NORTHFIELD IN HISTORY

125 Years Ago

The Northfield News

March 12, 1885 3 cents a copy/ $1.50 a year

Geo. H Richmond, editor

We have bought the News list of L. P. Thayer, and it is with pleasure that we present this issue as a strictly home paper. The News will be devoted to the interest of Washington county and especially to the interest of the enterprising town of Northfield. Its future course can be marked out in a few words. First and foremost, it will aim to be a complete local newspaper for Washington County, giving the news by reliable correspondents from each town, as well as all important news from other parts of the state. Its political complexion will be decidedly Republican. But we expect it will find many friends and supporters among the Democrats, who, we believe as a class, will more generally respect it than they would if it attempted to catch their patronage by contemplating the trick of calling itself "independent," while the editor was known as a strong believer in the principles of the Republican party. The miscellaneous matter will be carefully selected and the readers will find it a valuable feature in the paper. F. N. Whitney, Pub.

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J. C. Fletcher, proprietor of the Northfield House, has recently placed in his billiard room a fine pool table, which makes a very desirable addition to that department of the house.

100 Years Ago

The Northfield News

March 8, 1910

3 cents a copy/$1.25 year

Fred N. Whitney, editor

The members of the class of The Cheerful Workers of the Methodist Sunday school held a Washington Tea party at the home of their teacher, Mrs. C. A. Edgerton, Thursday evening. The whole evening's entertainment was in colonial style, all dressing in ancient costumes.

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At about 7:25 Saturday morning, the large stone shed erected in Northfield last season by John L. Burns and equipped with every modern improvement, suddenly collapsed and went down with a heavy crash and in less than 30 seconds, probably less than 20, the structure was a mass of ruins. Fifty men were already in the building, the electric power was on and work was beginning when the terrible crash came. Marvelous to relate, not a man was killed in the complete wreck and only three seemed to have been seriously injured...All of these men, however, are making rapid recovery, and no permanent injuries are anticipated.

75 Years Ago NEWS AND ADVERTISER

March 14, 1935

5 cents a copy, $2 a year

John E. Mazuzan, editor

Northfield people had the opportunity to see and hear Mrs. Amelia Earhart Putnam, America's famous woman flier, who spoke Thursday night at the Norwich armory. The flier's appearance in Northfield was made possible by President Porter Adams of Norwich, who is much interested in aviation and has known Amelia Earhart for some time. President Adams introduced Mrs. Putnam and from the first she thrilled the large crowd with her winning smile, her gacious manner and her enthusiastic delivery. She gave several details of her trips across the Atlantic ocean, and especially interesting was her most recent achievement of the lone flight from Honolulu to California. Her graphic description of the take-off and of the hours she spent "with the stars" until she sighted land and brought her plane to earth at Oakland, California, was extremely interesting and exciting.

50 Years Ago NEWS AND ADVERTISERMarch

10, 1960

5 cents a copy, $2 a year

John E. Mazuzan, editor

Editor of the News: If your columnist, Bob Smith, has as much regard for the public's safety as he pretends in his column, he will present me with the evidence upon which he based his statements concerning "a certain health inspector. R. B. Aiken, MD, Commissioner of Health

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Editor of the News: During the discussion of the proposed reduced budget of Brown Public Library at the Northfield town meeting, I described the Library Board as ineffective and timid. As a Northfield property owner and trustee of the Vermont State Library, I thus characterized the Northfield Library Board as a group, although holding the highest respect for the board members as individuals. I stated that the proposed cut reflected a public indifference to the library - an attitude largely stemming from the lack of sustained effort over the years on the part of the Library Board to stress the needs of the library before the public. The proportion of library funds to total Northfield town appropriations has shrunk from two per cent in 1949 to seven-tenths of one per cent for 1960. While school proponents have pushed a vigorous and consistent school program before the public over a period of years, the public library has not had the benefit of such action in its behalf. The Library Board has declined for two years to hold library district meetings in Northfield because of the questionable physical condition of the library building. Victor H. Johnson

25 Years Ago

NORTHFIELD NEWS

March 14, 1985 25 cents a copy, $2 a year

Erik Nelson, editor

When the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vernon goes down for repairs sometime in the late summer or early fall of this year, the impact on Northfield will be tremendous, according to Municipal Manager Ed Gadbois. Yankee will be going down, that is turned off, for as much as 15 months, Gadbois said. During that time Northfield will have to look elsewhere for the 2,000 kilowatts Yankee provides the community...Yankee provides 28 percent of the power used here. "The power that it generates has to be replaced by some other source," Gadbois said. "In all likelihood it will be replaced by HydroQuebec... it could be a 15 percent impact on our rates for one year."

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During the 1985 village meeting, which lasted just under an hour and a half, village voters approved the appropriation of $10,000 to go toward the establishment of a 24-hour dispatching system but not without a fight. The new dispatching system, which involves a 911 emergency number, would replace what Municipal Manager Ed Gadbois called "one of the weakest links in our public safety."