Turning Back the Pages

125 years ago — May 1900

SALISBURY — Billy Washington is the proud possessor of a new wheel.

Geo. McCann seems to be a successful fisherman. On Wednesday he returned from Twin Lakes with a fine lot of pickerel, which were estimated to weigh over 30 pounds.

The E.W. Spurr Co. have received from Prof. Tucker, the New York State Chemist, a certificate of analysis which certifies that Devoe Lead and Zinc is made only of lead, zinc, color, turpentine dryer and linseed oil; nothing else; no adulteration.

SHARON — Miss Nenah Ryan has lost a very valuable Angora cat. She would be very glad for any information concerning its whereabouts.

LIME ROCK — More than the usual amount of sickness has prevailed among our citizens this spring. Mrs. F. Brasie has been ill for some weeks from inflammation on the eyes, but is now around again. Frank Cashdollar is recovering from pneumonia. James Cummings has one of the regular grip colds which everyone has experienced lately. Victor Quillard, who has been afflicted with paralysis of the spine since last fall, remains about the same.

LIME ROCK — Michael Dunn and Miss Mary Malcuit were married last Thursday. The house on Elm Avenue, last occupied by Mr. Lamont, had been made ready and the young couple began housekeeping at once. Mrs. Dunn was taken sick with measles the following day, but is now recovering.

Many of our farmers have been plowing the past week.

The enumerators who will take the twelfth census will be required to wear badges, 60,000 of which have been ordered by the government. When you see a man approaching wearing on his breast a big German silver shield, surmounted by an eagle and engraved with the legend “United States Census, 1900” get down the family Bible and be prepared to give names and ages of your household on demand.

“Dick,” the family horse of W.B. Perry, died Monday morning in spite of great efforts to save his life. He was a faithful old steed, and has been owned by Mr. Perry for 19 years. His age was 21 years.

100 years ago — May 1925

Mrs. Ora Hoysradt has received word from the war department at Brooklyn that the remains of her son, Sergeant William Ostrander, who was killed while in action in France, will arrive May 11th. At this writing it is not possible to announce any definite plans for interment.

The countryside is now presenting a very beautiful appearance in its new green dress with the floral trimmings of early spring. This is the time of year when one is glad to live in the country. The lawn mower is now taking its innings.

50 years ago — May 1975

Two men, one armed, held up the Edgewood Restaurant on Route 343 near Amenia Wednesday mid-afternoon, escaping with $5,000. No injuries were reported. The New York State Police immediately set up road blocks in Amenia and on the Connecticut border and a helicopter scanned the area trying to locate a blue van allegedly used as the getaway vehicle. Connecticut police were assisting. The robbers were both believed to be about 5’ 11” tall and 180 pounds. They were wearing denim jackets, blue jeans, ski masks and gloves at the time of the holdup. As The Journal went to press the police, as one Amenia resident put it, were “hot on the trail of suspects.”

An overnight explosion of red algae in Lakeville’s Lake Wononscopomuc late last week brought residents to the lakeshore by the droves, curious to see for themselves the water’s condition. The reddish algae, which for a time late last week were the consistency of jelly or pudding, floated on the surface frightening many residents and fishermen, and even baffling and amazing state scientists who visited the lake Tuesday to take samples and water measurements.

Four Northwest Corner towns are expected to join forces shortly in the operation of two separate solid waste transfer stations. Salisbury and Sharon will cooperate in the use of a facility to be built by Salisbury on a tract acquired by the town a short distance south of The Hotchkiss School on the west side of Route 41. Kent and Cornwall are in extensive discussions with representatives of the State Department of Solid Waste Management about building a transfer station in the vicinity of the present Kent town dump near the Cornwall-Kent border.

Carol Crawford, 12, is the first girl to ever make Millerton’s Little League team. Coach Craig Summers said that she is “a good ball player. If she wasn’t she wouldn’t have made the team.” He said that her teammates treat her just like any other player.

Lakeville firemen extinguished a fire last Wednesday evening in a bedroom at the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Metz on Smith Hill in Salisbury. The blaze reportedly started when a lamp fell over, igniting some bedding. It was confined to the master bedroom, which was extensively damaged, nearby rooms suffered some smoke damage.

The dog-gonedest things happen to a dog warden these days. The other day Salisbury Dog Warden Hezekiah Goodwin received a telephone call from Canaan Dog Warden Alfred Thomen about a dog marooned on an island in the Housatonic River. As First Selectman Charlotte Reid related the story, because the island was closer to Salisbury, the canine became Salisbury’s responsibility and Mr. Goodwin had to hunt up a boat and go after the creature. But by the time he got there the dog was gone.

25 years ago — May 2000

Work on the Holley House Museum has begun on a top-to-bottom renovation that will include structural work on basement floors, floor joists, columns and stone walls. Repairs will be done on the roof, chimneys, porches and wood siding. John Milton Holley, a wealthy industrialist, built the temple-fronted segment of the house in 1808-1809. It’s located a stone’s throw from the Salisbury blast furnace that he owned. The original wing of the house was built in 1768 for the furnace’s then-owner and iron master, Richard Smith.

During her visit to the state House of Representatives, Rachel Bronson, a sixth-grader at Lee H. Kellogg School in Falls Village, was struck by how chaotic the chamber was. “Everyone was talking at once,” she said in awe-struck tones. “I don’t think anyone was listening to the person that was speaking.” She also noted that “almost everyone in the room was talking on their cell phones.”