Turning Back the Pages

100 years ago – July 1924

An automobile accident in which three cars were concerned occurred at Barrack Matiff last Sunday evening. A Buick car owned by State Senator Brooks of Torrington collided with a Maxwell owned by residents of Pawling, New York. William Whitbeck of Salisbury, who was driving by in his Ford, was sideswiped at the same time and thrown to the side of the road. All cars were quite badly damaged and one lady in one of the larger cars was quite badly injured. The accident appears to be the result of too many cars trying to negotiate the curve at the same moment, and accounts of the accident differ somewhat. State Policeman Ringrose was on hand shortly afterward and took charge of affairs. The cars were later towed to garages. A hearing will be held within a few days and responsibility for the accident will be more clearly established. It is very strange and also very fortunate that none of the cars went down the steep embankment at that point.

Dr. John Calvin Goddard is understood to be writing an ecclesiastical history of Connecticut for the forthcoming work on “The Commonwealth” edited by Col. Norris G. Osborne of the New Haven Journal Courier.

Tuesday was St. Swithin’s Day and marked the beginning of dog days.

At the fifth annual women’s swimming meet held in New York this week, Mrs. Richmond W. Landon is acting as starter. Mrs. Landon, who before her marriage was Miss Alice Lord, represented the United States at the Olympic Games as captain of the famous Women’s Swimming Association at the time of the event in Belgium.

ORE HILL — Roy Gaines and family of Canaan are guests of Morris Dennis at Pine Cone Camp.

A number of residents in the vicinity of Davis Ore Bed have been losing young chickens at the rate of 30 or 40 a night. It is evident that some sort of animal is at work and there is considerable suspicion that it may be the work of a wild cat that earlier in season was reported in that section. Some of the poultry owners have been sitting up all night with a shot gun ready for business, but as yet have failed to see the creature that is causing the damage.

Cheer up — Cherries are ripe and there’s lots of them.

The season of the year to read the returns of drownings, due to the fool who attempts to change seats in the boat is here.

Foss Webb has taken over the Harness business formerly conducted by his brother Edward, at C.H. Osborn’s furniture hospital, formerly the Stuart building.

LIME ROCK — Dr. and Mrs. F.S. Skiff are visiting their many friends here.

The employees of the Housatonic Division of the Connecticut Power Co. enjoyed a picnic at Highland Lake, Winsted, yesterday.

An aeroplane bound north passed over the village on Tuesday morning. The machine was flying quite low.

50 years ago – July 1974

Nearly 1300 homes in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner and nearby New York State were without electricity for up to 11 hours Monday night after thunderstorms and mini-twisters felled trees across power lines. Some 700 of the affected homes were in Lakeville, where an apparent small tornado dropped four large trees across U.S. Route 44 just north of Lakeville Precision Molding. Other trees falling on Farnam Road cut another source of power.

Lark Industries of Torrington, a sheltered workshop for the handicapped, will benefit from this year’s Old Railroad Days Celebration in Canaan. Proceeds from the railroad handcar rides and a benefit softball game will be given to the workshop to help perpetuate its activities.

Sean Gilpatric, six-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Zinke of Ashley Falls Road, Canaan, is recovering in Sharon Hospital from a lawn mower accident that badly cut his foot last Thursday. The boy was rushed to the hospital in a police car. State Trooper Dean Hammon said he was carried to the police barracks from his parents’ home across the street. “The foot was so badly cut and bleeding so profusely, that we didn’t wait for an ambulance,” he said. “We just put him in a car and shot him over to Sharon.” Mrs. Zinke said Wednesday that her son is reported to be doing well.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Elihu Carlson and Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Carlson of Canaan Valley staged a carnival for muscular dystrophy research on Saturday. The carnival was held at the home of Larry Carlson, who was staging his second carnival to raise funds to combat the disease.

25 years ago – July 1999

LAKEVILLE — Dan Kruger has some definite thoughts about education, thoughts that will be shared around the state. The 17-year-old incoming senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School has been named one of two non-voting members of the Connecticut Board of Education for the next year. The essay which he wrote as part of the requirements for board membership dealt with the concept of diversity and of unequal education.

Joe Loverro, playing the role of Julius Caesar, was at the National Iron Bank in Salisbury Wednesday to help promote some of that facility’s programs. Mr. Loverro, advertising director at radio station WQQQ, was aided in the activity by Heather Golden of the bank, who dressed up as Cleopatra.

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