Catch up on past weeks in Valley History in the Valley History Archive
From the pages of the Evening Sentinel
This Week in Valley History...
February 7 - 13
100 Years Ago - 1910
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”.
75 Years Ago - 1935
Thursday, February 7
DERBY - Famous chef George Rector gives a demonstration at the Derby Gas & Electric Company auditorium. The hall is packed to capacity with 350 women, and another 150 had to be turned away.
SHELTON – Huntington – “Farmers in the vicinity are busy getting in their ice for filling ice houses ready for the summer. On most ponds the ice is anywhere from 12 to 15 inches thick, making it nice to handle. If this clear cold weather lasts a few more days, it will all be in and the farmer will not worry about a February thaw”.
February 8
DERBY – The District Nurse Association holds its annual meeting. The nursing staff made a total of 10,257 visits in 1934. This includes 1,571 medical and 1,201 surgical visits, 2,219 visits to chronic patients, 421 Tuberculosis visits, cared for 124 pregnant mothers, and made 55 deliveries.
SEYMOUR – The Seymour Ice Company has started ice harvesting on Pulford's Pond off South Main Street, where the ice is 15 to 16” thick. 40 men are employed, and 25% of the 3,500 tons expected are already harvested.
February 9
ANSONIA – 16 FERA workers complete a storm water sewer project on Hubbell Avenue in Ansonia. They will now join 18 other FERA workers doing a similar project on Dwight Street.
February 11
ANSONIA – The Board of Aldermen approves $119,100 in municipal bonds. This includes $22,000 for FERA supplies, $12,300 for a new Websters Hose, Hook & Ladder Co. No. 3 firehouse, $6,000 to connect Powe Street to Central Street, $3,800 for a new Colony Street park, and $75,000 to be kept for relief in the event of another economic emergency.
50 Years Ago - 1960
Wednesday, February 10
0.75” of rain falls.
DERBY - A shorted out ice cream freezer motor starts a 5 AM fire which causes $800 damage to DeBarbieri's Ice Cream and Fruit Store on 68 Elizabeth Street. A police officer sees it on patrol and calls it in.
February 11
The day is warm, but brings 0.3” of rain, hail, and thunderstorms.
ANSONIA – Heavy rainfall causes a section of retaining wall supporting Clifton Avenue at Mill Street to collapse, taking 15' of sidewalk with it. The dry-laid stone wall is over 100 years old. On the other side of town, Jewett Street is covered with debris washed down from the new residential sections on Hilltop.
ANSONIA – Construction of the new Clancy Bridge on Bridge Street is slightly ahead of schedule.
DERBY – A New Haven Railroad boxcar loaded with scrap rubber is badly damaged by a 9:30 PM fire at the Derby freight yard. The flames shoot 25' high.
February 13
DERBY - A 72 year old Derby Avenue woman is killed when she is hit by car while crossing the street in front of her home. The car was driven by a 55 year old Bank Street man.
DERBY - A houseboat which has been berthed on the Housatonic River, at the foot of Cedric Avenue, for the past 30 years is badly damaged by fire.
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