This Week in History

1910 Archive

January 1 - July 24

January

Saturday, January 1, 1910

• Many attend Watch Night services in churches or attend social events. Temperatures drop to zero last night, and it is windy.

• ANSONIA - The 85' smokestack behind the old copper mill on Main Street near Bridge Street is being dismantled.

• DERBY – The police made 209 arrests in 1909, as opposed to 136 in 1908. 57 were for intoxication, 46 for theft, 41 for assault, 2 for burglary, 2 for ‘theft from person’, while the rest were petty violations.

• SEYMOUR – “One or two sleighing parties passed through Seymour last evening bound in the direction of Oxford. If the snow continues to cover the ground next week, there will doubtless be many more sleighing parties. The public schools generally arrange numerous parties of t his kind, but owing to the week just closing being vacation, the pupils were unable to arrange their usual parties. Sleighing is becoming excellent as the snow covering the highways is being packed down, and it is expected that, unless there is a sudden change of weather, that sleighing will be even better next week than it is”.

• SEYMOUR - By 2 PM the rear of the wrecked trolley is within 10 ' to the tracks at the top of embankment it plunged over nearly a week ago. It can now be seen that the front end of the trolley was badly smashed by the impact. The trolley is back on the tracks by the end of the day and hauled back to Waterbury.

January 2

• ANSONIA - By the end of the day nearly 20,000 tons of ice is harvested at Quillinan's Reservoir by the Ansonia-Derby Ice Company.

Monday, January 3

• ANSONIA – “Snow balling is again the prevailing nuisance, and a few wholesome examples made of the hoodlums who indulge in this 'sport' would certainly meet with approval from the public. One or two arrests would be all that is necessary to bring this practice to a stop. Hoodlums in various sections of the city have been busying themselves for a few days past by pelting inoffensive pedestrians, and also peddlers. The more inoffensive the person is the greater is his liability to receive a bombardment”.

• DERBY & SHELTON – The Ansonia-Derby Ice Company begins harvesting the 11” thick ice on Lake Housatonic.

January 5

• Temperatures go down to 1 or 2 below early this morning. Many are starting to call this an ‘old fashioned winter’. The temperatures later rise in the evening, turning a snowstorm to freezing rain.

• DERBY – A 3 year old child on Marshall Street (today’s Marshall Lane) dies of Scarlet Fever. Two more cases discovered on the lower part of Commerce Street.

• OXFORD – “Lester Thompson, the faithful mail carrier, is having a hard time delivering the mail. He has not been able to cover the route over Chestnut Tree Hill in its entirety since the storm of Christmas Day. On Monday it was after 5 o’clock before he passed through the Centre on his return trip to Seymour. As the traveling is neither good wheeling nor sleighing, he can only get over the ground he covers at a very slow pace. As the traveling is neither good wheeling nor sleighing, he can only get over the ground he covers at a very slow pace”.

• OXFORD – “The past week has been extreme in the lower temperatures which prevailed each night. Thursday night 11 degrees below 0 was recorded in some places, but the average for the Centre, was 8 below. Coming so suddenly and preceded by such mild temperatures the intensity of the cold was felt more keenly and the one business of the week was an effort to keep houses comfortable. The rise in temperature Sunday and Monday was very welcome as a breathing spell, but Tuesday morning brought the chilling blasts once more”.

• SHELTON – White Hills – “The recent snowstorm came near to putting White Hills out of business. The snow on some of the roads was drifted 5' deep, and it took a gang of men several days to dig through”.

January 6

• Dawn reveals the freezing rain has left a layer of ice on everything. A total of 2.1” of rain has fallen in the past two days. Many people and horses slip. Ansonia and Derby schools are cancelled, though Seymour’s is still in session.

• ANSONIA – There has been very little ice cutting at Quillinan's Reservoir in the last few days because of the extreme cold. It is suspended altogether today due to the rain and ice storm.

• DERBY – The fire department responded to 43 alarms in 1909, though the Howe Pin Company fire only really bad one.

January 7

• SHELTON - Parents alarmed when a Commodore Hull School girl is diagnosed with scarlet fever in the school. There were no cases of the disease in Shelton until late December. There is now one each on Fort Hill, Oak Avenue, and Cliff Street.

January 9

• DERBY & SHELTON – Ice harvesting continues on Lake Housatonic. New machinery is in operation, but more men are needed.

Monday, January 10

• DERBY – The first monthly Griffin Hospital Trustees meeting is held today. Twenty-seven patients were admitted in December, 16 were discharged, and one died (a second death occurs today). The average number of patients was 10, the maximum number 13. Eleven were operations performed. A total of 34 have been admitted to date, and today there are 15 patients.

• DERBY – A 2 year old Marshall Street boy dies of Scarlet Fever. His sibling died of the same disease on December 23^rd while his 8 year old sister is critically ill (she dies three days later).

January 11

• DERBY – The City’s 1909 vital statistics were: Deaths - 140; Births 301; and Marriages 130. Compared to 1908, there were 17 fewer deaths, 27 fewer births, and 29 more marriages.

• DERBY – Two new Scarlet Fever cases are found, one on Commerce Street, and another on Crescent Street.

• DERBY – A 22 year old is injured in a sledding accident when his double-ripper coaster hits a telegraph pole on Housatonic Avenue. He was sliding down the hill from Hawthorne Avenue through Camptown.

January 12

• The first Lincoln pennies are starting to appear in circulation, replacing the old Indian head copper pennies. Some are hoarding the new pennies, thinking they will be rare some day.

• ANSONIA – A Holbrook Street boy sledding down Clarkson Street at dusk strikes a wagon making its way down the hill. His injuries require stitches above his eye.

• DERBY & SHELTON – Many are ice skating on Lake Housatonic. Some go all the way down the river – “That skating is now at its best in many places is told by local lovers of the sport who seem to be growing more enthusiastic every day. Some of the local devotees are gaining a reputation as long distance skaters, a number of them having made the trip from Stratford on the Housatonic River, to the dock in Derby. Some of them went first to Stratford on the trolley and skated up the river, and so much did they enjoy it that the distance on the runners to Stratford and back is being covered by them”.

• OXFORD – “There have been recorded by the town clerk 20 births, 13 deaths, and 4 marriages during the past year”.

• OXFORD – “The filling of ice houses is the principal business which men are rushing at the present time”.

• OXFORD – Quaker Farms – “The mail carrier has had a rough, cold time of it. The first time he came after the snow he got stuck in the drifts of half mile north of the church, but fortunately he had a shovel with him and dug his way out of it. If the mail carriers are good enough to try to get through, the roads should be opened for them”.

• SEYMOUR – “Some of the people who draw wood into Seymour, are using sleds for that purpose, but the covered bridge on Bank Street is one of the worst places that they encounter. The snow has been worn away in the bridge, what there was of it. Yesterday afternoon, a man who was endeavoring to get a pair of horses through the bridge, drawing a heavy load, attracted attention. The horses managed to drag the load across, but those who saw them felt that a little snow ought to be carted into the bridge for accommodation of those who are using sleighs”.

• SHELTON – A trolley hits a delicatessen delivery wagon on Howe Avenue near Ferry School. The wagon is wrecked and the driver is injured.

January 13

• ANSONIA – The Ansonia-Derby Ice Company is now harvesting 17" thick ice from Quillinan's Reservoir.

• ANSONIA – Progress is being made on new Assumption School. It should be completed by April.

January 14

• A snowstorm begins today, and continues into following day. It is nearly as severe as the Christmas snowstorm, but without the wind.

January 15

• A total of 7” of snow is on the ground after the storm ends. Because it fell evenly, good sleighing is promised unless it rains.

January 16

• Many sleighs are out.

Monday, January 17

• OXFORD – “A sleigh party of school children from Seymour came as far as Oxford Centre Monday afternoon. They were evidently enjoying the fun greatly, and seemed a happy crowd of youngsters as they passed along”.

January 18

• Light snow that had been falling overnight changes to rain around midnight, when the temperature rises about 20 degrees. The rain continues till noon. The snow melts rapidly during the day, changing to slush, resulting in overall bad traveling. Schools are cancelled in Ansonia and other places. The temperature is 50 at 1 PM.

January 19

• The roads freeze overnight. By morning they are a sheet of ice.

• ANSONIA - A Bristol man is killed by a train while crossing the Farrel Foundry yards about 8 AM. It appears that he fall from a railroad tank car he was illegally riding.

• DERBY – The Board of Aldermen approve a new firehouse for Hotchkiss Hose Co. No. 1 and new addition for Storm Engine Co. No. 2’s firehouse.

• OXFORD – “The rain, which set in Monday night, has greatly softened the snow and it has decreased in volume very rapidly. It will probably result in spoiling the sleighing, which Monday gave promise of affording much sport”.

January 20

• ANSONIA - A Clifton Avenue home across from the Bridge Street Bridge is burglarized, and silverware is stolen. A woman awakes to the burglar leaning over her bed. When she screams for husband, he jumps out the window, getting away. The house is ransacked.

January 21

• A comet, initially thought to be Halley’s Comet but later identified as Drake’s Comet, is visible this week in the night sky, attracting many stargazers. This has since been correctly identified as the Great January Comet of 1910.

• SHELTON – About 40 young people climb a ladder to the roof of their flat from an attic scuttle to view the comet. After a “merry social” on the roof, they discover that someone has removed the ladder from the scuttle. They end up crossing to the roof of the building next door, and climbing down the scuttle ladder there.

January 21

• ANSONIA - A Clifton Avenue store in the Powers Building, near Division Street, has been broken into four times in 4 weeks, including twice this week.

• ANSONIA - About 8,000 tons of ice has been harvested from Quillinan's Reservoir by the Ansonia-Derby Ice Company, ranging from 12” to 17” thick. The ice is now softened by the warm weather.

• DERBY – Ice harvesting on Lake Housatonic is done, with almost 10,000 tons of blocks harvested.

• A rainstorm hits the area at about noon, lasting until early the next morning. A total of 2.85” falls. The ice washes away in Lake Housatonic.

January 22 - The Flood of 1910

• The worst flood up to that time since 1852 strikes the Valley. The Naugatuck River rises a total of 15 feet in less then 6 hours. At 1:30 AM, Squantuc starts communicating with the rest of the Valley that an ice jam that will lead to a freshet is occurring on the Housatonic River, and at 3 AM the ice in Lake Housatonic breaks up and tumbling over the Ousatonic Dam. At 5 AM, the Naugatuck River starts rising 6 feet in one hour, reaching its highest point at 6 AM (this was probably due to the destruction of the Kinneytown Dam). The river starts to recede at 6:15 AM, and drops 2-3 feet in the following 2 hours, settling slowly back to its normal level for the remainder of the day. The sound of the floodwaters, filled with debris, timbers, ice, and railroad ties, is called “deafening” at times.

• ANSONIA – A portion of the railroad trestle over the Naugatuck River is carried away by the floodwaters. Telegraph service is interrupted, with several poles along the railroad tracks washed away. Electric power lines are deliberately cut in order to prevent them from being destroyed, plunging parts of the City into darkness. The Bridge Street Bridge is damaged, and the water a foot deep washes over its abutments and covers the railroad tracks. The bridge cannot be approached, as the water remains high, but it appears the pier under the east portion has settled a few feet, buckling the iron span above it and washing away a portion of the sidewalk. About noon, while the weakened bridge was still being pounded by timbers, ice, and debris, crowds gather believing it is doomed. A force of City workmen, working under the direction of Mayor Charters, works feverishly to secure the span with ropes, preventing its collapse. A force of railroad men takes similar steps with the trestle. The railroad station is flooded, with sections of the platform torn away. Ice is piles on portions of the railroad tracks 6’ to 8’ deep in some sections. New Jerusalem, Ansonia Flats, and other low lying sections of the City are flooded, and residents have to seek refuge on the upper floors of the affected buildings. The water remains high in New Jerusalem hours after it goes down in the northern sections, marooning residents there. Numerous horses and other animals have to be rescued, with difficulty, though no humans or animals appear to have drowned. Farrel Foundry, American Brass Company, and Coe Brass Company are forced to close due to high water, with water and ice flooding their yards as well as the yards of the Ansonia Lumber Company and the S. O. & C. Company, and damaging small buildings. Cellars of many Main Street stores are flooded, destroying or damaging stock, while cellars of homes on Bridge Street, Colburn Street, Central Street, and others are flooded up to the street level. The floodwaters reach a point on Main Street, just south of Colburn Street, reaching as high as the bellies of horses. Downtown, the water comes within two inches of the barroom of the Arlington House hotel on Main Street. The cellar of the old Assumption Church on lower Main Street (being used by Holy Rosary Church) is flooded. A large amount of the fill along the tall riverbank along Jersey Street, much of which was illegal encroachment, is washed away.

• DERBY – The ice flood in the Housatonic River creates a great deal of noise before dawn, as large cakes of ice grind against each other, the riverbank, bridges, and anything else that gets in their way. What is unusual about this flood, is the ice from the dam to points as far north as Squantuc went out all at the same time, rather then in sections, so there are no ice jams as in years past. Some of the cakes hit the Huntington Bridge so hard it causes the whole structure to tremble, raising the alarm that it is in danger. Night watchmen start raising the alarm by sounding factory whistles at 3 AM. Hallock Court and Riverview Terrace are flooded, with people evacuating in boats, while lower Caroline Street, and lower Factory Street are also covered with water, as is the Housatonic Lumber Company’s yard. In East Derby, lower Derby Avenue and the railroad tracks are flooded. The boat Ripple (probably a steam launch) breaks its moorings at Derby Docks and starts downriver, but is retrieved before it gets away, though its hull is damaged. Washouts occur on Hill Street, Mt. Pleasant Street, Summit Street, and North Avenue. The freight depot is jammed with trains which are unable to proceed to Ansonia due to the flooding there.

• OXFORD – Both the Little River and Jack’s Brook flood in Oxford Centre. A bridge over Little River ends up acting as a dam, with ice cakes piling up alongside it near “the Crofut barn”, causing the water to overflow onto the road. The dam finally gives way, without carrying the bridge with it as was feared. Some cellars are flooded. This includes the Oxford House, which had deep water in its yard for a time, and the J.B. Sanford house was entirely surrounded by deep water. “The roaring of the torrent was terrifying, and nearly everyone in the Centre was up nearly all night”. Many roads are washed out. Eight Mile Brook in Quaker Farms also floods, with part of one bridge washed away.

• SEYMOUR – The Town is effectively isolated. All factories are closed, with water flooding the mills. The H. A. Matthews Company’s factory is completely surrounded by water. Portions of North Main Street, and the trolley tracks on it, are underwater and strewn with ice cakes. River Street is also flooded. The Little River and Bladen’s Brook overflow their banks. A large portion of the Kinneytown Dam, built in 1848 at the head of the Ansonia Canal, has been washed away. Many gather on Broad Street to witness the floodwaters, ice, and debris thundering over The Falls. Two islands in the river are covered with hundreds of tons of ice. About 11 AM, a 12 year old South Main Street boy gathering driftwood by crossing ice to one of the islands is swept away when the ice breaks.

• SHELTON – The Housatonic reaches its highest levels since the Ousatonic Dam broke in 1890. By 8 AM there is 6’ of water running over the Dam. The cellars of most Canal Street factories are flooded. By 9 AM there is a foot of water in the Whitcomb Metallic Bedstead Company’s foundry on Canal near Wharf Street. A washout occurs on what is now Wooster Street. A second washout occurs when the brook above Commodore Hull School becomes plugged with debris, causing the water to overflow its banks and rush down Oak Avenue to Burying Ground Brook. A man who resides in a houseboat normally moored below Bridge Street is trapped on his boat through the ice flood until he is rescued by a small boat in the late morning. Three empty boats near the houseboat sink. The Shelton Docks are flooded.

January 23

• The Naugatuck River recedes to its normal banks. Many journey to the Ansonia bridges and Kinneytown Dam in Seymour to view the damage and destruction.

• ANSONIA – The loss of the Kinneytown Dam is not as severe as it would have been not too long ago, as all but one of the mills now uses steam, rather then water power, along the Ansonia Canal. The one mill still on water power is the Ansonia Novelty Company, though most others still use the canal for manufacturing purposes. Water will have to be pumped into the canal from the river, which is more expensive, until the dam can be repaired. The streets that were flooded are now covered with mud. The east end of the iron span of the Bridge Street Bridge is wrecked. It is estimated that damage to the City totals $10,000 (about a quarter million of today’s dollars). Two pile drivers work all day and night making repairs to the railroad trestle. By late evening one of the tracks on the trestle can handle rail traffic.

• SEYMOUR – The Kinneytown Dam is deemed destroyed. The wooden spillway has been washed away, several feet of the upper masonry on its east side is washed away. On the west side, the dam has been washed down to its foundations. The 12 year old boy washed away is still missing.

Monday, January 24

• ANSONIA – All of the factories which were closed by the flood have reopened. Furnaces in many buildings are still too damp to light, but fortunately the weather is mild today. Many are hunting driftwood and timber which washed downstream. The warnings that old timers have been making for years, that reducing the width of the river between the Maple Street Bridge and the Bridge Street Bridge by half will lead to trouble, is being reconsidered, especially considering the flood had considerably widened the channel on its own. Repairs on the railroad trestle are completed today, though because none of the signals are working a flagman is stationed near Bridge Street. An engineer is inspecting the damage to the Bridge Street Bridge, which is closed to all but foot traffic. Once again, the trolley company refuses to assume the liability of issuing transfers encouraging people to walk across the bridge, drawing many protests. Hand pumps are in demand in the sections which were flooded, while others are bailing their cellars out with pails.

• DERBY – Franklin School reopens for the first time after being closed due to the scarlet fever epidemic.

• OXFORD – The damaged bridges have been repaired.

• SEYMOUR – The body of the 12 year old boy swept away during the flood while gathering driftwood, is recovered below the Old Town Bridge, in Derby. Because the Kinneytown Dam is gone, the Naugatuck River in that vicinity is now lower then it would be during a summer drought. About 200’ of River Road at Squatuc is covered with 3’ deep ice cakes, but a gang of men are able to clear it away. An even longer stretch of the road is similarly covered above Four-Mile Brook.

• SHELTON – The factories have reopened from the flood. The Housatonic River is still high, but some are risking their lives to gather driftwood along the riverbank. Riverdale Avenue has been cleared of the cakes of ice that blocked it.

January 25

• ANSONIA – The fate of the flood-damaged Bridge Street Bridge still uncertain, as no one knows how much it will cost to repair. The bridge is technically closed, though pedestrian traffic is still using it. The trolley company refuses to accept that liability however, and people are upset that they are not issuing transfers over it.

• DERBY – As of this time, there are 109 people are on public assistance in the City. They include 16 adults without children, 12 adults with children, 49 children with parents, 3 children in the Country Home, two children in a State Orphan Asylum, 23 who are considered insane, two who are designated as ‘imbeciles’, and two who are hospitalized.

• SEYMOUR – A derrick from New Haven will a temporary replacement for the destroyed Kinneytown Dam.

• SHELTON - The Huntington Center Road (today’s Bridgeport Avenue), a State Road, has been washed out and gullied by the storm and flood. Wooster Street is likewise practically impassible

January 26

• ANSONIA – Most of the cellars along Main Street have dried out, and now the task turns to shoveling the mud out of them. Repairs continue on the railroad trestle.

• SEYMOUR – Total flood damage to the Town of Seymour itself is about $100, much less than was feared. The covered bridge at Bank Street withstood the flood remarkably well.

• SHELTON - The Coram schoolhouse is closed after scarlet fever appears in 2 pupils. The school is being fumigated and disinfected.

January 27

• Rain and light snow fall in early morning hours, leaving everything covered with ice at dawn.

• ANSONIA & SEYMOUR – The course of the Naugatuck River’s main channel through these communities have changed due to the Flood of 1910.

• DERBY – The City’s Grand List now includes 965 dwelling houses. The List’s total assessed value is now $6,096,057.

• DERBY – Two AT&T employees have set up wireless stations, at the YMCA and in a Caroline Street house. They can communicate with each other, and also hear the wireless station at Bridgeport.

• SHELTON – A Ferry School student is diagnosed with scarlet fever.

January 28

• SHELTON – Another Coram School student has been diagnosed with scarlet fever.

January 29

• Slush two inches deep covers the walks after overnight rain turns to snow, then back to rain. The Northern Lights are visible in the early morning hours. The comet is still visible, and is being blamed for much of the ill fortune of the past week.

• DERBY - The Board of Aldermen is talking about making the Bassett Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1 move into the recently approved new Hotchkiss Hose Co. No. 1 firehouse.

• SHELTON – The Sidney Blumenthal Company completes its new brick chimney. It has a 31' square base and 6' 2" diameter at the top. It is 131' tall, making it the highest structure in Shelton.

Monday, January 31

• ANSONIA – The rash of burglaries in the Fourth Ward continue. Attempts are overnight to enter two houses, one on Cook Street, the other on Clifton Avenue. Neither houses are actually entered, but plenty of clues, including footprints visible in the fresh snowfall are found.

• ANSONIA – Mayor Charters and the head of the City’s Department of Public Works roughly estimate the cost of repairing the Bridge Street Bridge at $1,200. However, a detailed estimate from the hired engineer not in yet, so the Board of Apportionment does not take action on the issue at its meeting.

February

Tuesday, February 1

• DERBY – Even though the weather has been mild, there are still a large number of ice cakes along the Housatonic waterfront, Shelton Island, and Derby Meadows.

February 2

• Although this year was the earliest in 17 years (with one exception) that ice on Lake Housatonic was harvested, it has not frozen since the January thaw. Preparations are underway to harvest ice in the Ansonia-Derby Ice Company’s pond in West Stockbridge, MA, in case this weather trend continues.

• OXFORD – Since last fall, there has been trouble with boys being physically and verbally abusive to the teacher at Shrub Oak School on Oxford Road. It got so bad that the last teacher was forced to resign at the end of last year’s fall term. Some parents will not let their daughters attend due to the bad language there. On this date, Selectman Wyant confronts the students in the schoolhouse and tells them further misbehavior will not be tolerated.

February 3

• ANSONIA – Dr. C. H. Mercer returns to his Johnson Street home at 1 AM and surprises a burglar inside. He escapes after a brief chase.

• ANSONIA – People are complaining about the noisy gasoline engine which the Ansonia Novelty Company is using to power their plant. President T. L. Bristol says it is temporary, and the plant will soon be installing two new electric motors. The Novelty Company completely relied on water power from the Ansonia Canal, which is now much more costly due to the destruction of the Kinneytown Dam last month.

• ANSONIA – At a special meeting, the Board of Aldermen vote unanimously to repair the Bridge Street Bridge.

• OXFORD – A Town constable sees a pair of adolescent boys, who are brothers and among the worst offenders at Shrub Oak School, arrive at a pond on his land to ice skate. He tells them to leave, because he does not want his young daughters to hear their foul language. The boys respond by throwing stones, one of which hits the constable, and becoming verbally abusive. They then attack the constable with sticks. The constable fights back and the boys retreat. Angered, the constable goes to Oxford Center, secures a warrant, goes searching for them. He finds them near Shrub Oak School. They boys resist arrest, and after a lively fight the constable, with assistance from the proprietor of the Oxford House, arrests both of them and hauls them before the Town’s Justice of the Peace. The JP gives them a stern lecture, fines them each $1, as well as court costs amounting to $12.16.

• SEYMOUR – The Town’s Grand List has increased $135,000 more than last year.

• SHELTON – An Anatomik Footwear Company employee is arrested for trying to steal shoe patterns to sell to a Canadian firm.

February 4

• SEYMOUR – “Another big derrick was brought here yesterday by the Blakeslees, who are at work on the construction of a dam at Kinneytown, to replace the structure destroyed in the recent freshet. A derrick has been erected on the west bank of the river, and a force of men is at work getting out stone from a ledge on the west side of the Kinneytown road not far from the dam. Yesterday a large raft was being constructed there”.

February 5

• ANSONIA – Disaster is averted when a fire in a third floor closet in the crowded Warcholik Block on Jersey Street is put out before the fire department arrives.

Monday, February 7

• Temperatures at zero, with a cold, stiff northwest wind.

• ANSONIA – Ansonia High School, Hill Street School and Grove Street Schools are closed due to the cold, along with some rooms in Holbrook Street School.

February 9

• ANSONIA – Even though it is still technically closed due to last month’s flood damage, many pedestrians are still using the Bridge Street Bridge.

• DERBY – “The local coal dealers are speculating on the prospects of early navigation on the Housatonic River. The cold snap a day or two ago closed the river from shore to shore. Coal is not very plentiful and dealers have resorted to the railroad to keep up with the orders for certain grades of coal. One dealer said this morning that he unloaded a barge of coal a year ago today. Several are of the opinion that the river will be safe for navigation this month after the twentieth of this month”.

• OXFORD – “The last loads of cement for use on the new dam, were carted to the storehouse here, last week, awaiting suitable weather for the conclusion of the work. Meanwhile the fine quality of the water flowing through the pipes is being commented on”.

• OXFORD – Quaker Farms – “Two bridges on Eight Mile Brook had to be repaired after the recent storm”.

February 10

• ANSONIA – A fire breaks out in an attic of a New Jerusalem home.

February 11

• DERBY – The 6th Annual District Nurse Association meeting is held at Library Hall at Derby Public Library. In the past 11 months, the nurse has had 230 patients, for a total of 1,984 house calls. She also provided substantial help with providing clothing for the area’s poor.

• DERBY & SHELTON – Shelton’s Star Pin Company secured many of the old machines from Derby’s Howe Manufacturing Company after it went out of business. This includes an 1842 solid head pin machine, designed by Dr. John Howe himself. Star Pin employees have restored the old relic to its original condition, and have now donated it to the Smithsonian Institution. The pin machine is now on permanent display in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

February 12

• Rain, snow, sleet, and gale force winds overnight and this morning, leaves over 7" of snow.

• ANSONIA – Money is appropriated to repair the Bridge Street Bridge. Work will start soon.

February 13

• ANSONIA – “Many sleighs were out Sunday. The sleighing, especially in the country, is very good at present, the snow being packed hard and smooth. Coasting is once more being indulged in, the hills being filled with young people Saturday”.

Monday, February 14

• "Today the post office boxes are well filled with valentines. Some of them, doubtless, are genuine messages of sincere affection, but St. Valentine's Day has become almost as much the property of the joker as is April 1. While the old time comics went out of style some years ago, they are still in sue with their terrible cartoons and much more terrible verse. The picture postal has largely replaced this variety, but some of these are modeled directly upon the old penny valentine style. There is a falling off in the purchase of handsome and expensive love messages, such as were once in fashion. People who are so deeply in love that they wish to send their lady friends some beautiful expression of their sentiment, nowadays, if they are strictly up-to-date, substitute a box of violets or some other rare blossoms for the old time gew-gaws".

• ANSONIA – The Board of Aldermen is upset with SNET, because the company will not agree to install telephones in the homes of the mayor, judge and deputy judges of city court, prosecuting attorney, and city clerk at half rates. The Board voted to have them installed, presuming SNET would give them special rates.

• SHELTON – Commodore Hull School pupils send a large fruit and flower basket to Griffin Hospital patients.

February 15

• DERBY - Some of the City’s oldest town records are in bad shape.

February 16

• ANSONIA – A night guard has been posted at the flood-damaged Bridge Street Bridge, leading to rumors that someone is trying to blow up the problematic span. The City says the guard is to keep people, especially intoxicated ones, from falling off the damaged bridge into the river, and adds that there has already been some close calls at night.

• ANSONIA – A fire breaks out in the basement of the Colburn Building, under the C.F. Tolles & Co. clothing store. A considerable amount of stock is damaged but the blaze was detected earlier enough not to spread. The clothing store has been there about 20 years.

• DERBY – After four months, the new factory of the Dairy Machinery and Construction Company is nearing completion on Housatonic Avenue. The main building will be 150'x40' and 2 stories, with a 1 story, 168' x 50' section in the back. The plant will be powered by steam from an attached boiler house.

• DERBY – The Paugassett Hose Company is switching from gaslights to electric lights.

• OXFORD – “There is one harbinger of the coming of spring in evidence on the hillsides. The oak leaves are beginning to drop from the trees. It is a well known fact that until they have all fallen spring cannot be expected”.

• SEYMOUR – Progress is being made on a temporary replacement for the Kinneytown Dam, destroyed in last month’s flood. A large workforce has been hired, and it is hoped will be done by end of month. The temporary dam will be made of wood and cement, and after that is completed a permanent new stone and concrete dam will replace it.

February 17

• ANSONIA – A considerable amount of wood and timbers from last month’s flood has been left on an island above the railroad trestle. The island can only be accessed by walking on the trestle. Clifton Avenue residents have laid claim upon the wood and are guarding it. They are hoping for a cold snap so they can retrieve it over the ice.

• ANSONIA – Some are severely criticizing the recent change in street lights from arc lights to incandescent. They say the new lights aren't bright enough, and because of that they benefit fewer people.

February 18

• ANSONIA – A fire is started by a boarder smoking in bed at the Union House, on the corner of Main Street and Railroad Avenue. The fire is quickly put out by chemical extinguishers. However, the incident is memorable because the responding fireman are hampered by icy streets while pulling their hand-drawn apparatus, and many stumble and fall, causing many bumps and bruises.

• ANSONIA – The police order the Gem Theater, a movie theater on Bank Street, closed. For months the manager has been warned that the projector booth, which is covered with soft asbestos, needs to be covered with hard asbestos in order to meet the current State code. The changes were never made, so the theater was ordered closed.

February 19

• ANSONIA – Repairs to the Bridge Street Bridge begin.

Monday, February 21

• Heavy rain this morning washes away much of the snow and ice, and causes some washouts in the roads.

February 23

• ANSONIA – The workmen setting up a pile driver to start repairs on the flood-damaged Bridge Street Bridge are surprised that pedestrians are still crossing it. The north side of the steel portion of the span is leaning almost to the water's edge, so the pedestrians congregate on the south side, getting in the workmen’s’ way.

• ANSONIA & DERBY – The City is putting aside $3,000 to replace the Division Street Bridge over the Naugatuck River with a steel span, and is asking Derby to do the same.

February 24

• ANSONIA – The Evening Sentinel says more the City need more police officers. Currently, there are eight officers, plus the chief. Normally there are four officers on duty at times of peak activity, and they are stretched thin.

February 25

• ANSONIA – City schools are now equipped with drinking fountains, eliminating the old drinking cups.

• ANSONIA – A fire breaks at 10 PM out at the F. L. Gaylord Company on Pleasant Street. The fire department is delayed because the fire alarm box was damaged. A small building on the factory complex is destroyed, and the fire spread to the main building before it is extinguished, causing $5000 damage.

• DERBY – A man is charged with entering and leaving a house under a scarlet fever quarantine, on Elizabeth Street over James McEnerney's Store.

February 26

• ANSONIA – A fire breaks out in an old brick building adjacent to the McMahon & Wren block (which was on 31-41 Water Street), used for storage for the Connecticut Fruit and Produce Company, at 12:30 AM. Some firemen were returning from the fire at the Gaylord Company. The fire is in a pile of old boxes, and is put out with chemical extinguishers.

• DERBY – Dr. George L. Beardsley dies of Bright's Disease at New Haven Hospital. Born in Milford in 1848, he graduated from Yale in 1870, setting up practice in Derby in 1875. He was Derby's Medical Examiner from 1885 until his death, served twice as the City’s Health Officer, and was a surgeon on Griffin Hospital’s staff. He also served as a School Visitor under the old Town government, and on the Board of Education under the City government.

• SHELTON – A serious fire breaks out at the Griffin Button Company on Canal Street before 9:00 PM. The building involved was in the rear of the main plant, in an old former brass foundry now being used as a storehouse. The building is surrounded on three sides by the tall factories of the Griffin Button Company, the Adams Manufacturing Company, and the Silver Plate Cutlery Company, and as such the fire is only visible from Derby until it turns serious. The wood building is fitted with 5 sets of floors, only a couple feet apart, loaded with horns and hoofs for buttons, and turns into an inferno. Some firemen are injured from burns and falls. At the fire’s height, the orange glow can be seen all the way in New Haven. Many watch on both sides of river. The damage is estimated at $10,000.

Monday, February 28

• ANSONIA - The Board of Apportionment votes for a 14 mill rate.

• DERBY - James N. Wise sells his bakery and confectionary sold to Burton H. Wetherby, a grocer from Shelton’s South End, who will take possession on April 1. Mr. Wise has been in business in Derby since 1876.

March

Tuesday, March 1

• DERBY – “Among the things indicative of spring, in addition to this being the first of the month of March, which is the first spring month, Poor Commissioner Chamberlain reports that he heard the first song sparrow piping up this morning. He says the song sounded sweeter than ever. Blue birds and robins and other early spring birds are getting numerous”.

March 2

• ANSONIA – Work continues on repairing the flood-damaged Bridge Street Bridge. The pile driver is still in operation. Much of the damaged iron portion has been removed.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill – “The sound of the school bell is again heard. A new rope has been put in place of the old one that has done duty ever since the school house was erected”.

March 3                        

• ANSONIA – “The weather this morning was balmy and spring-like. A heavy fog enveloped the city last night. At 6 o'clock this morning the fog was so thick that objects could not be discerned 10 feet away. The fog lifted shortly before 9 o'clock, and it looked as if a portion of the day at least would be very pleasant”.

• DERBY - Dr. F. N. Loomis is appointed to succeed the late Dr. George L. Beardsley as Derby's Medical Examiner.

• DERBY - The Hospital Aid Committee, made up of members of the Woman's Club and the District Nurse Association, holds its last meeting and disbands, its mission to help found a new hospital accomplished. However, at the request of the Griffin Hospital Board of Directors, a permanent Hospital Aid Association is also formed, with four directors each from Derby, Ansonia, and Shelton.

• DERBY – The Paugassett Hose Co. No. 4 receives its new jumper (hand drawn hose reel). It holds 700' of hose, which is almost twice as much as the jumper it replaces, but is lighter because it is made of iron pipes instead of iron bars. The cart is 8' high, with 6' diameter wheels. An arch containing a brass bell is over reel, upon which is also a plate which says “No. 4” on one side and “D.F.D.” on the other. The jumper is red, with gold, white, and black striping.

• OXFORD – “One of the fascinating pastimes of the local huntsmen is fox hunting. As this game is plenty in this vicinity they usually meet with success. Members of the Pope family are particularly fond of the hunt, and they have a long record of animals killed. One of the fascinating pastimes of the local huntsmen is fox hunting. As this game is plenty in this vicinity they usually meet with success. Members of the Pope family are particularly fond of the hunt, and they have a long record of animals killed”.

• OXFORD – “One of the queries heard Sunday morning was "Did you hear the bluebirds singing this morning?" It was a welcome sound to everyone, for all are eagerly watching for signs of coming spring”.

March 4

• ANSONIA – “The fine weather to-day brought out many ladies, and businesses in the Main Street stores picked up. Trade in some of the mercantile establishments was lively in fact, at times, and the day's sales were expected to total up much larger then they have for some days. The wet weather which has been the rule of the past month, gave few opportunities to shop with comfort, but it was a pleasure to be out to-day, and women and children in large numbers were seen enjoying the air.”

• DERBY – The City’s Health Officer issues a report that Ansonia's using the Naugatuck River as a sewer outlet is menacing health, particularly in East Derby.

March 6

• The weather feels like May, complete with distant rumbles of thunder. Overcoats are discarded.

Monday, March 7

• ANSONIA - The first lightning of the season appears to occur right over Ansonia at 5:10 AM, waking up many people. Some think it is an earthquake. The fire alarm sounds, and telephone and telegraph wires are also affected.

March 8

• ANSONIA – “Unable to sell the chicken coop he was ordered to dispose of at auction, Police Sergeant O'Donnell has arranged to retain it for his own use. The Sergeant Expects to go into the chicken business, breeding fancy fowls. He has also received several offers for game birds, and while the prices are quite tempting, it is hardly likely that he will take up this branch of the business. The officer is an expert on chickens, having devoted considerable study to the fowl some years ago. It is expected that after the new enterprise is under way that chicken and fresh eggs will furnish part of the regular jail menu”.

• ANSONIA – For the second time in 2 weeks, the small structure adjoining the McMahon & Wren Building on Water Street is set on fire, at 11:10 AM. The small blaze is put out with a few pails.

• DERBY – The Paugassett Hose Company’s recently replaced jumper (hose cart) will be stored as a reserve in McEnerney's barn on Derby Avenue, opposite the Derby & Ansonia Brewery. The Burtville neighborhood is also requesting reserve jumper.

March 9

• DERBY – Automobile chains used for traction in the snow have torn up the macadam roads on New Haven Avenue. The road’s condition is even worse over the City line on the Orange side. Normally, automobiles are only operated in warm months, but this winter a considerable number of them are being driven in the snow.

• OXFORD – “The traveling on the roads is somewhat improved. Under the influence of mild temperatures warm rains alternating with bright sunshine, the frost came out of the ground very fast making traveling very bad in places where teams would break through. The mud on all the roads has been something formidable to wade through and pedestrianism has been at a discount. Indications now point to an early coming of spring”.

March 10

• SEYMOUR – The new temporary Kinneytown Dam, replacing the one destroyed in January’s flood, is now completed. Preliminary work is already underway on a permanent replacement. The new permanent dam will be bigger and much heavier then the old dam.

March 11

• ANSONIA & DERBY - Speeding automobiles are already becoming a problem this year, mostly by out of town drivers. There are calls in Ansonia to appoint an "automobile cop" to enforce the speed limits.

• SHELTON - A new pipe organ has been installed in Good Shepherd Church, and will be ready by Easter. The organ is operated by electricity, with air for its over 900 pipes supplied by a rotary fan.

March 12

• ANSONIA – The City’s soccer team defeats the overconfident Yale University team 3-1 at Athletic Field.

• DERBY – Repairs have started on New Haven Avenue.

• SHELTON – The Tadeuska Polish Citizens' Club incorporated.

Tuesday, March 15

• ANSONIA – Within the past few days, the section of the Bridge Street Bridge, which was leaning over the Naugatuck River due to the January flood, has been righted. Workmen are now fixing the sidewalk so that pedestrians can cross the without having to walk in the messy street portion normally used by horse-drawn vehicles.

• DERBY – Health Officer Elmes believes bathing rooms should be installed at all City schools, and children should be given regular baths by school nurses.

• DERBY – A spectacular fire breaks out in the old tannery building on Gilbert Street. The two-story building is badly damaged.

March 16                         

• DERBY – The City's police call boxes will be switched from party lines to private lines that go direct to the police station. Lights will be installed upon the boxes, so if the station wants to call a post, the light will come on and alert the beat police officer.

• OXFORD – The 1909 grand list totals $567,936, an increase of $878 over the 1908 grand list which was and $567,058.

• OXFORD – “Just at present we are being treated to a little genuine March weather. The winds have their usual penetrating quality, but the mud is fast disappearing under its and the sun's combined influence”.

• SHELTON – Eight grade Ferry School teacher Miss Lucy Beard of Oronoque, dies at 52. She taught for over 35 years, and many are shocked at her sudden passing.

• SHELTON – About 6 new cases Scarlet Fever are discovered among Coram school students. This is the second outbreak this year. In an effort to stamp out the dreaded disease, the Health Officer orders the school closed until after Easter. The building will be fumigated, and all books inside it will be burned.

March 17

• ANSONIA – A fourth story is being added to a 3 story building on Main Street at Factory Street.

• DERBY – “W. A. James, clerk for the local branch of D. M. Welch & Co.'s grocery stores, was the envy of many people today, as eh wore a piece of genuine Irish shamrock, direct from the old country. It was a gift to him from a friend who had arrived from Ireland several days ago”.

March 18

• ANSONIA & DERBY – Franklin Farrel has donated $5,000 for a "loan fund" for Griffin Hospital. The fund will be for patients who cannot afford all the money they need for a hospital stay up front. His son, Franklin Farrel Jr., and wife also donated $250 each to the fund, for total $5,500. Mrs. Paul Schabert of Derby, the largest stockholder of the Sterling Piano Company, gave $500 to cover maintenance from April 1, 1910 to April 1, 1911, but with provision any employee of Sterling Piano Company or Huntington Piano Company can draw from the donation to cover hospital expenses.

March 19

• ANSONIA - James Demosthenes is visiting the City today, to conduct a lecture on Greek culture. He is the Imperial Highness, the Prince de Bysantium, heir of the Byzantine Empire, which was conquered by the Turks in 1454.

• ANSONIA - Chonon Levy has bought the property on the southeast corner of Main Street and Tremont Street. He plans to put a brick addition on the south side, and remodel the lower floor for two stores. The structure is one of first buildings in Ansonia, built over 50 years ago, first used by Eleazer Peck as a general store. It was later converted into a residence.

Tuesday, March 21

• ANSONIA – A fire in the Antonio Bedamo bakery on Front Street is confined to  the rear of the 1-story building. It appears the fire started from a stove, after the kitchen closed just before midnight.

March 22

• SHELTON – The first meeting of the Shelton Business Men's Association, held at the Young Men's Republican Club, is very well attended.

March 23

• DERBY – The Police will start enforcing the State automobile laws. This is due to outrage over the growing number of speeders, most from out of town, on Seymour Avenue, New Haven Avenue, and downtown, as well automobiles using open mufflers.

• OXFORD – “G. W. Gable built a stage in the hall of the Congregational Parish House, the past week. This is a great addition to the hall and makes it more available for entertainments”.

• OXFORD – “Veterans of the Civil War living in town - 5 in number - Franklin Nichools, Frederick Hubbell, Edward J. Alling, Wooster B. McEwen and N. Jay Welton, have been in the habit for some time of holding yearly reunions at the homes of different ones on their birthday. This year the occasion is to be made more general, invitations having been extended to friends for a reception which they will give Thursday evening of this week in the Congregational Parish House. This will be the anniversary of Wooster B. McEwen's birth, and also celebrate the same event for two of the others. The occasion will no doubt be an enjoyable one for those privileged to attend, and all will wish them the joys of reunion for many years to come”.

March 24

• ANSONIA – The Bridge Street Bridge officially reopens. Horse drawn vehicles are using it once again.

• ANSONIA – The chapel at Pine Grove Cemetery is dedicated. It was donated by Gen. Charles Pine.

March 25 – Good Friday

• ANSONIA – A 12 year old Jersey Street girl is accidentally shot and killed instantly. The shooter flees, and as of the end of the week is still a large.

• ANSONIA – Many boys and some girls are canvassing the City and beyond, taking orders for hot cross buns for local bakeries and then delivering them. The children earn 2 cents per dozen for their efforts. The bakeries worked all night making the once-a-year treat. It is believed that enough were made to provide at least one hot cross buns “for every man, woman, and child in City, with enough left over for strangers”

• ANSONIA – The Gem Theater vacates its Bank Street, and moves to Bridgeport. The violations which forced its closure it are still have not fixed, though the theater will now leased to a Middletown man promises to do so.

• ANSONIA – A brush fire burns over 100 acres of pasture and timberland off Rockwood Avenue. Residents join firefighters in protecting their homes. The blaze started off North Main Street and spread west by stiff breeze.

• DERBY – A large brush fire scorches Derby Meadows. Another brush fire off Seymour Avenue fire threatens houses with flames that are 15 to 20 feet high.

• SEYMOUR – A large brush fire burns over the southeast part of town, including Ansonia Water Company land. At one point the intense wildfire jumps over a roadway.

• SHELTON – A brush fire burns over 100 acres off old Coram Road. The fire spreads just west of Howe Avenue and High Bridge, and affects trolley service when it damages a trolley pole.

March 26

• Rain is desperately needed. The ground is dry, leading to field and forest fires. Dust is blowing around everywhere, and getting into houses. Ironically, the streams were nearly overflowing only two years ago.

• SHELTON – The notorious, vacant house across from Long Hill Cemetery, where last year's murder-suicide took place, is set on fire. However, the incipient blaze is subdued by a neighbor before it could do much damage. It is speculated that the fire may have been set for insurance or by “superstitious foreigners”.

March 27 – Easter Sunday

• The churches packed on this day, which is highlighted by exceptionally fine weather which lasts all day. The Evening Sentinel reports “It was the day of days for the Easter hat and the Easter gown. The hat was out in all its glory, prettier and more attractive then the freaks of last year, but the gowns were not as numerous as in years when the festival comes later in the season. Streets crowded with people in their finery socializing”. The streets are packed with people socializing in the fine weather in their best clothes. In Derby, for example, “Elizabeth Street and Seymour and Atwater Avenues were literally lined with people”.

Monday, March 28

• ANSONIA – At its Annual Meeting, Mrs. Franklin Farrel announces she will donate to Christ Church a beautiful stone altar and reredos. The altar will be designed by Architect Congdon, who also designed the church.

• ANSONIA – After being missed all winter, the locally famous, aged wanderer Johnny o' the Woods reappears in Ansonia , visiting his usual haunts. He is wearing his usual several leather coats, and as is normally the case is followed about town by curious small children.

March 29

• "The Easter postcards and souvenirs have given way to the April Fool mementoes. Some of these appear very foolish indeed but they are meeting with a ready sale and the postal receipts promise to be materially increased during the present week. The sale of Easter postcards was heavy, some of the dealers reporting a clean-out in certain lines".

• ANSONIA – A fire destroys a Factory Street barn being used as junk shop, and storing rags, bottles, old iron, etc., producing smoke with a very offensive stench. The fire department stops the flames from spreading to a building housing a cooperage and barrel business owned by Alderman Meade.

• ANSONIA – “The practice of roller skating about the walks leading to the city hall has become such a nuisance that the youngsters have been stopped”.

• OXFORD – Quaker Farms – “A disastrous fire that started from the Diamond Match Company paper mill dump, last week, spread onto the land of Daniel Laughlin, destroying a quantity of timber and burning a large amount of cord wood, besides endangering his home and other buildings”.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill – “Complaint is made by some of the people who use the Great Hill Road over which material for the dam of the Birmingham Water Company was drawn from Seymour. They state that the road has been very badly cut up by this extra trucking, and that it is full of stones, and is very hard to travel over”.

• SHELTON – A bad brush and field fire in White Hills burns all day and well into night, consuming hundreds of acres and destroying a barn on the Gould Tomlinson estate. The fire started off the River Road (today’s Indian Well Road), and spreads west and north up the hills.

March 30

• The temperatures reach 80 at noon, with high humidity. The grass is turning dry, and rain is needed. Motorboats are starting to appear below the Ousatonic Dam, and canoes on Lake Housatonic above it. The first strawberries of the season, from New York, arrives at the markets, from NY, at 40 cents a quart.

• ANSONIA – Scarlet Fever is discovered in a Jersey Street boarding house. The house quarantined, and a guard is assigned to enforce it. Just before midnight, an intoxicated boarder showed up and assaults the guard when he is prevented from entering the house. He is arrested.

March 31

• DERBY – Many children are out roller skating, with the approaches to the Main Street viaduct a popular spot.

April

Friday, April 1

• ANSONIA – State health officials, inspecting the unsanitary conditions along the Jersey Street riverbank between the two bridges, are reportedly astonished at what they find. This includes open sewers and outhouses emptying into the river with the accompanying filth, and odor. A sandbar formed after January flood has only made things worse.

April 2

• Halley's Comet can now be seen 20 minutes before sunrise.

• SHELTON – A bad field fire below Petremont's Landing, just below downtown Shelton, burns 15 acres, and threatens a number of boats that are wintering there.

April 3

• ANSONIA – The man who accidentally shot and killed the 12 year old girl on March 25 turns himself in to the Bridgeport Police. After firing the fatal shot, he panicked and fled. Just outside Ansonia, he fell on a big rock, injuring his leg which is still badly injured. He spent some time in Boston before making his way back to Connecticut, where he decided to surrender.

• DERBY – A 26 year old man is stabbed with a knife or scissors on Elizabeth Street, in front of Stapleton & Bergin's undertakers, before many witnesses. He dies the next morning at Griffin Hospital. The assailant was a barber who recently set up shop on lower Main Street. He flees, and cannot be found. As both the suspect and victim were Italian, Police Officer Urbano, the only officer in the region who can speak the language, immediately begins interviewing Derby’s Italian immigrants. He learns that the crime was apparently over a bar tab, and that the suspect has friends in Boston. Lt. Daly hastens to the New Haven train station to intercept him there. Noticing a man trying to avoid him, Lt. Daly summons a New Haven police officer. They discover that the man is the suspect, and he had tickets to Boston, from which he planned on escaping back to Italy. The New Haven police officer arrests him.

• DERBY – Many motorboats are on the river now. A new boat built by Derby's William Hine, named Ripper, is launched before a sizable crowd. Mr. Hine has several other boats nearing completion in his shop.

• SHELTON – A field fire burns over 200 acres at Trap Falls (near today’s Trap Falls Reservoir).

Tuesday, April 5

• SHELTON – The new owners of the Anatomik Footwear Company decide the local plant will be abandoned. The men's shoes will be manufactured by the Nettleton Co of Syracuse, while the women and children’s shoes will be made by the Coxon &  Brown Co of Philadelphia.

• SHELTON – Work is suspended on the new state tuberculosis hospital, over a labor dispute over non-union men on the job. The union men had quit three days earlier over the same issue, and only restarted yesterday. By the end of the week, the union men are still on strike, with non-union men working in their place.

April 6

• A hailstorm accompanied by thunder and lightning, strikes in the late afternoon. Some of the hailstones are the size of marbles, breaking glass panes at greenhouses and causing pain to anyone unlucky enough to be hit by them. Some horses caught in the storm run wild. The temperature turns cooler when the hailstorm passes.

• ANSONIA – Ansonia High School’s principal for over 15 years, Miss Madge Richmond, announces she will resign in June.

• OXFORD – “Spring seems really with us now for good. During the past week the grass has sprung up quite fast and the whole earth now shows a light mantle of green. Early shrubbery is budding rapidly and everything seems as far advanced at this time as is usual fully a month later. It is hoped there will be no killing frosts later to undo all this fine work of warm sunshine. Some have already commenced to spade and plant their gardens”.

April 7

• Snow squalls strike the area.

April 8

• Snow squalls again strike the area, and temperatures drop near freezing. Furnace fires have to be restarted. Fruit orchard owners are worried.

April 9

• The temperature dropped to 36 at midnight this morning.

• ANSONIA – A smoky fire breaks out 11 PM at the Martinez Art Store, located in the Hotchkiss Building at 154 Main Street. The building is made of wood, and is one of oldest blocks in city. Most of the damage done by water, as water from the hoses swept the walls clean of artwork.

• DERBY – About 12-18 men from the Course and Fine Rubbers Department at the Sterling Piano Company leave work over a water controversy. The trouble began when they were told they were no longer allowed to send boys to the town pump on green, and that they must drink water from the factory’s pipes. They claim the water there is unfit to drink. This was probably true, as water was used as part of the manufacturing process. The old factories were also notoriously hot places, especially in the summertime.

April 10

• ANSONIA – A grisly find is made at the bottom of the 102’ tall Ansonia O&C smokestack off Main Street. The body of an approximately 35 year old man missing since December is found under a huge pile of soot at bottom. It is believed he climbed to top and jumped in to commit suicide.

• SHELTON – “Quite a number of the Echo Hose Co. had a fine sight of the Halley’s Comet, Sunday morning, as they were on their way home from their visit at the Eagle Hose, Hook & Ladder Co. of Ansonia. They say the comet is plainly visible about 4 o'clock in the morning, and makes a very handsome picture in the sky. It is traveling so fast as to make its progress apparent to the eye, moving with a velocity that is very noticeable as compared with that of the moon”.

Monday, April 11

• Residents wake up to a heavy frost, and ice forms on still water. Magnolia trees, which are now in bloom, are badly affected - the blossoms turn brown and fall to the ground. It is also feared that yesterday’s high winds may have damaged other flower buds, too.

• DERBY – A little girl playing near the Birmingham Canal bank near Water Street falls in, and starts getting carried away by the current. Other children call for help, a number of women who couldn't swim watch helplessly as she drifts away. Some Ousatonic Water Company workmen hear their cries, and one of them, a Shelton man, jumps into the canal off a footbridge near Sterling Piano Company, and rescues her. He's helped out of the water by Sterling employees.

• SEYMOUR – “There are, perhaps a very few old people hereabouts who may have remembered the last previous visit of Halley's Comet, which has been about 74 years and 5 months ago. There resides in Bethany a bright and interesting lady, Miss Janet Tuttle, who is nearly 90 years of age. She remembers very clearly about seeing the comet then. There are few people living today, except those in childhood, who, in the natural course of human affairs, will see the comet again. It is a sight generally viewed but once in a lifetime.

April 12

• ANSONIA & SEYMOUR – A forest fire which begins in Woodbridge spreads into Ansonia and Seymour, burning portions of the Deerfield Woods and Ansonia Water Company property as far south as Kimberly Avenue. The fire ultimately burns over 75 acres.

• SEYMOUR – Franklin Farrel has purchased 800 acres, mostly woodland, partly in Seymour and partly in Beacon Falls, for $15 an acre. The tract includes Rimmon brook, Skokorat brook, and parts of Hocanum brook. He is not disclosing why he wants it.

• SHELTON – The Town of Stratford has withdrawn from the compact which united the Huntington and Stratford school districts for the past few years. They did this so they could share superintendents.

April 13

• OXFORD – “The cold wave of the past week has checked the rapid growth of vegetation somewhat, but it is a question whether the low temperatures which have been the rule at night, have injured the fruit buds or not. The frequent showers are bringing the grass up in fine shape and the mantle of green which now covers the earth is a refreshing sight. Oak leaves have now fallen which would indicate that spring weather can be expected, as they always cling to the trees until the cold weather is over”.

• OXFORD – “Just at present, workmen on the state road between Oxford and Seymour are blasting the ledge of rocks, and cutting down the hill north of Mr. Parker's residence. The work makes it dangerous for teams, and travel is being directed, in some degree, over Chestnut Tree Hill in consequence”. This is today’s Route 67.

April 14

• ANSONIA – There is opposition to the proposal to sell the vacant Factory Street School site to the Congregation Sons of Jacob, as some feel that the land should be used for a city playground.

• SHELTON – The older portion of Star Pin Company will be raised 1 story higher, adding over 5,000 square feet. When completed, the building, which measures 42’x126’, will be 4 stories high.

Monday, April 18

• SHELTON - A disastrous fire is narrowly averted in the Daly boarding house, due to a prompt and aggressive response from the fire department.

April 19

• ANSONIA – While doing his night rounds, Police Sergeant David O'Donnell nabs a burglar in the act of breaking into the basement of the W. H. Bronson grocery store on Main Street.

• DERBY – It is announced that the passenger train station will be beautified. It took some time for the City to obtain permission from the New Haven Railroad to do so.

• OXFORD – Quaker Farms – “C.A. Davis, who had an artesian well drilled last fall, is now having a fine wind mill erected by S. B. Church”.

• SEYMOUR – A vacant lot below the road at Bank Street and River Street, across from Center School, is becoming an illegal dump.

April 20

• SEYMOUR – Trinity Church has been donated $1,000 by a former member. It will be paid upon raising the rest of the funds necessary to build a parish house.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill – “Some of the residents here were not only pleased with the rain as beneficial to vegetable growth, but also has affording opportunity for fishing which was taken advantage of by a few”.

April 21

• SEYMOUR – A serious fire is averted at a tenement house directly across from Tingue Opera House, and next to Germania Hotel. The fire on the roof of the building is believed to have started from sparks from a chimney.

April 22

• ANSONIA – Now under new owners, and renamed the Star Theater, the former Gem Theater has been thoroughly renovated, repainted, and redecorated. The seating capacity has been doubled, and a new Powers movie projector installed. The matinee is 5 cents, while evenings shows are 10 cents.

April 23

• SEYMOUR – “The Hale and Coleman peach orchards are now in full bloom, and present a very beautiful appearance. There are many who are interested to know when the trees blossom particularly those who like to visit the farm and view the rarely charming scene there. Although the orchards are in bloom this year much earlier then usual, owing to the advancement of the season, no great fear seems to be felt for the safety of the crop, owing to the fact that the probabilities of a killing frost are now rapidly becoming fewer. A protracted rain after the blossoms have fallen is another source of danger. The apple trees are not yet in bloom, and it will be some ten days before they appear at their prettiest”.

Monday, April 25

• Heavy rain deluges the area for about an hour. Over an inch falls in a short period of time.

• ANSONIA - Some sidewalks are under 2" of water.

• SHELTON - Many autos are seen traveling between downtown Shelton and Bridgeport along River Road this Sunday.

April 26

• An early morning thunderstorm, with “vivid” lightning wakes everyone up. The rain falls in torrents until 8 AM.

• ANSONIA – Work begins on digging a channel in Naugatuck River north of the Bridge Street Bridge, to allow water to run through a stagnant area below Jersey Street which is the source of much sewage and bad odors.

• ANSONIA – The Valley Council, Knights of Columbus, celebrate their 25th anniversary in the new Assumption Hall on North Cliff Street

• DERBY – Lightning strikes a telephone pole on Sentinel Hill.

• SHELTON – Practically all of the signal lights on the trolley line are out due to the thunderstorm.

April 27

• ANSONIA – Farrel Foundry is installing a crane which is 92' long, and can travel along 400’ of track, to unload metals from rail cars.

• ANSONIA - With the departure of Rev. Janovisky, the Greek Orthodox Church on Howard Avenue is without a pastor.

• OXFORD – “The foliage on the trees is coming out very fast and it will require but a short time under the influence of the warm sunshine for them to be in full leaf’.

April 28

• SHELTON – The Shelton Business Men's Association will try to organize a realty company to address the housing issues in the Borough of Shelton.

April 29

• ANSONIA – A man is arrested for entering a house under a scarlet fever quarantine on Jersey Street address.

• ANSONIA – The Health Officer orders 2 school rooms dismissed due to diphtheria, in Grove Street School and School Street School. One child has been diagnosed with the disease in each room.

April 30

• ANSONIA – An aged woman falls off the Bridge Street Bridge, through an opening on the south side of the iron portion, landing on a sand bar under the bridge. She's rescued, but has a broken hip.

May

Sunday, May 1

•  DERBY – The Bungalow Club formally opens. Located on the upper Housatonic River in Derby, it is composed of about 25 young men, mostly Elks, who chipped in to build a bungalow for the summer.

Monday, May 2

• ANSONIA – At a hearing for disposal of the Factory Street School, it is revealed that only Congregation Sons of Jacob has put in a bid, for $5,000. The City thinks that is too low.

May 3

• Railroad freight is “unusually heavy”, with large amounts of manufactured goods leaving, and raw material and coal coming in.

• ANSONIA – Almost 1,100 people attend a whist and social held by the united Catholic Societies in the new Assumption Hall. Around 120 game tables were in use.

May 4

• SHELTON – The Board of Education cannot afford Superintendent E.O. Andrews after Stratford pulled out of joint school arrangement - he costs $2,500 a year. High School principal Harry E. Fowler is appointed for $1,800 a year in his place.

May 5

• ANSONIA – Controlling interest in the Ansonia Opera House is sold to the estate of Alice Craig of New York. The Evening Sentinel says it was erected around 1868, and until today was always in control of the family and heirs of the late Jeremiah Bartholomew since it was erected. The facility was operated by a corporation called the Ansonia Hall Company. The opera house ran first rate theatrical productions before Sterling Opera House was erected in Derby in 1889, and within the past year movies have begun to be shown.

• ANSONIA – John Spiers retires. For over 30 years he conducted a carriage service at the Ansonia passenger station, carrying passengers to their destinations.

May 6

• Temperatures come close to freezing point in the early morning hours, with frost reported in some sections. People are getting up early to see Halley's Comet.

• ANSONIA – “Westwood Park is proving most attractive to people at present. The number who visit the park is growing daily and that the place is gaining in popularity is evident. Many new trees have been planted this spring, and other improvements made, and the park is becoming decidedly attractive”.

• SHELTON – “Have you seen the comet? This is the question heard the oftenest just now, and those who have arisen at 3 o'clock and seen the celestial visitor say that is well repays one for the effort. This morning it was seen by a number of Shelton people, and all are loud in praise of the beauty and novelty of the sight. One gentleman of a scientific turn of mind, states that the tail is apparently 8 degrees in length and plainly visible. It is probable that more Shelton people will witness the sun rise during the coming few days than have done so in many years previously”. This is in regard to Halley's Comet.

May 7

• ANSONIA – A 6 year old Hubbell Avenue boy drowns in the Ansonia Canal. It is believed he fell into the canal about an hour before he was discovered floating by some carriage sheds near Third Street and Star Street.

Monday, May 9

• SEYMOUR – “At the time for the nearest approach of Halley's Comet to the earth draws near, the interest in the comet is becoming greater, and there were more stargazers out early Sunday morning than there have been at any time, it is believed. On many of the hills about the town early Sunday morning many people gathered for the purpose of taking a look at the much talked of comet, parties being formed late in the week for the purpose, and some of those were out stargazing as early as 3 o'clock Sunday morning”.

May 10

• ANSONIA – “A fine view of the comet was obtained by a number of Ansonia people this morning. The comet can now be plainly seen, the best time for viewing it is between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. Indications today were that tomorrow morning would be a favorable time for seeing the comet as there will probably be a clear sky and no haze to speak of”.

• SHELTON – A 40’x80’ addition is planned for the Derby Rubber Reclaiming Company, as well as adding another story to present factory. A new 100 horsepower boiler will also be added, along with new machinery.

May 11

• ANSONIA – The janitor of Elm Street School recently dug up a Connecticut penny from 1787 on the property, harkening back memories of when Elm Street was the colonial center of Old Derby.

• DERBY & SHELTON - Ansonia resident Charles Plumb shows off a 4¾ pound shad he caught at the apron of Ousatonic Dam yesterday. This is significant because shad fishing was a major industry along the Housatonic River until the Ousatonic Dam cut them off from their spawning grounds in 1870. Unfortunately, this particular fish was, at best, an anomaly, and the species remains extinct due to the ancient spawning grounds cut off by the Housatonic River dams.

• OXFORD – “Those who have the occasion to frequently drive over the road between Oxford and Seymour, will be glad to see the last of the steam drill which has been in use on the ledge of rocks near the site of the old croquet sop for some time past. The ledge is about level now and the work of the drill about completed. It may be said that the worst of the work on the road improvements is nearly over. When entirely finished it will be a fine road and a great benefit to both Oxford and Seymour”. This is today’s Oxford Road, Route 67.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill – “Halley's Comet has been seen by milkmen of this vicinity. As they start out on their routes around 3:30 in the morning, and when the conditions are favorable, they have a fine chance to observe it. On Friday morning last, John Karmath, whose route takes him along the Housatonic River, reports having plainly seen it and its reflection in the river. By its description it certainly must be a sight worth seeing. The comet recently seen in the west, he also had an opportunity to observe.

• SEYMOUR - John Ippolito recently erected a concrete house on the east side Ansonia Road (today’s lower South Main Street), and plans to start an ice harvesting business. A stream will be dammed to form a large pond. There are also trap rock quarries on the property.

May 12

• “The biggest strawberries of the season put in an appearance this morning. Some of them were twice as large as those on sale the past 2 weeks, an only a few dozen were needed to make a quart. The price was 15 cents a basket. Some of the placards read 15 cents a quart, but the careful dealers who know the receptacles do not often contain a quart, sell the berries by the basket”.

• ANSONIA – Some City physicians state they are treating several women for nervous conditions, due to sensational reports that Halley’s Comet will either strike the earth, or poison the atmosphere when it passes through its tail, on May 18.

• DERBY – “The work on the (railroad passenger) depot grounds which the people of the city have had done for the purpose of beautifying the grounds, is completed. A good many plants have been put in, and it is quite evident that the change will be very decided when those have grown and developed. The privet hedge and sagamores on the westerly side of the grounds will be a screen, while the shrubs planted on the banks of the viaduct approach will beautify what heretofore has been very unsightly. In a few years these plants will with proper attention prove very attractive”.

• SHELTON – The new State Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Coram is nearly completed.

May 13

• Local astronomers report that the tail of Halley’s Comet is now four times as wide as the moon.

• DERBY – “The ringing of the telephone bells on party lines early these mornings does not indicate that any of the neighboring families are in trouble or that there is sickness. It merely means that some friend has got out of bed to see the comet and the sight is such an interesting one that he wants his friends to see it. Therefore he goes to the telephone and calls up. Of course other people on the line hear the call, and if they have their wits about them at that hour they take the tip and get up and see the comet also.

• SEYMOUR – A number of new homes are being built along the trolley line to Ansonia. Many of the homes are constructed of concrete.

May 14

• Many people are out early in the morning to observe Halley’s Comet.

May 15

• A cloudy night spoils the views of Halley’s Comet.

Monday, May 16

• A second cloudy night spoils the views of Halley’s Comet.

May 17

• Earth will be passing through the tail of Halley's Comet tail tomorrow. Some who are superstitious are attributing everything bad, ranging from weather to luck to silly things like burned food, to the comet. Although most reputable scientists say Earth will be fine, sensational reports of the possibility of the comet striking the earth, or poison gas from the tail wiping out all life on the planet, are making many nervous, some to the point of near panic.

• Farm hands are scarcer then they have been for the last 20 years.

• SHELTON - Three new horses arrive at the new state tuberculosis sanitarium in Coram. Two of them are heavy draught horses, while the third is a fine saddle horse, so the resident physician can get from his quarters in the house down the hill, to the patients’ ward at the top of the hill.

May 18

• At dusk, many hills are packed with people to view the closest approach of Halley’s Comet. Highland Golf Course in Shelton has a number of people, in particular. Most are waiting to see what will happen – if there will be a Northern Light-type phenomenon, if the comet will strike the earth, etc. About 10 PM a sudden thunderstorm suddenly forms over the Valley. The thunderstorm quickly moves away, but not before several peals of thunder wake jittery people out of bed. The rest of the night is quiet after that, and the following day the Evening Sentinel’s headline reads “Nothing Happened – People Disappointed”. The “disappointment” was over the fact that after months of speculation and sensational headlines, nothing abnormal actually happened.

• ANSONIA - Acting under the Health Officer’s orders, many Jersey Street property owners are extending their drains to the water line of the Naugatuck River. Many of the drains were falling short, creating an unsightly mess along the river bank. A new concrete wall is being erected at the Levy property, and privy vaults are also being constructed. One of the big mills will dump cinders into a stagnant pool which is causing many problems, in order to eliminate it.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill – “The old school house has passed out of existence, the last remnants being torn down by the (Birmingham) Water Company's employees a few days ago”.

May 21

• OXFORD – Two dogs have been on rampage in Oxford and Southbury for the last few days, and have killed 53 sheep and 5 lambs. Local farmers are searching for them with guns.

• SEYMOUR – The Board of Selectmen begin replacing the sheathing on the Bank Street Bridge. The covered bridge’s sheathing is covered with posts, notices, and signs, of both paper and metal, and is very unsightly. These will all be removed.

• SHELTON – The Borough of Shelton’s Grand List includes 611 houses, 78 stores or mills, 150 horses, 157 automobiles or carriages, and 695 watches or clocks.

Monday, May 23

• Clouds completely obscure both Halley's Comet and a total eclipse of the moon tonight.

• ANSONIA & DERBY – In a major real estate transaction which will change the face of the Valley, the Birmingham Water Company sells the Birmingham Canal, including its water rights, to the New Haven Railroad. Built in the 1830s, the canal’s dam is just below Ansonia’s Bridge Street Bridge, and the canal runs along the west side of the Naugatuck River all the way to the Housatonic River. Historically, it powered many of Birmingham’s factories. Steam power has since replaced water power. The railroad states it plans to destroy the dam and fill in the canal, and use the space to expand both Ansonia and Derby’s freight yards. There are many ramifications to this. For starters, once the Naugatuck River is no longer diverted into the canal, the water should flow swifter, and hopefully help get rid of stagnant pollution and sewage at times of low water. The property the railroad purchased off South Main Street, Ansonia, may be abandoned for the west side. If this happens, much more freight will be trucked over the Bridge Street Bridge, which may force the replacement of the old, problematic span. This may force issue with Bridge Street Bridge. Derby will lose about $50,000 (over $1.1 million in 2010 dollars) off its Grand List, because the railroad pays taxes directly to the State. However, Derby will also no longer need to maintain the bridges over the canal at Division Street, and at Water Street where it meets Factory Street.

• SHELTON – The Shelton Business Men's Association recommends turning land along Hill Street, between Coram Avenue and Prospect Avenue, into a park. This is the location of today’s City Hall.

May 24

• ANSONIA – “The appearance of the sun today, was followed by a rapid rise in temperature. At noon the mercury registered 84 in the shade and it looked as if 86 would be reached before 3 o’clock. In the sun it was over 90. City Engineer Clark brought his panama out of its hiding place, and the janitor of the City Hall put an extra piece of ice in the water cooler. Summer, it was stated, has arrived”.

May 25

• DERBY – The Crescent Baseball Club of Shelton has secured the old ball fields at Ouatonic Park along Housatonic Avenue, and are fixing them up to be their home field.

May 26

• SHELTON – 89-year old William Hine remembers the 1835 appearance of Halley's Comet. The Evening Sentinel states “For a long time the comet was visible in the western sky, and the weather being cold and clear it was a common thought a beautiful sight. There was snow on the ground and he remembers there being a number of very remarkable displays of aurora borealis during the time the comet was visible. These displays were so phenomenal as to remain indelibly impressed on his memory, and exceeded anything of the sort he has seen since that time”

May 27

• ANSONIA – The Board of Education hires Frederick Hutchinson to replace Miss Madge Richmond as the new principal of Ansonia High School.

• ANSONIA - Workmen begin tearing up pavement of Maple Street Bridge to put down new wood block pavement.

• ANSONIA – Henry J. Smith, President of Ansonia Savings Bank, and the Ansonia Lumber Company, dies at his Franklin Street home at age 79. Born in Oxford on October 1, 1831, grew up on a farm, attended Birmingham High School, and moved to Ansonia in 1861. In 1864 he was hired by lumber dealers Willis & Lewis Hotchkiss, and became treasurer of the Ansonia Lumber Company when it was formed. He became president after the Hotchkiss brothers died.

 May 28

• The clear night makes for good viewing of Halley’s Comet, though it is growing dimmer as it moves away from Earth.

• DERBY – The assets of the former Williams Typewriter Company are sold.

• SEYMOUR – Many witness a balloon carrying two aviators from Torrington to Bethany passing over at 7 AM.

• SHELTON – “Charles Wernsman, the real estate dealer of this place, has just purchased a fine piece of property, located near Rocky Rest, within a short distance of the new tuberculosis sanitarium, consisting of about four acres of land, a 14 roomed house well equipped with two baths and having no less then seven fireplaces in the house. There is a coachman's house and large barn on the premises and at present some New York parties are negotiating for the same and if they secure it, an automobile inn will be located there. The people negotiating for it will conduct it on the German plan, making it a pleasant resort for automobile parties.

May 29

• ANSONIA - Memorial services are held at Ansonia Opera House.

• DERBY - Memorial services for Derby-Shelton are held at Sterling Opera House.

• SEYMOUR - Memorial services are held at Trinity Church.

• SHELTON – The road to Huntington Center is packed with automobiles for Memorial Services sponsored by the Village Improvement Society. 35 Civil War veterans are in attendance. They welcomed at Huntington Congregational Church. Congressman-at-large John Q. Tilson delivers the keynote address.

Monday, May 30 – Memorial Day

• ANSONIA – The Memorial Day Parade starts on Main Street, and goes along Maple Street and High Street to Pine Grove Cemetery, where former Governor George P. McLean gave the address. Numerous Civil War veterans are in attendance.

• ANSONIA & DERBY – A large parade of the Kosciusko Guards attract many of the Valley’s Polish residents. The parade features 5 brass bands, and about 400 uniformed men in the line of march. The parade formed on Bridge Street, then proceeded up Clifton Avenue, then to St. Michael's Church in East Derby, where a flag consecrated and mass is held. After mass, the parade reforms, and marches back to Ansonia to a ball at German Hall

• DERBY & SHELTON – The Derby-Shelton Memorial Day has a greater crowd then usual. The parade features 11 automobiles carrying Kellogg Post Grand Army of the Republic Civil War veterans. The parade forms in Shelton, then proceeds to the GAR plot at Oak Cliff Cemetery. After this, the parade continues to the Civil War monument on Derby Green.

• SEYMOUR - Connecticut Governor Frank B. Weeks is the guest of honor at the Town’s Memorial Day parade. Many visitors come from out of town, and it is remembered as the largest Memorial Day celebration in Seymour up to that time. Many school children take part in the parade, and a very large contingent from the United German societies is also noted.

May 31

• SEYMOUR – “The open cars on the trolley line made their first appearance on the local line yesterday. Some of the cars were put in service between this place and Ansonia, and the day being a pleasant one, the open cars were the ones looked for. Fewer people left town yesterday, it is said, then on any holiday in a number of years”.

June

Wednesday, June 1

• The day is cloudy and chilly. The temperatures are under 60 before dawn, and it went down to 50 last night, and as low as 43 in the hills. The open trolley cars are shunned, many prefer to walk rather hen take them. Heaters are on, and houses are closed up.

• Cottonwood trees are in full bloom. The air full of their downy fluff, causing sinus problems for many people. The streets are covered, and the fluff gets into homes.

• OXFORD – “There is not the slightest danger of a drought for sometime to come, at least. The shower which came up Monday afternoon and which settled into a continuous rain for the evening was a soaker, the rain coming down in a heavy pour. Vegetation is jumping ahead now, and all nature is smiling. The air still continues quite cool, however”.

June 2

• ANSONIA – Two priests are ordained at Christ Church. One is Rev. David Bowen of Ansonia. The other is Rev. George Hefflon, who is deaf and mute, and serves the faithful who have similar conditions.

• ANSONIA – A band of homeless people is living off lower Main Street, the near supply plant of Derby Gas Company. They have taken to begging for money house-to-house and panhandling, making some residents nervous.

June 4

• DERBY – The assets of the Williams Typewriter Company have been purchased by the Secor Typewriter Company of Derby.

June 5

• 1.84” of heavy cold rain falls. Many are wearing winter overcoats in this unseasonably cold snap.

• OXFORD – Dogs are still on rampage in Oxford and Southford, having killed over 60 sheep from local flocks. It is now believed the dogs are coming from Seymour, and the selectmen of both Oxford and Southbury meet with the Seymour selectman over it.

Tuesday, June 7

• DERBY & SEYMOUR – “The Birmingham Water Company, yesterday afternoon, began drawing water from Great Hill Reservoir and turning it into the city mains. As soon as the water was turned into the mains the gauge at the Derby office marked a 12 pound increase in pressure. 5 inches of water is flowing over the dam”.

June 8

• ANSONIA – Six cases of Scarlet Fever have developed among Holbrook Street School and School Street School students. Three of the afflicted live on Wakelee Avenue, two on Holbrook Street, and one on Wesley Street. All of their homes have been quarantined.

• OXFORD – “Ralph E. David is making quick time in going and coming from Derby, where he attends the high school, on his new motor bicycle”.

• SEYMOUR – Fire destroys an old farm house in Bungay. All manage to escape, after the family’s father is awakened by cries of a small child. An attached chicken coop also burns, and 60 hens are killed. A nearby hog pen also burns, but the pen is broken into so the pigs can escape.

• SHELTON – The Shelton High School class of 1910 holds its final public reception at Clark Hall

• SHELTON – White Hills – “The apple trees are badly infested with canker worms, in this vicinity, and the sprayers are at work”.

• SHELTON – White Hills – “The cold weather has retarded the ripening of strawberries somewhat. Some of the growers however, will pick some this week”.

June 10

• DERBY – The 35 members of the Derby High School senior class graduate at the Sterling Opera House. The stage is decorated with potted plants and flowers. The Valedictorian is Mabel Seeley, and the Salutatorian is Helen Frances Kelly.

• SEYMOUR – The Health Officer indefinitely closes Great Hill School, after scarlet fever is found in six students from three families. The houses are quarantined.

June 11

• OXFORD – An Ansonia dog is shot in the act of killing a sheep. Another dog escapes. The two sheep they attacked are so badly injured they had to be put down.

June 12

• OXFORD – Ansonia authorities go to Oxford, to confirm the dog that was shot yesterday was registered in the City. While they admit the dog is from Ansonia, they are not willing to admit liability for the approximately 60 other sheep which have been recently killed by dogs in Oxford and Southford.

• SEYMOUR – A small 3 AM fire at St. Augustine's rectory is quickly contained by Rev. John Sullivan and his staff with a garden hose. The remainder of the fire is quickly extinguished by the fire department.

Monday, June 13

• Over 2" of rain has fallen since Friday, mostly on Saturday and Sunday.

• ANSONIA – The Board of Alderman wants to know why large shade elm trees are being removed from the front of the Hotel Dayton.

• ANSONIA – The first grand carnival of the Church of the Assumption opens to benefit the new Assumption School. The event features stage acts including vaudeville.

• DERBY – Griffin Hospital holds its Annual Trustees Meeting. There have been 155 patients since the hospital opened 6 months ago - 86 male and 69 female. 92 of the patients were native-born, while 69 were immigrants born in another country. The average number of patients per day was 15.4, with the largest single-day number 25, and the smallest single-day number 3 (which occurred on the hospital’s on opening day).

• DERBY – A petition being circulated in the Second Ward, asking for a volunteer fire company on Hawkins Street, between Eight Street and Tenth Street.

June 14

• SEYMOUR – The old Wooster house on upper Bank Street will be remodeled, the old, landmark 1½ story house will become 2 stories to accommodate tenants.

• SHELTON – The 21 members of the Shelton High School Class of 1910 graduates Derby’s Sterling Opera House. Helen Starr Randall is the salutatorian, while Dorothy Reid is the valedictorian.

June 15

• DERBY – An 8 year old Fifth Street girl, a student at Irving School, dies of Scarlet Fever.

• OXFORD – “Extensive repairs are being made to the barn, carriage shed and woodhouse of the rectory property. Repairs were necessary to save the buildings and the work is being very thoroughly done. Messrs. Glover W. Cable and David Wheeler & sons, are doing the work”.

• OXFORD – “The farmers in this place and Southbury have had very unpleasant experiences with dogs or different sets of dogs, biting, killing and injuring their sheep and lambs, so some have had to be killed. They have raided C.A. Davis' flock several times this season. Last Saturday about 6PM, Mrs. Grace Roberts and family heard the dogs in Mr. Davis' sheep. Her youngest son, Hurbert, 13 years of age, took his gun and started out. He found 2 dogs among the sheep. He shot the young dog and wounded the large one, but it succeeded in getting away. Selectman W. G. Tomlinson and a neighbor were soon there. The dead dog had an Ansonia tag and number on its collar and by telephoning to the town clerk of that place they received the name of the person who registered the dog. 4 men from Ansonia were here on Sunday but claim the dead dog was not theirs. These dogs are not the ones that have been among the sheep before. There is a reward offered for the killing of the dogs if caught in the sheep”.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill School will reopen, but no one from the families afflicted with Scarlet Fever may attend.

June 16

• DERBY – A 69 year old Derby native, a Civil War veteran, is found dead of accidental gas poisoning at the Mansion House.

• SEYMOUR – After 4 cases of scarlet fever discovered in a Union Street home, the Annex School's 5th grade room is closed until Monday to disinfect it.

June 17

• ANSONIA – The Ansonia High School Class of 1910 graduates at the Ansonia Opera House.  The 46 students constitute the largest class in the school’s history up to that time. Alice Emma Fletcher is the salutatorian, while Grace Fairchild Terrill is honored as the valedictorian. The girls wear white dresses, with bouquets of red roses, while the boys wear dark clothing.

• SEYMOUR – A murder-suicide occurs on Franklin Street at 11:00 AM. A woman, approximately 25 years old, falls off a second story balcony after being shot. He assailant, an older man, kills himself before he can be apprehended.

June 18

• DERBY – The annual parade and field day of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of Connecticut, is held in Derby this year, with the St. Aloysius TAB the local sponsor. Thousands come, with special trains and trolleys running into the gaily-decorated city.

• SEYMOUR – More Scarlet Fever discovered at Great Hill School, so it will remain closed.

• SHELTON – A large wild cat terrorizing has been terrorizing White Hills, and eating poultry. It was last seen being chased by a large dog, and residents hope it is gone for good.

Monday, June 20

• ANSONIA – “Travel shorewards was heavy yesterday. It was the first real hot weather Sunday, of the summer, and hundreds of Ansonians sought the beach to take their first dip of the season in the Sound. While the weather was warm, many found the water a bit too chilly. The trolley cars were crowded until late in the afternoon, traffic being heaviest in weeks. A big delegation of local people went to Bridgeport to attend the laying of the new Catholic Church and a number took trips up the Housatonic. Automobilists were out in force, hundreds of machines passing through Main Street during the day.

• SHELTON – A 23 year old Waterville man, and employee at the United States Rapid Fire Gun & Power Company in Derby, drowns in the Shelton Canal, near the Star Pin Company. A good swimmer, witnesses state he appeared to have been seized by cramps before going under.

June 21

• DERBY – Ground is broken for the new D & S Champlain building at 53-55-57 Elizabeth Street near Third Street. When completed, it will be the largest store building in the Valley for exclusive use by one business. The store will also boast 47 feet of street frontage, and will be the longest storefront in Derby.

June 22

• DERBY – Oliver Freeman, son of who was locally considered the last Black Governor of Connecticut (called "Negro Governor" at the time) Roswell Freeman, dies at his century-old Derby Neck home at 84.

• DERBY – “The house which was torn down to make room for the building that is to be erected on Elizabeth Street for D. & S. Champlain was one of the landmarks in what was formerly known as Birmingham. It was not the first house built in this section by any means, but it was one of the first built along what is now Elizabeth Street. In fact, when it was erected by Capt. Edmunds, of Stratford, it was put up in what was then a cornfield, being built in 1846 or 1847. If there was anything like a street through that part of town it was nothing more than a lane. Main Street was not laid out, the main highway being along the river front. The timbers in the house were hewn by hand. They were substantial ones and were in a good state of preservation when removed”.

• DERBY – A 25’ long, 8’ high, 18” thick section of basement wall at the D & S Champlain construction site collapses, nearly hitting contractor Max Durschmidt and two of his employees. One employee is briefly pinned, but his injuries are not serious.

• OXFORD – “The Village Improvement Association had men at work trimming up the shade trees in the center, the past week. The work is not yet finished. It seems to be the consensus of opinion that the trees have been planted too thick on the lower green, and would stand thinning out one-half”.

• SEYMOUR – “The old Holbrook homestead, referred to in the History of Seymour, Past and Present, as the "Old Hive", is being taken down by Joseph Marshall preparatory to the removal of the house occupied by Frank H. Downs to the site of said old house, a pretty location beside the row of grand old maple trees. Thomas Penders, of Ansonia, has the contract for moving the Downs house, which will be cut in two parts for removal”.

June 23                                            

• This is the third day in a row of severe heat wave, and for the first time this year people who work in hot places in factories can no longer stand it and walk off their jobs. The open trolley cars are popular.

• SEYMOUR – A 4 year old Great Hill girl dies of scarlet fever, in one of the homes where the disease was first detected in the neighborhood.

• SHELTON - About 50 building lots have opened up in the Borough of Shelton, south of Center Street. The land is part of the old Wakelee farm, and one of the principal streets, Wakelee Avenue, has already been laid off Long Hill Avenue, and Fern Street has been laid between Long Hill Avenue and Bridgeport Avenue. The area already has city water and gas service. Fern Street would later disappear when the Route 8 expressway was pushed through in the early 1950s.

June 24

• Temperatures fall overnight, down to 60 by 5 AM. The day is much cooler, breaking the heat wave.

• ANSONIA – A young May Street boy dies of scarlet fever.

June 25

• SHELTON – A group of boys have donned sheets over their head and are darting about Woodside pretending to be ghosts, frightening younger children and startling older people.

Monday, June 27

• OXFORD – “Men were at work…mowing the green. Owing to so much wet weather the grass has grown quite rank and it was found necessary to go over some of it with a scythe. Both the horse lawn mower and a hand mower were also being used. When the work is completed, the center will look very attractive”.

June 29

• DERBY – “Manager Hoyt this morning received a new moving picture machine, Power's Cameragraph No. 6, which is to be used in the Sterling Theater. It is a highly perfected piece of mechanism, working very smoothly and has all the latest devices for improving the pictures. It is stated that by the use of this machine the flicker caused by the rapid moving of a series of pictures is practically eliminated. There are other devices which reduce the possibility of fire to a minimum and with the unburnable films that are now used the moving pictures are about as safe as anything can be made. The machine was used for the first time this afternoon”.

• OXFORD – “The lamps lately purchased by the Village Improvement Association for lighting the Center, are being put in place. One is in front of St. Peter's church. The next one is at the triangle south of G. W. Hoxsie's residence. Another has been placed opposite the Episcopal rectory lighting the approach to the bridge near there, and the fourth one is in the vicinity of Sanford's store. As soon as money enough is on hand more lamps will be purchased and others placed at nearby corners”.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill – “The scarlet fever patients so far seem to be confined to the Russian people. In the fourth family to be afflicted an infant died on Thursday, and was buried the same day, this making the second fatality due to the disease. No new cases of whooping cough are appearing.

• SHELTON – “Lounging on street corners and spitting on the sidewalks is becoming a nuisance in Shelton and some people are asking why the police do not take action in the matter”.

• SHELTON – The Tugboat Isis, heading downriver after retrieving an empty barge at Derby Docks, runs aground on Flat Rock near Petremont’s Landing. The captain had reportedly gone below for dinner, and left the cook at the helm. The captain came back to the bridge, just in time to witness the tug run aground. The barge it was towing collides with the boat, shoving it further up the rocks.

June 30

• ANSONIA – St. Paul’s Swedish Lutheran Church, on the corner of Main Street and Tremont Street, may be converted into a theater. A trio of local developers has secured an option on the property. The church was originally in 1850 for Christ Episcopal Church, and served that parish until they moved into their new (and still current) edifice on South Cliff Street in 1896. The current Swedish Lutheran congregation is too small for the building.

• ANSONIA – There are now 20 scarlet fever cases in Ansonia, with 13 houses under quarantine.

• DERBY – The Hotchkiss Hose Co. No. 1 votes unanimously in favor of relocating their firehouse on Baldwin's Lot, which is on the corner of Olivia Street and Sixth Street. This would satisfy the petition of Second Ward residents to have a firehouse in their neighborhood.

• SEYMOUR – The quarantine is lifted on the two Great Hill families in which the current scarlet fever epidemic was first detected.

• SHELTON – Two tugboats manage to pull the grounded tugboat Isis off Flat Rock, and tow her back to Bridgeport for repairs.

July

Friday, July 1

• DERBY – In past 12 months, the Derby Savings Bank has opened 1603 new accounts and closed 1173, for a net increase of 430. The bank’s total deposits are now $4,512,731.

• SEYMOUR – The 6 members of the Seymour High School Class of 1910 graduates at Seymour Methodist Church. The Salutatorian is Elizabeth Chamberlin, while the Valedictorian is George Daniel Butler.

• SHELTON – The Shelton Canal has been emptied for its yearly maintenance. All factories on water power take their midsummer holidays, including Huntington Piano Company, International Silver Company, and Star Pin Company.

July 2

• SHELTON – 18 girls meet with the manager of the R.N. Bassett Co to complain about a reduction in their piece rates, which would result in their pay being lowered to $1 per day. The manager states if they work their new machines to full capacity, they should make more then they had before. The talks deadlock, and the girls walk out and begin to strike. The manager later tells the Evening Sentinel that many of the factory’s products are sold in England, in direct competition with lower wage labor in Germany. The wage reductions are said to be necessary to stay competitive.

July 3

• ANSONIA – A man is killed when he is run over by a train shortly after midnight.

• DERBY – A 20 year old Rufus Street, Ansonia man drowns in the Housatonic River, at the end of wall below the Ousatonic Dam, in 18’ of water while swimming.

Monday, July 4

• ANSONIA – The opening of the Fourth is anything but quiet. Many fireworks were set off as the Fourth began at midnight. The Fourth Street School is broken into and its windows are smashed. Vandals broke in and rung the bells at midnight at the Grove Street School, the School Street School, and some churches. Windows are broken at Ansonia Baptist Church and Ansonia Methodist Church. A bonfire is started on the trolley tracks near North Main Street, holding up traffic. The fire alarm is rung in the First Ward, and the Eagle Hose Hook & Ladder Co. No. 6’s reserve jumper (hose cart) is subsequently hijacked by hooligans and run down Foundry Hill. The vandals then attempted to hook it up to a hydrant on Main Street before a crowd of citizens intervened and scattered them.

• ANSONIA – A 19 year old on a boat with his friends on the Birmingham Canal is accidentally shot as they were discharging pistols to celebrate the holiday. They reportedly thought the pistols were only loaded with blanks.

• ANSONIA – Many leave the City for the holiday. The day is very hot and humid, many ride the open trolleys to beat the heat. An evening band concert at Westwood Park, is overflowing.

• DERBY – The Fourth is relatively quiet, though many complain that the Derby Green is covered with litter at the end of the day.

• SEYMOUR – The Fourth of July is quiet, with only minor disturbances. Many pass through town on their way to Oxford.

• SHELTON – “Monday was the quietest Fourth of July Shelton has ever known”.

• SHELTON – The annual Naugatuck Valley Motor Boat Club power boat regatta is held along a 10 mile, 3 turn course. 19 boats were registered, and 17 finished the race, but because of handicaps all 8 boats that passed the finish line before 11:28 AM is disqualified. The Eugena II is the winner.

July 6

• ANSONIA – Main Street’s Gardner Building, which is the old YMCA building, has been secured by out of town parties who plan on renovating the whole structure. The top floor will be turned into a vaudeville and motion picture theater, slated to open September 1.

July 7

• ANSONIA – A band concert at Westwood Park draws an immense crowd. Some complain of automobiles and teams parking on sidewalk, forcing pedestrians in middle of road.

• OXFORD – Many summer boarders are flocking to Oxford. New York City people have purchased some of the farms and turned them into resorts.

July 8

• It is a very hot and humid day, with highs of 96. A heat wave is gripping the region, and many spend nights outdoors, on verandas, roofs, or in park areas like Derby Green. Many babies are getting sick due to heat, and it is suggested that trolleys give special rates to women with small children, as the breeze they generate is one of the only ways to beat the heat. By July 11, workmen are unable to tolerate the heat at places that are normally hot anyway, like Ansonia’s Farrel Foundry & Machine Company and Derby’s Birmingham Iron Foundry.

• ANSONIA & DERBY – The Ansonia YMCA is buying land near Otter Rock on the Housatonic River, to use as a summer camp. The money for the purchase is being fronted by Cleveland H. Dodge, of New York City. The YMCA rented land near there last 2 summers. Mr. Dodge is the grandson of William E. Dodge, who with Ansonia's namesake Anson Phelps formed the Phelps Dodge Corporation in 1834.

• DERBY – The Board of Aldermens’ special fire committee votes 4-2 to adhere to recommending purchasing Baldwin Lot at corner of Olivia Street and Sixth Street for a new Hotchkiss Hose Co. No. 1 firehouse.

July 9

• ANSONIA – Horsemen are objecting to foreigners using the watering trough on Main Street and Bridge Street as a bathtub for their children.

• ANSONIA - Woodwork from the Ansonia passenger station almost completely removed, and the brick walls are being taken down. This is the “new” passenger station, completed recently, but doomed due to major water and structural problems. It is sometimes referred to as "Ansonia Passenger Station No. 2".

• SEYMOUR - The Seymour Public Library, on the second floor of Town Hall, is badly overcrowded.

July 10

• DERBY – Dr. William McGrath, of Ansonia, with offices in Shelton, starts sinking while swimming across the Housatonic River. He is rescued by a companion, who kept his head above water until he was pulled onto a raft.

• SHELTON – For some time there has been a big problem with boys catching freight trains in Shelton and riding them to Botsford, then catching another one back. Today, four Railroad Police Officers hide on a freight train, and then wait until it is going 25 miles and hour to reveal themselves and start rounding up riders. Many jump off the train anyway, but 8 are arrested.

Monday, July 11

• ANSONIA – The Board of Aldermen is presented with a petition signed by the pastors of Immanuel Episcopal, Ansonia Methodist, and Ansonia Baptist Churches, as well as 58 men and 53 women, asking that prize fight movies not be shown in Ansonia. This is particularly directed toward the Jeffries-Johnson “Fight of the Century” which occurred on July 4 in Reno, NV, and led to race rioting across the country.

July 13

• ANSONIA – An alleged ‘discussion’ between black and white youths at Westwood Park over the recent “Fight of the Century” between James J. Jeffries and Jack Johnson turns into a small riot, with black and white youths, and possibly some adults, clashing. The brawlers scatter when the police arrive. There are no arrests.

• OXFORD – “The need for rain is very great, vegetation is really suffering for moisture, and the dust on the roads is really stifling. There is no comfort taken in pleasure drives for one is simply smothered with the cloud of dust every passing team raises. The streams are still showing plenty of water, and the springs show no indication of getting low, which is a comfort to many”.

• OXFORD – Quaker Farms – “There is a bountiful hay crop and the farmers are rushing haying this fine weather”.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill – “One noticeable fact these hot days is the absence of the talked of watering tank, but the brook is just as handy to drive through as ever and will be used to quench the thirst of horses until some other means is provided”.

July 14

• ANSONIA – A grading job on the Ansonia side of Division Street comes to an abrupt halt when a homeowner turns a hose on the city employees and threatens to shoot them. The homeowner was irate because the city was going to take 5-6' of his front lawn for the highway. Mayor Charters hastens to the spot and personally negotiates with the homeowner while a police officer guards the crew from the homeowner. The discussions apparently result in more threats, and a warrant is issued for the homeowner’s arrest.

• ANSONIA – Thousands attend the Ansonia Band concert at Westwood Park. There are complaints of too many hucksters selling lollipops, popcorn, peanuts, etc., as well as young people talking too loud during the music.

July 15

• DERBY – A New Haven bound trolley from Derby is hit by a baggage express trolley car near Alling’s Mills in Orange, after the passenger car stopped to allow a man to retrieve his hat. The injury list includes 5 Derby, 8 Ansonia, and one Shelton person injured some seriously. A number of the injured are brought to Griffin Hospital, which would make this the first major incident with multiple casualties in the new hospital’s history.

July 16

• An ongoing heat wave continues. The temperature is 90 degrees at 2:00 PM 1.5” of rain falls.

• SHELTON – George Beardsley, one of founders of Beardsley Building Company, dies New Haven. Born in Monroe, he came to Derby as boy, where learned carpentry trade. He entered into a partnership with H. N. Beardsley and Charles Beardsley about 40 years ago, called the Beardsley Bros, which later became the Beardsley Building Co. It is said this firm built all but 2 of the factories in Shelton, most of the churches and schools, and the majority of the houses up to this time.

• SHELTON – The private footbridge over the Shelton Canal between the Whitlock Printing Press and the National Folding Box & Paper Company falls in. It was in bad repair since box company moved out and stopped maintaining it, and it already partially collapsed when the canal was recently drained.

July 17

• The heat wave breaks with the temperatures dropping to 64 in the morning. The humidity is gone, and more people are observed outside today.

Monday, July 18

• ANSONIA – The building erected a year ago for an auxiliary fire department jumper (hose cart) in the Fourth Ward is being dismantled, as no jumper ever came. Politics is said to have played a role, including the rumor that Mayor Charters was opposed to it. Despite this, there is still talk of forming a Fourth Ward fire company.

July 20

• ANSONIA - Six children have died of whooping cough this week, including 3 today. Other very young children are sick from it.

• ANSONIA – “The Ballantyne Brewing Company is preparing a large shed adjoining its refrigerator and barn, in the rear of Flahavan's shoe store, on Main Street. Michael Nelligan has the contract for the erection of the structure, which will be provided with cement floors and lighted by electricity”.

• DERBY – City dairy farmers report cattle have to be sprayed against flies twice a day to keep them away – there is a very unusual quantity of the insects this year. The flies are said to be irritating the cows and getting them nervous, resulting in their giving less milk.

• OXFORD – “Not in some seasons has there been such a plague of flies as seems to prevail this season. It seems impossible to keep a house free of them, no matter how much vigilance is used. They are ready to enter every time a door is opened, in perfect swarms, and are distracting to neat housekeepers”.

• OXFORD – Quaker Farms – “Many of the farmers are through haying for they have had three weeks of fine weather and they took advantage of it”.

• SEYMOUR – Great Hill – “Raspberries were a short crop this year, but all other fruit seems to be in abundance”.

July 21

• SHELTON – A serious fire breaks out in the wood buildings behind the Shelton Tack Company on Canal Street near Hill Street. The Echo Hose Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1’s first jumper (hose cart) is delayed in arriving because someone assured them the fire was near Wooster Street. Most of the tightly packed wood buildings between the main factory and the river are destroyed, with slight damage to main factory.

July 22

• SHELTON – At a special Huntington Town Meeting, it is voted to spend $60,000 to build 2 new modern schools. These would become Lafayette School and Huntington School.

July 23

• SEYMOUR – Rev. Charles Leddy of Mystic has been appointed to replace the late Rev. Rigney at St. Augustine's Church.

July 24

• Temperature are 95 and very humid.

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