Culled by Judy Garrison With commentary by Jim Andrews
From June 1920 issues of The Andes Recorder
100 Years Ago
WEEK IN AND ABOUT ANDES
Events of a week as chronicled by
the Man on the Street
The pool room property on Main street has been sold to Frank Becker of Arena. The Argonne lunch which has been in one part of the building, will be moved to the former Armstrong store building. [Jim Andrews: The pool room would be the Apple Tree Realty building and the Armstrong Store building was part of the mill that was behind the now Andes General Store.]
The Argonne Lunch will move to Goodman Hall known as Armstrong Store, where we can give better service and also have a more up-to-date restaurant.
H.E. Mason & Son, of Delhi, are wiring the summer home of Judge M. Linn Bruce in Andes, for electric lights.
The will of Louise Gerry has been admitted to probate in the state of Rhode Island. The estimate is $600,000. The two daughters are to receive certain personal ornaments, while the real estate at Lake Delaware is to go to the husband during his life, and then to Peter and Robert Gerry.
The Andes Business Men’s Club adopted a resolution to close all business places three nights each week, beginning May 24. After that date all business places will be closed Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings of each week. Bear this in mind and govern yourselves accordingly. Do not ask any merchant to get any goods for you on any of these evenings as they cannot get any goods for you. The stores will open on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings until 9 o’clock, giving ample opportunity to lay in a supply of everything needed. The hours of closing on the three nights is 6 o’clock. [JA: By the time my mother could remember (1925), the stores in town were open late on Saturdays. Her parents used to come up from Shavertown (after milking and chores) to shop some Saturday nights.]
Two new cases of smallpox are reported in Bloomville. The victims are Mitchell Davis, father-in-law of Mrs. Albert Davis, and Mrs. Marshall Case, the sister of Mrs. Albert Davis. Neither was sick enough as yet to cause alarm, but the quarantine is being enforced in order to avoid further spread of the disease, and the churches, school and opera house remain closed and no public gatherings are held. [JA: The same measures as now were enacted in 1920 to curtail the spread of disease. Sound familiar?]
Lewis Allen, of Walton, was killed by a bull Saturday afternoon. Mr. Allen had a herd of twenty-two thoroughbread [sic] Holsteins and had just brought home this fine full blooded bull to breed with. He went to the barn to feed the animal which had been represented to him as being kind and gentle as a kitten, and was found later pinned to the side of the barn crushed to death. The deceased is thirty-seven years old and is survived by the widow and four children.
Coinage of a Roosevelt two cent piece is authorized by a bill passed by the Senate.
M. Linn Bruce and wife are in New York this week to see their son John D. Knapp who is in St. Luke’s hospital, suffering from gas ulcers.
The body of Clinton Belcher, of Hamden, colored, who died of influenza in France in the summer of 1918, arrived in Hamden last week and was buried in Terry Clove cemetery.
It is reported that a strike is scheduled to start on the Delaware & Northern on June 15.
Wednesday morning while John H. Liddle who lives on the Archie Elliott farm, was after the cows he was attacked by a neighbor’s bull and received some quite severe bruises, but no bones were broken. He probably owes his life to the fact that he was near the fence and the bull tossed him over the wall, throwing him a distance of over six feet.
W. T. Hyzer was in New York City early in the week arranging for the schedule of moving pictures to be given in Andes by Hyzer & Brittain. On July 5th, as a wind-up of the celebration, they will give a special show, the Miricle Man. They are giving high class pictures. [JA: The moving pictures were shown upstairs in the Town Hall (Bassett’s Hall) which is now the Tin Horn Building. Bertha Reynolds (Janis Reynolds’ mother) and Tom Tid (who worked on the D&N Railroad) used to accompany the movies on the piano. Bertha told me once that when she had to play, she would end up composing music on the spot to go along with the action on the screen. Sometimes, she said, she would daydream and the music she was playing wouldn’t match the action on the screen!]
An old fashioned farmers dance will be held at Union Hall, Friday evening. [JA: I am assuming this would be a square dance with jigs and reels.]
Harold Bouton had his left hand quite severely burned Tuesday night by gasoline. Bouton got down under his Ford truck to draw out some gasoline to put in his touring car. He had just drawn a gallon of gas and was about to shut off the gas when it burst into flame and his hand being wet was severely burned and well up the arm was scorched, but fortunately his clothes did not take fire. The gas continued to run until the tank was empty and the truck caught fire but as soon as the gas burned was put out by means of a fire extinguisher. The truck was considerably damaged. Bouton had a lighted cigar in his mouth and this started the blaze.
After being away for repairs since the middle of March the large dynamo at Hyzer’s electric light plant arrived back Saturday and the lighting of the village streets was resumed Tuesday evening.~