This Week in History

1906 Archive

(Complete)

January

Monday, January 1, 1906

• The Evening Sentinel sold a record 1,536,680 copies in 1905. The average daily circulation is 5,022. For many years the Sentinel had the largest per capita subscription rate in the United States.

January 2

• DERBY - The board of Apportionment & Taxation is being petitioned to widen and improve Water Street.

• DERBY - The Sentinel reports that famous multi-millionaire Andrew Carnegie will donate the last $625 needed to purchase an organ for the new Unitarian Church at Seymour and Atwater Avenues.

• SHELTON - A boy skating on the canal falls through the ice. He sinks under the water twice. Fortunately his plight is witnessed by a women, who calls the police. The Borough's only two permanent policemen respond. Officer Barnes jumps into the frigid waters, grabs the boy, and hands him to Chief Robbins.

January 3

• A heavy evening rainfall turns everything into ice.

• SEYMOUR - The 150 acre James Farm on Mountain Road in the Bungay district is sold to J.H. Hale of Glastonbury, the largest peach grower in the world. The farm also touches Great Hill Road, across which is the Hale & Coleman peach orchard - the largest in Connecticut.

• SEYMOUR - The road through Puddle Hollow, a neighborhood being eradicated for railroad expansion and to relocate South Main Street, is  officially closed.

• OXFORD - Whooping Cough epidemic in Oxford Center.

January 4

• DERBY - The Russian Relief Committee has raised $153.55 for victims of a Jewish pogrom that occurred there.

January 5

• ANSONIA - Another house is moved from the Railroad Property to New Jerusalem, off lower Main Street.

• ANSONIA - Big problem with dogs killing chickens on Kankwood Hill.

• ANSONIA - The State is dissatisfied with Ansonia's recent school enumeration, and orders the City to perform it again - for the third time in a year.

• SEYMOUR - The defunct Valley National Bank pays its last dividend.

• SEYMOUR - The road on west side of the river to Ansonia, through the woods near Kinneytown Flats, is covered with stones that rolled down the nearby hill - causing a dangerous condition.

January 6

• Coal dealers report slack business due to mild the winter temperatures. Caterpillars, snakes, and lady bugs are appearing.

• DERBY - Attorney Albert Sherwood's first ever article appears in the Evening Sentinel, entitled "Historic Trees of Derby, Part I". A Waterbury resident, Mr. Sherwood was born in Derby in the 1840s, and is from one of the "old" families. Many more articles would appear. In 1924, the same year of his death, many of them would be put together in a book still read today called Memories of Old Derby.

Monday, January 8, 1906

• The unseasonably high temperatures are broken a bit today by a light snowfall. Prior to that mosquitoes were appearing in the unusually mild weather. People are anxious about high ice prices later this year, as ponds where it is harvested are not frozen. Ice was used for refrigeration in 1906.

• ANSONIA - A "murderous" assault at Henry Gross' saloon on Water Street leaves a bartender with a fractured skull from a pool cue. The assailant at large, and being vigorously tracked down by the police.

January 9

• ANSONIA - The bartender who was assaulted at Henry Gross's salon dies. The assailant has been arrested, and is charged with murder.

• OXFORD - Foundation laid for a new public hall in Quaker Farms, to replace the Good Templar Hall destroyed by fire last Halloween.

• SHELTON - The factory of the United Folding Box & Paper company is to be leased to the Bleached Fibre Company of New York, where it will manufacture high grade paper stock.

January 10

• Temperatures near zero.

• SEYMOUR - Many complaints about the Seymour Electric Company's streetlights. They are so dim they are virtually useless at night.

January 11

• Roller skates are becoming popular again, as they were a number of years ago.

• DERBY - It is announced that the Derby Automobile Company will open on March 1 in a new building on Atwater Avenue. It is run by Curtiss & Tomlinson of Ansonia, who are converting their carriage manufacturer business to sell automobiles.

• DERBY - John Lombardi is putting a big addition onto his Minerva Street machine shop, that will serve as a salesroom for up to 50 automobiles. An old wood shed is being torn down for new 2-story brick building.

January 13

• DERBY - Burglars are discovered by a laundryman in Judge William Sidney Downs' home on Elizabeth Street. He chases one of them across the Derby Public Library grounds. The suspect then jumps over the ravine at Caroline Street. Both burglars escape. The upper floor of the Judge's home is found ransacked.

• OXFORD - Rabies scare when a dog is discovered with the disease.

• SEYMOUR - There is a Scarlet Fever epidemic on Great Hill.

January 14

• There is so much ice after an ice storm that some children are actually ice skating along the sidewalks.

Monday, January 15, 1906

• Rain washes away yesterday's snow, ruining the sleighing and coating sidewalks with ice.

• DERBY - The new electrical control switch is now in operation at the rail yards at  Derby Junction in East Derby.

• SHELTON - Residents of the Kneen Street area are upset when a local doctor fails to report a case of diphtheria. This results in many children being exposed to the disease at Ferry School, resulting in an uproar among the parents, too. The school room is fumigated. The Borough Health Officer, Dr. Gould Shelton, is investigating.

January 16

• SEYMOUR - The Sentinel editorializes that Seymour will become a trolley center now that contracts have  been awarded for a new line between that town and Naugatuck. The Naugatuck line goes to Waterbury, connecting that city to Bridgeport via the Lower Naugatuck Valley lines.

January 17

• A rabies scare affecting other parts of the area reaches the Valley. Dogs believed infected are found on Division Street, Ansonia, and on Derby Avenue in Seymour. Stores are seeing a run on muzzles. People are killing dogs suspected of carrying rabies.

• ANSONIA - The police department seizes a nickel slot machine in the Hotel Dayton. After that the numerous other gambling machines that appeared in Ansonia in the last six months "disappear as if by magic" in Ansonia.

• DERBY - George Clark of Milford will lease the Bassett barn on Fourth Street, for the sale of carriages, buggies, and heavy wagons. Mr. Clark sold a considerable quantity of these last year.

• January 18

• DERBY - Many are pleased with the new concrete bridge on Main Street over the Naugatuck River. They think the Huntington Bridge, a steel bridge constructed in 1891 at the site of today's Derby-Shelton Bridge should be replaced next. (It would be replaced by the current concrete structure in 1919).

January 19

• DERBY - The George W. Cheeseman property on Minerva Street is purchased for a new Derby High School. The Elks were negotiating for some time for the property, and were reportedly surprised by the announcement.

• DERBY - Another burglary occurs in the Derby Public Library neighborhood when the H. D. Sawyer house on Seymour Avenue is broken into. Some silverware is taken.

• SEYMOUR - Few dogs wandering in Seymour today, as most are chained due to the rabies scare.

• SHELTON - Unlike other parts of the area, large amounts of harvestable ice for refrigeration can be found in Huntington. Two icemen have harvested 115 tons from the millpond off the Huntington Street bridge, while in White Hills Philip Jones has also filled his big house.

January 20

• SHELTON - In a shocking development, warrants are issued for the arrest of 14 local merchants, mostly along Howe Avenue, for conducting business on Sunday. Apparently a petition was signed by members of a group with religious ties. After the initial shock and indignation from the first merchants who were served the warrants, the arrests take on a carnival atmosphere as people learn a visit from the police is imminent, and so many others are also being arrested. The police are reportedly reluctant to make the arrests, but their hands are tied. This is the major local news story in the Sentinel for quite some time, and touches off a debate over whether state ordinances prohibiting business on Sunday are a religious duty, or merely a Connecticut "Blue Law".

• ANSONIA - The proprietor of the Hotel Dayton pleads guilty to keeping an illegal slot machine and is fined $50, which is considered quite steep. Later he is charged for exposing minors to the machine. Its widely believed that this case is intended as a warning to the other slot machine vendors who have been installing the machines for the last six months.

• SEYMOUR - A police officer kills another mad dog suspected of carrying rabies.

January 21

• Temperatures rise to 60 degrees with high humidity

Monday, January 22, 1906

• OXFORD - The walls of the new Good Templar Hall are raised in Quaker Farms.

January 23

• DERBY - The Elks Club votes to buy the Cheeseman property on Minerva Street for the amount agreed upon some time ago. This is a problem, because the Board of Education has already put $100 down on the property for use as a new High School.

• DERBY - Local residents who return from an automobile show in New York City are very enthusiastic about the new machine's future prospects. Among the new innovations introduced is a device intended to help cars ride easier called a shock absorber. At this time, many still think automobiles are dangerous, largely because of their speed.

January 24

• SEYMOUR - Complaint of a large number of underage foreign boys working in local factories.

January 25

• DERBY - Word reaches town that General Joseph Wheeler is gravely ill, suffering from pneumonia in New York City. This leads to a number of reminisces about the man's boyhood in Derby. He lived in the Commodore Hull House on Commerce Street. Later, he would move South, and he would become a leader in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, he worked toward Reconstruction, and became a general in the US Army, serving in the Spanish American War. Later in the day, it was announced that he passed away.

• SEYMOUR - The Mad Dog scare continues. A dog is killed after it attacks a woman on horseback on Great Hill. In another part of town, people are worried about a resident that was bit by a dog owned by the principal of Seymour High School, though the victim does not appear to be suffering from rabies.

January 28

• DERBY - Four arrested in a Sunday raid on a Housatonic Avenue saloon.

• OXFORD - The Sentinel's Oxford correspondent writes: "The traveling on Sunday was very hard and few cared to ride for pleasure that day. A cold wave followed that night, which while not excessive is good wholesome winter weather".

Monday, January 29, 1906

• DERBY - A suspect in the burglary of the Sawyer residence on Seymour Avenue in Derby earlier this month is arrested - an Ansonia man. This came after another man arrested for stealing Dr. Ambrose Beardsley's carriage implicated him. Both are accused of several break-ins involving silver.

• DERBY - It is formally announced that the Cheeseman property on Minerva Street will be used for a new Derby High School.

• DERBY - The Board of Apportionment & Taxation is considering opening a "Town Farm", which will care for the poor by providing them a working environment. The reason for this is charity expenses are rapidly increasing, and Ansonia seems to have had success with a similar venture.

January 30

• Icemen are giving up hope of a successful local harvest due to the mild winter. They have reportedly resorted to listening to the region's old inhabitants telling them the number of times the Housatonic River, the largest source of refrigeration ice, froze in February enough to make ice.

January 31

• ANSONIA - One of Ansonia's oldest residents, Mrs. Charlotte D. Clark, dies at the age of 82. She was born in Seymour, but moved to Woodbridge Street, Ansonia in 1830, where she lived in the same house for the rest of her life. When she moved to Ansonia, Main Street was mostly composed of potato patches. The nearest store was on Main & Division Streets, and the nearest Naugatuck River bridge crossing was at Division Street.

• ANSONIA - Because of the mild weather, Ansonia merchants are complaining they have very large stocks of winter goods.

• OXFORD - Hope Chapel in Quaker Farms given a new stove, a gift from a new town resident.

• DERBY - Residents are requesting a new streetlight on the corner of Minerva Street and Cottage Street.

February

Thursday, February 1, 1906

• Today is Ansonia Day in New Haven. The Elm City's merchants there gave free inducements to Ansonia and Derby women to come to New Haven to shop. These inducements include free train fare, free meals, and sales for Valley residents only. Special, gaily decorated trains are sent to the Valley. Thousands attend.

• There is a problem on the Huntington Bridge, of boys handing out handbills to passerby. The pedestrians tend to glance at the handbills, often advertising sales or shows at places such as Sterling Opera House, then throw them onto street. This practice is illegal in both Derby and Shelton, but the boys tend to run over the bridge, outside the jurisdiction of each town's police, when pursued. Now that Derby and Shelton are cooperating on this, they are positioning themselves directly in the middle of the bridge, and its unclear which department has jurisdiction.

• SEYMOUR - The Tomlinson Place on River Road in Seymour is purchased by a new owner for a low price. The reason the price was low is the house is said to be haunted. Several families who lived there said a ghost rearranges furniture at night. The ghost is thought to be the original owner, who committed suicide. The house's former owner did not occupy the house.

February 2

• Local groundhogs see their shadows, predicting six more weeks of winter. That evening, the temperatures fall below zero, causing the Housatonic to freeze, and making the nervous icemen very happy.

February 4

• ANSONIA - An Elm Street milkman loses control of his wagon going down that street's hill. The wagon bumps horses that are pulling it, causing them to go wild. The wagon overturns near Vose Street, dumping 400 quarts of milk into the street. One horse is injured, and the wagon is smashed.

Monday, February 5, 1906

• The Ansonia-Derby Ice Company is making preparations to harvest ice in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, due to the very mild winter.

• ANSONIA - 5 local boys, about 17 years old, have run away. It is rumored that they have decided to join the Navy.

• SEYMOUR - A dump cart, and the horse that was pulling it, fall into the Naugatuck River off upper Main Street. The horse had to be cut free of its harness to be saved.

February 6

• ANSONIA - Ansonia Board of Apportionment and Taxation approves a 12 mill tax on all residents. This proves very unpopular, and at least one grassroots group forms to find ways to avoid paying the tax.

• ANSONIA - The Board of Health votes to ask the Board of Aldermen to make spitting on sidewalks illegal.

• DERBY - Following Ansonia's lead, the Police Chief warns shop owners to remove all slot machines.

February 8

• Snowstorm and lunar eclipse overnight.

• DERBY - The Derby Neck Library board votes to remove all books by Jack London from the shelves, after the author announces he is an anarchist and denounces the United States government.

• SHELTON - The first teacher's institute ever held by the Town of Huntington opens at Shelton High School, under the State Board of Education. At least 150 Connecticut teachers attend.

February 9

• SEYMOUR - A carriage containing an Ansonia couple is struck by a train on South Main Street, after the horse became spooked and ran into it head on. The husband is badly injured. The wife dies the following day.

• ANSONIA - Fountain Hose Company holds their 30th annual Firemen's Ball at German Hall. Many attend.

February 10

• DERBY - The action of the Derby Neck Library board two days before catches the attention of the New York Times, which ridicules the board and states banning Jack London's books is "good advertising for the author".

February 11

• A snowstorm brings the first opportunity of the winter season to use horse drawn sleighs.

• SHELTON - In the wake of arrest, and eventual clearing of charges, of all merchants open on Sunday, all downtown merchants remain closed this Sunday, including fruit dealers who tested the law last week. This does not stop the Fairfield County sheriffs from raiding the Donovan saloon on Center Street - arriving from Bridgeport in a horse drawn sleigh. After breaking down the door and busting windows, it becomes clear that the saloon was indeed closed for the day, in accordance with the law. A rough crowd gathers outside and taunts the sheriffs, but no violence or arrests result.

Monday, February 12, 1906

• ANSONIA - The Ansonia-Derby Ice Company starts cutting 8 acres of 10" thick ice on Quillian's pond in Ansonia. Because of the scarcity of ice this year, due to the warm temperatures, arc lights are set up so the cutting can go on both day and night. Ice was the primary means of refrigeration back then.

• DERBY - In the wake of last week's controversy, involving the Derby Neck Library pulling all books by Jack London off the shelves after he denounces the US Government and declares he is an anarchist, Derby and Shelton Socialists are now trying to get Mr. London to speak at Sterling Opera House.

• DERBY - The police department informs local boys they can no longer play on the Green, due to damage they have caused to the grass.

February 13

• ANSONIA - 50 at work at Qullian's Pond for Ansonia-Derby Ice Company. Warm evening weather causes mass melting of both snow and ice, forcing the harvesting to stop.

• ANSONIA - Ansonia, Derby, Shelton, Seymour residents meet here to form the Naugatuck Valley Motor Boat Club. Twenty attend the meeting, and officers are elected. A boathouse will be constructed on Shelton side of Housatonic River.

• SHELTON - A dozen employees of the Derby Manufacturing Company on Canal Street strike after the machine room foreman is discharged.

February 14

• OXFORD - Ice harvesting has also been occurring here at a frenzied pace, in an effort to get enough ice in the little time allowed. F. S. Sanford's ice house is only half full.

• SEYMOUR - Mrs. Julia French withdraws offer to build a public library in memory of her late husband. Her lawyer states the reasons include the fact she is now in ill health and is not pleased with the progress of obtaining land for the library.

February 15

• ANSONIA - Cold weather returns, ice harvesting begins again on Quillian's Pond.

• DERBY - The Ansonia-Derby Ice Company is now harvesting on Lake Housatonic, above the Ousatonic Dam. However, the ice is of poor quality, and only 7" thick.

• DERBY - The mayor appoints two members of the Board of Apportionment and Taxation to purchase a Town Farm for local poor residents.

• DERBY - Mrs. Gilbert Wheeler, born August 5, 1817,, dies in the same house she was born at 323 Hawthorne Avenue. She was the daughter of Sheldon and Grace Smith.

February 16

• DERBY - In a further sign of the unseasonably mild weather, a Washington Street resident spots a robin and 2 bluebirds.

February 17

• ANSONIA - The Ansonia-Derby Ice Company is having a hard time finding people to harvest ice on Quillian's Pond on short notice. High school boys are now being employed.

• SEYMOUR - The "mad dog" rabies scare is over for the most part, though complaints persist of unattended dogs.

February 18

• All but giving up on the local ice harvest, the Ansonia-Derby Ice Company begins harvesting on a leased pond in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The ice blocks will be floated down the Housatonic River.

Monday, February 19, 1906

• ANSONIA - Mayor Farrel and members of Board of Education have been inspecting city schools. They had to enter and leave Elm Street School through back fence because of a 6" layer of mud everywhere else in the schoolyard. Steps are being taken to solve problem.

February 20

• DERBY - Housatonic Avenue is in "deplorable" shape. It is described as "one long mudhole". The sidewalks have many holes and are also muddy.

• DERBY & ANSONIA - Spring like weather once again halts ice harvesting on Quillian's Reservoir and Lake Housatonic.

February 21

• ANSONIA - 200 attend a Washington's Birthday ball at Ansonia Opera House.

• ANSONIA - Riot between Poles and Slavs in a Jersey Street saloon. Six are arrested, though it is unclear exactly what happened due to language barriers.

• SHELTON - The first coal barge of the year arrives at Shelton Docks, for the J. A. Birge Company. This is quite early in the year for coal barges, normally the river is iced over at this point. The mild weather, while it may be driving the cost of ice up, is also contributing to lowering the cost of coal.

February 22

• By this time, the Ansonia-Derby Ice Company has only harvested 4000 tons of ice - much of it poor quality, due to the mild winter. This leads to widespread fears that the price of ice, vital to refrigeration, will be high this year.

February 23

• SEYMOUR - A 22 year old Italian railroad laborer is struck and killed by a freight train at Mahoney's Cut, below South Main Street.

• ANSONIA - Ansonia Opera House packed beyond capacity by Webster Hose H&L Company's ball. Four hundred are in the Grand March alone.

February 24

• ANSONIA - Owner of the Jersey Street saloon where the riot broke out February 21 is arrested for serving minors. He is fined $25.

February 25

• ANSONIA - A farmer walking with a lantern at dusk brings a train to a screeching halt. The train's engineer saw him swinging the lantern in distance, and became afraid that it was a signal that the tracks were washed out ahead. A quick investigation leads to no charges being filed, as the farmer had no idea his lantern caused the train to stop when questioned.

Monday, February 26, 1906

• Ice field on Lake Housatonic breaks up and floats down the river. In previous years, the "ice going out" led to destructive freshets along the riverbank, but because of the mild winter the ice was so thin it causes no damage.

• OXFORD - The new social hall built to replace Good Templar Hall dedicated in Quaker Farms with a dance held by the Choral Club. The hall is a big improvement over the last one, and the gathering is the biggest assembly in recent memory in Quaker Farms. A formal opening is proposed after Lent.

• SHELTON - The work of removing machinery of the National Folding Box and Paper Company on Canal Street to New Haven is well underway. The factory is for sale.

February 27

• ANSONIA - The annual American Brass Company meeting is held in Waterbury. Charles Brooker of Ansonia is reelected president of the ABC. The firm's capitol stock is raised from $10 million to $12.5 million.

• ANSONIA - A public hearing is held about the trolley company, Connecticut Railway & Lighting's, petition to double track the belt line. The proposal has met vigorous opposition in Ansonia, where residents are afraid there would be no room for horse teams on Main Street if more tracks are added. This ongoing debate lasts for weeks.

• SEYMOUR - Messrs. Sanford & Hitch move their steam powered sawmill from Governor's Hill, Oxford, to a woodland tract they recently purchased on Great Hill.

February 28

• ANSONIA - A mysterious "Miss Dandro" leaves a note in the mail that she admired a man from afar, and wanted to meet him at McQuade's Corner Drug Store. The problem was, about 100 men from Ansonia and Derby got the same note, and many showed up looking for the secret admirer all at once, including some who were married. Many entered the store, some hung out in the area, while some walked past a number of times. Later it was discovered that the letter was a clever ploy for a new hair tonic from the company that made it, being sold at McQuade's, called Dandro.

• DERBY - The Derby Choral Club stages Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah at Sterling Opera House, before one of the largest audiences ever in the playhouse. The Derby Fire Department had men in uniform - which calmed nervous people down (deadly theater fires were a real problem in America then). While the Sentinel enjoys the presentation, it complains that the main exit was blocked with chairs for additional seating, as well as people getting up and leaving before the last number ended.

• SEYMOUR - A new 4-room schoolhouse being built next to Central School is almost finished. It will be for primary grades - the children who will go there are now at Central and the Second Street School.

• SHELTON - For only the third time in 15 years, ice on the bottom of the Shelton Canal rose to the surface and blocked the waterwheels of the mills along Canal Street which draw power from it. Some factories close, others are on limited production. Rock salt and long handled rakes are employed with limited success.

March

Thursday, March 1, 1906

• ANSONIA - The John R. Murray Company changes its name to R. Q. Walsh Company. Robert Q. Walsh was a junior partner in the firm for many years, until Mr. Muray recently retired. The company runs the Boston Store, and the building will continue to be called the Murray Block.

March 3

• Three inches of rain falls today, the heaviest rainfall total since August.

• ANSONIA - Streets and crosswalks flooded. The Naugatuck rises to highest level in a year - rising to a few inches below the track timbers of the railroad trestle.

• SEYMOUR - Street flooding occurs when the Naugatuck River overflows. The floodwaters carried away several yards of temporary railroad tracks where double-tracking is occurring. Several large gravel banks related to the construction project are completely washed away upstream. A big steam shovel near the riverbank is almost undermined.

• SHELTON - The Naugatuck Valley Motor Boat Club will lease 100' of river frontage from Captain George W. Briggs off the South End. The riverfront location is ideal as it is in a sort of ravine along the riverbank, offering protection from freshets.

March 4

• The Naugatuck River continues to rise due to the heavy rainfall the day before. The floodwater begin to recede at noon, and by evening the river level has dropped 3 feet.

• DERBY - A big beam floats down Naugatuck River and strikes a pier of the Old Town Bridge on Division Street, causing the bridge to settle and lean onto one side. Both rivers rise in Derby, but the damage is slight because there is no ice.

• SHELTON - The Church of the Good Shepherd is shaken by the news that Rev. F. H. Masthison has been stricken by "partial paralysis of the vocal cords".

Wednesday, March 7, 1906

• ANSONIA - An old carpenter shop on The Flats off Maple street is torn down. Several tenement buildings will be erected there. Many Seymour residents, most of whom are foreign born and displaced by the railroad improvements that eradicated the Puddle Hollow neighborhood and other places in that town, have migrated to Ansonia in the six months.

• SEYMOUR - The Town's Grand List totals $2,991,986, and increase of $15,000 over last year.

• SEYMOUR - SNET completes running a phone cable from Ansonia to the corner of Main and Bank Streets. It contains 104 wires - which should accommodate Seymour's expanding telephone needs for the next few years.

• SHELTON - The Ousatonic Water Company is building a suburb called Parkview north of downtown Shelton. While a number of lots will be sold, the company itself will build at least 6 model cottages - containing 6 rooms each and moderately priced.

March 9

• DERBY - 15 pupils of Franklin School are ordered home by the principal, because they have whooping cough. The school system is trying to prevent an outbreak.

• SHELTON - The "mad dog" rabies scare has spread into White Hills. A berserk mastiff was scared out of a pig pen, then ran away and attacked 2 other dogs, killing one before being shot and killed itself . Three days later the entire town orders all dogs must be muzzled for a month, and police may shot dogs that are not compliant.

March 10

• ANSONIA - Armstrong Bargain House will throw 5,000 marbles into the street at 2 PM as an advertising stunt. This is the second year in a row Armstrong's has done so. At this time in history, marbles is a popular children's game.

Monday, March 12, 1906

• DERBY - Two cast members from the troupe performing Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Sterling Opera House get married on stage - for real. Theatergoers initially thought it was part of the production, but it was an actual marriage, performed by Rev. A. J. Talbot, of Ansonia's AME Zion Church.

March 13

• SEYMOUR - A Derby mason working on the double tracking project gets caught on the railroad trestle over the Naugatuck River as a train approaches. He narrowly escapes, and has to jump 20' into the water to save his life.

March 14

• SEYMOUR - Telephone lines are being extended into Great Hill.

• ANSONIA - The controversy over the dwindling number of shade trees downtown resurfaces when two nice old trees are cut down on the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets. There is talk of enacting an ordinance to preserve the remaining shade trees left.

March 15

• A snowstorm drops up to six inches of snow. This is only the second storm of the year in which enough snow has fallen for horse drawn sleighs.

March 17

• ANSONIA - A mule that until recently belonged to Farrel Foundry is sold to a coal dealer. Shortly afterward, it stops in its tracks on Main Street, just as the Farrel gong sounds for quitting work. The mule absolutely will not budge, and even holds up the trolley. It takes awhile for people to realize that the Farrel gong signified it could stop work, along with the foundry's human employees. The mule finally moves when it becomes convinced that it is about to be served dinner - part of its routine at Farrel's.

• SEYMOUR - The rabies scare appears to have passed - the 60 day muzzle law on all dogs is allowed to expire today.

Monday, March 19, 1906

• The worst snowstorm of the year brings high winds and deep, wet snow. A train derails in heavy snow between Seymour and Beacon Falls.

• ANSONIA - The Board of Education votes to open new Garden Street School on April 9. The Factory Street School will be shuttered, while three 8th grade classes from Hill School will be transferred to Garden Street.

March 20

• ANSONIA - School enumerations completed, again. A total of 3,742 school age children are counted, 148 more than last December's count. 196 of them are in private schools, and 2781 are in public schools. 16 children between the ages of 14 & 16 are not in school, while another 16 over the age of 16 are still in school.

• ANSONIA - The Police Chief gets a telephone call from Woodbridge about a man who stole an overcoat and jewels from a home there. A companion of the suspect shortly afterward shows up at the police station for lodging (lockups commonly doubled as homeless shelters back then), and tells the Chief the suspect's location. He's arrested at train station. The new modern marvel, the telephone, is credited for allowing the Chief to move quickly before the suspect caught a train for Boston.

• SEYMOUR - A Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) Chapter is organized at the Seymour Congregational Church.

• SHELTON - The Sidney Blumenthal Company will lease part of the former Birmingham Brass Company on Bridge Street and install 60 looms. The company's growth is termed "phenomenal".

March 21

• Today is the first day of Spring. Snow still covers everything.

• DERBY - N. L. Blover, an Elizabeth Street automobile dealer, loads five people who missed the trolley into a car. He later passes the same trolley, beating it into Ansonia, despite the snowy conditions. He tied ropes around the wheels for added traction.

• SHELTON - The International Silver Company on Bridge Street is "unusually busy". The company needs new machinery to meet its demands, but has no room to install it.

March 22

• ANSONIA - City factories are extremely busy - most are working until 10:00 PM, instead of the usual 6:00 PM quitting time. The workers are being paid overtime.

• ANSONIA - A new three-story frame apartment building will soon replace an old house on Jersey Street.

• SEYMOUR - The Naugatuck News reports that that Sunday selling continues to be brisk in this town. It has also proven hard to catch, because someone is tipping off saloon keepers ahead of raids. Slot machines are also a problem.

• SHELTON - An otter is shot and killed along the Far Mill River in Wells Hollow. This is the first otter seen here in over 25 years.

March 23

• DERBY - Pool, or billiards, continues to be popular in this city, despite the fact it is waning elsewhere in favor of bowling and roller skating.

• SHELTON - Farmers and lumbermen lament that the industrial boom has stripped them of manpower. One farmer is offering a rent-free cottage, fuel, a cow, and $25 a month, and still can't find workers.

March 24

• Morning temperatures are 8 degrees.

March 25

• SEYMOUR - The town is dry this Sunday, due to widespread rumors of a pending raid against illegal alcohol selling. None occurs, however.

• OXFORD - The price of eggs is down to 18 cents per dozen, due to the overabundance of eggs in town.

Monday, March 26, 1906

• DERBY - Derby will receive a drinking fountain for both horses and humans on the corner of Atwater and Seymour Avenues - thanks to a successful application by W. E. Andrews of Williams Typewriter Company to National Humane Alliance It will replace an iron drinking tank there many years. This fountain has since been moved to Founder's Common.

March 27

• Warm temperatures bring a big thaw to the deep snow cover from the recent storm.

• ANSONIA - The bowling alleys at the Ansonia YMCA open after being refurbished. They are heavily patronized.

• DERBY - During a public hearing of Derby Board of Aldermen committee empowered to look into the matter of the CR&L trolley line double-tracking the belt line, the committee votes 16-7 to turn down the petition to double track trolley lines. Ansonia is reported pleased, as it already is on record opposing the plan.

March 28

• ANSONIA - The Naugatuck River is 2' higher than it was yesterday due to the thaw. An island below the Maple Street bridge has shifted east - no one knows why. The Sentinel remarks how resourceful Ansonia's poor are for their skill in quickly scavenging driftwood washed up along the riverbank for fuel.

• ANSONIA - A four-day search for two missing children, a 5 year old girl and her 3 and a half year old brother, comes to a tragic end when their bodies are discovered in Biddy Lamb's Pond. Apparently they fell through the ice in extremely cold weather. At this time of year, the pond covers one acre. The Sentinel calls it one of the saddest tragedies ever to strike Ansonia.

March 29

• Thanks to the thaw, many roads are covered with mud "half a wheel deep" in some places.

• DERBY - People are driving their wagons and carriages along the railroad track paralleling New Haven Avenue to avoid the mud.

• ANSONIA - Every school in Ansonia now has a telephone, except Garden Street which will shortly.

• ANSONIA - Farrel Foundry & Machine Company is completing the largest sugar mill it has ever built. It will be shipped to Cuba next week. It was completely assembled, then taken apart for shipping.

March 30

• There is now a problem hiring servant girls and waitresses, because women are preferring the large number of available factory jobs. The same applies to farm hands, causing some local farmers to go to Ellis Island, in an attempt to employ newly arrived immigrants.

March 31

• ANSONIA - Joseph Jarvis of Bridgeport has leased the old skating rink on Mechanic Street, which he will convert into an 8-lane bowling alley. He hopes to open May 1.

• SHELTON - Not a single case came before the Town Court in the month of March. It is attributed to the fact that everyone is working.

April

April 1

• ANSONIA - Dr. Roselus Y. Downs, Ansonia's Health Officer, dies at age 45 in his South Cliff Street home. Many are shocked, and believe overwork is the main cause. He came to Ansonia in 1886.

• ANSONIA - The Factory Street School closes. The school's female janitor of 19 years turns in her keys.

Monday, April 2, 1906

• Coal jumps 50 cents a ton, to $7.50, in one day, due to a massive strike in the Pennsylvania coal mines.

• ANSONIA - A Jersey Street saloon owner gets his second big fine, $100, in six weeks, for serving alcohol to minors.

April 3

• The price of lobsters is at a near record high, at 30 cents a pound.

• ANSONIA - Several thousand people from across the Valley attend the opening of the new Boston Store, on the corner of Main Street and Bridge Street.

• DERBY - The "White Property" house on Derby Avenue is being torn down. It is one of the oldest houses in Derby, and was once a rectory for Christ Episcopal Church when it was located across the street.

• SHELTON - The town's 1,200 Roman Catholics are surprised by a morning Associated Press announcement that a new parish is to be established here, with Father D. A. Bailey of Montville the pastor. Currently Shelton's Catholics worship at St. Mary's in Derby, although some there have initial doubts of the report's authenticity, it later is determined true. This is the very beginning of St. Joseph's parish.

April 4

• DERBY - The largest automobile ever seen in Derby up to that time passes through. It is over 9 feet long, powered by a 50 horse power engine. Among its amenities are glass windows on the doors, and a leather interior.

• OXFORD - Linemen are putting extra lines on the new telegraph passing through Quaker Farms between New York and Boston.

April 5

• SEYMOUR - A laborer in a local factory has built a greenhouse on his Union Street property entirely out of scratch in his spare time. Many are impressed.

April 7

• The trolley company is putting side bars on the open trolleys used in warm weather, so people can only enter on one side. This increases both safety and ease of boarding.

April 8

• DERBY - Numerous boats are launched for the season today due to fine weather, including the long anticipated new powerboat My Creation. Built by Mr. Clark, the boat is 26' long, 7' wide, powered by a 2 cylinder engine, and painted pure white. The cabin can accommodate about 25 people. It is intended as a fast excursion boat, carrying parties up and down the Housatonic River, and to Long Island.

• SHELTON - A 3 year old boy drowns in the Shelton Canal near the Paper Mill Block, while his parents are attending St. Michael's Church services in Derby. He was in the care of older sister, who took her eyes off him for an instant.

Monday, April 9, 1906

• A rainstorm begins at noon and continues until early the next morning, dropping a total of 3.15" on the region. Wet snow falls in the afternoon, but does not stick. The storm is accompanied by high winds.

• DERBY - The Derby Neck Library Association receives $3000 gift from Andrew Carnegie for a new library building, on condition that a lot be secured and the City appropriates $300 a year to the library. The City agrees to the terms of the gift, and a lot is secured from the heirs of late William E Downes, near Derby Neck Schoolhouse.

• DERBY - Newton J. Peck sells the "Old Homestead Property" on Derby Avenue to St. Michael's parish, where they will build a new church. The lot adjoins land the church already owns.

• DERBY - A trolley sets a record of 11 minutes between Yale Field and Derby. The trolley was late in departing, and was carrying only passengers who were on their way to the transfer point at Derby Junction. Since there were no other stops, the trolley was able to travel at full speed the whole way.

• ANSONIA - Factory Street School pupils gather there first thing in the morning, then are marched by their teachers to new Garden Street School, which opens for the first time. The Eighth grade from Hill School also transfers there.

• SEYMOUR - The Naugatuck River comes close to overflowing it's banks due to the heavy rain. No damage.

April 10

• SEYMOUR - A large mad dog attacks the horses of a wagon belonging to the Seymour Manufacturing Company, then the driver. The driver directs the team into the into mill, and with an assistant fights the dog with pitchforks. The dog bolts, then attacks an assistant mill superintendent, tearing a coat off his back. Finally, the factory's President, Sen. William Henry Harrison Wooster, observing the scene from his office, decides he's had enough of this, and dispatches the dog with a shotgun fired from a window.

• SHELTON - The Derby Gas Company will build a new private coal dock on Nettleton property off Riverdale Avenue. It will be 150 feet long, and made of concrete. It will be an improvement over old dock, and will connect directly with the company's coal yards - eliminating the need to haul the heavy loads over public streets.

• SHELTON - The Borough votes to accept the petition of the Star Pin Company and discontinue the portion of Maple Street between Shelton Canal and Housatonic River. The measure passed over the objection of some Derby residents, who believed this would be the best place to build a second bridge between Derby and Shelton in the future.

April 11

• ANSONIA - The Ansonia Water Company places a water meter on the watering trough located on Main Street and Bridge Street. This surprises some, who had assumed the water used to quench horses' thirst was free.

• OXFORD - Diphtheria breaking out in Southford.

April 12

• Many houses are being repainted, despite the generally rainy weather this week.

• SEYMOUR - All dogs in Seymour must now be muzzled for 90 days, due to the attack at Seymour Manufacturing two days before. It is feared there may be a rabies outbreak. Many owners are opposed.

April 13

• On this Good Friday, many bakers are selling hot cross buns. Derby Baker J.N. Wise sells almost 3000 dozen hot cross buns alone, and still has to turn some away. Many are out in the nice weather, the trolleys are filled, and most are wearing Easter or springtime clothes.

• ANSONIA - A small wood, single story store building is moved from Platt Street to Colburn Street.

April 14

• SEYMOUR -  Several dogs without muzzles are shot and killed.

• SHELTON - Many complaints of the trolleys going too fast on the Shelton-Bridgeport line. Several dogs and a horse have been killed recently, particularly along River Road. A petition has been sent to the Huntington Selectmen asking the trolleys to observe the legal speed limit - which is 15 mph.

April 15 - EASTER SUNDAY

• Heavy rain & high winds in the morning causes some washouts. Despite the bad weather the cemeteries are full of flowers due to so many graves decorated. The churches are poorly attended despite the elaborate musical programs.

• OXFORD - St. Peter's Episcopal Church postpones it's Easter services due to the storm.

• SHELTON - St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Huntington postpones it's Easter services due to the storm.

Monday, April 16, 1906

• DERBY - Polish residents enjoy their old custom of throwing water on each other on Easter Monday. In previous years, other residents usually watched from a respectful distance. Today, however, a group of outsiders got involved, and became very insulting, in Battle Row. A short fight ensued, and one knocked out before the fight was broken up.

• SHELTON - William H. Wilkins, national organizer of the American Socialist Party, delivers a stirring address at Town Hall on Howe Avenue. The Sentinel calls him an excellent speaker.

April 17

• Ice prices are not as bad as many feared it would be after the mild winter. Last year it was 40 cents a pound, this year it is 50 cents. Broken ice in 50 pound boxes has risen from 15 cents to 25 cents. Factories and merchants purchasing wholesale, 1,000 pounds and over, are now paying from 18 cents to 25 cents a pound.

• SHELTON - Pioneer businessman James Henry Beard dies. He constructed the first brick block in Shelton - on the northeast corner of Howe Avenue and Bridge Street (still standing today) and opened the downtown's first grocery store there.

April 18 The Great San Francisco Earthquake occurred today.

• ANSONIA - The offices of the Evening Sentinel is inundated with inquires from people anxious about family and friends in San Francisco. At this point, the newspaper has very little information, beyond wild rumors of complete devastation.

• SEYMOUR - Lewis A. Camp, retired grocer, and former president of Camp & Rugg Company, dies at age 70. He served as a Seymour Selectman from 1873-78, and also was a justice of the peace and school board member.

• DERBY - About 200 crocuses and tulip bulbs sent by the parents of Harcourt Wood, namesake of the Derby Public Library, are in bloom all around the building and are quite beautiful.

April 19

• Initial thoughts that the San Francisco damage was exaggerated are now dashed. Many are concerned about numerous former Valley residents there. The telegraph offices are swamped. A San Francisco piano dealer is visiting the Sterling Piano factory in Derby and is understandably very upset. The superintendent of Derby's Alling Mills (also called Paugassett Mills), Charles B. Brewster, is traveling west, and was supposed to stop in San Francisco, but it is now unclear if he was present during the earthquake.

• ANSONIA - The city has seen 100 new immigrants relocate here in the past week. Many of them are Russian or Polish.

April 20

• ANSONIA - The Board of Aldermen are upset about the building moved from Platt Street to Colburn Street last week. No permit was granted. The wood building was moved into the newly established city fire district without permission.

• DERBY - Birmingham Iron Foundry will build a 75' square 3 story building of concrete and steel, between the foundry and machine shop. The first floor will be a cleaning room, the second a carpenter shop, and the third a pattern shop.

April 21

• Charles B. Brewster telegraphs Derby that he is safe in Alameda. Word trickling in on other former Valley residents - all are safe, so far. One Ansonia father gets word his son is safe when he receives a newspaper about the quake from a Los Angeles newspaper.

• ANSONIA - Mayor Farrel of Ansonia announces he will take donations for San Francisco relief. Coe Brass donates $1000.

• ANSONIA & DERBY - Open summer trolleys are making first appearance on the belt line today. Many riders are opting them over the closed cars due to the very warm weather.

April 22

• SHELTON - The newly organized Roman Catholic parish meets in Arcanum Hall for the first time to celebrate mass. The parish also names itself St. Joseph's Church.

Monday, April 23, 1906

• A snowstorm strikes the area. Although the snow melts on contact with the ground, it is the latest snowstorm in the year since 1884. Ice 1/16" thick forms in spots.

• SEYMOUR - At a special town meeting, residents vote unanimously to build an addition to the Town Hall to house a new library, at a cost of $750. Back then Town Hall was located on 5 Second Street, near the corner of Raymond Street.

• SEYMOUR - An Italian laborer living in a group of shacks above the the railroad bridge over the Naugatuck River is shot 3 times, and robbed $300. The victim stumbles to the shacks, and identifies his attacker to other laborers, who is among them, before he dies. The attacker leaves the area, and it is later found he purchased a train ticket to New York City. 

April 24

• ANSONIA - The San Francisco Earthquake relief fund is now at $1,328. The three major donors are American Brass Company ($1000), Charles Brooker ($200), and  Mayor Alton Farrel ($100).

• DERBY - A man who worked on constructing the new concrete bridge across the Naugatuck River bridge on Main Street says it may last 100 years, and recommends replacing the steel Huntington Bridge with a similar span, noting that rust has almost eaten through it in places. (The Huntington Bridge was replaced by the concrete Derby-Shelton Bridge in 1919, which still stands today. The Main Street Bridge was heavily damaged in the 1955 Floods and replaced a few years afterward).

• DERBY - There are numerous complains that immigrants who are spring cleaning their houses dump their garbage on the side of highways, expecting the City to pick it up. The City will, eventually, but in the meantime the appearance is very unsightly.

• SEYMOUR - A complaint is lodged against a teacher accused of assaulting a 10 year old pupil at Central School, leaving him with visible marks. It is withdrawn the following day when the teacher apologizes.

April 25

• Now that the dancing season is ending, it is noted that it seems to be declining in popularity. The season began strong last fall, but attendance has been dropping off since.

• Starting today, for the next couple weeks, a number of letters from Valley friends, family, and residents in and around San Francisco are published in the Evening Sentinel. By the end of the week, however, there are still questions whether certain individuals survived.

• ANSONIA - The San Francisco Earthquake relief fund has risen to $1,437.

• OXFORD - Burning papers and rags found in the doorway of new the hall in Quaker Farms, and is quickly extinguished by pails of water before much damage can be done. Residents are very upset, and are now wondering if the burning of Good Templar Hall last Halloween, which the new one replaced, really was an accident.

April 26

• ANSONIA - A small cyclone, or whirlwind, forms on Hull Street causing $200 to $300 damage to Mr. Hill's greenhouses.

• SEYMOUR - At this time, all steamships leaving New York City are being searched for the man who committed the murder in town three days ago, due to fears he may be trying to flee the country.

• SHELTON - The Borough wants to refurbish the Fire Department's old hook & ladder truck, but because it was purchased in 1883 it is so old that replacement parts are hard to come by.

• SHELTON - OK Tool Company will build new factory, just north of the trolley power station near the Shelton Docks, on Riverdale Avenue near Hull Street.

April 27

• DERBY - The superintendent of Alling Mills (also called Paugassett Mills), Charles B. Brewster, has arrived home and is safe, though exhausted. He confirms he was in San Francisco during the earthquake.

• SEYMOUR - The Evening Sentinel publishes its second editorial in a week on the Seymour murder, lamenting the brutality and blaming the increase of violence in the area on outside influences.

April 28

• The cost of running an automobile is very expensive. A round trip between Derby and Bridgeport costs $3 in gas, or 10 cents a mile. Tires (then called shoes) are $80 each, or $320 a set, and are prone to puncturing on the poor roads. Maintaining an automobile costs an average $20 a week maintenance, and that's not even including the cost of hiring a driver if you don't operate the vehicle yourself. (Note: Calculating for today's inflation, the $3 gas price for the 30 mile round trip between Derby and Bridgeport comes to $61.57 in 2006. The set of tires, incredibly, would cost  a  $6,567.54 a set. Weekly maintenance would average $410.47. Obviously, one had to be very wealthy to own an automobile in 1906).

• SHELTON - A Coram Avenue woman is struck by a bullet that crashed through her parlor window, suffering only a bruised shoulder. It is thought that the bullet was fired from a long distance, losing most of its energy before accidentally striking her.

April 29

• "Sunday was a very dusty day and those who went riding or walking found their pleasure spoiled by clouds of dust, which covered everything.... Automobiles that had been out for any length of time were covered thickly with dust, as we their occupants".

• SHELTON - A Thanksgiving service is held before a large congregation at the Church of the Good Shepherd, celebrating that the church is now free of debt.

• OXFORD - A 100 acre forest fire begins on the Crowther farm near old Park Road. Every available man is called upon to extinguish it.

Monday, April 30, 1906

• ANSONIA - The new bowling alleys will open in the old Bristol skating rink on Mechanic Street next week. It will be called Columbia Bowling Alleys and feature 8 lanes.

May

Tuesday, May 1, 1906

• DERBY - Complaints of bicycles riding on sidewalks when the street is muddy, which is against City ordinances.

• ANSONIA - W.N. Clark, and his wife and daughter, arrive at their James Street home after surviving the San Francisco Earthquake. On the morning of the quake, they were at the St. Francis Hotel, which was located on Union Square. The hotel survived, and they had breakfast right afterwards. The spreading fires eventually reached the hotel, which burned that night. The Clark family was forced to evacuate, abandoning all their baggage, joining the other refugees on the streets. They were taken into a home, but that shelter also burned a few hours later. They wandered the streets the rest of the night, eventually escaping to Oakland.

May 2

• Secretary of War (and soon to be President) William Taft passes through the Valley on a special afternoon train on the way to Torrington. Several Valley VIPs join him for the reception.

• Ice prices are rising due to the shortage of cold weather last winter. Generally, deliveries are up a dime from where they were a month ago.

• ANSONIA - Columbia Bowling Alleys open with pomp and ceremony on Mechanic Street.

• SEYMOUR - The Hale & Coleman peach orchards are in full bloom. The hillside is covered with blossoms ranging from deep pink to white. Many people are taking the open trolley cars from Ansonia to see them. The scent of the peach blossoms is noticeable all over town.

May 3

• ANSONIA - A New Haven couple becomes the first to be married in the new City Hall today.

• SHELTON - Already the newly organized St. Joseph's parish has outgrown Arcanum Hall. Starting Sunday, both masses will be at the larger Clark's Hall.

May 5

• SHELTON - The Housatonic Power Boat Club seems all but dead at this point due to lack of activity or interest.

May 6

• Nearly every boat on the Housatonic River was chartered to carry fishing parties to the shoreline and beyond on this Sunday.

Monday, May 7, 1906

• Postcard collecting is popular

• DERBY - N.D. Baldwin, a local liveryman for 39 years, decides to retire. He will hold an auction in 10 days.

• DERBY - National Socialist organizer M. W. Wilkins gives speech at Gould Armory, defining what Socialism is. The Sentinel reports the crowd was attentive and gave favorable feedback.

• OXFORD - Two men arrested for theft. Because the town does not have a lockup, the sheriff is in the habit of detaining people by locking handcuffing people to bedposts in the second floor of his house until they can be taken to Seymour. He also removes their clothing, so even if they do escape they won't go far.

• SHELTON - Rumors that Pine Rock Park will close are not true. The trolley company announces it will open on Memorial Day.

May 8

• ANSONIA - In the midst of a "mad dog" scare in this part of Connecticut, city officials are concerned that some are harboring rabid dogs in their basements and other areas, hoping they recover. Several dogs suspected of rabies have been put down, recently.

• ANSONIA - The Mayor's San Francisco Earthquake relief fund is now at $1539.75. Some $60.25 was raised through a benefit football game between the Crescent and Ansonia football teams on April 29.

May 9

• DERBY - The contract to build the new St. Michael's Church has been awarded to Max Durrschmidt of Shelton. It will cost between $30-35,000.

• ANSONIA - Max Olderman sells property adjoining the American Brass Company wire mill to ABC. The property lies off Canal Street, on both sides of the railroad tracks, and contains one dwelling house which will be demolished.

• SEYMOUR - About 40' of stone retaining wall gives way along the riverbank opposite South Main Street with such force some think it was a small earthquake. This was two days after a small Connecticut earthquake made headlines, and of course, people are quite sensitive due to the destruction of San Francisco after an earthquake less than a month ago.

May 10

• Heavy frost this evening. Water froze, and vegetation was hurt. Many have colds. The temperature dropped to 24 degrees in Oxford. The damage was not bad at the Great Hill peach orchard.

• ANSONIA - A 2 AM fire breaks out in one of Olderman buildings in New Jerusalem. The entire fire department is on the scene, which goes to 2 alarms. The building was a 2 story frame with an attic on Main Street & Front Street. The two stores and two apartments the building contained are destroyed. Much sympathy is expressed towards an Italian grocer who had just moved in. The building was moved from the railroad property off Canal Street a year before.

• SEYMOUR - The Congregational Church cemetery has been cleaned, and fallen monuments have been restored. The area's appearance is much improved.

• SHELTON - At this time, a group of girls play baseball on Canal Street every day during lunch hour. They work in the various factories north of the Viaduct Bridge. They are quite good, and a number of men and women watch and cheer the game from the Viaduct.

May 11

• ANSONIA - The Knights of Columbus hold a benefit mistral show for earthquake relief in San Francisco at the Ansonia Opera House.

• DERBY - The New Haven Railroad is moving its train scales from New Haven to Derby Junction. All freight trains will have to stop there.

May 12

• ANSONIA - The Sentinel has a picture of the proposed new passenger train depot on page 1.

• ANSONIA - A number of people are visiting a gypsy camp near the Seymour line to have their fortunes told.

• DERBY - William S. Crofut, proprietor of Bassett House for the past decade, says he will close the business and sell the hotel's furniture and contents at public auction. The house's owner says it will be thoroughly renovated and reopen again as a hotel. Mr. Crofut claims he was the house's longest proprietor.

May 13

• ANSONIA - Rev. Dr. W. F. Markwick announces during his Sunday sermon he will resign as pastor of Ansonia Congregational Church, a position he has held since November 14, 1890.

Monday, May 14, 1906

• Three huge explosions from Bridgeport are felt all over Connecticut. In Ansonia, dishes rattle and houses shake. In Derby and Shelton, many think it is an earthquake.

• ANSONIA - The Lower Naugatuck Valley University Club is formed. More than 100 college graduates join.

• SHELTON - A 14 year old newsboys is killed when he is struck by a passing train near the canal.

May 15

• DERBY - Construction on the new St. Michael's Church commences with excavations for the cellar.

• DERBY - Hand organ grinders are appearing on local streets, "to the delight of children and discomfort of everyone else".

• OXFORD - Hawks carrying away young chickens are becoming a problem. Hunting parties have been arranged.

• SEYMOUR - Windsor Hotel and Tingue Opera House sold to Philip Cohen, who owns a lot of property in lower Ansonia. The Opera House was formerly owned by the Tingue Manufacturing Company.

May 16

• SHELTON - Newly organized St. Joseph's Roman Catholic parish has its first fundraiser - a bazaar at Clark's Hall, which is very heavily attended.

May 17

• ANSONIA - The Frank A. Robbins circus arrives in Ansonia and pitches tents in The Woodlot, which is located off Maple Street. The circus features many tents, elephants, camels, ponies, and hundreds of employees. At 11 AM the circus parade begins, passing through Derby, Ansonia, Shelton. 7,000 attend on the first day.

• SHELTON - A little boy who spoke only Polish followed the Robbins Circus parade from all the way from Ansonia and became lost in Shelton. Neither local officials or helpful Polish residents could figure out where he was from until later in the evening. By the time his parents picked him up, he had been thoroughly entertained with books and ice cream.

• ANSONIA - Philip Cohen buys the Stillson Block, which was on Maple Street, extending from the bridge to High Street. The building is three stories with a 1 story extension, and contains 4 stores on the first floor, with a number of tenements above.

May 18

• Heat wave that began 2 days ago tops out at 92 degrees today. The unexpected very warm weather causes straw hats to suddenly appear. Mail carriers and icemen are particularly suffering. Since it is too hot to go inside at night, many stay out.

• ANSONIA - A gypsy from the encampment off Wakelee Avenue is arrested for selling a bad horse to a Derby man, then exchanging it for one that was even worse.

• ANSONIA - A Liberty Street man missing since May 9 is found in the Ansonia Canal. His death is ruled accidental.

• DERBY - The McEnerney Building on 14 Main Street will be raised 5' on a new concrete foundation. The store will be divided between a grocery and drug store. Second floor tenements will be converted into offices. A grocery store has existed in the building since 1850.

May 19

• Many fruit trees are being damaged by insects.

• DERBY - The Bassett House closes under Mr. Crofut's proprietorship. A number of borders who have lived there for years are having hard time finding lodging. The building has been a hotel since 1868 - and this is believed the first time it is closed to public. Many hope it reopens soon.

• ANSONIA - Excavation of Baldwin lot on corner of Main and Central Streets comes to a halt when Max Olderman files injunction against his partner, Philip Cohen. The matter is taken up by committee of Jewish citizens the following day, and is settled.

May 20

• The heat wave is shattered when the temperature drops from 93 to 60 in one day.

• DERBY - St. Mary's pastor Father Fitzgerald delivers a strong sermon against public profanity and swearing.

• SHELTON - It is revealed during the masses at Clark's Hall that St. Joseph Parish's 2-day inaugural fair netted $1,002, believed to be a Valley record for that type of fundraiser in that amount of time.

Monday, May 21, 1906

• DERBY - A Housatonic Avenue family has lost 4 out of 5 children to measles in the last 5 weeks. The fourth died today, and the fifth is ailing. Much sympathy is expressed toward the family.

May 22

• ANSONIA - Care and attention is being given the triangle at the foot of Elm Street. Although it now has thick grass and a tree in the center of it, neighbors plan to build fence, and plant flowers and shrubs.

• DERBY - There are fears on Derby Avenue that the proposed double tracking of the trolley tracks could lead to the destruction of the old Town Well. It is very old, and the water there is very highly regarded.

• DERBY - The new Ensign Memorial Fountain has arrived, but its foundation have yet to be laid on Seymour and Atwater Avenues.

May 23

• DERBY - 16th Annual reunion of the Connecticut Association of the National League of Women Workers is held at Derby Public Library hall. Over 100 delegates attend.

• ANSONIA - Mrs. Ellen Hayes dies - widow of James Hayes. Her husband built their North State Street House with only saw, axe, and hammer when Ansonia was a "struggling hamlet". She was the mother of Ansonia's first police chief, Daniel Hayes, who was shot on December 23, 1880 while trying to apprehend a suspect on Main Street and died four days later. His daughter, Mary Hayes, went on to become a longtime teacher and principal in the Ansonia school system, and Lincoln School was later renamed Lincoln-Hayes School in her honor.

May 24

• ANSONIA - A freak accident kills a 23 year old Italian immigrant laborer. He was installing a brick oven in a bakeshop being erected on Canal Street and Colburn Street by Phillip Cohen. The just-completed oven collapsed on him.

• SEYMOUR - The new gravel road from the W.W. Smith place on Day Street to the Woodbridge town line near Ansonia is nearing completion.

May 25

• ANSONIA -  The Board of Apportionment charges that 15 homes on Elm Street have connected their sewers to the storm water drains.

• DERBY - Attorneys rule that City of Derby cannot apportion for the support of St. Mary's School, due to the fact it is a parochial school, despite the large numbers of students that attend there.

• DERBY -  The Board of Education votes to go on record as opposing the Cheeseman property for the new Derby High School. It is seen as an empty gesture.

• DERBY - The remains of the long-burned out Hubbell stables have been cleared, and foundation work begun, on the new St. Michael's Church. Some of the stone from the foundations of the Old Homestead and Hubbell barn will be used in the church foundation.

May 26

• ANSONIA - Rabbi Samuel Bernstein of Synagogue Banai Israel on Colburn Street receives news that his wife's father, mother, and sister were murdered when the Russian village of Gazien was burned in a pogrom. 40-50 were massacred.

• DERBY & SHELTON - The Naugatuck Valley Motor Boat Club has installed a floating dock 124' from the shore in a cove just below the Point of Rocks in Shelton. A smaller one placed at Hallock's Dock in Derby.

• SEYMOUR - New steam roller being used on new gravel road on Day Street. It weighs 12 tons.

May 27

• Much rain today, though many attend the Decoration Day (Memorial Day) services at the Ansonia Opera House and the Sterling Opera House.

• DERBY - Housatonic Avenue saloon raided on this Sunday. The proprietor, bartender, and 13 men are arrested.

• SHELTON - Members of the Kellogg Post Grand Army of the Republic, their women's auxiliary, and the Sons of Union Veterans, get a hearty welcome when they arrive in heavy rain to decorate the graves at the the Huntington Center cemeteries. Services at St. Paul's Church follow.

• Rain gets into the Echo Hose Hook & Ladder Company parlors and ruins them. The Sentinel blames the Borough of Shelton for neglecting the Borough Building.

Monday, May 28, 1906

• Today's heavy rainfall is much needed for the withering crops.

May 29

• SHELTON - The State approves Shelton's request to spend entire Good Roads appropriation on Howe Avenue - from Bridge Street to the Borough line, and as far north as the money will permit.

May 30 Memorial Day

• It is a beautiful day. Many baseball games are played.

• ANSONIA - Memorial Day parade is held, from the Maple Street bridge to St. Mary's Cemetery, then Pine Grove Cemetery. Many attend.

• DERBY -  20,000 ride the Derby-New Haven trolley line - setting a record for ridership. Many are heading to Savin Rock.

• DERBY-SHELTON PARADE - The parade starts and ends in Shelton but stops at Oak Cliff Cemetery and Derby Green. A much smaller parade of Polish and Slovakian societies winds through both towns, too.

• SEYMOUR - The parade starts from First, Second, and Third Streets through town to the war monument for services.

June

Friday, June 1, 1906

• ANSONIA - Elm Street residents were alarmed several times by the appearance of figure in white walking on street. Some thing it’s a ghost. Its actually proved to be a sleepwalker.

• DERBY - The Ensign Memorial Fountain turned on for first time on Atwater Avenue and Seymour Avenue in Derby.

• SHELTON - 9" shells strike Coram from the American Ordinance Company proving grounds across the Housatonic River, causing a commotion and missing a passing trolley.

June 2

• Downpours, and hail the size of marbles fall. Streets flood. Trolleys are stopped by burned out motors and sand across tracks.

• ANSONIA - The Board of Aldermen pass controversial Connecticut Railway and Lighting petition to double-track the trolley lines in the city, on the condition they widen streets at their expense, and pay $500 annually for extra wear on streets. The vote was 8-3.

Monday, June 4, 1906

• SEYMOUR - Another workman killed after being struck by a train while working on the double tracking project, at the railroad bridge at Seymour. This is the third fatality so far.

• ANSONIA - The Board of Education votes to remove all old bells from city schools. They cite the nuisance of boys sneaking in the schools to ring the bells at midnight on the Fourth of July. The affected schools are School Street, Elm Street, Grove Street, and Hill Street schools all affected. Many are against it, including the Evening Sentinel.

• SHELTON - A Town of Huntington meeting votes to rescind an earlier vote from last month to build a new Shelton High School.

June 5

• ANSONIA - The driveway flooring at the east end of the covered portion of the Bridge Street Bridge gives way, which closes it to teams. Pedestrians and trolleys may still pass. Two iron supports gave way, causing it to sag. The covered portion  was built 45-50 years ago.

June 6

• ANSONIA - Movement to establish a Memorial Day Association.

June 7

• ANSONIA - 35 cases of whooping cough are reported in the City.

• DERBY - A mysterious animal is prowling around Oak Cliff Cemetery, and appears to be attacking cats. A few have seen it, but no one can identify it.

• DERBY - The Derby Neck Library Association votes to accept the gift of land from the Downes estate and funding from Andrew Carnegie, and appoint a building committee.

• SEYMOUR - Boys playing baseball at Second Street and Raymond Street near the new library are creating a nuisance. Windows and screen doors have been broken.

June 8

• ANSONIA - Steps are taken at a meeting at City Hall to form a Memorial Day Association.

• ANSONIA - Ansonia does not have a town dump, and with the warm weather, garbage heaps are becoming more of a problem. Lack of sewage is also an issue, cesspools are everywhere in thickly populated areas.

• ANSONIA - H.G. Fosdick transfers to Max Olderman land bound by Beaver Brook & Factory Street. He plans to build factory there.

June 10

• Heavy rain, hail and a thunderstorm strike the area after a very hot day, when everyone seemed to try to get out of cities to beat the heat. Many launches were steaming up the river when it struck, and reported the water was roughest than it has been in years.

Monday, June 11, 1906

• DERBY - Fire breaks out in a large rubbish heap at the foot of Factory Street behind the Derby Trucking Company. The entire fire department becomes involved. The hook & ladder truck, formerly operated  by the now defunct R.N. Bassett Hook & Ladder Company, and hits a pole at Elizabeth and Fourth Streets, injuring one. The fire continually rekindles throughout the week.

• SEYMOUR - The Humphreysville Graveyard Association becomes defunct, and is reorganized as the Union Cemetery Association.

June 14

• ANSONIA - A new Italian Society is organized with 75 members, called the Italian Brotherhood.

June 15

• ANSONIA - An Ansonia chapter of the Women's' Christian Temperance Union organizes.

• SEYMOUR - Citizen's Engine Company holds an open house at its newly renovated Raymond Street firehouse.

• SEYMOUR - The Seymour High School holds its graduation exercises at the Methodist Church. The graduating class numbers nine.

Monday, June 18, 1906

• ANSONIA - Motion to reconsider the removal bells from the tops of Ansonia schools fails by a vote of 5-3 at a Board of Education meeting, despite much public sentiment against it.

June 19

• ANSONIA - Mrs. Frederick G. Ware, of North Fourth Street, saves a woman from drowning in the Ansonia Canal. This is the fifteenth rescue she has made, previous saves have nearly cost her own life. Her house skirts the canal.

• SHELTON - Pine Rock Park opens for the season. Roller skating has added for first time, in a former dancing pavilion. Dancing will continue in another area of the park. Old favorites like the shooting gallery, fish pond, merry-go-round, swings, and small zoo return. Many visitors arrive by trolley from Derby and Bridgeport.

June 20

• DERBY - The Board of Aldermen grant Connecticut Railway & Lighting, which is the trolley company, permission to double-track the beltline running through the City. Although they are following Ansonia's lead in granting permission, and CR&L did offer many concessions, the move is very controversial, and many feel not enough concessions were gained.

• DERBY - The Housatonic Power Boat Company disbands. It is expected that members will join the Naugatuck Valley Power Boat Club.

• SHELTON - Contract awarded to build new the OK Tool factory. When completed the four story structure (still standing today) will be the first concrete building in Shelton.

• SHELTON - Shelton High School graduates its largest class ever, 16, at Derby's Sterling Opera House.

June 21

• ANSONIA - Ansonia High School holds its graduation at the Ansonia Opera House. There are 19 members of the Class of 1906.

June 23

• SEYMOUR - Many Seymour mills are running until 10 PM. Business is booming. Additions are being made to be made to the James Swan Company and Seymour Manufacturing Company.

June 24

• ANSONIA - The Dwyer house and store are moved across Main Street, along Central Street, into a new spot. More buildings are to be moved in that area.

• SEYMOUR - Brixey's Dam near South Street, southeast of Kerite, springs a leak. Much of the pond behind it drains. Work crews get on boats, and throw dirt into a gate on the bottom of the structure. The gate is supposed to let excess water out, but it is believed to be the source of the leak. The patch job continues into the following day, though progress is made.

Monday, June 25, 1906

• SEYMOUR - The window of a passing train is shattered by a bullet. It is thought the shot from an area near a gang of workmen, possibly due to carelessness. The police are investigating

June 26

• SEYMOUR - The Sentinel correspondent for Great Hill weighs in on the debate over continuing school bells in Ansonia: "In regard to the non-bell movement of an adjoining town, we care not for their example. The thought of parting with the bells of our hamlet would certainly be grievous. As tributes of loving donors long may they fulfill their purpose of inspiration to duty at chapel, school, and conflagration".

June 27

• ANSONIA - A 5 year old boy drowns in the Birmingham Canal near Division Street.

• SHELTON - The annual convention of the Fairfield County Women's Christian Temperance Union is held at the Shelton Congregational Church.

June 28

• DERBY - 12 students of St. Mary's High School graduate in St. Mary's Hall. (This high school only lasted from about 1903 to 1906, after which St. Mary's School reduced its focus to grades 1 though 8).

June 29

• DERBY - A report that the new St. Michael's Church is planning on building a parochial school in East Derby is generating much interest.

June 30

• Many are pitching tents along both sides of the Housatonic River for the summer camping season. Clusters of camps were utilized, mostly by unmarried men, as a means of beating the heat of the downtowns in the summertime.

• It is a very hot day, until suddenly the winds start blowing wildly, and it gets very dark. A severe lightning storm that is labeled the worst in years strikes the area. Many are frightened.

• SEYMOUR - Howard Chatfield's barn on Skokorat is struck by lightning, and is a total loss with 15 tons of hay and 2 calves. Two horses saved. There was no hydrants in the area for the firefighters to draw water from.

• ANSONIA - The storm knocks out the telephones went out. Streets are damaged by, all trolleys are stopped when the line loses power. In some places sand and dirt washes over the tracks.

• DERBY - Four houses are struck by lightning, though none are seriously damaged.

• SHELTON - The annual draining of Shelton Canal occurs, giving factories time to make repairs to their gates and flumes. Most of their workers are now on summer vacation until July 5.

• SHELTON - The White Hills Baptist Church is being renovated, with new interior and exterior paint.

July

Sunday, July 1, 1906

• SEYMOUR - The Seymour Post Office becomes a second class office, the same level as Ansonia and Derby, due to increased volume.

July 2, 1906

• More rain continues to fall.

• ANSONIA - $1000 damage has been caused by washouts to the roads.

• SHELTON - Two houses struck by lightning in the Wheeler Street area.

• SHELTON - The new waterwheel at the International Silver Company on Bridge Street is placed in position.

July 3

• Four heavy rainstorms have passed through the area in three days. A total of 1.49" has fallen.

• ANSONIA - The Olderman building, on the corner of Main and Colburn Street, is being currently moving to south end of Factory Street. A brick store and tenement will be erected in the Olderman building's old location. Already the cellar is being dug.

• SEYMOUR - Ernest D. Hull has been nominated for governor by the Connecticut Socialist party. He lived in Seymour most of his life, until he moved to Naugatuck 9 years ago.

Independence Day

• Much of the day was a washout, with rain and thunder, though there was some sun in afternoon.

• ANSONIA - Bells were rung, bonfires lit, and fireworks were set off everywhere. Churches broken into at midnight to toll their bells, a crazy tradition that ended not long into the 20th century, included the First Baptist, Methodist, Three Saints Russian Orthodox. The rain quieted things down considerably.

• DERBY - The holiday was mostly quiet due to rain, though it was noted the Chinese who run the laundry on Elizabeth Street had a far superior fireworks display.

• SEYMOUR - The Congregational Church is broken into at midnight and the bell rung. Many fireworks.

• SHELTON - Children amuse themselves by putting paper "cap" noisemakers on the tracks for the trolleys to run over.

July 5

• ANSONIA - Deer sighted on Hill Street. The species was practically wiped out in the late 19th century, but they are starting to make a comeback in the outlying sections of the City.

• DERBY - Fire completely destroys a blacksmith shop on Derby's lower Main Street, in alley between trolley car barn (near today's Route 8 South on-ramp) and the Elk building occupied by St. Michael's Church. Though the church building is scorched badly, and the blacksmith shop wiped out, many are happy the Derby Fire Department kept the dangerous blaze from spreading.

• OXFORD - Farmers report a scarcity of field help.

July 6

• ANSONIA - The Ansonia Memorial Day Association is founded at City Hall. One hundred years later the organization is still runs Ansonia's Memorial Day services and parade.

• DERBY - Complaints are raised that young men and boys can be seen bathing nude in the Housatonic River near Camptown off Housatonic Avenue.

July 7

• ANSONIA - The various departments of the Boston Store are now linked by an internal telephone intercom system.

• SEYMOUR - Brixley's dam begins leaking so badly again that Kerite has to close down.

• SEYMOUR - Dam at the S.Y. Beach Paper Company springs a leak, forcing it to close down. The dam is 50 years old.

July 8

• SEYMOUR - Hundreds watch a diver at work near gatehouse of Seymour Manufacturing Company.

Monday, July 9, 1906

• Roller skating is becoming popular once again.

• ANSONIA - The Board of Aldermen are stunned when they receive a $250 bill relating to the construction of the Eagle Hose, Hook & Ladder Co. #6 firehouse. The firehouse was completed 2 years ago, and all bills were assumed to have been paid a long time ago.

July 10

• DERBY - At this time, the Ansonia-Derby-Shelton YMCA has a summer camp along the Housatonic, called Camp Otterwa.

July 11

• ANSONIA - Tragedy strikes when a 9-year old Fifth Street girl drowns in the Ansonia Canal.

• ANSONIA - Much complaint on the West Side of odors from putrefying vegetables and