This Week in History: August 13 - 19
10 years ago:
Whitingham was preparing to kick off their 12th Old Home Week, a once-in-a-decade celebration of Whitingham, its residents, and their shared history. One of the highlights of previous celebrations was a variety show featuring theatrical acts and music by local residents. In tribute to the first Old Home Week held in 1906, the 2016 show featured an ongoing fictional dialogue, written by Leon Corse, between his great, great-grandfather, Lester Corse, and his sister, Ophelia Farrington. The dialogue tied together the different acts in the show.
15 years ago:
At Pettee Memorial Library, Martin Kasindorf presented his documentary on the history of the house he and his wife Irma Hawkins own on Castle Hill in Wilmington. The cottage, a former schoolhouse, has the distinction of being the only house on the shore of Harriman Reservoir. Hawkins’ family has owned the cottage since the 1950s. The former School District No. 14 schoolhouse was built in the 1840s, and was in use until the 1920s, when the Deerfield River was dammed to create the reservoir.
20 years ago:
The Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce board of directors hired Laura Sibilia as chamber executive director. Sibilia was well known in the community thanks to her years at Dot’s Restaurant, as well as her tenure as a Dover School Board member. When Sibilia took the top spot, the chamber was in the midst of planning a major marketing effort targeting the Philadelphia area. Sibilia also vowed to increase the number of local events and celebrations, and bring residents and second-home owners together.
Halifax lost their bid for an injunction against Art on the Mountain at Honora Winery, after Judge Thomas Durkin said the town failed to meet its burden of proof demonstrating immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage resulting from the additional six days of the event.
25 years ago:
Wilmington and Whitingham school board members met in the first of what they said would be “several” sessions to discuss ways the school districts might work together to share some assets and expenses. Whitingham School Board Chair Doug Bartlett said Whitingham wasn’t ready for a “merger,” but if the two boards “started smaller, in eight or 10 years we might be able to merge.” The talks led to the creation of the Twin Valley joint school district.
30 years ago:
Wardsboro students learned they would start the school year in the Town Hall while they waited for a new addition to the school to be finished.
Super Saver Groceries opened in West Dover, located next to the Perfect Cup in the Dover Retail Center. Owner Michael Jordan (no, not that Michael Jordan) said shopping at his store could cut your grocery bill in half.
35 years ago:
The Wilmington Selectboard decided not to pave a section of Ray Hill Road after residents expressed concerns that the road would become an alternative access road for Haystack and Mount Snow, resulting in an increase in traffic.
In Dover, planning commissioners and selectboard members got into a shouting match over the proposed town plan.
40 years ago:
A West Dover homeowner started a fire in his house when a propane torch fell over. Thinking he had shut the torch off, the man left the house and went to Bromley Mountain for the day, stopping at Stratton for lunch. The fire burned undetected for several hours, according to fire officials, until a neighbor noticed smoke coming from the house.
Randy Schoonmaker was nominated to serve as president of the Mount Snow/Haystack Chamber of Commerce at their annual election dinner at the Viking Motel and Lodge.
45 years ago:
New England Power Company announced improvements to the downstream slope of Harriman Reservoir. The work included removal of the top soil on the lower three-quarters of the slope, installation of a 3-foot-thick gravel layer, and a compacted earth overlay up to 15 feet thick. NEPCO said that, although there were no safety concerns, the work would bring the dam up to the “rigorous standards” of the Army Corps of Engineers.
55 years ago:
Mount Snow announced that the second nine holes at the Mount Snow Golf Course were completed and would be ready for play by mid-September.
The state roads commission scheduled a hearing on the proposed Wilmington bypass. Immediately, foes of the project, who had successfully delayed action on the roadway for more than a year, announced that they would continue to oppose the project.
