1930 W-B Record Almanac, Luzerne Co in 1929 Happenings in Luzerne County for the Twelve Months from December 1, 1928 to December 1, 1929. DECEMBER, 1928 6. Formal opening of the new road between Kingston and Plymouth, with a parade of automobiles, a reception in Plymouth and a dinner in Kingston. 5. Mr. and Mrs. Ernest L. Grosb of Hazleton celebrate their golden wedding anniversary….Plymouth celebrates the opening of the new Main street road from the bridge to Washington crossing, the principal feature a parade. 6. Several thousand people attend the funeral of Judge Kosek in St. Nicholas church. 7. Scranton named as the city in which to hold the second national Welsh eisteddfod in 1929….Death of Owen A. Murray of Wilkes-Barre, member of the street cleaning firm of Curnow & Murray and prominent in municipal politics. 9. The Poles of Luzerne County observe the tenth anniversary of the independence of Poland with a mass meeting in the Poli theatre; distinguished representatives of the nation deliver addresses, a dinner at the Redington Hotel follows….Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Hurwitz and Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hurwitz are hosts at a dinner given to about 300 friends who joined in the ceremony of presenting sacred scrolls to Temple Israel, I memory of Joseph Hurwitz. 10. Dinner given at the Redington in honor of Congressman John J. Casey by the Women’s Non-partisan political Club….Court appoints seven school directors for Wilkes-Barre township in place of the directors ousted October 23. 11. Judge Jones issues a temporary injunction prohibiting the killing of female deer in the county for the remainder of the season, which ends the 15th, on petition of a number of sportsmen. 12. The court en banc, Judge Jones dissenting, refuses to grant a permanent injunction to the Valmont Development Company to restrain the County Commissioners from taking several lots of the company for the westerly approach to the Market street bridge….William J. Byars Councii, Jr. O. U. A. M., celebrates its fortieth anniversary with a dinner at Hotel Sterling. 14. Jewels value at nearly $100,000, stolen from Madame Itappold, opera singer, in a New York City hotel, recovered in Wilkes-Barre and a man and woman arrested. Lawyers of the Luzerne County Bar adopt the novel plan of voting on their choice for Judge to take the place made vacant by the death of Judge Kosck; the lawyers intend that their expression of preference shall influence Governor Fisher in making an appointment; the first three lawyers at the head of the list voted for are Abram Salsburg, Frank A. McGuigan and W. A. Valentine. 18. Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Rosengrant of Shavertown observe their golden wedding anniversary….Court ousts one of the Duryea school directors and refuses ouster in the case of another director….Wilkes-Barre lands in the face value of $605,000, four and one-half per cent, sold at a premium of $4,174.50. Andrew J. Sordoni purchases another rural telephone line, the Luzerne Telephone Co., serving a territory between Lehman and Albert and part of Columbia County. 19. The court authorizes transfer of title for the armory building on South Main street, Wilkes-Barre, to the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and the Home for Friendless Children, in accordance with the terms of the deed which provide that in case of non-use for military purposes the property shall go to the two institutions….Elaborate three-day celebration of the twentieth anniversary of Irem Temple’s occupancy of the building on North Franklin streets comes to a close with a ball. 20. Mr. and Mrs. James Gray of Miners Mills celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary….Announcement made of the abandonment of Mr. Lookout colliery at Wyoming, owing to high cost of operation, principally royalties; colliery has been in operation for forty years; stock held by the Temple Coal Company. 21. Winter ushered in with a temperature of twenty-two degrees in Wilkes- Barre….Turkeys for Christmas retailing for from forty-two to fifty-two cents a pound in Wilkes-Barre….About 300,000 pieces of mail handled in the Wilkes-Barre post office in one day. 23. Public Service Commission grants the Scranton Spring Brook Water Company the right to increase its rates temporarily to the extent of about twenty-five per cent. the increase to be retroactive from July 1 and to continue until the final decision on rates has been rendered. 24. Judge Jones files a dissenting opinion from the decision of a majority of the Judges within the right of the County Commissioners to take certain portions of land for the West Market street bridge approach, against the objections of the Valmont Development co., is upheld; an appeal to the Supreme Court taken by the company….Christmas Eve exercises on Public Square, music by an instrumental quartet and carols by Concordia Society. 25. Midnight mass in St. Mary’s Catholic church, Wilkes-Barre, sung by a choir composed of boys and girls, assisted by the parochial school orchestra, an inspiring occasion….Moderate and clear Christmas weather….The charity organizations and the Salvation Army supply hundreds of families with Christmas cheer. 27. Death of Attorney Raymond E. Bowkley of Pittston. 28. Annual ball of the Wyoming Valley Women’s Club in Irem Temple a brilliant affair. 30. Rev. Charles J. Goeckel of St. Nicholas German Catholic church in Wilkes-Barre and Rev. John J. Sabota of St. Joseph’s Slovak church in Nanticoke invested with the order of Monsignor by Bishop O’Reilly of the Scranton Diocese….Death of Isaac M. Thomas, 84 years, one of the best known residents of Wilkes-Barre, for 76 years a resident of the city. 31. Twenty-five capital crimes in Luzerne County during 1928, the largest number in many years….Marriage licenses in Luzerne County 3,211 in 1928, 404 less than during the previous year….Suitable mottoes to be cut in the granite of the four pylons for the Market street bridge, as suggested by a committee of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, accepted by the County Commissioners….The Glen Summit Water Company, one of the largest distributors of bottled water in northeastern Pennsylvania, owned and operated for many years by J. E. Patterson, disposed of to local interests. __________ JANUARY 1. Rainy New Year weather….Rev. Dr. Peter C. Winters, rector of St. John’s church, Pittston, invested with the rank of Monsignor….Annual mock trial of the Y.M.C.A. held in Coughlin High School auditorium, attracts a capacity house. Postmaster William E. Manneur charged by Col. E. G. Smith with opening his mail. Wilkes-Barre Knights of Columbus gives a dinner at Hotel Redington in honor of Bishop O’Reilly. 2. Elmer E. Brown appointed mercantile appraiser for Luzerne County. 3. The Second National Bank of Wilkes-Barre increases its annual dividend rate from twenty to twenty-six per cent and adds $500,000 to surplus account. Death of Sister Mary Alberta, aged 85 years, last surviving member of the eight Sisters who founded the order of Sisters of Mercy in Scranton diocese. 4. Wilkes-Barre Council decides to raise the pay of about 800 salaried employees five per cent, including policemen and firemen, an addition of about $30,000 a year to the pay roll. 5. Dr. W. F. Davison appointed medical director for Luzerne County for the State Health Department. 8. First cold spell of the Winter, eight degrees above zero in Wilkes-Barre. 9. Residents of Parsons and Miners Mills have saved more than $140,000 in taxes in the two years since consolidation with the city of Wilkes-Barre, besides having been benefited by a number of improvements….Federal report says Wilkes-Barre appropriates $14.17 per capita for the support of the public schools and three cents per capita for charity and philanthropic purposes in the year….Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Smith of Wilkes-Barre observe their fifth-sixth wedding anniversary. 11. Gwilym Francis and son and daughter asphyxiated by illuminating gas in their home in Wyoming, due to a broken pipe. 12. Report says that in 1928 Luzerne County contributed $953,217 to the State Highway Department in motor registration fees and operators’ license fees. Good skating in Kirby Park and on the ponds. 14. Dinner given in Hotel Redington in honor of Monsignor John Stephen Sobota, pastor of St. Joseph’s Slovak church, Nanticoke, by about 300 of his fellow countrymen and friends, in honor of his elevation to the rank of Monsignor, the second Slovak priest in the United States to receive that honor….Cold spell, five degrees above zero in Wilkes-Barre. 15. Bill for repeal of anthracite tax introduced in the Legislature….Death of Dr. Louise M. Stoeckel, for many years a practicing physician in Wilkes-Barre. 16. Col. Ernest G. Smith elected president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. 17. Death of Michael E. Gaughan, for thirty years an alderman in Wilkes-Barre and a deputy in various offices in the court house. 18. Estimated that the owners of only 3,600 of the 30,000 dogs in Luzerne County have compiled with the State license law. 19. Dr. D. H. Lake, for more than thirty years physician for the D., L. & W. B. B. Co. and the Kingston Coal Co., resigns….Twenty-three memorial windows in the auditorium and Sunday School room of the First Welsh Baptist church of Wilkes-Barre dedicated. 21. Seventeen men injured in a series of squeezes in Baltimore No. 5 mine of the Hudson Coal co., at East End, the disturbance heard on the surface and thought to be an earthquake. 22. Hayden Williams resigns as secretary of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce; at a second open meeting in Hotel Redington Col. Ernest G. Smith, recently elected president of the Chamber of Commerce, proposes a plan for reorganization and more effective community work and conditions his acceptance of the presidency upon the adoption of his plan or one similar to it….William Alfred Valentine appointed by Governor Fisher Judge of the Luzerne County courts to succeed Judge John V, Kosek, deceased….Robert A. Quin, vice president of the Susquehanna Colleries co., dies of injuries sustained by a fall. 25. Typical Winter day, with snow, rain and sleet….Agreement reached between the Mt. Lookout Coal Co. and trustees of the Jacob I. Shoemaker estate whereby court proceedings are to be discontinued and the lease terminated, the company having contended that there is not a sufficient quality of coal in the ground to warrant continuance of operations. 26. Report shows that the Wilkes-Barre blind association paid out $20,017 in wages, salaries and commissions in 1928 and that more than 200 blind persons were helped. 27. Mr. and Mrs. William E. Post of Trucksville observe their golden wedding anniversary. 28. Attorney Alfred W. Valentine sworn in as Judge by President Judge McLean; the new Judge tendered an enthusiastic reception by members of the bar and other friends; his first official act the swearing in of James T. Brennan as alderman of the Eleventh ward, Wilkes-Barre….Winter sports attract large numbers of people at Irem Country Club, Fox Hill Country Club, Wyoming Valley Country Club and other places and skating on nearby ponds….Court ousts five members of the Exeter Borough school board on charges of having violated the school code and appoints their successors. 29. Grand Jury recalled by the court to interrogate jurors who served in November, 1928, regarding rumors of attempted bribery. 30. Testimonial dinner tendered W. Alfred Valentine, newly appointed Judge, by the Wilkes-Barre lodge of Elks; a number of prominent local people express their esteem for the new Judge. 31. Grand Jury, reassembled to investigate rumors of attempted bribery of last November’s jurors and jurors serving in the January term, recommends indictments against four persons on the charge of having endeavored to influence jurors in the Hanover township school board cases. ____________ FEBRUARY 1. Death of W. J. Fowler of West Wyoming, 65 years, for many years advice in the business life of the valley….Luncheon meeting of the Law and Library Association at Hotel Sterling in honor of members of the Bar who have been practicing law for fifty years and longer. William S. McLean, Sr., Isaac P. Hand, Frank c. Mosier, Joseph D. Coons, George B. Wright, Henry A. Fuller and Frank W. Wheaton; Messrs. Hand, Fuller and Wheaton were present; Judge Wheaton entertained the large group of lawyers with reminiscences of the Bar. 4. Wilkes-Barre Board of Education informed that one out of three citizens do not pay personal school tax. 5. General strike at collieries of the Glen Alden Coal Co., declared owing to grievances at the Avondale colliery, proves to be a fizzle, a majority of the men refusing to respond to the outlaw order. 6. Luzerne County School for Boys at Kis-Lyn had an average of 253 boys in 1928 and the per capita cost was $847, lower than that for any similar institution in the East. Joseph Sheerin convicted of receiving stolen bonds, the third person to be convicted in connection with the bond scandal which figured in the 1927 Sheriff campaign. 7. Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Davis of Plymouth celebrates their golden wedding anniversary. A cow at Retreat almshouse farm makes a world’s record by giving 502.6 pounds of milk and 32.7 pounds of butter in seven days. 8. Bankers of the county meet and make suggestions for improvement of the coal trade, among them on urging that the operators and miners renew the present contract for another five year period when it expires two years hence. 9. Mr. and Mrs. James L. Finnen of Kingston celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 11. Edward V. Loftus of Pittston killed in an automobile accident at Gouldsboro. 13. First conviction in many years in the county court for embracery, or attempting to influence jurors, the defendant being a Hanover township man who was charged with tampering with jurors who would serve during the week the Hanover township school director cases were scheduled for trial. 15. Two other man convicted of jury tampering in connection with the Hanover township school board cases, making three convictions in two days….County Commissioners Harrison and Conway form another combination in the office, ignoring Mr. Rosser; forty-six employees dropped and twenty-seven new ones appointed….Paul V. McNutt, national commander of the American Legion and Charles E. Gebert, State commander, entertained at a dinner at Irem Temple by local posts….County tax rant fixed the same as for last year, eight and nine-tenths mills, the nine-tenths for sinking fund purposes; estimated that $3,061,9971 and $341,682 for the sinking fund….Death of Charles E. Keck of Ashley, 66 years, a prominent attorney. 16. Mrs. Gilbert Jacobosky of Wilkes-Barre elected president of the College Women’s Clubs of the State. 19. Death of Phillip R. Bevan, former President of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce and one of the organizers of the Community Welfare Federation, also chairman of Liberty Loan campaigns during the World War. 21. Deepest snow of the season, eight inch fall in Wilkes-Barre. Robert A. Coughlin appointed attorney for the Central District Poor Board in place of Charles E. Keck, deceased. 22. The three men charged with jury tampering in Hanover township cases sentenced to $500 fine and one year in jail….Wilkes-Barre High School glee clubs give “The Pirates of Penzance.” 24. Death of Thompson H. Rowley of Wilkes-Barre, for many years a well known musician, leader of the old Ninth Regiment Band when the band was doing duty on the Mexican border, organizer of Rowley’s Band and Shrine Temple Bands, and at the time of his death leader of the Wyoming Valley Playground Boys’ Band. 25. Five law students admitted to practice in the county courts, one of them a young woman, Miss Sarah J. Balker of Wilkes-Barre….Mr. and Mrs. William C. Jelly of Wilkes-Barre observe their fiftieth wedding anniversary. 26. County Commissioner David Rosser states in an address before Rotary Club that unreasonable interference with plans for the West Market street and North street bridges, due to litigation and other causes, will result in the wasting of a million dollars. Death of William f. Staley, prominent Pittston resident, for many years in the jewelry business, aged 68 years. 28. Rain and thawing raises the river to 15.1 feet. ________ MARCH 1. Frank H. Wagner of Schuylkill County appointed general manager of the new Lehigh Valley Coal Corporation. 2. Death of Charles J. Bauer, of Wilkes-Barre, oldest printer in the Wyoming Valley. Armed bandits commit a number of depredations in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity, mainly in holding up automobiles on lonely roads….Welsh of the Wyoming Valley begin a campaign in aid of the distressed miners and their families in Wales, due to slackness in the coal business. 4. Prague Teachers Chorus from Czecho-Slovakia gives a concert in Irem Temple. 5. First subscription concert by the Wilkes-Barre Eymphony Orchestra, with Allan Jones, tenor, as soloist in Irem Temple….Mr. and Mrs. James W. VanHorn of Wilkes-Barre observe their sixtieth wedding anniversary. 7. Unusually high winds and a temperature of sixteen degrees….Fight against the Scranton Spring Brook Water Service Company assumes more interesting proportions; a number of interesting proportions; a number of municipalities refuse the company the right to dig into streets for the installation of meters or for shutting off water where consumers fail to pay on the new rates; all of the communities bitter in denunciation of the company’s alleged attempt at extortion. 10. Announcement that the Kehoe Memorial Hospital in Pittston has been closed permanently….American Legion posts begin an intensive drive for increase in membership….Gaiety theatre in Wilkes-Barre, formerly the Nesbitt, in the past few years used to burlesque, destroyed by fire; loss about $130,000. 11. County Commissioners Harrison and Conway overrule Commissioner Rosser and order the condemnation of that portion of the Valmont Development Co. land as is required for the Market street bridge….Alexander’s Band gives a concert in Irem Temple, assisted by Miss Jane Howell, soprano. 12. County Commissioners vote $3,000 to help along the fight against the local water company’s attempt to enforce much higher rates. 13. Judge Albert W. Johnson of the federal court for this district notifies liquor law violators that hereafter he will apply the penalty embraced in a new act of Congress, a maximum of five years in prison or a $10,000 fine or both….Death of John Shadrach of Wilkes-Barre, former member of the Legislature and an attorney….Superior Court finally decides the long drawn out litigation over the proposed North street bridge, overruling the contention of the County Commissioners that the local court had limited authority as to type and location of the bridge; the higher court decides that the word of the lower court must be respected; since the personnel of the local court has changed since the litigation began four years ago it is possible that the Judges will be more in accord with the views of the Commissioners. 17. River goes to a height of 23.3 feet, then begins receding….Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Jacob of Kingston observe their golden wedding anniversary. 20. Death of Harry Evans of West Pittston, former County Commissioner. 21. Governor Fisher signs a bill calling for the distribution of $125,000 in the hands of the Trustees of the Proprietors of Kingston Township; passage of the bill terminates a movement started about ten years ago; certain proceeds for the sale of land set aside in the early days for the benefit of schools in Kingston township, the beneficiaries at present including Edwardsville, Kingston, Forty Fort, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Kingston township, Swoyersville, Pringle and Courtdale. 22. Several days of unusually warm weather, thermometers seventy-six degrees in Wilkes-Barre. 23. Mr. and Mrs. William s. Fink of Hunlock Creek observe their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary….Dedication of Shavertown M. E. church, money more than equal to the indebtedness subscribed, Rev. Harry F. Henry, pastor. 26. Wilkes-Barre post of the American Legion takes in 413 new members, the result of a membership campaign….Several hundred people from the Wyoming Valley make up part of a delegation of about 1,500 from the anthracite region to appear before the legislative committee at Harrisburg to plead in favor of repeal of the tax on anthracite….Salute fired from sunrise to sunset at the 109th regiment armory in honor of Marshal Foch of France, the day of his funeral. 27. Gilbert McClintock donates thirty acres of woodland along the Tobyhanna river in the Poconos, adjoining Camp Pocahanna of the Wilkes-Barre Y.M.C.A., to be added to the camp, making 100 acres altogether….Ground broken for the large addition to Hotel Sterling….Steps taken at a meeting in Wilkes-Barre for the formation of a state archaeological society, Miss Frances Dorrance of the local historical society appointed chairman of the organization committee….Maynard I. Cohen wins the annual Miner declamation prize at the Wilkes-Barre Academy. Four ex-members of the Hanover township school board, together with a contractor, convicted of conspiracy to defraud in connection with a contract; the members were previously ousted from office. 31. Cloudy Easter weather, moderate temperature….Baltimore mine in the East End section of Wilkes-Barre to be closed by the Hudson Coal Co., throwing 1,800 men and boys out of employment, lack of orders given s the cause….Body of Thomas f. Hayden, school director of Swoyerville, found in the woods in the Poconos, where he had fallen over a ledge, March 31. ________ APRIL 2. Wilkes-Barre Post No. 132 of the American Legion credited with having the largest membership of any post in the State, 1,775. 5. Theodore Fedevich of Pittsburgh convicted of murder in the first degree and given the life imprisonment penalty for having shot and killed Mrs. Caroline Beldron in Bear Creek township; he also shot and killed the woman’s son John. Death of Patrick J. Finn of Miners Mills, twice County Commissioner, once elected Jury Commissioner. 7. Record-breaking hot spell for this time of year, thermometer 88 in Wilkes-Barre. 8. Wilkes-Barre branch of the Gorgas Health Corps organized, a national movement in tribute to William c. Gorgas, the eminent sanitarian who wiped out yellow fever and reduced malaria in Cuba and the Panama Canal zone, thereby paving the way for construction of the canal….Beginning of the annual Welfare Federation campaign, with Charles B. Waller as campaign chairman and the goal $557,501, the same as last year plus $12,000….Dedication of Kingston’s new high school building, principal address by Robert c. Shaw, deputy superintendent of the State Department of Public Instruction….Death of Edmund Bevan of Wilkes-Barre, Clerk of the Courts. 9. Warm weather continues. 10. Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Walter of Forty Fort celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 11. Dedication of Sprague Memorial Hall in connection with Wyoming Seminary, in the presence of a group of distinguished visitors….David John Evans, formerly of Alden, ordained to the ministry in Nebo Baptist church, Nanticoke. 13. Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. gives sixteen acres of land in Hanover township for the use of the Lee Park Recreation Association. 15. Rev. Paul S. Heath of Wilkes-Barre elected Moderator of Lackawanna Presbytery in session at Scranton….Fire in the bakery of the Roll Biscuit company in Wilkes-Barre does damage amounting to about $25,000. Mischa Elman, violinist, in Irem Temple….Community Welfare Federation campaign closes short of the goal, which was $557,000; the sum of $442,280 raised, with about $30,000 more expected. 16. Blizzardy weather, several inches of snow in the elevated sections, snow plows brought out by the road department. 17. Fire in the Penn Manufacturing and Supply Co. tinware plant on Horton street does damage to the extent of about $100,000….Greater Wilkes-Barre Choral Society gives a concert in the Coughlin school auditorium, nearly 100 singers. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Murdoch of Wyoming celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 18. River goes up to 16.4 feet, due to rains. 19. Court refuses an injunction to Kingston borough permitting the borough to construct a parkway or boulevard to connect with the Brat Market street bridge span, the rights of the borough to be determined later. 21. Two beautiful oil paintings dedicated in the Kingston M. E. Church, presented by Baron Alfred E. von Riegers of Boston, who also painted the pictures….Rev. George S. Connell becomes pastor of Central M. E. church….Wilkes-Barre, and Rev. Joshua Brundle pastor of the Parrish street M. E. church….Wilkes-Barre and Wyoming Valley Airport Association leases 327 acres of land from Robert and Ralph Garrahan, land located near the Stone Bridge at Forty Fort. Site to be made into one of the finest airports in the country….Lehigh Valley officials confident that the fire in the abandoned workings of Henry colliery at Plains, which has been fought for four months, has been conquered. 22. Many rainy days swell the river to a height of 28.0 feet in Wilkes-Barre, the highest in thirteen years; Kirby Park almost entirely covered; city policemen take residents of the Firwood section from their homes in boats; street car traffic cut off in the vicinity of the Stone Bridge in forty Fort. 23. Additional subscriptions bring the Community Welfare Federation total for the campaign up to $463,438….Mr. and Mrs. Charles Shupp of Plymouth observe their golden wedding anniversary. 25. Recent freshet does much damage in the parks, in washouts, depositing culm and other debris….Resignation of Rev. Herbert A. Lewis, pastor of Ebenezer English Baptist church Plymouth. 26. Petition signed by twenty citizens requests the court to remove five school directors of Jenkins township, alleging the violation of fifty-nine parts of the school code. 27. Removal of the safety deposit boxes of 1,500 customers of the Miners Bank into the new quarters on West Market street, policemen with riot rifles on guard, boxes contain millions in stocks, bonds, jewelry, heirlooms and money. Wilkes-Barre Record begins moving into its new building, erected on the site of the one previously occupied; during construction the Record has occupied quarters in the Loomis building next door. 29. Twenty-two young men complete the course of manual training in the night schools of Wilkes-Barre. ________ MAY 1. First tenants move into the new Wilkes-Barre Deposit and Savings Bank building on Public Square. 2. Primitive Methodist General Conference meets in Avoca….Wilkes-Barre Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce the name chosen in a contest for the new community organization to take the place of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. 3. Contest for the appointment of federal judge in the Middle district of Pennsylvania by friends of Joseph E. Fleitz of Wilkes-Barre and Judge Albert I. Watson of Scranton decided in favor of the latter. 4. River rises to 17.2 feet, due to heavy rains. 5. Congressman John J. Casey dies in Gorgas Hospital, Ancon, Panama Canal Zone, where he and his wife and two of his children had gone in the hope that his health would be benefited; 58 years old, and six times elected to Congress from the Luzerne County district, the longest service for one man in the history of the county; Mr. Casey was president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor. 7. Widely different figures placed before the Public Service Commission as to the value of the Scranton Spring Brook Company’s property, witnesses for the consumers contending that the aggregate value is $22,900,287 and the company contending that is $52,152,140….Hotel Hart in Wilkes-Barre transferred to Homer Mallow of the Sterling-Mallow Corporation. 8. In annual competition among grade school orchestras in the Wilkes-Barre public schools Union street orchestra wins, six participants….Mr. and Mrs. Jacob W. LaBar of Moorestown celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 9. Death of Oliver Rhydderch of Kingston, for many years a prominent choral leader. 11. Sudden death of Rev. Joseph Murgas, 65 years, rector of Sacred Heart Slovak church in Wilkes-Barre, noted artist and inventor….Wilkes-Barre Record completes moving into its new home on North Main street, one of the most modern newspaper plants in the country. 12. Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Merrel of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their golden wedding anniversary….Installation of Rev. Mr. Roth as pastor of Christ Lutheran church, Conyngham, and beginning of dedicatory services. 13. Concordia Society observes its fiftieth anniversary with a notable concert in the old armory, participated in by the Concordia chorus, Orpheus Glee Club, Wilkes-Barre Symphony Orchestra and a mixed chorus of 400 voices; the veteran conductor of Concordia, Adolph Hansen, given an ovation….Charles Ehret, 83 years, and his daughter, Mrs. Carrie Bowman, 43, both of Jackson township died within three hours of each other. 15. Central Poor District raises its tax levy to three mills, an increase of three-forts of a mill….Funeral of Congressman John J. Casey one of the largest ever seen in the Wyoming Valley, many thousands of people, including a delegation from Congress, in St. Mary’s church and in front of it. 16. Bill signed by the Governor raising the salaries of Judges, those in Luzerne county to be advanced from $10,000 to $12,000 a year….Forty-two nurses graduate from the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, the largest class in the history of the hospital. 17. Thousands of people inspect the interior of the new Record building and its equipment….Governor Fisher signs the Henton anthracite tax repeal bill and vetoes the Jones bill for immediate repeal; the Henton bill takes off one-third of the tax each year for three years, when the one and one-half per cent will be eliminated. 18. Orangeville M. E. church observes its one hundredth anniversary….Rev. Peter Brown and Rev. Eugene Danielson, both of Wilkes-Barre, celebrate their first mass. 20. Wilkes-Barre school tax levy remains the same as for last year, sixteen mills. Conservation Council of Pennsylvania meets in Wilkes-Barre….Republican executive committee nominates Dr. C. Murray Turpin of Kingston as the Republican candidate for Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John J. Casey; Democratic committee nominates Mr. Casey’s widow. 22. Three thousand public school children give a demonstration of the value of health training by an exhibition in Kirby Park….Mr. and Mrs. George Hoats of Wilkes-Barre observe their golden wedding anniversary. 23. Pittston hospital graduates eight nurses. 24. Concordia society of 125 voices of Wilkes-Barre achieves a notable victory in New York City in the contest put on by the Associated Glee Clubs of America. Concordia winning the highest award pitted against some of the most prominent male singing clubs in the country, Adolph Hansen, director; Concordia scored high honor because of its reputation of having won the Kaiser prize and in other notable contests….Victory dinner by the forward Movement of the Wilkes-Barre Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, ending the campaign for new members and financial support; new members enlisted during the campaign, 1,571; total raised for the activities fund, $45,134. 25. Parade and mass meeting of protest against the increase in water rates by the Scranton Spring Brook Water Company, parade participated in my almost 1,500 people representing consumers, the case still pending before the Public Service Commission….Luke F. Halley, Wilkes-Barre, Felix J. Lafa of Wilkes-Barre, Stanley R. Gajewski of Nanticoke and J. F. Corcoran of Pittston ordained to the Catholic priesthood. 28. Forty graduates of Misericordia College. 27. Fred Goeringer, Jr., and Richard Pratt of Nanticoke reappointed collectors of county taxes; M. F. Rowan appointed for :Pittston and John Burns for Hazelton. 29. B. Frank Meyers of Wilkes-Barre named Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania, Knights Templar….Warm spell succeeds a rainy and cold spring….Thirty-eight graduates of the Wilkes-Barre night schools receive diplomas….John C. Haddock announces the indefinite closing of the Black Diamond colliery at Luzerne borough and surrender of the lease, owing to the high cost of operation in comparison with other mines. 30. Death of John W. Raeder, for many years a well known resident of Wilkes-Barre, 71 years….More than 100 priests of the Scranton Diocese attend the second annual Eucharistic conference held in St. Ignatius church, Kingston. Bishop O’Reilly pronounces benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament at four temporary altars erected in a field near the church, in the presence of 7,000 people….Memorial Day celebrated with the usual parades, weather exceedingly hot, 92 degrees in Wilkes-Barre, twelve veterans of the Civil War in the parade to Hollenback cemetery. 31. House of Representatives votes $10,000 for Mrs. John J. Casey of Wilkes-Barre, one year’s salary of her deceased husband as congressman. ________ JUNE 1. Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus in Wilkes-Barre. 4. Kingston defeats a bond issue for $250,000 for street paving….Death of Rosser Mainwaring of Plains, member of the board of the Central Poor District and well known in political circles….Special election held to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Congressman John J. Case, two candidates in the field, Mr. Casey’s widow, Mrs. Sarah Casey, and Dr. C. Murray Turpin of Kingston; Dr. Turpin wins by 1104 majority. Twenty-six nurses graduate from Mercy Hospital. 6. Seven nurses graduated from Nanticoke State Hospital….Cambro-American Society reports that $4,500 was sent to Wales for the relief of distress among idle Welsh miners as a result of the recent campaign….Wilkes-Barre Academy awards diplomas to fifteen boys. 7. Large riding ball of the new armory formally opened with military affairs and sports in the presence of two thousand people. Major General William g. Price stating that the armory is one of the finest in the country….Opening of the addition to the Second National bank on West Market street. 8. Death of William s. McLean, Sr., 88 years, one of the most prominent members of the Luzerne County bar. 10. Convention of the Funeral Benefit Association of the United States in Wilkes-Barre. 11. Wyoming Seminary graduates 115 students at the 84th commencement. 12. Wharton School Extension of the University of Pennsylvania in Wilkes-Barre graduates thirty-eight….Sixteen nurses graduated from Nesbitt West Side Hospital and Wyoming Valley Homeopathic Hospital. Ancient sport with bow and arrow finds many devotees at Irem Country Club grounds. Part 1 Transcribed by Joanne Case, July, 2009 Part 2 Typed by Irene Transue Starts with June 13, 1929 13. Nearly 4 ,000 pupils of the 6th, 7th and 8th grades of the Wilkes-Barre public schools, assisted by some of the older pupils, indulge in a large variety of sports at the annual field day in Kirby Park. 14. No entry. 15. Ninety-six graduates from St. Mary's High School, Wilkes-Barre. 16. No entry. 17. Nanticoke entertains the Six County Firemen's Association. 18. Heat wave of more than a week's duration, thermometer registers between ninety and ninety-six in Wilkes-Barre ..... R. B. Treble, principal of the Custer street school in Wilkes-Barre completes fifty years of service as a teacher and is the guest of honor at a dinner given by his associates.....At a dinner given under the auspices of the Anthracite Cooperative Association prominent speakers dwell upon the ills of the trade; slack demand in former markets attributed to discriminatory rates by the railroads, to former labor troubles, to restriction of markets by government order during war time when people who were denied anthracite resorted to substitutes: in the opinion of a number of the speakers the high cost of anthracite remains as the most serious handicap. 19. No entry. 20. Ignatz Aleszke and his son of Wilkes-Barre killed instantly by a premature blast in a mine....G. A. R. Memorial High School, Wilkes-Barre, graduates 114 students, the commencement speaker a woman, Miss Thyrsa W. Amos, dean of women in the University of Pittsburgh. 21. 287 students graduate from Coughlin High School; 38 students graduate from St. Ann's Academy. 22. A trail of salt spilled from a freight car along the tracks of the Lehigh Valley railroad on the mountain in the vicinity of White Haven lures a lot of deer and ten of them killed by trains in about ten days. 23. Dedication of a marker on the river common at South street in commemoration of the l50th anniversary of the mobilization of General Sullivan's regiments on the river common, preparatory to marching into New York State to wreak vengeance upon the Six Nations Indians for their depredations in the Wyoming Valley and elsewhere: the exercises under the auspices of Wyoming Valley Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution: Luzerne County Committee of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames: and the Pennsylvania Historical Commission: Miss Frances Dorrance, secretary of the Pennsylvania Historical and Geological Society, presiding: invocation by Rev. Dr. L. L. Sprague, president of Wyoming Seminary: speakers, Lieutenant Governor Arthur James: Louis Frank, representing the Chamber of Commerce: Mayor Daniel L. Hart, C. Hale Sipe of Butler: Dr. Flick of the department of History and Archives, New York State....End of two day celebration in opening the Wilkes-Barre Wyoming Valley Airport at Forty Fort, one of the biggest events ever held in this vicinity: about 17,000 paid admissions, but many thousands of people see the flying exhibitions from adjoining elevations and house roofs; thousands of automobilists at the scene; among the famous flyers who took part were Elinor Smith, eighteen year old winner of the women's international endurance flight record; George Haldeman, pilot of the trans-Atlantic flight with Miss Elder and also noted for his flight from Canada to Cuba; Martin Jensen, famous endurance flight pilot who finished second in the Dole race from California to Hawaii; Major Leo J. Heffernan, one of the pioneers and most famous member of the United States Army air corps; O. G. Harned, pioneer flyer and now prominent in the ranks of airplane manufacturers, and Art Davis, holder of the world's record for dead stick landing.... Governor Fisher appoints D. William Henderson to be Clerk of the Courts to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Edmund Bevan and John Bonin to be Prothonotary, taking the place of Dr. Turpin, elected to Congress: Mrs. Kosek, wife of Judge John V. Kosek, deceased, given the position of deputy Clerk of the Courts. 24. through 27. No entries. 28. Miss Agnes Berry appointed director in charge of the municipal tennis courts of Wilkes-Barre.....Numerous people taken up in planes at the local airport since its opening, for rides over the city and valley, at from three dollars to five dollars for short rides.... Rev. J. J. O'Leary, pastor of the Catholic church at Shavertown, elected national chaplain of the Disabled War Veterans. 29. No entry. 30. Miss Tannie H. Stocker dies in the same house in Plains in which she was born ninety-one years ago. ------- JULY 1. Court ousts five members of the Jenkins Township school board for violation of the school code, embracing a number of charges, and appoints new men in their places. 2. No entry. 3. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hann of Sweet Valley celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 4. Attorney William A. Wilcox the orator at the commemorative exercises at Wyoming Monument ....Mr. and Mrs. Rolandis Cragle of Jackson township celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary....Fourth of July weather clear and of moderate temperature....Seventeen children injured in Wilkes-Barre by fireworks. 5. Death of David P. Ayars of Wilkes-Barre, retired banker, who for thirty-eight years was cashier of the Miners Bank.....Donald O, Coughlin appointed assistant District Attorney to take the place of John H. Bonin, who was appointed Prothonotary. 6. Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Whitesell of Hunlock Creek celebrate their golden wedding anniversary....Orpheus Glee Club of Wilkes-Barre, John Jones Owen, conductor, wins first prize at the national eisteddfod in Scranton, $1,500 in gold and a medal for the conductor, the selections "Night of a Star" (Protheroe) and "From the Sea" (MacDowell) 7. No entry. 8. Extremely hot spell for several days, thermometer around ninety.....Death of John J. McNelis, former Burgess of Luzerne Borough and highly esteemed citizen. 9. No entry. 10. New money bills issued by the federal government on the hands of the local banks, about one-third smaller than the bills now in use: great demand for the new issues, mainly out of curiosity.... Death of Henry Kaschenbach of Wilkes-Barre, 72 years, for many years associated with his father in one of the oldest furniture houses in the city.....Move made by the Scranton Spring Brook Water Service Company to force payment on bills due by consumers who refused to pay since the beginning of the fight against the increase of rates. Alderman Brown gives judgment in favor of the company but the defendants, eleven in number, appeal to the court; close of testimony in behalf of the consumers before the Public Service Commission. 11. Word received of the death in Glenburn of Rev. S. Ezra Neikirk, former rector of St. James' Episcopal church in Pittston. 12. No entry. 13, Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Moore of Kingston celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 14 through 17. No entries. 18. New swimming pool at Irem Temple Country Club opened. 19. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Barker of Nanticoke observe the fifty-fifth anniversary of their marriage.....Two of the contests for the naming of airplanes at the Wilkes-Barre airport decided, Miss Margaret Gabriel of Wilkes-Barre naming the training ship "Student Prince" and Carl Forve of Wilkes-Barre the Bellanca plane "Anthracite." .....Attorney William J. Butler of Wilkes-Barre chosen supreme commander of the Order of Alhambra in the national election.....Bids received by the Lehigh Valley railroad for electrifying the division between Wilkes-Barre and Mauch Chunk. though the project has not yet been decided upon. 20. Birth rate in Wilkes-Barre in proportion to population was higher than in any other city in the State in 1928, with the exception of Johnstown, 26 per 1,000, the death rate somewhat above the average for the State,15.4 per 1,000 of population, the State's record varying from 9 to 19. 21 to 24. No entries. 25. J. C. Creveling of Wilkes-Barre elected president, Dr. C. A. Morrish of Wilkes-Barre first vice president, C. R. Kelchner of Forty Fort recording secretary, H. S. Nicholson of Wilkes-Barre treasurer and Dr. C. C. Mortimer of Wilkes-Barre corresponding secretary of the United Sportsmen of Pennsylvania. 26. Ugly situation developing in the water company fight, employees of the company attempting to shut off the water supply from consumers who refuse to pay and municipal authorities challenging the right to discontinue the supply on the score of health; State Department of Health appealed to, and action in court begun. 27. Mr. and Mrs. Lemuel Merrill of Kingston observe their golden wedding anniversary. 28. Hottest day of the season, thermometer 90 degrees in Wilkes-Barre. 29. Last day for filing nomination papers for the September primaries sees no opposition to Judge Alfred Valentine, he having been appointed by the court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Kosek....Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Johnson of Avoca celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary. 30. No entry. 31. Alice Little of Swoyersville elected Mayor by the children of the Wyoming Valley playgrounds.....July the driest month since the establishment of official measurement of rainfall at the local station, precipitation 1.42 inches, rain only on two days; also one of the hottest months in years. ------ AUGUST 1. No Entry. 2. Local water company grants a truce of fifteen days in its shut-off campaign to give consumers who refuse to pay their bills during the rate controversy another chance to settle. 3. Death of Anthony L. Williams of Wilkes-Barre, 66 years, well-known attorney..... Mr. and Mrs. Robinson May of Wilkes-Barre observe their fiftieth wedding anniversary. 4. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Simkovitz of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 5. Burglars crack the safe in the Capitol theatre and get away with about $5,000 ....Pittston city council adopts a flag and seal. 6. William E. Mannear resigns as Postmaster of Wilkes-Barre to head the Taxpayers' Association of Wyoming Valley, composed of coal companies interested in the economical expenditure of tax money: Mr. Mannear served for eight years as postmaster and for twenty-three years in the post office.... local count shows that from 16.000 to 17,000 motor vehicles cross the West Market street bridge in an ordinary day of twenty-four hours....Three mine workers killed and several injured by an explosion and cave in Truesdale colliery of the Glen Alden Coal Co.....Annual basket picnic of Irem Temple attracts about 7,500 people to the country club, the largest picnic in the history of the Shrine...Surprise caused when the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. submits a bid to the Hanover township school board for repairs to school buildings, the coal company's bid being the lowest: first time a coal company has bid on contract work and directors in a quandary as to whether the company was legally entitled to the work; contractors uneasy lest coal companies intend to compete with them. 6 and 7. No entries. 8. Sixty automobiles containing Wyoming Valley people participate in the opening of the new highway between Tunkhannock and Montrose....A number of Wyoming Valley people attend the centennial celebration in Honesdale of the first trial of the first locomotive in America, the Stourbridge Lion, imported from England: trial was made at Honesdale but the track proved to be unstable and the locomotive was not put into actual service. 9, 10 and 11. No entries. 12. Judge Fine hands down a decision making permanent the injunction restraining municipalities from interfering with shutting off water on premises where bills are not paid. 13. No entry. 14. Indignation among bona fide candidates who filed nomination papers for the primaries, on discovering that papers had been filed for persons who bore similar names, with the evident purpose of confusing voters; an old form of trickery in Luzerne County.....Mr. and Mrs. James B. Lewis of Plymouth observe their golden wedding anniversary. 15. Death at St. Johns of George Kirkzkie, said to have been 100 years of age.... 15,000 people attend Welsh Day picnic at Fernbrook Park. 16. Death of Alonzo J. Sult of Berwick, 84 years, who operated a boat on the canal between Wyoming Valley and Northumberland....Hanover township school board votes to reject all bids for repairs to school buildings and do the work on the piece basis without contract: thus for the time evading the embarrassing situation caused by a coal company sending in the lowest bid. 17. With the liberation of approximately 1,000,000 cubic feet of methane gas in thirty-six hours, the area of No. 3 shaft, Woodward colliery, Glen Alden Coal Company. damaged by a huge squeeze and fire on May 26. 1927, has been cleared of danger, agencies and workmen will start to rehabilitate the area and to search for the bodies of five men buried at the time of the cave. 18 and 19. No entries. 20. Frank Rutkowski elected principal of the Wilkes-Barre township schools.... Holding in substance that an automobile truck cannot be prohibited from using the streets at night as long as the motor vehicle laws are complied with, Judge Valentine refuses to make permanent an injunction sought by West Pittston residents on the ground that the operation of a truck hauling culm prevents sleep and is a menace to sick people....William E. Newhart made acting postmaster of Wilkes-Barre pending the selection of a successor to William E. Mannear, resigned. 21. No entry. 22. Following his dismissal of his chief deputy, Benjamin Rhys, County Controller creates another sensation in the court house by dismissing his solicitor, John J. Hibbard, both for political reasons; Francis J. Murray appointed solicitor. 23. No entry. 24. Court still engaged in hearing charges that certain nomination papers bearing names similar to names of candidates who were long in the field had been filed for fraudulent purposes to confuse the voters; some of the Judges severe in their denunciation of such tricky tactics..... Joseph Barretti of Pittston, 24 years, killed by State police during a raid by the latter on several people who were suspected of loading beer on trucks. State Police say they were fired upon. 25. No entry. 26. Death of Dr. Jefferson P. Biehl of Plymouth, well known physician, aged 72 years.....Farmers in various parts of the county report that bear and deer are plentiful and doing much damage....Miss Agnes M. Berry again wins the women's singles in tennis for the championship of the Wyoming Valley and is given permanent possession of the loving cup donated by Frank Clark....Fire in the Shawanese section of Harvey's Lake destroys eight buildings, including the Commonwealth Telephone exchange; loss $135.000....City Council awards a contract for a fill of 1,500 feet along the edge of the river at Kirby Park to reduce flood damage: gravel and stones to be dredged from the river by J. A. Singer.... The navy dirigible Los Angeles flies over Wilkes-Barre at 11 o'clock at night, on its way from Lakehurst, N, J,, to Cleveland to attend the air races; many people in the Wyoming Valley see the novel visit... One miner killed, two missing and twelve injured in a squeeze and concussion in Marcy vein of the No. 9 colliery of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. at Hughestown; part of the town affected and many people anxious over the fate of the men in the mine. 27 through 29. No entries. 30. By agreement with the candidates the court orders the nullification of petitions of persons who bore names similar to those of bona fide candidates for the September primaries, thus avoiding confusion of names. 31. Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Behler of Parsons celebrate their golden wedding anniversary....Attorney Frank L. Pinola of West Pittston elected commander of the American Legion of Pennsylvania, the third Luzerne County man to hold that position....Employees of the Wilkes-Barre post office and substations tender a reception and dinner in honor of William E. Mannear, who resigned as postmaster to become executive manager of the taxpayers' Association....Last portion of the fine new road between Luzerne Borough and Trucksville, part of the Harvey's Lake highway, opened for traffic. SEPTEMBER 1. No Entry. 2. Death of Frederick McCormick, surviving member of the McCormick and French firm of architects, who planned some of the most important buildings in Wilkes-Barre....Death of Attorney Thomas M. Herbert of Wilkes-Barre. 3. Extreme heat for this time of year, 96 degrees in Wilkes-Barre; long period of dry weather, anxiety over water supply in some parts of the county. 4, No Entry, 5. River 1-2 feet below low water mark, lowest in many years....Fire on North Mountain near Stull burns over hundreds of acres and many men engaged in fighting it. 6. No Entry. 7. Death of Mrs. Elizabeth Lance of Lee Park at the age of 98 years.....Court decides that the County Commissioners are not authorized to appoint a delinquent tax collector, that overdue taxes must be paid to the County Treasurer....Rains bring relief from the prolonged drought. 8. Temple Israel dedicates the new school building erected on South River street at a cost of $60,000. 9. No Entry. 10. Court discharges ten persons who had been committed to jail from Pittston for unwillingness to pay other taxes overdue than the county tax for 1929, to qualify themselves as voters, the court stating that warrants of commmitment were defective....Demonstration in Harrisburg by about 1,000 residents of the Wyoming Valley in protest against the increase in water rates, the people go in automobiles; hearings resumed by the Public Service Commission. 11. Death of Maxwell Parke of West Pittston, well known citizen and attorney/ 12. No Entry. 13. Death of Owen P. Keenly of Wilkes-Barre, 60 years, for many years a well known newspaper man....Death of John Clifford, former Chief of Police of Wilkes-Barre and former superintendent of transportation for the traction company 14. No Entry. 15. Death of B. Frank Myers of Wilkes-Barre, head of the Grand Commandery, Knights Templar of Pennsylvania, a member of other organizations and an attorney. 16. No Entry. 17. Many exciting contests for municipal nominations in the primaries, court requested to impound fifty-three ballot boxes before the count had been completed' 18. No Entry. 19. Unusually cold weather for this time of year, thermometer 42 degrees in early morning in Wilkes-Barre and below freezing in higher places. 20 and 21. No Entries 23. Death of James Kinney, last of the charter members of Wilcox Post of the G. A. R. in Plains....Mass meeting in the Capitol theatre, Wilkes-Barre, in honor of Commander James Barry, claimed to be the founder of the American navy; Father J. J. Curran, Father D. J. Kane and Mayor Daniel L. Hart among the speakers..... About 250 Nobles of Irem Temple and their families return from a week-end trip to Atlantic City. 23. Pennsylvania Slovak Roman and Greek Catholic convention in Wilkes-Barre .....State Kiwanis delegates assemble for annual convention in Hazleton. 24. Wilkes-Barre Council adopts a resolution to join in petitioning the Public Service Commission for permission to begin condemnation proceedings against the local water company in a move for municipal ownership and operation.... Announcement of the purchase of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. by the Glen Alden Coal Co., at a price estimated at $86,000,000, payable in common stock of the Glen Alden; ten collieries by the L & W,-B. and fourteen by the Glen Alden, together with minor operations. 25 and 26. No entries. 27. Mrs. John D. Davenport succeeds Mrs. Bertha C. Routledge as vice chairman of the Luzerne County Republican Committee....Death of Dr. Martin C. Gaughn, well known Pittston physician. 28. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Brong of Mountain Top observe their sixtieth wedding anniversary....Luther P. Kniffen elected chairman of the county Republican committee, and Benjamin Rhys appointed secretary....Papers being circulated in Kingston petitioning the council to arrange for a referendum on changing the borough into a city of the third class....Politicians and workers, dissatisfied with the result of the primaries, continue to secure signers to numerous petitions for the preemption of special party names for the November election. 29. Congregation B'nai B'rith of Welles street, Wilkes-Barre, oldest orthodox Jewish congregation in the Wyoming Valley, dedicates the redecorated building and consecrates a holy scroll of the Talmud. 30.Supreme Court hands down a decision in the coal assessment cases appealed from Luzerne County, affecting Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre property in Wilkes-Barre and Glen Alden coal land in Newport township; the court decides that the sale value of individual coal parcels is not a reliable basis for assessment but that the value of whole tracts should be taken into consideration; the court also lays down an entirely new method of arriving at valuation, that the condition of the coal market, the sales of coal and other economic factors affecting coal should be taken into account, as well as the market value of tracts....Supreme Court renders a decision in the case of the appeal of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. from the act of tax collector John A. Riley of Sugar Notch, who levied upon the company's property for non-payment of taxes; the court holds that the levy was illegal, since the corporation is not a "person" in the meaning of the law and therefore it cannot be subject to a levy....Glen Alden Coal Co. lets a contract for the sinking of two shafts to tap virgin veins of coal in Nanticoke and Hanover Township, the shafts to be located on the Voight farm near the Middle Road, they to be the first all-concrete shafts, about 1.200 feet deep. OCTOBER 1. Work begun tearing down the Joseph S. Coons & Co. store building at the corner of Public Square and East Market, to give place to a two-story building for stores and a dance hall, with a new theatre in the rear. 2. Long-continued drought broken by one of the heaviest rains in years, estimated that five inches of rain fell in one day.... Mrs. Sybelle Hyman the fifth woman to be admitted to the Luzerne County bar....Local water company resumes shutting off water from consumers who fail to pay and trouble between the company's employees and residents threatened in some instances....Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Case of Jackson township observe their sixtieth wedding anniversary....Frank Martz purchases fifty more buses of the latest type for his long distance passenger service reaching as far West as Chicago and St. Louis. 3 through 6. No entries. 7. Attorney John J. Hibbard appointed acting county solicitor to succeed Wilfrid Jones. 8. Rotary Club of Wilkes-Barre has its weekly lunch in the Wilkes-Barre Record building and is taken on a tour of inspection through the building. 9. Sudden death of Leo W. Long of Wilkes-Barre, one of the leaders in the movement for the erection of Irem Temple and in securing and arranging the Temple country club, impressario and interested in various public affairs. 10. A number of Wyoming Valley people attend the laying of the cornerstone for Kirby Hall at Lafayette College, the building to house the department of Civic Rights established by F. M. Kirby of Wilkes-Barre, who also is donating the building at a cost of $500,000....Michael Shesavage of Plains, charged with having committed a murder in the course of robbery and with having been implicated in other crimes, commits suicide in jail. 11. Four persons killed, two fathers and two sons, by a Lehigh Valley engine striking an automobile on the cutoff branch at Dupont. 12. Two women and an infant killed in an automobile crash near Shickshinny.... 150th anniversary of the death of General Casimer Pulaski, Polish hero who enlisted in the American cause in the Revolutionary War and was fatally wounded in the siege of Savannah, commemorated with a great demonstration in Wilkes-Barre, the biggest in Pennsylvania; large parade, followed by exercises in Kirby Park; among those present Governor Fisher, Tytus Filipowicz, Minister from Poland to the United States, Chief Justice von Moschzisker of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Lieut. Governor Arthur James, and many other prominent people from other places. 13. Death of Fred H. Gates, for forty-one years in the employ of the city of Wilkes-Barre and for many years city clerk, secretary of the League of Third Class Cities.... Blue Triangle lodge, the Y. W. C. A. camp at Harvey's Lake destroyed by fire. 14. Death in Florence, Italy, of Dr. Charles R. Parks, member of one of the oldest Wyoming Valley families, son of the late Rev. and Mrs. N. G. Parks of West Pittston....Death of William R. White, member of one of the oldest drug firms in northeastern Pennsylvania, W. D. White & Co.....Wilkes-Barre Y. M. C. A. recognizes the growing interest in aviation by starting an evening school on the theory of aviation....Class of 300 confirmed in St. Aloysius church. Wilkes-Barre....Mr. and Mrs. Daniel H. Evans of Ashley celebrate their sixty-second marriage anniversary.... Wyoming Valley Council, composed of members of Chambers of Commerce and service clubs, organized at a dinner meeting in Kingston to take up problems of general community interest. 15 through 17. No Entries. 18. New Catholic parish created for the southwestern part of Wilkes-Barre and Rev. Patrick J. Durkin appointed pastor....Field day at the Wyoming Valley airport attracts about four hundred people, lunch served and stunt flying afterwards. 19. Henry W. Merritt appointed census supervisor of the Wilkes-Barre district, which includes Luzerne county.... Councilman Mundy, in charge of the Department of Health, notifies the water company that the city will insist on enforcing measures for the protection of the people's health, that where water is shut off from premises and heat cannot be furnished from boilers the city will see to it that a water supply is furnished. 20. Grant street Presbyterian church dedicates its new pipe organ in connection with the fortieth anniversary services. 21. No Entry. 22. $40,910 Wilkes-Barre's share of the $2,000,000 State fund for maintaining city streets that form part of the State highway system....Hazleton particularly interested in the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Edison's discovery of the incandescent lamp, since Hazleton was the second city in the world to have a central lighting plant. 23. Mr. and Mrs. F. S. Fowler of Pine View celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. 24. Dedication of the new home of Black Diamond Post of the American Legion in Kingston....Plains township school teachers go on strike for salaries overdue five months, together with pay for attending teachers' institute, overdue for five years: schools vacant. 25. No Entry. 26. Six deer and two black bears killed in a few days by automobiles, a train, and by farmer incensed owing to depredations upon their crops, all within twenty miles of Wilkes-Barre. 27. Laying of cornerstone for St. John's Catholic church and parochial school in Wilkes-Barre, by Bishop O'Reilly. 28. Plains township school board decides to pay the teachers two more months salary, strike of the teachers for back pay attracting Statewide attention. 29. 2,100 hunting licenses taken out in one day at the county court house....Mr. and Mrs. Sterling Gruver of Wilkes-Barre celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary....Miss Agnes Berry of Wilkes-Barre elected a member of the National Board of Women's Major Sports. 30. School directors of Plains township agree to pay the teachers the salaries due and the teachers decide to end the strike, 143 of them. 31. No entry. November 1. Rev. James Lawrence, pastor of the First Methodist church of Nanticoke, aggressive against vice conditions in Nanticoke, accepts a call to one of the most important Methodist churches in Detroit. 2. No Entry. 3. Dedication of St. Theresa's Catholic church at Shavertown. Rev. J. J. O'Leary, rector: many notables of the Catholic church in attendance....Talmud Torah, Jewish educational institution in Wilkes-Barre, graduates its first class, seven persons.... In an application by the water company for an injunction to restrain the municipal ownership league and others from interfering with the company's work in shutting off the water supply from persons who refuse to pay their bills the court suggests that a compromise might be effected if the company's opponents advised delinquents to pay on the old rates, holding back the increase granted by the Public Commission until a final decision is rendered by the Commission: the company's attorneys ask for a few days longer in which to consider the suggestion. 4. No Entry. 5. Election in Luzerne County extraordinary in the fact that no county candidate had opposition, all having received the nominations of all parties in the primaries--William A. Valentine for Judge, Leonard D, Morgan for County Controller, John H. Bonin for Prothonotary and William Henderson for Clerk of the Courts. William A. Lewellyn and Patrick J. Gallagher elected Jury Commissioners. In Wilkes-Barre Joseph G. Schuler re-elected to Council and John Nobel elected to take the place of Thomas W. Brown. The only contest in Wilkes-Barre, aside from a few aldermanic contests, was for school director and for this office a vigorous campaign was waged: the successful candidates were Eugene T. Giering and Louis Frank, present members. Mayors were elected in three of the four cities in the county--James Harvey re-elected in Hazleton, Ambrose Langan in Pittston and Evan J. Williams in Nanticoke.... Death of John R. Lamb of Wilkes-Barre, for many years engaged in the oil business. 6. All ballot boxes in the city of Hazleton seized and taken into court for counting of the vote in the fierce mayoralty contest: about twenty-five boxes in other parts of the county seized on election day owing to suspicion of fraud.... The Bullet, Central Railroad of New Jersey's new fast train between Wilkes-Barre and New York, christened in Wilkes-Barre by Mayor Hart, in the presence of a group of prominent people, including R. B. White, President of the railroad. 7. No Entry. 8. Attorneys for the water company reject the offer made by the company's opponents, that payment by consumers at the rates in effect before the new company took possession be accepted until a final decision by the Public Service Commission or the courts, the balance to be collectible later on, in the meantime the company to cease shutting off water; company's attorneys ask for an injunction to restrain parties from interfering with shut-off operations. 9. Seventy-fifth anniversary of the Wilkes-Barre Institute being observed; Henry Noble MacCracken, president of Vasaar, speaks in Irem Temple before a large audience of graduates, students and friends. 10. No entry. 11.Heights Mixed Chorus, Norman Roderick leader, wins. the chief prize at the eleventh annual Armistice Day eisteddfod of the Men's Club of the First Welsh Presbyterian church, Wilkes-Barre. 12. Second concert of the season by the Wilkes-Barre Symphony Orchestra with Harold Bauer, pianist, and Ruth Rodgers, soprano, as soloists....Isaac P. Hand of Wilkes-Barre receiving congratulations on the sixtieth anniversary of his admission to the Luzerne County bar. 13. and 14. No Entries. 15. At a meeting of the Luzerne County Bar Association at which he was a special guest, Isaac P. Hand gives some reminiscences of his sixty years as a member of the bar....Wilkes-Barre selected by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., largest concern of the kind in the world, as one of its distributing and warehousing centers in the United States. 16. and 17. No entries. 18. Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Lewis of Wyalusing observe their golden wedding anniversary .... Young Women's Christian Association $100,000 debt elimination campaign, Frank Parkhurst general chairman. 19. No entry. 20. Jewish congregation B'nai B'rith of South Washington street, Wilkes-Barre, observed its eightieth anniversary with a dinner at Hotel Sterling, Marcus Salzman, rabbi....Ray A. Briggs of Nescopeck township makes a surprising record in producing 100 bushels of shelled corn to the acre, one of the best yields in the country, if not the best. 21. No entry. 22, Death of Dr. William J. Carroll, well known dentist of Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne Borough.... Attorney S. M. R. O'Hara of Wilkes-Barre elected president of the Pennsylvania Council of Republican Women. 24. First snowfall of the season, but soon vanishes. 25. Wilkes-Barre Y. W. C. A. debt eliminating campaign for $100`000 closes with $100,670 pledged....Mr. and Mrs. Philip Zimmer of Wilkes-Barre observe their sixtieth wedding anniversary. 26. Ruth Bryan Owen, congresswoman from Florida, daughter of the late William J. Bryan, speaks at the convention of the Federation of Women's Clubs of northeastern Pennsylvania in Wilkes-Barre. 27. Nanticoke Presbyterian church observes its one hundredth anniversary. 28. Cornerstone of St. Patrick's Catholic church in Wilkes-Barre laid by Monsigner Paul A. Kelly, vicar-general of the Scranton diocese.... Mr. and Mrs. Henry Harison of Plymouth celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary. 29. Sudden spell of severe Winter weather, twelve degrees in Wilkes-Barre and two below at Harvey's Lake at night,,,, Formal re-opening of Hotel Terminal under the management of A. J. Barber.... Henry Walser elected president of the First National bank of Hazleton. 30. Six degrees above zero in Wilkes-Barre....Death of Attorney D. M. Hobbes, 72 years, at his home in Kingston, well known member of the Luzerne County bar. The End