Turning Back the Pages

100 years ago — March 1924

Reginald Kelsey continues to make steady recovery after undergoing an operation for a severe attack of Mastoiditis at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie.

LIME ROCK – Grandma Lorch has returned home from Sharon Hospital much improved in health.

A barn and some adjoining sheds at Camp Harlem were destroyed by fire on Friday evening. Three small cars stored in the building were also destroyed. The blaze was spectacular and was seen for many miles around.

Many dogs about town are sick with an unknown ailment which affects their throats and stomachs. Some valuable animals have died. The ailment has not been classified and a veterinary has been called. The disease seems to be contagious and dog owners are advised to seclude their pets for a time, and it might be well for children, and in fact anyone, not to come into too close contact with the family pet until the nature of the disease is more fully established.

Is the mystery of the disappearance of Lawrence Travis about to be solved? Possibly so, perhaps not. Some are of the opinion that boy and car are at the bottom of the lake. There is some basis for this theory. A few days ago William Bassett who lives near the lake saw a quantity of black oil just under the ice where A.S. Martin’s men had harvested ice during February.

50 years ago — March 1974

U.S. Sen. James L. Buckley of New York, who maintains a home in Sharon, surprised his conservative followers Tuesday by publicly advocating the resignation of President Nixon as the only way to put an end to the Watergate crisis. Mr. Nixon, speaking at a news conference in Houston, Texas, Tuesday night, rejected Senator Buckley’s proposal although he said he respected the point of view.

Miracle Whip, quart size, 77 cents; Franco-American spaghetti, 15 oz. can, 6/$1.00; and Sea Maid shrimp cocktail, 4 oz., 3/99 cents are among items on sale this week at Lakeville Food Center.

The Canaan/Falls Village Little League is again in danger of being disbanded. League President Douglas Humes Jr. said Monday night that if he does not have a list of parents willing to work on the field clean-up by the March 27 evening of Little League registration, all of the officers will resign their positions.

The Curtis Agency is the latest business to move into the recently renovated Canaan Union Depot. The agency’s new office is located between Arrivals and the old waiting room of the station. The sign, which nicely carries through the railroading motif, was created by Merrill Franks.

Despite missing the last eight basketball games of the season because of surgery, Capt. Bob Stoddard of the Housatonic Valley Regional Mountaineers was elected most valuable player by vote of his fellow players. Stoddard’s statistics prove that this was not a sympathy vote. He set several HVRHS career records including career points – 782, most career field goals – 306, in both cases surpassing records held by Tim Whalen. He also became the first player in HVRHS history to surpass the 40 percent mark in field goal shooting.

25 years ago — March 1999

In anticipation of no longer having space at Sharon Center School, the Sharon Day Care Center is beginning fund-raising efforts for a new building. According to Cathy Casey, president of the day care center’s board of directors, it has been known for over a year that the school would need the center’s space to ease overcrowding at the school. The center has been renting two large rectangular rooms in the front of the school. The $1 a year lease will expire June 30, 2000.

The small white cape is neat and in good condition, but it’s located on Railroad Street in the midst of downtown businesses. Brewer Brothers recently purchased the property that sits opposite its sales lot, but the owners of the car dealership are not really sure they want the house. At least not where it is now. The vacant house presents an odd picture with a host of new cars currently parked in its tiny back yard. The dealership is reportedly willing to sell the house at a great price, providing the buyer is willing to haul it away.

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