This Week in History September 10 - 16

10 years ago:
The District 2 Environmental Commission denied a motion by Hermitage Club developers to sever the development of the Deerfield Valley Airport and East Tract lands (abutting the airport) from the development of the club’s Haystack and other resort properties. The ruling, based on Act 250 criteria, came despite the developers’ transfer of the two properties to other owners in July.
15 years ago:
FEMA and the Small Business Administration set up temporary offices in the Deerfield Valley to assist with recovery efforts after Tropical Storm Irene. FEMA pledged to provide funding to rebuild infrastructure, up to 75% of municipal cleanup and repair work, as well as grants for repairs to primary residences. The SBA would provide low interest emergency loans to businesses and homeowners.
The homes of some School Street residents in Readsboro were in peril after flooding during Tropical Storm Irene eroded a 100-foot high bank in their back yards. One resident said he went from having a 22-foot back yard to having a four-foot back yard.
20 years ago:
Fennessey’s and Deacon’s Den were getting a facelift and new names, after the venerable valley eateries were sold to Mike Marino, a local developer and full-time New York resident. Marino said he didn’t want to fix what already worked and, although former owners Cathy and Jerry Costello retained rights to the names of their restaurants, he renamed them with the similar sounding “Deegans” and “Hennessy’s.”
25 years ago:
The Wilmington School Facilities Committee presented preliminary concept plans for a new Wilmington Middle/High School, designed by Dore and Whittier Inc. The estimated cost of the building was $9.3 million, of which the state would pay 30%. With Wilmington’s dollar-for-dollar contribution to the state’s “shark pool” mandated under Act 60, however, Wilmington’s cost would have exceeded $15 million.
Geene’s Servicenter celebrated three generations of ownership by the Greene family, through 60 years of operation. Bob Greene’s father, Merrill Greene, bought the building in 1941, although it had been in operation as a gas station since at least 1939.
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 and any future water withdrawal from the brook for snowmaking.
Local schools were just beginning to use the internet in classrooms.
35 years ago:
Haystack Ski Area filed for bankruptcy after a year of financial struggle and rumors of foreclosure. Under the reorganization plan, Haystack would lease the ski area to Mount Snow for three years, with an option to purchase at the end of the lease period.
40 years ago:
Dover Police Department purchased their first computer. According to Chief Robert Edwards, the department may have been the first department of their size to put a computer in their office. The department’s first computer would reduce paperwork, compile statistics, and produce reports, and maintain a database of stolen property. The system, an IBM PC with a printer, was slated to cost $7,000.
45 years ago:
Dr. Robert Ruhl, DDS, of Wilmington, was selected as one of the “Outstanding Young Men of America” for his service to the community, professional leadership, academic and business achievement, and civic and political participation.
50 years ago:
Mike Rosso and Paul Schwippert purchased the Amoco Station in West Dover from Steve Chontos.
More than 150 people showed up at the Sitzmark to donate their time in rebuilding the heavy damage to the tennis courts caused by Hurricane Belle.
55 years ago:
Rudi Wyrsch “one of the world’s greatest ski clowns” was hired to work at Mount Snow. The Buochs, Switzerland, native was leaving Pleasant Mountain, ME, to become Mount Snow’s Director of Special Skiing Activities. Wyrsch had also worked in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. A juggler, magician, and acrobat, Wyrsch was the first person to do a forward somersault on one ski.