Turning Back the Pages - March 19, 2026

125 years ago — March 1901

Master Roscoe Brinton sprained his wrist one day the past week so badly while playing at school, as to require Dr. Skiff’s services.

Did you ever observe that we have what may be called submarine sidewalks.

Dr. Coley, whose summer home is in Sharon, contemplates having a hospital in town where he may care for his patients during the summer months.

I.W. Sanford has been busy surveying ground and arranging plans for the new milk bottling plant to be erected by the Borden Co. at Canaan. The building is said to be of wood, 50x150 feet.

The new iron trestle being erected by the railroad company is being rapidly put together by a force of workmen. The first span is already in place. The whole number of sections will be three and when finished will be a great improvement over the old wooden one.

100 years ago — March 1926

LIME ROCK — Lawrence Belter went to Hartford Monday for treatment on his throat. Friends of Mrs. Belter are glad to hear she is improving slowly.

The blue birds have been postponed on account of the weather.

LIME ROCK — Miss Doris Athoe who is training to be a nurse in the Hartford hospital, spent Sunday with her parents.

Col. Charles H. Ball has installed a radio at his home.

50 years ago — March 1976

Gov. Ella Grasso announced Tuesday the appointment Tuesday of Patsy Van Doren of Cornwall to the governor’s Council on Voluntary Action. Mrs. Van Doren said she is “very pleased” with the appointment and is looking forward to working with the council. The Council on Voluntary Action, a 12-member body, coordinates volunteer activity, initiates programs, consults with private agencies using volunteers, assists in fundraising and tests new methods of coordinating volunteer programs.

The move to provide better “sex education” at Housatonic Valley Regional High School got a strong boost this past week from four physicians. The doctors vigorously urged a HVRHS board-appointed committee to pursue and expand its plans for developing new programs.

Caring for the President’s skis when he vacations at Vail, Colo., is the job of Gunnar Jansen, son of Karine Jansen of Salisbury. Jansen, who was photographed with President Ford during the First Family’s Christmas holiday, is the Rossignol Ski Company’s representative in Colorado.

CANAAN — Lester Gochey Jr., 40, of the Greenacres section of Canaan, was drowned Sunday night after his snowmobile crashed through the ice on Lake Pleasant at Northville, N.Y. Douglas A. Parker, undersheriff of Hamilton Country, N.Y., said that Gochey was snowmobiling on the lake with Kenneth Demming of Ashley Falls, Mass., when the accident occurred. Gochey’s snowmobile was ahead of Demming’s when it went through the ice and into about 12 feet of water. Gochey was a mechanic for the Riva Equipment Co. in Canaan. He lived on Housatonic Avenue with his wife Anita and twochildren, Raymond and Michele. A snowmobile rally will be held on Dave Carlson’s farm in Canaan Valley Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Gochey family.

25 years ago — March 2001

CANAAN — The Environmental Protection Agency has filed an administrative complaint against MINTEQ International stemming from an oil spill last year that released a small amount of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) into the environment. PCBs are considered by the EPA to be “probable carcinogens.” The federal agency is alleging six violations relating to the spill — classified as an “unauthorized disposal” — and inadequate storage of PCBs. Penalties for the complaints total $192,000.

CANAAN — Molly Toomey brought her imperturbable style to Pittsfield last Saturday and brought home the regional spelling bee championship. The seventh-grader also made history, becoming the first North Canaan Elementary School student to achieve the title in the 21 years of the regional competition.

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