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	WILKES-BARRE RECORD ALMANAC
Record of Local Events.
Principal Happenings in Luzerne County for the Year Beginning December 1927, and Ending November 30, 1928.
DECEMBER, 1927
1. Luzerne County has turned over more than a quarter million dollars for hunting, fishing, dog and mercantile licenses for the past year; 8,600 mer­cantile licenses, 21,744 hunting licenses, 10,866 fishing licenses, and 26,310 dog licenses... .More than $1,200,000 to be distributed by banks in the Wyoming Valley to Christmas savings fund de­positors.
2. River again rising to unusual height owing to heavy rains.
4. Sleet and snow storm all day, giving the county its first real touch of Winter.... United States Senator Henry F. Ashurst  the orator at the annual memorial exercises of the Wilkes-Barre lodge of Elks.
5. B. H. McKeehan of Wyoming and D. F. Mulligan of Wilkes-Barre sen­tenced to from eighteen months to three years on conviction for their con­nection with the fifty bonds issued by Bridgeport, Conn., the bonds having been stolen from a New York City bank and pledged as security in local banks for loans which were used for campaign purposes; warrants issued for the two men, together with a Wilkes-Barre attorney, in connection with other bonds alleged to have been Stolen... .Personal  evangelism  cam­paign being conducted by a number of local churches, workers making a house to house canvass to find out how many members of churches there are in the household and inviting those who are not members to join..... Five Duryea school directors called by Judge Fuller to appear in court and show cause why they should not be removed from office, charges of gross irregularities having been made against them by a number of citizens.
6. Irem Temple crowded to hear the first concert by the Wilkes-Barre Sym­phony Orchestra, newly organized, under the direction of Pompilio Forlano.... Insulated wire branch of the
Hazard Works sold to Okonite-Callender Cable Co. of New York....Jud Fuller makes some pointed comment on election practices and election law and suggests a number of changes.
7.  Announcement made that the children of the late Richard and Sal Sharpe have given $110,000 to the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for the new building and equipment, two floors
of the now building for surgical use to be known as a memorial to Richard and Sally P. Sharpe.... 16,753 students attending the Wilkes-Barre public schools, 2,374 in the high school.... Young Men's Christian Association building campaign goes over the top i the time allotted for the campaign $800,215 raised in an enthusiastic canvass.
8. Court overrules objections raised by the Hanover township Commissioners and orders them to execute a contract with the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company for working the roads... .Members  of the  Sheldon Choral Society and other friends of: George M. Wall, county treasurer-elect tender him a dinner in Hotel Sterling ... Cold wave strikes the Wyoming Valley, temperature twelve degrees above zero in Wilkes-Barre.
9.  Budget submitted to Congress contains provision for enlargement of the Wilkes-Barre post office, the recom­mended appropriation amounting to $395,000.
12. Mrs. Hannah Jane Baird Gray of Shavertown observes her one hun­dredth birthday anniversary with her family and many friends.... Wilkes-Barre Council of the Knights of Colum­bus acts as host to about thirty mem­bers of the Catholic clergy to discuss the erection of a Catholic community center in Wilkes-Barre.
13. The committee of twenty-one, outgrowth of the anthracite boosting conference at Mount Carmel, organizes permanently. Dr. W. B. Buckley, president of the Mount Carmel Chamber of Commerce, elected president.
14.  Wilkes-Barre property assess­ment for 1928 is $105,250,000, including the annexed portions Miners Mills and Parsons... .At a dinner meeting of the Wyoming Valley Airport Association in Hotel Redington it was decided to locate Wilkes-Barre's municipal air­port at Exeter field owned by the Lehigh Valley Coal Co., if satisfactory terms with the company can be made. ...West Pittston Presbyterian church observes its fiftieth anniversary.
15. Postmaster William E. Mannear chosen to conduct the next Community Welfare Federation campaign.. . .Death of Douglas Bunting, vice president of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co.... More than 400 Slovaks of Luzerne County give a testimonial dinner in Hotel Sterling for Judge-elect John V. Kosek.... Union church at Conyngham, near Hazleton, destroyed by fire, one of the oldest churches in the county, the original church built about a cen­tury ago and a new one on the site in 1874.
16. Prof. Wesley A. Kuhn retires after forty-five years of service in the faculty of Wyoming Seminary.... Monsignor Thomas O'Reilly, D. D., LL. D., pastor of St. John the Evangelist Cathedral of Cleveland, Ohio, ap­pointed Bishop of the Scranton Dio­cese.... Mr. and Mrs. George H. Weismer of Wilkes-Barre observe their golden wedding anniversary.
19. Governor Fisher appoints Mrs. Fannie Sax Long of Wilkes-Barre a member of the State penal commission. .. .Mr. and Mrs. Search Womelsdorf of West Nanticoke observe their golden wedding anniversary.. .. Court dissolves the Catholic Gymnasium Association, chartered in 1905 for the purpose of erecting a Catholic recreation center in Wilkes-Barre; the money on hand ordered paid to the Sisters of Mercy, $63,654.... Mayor Daniel L. Hart the guest of honor at a dinner at Hotel Redington given by the Newtown Bridge Club and attended by many well known citizens.
20. South half of the new Market street bridge opened for traffic, Nor­man Johnstone, secretary of the Wyo­ming Valley Motor Club, being the first to cross in an automobile; work begun on the other half of the bridge.
21. Anna Zugilich and Lillian and Pauline Kruk of Duryea, sisters and stepsister, burned to death in their home, their ages 16, 8 and 5 years.
22.  Unique party given at Hotel Sterling in honor of Fred. M. Kirby, Wilkes-Barre's most prominent philan­thropist; Mr. Kirby and family sum­moned to appear at. the hotel to meet the originators of the party, but the other invited guests are not present;
after the dinner the names of promi­nent local people and people from else­where are called and a testimonial from each one is read while the reader stands at the vacant chair; the letters assembled in a book and presented to Mr. Kirby; among the letters arc some from President Coolidge, Governor Fisher of Pennsylvania, Governor Smith of New York and men prominent in the business world... .Employees of the Empire Silk Co. at Lee Park dedi­cate a new and furnished club house presented by the company.... Common­wealth Telephone Co., which operates in Luzerne and adjoining counties, passes into the control of Senator An­drew Sordoni... .Christmas Eve com­munity celebrations in many Wyoming Valley towns.
25. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Dare of Courtdale celebrate their golden wed­ding anniversary..... Mr. and Mrs. Jacob W. Fine of Nanticoke, parents of Judge John S. Fine, celebrate their golden wedding anniversary..... Crisp and cold Christmas weather.
26. Sixty-three Boy Scouts go into Winter camp at Camp Acahela in the Pocono mountains... .Census estimates of population as of July, 1927, gave Wilkes-Barre 93,900, a gain of 20,067 over tlie 1920 census; this includes the annexed territory of Parsons and Miners Mills... .Annual ball of the Women's Club in Irem Temple a notable social success.... Penn Tobacco Co. purchases the George W. Green Co. of Keading, in addition to the recent purchase of a Utica plant, intending to transfer the two concerns to Wilkes-Barre.
28.   Wilkes-Barre Council decides upon an increase of one mill in the tax levy, making it fourteen mills.
29. Penn Tobacco Co. acquires a third plant in a short time, that of Shields & Sons of Albany, N. Y..... National Peanut Corporation of Wilkes-Barre, with a capital of $250,000, se­cures a charter.... Many skaters enjoy the sport at Kirby Park.
30. December one of the wettest months in the history of the local weather bureau, precipitation four inches.... 172 fatal accidents in Lu­zerne County during 1927, not includ­ing those in and about the mines, twenty more automobile fatalities than in 1926... Six of the convicted members of the former Hanover township school board, together with the contractor and the architect, begin their terms of from one to two years in the county jail, the seventh director awaiting recovery from automobile injuries before begin­ning his term.
31. Year's business in the Wilkes-Barre post office goes over $600,000 and the city moves into the second class in the postal rating.... The three County Commissioners have difficulty in ap­portioning the jobs in their office..... Another decision by Judge Fuller in the coal assessment cases; in the Ashley borough case he disposes of the appeal by sustaining his former de­cision reducing the valuation forty-six per cent. and also orders another re­duction to make the coal valuation con­form to the difference between assessed valuation and market value on surface property, on the basis of sixty per cent. of the market value; the total read­justment now amounting to $1,446,243 compared with a value of $4,448,918 originally fixed by the Assessors.
JANUARY
1. Cold New Year weather as the result of a cold wave from the West, thermometer twelve degrees above zero in Wilkes-Barre..... New Methodist church at East Dallas dedicated by Bishop Berry; Rev. Judson N. Bailey, pastor.
2. More than twice as many births as deaths in Wilkes-Barre during 1927, -1,451 deaths and 3,011 births..... Judge Henry A. Fuller terminates his service of twenty years on the Bench of Luzerne County but it is expected that he will serve at times, under the
State retirement act, on invitation of the court; Judges Clarence D. Coughlln and John S. Fine who were elected in November, and John V. Kosek, the only new member on the Bench, also elected in  November, sworn in..... Newly elected county officials assume their duties in the court house-District At­torney Thomas M. Lewis, elected after having served by appointment; George M. Wall, County Treasurer; George E. Gwilliam, Recorder of Deeds, re-elected ; Stanley M. Yetter, Register of Wills, re-elected; Leslie J. Harrison, David M. Rosser and P. J. Conway as County Commissioners, Mr. Rosser re-elected ; Luther Kniffen, Coroner, and Charles Miles (re-elected) County Sur­veyor ; Mr. Harrison elected president of the board of County Commissioners. ... In Wilkes-Barre the newly elected City Commissioners take their seats- Charles Maurer, re-elected, and James F. Mundy, elected in place of James Gibbon; Frank P. Kelly becomes City Treasurer and Fred. M. Kirkendall Controller... .About two hundred vet­eran firemen of Luzerne County, to­gether with wives and friends, attend a dinner in Hotel Sterling... .Annual mock trial of the Wilkos-Barre Y. M. C. A. fills the Coughlin High School auditorium and many persons turned away; John Galvin, the well known theatrical  manager,  charged with breach of promise by Margaret Scureman.... Fire destroys one of the oldest landmarks in the valley, the Mary Butler homestead in Kingston, 151 years old, the original part of the structure built by Lord Butler, first Sheriff of Luzerne County.... Acting on the appeal of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. from the assessment of its coal land in Wilkes-Barre, Judge Fuller reduces the actual value from $19,508,609, as fixed by the Assessors, to $9,485,000; this, together with the application of the ratio of sixty per cent. of the market value, brings the valuation down to $5,691,000; the Judge reaches his decision by the same method as in the Ashley case.... Hoyt Library in Kingston opened to the public for the first time, dedicatory program in charge of E. M. Rosser, president of the library board.... New high school in Swoyerville dedicated.
3. Judge John V. Kosek performs his first ofiicial duty by presiding over a session of Naturalization Court..... Dr. Leo C. Mundy appointed City phy­sician and Oscar S. Tischler milk in­spector.
4. Bank clearings for institutions associated  with  the  Wilkes-Barre Clearing House amounted to $212,591,-319 in 1927, an increase of 10.8 pel-cent. over 1926.. . .David IIopkins of Nanticoke re-appointed mercantile ap­praiser for Luzerne County for 1928.
7. Mr. and Mrs. John Kubera of Newport Centre observe their golden wedding anniversary... .Death of John J. Kelly of Uaxleton, for more than thirty years a member of the Luzerne County Bar.
8. Pennsylvania Federation of Temple Sisterhoods meet in Wilkes-Barre.
9. Many of the municipalities and school districts in the county on the verge of bankruptcy, unable to pay their bills, owing to the coal companies paying their taxes on the basis of Judge Fuller's decision reducing the valuation: a move on foot to compel the companies to pay according to the original assessment, pending disposi­tion of the appeal to the Supreme Court.... State bureau reports eighteen more fatal accidents in the anthracite mining industry in 1927 than in 1926 -502 fatalities in 1927.... Death of Charles R. Clift, one of Wilkes-Barre's most outstanding citizens, a willing worker in many civic enterprises and a generous contributor to all worthy causes.
10. City Commissioners and a com­mittee of physicians and citizens hear of plans made by F. M. Kirby to estab­lish a health center in Wilkes-Barre in memory of his mother, the building to house all health activities.... Frank S. Mitten, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, ap­pointed superintendent of the Mahanoy and Hazleton division of the Lehigh Valley railroad.. . .Sir Wilfred T. Grenfell, for many years a medical mission­ary in Labrador, lectures in the First Presbyterian church.
12. Death of William B. llobinson, a well know insurance man of Wilkes-Barre.. . .Judge Fine signs an order for argument to determine whether the coal assessment cases decided should be reopened, and also for re-argument on exceptions to Judge Fuller's de­cision... .State Armory Board makes an appropriation of $350,000 for an ad­dition to the local 109th Field Artillery armory, subject to a contribution of $175,000 by the County Commissioners.
13. Joseph Miorelli of Hazleton, ad­judged guilty of murder in the first degree, sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Fine.... During a thunder shower lightning strikes the Christian church in Plymouth and a house in Wilkes-Barre.... .Building permits to the value of $4,127,391 taken out in Wilkes-Barre in 1927... .Wilkes-Barre Visiting Nurse Association makes more than 18,000 visits in 1927, treating a total of 2,882 patients.
15. Mr. and Mrs. James B. Leonard of Wilkes-Barre observe their golden wedding anniversary.
17. One member of the Nanticoke Council shifts to another faction and as a result fifty employees are replaced liy other appointees... .Death of Harry L. French, well known Wilkes-Barre architect.
18.   Testimonial dinner given at Hotel Sterling to Mrs. John D. Daven­port of Wilkes-Barre by the committee of 100 Republican women in apprecia­tion of her public services.. . .Edward Griffith of Kingston appointed general manager of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. to succeed Douglas Bunting, deceased; Charles E. Ash made vice president and secretary of the company and C. H. Bonham treasurer.
19. Luzerne County School for Boys at Kis-Lyn has 251 boys; the cost per boy in 1927, $374.23', not counting capital investment, the lowest cost for any similar public institutoin among many investigated... .Dr. W. F. Davison of Kingston elected president of the Pennsylvania Association of Dairy and Milk Inspectors... .Death of Miss Charlotte L. Blackmail, a member of the faculty of Wyoming Seminary for forty-three years.... Mrs. Elizabeth Andreas of Wilkes-Barre dies at the age of 95 years.
20. Clarence D. Chamberlin, noted aviator, who flew across the Atlantic from New York to Germany, lectures in Wilkes-Barre under the auspices of the Historical Society and speaks at a  meeting to promote the location of an airport in Wilkes-Barre... .About one hundred Welshmen of Wyoming Valley lay plans for the formation of a local branch of the National Eisteddfod As­sociation of America.
21.  Luzerne Connty motorists in 1927 paid $895,395 into the State motor license fund, derived from 180,541 registrations of various types... .Death of Frank J. Dougher, a well known insurance man of Wilkes-Barre.
22. Fiftieth anniversary of the Ply­mouth church of Plymouth and re-dedication of the auditorium.
23.   Reports indicate that every twelfth baby born alive in Wilkes-Barre dies before reaching the age of one year, a slightly higher mortality than the average for the country... .By a decision of the Supreme Court tax­payers in cities cannot be allowed a rebate for the prompt payment of county taxes, although that concession may be made to boroughs and town­ships.
24. Tax collectors decide to send notices to the coal companies that have withheld forty-five per cent. of their tax payments, in accordance with the court's reduction of assessments, to pay the full amount pending final dis­position of the cases on appeal; if the amount in full is not paid the tax col­lectors threaten to levy on company property.... A decrease of 162 in the number of farms of three acres or more in Luzerne County for 1927, com­pared with 1924, according to reports filed with the County Assessors; 2,521 such farms in 1927.... Harvesting of Ice about ten inches thick.
27. Mr. and Mrs. William F. Schott of Wilkes-Barre observe their golden wedding anniversary..... Pittston the scene of another dynamiting outrage, the twelfth to be perpetrated in upper Luzerne and lower Lackawanna coun­ties in sixteen months... .Pittston loses Battery B of the 109th Field Artillery owing to lack of interest and the bat­tery transferred to Tunkhannock..... Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Rood of Kings­ton fifty years married.
28.  First heavy snowfall of the season, about four inches in Wilkes-Barre, thermometer near zero.
30.   Five degrees above zero . in Wilkes-Barre.
 31.  Death of Hugh Jennings of Scranton, for many years a resident of Luzerne County and nationally famous in base ball circles as a player and manager.... Dinner given in honor of John H. Dando of Wilkes-Barre, for­mer Solicitor for the County Commis­sioners, by a number of his friends.
FEBRUARY
1. Several coal companies agree with tax collectors to advance sufficient money to municipalities to meet urgent expenditures, pending final disposition of the assessment case in court, the municipalities agreeing to refund ex­cess amounts paid if the courts decide that overpayments have been made.... Death of Major John A. Opp of Ply­mouth, prominent citizen and veteran of the Civil War.....J. B. Potter assumes his new duties as general manager of the local traction company.
2. The groundhog sees his shadow.
4. Mr. and Mrs. Obediah Hemstreet of Wilkes-Barre oberve their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
5. Jury in the second trial of the Hanover township school directors, this time on a different charge of con­spiracy, together with a contracting firm, is discharged after failure to agree.... Rev. Joseph Murgas, rector of Sacred Heart Slovak church in Wilkes-Barre, awarded a medal for distinguished service in the organization of the Czech-Slovak republic ten years ago.
6. Glen AIden Coal Co. experiment­ing in dyeing its coal blue so as to distinguish it from other anthracite for sales purposes.
7. Osterhout Library reports a cir­culation of 343,264 books for the year 1927, an increase of 10,291 over the previous year, an increase of more than ninety-five per cent. in ten years.
9. Brilliant testimonial dinner given in Irem Temple in honor of Judge John V. Kosek by members of the Citizens' League and civic and labor organiza­tions... .Death of Dr. Walter A. Lathrop, for thirty years superintendent and surgeon-in-chief of the State Hos­pital in Hazleton.... William J. Ruff elected president of the Wilkes-Barre Y. M. C. A. in place of Charles E. Clift, deceased.
10. Another delegation of veterans of Conyngham Post, G. A. R., appears before  the  County  Commissioners urging the erection of a soldiers' monu­ment on Public Square, eight of the surviving twenty-eight members in the group.... Verdict of not guilty returned in the case of E. H. McMeehan and D. F. Mulligan in the second trial on the charge of handling stolen bonds which were used in the 1927 political cam­paign. ... Jury in the case of the elec­tion officers of the Seventh ward of Plains, charged with making a false return in 1927, disagrees.
13. Death of Attorney Harry H. Davenport of Wilkes-Barre.
14. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Scott of Parsons observe their fiftieth wedding anniversary.. . .County Commissioners add two mills to the county tax levy for 1927, making it eight and nine-tenths mills, the increase justified mainly on the ground that the State has offered approximately one million dollars for road improvements on the fifty-fifty payment plan and the county should take advantage of the oppor­tunity.. . .Best skating in years at Har­vey's Lake... .State approval given for a charter for the Home Builders' Mutual Building and Loan Association of Kingston, with a capital stock of $10,000,000.
16.   Consecration  of Monsignor Thomas C. O'Reilly in Cleveland, Ohio, as Bishop, he to become Bishop of the Scranton Diocese. .-Local Veterans of the Spanish-American war commemo­rate the thirtieth anniversary of the sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana harbor.. . .Two murders in one day, Frank Agathy, an organizer for the United Mine Workers, shot in his office in the Miners Bank building, and a Wyoming miner found in the street with his throat slashed.
19. Laurel Run Primitive Methodist church ends a week of dedicatory ser­vices.
20. Col. Dorrance Reynolds gives $25,000 to the Historical Society, in memory of his father, Sheldon Rey­nolds, for the publication of maps, records, and other papers pertaining to the early history of the Wyoming •Valley... .Death of Mrs. Hannah Gray of Shavertown at the age of 100 years.
21.  Local court orders that here­after Grand Juries shall lie subject to call for duty in interims from one Grand Jury to another, to deal with extraordinary cases of crime.
22. Mr. and Mrs. John A. Lewis of Edwards ville observe their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary... .Dedication of Community Grange hall at Blooming-dale.
23. Death of Harry F. Stern, senior member of the Isaac Long Store and prominent citizen.
24. Public Service Commission ap­proves the merger of the Spring Brook Water Supply Co., Hyde Park Gas Co., Consolidated Water Supply, Scranton Gas & Water Co., and the Olyphant Water Co.
25. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh R. Jones of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.... Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Davis of Sugar Notch cele­brate their golden wedding anniver­sary.... First National Bank of Nanticoke accumulates a surplus equal to eight times its capital, equaled by only three other banks in Pennsylvania and by only six in the country.
26. Death of S. J. Whiteman, for many years a prominent business man in Wilkes-Barre.
27.   Wilkes-Barre Symphony Or­chestra, led by Pompilio Forlano, gives its second concert and again fills Irem Temple.
28. Executive board of the Anthra­cite Co-operative Association advocates repeal of the State tax on anthracite as a concession to outside consumers. . .. Two more murders in the mine fued in the Pittston region, in which fac­tions in one of the union locals are arrayed against each other, the mur­ders, attempts at murder and dynamit-ings creating a reign of terror; Mayor Gillespie appeals to the factions, the United Mine Workers officials and the heads of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. to get together and settle the difficulty. ... Death of Percy C. McLean, well known insurance man.
29.   Sheriff MacLuskie asks that more State Police be sent to the Pitts­ton region to cope with the reign of terror there, due to the factional mine murders.


MARCH

1. Additional members of the State Police arrive in Pittston to assist the authorities in anticipation of further trouble in the mine faction fight..... Announcement of plans for making Hotel Redington an eleven story build­ing and for building an eleven story addition... .Death of Mrs. Barbara Hehn of Wilkes-Barre at the age of 93 years.
3. Mayor Gillespie of Pittston takes steps to prevent mass meetings by radicals in the Pittston district owing to the mine trouble.
5.   Sisterhood No. 20, Dames of Malta, celebrates its twenty-fifth anni­versary with a dinner.
6. Luzerne County loses nearly $1,000,000 in valuation for tax purposes owing to a State law which exempts cattle, horses and mules from taxa­tion ; Luzerne has about 15,300 head of such animals.
7. Community Welfare Federation directors set the goal tor this year's campaign at $545,401, an increase of $40,000 over last year... .Jonah Evans of Wilkes-Barre, 77 years, dies from heart disease after viewing the body of his wife a few minutes before the funeral services.
8. Bishop Thomas C. O'Reilly in­stalled as Bishop of the Scranton Dio­cese in the cathedral at Scranton with the elaborate ceremonial of the Cath­olic church, many thousands of people attend the services and the reception.
9. Heavy snow fall.
10. Death of J. Grant Long, Chief of Police of Wilkes-Barre during the Kniffen Administration.. .James Leiner of Wilkes-Barre, 77 years, dies on the day his wife is buried.
14. Pittston Council passes an ordi­nance providing for a fine of $100 and thirty days in jail for carrying a con­cealed weapon unless authorized, as a means of checking the crime wave in that region.
15. Conciliation Board takes up the dispute that is alleged to be the cause of the disorder and murders in the Pittston region by ordering that No. 6 colliery of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. shall be opened for work and the min­ers shall return to work for thirty working days and in the meantime effort shall be made to settle the greivances... .An unusually large number foxes being killed in Luzerne county and occasionally a wildcat.
16.   Welfare Federation campaign opened with a dinner at Hotel Sterling attended by over 600 workers.... Tax collectors and coal companies come a final agreement that the latter shall pay twenty-two and one-half per cei of their taxes held back, to relieve to financial stringency in the municipal ties, the money to be returned in the event that the higher court upholds the:reduced coal assessment, and in the meantime an amicable action in cou shall be taken to determine wheth the coal companies are responsible fi the payment of all of the tax pendii a decision on the assessment appeal.
17. Umpire Charles P. Neil of the Anthracite Conciliation Board decided in the now famous dispute at No. colliery of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. which has caused a "reign of terror" in the Pittston region, that contract mining is not a violation of the agreement between the operators and miners; a meeting of forty-six locals of District No. 1 calls upon the officers of the district to summon a convention for the discussion of grievances; the meeting votes against the contract system; local union of No. 6 collier rejects the recommendation that th colliery be opened for 30 working day while an attempt to settle grievance was being made.... Snow fall of several
inches   in   Wilkes-Barre.... Height Mixed   Chorus,   Norman  Roderick, leader, wins the chief prize at the annual Cynonfardd Literary Society eisteddfod in Edwardsville.. . .Commander Richard E. Byrd, first to reach th North Pole in an airplane and second aviator to cross the Atlantic in an air plane, organizer of an elaborate expedition to go to the South Pole and explore the Antartic continent, lecture. in the Coughlin High School auditorium under the auspices of Black Diamond Post, American Legion.
19. Beginning of the Community Welfare Federation campaign to raising $545,401 for the twenty-nine agencies William Mannear campaign manager ... Alexander's Band plays to two audiences of 2,500 people, one in the G. A. R. High School auditorium and one in Irem Temple.... Walnut lodge of Odd Fellows of Luzerne Borough observes its fiftieth anniversary with a dinner in the Methodist church.
26. Opening of Lazarus Bros. new department store on South Main street and West Northampton street, moving from the old quarters on South Main. .... Community Welfare Federation campaign comes to a close with about $503,000 raised, about $50,000 more than last year but short of the goal of $545,401.... 109th Field Artillery band gives two concerts to crowded houses in Irem Temple.... Springlike weather and the river rises but not to flood pro­portion.
29. Edward Foulkes of Wilkes-Barre and Daniel R. Thomas of Plains, as­sistant foremen at the Prospect col­liery, asphyxiated by gas while on an inspection tour.... Wilkes-Barre branch of Pennsylvania State College gradu­ates twenty young men in the engin­eering department.
30. Jasper 0. Gritman of Wilkes-Barre completes fifty-three years of service with the D. & H. railroad, forty years as an engineer.
APRIL
1. Formal opening of the- Liberty State Bank and Trust Company's new building on North Main street..... Curtis G. Harrower, one of the Wyo­ming Valley's most prominent mu­sicians, killed by falling down an elevator shaft.
3. Death of Dr. P. J. Higgins, the oldest physician in point of practice in the Wyoming Valley, noted also for his scholastic attainments... .Rev. Enoch Hughes of Scranton accepts a call to the pastorate of the Edwards Memorial church in Edwardsville, the most im­portant Welsh church in the United States, for many years presided over by Kev. Dr. T. C. Edwards.
5. Latest figures show that Wilkes-Barre has 61.26 miles of paved streets and 147.12 miles of sewers, and an assessed valuation of $112,175,207, in­cluding the annexed Parsons and Min­ers Mills sections.... P. J. Murphy elected president of the Laurel Line to succeed former Governor William O. Sproul, deceased..... Historic  Forty Fort cemetery, in which tombstones date back to Revolutionary times, be­ing enlarged for the first time, four acres of river lowland being reclaimed by filling.
6. Summer weather for a few days.
7. Serious forest fires in some parts of the county put out by rain; several buildings destroyed at Hay's Corners and Irem Temple Country Club build­ings and grounds threatened for a time. .. .About 2,000 children engage in an Easter egg hunt at Fernbrook under the auspices of the Dallas Rotary Club.
8. Clear but cold Easter weather.... Renovated Bethesda Congregational church in Edwardsville re-dedicated.
10. Death of Attorney James B. German, prominent resident of Hazleton.
11. Plant of the Exeter Paper Corp., in the old Forest Castle brewery, de­stroyed by fire..... According to the latest registration there are 168,432 voters in Luzerne County, 121,272 registered as Republican, 46,390 as Democrat, 381 Prohibition and 256 Socialist.
12. Death of John S. Niver, well known lumber dealer of Wilkes-Barre.
14.  Testimonial dinner given in Hotel Sterling by faculty members of the Guthrie school in honor of Cor­nelius F. Harvey, principal of the school, who will retire at the end of the present term after fifty years of service as teacher and educator..... Election officers of the Fifth ward, Second District, Hanover township, found guilty of election fraud on second trial.
16. Judge Kosek admits 109 aliens to citizenship in the local court..... Rev. Fred Lott of Forty Fort appointed superintendent of the Wilkes-Barre district of the M. E. church to succeed Rev. George M. Bell, who was ap­pointed to a pastorate in Johnson City;
Rev. H. C. Buckingham of Meshoppen appointed associate pastor with Rev. Leon K. Willman in the First M. E. church, Wilkes-Barre.... First M. E. church of Wilkes-Barre leads Wyo­ming Conference churches in aggregate of funds given to all Methodist causes during the year, with contributions of $35,504.... Rev. Robert Graham of Ashley elected Moderator of Lacka-wanna Presbytery.
17. Wilkes-Barre Council awards a three-year street cleaning contract to Curnow and Murray for $153,188.
19. Miners of No. 6 colliery of the Pennsylvania Coal Co., in the Pittston region, decide by vote to accept the recommendation of the Conciliation Board that they go to work and remain for thirty working days, and in the meantime effort shall be made to ad­just grievances; this is the strike that has resulted in four murders and a reign of terror in that region.... An unusually severe wind storm in Wyo­ming Valley does much damage, in blowing down poles and wires and tearing off several roofs.. .. Wilkes-Barre district Mining Institute gradu­ates ten students of mining.
20. Death of R. V. Norris of Wilkes-Barre, eminent mining engineer and prominent citizen.... Heights Council 861, Jr. O. U. A. M., celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary with a dinner at Hotel Redington,.. .Jascha Heifetz, violinist, in Irem Temple.
21. Soldiers and sailors who took part in the war with Spain assemble in Wilkes-Barre to observe the thirtieth anniversary of the declaration of war.
22. Dedication of Boulevard Primi­tive Methodist church on the Bear Creek boulevard.
23.   Thirty-one dams in Luzerne County scheduled for inspection by engineers of the Water and Power Re­sources Board, with a view to noting defects if any exist.... Many business and professional men attend a dinner sponsored by the Kingston Business Men's Association in honor of Rev. Dr. L. L. Sprague, for sixty-two years a teacher at Wyoming Seminary and for forty-six years president.... Cost of re­moving the Central Railroad tracks from the storage siding between Aca­demy and Wood streets estimated at $80,000; of the total $32.500 to be paid the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co., owner of the land, and $47,000 to the Central to cover the cost of re-locating its tracks; the proposal is that the city pay half the cost and the property owners half.... Coal valuation battle renewed in the local court, the Judges
en banc hearing the appeal of the Glen Alden Coal Co. from the valuation of its coal property in Newport township for the year 1925.
24. Third concert of the season by the Wilkes-Barre Symphony Orchestra attended by another large audience.... Small vote in the primaries; eleven ballot boxes impounded on suspicion of fraud... .Women's Missionary So­ciety of Lackawanna Presbytery ob­serves its fiftieth anniversary.... . Mr. and Mrs. James Morton of Avoca observe their golden wedding anni­versary.
27.   Long spell of disagreeable weather, with rain, snow, sleet and slush for a few days.... Another mild sensation in Hanover township, two of the new board of school directors charged with taking money for the election of a principal and ouster pro­ceedings instituted, but the directors claim that politics is at the bottom of the move... .Official counts shows that Henry W. Merritt of Plains secured the nomination as the Republican candi­date for Congress in tlie primaries over John J. Casey, who secured the Demo­cratic nomination.
28. A. J. Llewellyn of Plymouth elected president of the Lnzerne County Gas & Electric Co.... Heavy snow in the mountain section of the county and snow and rain in the valleys; snow in some places over a foot deep; State highway department has its snow scrapers out and automobiles contend with drifts several feet deep on country roads.
30. Election officers of the Breslau district of Hanover township sentenced by Judge Jones to pay a fine of $500 and serve from six months to two years in jail for election fraud in November, 1927... .Sensation in the court house by the forma f ion of a new combination between County Commissioners Rosser and Harrison and demands for the resignation of the superintendent of roads and bridges, the head of the transcribing department, the sealer of weights and measures and a clerk in the roads and bridges department on the ground of "lack of efficiency"; rumors that many more changes are to be made.... Fire at the plant of the South Side Lumber Co. does damage  to the extent of about $75,000.... Concordia concert with Miss Elsie Koons, Herbert Lloyd, and Joseph Boyd as soloists.... Men at No. 6 colliery in the Pittston region return to work pending efforts to adjust grievances.
MAY
1. Owing to rains and melting snow the river reaches a height of twenty-two feet.
3. Alden Coal Co. gives notice to tenants of its ninety-six houses in the Nanticoke region that they must either buy the houses or move out, as the company intends disposing of its prop­erty of that kind.... F. M. Kirby of Wilkes-Barre   gives   approximately $200,000 to Lafayette College for the construction of a building to house the department of civil rights, which he founded.
4. William Starr Myers of Prince-ton lectures at Wyoming Seminary in the Kirby civic rights course.. . . Sud­den hot weather, thermometer eighty-nine degrees in Wilkes-Barre.
5.  Thermometer ninety-three de­grees.
6. Cornerstone for the Shavertown M. E. church laid.
7. Estimated that there are 4,000 cases of influenza in Wilkes-Barre, though the type is not severe..... Wilkes-Barre School Board adopts a resolution forbidding the playing of cards on school property, the resolu­tion aimed at social affairs held in some of the buildings.,. .Congressman Casey introduces a bill calling for a federal appropriation of $25,000 for aid in erecting a new monument in Wyo­ming to commemorate the battle and massacre.. . . .County   Commissioners make appointments in place of em­ployees dismissed, the new men being Enoch Thomas of Warrior Run as sup­erintendent of roads and bridges, Frank Rice of Duryea as clerk in the roads and bridges department, Moses Ellowitch of Wilkes-Barre as sealer of weights and measures and Stanley L. Robinson of Wyoming as chief clerk in the transcribing department.
8. Collision between two cars on the Wilkes-Barre and. Hazleton railway, one engineman killed and a number of passengers Injured.
9. Hoyt school orchestra wins the annual competition for grade school orchestras and is awarded the Kiwanis banner.
10. Elimination of the railroad grade crossing at Mocanaqua decided upon, the project to cost $134,856.
11. Rev. Eugene P. Caufield, super­intendent of St. Michael's Industrial School tor Boys, named by Bishop O'Reilly to the newly created position of diocesan director of public charities. ...Congressman John J. Casey of Wilkes-Barre elected president of the State Federation of Labor.
15. Wilkes-Barre post of the Ameri­can Legion initiate a class of 108 candi­dates, the post now standing highest in the State in a contest tor a silver cup.
16. West Side Women's Club gives $7,500 as a gift to the American Legion building fund on condition that club quarters shall be provided in the new building.
17.  County Commissioners Rosser and Harrison dismiss nineteen more county employees in the political up­heaval. ... Twenty-three nurses gradu­ated from the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital... .John A. Riley of Sugar Notch at the head of the list of candi­dates who rsiii in the April primaries for delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Convention.
IS.  C. J. Kirschner of Hazleton elected president of the State Bankers' Association... .Thomas V. Tinsley of St. Mary's High School, Wilkes-Barre, winner of the first prize in the first annual oratorical contest by six Cath­olic high schools in the Wyoming Valley.
20. Rev. L. Lindenstruth, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran church, Wilkes-Barre, celebrates the fiftieth anni­versary of his ordination.. . .Dedication of the hospital given to St. John's Catholic church in Pittston by John Kehoe; the dedication presided over by Bishop O'Reilly.. .. The State Topo­graphic and Geologic survey gives the elevation of Harvey's Lake at 1,226 feet above sea level and Ganoga Lake at 2,320 feet.
21. Forty-nine United Mine Workers locals represented in a rump conven­tion of District No. 1 in Scranton,  called to discuss affairs in the district associated with the murders and strike in the Pittston region; the convention declared to be illegal by John L. Lewis and the local officials.... Charles D. Linskill, connected with the Wilkes-Barre Record, the only person living who talked with a person who was in the fort at Forty Fort on the day of the Battle and Massacre at Wyoming, July 3, 1778, the person being Charles Harris of Harris Hill; Mr. Linskili spoke with him in 1854, when Mr. Harris was 86 years of age.
22.  Eucharistic Conference of the Scranton Diocese held in St. Nicholas church, Wilkes-Barre, Bishop O'Reilly preaching the sermon.
23. Word received in Wilkes-Barre that one of the largest air transport companies intends making Wilkes-Barre a stopping place for passenger, express and mail service provided that adequate landing facilities are pro­vided.
24. In memory of their daughter, Dr. and Mrs. Lewis H. Taylor make a gift of $6,100 for furnishing the chil­dren's ward in the new addition to the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital..... Eleven nurses of the Homeopathic Hos­pital graduate... .Water company serv­ing the Wyoming Valley gives notice of an application for an increase in rates.
25. Ten men killed and five injured by an explosion of gas in Conyngham shaft of the Hudson Coal Co. in North Wilkes-Barre.... .Wilkes-Barre  night schools grant diplomas and award certificates of promotion to 385 stu­dents, 53 in the diploma class.
28.  County Commissioners Rosser and Harrison dismiss more than twenty employees appointed by the Harrison and Conway combine and fill a majority of the places with new ap­pointees... .Authorities of a number of municipalities join in the move to fight the proposed increase in water rates, a wave of indignation caused by the an­nouncement of the increase.
29. Hanover township school direc­tors. who are serving time in jail on conviction of conspiracy to defraud in connection with a school contract, ac­quitted on a second charge, together with architect Herr and contractors Williams and Thomas Evans.
30. New edifice of the Polish Na­tional church at Edwardsville dedi­cated... .Joseph P. Jennings, general superintendent of the Pennsylvania Coal Co., resigns... .Part of Newport Avenue, Alden, affected by a mine cave near a school building erected at a cost of $100,000.... Memorial Day ob­servances marred by rain part of the day, chilly weather; a number of the parks opened for the season; only twelve survivors of the Civil War able to participate in the exercises in Hol-lenback cemetery.
31. Wilkes-Barre Council No. 161, Jr. 0. U. A. M., celebrates its fortieth anniversary with a dinner in Hotel Sterling.. .Nine nurses graduated from Nanticoke State Hospital.
				JUNE 
1. Self constituted convention of District No. 1 of the United Mine Workers elects Frank McGarry of Pittston president, George Isaacs of Wilkes-Barre vice president, Walter Harris of Parsons secretary-treasurer, Raymond Delaney of Avoca interna­tional board member; the delegates make a number of demands, including the abolition of the contract mining system; the newly elected officers in­tend challenging the right of the old officers to serve.... Nine nurses gradu­ated from the Pittston hospital..... Death of John Flanagan of Wilkes-Barre, well known citizen and Indus­trial organizer.
3. Luzerne County Ukrainians hold a meeting to protest against Poland's occupation of western Ukraine and a Polish court's decision in sentencing two Ukrainian students to death..... Eight Luzerne County young men or­dained into the Roman Catholic priest­hood, five by Bishop O'Reilly in Scran­ton, Rev. John Maher of Plymouth, Rev. Vincent Jacoblowski of Plymouth, Rev. Aloysius of Maltby, Rev. Stanis­laus Bartkus of Harvey's Lake, Rev. Szeslaus Kolokowski of Nanticoke;
three other Luzerne Connty young men ordained elsewhere than in Scranton, Rev. Louis F. Walter of Wilkes-Barre, Rev. Gerald King of Inkerman and Rev. Urban Koval of Wilkes-Barre.
4. Twenty-two nurses graduate from Mercy Hospital.... County Commissioners name county tax collectors for the four cities in the county, Fred. Goer-inger for Wilkes-Barre, Richard Platt for Nanticoke, William Coplan for Pittston and James Baylis for Hazle-ton.. .. First trip of a Wilkes-Barre-New York City bus service estalilished by the Frank Martz Bus Co.
7. Heavy rains raise the river to seventeen feet, overflowing the low­lands. ... Mr. and Mrs. Jesse A. Briggs of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
8. Eleven graduates at the seventy-fourth commencement of Wilkes-Barre Institute, Prof. Andre Morize of Har­vard the principal speaker.
9. Twenty young people from Luzerne County in the graduating class at State College... . International officers of the United Mine Workers refuse to recognize the officers elected at the rump convention in District No. 1 but the latter insist on exercising author­ity. .... Rev.  Llewellyn  Thomas of Kingston elected Moderator of the Welsh Presbyterian Synod of north­eastern Pennsylvania.
11. At a meeting of representatives of the municipalities and various or­ganizations in the territory served by the local water company it is decided to wage a vigorous fight against the prposcd increase in rates, an executive committee appointed to take charge of the proceeding's.. .. Register of Wills Yetter issues marriage licenses for the marriage of twin brothers to twin sisters.... A father, mother and three sons apply for citizenship papers in the local court.... Workmen excavat­ing at the corner of North Pennsyl­vania avenue and North street discover an unusually large bone, which Prof. Traxler of Wyoming Seminary believes to be a thigh bone of a mastodon, prob­ably washed here from New York by a glacier.. .. .Superintendent D. A. Mackin of Retreat almshouse shot and seriously injured by an inmate, who also shot and killed another inmate.
12.  Ninety-five graduates at the eighty-third commencement of Wyo­ming Seminary.. . . High tribute paid to Rev. Dr. L. L. Sprague at the laying of the cornerstone of the Sprague Me­morial building at Wyoming Seminary. ... Fourteen young women receive degrees at the commencement of Misericordia College, Rt. Rev. Monsignor James H. Ryan, D. D., Ph. D., of Wash­ington, D. C., delivering the address. . . .Thirty-four students win certificates in the Wilkes-Barre branch of the ex­tension school of the University of Pennsylvania, accounts and finance.
14. Miss Frances Dorrance named chairman of the money-raising cam­paign for the Wilkes-Barre Institute to be conducted next October.... Peter Turek of Newport township named poor director to succeed Thomas Tur­ner, deceased... .G. A. R. Memorial High School in Wilkes-Barre graduates its first class, 125 students, Rev. Dr. Warfield, former president of Lafay­ette College, now president of W^lson College, the principal speaker.. ... St. Mary's High School, Wilkes-Barre, graduates 115 pupils, Rev. Dr. Joseph Damien Seguorin of Misericordia Col­lege the principal speaker.
15. Lehigh Valley Coal Co. appeals from the 1928 assessment of coal land in a number of municipalities..... Fifteen playgrounds cut from the list conducted by the local association lie-cause of lack of interest on the part of the municipal authorities.. . .Coughlin High School graduates 421 pupils, Charles Lose, a well known educator, tlie principal spaker.. . . State Senator Andrew J. Sordoni, a delegate to the Republican National Convention, flies from that city to Wilkes-Barre in two stages with Chicago as an intermediate stopping place, in a plane chartered by him.
19. Seventeen students from Luzerne County receive degrees at the Uni­versity of Pennsylvania... Chamber of Commerce committee receives assur­ance that the Ashley sliops of the Cen­tral railroad will not be moved.
20.  Charles B. Waller of Wilkes-Barre named general chairman for the next Community Welfare Federation campaign.... .Check transactions in Wilkes-Barre for the month of May show it to be one of the most prosper­ous cities in Pennsylvania.
21. Agreement reached in Harris-burg by which increased rates de­manded by the local water company, which were to go into effect July 1, shall not become effective until January 1, and in the meantime effort shall be made to have the case de­cided by the Public Service Com­mission.
22. Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, dis­tinguished airman, makes a landing at Coxton on his way from Detroit to New York, owing to approaching darkness; hundreds of people gather at the place as the news of the land­ing spreads, but Lindbergh puts up at the Coxton Y. M. C. A. after hav­ing been taken for a ride up and down the mountain in a locomotive cab.
23. Col. Lindbergh leaves Coxton early in the morning but encounters fog on the Wilkes-Barre mountain and turns back and remains on the field until around noon; more thous­ands of people gather to see the dis­tinguished aviator.... Judge Kosek re­fuses to continue the injunction to restrain the Sugar Notch tax collec­tor from levying on the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company's prop­erty for taxes held back pending the appeal from Judge Fuller's decision on the coal valuation.
24. Oneonta pavilion and a number of adjoining buildings at Harvey's Lake destroyed by fire.
25. Attorney Thomas F. Farrell of Wilkes-Barre, delegate to the Demo­cratic National Convention from Luzerne County, elected chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation.
26. Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. files appeals from the 1928 valuation of its coal property in thirteen munici­palities in the county... .Preparations for the Sesqui-centennial reach im­mense proportions, a host of people taking an interest; old forts and his­toric places duplicated and existing structures marked, many exhibits de­picting colonial times and customs being arranged in Wyoming Valley.... County Assessors add $16,849,239 to the assessed valuation of property in Luzerne County for the triennial year 1928. making the total $431,281,523;
the sum of $2,641,287 deducted for coal mined.
29. First act in the series of celebra­tions and commemorative exercises of the sesqui-centennial of the Battle and Massacre of Wyoming, opening of an
(Local News Summary for 1928) anthracite coal exposition in the Matheson building at Forty Fort;
among the exhibits a miniature breaker in operation, maps showing the coal deposits in the Wyoming Valley, mine appliances and machinery, etc., an ad­dress by E. W. Parker, director of the bureau of anthracite information..... Rain almost every day for several weeks, farmers greatly retarded in their work.  Mr. and Mrs. John F. Clark of West Pittston observe their golden wedding anniversary.
30. Heavy rain for many days swells the river and floods parts of Kirby Park.
JULY
1. Cambro-American Society of Luzerne County gives one of its peri­odical  musical festivals, Gymanfu Ganu, in St. Stephen's church, fifteen hundred Welsh residents filling the auditorium to overflowing.. . .Dedication of the new $100,000 Firwood Methodist Episcopal church by Bishop Berry... .Beginning of the sesqui-cen­tennial celebration of the Battle and Massacre of Wyoming. Owing to the flooding of part of Kirby Park the musical festival of nations was hold on the river common in the presence of about 7,000 people. Speeches by Secre­tary of Labor James J. Davis, by F. M. Kirby, appointed by President Coolidge as his personal representative in the affairs of the commemoration, Mr. Kirby also formally presenting the band stand which he donated to the park, by Bishop O'ReilIy of the Scranton Diocese, by Bishop Sterrett of the Bethlehem Diocese of the Episcopal church, by Col. Ernest G. Smith, chair­man of the sesqui general committee, and by Mayor Daniel L. Hart. Music by the Concordia Chorus, Orpheus Glee Club, Sheldon Chorus, West Side Com­munity Chorus, and by Welsh, Russian. Slovak, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Greek groups some in their national costumes, by the Alexander band, the 109th Regiment Field Artillery band and the Diamond City band. Services in the old colonial church in Forty Fort cemetery in the afternoon, ser­mon by Rev. Paul Heath, pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Wilkes-Barre. Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Forty Forty and Wyoming gaily decorated with flags and streamers of electric lights. All historic places marked and stockades and forts rebuilt as they were originally.  Many thousands of automobile parties make the rounds. ...Heaviest rainfall in June for twelve years.
2. The sesqui celebration continues. Women's exhibit in the old Wilkes-Barre Institute building on South Franklin street, including rooms fitted up in old colonial, later colonial and modern furnishings, attracts hundreds of people, an overflow exhibit in the Espy homestead adjoining, many price­less relics in the two buildings, in the Historical Society rooms and in store windows on view. Bands of Seneca and Paw Indians, the former de­scendants of Indians who fought here 150 years ago, encamped here to par­ticipate in the commemoration. Thirty-six runners, local and from distant places, participate in a marathon race of twelve miles over the upper part of the Wyoming Valley to places of his­toric interest, Charles Solomon of Brooklyn, N. Y., finishing first in Kirby Park.  Mrs. Burr C. Miller general chairman of women's activities.   A daughter of Mrs. Nelson Bennett named to play the part of Frances Slocum in the pageants in Kirby Park, the Bennett family being descendants of the .Slocums whose little daughter was stolen by the Indians and who remained with the Indians in Indiana and married one of the chiefs, until her deatli, refusing to go back to Pennsyl­vania with her white relatives.
3. On the third day of the Sesqu-centennial 2,500 children of the Wyo­ming Valley Playground and Recrea­tion Association give an afternoon pro­gram of dances in Kirby Park stadium, a magnificent spectacle witnessed by about 6,000 people. The first showing of the pageant at Kirby Park attracts about fifteen thousand people, a stu­pendous affair, with several thousand participants, including a chorus of about 2.000 voices and a band. A great spectacle of color and action and allegory, a drama of patriotism and industry, depicting scenes in the Wyo­ming Valley from the earliest times, the arrival of the Pennamites and Yankees, the customs of the early settlers, the Battle and Massacre, Queen Esther's atrocities, the fleeing of the colonists and their return to the valley, the taking of forts and stock­ades. The scenes enacted by a multi­tude of actors representing the colonstis, the British and Indians. Then followed Judge Jesse Fell's discovery of the practicability of burning anthra­cite in a grate without a forced draft, the spectacle concluding with an alle­gorical representation showing Wash­ington and his staff and dances and other features... .Commemorative exer­cises at Wyoming Monument particu­larly elaborate owing to the special occasion, about 5,000 people present;
addresses delivered by Major General Preston Brown, commanding the First Corps area, U. S. Army; Brig. Gen. Ed­ward Martin, Auditor General of Penn­sylvania ; and George S. Godard, librarian of the State of Connecticut;
other addresses scheduled but not de­livered owing to lack of time. Brief remarks by Senator Bingham of Con­necticut, Representative Davenport of New York, Representative John J. Casey of Luzerne County, Miss Ann Dorrance, president of the Wyoming Commemorative Association, who pre­sided, invocation by Rev. Dr. L. L. Sprague, president of Wyoming Sem­inary, music by MacLuskie, 109th Regi­ment band.
4. Hot and partly cloudy Fourth of July weather, shower in the afternoon. ...Thirty persons injured, several of them seriously by the collapsing of a porch in Kingston upon which the people were crowded to witness the Sesqui-centennial parade.... About one hundred people injured in the Wyo­ming Valley by the use of fireworks. ...About 10,000 Slovaks from north­eastern Pennsylvania have a picnic and games at Sans Souci Park.... One man killed and six other men and a girl injured in a collision between an auto­mobile and a Laurel Line car at the North street crossing while the persons were on their way to take part in the Sesqui-centennial parade.. .. .Last day of the Sesqui-centennial begins with exercises on (he stops of the court house, patriotic selections by Alex­ander's band led by Prof. Pokorney,  remarks by Coiisressniiin John J. Casey and Col. Ernest G. Smith and rending of the Declaration of Inde­pendence by Judge William S. McLean, Jr. In the afternoon one of the biggest and most spectacular parades ever held in the Wyoming Valley, beginning at Forty Fort, marching through Kingston, across the flats and over a long route in Wilkes-Barre; estimated that 250,000 people saw the parade, which was made up of historical, alle­gorical, industrial, and organizations divisions; approximately 125 floats and ;{5 bands in line, many of the floats beautiful and elaborate; required about two hours to pass a given point; a thunderstorm chased the paraders and spectators to shelter and damaged some of the floats, but the march resumed afterwards.   Second performance of the pageant given in the evening in Kirby Park to as many people as the evening before, and tens of thousands of people assemble on the river com­mon to see a display of fireworks.
5. Heaviest rain in years in Wilkes-Barre, resembling a cloudburst, streets flooded to the depth of a foot and more, street cars and trains stalled by washouts, over two inches in a few hours.. .. .County Commissioners take stops to collect the tax from the coal companies which they withheld accord­ing to Judge Fuller's decision and which Judge Kosek ruled was illegally withheld.
6. Third and last showing of the pageant in Kirby Park attracts another crowd of about >S,000 people.. .. Representatives of twenty-eight municipali­ties and school districts pledge their moral and financial support, to Charles N. Loveland and direct him to repre­sent them in the fight against the water company, he to act as acting director and employ such help as he needs.
8. Warm wave, thermometer 92 de­grees in Wilkes-Barre... .Five persons meet dcatli in drowning accidents in the vicinity of Wilkes-Barre.. . .Rev. Edward J. Gaffney of White Haven celebrates his twenty-fifth anniversary as a priest.
9. Hearings on the petition of the Scranton-Spring Brook Water Co. for an increase in rates begun in Scranton before the Public Service Commission. ...Death of Walter Wakeman of Wilkes-Barre, well known as an ac­countant... .Death of Thomas Dullard of Wilkes-Barre, 77 years, former County Commissioner.
10. R. W. Kintzer of Wilkes-Barre, district manager of the Bell Telephone Co., chosen vice president and general manager of the Commonwealth Tele­phone Co.... 96 degrees temperature in Wilkes-Barre.
11. Seventeen year locusts arrive in parts of Luzerne County but not in g'reat numbers.. . .Irem Temple has one of the biggest; ceremonials in its his­tory at, the Shrine Country Club, several thousand of its members and 172 Nobles from thirty-two other Temples being present, together with Frank C. Jones of Houston, Texas, Im­perial Potentate of North America.... Rev. Enoch Hughes installed as pastor of the Dr. Edwards Memorial church in Edwardsville.
13. Death of George T. Dickover of Wilkes-Barre, 79 years, for many years a prominent contractor... .Census of Luzerne County farms shows one tele­phone for every two and two-thirds farms, 538 radios, 1,858 automobiles,  167 tractors; there arc 2,506 farms, 2,280 of which are operated by the owners, tolal population of 11,323.
15. Cornerstone of the Mountain Top Presbyterian church laid.
16. The most important prize light ever held in Wilkes-Barre takes place at Kirby Park between Tommy Loughran of Philadelphia, champion, and Pete Latzo of Scranton for the light-heavyweight  championship  of  the | world, about 14,000 people present, Loughran getting the decision after ten rounds.. . .Cost of running the schools of Wilkes-Barre amounts to $93.66 a year for each pupil.
20. Rinaldo Cappelini, for five years president of District No. 1 of the United Mine Workers, resigns in the midst of the fierce factional quarrel in the Union, and John Boylan of North Scranlon elected... .Committee of the Sesqui-Centennial reports that the total receipts for all of the affairs in connect ion with the celebration, in­cluding subscriptions. were $71,833 total expenditures, $71,623;  unpaid bills, $11,056; leaving a deficit of about $5,000 after communities that pledged sums pay them.
23. Fifteenth annual convention of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police As sociation meets in Hazleton.
24. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Davis of Kingston observe their golden wed­ding anniversary.
26. Death of Dr. Granville T. Mat-lack of Wilkes-Barre, famous goitre specialist and well known practitioner. ... Thermometer 92 degrees in Wilkes-Barre.
28. Reeder Miller of Williamsport named district manager of the Bell Telephone Co. in Wilkes-Barre,
29. First of a series of Summer con­certs from the new band stand in Kirby Park by Alexander's Band attracts 2,500 people.
First definite announcement made of the financial arrangements for organ­ization of a new corporation, the Le-high Valley Coal Corporation, to unite under one management the Lehigh Valley Coal Co. and the Lehigh Valley Coal Sales Co., Richard F. Grant of Cleveland to be head of the new cor­poration.
31. Mrs. Mary Dougherty of West Nanticoke dies at the age of 100 years.
AUGUST
2.   Unusually large number mosquitoes  bother  the  people Wilkes-Barre this summer.
3. Prolonged hot spell, thermometer in Wilkes-Barre 94.
4. Death of Rev. D. D. Jenkins of Wilkes-Barre, Presbyterian clergyman and noted poet.
6. Death of Rev. Richard D. Jordan, pastor of St. Cecelia's Catholic church at Wyoming.... Insurgent faction of District No. 1, U. M. W., fails to call a general strike in the district but the factional fight between the insurgent forces led by Frank McGarry and the administration forces led by John Boylan continues with unabated vigor.... Cloudburst in the Dallas region does heavy damage to property.... Wilkes-Barre post office and sub-stations show receipts amounting to $000,123 for the fiscal year, an increase of $32,581 over the previous year.
7.   Heat wave continues, thermometer around ninety almost every day.... 8,000 Shriners and their fami­lies attend the annual Shriners picnic at Irem Country Club.
9. Judge McLean commits to jail a Wright township woman who had been arrested on the charge of refusing to pay her taxes, declaring that the law was plain and he had no alternative.
10.   Frank Martz announces the early establishment of a bus line be­tween Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia in addition to the line between Wilkes-Barre and New York City.
15. Two persons killed and several injured by a street car striking an automobile at the stone bridge crossing in Wyoming while the automobile was endeavoring to get across ahead of the car.
10. Two boys burned to death in a fire which badly damaged the Casino amusement place at Harvey's Lake.... Death of Harry M. Posten, for many years one of the proprietors of the largest livery stable in Wilkes-Barre, before the advent of the automobile.
17. B. A. Rockwell appointed voca­tional supervisor of agriculture for the schools of Luxerne County, to be paid out of a federal appropriation... .Judge William S. McLean appointed a presi­dential elector on the Democratic ticket.
18. Two Scranton men killed and one injured by their automobile going over an embankment on the hairpin eiirve, East End Boulevard.
20. Death of Attorney Alexander Ricketts, 61 years, for nearly twenty-five years Alderman of the seventh ward and a member of a prominent Wyoming Valley family.
21. Michael Brown resigns as Chief of Police of Wilkes-Bnrre owing to ill health after a service of thirty-three years in the police department and six years as Chief.
22.  Andrew J. Sordoni named a member of the board of trustees of Bucknell University.,.. F. .1. Weckesser appointed a member of the board of tish commissioners by Governor Fisher.
23.   Only five members of the original 143d Regiment, Pa. Vols., Civil War, attend the annual reunion in Wilkes-Barre; eighteen alive out of the roll of 1,200... .Convention of Pennsylvania Association of Insurance Agents In Hazleton.
24. Three decisions in the coal as­sessment cases handed down by the court en bane; one decision in the Ashley case overrules Judge Fuller in refusing to reopen arguments; another decision in the Wilkes-Barre case modifies Judge Fuller's decision in about doubling the assessment value of Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre coal but re­duces it twelve per cent. less than the Assessors' figures: the third decision, in the Newport township case, Glen Alden Coal Co., complainant, reduces the Assessors' valuations by twelve and one-half per cent.
27.  Mrs. Richard H. Buffum of Rowe, Mass., becomes general secre­tary of the Wilkes-Barre Y. W. C. A.
28. George Yesko resigns as cashier of the Liberty State Bank and Trust Co., Wilkes-Barre. and Charles J. Long of Philadelphia elected.
30. Guy W. Moore, general manager of the Wilkes-Barre Record, named as a presidential elector on the Repub­lican ticket for Pennsylvania.
31. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Woehrle of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their ^golden wedding anniversary.
SEPTEMBER
3. The motor boat Brodley Tech, owned by William Da vis of Edwardsville, wins the free-for-all race at Har­vey's Lake for the second successive time.... Quiet Labor Day, rain in the morning.
4. About fifty grocers in the Wyo­ming Valley decide to co-operate under the name of the Clover Farm Stores Company, a national organization, a move to stand up under competition with the chain stores... .Formal open­ing of the active campaign of Irem Temple to raise $650,000..... Special election held to vote on a division of Wright township results in favor of the project, 197 to 106, the line to fol­low the Big Wapwallopen Creek.
5. Mr. and Mrs. James Corrigan of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
7. 252 aliens admitted to citizenship in Luxerne County court in three days. ...Announcement that the Murray
Furniture Co. of Wilkes-Barre, which had been in business for fifty-eight years, had sold out to the Select Fur­niture Corporation... .Judge William S. McLean one of the State presidential electors on the Democratic ticket..... Patrick J. Burke appointed principal of the Plains Memorial high school.
8. Potato wart and Japanese beetle quarantine established in parts of Luzerne County.. .. Report shows that the sum of $2,306,807 was collected in fire insurance premiums in Luzerne County last year.
10. A decision in Schuylkill County having a possible bearing upon the con­test between the regulars and the in­surgents for supremacy in the United Mine Workers organization in upper Luzerne County denies the right of an insurgent faction to collect dues and to be designated as the regular organiza­tion....An unusual incident in the Luzerne County court in the admission of William S. McLean, 3d, to practice;
the motion for admission made by his grandfather, William S. McLean, Sr., 88 years of age, the oldest practicing member at the bar, the motion sec­onded by the young man's father, George R. McLean, and the motion passed upon by the young man's uncle, Judge William S. McLean.
11. Formal decree dividing Wright township, the new part to be known as Rice township, in honor of Judge Charles E. Rice, for many years Judge in Luzerne County and President Judge of the Superior Court.
12. Opening of the large Edwards, Inc., department store in Kingston, with greatly increased capacity.
12. Miss Marian J. Wesley of Lynn, Mass., appointed by Superintendent Cope as director of elementary educa­tion in the public schools of Luzerne County.
13. Serious charges now filed against the three members of the minority faction of the Hanover township school board, while the hearing against tin majority faction is in progress in court; the minority members charged with discriminating against teacher;
on religious grounds, misconduct, and violation of the school code.
15. Hazleton's airport, near St.  Johns, dedicated in the presence of many thousands of people; twenty-two airplanes take part.
17. Superintendent Zeiser estimates that attendance in the Wilkes-Barre public schools has about reached its maximum, owing to the fact that there is very little room for expansion of population... .Death of James W. Alien of Wyoming, a member of the Luzerne County bar.
18.  Pour directors of the Duryea school board ousted from office on testimony showing excessive expenditures, suspicious expenditures, violation of the school code, etc.
19. Court ousts four members of the Hanover township school board, com­prising the majority, on charges of having voted excessive fees to the treasurer and tax collector, oxhorbitant prices to favored contractors, reckless expenditures, etc.; the court recom­mends criminal prosecution.
25. First snowfall of the season in the Hazleton region, temperature in 'Wilkes-Barre forty-three in the morn­ing.
26. Death of David C. Purcell of Wilkes-Barre, 67 years, who so closely resembled Abraham Lincoln that he was frequently called upon to im­personate the deceased President.
28. With the recent addition of ten new members the Luzerne County Bar has 278 practicing attorneys, the largest number in its history.
29. C. H. Bonham of Kingston ap­pointed purchasing agent for the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Co.
OCTOBER
1. Pennsylvania Association of In­spectors of Weights and Measures meet in Wilkes-Barre.
2. A number of veterans of the Spanish-American War in Luzerne County leave for Havana, Cuba, to take part in the thirtieth anniversary of the conflict... .Local water company begins the placing of meters in Laurel Run borough and Wilkes-Barre town­ship, in line with its policy to meter the entire territory it serves.
4. Judge McLean issues warrants for the four Hanover township school directors who were ousted, together with two contractors, on criminal charges.... Death of the last of the Civil War veterans residing in Luzerne Borough, Peter M. Austin.
9. Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Trethaway of Forty Fort celebrate their golden wed­ding anniversary.
10. Citizens of the borough of Pringle bring ouster proceedings against the school board, alleging numerous de­linquencies, among them falsifying the records with intent to defraud.
12. Mr. and Mrs. Norman W. Stair of Wilkes-Barre, celebrate their golden wedding anniversary... .Irem Temple's campaign tor $650,000 tor the improve­ment of Irem Temple building, liquida­tion of the debt and improvement at the Country Club grounds ends in success.
13. Death of Edward Jennings of Nuangola, 79 years, one of the first employees on the 1). & II. railroad and a boatman on the old canal running through Wilkes-Barre.
14. Christian Church of Huntsvllle observes its eighty-fifth anniversary. .
17. The court appoints school di­rectors in the place of those recently ousted from office, three in Ashley, four in Hanover township and four in Duryea.
23.  Completion of the new home building of the Plymouth branch of the Polish Alliance of America..... Col. Theodore Roosevelt, son of President Roosevelt, speaks in the armory in Wilkes-Barre to more than 4,000 people in the interest of the Republican na­tional ticket.. .. The seven directors of the Wilkes-Barre  township school board ousted by the court for violation of the school code, paying excessive fees, etc.
24. John C. Brydon. vice president of the Pennsylvania Coal Co., chosen general manager of the company in charge of operations, to succeed A. K. Morris, named as traffic commissioner of the operators' anthracite bureau.
26.   Convention of Pennsylvania Hotel Men's Association in Wilkes-Barre.
29. Rev. Paul S. Wight of Buffalo accepts the pastorate of the Firwood Church of Christ in place of Rev. Harvey Beam, who goes to Buffalo.
 31. Formal opening of North Main street after widening of the street and installation of a boulevard lighting system; speaking, a band concert and dancing, together with a Hallowe'en parade for prizes.
NOVEMBER
3.  After investigating the. county jail the Grand Jury reports unsanitary conditions, inadequate lighting, poor cooking of food at times and lax..en­forcement of rules but absolves the personnel of charges of graft.
4. Cornerstone laying at St. Therese's Catholic church at Shavertown... .An­thracite business picks up more than at any other time since the 1925-1,926 strike.                     , . ,,.    ,
5. Death of Dr. Lewis H. Taylor of Wilkes-Barre, eminent physician and one of the Wyoming Valley's best known citizens and civic workers..... Mr. and Mrs. Giles Gay of Orange cele­brate their golden wedding anniver­sary. ... Formal opening of the re­modeled Italo-American club house on North Main street, Wilkes-Barre.
6. Largest vote ever cast in Luzerne County recorded in the presidential election; John J. Casey re-elected to Congress over Henry Merritt and Lan-ing Harvey elected State Senator over William B. McGuire; Kingston defeats a $112,000 bond issue for school pur­poses and Hazleton approves a $400,-000 bond issue for general improve­ment purposes.
7. Later returns show that Luzerne County polled a majority of votes for Governor Smith for President, one of only throe counties in the State that gave Smith a majority, due largely to the large anti-prohibition element in the county.
8. Welsh National Eisteddfod, the first of its kind, opens in, Wilkes-Barre.         ,
9. Death of Jesse T. Morgan of Wilkes-Barre... .Hyde Park Choir of Scranton wins the chief prize, $1,500, in the mixed choir contest in the na­tional eisteddfod in Wilkes-Barre.
10. In the final session of the na­tional eisteddfod Scranton wins the male chorus competition for a prize of $1,500.      
11.   Mountain Top Presbyterian church dedicated.... Armistice Day ob­served with special reference to the day in a number of the churches and exercises under the auspices of the American Legion at the Asher A. Miner flagstaff on Public Square.
12.  First snowfall of the season in  Wilkes-Barre, the snow melting quickly.
13.  Mozart Club of Wilkes-Barre gives a musicale in observance of the Schubert centennial.... Mr. and Mrs. Mahlon Casterline of Laurel Run cele­brate their golden wedding anni­versary.
14. Kingston Presbyterian church and adjoining properties seriously affected by a settling, supposed to be from a mine; church in danger of collapsing.
16. Death of Dr. Elijah H. Hill of Pittston.... Harter high school in Ply­mouth township dedicated.
18. Dedication of the First Baptist church's new church-house on South River  Street..... Twenty-fifth   anni­versary of Holy Family Polish Cath­olic church at Sugar Notch, Father Casaczin, pastor, observed with elabo­rate ceremony... Summerlike weather, thermometer 77 degrees.
19. Series of wind storms of cyclonic type sweep over Wilkes-Barre, particu­larly in the Heights section; damage estimated at $100,000; one house com­pletely destroyed, many houses un­roofed and otherwise damaged, trees and poles blown down; seventeen per­sons injured.         :             '
20.   Attempt made to blow up Ebenezer Baptist church in Pittston with dynamite but failed owing to the fuze losing fire.
21. Ralph Melissari of Port Chester, N. Y., convicted of murder in the first degree with life imprisonment as the penalty for having been a party to the murder of Peter Reilly in Pittston, Feb­ruary 28, as a result of the mine feud.
23. Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn appear in Irem Temple in artistic dances.
25. Cold spell, with temperature 25 degrees in Wilkes-Barre, snow and ice on the country roads a menace to automobilists caught unawares.
26. Death of Mrs. George S. Bennett of Wilkes-Barre, member of a well known Wyoming Valley family.. . . Mr. and Mrs. William N. Naylor of Duryea celebrate their golden wedding anni­versary... .Application made for a charter for the Angeline Elizabeth Kirby Memorial Health Center, which F. M. Kirby is to establish in Wilkes-Barre in memory of his mother; the first board of trustees composed of Dr. W. S. Stewart, president; Dr. Charles H. Miner, secretary; Dr. H. M. Beck, Dr. Elmer L. Meyers, Joseph G. Schuler, Mayor Daniel L. Hart, John D. Farnham and Allan P. Kirby.. .. Death of Rev. Jacob E. Davies, for twenty-five years pastor of Nebo Baptist church in Nanticoke.. .. Luzerne County during 3927 stood third among the sixty-seven counties of the State in production, valuation, number of em­ployees, total of salaries and wages and invested capital : production valua­tion for the year was $270,850,100, employes in various industries num­bered 95,071, workers received $139,473,300; industries had capital invested to the amount, of $223,775,300.

Submitted by Patty M. and Pat Hillon