Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-12-27
BIG CELEBRATION
HELD in FARVIEW
Municipal Tree, Speeches,
Music and Gifts Mark Day
in Gross River Town
Special TO the 7siesyabh

! West Fairview, Pa, Dec. "a. -
Christmas eve and Christmas day of
| 1915 will go down in the annals of
history of this borough as time
never to be forgotten. For the first
time in history this century-old town
had the true Christmas spirit so
aroused that residents held public
/ celebration. Then, too, the awaken
/ ed ana aroused interest for Il greater
/ West Shore which has been agitated
+ for the past few months and the
sentiment for which is growing
stronger week after week had much
to do with the manner in which the
occasion was celebrated. Some time
ago the Good Will Fire Company ap-
pointed n committee to arrange for
and manage a fair and bazar during
the holiday season and il was this
committee which arranged and so
successfully carried out the plans in
cident to the community Christmas
I tree celebration on Christmas eve
and the Santa Claus post office on
Christmas morning.
AT 1880 o'clock on Christmas eve
the lights on the large tree erected
at the intersection of Third street and
State Road were turned on and re-
Vealed to the crowd who had gather
ed there for the exercises, the most
beautiful sight ever beheld in the
boroughS AT the extreme top of the
tree was large star of electric lights
while in the center was huge circle
of tri-cOlored lights. Scattered over
the tree was myriad of vari-colored
lights which altogether presented a
most beautiful appearance The exer-
cises began with the singing of a
Christmas carol by the pupils of the
three upper schools after which the
Rev. a. @. Wolf pastor of st. Marks
Lutheran church offered an invoca-
( tion. More singing followed after
which Senator Franklin Martin made
short address, speaking chiefly of
the great wave of public sentiment in
this and other towns along the West
Shore for civic betterment, urging
greater activity along this line and
attributing this celebration mainly to
this great movement. The Rev. A.
q. Wolf was the next speaker who
spoke on true Good WIZ as an
nounced to the shepherds at the
birth of Christ and said he was glad
that the fire company bearing that
name was doing so much to fulfill the
significance of the name they bear.
Several selections were sung by the
children after which they joined
hands around the Christmas tree and
all sang America" which marked
the conclusion of the first community
tree exercises.
But it remained for the Santa
Claus post office" to cap the climax of
the celebration. Promptly at nine
o'clock on Christmas morning the
doors of the Good Will firehouse We're
thrown open to admit the children
to the Santa Claus post office. Santa,
in all his glory with a number of as
sistants was inside the parcel window
while outside a San,9 Claus from
New York State who >ame to assist
the good old saint from OR own State
was busy assisting the children in
getting their mail" Never has a
sight such as this presented itself to
the residents of the borough. In the
throng which continued for two hours
were some without coats and hats
some to whom Santa had never been
real on account of poverty and who
never in their little lives knew that
Christmas was a time of real joy
until this wear