| YEARS GONE BY ARCHIVES |
| FEBRUARY 1912 |
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN'S NEW POST OFFICE Neighboring Town Now Has a Model Post Office Thursday morning, February 1st, the Schuylkill Haven Post Office was moved form the Kauffman property across the street to the Hotel Grand building, where it will be located for the ensuing ten years, a lease having been signed for that length of time. Late Wednesday evening the work of removing the fixtures was completed and now the residents of that town have one of the finest equipped post offices in the state. Everything is of the latest design and pattern and Postmaster Reed has every reason to be highly elated on the appearance of his new place of business. Separate windows for sending and receiving registered mail and one for money orders, together with the different drops and the general delivery and stamp window will occupy the front part of the fixtures. The call boxes will be placed along the side and the local boxes along the side and rear or third corner fronting Main Street. The work room, pouch rack and sorting tables will be at the rear of the office. The interior will be fitted with what is known as a paper rack. A large frame with rollers fitted with pigeon holes correspond to the alphabetical order of the general delivery boxes. This rack will be used for magazines and papers and can be moved from the delivery boxes to the rear of the office to facilitate the sorting of this class of mail. There will be 240 lock boxes as against forty five at the old building. The rents for three months will be .45 cents for the small boxes, .60 cents for the medium boxes and .75 cents for the large boxes or drawers. There will be 300 call boxes. The rental of these boxes will be a quarter, the same as heretofore. The office will be open the early part of the coming week so that persons can select their mail boxes in good time. There are several rules which the postmaster requests us to publish which will be strictly enforced. Persons renting local boxes must make a deposit of twenty cents for each key. When the box is no longer desired, the deposit will be returned to the party. Mail from lock boxes must be taken out of the box by use of the key. Mail from lock boxes will positively not be handed to the owner through the general delivery window, unless packages are too large for the box. Matter can not be delivered until postage due is paid. Letters addressed to the friends of the owner of a box stopping temporarily with him may be placed in the box if directed to his care or to the number of the box. Letters addressed top other persons residing in the same place and living and doing business separate and apart from a box holder will not be placed in such box. A person renting a post office box is entitled to have the letters of his family put into it. Each box must be restricted to the use of one family, firm or corporation. Pottsville Republican of February 3, 1912 SCHUYLKILL HAVEN SHORTS Daniel Feeny of Haven Street fell from his train and had his right leg crushed from the hip to the knee. He was removed to the Miner's Hospital at Fountain Springs. Of the 2400 names of jurors placed in the jury wheel for service during 1912, this town has 78 citizens that will be summoned for various sessions of court. James Schucker has installed a hot water system at his coal yards to thaw out frozen cars of coal. Elmer Thrush of town has purchased the bar fixtures and good will of the W. C. Mock Hotel in Palo Alto and will take charge as soon as the license is transferred. Pottsville Republican of February 6, 1912 SCHUYLKILL HAVEN BOROUGH COUNCIL According to the rulings of the Schuylkill Haven Borough Council at their regular meeting held on Monday evening, the Health Board of that town must do their duty as required of them by the ordinance and council or get along without any appropriation. Councilman Smoll brought the question forcibly to the point of withholding the appropriation when he stated that the board was not doing their duty properly and that a walk through the alleys and streets would prove his statement. It was contended that if the present members are not willing to do their duty they should resign and allow council to appoint members who will. It was stated that at numerous places through the town, tenants and property owners are allowing the water from their kitchens and bath tubs to run out into the pavements where it freezes and endangers the lives of pedestrians. A case was reported where a resident of the town fell and sprained his wrist. This person stated to a councilman that if anything serious had resulted from his fall he would prosecute the borough. Councilman Rooney stated that there were cases where it would be impossible for the board to act. He referred to a number of streets through the town where they were one solid mass of ice and the ice was formed from pure water. He wanted to know who was to blame for that and whether it was the duty of the property owner or the Board of Health. Council was informed after a lengthy discussion that it would be necessary to have an ordinance governing the running of impure water into the gutters and pavements. Councilman Smoll made a motion to have the ordinance committee draw up an ordinance regulating the flow of water into the streets. This motion was lost when another one was made authorizing the clerk to notify the Health Board to make a ruling on the question and submit it to council for approval. In a report submitted by the Board of Health to council for the year, it was stated that eleven meetings were held together with one general inspection and a number of other inspections. During the year there were 43 communicable diseases as follows: diphtheria, 15, measles, 4, typhoid fever, 5, chickenpox, 15, erysipelas, 3, whooping cough, 1, and scarlet fever 1. Two ordinances as submitted by the Ordinance Committee passed first reading on Monday evening. The first ordinance provides for a new ordinance book that will contain all valid and existing ordinances, the date of their enactment and the signers and also to provide for the inscribing in the future of all ordinances, to be enacted and passed by council and to have copies made and have them open at all times for the inspection of the public. The second ordinance provides for the paving of Dock Street and for the assessment of the property owners to pay the same. Chief Burgess Hartman stated that it was the law for the Burgess of the town to affix his signature to the bonds of all borough employees and that in th epast this had not been done. He therefore wanted the pleasure of fixing his signature to the bond of Treasurer F. B. Keller. Pottsville Republican of February 9, 1912 SCHOOL NOTES The regular monthly meeting of the school board was held on Monday night. An adjourned meeting is called for next Monday night to which Charles Geschwindt is summoned to appear before the board to explain his conduct in the North Ward school building on January 23rd and to hear evidence in the case. The full board was present. A report was received from the Committee of Buildings and Grounds. The committee recommended that the purchase of a safe be deferred and a safe deposit box be rented at the bank for safe keeping of important documents. The Finance Committee was instructed to rent such a box. Principal Heckert was given permission to order some required supplies. On the two holidays this month, Lincoln and Washington's birthdays, it is directed that the schools be in session and begin their special exercises at two o'clock and dismiss as soon as the exercises are over. The board heard a report on the alleged misconduct and profane language used in the North Ward school building by Charles Geschwindt on January 23rd. It is asserted that Mr. Geschwindt ignored the authority of the teachers and indulged in a flood of foul and profane language before many young children and pupils and even to them. To investigate this matter more thoroughly, the board has summoned Mr. Geschwindt to appear at a special board meeting next Monday night. The board and the public is of the opinion that this offense should not be condoned nor passed without proper punishment if the accused is guilty as alleged. The Building Committee announced that work on the boy's additional toilet would be started as soon as the frost was out of the ground. A resolution of thanks to the high school classes of 1912 and 1913 for the furniture in the director's room was offered and unanimously passed. The room is now splendidly and conveniently equipped for an office and meeting room, the greater part of the cost of which was borne by those two classes. A lengthy truancy report and the case taken up separately. There were nineteen cases and considerable time was consumed in the consideration of them. Pottsville Republican of February 17, 1912 SCHOOL BOARD MEETING A meeting of the school board was held Monday evening with all directors and officers present, also Officer Butz, Charles Geschwindt and son Charles and teachers from the North Ward. The chief purpose of the meeting was the consideration of the case in which Mr. Geschwindt was charged with profanity and disturbances caused in schools Number 10 and 17. The teachers of those rooms were present and testified as follows: Mr. Geschwindt's boy came up the stairway noisily; his teacher reproved him and sent him back to come up more orderly; walking too noisily still, the teacher accompanied him up the steps the next time after which he went to his room. At this point Mr. Geschwindt appeared as he was on his way to school Number 17 where his daughter attends and he asked what the trouble was and was informed. He went to Number 17 and asked the teacher whether that was the school his daughter Millie attended and was told it was and that her attendance was not good. Mr. Geschwindt said, "I don't care a damn if she don't go to your school." The teacher listened to no more of this language. He then went to Number 10, found his boy and walking up to his desk told him something. The teacher remonstrated on the intrusion in her room and he told her she had nothing to do in the matter and should "shut up" but he did no cursing. President Jones reported having interrogated about fifteen children in Number 17 and these all declared they heard Mr. Geschwindt curse in the room, in the corridor and all the way out the building. Professor Heckert stated what curses or words of profanity were used as alleged by the children. Mr. Geschwindt offered in evidence the following: He was on his way to Number 17 school, met Charles' teacher on the landing, asked what the trouble was, went to Number 17 and asked about his daughter, did not think he swore, declared emphatically he did not curse and swear, went to Number 10 school, got his son Charles by the ear and told him he must behave. He admitted he was very angry and said some things which he should not have said but insisted steadfastly that he did not curse. He was closely questioned by President Jones and the other members of the board. After an extended discussion by the directors a motion carried by which Officer Butz was directed to serve notice on Mr. Geschwindt that he go in company with the supervising principal to school rooms Number 10 and 17 and make a public apology to these teachers and their students for his conduct on January 23rd. Pottsville Republican of February 21, 1912 SCHUYLKILL HAVEN WANTS NEW TRAIN Residents of Schuylkill Haven, who are still loud in their disapproval of the increase in the trolley fare between that city and Pottsville, are equally loud in their approval of the suggested change in the Reading Railroad service, wherein it was pointed out that the reading's S & S branch crew, instead of making its terminus at Auburn, might be extended into Pottsville and out again, both morning and evening, thereby furnishing a service which would be most pleasing and acceptable to the commuters all the way from Pine Grove to Pottsville. It has since been pointed out by a prominent resident of Schuylkill Haven that if the morning trip of the S & S were extended from Auburn to Pottsville reaching Pottsville about 7:30, a very valuable connection would be thus afforded with the Tamaqua branch train that leaves Pottsville at 7:37 making connections clear through to Mauch Chunk, Scranton and Wilkes Barre, Shamokin and Williamsport. People living south and west of Pottsville cannot make this connection at present, except by using the trolley line into Pottsville at an early hour and Auburn, Tremont and Pinegrove do not even have the trolley connection. IT is the firm belief of persons in the towns from Pottsville to Pinegrove that if the change indicated should be made, the new train would jump immediately into favor and the results from a company standpoint would more than justify the improvement. The matter is to be taken up with the Reading Company high officials within the next few days. |