This Week in History September 3 - 9

10 years ago:
Five years after the flooding and destruction that occurred during Tropical Storm Irene in Readsboro, town officials said the town’s recovery and rebuilding efforts left the town more prepared to react to future natural disasters. The storm damage included the loss of three single family homes along the north bank of the West Branch of the Deerfield River on School Street in the village. The village lost access to fresh water and communication with the outside world. Roads were washed out, bridges damaged, large boulders were catapulted out of the river into roadways. Improvements since the storm included river bank stabilization, flood mitigation, and updated disaster response procedures.
15 years ago:
Hurricane Irene was downgraded to Tropical Storm Irene, but that didn’t stop it from pummeling the region, resulting in destruction and flooding in every Deerfield Valley town. Within 48 hours after the initial response, a massive volunteer effort in the region began repairing roads, cleaning flooded buildings, and supporting local residents and businesses, some of whom lost everything to the flooding. The devastation in the valley attracted the attention of national news media, which helped focus state and federal recovery efforts to southern Vermont.
20 years ago:
A Pownal man working at a condominium complex in Wilmington was electrocuted when the ladder he was carrying came into contact with overhead electrical wires. The man was working for a roofing company, installing ice panels at the condominium.
25 years ago:
Betty Bolognani was appointed to the Legislature by Gov. Howard Dean after the resignation of East Bennington’s Neil Hoag. Bolognani’s district included East Bennington, Woodford, Stamford, and Readsboro. In addition to her own experience, Bolognani also brought a bit of family history to the job – her father served as a state legislator in the 1960s.
30 years ago:
Cold Brook was upgraded to “Class A” water status. The decision by the state’s Water Resources Board came as the result of a petition signed by more than 200 people. The reclassification into a more protected category called into question the future of Mount Snow’s development plans, including the Mount Snow/Haystack ridge trail.
Schools were just beginning to use the Internet as a teaching tool.
The Deerfield Valley News received a slew of angry letters after a woman complained of “thievery” and sexism when she was charged more than a man for her haircut in a local hair salon, and called West Dover a “hick town.” Along with the angry letters was a letter of apology from the woman for her rant.
35 years ago:
The Wilmington Selectboard debated traffic tickets as a source of revenue. A change in state law allowed local law enforcement agencies to collect and keep fines levied for infractions on state roads provided the town adopted a traffic ordinance that mirrored state regulations. Police Chief Tom Donnelly said he expected a 25% increase in traffic problems on Route 9 after a major project that rebuilt Route 9 from Coombs Sugarhouse to Hogback Mountain.
40 years ago:
The new “Wilmington Business Association” elected Drew Kovach as president and Betsey Reagan as secretary and treasurer. The WBA parking committee was said to be making progress in its effort to establish new parking areas for downtown businesses.
A naked man was found wandering through Molly Stark State Park. He was brought to the Brattleboro lockup where he was ordered held until sober.
45 years ago:
Mount Snow announced that it would open its new Snow Mountain Inn Conference Center on December 15. The center would provide facilities for 450 people, banquet space for 350, and meeting rooms for 150. Mount Snow General Manager Chris Diamond called the conference center “the missing piece of the Mount Snow and southern Vermont Region.”
Mount Snow was also hard at work on an $850,000 snowmaking project. New snowmaking lines had been installed on Cutoff, Lower Canyon, and Deer Run, and lines on other trails had been upgraded. Mount Snow said the project would offer 41% snowmaking coverage.
55 years ago:
In a compromise, the state environmental agency approved some development at Linc Haynes’ Ryder Pond property in exchange for his promise that the bog would remain untouched.
Sweet Pie was at Fat City. The substantially less than half-naked piano player was known for his honky-tonk, boogie-woogie, ragtime, and barrelhouse blues. Sweet Pie was billed as a “Warner Bros. discovery.”