Turning Back the Pages

125 years ago — August 1900

SALISBURY — Harold Stalker is quite ill of typhoid fever.

Abram Martin on Thursday brought to this office the tallest stalk of sweet corn we have yet seen. It measured 11 feet and is of the evergreen variety.

From thirty to forty tons of coal are consumed each year at Canaan depot, each railroad company, the C.N.E. and the N.Y. N.H. and H., supplying one-half of the amount.

A complete hot water heating system is being put in the residence of A.M. Tibbetts at Salisbury. W.E. Cornell and a force of plumbers are doing the work. The water is conducted from a large spring which has been transformed into a good sized reservoir about 1500 feet in the rear of the house.

SHARON — Charlie Wing, the popular laundry-man, has sold out his business to his cousin Charlie Sing, from New York, and is working with his brother at Lakeville.

Apparently the bear has vanished, and it is also quite noticeable that the berry season is about over. He was a lively bear while he lasted and has won the admiration of all by the manner in which he has eluded all the strenuous efforts made to capture him. Now it is time for the jabberwock to put in appearance and scare away the small boy from the green apple orchard.

John Thorpe’s valuable dog “Rambler” had to be shot Sunday morning owing to injuries caused by being run over by cars.

Mrs. P.P. Everts of Ore Hill had the misfortune to fall from a chair on Tuesday and break one of the bones of her forearm. Dr. Bissell set the bone and she is doing remarkably well for a lady 86 years old.

An excursion of five well-loaded cars from Rhinecliff to Hartford went over the line on Tuesday.

Under the pension law of May 9th, 1900, it is stated that veterans of the Civil War who have attained the age of 75 years are entitled to a pension of $12 per month, being considered wholly disabled for manual labor. Claimants 65 years of age may obtain $6 per month under the same act. In the application no other disabling cause need set forth except a statement of the age, but competent proof will be required for the age.

100 years ago — August 1925

The truck which delivered the Sunday papers left the road and crashed through the railing at the Renshaw place last Sunday morning, coming to a stop in the ditch. Fortunately the occupants of the truck escaped injury.

Chester Thurston was the victim of a peculiar accident last Saturday. He dropped the comb which he was using on the floor. When he stooped over to pick it up his barber shears fell from his coat pocket, the points striking him on top of his left hand and puncturing one of the large arteries. The blood spurted pretty freely until the wrist was corded and the injury cared for.

William H. Wilkinson who lives on Brinton Hill celebrated his 78th birthday last Sunday. Mr. Wilkinson was born in Lakeville Aug. 9, 1847 and served in the Civil War with First Connecticut cavalry. He took part in the following battles: Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, Ashland 2d, Cedar Creek, Back Road, Woodstock, Waynesboro, Harper’s Farms, Five Forks, Jetersville, Sailor’s Creek and Appomattox.

50 years ago — August 1975

The state has sketched alternative plans for preserving and restoring Northwest Connecticut’s iron industry heritage. The region’s 9-town planning agency was asked Wednesday night to react to the plan. The report, prepared by the Department of Environmental Protection, traces the region’s iron industry history, notes sites possibly suited for restoration or museum use, and sketches options for action.

KENT — First Selectman Eugene O’Meara confirmed this week that the corporate headquarters which had looked into the possibility of relocating in Kent has found property elsewhere. The news had broken recently that the firm, which would employ approximately 1500 people at its headquarters, was considering a site in the town. The first selectman was contacted by a realtor as to his reaction to such a proposal.

Statements by two Sharon Hospital employees given to State Police shortly after the death of Barbara Gibbons nearly two years ago offer yet another version as to when the hospital was notified of trouble at the home in Falls Village where Peter Reilly was arrested. According to published reports, prosecution statements taken by state police and recently turned over to Reilly’s defense attorneys present new and yet seemingly conflicting statements as to a time sequence of events during the evening of Sept. 28, 1973. The two statements by the Sharon Hospital employees were never presented during the trial in Litchfield Superior Court.

A historical search, which for George Kiefer has spanned nearly three decades, has finally ended in success. While working on a private tract of land in East Colebrook with his son Matt, Kiefer discovered a charcoal burning pit that had not been worked out. He said he had seen pits before but not since he began looking in 1948 did he find one that had not been dug out. In the 19th and early 20th centuries pits were dug into the earth and wood burned to produce charcoal for the iron industry. Burning took place in Colebrook because of the abundance of timber available after wood had been cut closer to the iron furnaces of Salisbury and Canaan. Kiefer said he found pieces of charcoal on top of the pit the size of quarters and half dollars. He suggested that the person tending the pit may have died or fallen on hard times as the pit had not been worked out.

David and Borgny Parker of Falls Village have bought the former Patchen home on Farnam Road, Lakeville, for a tax-indicated price of $35,000.

Mike Marchetti of the Connecticut Extension Service this week reported that Japanese beetles have been sighted in Litchfield County. The beetles, according to Marchetti, are moving north after causing destruction in the southern part of the state. The bugs eat just about anything, and especially enjoy garden crops and flowers.

The end came swiftly this week for one of Canaan’s businesses. Helbling’s Delicatessen, a store that was opened with high hopes and great ambitions just over a year ago, closed this week, a victim of the recession. There was little advance warning the store would close. On Thursday proprietor James Blakey hung signs advertising all merchandise at half price. By the weekend the store was closed.

25 years ago — August 2000

KENT — Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the television program “Family Guy,” has won an Emmy for his role as Stewie Griffin on the animated show. Mr. MacFarlane also does the voices of several of the show’s other characters.

SALISBURY — Alice Combes, president of Mt. Riga Inc., has announced that Mt. Riga Inc. will temporarily close its trail between Bald Peak and the Appalachian Trail effective today (Aug. 17). The trail from the parking lot on the Mount Washington Road to Bald Peak will remain open for day hikers. One purpose of the temporary closing is to assess the environmental impact of hiking on the trail. Also, the closing is in response to the publication by the Boston-based headquarters of the Appalachian Mountain Club of a hiking guide identifying the Bald Peak Trail as a public trail. Unfortunately, the representative from the mountain club headquarters failed to attend either of two meetings scheduled to discuss remedies to the erroneous publication and have not responded further to concerns. The closing serves to assert Mt. Riga’s ownership of the trail.

SHARON — The American Association for State and Local History recently awarded the Sharon Historical Society with a certificate of commendation for the book “Echoes of Iron in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner.”

KENT — Residents on Geer Mountain Road are petitioning to have a 1.75 mile stretch of the road between Camp’s Flat and Jennings roads designated scenic. A public hearing will be held Sept. 14.

CANAAN — Two groups of three young men stood face to face — one group dressed all in white, the other in uniforms embellished with a multitude of pins and badges, all symbolizing the work and dedication that earned each of them the rank of Eagle Scout. Christopher Gatto, Michael Lannen and David Wood took the Eagle Pledge at a Court of Honor held Sunday. Leading them through the formalities were Scott Zinke, Daniel Peppe and Jonathan Trotta, each of whom has attained the Eagle rank within the last few years.