140 Years Ago - 1884

A week ago as Mrs. William Hessinger, near Callicoon, was boiling soft soap, their oldest child, a two-year-old girl, drank some of the strong lye from the basin, unknown to Mrs. Hessinger. The child was taken violently ill immediately after taking the harsh liquid. Dr. Brand was summoned but before his arrival, the unfortunate child died.

At a recent raising of a barn at Henry Reinheimer’s near Callicoon, Gil Hogencamp of Youngs-ville fell from the top of the building to the ground. Fortunately, he was not hurt.

John Lind, who lives near Falls Mills, on his way home from Jeffersonville, fell last Sunday evening and Valentine Baum and Henry Gabel of the same place, met on the public highway near Baum’s residence and began to quarrel with them. After a few angry words had passed between the parties, Lind said he would shoot them, whereupon he left for his house, got a gun and returned to the former place and shot at Mr. Baum and Mr. Gabel. Both Baum and Gabel were on the front porch of the Baum house. Fortunately it was dark when the shooting was done, nobody was hit. Justice Metzger of the Town of Delaware issued a warrant for the arrest of Lind and he was brought in by Constable Frank B. Ward. Mr. Lind said he had done the shooting and the parties settled the matter between themselves and Lind was acquitted.

Jacob Steinhauser has purchased a house and lot of Mrs. George Dietz in the village of Callicoon, for a consideration of $725. Mrs. Dietz is now living in the rooms that Steinhauser formerly occupied and she talks of buying a farm.

130 Years Ago - 1894

Along the Delaware — After the three weeks rain, the people began to think of the forty day flood and contemplate preparations, and those living along the river saw something coming resembling Noah’s Ark, but it proved to be a party of men from Walton, who were taking a pleasure trip down the Delaware.

A shocking accident occurred at Fosterdale Saturday when Carl, 11-year-old son of William Nearing, was killed by being dragged by a horse. He was on the horse’s back and attempted to get off when his foot caught in the harness and he fell to the ground.

George Maurer and a companion were peeling back bark in the woods near Galilee. A tree, in falling, struck the limb. The man cried for George to look out, and the latter looked up just as the limb struck him on the forehead and crushed in his head. He was unconscious until he died a few hours later. He was a married man about 36 and leaves a wife and four small children.

Joseph Morton, a widely known resident of White Lake about 55 years old, selected as his future helpmate, Miss Sarah Collins, daughter of Christopher Collins, and they were married last spring. Mr. Morton went to the house of his father-in-law last Friday for some personal belongings of his wife’s and was met on the road by her father, who proceeded to maul him. Mr. Morton was severely handled by his father-in-law who is physically much the better man.

All the roads leading from this village are now in better condition than they have been in a long time. Now let the pathmasters remove the loose stones from the highways as they appear on the surface. The law requires them to do this once a month, if necessary.

120 Years Ago - 1904

A.C. Wilcox & Co., bankers of New York who opened a branch office in Jeffersonville nine months ago, closed the business here Saturday on account of lack of patronage. (The branch office was then located in what later was the Dolly Madison Shoppe.)

Dr. J.J. Donavan of New York, who came to Jeffersonville last week with the idea of setting up an office here, has concluded after sizing up the situation, that with three other physicians, Jeffersonville is already well supplied.

F.D. Knapp of Nyack, who purchased the Liberty Herald plant two weeks ago, has sold the property back to the original owners, M.J. Weyrauch and George Heath, in order that he may accept a very flattering offer elsewhere, says the Register. The Gazette of June 14 says, “During the past week the Herald has changed hands twice. First Mr. Knapp sold the plant to Mr. Weyrauch and left town, presumably not to return. Yesterday Mr. Knapp came back and for the second time bought the Herald. As we go to press, Mr. Knapp is proprietor.”

The public school teachers’ minimum salary law, enacted by the last legislature, went into effect June 1. The law provides that after that date the minimum salary shall be $35 per month.

A strike for an increase of wages occurred last week among the mason tenders who are working on St. Joseph’s College building at Callicoon Depot.

110 Years Ago - 1914

George Erff, who left his boyhood home in Jeffersonville nearly forty years ago to make his way in the world, died at his home in New York City.

The $10,000 damage suit of Wesley M. Dorrer against the Town of Callicoon will be taken up for trial in the Supreme Court at Monticello next week. It will be remembered that Dorrer’s auto stage went off the embankment above North Branch one dark night after a collision with a team.

A daughter arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Meyers of Youngsville last week.

Town Highway Superintendent W. J. Brown is building a macadam road on the stretch of nearly 2,000 feet in the Town of Delaware running from South Main Street up West End Ave. John F. Neiger is foreman on the job. This is a much needed improvement.

Kenoza Lake — Charles Russo of New York has leased of George DeLap the Kenoza Lake bowling alleys for the summer and announces the opening for next Saturday night. Weekly prizes will be offered for ladies and gentlemen.

On Tuesday evening the training class and teachers from Liberty High School enjoyed an automobile ride to Jeffersonville. They stopped at the home of Miss Inez Kohler, who is one of the pupils, and spent a most enjoyable evening.

100 Years Ago - 1924

F.W. Schadt, secretary of the local game club, states that he has received from the Conservation Commission 1,000 pheasant eggs for distribution among those who will hatch them. If you want some, apply to Mr. Schadt at the Meyer & Royce Store.

Leo Hick of Youngsville narrowly escaped serious injury when his Ford car toppled off the culvert over the hill from Fred Rammler’s, on his return from North Branch. The wishbone of the car broke and he was unable to control the car in making the sharp turn.

The Court of Appeals, in a decision handed down last week, reduced from $64,000 to $15,000 the award given Charles W. Livingston in the condemnation proceedings brought by the Ontario and Western Railroad to acquire title to the land utilized by it at Livingston Manor, which the courts had previously held belonged to Livingston.

A county-wide picnic will be held at Baseball Park, Jeffersonville, all day June 21. This is an outing for farmers, townspeople and all who like to play.

At the picnic the County Grange Farm and Home Bureau, Dairymen’s League and allied organizations plan to have a day’s outing and rub elbows.

Mrs. Catherine A. Grouten, a former well-known resident of Jeffersonville, died at her home in New York City at the age of 84.

Miss Hilda von Bergen and Lewis O. Goodman of Jeffersonville will graduate from Cornell University next week.

Last Thursday, the post office at North Branch was moved from the store of A. W. Eickhoff, who has been postmaster for the past twenty years, to the Maple Hotel and Wm. J. Schonger of that place put in charge.

90 Years Ago - 1934

A sixteen passenger Condor bi-plane of the American Airlines Co., en route for Chicago with Syracuse as the first stop, got lost in the fog and storms and crashed against a 2,800 foot high peak of the lower Catskill range of mountains, a peak known as “The Last Chance,” near Mongaup Pond and nine miles northeast of DeBruce. The plane caught fire and burned and the seven occupants were burned to death, or killed by the fall and then burned.

David Steinberg of the Central Lake House in Jeffersonville has brought an action in the Supreme Court to recover $30,000 alleged damages from the Sullivan County Cooperative Dairy Association, Inc., of Jeffersonville. Mr. Steinberg also sued for permanent injunction to restrain the company from running sour milk and other waste material from their creamery into the brook, which runs alongside his boarding house.

Edwin Durr Keyser is the name of the new arrival in the home of Justice Edwin Keyser, and will be known as Durr Keyser — not die Kaiser.

Jeffersonville Grange, after an existence of over twenty years, the last few years in failing health, decided at a meeting to disband and dispose of its chattels at auction. The sale will be held at Grange Hall next Saturday. The building has been sold to Wm. H. Baum, who will open a restaurant on the ground floor and live on the second floor.

After the Methodist Church service last Sunday morning, Mrs. Augusta Pierson Myers was escorted to the Union Chapel where a number of relatives gathered to surprise her on her 80th birthday. Dinner was served there and then the party went to the Myers’ home to finish up the celebration.

80 Years Ago - 1944

The small two-story home of Mrs. Hannah Edelman at the four corners in Fosterdale was destroyed by fire. Occupying the house with Mrs. Edelman were her son, Walter, and her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Segar and their three children, the youngest only a few months old.

The dress manufactory opened in the Masonic Hall recently by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Swords of North Branch, now has ten women employed turning out parts for dresses, for which they have orders enough to last a year or more.

The American people and all the allies have reason to be proud of the magnificent job that was done in landing a great army on the western shores of Europe. The organization of this tremendous force, and moving it suddenly when the orders were given, seems a problem of greater difficulty than any military proposition ever before attempted anywhere. D-Day in Normandy was a tremendous success.

The observation post at the central school grounds in Jeff has been discontinued. The post was established in 1942 and has been in charge of Chief Observer James M. Holmes and clerk, John von Bergen, who took care of the job in an efficient manner.

Members of the central school faculty gave Miss Elaine Cole, home economics teacher, a shower at the home of Mrs. August Segar last night. Mrs. Segar was formerly a member of the faculty.

70 Years Ago - 1954

Jeffersonville’s participation in the nation-wide civil defense test against atomic attack, which was held on Monday, was about 75 percent effective, according to Fred W. Seibert, justice of the peace.

Anne Baker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin L. Baker, was elected second semester president of the Agonian Sorority at Geneseo State Teachers College.

Jeffersonville will have a village policeman this year directing traffic during the summer months. A special meeting will be held to make the appointment.

The July price of fluid milk will be $4.84 per hundredweight.

Residents of Jeffersonville will soon have their water supply adequately chlorinated, according to Mayor Schadt, who disclosed on Wednesday that the village has contracted to buy an automatic chlorinator.

The body of Miss Helen Rahnacey, 18, an employee of Grossinger’s Hotel, was discovered in the shallow water of the hotel lake near the David Clements farm in Ferndale shortly after 7:15 p.m. on Monday.

The kindergarten tots paraded along the sidewalk of Main Street Monday in commemoration of Flag Day. Willard Schadt, carrying a large flag, and flanked by Donna Mall and Marshall Bossley as bearers, lead the group. Each boy and girl carried a small American flag and wore paper hats of red, white and blue.

60 Years Ago - 1964

The Delaware Youth Center Roller Rink will open Friday evening, June 12th, with prize winning guest skaters on hand to perform for the expected crowd.

The 52nd annual family reunion of the John and Ella Bauernfeind family was held Sunday at the Delaware Youth Center in Callicoon. Officers elected for the year 1964-65 were David Bauernfeind of Cherry Valley, as president; Henry Engert of Callicoon, vice-president; and Mrs. Rajenda Bery of New Jersey, secretary.

Mr. and Mrs. August Hubert of Jeffersonville celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary June 3, with a dinner at the Village Inn, Hortonville.

Brother Bruno Joyal of St. Joseph’s Seminary, celebrated 42 years of service on June 8. Brother Bruno has been at the Seminary in Callicoon since 1942. He is a favorite of the young and his admirers join in wishing him many more happy years.

Beginning this week, World’s Fairest Vacationland, Inc., is distributing a front bumper plate to take the place of a front license plate not provided for motor vehicles registered in New York State. The plate bears the wording “Sullivan County Catskills, New York” in bright yellow on a dark green background and “World’s Fairest Vacationland” in green against a bottom strip in yellow. There are 2,000 plates and the supply will not be replenished this year.

Miss Judith Neumann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Neumann of Youngsville, became the bride of Craigan L. Gray of Glens Falls on June 7. The couple will make their home in Loma Linda, Calif., where he will study medicine and she will teach art at Loma Linda Academy.

50 Years Ago - 1974

State Police and volunteers from the Lake Huntington and Cochecton Fire Departments were called to Skinners Falls at about 10 o’clock Tuesday morning with the discovery of a body in the river. Reports at press time were sketchy but initial information report that the victim was identified as Edward Arnold, 20, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Arnold of Carley Brook, Pa. He was reported missing after he failed to return home from a swimming party in the river which was held Sunday evening.

Miss Sylvia Mitterwager, cashier of the United National Bank in Callicoon, and John K. Lowe, assistant vice-president of the same bank, of Narrowsburg, are attending the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, for a period of two weeks, beginning June 10th.

Groundbreaking for the new 297-bed Community General Hospital of Sullivan County will take place on Tuesday, June 25, at the hospital site in Harris.

Miss Wanda Stranahan and Victor Biddwell were united in marriage in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Narrowsburg, on April 27.

Miss Nancy L. Rohrmann, daughter of Cochecton Town Highway Superintendent and Mrs. George Rohrmann of Cochecton, became the bride of Durward Ora Powell of Cochecton on June 1, in the Lake Huntington Presbyterian Church.

Miss Denise Quinn was recently honored at a wedding shower in the Abrahamsville Methodist Church. She will be married to Harold Wood on June 15.

Construction is underway for the addition of 16 ground-floor bedrooms and one sitting room at Kelly’s Home for Adults in Narrowsburg. At present, the Kellys can accommodate 37 people and the addition will bring their total up to 53.

Trooper Gary P. Mall of Jeffersonville was one of three State Policemen assigned to Troop F headquarters in Middletown who was selected by his fellow Troop officers as an outstanding State Trooper of the Year 1974.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Grund of Cochecton were honored by 52 friends and relatives last Sunday on the occasion of their 39th wedding anniversary.

40 Years Ago - 1984

Mary Margaret Clifford, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick J. Clifford, became the bride of Troy Green, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerald Green of White Sulphur Springs on May 26, at St. Francis R.C. Church in Youngsville.

Eugene M. Hanofee was sworn in as Sullivan County’s new County Court Judge and Surrogate Court Judge by Supreme Court Judge Edward M. Conway in ceremonies at Albany earlier this week. Judge Hanofee, who resigned a judgeship in the Sullivan County Family Court to take on the new position, will face a general election in November. If elected, he will serve a ten-year term.

Frank Brownell, co-editor of the Sullivan County Democrat in Callicoon, was guest of honor at a party in his honor Friday, June 1, hosted by the Delaware Valley Boosters Club, commemorating his concern for the DVCS students. Mr. Brownell will be leaving his position this week for a move to Key West, Fla. 

Miss Barbra Hermann of Callicoon was guest of honor at a bridal shower tendered by Patricia Sims of Liberty. Miss Hermann will become the bride of Bryan Sims on June 16.

Rev. Susan Strang has moved into the Manse in Hortonville to begin her duties as minister at the Presbyterian Church there.

Last Sunday the United Methodist Church of Monticello celebrated 200 years of Methodism with the releasing of balloons and performing a skit portraying the founding father of Methodism.

Delaware Valley defeated Livingston Manor 9-2 in a Western Sullivan League championship game played at Sullivan County Community College. Both teams had finished the regular season 11-1, each having defeated the other.

The  Delaware Valley Job Corps Center celebrated its 5th anniversary with a weekend of activities at the site located in the buildings of the former St. Joseph’s Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon.

30 Years Ago - 1994

Rev. Stephen E. Volpe, his wife Susan and their son, Matthew Christopher, will be serving the Callicoon Parish and the United Methodist Churches of Callicoon, Hankins and Narrowsburg when they move into the parsonage in Callicoon in late-June. He is a Master of Divinity graduate of Drew University and was an April 1994 candidate for Basic Unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, N.J. He will have his first services in the parish on July 3.

Christopher Connolly, a sophomore at Monticello High School, will play the role of “Jay” in the Forestburgh Playhouse production of “Lost in Yonkers.” He is the son of Michael and Denise Connolly of Smallwood and has been in two high school plays, “Damn Yankees” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

Eugene Delamarter of Bloomingburg has been awarded a $6,000 half-year scholarship and has been invited to spend the next year and a half training at the new school of Lincoln Technical Institute in Mahwah, N.J., studying draftsmanship. Delamarter is a senior at the Pine Bush High School. 

Millie Muir and Mae Poley each received recognition for their 50 years of service to the North Branch Firemen’s Auxiliary at a recent 50th anniversary meeting of the Auxiliary. Jackie Peters, president, received a plaque commemorating the 50th anniversary of the auxiliary, which was started in 1944.

Monticello Fire Department hosted the Northeast Firefighters’ Combat Challenge and the New York State Fire Chiefs’ Association convention, taking first place in the challenge. The firemen had to climb stairs the equivalent of a five-story building, carrying 50 lbs. of coiled hose, run back down, drive a 165-pound metal beam five feet with a mall, scurry around obstacles for 140 feet, grab a water-filled section of hose and drag it for 75 feet and then return to the finish line with Rescue Randy, a 175-pound deadweight dummy, as just one part of the obstacle course which tested the mettle of 113 firefighters, representing 80 fire departments.

Forty American flags will grace the main thoroughfare of Liberty from now until Labor Day as part of a summer independence promotion by the Chamber of Commerce. The Town of Liberty Volunteer Ambulance Corps is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

20 Years Ago - 2004

Kathryn and Fred Robertson of Woodbourne celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 11. They were married at the First Presbyterian Church of Jeffersonville on April 11, 1954.

Longtime sixth grade teacher Roy Sebastiano was chosen by Sullivan West/Delaware Valley students to kiss a pig before the recent elementary concert in Callicoon. The event was a fundraiser for the SW/DV PTSO and raised $255.85.

Keith Huggler of Parksville received a haircut from his niece, Capt. Amy Huggler of Campbell. Amy was stationed in Iraq as an engineer for the Army for a year. She made a special trip with her family to cut her uncle’s hair because he had vowed not to have it cut until Amy returned from Iraq. She is now stationed in Illinois.

George Keesler has been named Employee of the Month for March at Catskill Regional Medical Center. George, who lives in Liberty, runs the Mail Room at CRMC.

Heather Mustavs recently celebrated her 7th birthday and asked everyone attending her party to bring a donation for the SPCA in Rock Hill. The response was remarkable, with over 250 pounds of pet food and supplies collected and delivered to the SPCA.

10 Years Ago - 2014

An explosion Sunday night leveled a riverside house on River Rd. in Damascus Township, PA, across from Callicoon, killing two people and frightening residents as a tremendous boom reverberated in the hills surrounding the Delaware River. Official confirmation of the recovery and identification of the bodies had not been received by press time. Neither had the cause of the fire, thought to be gas related. The Pennsylvania State Police, the lead investigating agency, was expected to release official information, but it was not received by press time. The loud noise, at around 10 p.m., was heard as far as Hortonville and was followed by a lesser one and the ensuing emergency siren. 

After months of training in freezing temperatures, Hortonville’s Tammy Duffy and Karin Gorr completed the Inaugural Scranton Half Marathon in early April. Gorr ran the 13.1 miles in 1:59 while Tammy finished in 2:18. They were joined in the race by Duffy’s daughter, Faith Nicosia of Springbrook Township, PA, and Kimmy Seifert of Beach Lake, PA. Both Duffy and Gorr have other half marathons planned throughout the summer.