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Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac
Record of Local Events
Principal Happenings in Luzerne County for the Year Beginning December 1, 1925, and Ending November 30, 1926.

December 1925
1.  Growing scarcity of anthracite, due to the strike, causes alarm in many parts of the anthracite-consuming territory.
3.  Luzerne County jury brings a verdict of $1,800 damages against a Pittston merchant for having sold a flobert rifle to a boy under sixteen years of age, the boy having killed a girl with the rifle, the first verdict of the kind in the local courts. . . . Mr. and Mrs. P. J. ROAN of Plymouth celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
4.  Luzerne County hunters come back with a half a dozen deer and several bears during the first few days of the hunting season. . . . Rev. Dr. R. R. DAVIES resigns as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian church.
7.  Dr. and Mrs. W. L. Hartman of Pittston observe their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Kingston council passes an ordinance fixing the width of Market street from Kingston Corners to the river bridge at 104.5 feet.
8.  Representatives of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce leave to see Governor PINCHOT, the operators and the miners in an effort to bring about a settlement of the strike. . . . Judge FULLER declared invalid a city ordinance which prohibits the holding of auctions but says they must come under the same restrictions as the other business. . . . Concordia fall concert, with Regina KAHL of New York City, soprano, as soloist.
10.  First soup kitchen opened at Edwardsville to feed families of striking miners. . . . County authorities destroy 103 slot machines secured in various raids over a period of several months, the paraphernalia valued at about $10,000. . . . Formal dedication of the South street bridge in Wilkes-Barre, a parade of city officials and employees, exercises on the bridge, including addresses by Judges Benjamin R. JONES and Henry A. FULLER, and a dinner in the evening at the Sterling given by the McLean Contracting Co. . . . Report shows that 8,145 children were inoculated with toxin-antitoxin in the recent campaign to immunize children against contracting diphtheria.
11.  Coal companies take steps to prevent striking miners from going into old slopes, tunnels and cave holes to get out coal, fearing damage to property and loss of life through explosions and in other ways. . . . Business men again have a session with the Judges and County Commissioners to attempt to make headway on the river bridge problem, whether a temporary bridge shall be erected from Union street, but owing to many complications a decision is not reached. . . . Teamsters and drivers of Nanticoke union refuse to haul coal or substitutes to families, schools or any other place, in sympathy with the striking miners.
12.  An Edwardsville girl sues Fort Durkee Hotel for $25,000 damages for use of her photograph for advertising purposes without her consent. . . . Opening of MacWilliam's coffee shop on Public Square.
14.  Much local interest taken in Governor Pinchot's call for a special session of the Legislature to deal with the anthracite situation, among other things. . . . Governor PINCHOT invites the Mayors and Burgesses of the anthracite region to meet him in Harrisburg to discuss strike affairs. . . . Andrew S. KECK, one of the early lumbermen along the headwaters of the Lehigh River at White Haven, dies at White Haven at the age of 98 years.
15.  Members of the Legislature in Luzerne County submit a plan for the settlement of the anthracite strike, similar to the plan the operators submitted.
16.  Mayors and Burgesses from the anthracite region in conference with Governor PINCHOT acquaint the Governor with conditions and the sentiments of the miners in the region; the Governor refuses to change his plan of settling the strike, but the officials resolve to call upon the operators and miners to resume negotiations without a definite plan in view. . . . Parties in sympathy with the miners' strike attempt to induce teamsters to refuse to haul coal or substitutes to churches, schools or individuals, following the action taken by Nanticoke teamsters.
17.  Officers and field officers of District No. 1, United Mine Workers, vote in favor of doing without pay for the remainder of the anthracite suspension. . . . Death of Rev. Richard B. WEBSTER, 79 years, pastor and pastor emeritus of Westminster Presbyterian church for more than half a century. . . . Nearly one thousand men and women attend the annual dinner of the West Side Community Association in the Dorranceton silk mill auditorium.
18.  Nanticoke lodge 541, Masons, celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. . . . High school building on North Washington street, Wilkes-Barre, re-dedicated as the James M. Coughlin High School, in honor of the city's first general school superintendent.
19.  Fore destroys the Baicker Wall Paper Company store in Wilkes-Barre, damage about $75,000.
20.  Dedication of the Pettebone-Swetland-Dickson Memorial addition to the Methodist church in Wyoming. . . . Death of Frederick C. KIRKENDALL, former Mayor of Wilkes-Barre and prominent in the affairs of the community, editor-in-chief and one of the publishers of the Times-Leader.
21.  Arrangements for a conference between the miners and operators in Scranton called off by insistence on the part of the operators that Mr. LEWIS give a written acceptance of the invitation to meet without reference to any plan, Pinchot plan or anything else. . . . Wilkes-Barre post office handles a record-breaking volume of Christmas mail.
22.  Glen Alden Coal Co. offers aid to those of its striking miners and their families who are in distress. . . . Mountain Ash Royal Welsh Male Choir from Wales gives concerts in the Wyoming Valley. . . . Turkeys for Christmas sell in the local markets at from fifty to sixty cents a pound, and chickens at from thirty-five to forty cents. . . . Announcement made that on January 1 W. P. JENNINGS, general superintendent of Pennsylvania Coal Co., will succeed Frank H. HEMELRIGHT as president of Temple Anthracite Coal Co.
23.  A number of priests of foreign speaking congregations in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties send a statement to Major ENGLIS and Mr. LEWIS deploring the suffering of the strike and pleading with the two sides to get together and submit to mediation whatever they cannot agree upon in conference.
23.  Wyoming borough receives a gift in park land at Pettebone and Monument Avenues from Mrs. Kate DICKSON of Wilkes-Barre, the plot to be known as Pettebone Park, in honor of the father of Mrs. Dickson.
24.  Christmas Eve observed by celebrations by numerous organizations in the Wyoming Valley and by carol singing by musical societies at central places in many towns in the valley; the Wilkes-Barre Salvation Army distributes baskets to 225 needy families and the United Charities and other organizations do a great amount of relief work.
25.  Christmas temperature 33 degrees in Wilkes-Barre, light snow on the ground.
27.  Cold wave, thermometer five degrees above zero in Wilkes-Barre and below zero in the mountain regions. . . . Thirty-two Boy Scouts and nine executives begin a week's encampment under tents at Camp Acahela in the Poconos.
28.  Judge Jones holds that the owner of a property in which illegal liquor was manufactured is liable in penalties, on the ground that he should have known the use to which the property was being put by the tenant.
29.  Charles B. SMITH of Pittston appointed mercantile appraiser for Luzerne County.
30.  Mr. and Mrs. John VIVIAN of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Miners and operators in conference in New York City declare that they will not adjourn until a settlement has been reached. . . . Death of William D. LOOMIS, one of Wilkes-Barre's best known citizens. . . . Kingston council takes steps to drain the unsightly and unhealthy ponds on the flats road by a new sewer system. . . . Building in Wilkes-Barre during 1925 about $150,000 less in value than for the previous year, the total value of permits in 1925 being $4,338,886.
31.  Four prisoners escape from the Luzerne County jail by sawing a bar on a corridor window. . . . 1,245 deaths in Wilkes-Barre in 1925, compared with 1,325 for the previous year; births, 2,627 in 1925. . . . Sixty-seven fatal automobile accidents in Luzerne County in 1925, ten more than in the preceding year.
	
January 1926
1.  New Year weather at thirty-six degrees in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Ice harvesting begins in some places, ice about eight inches thick. . . . Annual mock trial by the Y. M. C. A. again draws a capacity house, with hundreds of people turned away; Charles E. CLIFT the prosecutor, charging Superintendent ZEISER of the public schools with teaching evolution. . . . Fire in the Kaschenbach furniture store on South Main street does damage to the amount of $20,000.
2.  Application made for a charter for a bank for Forty Fort. . . . Automobiles race on the ice at Harvey's Lake and hundreds of skaters enjoy the sport. . . . Fifteen young women take the vows of the Sisterhood at St. Mary's convent in Wilkes-Barre.
4.  Nanticoke goes into the city class by the organization of its new form of city government. . . . County and municipal officers elected last November take their places. . . . G. Murray TURPIN as Prothonotary, Harry T. BUTTS as Controller and Edmund BEVAN as Clerk of the Courts, in the court house.  No changes in Wilkes-Barre city hall.  Joseph G. SCHULER being re-elected as councilman, and Thomas W. BROWN elected after having held office by appointment.  W. H. GILLESPIE takes office as Mayor of Pittston and James G. HARVEY (re-elected) as Mayor of Hazleton. . . . Epidemic of measles in Wilkes-Barre, fifty new cases reported in one day.
6.  Newspaper publishers of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys send a message to the operators and miners in session in New York City asking them to settle the strike on the basis of arbitration if it can be settled in no other way; operators again declare that it is not their purpose to smash the union. . . . Grand Jury drawn under the terms of the Maxey bill, now in effect, indicts all persons charged with keeping gambling machines and nearly all persons charged with liquor law violations, a departure from the custom of previous Grand Juries. . . . D. R. TREDINNICK elected cashier of the Hanover Bank.
7.  A group of men attack a coal truck driver in Plains, one of the first instances of violence in the region since the beginning of the strike. . . . Death in Wilkes-Barre of Mrs. Emma J. WALTERS, whose great-grandfather Samuel CAREY, was in the Wyoming Massacre and was captured by the Indians and held prisoner for six years.
9.  Several hundred postal employees and their ladies tender William MANNEAR a banquet in honor of his re-appointment as postmaster of Wilkes-Barre. . . . Seven inches of snow, street car traffic impeded for several hours. . . . Forty-five citizens and election officers of Duryea indicted by the Grand Jury on charges of violating the election laws and conspiracy to violate. . . . New homes to accommodate 432 families erected in Wilkes-Barre in 1925.
11.  A number of Wilkes-Barre streets guarded for coasting by children while the snow lasts. . . . F. M. KIRBY announces the establishment by him of a trust fund of $500,000 for the maintenance and improvement of Kirby Park, to provide municipal concerts in the park, and if the income in a any year shall be in excess of the amount required for the above purposes it may be allowed to accumulate for the ultimate establishment of a zoological garden in the park; the deed stipulates that at no time shall the park area be lessened.  A bridge shall not be built nearer to Market street than Ross street, and there shall be no approaches or road beyond a distance of 150 feet from low water mark in the river.
12.  Anthracite operators and miners' representatives adjourn their conferences in New York City after having been in session eleven days, without an agreement, the main difference from the beginning being arbitration, the operators demanding it and Mr. Lewis insisting that there shall be no arbitration of wages; the news comes as a stunning blow to the Wyoming Valley, where the effect of the long su[sic]pension is being severely felt. . . . Miller S. FREDERICK elected president of the Lincoln Deposit & Savings Bank of Wilkes-Barre.
13.  Another animated controversy in Wilkes-Barre between Mayor HART and various individuals, together with the Women's Club, over responsibility for the existence of gambling machines and lack of interest in their removal. . . . Another short-lived cold wave, thermometer around zero in Wilkes-Barre.
14.  Scale committee of the anthracite region meets in Hazleton and endorses the action of President Lewis so far in the strike. . . . Detailed report by city council showing that the total cost of the South street bridge was $1,264,973.
16.  Supplemental appeal issued to organized labor by the executive councils of the American Federation of Labor to aid the striking miners in the anthracite region. . . . Judge John M. GARMAN speaks emphatically about election corruption in a case on trial, asserting that the man who sells his vote commits as great a crime as the man who buys it. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Joseph C. GRITMAN of Wilkes-Barre observe their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
17.  John L. LEWIS, president of the United Mine Workers, addressed an audience that filled the Capitol theatre in Wilkes-Barre on the strike situation; the district presidents also spoke; so great was the crowd that attempted to gain admission to the theatre that Mr. Lewis spoke before about 15,000 people from an automobile in Public Square. . . . Ashley Presbyterian church observes its sixtieth anniversary; historical sketch read by J. Andrew BOYD.
18.  Bills in the Pennsylvania Legislature declaring coal a public utility and placing mining under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission, and amending the mine certificate law to permit greater leeway in hiring miners, meet with much opposition, -- looks as though all legislation affecting the mine strike would be defeated. . . . Thomas BUTKIEWICZ succeeds Moses SALSBURG as one of the assistant District Attorneys.
20.  Many miners taking coal from culm banks and from tunnels and selling it at from $12 to $17 a ton to local consumers; some of the coal companies serve notice that they must not take coal beyond what they need for themselves. . . . Installation of Rev. W. R. BERGH as pastor of Trinity Lutheran church, Wilkes-Barre. . . . Unusually warm weather, 55 degrees in Wilkes-Barre, melts the snow on the river watershed and breaks up the ice; river rises to about fourteen feet. . . . John L. LEWIS of the United Mine Workers establishes headquarters in Wilkes-Barre for the first time since the beginning of the strike. . . . Wilkes-Barre School Board approves tentative plans for the erection of a $2,000,000 high school building in the Firwood section.
22.  Public again in a happy mood after announcement by John L. LEWIS that he had accepted the Scranton Times plan of settlement as a basis of negotiations, but cheerfulness was short lived, as a spokesman for the operators announced that the plan was unacceptable. . . . Burgess WYIORSKI of Duryea places the ban on the Charleston dance, stating that it is dangerous to buildings in which it is held.
24.  Another big strike mass meeting held in the Capitol theatre, addressed by district officers of the United Mine Workers.
25.  Billy SUNDAY, the noted evangelist who conducted a revival in Wilkes-Barre thirteen years ago, preaches in Central M. E. church to an audience of several thousand people on prohibition and law observance with his old time energy. . . . Death of Stewart M. WALKINSHAW, president and general manager of the Lyman H. Howe Films Co.
26.  Anthracite operators and miners get together again, this time in Philadelphia, in an attempt to reach an agreement, with the plan submitted by E. J. LYNETT of Scranton as the background for negotiations, although the operators declared in advance that it was not acceptable to them. . . . Mischa ELMAN, violinist, in Temple concert course.
27.  Death of Rev. Joseph M. LLOYD, one of the best known Welsh preachers in the anthracite region. . . . Officials of various labor unions in the Wyoming Valley meet to consider plans for the relief of miners' families.
28.  Total circulation from Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre, 301,355 in 1925.
29.  Thermometer two degrees below zero in Wilkes-Barre and from ten to twenty degrees below in mountain regions nearby. . . . Donald B. MACMILLAN, who recently returned from an exploration trip in the Arctic region, gives an illustrated lecture in the Irving theatre. . . . Community Welfare Federation beneficiaries meet to consider further cuts in the running expenses of the various institutions, owing to the demands made upon the funds by reason of the anthracite strike. . . . Harvesting ice in full blast in this vicinity, ice thirteen inches thick.
31.  Parsons Baptist congregation worships for the first time in its new edifice, Rev. Grover C. WALTERS, pastor. . . . Total expenditures of Luzerne County for the year 1925 were $4,200,076, nearly three-fourths for roads and bridges.

February 1926
1.  Concordia sings in Irem Temple before the trip to New York to sing in competition with other male choruses.
2.  Conference of the operators and miners in Philadelphia again adjourns without an agreement, the stumbling block being the old one of arbitration; it now appears as though it were going to be a fight to the finish; no other plan of settlement in sight. . . . Women's Club hears spirited arguments for and against a temporary bridge at Union street by county officials and others. . . . Dedication of the Fort Jenkins bridge between Pittston and West Pittston, parade and dedicatory exercises in the afternoon and a banquet in the evening. . . . Sudden death of James BRADY, 81 years, for many years a tipstaff in the court house. . . . Mr. and Mrs. John HARTER of Nescopeck celebrate their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary.
4.  A blizzardy snow storm with a fall of sixteen inches sprags traffic; street cars unable to get to their destinations; railroad trains late; many motor vehicles stalled; farmers shut in.
6.  Concordia Society of Wilkes-Barre wins in the singing contest by the Associated Glee Clubs of America in New York City over six of the most representative male choruses in the East, gaining 273 points out of a possible 300, the test piece Henschel's Morning Hymn, the chorus receives an ovation from the audience of 10,000 people. . . . The home of Matthew YONKOSKI of Wilkes-Barre Township wrecked, the man blown to pieces and his wife and daughter seriously injured by the explosion of twelve sticks of dynamite with which he had intended coal mining.
8.  Lawrence W. BEVAN chosen general manager of the Hazard Manufacturing Co. . . . Miss Anne DORRANCE and a committee of women present petitions containing over 14,000 names to the County Commissioners in favor of a county library project, the purpose being to establish branch libraries in all towns in the county and to have a library wagon go into the country districts, also to have headquarters from which the books are to be sent to all distributing centers and to supply special information, the cost estimated at upwards of $200,000 a year.
9.  The Senate passes a resolution requesting President Coolidge to intervene in the anthracite strike by calling the operators and miners in conference, but on behalf of the President it was stated later that he did not believe that anything that could be done by him would help in the solution of the problem. . . . Lehigh Valley railroad goes further into the use of the motor truck for freight delivery by inaugurating a service to cover places between Wilkes-Barre and Pittston. . . . London String Quartet in Irem Temple course.
10.  Anthracite strike goes into history as the longest hard coal general strike on record, having passed the strike of 1922, which continued 163 days. . . . Death of William I. HIBBS of West Pittston, one of the most prominent attorneys in the county.
11.  Miners and operators meet in separate quarters in Philadelphia on representations made by a mysterious third party, and hope is revived by a call issued by Mr. Lewis to the entire scale committee to meet him in that city. . . . Death of M. C. RUSSELL of Kingston, former Recorder of Deeds.
12.  Operators and miners sign an agreement in Philadelphia bringing the strike to an end; the result accomplished largely through the mediating influence of R. F. Grant of Cleveland, prominently connected with bituminous and anthracite interests; conditions of settlement noted in another part of this Almanac. . . . Thermometer two degrees above zero in Wilkes-Barre.
14.  Rev. James B. FARRELL celebrates his first mass in St. Ignatius church, Kingston.
15.  County Commissioners reduce the county tax levy by two mills, making it six and nine-tenths mills. . . . Local dealers in bituminous coal offer their stocks at a heavy reduction in price owing to the early beginning of anthracite mining. . . . Orpheus Glee Club entertains at a banquet at the Sterling in honor of Concordia Society after the latter's victory in New York City.
16.  Miners in tri-district convention in Scranton ratify the agreement embracing a new contract. . . . Express and newspaper train on the Lehigh Valley road wrecked by derailment on the mountain near Warrior Run, eleven of the fourteen cars involved, the engineer killed and several trainmen seriously injured. . . . Wilkes-Barre Aldermen give notice that they will refuse to preside in police court unless the compensation is increased from $75 to $150 a month.
18.  Mining of coal begun but with restricted production.
19.  Sudden death of James H. CURRY, superintendent of the Wyoming Division of the Lehigh Valley railroad. . . . Sheldon EVANS chosen general chairman of the Community Welfare Federation campaign for 1926.
22.  Arthur SILVERBLATT of Wilkes-Barre and Helen V. TYLER of Skinners Eddy win Nesbitt prizes in oratory at Wyoming Seminary.
23.  Judge Garman orders the padlocking of two places in Wilkes-Barre and four in Pittston for the illegal sale of liquor.
25.  Ray L. GEHART of Sayre, superintendent of the Seneca division appointed superintendent of the Wyoming division of the Lehigh Valley railroad in place of James CURRY, deceased. . . . Decker-MacLean hardware store on South Main street badly damaged by fire, loss on building and stock about $150,000.
26.  Warm rain and thawing cause fear of a flood but colder weather sets in and brings relief from anxiety. . . . County Commissioners disapprove of another petition sent in by North Wilkes-Barre residents for a bridge across the river at Courtright Avenue as a solution of the bridge problem.
27.  Grand Jury recommends that the county purchase the plot of land fronting the court house, extending from Jackson to North street, and about 225 feet in depth, for buildings for court and office purposes, for storing records and for accommodating children coming under the jurisdiction of Juvenile Court, the appraised value of the property about $250,000.

March 1926
1.  Death in Drifton of Mrs. Eckley B. COXE, 84 years, who was noted for charity work among the families of miners in the lower end of the county, widow of a pioneer coal operator. . . . Death of J. H. RITTENHOUSE in Tunkhannock, who was largely responsible for laying out the Laurel Line and Ontario & Western railroads, at the age of 75 years.
4.  Hoffnung lodge No. 425, Odd Fellows of Wilkes-Barre, celebrates the seventy-fifth anniversary of its founding with a banquet in Hotel Redington.
5.  Death of Peter A. MEIXELL of Wilkes-Barre, former County Commissioner and well known attorney.
6.  Announcement that none of the seventy-three miners from Districts Nos. 1, 7 and 9 who took the mine inspectors' examinations in April had qualified.
8.  Death of Thomas CASSEDY, prominent real estate man.
9.  First animal placed in Kirby Park for the contemplated "zoo," a bear which had been taken from the window of a local store. . . . Many cases of influenza in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity, almost in epidemic form, though cases not as severe as in the fearful epidemic during the war.
11.  First of the pays received by the mine workers since September 1 give new courage to business people.
12.  Judge GARMAN grants preliminary injunctions against six more hotels in Wilkes-Barre and other places on the charge of selling liquor.
14.  Twenty-fifth anniversary of the Wilkes-Barre Hebrew Loan and Shelter Association celebrated with a banquet in Concordia Hall. . . . Wilkes-Barre Eagles occupy for the first time their fine new building on North Washington street, a class of 374 candidates admitted.
15.  Twenty-third anniversary dinner and formal opening of the new home of the Wilkes-Barre Eagles.
16.  Mr. and Mrs. John M. WILLIAMS of Kingston celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
17.  Plymouth Community Chorus wins the chief prize at the annual Cynonfardd Literary Society eisteddfod in the Welsh Congregational church in Edwardsville. . . . Death of Jedediah Chase PAINE of Wilkes-Barre and Harvey's Lake, 86 years, who was present at Appomattox Court House at the time of the surrender of General Lee to General Grant at the close of the Civil War.
18.  West Side Women's Club decides to build a new club house.
19.  Executive boards of the United Mine Workers endorse Governor Pinchott's candidacy for the United States Senate because of his friendliness towards labor.
21.  General Guiseppe GARIBALDI, veteran of many wars and grandson of General Garibaldi, emancipator of Italy, guest of Italians in this section. . . . West Pittston has an experience with enforcement of the blue laws, a number of arrests made of persons who sold gasoline, cigars, etc., on Sunday. . . . Bulletin published by the Past Grands Association of Odd Fellows, Luzerne County, refers to James LINDNER of Drums as the oldest Odd Fellow in the county, in point of years in the organization, a record of sixty-four years. . . . Dedication of St. Paul's Lutheran church at Shavertown. . . . First day of Spring arrives with mild temperature.
22.  Preliminary steps taken for establishing a new hospital in Kingston, the Wyoming Valley Polyclinic, to cost about $5,000,000.
23.  Luncheon clubs of Wilkes-Barre tender a dinner and reception to Concordia Society and the director, Adolph HANSEN, in appreciation of the society's recent victory in New York City and its contribution to the musical reputation of the city; director Hansen presented with a purse of $500.
23.  Observance in the Methodist church of Luzerne Borough of the founding one hundred years ago, in 1825, of the first Sunday School in that place, a union Sunday School, from which sprang the Methodist and Presbyterian churches of to-day, Edwin W. ABBOTT general chairman of the evening. . . . Death of John J. GILLIGAN six months after he had retired on pension after having served for fifty-six years and six months continuously with the Central Railroad; aged 73 years.
25.  Col. Ernest G. SMITH and District Attorney Arthur JAMES announce their candidacies for Lieutenant Governor. . . . The river reaches a stage of 18.4 feet and causes alarm among residents on the lowlands. . . . Wilkes-Barre lodge, Loyal Order of Moose, leases the Loomis building on North Main street for its home and for club quarters.
26.  Survey shows that of the 230,000 acres in Luzerne County, 170,000 acres are productive and 60,000 acres are of little value in a productive sense, yielding little more than scrub oak and weeds. . . . River rises to 19.4 in the official measurement but indications were that it went up to over twenty feet later in the day.
27.  Jews of the Wilkes-Barre Community expected to raise $60,000 of a fund of $25,000,000 for America for suffering Jews in Europe.
29.  Madam Sigrid ONEGIN appears in the last of the Irem Temple concerts for the season.
30.  Death of Joseph M. MARTIN of Hanover township, aged 102 years.

April 1926
1.  Opening of the North End State Bank in Wilkes-Barre.
3.  About 10,000 children participated in the Easter egg hunt at Riverside Park, the hunt preceded by a parade in which many children participate.
4.  Cold Easter weather, but clear.
5.  Great reception tendered by Nanticoke residents to the high school basket ball team on its return from Chicago, where it came within an ace of winning the national basket ball championship.
6.  Judge GARMAN decides that John MANLEY, one of the Commissioners of Hanover township, violated the election law by not filing an expense account and by incurring illegal expenses in employing persons to work for this election. . . . F. M. KIRBY gives a dinner to about four hundred business and professional men in Irem Temple to stir up preliminary enthusiasm for the coming Welfare Federation campaign. . . . Wilkes-Barre council passes finally the ordinance granting the county the right to use a portion of the river common and Nesbitt Park for a temporary bridge.
7.  Seventy-fifth session of Wyoming Conference of the Methodist church meets in Forty Fort M. E. Church.
8.  Olin R. MULLISON elected the first president of Kingston's newest bank, the First National. . . . Rev. A. H. NIKOLIN, an Orthodox Greek priest of Wilkes-Barre, in a fit of insanity murders his wife and son and kills himself.
9.  In the case of West Pittston people arrested for selling gasoline on Sunday, in alleged violation of the blue laws, Judge FULLER says that since automobiling is not considered unlawful, the sale of gasoline on Sunday is permissible, but the formal ruling decides the case in favor of the defendants on more technical grounds. . . .Judge MCLEAN grants a temporary injunction against the use of part of the upper river common for temporary bridge purposes, the movers for an injunction contend that the original dedication of the river common prohibited such use, also that the grant of land on the west side by the Wilkes-Barre & Eastern Railroad Co. prohibited use of the land on that side.
10.  Reports of registrars of vital statistics show that in 1925 there were 5,630 deaths and 13,053 births in Luzerne County. . . . Dinner at Hotel Sterling given in honor of Jacob P. BREIDINGER to celebrate his twenty-fifth anniversary as principal of the Wilkes-Barre high school. . . . Death of Charles PABST of Wilkes-Barre, 92 years, one of the most prominent musicians in the Wyoming Valley years ago. . . . River again reaches a height of 18.9 feet.
12.  Mr. and Mrs. John GAGION of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary. . . . Mozart Choral Society, assisted by Dorothy Johnstone Baseler Harp Ensemble, gives a concert in Irem Temple.
13.  Father Francis KASACZUN of Sugar Notch, testifying before the Senate committee, states that drunkenness and debauchery are worse in that town since prohibition than they were before. . . . Governor Pinchot begins his speaking campaign as a candidate for the United States Senate in Wilkes-Barre. . . . A. P. COPE of Ashley elected County Superintendent of Schools to succeed Frank P. HOPPER, who was not a candidate for re-election. . . . New insulating mill of the Hazard Manufacturing Co., erected at a cost of $250,000 and which will require almost as much more money before its completion, dedicated under the auspices of the Hazard Relief Association. . . . Death of William G. PAYNE, prominent West Side coal operator.
14.  St. Stephen's Episcopal church of Wilkes-Barre purchases a 132 acre farm at Vosburg in Wyoming County, along the Susquehanna, as a place of recreation for members of the church and its societies.
15.  Wilkes-Barre branch of the Extension School of State College graduates fifteen men from a three years course.
19.  The Superior Court again upholds the right of the Luzerne County court to refuse to approve plans for the North street bridge. . . . Wilkes-Barre School Board fixes the tax at the same as last year, fifteen mills, in addition to the individual tax of five dollars for every person assessed. . . . City officials present F. M. KIRBY with embossed resolutions and formally thank him for giving a trust fund of $500,000 for maintaining Kirby Park.
20.  Fire in the old Landmesser building, South Main and South streets, does damage amounting to about $75,000.
21.  Seven hundred men assemble at dinner in hotel Sterling in honor of District Attorney Arthur JAMES in view of his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor. . . . County Commissioners ROSSER and MCLAUGHLIN say that in view of the seemingly interminable complications that have arisen over the construction of a bridge at North street they have decided to begin at once on plans for the replacement of the Market street bridge with a modern structure, having been assured that traffic on the bridge can be maintained without interruption. . . . Charles COURBOIN, one of the world's eminent organists, formally opens the new pipe organ in Memorial Presbyterian church with a recital. . . . Fifty-first district Rotary conference in Wilkes-Barre.
23.  John UHL of Wilkes-Barre elected Governor of the Fifty-first district of rotary Clubs. . . . Mr. and Mrs. James TAYLOR of Plains celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
25.  Corner stone of St. Aloysius Catholic church in Wilkes-Barre laid by Bishop BRENNAN.
27.  Rev. William H. SUGDEN installed as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian church.
28.  Death of Dr. Isaac H. MOORE of Wilkes-Barre, aged 83 years. . . . Death of Prof. E. I. WOLFE, for thirty-eight years an instructor in Wyoming Seminary.
29.  About ninety-five per cent, of the property owners of Miners Mills join in a petition for a referendum on annexation to Wilkes-Barre. . . . Collision between West Pittston and Forty Fort cars on the traction line results in the killing of one man and the injuring of two others.

May 1926
1.  Formal opening of the First National Bank of Kingston.
2.  Rev. Gypsy SMITH, noted evangelist, begins meetings in Memorial Presbyterian church.
3.  Death of husband and wife and a daughter in Wilkes-Barre by gas used in the operation of a still. .. . Death of Judge Seligman J. STRAUSS of Wilkes-Barre. . . . A large area of plaster and lathing falls from the ceiling of the Saboy theatre in Wilkes-Barre, injuring fifteen persons, one seriously; fortunately the accident occurred when there were few people in the place, at 1:20 p. m., but the few were thrown into a state of panic. . . . Death of Abram G. NESBITT of Kingston, president of the Second National Bank, the Wilkes-Barre Railway Corporation, the Wales Adding Machine Company and connected with other local corporations and business enterprises. . . . Concordia Spring concert with Estelle CAREY of New York City, soprano. . . . Mr. and Mrs. William J. DOOLEY of Plains celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
4.  Miss Dorothy RICHARDS, a senior in Couglin High School, chosen May Queen for the annual Kirby Day celebration to be held in June. . . . Edith BROWER presented with a garden chair. ..  . County Commissioners decide to throw out the special registration of voters in the First, Third and Fifth wards of Pittston, made on the special registration day, principally on the ground that the new registrants were not required to take the oath; more than 1,100 citizens marked as having changed their party affiliation from Democratic to Republican. . . . Newly elected county Superintendent of School, A. P. COPE, appoints Hoyt E. HELLER of Wapwallopen, C. F. DENGLER of Shickshinny, P. T. KANE of Parsons, T. A. WAKEFIELD of Hazleton and Z. R. HOWELL of Dallas as assistant superintendents.
10.  Old Conrad Lee planing mill on North Pennsylvania Avenue destroyed by fire, loss about $40,000. . . . Hardly any spring weather so far, mostly cool.
11.  Death of Hugh MCDONALD, mine inspector of the Pittston district for thirty-five years. . . . Eleven nurses graduated form the Homeopathic Hospital in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Franklin street school orchestra awarded a banner for being the best grade school orchestra in Wilkes-Barre.
12.  Five children of Mr. and Mrs. Ignatz SHEDLOWSKI in Plymouth burned to death in their bed, the fire supposed to have been caused by the explosion of a liquor still. . . . No. 6 hook and ladder truck, Wilkes-Barre, runs into several automobiles and onto the sidewalk on Public Square while responding to an alarm of fire, four men injured but none seriously. . . . Dinner given at Hotel Sterling to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the invention of the telephone, attended by original subscribers to telephone service in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Mrs. Harriet Lummis SMITH, author of the Polyanna books, speaks at the annual dinner of the Wyoming Valley Women's Club at the Sterling.
13.  Death of Dr. Frank P. SUMMA, well known Nanticoke physician.
14.  Twenty-nine nurses graduated from Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.
15.  Announcement made that water from a spring on a tract of land on Tillsbury Knob, near Nanticoke, will be used in the dedication of the Pennsylvania State building erected for the Sesqui-centennial in Philadelphia; the land is the only land in Pennsylvania still owned by the heirs of William Penn; the water will be poured from a bottle which was in use in the days of William Penn.
17.  In the dispute over the legality of the special registration day changes in party affiliation in Pittston the court in part reverses the decision of the County Commissioners, who declared void the registration in the First, Third and Fifth wards; the Judges retain the registration in the First and Third wards but nullify it in the Fifth ward. . . . Close of one of the most exciting political campaigns in the history of Luzerne County, partly due to the fact that Luzerne had two candidates for Lieutenant Governor, Col. Ernest G. SMITH and District Attorney Arthur JAMES.
18.  Primary election one of the most exciting in the history of the county owing to the sharp contest for United States Senator and Governor, complicated with the wet and dry issue; also much interest in the nomination for congressman and State Senator. . . . Fifty-fifth annual convention of the Diocese of Bethlehem, Protestant Episcopal church, opens in Wilkes-Barre. . . . .Women's Missionary Society of the Lutheran church, Ministerium of Pennsylvania, meets in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. RITTER of Wilkes-Barre observe their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Luther IDE of Pittston observe their golden wedding anniversary.
19.  Lightning kills a Hanover township woman and destroys a barn at Forty Fort. . . . A Grand Jury for the second time approves the contemplated purchase of the plot of ground opposite the court house, from Jackson to North streets and half way to Franklin street, the estimated cost $225,000, the plot to be used for additional court office room and for park purposes.
20.  Judges approve the purchase of land opposite the court house, recommended by the Grand Jury.
21.  Wilkes-Barre Institute Association holds its annual dinner for the first time in the new Institute building at Forty Fort.
23.  At memorial services in the Parish street, M. E. church Benjamin F. MYERS, former Chief of Police of Wilkes-Barre, awarded a medal by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, for being both a veteran of the Civil War and the son of a veteran; Mr. Myer's father and his father's five brothers were in the war and three of the brothers were killed in engagements. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. SWEITZER of Plymouth celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
24.  Cool wave, thermometer 37 in Wilkes-Barre. . . . All objections to the primaries vote in Luzerne County withdrawn, thus assuring John J. CASEY of the Republican nomination for Congress as well as the Democratic. 
25.  State convention Degree of Pocahontas in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Tree surgeons save the elm tree on the estate of the late General Oliver at Laurel Run, which was grown from the tree under which William PENN signed the treaty with the Indians, after the original treaty tree had been destroyed by a wind storm.
27.  Fire near the foot of the shaft in Mt. Lookout colliery at Wyoming endangers the lives of sixty-three men in the mine, who are led to a place of safety by Thomas HISLOP, foremen, until the fire was so far extinguished as to permit egress; Mr. Hislop went through smoke and in close proximity to the fire, not knowing its extent, and manipulated the air currents so that the men were not affected. . . . Fifteen nurses graduated from Mercy Hospital. . . . David W. THOMAS elected chairman of the Wilkes-Barre Republican organization for the twelfth consecutive time.
29.  Republican county convention refers to a committee a motion to give women equal representation with men on the makeup of the county committee. . . . Leo MOYLAN and Joseph F. LUKSIC of Wilkes-Barre, Martin YATSKO of Plymouth, Francis J. MCNULTY of Port Griffith, John J. GOUGH of Hazleton and Daniel J. GREGOR of Freeland, Luzerne County young men ordained to the Catholic priesthood in Scranton by Bishop Hoban.
30.  St. Mary's Lithuanian church at Wanamie dedicated.
31.  Memorial Day parade in Wilkes-Barre and other towns in the Wyoming Valley; Conyngham Post, G. A. R., has only thirty-five survivors out of an original membership of about 1,200. . . . E. M. ROSSER elected president and Harry GLIDDEN cashier of the Forty Fort State Bank, for which plans are being prepared.

June 1926
1.  District Attorney Arthur JAMES given a rousing reception by his fellow citizens of Plymouth in honor of this nomination as the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
4.  Kirby Day celebration a big event, with athletic exercises, speeches and a parade. . . . Federal officers make about fifty raids in places suspected of selling liquor in the county. . . . Wilkes-Barre Institute holds first commencement exercises in the new building at Forty Fort, thirteen graduated. . . . Wilkes-Barre Academy graduates six students.
5.  Community Welfare Federation campaign finally closed, with $489,701 subscribed, the amount aimed at being $489,493. . . . Heights Deposit Bank occupies its new home at East Market and South Welles streets.
9.  All farming and crops backward owing to the cool, dry Spring. . . . Jury finds Anthony ESPOSITO of Hazleton guilty of murder in the first degree, punishable by death, for killing his wife on March 19. . . . Thirty-one graduates from the Wharton Extension School in Wilkes-Barre.
10.  Fire on South Main street, Wilkes-Barre, in the Hurwitz block, does damage to the amount of about $100,000; one fireman suffocated to death by smoke and a dozen others overcome by smoke. . . . Grand Council of Pennsylvania, United Commercial Travelers, meets in Wilkes-Barre.
11.  County Commissioners finally decide to build a bridge at Market street, one-half at a time so as not to interfere with traffic, in the meantime repairing the North street bridge for all kinds of traffic.
13.  Death of Thomas DARLING of Wilkes-Barre, prominent citizen and lawyer.
14.  One hundredth anniversary of the hardware business now going under the name of the Lewis & Bennett Hardware Co. in Wilkes-Barre.
15.  Nearly one hundred graduates of Wyoming Seminary have commencement exercises. . . . John J. CASEY, who won all nominations for Congress in the recent primaries, tendered a dinner at Hotel Sterling by about two hundred of his friends.
16.  Death of Dr. John T. HOWELL of Wilkes-Barre, one of the most prominent physicians in the Wyoming Valley. . . . Seventy pupils receive diplomas from St. Mary's High School.
19.  Many Catholics go from the Wyoming Valley to attend the Eucharistic Congress in Chicago. . . . State convention of Eagles in Wilkes-Barre.
21.  Eleven nurses graduate from the White Haven tuberculosis sanitarium.
22.  Formal transfer of the old Wilkes-Barre Institute building on South Franklin street to the Wyoming Historical and Genealogical Society.
23.  Masons dedicate a monument in Hollenback cemetery erected to the memory of Captain Joseph DAVIS and Lieutenant William JONES, members of the General SULLIVAN expedition and Masons, who were killed by Indians on the Wilkes-Barre mountain, near Laurel Run, in April, 1779, while on their way to relieve the settlers in the Wyoming Valley and elsewhere who had been harassed by the Indians. . . . New $261,000 high school building at Larksville dedicated. . . . Captain Anton HEINEN, designer of the dirigible Shenandoah, purchased by the United States government and which was wrecked in a storm, lectures in Wilkes-Barre.
25.  Wilkes-Barre High School graduates 437 pupils. . . . Five nurses graduated from Nesbitt West Side Hospital.
27.  Dedication of the new Baptist church in Parsons, taking the place of one destroyed by fire. . . . Thirty-fifth anniversary of St. Mark's Lutheran church, Wilkes-Barre, and thirtieth anniversary of the ordination of the pastor, Rev. C. J. STREICH, observed by the congregation. . . . Enthusiastic welcome home for the Orpheus Glee Club, which won the chief prize of $1,000 in a competition at Youngstown, Ohio, which was participated in by some of the most prominent male choruses in the East. . . . Dedication of the new Sacred Heart parochial school building, North Wilkes-Barre, costs about $250,000.
29.  Four men killed and seven seriously burned by an explosion of gas in the Loomis colliery, Hanover township. . . . United Sportsmen of Pennsylvania convention at Irem Country Club. . . . City Council passes a resolution commending the Orpheus Glee Club and the leader, Gwilym AMOS, for their eisteddfodic victory at Youngstown, Ohio.
30.  Four Slovak bishops on their way home from the Eucharistic Congress in Chicago given a dinner and reception in Wilkes-Barre, preceded by a parade. . . . New Rotary Club instituted at Shickshinny.

July 1926
3.  Address at the annual Wyoming Monument exercises delivered by Paul E. BECK of the Stroudsburg Normal School faculty on "Two Indian Villages in Monroe County and one in Wyoming Valley." . . . Seven men killed and eight injured in the Peach Orchard mine of the Glen Alden Coal Co. at Parsons, due to an explosion or cave-in. . . . Mr. and Mrs. W. Sterling MYERS of Slocum township celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
4.  Mr. and Mrs. William STOCKER of Wyoming observe their fiftieth wedding anniversary. . . . A decrease of over $4,000,000 in the value of coal property in Luzerne County owing to deductions for coal mined during the year. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Isaiah NEYHART of Larksville observe their golden wedding anniversary.
5.  Independence Day celebrated, owing to the Fourth falling on Sunday; hot weather, the first heated spell for the Spring and Summer; exhibition of fireworks at Kirby Park under the auspices of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce; thirty-six fireworks accidents in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity, though none fatal. . . . Two persons killed and five seriously injured in a collision between an automobile and train at Swoyerville.
7.  Judges decide that the property opposite the court house should be secured by condemnation proceedings rather than by purchasing it at the figures fixed by the private appraisers, $233,873. . . . Court appoints Charles E. CLIFT and Ernest G. SMITH as new managers of the county school at Kis-Lyn, in place of managers whose terms expired. . . . Court appoints Mrs. Gertrude WILLIAMSON, Anthony C. CAMPBELL, Dr. Charles LONG of Wilkes-Barre, E. J. EDWARDS of Drifton and Dr. E. H. NEALE of Upper Lehigh as the advisory board for the proposed county tuberculosis hospital.
9.  First real heat wave, thermometer ninety-one in Wilkes-Barre.  Luzerne County Public Health Association formed to engage in various activities for the saving of life and health.
10. Another day of sweltering heat.
11.  Laying of the corner-stone for the Church of Christ, Westmoor. . . . Rev. James J. HALLEY celebrates his first mass in St. Mary's church, Wilkes-Barre. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Samuel THOMPSON of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Death of Stewart CAREY of Ashley, 77 years, believed to be the oldest native born citizen of Ashley.
12.  Democrats of Luzerne County meet at dinner for reorganization, among the speakers William B. WILSON, candidate for United States Senator.
13.  Over eighty per cent, of the Plains township freeholders have already signed the petition for an election to decide whether the township shall become a part of Wilkes-Barre.
15.  Death of George E. LANGFORD, well known banker of Pittston.
17.  One of the worst mine caves in years occurs in Parsons over workings of the Glen Alden Coal Co.; several homes go down into a deep hole and many other houses affected; about fifty families notified to vacate for fear of disaster.
18.  Severe wind, hail, rain and lightning storm sweeps over the valley.
21.  One man killed and five hurt by an explosion of gas in the Dorrance mine in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Temperature 94 degrees in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Irem Temple takes in 275 novices on the country club grounds. . . . Bids opened by the County commissioners for the construction of the Market street bridge and strengthening of the North street bridge; lowest bid for the former submitted by Whittaker & Diehl of Pittsburgh, $1,777,162, and contract awarded to them; the same firm also secures the contract for the North street bridge for $69,523. . . . Sheriffs' State Association meets in Wilkes-Barre.
22.  Mr. and Mrs. James J. BARRETT of Miners Mills celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Thermometer registers 97 degrees at the Scranton weather bureau.
23.  Thermometer 100 in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Some relief from the heat following thunder storms.
24.   Jackson township authorities threaten action against young people who park their automobiles along the country roads for "immoral purposes. . . . Officials of the Temple Anthracite Coal Co., together with 250 miners of Mr. Lookout colliery, give a tes[  ] dinner in Wyoming in honor of [  ] man Thomas HISLOP and his son Robert, James Van WHY and Michael HYCAVAGE, for heroic conduct during the fire in the colliery May 27, when sixty men were in danger; silver loving cups presented.
26.  Mr. and Mrs. John BROOKS of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
27.  G. A. R. memorial monument committee, which has representatives from various veterans, patriotic and civic organizations, passes resolutions demanding that the soldiers' monument be erected on Public Square.
28.  Death of Joseph L. CAKE of Pittston, 78 years, one of the most prominent citizens of Luzerne County.
31.  Entire Wilkes-Barre Record force, together with the wives of the members, tenders a welcome home dinner at Irem Country Club to Guy W. MOORE, general manager, on his return from Europe. . . . Miss Helen GRANT of North Meade street chosen to be Miss Wilkes-Barre in the Atlantic City pageant this year.

August 1926
1.  The month of August starts in with an unusually hot spell, mercury 91 in Wilkes-Barre and humidity high.
4.  Slight relief from the long continued hot spell.
7.  Ku Klux Klan parade at Forty Fort participated in by 2,500 Klansmen, most of them with masks.
8.  Rev. Ivor THOMAS of Wilkes-Barre, 77 years, falls dead in the pulpit of Moriah Congregational church in Nanticoke. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Eli PARRISH of Dallas observe their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
11.  Dr. A. A. BARTON of Plains rounds out fifty years in medical practice. . . . Another severe hot spell, thermometer 91 in Wilkes-Barre.
12.  Severe thunder storm, preceded by darkness like deep twilight, several places in Wilkes-Barre and its vicinity struck by lightning.
12.  Most damaging thunder storm of the year in Wilkes-Barre and the vicinity, a span of the Lehigh Valley railroad bridge at Coxton struck by lightning and knocked into the river, two men electrocuted by fallen wires, two barns destroyed by lightning and fire and a number of trees blown down.
14.  Sheriff LABAR destroys about 5,000 gallons of vile stuff seized from which liquor was to be made, and 200 gallons of alcohol given to the hospitals.
15.  Dedication of the Lutheran Church of the Reformation of Laketon, Harvey's Lake. . . . Dedication of SS. Cyril and Methodius church at Edwardsville.
18.  Death of Richard A. WARD of Wilkes-Barre, president of the North End Bank, former school director and prominent insurance broker.
21.  Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. HOWELL of Wyoming celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Ten days of wet weather, rain every day.
22.  Labor unions demand that work on the new Market street bridge be done entirely by union labor, but the County Commissioners reply that such a stipulation would be illegal.
23.  In his charge to the Grand Jury Judge B. R. JONES directs the jury to conduct a searching investigation of the gambling evil in Luzerne County, with particular reference to the slot machines, on the strength of rumors and charges that slot machines were being placed by a syndicate composed of public officials and employees and that protection was being granted.
24.  Grand Jury summons many witnesses in the gambling investigation. . . . Parsons celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its incorporation as a borough, an "old home" week and various features of interest. . . . County takes over the land opposite the court house and the court appoints Philip L. DRUM, Harry MYERS and John DROMBROWSKI to make the valuation to be paid the owners'. . . . Record-breaking rainfall so far this month, 6.20 inches against 1.35 for the entire month last year, rain on seventeen days so far this month.
26.  Court orders vote on consolidation in Kingston, Parsons, Miners Mills and Wilkes-Barre, on the regular election day in November.
27.  Fire damages Holy Trinity Lithuanian Catholic church in Wilkes-Barre about $25,000.
28.  Hundreds of people attend a Ku Klux Klan picnic at Harvey's Lake. . . . Grand Jury which conducted an investigation into slot machine and other forms of gambling in Luzerne County reports that the testimony of witnesses disclosed nothing indicating the existence of a slot machine syndicate or syndicates; the jury states that there is plenty of evidence of the existence of such machines and it places the main responsibility upon municipal authorities for failure to act.
29.  Death of B. M. ESPY of Wilkes-Barre, a Luzerne County attorney since 1873 and a member of a pioneer family in this section.
30.  Death of Melbourne E.. STONE of Wilkes-Barre, for twenty-seven years chaplain at the county jail and for many more years a city missionary.

September 1926
3.  D. J. CRAY elected president of North End State Bank to succeed Richard A. WARD, deceased.
5.  About 5,000 Poles from the Wyoming Valley go to Philadelphia to attend Polish day exercises at the Sesquicentennial. . . . . Golden wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Rowland R. JONES of Kingston.
6.  Death of Henry WISEMAN of Wilkes-Barre, for many years a shoe merchant.
7.  Mr. and Mrs. William F. CHURCH of Kingston celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Construction of nurses' home and training school of Mercy Hospital begun.
10.  About $15,000 worth of confiscated slot machines destroyed at the court house.
11.  Col. Robert M. VAIL of Kingston chosen commander of the American Legion of Pennsylvania.
12.  Double celebration by the Poles of the Wyoming Valley, the 150th anniversary of the coming of Kosciuszko to this country to aid in the Revolutionary War and the same anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; a great mass meeting in the afternoon in Kirby Park attended by about 40,000 people, and a banquet at the Sterling in the evening; among the speakers the Polish Minister to the United States and other persons of national prominence. . . . Capitol theatre crowded at a reception tendered Rev. J. J. CURRAN, pastor of St. Mary's church, Wilkes-Barre, on his return from a tour of Europe; purse of $5,700 presented. . . . Judge JONES sentences seven men and one woman to six months in jail for violating the liquor laws. . . . Judge FULLER sentences five men to from one to three months in jail for having been caught with slot machines in their possession and sentences nineteen others to pay fines of from $50 to $100 with the alternative of going to jail.
14.  Death of Major John T. FLANNERY of Pittston, a veteran of the Spanish-American war and for a number of years political leader in Pittston. . . . Dr. RUGH of Philadelphia operates on nineteen more children gathered by the Crippled Children's Committee for a clinic at the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.
19.  Death of Edwin C. SOLEY of Wilkes-Barre, for many years one of the prominent musicians of the community, long-time organist in Wilkes-Barre churches.
20.  Wyoming Valley branch of the Red Cross and the Community Welfare Federation immediately send $1,000 for the relief of the stricken people in the hurricane zone in Florida. . . . Death of Frank T. MCCORMICK of Wilkes-Barre, prominent lawyer.
23.  Farmers' warehouse and headquarters along the Lehigh Valley tracks near Scott street opens for business. . . . Five thousand people in front of the Record office to hear the megaphoned results of the Tunney-Dempsey championship fight. . . . Bennet Presbyterian church, Luzerne Borough, observes its fiftieth anniversary.
25.  Death of Daniel L. O'NEILL, for many years principal of the East End school. . . . George BRISTOL of Wilkes-Barre completes forty years of service as a tipster, court crier and court officer. . . . Mr. and Mrs. W. F. CANTOR of Freeland observe their fifty-sixth birthday anniversary.
27.  Donald J. SHOVLIN, David BLAUM and Charles GALES of Wilkes-Barre killed and several persons injured in a collision of a Lehigh Valley and a New Jersey Central passenger train at Bethlehem. . . . Mr. and Mrs. G. L. C. FRANTZ of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
29.  L. C. PRATT of LeRaysville, Bradford County, appointed milk inspector for Wilkes-Barre and surrounding municipalities. . . . Rev. L. A. KILPATRICK resigns from the Forty Fort Methodist church to take a pastorate in Buffalo.

October 1926
2.  Final registration day in the cities of Luzerne County shows a surprising decrease over last year for the three registration days, totals for Wilkes-Barre about 5,000 less.
3.  Holy Name societies of the Scranton diocese parade in Wilkes-Barre, and estimated that 32,000 men were in line, the largest demonstration in the history of the diocese. . . . Fire destroys the edifice and hall of the First Christian church at Sweet Valley.
4.  Convention of Holy Name societies of the Scranton diocese in Wilkes-Barre.
5.  Report that 878,755 was the total attendance at the fifty-two playgrounds in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity during the Summer and total expenditures were $43,625. . . . Convention of State Real Estate Association in Wilkes-Barre.
6.  Ferry at Retreat torn loose by the swift current of the river; one woman drowned and fifteen other persons have a narrow escape from drowning, saved by timely rescue and by clinging to the sides of the ferry; three automobiles sunk.
8.  Mr. and Mrs. Milbre B. BONHAM of Forty Fort celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
9.  Death of Dennis O. COUGHLIN of Forty Fort celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Dedication of the new Chester athletic field at Kingston.
10.  Death in Plymouth of Thomas WEST, Sr., founder of the West Knitting Mill, Inc., one of the largest mills of its kind in the country.
11.  Wilkes-Barre's first radio show opens in Irem Temple.
12.  "Babe Ruth," famous base ball player, visits the Wyoming Valley, playing in an exhibition game at Artillery Park.
13.  Announcement made of the appointment of George P. GALLAGHER of West Pittston as general mining superintendent in charge of all active operations of the Lehigh Valley Coal Co.; Karl F. ARBOGAST of Kingston appointed superintendent of the Luzerne division.
15.  About 3,000 gallons of wine, 400 gallons of home-made beer, 20 gallons of alcohol and manufacturing paraphernalia seized in a Plymouth home.
16.  About 2,500 children participate in the annual toy parade in Wilkes-Barre, a spectacular aggregation with floats and children in fantastic costumes. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Thomas D. WILLIAMS of Wilkes-Barre observe their golden wedding anniversary.
18.  Rt. Rev. John G. MURRAY, presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States, delivers an address at Wyoming Seminary, his alma mater. . . . Detectives John T. KILLEEN of Luzerne Borough reports in court that policemen and constables in certain parts of the West Side are doing nothing in the enforcement of prohibition, that "moonshine" liquor is being sold to miners at collieries and that children come to school drunk. . . . Several other cases of hydrophobia among dogs in Wilkes-Barre, and more people bitten, give the appearance of hydrophobia epidemic; City council issues orders that all dogs must be inoculated and all dogs running at large will be killed on sight.
25.  Fifty-eighth annual institute of Luzerne County public school teachers opens in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Great interest stirred up over the question of consolidation in Kingston, Miners Mills, Parsons and Plains township. . . . Two Ashley young men arrested on the charge of attempting to wreck a Lehigh Valley express train to secure money to buy an automobile.
28.  Mr. and Mrs. Thomas ROOD of Luzerne Borough observe their fiftieth wedding anniversary. . . . Dr. E. L. MEYERS of Wilkes-Barre honored by being named a member of the American College of Surgeons. . . . Death of Con FRANK, a well known Wilkes-Barre resident. . . . Death of Edward W. COLE of Ashley, who had been in the employ of the Central railroad for fifty-five years.
29.  Taylor choir wins the chief prize at the annual Moriah Congregational church eisteddfodd in Nanticoke. . . . Fire in the Dougherty Motor Co. garage in Hanover Township destroys forty automobiles. . . . Death of Louis TISCH, for many years a prominent Wilkes-Barre merchant.
30.  Nine men killed by an explosion  in no. 7 colliery of the Susquehanna Coal Co. near Nanticoke. . . . Some extra-ordinary potato yields in Luzerne County, among them 688 bushels by Ray BRIGGS in Nescopeck township, 405 1/2 bushels by C. H. MOORE of Dallas and 425 bushels on the farm of the Luzerne county School at Kis-Lyn.
31.  Bethel Baptist church, Wilkes-Barre re-dedicated after improvements to the edifice.

November 1926
2.  Arthur JAMES of Luzerne County, District Attorney, elected Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. . . . Kingston votes strongly against consolidation  with Wilkes-Barre, but the result in Parsons, Miners Mills and Plains township unknown because of the impounding of ballot boxes and giving them into the custody of the court; a fierce campaign waged for and against in all of the municipalities.
3.  North street bridge opened to traffic after having been repaired and made strong enough for all kinds of traffic. . . . Miners Bank of Wilkes-Barre gives a dinner to its stockholders in Irem Temple and about 800 out of upwards of 1,300 attend. . . . Court appoints Thomas M. LEWIS of Plymouth, assistant District Attorney, as District Attorney to take the place of Arthur H. JAMES, elected Lieutenant Governor.
5.  Rev. Fred Eli LOTT succeeds Rev. L. A. KILPATRICK as pastor of the Forty Fort M. E. church. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Arthur EICKE of Wyoming celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
6.  Major PETTIS, government engineer in charge of the Susquehanna river flood survey in the Wyoming Valley, states that in his opinion the government is not interested in restoring the Susquehanna to navigability or in paying part or all of the cost of flood elimination in this region. . . . Charles S. WHITMAN, president of the American Bar Association, addresses the local Bar on shaping the laws and court methods for more effective dealing with crime. . . . College Silk Throwing Company's plant at Nanticoke destroyed by fire.
7.  Dedication of the flagpole in front of Knights of Columbus home in Wilkes-Barre.
8.  Court decides the disputed points in the counting of the vote of Miners Mills on consolidation and the vote in favor of joining Wilkes-Barre is placed at 584 and the vote against at 568. . . . Judge JONES ousts three members of the Plymouth township school board for refusal or neglect to comply with the law in the performance of their duties.
9.  State convention of Exchange Clubs in Wilkes-Barre. . . . West Side Women's Club begins a movement for a club house. . . . Living Christmas tree planted in front of the Women's Club house in Wilkes-Barre in honor of Mrs. Allan H. DICKSON in appreciation of her generosity towards the club.
11.  Edwardsville chorus takes the $150 prize in the Armistice Day eisteddfod under the auspices of the Men's Club of the First Welsh Presbyterian church of Wilkes-Barre. . . . Mr. and Mrs. William D. SNYDER of Huntington Mills c[sic]lebrate their golden wedding anniversary. . . . Cornerstone of the Episcopal church at Nuangola station, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, laid.
12.  Federal court padlocks six places in Wilkes-Barre and one in Ashley for violating the liquor law.
13.  Judge Coughlin decides a twenty year old case by refusing a motion to take off a compulsory non-suit in an ejectment proceeding of W. P. BOLAND against the Wilkes-Barre & Scranton Coal and Iron Iron Co. . . . Death of Rt. Rev. Michael J. HOBAN, Bishop of the Scranton Diocese of the Roman Catholic church.
14.  Rev. James S. FAGAN of Hazleton appointed temporary spiritual director of the Scranton Diocese, and Rev. Paul A. KELLY of Scranton to take charge of the business affairs.
16.  281 aliens, representing many nationalities, admitted to citizenship in the local court in a three days session. . . . Rainfall of 2.07 inches in one day causes widespread damage in the region, creeks overflowing and the river rises to flood stage, inundating most of the lowlands, families in the Brookside section of Wilkes-Barre compelled to take refuge in a school house. . . . Children of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. ATHERTON give to the city a tract of land of 320 feet frontage on West River street, affording a continuation of the river common southward toward Riverside Drive; the land given in memory of Mr. and Mrs. ATHERTON; it has been in use as part of the river common park. . . . Six men entombed by water breaking into the Tomhicken colliery of the Lehigh Valley Coal Co. in Sugarloaf Valley. . . . River rises to a height of 22.7 feet at Wilkes-Barre; washouts and slides cripple steam railroads.
20.  Local railroads still engaged in repairing washouts and landslides caused by the heavy rain on the 16th.
22.  Mrs. Mary VISATO, mother of Jennie VISATO who was found murdered in a field at Pittston, drops dead after viewing the body of her daughter.
23.  District Attorney Thomas M. LEWIS appoints Herman GOLDBERG of Wilkes-Barre and Roscoe B. SMITH of Kingston to fill vacancies on his staff of assistants. . . . Death of Mrs. Isaac REESE of Wilkes-Barre, 92 years, who for many years conducted Reese's Bazaar.
24.  Five of the six men entombed in the Tomhicken colliery of the Lehigh Valley Coal Co., in the Hazleton region on November 16, when a creek broke into the mine, rescued after having been without food and in complete darkness for eight days; the sixth man supposed to have been drowned in the rush; exceptional acts of heroism in leading the men to a place of safety and in the rescue work.
25.  Sudden death of Judge John M. GARMAN, who was serving his second term on the Bench of Luzerne County, aged 74 years.
27.  Plains State Bank opened for business. . . . Band concert and general celebration on South Washington street, Wilkes-Barre, to celebrate the widening of the street and otherwise improving it. . . .Concordia society participates in the associated glee clubs concert at the Sesqui-centennial in Philadelphia, the clubs representing eight States and Canada and mustering 2,500 voices.
28.  Dedication of the new edifice of St. Luke's Reformed congregation, Wilkes-Barre, Rev. H. A. SHIFFER, pastor. . . . Damage estimated at $1,000,000 done by fire in the Matheson plant at Forty Fort, including the Matheson repair shop, the Belmont Silk Mill Company's establishment, a branch of the Exeter Machine Works and the White Motor Company agency, under one roof; over two hundred automobiles destroyed.
30.  Governor PINCHOT names seven new men as mine inspectors in the anthracite region. . . . Three women drawn on the Grand Jury for January, the first time for this kind of jury; the names of 200 women and 2,300 men have been placed in the jury wheel for 1927.

Typed by Dawn Gabriel,  March 2003