WINSTED — A long-planned asbestos abatement project for Pearson Middle School may be delayed if voters reject the town’s proposed budget, according to School Building Committee Chairman Joseph Beadle.Beadle was on hand to talk about the project at the Board of Education’s regular meeting on Tuesday, May 10.Beadle said that in the proposed school district’s budget for 2011-12 up to $515,000 has been allocated for the project.He said the state would reimburse up to 70 percent of the costs for the total project.“If the budget gets passed on Saturday, May 28, we can go forward,” Beadle said. “But if the budget fails, the project is dead in the water.”Beadle said the reason the project would not move forward is that although the state has promised a reimbursement for the project, the school district needs to show the state that total funding for the project is available in the district’s budget.“If the budget fails, then everything goes to zero and nothing gets done,” Beadle said.
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Turning Back the Pages - September 10, 2026
Norma Bosworth
Sep 08, 2026
125 years ago — September 1901
LIME ROCK — The B-R Company is building an addition to the coal sheds at the furnace in Hoppertown and a large stock of charcoal is being accumulated.
Lock up the chicken house and get the old gun ready; it is said thieves are operating about the village.
A number of people have a very careless habit of driving up to our business places and leaving their teams (with perhaps a child in) unhitched. An automobile is liable to come along at any time and frighten the horse to say nothing of other things that might cause a runaway. The practice of thus leaving horses is the height of carelessness and there should be a good heavy fine and imprisonment for doing so. Those who don’t think, should be made to think.
The receipts from the passenger traffic at the depot for the month of August exceed those of any month in the history of the station.
Bert Decker has returned to his duties at Dr. Knight’s Institute after a week spent in camp at Mt. Riga.
Mrs. Bryant of Lime Rock had the misfortune to fracture her left collar bone, by falling from the steps while coming from Miss Fretts’ Millinery parlor on Thursday morning. Dr. Orton reduced the fracture and made Mrs. Bryant as comfortable as possible.
A telegraphic dispatch late yesterday afternoon states President McKinley was shot at Buffalo and is not expected to live.
From the Millerton Telegram — John W. Colby of Lime Rock, Conn., and Miss Lillian, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Rossiter of Mt. Riga, Conn., were married at the Baptist parsonage by the Rev. W.A. King last Sunday afternoon. The fair bride is only “sweet sixteen,” but her mother came along to give her away, so ‘twas all right.
Mrs. William Van Rensaler, age eighteen years, died at her home in this village on Tuesday afternoon a brief illness. Her husband, a mother and an infant child of one week survive. The funeral was held at the home on Tuesday morning at 10 o’clock, Rev. J.H. George officiating. The interment was made in Salisbury cemetery.
100 years ago — September 1926
Clarence Surdam of Salisbury was before Justice Tuttle on Wednesday morning charged with the use of improper markers on his car. He entered a plea of guilty and paid a fine of $10 and costs of $11.36.
A Reo Speed wagon belonging to A.S. Martin caught fire on Smith Hill one day last week and was destroyed before anything could be done to save it. Mr. Martin has replaced its loss with a new truck.
The work on the new receiving vault at the cemetery is progressing.
FOR SALE — Ford Truck $25, Pullman Touring car $50, Indian Motorcycle $15. F.P. O’Neil, Taconic.
Dick Wilson on Tuesday shot a black woodchuck. There is nothing remarkable about an ordinary woodchuck but a black one is considered very rare. This chuck is thoroughly black with not a white or brown hair, and it weighed nine pounds. Dick is going to have the pelt with head and claws made into a small rug.
50 years ago — September 1976
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has proposed to spend some $871,000in Northwest Corner road repairs, but has not proposed any repairs for what selectmen and the Northwest Connecticut Regional Planning Agency termed the region’s “No. 1 priority.” Dutcher’s Bridge, a 60-year-old structure located on Route 44 between Canaan and Salisbury “is dangerous,” according to Salisbury First Selectman Charlotte Reid. She, like selectmen in Canaan, Falls Village, Sharon and Cornwall, believe it should be replaced; all have little faith that the DOT will do so — at least not soon.
LAKEVILLE — Richard E. Maltby Jr. of Lakeville was the successful bidder Tuesday afternoon for a 26-acre tract with buildings on Lincoln City Road. The purchase price was $62,000, according to John E. Rogers, president of the Salisbury Bank and Trust Co. The bank handled the auction, acting as conservator for Ernest P. Goderis, owner of the property, who is a resident of Geer Memorial in Canaan. Mr. Maltby said Tuesday night he probably will sell two houses on the land, one of which is now occupied, and will keep the remaining portion as a means of access to an adjacent 75-acre parcel which he already owns.
Final preparations for a year in England occupied Sarah Gallup of Lakeville this week. Miss Gallup is scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon to attend Lawnside School in Malvern, Worcester, where she will be in the sixth form. A June graduate of Kent Girls School, she will be one of four from that school who will study in England under the auspices of the English Speaking Union. She plans to enter Radcliffe College when she returns.
FALLS VILLAGE — The roadways in Falls Village and the nearby towns of Salisbury and Canaan have been beautified in recent years through the efforts of an anonymous gardener. Working on her own with her own resources, this woman has kept a watchful eye upon the roads as she travels the region, searching for areas that could be brightened through her efforts. “As I drive around through the region I see flowers instead of weeds around stumps, stone walls and stop signs.” What her mind’s eye perceives, her hands soon transform to reality for all to see. The trunk of her car is filled with her garden tools and she will bring soil, fertilizer and flowers to transform the stark roadway into a garden. All of the flowers for the project are drawn from her own garden beds. No public funds are used for her personal beautification project. “Money would take the fun out of it,” she said.
SHARON — Douglas Alan Weaver, an automotive technician certified by the National Institute for Automotive Excellence, will be with the Texaco Service Station in Sharon beginning Sept. 13. Weaver, a native of Canaan, had four years of training at Oliver Wolcott Technical School, and 10 years of dealership experience. He will be doing all major work on American and foreign cars and light trucks.
25 years ago — September 2001
Work on a massive renovation and construction project at Housatonic Valley Regional High School took longer than expected and students were not allowed back into the building until Wednesday, Sept 5, a week after elementary schoolers in the region started classes. “At 7:15 this morning, the halls were full of students hugging and kissing and saying ‘How are you?’” reported HVRHS principal Kathleen Burkhart. “It was a great feeling. They’re glad to see each other, the teachers are glad to see the students, we’re glad to see the teachers and the students.” The Falls Village building inspector on Tuesday afternoon finally granted a certificate of occupancy. That doesn’t mean construction is over, however. Several areas of the school are getting an “incomplete.”
NORFOLK — In a ceremony described as “very moving,” family and friends said goodbye to Ashlee Elizabeth Jacquier earlier this week. The 17-year-old died Aug. 31 in a car crash while on her way to Oliver Wolcott Technical School in Torrington. Ms. Jacquier was a passenger in her boyfriend’s car. Her boyfriend, Tom L’Heureux, 17, also a student at the school, was driving his Ford Mustang on a curve on Route 272 just south of Norfolk when he lost control of the vehicle on the wet roadway and it slammed into a tree.
CANAAN — Vinnie and Joette Viscariello are busy transforming the recently-vacated Chester Fried Chicken on Railroad Street into Cousin Vinnie’s Italian Deli. A mid-September opening is planned.
Sarah Christine Paviol and Thomas Edward McGivern were married June 9, 2001, at the Blackberry River Inn in Norfolk. Justice of the Peace Heidi Jacquier officiated. The couple is residing in Kent.
These items were taken from The Lakeville Journal archives at Salisbury’s Scoville Memorial Library, keeping the original wording intact as possible.
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Heritage walk uncovers natural and industrial past
Alec Linden
Sep 08, 2026
Sharon Land Trust Land Steward Sophie Lake-Ginouves identifies jewelweed, which can be used to soothe skin irritation caused by plants such as stinging nettles.
Alec Linden
SHARON – For residents of the Housatonic River watershed, heritage is as much about the landscape as it is about those who populated it.
For the opening weekend of the 24th annual Housatonic Heritage Walks, the Sharon Land Trust showed that the forest holds many secrets for those who know what to look for. Over the course of a two and a half mile loop through the secluded Sharon Mountain Preserve on the sunny morning of Sept. 5, SLT Land Steward Sophie Lake-Ginouves pointed out telltale signs of bygone industries that have left their mark, helpful herbs and plenty of fungi.
“This year has been really exceptional for mushrooms because of all the rain,” she said, just before the group came across a vibrant orange cluster of chicken of the woods—a wood-hosted fungus famed for its similarity to chicken both in taste and texture—growing from a birch tree on the bank of a stream.
“They’re completely delicious,” she told the group, but said she would rather let the colony be.
It was one of many mushrooms that were easily spotted trailside throughout the two hour hike. A luminous violet coral mushroom, nearly hidden amongst leaf debris on the forest floor, was one of several that stopped the group in its tracks for a closer look and some photos.
Beyond the fungi, Lake-Ginouves also pointed to a number of understory plants with features that most casual forest-goers would miss.
The American hog-peanut, which is often mistaken for poison ivy, she said, blooms with not just one, but two flowers—one above ground, and one below. “It’s just a really wacky plant that most people don’t notice but it’s really cool,” she said.
While Lake-Ginouves explained the explosive method with which witch hazel, a common shrub in New England woods, disperses its seeds, one of the hikers chimed in with her own experience with the plant, which shoots its seeds from a pressurized pod.
“I got a bunch of them for my son’s birthday,” said Sharon resident Kate Farrell, “and when we were about to eat, there was all this popping like something was on fire!”
She said they initially thought there might be an electrical issue, but their son, who is an ecologist, immediately identified the culprit when he returned. The popping went on for several days, Farrell said.
While current ecology featured prominently in the walk, Lake-Ginouves also drew attention to subtle signs of the now densely-forested landscape’s not-so-distant past. Not long ago, Lake-Ginouves said, almost all the land would have been cleared for agriculture and the once-thriving charcoal industry in northwest Connecticut.
Some vestiges of that era are obvious, like the broad stone walls used to border pastures, but others are more subtle. Lake-Ginouves pointed out two old charcoal mounds, once used by laborers called colliers to burn wood into charcoal that powered the formidable iron production business which lasted in New England until the early 20th century.
Marked by a flat, elevated circle or semi-circle only identifiable by a practiced eye, the mounds were carefully watched by the colliers for weeks as they smoldered to produce quality wood charcoal.
It was a difficult vocation, Lake-Ginouves said, and workers were regarded poorly in society. One term that caught on across New England for the charcoal burners has a local origin.
“Colliers were also called raggies, which is a derogatory term derived from Mount Riga,” she said, where many of them lived high in the hills apart from the townsfolk.
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Frank G. Hufner
Lakeville Journal
Sep 08, 2026
SHARON — Frank G. Hufner, 80, of Sharon, Connecticut, passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer on Sept. 6, 2026, at Sharon Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was the loving husband of Linda (Panelli) Hufner.
Frank was born on Sept. 23, 1945, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of the late Frank H. Hufner and Charlotte (Kaimer) Hufner. He was raised in Monroe, Connecticut and a graduate of Masuk High School.
Frank graduated from the University of Connecticut’s Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture with an associate degree. He was the founder of Cedar Hill Farm, a greenhouse growing operation and vegetable farm in Newtown, Connecticut. He and his wife operated a garden center and farm market there for more than 40 years.
Frank was also a founding member of the Bethel Farmers’ Market and remained actively involved for many years. His commitment to his community and to agriculture extended to his involvement with the Connecticut Farm Bureau, where he served as president of the Fairfield County chapter. His love of hunting and fishing led him to the Newtown Fish & Game Club, where he was a longtime member and served as president for several years.
Frank was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He truly valued the friendships he made throughout his life and made an effort to remain interested in the lives of those he cared about. He will be remembered for the relationships he built and the many years he spent working alongside his wife and serving his community.
He is survived by his two sons and daughter; David Robert Hufner and his wife, Kara Capone, of East Haddam, Connecticut, Frank Gary Hufner, of Sharon, Connecticut, and Sharon Burge and her husband, Craig W. Burge, of Nashua, New Hampshire. He is also survived by his four grandchildren, Brooks R. Hufner, Brody D. Hufner, Craig James Burge, and Kara Maire Burge.
A memorial service will be held at Kenny Funeral Home in Sharon, Connecticut, on Sept. 14, 2026, with calling hours from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, followed by burial at Ellsworth Cemetery in Sharon.
For those who wish to make a memorial contribution, donations may be made to the Fund for Smilow Cancer Hospital in Memory of Frank G. Hufner, via www.givetoynhh.org or mail to PO Box 1849, New Haven, CT 06508.
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Visitors explore North Canaan’s iron-making history
Patrick L. Sullivan
Sep 08, 2026
NORTH CANAAN — At around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, the volunteer crew at Beckley Furnace was ready to share the history of the 19th-century iron-making site with visitors arriving for a Housatonic Heritage Walk.
Geoff Brown of Salisbury and Bob and True Anderson of East Canaan waited near the restored furnace and talked about the work undertaken to preserve the historic site in the early 2000s.
Brown said he remained mindful of those who helped document and preserve the region’s iron-making history.
“We’ve lost our five best historians in recent years,” he said.
The five were Dick Paddock, Ed Kirby, Ron Jones, Fred Hall and Fred Warner.
Shortly before 11 a.m., the first car arrived. Two more soon followed, and the volunteers fielded questions not answered by the interpretive signs. They also showed visitors samples of iron ore, limestone and charcoal, the raw materials used in the iron-making process.
Bob Anderson said the Beckley Furnace property was in poor condition around 1998 and 1999.
“There was garbage everywhere. The furnace was crumbling. It was a mess,” he said.
The furnace has since been restored, and the site’s exhibits include two restored turbines.
Across the bridge over the Blackberry River is a six-acre slag pile, made up of material left over from the iron-making process.
“We’re the only historical site that encourages people to take souvenirs,” Brown said.
“Easy to do when you’ve got six acres of it,” Anderson replied.
Visitors may tour the site on their own. Interpretive signs include QR codes providing access to additional information on the Friends of Beckley Furnace website at beckleyfurnace.org.
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Cornwall Agricultural Fair returns Sept. 12
Ruth Epstein
Sep 08, 2026
CORNWALL — The 34th annual Cornwall Agricultural Fair, sponsored by the Cornwall Agricultural Advisory Commission, will be held Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the town green. This year’s event will honor the late Huntington Williams, a longtime educator and friend of the Cornwall community.
Always a popular draw, the fair celebrates the town’s strong agricultural heritage and offers visitors a host of activities rooted in those traditions.
Animals, including cows, chickens, and llamas, will be on hand, allowing visitors to get a close-up look.
Traditional demonstrations will include apple cider pressing, log sawing, and spinning. Antique cars and tractors will be displayed, along with a militiaman exhibit.
Gardeners will display their bounty for judging, including vegetables and fruits. Herbs, field and seed crops, dairy products, eggs, honey, and maple syrup also will compete for ribbons.
Other exhibits will include preserves, canned goods, baked goods, needlework, garden finds, flowers, children’s crafts and hobbies, and art. Flowers will be judged in adult and children’s categories.
There also will be hayrides and games, and many local civic organizations will host booths.
A large quilt show at the nearby United Church of Christ will feature work by Cornwall fiber artists and their ancestors. At 10:30 a.m., organizers will present a community quilt created by townspeople over the past six months. The quilt depicts local landmarks, institutions, traditions, wildlife, and other elements of life in Cornwall.
A highlight of the day will be the Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department’s cow chip bingo at 3 p.m., when a lucky winner will hold the square on which a cow leaves its mark.
Attendees are asked to bring fruits, vegetables, and nonperishable items for the town’s food pantry.
A 9/11 remembrance will be held at 11 a.m. Farm tours will run from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a blessing of the animals is scheduled for noon.
In case of rain, the fair will be moved to Sunday, Sept. 13.
For more information, contact Bill Dinneen at 860-248-1543 or Wendy Kennedy at 860-672-3487.
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Frederick J. Bate III
Lakeville Journal
Sep 08, 2026
GOSHEN — Frederick J. Bate III, 79, of Goshen, passed away peacefully on Aug. 28, 2026, at Candlewood Valley Health & Rehabilitation in New Milford. He was the loving husband of Marie (Savan) Bate.
Fred was born on Feb. 13, 1947, in Torrington, the son of the late Frederick J. Bate Jr. and Doris Bate.
He attended Cornwall Consolidated School and graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village.
Following high school, Fred proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman and combat medic during the Vietnam War, serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, 5th Division.
Following his military service, he continued his education and training, earning certificates through the State of Connecticut Office of Civil Preparedness in radiological monitoring, as well as through the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency Staff College in Battle Creek, Michigan. He also completed training in radiology through the Bureau of Radiological Health and the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery of the United States Navy Basic Hospital Corps School.
Fred dedicated much of his life to serving his community and working in fields that allowed him to help others. He worked for Sharon Hospital as a radiology technician and taught EMT classes, becoming one of Connecticut’s first emergency medical technicians after serving our country.
He also worked for the State of Connecticut at Housatonic Meadows as a constable and park ranger at Kent Falls. Fred also served as superintendent of Trinity Conference Center and, later in his career, as manager of the Cornwall Transfer Station, where he worked until his retirement. In 2003, The State Department of Environmental Protection recognized the Cornwall Transfer Station for having one of the top 10 recycling programs in Connecticut.
A lifelong member of the Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department, Fred was deeply committed to his community. In recognition of his dedication and service to the people of Cornwall, he received the Community Service Award from the VFW on Memorial Day in 1995.
Fred will be remembered for his commitment to his country, his community, and the many people he served throughout his life.
In addition to his wife, Marie, he is survived by his two children, Alexandra and John; 3 stepchildren; 10 step-grandchildren; his sister, Susan Williamson and her husband, David; his brother, James Bate; 2 nephews; 2 nieces; and 2 cousins.
A graveside service with military honors will be held on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. at The Cornwall Cemetery on Route 4 in Cornwall.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Make-A-Home Foundation, 199 Park Rd. Ext., Middlebury, CT 06762 or Off the Streets - Danbury, PO Box 591, Bethel, CT 06801.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
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