Turning Back the Pages - October 30, 2025

125 years ago — October 1900

Mrs. Joseph Argall had a close call at Ore Hill Tuesday morning. She was driving eastward, accompanied by her two children; crossed the track near the station just as the morning train was coming westward; engine just grazed hind wheels of carriage, horse was frightened and ran straight up the very steep bank on north side of track. But Mrs. Argall had the horse in hand and showed great skill and presence of mind. Even on the steep bank she whirled the horse about, brought wheel under box to keep from upsetting and came back into the road “right side up with care.” —The considerate engineer stopped his train to give assistance, fearing serious results.— A score of passengers witnessed the scene and quickly alighted to help “pick up the pieces,” but Mrs. Argall was safe, and all heaved sighs of relief and exclaimed “Good for the woman,-- not one man in fifty could have done as well.”

Saturday evening a party of toughs filled up with old cider started out to apply a scarlet hue to Factory street. They went to the home of Fred Loomis and started to break up house keeping and were partly successful, but Officer Hortie appeared on the scene and promptly escorted them to the lockup where some of them spent Sunday. On Monday morning the guilty ones were fined from ten to fifteen dollars apiece.

SHARON — The interior furnishings of the meat market lately conducted by Mr. Geo. M. Whiting, will be sold at public auction on Thursday of this week.

The political agony will soon be over and the cranks will be doing all manner of queer things in the payment of freak election bets.

LIME ROCK — Surveyors from Bridgeport were here several days last week selecting the most feasible route for laying a line of water pipe for supplying the village with water. The latter has been at a premium here for several months. It is proposed to irrigate next spring. A large spring of water in the hills one and one-half miles south of here will be utilized.

The work of putting in the new iron bridge on the C.N.E. road over the Housatonic river is completed.

100 years — October 1925

A decision on appeal from the award of $500 damages made by highway commissioner McDonald to Edward P. Sanger of Salisbury for land taken and damages sustained in the construction of the State-Federal Trunk line through Salisbury has just been rendered by the Committee appointed by the Superior Court, consisting of Frank B. Munn and Burton E. Moore of Winsted, and J. Sedgwick Tracy of Falls Village. The committee has decided that the award of damages given Mr. Sanger was insufficient, and have awarded him the sum of $1,000. Mr. J. Mortimer Bell represented Mr. Sanger, and Mr. H. Roger Jones of Hartford was attorney for the highway commissioner.

LIME ROCK — Fay Chaffee sold Preston Watts, his little trotter, to Peekskill parties one day last week.

The many friends of Mr. J.J. Derwin will be interested to learn that he will give a radio concert on the evening of Monday, November 2nd. Mr. Derwin will start broadcasting from W.E.A.F. New York at 7:45 p.m. Mr. Derwin, as the Lakeville public already know, is one of the leading banjo and mandolin artists in the county, and his many friends here will listen in with interest and pleasure, and in the meantime hope that Nov. 2nd will be a night free from static and other interference.

SALISBURY — Miss Mead delivered a very handsome piece of old fashioned furniture to a Norfolk party on Tuesday.

It is estimated that fully 1,200 people attended the Hotchkiss-Taft football game last Saturday.

50 years ago — October 1975

No cause had yet been determined early this week for a fire that destroyed a portion of the storage sheds of Riverrun Canoe Rentals in Falls Village. The fire, which took place about 10 p.m., destroyed one bay of the three-bay storage building and scorched portions of the other bays.

Ruth Ann Shufelt of Sharon and Frank Hadsell of Falls Village were united in marriage Saturday, Oct. 25, in a ceremony held in the Canaan United Methodist Church. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Shufelt. Mr. and Mrs. Lester Hadsell of Falls Village are the parents of the bridegroom.

With six weeks of adjustment behind them, the six Vietnamese refugees now living in West Cornwall are becoming accustomed to their new way of life. Their English is steadily improving, although they still have difficulty pronouncing final consonants. They are beginning to understand some previously unfathomable American customs, and experimentation with their recently installed telephone has been necessary.

A new clothing store will open this Saturday in Canaan. Country Casuals, a small shop emphasizing sports clothing for the working girl, is opening on High Street. The shop is owned by Peg Fracaro and will be open through the holidays from 9 to 5, Mondays through Saturdays. Mrs. Fracaro emphasized that the shop will not be a “boutique,” and that the working girl will find sensibly priced clothing to fit her needs.

25 years ago — October 2000

SHARON — An early morning chimney fire damaged a home at 270 Gay St. Oct. 25. The homeowners, Jeanne and Raymond McCarthy, were home sleeping at the time of the 5:18 a.m. fire, but were awakened by their dog and were able to escape uninjured. The fire, which started in the chimney of the residents’ wood stove, is not considered suspicious, according to Fire Marshal Stanley McMillan Jr.

FALLS VILLAGE — Despite an unusually wet summer, construction is moving along on schedule at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, according to Douglas Humes, chairman of the building committee. The $11.26 million project will provide the 61-year-old school with a new Agricultural Education building, greenhouse, media center and science labs.

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

CANAAN — Work has begun on the demolition of the Olde Times Saloon. The Railroad Street establishment was partially destroyed by fire May 14. Owner Terry Aldrich was asleep in an upstairs apartment when his dog “Major” alerted him to the fire just before dawn. Both got out safely. Since then the building, with its front windows boarded up and roof half collapsed, has stood awaiting a decision to its fate.