Sewickley Herald

              'JUL    8    1905
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" Pear no man, and do justice to all men."
Vol. II
SEWICKLEY, PA., SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1905
No.   43
A FIRST-CLASS FOURTH
The Pyrotechnical Display Carried
Out in a Successful Manner and
the Pine Weather Brought
an Enormous Crowd.
On Tuesday last there was observed the. best glorious Fourth
ever spent by Sewickley as a community of patriotic people. All
contributed to make this possible.
The weather was splendid, especially for Sewickley. A big storm
cloud covered over the adjacent
country and came as near to this
place as Goraopolis, and Bellevue;
and in the two cities rain spoiled
fun, quenched fireworks, and
drenched thousands. Tuesday
evening here, was particularly clear,
and the stars were exceptionally
bright, making a heavenly background of constellations for the
brilliant fireworks which delighted
about three thousand people in the
Y. M. G. A. grounds. Despite the
day being an era of explosions
throughout the Valley, there were
no accidents or mishaps, and in the
borough, Ghief Morningstar and his
force were not called upon to make
a single arrest.
It is forty-one years since Sewickley gave its first fireworks
display on the Fourth of July. This
was done in 1864 on the lot on
Beaver street, corner of Ghestnut,
and was a small and feeble affair.
Yet it was deemed a wonderful
thing, suggestive of the bloody
pyrotechnics then going on between
the North and the South, in Virginia.
But now, peace and prosperity
reigns, and Sewickley's first-class
Fourth ended in a royal good time
close to one of the finest Ghristian
Association buildings in this State,
Here the fine new grandstand was
made brilliant by nineteen electric
lights, and the Sewickley Troop
Band of twenty able performers,
led by Mr. V/hite, rendered excellent
music. The committee in charge
of affairs did nobly, and the $600
it collected was judiciously expend
ed   for  fireworks,   balloons,   etc.
Good set pieces were set off, and
the air was ablaze with rockets and
roman candles, and   ajar   with  a
series of bangs and explosions suited to the day.    Chairman W. E.Pat-
ton was directing matters and was
deftly aided  by  members of the
wide-awake committee.   Yee Lee
for once forgot his laundry, and
worked ably among the noisy products of his native land.   The porch
of the Y.  M.  G. A. building had
been reserved for the use of the
Ladies'  Auxiliary,  and   was   well
filled.    Nearly 3,000 people were
on the grounds during the evening,
and  it, was   10   o'clock   ere   the
throng   dispersed.    The   balloons
were   a   distinct   source   of  fun.
Some of these sailed away over the
hills and down the valley.    But of
the forty ballons   sent   up many
caught fire and fell among delighted
boys.    Two which left the earth at
the same time collided when about
one hundred feet in the  air and
tumbled, twin masses of flame into
the  grounds, but did no damage.
Meanwhile the thousands of firecrackers and ttoii eloes did their
entire duty, while pistol shots were
so numerous that it was fortunate
no one was injured.    On the contrary, everyone, young and old, was
happy; and   when the  Sewickley
Troop Band played a. popular air,
young girls and lads sang heartily
as a chorus for Director White's
enjoyable work with the baton, the
solo, "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree," by Thomas Gray, being
much appreciated.
Taken all-in-all, the Fourth of
July, 1905, was about the most
enjoyble ever experienced by residents of Sewickley and of'this Valley, and the committee in charge of
the necessary work have done
what should be a pride to every
member.
Mr. W. E. Patton, in behalf of
the committee, wishes to thank all
those who in any way contributed
1 to the success of this celebration.
A full financial statement will be
' published in this paper next week.
Council Meeting.
The Garbage Furnace Committee
Makes a Report.
THE    BOND    ISSUE   TAKEN    UP.
Sewickley Borough Council convened on Thursday evening with
President Straw in the chair and
Messrs. Woods, Ghaplin and Patton
answered roll call. Burgess Koch,
Engineer Martin and Glerk of Council B. S. McFarland were in their
respective places.
Solicitor Stoner presented the
bond issue ordinance, for funding
the present debt of the Borough,
and it v/as read over and discussed
a bit before council came to order.
It was later taken up and passed
on first and second readings, and
will be brought up for final passage
at the next regular meeting. The
ordinance calls for the issuing of
$40,000 worth of bonds to bear
interest at the rate of 4% as provided for at the special election of
June 12.
The street commissioner's attention was called to the sewer
drop at Ferry street, and it will be
placed in proper condition.
Ghief Morningstar's attention
was called to the automobile question, as regards speed. Several
members of Gouncil claimed that the
limit is being exceeded and that
the chief should call a halt on the
reckless chaffeurs.
The ordinance for the laying out
and opening of Ghadwick street
to a width of 50 feet came up on
final passage.
At this time a resolution was
presented and passed to have the
borough solicitor read and inspect
all ordinances before they are passed finally by Council.
The ordinance for the widening
of Ghestnut street from Washington to Beaver streets to the full
width, was brought to the attention of Gouncil. There was a brief
statement   made  concerning  the
price asked for the property affected, and the only action taken
was to lay the ordinance over for
further consideration. Thew committee in whose hands this matter
was placed did not make a detailed
report concerning interviews, etc.
The committee on sidewalks reported that they carried out suggestions of the engineer concerning repairs and new walks. The
councilmen showed their "staying
qualities" when, with the thermometer soaring around the 90 point,
they tackled the dog proposition.
A suggestion was made that the
chief of police shoot the stray canines. This proposition was turned
down—not to cast any reflection
on the chief's marksmanship—but
because it was not considered as
the proper method, and his dogship
is still master of the situation.
Mr. Patton drew from the recess
of an inner pocket a formidable
looking document, that, when its
identity was revealed, sent a mild
chill through the council chamber.
It was a report on the garbage furnace. The officials met the proposition squarely, however, and this
perplexing problem will soon have
a satisfactory solution in the shape
of a substantial furnace. The
committee, which was composed
of two citizens, two members of
the Board of Health, and two councilmen. made investigations concerning a site, etc., which were
embodied in the report presented
by Mr. Patton. The site suggested
was the pumping station on the
river bank. The approximate cost
would be about $S,000 for the
building and $1,100 per year for
maintenance.
Mr. Ghaplin asked that the committee be continued and that they
furnish council with an estimated
cost as to construction and maintenance, and that the borough solicitor look up certain legal points Concerning the selection cf a site and
report at the next meeting. This
motion carried and the committee
iti. 4.
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(Continued on page 12.)