January 1921 - 100 Years Ago in "That Thriving Town"

Here's what was happening in Bovina 100 years ago this month, from the pages of the Andes Recorder

Bovina residents were continuing to embrace electricity, having it installed through the use of “electric plants.” 

January 7, 1921

• Sheffield Smith has purchased another truck, making three he now has.

• Dr. James Crosier, of Philadelphia, spent the holidays with his mother, Mrs. Alex Crosier, in upper Bovina.

• About a dozen relatives of Sloan Archibald gathered at his home Wednesday to help him celebrate his 76th birthday.

• William S. Thomson, who sustained a broken leg last fall by a fall from an apple tree, is now able to be around on crutches.

• Frank Miller now has electric lights in his residence. The electricity is furnished by C.S. Terry from a plant in his garage.

• William Archibald, at the stone arch bridge, is having a Western Electric plant installed this week for lighting his residence and farm buildings.

January 14, 1921

• Hilson Bros have completed their annual inventory.

• Town Clerk Gordon has issued 16 hunting licenses thus far this year.

• During 1920 the overseer of the poor in Bovina spent nothing for poor purposes.

• John Aitkens has cut part of the large evergreen trees along the front of his residence, (the old Kennedy Place)

• L.D. Kennedy, who during the past year has been in Cortland, has returned to his farm, the Irvine place, on Coulter Brook.  Marshall Scott who has been in charge of the farm, has moved back to the Methodist parsonage in the Center [now the home of Chuck and Betty McIntosh].

• Misses Edith and Edna Russell twin dauters of Wm. T. Russell, returned this week from New York, where they had spent five weeks at the home of their uncle, Ernest Bergman.

Was Native of Bovina

Mrs. Earl Shaw died at Southern Pines, North Carolina, Sabbath night, January 9, from tuberculosis. She went south a few weeks ago in the hope of benefiting her health and for a time seemed to be improving.  She was in the Oneonta hospital 40 weeks for diseased arm, before going south.  She was born in Bovina and was the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Thomson, who now reside at South Kortright.  The remains arrived at the home of her parents Wednesday night.

Assisting Game Keepers

Gamekeeper Marshall on the Gerry estate at Lake Delaware is to have two assistants this year.  Both are now at Lake Delaware and are just over from Scotland.

January 21, 1921

• Abram Forman, son of Geo Forman at the head of Hobbie Mountain, who enlisted in the navy two months ago and went into training at Norfolk, Va., is recovering from measles.

• Ralph, the ten-year-old son of James Mabon, who a few weeks ago underwent an operation for appendicitis at Delhi, was taken to the home of his grandfather, Jas C.Mabon in Delhi, the latter part of last week.

• Mrs. W.T. Black, formerly of Bovina, who is spending the winter in Seattle, Washignton, had her tonsils removed recently in that city.  Surgeons were of the opinion that her eye trouble and other ill health was due to diseased tonsils.

• The funeral of Mrs. Earl Shaw, who died at Southern Pines, North Carolina, was held last Friday afternoon in the UP church…..burial…Bovina Cemetery. Her age was 29 years and she is survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Thomson, her husband and a young child.

January 28, 1921

• During the year 1920, there were 66 hunting licenses issued the town of Bovina.

• Miss Eleanor Campbell has accepted a position with the Rose Telephone company at Hobart.

• The Bovina Center Co-Op Creamery company filled their icehouse this week from Lake Mahiken [later Silver and now Coles Lake on Route 28].

Bovina Farm House Burned

Residence of Gustave Leftgren [Lifgreen] Destroyed Monday Afternoon

The large farm house of Gustave Leftgren, located up Pink Street, in the town of Bovina, was entirely destroyed by fire Monday afternoon, January 24, but most of the contents were saved.

The family had company and were in the midst of a late dinner when the fire was discovered.  It apparently started about the kitchen chimney and had gained considerable headway when discovered.  Neighbors soon arrived and with their aid all the furniture was removed from the ground floor and also all that on the second floor except from two bedrooms. Everything was also saved from the cellar and even fixtures from the bathroom were removed.

The house was on what is better known to former residents as the Lyle Thomson farm and was a farm structure built many years ago, and burned very slowly, thus allowing time for the removal of the contents.  The structure had been re-modeled and modernized in recent years and was heated with a furnace and lighted with electricity.

Mr. Leftgren had an insurance of $1,000 on the building in the town company and there was $500 on the contents.  At present the family are staying with neighbors, and expect to have rooms in the house of Mr. Haddley [Hadley] located just across the road. [This is where the home of Molly Brannen is located.]