This Week in Winchester History: Fears of Water Contamination

This is a regular column with items drawn from past editions of the Winchester Star.

1911

It's a bird, it's a plane....

A station agent at the High Station recovered $42 that flew off a passing train. Apparently, a young couple were heading to the country for their honeymoon and the groom tried to cross trains into the smoking car.

There was a strong gust of wind, which forced him to raise his hands, so that his straw hat didn't fly off, and in doing so, he knocked his walletloose, causing the money to fly away.

Long life

The oldest man in Winchester - Marshall Symmes - passed away at 93-years-old. 

He was a descendant of Zachariah Symmes, one of the earliest settlers of Winchester who came to the U.S. in 1634. The Symmes family owned 123 acres of farmland.

1961

Water Approved

The State Department of Health said that the quality of water at the Pool and the is excellent for swimming.

1986

Toxic Waste

The town formed a Toxic Waster Committee to find area that may have been contaminated by waste. 

The Hudson Industries off of Cross Street is a threat because it was located near the . The Leonard Beach was ruled safe to swimming in by the Board of Health.

But that is also near the Hudson site, and the soil in that area contains high levels of metal, arsenic, chromium and mercury.

No More Space

NASA decided to postpone the Journalists in Space program.

Winchester resident and freelancer, Terry Marotta, won't get a chance to go into space. Marotta was one of the finalists to be selected to travel into space.

After the Challenger exploded in February, NASA won't resume the program until a definite mission could be picked.

All the information for this story came from the Winchester Star.