Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-24
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While Harrisburg has never hae
any celebration of Christmas eve
such as it has in prospect for thii
evening 1t is interesting to note that
back in the days when HARRISBURG
was young they used to put uT
| Christmas trees in Market Square
and one time, according to somd
| traditions which have come down
! to us. there was a town tree in the
| riverside park near Chestnut street
| That was back in the days when
! Harrisburg did not extend much
| above Walnut street and when the
| social and business activities of the
young borough were mainly below
| the Square. Old newspapers tell OF
a pleasing custom of people putting
| evergreens in front of their houses
| in Christmas week, a fashion which
| has been revived in force in the last
| half dozen years. Nothing has
come to us about the ceremonies
| that attended the town tree, but
| there are some people living who
| tell of years when Christmas trees
were placed at the entrances to the
markets. But while the Christmas
tree for the public has not been
made much of except within the
|
on Christmas eve has been followed
| in Harrisburg from the early days.
| The Oracle of Dauphin and its
various sons and daughters in jour
nalism In Harrisburg contain ref
erences to bands of carolers going
about singing and expressing the ap-
probation of ye editors and their
! families at the early morning
| serenades. There are also articles
| in mention of the music of bands
ushering in Christmas day and old
! files of the Harrisburg Telegraph
! tell of the sweet notes of Zion
Lutheran chimes at dawn of Christ
mas morning.
Some of the scenes at Union Sta
ton are quite'in marked contrast to
those of a year ago. Then there
was the rush of men in khaki on
| their way to the seacoast to so over
seas and men just drafted hustling
| to camps and meeting in Harrisburg
with men who proud in their first
uniforms were home for n few days
| furlough at Christmas time. Yes
terday and to-day there seemed TO
be more soldiers than ever about
the stations and they had the col
I monopolize things at this time faded
entirely as attractions. But there
were also some trains filled with
soldiers who won far more attention
than the men stalking about in the
crowds. They were wounded men
on their way home for the great
holiday of the Christian world.
Some of them had just been landed,
some from hospitals where they had
been undergoing treatment and .
others were discharged. cured"
There We're carloads of them to be
seen at Union station yesterday and
they were all cheerful, far more so
than the bulk of the people who
saw them and all happy at the pros
pect of getting home. The numer-
Gus wounded men made many a
resident of Harrisburg, which has
so many hundreds of its sons in the
Army and Navy, glad that it was
all over.
For a long time a certain bank in
Harrisburg has been trying to get
William Jennings, president of the
Dauphin County Council of National
Defense and of a couple of banks
as well as a man who stands mighty
high in the estimation of the COM
munity, to take some money that
was coming to him. Mr.. Jennings
said he never could find the proper
paper. The story is that in the sum-
mer time of 1879 William Jennings
was offered some money by his
father, the late Col. w. w. Jennings,
If he would do something. Mr..
lJennings not only made good at the
early time, but in gathering in the
money offered by the colonel he
annexed some additional cash in
the way of donations from his
grandmother and possibly other rel
atives and displayed ten dollars.
On September 20, 1879, a deposit on
interest was made for the aforesaid
son. The story goes that it was at
four per cent. interest, but that is
an. unheard of thing in this day and
generation and no one will admit it.
As it was not either of Mr.. jennings
banks that paid it there is no need
to mention it, either. But the story
goes that the deposit was made out
to Master William Jennings" He
forgot it and one day the bank
found it, They asked him to come
and get it, He did not have the de-
posit certificate and while they were
willing to run any risks on identi-
fying Master Jennings things had
to be regular. 1t was only the other
day that he found the certificate and
the last of the four per cents is 60
ing to disappear one OF these days, b
The manner in which the filling
in of the lines of the proposed high
ways through Capitol park extern
sion is being pushed is worth watch
ing. People who have not studied
the plans for the Improvement of the
states park will be surprised when
they note the height which is at
tanned in the preparations for the
new streets. 1t means that the
whole area to the railroads will be
made almost on a line with the pres
ent Capitol park and this must be
attained before the planting of the
oaks to border the Mall can be
started. At the present rate things
will be in shape next autumn fol-
some tree planting ceremonies that
vii be worth while.