| YEARS GONE BY ARCHIVES |
| Pottsville Republican of January 3, 1933 The Schuylkill Haven Borough Council held the first meeting of the New Year in the Council Chamber Town Hall last evening. The principle item of business was the adoption of a budget and the budget system for the conduct of the business of the borough. The budget, as presented by the finance committee and accepted by Council, totaled $193,330 as follows; Regular fund, $47510,electric light$95,725, gas and water $50,095. The general fund totals $16,900; department of public safety, $8,000; police, $4,395, property account, $870; electric light $93,725; water, $31,647; gas $18, 448. A motion to hire registered accountants to audit every department of the borough’s accounts was lost by a nine to three vote. All the members favored such an audit, but it would be the work of possibly three months, and they did not feel that they could spend the money. The item also was not included in the year’s budget, and could not be handled this year for that reason. A petition for a new street light at the lower end of Schumacher Avenue, signed by over 100 property owners in that section, was received and referred to the light committee. The light will probably be placed. In a discussion, it was mentioned that the light department is receiving for street lights the sum of $319 monthly, and that this amount has remained the same for many years, while the number of street lights has grown from several hundred to 428. The committee is not complaining, and wants to give the fullest service, but explained that if they were charging as utility companies usually do for street lights, they would be able to show a much greater profit in the operation of the light plant. The gas and water department agreed to pay a $25 monthly renal for their offices and storage in the Town Hall. The water department will require a 10 per cent profit on the proposed service line to the Baldinger home in Cressona. It is estimated that it will cost $1000 to run a water line to this home. The matter of extending the borough electric fire alarm system to the County Home and Hospital for Mental Disease was investigated by the committee and it was found that the request came from the Board of Fire Trustees, and not from the Poor Directors, nor the superintendent of the hospital, and that these folks are not interested in extending the borough’s fire alarm system. The list of tax exonerations for the year were presented by Tax Collector Scherer in the sum of $200 and it was accepted. A motion to charge the Bressler Band a rental for their use of Town Hall was lost by a 10 to two vote. Another motion to give the band unlimited use of the Council Chamber for their rehearsals was lost by the same vote. Council decides the band to secure new and permanent headquarters, but is willing to let matters stand as they are namely, that the band use the room until they can get headquarters of their own, without any charge. There was $1,000 transferred from the light sinking fund to the light general fund, and $700 from the light general fund to the regular borough account. The sum of $300 was voted the Board of Health for their operations. The Health Board, through Secretary Borda, notified Council that every resident of Garfield Avenue along the creek had been sent a notice to stop dumping in the creek, under penalty of arrest and find. Later, the Council decided to once more clean out the creek bed where it flows through the meadow to the level, so that the danger of flooding cellars and damaging property on Willow Street might be averted. Willow Street is to be improved by the purchase of ground from the East Penn and one of the essential features is that this creek be not used as a dump. Burgess Scott turned over the sum of $350 for motor fines received during the month The total receipts of his office for the year in fines and permits is $4,133.35. The balance last night in the regular account was $2,220.61; gas and water department, $14,570.63; electric light department, $7,480.09; Board of Health, $33.13. The streets were reported to be in good condition. The gas and water profits for the month were $264.41. Electric light profits were $3,768.83. There was a discussion on the danger of the bus stop at Center Avenue and Dock Street, but no action was taken. Solicitor Dalton, at the request of Council made last month, submitted a very able opinion on the employment of councilmen’s sons in borough work. He advised against it as a policy, particularly where the councilmen receive support in the whole or part from their sons, as a later suit for surcharge might be sustained by the court. However, he said if the councilmen received nothing personally and that there was no competition or graft, it might safely be done. But in the final analysis he advised against it. The matter of additional lights on Center Ave., near the new Pennsy underpass, was discussed. The light or lights will be placed by the committee just as soon as ownership of certain property can be ascertained. The members present were: President Jacob Moyer, Harner, Carr, Huy, Sweigert, Sharadin, Bashore, Suits, McKeon, Heisler, Martin, Brownmiller, Secretary Betz, Solicitor Dalton and Burgess Scott. |
| Pottsville Republican of January 13, 1908 The borough electric light plant's daylight and power service becomes more popular every day. Meters have been installed for every consumer and they show a considerable increase in the day consumption of light current, while each week sees another motor or two put on the line. The latest to sign contracts for electric power are Baker Brothers and Company, who operate a large underwear mill. They will operate two motors of five and seven and a half horse power respectively and by the use of the electric current expect to economize on power expense. Among those who have recently installed the electric power are Rudy F. Moyer, general building contractor, George M. Ehly, baker, T. D. Brownmiller, marble cutter, and the Call printing office. Superintendent Marshall, of the borough electric department , is to be congratulated upon his success in demonstrating that a day service will pay the borough. Last evening at Spring Garden in the neighborhood of Crossley's store, one of the borough electric light wires broke and fell across the wires of the United Telephone and Telegraph Company resulting in the burning out of the telephone service and quite a considerable amount of damage. A small boy who was standing on the pavement where a live wire dropped was struck by the wire and knocked down. His trousers and one of his limbs were badly burned. In the exchange the fire flashed all over the switch board and the various connections and the operator, Lewis Emerich, had one of his fingers badly burned. Pottsville Republican of January 22, 1908 The local ice men are now on the anxious bench, but they still have one straw of hope to grasp at. Last year, on the tenth of March, those who had not already filled their ice houses, cut and stored twelve inch ice. Let us hope that they will be as fortunate this season, for if it is true that the temperature equalizes itself throughout the year, and as last spring, summer and fall were very cool, we may expect a hot dry summer this year and we will need plenty of ice. The coal men are cheerful for the reason that although the thermometer has not registered very low nor been down for any length of time during the winter, the atmosphere has at almost all times been so raw and the cold so penetrating that as much coal has been burned to make homes and business places as comfortable as during a steady cold snap with the thermometer down to zero and the atmosphere dry and healthful. The new Fairmount addition to the borough of Schuylkill Haven will open up to our citizens the choicest building site in the town. Borough Engineer Butz has finished laying out the plot in wide streets and avenues with alleys to the rear of every lot, making the arrangement of streets and lots a most ideal one. Schuylkill haven has been hampered in its growth first, by a lack of houses and secondly, by a lack of sites upon which to build them. It was not until recently that the Fairmount Addition, formerly the Boyer farm, was available for this purpose. Pottsville Republican of January 28, 1908 HIGH WIND CAUSES SHOWER OF FEATHERS Is some Schuylkill Haven lover of comfort and coziness minus a feather bed, or did the high wind of Monday afternoon blow all the feathers off somebody's flock of chickens? It was just about five o'clock and the wind was blowing great guns. Pedestrians at the intersection of Main and Saint Peter Streets, where the wind had a clean sweep and was unusually furious, were scurrying hurriedly toward warmer quarters when with the suddenness of a snow squall and like the proverbial thunderbolt from a clear sky, they were almost smothered beneath a cloud of feathers. The air was full of them and the sportive wind threw them down to the ground and then up into the air and into eddying swirls around the choking, gasping, sneezing citizens who were caught in this unique storm. Like most sudden and severe storms, it soon blew over but a few tell tale feathers still remain along Main and Saint Peter Streets as a reminder to those who were caught in it of their unique experience. |