Turning Back the Pages

100 years ago – April 1924

LIME ROCK – Several cars got stuck Sunday near the Belter farm, owing to the bad condition of the roads.

Mrs. Molly Cole had the misfortune of falling on the steps and injuring her back.

A.C. Roberts has returned home from Sharon Hospital, and while considerably improved is not yet able to resume his place at the store.

Editor Loope of the Millerton Telegram paid the Journal Office a fraternal call on Wednesday.

The hard rain of last Sunday and Monday removed practically all traces of snow and did much to pull the frost from the ground.

For Sale – Day old non-fertile eggs for water glass. Squabs. Foxhurst Farm, Lime Rock, Conn. Phone 76-4.

50 years ago – April 1974

The Peter Reilly murder trial neared an end Wednesday when both the prosecution and defense completed their presentations and rebuttals, after almost six weeks of testimony that began March 1. Only the summations by State’s Attorney John F. Bianchi and Defense Attorney Catherine Roraback and the charging of the 12 jurors by Superior Court Judge John A. Speziale remain, before the jurors are left to decide the fate of 19-year-old Peter Reilly, charged with murdering his mother last Sept. 28.

West Cornwall’s picturesque bridge across the Housatonic River is featured on the cover of the new 1974 Connecticut highway map issued by the Department of Transportation. The photograph was taken during the fall foliage season.

After many months of negotiations, the Canaan Selectmen’s Office has received notification that a portion of the state-owned former Lawrence Playground on East Main Street can be resold to the town. The state purchased the former civic center in the 1950s for the proposed relocation of Route 7. The topsoil was stripped from the property for use at the new Sam Eddy Field, the community house razed, and for over 15 years the field has laid a sandy wasteland.

Art Wagner, of Averill Park, N.Y., has made his living for many years cutting laurel from the thickets in Connecticut. Mr. Wagner has been at his job for the past 60 years, claiming he started to pick laurel and other greens when he was 14 years old. He now works with two younger employees. He couldn’t remember any exciting encounters with wild animals, but he did say that he wouldn’t ever pick near Copake Falls, N.Y., because of the rattlesnakes there. The laurel is sold in Canada and in New York State, where it is rare. Its primary commercial value is in funeral arrangements.

Doubt has been cast about the authenticity of the stone chapel near the Schaghticoke Indian Reservation. According to Emily Hopson of the Kent Historical Society, the early buildings of the town were all made of wood. St. Andrew’s Church, reputed to be the earliest stone structure in town, was built in the years 1825-1827 – well after the Moravian influence is said to have declined. Society historian Blanche Bull Jack states that the stone for St. Andrew’s was quarried on the property of one Clarence Fuller, a short distance behind the stone chapel. The stone used in the abandoned building is remarkably similar in appearance to that of St. Andrew’s. Furthermore, Mrs. Jack points out, the little stone building could never have held a congregation of 120 to 150 as the 1897 history describes, nor even 40 Indians mentioned in another work. Noting that the little building has the remnants of a cupola and probably a bell, Miss Hopson suggested it may at one time have served as a school for Fuller children and their neighbors.

25 years ago – April 1999

SHARON – Attention all Oprah Winfrey fans. Those who are faithful watchers of the nationally syndicated television talk show will not only see the noted host on Tuesday, April 13, but glimpse the Northwest Corner as well. A film crew of three or four was at Weatherstone Monday preparing for a brief segment of the daily “Remembering Your Spirit,” which appears at the end of each hourly show. Owner Carolyne Roehm will be featured. “Ms. Roehm will talk about how her life has changed in the last few years and how the fire was a big part of that,” he said. “The segment is basically about how people have turned negatives into positives.”

KENT – The Schaghticoke Indians have been denied motions for a trial to determine tribal status and a motion to consolidate. The March 31 ruling from the United States District Court in New Haven means the tribe will have to wait 7 to 10 years until the Bureau of Indian Affairs gives the tribe federal recognition.

Through the efforts of its beautification committee, Canaan has again received a grant for plantings in the town center. That is the third consecutive year the town has received the grant. The committee announced it will use a $3,000 America the Beautiful grant to plant shade trees and shrubbery along East Main Street.

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