140 Years Ago - 1881

Benjamin Raymond, Liberty Falls, and Clark Meddaugh of the same place, have exchanged real property.

The Liberty “village dads” have appointed Dr. W.S. Webster, Dr. W.W. Murphy and Frank Edmonds, as a Board of Health.

Potatoes are being shipped from Callicoon Depot in large quantities.

The person who gives evidence that convicts a grocer of selling oleo margarine as butter, gets half of the fine money.

Hay is not so scarce a crop in this part of the county as was apprehend­ed. There is plenty of the article for sale at $10 a ton.

John H. Drake and William Strat­ton are erecting a large creamery at Thompsonville.

Rudolph Bury, living about one and one-half miles north of Jeffer­sonville, sold his farm of 60 acres to Jacob Joseph of Bloosburg, Pa., for a consideration of $2350.

Valentine Baum, living four miles west of Jeffersonville, on the road to Callicoon Depot, has a pair of three-­year-old twin steers, said to be the finest in this part of the country. They are black and marked precisely alike.

More houses are needed in Liber­ty. There are not enough to accom­modate the people seeking residence in that village.

The Moses B. Hill property was sold to Mr. R. Dodge of Rockland for $405.

130 Years Ago -1891

David Minckler of Fremont Cen­ter and Miss Anna Wallace of Orange, N.J., were married on March 12 in Callicoon Depot.

With next Sunday Lent is over and the season of fasting and self-denial ends. Resume your merrymak­ing by attending the masquerade ball on Monday evening.

Rev. E. Gysin announced in the M.E. Church last Sunday, that he would deliver his farewell sermon as pastor of that church on Sunday, March 29th.

John Eggler died at the home of his son, Casper, on Swiss Hill this past week.

Conrad Metzger and W.E. Brand went to New York City on Tuesday.

Mr. and Mrs. George Wood of Jeffersonville are the parents of a son born on March 24.

Revival meetings are being car­ried on at Callicoon Depot.

Edmund Fish, who was for many years a blacksmith at Jeffersonville, ­was in town last week moving his tools and machinery to Livingston Manor, where he has settled down and will work at his trade.

The farm of Jacob Neumann, one mile north of Callicoon Center, con­sisting of 96 acres, all under cultiva­tion, with a good orchard and well watered, is offered for sale or rent.

Meyer & Coventry, general mer­chandise store, has ginghams in all shades

120 Years Ago -1901

John Luchs, former co-editor and publisher of the “Sullivan County Record,” was married to Miss Erma Buettner of Buffalo in New York City. We reprint part of the story on the wedding, written by William Lieb, editor, which appeared in this week's “Record” ... “It is therefore with no little affection of feeling that we contemplate the fate that has befallen our dear, departed friend; there can no longer be any doubt that John has joined the ‘silent majority' for he has gone and married a woman. The execution was in charge of Rev. F. Koening, and took place somewhere on West Twelfth Street on St. Paddy's Day, last Sunday. The groom's brother, Fred, was there to hold him up, and showed beyond any doubt that he was the best man while Miss Ellen Magon of New York was present to sympathize with the bride. It was a very quiet affair, there being only a couple of women present. The female parties to the deed wore broad smiles and radiant robes of triumph, while the male actors were shrouded in the customary somberness of sor­row and affliction. The bride was, of course, radiant, or she could not have enticed our innocent friend from his life of single blessedness…”

A daughter was born on March 19th to Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Grey of Liberty.

Valentine Scheidell went to Gra­hamsville Tuesday to look after his creamery there, which will be reopened on the first of May.

The horse barn and wagon shed of Fred Schaefer in Beechwoods were burned to the ground on March 27th. The loss will amount to $1,000.

John Gabel, the second son of Henry Gabel of Beechwoods, will go to Liberty to learn the carpenter's trade with Eagin and Ahrens.

George Neumann has left Mr. Harding's store in Callicoon, where he has been clerking, and Tommy Gabel has taken his place.

William Kothe of Callicoon Depot will sell at auction the Globe Hotel and contents.

110 Years Ago -1911

Miss Elsie Lind of Fremont Cen­ter became the bride of Harry C. Schutt of North Branch on March 20th.

Edward I. Gorton, who formerly published the “Echo” at Callicoon, is now the political editor of the Islip “Herald,” a Democratic newspaper on Long Island.

The chimes for St. Joseph's Col­lege at Callicoon have arrived and will probably chime for the first time on Easter morning. There are three bells weighing 2600, 1300 and 875 pounds.

Theodore Hust, who has conduct­ed a blacksmith business at Ferndale for thirteen years, recently sold his business and residence to Frank Webster of that place. Mr. Hust will give up blacksmithing as it is too much of a strain for him now. He will move to North Branch.

It is best to size up an assembly­man by what he votes for rather than by what he hollers for.

A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Fink of North Branch on March 18th.

Milo B. Hall, former principal of the Liberty Normal Institute, died of heart failure on March 11, at the age of 73.

The Washington Social Club of Kenoza Lake is holding weekly meetings and new members are being added.

The dance at Roth's Casino at White Sulphur Springs on St. Patrick's Day was largely attended.

Mrs. Jacob Weiss, 46, died at her home near Callicoon Center on March 15th.

100 Years Ago-1921

The Jewish Mutual Aid Benefit and Cemetery Association of Western Sullivan is being incorporated in Jeffersonville and is proposed to pro­cure land somewhere along the Calli­coon state road for a Jewish ceme­tery.

The trout fishing season in Sullivan County will open on Saturday, April 2nd, and continue until Sep­tember 1st.

Edward F. Kohler has purchased the Paul building lot, 50x100 feet, beside his house in Delaware.

Frank J. Breiner of Livingston Manor and Miss Alice A. McCabe of Far Rockaway were married on March 28th.

Fenelon Besmer of Livingston Manor is painting Mrs. R. Segar's house in Briscoe.

A son, Robert Warren, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Geib of New Jersey. Henry is a grandson of Henry Gabel and wife of the Beechwoods.

Joseph Rubinsky and Morris Schopenfeld of New York have taken possession of the Casper VonBergen farm in Kenoza Lake. The VonBergens are moving to the Lutheran parsonage in Jeffersonville.

John White of Livingston Manor is under contract with the New York American League baseball club.

John H. Risley, a former editor of the “Liberty Register,” has enlisted as advertising manager of the “Sun­day Free Press,” a weekly at Pelham, Westchester County.

90 years Ago - 1931

Simon Satunger of Jeffersonville, who recently sold his interest in the Kenoza Lake Feed Co. to his partner, Raymond Moran, is preparing to open up a gas station and automobile supply store in the Friedman depart­ment store building on the first of May.

SLATS DIARY: Tuesday — Well Pa was tawking about wirlig today and he sed when he was a boy he dident used to think nothing of chopping up a cord of wood or 2 evry Saterday a.m: Well I am jest like him. I don't think much of it neather.... Monday — Ant Emmy is all Xcited today becaus she got in the noose paper. The peace she was task­ing about sed that 60 percent of the widows whose husband id died never married no more. And she was one of the percent and proud of it.

The Fosterdale M. E. Church was rededicated last Sunday. Rev. Charles P. Harder, pastor, had charge of the worship service.

Will Kabat of Fosterdale has a hundred trees tapped and is making maple syrup by the gallon.

Michael Menges of New York City spent Sunday with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. P.C. Menges of Youngsville.

At the annual fire district election in Callicoon Center, Jacob Dorr and Casper Girard were elected fire com­missioners in place of D. Hensen and William Merklin.

Theodore Rittershausen, a senior at the Albany Pharmacy College, is at home on his Easter vacation.

80 Years Ago-1941

CORRECTION: In a recent issue of the Sullivan County Democrat Decades column, the name of William “Bucky” Baum's new wife was wrongly given as Irene Gorr when indeed he married Grace Gorr. Irene Gorr was the wife of Ralph Mootz. The ladies were sisters.

Twenty-two truck drivers of the Delaware Valley Express Company at Callicoon Center went on strike Monday for higher wages.

Marion Allison has sold his farm at Tennanah Lake to L. G. Bragg of Jersey City.

David Tyler, 74-year-old widower of Tylertown, near Cochecton Cen­ter, was drowned in a small creek between Lava and Narrowsburg.

Miss Doris Newell of Binhamton and Robert I. Nagele of Freeport, L.I., were married March 22nd. The Nageles are summer residents of Kenoza Lake.

Gerald Mootz celebrated his 17th birthday March 18 by giving a dinner party for his friends at his home in Callicoon Center.

Betty Hill of White Sulphur. Springs was given a surprise shower by Mrs. John Bullock at the latter's home in Loch Sheldrake.

A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Edward Sammann at their home in Liberty on March 21.

Louis Milligan of Lake Huntington was called in the draft of March 18.

A chimney fire destroyed the home of George Klinger between Callicoon Center and Roscoe on Thursday afternoon, March 20.

70 Years Ago-1951

Mr. and Mrs. William Danzer Jr. returned on March 9 from a three week's vacation in Florida. During their absence, their children stayed with their grandmother, Mrs. Elmer Bryan.

Percy Jackson, son of the late Joseph and Anna Hembdt Jackson of Jeffersonville, died at his home in California on March 10. One of his surviving relatives is George Hembdt, former sheriff, of Monticel­lo.

A spectacular $75,000 fire destroyed the House of Lyons, famous landmark on the Port Jervis-Monticello Road, Route 42, early in the morning of March 14. Before the 1900s, the House of Lyons was a general store owned by Joe Thomp­son, who, in turn, sold the place to Sam Isaacs. The place was rechris­tened the Pig's Ear and did a fabulous business in selling liquor then pro­hibited in Monticello, the hotel being just across the Forestburgh town line, where alcoholic beverages were dis­pensed freely. In 1944, Ed Lyons, with his son Art, purchased the site and reopened it as a hotel, bar and grill.

Mrs. Henrietta Smallbone of Kohlertown received word on Monday that her husband, Corp. Stephen J. Smallbone, had been killed in action on March 7th in Korea. He is also survived by a two-year-old daughter, Anne, and a sister, Mrs. Lee Sleeper of Lake Huntington.

Mrs. Marjorie Reinshagen, 29, wife of Edward Reinshagen of Liberty, died Wednesday morning in Hamilton Avenue Hospital in Monticello, following an operation. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bernhardt.

Republican candidate Stuart Farrand won the Liberty mayoralty post Tuesday over his Democratic opponent Clifford Poley. An all-time high vote was cast of 1670 votes. Republican Theodore Labourseur and Democrat Hyman Heller were elected trustees.

In Jeffersonville, Frederick W.V. Schadt was re-elected mayor. William H. LeRoy and Leonard Hess were renamed trustees.

Lillian A. Kovach, daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Joseph Kovach, and Walter H. Zaepfel, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Zaepfel of New York, were married on Saturday afternoon.

At a luncheon meeting last Thurs­day afternoon, 36 women joined together to form a women's auxiliary to work in conjunction with the hos­pital to be created at Loomis. It starts operation as a non-profit institution for the northern half of Sullivan County. Mrs. Chester G. Yager was named chairman.

60 Years Ago - 1961

Sullivan County hunters account­ed for 4,896 deer and 25 bears in the 1960 big game season according to figures from the conservation depart­ment, to lead the state for the year. Nearest to Sullivan's take was Ulster County with 3,417 and Delaware County with 3,325.

Mrs. Kate Borden of Youngs­ville was a guest of honor at a birthday party on March 3 in the Ladies Aid Rooms of the Reformed Church to celebrate her 90th birthday.

The problem of setting up a motor boat law enforcement division in the sheriff's department will be one of the items on the agenda of the special supervisor's meeting to be held on March 17. Also the fingerprinting of transient workers will be discussed at that session.

Dairy farmers will receive the uniform price of $4.27 a hundred­weight for milk delivered to plants in the New York-New Jersey milk shed.

Seventy-six local 4-H leaders of Sullivan County met at the Jeffersonville Presbyterian Church Hall for their annual banquet on March 9. Judge Lawrence H. Cooke was the principal speaker.

Pvt. Bernard Rosch, son of Mr. and Mrs. Max Rosch of Liberty, recently completed eight weeks of military police training at the Provost Marshal General's School at Ft. Gor­don, Ga.

Charles J. Fisher, a resident of Hortonville for almost half a century, died on March 14. He operated a tav­ern in that town for many years. His wife and eleven children survive. Mr. Fisher was 84 years old.

50 Years Ago - 1971

Sweeping changes were made in the major village elections held in Sullivan County on Tuesday. For the first time in the history of both Mon­ticello and Liberty a woman was elected to serve as trustee on their respective boards. Ida “Skippy” Frankel of Liberty and Mrs. Ann Kaplan of Monticello will hold this distinction in Liberty and Monticello respectively.

Principal Arthur N. Crossman of the Delaware Valley Central School in Callicoon issued estimates this week totaling $1,800,000 for addi­tions, alterations of some existing facilities, grading, etc., to the present facility for the addition of about 15 classrooms and one physical educa­tion station.

Jeff-Youngsville Central School's basketball team became Section 9 Tournament III champions by beat­ing Fallsburg at New Paltz last Satur­day afternoon, winning by a score of 47-42.

Mrs. Amanda McGuire of Hank­ins was feted on her 86th birthday with a party given by the Catholic Daughters of America at her home. Her daughter, Mrs. Florence Bauer, shared in the birthday celebration on March 8. Mrs. McGuire was also guest of honor at a family dinner at the Autumn Inn in Callicoon on March 7.

40 Years Ago-1981

A ten-gallon serving of Irish cof­fee was concocted and consumed by between 200-300 people at the Yulan Inn Sunday at the annual Yulan Irish Parade and celebration. The largest single serving of Irish coffee will be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Eleven employees of the Rhulen Agency received $100 for giving up smoking for a period of three months as part of the Monticello insurance firm's “Great Rhulen Smoke Out” program. The group is headed for a “smokeless year” and hope other area firms will set up similar incentive programs.

Mrs. Peggy Wills of Hankins has announced the engagement of her daughter, Valray, to Jan Cheripko of Hankins. A May 24 wedding is planned.

Pearl Taylor of Yulan and John Riedl of Narrowsburg were married January 31 at the Narrowsburg Methodist Church. A reception followed at the Autumn Inn in Calli­coon… Shirley E. Yaun and Douglas G. Lindsley were married February 28th at the Triangle Lounge in Liberty... Florence Otto and Jesse Brown exchanged wedding vows on February 7 at the Eldred Preserve in Eldred.

30 years ago - 1991

Sullivan County should move slowly on changing its form of government not only because it can't go back but may very well discover that the one it has is the best, an expert on county government structure advised the Optional Forms of Government Committee Wednesday. Edwin Crawford, executive director of the New York Association of Counties (NYSAC) had been invited by Cochecton Supervisor Jean McCoach, committee chairman, and supervisors' Chairman David Kaufman, president of NYSAC, to discuss the pros and cons of boards of supervisors versus county legislatures, elected as opposed to appointed administrators and variations on charter forms of government.

There are 17 houses of worship in the village of Monticello according to an updated religious directory recently on the law of the county courthouse, a project of the Kiwanis Club. The original sign was donated by the family of Kiwanis member Samuel Kreisberg as a lasting tribute to his commitment to the spiritual aims of the club.

20 years ago - 2001

Local and county officials and dozens of concerned residents packed the legislative room of the Sullivan County Government Center Monday night to learn more about the conversion of Route 17 to Interstate 86.

The Town of Highland Planning Board recently held a public hearing for the first cell tower application presented to the town. The firm of SBA Properties, Inc. of Guilderland, NY, are asking to construct a 245-foot cell tower on property on Mountain View Road near Eldred, which is owned by the Highland Lake Rod and Gun Club.

Suffering heavily from a precipitous drop in its stock value and an equally sharp drop in investor/customer confidence, Frontier Insurance Group announced earlier this week that its main subsidiary, Frontier Insurance Company, will cease writing new and renewal insurance business.

Amy Robin Barkley and Peter James Carey were united in marriage on July 22, 2000, at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Barkley of Divine Corners.

The Rialto Theater on Broadway in Monticello, just recently named to the National Register of Historic Places, fell victim to a heavy load of snow last week. The roof caved in on the early 20th century building and it is unknown at this time whether the owner, Misa Chang, will go ahead with plans to renovate the building.

10 years ago - 2011

Charanjit Kaur's mistake cost her 10 bucks and wound up landing her a cool $1 million. Kaur, co-owner of the Kountry Korner gas station in Hortonville, accidentally sold a $10 Megaplier ticket to a customer who wanted a $5 Quick Pick. The customer didn't want it so she bought it and her mistake ending up gaining her $660,300 after taxes.

Though Legislature Chair Jonathan Rouis said there are no current plans to privatize, legislators heard a wealth of comments supportive of the county's Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA). The program utilizes staff from the county's Public Health Nursing department to provide home health services to county residents.

In Legislature Chairman Jonathan Rouis' 2011 State of the County Address, he acknowledged the state of Sullivan County is not good. “Our friends and neighbors continue to feel the stress and frustration of the prolonged recession...With unemployment and more importantly under-employment at historic highs, gas prices climbing north of $3.50 per gallon and the price of home heating rising sharply with oil approaching $4 per gallon, our families are being forced to make some very difficult choices yet again this year.” County leaders have been trying to balance the needs of taxpayers with those of the county employees, as costs continue to escalate as rapidly for benefits as services. Rouis proposed a County Workforce and Labor Task Force, featuring union officials, county leaders and members of the public, “to examine these issues and file a written report with recommendations.” He also called for the repeal of the state's mandate that forces the county to pony up 25 percent of Medicaid costs, noting that only New York and North Carolina require such of counties as well as pushed for regionalizing services.