TIRZAH, HERRICK TWP.: All the political candidates were elected, some to serve the people, others to serve their wrath.
HOPBOTTOM: We learn that C. A. Corson, of Brooklyn, will operate a saw mill in this place and be ready for busy for business in the near future.
LATHROP: The Ladies’ Aid will hold a fair at the church Nov. 30 and serve a Thanksgiving dinner in the grange dining room. The dinner will be 25 cents and a Thanksgiving supper will also be served. Everybody is cordially invited to bring their guests and enjoy a chicken pie dinner.
UNIONDALE: Peter Shelvey [Shelley, 43rd Regiment?] died at that place Saturday evening, Nov. 18, while walking from his home to the railroad station. He had been in good health and his death was entirely unexpected. He was a veteran of the Civil War and his age was 72 years. One son and one sister, Mrs. Cyrus Tyler, of Meshoppen, survive.
FOREST CITY: James Kelly, Forest City’s star short stop, is to have a try out with the Boston Nationals next season. He will accompany the team on its southern trip in the spring. A scout saw Kelly’s work the past season and he believes there is big league material in the speedy short stop’s makeup. ALSO, Toney Covert, aged 45 years, met a horrible death in the Clifford washery here on Thursday of last week. The man, an employee in the washery, while attempting to start the coal through the conveyor, had his shovel caught, and in trying to unloosen it was dragged into the machinery and crushed to death.
GREAT BEND: Burglars entered the store of Carl S. Tingley, Sunday night, and although the family resides over the store, they made so little noise that the burglars succeeded in getting away with $50 in cash. A window was pried open with a pitchfork and the marauders secured the money from the safe, which stood near the window. Local parties are thought to have been the robbers.
MONTROSE: Montrose merchants are laying in an unusually large stock of holiday goods this autumn. Hardly a merchant in the town has not made two or three trips to the city wholesale houses the past few months selecting large lines of goods. If you want reliable goods - goods that you are sure will be exchanged if unsatisfactory - patronize your local merchant. Don’t waste your money on car fare or undergo the discomfort of traveling and mingling with bargain counter crowds by going to the city. You will be better satisfied and help build up your town’s prosperity by spending your money where it is earned. ALSO, Attorney A. B. Fancher, of Los Angeles, Cal., formerly of Montrose, was in Pasadena and witnessed the landing of Aviator Rogers, when his long journey across the continent in his aeroplane ended. (Rogers flew over Broome and Susquehanna County).
SUSQUEHANNA: According to the Susquehanna Transcript, Fred Merinus, of Lanesboro, attempted to kill his wife by slowly poisoning her, in order that he might wed an adopted daughter, a young woman of about 17 years. The belief was that Mrs. Merinus was suffering from cancer and she went to the home of her parents, in Corning, to spend her last days. As long as she was seriously ill Merinus wrote long affectionate letters, but a Corning doctor took up the case, detected poison, and soon had her on the road to health. When Merinus heard the news, he ceased writing and the night before Mrs. Merinus was to arrive home the couple eloped taking Mrs. Merinus’ purse and about $200, which had been left in the house in a supposedly safe place, and Merinus also drew his savings from the bank. Mrs. Merinus, after learning of the elopement, packed up the household goods and valuables remaining and went to the home of her parents to live, thankful she was alive. She is not making any effort to locate the pair.
CHOCONUT: Election in this neighborhood passed off very quietly, but it resulted in some huge surprises. This is the way the ballots showed up in the count: There were 72 ballots cast, 1 being straight Republican, 20 straight Democratic, 7 straight Keystone, 38 split Democrats and 6 split Republicans. Only seven out of the eleven known Republicans came to the polls. The big surprise was that William Mooney, Republican, who ran for school director against John Dunn (a very estimable gentleman, by the way, and a Democrat) came out victorious by nine majority.
CLIFFORD: W. C. Baldwin has accepted a position as instructor in butter making at State College for the short course and will leave for his work Dec. 1. He has secured Will Ayres to attend to his work here during his absence.
SPRINGVILLE: Mrs. Leland Comstock is up from the valley at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Blakeslee, for the benefit of the health of her little baby.
FRIENDSVILLE: Rev. James B. Whelen, for 37 years pastor of St. Patrick’s church, West Scranton, died Nov. 11, at the Parochial residence. As a priest he had earned the love and esteem of his parishioners; as a citizen he had earned the esteem and respect of the city. Following the Mass the body was taken to Friendsville and buried in St. Francis Xavier cemetery. Father Whelan is survived by one sister, Miss Louise Whelan, of Friendsville.
THOMPSON: Frank W. Lewis, who was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace at the last election, was not elected to the office because he is a year in and a year out, middle of the road, Prohibitionist, as he is known to be, but he is every way qualified for the office. He was born and educated here and his opponent has recently become a resident here. “Not that we love Wright less but Lewis more,” we think the people showed good judgment in electing Mr. Lewis, irrespective of party.
NEWS BRIEF: The Lackawanna has made a new order eliminating the word “accident” from all its reports and hereafter all derailments, collisions, breakdowns, runaways and other mishaps will be knows as “irregularities.”
Back issues of 100 Years Ago can be found on the Historical Society’s website, www.susqcohistsoc.org. Be sure to support our Christmas Book Sale, Dec. 1 thru 3, at the Inn at Montrose.
In 1621, Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth colony declared the first day of thanksgiving and prayer. Initially, there was no set holiday known as thanksgiving, but it was common for the colonist to have a celebration each year around the harvest time. For many years, thanksgiving-type celebrations were celebrated throughout the United States on different days without any uniformity. The tradition of thanksgiving, however, was ingrained in the national soul - even before there was a nation.
In October 1782, toward the end of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, issued a proclamation designating November 28 as a day of Thanksgiving. The proclamation provided: “It being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to Almighty God, the giver of all good, for his gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of his providence in their behalf: Therefore the United States in Congress assembled . . . Do hereby recommend to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe, and request the several States to interpose their authority in appointing and commanding the observation of Thursday the twenty-eight day of November next, as a day of solemn Thanksgiving to God for all his mercies: and they do further recommend to all ranks, to testify to their gratitude to God for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience of his laws, and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.” At that time, however, the Continental Congress did not have any formal control over the individual states, but was only encouraging each state to celebrate a national thanksgiving. In 1789, after his election as the first president of the United States, George Washington continued this tradition and proclaimed November 26 to be a day of thanksgiving.
In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation establishing the last Thursday of November as a special day of Thanksgiving. In his proclamation establishing a national holiday, President Lincoln stated: “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”
President Lincoln’s words ring forth from the pages of history with the same power and force as they did in the midst of our civil war. While today’s politicians rarely invoke such strong reference to God in their statements, there is no doubt that Thanksgiving is a holiday with one purpose - giving thanks. For nearly four hundred years, the citizens of this country have joined together for a day of prayer and thanksgiving to collectively count our blessings and good fortune. I pray that you and your family have a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving Day.
Please submit any questions, concerns, or comments to Susquehanna County District Attorney’s Office, P.O. Box 218, Montrose, Pennsylvania 18801 or at our website www.SusquehannaCounty-DA.org or discuss this and all articles at http://dadesk.blogspot.com/.
I do not think we use the term “thank you” enough. So, on behalf of the Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association (SCHS&FLA) I wish to send a great big “thank you” to residents of this county who continue to support our Association. Thank you for your gifts (big or small) of money or time that keep us going.
SCHS&FLA’s annual support drive is currently underway. Perhaps you have received a recent mailing asking you to include us with your end-of-the-year contributions. If not, you may stop at any of our locations (Susquehanna, Hallstead/Great Bend, Forest City or Montrose) and pick up a support drive slip. Your donation is vital, especially in these economic times. Many in this county have told us how much they value their local library. Now is the time to make a tangible statement of support.
Susquehanna County is a wonderful place to live. There are many fine communities filled with caring people who routinely help their neighbors. I live in Silver Lake Township and have learned a great deal about “community support” in the last few weeks since the sudden passing of my husband of 47 years.
One of the “gems” in Susquehanna County is our library association. I know that at this time of year many other good and valuable organizations are asking for your support; but I, respectfully, request that you consider a gift to SCHS&FLA. Remember it is the goal of the Susquehanna County Library to be your resource for lifetime learning.
