This Week in History (7/8 - 7/15)

10 years ago:
Construction on Mount Snow’s new high-speed six-pack bubble chair was underway. Mount Snow planned to airlift all 26 towers into place with helicopters in a single day.
Wilmington and Whitingham voters were set to weigh in on the future of their schools, with a proposal to consolidate their elementary schools, adding them to the Twin Valley Joint School framework to create a pre-K-12 system. The proposal also included the consolidation of buildings, with the combined elementary grades at what was then Deerfield Valley Elementary School. Middle and high school grades would be at what was then Whitingham School. The Twin Valley High School building, formerly Wilmington High School, would be retired from service.

15 years ago:
Local maple syrup entrepreneur Bob Coombs was awarded the 2006 New England Fellowship of Agricultural Adventurers Award by the Eastern States Exposition. Coombs’ father started the family maple candy business, first in Brattleboro, then in Greenfield, and later at the family farm in Jacksonville.
Wilmington was preparing to take more than 630 properties to tax sale, some of which had been delinquent for more than a decade. A number of the properties were small lots located in Haystack subdivisions.

20 years ago:
American Skiing Company barely avoided foreclosure by creditors after the company renegotiated its $165 million debt. The company had been unable to meet its financial obligations for several months, and avoided defaulting on loans only after seeking a waiver agreement with lenders.
The Community Alliance sought a planned unit development permit for a community center at a former school for children with autism on Stowe Hill Road.

25 years ago:
Chris Diamond returned as general manager of Mount Snow as part of a personnel shakeup by American Skiing Company.
Marlboro College president and former Newsweek journalist and editor Rod Gander retired after 15 years at the school. Gander was credited with saving the college, soliciting over $7.5 million in donations from foundations, government grants, and individuals.
Dr. Bill Sargent saved his own life when he had a massive heart attack while working late at the office. He called Deerfield Valley Rescue, took an aspirin, put a nitro tablet under his tongue, donned an oxygen mask, and waited for the ambulance to arrive.

30 years ago:
West Dover residents Henry and June Berger described their plane crash while on a cross-country ski trip in their single-engine plane. Both Bergers were injured in the crash, but Henry Berger skied down from the wreckage to seek help despite having a broken back. After two and a half hours, he discovered that what he thought were “summer houses” at lower elevations were really just boulders. The next day, he was rescued by a helicopter, and search and rescue teams followed his ski tracks to rescue his wife. Ruth Berger credited her husband’s skill as a pilot with preventing a worse crash.

35 years ago:
Grampy’s convenience store owner Tom Swim appeared before the District Environmental Commission seeking an Act 250 permit to add 2,863 square feet of “retail” space (Swim declined to expound on the type of operation) and 11,000 square feet of paved parking.
Wilmington High School’s Class of 1936 held their 50th class reunion. Seven of the eight members of the class attended, including Horace Van Wyck, Philip Stapleton, Louse Ray Daniels, Thelma Hall Benitez, Lilly Russell Waters, Ruth Hawkins Rider, and Katherine Davis Widness.

45 years ago:
Three petitions for oil exploration and drilling in the Green Mountain National Forest were filed with the US Forest Service at their Rutland office. One of the applicants, Santa Fe International, sought a lease for the entire 246,000 acres of GMNF land.
Vermont passed a law allowing the use of a “breathalyzer” to obtain a preliminary BAC level from a driver suspected of driving under the influence.

50 years ago:
Wilmington received a $4,030 grant for the police department; $3,530 was for the purchase of a police cruiser, and $500 purchased a photo lab.
Readsboro was dubbed “Vermont’s Fourth of July Town” because of the little town’s big Independence Day celebration that included a parade, field day activities for kids and adults, and fireworks. The festivities attracted visitors from around southern Vermont and the Berkshires.

100 years ago:
William Reed won a prize for “most horrible rig” in Readsboro’s Fourth of July parade. The Readsboro Chair Company won the prize for best float. In field events, Nina Sears and Edna Carpenter took prizes for needle threading, and Valentino Cimonetti and Guy Cimonetti won prizes in standing broad jump and running broad jump. Marlin Robinson and Philip Jangrow took first and second in the pie eating contest. Readsboro bested Jacksonville two out of three times in the tug-o’-war, but Jacksonville beat Readsboro 7-1 in baseball.
A 10.5-pound brown trout was found lodged against a water intake screen at Mountain Mills. The fish measured 27 inches long and 15 inches in girth. It was displayed at H.F. Barber & Son’s store, where it was said to have attracted a great deal of attention.
There was a change of drivers along the stage route from Brattleboro to Charlemont and Colrain, but Albert Allard retained his route to Whitingham Station.