of Youngsville during a dinner held at Nirchi’s on the Avenue restaurant in Endicott. Davitt has been umpiring high school baseball games for more than 50 years and has held many offices with the Sullivan County Baseball Umpires Association, including serving as the association’s first President.
As the Sullivan County Board of Elections prepared to count hundreds of absentee ballots in November, the results of at least one race had already changed. Fremont’s supervisor race initially featured tallies indicating Democratic candidate Bob Theadore defeated Republican George Conklin. Turns out it was the other way around. Conklin at the time had the lead with 220 votes compared to Theadore’s 180. Nearly 60 absentee ballots had yet to be counted, so the results could flip-flop again, though that’s not likely. The glitch was a result of a Fremont elections inspector misreading the figures while transmitting them to the county board in Monticello, according to Republican Elections Commissioner Rodney Gaebel. Such mistakes happen, though he’s proud to say this year’s efforts were remarkably error-free.
Bolstered by public comment, support from neighboring towns, and the unanimous vote of the Zoning Rewrite Committee, the Town of Tusten Board voted unanimously to approve Local Law No. 3 of 2011, effective immediately. The local law is inclusive of Article 14, the controversial zoning code change which bans gas drilling activity in the town. Councilwomen Carol Wingert and Lisa Dowling, and Supervisor Peg Harrison were the only board members present for the vote.
Tara Berescik of Grahamsville is one of only six individuals nationwide who received the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Teacher Mentor Award on November 19 at the NAAE annual convention in St. Louis. Berescik has been teaching agriculture for 11 years. In that time, she has not only taught high school students but also mentored five agriculture student teachers, three new teachers at Tri-Valley High School, and many fellow agricultural educators.