Turning Back the Pages

100 years ago —

February 1924

State policemen Preston and Mead captured three bootleggers and a considerable quantity of booze at Norfolk on Wednesday. The officers were out investigating the case of a driver who had left his team of horses out all night. While doing this they saw two cars running at a speed of about 40 to 45 miles an hour. This being somewhat unusual they trailed along. At Norfolk the two cars stopped to get gas. When the officers approached on foot the men immediately started to run away, but the officers captured three of them. The fourth managed to escape, and it was later learned telephoned back in time to stop a truck loaded with still more booze which was following. In the captured cars were 1100 bottles of beer and five cases of Scotch. Both cars and booze were confiscated and the occupants arrested.

Mrs. Fred Constantine has gone to Waterbury to visit her husband who is employed there.

Miss Esther Lowe of Lime Rock is suffering from an abcess on her arm.

Ice cream can now be bought of Philo Lyon.

50 years ago —

February 1974

“Who in God’s world would have believed we could have raised $50,000,” Jean Beligni exclaimed this week, while talking about the latest development in the Peter Reilly murder case. Members of the Peter Reilly Fund Committee, residents of Falls Village and Canaan, working with defense attorneys Catherine Roraback and Peter Herbst and a woman in New York, are making final arrangements this week to combine contributions for Reilly’s $50,000 bail bond. If all goes as planned, young Reilly may be released as soon as next week.

A new possibility arose this week of revived rail freight and eventually passenger service on the nearly defunct Penn Central Berkshire Line between New Milford, Kent and Canaan. A group of three young men based in New Milford announced plans for the section the Penn Central wants to abandon and disclosed that the Transportation Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly has already raised a bill to grant them a charter.

This week’s Lakeville Journal comes to you with a slightly changed appearance — but it’s still the same paper underneath. On page 1 we henceforth will have six columns instead of the previous eight, and we shall try to minimize the number of continued stories. At the top of page 1 we are moving our nameplate, or “flag,” to the right so as to help purchasers better identify the paper at newsstands. We are also placing the date on the right. One more noteworthy change: our classified advertising pages so prized by readers and advertisers are being moved into section B where they will appear henceforth. The newsprint shortage, like death, taxes and the energy crisis, is unfortunately still with us. We are promised enough for basic requirements, but we shall have to limit our space during the next few months in order to stay within our allotment.

Peder Kongsli, a 6 foot 4 inch Norwegian jumping for the University of Vermont, captured Sunday’s United States Eastern Ski Jumping Championship at John Satre Memorial Hill in Salisbury. He soared 195 and 200 feet in two jumps and won the Satre Trophy.

Canaan firemen were busy this week trying to find financial backing for the purchase of a new firehouse. The company is very interested in purchasing the property owned by the Getty Oil Company on the southeast corner of the intersection of routes 7 and 44. Dutchess Auto leases the building and lot from Getty.

Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Brewer of Lake Worth, Fla., were feted Saturday at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, the occasion being their 59th wedding anniversary. Mrs. Brewer is the former Alda Lindell of Canaan. Mr. Brewer is a native of Sheffield. In 1912 he and his brother Frederick started Brewer Bros., a bicycle and automotive business in Canaan. In 1916, the brothers, with another brother, the late Edward Brewer, opened a second outlet in Pittsfield where they sold Reo cars. Three years later they opened yet another branch in North Adams, and in 1926 a fourth business in Burlington, Vt. At that time they were distributors for the entire state of Vermont. In 1932 the firm switched to Plymouth and DeSoto products. The Pittsfield and Burlington businesses are now gone but Brewer Bros. retains its Canaan and North Adams outlets. Mr. Brewer was the first president of the Pontoosuc Lake Golf Club, a director of the Pittsfield Third National Bank and a member of the Chamber of Commerce.

25 years ago —

February 1999

LAKEVILLE – Marshall Miles’ microphone at WQQQ (103.3 FM) is off. The general manager and morning show host, a well-known voice throughout the Tri-State area, resigned from those positions Feb. 3. Bob Chatfield will be taking over the morning show and Ron Lyon has been named general manager. While Mr. Miles was quick to point out that he and station owner Dennis Jackson of Wilton left on good terms, a memo he sent to Mr. Jackson and staff members hints that some tension existed. He says he puts the blame on no one but himself. While he said his aggressiveness brought both great profits and a large listenership to the station, it also brought him tremendous amounts of responsibility. Mr. Miles is very familiar with the area and he said it was because of this devotion that he worked so hard.

Paul Brazee, a 34-year veteran of the postal service, 20 at Lakeville, was recently inducted into the post office’s Million Mile Club. He has driven 1,000,000 miles without getting into an auto accident. Mr. Brazee received a gold plaque, a certificate, and best of all, a full day of paid administrative leave.

These items were taken from The Lakeville Journal archives at Salisbury’s Scoville Memorial Library, keeping the original wording intact as possible.