125 years ago — September 1901
LIME ROCK — The B-R Company is building an addition to the coal sheds at the furnace in Hoppertown and a large stock of charcoal is being accumulated.
Lock up the chicken house and get the old gun ready; it is said thieves are operating about the village.
A number of people have a very careless habit of driving up to our business places and leaving their teams (with perhaps a child in) unhitched. An automobile is liable to come along at any time and frighten the horse to say nothing of other things that might cause a runaway. The practice of thus leaving horses is the height of carelessness and there should be a good heavy fine and imprisonment for doing so. Those who don’t think, should be made to think.
The receipts from the passenger traffic at the depot for the month of August exceed those of any month in the history of the station.
Bert Decker has returned to his duties at Dr. Knight’s Institute after a week spent in camp at Mt. Riga.
Mrs. Bryant of Lime Rock had the misfortune to fracture her left collar bone, by falling from the steps while coming from Miss Fretts’ Millinery parlor on Thursday morning. Dr. Orton reduced the fracture and made Mrs. Bryant as comfortable as possible.
A telegraphic dispatch late yesterday afternoon states President McKinley was shot at Buffalo and is not expected to live.
From the Millerton Telegram — John W. Colby of Lime Rock, Conn., and Miss Lillian, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Rossiter of Mt. Riga, Conn., were married at the Baptist parsonage by the Rev. W.A. King last Sunday afternoon. The fair bride is only “sweet sixteen,” but her mother came along to give her away, so ‘twas all right.
Mrs. William Van Rensaler, age eighteen years, died at her home in this village on Tuesday afternoon a brief illness. Her husband, a mother and an infant child of one week survive. The funeral was held at the home on Tuesday morning at 10 o’clock, Rev. J.H. George officiating. The interment was made in Salisbury cemetery.
100 years ago — September 1926
Clarence Surdam of Salisbury was before Justice Tuttle on Wednesday morning charged with the use of improper markers on his car. He entered a plea of guilty and paid a fine of $10 and costs of $11.36.
A Reo Speed wagon belonging to A.S. Martin caught fire on Smith Hill one day last week and was destroyed before anything could be done to save it. Mr. Martin has replaced its loss with a new truck.
The work on the new receiving vault at the cemetery is progressing.
FOR SALE — Ford Truck $25, Pullman Touring car $50, Indian Motorcycle $15. F.P. O’Neil, Taconic.
Dick Wilson on Tuesday shot a black woodchuck. There is nothing remarkable about an ordinary woodchuck but a black one is considered very rare. This chuck is thoroughly black with not a white or brown hair, and it weighed nine pounds. Dick is going to have the pelt with head and claws made into a small rug.
50 years ago — September 1976
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has proposed to spend some $871,000in Northwest Corner road repairs, but has not proposed any repairs for what selectmen and the Northwest Connecticut Regional Planning Agency termed the region’s “No. 1 priority.” Dutcher’s Bridge, a 60-year-old structure located on Route 44 between Canaan and Salisbury “is dangerous,” according to Salisbury First Selectman Charlotte Reid. She, like selectmen in Canaan, Falls Village, Sharon and Cornwall, believe it should be replaced; all have little faith that the DOT will do so — at least not soon.
LAKEVILLE — Richard E. Maltby Jr. of Lakeville was the successful bidder Tuesday afternoon for a 26-acre tract with buildings on Lincoln City Road. The purchase price was $62,000, according to John E. Rogers, president of the Salisbury Bank and Trust Co. The bank handled the auction, acting as conservator for Ernest P. Goderis, owner of the property, who is a resident of Geer Memorial in Canaan. Mr. Maltby said Tuesday night he probably will sell two houses on the land, one of which is now occupied, and will keep the remaining portion as a means of access to an adjacent 75-acre parcel which he already owns.
Final preparations for a year in England occupied Sarah Gallup of Lakeville this week. Miss Gallup is scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon to attend Lawnside School in Malvern, Worcester, where she will be in the sixth form. A June graduate of Kent Girls School, she will be one of four from that school who will study in England under the auspices of the English Speaking Union. She plans to enter Radcliffe College when she returns.
FALLS VILLAGE — The roadways in Falls Village and the nearby towns of Salisbury and Canaan have been beautified in recent years through the efforts of an anonymous gardener. Working on her own with her own resources, this woman has kept a watchful eye upon the roads as she travels the region, searching for areas that could be brightened through her efforts. “As I drive around through the region I see flowers instead of weeds around stumps, stone walls and stop signs.” What her mind’s eye perceives, her hands soon transform to reality for all to see. The trunk of her car is filled with her garden tools and she will bring soil, fertilizer and flowers to transform the stark roadway into a garden. All of the flowers for the project are drawn from her own garden beds. No public funds are used for her personal beautification project. “Money would take the fun out of it,” she said.
SHARON — Douglas Alan Weaver, an automotive technician certified by the National Institute for Automotive Excellence, will be with the Texaco Service Station in Sharon beginning Sept. 13. Weaver, a native of Canaan, had four years of training at Oliver Wolcott Technical School, and 10 years of dealership experience. He will be doing all major work on American and foreign cars and light trucks.
25 years ago — September 2001
Work on a massive renovation and construction project at Housatonic Valley Regional High School took longer than expected and students were not allowed back into the building until Wednesday, Sept 5, a week after elementary schoolers in the region started classes. “At 7:15 this morning, the halls were full of students hugging and kissing and saying ‘How are you?’” reported HVRHS principal Kathleen Burkhart. “It was a great feeling. They’re glad to see each other, the teachers are glad to see the students, we’re glad to see the teachers and the students.” The Falls Village building inspector on Tuesday afternoon finally granted a certificate of occupancy. That doesn’t mean construction is over, however. Several areas of the school are getting an “incomplete.”
NORFOLK — In a ceremony described as “very moving,” family and friends said goodbye to Ashlee Elizabeth Jacquier earlier this week. The 17-year-old died Aug. 31 in a car crash while on her way to Oliver Wolcott Technical School in Torrington. Ms. Jacquier was a passenger in her boyfriend’s car. Her boyfriend, Tom L’Heureux, 17, also a student at the school, was driving his Ford Mustang on a curve on Route 272 just south of Norfolk when he lost control of the vehicle on the wet roadway and it slammed into a tree.
CANAAN — Vinnie and Joette Viscariello are busy transforming the recently-vacated Chester Fried Chicken on Railroad Street into Cousin Vinnie’s Italian Deli. A mid-September opening is planned.
Sarah Christine Paviol and Thomas Edward McGivern were married June 9, 2001, at the Blackberry River Inn in Norfolk. Justice of the Peace Heidi Jacquier officiated. The couple is residing in Kent.
These items were taken from The Lakeville Journal archives at Salisbury’s Scoville Memorial Library, keeping the original wording intact as possible.
