Turning Back the Pages

100 years ago – May 1924

SALISBURY — A fire caused by a passing locomotive made things lively at Clark’s woods last Saturday afternoon. A number of men were kept busy fighting the fire for about three hours before the blaze was checked.

On Monday afternoon a pair of horses belonging to A.S. Martin and drawing a load of hay became frightened at a well digging machine working at Mrs. John Thorpe’s on the Lime Rock road. They proceeded to run away, throwing Messrs. John Phillip and Edward Stanton off the load, which later was scattered through all the route, till the team struck the large elm tree near the water trough at the low end of the park. The shock and jar took all the running ambition away from the horses and the affair came to a sudden end. Fortunately Messrs. Phillip and Stanton were not hurt and the horses escaped injury. The wagon and harness were battered considerably and the hay was later gathered up piecemeal.

To Rent 10 room tenant cottage on farm, Taconic Road. Rent $12.00 monthly. Apply at Lakeville Journal.

Dr. W.B. Bissell has received his new Buick Four Sedan which he recently purchased of the Dutchess Auto and Supply Co.

Peter Flynn has advantageously disposed of a second hand Ford limousine.

Dr. E.B. Johnson has not been able to conduct his dental work owing to what he thinks is an attack of neuritis in one leg which makes continuous standing on his feet very painful to him.

50 years ago – May 1974

An investigation of possible jury misconduct in the Peter Reilly trial has been continued into Thursday at Litchfield Superior Court. Sentencing of Reilly was postponed a second time last week, when defense attorneys entered a motion last Friday requesting an investigation of possible improprieties by jurors during their deliberation.

Rose O. Ford of Falls Village and Walter Becker of Cornwall were named this week by State Police Commissioner Cleveland B. Fuessenich to a newly created Connecticut State Police Advisory Council. The 28-member council will act as a forum on matters of public interest and concern affecting police-community relations, Commissioner Fuessenich said.

Donald G. Kobler of Lakeville, teacher at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, has been appointed as a regional judge for the 1974 Achievement Awards in Writing competition of the National Council of Teachers of English.

The children of the Kent Community Nursery School are now enjoying a brand new set of four swings and a double see-saw made possible by the fund drive conducted this year by the nursery school board. The new equipment, of a long-lasting commercial quality made for schools, replaces the backyard swing set which had become dilapidated. Members hope that in the near future a slide and a jungle gym will be added to the playground.

O’Hara’s Trading Post on East Twin Lake in Taconic has changed hands, with Bernard Haab and his son David taking charge. They have plans to expand services catering to area fishermen and their families. The Haab family also owns and operates Brookwood Marine in Millerton.

25 years ago – May 1999

Region 1 just said “no” to Coke. In what some members saw as a blow against American corporation culture, the Region 1 Board of Education rejected a proposed licensing agreement with Coca-Cola. The offer would have committed Housatonic Valley Regional High School to serve only Coke-sanctioned beverages for the next decade.

Acquisition of 848 acres of land on Blackland and North Goshen roads will soon become property of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. The state is purchasing the land from Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield to keep it in open space. The purchase of the property is in addition to the more than 1,820 acres the state has acquired over the past six months through the DEP’s Recreation and Natural Heritage Trust Fund.

A brand new Snack Shack reopened for business Monday. The lines at the food window were long during peak meal periods, even though an abundance of help behind the counter kept the burgers and fries moving. The problem was, nobody could resist heading back to what was a favorite dining spot in Canaan for three decades. Canaan businessmen Dave Ohler and Billy Segalla are partners in the new Snack Shack. They bought it from Burt and Jen Veronesi, who ran it for 27 years. The Veronesis had bought it from the original owner, Stanley Segalla, Billy Segalla’s father.

Sightings of bears around the Northwest Corner are becoming more commonplace. But when they show up in the center of town, that’s really newsworthy. Lucy Lomonaco of Ethan Allen Street called to say she spotted a “huge” black bear at the edge of Factory Pond Saturday night. He was clawing at a nearby tree (our ubiquitous photographer Mark Niedhammer got a photo of the markings) and then lumbered off toward the lake. “It was scary,” reported Mrs. Lomonaco.

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