140 Years Ago - 1885

Gasper Abbeal has quit the saloon business in the old James Bogardas house, and has rented the bar in the Jeffersonville House. Nathan Lord went out of the hotel business several weeks ago, and went to Albany, and the hotel has since been run as a temperance house.

One day last week, John Buck discovered that a box of matches had been disturbed in his store. On examination, he found that rats had been dragging them around and had the covers torn off from some of the boxes, and one box had been ignited, but again extinguished by the rats.

The telegraph line from Jeff to Liberty is a certainty, if everyone living along the route will contribute a small amount. We have heard remarks from a number of citizens who will contribute from $5 to $10. Some say they would not subscribe anything for a telegraph line, because they never do business on wire.

The Sherwood Hotel property in Jeffersonville was sold last Monday to M. Gabriel of Fremont Center. Gabriel takes possession the later part of this week. Consideration not made public. The recent proprietor, Web. Sherwood, is a friend of the entire community, and is always “with the boys.” We regret to lose him from our midst.

130 Years Ago - 1895

Never before were firecrackers as cheap as they are this year, says a NY paper. This will be news to young Americans who can make three times as much noise for 5¢ this July 4th as they did last. The small firecrackers, such as are generally used by children, will sell this year for 2¢ a pack.

The marriage of Walter J. Potts of Bethel and Miss Emma Judson of Hurd took place at the residence of the bride’s mother, Mrs. Agnes H. Hudson, Wednesday afternoon.

The large dwelling house of Mrs. A.J. Benedict of Bethel was consumed by fire at 1 a.m. Saturday, June 15.

There is talk of raising  money by subscription to purchase a street sprinkler for this village.

At the beginning of the service in St. George’s R.C. Church Sunday morning a gush of wind blew the flames of a candle so as to ignite the altar tapestry, and a conflagration was averted by the prompt action of one of the trustees of the church.

The 16-year-olds of Livingston Manor have challenged the Jeffersonville youngsters to a series of baseball games.

There is rapid transit. It is told, in illustrating the hustling qualities of the present generation, including transportation, that a calf was born last Tuesday, was killed and sent to Middletown Wednesday, came back as sausage on Thursday and was eaten Friday. And what then?

A son was recently born to Mr. and Mrs. John Hemmer of this place.

Frank Neuberger has received an order for six thousand feet of flagstones for the Loomis Sanitarium near Liberty.

120 Years Ago - 1905

 A summer school for teachers was opened in the school building in this village Monday under the supervision of George J. Anderson of Tracey Creek, near Binghamton, and Edward V. McDermott, principal of the Jeffersonville School. Some twenty have applied for admission.

The marriage of Elizabeth, the second daughter of Casper Bossley of East Hill, to John Kallifleisch of NYC, took place in St. George’s R.C. Church, Jeffersonville, Tuesday morning. The bridal party returned to the Bossley home where the wedding was duly celebrated. One hundred thirty invitations had been issued. The celebration was such a one as East Hill had not seen in a long time. Among the refreshments provided were eight kegs of beer, a five gallon keg and12 quart bottles of whiskey, 48 bottles of Rhine wine, a wagon load of George Yager’s soft stuff, and meats, cakes and other eatables enough to run off a Dutch Picnic.

W.J. Gaebel and John Mootz have completed the census in the two districts of Callicoon. There are in the first district, 1,006 habitants and in the second 1,003. In the village of Jeffersonville there are 301 people, but this takes in the territory only from the Delaware town line to the residence of P. McDermott.

Hank Boyd of White Sulphur Springs came near choking to death on a small piece of meat while eating dinner at the Lennon House, Liberty, Tuesday. He was led outdoors by mail carrier Peter Hubert and after several spasms succeeded in expelling the meat from his throat. Hank thought he was a goner.

110 Years Ago - 1915

Masonic Hall was packed to overflowing Friday night to witness the commencement exercises of Jeffersonville Union School. The graduates were Elise Becker, Edna Kurtz, Bertha Schmidt, Rupert Huff and Gabriel Kaplan.

The Youngsville Board of Education on Saturday awarded the contract for the erection of a new schoolhouse of the consolidated districts therein to J. Dietrich of Jeffersonville at the price of $5,200. The other bidders on the job were Wm. Kohler of Jeffersonville and John Lowe of Hortonville.

Children’s Day was celebrated at the Youngsville Presbyterian Church Sunday afternoon. During the service the church floor gave way under the weight of the large attendance. No injuries resulted.

John Neagele of Port Alleghany, Pa., a cousin of John Bosley of Kenoza Lake, spent last week with the Bosleys at Kenoza. Mr. Neagele is superintendent for the Pennsylvania Tanning Co.

A large barn belonging to Peter Heidt, who resides two miles north of Youngsville, was struck by lightning Saturday afternoon and burned to the ground, along with some farming implements and two veal calves.

Marion Louise, the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. Schemering of NYC was christened at the Lutheran Church Sunday, June 20. Mrs. Schemering was formerly Miss Hazel Mathern of Kenoza Lake.

The Jeffersonville Braves went to Loomis Sunday afternoon and scalped the “San” boys to the tune of 14-1.

100 Years Ago - 1925

A large doe was seen on the Scheidell hill near the storage reservoir, within hailing distance of the village, last Friday morning by Mrs. F.W. Schadt, who was on her way strawberrying. As soon as the deer spied Mrs. Schadt it skipped quickly away into the woods.

Cardinal Hayes of New York visited St. Peter’s R.C. Church in Liberty yesterday and confirmed a class of 45.

Wilfred Carpenter, aged 19, son of Postmaster Wm. W. Carpenter of Monticello, received a skull fracture when he tripped over at the top of a flight of stairs in his home Friday night and fell to the bottom. Mr. Carpenter some years ago conducted the Shoppe in the village of Jeff.

Miss Marie Hessinger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Hessinger of Callicoon Center, and Lawrence Powers of Middletown were married at Callicoon on May 29.

Mr. and Mrs. Philip Wintendale of Shandelee announce the marriage of their daughter, Lillian, to Ernest Rice of Miami, Fla.

Elmer C. Knack of Callicoon Center has gone to Niagara Falls to enter the contracting business with his brother. Mr. Knack was formerly engaged in carpentering at Niagara for several years.

F.W. Schadt. secretary of the local game club, has received from the state conservation commission, 1,500 pheasant eggs, which he will distribute among those who will take them and hatch them out.

Frank P. Hess, a Sullivan County boy, has been promoted to the rank of sergeant in the NY Police Dept. Mr. Hess is the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Hess of North Branch.

90 Years Ago - 1935

Hermann Struss, formerly of Jeffersonville and son-in-law of Susanna Potsch, county welfare commissioner, was appointed last week to the NYC fire department and is now on the job. Herman was formerly employed here as line electrician by the New York State Electric and Gas Corp.

Jan Brand, aged 10, will return home today from the Liberty hospital where she was operated on for appendicitis.

Clarence Frank Reinheimer, son of the late Wm. Reinheimer and Miss Violet Emily Weyrauch, daughter of Peter Weyrauch of Callicoon Center, were married at the Lutheran Parsonage, Jeffersonville, June 19 by Rev. Dr. Fred Forester.

Attorney Hyman C. Levine of Jeffersonville and Miss Ida Gutman of Parksville will be married at the home of the bride-elect, the new Mountain House, next Sunday evening. Miss Gutman has been the secretary in Attorney Levine’s office here for the past couple of years.

Dr. Frank P. Graves, state commissioner of education, has just ruled that boards of education in the state might prescribe a period not to exceed two years for a maternity leave of absence for teachers.

80 Years Ago - 1945

Thomas Andrew, three-month-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin VonBergen, was baptized at the parent’s home June 10 by the Rev. Joseph C. Kovach of the Presbyterian Church.

Norbert Mullally, recently returned from overseas, is home after being discharged from the Army. Norbert entered the Army before the Pearl Harbor attack. Three other brothers are in the service, all overseas.

Earl W. Allington of Great Neck, L.I., a former resident of Jeffersonville, died in NYC on June 20 at the age of 50 years. He was born in Pond Eddy and was the son of Homer V. Allington and Helen Masten. The family moved to Jeffersonville in 1909 when the father took over the Jeffersonville Supply Co.

The committee for the second annual clam bake of Emmett Turner Post, American Legion, of this village have made arrangements to hold their bake this year on Sunday, August 19th. The big feed will be held on Reznicek’s grounds in the rear of Hotel Jefferson. Emil Kuhl, well-known bakemaster of Middletown, will put on the bake which promises to be a good one. August Schmidt, past commander of the post, is chairman of this year’s committee.

We doubt that as many bulls have been driven crazy by a red scarf as there are wolves who have lost their minds because of a red sweater.

70 Years Ago - 1955

The seventh-annual Polish Night will be held at Joseph Bekarciak’s Valley View House, Kenoza Lake, Saturday night, June 25.

Emil Spano of NYC, one of two accused by Ellenville Police of being unable to pay a thousand dollar hotel bill for a carnival troupe of show girls, entertainers and gentlemen workers, was sentenced to 90 days in the Ulster County Jail at Kingston last week.

The County Organization heard a report that the new Route 17 would be open for the weekend of July 4th from Harriman to Fair Oaks, with the exception of the Chester  bridge.

Miss Kathleen L. Holcroft became the bride of Robert L. Armbrust at St. Benedict’s Church, Bronx, on June 4.

60 Years Ago - 1965

At a specially called meeting, the Sullivan County Community College Board of Trustees accepted, as a gift, the deed to the real estate comprising the Loch Sheldrake site for the college.

Headlines: 29 Graduate at Narrowsburg; 64 Graduate at DVCS; Roscoe Central School Has 36 Grads; Jeff-Y Graduates 63; 34 Graduate at Livingston Manor; Eldred Graduates 25.

Orville H. Kays, 84, a resident of Milanville, Pa., died at the Callicoon Hospital.

50 Years Ago - 1975

Kim Melissa Kinch of Whitehall, Pa., a teacher at the Delaware Valley Central School, became the bride of Michael Bernard Henke, son of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Henke, Callicoon, on May 24.

New equipment was installed at the Callicoon Bowling Lanes, making them the most modern in the area, according to owner Charlie Davies.

Gov. Hugh Carey was guest speaker at the Jeffersonian Dinner held at  Grossinger’s last Thursday, which was attended by 1,200.

The Sullivan County Highway Department was held responsible in the death of Lonnie Quinn during the winter of 1973, due to the fact that the sidewalks of the Callicoon Viaduct had not been cleaned, forcing the girl to walk in the roadway. The driver of the car, Robert Luben of Narrowsburg, received a verdict of no-cause for action in the accident.

At the sixth grade graduation of the White Sulphur Springs, Donna Flynn received the Citizenship Award of the D.A.R.

Thomas Chickene, husband of a former Roscoe resident and son-in-law of Mrs. Ruth Graver, is in serious condition following an attack by an alligator while swimming in Saddle Creek, Lakeland, Fla. His life was probably saved due to the fact that the alligator was old and lost most of its teeth. Police shot the attacker within two hours of the accident.

Jessica Frances Roth, daughter of Mrs. Mae Roth and the late Arthur Roth of Jeffersonville, was married to Dr. Paul Gilbert Jones on June 1. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Jones of Melody Lake, Monticello and is an orthopedic surgeon with offices in Monticello.

40 Years Ago - 1985

Hail stones measuring an inch and a half covered the highways in the Callicoon area shortly after 11 o’clock Monday morning. Six of the ice pellets filled a normal sized hand. In the North Branch area, the size of the hail stones was compared more to that of a tennis ball. The storm lasted about 10 minutes.

A four-run seventh inning by the Ravan’s was the difference as Roche’s Garage of Callicoon fell 7-6 in the District 4 New York State Softball Qualifier at Collins Park in Mongaup Valley on Saturday. Roche’s placed 7th in the qualifier and earned a trip to the nine-man Class A event in Waverly which will take place July 12-13.

There were 347 graduates at ceremonies held at Sullivan County Community College recently. One hundred fourteen of them were residents of Sullivan County.

The first graduating class of the state-certified Homemaker-Home Health Aide Program at BOCES in Liberty received their certificates at ceremonies held recently.

30 Years Ago - 1995

Police continued to investigate the cause of the early Monday morning fire which completely destroyed the NuDesign Furniture building on Broadway in Monticello. Narrowly escaping destruction were the businesses of Davco Hardware, Off Limits Boutique, Triple Check Tax Service and the Bagel Bakery, although they will have to be closed for several days. Because the fire was defined as “incendiary in nature,” Sgt. Brent Buckles, a certified arson investigator in the Monticello Police Department and Joseph Maxwell, a county fire determiner, have basically ruled out natural causes and said, “The fire was no accident.”

The 1908 Callicoon schoolhouse has been sold to Scott Clark of Venice, Calif., who intends to turn it into a studio for painting, sculpting and designing. He plans to move to Callicoon in the Spring and to begin renovations.

It is expected that a total of 600 students will be awarded graduation diplomas this weekend throughout Sullivan County.

The Callicoon Center Band will begin performances this Wednesday for their summer season.

Fleet Bank was the host site for this year’s Liberty Elementary School Spring Art show, held June 14-21. Thirty-six children in grades 1-4 shared their art work with the community.

Former Sullivan County 4-H Agent, Patricia Zellmer, is a newly ordained Deacon and the newly appointed pastor of the Walton Free Methodist Church, effective July 2.

Governor George E. Pataki has nominated former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson to serve as chairman of the New York State Athletic  Commission. Mr. Patterson, a New Paltz resident, formerly served as chairman of the commission 1977-1984. The nomination is subject to approval by the State Senate.

20 Years Ago - 2005

A furious fire swept through the Sullivan County Attorney’s office and two neighboring offices in the Sullivan County Government Center Thursday evening, blowing out windows, causing thousands of dollars in damage and closing down all offices in the building for the last two business days. Ironically, the fire occurred on the same day that an intense hearing on the Sullivan County Department of Public Works Scandal took place in the adjacent Legislative Hearing Room (which suffered water damage). An investigation is currently ongoing.

If voters approve it later this summer, the old Mills Garage in Callicoon will become the sparkling new home of the Callicoon Fire Department.

Patricia K. Wood, CAE, was named chairman of the Empire State Society of Association Executives, Inc. Board of Directors. Wood is the senior director of Membership Services for the New York State Bar Association. Originally from Liberty, Ms. Wood has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Albany and is also a graduate of Sage Graduate School.

Sullivan County native Grace Menges Thaxton recently celebrated her 114th birthday. According to research of the gerontology group at UCLA, Mrs. Thaxton is currently the fourth oldest person in the United States, and the sixth oldest person in the world. The combined age of Mrs. Thaxton and her late mother, Harriet Hardenburgh Menges of Rockland, is the highest on record at 223 years. The only mother-daughter combination that comes close is 219 years. The combined age of Grace, her mother, and her maternal grandmother is 320 years. Grace was born June 19, 1891 in Rockland, near Roscoe.

10 Years Ago - 2015

The Vine and Branch Church in Liberty, a Free Methodist congregation, jubilantly marked its 150th anniversary earlier this month. The celebrating crowd of 140 was particularly exultant at the news delivered by Rev. David Harvey, superintendent of the church’s Mid-Atlantic Conference, that Vine and Branch leaders Ed and Robin Sostak were appointed as official co-pastors. The Sostaks joined the Liberty Free Methodist Church in 1986 and have served the church in numerous capacities. Under the leadership of eloquent preacher Rev. Benjamin Titus (“B.T.”) Roberts, the Free Methodist movement took root in 1860 near Buffalo, spread rapidly and arrived in Liberty in the summer of 1865. At first, worship meetings took place at Hurd’s Grove, which is at the intersection of Loch Sheldrake Road and Liberty Falls Road. In winter, the congregation moved into a local schoolhouse for prayer. 

The luncheon reception of June 20’s “Magical History Tour: Museum to Museum” bus trip was the occasion for the presentation of two annual awards by The Delaware Company president John Conway. Donna Steffens of the Time & The Valleys Museum was presented with the James W. Burbank Memorial Award for her outstanding contribution to local history over the past year, while longtime Lumberland Town Historian Frank V. Schwarz (who was unable to attend) was given the President’s Award for his lifetime of work.