Turning Back the Pages

100 years ago — January 1922

ORE HILL — W.B. Crane is having an ice house built on his property here.

LAKEVILLE — Ward Finkle is off duty with a sprained right ankle. His brother John is substituting as chauffeur for Col. Churchward.

The young people have had great sport the past two weeks in coasting down the hills of the village. With the large number of autos still running it has been somewhat remarkable that no accident has happened.

Peter Flynn has purchased a two-ton Nash truck of the Salisbury Iron Corporation.

Ice eleven inches in thickness is being harvested at Porter Ore Bed by the Bryant Chapman Milk Co.

50 years ago — January 1972

Northeast Utilities’ plan to build two additional nuclear power plants in Connecticut will not make the company more dependent upon the proposed Canaan Mountain pumped-storage project, NU Vice President Charles R. Bragg said Tuesday. The plan disclosed Monday for the two new plants is based on a projected doubling of electrical demand by 1981, with annual increases in consumption of approximately eight percent.

William C. Cannon, international lawyer, former law partner of 1924 Democratic presidential candidate John W. Davis and respected local benefactor, died Sunday Dec. 26 at his Lakeville home at the age of 98. He had been a member of the New York Bar for 71 years and a resident of Lakeville since 1927.

Connecticut State Police are continuing an investigation of an attempted burglary Tuesday night of a walk-in vault at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. After knocking the dial off the vault’s combination lock but finding the door still firmly closed, the burglars raided three vending machines and walked out with an assortment of small change, according to Cpl. William McMahon, chief investigating officer.

A record turnout of 150 persons made the 1971 Christmas Day Peace Vigil in Sharon the largest ever. Whole families took part, in some cases accompanied by their pets. Many present expressed joy at the impressive show of concern. The joy was tempered though by news of intensified American air raids throughout Southeast Asia.

U.S. Rep. Ella Grasso arrived at Salisbury Town Hall Wednesday afternoon to meet with her constituents, but found none in attendance, due to poor weather and lack of advance notice.

Salisbury’s newest and most luxurious restaurant, The Iron Dube, has been written up and illustrated in glowing color in the December- January issue of Connecticut, the state’s newest magazine.

Salisbury Selectmen Tuesday night reiterated their ban on automobile and snowmobile use of the bicycle and walking path along the old railroad right of way between Lakeville and Salisbury. They also decided to post Indian Cave Road, a street leading east from Salisbury village, with a 25-mile-an-hour speed limit following complaints from residents that trucks have been speeding along the road.

Kent Scoutmaster Donald McKinlay reports with pleasure that the sailboat mysteriously removed from Squantz Pond in mid-December, has, just as mysteriously, been returned. Mr. McKinlay discovered that the boat, used by Kent scouts, was back at its usual place on Dec. 29, just two weeks after it was reported stolen.

“Let John do it,” is the catch-phrase at the Kent Fire Department this year, as members have elected three men named John to serve as top department officers. John Gawel was reelected to his third consecutive one-year as fire chief Monday night. John Howland and John Grusauski were unanimously chosen to serve as assistant chiefs.

25 years ago  — January 1997

SHARON — Stan Gurell and Ira Levy have sold radio station WKZE to Greenwich attorney Scott Johnson for $2 million. The sale will be completed after the Federal Communications Commission approves the deal, probably in two to three months. Mr. Johnson will not be buying just a radio station, states a press release from WKZE: “He’s buying a carefully crafted culture.”

These items were taken from The Lakeville Journal archives at Salisbury’s Scoville Memorial Library, keeping the original wording intact as possible. Go to www.scovillelibrary.org for more historical items in the news.