Week of December 27

December 26, 1874 – 150 YEARS AGO
Rockland County Journal

MAKE THE WINTER PLEASANT

       First, have plenty of good books and papers to read, and while you are causing the time to pass pleasantly, you will be storing your mind with knowledge that may be of great service to you some day. Spend your evenings home, around your own fire-sides, and get your family all united upon one theme, and all will be equally interested. Furnish innocent games for your little ones, and sometimes join with them with as much earnestness as though you were no bigger than they. Be always in a pleasant mood, speak kindly and cheerfully, and by your notions you can throw a gleam of Summer sunshine in upon your household that will almost make them forget the “cold, chilly winds” of Winter outside.

December 25, 1924 – 100 YEARS AGO
Pearl River News

APPROACHING CAR TURNED OUT AS A HUNGRY WILD CAT — Three Nyackers Have Harrowing Experience on Bear Mountain Road in Early Morning Hours — Take Refuge in Sedan until Beast Tires of Waiting

[Image: Undated postcard of the Bear Mountain Inn in winter. Courtesy of the Tompkins Cove Library, via NYHeritage.org.]

       Irving Dutcher, James Mitchell, and John Cotter had been visiting over the weekend at Troy, N. Y. In order to be on the job here Monday they drove all night Sunday. They reached Bear Mountain about five A.M. Monday and had to stop to change a tire.

       They happened to look ahead and saw what they thought was a car approaching some distance away. A little later they saw the two lights were not advancing very fast and upon investigation discovered their own headlights were shining into the face of a wild cat. The cat was slowly creeping towards them. Fortunately, they had a closed car and the three got in the coach and waited until the wild cat got tired of waiting and slunk away

December 27, 1974 – 50 YEARS AGO
The Journal News

HE SELLS ICE, POLLUTES WATER

       A South Nyack businessman who sells pure water has inadvertently polluted the village’s only stream.

       Dominic Liso of 90 Clinton Ave. emptied an old oil tank on his property last week and the sludge ran into a nearby stream, which flows into the Hudson River.

       The amount of sludge spilled was about 40-50 gallons and Liso says he will repair the damage, but village environmentalists are angry.

       “I can’t understand how a man who depends on pure water for his living (Liso sells ice) can pollute the water for others,” said Eleanor Hall Gibson, a village resident and chairman of the county’s Environmental Management Agency.

       While Liso apparently didn’t do anything illegal he certainly “broke the canons of good sense,” said Caroline Leiser, a village trustee.

       Liso said he will use powder to clean up the damage, and if that is not sufficient, he will hire a commercial cleaner.

       He poured the oil onto the ground, thinking it would be absorbed, but the ground was frozen, he explained.

       “I feel terrible about this,” he said. “It was a case of misjudgment.”

       South Nyack formerly had a second stream, which ran into the Hudson at the south end of the village, but that one was covered over during construction of an apartment complex, said Mrs. Gibson.

This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan on behalf of the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2024 by The Historical Society of Rockland County. #FBF Flashback Friday may be reprinted only with written permission from the HSRC. To learn about the HSRC’s mission, upcoming events or programs, visit www.RocklandHistory.org or call (845) 634-9629.