Turning Back the Pages - October 23, 2025

125 years ago — October 1900

FALLS VILLAGE — At a little before three o’clock yesterday, Friday morning, H.W. Simmons, a boarder at the Falls Village Inn, awoke, he noticed a light, got up, saw a blaze in the rear of G.W. Hall’s store, the Citizen’s Hall Building. He gave the alarm of fire. Landlord Beach and the guests of the hotel were instantly in their clothes and out to further the alarm. Clerk Campbell, John Bartle, Fred and William McCabe and W. Best were first at the scene. It was evident that some devil had set the fire going in a pile of boxes in the rear of Hall’s store and with the limited water supply it was also evident from the start that all that could be done was to save other buildings.

The many friends of H.F. Landon are congratulating him upon his nomination to the office of Senator.

Horace Johnson, the weather prophet, is on the rampage again and is promising us every old kind of weather.

Two tally-ho parties stopped at the Wononsco House on Sunday and Monday. The turnouts were both very fine.

Michael Flynn of Ore Hill, aged 13 years, fell off a fence and hurt one of his arms. Five days afterward he came to Dr. Hoag, who found that the arm was broken. The operation of “setting” was very painful for the little fellow.

100 years ago — October 1925

The fire siren sounded Wednesday morning and caused the firemen to hustle, but no one seemed to know where the fire was. An immediate investigation was made and it was learned that no one had sounded it. The trouble was finally located at the Holley Mfg. Co. factory. It seems that some one was pounding with a heavy hammer on a board near the button which starts the siren and the jar set the thing going. There was some fault in the button itself, which has been remedied and no further trouble from this source is expected.

Adv.: IF YOU SEE SAM AND MOLLY and have junk for sale, stop them. Sam will buy the junk and Molly will haul it away. We pay highest price for Rags, Magazines, Iron, etc. S.F. Holman, Junk Dealer.

The Solan family of Ore Hill have installed a new radio which they are all enjoying immensely.

Freelan Pulver has moved into rooms in Miss Jane Smith’s house, and W.H. Judd has moved into the rooms vacated by Mr. Pulver.

50 years ago — October 1975

The geese supposedly polluting Lake Wononscopomuc in Lakeville had apparently flown the coop this week as hunters searched the waters for the elusive birds. Hunting season opened Saturday for the first time since 1939 and 10 permits have been issued so far, said First Selectman Charlotte Reid Wednesday. However, the Canada geese have been few and far between with only three geese killed, Mrs. Reid said.

Bicron Electronics of Canaan confirmed this week it is going ahead with major expansion plans at its plant. The announcement comes at a time when many small subcontracting plants across the country are having to cut back or close down. Plans call for an additional 5,000 square feet of production space, according to Emery Wegh, president of Bicron.

Peter Morrow of Sharon escaped injury on Oct. 11 when the hot air balloon in which he was a passenger lost altitude and landed in some trees near the Kent School for Boys. Mr. Morrow and the balloon’s owner, Rick Behr of New York, had soared smoothly around the Northwest Corner for about 45 minutes when the propane tank heating the air ran out of fuel, according to Jane Buckley Smith of Sharon, herself a balloon enthusiast. According to one report the balloon landed in tall trees, then ripped and jolted the occupants further toward the ground. They jumped when the carriage was about 10 feet above the ground. They sustained no injuries.

The 747 students now enrolled at Housatonic Valley Regional High School constitute the biggest student body in the school’s history. That was just one of several statistics handed the HVRHS board on Oct. 14. Other figures released by Principal Edward Kirby showed nearly 50 per cent of 1975 graduates attending college or technical or vocational schools.

A baby girl, Erin Lynn Matheson, was born last month to Mr. and Mrs. David Matheson of Johnson Road, Falls Village. Maternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Kirkpatrick of Beebe Hill Road, Falls Village. Paternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Walter Matheson of Orchard Street, Lakeville.

25 years ago — October 2000

SHARON — Some ample savings are in store for those with overdue bills at Sharon Hospital. A 25 percent discount is available to those whose bills have been sent to a collection agency or who are two months or more in arrears.

A group of teachers at North Canaan Elementary School has agreed to return salary overpayments that were the result of a contractual error. All 13 teachers have filled out forms designating how they will return a total of $9,400. Overpayments per teacher ranged from 44 cents to more than $1,200. Those with smaller amounts will pay it back in a lump sum. Others have agreed to a schedule of payroll deductions, beginning with their next pay check.

SHARON — Despite supporting the idea of a day-care center on the property adjacent to Sharon Center School, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted against granting a special exception to the Sharon Day Care Center because it lacked a plan for sewer and drainage.

An early Monday morning brush fire at Lone Oak Campgrounds was attributed to a Sunday campfire that was not completely extinguished. Canaan Fire Company Deputy Chief John Foley said the fire apparently smoldered all night.

SHEFFIELD — The 1838 smokehouse that used to stand on Christ Church property took a trip Friday morning on a flatbed trailer, moving across Main Street to its new home on the grounds of the Sheffield Historical Society. The next step will be to complete a foundation already begun, then lower the nine-foot-tall, 6,000-pound building onto its newly prepared site.

CANAAN — Customers at McDonald’s Restaurant won’t notice anything different Sunday, but behind the scenes a major changeover will take place. Longtime owners Joe and Shelley Deutschle have sold the Canaan and Great Barrington franchises to McDonald’s Corporation. “We came into this with a 10-year commitment in mind. We’ve been here 12,” Mr. Deutschle said. The Oct. 22 changeover will herald no staffing changes or major equipment or decor renovations.

CANAAN — After a six-month wait, Roma Pizzeria finally opened for business last week. The little blue building next to the tracks on Main Street is once again a lively spot and the only place in Canaan offering New York style pizza.

FALLS VILLAGE — Peggy Matthews was awarded a master’s degree in special education in June from Westfield State College in Westfield, Mass. She is employed as a special education teacher at North Canaan Elementary School.

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