110 Years Ago - 1912

A recent discovery of gas on the flat below Monticello has set the people talking. A newly formed company, Monticello Developing Company, has leased the Lemuel Banting farm near where the gas was discovered, taking a ten and twenty year lease with the privilege of buying within a year. Officers are John O’Neill, president; A.D. Pine, secretary; A.M. Fulton, treasurer; and John J. Burns, Frank Kinnie and I.F. Guimond on the executive committee.

Little Irwin Gorr, 7-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. John Gorr of Callicoon, while returning home from a chestnut trip on Thursday afternoon, was accidentally shot by some stray bullets fired from a gun in the hands of another little boy, Arthur Blackwell, who was practice shooting at a large rock. Dr. Schonger of North Branch was called to treat him. On Friday Dr. McClellan was called to consult with Dr. Schonger and the bullet was removed from Irwin’s shoulder.

100 Years Ago - 1922

Thomas Bennedum this week purchased a building lot of John Lowe in Hortonville upon which he will erect a modern garage. It will be opposite the Iroquois Casino.

A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Roth of White Sulphur Springs on Sunday, October 1.

Two big realty deals have just been made in Honesdale: one is the sale of the popular Allen House, for a sum touching $40,000 and the other is the sale of the W.T. Moore furniture and undertaking business, the price of which is said to be about $9,000.

Born October 3 to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ray of Fernwood, a daughter, Helen Althea.

Mr. and Mrs. N.P. Rasmussen of Narrowsburg celebrated their Silver Wedding anniversary Friday, largely attended by friends and relatives.

 W.P. Downing is loading cider apples in Narrowsburg. This is the first car loaded here this season and the price is 25¢ per hundred.

M.W. Lillie, taxidermist in Narrowsburg, will mount birds and animals true to nature.

90 Years Ago - 1932

The fall meeting of the Sullivan County Schoolmasters’ Council was held at the Lenape Hotel, Liberty, with 59 men present. In the business meeting, Charles E. Lewis, principal of the Callicoon High School, was elected president.

Kellam’s Bridge across the Delaware, between Hankins and Long Eddy, has finally been freed by the Interstate Bridge Commission.

H.J. Eckes of Lava carried off 8 prizes on his entry of White King Pigeons at the Wayne County Fair. He received four 1st and four 2nd prizes.

Three-cent postage on first class mail is a flop. That is what the congressional subcommittee investigating the postal service decided recently when it voted unanimously for the restoration of the two-cent postage rate on first class mail matter.

A very pretty wedding was solemnized October 9 when Miss Esther Freidenstine became the bride of Charles Peter Hubert, both of Fremont Center.

The Monticello Common Council last week granted and signed the Blake Washington request for a request for a franchise to put in gas which probably means that gas will be installed in several months.

Miss Agnes Nudorf, associate matron, and Mrs. Fred W. Stabbert, matron of St. Tammany Chapter No. 492, OES, are attending the annual convention at the Hotel Astor in New York City.

80 Years Ago - 1942

Constance Marie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Robisch, and Cpl. Howard Fink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Fink, all of Hortonville, were united in marriage last Sunday, October 4, at the Holy Cross Church rectory.

Miss Marjorie Sonner, first enlisted WAVE of Wayne County, was guest of honor at a farewell dinner party Monday evening at the Wayne Hotel in Honesdale, Pa.

Mrs. Arnold Rutledge of Lookout, Pa., announces the engagement of her daughter, Norma, to Staff Sgt. Wilson E. Lord of Equinunk, Pa.

Charles McGrath of Callicoon Center is building a 14x42’ extension on his chicken coop. The McGraths expect to keep between four and five hundred chickens.

One day last week while Peter Hubert of Fremont Center was mowing grass on the Baer farm, his horses became frightened at a deer lying in the grass and ran away smashing the mowing machine. Mr. Hubert was only slightly injured.

70 Years Ago - 1952

Arthur Ardizone and Mary Ellmauer of Youngsville were married at St. Joseph’s Seminary on October 4.

At the A&P chuck roast is selling for 53¢ lb.; Fillets of Pollock is 21¢ lb.; White House evaporated milk is 4 tall cans for 53¢; large can of pineapple is 53¢; Jane Parker donuts, 19¢ a dozen.

The new bowling alleys at Jeffersonville, located in a new structure attached to Bucky’s Inn, were opened to the public last week. Installed by Brunswick, the four lanes are operated by Mr. and Mrs. George Redington.

Joyce Snyder of Springfield, Pa, and Victor Gardiner of Goulds, were united in marriage on October 4 at the Callicoon seminary.

Rev. Angelus A. DeMarco, O.F.M., joined eleven other priests and eight students for a study period in Rome, Italy. They sailed on the USS Constitution of American Export Lines.

60 Years Ago - 1962

A good DVC football team dazzled the spectators, and the opposition, at Jeff-Youngsville field last Saturday with a  sparkling display of running, passing and backfield slight-of-hand. Final score, DVC 52; Jeff 13.

Mrs. Lettie Snyder, daughter of Mrs. John Rutz of Rock Valley, has been honored with a Valley Forge Classroom Teachers Medal. The award is based on exceptional service in furthering the cause of responsible citizenship and patriotism and developing a greater understanding and appreciation of the American Way of life. Mrs. Snyder teaches at the Charles F. Ellis School for Girls in Newton Square, Pa.

The Callicoon GLF store has moved to new quarters, just east of Callicoon along the railroad tracks. They have a modern bulk plant in operation and also a farm store.

Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Engelhardt of Callicoon became the parents of a son Wednesday at the Callicoon Hospital.

James Edward Purcell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Purcell, Eldred, has been named a principal nominee to the  U.S. Air Force Academy.

Donald P. Hammond of Monticello was honored this past weekend at the 42nd annual meeting of Region 2 Boy Scouts of America in the Hotel Statler Hilton, Buffalo, by being presented the Silver Antelope Award for Outstanding Services to Boyhood.

Announcement was made this week by  Tom Quick Sr., president of the Thomas E. Quick Lumber Co., of the purchase of the former Burr Sherwood Ten Pin Factory in Livingston Manor.

50 Years Ago - 1972

One hundred twenty-seven persons signed the register and countless more filed through the facility of the Callicoon Fire Department, examining the equipment, talking to firemen present and in general exhibiting the same childlike interest in firemen and their calling that most Americans have from childhood onward, as the Department sponsored an open house on Sunday. Chief William E. Schultz said the day was so successful it may become an annual event.

A 15-car showroom is soon to be the attraction at Gerow Ford in Liberty. When completed it will give the bustling firm two showrooms – one on either side of the executive offices.

Sullivan County was slated to have only a 26-mile, 385 yard Bicycle Marathon on Columbus Day, Monday, but due to a misdirection taken by one of the official judging cars, ended up with two races, the second being an unscheduled but nevertheless rewarding 40 miler. Those that followed the official route and never left it were judged to have competed in the Marathon. Those that followed the judge’s car and wandered through the darkest reaches of Bethel before getting back on course were listed as having run the 40-miler. Duplicate prizes were awarded to the first ten placers in each event.

Fred Stabbert III, 11 years of age, and William Moran, 12, of Callicoon and Hortonville, will go to the District contest to be held at Fairleigh-Dickenson University to compete in the Punt, Pass and Kick Competition. They were the local winners of a contest sponsored by Narrowsburg Motor Sales, Inc.

Mrs. Charlotte I. Rosenberger has been appointed postmistress at Fremont Center.

The 1972 “Dink” Littrell Memorial scholarship has been awarded to William Graby of Callicoon according to Coffeyville Community Junior College Counselor Jim LeClere. Graby plays tackle for the Ravens and is planning his major in agriculture.

Edwin Chellis of Jeffersonville won the Senior Trophy in his class at the Antique Car Show in Hershey, Pa., recently. He has a ’32 Chevy.

40 Years Ago - 1982

The Village of Liberty will honor Mayor Ida “Skippy” Frankel at a testimonial on Sunday evening at the Stev-ens-ville Hotel in Swan Lake and will declare the week of October 10 through the 16th as “Skippy Frankel Week.” Mrs. Frankel was recently elected president of the New York State Conference of Mayors. She has served as Liberty mayor since April 1975 and as a village trustee prior to that for two terms, beginning April 1, 1971.

The Wurtsboro United Methodist Church will celebrate its 150th anniversary on Sunday, October 17, with services beginning at 4 p.m.

The Grahamsville Reformed Church will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its present building with a  covered dish birthday party on October 17. The Reformed Dutch Church was founded in 1844 and built its first building the following year. The present building was erected in 1882. Other Reformed Churches with longevity are the Wood-bourne Church with 180 years and 134 years for the Claryville Reformed Church.

The Woodridge Kiwanis Club will honor Judge Isaac “Yits” Kantrowitz as its “Man of the Year” at the Tamarack Lodge Hotel in Greenfield Park October 31. He has been the club’s secretary since its inception more than 23 years ago.

Several thousand people traveled to Narrowsburg this past weekend to attend the 6th Annual Oktoberfest, making the celebration the most successful ever held. Included in the entertainment was music of the Delaware Valley Oompah Band, dancing by members of the Die Bergvagabunden Schuhplatter dancers from Kingston, and entertainment provided by the Werner Heckmann Band from Sparrowbush.

The Honorable Lawrence H. Cooke, chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, will be among a group of eight people who will receive Georgetown University’s most prestigious awards during the university’s 31st Annual Alumni Weekend in Boston, October 22-24. The award is given to alumni of the university who are singled out for special distinction.

30 Years Ago - 1992

Holiday Mountain Ski Area officially dedicated four trails in the “Roman Candle-Section 2” Sunday evening in commemoration of its 35th anniversary of operation in the Town of Thompson. This area of the popular ski park is currently undergoing a $104,000 expansion.

Graham Jacobs brought his lifelike Piper 04, complete with military markings, to the Sullivan County Radio Control Club’s miniature airplane show at the club’s field in Monticello Sunday. Many spectacular model airplanes were on display at the show enjoyed by several hundred onlookers who came to witness the planes despite the overcast skies.

More than 200 parishioners and friends of Fr. Anthony Moore joined in a farewell party in his honor at St. Mary’s Church Hall in Obernburg last Sunday evening. He has been assigned to Winsted, Conn., where he will be administrator at St. Joseph’s Grammar School which caters to grades K-8. The new Holy Cross Church was built while he was assigned to that parish where he served as priest for ten years. Through his friendship with Miss Lillian Carter, mother of then President Jimmy Carter, she attended the ground-breaking ceremonies and returned the following year for the dedication of the new mission church. He was then appointed Dean of Students and Spiritual Advisor at The Family Foundation located in Long Eddy, a school for teenagers who are recovering from addictions. Father Anthony has served St. Mary’s in Obernburg the past two years.

A 150-foot barn on Sackett Lake Road outside of Monticello was demolished by wrecking crews and fire in a cleanup of old abandoned buildings by the Town of Thompson when owners do not respond to violation notices. The cost of the demolition will be added to the tax bill of the owners.

Bob Bjorklund of Sweden won honors for coming the farthest to attend the 25th reunion of the Delaware Valley Central School Class of 1967, held at Mullally’s Pub in Jeffersonville August 8. Twenty-five classmates came from near and far to enjoy a time of reminiscing.

20 years ago - 2002

This year’s tenth anniversary of Catskill’s Institute for the Development of the Entertainment Arts (IDEA) will feature world-renowned magician/ illusionist Jeff McBride and other international artists. McBride is a native of Monticello, returning to perform on the stage he performed on when he was 12 years of age.

The gate to Moscoe Road has been thrown open again. The Smallwood road has been a hot spot in the Town of Bethel since the town board allowed developers to close off a .7-mile stretch of town property in May. Smallwood Civic Association members, many who used the road to gain access in the past to a public launch site on the Toronto Reservoir, have been lobbying the town board all summer to have the town’s property available to taxpayers once again.

A plan is in the works to erect a wind turbine on the Apple Pond Farming Center in Callicoon Center.

Mary Diehl Rutledge became the bride of Jack Fitzgerald on Saturday, October 5, 2002 in a ceremony performed by the Rev. George Gallandorn at the United Methodist Church in Damascus.

Ashley M. Blum, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephan J. Blum of Jeffersonville, and Christopher Loiselle, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Loiselle of Westford, Mass., were united in marriage recently at a ceremony performed at St. George’s R.C. Church in Jeffersonville.

10 years ago - 2012

The Sullivan County Historical Society will display the battle flag of Sullivan County’s Civil War Regiment, the 143rd for a short period of time, many years after having traveled through the war with its regiment. The flag will be returning to the county after 150 years. 

Long Eddy resident and longtime community activist Noel van Swol unexpectedly died Monday in a car crash. The 70-year-old was en route home from a pro-gas drilling rally in Albany and ran his vehicle off County Route 128 around 4:30 p.m., according to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. Though van Swol had dealt with diabetes for much of his life, Undersheriff Eric Chaboty and investigating officer Kyle Muthig said Wednesday that an autopsy could not confirm initial reports that van Swol’s crash was caused by a diabetic coma.

Forty years after beginning research into her forebears, 89-year-old Gertrude Gipson and her relatives reunited at the Fraser Cemetery in the Town of Bethel to observe the formal placement of a bronze marker at the grave of great-great-great grandfather Asa Robinson Jr. Born in 1757, both Robinson and his father, Asa Sr., served as privates in the American Revolutionary War. Asa Jr., who later became a militia captain and then moved to Sullivan County in 1820 (dying in 1832), was the great-great-great grandson himself of Rev. John Robinson, who co-founded the Congregational Church.

A road use law presented to the Town of Callicoon to address the potential effect on town roads, should natural gas drilling come to Sullivan County, isn’t ready yet. The town board held a public hearing this month to solicit comment on the law developed for a multitude of towns that have come together as a task force, pooling funds to cover the legal fees of having the law developed.