Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-02-04
SHOVELERS JOIN
MAYORS BRIGADE
IN SNOW ATTACK
Scores of Trucks and Teams
Used in Drive Against
Jack Frost
THE MAYOR WORKS HARD
Sun Warns Up Men After
Wind Makes Going
Nasty
THE MAYOR WORKS HARD

With a polar wind beating down
from the northwest and the tenn
perature flirting with zero hundreds
of Harrisburg citizens turned out
this morning to respond to Mayor
Daniel l.. Keister's call for volun-
teers to dig the Capitol City out of
the snow. The Mayor himself gal
lantly led the way, breasting the
wintery blast at o'clock promptly
and turning in to decimate big
snowbank just outside the police
station. City Treasurer Clarence
Webber ably supported the Mayor
with a bright, shining new shovel
and a bearskin shake, giving him
much the appearance of a Russian
grenadier.
Before an hour had passed the
police station was filled with volun-
teers 9rom all parts of the city;
many trucks had either lined up
there or notified the Mayor that they
were ready for action at various
points which had been determined
for headquarters.
Problem Big One
The problem of getting away with
100000 cubic yards of snow chal-
lenged this small army of citizens
and there was small chance that all
of this bulk could be handled in one
day. Seeing what an icy and la
hpr jph a ahaa6 tho naVpn-
port lunch rooms announced that
every snow shoveler, high and low.
would be refreshed with u cup of
hot, strong coffee at this establish
ment and the news was welcomed
with q prolonged howl of apprecia-
ton.
In the early hours 1t looked as
though the Mayors request might
not be taken up so universally as
hoped, but when the sun began to
grin cheerily dozens were fired with
ambition and sentiment of loyalty,
so that by noon Mayor Keister
thought the streets would be alive
with regiments of volunteers, in
Guiding some courageous women.
Bring Own Shovels
The first three men to show up,
long before S o'clock, were H. Kill
more, L. Fleisher and c. Baker.
They brought their own shovels and
started in on Strawberry street, near
Market, and found pretty soon that
the snow was so frozen that only
4 pick would avail. A crowd of troll
ley passengers gathered about to
give their advice, the substance of
which was to send for dynamite. At
this point Joe Ibach, chief clerk of
the Highway Department, hove in
view and he had made such careful
preparations that heavier imple-
ments We're soon furnished and the
snow began to fly. The Highway De-
partm ent had a big stock of new
shovels and Ibach figured he would
have enough implements to keep the
whole army busy.
BY 10 o'clock greater activity pre-
vailed at all the central spots, Mar
ket and Thirteenth. Nineteenth and
Derry. Race and Paxton, Vine and
Paxton, Third and North, Third and
Reilly. and other headquarters COW
ering the entire city. Mayor Keister
in order to lend the announcement
of his person took a swing in a mo-
tor around all bases and getting out
at each one took his turn with the
shovel. This acted like third rail on
any slackers. who seeing the chief
magistrate hard at work Immediately
volunteered by scores.
Many Join Late
do you mind If / clean off my
own pavement first?" was the uni
versal request and the mayor heart
lily agree with this system.
Being Fuelless Day, scores of
trucks were at the disposal of the
volunteer army and the dumping was
not confined to the Paxton sewer.
The big thing was to get it away.
Scores of men Joined the snow
brigade for short times at different
intervals during the day. There was,
of course, nothing that prevented a
man from working a half hour and
then going home to warm up.