Bellwood Bulletin 1940-02-01

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VOL. LI
BELLWOOD, PA., THURSI
^FEBRUARY   1,   1940
NO. 50
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LOCAL NEWS COLUMN
Short Items That Will Interest Our Readers
BRIEF SUMMABrO^F THE WEEK
T*r»e     Paragraphs   Concerning,   the
Doing  ef Oar  Borrough—The Col-
umn   Oar   Subicriberi    Eajoy
—The Ladies Aid of the Presbyterian church wiU meet at the home
of Mrs. Horace Meyer* on Thuis-
day evening. A good nttendence
~is expected.
—Common pleas court which had
base in session for tan days at Hollidaysburg, came to a close Wednesday at noon. There were a large
number of esses tried and many
were setteled  before going to trial.
—The piano pupils of Clara Lauver will give a Recital at eight
o'clock Thursday evening February
1, in the Parish House of the Lutheran church. The program story will
be read by Miss Sara Craine. Ihe
public hi invited.
—Superior Couurt Judg* Thomas
J. Baldrige and Mrs. Baldrig?, of
Hollidaysburg, left Wednesday fur
Washington, EH C, w'.iere they
boarded the Florida special, bound
fer St. Petersburg, where they will
spend their vacation.
—The many friends cf Dr. F. B.
Forrest regret to know that he is
confined to his home on Main street
by illness. A few weeks ago the popular physician underwent an operation in John Hopkins hospital la
Baltimore. He returned home and
has since been unable to be >n tha
streets.
—Mr. Wellington Y. Blend, the
.well known merchant ia the Cornmesser block on Main street, was in
jo hwt week^where he attend-
■
ad theS ■ST convention of the
NatioiUsT^Retailed Owned Grocers,
as tho representative of the Economy Wholesale Grocers association
of Altoona. Our townsman reports
that it waa a representative gathering of business men of the nation
and many informative talks were
made by men high in business.
Bland not only had a pleasant,
a profitable time.
•—John A. Wertz, a lit* long
mer in the Loop section of Franks-
town township, died t.t his home
there last Monday, aged 70 years.
Beside his wife and a number of
grown children, he is survived by a
brother, Mr. William B. Wert/, of
Gospel Hollow in Antis township.
Forty-five years ago the deceased
was a resident of Clark street, .this
borough. He erected the Henry
idence on Clark street, which
occupied far a number of years,
deceased will be ' remembered
many of the older readers of
BuUetia.
 Mr. J. E. Williamson of    East
Fifth street, who underwent a painful operation in the Altoona hospi-
, tal one day last week for the removal of an obstruction in his bow -
els, is now at his home and doing
well, much to the satisfaction of
Us many frieu£-.. While -nrjoying
dinner at the Biairmont Country
clulf near ^Hollidaysbuif-, a few
week* ago^Rstr. Williamson swalled
a small piece of wire, whicn lodged
fat his bowels. For some time it
caubed him much pain an I an operation was deemed accessary. After
the foreign matter was removed
great relieve    was afforded.
—TheForeign Missionary society
of the Methdist church .assembled
at the home of Mrs. Eugene Syling
or. Martin street Tuesday afternoon.
Miss Annie Bell, tha president, appointed Mrs. Love to lead the devotions and Mrs. T. M. Stone to read
an up lifting poem. The lesson on
tha "Philippine Islands" waa related
' by Miss Annie Bell). Mrs. Joseph
'Patton, St., read a paper on "Stewardship." An extra collection was
lifted to replace the Christian pictures ia tha homes in these far
away countries, who have prominent
pictures of artificial idol* and gods
ia abundance. "Blast Be tha Tie
That Bind*" was sung with clasped
hand.s Mia. Mong, the treasurer,
gave her report). Mrs. Emma Sitman
of Devon, sent her year's dues. The
hostess served delicious refreshments.      ^Ij^g^^g^l^S^^gjlM^j
Happenings 30 years ago reverend pbolson coming Ep. gheer buried Monday ! ground hog day tomorrow
Mr.
but
far-
res-
he
The
by
the
Activities    ef    Oar    Citizen*    Two
Score  and  Tan   You*  Ago
From the Bellwood Bulletin, February 10th, 1911*.
The Senior class of the Bellwood
high school will give a banquet to
the Junior class of the «m; school
in the Odd Fellow's on Friday this
week.
The Junior class of the Antis
township high school was delightfully entertained by the Seniors at
a banquet in their Ugh school hall
lost Friday evening.
The stork paid a visit to tha heme
of Mr. L. M. Brunell on Main St.,
on Wednesday and left a hoy, anu
the Daddy was so elated that .he
fcrgot to go to work Thursdvy
morning.
Farmer W. S. Bell of Mary Arm
Forge, is now the happiest man in
that ancient village, all on account
of it being a bdy, The young lad
culled around last week and has
decieded' to stay.
At the February meeting of the
Be rough Dads, the ordinance relating to children retiring from the
streets and public places of che borough at a fixed time ot the night
failed to pass, tbe vote being tie.
The annual teacher's- institute of
the Bellwood district will be held on
Friday andSatuday, February 17 and
IS, in the Odd Fellows hall Among
those on" the program are, Misses
Horner, Fleming, Mcffitt Helsel,
Bevan,  Price  and  Williams.
This edition also gave an account
of some one watering sausages,
Well thats the limit). We have heard
of spirits fermenti being diluted,
but of course it would never go
thru the skillet and you would' not
notice any steam soaring towards
th* sailing.
The annual ball aad banquet of
Jaffa temple of toe Shriners' will be
held     Tuesday    evening,    Febru
21st, and trie event wifl prove one
of the social affairs cf the season.
Some two thousand invites have
been sent out to members cf the
Shrine and Masonic fraternity.
At a meeting cf the Logan Valley
Grange held last Saturday in the
Cornmesser hall, where there wes a
goodly attendance despite the unfavorable weather. It was a literary
meeting and on the program were
Misses Yohn, Glasgow and Bell, also
Messrs Glasgow, Henshey, Cox,
McKnight and Gwin. M.' Harry
Gwin gave a graphic description of
the Battle of Gettysburg, uhile Mr.
McKnight gave his knowledge of
home geography relative to Penn*
sylvania and Blair county.
Blair County Battlefield only a
short distance from Altoona, was
the scene of one of the last fronttier
engagements of the Revolutionary
wait. The occation of-this battle, or
skirmish, was about a quarter of a
mile south of the present suburo
of Eldorado. Seventeen white men
were killed by the Indians and their
comrades were forced to flee. The
history of that little fight is best
told in a letter of Mr. Wehrle, which
appeared in a recent issue of "Tbe
Canter Table." The letter said in
part. "Comparatively few of the
(residents of Blah* County know that
within its borders occured a bloody
Skirmish of the War for Independence. Yet its a fact that barely a
•nils from tho limits of Altoona
lies the scene of the last frontier
engagements of the Revolutionary
struggle. It was on the 3rd of June
1781, that a company of about 35
men left Fetter's Fort, the last
frontier post, to look for a band of
Indians reported to have been in the
vicinity cf Hart's Sleeping Place,
now in Cambria county, A short
ways from the junction of Sugar
and Burgoon's runs they were ambushed by the Redskins, losing close
to half their number. The survivors
fled and reached Fetter's fort in
safety. The next day the party went
out and found the dead where* they
fell aad buried than aa best they
could in the virgin forest. A movement is on foot by tha Knights of
Columbus to have a permanent
indentification of the spot.
Will Conduct  Evangelistic    Meeting*
in  the  MethodUt   ChurcK
Jewish Rabbis, Catholic Priests
and Protestant ministers are in accord when they broadcast ove:* the
air that the horrible conditions that
are prevailing throughout the world
are due to the neglect of the House
of God and the rejection of Jesus
Christ. The world has thus struck a
moral snag and a spiritual collapse
that 'can gnly be over come by a
world spiritual revival. The Behvood
ministerium is praying thst, that re-'
vival might have its beginning in ou, j:
bore ugh. We have therefor.? requested Rev. O. B. Poulson, the well
known evangelist to conduct a Community Christian Crusade for a
period of two weeks, beginning with
Sunday night February 11 th. The
Methodist church has been selected
for the special meetings because of
its large seating capacity. There will
' be glorious revival music by a great I
chorus. choir comprising th» choirs
of the several churches of the boro-
ugh.
The pec pie of Bellwood are urged
to forgo all social activities and secular amusements during the two
weeks revival and thus give the
Holy Spirit a chance to bless each
heme in our community. Already
hundreds have planned to attend |
these great meetings in so far as j
they are physically able to do so.
—The regular monthly meeting
of the Retired Veterans of the Pennsylvania Railroad will be held on
Friday afternoon st 2.80, in the *f.
M.C.A. The veterans will kindly
keep in mind the ' date. It is between Ground Hog day and Valentine day, so they can expect some
thing real, so ring the calender and
be on hand or you will miss some
thing appropriate to the season.
—The ladiea of the Guild of the
Methodist church met at the home
of Mrs. James Biggins on Tuesday,
and by th* report of the big dinner
there ware aaa** lasy quitters during the afternoon, (gjgU
Bacterial ring rot is a new pefta-
to disease against which Pennsytva-
[ nia potato growers are wr.rned by
Dr. 0. D. Burke,    assistant    exten-
i.slon plant pathologist with the Pennsylvania State College. Farmer, frequently refer to the disease as bacterial wilt.
He explains that the disease is fhe
biggest problem potato pr->v.vrs
have had to face in a half century.
In cutting seed potatoes for planting
the bacteria which causes the. (lis. ace
are carried from a diseased tuber
on the cutting knife to other tubers.
In the field, the disease spreads
from plant to plant.
Dr. "Burke emphasizes fhe importance of buying clean seed since this
is the only known method- for the
control ■ of  the   disease!
POSTOFFICE   EXAMINATION
The United States Civil Service
Commission announces an rfjen competitive examination to fill the position of postmaster of Bellwood, said
examination to be held at i'yro-.e at
a date to be announced after the
close cf receipt of applications.
Application blanks may be secured
by writing to the United States Civil
Service Commission at Washington,
D. C, or at the Belrwocd, post office, Receipt of applications to close
February 9, 1940.
ap* em* ■*>—..-.— .*
GRATIFYING   SURVEY
On last Sunday afternoon, an
enthusiastic number of Christian
workers made a religious survey of
Bellwood. The canvassers report
that most of the families were at I
home and that they were must graciously received. Many of the peopi*
expressed themselves as being delighted with the prospect of hearing
Evangelist Poulson in ths Methodist
church for the Christian Crusade,
February 11th to the 25th.
—Subscribe for the  Bulletin.
—The junior board of    the Y. M'.
C. A.   met  on  Wednesday     evening,
Jan. 24, in the form of a dinner at,
the home ef    Miss    Thelma    Lairek j
Following the dinner the  following
officers    were    elected:     President,
Merrill Davis; vice president,  Aln.s
Stewart;   secretary-treasurer,     Anna
Rowan. These persent were William '
Kellerman,  Charles Hetrick,  Burton •
Hollen, Allen Bussick, Merril Davit, :
Alma  Stewart,     Barbarv    Steve-J, j
Anna Rowan    snd    Thelma    Lair*". ,
The next meeting will be held Fe*,
ya» »s X-Jr** Q A. Jm£jjL   JU
•te Sa> flee* Were Held    at    the
^m^—r   Fa*)**   Mortuary
""Thomas  Patterson    Gheer,    Bead's  grand  old gentlema.i  is    no
. Death ended his   earthly   pil-
age Friday night of last   week,
r a long Ufa crowned with many
mplishments for his church, tht
community and county, at the
old age of 89 years, the great-
tart of which was spent in   Bell-
d, where th his prime was    one
Hhe  outstanding and  ve-y  active
ens.
he deceased was born at »"hat
bw known as Hensheytown on
4, 1851, a son of John and
elia (Patterson) Gheer, where
grew to manhood and very.early
ife became a citisen of Rellwood,
ire for many years he eoi ducted
Pin nil ill mill, and employed sever-
*mndred carpenters anl workmen,
hpTjhg largely engaged in house building in the borough, and during the
ydfrs from 1889 to 1900 it is
tonight that he erected several huh*
dred homes and places of business
irjvtown, so extensive was his activity.
'For more 'than fifty years he was
a very influential citisen and took a
leading part in all of the civic affairs
ofithe town, always ready and willing to lend a hand- that would be for
th* best interest of Bellwood. At
the time the water system was installed in the borough ho was our
chief burgess, and with the members
of the town council, labored day and
night for the success of the under-
fsjeing, surmounting all obstacles
with which the borough was then
confronted, and with ' such citizens
askThomas Gheer, the community
owes an .undying debt of gratitude,
aa. it was through his efforts snd
titfeenr.'ihat the watergayste.in was in-
desire
See     His
gratified when? "We Vy'Slain was TSS
isbed and placed in service last year.
H's mother .died when he ( was
only an infant and late; the father
married Mary A. Bel!, who reared
the son and two sisters. In May,
1875, Mr. Ghee- was united in marriage with Addle Rennet* of Petersburg. She died some years ago.
Surviving are four children, Mrs.
David N. Raugh of 1522 Tenth
street, Altoona, Joh) ft. Gheer of
Williamsburg, R. D., Charles W.
Gheer ef Orlando, Fla , and Mrs.
Paul Bevan' of VVilmerding, Also
surviving are a number of grand
children  and  Fives  grandchildren.
In politics, Mr Gheer was aciivo
and a Republican snd took part ' in
-139*3  SBAv. Ofl   'Wl.lK-l   Siq  JO  5[.lOA\   Sq}
ed to the office of burgess fcur iim< s
arid served one term as justice cf
cf the peace. He was one of the
signers of the petition ■■* the incorporation of the borough and was
one of the thre> men responsible
for the splended Water' system tot
which the borough had to put up a
court, battle).
His influence '•va* awluys felt and
he was one of the founders of the
Excelsior Fire company and was
the first president and never lost
his interest in that organisation. Mr. j
Gheer was a charter member Of the
Odd Fellows lodge and was* pcomin-
ently identified wth other frate*-
i al groups.
Pre bably his most outstanding
va i'k throughout his Ufe was in tha
church arid Suwl'iy school. He was
roared in the Me'.'.Indiat faith and
began his attendance at Sunday
scho 1 in 1856. In 1874 ie became
an officer in theS u-iday school and
for forty years served as superintendent of the Methodist Sunday school.
In his church work Mr. Gheer
served as recording steward for
n.f.ny years and Ujxr.i re'.iriug from
thst post remained as a member of
tbe official board and as a trustee
and after fifty-nine years of service
r. fie Sundar • chool was made su-
'Perintendent-eincritUB for life, so
that he had un unbroken Sunday
school record of eighiv-threo years
in tho Sunday school was made su-
e«t of any per**-* in Pennsylvania.
Oi.e of his pri'.«e possessions was bis
filty-year pin gfri-n by the Stat*
Sabbath School association.
Private funeral services were
held from the George E. Vuo~s funeral home on Main street last Monday morning at 10.00 o'clock,   wtth
Should the Little Marmot
Shadow Lookout
February 8, when Mr. Groundhog
makes his momentous forecast concerning the weather, is looked for*,
ward to with great interest by many
Pennsylvanians but particularly by
residents of Quarryville and Punxsutawney.
The legend holds that if the
groundhog does not see his shadow
and is pleased with atmospheric run-,
ditions on his emergence from hibernation, he will remain in the open
because spring is near. But, should
he see his shadow, back he goes and
tha rest of us can depend on six
weeks more of cold weather.
The State Department of Commerce says that although many communities c elebrate the occasion,
"The Slumbering Ground Hog Lodge
of Quarryville, Lancaster county,
is one of the most active of the
groups which have organized to honor the "great prophet."
Quarryville holds a great festive
eelebratien jof feasting, parading,
musical entertainment and testimonial speeches on Groundhog Day.
Again this year, members of the 36
year old "fraternal order' will
search' the bilk in the. morning fo.*
a goundhog; spend the afternoon i.i
meditation and hold a colorful-parade in the night to be followed by
a lodge session and banquet.
The proclamation of "The Slumbering Grcuhd Hog Lodge'' refers to
the animal weather forecaster as
"the Solomon of all  quadrupeds*."
The Punxsutavwnej's groundhog is
considered by residents there as superior to that of the marmot in
other sections, and his decision is
final with the inhabitants of Punxsutawney.
There are seme fellows   in    Bell-
jjfopd who  place implicit confidence
tr*4jtipn   th*! i al—Til   m*h
weeks more of bitter, biting, fr
weather is to ensue, and If the day
be cloudy and the little animal
comes out of his hiding, then the
backbone of winter is broken. Let
us hope that the day will be clout, y,
as the weather has been severe
enough.
It would be advisible for some
of our citisens to stay lindri- cover
on ground hog day.
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT
Whereas, The great and supreme
Ruler of the universe has in hia infinite wisdom removed from among
us one of our worthy and esteemed
fellow members, Thomas P. Gheer;
and, whereas, the long nnd intimate
relation held with him in the faithful discharge of his duties in this
organization makes it eminently
befitting that we record our appreciation of him; therefore,
Resolved, That the wisdom and
ability which he has exercised in toe
aid of our organization by service,
contributions, and counsel, will be
held  in grateful remembrance;
Resolved, That the sudde.i removal of such a life from our midst'
leaves a vacancy Snd a shadow that
will be deeply realized by all tbe
members and friends of this organization, and will prove a serious loss
to the community and public.
Resolved, That with deep sympathy with the bereaved relatives of
the deceased we express our hope
that even so great a loss to us all
may be overruled for good by Him
who doeth all tilings well;
Resolved, That a copy of these
resolutions be spread upon the records of this organization, and a
copy printed in the local newspaper and a copy forwarded to the
bereaved family.
D. C. VANDEVANDER
R. W. RUSH
R. C. VISK
—Mr. James B. Closson, senior
proprietor of the firm Closson and
Dunn, the merchants on Main street
has been confined to bin home on
South First street for the past week
by illness. He ia now improving and
wUl soon be at place of business,
th% Rev. Thomas M. Stone, Methodist minister in charge. Members of
tba Excelsior .Fire company of
which ha assisted in organizing
fifty years ago, acted aa pallbearers.
Interment waa made in Logan Vail-'
ey cemetery.
PERSONAL PARAGRAPHS
People Who Visit Hero and
Those Who Go Away.
I0VEMEIISJFOUR ClflZEftfj
Gueat*   Wbo Are Entertained by BeU-
Wood  Host*—Personal  MeatJea  mt 1
Tho.* Wbo  Vi*it To sad Fro
Mr. and Mrs. Norris T. Wattara'
of East Fourth street ar* down in
St. Petersburg, Florida, where thep
will enjoy the sunshine and balmy
breezes until the blue birds sing in
the homeland.
Rev. Russell Dysart, pastor of
the Methodist church at Thra* ■
Springs, Huntingdon county, spent i
Tuesday with his brothers, William]
A. Dyaart and Postmaster Ralph!
M. Dysart and also mingled with
his many friends. He was a caller j
at Our office.
Mr. Robert W. Wray, of    Cleva4
land, Ohio, where he is master    me-1
chanic of tha shops of the Pennsyl-3
vania    Railroad    company,    visited
several days this week at tha   home'
of his sisters,    Misses    Ethel    and
Catherine  Wray  on  Railroad street.
While hare he paid    our   office    a
number of calls.
MANY FROZENJikTEn PIPES
J»ck Frost Caught    Many    of    Or.fM
Citisen* Napping
The  old    time    winter    weathas*
whieh we    experienced    during   thi j
month of January,    and with   Feb-;
ruary only a day old it bida lair tail
equal and perhaps    rival    the    first:
month of the year, several hundred
citizens of the borough were caught
napping and old   Jack   Frost ^tookl
charge of   the   water   systems Jgrn
their homes and froze them tight.
January was quite cold and zero-
near zero    weather   existed    almost
throughout the    entire month    an*'
where protection  was  not  provided
th* inevitable  freezing of the water
pipes  resulted.
This condition exists in all    parts
of the town and thus it will be seen
that it is not confined to   a    certain
section of the borough.  A    number
of means were tried    to   open    tha
pipes and theee failing the service*
of the    water    superintendent,    Mr.:
John  Carson, who, with the aid  of!
the Heine Electric Light and Steam
Heating company of. Tyrone, whichl
kindly sent its aparatus and men to|
operate the same in    the    borough,
and ever since, a    night    and    day
force  has  been  engaged  in  opening
the  frozen  pipes.
It is serious problem to be   with- \
out water any time and    especially L
in winter time and in    homes   ths/ J
have installed toe hot water heading!
system.  Mr.  Canon  and hia    fore*]
worked all day Sunday    and    everyl
night and day this week a.r.d it wiU- ij
yet be a few days before all    pipeaW
in homes will be thawed out.
a a »   '
IPS* TOURIST TRADE
Pennsylvania's campaign to at-.j
tract tourist* to Pennsylvania dor-1
"Ing 1939 paid for itself many time*5
over, Secretary of Commerce Rich-J
ard P. Brown said today.
Tha tourist trade brought $400, j
000,000 to the cash registers ofl
Pennsyvania business, Brown report- -
ed; hat it added revenues to tha j
State coffers fat in excess of th*H
f 50,000 the Department spent ia flj
tourist advertising a  year.
Between June  1   and    Deceml
31 last year, Brown said, aha
collected tax on 876,978,960 gall
of gasoline, an i ncreese    at   m«
than  75,000,000 gallons    *****
same period in 1988. The    _^^
tax collections of the s^ven mon«
period netted the State $85,079,11
49, a gain of more than $3,000,i
over      collections      of     the
months of 1938.
The Commerce Department's tl
1st promotion advertising wss
oat of the spproriation nwsdo
th* liquid fuel tax   to the   Dei
ment's tourist snd recrestion
—The Bulletin is ths horns
newspaper aad it is read by
member of the family.
CEnty-. .: -nates*