Turning Back the Pages - February 12, 2026

125 years ago — February 1901

Miss Muffins of Boston has come to reside with Mr. and Mrs. G.A. Selleck. Miss Muffins is a kitten of the Angora breed and is as odd as it is valuable. It is a gift to Mrs. Selleck from her brother, Mr. Frank Wolfe.

CHAPINVILLE — Mr. Bain of Falls Village has bought the MacNeil place of Watson Parmalee. Price $4,500.

The Falls Village Inn had a very narrow escape from being burned Tuesday night, the ceiling catching fire over a lamp in the pool room.

Mr. John Cleaveland of Sharon is visiting at Mrs. Jane Cleaveland’s. Mr. Cleaveland is a man of 72 years and made the trip from Sharon on foot last Saturday.

The west bound freight on Wednesday afternoon became stalled in the snow at Cook’s Cut. As a result, the 5:25 o’clock passenger train was held at this station for two hours until the road was cleared. Some of the passengers remained in town over night.

100 years ago — February 1926

ORE HILL — The James Flint family have a new victrola.

A party of young women from Garden City, L.I., came up to enjoy the winter sports over the week-end, making their headquarters at Farnam Tavern.

50 years ago — February 1976

It was an anxious five days for the Aller family in Lakeville before members knew that Mr. and Mrs. Howard Aller Jr. and their party were safe in their vacation house in Antigua, Guatemala, after the devastating earthquake of Feb. 4.

Driver education will no longer be required at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, the HVRHS board decided Tuesday night. The board agreed to offer both classroom training and on-the-road driver education as elective courses.

CORNWALL — The first order of business at the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Monday night meeting was to approve the Nestle Corporation’s plan for a structure to house a 5000-gallon water storage tank. The 8 by 40 foot shed of cedar siding will stand on six existing concrete saddles located near the Nestle spring on old Route 4 in Cornwall Bridge. The company was recently granted a variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals to construct a tank for commercial use on the site, which is in a residential zone.

25 years ago — February 2001

The reaction in local towns was mixed yesterday to a proposal from Gov. John G. Rowland that the state purchase more than 15,300 acres of land from the Kelda Group, a regional water company, and its subsidiaries, Bridgeport Hydraulic Co. and Aquarion. Of those lands, which surround the utility’s reservoirs, 1,668 are in Litchfield County. The largest parcel in the county is 1,123 acres in Falls Village. The second largest parcel is 428 acres in Salisbury.

On Tuesday, a small chemical spill occurred at Cornwall Consolidated School. Fortunately, classes had been cancelled for the day due to the weather and no children were present. The chemical, potassium hydroxide, was added to the boiler of the school as a water softener to prevent rust.

Mia Purcell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Purcell of Falls Village, has joined the staff of Audubon Expedition Institute in Belfast, Maine, as development director.

KENT — Navy Comdr. Kathleen M. Lindenmayer, daughter of Maureen and Tom Brady of Elizabeth Street, recently reported for duty at Naval Maritime Intelligence Center in Washington, D.C.

CANAAN — The Colonial Community Theatre Group, which is ready to move ahead with the purchase of the historic Colonial Theater it is trying to save, has hit an unexpected stumbling block. The owners have not acknowledged written offers or returned phone calls from the group. The theater closed four years ago this month with the sudden death of owner/operator Shirley Boscardin.

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