Turning Back the Pages - July 2, 2026

125 years ago — 1901

SALISBURY — Mrs. T.S. Russell had the misfortune to lose one of her farm horses this week.

C.F. Wanger captured a very large snapping turtle Sunday while on his way home from Mt. Riga. He took Mr. Turtle into custody and thought he had him secure, but on going to look at him Monday morning he could not be found.Soon after Mr. Wanger was called by telephone to come and get his new pet. Seeing the rear door of the Maple Shade open the turtle entered. Imagine the landlady’s surprise on entering one of the bed rooms to find turtle in possession which proves that it knew where to look for a first class boarding place.

SHARON — Miss Neenah Ryan opened her Kindergarten school on Monday of this week with nine pupils.

LIME ROCK — About 2,000 pine logs have been hauled to the saw mill here during the past winter. A. Palmer commenced sawing them on Tuesday.

100 years ago — 1926

The marriage of two popular young people took place on Wednesday morning at 11 o’clock at the Congregational Church in Salisbury, when Mr. Charles Nash of Portland, Me. and Miss Lila May Senior, daughter of Mrs. Mary Senior of Salisbury, were united in the holy bond of matrimony by the Rev. John Calvin Goddard.

ORE HILL — Mrs. John Rowe received quite a painful injury recently when she ran a sliver nearly an inch long under a finger nail while employed at Lakeville Manor.

WANTED — Competent woman over twenty-five years old for general housework with cooking — Electric stove — no washing — good wages. Telephone Lakeville 214-2.

50 years ago ­— 1976

A stone grinding wheel was unearthed last week at the site of Ethan Allen’s furnace in Lakeville.Leonard Godding excavated the spot near the Lakeville Hose Company firehouse in preparation for the addition to that building and came up with numerous specimens of iron ore containing charcoal, and slag, the glassy substance remaining after iron ore is melted down. A leading arsenal of the Revolution, the blast furnace was built in 1762 by Allen and some sturdy neighbors.

A young goshawk was stolen from its artificial nest at the Miles Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharon early Sunday. Arthur Gingert, sanctuary caretaker, speculated that the thief probably intended to use the bird for falconry. The 6 ½ week old chick was nearly ready to fledge, or fly, Gingert said, and he added that he wished the bird had flown away a day sooner. The bird of prey is not rare — Gingert termed the species uncommon but not endangered. Falconers in New York State and Connecticut have offered to help in the search for the bird. Gingert said there is a black market for the goshawk because it is illegal to buy or sell the bird, valued for the sport of falconry. He said the bird is probably worth several hundred dollars on the black market. The foundling had been carefully tended at the sanctuary and it was hoped that it would soon return to the wild but about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, “someone who knew what he was doing” removed it from its nest.

A microscopic parasitic organism known as “schisotome dermatitis” has been identified as responsible for a recent series of “lake bites” from persons swimming at the Town Grove on Lake Wononscopomuc. Many children have come home covered with bites in recent days. According to First Selectman Charlotte Reid and Recreation Director Art Wilkinson, the organism was identified early this week by representatives of the Union Carbide Environmental Sciences branch in Tarrytown, N.Y. Mrs. Reid said Wednesday the town is in the process of posting a notice at the lake that would explain the problem, but the lake will not be closed to swimmers.

Mr. Wilkinson said the problem is a temporary one, adding that cooler water temperatures will cause the parasites to die.

LAKEVILLE — On June 30, Mabel and Robert Livsey celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They have been residents of Lakeville since 1939 and have lived in the same house on Lincoln City Road for the past 20 years. Mr. Livsey has served as school crossing guard for Salisbury Central for the past nine years. Mrs. Livsey commented that the children of the town love her husband and even tell him when they lose their teeth.

John Flynn, 14, of Lakeville, was the winner of Monday’s Litchfield County Insurance Agents’ Youth Golf Classic at the Litchfield Country Club in the 14-15 year old division.

25 years ago — 2001

SALISBURY — The Yerkes girls have performed a remarkable hat trick. Sisters Nancy, Robin and Lyn Yerkes were all valedictorians of their classes at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Nancy was the most recent, graduating last Thursday evening. Her older siblings proudly report she had the highest grade-point average of the three.

A tractor trailer and carnival ride from James B. Strates Show of Orlando were left behind in the middle of Canaan last week. The train was headed south on the Housatonic Railroad line when the car had to be pulled out of the train for repairs.

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