This Week in History

10 years ago:
Twin Valley board members were disappointed when their RFP for the development of a community center at the former high school building in Wilmington went unanswered. The board had previously been in contact with a potential bidder that expressed interest in renovating the building and renting some of the space for public use. But that developer never bid on the proposed project. Another developer proposed a project outside of the bidding process, but the cost to the school might have been as high as $400,000, the board said.
15 years ago:
Twin Valley Middle High School Principal Frank Spencer retired after 40 years in the same building. Spencer originally came to (then) Wilmington Junior/High School as a social studies and math teacher in 1971 after graduating from Harvard University. Later he served as assistant principal and, in 1987, became principal. Spencer cited his role in creating Twin Valley as one the accomplishments he was most proud of.
20 years ago:
Three local contractors inspected the Twin Valley High School building in Wilmington and declared the building to be in sound condition. Their opinion contradicted that of engineers from an architectural firm hired by the school board, which had been involved in planning improvements to the building for several years.
Former state representative Bob Rusten took the helm at Wilmington Town Hall as town manager. Rusten brought a wealth of experience in fiscal management, public policy, and government.
25 years ago:
A Dover resident won $75,000 on a scratch ticket he purchased at a local convenience store. The unexpected jackpot was his second of the day – several hours earlier he won $100 on a scratch ticket. The lucky winner bought a new car, took a vacation, and put the rest of the proceeds in the bank.
Nudity at the famous (or infamous) Ledges swimming area on Harriman Reservoir was banned by US Generating Company after a Vernon resident with a camp on the reservoir complained that nude people were leaving the area and wandering near her camp.
30 years ago:
The completion of a state study of options for a Route 9 bypass around Wilmington Village was postponed for another year. The final report had already been delayed by a year before the announcement.
A mountain biker from Arizona was exiting a West Dover inn when she saw a man riding away on her $3,500 mountain bike. The woman and two friends chased the man down, knocked him to the ground, and tied his hands behind his back with his own belt. Police charged the man with grand larceny.
35 years ago:
Wilmington High School’s Class of 1926 celebrated their 65th reunion at the Skyline Restaurant. Dorothy Turner and Viola Morse, both of Wilmington, were in attendance, along with Dale Harris, of Brattleboro. The three made up 37% of the eight-member graduating class.
Wardsboro Selectboard members sent a letter to Vermont’s congressional delegation expressing concern about the safety of Yankee Rowe nuclear power plant in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. “Rowe may be safe, but there’s no way to know that,” board members said. “It does us absolutely no good in Windham County, and we’ve got a potential nuclear bomb sitting in our backyard.”
40 years ago:
Four generations of the Brown family graduated from Whitingham High School. Clara Morse Stone graduated from a high school operated out of North River Hall in 1927, and her daughter Rita Brown graduated from the current municipal center in 1946. Larry Brown graduated from Whitingham School (now Whitingham Elementary/Twin Valley Middle School) in 1967, and his son, James, graduated in 1986.
45 years ago:
Dot’s Restaurant was closed. Owner Jack Little said that a combination of factors, including two bad winters, a gasoline crisis, and two bad summer seasons, forced him to close the restaurant.
The flat roofs on the pods at Whitingham School were leaking and ceilings were covered with black mold, insulation was soaked, and the building’s steel frame was starting to rust. Writer Brent Betit said, “It is a supreme act of bravado to erect a building with a flat roof in southern Vermont.” Whitingham voters were considering replacing the flat roofs with pitched roofs at a cost of $350,000. The town was eligible for state school construction aid, as well as other state and federal grants, bringing the cost down to about $148,000.
50 years ago:
A house on Lake Raponda’s only island was offered at $75,000. The one-acre island included a five-bedroom house, boathouse, garage, three docks, and a bridge.
55 years ago:
A group of Dover residents were circulating a petition seeking the ouster of Dover Town Manager Alden Rollins. The town manager’s alleged offenses included firing a member of the road crew and replacing him with an “out-of-state” hire, and mismanagement of road equipment.
100 years ago:
International news in the Deerfield Valley Times focused on the Irish War of Independence. It was reported that “Sinn Feiners” kidnapped Earl Bandon in Cork, and burned his castle in Bantry. Col. Lambert, of the crown forces, was killed near Knockroghery and, in reprisal, the entire village was burned. It wouldn’t be reported in the Deerfield Valley Times for another two weeks, but a truce would be declared on July 11, essentially ending combat in all but the northern counties and setting into motion the establishment of the Irish Free State, which became a sovereign nation in 1937.
A party of 15 relatives and friends attended a birthday gathering for Reuben Snow at his Wilmington home. A “bountiful dinner” was served at noon, followed by ice cream and cake.
A baseball game at the Academy grounds in Jacksonville was declared “a one-sided, uninteresting affair” when Jacksonville beat West Brattleboro 26 to 5.