1924 WB Record Almanac, Record of Local Events for 1923 RECORD OF LOCAL EVENTS Happenings in Luzerne County for the Twelve Months From December 1, 1922, to December 1, 1923. DECEMBER 1922 1. Talk about strikes in various collieries in the upper anthracite region over petty grievances, but most of them settled after a few days' idleness. 2. Union Savings Bank and Trust Company moves into its new building at the corner of Northampton and South Main streets. 2. New Home of the Westmoreland Club, in the former Shoemaker residence on South Franklin street, formally opened with the annual dinner by the members. 3. Meeting in the Y. M. H. A. building addressed by Judge BERNARD A. ROSENBLATT of NEW YORK CITY, in the interest of a municipal bond sale for Tel-Aviv, chief city of the new Jewish Homeland in Palestine. 3. Judge GARMAN instructs the District Attorney to take action for the renovation of State licenses of saloon keepers in the county who were convicted in United States court of violating the Volstead act or who confessed to guilt, the testimony given in federal court to be used. 3. Speakers for the Near East Relief occupy the pulpits of a number of local churches, describing the appalling condition of Christian minorities in Turkish territory. 4. Local Irishmen and people of Irish descent take much interest in the formal ratification of the new Irish Constitution by the British Parliament, which means the real birth of the new Irish nation. 4. 17,530 hunters' licenses issued so far this season by the County Treasurer, 247 fewer than last year. 4. BETSY LANE SHEPHERD, formally of WILKES-BARRE, soloist at Mozart Club concert in Irem Temple. 4. A number of local hunters have good luck killing deer and bears in the White Haven, North Mountain and Pocono regions. 5. For the twelve months ending November 30 there were 692 fewer marriage licenses in Luzerne County than for the previous twelve months and 18 fewer divorces granted. 5. Six Hudson Coal Co. collieries in the Plymouth-Larksville district tied up by a strike over a dispute about props and yardage. 5. Representatives of the Wyoming Valley Ministerial Union again ask council to take a decided stand in regard to commercialized amusements in the city on Sunday. Council passes a resolution pledging the enforcement "of all laws." 6. (Almanac skipped day 6) 7. (Almanac skipped day 7) 8. (Almanac skipped day 8) 9. Explosion at the plant of the Black Diamond Powder Co. at Saucon, Pittston Township, results in the death of five men and the serious injury of five others, together with the destruction of several buildings; about 3,500 kegs of black powder blew up. 9. Miners of the Hudson Coal Co. in the Plymouth and Larksville district agree to return to work after being on strike for a week in a dispute over props and yardage, arrangements having been made for a conference between the two sides. 10. (Almanac skipped day 10) 11. The United States Supreme Court declares the Kohler mines cave act of Pennsylvania to be unconstitutional 11. The Act provided that anthracite companies must conduct mining in a way to not endanger the surface. The act was declared invalid by Judge HENRY A. FULLER of the Luzerne County court and was sustained by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court says that the act is confiscatory because it takes private property without compensation, where the owner of the surface sold or leased the mineral rights. The act was the culmination of years of effort to solve the mine cave problem. 12. PAUL J. SHERWOOD of WILKES-BARRE appointed deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania by Governor SPROUL. 13. Allied veterans' organizations approve of the proposed clock tower and memorial feature for the Public Square as the soldiers' and sailors' monument, the plan drawn by Major THOMAS H. ATHERTON, Jr., of WILKES- BARRE. The sketch calls for a structure 180 feet from the sidewalk, with clock, a light at the top and emblematic figures of men representing the various branches of the service. 14. Representatives of about all of the municipalities in the anthracite region meet in Wilkes-Barre to consider plans for having the State return to the municipalities in which mining is conducted all or part of the tax on anthracite embodied in an act of the Legislature and sustained by the courts, the municipalities to use the money for general improvement purposes or for cave-in damage. The meeting results in the appointment of eight lawyers, city and borough solicitors, who are to draft a bill. 14. Definite action taken by the West Market Street Business Men's Association for the improvement of the street by widening it three feet and removing the poles and overhead wires. The extra three feet are to be gained by setting each side back eighteen inches. This can be done mostly by changing steps that project on the sidewalk and by removal of the poles. The street will have a fine system of lighting, and the traction company is planning to put in a double track. 14. First real snow of the season, about four inches in Wilkes-Barre. 15. (Almanac skipped day 15) 16. (Almanac skipped day 16) 17. Twenty-fifth anniversary of the dedication St. Peter's Lutheran church of Pittston observed. 18. Severe sentences imposed by Judge FULLER upon two young men. One from Wilkes-Barre and the other from Plains, who confessed to having participated in a number of holdups and a burglary in this vicinity, one sentenced to a minimum of thirty years and the other to a minimum of fifteen years. 18. Cold wave; thermometer gets down to twelve above zero in Wilkes-Barre. 18. Many farmers in the Hazleton region compelled to haul water long distances for their livestock. 19. (Almanac skipped day 19) 20. Sportsmen of Wilkes-Barre and vicinity shoot an unusually large number of deer in nearby regions during the season. 21. Kingston Coal Co. again plays Santa Clause by remembering more than 300 widows of former employees and 600 children with money and clothing. 22. Judge GARMAN revokes the licenses of fourteen saloon keepers in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity on evidence produced in the federal court when they plead guilty of violating the federal Volstead act or were convicted of violation, Judge GARMAN holding that if they were guilty of violating the federal law they were also guilty of violating the Pennsylvania liquor law, which is the same in essential particulars. Other saloon keepers to be dealt with in the same way. Judge GARMAN says the other judges coincide with him. 23. ALBERT LEWIS' forces of ice cutters begin work; ice nine inches thick. 24. (Almanac skipped day 24) 25. No freezing weather for Christmas; thermometer in Wilkes-Barre about 42 degrees. 25. Vested choir of about one hundred boys makes it first appearance at Christmas service in St. Mary's Catholic church, Wilkes-Barre, appearing at the children's mass. 25. About 1,100 children entertained at the annual Christmas party by the Wilkes-Barre lodge of Elks, each child being given a pair of shoes, a pair of woolen stockings, a woolen sweater, a cap or hat, mittens, a box of candy and an orange. 26. (Almanac skipped day 26) 27. Luzerne County School for Boys at Kis-Lyn requests $86,225 from the county for the support of the school during the coming year; at present 184 boys at the institution. 28. GUY W. FLYTE of KINGSTON appointed delinquent county tax collector to examination exoneration lists of county tax collectors amounting to about $40,000 a year, he to be paid a commission on amounts collected. 29. Another $10,000 worth of liquor seized in raids, together with a number of stills, all in the Brookside section, destroyed by revenue agents. 29. J. H. CURRY, a superintendent of the Auburn division of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, made superintendent of the Wyoming division. 29. Budget for 1923 for the city of Wilkes-Barre adopted; it calls for the expenditure of $906,380, a slight increase over 1922. 29. Annual Assembly Ball held in the armory, a brilliant affair. 30. (Almanac skipped day 30) 31. Building permits to the value of $3,479,107 granted in Wilkes-Barre in 1922, almost twice the value of the previous year. 31. In 1922 there were 1,179 deaths and 2,236 births in Wilkes-Barre, compared with 1,194 deaths and 2,112 births the previous year. There were 1,085 contagious diseases in 1922 and 1,383 in 1921. JANUARY 1923 1. Disagreeable New Year weather, rain in the morning, thermometer around forty degrees in Wilkes-Barre. 1. Pastors of some of the churches refer to disgraceful scenes witnessed incident to the New Year Eve celebration, drinking at dances and hilarious conduct in some of the hotels, people bringing liquor with them. 1. Prohibition enforcement officers made no effort to arrest individuals who had been violating the law, and stated that as far as they could observe the hotels and saloons were not engaged in gross violations. 1. Nanticoke has a New Year Mardi Gras, including a mummers' parade and the crowning of Miss NAOMI SAMUELS as queen of the festival. 1. Wilkes-Barre street department reports having paved approximately 26,000 square yards of street during 1922; the city now maintains more than forty-five miles of paving, including asphalt, bricks, blocks of various kinds and a few miles of cobblestones. 1. Orpheus Glee Society of Wilkes-Barre ties with the Hayden Chorus of Utica, N. Y., for the chief prize competition in the Utica eisteddfod, each society receiving $250 of the $500 prize. 1. A summery of naturalization court in Luzerne County for 1922 shows 1,023 aliens admitted to citizenship, 71 aliens who were soldiers in the world war admitted without examination, 1,704 first papers filed, 1,439 final papers filed, 103 petitions dismissed. 2. Wilkes-Barre council passes a resolution instructing the City Solicitor to take steps to secure taxes for coal underlying park lands the surface of which is owned by the city, the lands being in adjoining boroughs and Plains township, Kirby, Nesbitt and Hollenback parks. The taxes amount to about $20,000 a year. 2. Judge GARMAN reads another severe lesson to the county's constables, holding them to account for failure to report liquor law violations and instructing them to see to it that pool rooms are closed not later than midnight. 3. Formal consolidation of Col. T. C. Harkness Camp, Sons of Veterans, and Sterling R. Catlin Camp of the same order, the new organization to be known as Conyngham Post Camp No. 169. 3. Consolidation of three Odd Fellows lodges of Wilkes-Barre affected--Centennial and Wilkes-Barre lodges with Wyoming lodge; the combined lodge will have a membership of more than 800. 3. Rain of January 1 affords welcome relief to many communities in the lower anthracite region that suffered severely from the long-continued drought, which necessitated the rationing of water and in some instances the hauling of water by train; many collieries were threatened with suspension. 4. Judge GARMAN creates a sensation in Naturalization Court by announcing a new policy, that he will not grant final citizenship papers to aliens who cannot read fluently and cannot state the meaning of what they read; only ten per cent. of those who appeared before him were passed, though the federal official present would have passed a great many more. 4. Sheldon Axle Works sustains a $40,000 loss by fire. 4. Central District Poor Board reports that the average cost of maintaining each inmate at the almshouse for 1922 was $5,66 a week, the daily average number of inmates was 308. 5. (Almanac skipped day 5) 6. State Department of Agriculture figures show that Luzerne County's crop in 1922 were valued at $2,873,46?. The production of leading crops was wheat, 134,460 bushels; corn, 486,104; rye, 94,791; oats, 361,552; barley, 922; potatoes, 746,064; apples, 468,235; peaches, 25,420; pears, 16,363 bushels; hay, 46,764 tons. According to the report, the milk produced on Luzerne County farms amounted to 3,320,886 gallons; butter, 555,396 pounds; eggs, 687,464 dozens; honey, 25,676 pounds; wool, 6,732 pounds. 6. Grand Jury recommends that the County Commissioners be instructed to proceed with the erection of a bridge across the river at North or Northampton streets; in the event that the West Market street bridge be closed or rendered impassable the North street bridge would not be strong to bear the heavy traffic; the jury believe it is time to settle the question of anew bridge without further delay. 7. (Almanac skipped day 7) 8. (Almanac skipped day 8) 9. Case of FRED J. OSTERLING of PITTSBURGH, original architect for the Luzerne County court house, called in Lackawanna County court, owing to a change of venue. Mr. OSTERLING brought suit for his commission on the total cost of the building, which cost $2,500,000. His commission on this would be $125,000. Interest for twelve years on this sum would increase the total over $200,000. In addition he sued for $24,000 for furnishing plans for the court house to be erected on the Public Square, with interest over twelve years, which makes the total of his claim about $250,000. In his suit Mr. OSTERLING charges that he was illegally discharged as the architect and that the commissioners had no legal ground to break his contract. 9. Keystone State Bottlers' Protective Association meets in Wilkes-Barre. 9. CHARLES BROBST of DALLAS, a railroad section foreman, claims to have found a four-foot black snake in a snow drift, which upon being placed in a box near a stove thawed out and became as lively as any reptile in Summer time. 9. 249 automobile accidents in Wilkes-Barre during 1922, 8 of them fatal. 9. Mr. and Mrs. SAMUEL SMITH of WILKES-BARRE celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 10. (Almanac skipped day 10) 11. Governor-elect PINCHOT names JOSEPH J. WALSH, mine inspector in the Wilkes-Barre district, to be the next chief of the State Department of Mines. 11. Prohibition agents raid twenty-three saloons in the Hazleton region and confiscate liquor valued at $17,000. 11. The first Community Welfare campaign for Greater Wilkes-Barre, for the support during 1923 of twenty-six charity and philanthropic institutions that decided to come in under the plan, yields $254,000, about $61,000 less than the sum set as the minimum amount needed. There were 78 givers of $500 and over. The total number of contributors was 24,058, which is 19,229 more than the number who contributed to the support of the same institutions last year. 11. Ice harvesting begun in this region, the ice cut being about twelve inches thick. Mountain sections covered with about a foot of snow and traveling in some places is difficult. 12. Mr. and Mrs. SAMUEL S. OPLINGER of NANTICOKE celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 13. About one thousand persons attend the first coasting party at Irem Country Club, with sleds, skies and toboggans. 14. Seven inches of snow in Wilkes-Barre, turning to sleet and light rain in the evening; not much interference with traffic. 14. B'nai Jacob Synagog of Wilkes-Barre, one of the seven oldest synagogs in Pennsylvania, observes its fiftieth anniversary. 15. 924 petitions for liquor licenses, 141 less than last year; the number for this year includes only one whole-seller and one bottler. Before prohibition as many as 1,600 licenses a year were granted and the number of applications at times exceeded 2,000. Licenses are granted only for the sale of beverages containing less than one-half of one per cent. of alcohol. 15. Announcement made of the merger of the Luzerne County National Bank with the Miners Bank. F. M. KIRBY will remain president of the Miners Bank; A. L. WILLIAMS, president of the Luzerne County National Bank, will assume a vice presidency in the Miners; WILLIAM J. RUFF, cashier of the former, will become cashier of the Miners Bank, succeeding SAMUEL MCCRACKEN, who has been advanced to a vice presidency. The capital stock of the Miners Bank will be increased from $750,000 to $1,000,000. The combined assets of the two banks will approximate $20,000,000, making it one of the strongest banks in this part of the country. 16. GIFFIRD PINCHOT inaugurated Governor of Pennsylvania. 16. Suit of Architect F. J. OSTERLING against the County of Luzerne terminated by a private settlement, Mr. OSTERLING agreeing to accept $77,500 for his claims aggregating $250,000. 17. One of the coldest days of the season, thermometer in Wilkes-Barre six above zero in the early morning. 17. ANDREW J. SARDONI elected president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. 17. GARMAN gives an unusually sentence to a youth 22 years old who confessed to robbing several guests' rooms at Hotel Sterling of about $450, giving him a maximum of thirty-seven years in the penitentiary and a minimum of thirty-one years. 17. Local historical society exhibits a number of Benjamin Franklin heirlooms and portraits on the 217th birthday anniversary of Franklin. 18. Miss MAUDE ROYDEN, famous lay preacher of England, lectures in Wilkes-Barre. 18. Mrs. ANNA M. BERTELS, connected with the United Charities of WILKES-BARRE since its organization about 38 years ago, retired on full pay. 19. (Almanac skipped day 19) 20. Death of H. H. ASHLEY of WILKES-BARRE, coal operator and associated with a number of industries. 20. In accordance with the will of Isaac S. OSTERHOUT, founder of the Osterhout Library, that whenever the Funds would permit the library should establish a course of lectures on some scientific or literary subject or some other improving subject, the trustees are about to carry this part of the bequest into effect; it has been decided to bring some of the foremost lecturers of the country to Wilkes-Barre. 20. Women's Club of Wilkes-Barre gives its first affair to which men are invited, in the form of a card party at the club house. 21. ALVIN M. OWSLEY, national commander of the American Legion, delivers an address in Wilkes-Barre. 22. Death of Capt. SAMUEL L FRENCH of PLYMOUTH, aged 84 years old, born in Plymouth, a veteran of the Civil War, served three terms as burgess of Plymouth, was at one time Register of the Wills. 22. Temple Israel congregation purchases the property of the late JOHN T. LENAHAN on South River street as the site for a new synagog. 23. American Legion auxiliaries of eastern Pennsylvania meet in Wilkes-Barre. 24. Luzerne County Bible Society holds its 103d annual meeting. 24. Messrs. CARRERE & HASTINGS, architects, and BENJAMIN H. DAVIS, engineer, institute proceedings to compel County Controller SCHMIDT to approve a bill for $30,339.33 for preliminary work for the proposed West Market street bridge and incidentally to establish the legality of the contract entered into with them by a prior board of County Commissioners. The Controller holds that the contract was not according to the proper act of Assembly. 24. Snow of about six inches, followed by sleet and rain. 25. Court finally decides the Ashley election contest growing out of the election in November, 1921, in the action against ANDREW MURPHEY as Burgess, THOMAS HENICHEK as tax collector and MATTHEW MCCONOLOGUE as auditor, who have since been serving. The contest followed the discovery that the returns from the First District of the Third Ward had been lost or burned and that a new return had been made up later from the ballot box and other election data. The election officers admitted that they had left the polling place and when they returned the envelopes were missing. The election of the officials named hinged upon the returns from this district. Judges FULLER and WOODWARD found that there was no clear evidence of fraud, but that there was a gross negligence and seated the present officials, while Judge GARMAN in a dissenting opinion found that fraud was inferentially proved, that the returns made was far from honest and the actions of the election board were far from innocent. He believed that the entire return should be rejected. 25. Plains police seize nineteen slot machines and numerous punch boards in twelve stores. 25. WILLIAM KESSLER, wholesale distributor of newspapers and magazines, gives a dinner to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of his entrance into business. 26. (Almanac skipped day 26) 27. State police secure samples of beer from the various breweries in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties by stopping drivers as they come from the breweries, and send the samples to Harrisburg for analysis, the beginning of Governor PINCHOT's purpose to make Pennsylvania dry. 28. Chauncey breaker of the George F. Lee Coal Co. at Avondale destroyed by fire; loss about $250,000; was of modern type, built in 1918. 28. Another heavy fall of snow, about six inches in the valley. 29. Wilkes-Barre's thirteenth annual automobile show opens in the armory with more cars than ever before. 30. Reports from the rural sections of the county are that many roads are impassable because of snow drifts, the snow fall so far this season having broken the records for many years. 30. Knights of Columbus of Wilkes-Barre holds a dinner in celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary and formally sets on foot a project for a new building, planned to be one of the most elaborate club houses in the state; during the banquet, subscriptions to the extent of $65,000 are secured; several options on proposed sites in hand. 30. Death of LYMAN H. HOWE, one of the first men in the country to use the phonograph for commercial entertainment, and one of the first to organize a motion picture exhibition, which attained fame all over the country for the excellence of the productions. 30. SEWARD BUTTON of WYOMING, former chief of the State Department of Mines, appointed general superintendent of the Temple Coal Co. 31. JOHN KEHOE resigns as postmaster of PITTSTON and GEORGE J. MILLER of PITTSTON and West Pittston is appointed in his place. 31. Dr. CHARLES H. MINER of WILKES-BARRE appointed by Governor PINCHOT State Commissioner of Health. Dr. MINER filled the post of State health inspector for Luzerne County and was in charge of the State clinic in Wilkes-Barre. 31. Bigger portion of the Shoemaker building in Wyoming destroyed by fire. FEBRUARY 1923 1. State Y. M. C. A. physical directors meet in conference in Wilkes-Barre. 2. Groundhog saw his shadow. 2. According to County Controller's report, the cost of running Luzerne County during 1922 was $2,107,030; the receipts were $2,224,669; of the receipts $1,174,643 was paid by tax collectors on general taxes, $17,230 as the county's share from liquor license fees, $32,969 as the county's share of gasoline tax collected by the State, $7,500 from the sale of produce from the Kis-Lyn school and $90,741 as cash fees from county officers. 2. County Engineer ROSSER and Road Superintendent RENARD recommend to the County Commissioners that $1,200,000 be spent on county roads during the present year. 3. (Almanac skipped day 3) 4. Fine new parochial school building of St. Mary's Polish Catholic church in Wilkes-Barre dedicated by Bishop HOBAN. 5. Bazaar being conducted in Wilkes-Barre under the auspices of Catholic churches in aid of starving children in Germany. 6. No. 7 breaker of the Susquehanna Collieries Co. at Nanticoke destroyed by fire, causing a loss of about $400,000; will be replaced with another structure. 6. Having been wearied and embarrassed by delegations demanding that council prohibit commercialized amusements and recreation on Sunday, the Wilkes-Barre council passes a resolution to the effect that all petitions of that character must be in writing and referred to the City Solicitor. 6. County Controller SCHMIDT urges that the county have a regular budget system, and submits a tentative budget to the County Commissioners. 6. Estimated 6,000 people were present at the annual policeman's ball at the armory. 6. Another heavy snow fall, about five inches in Wilkes-Barre. 7. Dr. S. PARKES CADMAN, noted author, preacher and lecturer, the first lecturer to appear in Wilkes-Barre under the auspices of the Osterhout Library, in line with the will of the founder of the institution, who stipulated that when the income of the estate was sufficient a course of popular lectures should be provided; an admission fee of twenty-five cents was charged to cover incidental costs; a large audience present. 7. A representative of the Wyoming Shovel Works at Wyoming, informs a Kiwanis Club audience that the industry sells shovels in every State of the Union and in a number of foreign countries. 8. County Commissioners agree to appropriate another $175,000 for the proposed new State armory, in addition to the $200,000 previously appropriated, on condition that the State will set aside an equal amount for the construction of necessary buildings as soon as possible; there is little or nothing in the new State budget for armory purposes. The $400,000 already available from the county and from prior State appropriations is insufficient for the proposed buildings and drill shed. It is intended to make the drill shed available for conventions, large recreation exhibitions and other events requiring large space. 8. GEORGE R. MCLEAN of WILKES-BARRE elected a director of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. in place of H. H. ASHLEY, deceased. 9. Dr. EDWARD W. BIXBY of WILKES-BARRE appointed State medical inspector for Luzerne County in place of Dr. CHARLES H. MINER, who became superintendent of the State Department of Health. 10. (Almanac skipped day 10) 11. (Almanac skipped day 11) 12. Charges against the members of the election board of the fifth district of the Thirteenth Ward of Wilkes-Barre growing out of the election in November, 1919 just disposed of in court by the members pleading guilty to neglect of duty. The case had been sent back by the Superior Court for re-trial. The defendants were sentenced to pay a fine of $100 each. 12. Death of Mrs. ELIZABETH LOFTUS of EAST END at the age of 97 years. 12. Mr. and Mrs. JOSEPH BETZLER of WILKES-BARRE observe their golden wedding anniversary. 12. Another snow fall of about four inches, followed by rain and sleet and high wind. 12. Many cases of influenza in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity, though not of a very severe type. 12. Wilkes-Barre Times Leader buys the Grand Opera House on South Franklin street for use in the newspaper business; the theatre was opened in September, 1892. 13. 9,376 deeds and 4,111 mortgages recorded in the county Recorder's office in 1922. 14. Death of ZOURIE H. LONG of the firm of E. T. LONG & Co., which erected some of the largest buildings in northeastern Pennsylvania. 14. Another cold wave, with thermometer near zero. 15. Letters passing between shopcrafts strikers and managers of local railroads do not give indication of an early settlement of the strike that has been on since the first of last July. 15. County Commissioners fix the tax rate the same as last year, five and three-tenths mills for county purpose and five-tenths of a mill for sinking fund, a total of five and eight-tenths mills. Commissioners also decided to include in their budget an appropriation of $150,000 for a soldiers' monument, as in former years, on petition by a number of Civil War and World War veterans and representatives of other organizations. 16. Farmers of Luzerne County in conference in Wilkes-Barre express their belief that farm produce should be sold at prices, as in other industries, based on an eight hour day and wages for farm labor equally as attractive as wages in industries. 16. At the annual meeting of the Historical Society the principal address is delivered by Rev. RED FOX SKIUHUSHU, a full-blooded Blackfoot Indian and an ordained minister. He made a strong plea in favor of Americanizing the original American. 16. Death of GEORGE OVERTON of WILKES-BARRE, a well known colored resident who played in a number of the valley's leading bands and orchestras as drummer and on the xylophone. 17. (Almanac skipped day 17) 18. Nine people in a Pittston home overcome by illuminating gas, two of them dead. 18. Mrs. MARY WALLACE of WILKES-BARRE (colored) dies at the age of 102 years. 18. Longest cold spell of the season breaks with a slight rise in temperature; thermometer in Wilkes-Barre registered from five to eighteen above zero. 19. (Almanac skipped day 19) 20. In a memorial presented to the United States Coal Commission, officials of the miners' union in the anthracite region charge that producers of anthracite, through monopoly organization, over-charge consumers at least $3.61 a ton. 20. WALTER MOLIN of WILKES-BARRE, tried on the charge of killing RUSH STEHLIN of the EASTON Police Force on December 19, 1922, convicted of murder in the first degree in the Northampton County court. 20. Only one remonstrance in liquor license court this year, when before prohibition there used to be scores of remonstrances against the granting of licenses. 20. A dog hospital, the only one of its kind in this part of the State, established near West Nanticoke by Dr. EMORY LUTES. 21. Upwards of a hundred men who had been employed in the Ashley railroad shops in place of strikers were taken in custody by government officers on the charge having come into the United States by evasion of the immigration law, and they will be deported. 21. Reports filed by the breweries in Luzerne County show that in 1922 only 161,148 barrels of beer were brewed, compared with 242,180 in 1921. Before prohibition the total output of county breweries amounted to 900,000 barrels a year. Since prohibition nothing but beer of less than one-half of one per cent. alcoholic content is permitted. 22. Sons of Liberty Lodge of Wilkes-Barre celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of its entrance into Odd Fellowship. 22. Mr. and Mrs. H. S. BRANDON, Sr., of WEST PITTSTON, celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 22. A great many people sick with grip; the disease itself of mild form, but on that account people venture out too soon and are liable to be attacked more seriously. 23. Thermometer four degrees above zero in Wilkes-Barre. 23. Lehigh Valley has difficulty in keeping trains running on the Bowman's Creek branch because of heavy snow drifts. 24. Mayor HART announces that beginning with April 1 the Wilkes-Barre policemen will be given an eight hour day; some of the night patrolmen now work nine and half hours. 24. Congressman CLARENCE COUGHLIN introduces a bill in Congress to provide for a survey of flood conditions in the Wyoming Valley and an estimate of the cost of providing relief. 24. Dr. A. J. BRENNAN appointed by the Pope as auxiliary bishop of the Scranton diocese; he is now chancellor of the diocese and administrator of St. Peter's Cathedral at Scranton. 25. (Almanac skipped day 25) 26. Barnum colliery of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. at Pittston closed down after thirty-two years of operation. 27. A reel of steel cable containing 19,000 feet made and wound by the Hazard Company for an inclined railroad in the State of Washington, one of the largest reels made by any company. 27. Death of EDWARD GUNSTER of WILKES-BARRE, a well known business man. 28. Miners state to the federal coal commission that the anthracite operators make a profit of $1.61 on a ton of coal, which is exorbitant; also that control of practically all the unmined deposits of coal creates a monopoly that adds unduly to the cost, also that royalties and freight rates are too high. 28. Luzerne County Farm Bureau receives a report stating that Luzerne County was the third county in the State in 1922 in apple production, 468,235 bushels having a value of $337,129. MARCH 1923 1. Miss S. M. O'HARA, a lawyer of WILKES-BARRE elected a director of the State Council of Republican Women. 2. Death of Mrs. GEORGE GREENWALT of HANOVER Township, at the age of 104 years, moved to the township 75 years ago. 3. (Almanac skipped day 3) 4. Rev. EDWARD JAMES MULGREW celebrates his first mass in St. Dominick's church at PARSONS. 5. River suddenly rises from a few feet above low water mark to nineteen feet because of thawing during a few warm days; ice breaks as far north as Towanda and moves down without blocking; much colder weather follows and thawing stopped, with consequent fall in the river. 5. Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre withdraws its application for a license for the year, intending to go out of business after seventeen years; a rule was pending for the revocation of the license on the ground that the brewery had sent out beer in violation of the Woner act, containing a larger percentage of alcohol than the law allows. 6. (Almanac skipped day 6) 7. County employees have hard work trying to open for traffic some of the most important county roads which have been made impassable by the deep and drifted snow. In some sections drifts as high as six feet were encountered. 8. Rev. A. H. ACKLEY installed as pastor of Memorial Presbyterian church. 8. Temple Glee Club of Kingston organized. 8. Death of Rev. W. SCOTT STITES, for many years a well known clergyman in the Wyoming Valley. 9. Death of JOHN B. REYNOLDS of KINGSTON, a member of one of the oldest WYOMING VALLEY families and a pioneer in electric railroad construction in this vicinity. 10. Death of ANTHONY KROPP, who for forty years was a fireman in WILKES-BARRE. 10. Heights mixed chorus under the leadership of NORMAN RODERICK wins first honors and a prize of $100 in a competition "Oh Father Whose Almighty Power" in Scranton. 11. First Sunday of good automobile weather of the season results in three deaths and the injuring of seven persons in the vicinity of Wilkes-Barre. 11. 108 liquor cases, many of them from Wilkes-Barre and vicinity, listed for the federal court to convene in Scranton March 12. 12. Judge WITMER in federal court imposes a fine of $1,000 on the Freeland Brewing Company for manufacturing and selling beer above the legal alcoholic content. 12. Mr. and Mrs. JOHN M. LEARN of NESCOPECK observe their golden wedding anniversary. 13. Judge HELLER of the Orphans' Court performs his first marriage ceremony. 13. Light rains do not create immediate anxiety over a possible flood because there is an absent of warm weather; since the recent thaw the temperature has been close to freezing; but a great amount of snow remains on the watershed. 13. R. E. DANA of DALLAS named cashier of the Luzerne National Bank of Luzerne Borough. 14. Straight carloads of strawberries coming into the Wilkes-Barre market from Florida and selling retail for forty cents a box, heavier shipments and lower prices than in any previous year. 14. Superintendent ZELSER says that sixty-two per cent. of the 11,081 pupils in the Wilkes-Barre grade schools are of the normal age for their respective grades--3,513 are over age and 750 are under age. 15. Last day for the filing of income tax reports marked by the absence of the usual last day crowd at the local revenue office, probably due to the fact that there are fewer income tax payers because of the coal and railroad shop strikes of last year. 16. Mr. and Mrs. JOHN M. WILLIAMS of KINGSTON celebrate their fifty-seventh wedding anniversary. 17. No St. Patrick's Day parade in Wilkes-Barre or vicinity. 17. St. Mary's Catholic Church in Wilkes-Barre authorizes the erection of a new rectory to cost about $75,000. 17. Mr. and Mrs. JOHN ALBRIGHTON of PLYMOUTH celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 17. Death of CALVIN PARDEE of PHILADELPHIA, who, with other members of the family, had a prominent part in the development of the anthracite field in lower Luzerne County. 17. EDWARDSVILLE mixed chorus under the direction of REESE S. DAVIES secures the chief prize in the annual eisteddfod of the Cynonfardd Society of Edwardsville on the competition "O Come Let Us Sing", prize, $100. 18. Parish House of Holy Trinity Lutheran church at Kingston dedicated. 19. River goes up to sixteen feet again, but again cold weather intervenes to prevent rapid thawing. 20. Union labor requests that the contract for the South street bridge be given to a union contractor so that union labor will be employed. 20. Company of sixteen musicians brought here by CANTOR J. MASON gives a delightful concert in Irem Temple. 21. (Almanac skipped day 21) 22. Central District poor board fixes the tax levy the same as last year, three mills. 22. Central Labor Union requests movie manager to refuse to show pictures that antagonize labor. 22. Opera "Princess Bonnie" given in the Grand Opera House under the auspices of Black Diamond Post of the American Legion of the West Side. 23. Wilkes-Barre high school students give the opera "The Two Vagabonds", students also taking the orchestra parts. 23. A recent survey of the work done in the Wilkes-Barre post office shows that for the six days ending February 10 the city office and its branches delivered 518,652 pieces of mail, weighing 46,598 pounds, delivered by 79 foot carriers; the week was a normal one and did not include the first of the month or the magazine rush. 24. Nanticoke high school basket ball team declared champions of the State, by defeat of the team from Monessen. 24. Major LEO G. HEFFERNAN, formally a PLYMOUTH and WILKES-BARRE boy, breaks speed records in the army air service, having traveled 75 miles at the rate of 250 miles an hour, under adverse conditions, including a storm. 24. Women's Republican Club of Luzerne County adopts a resolution endorsing the prohibition enforcement bill pending in the Legislature. 25. (Almanac skipped day 25) 26. Mr. and Mrs. SAMUEL GARDNER of PITTSTON observe their golden wedding anniversary. 26. Announcement made owing to a dispute between the manager and the stage workers' union the Grand Opera House has been officially closed for the season, though some amateur productions may be given; but this is probably the end of the professional plays, since the building has been sold for other purposes. 26. River goes to nearly seventeen feet and then decreases again; no serious flood thus far. 26. Work begun on tearing the residence of the late Major CHARLES M. CONYNGHAM, corner of South River and South streets, the lot having been acquired for the purposes of an art museum. 27. Governor PINCHOT's "dry" bill, repealing the Brooks and Womer Acts and providing new methods of enforcement, passes the House after having passed the Senate and is signed by the Governor. Its main feature is that it abolishes the license system for saloons selling beverages of less than one-half of one per cent. alcoholic content. It is a question whether the new measures will decrease or increase the number of saloons, since the beverages for the sale of which a license was required may now be sold without permission from the court and without the payment of a license. Practically all of the saloons sold illicit drink on the sly. The bill also means the loss of about $70,000 a year in revenue from license fees in Luzerne County, Wilkes-Barre's loss amounting to about $19,000. 27. Bids for the river common coal opened in council meeting. The coal bids were two in number by attorneys from Scranton, one a royalty of 52 cents a ton which would eventually net the city from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, another for a royalty of 47 cents a ton, with $10,000 as the minimum to be paid in succeeding years. 27. Fire damages the Titlow & Peiffle stocking factory in Hanover Township to the extent of $75,000. 28. In view of the passage of the new "dry" bill, the Luzerne County court neither grants nor refuses the license applications which had been passed upon favorably, but the court licenses the breweries on the ground that they were not included in the bill. 28. Unusually cold wave for this time of year, thermometer twelve above zero in Wilkes-Barre and zero in some of the hillside districts, with a heavy, biting wind. 28. Bids for the South street bridge higher than expected, running from $1,194,000 to $705,000 for a thirty-six roadway structure; council postpones action. 28. Flock of seagulls driven from the sea by the high wind fly along the river in the vicinity of Wilkes-Barre. 29. (Almanac skipped day 29) 30. Mr. and Mrs. JOHN R. STOUT of NUANGOLA observe their golden wedding anniversary. 30. About $700,000 worth of "moonshine" liquor destroyed by prohibition officers on the dump at Brookside. 30. The Commissioner of Forestry writes that there is at present no money with which to purchase as a State reservation Tilbury Knob, near Nanticoke, about 1,200 acres, said to be the last track of land in the State which comprised the grant of land to William Penn; Tilbury Knob is said to belong to Col. Stuart of London, a Penn descendent. 31. Annual Easter egg hunt at Riverside Park preceded by a parade; estimated that five thousand children participated in the hunt for which many prizes were provided. 31. Cinderella ball room in the new Weitzenkorn and Hurwitz building on South Main Street, next to a G. A. R. hall, on the second floor, formally opened. APRIL 1923 1. One of the coldest Easters on record, thermometer in Wilkes-Barre 15 degrees in the morning. Elaborate services with special music in all of the churches. 2. (Almanac skipped day 2) 3. Public Service Commission of Pennsylvania hands down a decision in the controversy between gas consumers of the West Side and the Luzerne County Gas & Electric Company, which has been pending for more than two years. The decision is in the nature of a compromise, with slight relief for consumers who use not more than 1,000 feet of gas a month but higher charges for consumers who use more. The citizens' organization intends to fight further. 3. Wyoming Conference of the Methodist Church meets in the First Church, Wilkes-Barre. 3. Wilkes-Barre council again tackles the Sunday amusement problem, so constantly and so vigorously urged by the ministerial union, by passing a resolution prohibiting commercialized amusement in the city parks on Sunday but permitting games that do not come under the designation of being "Commercialized." It is evident that the definition of a commercialized amusement will have to be given by the courts. 3. Eleven Sisters take the black veil and six the white veil at St. Mary's convent, Wilkes-Barre. 4. (Almanac skipped day 4) 5. Wilkes-Barre lodge of Eagles celebrates its twentieth anniversary by wiping out all of its indebtedness and starting a fund for a pretentious new home building. 5. JOSEPH L. CAKE of PITTSTON gives $10,000 towards an American Legion home for the city. 5. A week of criminal court ends without the conviction of a single person placed on trial. 6. Ministers of Wyoming Conference begin a fund for a new $100,000 recitation hall for Wyoming Seminary by subscribing $4,300 in the conference session. 6. Lehigh Valley locomotive blows up at Duryea, killing the engineer and fireman, SAMUEL E. MARTIN and JAMES R. BRYDEN, both of PITTSTON. 6. Another $50,000 worth of seized liquor dumped into Mill Creek at Brookside. 7. Wyoming Conference of the Methodist Church, in session in Wilkes-Barre, votes 58 to 31 against admitting women to the ministry and 78 to 11 against admitting women to conferences; six deacons, four elders and one deaconess ordained by Bishop BRISTOL of TENNESSEE, who is presiding. 8. Big mass meeting in the Capitol theatre, attended by hundreds of Polish immigrants and their descendants, in honor of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, hero of Poland; among the speakers was Chief Justice ROBERT MOSCHZISKER of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. 8. River recedes again after having gone up to seventeen feet. 9. Judge GARMAN, who sentenced a youth to a minimum of thirty-one years in the penitentiary on the charge of breaking into the rooms of guests at Hotel Sterling, modifies the sentence to a minimum of three years on representations that the boy was not a hardened criminal. 10. 155 aliens admitted to citizenship in two days in the local court. 10. King Hiram Lodge No. 721, the fourth Masonic lodge to be constituted in Wilkes-Barre, the ceremony taking place at noon in the Masonic Temple. 10. Judges GARMAN and WOODWARD dissent from the majority of the Judges in granting licenses to breweries in the county, on the ground that licenses for the manufacture of near beer are not necessary. 11. (Almanac skipped day 11) 12. Death of Rev. GEORGE A. PLACE of DALLAS, 74 years, a retired clergyman of the Methodist church. 12. Purchase price of the Carey Avenue bridge, to be taken over by the county, fixed at $125,000, the county intending to put it in condition for traffic. 12. Owing to the dry condition of the soil, farm work begins earlier than usual. 13. Arbitrators in the case of eight Wilkes-Barre policemen who sued Councilman LEWIS P. KNIFFEN for slander on charges made by him that they gambled and covered up gambling operations, awarded damages to the extent of fifty dollars each and costs; they had sued for $10,000 each. 13. Mr. and Mrs. JOHN N. THOMAS of HARVEY'S LAKE observe their golden wedding anniversary. 14. Eight buildings, including three large barns on the leased farm of CHARLES A. SICKLER at HANOVER GREEN, buildings owned by the Glen Alden Coal Co., destroyed by fire; loss about $20,000. 14. High School building at Larksville destroyed by fire; built several years ago at a cost of $175,000 but had been damaged by a cave-in; suspicion that the fire was of incendiary origin. 15. (Almanac skipped day 15) 16. Comparative statement published in the Record shows that the cost of building has gone up from 150 to 200 per cent. and more since 1913, due to advance in material and labor. For instance, in 1913 brick cost $6.50 a thousand, while today the cost is $18. In 1913 plumbers were paid $3.50 a day and in 1923 $8; steamfitters and tinners the same; bricklayers, $4.40-$10; plasterers, $4-$10; laborers, $1.75-$4.05; carpenters, $3-$8. 17. Plymouth Chamber of Commerce holds a celebration over the purchase by the county of the Carey Avenue bridge. 17. Few trout fishermen out owing to the cold weather; streams lower than usual at this time of year. 17. Absence of Spring weather so far, thermometer near the freezing point and below many mornings; snow flurries occasionally. 18. (Almanac skipped day 18) 19. New Chauncey breaker of the George F. Lee Coal Co. at Avondale put into operation, built in fifty-four days of nine working hours, in place of a breaker destroyed by fire. 19. Wilkes-Barre Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrates Lexington Day in the old meeting house at Forty Fort; address by M. D. STEEVER, Kirby professor of civil rights at Lafayette College. 20. Washery of the Susquehanna Collieries Co. at Nanticoke, one of the largest in the valley, destroyed by fire; loss about $140,000. 20. WILLIAM J. BRYAN lectures in the Plymouth M. E. Church, in the church's Chautauqua, on pending problems of the day. 21. Conyngham Post, G. A. R., observes its fifty-sixth anniversary; about forty veterans of the Civil War, together with many friends, present. 22. (Almanac skipped day 22) 23. Forest fires near villages and country places in the county cause a good deal of anxiety. 23. Mozart Choral Society and the Dorothy Johnson Baseler harp ensemble give a concert in Irem Temple. 23. Death of GILES ROSS of Wilkes-Barre a former commander of Conyngham Post, G. A. R. 23. Cold weather again, with frost threatened. 24. Wilkes-Barre Art Jury approves Public Square as a suitable site for a monument or memorial to the veterans of the Civil War, thus bringing the project a step nearer to a conclusion after many years of agitation; veteran and other organizations have been particularly active recently in demanding a decision by Wilkes-Barre council. 24. Six thousand trees planted on Irem Country Club grounds near Hays Corners, half pitch pine and the other half Scotch pine. 24. A number of prominent Wilkes-Barre people attended a luncheon at Hotel Casey in Scranton by President LORRE of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Co., in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the granting of a charter to the company. The railroad was built largely for the development of the coal industry in this region and frequent references were made at the luncheon to the beginning of the industry in the Wyoming Valley. The party made an inspection at Honesdale of the route over which the Stourbridge Lion, the first steam locomotive in America, made its initial run in 1826. 24. Judge FULLER decides that the county is liable for $30,340 to engineer B. H. DAVIS and architects CARRERE & HASTINGS for plans and surveys for the proposed Market street bridge, which the present Controller and Commissioners contested on the ground that the contract was not legal. 25. Rev. ANDREW J. BRENNAN, rector of the cathedral in Scranton, consecrated auxiliary bishop of the Scranton diocese in the cathedral in the presence of a distinguished gathering of Catholic prelates and people. 26. City Assessor J. F. MUNDY asks the Chamber of Commerce to interest itself in a plan to condemn all property in an area from Jackson street to Courtright Avenue and from River to North Main streets, remove the hill, re- plot the ground and sell it at greatly increased value; but the directors lay the communication on the table. 26. Chamber of Commerce directors approve the report of a committee to the effect that Wilkes-Barre is greatly in need of new hotel accommodations. 27. Members of the old Ninth Regiment National Guard of Pennsylvania, have an afternoon and evening observance of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the departure of the regiment for encampment in the South during the Spanish- American War. About 400 people, mostly members of the regiment, at dinner in the evening. 28. Democratic Women's Club for Luzerne County organized. 28. As a means of obtaining an accounting of the funds of the Proprietors of Kingston Township available for distribution, 73 freeholders or land owners from the various boroughs and townships on the West Side which formally made up the original Kingston Township held an election of trustees. ZIBA SCHOOLEY of KINGSTON Township, CRAWFORD C, SMITH of KINGSTON and Dr. D. G. ROBINHOLD of Forty Fort were elected trustees, E. M. ROSSER of KINGSTON treasure and HARRY SAUNDERS of WYOMING secretary. A sum of money estimated at from $100,000 to $200,000 awaiting distribution, the proceeds of coal lands in the old township which were dedicated to public use. 29. (Almanac skipped day 29) 30. Glen Alden Coal Company purchases the machinery and real estate of the Exeter Machine Company at West Pittston. The deal, it is said, will sever physical connections between the coal company and the Lackawanna railroad company; it is the intention of the coal company to have its machinery work done at the works; consideration said to be $400,000. 30. Wilkes-Barre night schools graduate 100 persons. 30. Cost of building operations started in Wilkes-Barre since January 1 total almost a million dollars. 30. Forty-six young men of the valley graduated from the Wilkes-Barre State College Engineering Extension School. 30. April an unusually dry month, only 2.97 inches of rainfall and nearly all that on one day, the 28th. 30. Supreme Court of the United States hands down a prohibition decision of general interest, to the effect that American ships may have liquor beyond the three-mile limit and both American and foreign ships may not have liquor on board, even under lock and key, within the three-mile limit of our shores. MAY 1923 1. A Committee of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce appears before council asking that further plans for the erection of a soldiers' monument on Public Square be postponed until the Chamber can query its members on the question of site. The petition states that the Public Square site has been urged by comparatively few of the citizens, and it is possible that in years to come the city's traffic demands may require the Square for that purpose, with the result that the monument might have to be removed. 1. City Treasurer KEISER stated to council that many women refused to pay taxes, and City Solicitor MCHUGH gave an opinion to the effect that a married woman who has no property cannot be compelled to pay under the law of 1866 and cannot be imprisoned under the law of 1842. 1. Mr. and Mrs. ALOYSIUS FISHER of HANOVER TOWNSHIP celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 2. Rev. Dr. RUSSELL H. CONWELL, now in his eighty-first year, who has been heard in Wilkes-Barre many times in his "Acres of Diamonds" lecture, gives another lecture in Irem Temple on the attainment of happiness. 2. Memorial exercises conducted on the river common in memory of Mrs. HENRY W. PALMER, founder of the B. I. A. 2. First exception made to the Community Welfare Federation plans by granting the Wyoming Valley Homeopathic Hospital the right o solicit the public for $60,000 to meet a deficit on new building. 3. Two Army aviators, Lieutenants OAKLEY G. KELLY and JOHN A. MACREADY, make the first non-stop airplane flight across the United States from New York City to San Diego, California, in 26 hours 50 minutes and 48 seconds, a distance of approximately 2,700 miles at an average rate of over 100 miles an hour. 3. Judge FULLER decides that arrest of persons supposed to have liquor in transit, without warrant and information, is illegal under the Bill of Rights. 4. (Almanac skipped day 4) 5. "JACK" ICHTER of HANOVER TOWNSHIP, 14 years, wins the marble shooting championship of Wyoming Valley under the auspices of the Playground and Recreation Association. 5. Councilman JOSEPH G. SCHULER compiles a list of properties in Wilkes-Barre exempt from taxation under the law, city property, public and parochial schools, convents and churches, property of public service corporations, and miscellaneous property, the whole amounting to approximately $22,000,000, about one-fourth of the value of property assessed for taxation--city property, $6,133,021; public schools, $3, 255,835; parochial schools and convents, $926, 605; churches and church property, $3,250,001; public service corporations, $3,221,687; miscellaneous, $5,228,952. 6. (Almanac skipped day 6) 7. Concordia Society in its annual Spring concert assisted by the Mozart Quartet of Wilkes-Barre. 7. Trout fishing a disappointment because of the low and clear water in the streams. 8. Court grants ten divorces in one day. 9. Dinner and dance given in Hotel Sterling by the teaching and executive force of the Wilkes-Barre schools in honor of H. H. ZEISER, supervisor of the schools, in commemoration of his twenty-fifth year in the educational service of the city. 9. In an address before the Kiwanis Club SAMUEL H. HICKS, secretary-treasurer of the Spring Brook Water Supply Co., gives interesting figures as to the growth of the company's facilities since 1850, when the Laurel Run dam was built. The company now has fifteen sources of supply, forty dams, 9,447,000,000 gallons storage capacity exclusive of Pike's Peak reservoir, 645 miles of pipe, ranging in size up to sixty-six inches in diameter, eight pipe lines crossing the river and supplying 340,000 people with water and 190,297 horsepower to local industries and owns 26,000 acres of land for the protection of watersheds. During its ten year program of reforestation it has planted more than 2,000,000 trees. 9. Cold wave hits the Wyoming Valley, snow storm in the evening, turning to rain and sleet, more than an inch of snow in the mountain regions, temperature during the night goes to near freezing point in the valley, coldest May weather in many years. 9. Ladies' Auxiliary, Division 3, A. O. H., celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary with a dinner at Hotel Redington. 10. Wilkes-Barre Real Estate Exchange holds its first annual banquet in Hotel Redington. 10. Cold wave continues with temperature near freezing and heavy frost in the valley although preliminary reports are that the fruit crops has not suffered much damage in this region. 11. (Almanac skipped day 11) 12. (Almanac skipped day 12) 13. (Almanac skipped day 13) 14. Local American Legion posts contribute money for decorating the graves of American soldiers dead in foreign countries on Memorial Day. 15. Death of W. C. DERSHUCK of HAZLETON, proprietor of the Plains Speaker. 16. (Almanac skipped day 16) 17. Recreation directors of three States meet in Wilkes-Barre. 18. Sells-Flto circus shows in Wilkes-Barre. 19. The Grand Opera House closes its career as a regular theatre with George M. Cohan's "So This is London," the building having been purchased by the Times-Leader; was opened on September 10, 1892, with Charles Frohman's "The Grey Mare." 19. The Grand Jury ignores every one of some eighty cases for violation of the State Liquor laws brought to its attention on evidence furnished by the State police; the Grand Jury gives no reasons for its surprising action. 20. (Almanac skipped day 20) 21. Ringling and Barnum & Bailey circus in Wilkes-Barre, on the Miner's Park plot. 21. Presentation of a Distinguish Service medal, authorized by congress, to Dr. WILLIAM C. STIFF of PLYMOUTH, at the United States military academy at West Point, for actions of surpassing bravery in rendering medical assistance while under fire in the world war. 21. Orpheus Glee Club and Sheldon Choral Society, both of Wilkes-Barre, take the principal prizes in the Welsh festival of music in Philadelphia; GWILYM AMOS leader of the former and JOHN LLOYD EVANS of the latter; each of the prizes $500. The choral competition on "The Challenge of Thor" from "King Olaf," and "When Summer's Merry Days Come In," and the male chorus competition on "Night of a Star" by Protheroe. 22. Upwards of three hundred members of the Women's Club have a banquet at the Dresden. 23. (Almanac skipped day 23) 24. Rhondda Valley Glee Club of Wales sings in Irem Temple. 24. Mercy Hospital has ten graduate nurses this year, Wyoming Valley Homeopathic Hospital four, and City Hospital twenty-six. 24. City council grants the professional base ball team the right to use the East End park grounds for two years on condition that the management erects a fence and bleachers at a cost of about $10.000. 25. (Almanac skipped day 25) 26. MAURICE A. HUGHES, a son of Mr. and Mrs. THOMAS HUGHES of PARSONS, JOHN C. KANDRUSKAS of KINGSTON and V. LOSIENNIECKI of WYOMING, ordained to the Catholic priesthood. 27. Two men and a boy drowned in the Ceasetown dam of the Spring Brook Water Company while fishing. 27. High grade electric power service between Dallas and Harvey's Lake made available; it is expected that many farmers in that vicinity will take advantage of it. 27. Several thousand people gather around Public Square to witness and participate in the memorial exercises for dead service men, under the auspices of the Serve Your City Club. 27. Mr. and Mrs. MILLER COOKE of WILKES-BARRE celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 28. (Almanac skipped day 28) 29. (Almanac skipped day 29) 30. Estimated that 20,000 people were at Valley View Park to participate in the first Polish Orphans' Day, under the auspices of St. Stanislaus Orphanage; about $20,000 raised to go towards an addition to the building in Newport Township. 30. Large Memorial Day parade on the West Side, with exercises in Forty Fort cemetery. 30. River common exercises in honor of the sailor dead in the morning, with the launching of a floral boat on the river; parade of the veterans to Hollenback cemetery in the afternoon and exercises in G. A. R. Hall in the evening. 30. Cornerstone laying at Holy Rosary Slovak Church in Ashley by Bishop HOBAN. 30. Lieut. JAMES SNEE of the Wilkes-Barre American Legion Post, drops flowers from an airplane over various cemeteries in honor of Memorial Day. 30. Death of THOMAS H. ATHERTON a well known lawyer and prominent resident. 31. Public Square business people organize an association to represent them in civic affairs and for cooperative action in benefit for that part of the city. 31. Wilkes-Barre Lions' Club organized. 31. Great activity in the real estate business is indicated by the fact that the recording of deeds in the county office is far ahead of all previous records, amounting to as high as fifty deeds a day; many persons who buy property do not have their deeds recorded; high rents induce a great many persons to buy homes already built. 31. SARAH T. MENAKER wins the music memory contest for adults, prize $100 in gold, conducted by the Playground and Recreation Association of Wilkes-Barre. JUNE 1923 1. Shopmen of the Central Railroad at Ashley declare the strike off, it having lasted for eleven months; the men gaining nothing from the company. 2. (Almanac skipped day 2) 3. First German-English Lutheran Church of Wilkes-Barre observes its twenty-fifth anniversary. 3. 981 persons confirmed in St. Mary's Catholic Church, and 225 persons in St. Patrick's Church, the first confirmation to be held in St. Patrick's. 3. Cornerstone laid for the new building for the Lee Park Baptist Church at Regent and Division streets. 3. Fiftieth anniversary of the pastorate of Rev. RICHARD B. WEBSTER at WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN Church observed with special services, Rev. Mr. WEBSTER preaching the sermon; for some years he has been pastor emeritus. 4. HARRY W. RUGGLES chosen to head the next Community Welfare Federation campaign to be held in the Fall. 5. Hot spells sends the thermometer to 90 degrees. 6. Final reports of the Wyoming Valley Homeopathic Hospital campaign for $60,000 for a new building; show that the contributions were more than $5,000 over the amount. 6. Twenty-five young men and women graduate from the Wilkes-Barre Extension of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 7. Chamber of Commerce directors refuse to endorse any new hotel project that is not under the control of the Chamber, though the directors realize the need for a hotel in Wilkes-Barre. 7. Lightning stuns three women at Pringle Hill and renders them temporarily helpless. 7. Chamber of Commerce referendum among its members as to whether or not the soldiers' monument should be located on Public Square results in the casting of 466 votes from 1,190 ballots sent out, 231 in favor of the Square, 232 against and three votes came in too late to be recorded. 8. Wilkes-Barre Institute graduates six young women; the commencement speaker is STEPHEN LEACOCK, international humorist. 8. Seven hundred gallons of moonshine whisky seized by revenue officers in one storage place in Wilkes-Barre. 8. Three boys graduated from Wilkes-Barre Academy. 9. Mr. and Mrs. DAVID MOSES of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary. 9. Students of Wyoming Seminary give a pageant at Nesbitt Memorial field illustrating the novel "Mary Derwent," based on early history of the Wyoming Valley, the students in colonial costume. 10. Cornerstone for the new Westminster Presbyterian church edifice laid in the presence of many people. 11. Judge GARMAN puts a stop to letting off jurors unless in case of sickness. 12. 105 students graduated from Wyoming Seminary. 12. Rev. Dr. WILLIAM P. KEALEY, a member of the faculty of St. Thomas College in Scranton, made Chancellor of the Scranton Diocese owing to the elevation of Rt. Rev. ANDREW J. BRENNAS as Auxiliary Bishop. 12. ROBERT T., and EDITH C. HARRIS, eighteen and sixteen years of age, graduates of the Wilkes-Barre High School, have a perfect attendance record from the first day they entered school. 12. Students of the Wilkes-Barre High School deposited in the school savings bank $10,608 for the year, almost double the sum deposited in the previous year. 12. Mrs. CHARLES F. HUBER and OLIVER GIBBONS, and employee in the HUBER home on South River street burned to death by the explosion of gasoline during the washing of quilts with gasoline, which Mrs. HUBER was supervising. 12. Banquet held at Hotel Sterling in honor of Miss ELEANOR WINTERSTEEN, for fifty years a teacher in PLAINS, the banquet given by fellow teachers and former students. 12. Old Independent Glee Club of Wyoming Seminary gives a concert in connection with the commencement exercises, the members representing classes from 1876 to 1905. 13. Rotary Club of Wilkes-Barre starts a club movement to aid crippled children. 13. St. Mary's High School graduates one of the largest classes in its history. 14. Rev. J. M. PUSKER of PLYMOUTH, 22 years of age, one of the youngest men to enter the priesthood in this diocese, ordained in Washington. 14. 1923 session of the Pennsylvania Legislature comes to an end. 14. With impressive ceremony the American Legion awards to seventeen boys of the Wilkes-Barre schools medals for exceptional work in promoting Americanization. 14. J. I. SHOEMAKER of WYOMING elected Commander of the Pennsylvania department of the G. A. R. 15. Dr. CHARLES W. STODDART of STATE COLLEGE the commencement orator at the Wilkes-Barre High School; 318 graduates in academic and commercial departments. 16. Five nurses graduate from the White Haven sanitarium for tuberculosis. 17. (Almanac skipped day 17) 18. Fourteen girls graduate from St. Ann's Academy. 18. Pittston votes by a majority of 461 in favor of a loan of $250,000 for street paving. 19. Death of JOHN WELLES HOLLENBACK, 96 years of age, one of WILKES-BARRE's wealthiest men and most noted benefactors, engaged in many business enterprises, donor of the land for Hollenback Park, a descendant of colonial ancestry. 19. Unusual heat for June the thermometer around ninety. 19. Wilkes-Barre has its first general flower show in the MACWILLIAM store, under the auspices of a committee of the Rotary Club, about one hundred exhibits of plants and cut flowers by amateur gardeners and florists. 20. Report shows that the city of Wilkes-Barre expended $1,578,216 during the year 1922. 20. Thermometer 97 in Wilkes-Barre. 21. Scores of children have a pet animal exhibit at various playgrounds in the city as part of the Playground and Recreation Association program. 21. Death of County Treasurer HENRY G. DAVIS of KINGSTON, having served a year and a half of the term of CHARLES TRETHAWAY, deceased, and a year and a half of the term to which he was elected. 21. Permanent organization of the People's Bank of Newtown, Hanover Township, effected, T. A. CURLEY chosen president. 21. Mr. and Mrs. JOHN MCLACHLAN of PITTSTON celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 22. (Almanac skipped day 22) 23. JOHN WELLES HOLLENBACK bequeaths $90,000 for religious and charitable purposes, including $40,000 to the First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre and sums ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 for various boards and missions of the Presbyterian Church. 24. Series of heavy thunder storms in the Wyoming Valley, damage to the extent of about $30,000 done in Pittston by wind, lightning and unusually heavy rain, two children killed by lightning in Exeter and Swoyersville. 24. Hot spell, one of the longest and most severe for June on record, continues; thermometer as high as 97 in Wilkes-Barre. 24. St. John's Parish of East Plymouth observes its twenty-fifth anniversary by the dedication of its improved church building. 25. Death of Dr. E. A. SWEENEY, a well known WILKES-BARRE physician. 25. Death of DUNNING STURDEVANT of WILKES-BARRE, aged 77 years, a descendant of colonial ancestry. 26. Lion brewery plant in Wilkes-Barre sold for $73,550, exclusive of refrigerating apparatus; owners intend to convert it into a meat packing house it is said. 26. A committee of the Wyoming Valley Motor Club reports that its investigation shows that four out of five motor drivers are without licenses, as required by law. 26. Another fierce electrical storm strikes the valley, heat spell broken by cooler weather. 26. Mrs. MARGARET YEAGER of WILKES-BARRE killed in an automobile accident in Utah. 26. Death of CHARLES D. WELLS of WILKES-BARRE, 84 years, born in the city in 1839, was for many years the leading jeweler in town. 27. (Almanac skipped day 27) 28. Department of Commerce report shows that in Wilkes-Barre 22,??? males are gainfully employed, 78.8 per cent. of that section of the city's population; 6,791 women are employed, 2?.? per cent. of that sex of eligible industrial age. 29. Scale committee of the miners of the anthracite region makes a report of demands for the expiration of the contract on August 31, the principal items of which are a demand for an increase of twenty per cent. in contract wages, and increase of two dollars a day for day men and a universal eight-hour day. 29. HARRY S. TWAROWSKI of WILKES-BARRE elected cashier of the newly organized West Side trust Company of Kingston. 29. United Mine Workers in convention in Scranton eject several persons alleged to have been radical agents of Communist affiliation who were endeavoring to undermine the organization by boring from within. 30. Sheldon Choral Society of Wilkes-Barre loses out by only one point in the choral contest with the Haydn Choral Society of Utica in an eisteddfod in the latter city. JULY 1923 1. (Almanac skipped day 1) 2. (Almanac skipped day 2) 3. Former State Senator FREDERICK A. GODCHARLES delivers the annual address at Wyoming Monument, describing the Wyoming Valley in the last years of the eighteenth century. 3. County salary board increases the pay of nearly all county clerks and other employees an average of about ten per cent. 4. Moderate Fourth of July temperature, with showers in the morning; comparatively few serious fireworks, automobiling or swimming accidents in this vicinity. 4. Thousands of Slovaks assemble at Sans Souci Park for a patriotic celebration, addressed by GEORGE W. PEPPER. 4. About ten thousand Lithuanians from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties assemble at Valley View Park for their annual Lithuanian Day. 4. Death of ROBERT P. ROBINSON of WILKES-BARRE, one of the best known men in the county, for upwards of thirty years an official or employee in the court house. 5. Death of PASHAL HOOVER of WILKES-BARRE, for many years court crier, born in Dallas Township 83 years ago. 5. Y. W. C. A. swimming pool, a model of its kind, constructed at a cost of about $90,000, opened for inspection. 5. Death of Mrs. BARBARA CARTER (colored) of WILKES-BARRE at the age of 99 years. 6. (Almanac skipped day 6) 7. (Almanac skipped day 7) 8. GEORGE H. EIKE, 76 years, ASHLEY's last civil war veteran, dies. 9. First conference between the representatives of the operators and miners for the negotiation of a new contract to begin the first of September held in Atlantic City. Operators state at the beginning that they are in favor of reducing the twelve-hour day and of speeding up decisions by the Conciliation Board, and on the wage question they are "of open mind," though they claim that there is no need for an increase according to present conditions. The miners reject an offer by the operators to the effect that an immediate declaration be made that there will be no suspension of work in case an agreement is not reached by the first of September. 10. Stockholders of Miners bank decide to increase the capital stock from $750,000 to $1,000,000 by issuing 5,000 additional shares at per value of $50 each. Four thousand shares of the new issue will be used to purchase the assets of the Luzerne National Bank, which will merge with the Miners Bank. The consolidation of the two banks gives the new institution resources of approximately $20,000,000, making it the largest bank in Luzerne County. The combined capital, surplus and undivided profit account of over $4,500,000 will be larger than that of any bank in the State outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburg. The bank's deposits will be more than $14,000,000. The Trust Department will have trust funds of over $13,000,000. 11. Langcliffe colliery, established by the Hudson Coal Co. at Avoca, with an unmined tonnage estimated at 4,600,000, purchased by the newly organized Suffolk Anthracite Collieries Co. 11. CHRISTOPHER C. TRUMBOWER of near SWEET VALLEY still uses a team of oxen to work his fifty-four acre farm. 11. Parade of motorists to celebrate the opening of the final eleven miles of State highway between Shickshinny and Berwick, which completes the Sullivan Trail between Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg, except for a short detour. 12. CRAWFORD C. SMITH appointed Treasurer of Luzerne County to fill the vacancy caused by the death of HENRY G. DAVIS, the term to continue until the official to be elected in November takes office. 13. Governor PINCHOT vetoes the mine cave bills, which provided for the return to the anthracite region of part of the proceeds of the State tax on coal for the repair of mine cave damage and for general cave-in purposes, the veto being made on the ground that the State revenues were not sufficient for a deduction. 13. Rev. FRANK W. STERRETT, rector at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Wilkes-Barre, elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Bethlehem Diocese. 13. Mr. and Mrs. HENRY GOULD of WILKES-BARRE celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 14. Luzerne County National Bank merged with the Miners Bank. 14. Governor PINCHOT's policy of retrenchment results in a heavy reduction of appropriations for local State-aided institutions, City Hospital to receive $90,000 as against $120,000 two years ago, Mercy Hospital $65,000 in place of $90,000, the Homeopathic Hospital $7,500 in place of $9,000. 15. Mr. and Mrs. THOMAS JOYCE of PITTSTON celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 16. (Almanac skipped day 16) 17. (Almanac skipped day 17) 18. Prolonged dry spell giving much anxiety to the farmers. 19. (Almanac skipped day 19) 20. (Almanac skipped day 20) 21. 109th Regiment Field Artillery leaves for the annual encampment at Mt. Gretna. 21. Several cases of infantile paralysis in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity result in warnings by the city physician to keep children away from the crowds and to spray the noses and throats regularly. 21. A State report shows that out of a large number of thickly populated communities in the State Wilkes-Barre had the lowest per capita loss from fires in 1922, $1.94. 22. (Almanac skipped day 22) 23. Amicable action begun in the local court to decide whether the city of Wilkes-Barre or the boroughs and townships from which adjoining park land is annexed are entitled to the proceeds of taxation of the coal underneath the surface--whether the act permitting annexation of park areas mean only police jurisdiction over the surface or includes everything. 24. General ASHER MINER of WILKES-BARRE announces resignation as commander of the 53d Field Artillery Brigade , National Guard of Pennsylvania, owing to his physical condition, due to wounds received in France as commander of the 109th; he retires with the rank of Major General. 24. Death of Dr. OLIVER A. PARFITT, one of the prominent physicians of NANTICOKE. 24. New private ward building of the Homeopathic Hospital in Wilkes-Barre costing $125,000, completed. 25. (Almanac skipped day 25) 26. Miners and operators in conference at Atlantic City come to a break over the statement by the miners that they will not agree to a contract unless the check-off and union recognition are granted. 27. (Almanac skipped day 27) 28. A good soaking rain after the prolonged drought results in the saving of part of the potato and other crops and relieves anxiety over a possible water scarcity; the rain came just in time to prevent almost total loss of certain crops. 28. Death of THOMAS H. RIPPARD of WILKES-BARRE, one of the most noted musicians in the Wyoming Valley, well known for his artistic performances with the cello. 29. (Almanac skipped day 29) 30. Five bandits hold up the persons on board a Laurel Line car between Moosic and Avoca and take the pay intended for West End Coal Company employees at Mocanaqua, $70, 125, which was in the custody of four guards. The bandits killed one passenger with a bullet evidently intended for the conductor, who grappled with one of the men, and wound three other persons on the car. Promiscuous shooting by the bandits. The latter leave the car and board a waiting automobile which was in charge of two men. They escape in the woods. 30. Enforcement officers of this district make a record haul at Pittston, in a garage, confiscating two extra large stills, one having a capacity of five hundred gallons and the other of three hundred gallons, also a lot of moonshine liquor and imitation labels; the outfit valued at $25,000. 31. HUGH MCGEEHAN of WILKES-BARRE elected Democratic county chairman. 31. Woodlawn Dairy purchases the Farmers' Dairy of Wilkes-Barre. AUGUST 1923 1. (Almanac skipped day 1) 2. Death of President WARREN G. HARDING from a sudden attack of apoplexy in SAN FRANCISCO, on his way home from a visit to Alaska. He had been made ill from eating a food that disagreed with him and slight symptoms of pneumonia had ensued, but all physicians agreed that he was well on the road to recovery when the apoplectic seizure came without warning. The nation shocked by the sudden news. 2. Death of HARRY C. MASON of WILKES-BARRE, for many years land agent for the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. 2. Announcement made that H. R. MALLOW, manager of Hotel Sterling, acting for the Mallow Hotel Corporation, purchased a controlling interest of the stock of the hotel company. 2. Rev. ALBERT CLARKE, pastor of the ASHLEY Methodist Church, dies suddenly while ready to officiate at the funeral of a member of his church. 3. The Wyoming Valley mourns the death of President HARDING. He was a direct descendant of the Hardings who were among the first to perish in the massacres in this valley during the Revolutionary War, and he had a number of relatives of the family in this vicinity. 3. Mr. and Mrs. JOHN H. KNEAS of ASHLEY celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 4. Death of Dr. ANDREW T. MCCLINTOCK of WILKES-BARRE, a physician who had a particularly promising career. 5. Mayor HART issues a proclamation designating Friday, the 10th of August, as a day of mourning for the deceased President, requesting that the church bells be tolled, that all business places and industries be closed, that at noon people stand with uncovered heads for three minutes, that a battery of the 109th Field Artillery fire the presidential salute on the River Common, and that the people attend the memorial exercises to be held in the armory. 5. Report of medical inspection of Wilkes-Barre public school children during the school year shows that about one-half of the children were physically defective in some way, mostly in poor teeth, diseased tonsils and adenoids, imperfect vision and hearing. In a total of 16,966 defects discovered, 8,905 were attended to. 6. (Almanac skipped day 6) 7. Local coal dealers have many more orders for coal than they can fill, the people anxious to lay in a supply in fear of a strike on the first of September. 7. Mr. and Mrs. REUBEN SMITH of ASHLEY celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 8. (Almanac skipped day 8) 9. An increase of $5,968,539 in the assessed valuation of Wilkes-Barre property in 1922, only one ward, the Sixteenth, showing a decrease 10. General observance in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity of the funeral of President HARDING; all stores and amusement places closed, including those at the Summer resorts; about 2,500 people assembled at the armory in the afternoon, where impressive exercises were held; music by the Orpheus Glee Club and the Sheldon chorus; General ASHER MINER, chairman; addresses by Mayor DANIEL L. HART, Judge HENRY A. FULLER and Father J. J. CURRAN; prayer by Rev. F. W. STERRETT and scripture reading by Rabbi MARCUS SALZMAN. At noon all traffic in the city was halted and people stood for several minutes with uncovered heads; the presidential salute fired on the River Common by men of the 109th Field Artillery. 11. Coal assessed at $394,876 was mined from under the city of Wilkes-Barre in 1922. There remains 8,279 acres of unmined coal, assessed at $21,195,092. 11. Anthracite operators and miners send out numerous statements of their respective positions, each side blaming the the other side; no further attempt to get together in conference; the public expects that the federal government will have to step in to avoid an alarming fuel scarcity, if possible. 12. (Almanac skipped day 12) 13. 120 "fresh air" children from New York City arrive in Wilkes-Barre and are distributed among families who are to give them a vacation of two weeks. 14. Wilkes-Barre loses 53d Brigade headquarters because of the resignation of General ASHER MINER of Wilkes-Barre, as commander of the brigade. 15. About 7,000 Shriners and their families attend the annual basket picnic at Irem Country Club near Hay's Corners. 15. A ray of hope in the anthracite situation by the report that the miners have agreed to abandon the deduction of bills for supplies, etc., from miner's wages; but questions as to wages, recognition of the union and other demands remain to be disposed of. 16. (Almanac skipped day 16) 17. (Almanac skipped day 17) 18. (Almanac skipped day 18) 19. (Almanac skipped day 19) 20. New traffic ordinances for parking automobiles on the inner side of Public Square goes into effect. 21. Last day for filling nomination papers for the September primaries brings out more candidates than ever before for county and municipal offices. 22. Unusually cool weather for August. 22. Judge FULLER decides that when the city of Wilkes-Barre annexed park land from adjoining boroughs it did not acquire the coal underneath for purposes of taxation, therefore the city is restrained from levying or collecting such taxes. The taxes in the suit filed amount to about $60,000 and will got to Kingston and Edwardsville, as formally. 23. Coldest August day in the eastern part of the country in twenty-five years, thermometers registering 47 degrees in Wilkes-Barre. 23. Death at NORTH MOUNTAIN of JOHN H. GREEN, colored, who had been forced into the confederate service in the Civil War by his owner. He was 15 years of age. The late Col. R. B. RICKETTS captured him, retained him as an orderly and brought him North after the war. Col. RICKETTS retained him in his household and after the death of Col. RICKETTS, Mr. GREEN remained at the Ricketts home at North Mountain. The colored man had been educated for the ministry. 24. (Almanac skipped day 24) 25. (Almanac skipped day 25) 26. Death ELMER E. BUCKMAN of KINGSTON, cashier and vice-president of the Wyoming National Bank, interested in various civic affairs. 26. Death of JOHN C. MOORE of PLYMOUTH, well known citizen and formally a County Commissioner. 27. (Almanac skipped day 27) 28. (Almanac skipped day 28) 29. After conferring with the miners and the operators separately at Harrisburg, in an effort to avoid a strike, Governor PINCHOT suggest a basis of settlement-that the men be given a general ten per cent. increase in pay, recognition of the basic eight-hour day for all employees, overtime to be paid for at the eight-hour rate, full recognition of the union without the check-off, but with the right to have union representatives present when the men are paid to collect dues and fines from the men, the Governor also proposed as a method of settling differences in case of disagreement between miners and operators each side select a man agreeable to both to attend and take part in discussions but without a vote and not as an umpire or referee. If then unable to agree the proposed differences be referred to the conciliation board "which shall be provided with whatever equipment necessary for the rendering of prompt decisions." 30. Federal prohibition and State agents serve notice on hundreds of saloon keepers and hotel keepers in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties to remove their bars and other fixtures, screens and swinging doors, immediately, it being alleged that the agents found violations of the law in all cases. The proceeding is a new one for this district, but is held to be legal under the federal and State laws. 30. More than 800 tenants of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. take part in the garden contest and thirty-five prizes awarded by the company. 31. Operators and miners submit their answers to Governor PINCHOT's proposals, the operators rejecting the proposal for a ten per cent. increase in wages but intimating that a settlement on the wage question might be reached in the event that a long term contract were agreed to; the operators object to other proposals; but the wage question is considered the main problem. The miners state that the wage proposal is not enough, in that it does not give a sufficient income for company hands, and they are not satisfied with other proposals, but there is the intimation that an agreement might be reached. Meantime preparations for stopping work go on. 31. BETTY JANE MCLARNEY, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. HARRY MCLARNEY of WILKES-BARRE, 6 years, wins the prize for the most perfect baby in the annual baby parade at Asbury Park, the contest participated in by hundreds of babies. 31. Record price paid for land fronting on Market street at Westmoor by the Wilkes-Barre Buick Co., at the rate of $215 a foot. 31. Infant mortality statistics just published by the American Child Health Association, show that Wilkes-Barre's average is higher than the general rate of Pennsylvania's seventy-seven cities of over 10,000 population. Wilkes-Barre's average is eighty-eight, which means that eighty-eight infants under one year of age died out of every thousand births. The general average is 86.9. SEPTEMBER 1923 1. Street car, struck by an automobile, runs away and leaves the rails, going down East Market street hill and crashing over the sidewalk opposite Lincoln street, one woman killed and ten passengers injured. 1. Young Men's Hebrew Association and Young Women's Hebrew Association of the State in convention in Wilkes-Barre. 1. RICHARD L. EVANS of KINGSTON retires after fifty-one years of service with what is now the Glen Alden Coal Co., formally the D., L & W. 2. (Almanac skipped day 2) 3. Irving theatre on South Main street, formally the Majestic, now the leading theatre in Wilkes-Barre owing to the sale of the Grand for commercial purposes, opens with Oliver S. Morosco's production Willis M. Goodhue's comedy drama "Dust." 3. St. Stephen's new parochial school at Plymouth dedicated. 3. Cornerstone of the chapel for St. Michael's Industrial Home for Boys at White's Ferry laid in the presence of 2,000 people. 3. Cornerstone laying at SS. Peter and Paul Catholic church at Plains by Bishop BRENNAN. 3. Mrs. Mabel D. STARK of WEST PITTSTON elected State president of the American Legion Auxiliary. 4. Local chapter of the Red Cross announces its readiness to receive contributions for the sufferers in Japan, one of the greatest earthquakes in the history of the country having practically destroyed the cities of Tokio and Yohohama and a wide area of other towns, the earthquake followed by fire, typhoon and tidal waves. First reports indicate that it is one of the most appalling disasters on record, with loss of life estimated as high as 100,000. 4. Mr. and Mrs. WALTER MORGAN of DORRANCETON celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 5. (Almanac skipped day 5) 6. Community Welfare Federation advances $12,500 for the Japanese relief fund. 7. (Almanac skipped day 7) 8. Miners' representatives in session in Harrisburg finally adopt the PINCHOT proposals, and the operators already having accepted, all fear of a strike is at the end. The miners abandon their demand for a larger wage increase than ten per cent. for all workers but contract miners, and abandon the check-off. The contract to continue for two years. Governor PINCHOT, in a letter to President COOLIDGE, suggests that the Interstate Commerce Commission investigate anthracite transportation rates and states that he will advise the Public Service Commission to look into rates for transportation within the State. Also says it is his purpose to call the Governors of anthracite-consuming States together to discuss profits and costs from the mine to the consumers. 9. CHARLES M. AUSTIN named cashier of the Wyoming National bank in place of E. U. BUCKMAN, deceased. 10. (Almanac skipped day 10) 11. Pay of jurors increased from $3 to $4 a day by act of Assembly. 11. Pennsylvania State Association of Electrical Contractors and Dealers in convention in Wilkes-Barre. 11. Figures by the Federal Reserve Bank show that Wilkes-Barre is the second city in the State in the per capita amount of bank savings, exceeded only by Pittsburgh, but it is low among the cities in the number of home owners in proportion to population. 11. Sixteenth anniversary of St. Peter's Lutheran church in Hughestown being celebrated. 12. (Almanac skipped say 12) 13. (Almanac skipped day 13) 14. Rev. MARTIN J. FLEMMING of SWOYERSVILLE and Rev. JOSEPH P. DUNNE of GEORGETOWN observe the twenty-fifth anniversary of their ordination to the priesthood. 15. The three registration days show an enrollment of 144,255 voters in Luzerne County. 16. Cornerstone for the new Methodist church at Forty Fort laid. 17. Miners in convention in Scranton ratify the new agreement and decide to go back to work on the 19th. 18. One of the most spirited primaries in years, owing to the many county and municipal offices for which nominations were to be made and the host of candidates; unusually large vote cast. Judge J. B. WOODWARD secures the Republican nomination for Judge, as well as that of his own party. In Wilkes-Barre the present Mayor DANIEL L. HART, secures the Democratic nomination and CHARLES N. LOVELAND, his opponent of four years ago, secures the Republican nomination. Growing dissatisfaction with the primaries because of the permission given to candidates to file on more than one ticket. Practically all of the candidates took advantage of that privilege, greatly confusing the voters. 19. Representatives of anthracite operators and miners sign the new agreement at Governor PINCHOT's home in PIKE'S COUNTY. The miners are slow in returning to work. A number of the collieries unable to operate because of the shortage of workers. 20. Local theatre musicians settle with their employers on the basis of $45 a week for orchestra players and $56 for for leaders. 20. Rescue Volunteer Hose Company of Ashley celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with a dinner and a dance. Three charter members, WILLIAM E. BIGGS, CHARLES BELTZ and JOHN H. WARNER, guests of honor. 21. (Almanac skipped day 21) 22. (Almanac skipped day 22) 23. Three young people of Wilkes-Barre killed by an automobile striking a bridge over the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton tracks and failing to the tracks, later being struck by a car. 23. Rev. Dr. HOMER S. MAY of HARRISBURG accepts a call to the First Reformed Church of Wilkes-Barre. 23. An unusually heavy rain storm lasting most of the day does considerable damage in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity. 23. Mr. and Mrs. W. F. CANTNER of FREELAND observe their fifty-fourth wedding anniversary. 24. (Almanac skipped day 24) 25. Pennsylvania State Veterinary Medical Association meets in Wilkes-Barre. 26. (Almanac skipped day 26) 27. (Almanac skipped day 27) 28. (Almanac skipped day 28) 29. Shopmen on the Lehigh Valley railroad vote to end the strike after a duration of fifteen months, the men to go back as the company needs new employees. 29. Republicans elect WILLIAM H. CONYNGHAM of WILKES-BARRE as county chairman. 30. St. Boniface German Catholic church celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the priesthood of its pastor, Rev. FRANCIS P. STRAUB, and presents him with a purse of $2,500. 30. Mrs. BRIDGET LAVELLE of PITTSTON dies at the of 96 years. OCTOBER 1923 1. Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Philadelphia Branch of the Methodist Episcopal church holds its fifty-third annual convention in Wilkes-Barre. 2. Miners Bank of Wilkes-Barre announces a 100 per cent. dividend to its stockholders and a readjustment of capital and surplus accounts. 2. Wilkes-Barre Knights of Columbus purchases the property of the late STERLING R. CATLIN at 299 South Main street as the site for a club home. 3. (Almanac skipped day 3) 4. In accordance with the new move against the saloons, in which about 300 Luzerne County places were recently ordered to close on the charge that they sold liquor illegally and were, therefore, public nuisances. Judge WITMER of the United States court for this district issues injunction against six of the places to compel them to go out of business; more injunctions to follow against those who did not voluntarily comply with the orders. 5. Death of SOLOMON B. LITZENBERGER of WILKES-BARRE, 72 years, who helped plan the buildings for old Mountain Park, in its time one of the most popular picnic resorts in this region. 6. (Almanac skipped day 6) 7. Dr. VAVRO SROBAR, former Prime Minister of Czecho-Slovakia, speaks to a large audience of Slovaks in the Wilkes-Barre Y. M. C. A. auditorium. 7. Campaign begun in the Wyoming Valley under the auspices of the State Department of Health and the Community Welfare Federation for the elimination of diphtheria; the plan is to secure the consent of parents of children under six years of age to have them examined to determine whether or not they are susceptible to diphtheria and if so have them immunized for permanent protection against attacks; a house-to-house canvass to be made. 8. Wilkes-Barre Institute, one of the oldest of the Wyoming Valley's educational institutions, buys a plot of ground in Forty Fort for the purpose of re-locating the school. 8. Pennsylvania Optometric Association meets in convention in Wilkes-Barre. 8. Keystone State Bottlers' Association meets in Wilkes-Barre. 8. 19,000 employees of the Hudson Coal Co in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties go on strike over minor grievances. 9. The long-discussed soldiers' monument project comes a step nearer by the employment by the County Commissioners of Major THOMAS H. ATHERTON as the designer and instructions issued to County Solicitor DANDO to arrange details as to the site on Public Square and the contracts. 9. Strike of about 19,000 employees of the Hudson Coal Co. comes to an end by a decision to abide by the terms of the agreement , to refer the grievances to the Conciliation Board if they cannot be settled in any other way. 9. Riverside Private Hospital in Wilkes-Barre graduates five nurses. 10. L. B. HILLARD of WILKES-BARRE chosen Democratic county chairman. 11. Death of ANDREW T. NEWBERRY of WILKES-BARRE, for many years in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad. 12. THOMAS HART of WILKES-BARRE elected president of the Pennsylvania Association of Real Estate Boards. 13. Bicycle parade in Wilkes-Barre participate in by B. P. MAYFIELD of WILKES-BARRE, 87 years of age. 14. (Almanac skipped day 14) 15. (Almanac skipped day 15) 16. Geraldine FARRAR opens the season's Temple course concerts. 17. Contract for rebuilding the Carey Avenue bridge by the county awarded to the Standard Engineering and Construction Co. of Toledo, Ohio, for $161,437. 17. Pennsylvania Association of Insurance Agents meets in Wilkes-Barre. 18. In five Luzerne County cases Judge WITMER of the federal court orders the saloon keepers to remove all saloon appliances within seventy-two hours or suffer permanent injunctions with prison penalties for violation. 18. CHARLES H. BIDDLE of WILKES-BARRE re-elected president of the Pennsylvania Association of Insurance Underwriters. 19. WILLIAM B. HEALEY of WILKES-BARRE, State commander of the American Legion, elected national vice commander at the convention in San Francisco. 19. United States Marine Band plays in the armory. 20. ROSS H. LLOYD elected president of the Dime Bank Title and Trust Company of Wilkes-Barre. 20. Kingston Community troop of the Boys Scouts wins for the third time the silver loving cup presented by the Greater Wilkes-Barre Council and takes permanent possession of it at the semi-annual field day at Kirby Park. 20. Death of Dr. HENRY M. LAING of DALLAS, one of the most prominent physicians in the county. 20. PERCY A. BROWN of WILKES-BARRE chosen vice president of the National Restaurant Association. 20. Serious water scarcity in the Hazleton region owing to lack of rain. 21. (Almanac skipped day 21) 22. (Almanac skipped day 22) 23. An all-day heavy rain relieves water famine in the Hazleton region and in some other parts of the county. 24. (Almanac skipped day 24) 25. Wilkes-Barre Record observes the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Record as a daily newspaper. The issue of this date contains a facsimile reproduction of the four pages of the first issue, together with a history of the newspaper. 26. Announcement made that the Community Welfare Federation's budget for 1924 calls for a minimum of $369,051 for the coming campaign. 26. A new weekly luncheon club organized in Wilkes-Barre, the Exchange Club. 26. Governor PINCHOT speaks in Wilkes-Barre at a banquet under the auspices of the Republican women of Luzerne county. 27. Government report shows that 17,411 persons and firms in Luzerne County had incomes on which they were required to pay federal income taxes in 1921; of the personal returns 6,325 came from Wilkes-Barre. 28. (Almanac skipped day 28) 29. Great reception, followed by a dinner at the Sterling, tendered to WILLIMA B. HEALEY of WILKES-BARRE, elected national vice commander of the American Legion, on his arrival from the convention in San Francisco. 29. ALEXANDER GINSBURG named executive director of the Wilkes-Barre's Young Men's Hebrew Association. 29. Cornerstone of the new St. Francis Lithuanian Church at Miners Mills laid and the new Sacred Heart Church at Duryea dedicated. 29. An issue of $300,000 Luzerne County Bonds sold at a premium of $4,504.51, to Biddle & Henry of Philadelphia. 30. Wyoming National Bank, the first bank in the Wyoming Valley to be owned by local stockholders, celebrates its ninety-third anniversary. 30. Wilkes-Barre Rotary Club has a Halloween party for 165 crippled children, who, after the party, were examined by surgeons to determine how many of them could be helped or cured under the movement set on foot by Rotary. 30. Wilkes-Barre council instructs the City Solicitor to bring action against the coal companies to prevent diversion of culm and mine water into the creek, that flows through Hollenback Park, it having been shown that the culm and mine water are destroying the trees. 31. Many Wilkes-Barre people go to Scranton to hear LLOYD GEORGE. Great Britain's distinguish statesman, who visited the city on his American tour. 31. Halloween fills the central city streets with thousands of persons, many of them in grotesque costumes. NOVEMBER 1923 1. Stockholders of Plains State Bank, a new concern, elect THOMAS H. JAMES as president. 1. A number of shooting accidents on the first day of the hunting season. 2. (Almanac skipped day 2) 3. (Almanac skipped day 3) 4. (Almanac skipped day 4) 5. Announcement made that Rev. FREDERICK L. FLINCHBAUGH of CINCINNATI, OHIO, formally an assistant at St. Stephen's and vicar of Calvary Church, has accepted a call to become rector of St. Stephen's to succeed Rev. FRANK W. STERRETT, elected bishop coadjutor. 5. Death of JOHN M. WILLIAMS of WILKES-BARRE, who for twenty years was an officer in the court rooms of the county. 6. One of the most spirited and one of the most disgraceful campaigns in Luzerne County, the latter in the methods employed by candidates, comes to a close. The entire Republican county ticket elected by large majorities. In Wilkes-Barre Mayor DANIEL L. HART re-elected in one of the hardest mayoralty contests experienced in many years, his opponent being CHARLES N. LOVELAND. 7. A unique dinner given in Irem Temple under the auspices of the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, in honor of all persons in the Wyoming Valley who have been employed by the same concern for thirty-five years or longer. This was the first affair of the kind to be given in the country, so far as known. The oldest employee present, in point of service for one concern, was JOHN RINEHIMER, who has been with Vulcan Iron Works for sixty-four years and is yet on duty. The group include over five hundred thirty-five year men and over. Mr. RINEHIMER presented with a loving cup by the Chamber of Commerce. 8. Rev. HOMER S. MAY installed as pastor of the First Reformed Church, Wilkes-Barre. 8. A decree of segregation, providing for the disposition by the Lehigh Valley Railroad of its coal property and securities, issued by a federal court in New York, part of the proceedings extending over a long period of years to compel railroad companies to dissociate themselves from the business of coal mining. 8. MABEL GARRISON, soprano, and CECELIA HANSEN, violinist, in the Temple's concert course. 9. Rev. FRANK W. STERRETT, for a number of years a rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, consecrated as Bishop, in the presence of many distinguished clergymen and a congregation that filled St. Stephen's; the new Bishop to be coadjutor to Bishop TALBOT of the Bethlehem diocese. 9. Public wedding in the armory in connection with the Home Beautiful Exposition, the parties being JOHN W. LLOYD of WILKES-BARRE and Miss ANNA L. PHILLIPS of WESTMOOR, several thousand people in attendance. 9. Judge GARMAN calls into court the election officers of twenty-six precincts in the Third District, and orders that the ballot boxes be brought into court, in view of evidence of negligence and irregularities. 10. State report says that Luzerne County's twenty-eight State banks and eight trust companies have 190,792 depositors, of whom 131,000 are savings depositors; their resources aggregate over $95,000,000. 10. Sale of forget-me-nots under the auspices of the Wilkes-Barre chapter of Disabled War Veterans nets about $5,000. 10. Death of Rev. ALEXANDER DIANISKI, D. D., rector of St. Stephen's Slovak Catholic Church of PLYMOUTH. 11. (Almanac skipped day 11) 12. Second annual campaign of the Community Welfare Federation begins; the minimum amount fixed for the budget is $369,000; twenty-eight charity and other organizations embraced; HARRY RUGGLES general chairman. 12. Mr. and Mrs. JOHN TESKE of PLYMOUTH celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 12. Armistice Day observed today, the anniversary occurring on Sunday. No general celebration in Wilkes-Barre, though collieries and a number of industries were idle. Parade in Nanticoke under the auspices of the American Legion. 12. Mr. and Mrs. FRANK ROSENER of PITTSTON celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 13. Mr. and Mrs. LOUIS TISCH of WILKES-BARRE celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 13. Wilkes-Barre Business College awards diplomas to 105 graduates at the annual commencement. 14. Formal opening of the People's Savings and Trust Company Bank at Duryea. 14. An archaeologist in the employ of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society finding a number of Indian relics in the Pocono region, at the site of Indian camps. 15. (Almanac skipped day 15) 16. CHARLES H. ENGLISH, director of the Wyoming Valley Playground and Recreational Association, resigns to take charge of the municipal and school playgrounds of Chicago. 16. Dr. W. F. DAVISON of KINGSTON appointed by the State Health Department to be supervising medical inspector of schools of the second and third classes in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. 17. SAMUEL THOMPSON and his three sons have a combined record of 142 years of employment in the Vulcan Iron Works, the father fifty-six years. 18. (Almanac skipped day 18) 19. (Almanac skipped day 19) 20. (Almanac skipped day 20) 21. Welfare Federation workers have one of the most enthusiastic meetings ever held in Wilkes-Barre; much disappointment expressed because the campaign fell short of the mark of $369,000, by about $47,000; a number of people announce increase of their subscriptions and a number of the workers make additional pledges which they promise to make up in further canvassing effort; $23,000 raised and pledged on the spot, leaving a deficit of about $30,000. 21. Wyoming Valley Auto Bus Line given the privilege by the State Public Service Commission to run busses between Wilkes-Barre and the West Side over the North street bridge. 22. (Almanac skipped day 22) 23. (Almanac skipped day 23) 24. (Almanac skipped day 24) 25. Class of 900 children and a number of adults confirmed in St. Mary's Polish Catholic Church, Wilkes-Barre. 26. In response to an invitation issued by Governor PINCHOT to Governors of the thirty-six anthracite using States to meet in Harrisburg, a few of the Executives, together with a number of representatives appointed by them, confer with Mr. PINCHOT. The latter suggested a plan for overcoming excessive prices and the sale of unburnable stuff, the main features of which are that the States shall agree among themselves on proper measures of control of the anthracite industry and pool their police forces for the execution of their compact agreement, then to seek sanction from Congress for the combination. However, the plan did not meet with much favor. A few of the representatives criticized it as impractical and others on the score that Pennsylvania should regulate the industry by itself because the State had the only deposits of anthracite and the whole industry originated in the State. The conference was adjourned to meet at a later date at the call of Governor PINCHOT to consider the plan more in detail. 26. Units of the 109th Field Artillery hold the first drill in the new armory on the West Side, partially completed. Capt. RULISON EDWARDS, commander of Battery F, had the distinction of conducting the first drill. 27. HENRY W. MERRITT of PLAINS appointed a member of the State Board of Pharmacy by Governor PINCHOT. 27. Thanksgiving Day turkeys cheaper than in recent years, from 47 to 50 cents a pound. 28. (Almanac skipped day 28) 29. St. John's new High School building in Pittston dedicated by Bishop HOBAN. 29. New school building and community center of St. Hedwig's Church in Kingston, cornerstone laying by Bishop BRENNAN. 30. DEGOGORZA, baritone, in Temple concert course. Typed by CHG volunteer.