Borden ends bottling with layoffs; Rudd Pond swim meet; Amenia orphans stranded in Boston

The following excerpts from The Millerton News were compiled by Kathleen Spahn and Rhiannon Leo-Jameson of the North East-Millerton Library.

September 6, 1934

‘Borden’s Ends Bottling Operation Here; Ignore Offers To Co-operate’; The Borden’s Farm Products Company, Inc., ceased the bottling operation at its Millerton plant Tuesday with a resultant lay-off of twenty-one men “in order to effect economic retrenchments,” in the words of Francis R. Elliott, assistant to the president of the corporation, “made necessary by the peculiar and distressing conditions in which the industry finds itself.” At the same time denying that they were guilty of hasty deliberation, officials of the Borden’s Company followed out the high handed policy which they have pursued throughout the controversy over the local plant, bluntly refusing offers of village officials and the Chamber of Commerce to co-operate in working out a more suitable plan for the station.

‘Lee Miller Winner At Rudd Pond’; Lee Miller, of Millerton, won the junior boys’ fifty-yard free style swimming race and placed second in the fifty-yard breast stroke event in the annual water carnival conducted Sunday at Rudd Pond by the Taconic State Park Commission. Charlotte Manning, also of Millerton, placed third in the women’s fifty-yard swim, while in the Junior boys’ division W. Kelly, of Copake Falls, placed second in the fifty-yard breast stroke and D. Matych, of Copake Falls, was third. Henry Idema, Beacon swimming star, won the point trophy, taking first place in two events and third in another.

‘Amenia Orphans Held By Police’; Two orphans whose adopted home is in Amenia were held by Boston police early this week awaiting the arrival of their aunt and guardian, Dorothy Smith, who left immediately for the Massachusetts city after receiving word by telephone from the pair at the termination of an automobile tour of New England. The children, Thomas J. Smith, 17, and Marian, 13. left the Smith home with one of the family cars a few days ago, but were forced to telephone their aunt from Boston when they ran short of funds.
The aunt ordered them to go to one of Boston’s best hotels, and at the same time requested the police to hold the children until her arrival.

‘Attendance records broken at County Fair’; Dutchess County Fair officials announced last week-end as the nintieth [sic] annual fair was drawing to an end that attendance records established in 1933, the highest previous attendance marks in the history of the fair, had been broken this year. The total attendance for the week was reported to be in excess of 34,000, and it was indicated that the fair was a financial success.

‘Art Feud Bursts Forth Anew: Wilson Appeals For “More Generous Public”’; The Lime Rock art feud, in which Winslow Wilson, Texas portrait painter, and G. Glenn Newell, Dover Plains artist, are the principals, has burst forth with renewed vigor as a result of the reported $100,000 slander action which Mr. Wilson disclosed exclusively in last week’s issue of The News he was bringing against the sixty-two-year-old painter of pastoral scenes. Mr. Wilson, who revealed last week that he was suing Mr. Newell for libel because of remarks he alleges the latter made in the presence of Mr. Wilson’s prospective clients in the Lime Rock art gallery, now appeals through the columns of The News for the privilege of exhibiting his painting, “The Morn Children,” in “any city, town or village in the United States that will give his picture a “fair showing.”

September 4, 1975

‘Renovations Delayed At Grade Schools’; Progress on construction and renovation work in the Millerton and Amenia Elementary Schools has been slowed down in recent weeks by a delay in the delivery of materials.

The $280,309 worth of work was approved by Webutuck District voters in a bond issue presented in the 1973-74 school elections.

September 7, 2000

‘West Nile Virus: More Infected Birds Found’; POUGHKEEPSIE— The Dutchess County Department of Health has learned of two additional dead birds that have tested positive for West Nile virus. One was found in Beacon July 28 and the other in East Fishkill Aug, 15. This brings the total number of positive birds to 10.

“Combating the West Nile virus takes a cooperative effort between the public and private sector,” stated Dr. Michael C. Caldwell, commissioner of Health for Dutchess County. Data received by the Dutchess County Department of Health indicates that residents need to increase their efforts in reducing the mosquito population.