Dedication:
Celebrating
125 Years Serving Sullivan County
www.scdemocratonline.com VOL. CXXVI NO. 9 4 SECTIONS | 32 PAGES
SPECIAL 125TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
5 Lower Main St., Callicoon has been the home of the Sullivan County Democrat since 1901. The twostory building has seen many renovations throughout the last 115 years, the latest being a new bluestone sidewalk in front of the building, which was finished last week. Sending a big “Thank You” to our readers and advertisers are, from the left: Joseph Abraham, Tracy Swendsen, Petra Duffy,
Published twice-weekly FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 ONE DOLLAR
This 125th Anniversary edition is dedicated to the memory of my grandparents, Nellie and Fred Stabbert Sr. and my parents, Shirley and Fred Stabbert Jr. They have inspired me to continue a life’s journey which has been both meaningful and rewarding. My father’s dedication to his profession was steadfast and enduring and he gave me the opportunity to continue the work which he and his father had started. - The Publisher
Anthony Morgano, Elizabeth Finnegan, Michelle Reynolds, Carol Montana, Sandy Schrader, Autumn Schanil, Joanna Blanchard, Fred Stabbert III, Rosalie Mycka, Barbara Matos, Cecile Lamy, Ruth Huggler, Liz Tucker, April Spruill, Nyssa Calkin, Patricia Biedinger and Dan Hust. Please see pages 4-5A for a look at our entire staff.
Democrat turns the page on another year
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early 8,332 editions have gone “to press” since the Sullivan County Democrat was founded on a late June day in 1891. The Democrat has endured nearly every kind of natural disaster, from floods to blizzards, droughts to hurricanes. But one thing has held true for the past 125 years – the Sullivan County Democrat has never missed a deadline. “We have come close a couple of times,” Fred Stabbert III, the current publisher of the newspaper and third generation of his family to have run the Democrat since 1927, said. “But we don’t plan on starting now.”
Celebrates 125 years of Community Journalism From the Great Flood of 1902, which took out the Cochecton Bridge across the Delaware to the Blizzard of ‘58, which belted Sullivan County with a 38-inch snowstorm, the Democrat has taken some of the biggest hits nature has had to offer – and still put ink to newsprint to deliver the news to its faithful readers. There were also the great floods of 1996 and 2006, both close calls for the Democrat office on Lower Main St., Callicoon. “We never had water in the
office, but we were surrounded by it a couple of times,” Stabbert laughed. And who could forget the blackout of August 14, 2006, a Thursday, and a deadline day for the twice-weekly Sullivan County Democrat. “I think we were down to the last page when the power went out,” Stabbert remembered. “I went up to my mother’s house to wait out the blackout. “All of a sudden I looked in the living room and a little night light was on,” he said. “My mother had turned off all
the lights in the house except for the nightlight. “I quickly ran back to the office, finished the page and we made our Friday publication date,” he said. Tribute to our staff “There have been so many dedicated and hard-working people who have made such a difference at the Democrat,” Stabbert said. “I’ll never forget Leota ‘Lee’ Hermann; she worked for us for more than 40 years.” Lee was the only employee to work for all three Freds – Sr., Jr. and the Third.
“When my daughter Laura started at the office, Lee told me it was about time to retire,” Stabbert III said. “Lee said she didn’t want to work for four generations of our family.” There was also office manager Jean Price, a 30-plus year employee, and business office helper Carol Wootan, who put in well over 30 years. “They were instrumental in the stability and growth of our newspaper,” he said. “They were so meticulous in everything they did. “And I would be remiss if I
did not mention Tom White, my first editor,” Stabbert said. “He was a literal genius and very strict. He would yell and scream but somehow we got the newspaper out every week. He really taught me a lot about newspapering. “And my favorite… has to be my Uncle Perk,” Stabbert said. “I started working with Perk at age 16 and he taught me how to run the presses and a lot about printing. “He and my father were very close and it was a sad day when he died on February 5, 1977,” he said. “Looking back, he really got me interested in the office.” PLEASE SEE HISTORY, 3A
Inside: Section
A
Who we are and how we started
Section
Meet our editors: past through present
B Section
C Section
D
A history of newspapers from our County Historian DEMOCRAT FILE PHOTO
The Stabberts: Sullivan County’s newspapering family
The Democrat office 116 years ago… Shown here is the original Sullivan County Democrat Office as it appeared in the summer of 1900. The posters in the window clearly indicate that Church Fairs and Community Picnics were the order of the day. A magnifying glass was used to determine the year 1900 on two of the posters. Fred German of Delaware Avenue, Callicoon is the young fellow shown at the left. He was a typesetter at that time. Misters Terwilliger, father and son, are also shown. The young Mr. Terwilliger was editor of The Democrat at that time. The office was located in what is now the Ses-u-me Street Car Wash across from the old Callicoon School in Callicoon. The photo was loaned to us by Mr. German.
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