| YEARS GONE BY ARCHIVES |
| The Call of November 5, 1920 ELECTRIC WIRE CAUSES SCARE HERE The dropping of the main or trolley wire Monday evening at about six o'clock at the corner of Saint John and Main Streets threw a scare into many pedestrians. Well it should have, for after parting at the corner of Main and Saint John Streets, its weight broke other guy wires and the line for the full length back to Wilson Street dropped to the bricked streets. With all kinds of flashes, fireworks, etc., pedestrians in that section at the time report having had narrow escapes. One pedestrian in particular, Forrest Meyer, of Saint John Street, missed being struck by it with the narrowest margin. The repair car was soon on hand and repaired the damage so that traffic was not impeded. 618 WOMEN CAST FIRST BALLOT Schuylkill Haven, as was expected, went Republican in this election by its usual large majority, almost three times as many Republican votes being cast as there were Democrat votes. There were 1230 republican votes for harding for president and 419 for Cox. Since the Prohibition law has become effective, (hardly operative) the county over, Schuylkill Haven prohibitionists have grown in number. This increase is explained by the women having been privileged to vote. There were 41 prohibition electoral votes cast and six Socialist votes polled. Of course everyone knows this was the first opportunity accorded women to vote. That they took advantage of it goes without saying. Of course there were some few who voted merely for the novelty but we are safe in saying the large majority of Schuylkill Haven women went to the polls intent on having their vote count in the election and defeat of certain national parties and of certain candidates. Surprising to many persons will be the notation of the number of women who voted, there being 618. The total number of men who voted was 1108. In comparison to the eligible voters to those who voted, the women for their first time at bat did not make such a good showing. There are 1583 male voters in town and 1108 came out to vote. There are 1677 women voters in town and only 618 came out to vote. Miss Eva Dechert was the first woman to vote in the East Ward, Mrs. Arthur Heim of Berne Street was the first woman in the South Ward and Mrs. Martz of Dock Street was the first woman in the North Ward, four young old maids following her. The Call of November 12, 1920 BROTHERHOOD TO PROVIDE RECREATION ROOM Monday evening of this week members of the Brotherhood of the Saint Matthew Lutheran Church began operations or work on what will produce a recreation room as well as a special social room for members of the church and Sunday school. It is proposed instead of building an addition or extension to the church building to excavate under the present main Sunday school room. While considerable work to attain this end will be necessary it is hoped that with the forty odd members of this society, the work can be completed in time to be occupied by New Year. EARLY MORNING FIRE Fire discovered in the smoke house of the F. V. Batman butcher shop on Dock Street about 5:45 this morning brought the fire companies and the public to the scene. Good work on the part of George Achenbach with a fire extinguisher prevented the spread of the flames until the Rainbow Hose Company arrived. They soon had a stream of water playing on the burning building but it was impossible to save it and it went to the ground. The fire was discovered by Christ Reichert. WILL PAY ELECTION BET TONIGHT Tonight, Friday, Main Street will be the scene of a special attraction, when Morris Umbenhauer of Columbia Street will pay his election bet by hauling James Schucker, ex coal dealer up and down Main Street in a wheelbarrow. In order to fittingly observe the event, the Schuylkill Haven Drum Corps has been engaged and will precede the principals. On two previous occasions, in 1916 and in 1912, the same event took place but with Umbenhauer in the barrow and Schucker doing the hard work. This time the Republicans won the election and Umbenhauer will do the wheeling. PUMPS AT WATER DAM WERE STARTED The water in the borough water dam is very low due to the extremely dry season and the large quantities of water being consumed. There has been less rain during the month of October in this section than for thirty years it is stated. Thursday morning the pumps operating the artesian wells were started and will be operated day and night in an effort to increase the water supply and to keep a good amount of water in the dam. The springs are unusually low for this season of the year. Should the weather become very cold resulting in freezing up of what small amount of water is coming from the springs, the outlook for the winter will be very serious. The Call of November 19, 1920 CAR OF BOOZE PICKED UP HERE A Ford car containing a quantity of booze was picked up on the state road between here and Friedensburg Saturday evening by a party of autoists returning from Pine Grove. The car was standing in the center of the road without lights. An accident was narrowly averted. The car being unoccupied and no one about, the same was towed to the Berger and Son garage. Upon examination it was found to contain a quantity of booze. The owner called for the same Sunday morning and claimed his battery had given out and that he had gone to seek help when the party came along and made off with it. THIEVES RESPONSIBLE FOR FIRE It is believed that the fire in the smoke house of Butcher Batman last Friday morning was the direct result of robbers. Mr. Batman had fifty to sixty pounds of sausage in the smoke house to be cured. The same was put into the house on Thursday evening. After the fire no sign or trace not even a charred semblance of a ring of sausage could be found. It is believed, therefore, that thieves made away with the sausage and that they left the door of the smoke house open just a little bit. With the high wind of Friday morning the smoldering fires used for smoking the meat was fanned to a blaze and set fire to the same. WILL RETIRE FROM BUSINESS Isaac Wagner, who for a number of years conducted the well known Hotel Central, has decided to retire from business. To this end he offers at private sale his bar fixtures and an extensive line of household goods. Mr. Wagner states he is prompted to retire from the business on account of not being able to procure sufficient female help to assist his wife in the work incident to the conduct of this large hotel. The Call of November 26, 1920 LAD MISSING FROM TOWN FOR SEVERAL DAYS Paul Neyer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ves Neyer, of Columbia Street, has been missing from home for the past several days and his whereabouts have not been definitely learned. Last Wednesday he threatened to commit suicide if he were compelled to return to school after he had played truant. When search was made for him his shoes were found along the Schuylkill River on West Main Street and for a time it was feared he carried out his threat. It was later learned, however, that he had purchased a new pair of shoes at a local shoe store. His relatives made an unsuccessful search for him in Reading and other places where it was thought he might have gone to seek employment. It is now believed that he found employment on a farm in this section. ROBBERS WERE SCARED OFF Last Saturday evening thieves visited the home of William Lutz on Main Street and made away with a fine juicy roast that was on their Sunday dinner menu. Mr. Lutz had his suspicions and prepared for another visit of the thieves Sunday evening. He waited in the darkened dining room and sure enough in the early part of the evening the window was opened. Upon turning on the electric lights, Mr. Lutz learned the identity of the thief. FAIR TO OPEN SATURDAY EVENING Saturday evening will be the opening night for the Bressler Band Fair and in preparation of this annual event, the various committees have really been working very hard. They promise the public that attendance during the fair will be well worth while. During the week quite a substantial additional list of cash contributions as well as household goods and many pieces of fancy articles and handiwork have been received. The fair will continue nightly until December 4th. ELECTRIC LIGHTS WERE OUT OF SERVICE Electric house lights were put out of commission about nine o'clock on Monday evening and remained out of service until about 5:30 on Tuesday morning. The trouble was that of a short circuit caused by the dropping of a trolley wire on to the borough light lines at a point near the Clinton Confehr residence. The department linemen tried for some time to locate the trouble but did not succeed in finding it until late in the night. It was the first time in quite a number of years that the public was subjected to the inconvenience of being without house lights for such a lengthy time. |
| ADS FROM THE CALL NEWSPAPER IN NOVEMBER 1920 |
