Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-06-30
;Euri1ittg Ulrat.

Park extension area Saturday night
in honor of the signing of the peace
treaty reminded old-timers of the
days of the political bonfires that
used to be ayearly occurrence in this
city. The night after State or Ma
tional election, as soon as the re-
turns, which came in a little more
slowly then than they do now. were
all in the adherents of the winning
party in many parts of town got
together and held a big bonfire.
Uptown in those days the section
between Sixth and Seventh and
Reilly and Dauphin streets was large
ly open fields. One night a party
or boys and young men, celebrating
the reelection of Grover Cleveland
got together a vast number of store
boxes, railroad ties, oiled waste and
the like, piled it against a telegraph
pole that had been denuded of its
wires and left standing unused and
after pouring a. half-barrel of oil
over the accumulation set fire to 1t.
some excited person sent in a fire
alarm and in fifteen minutes nearly
all the apparatus in the city was
on the scene, and the firemen after
cussing' bit hung around to see
lhe war dance that brought the
celebration to a close.
Anotner year in the same locality
ieepupilcah youths decorated a very
S, ueaa cherry tree with hun
S' uleus OF OIL soaked hoops, most of
waste from the railroad yards. This
was one of the last bonfires of its
Kind in the West End and was a
real climax to a long line of similar
celebrations. The big tree with its
noops of fire and every branch ont
ilned IN flames formed a wonder
tuIy beautiful spectacle against a.
JET olack sky and attracted hundreds
vi spectators. These bonfires were
noI without their funny incidents
one young man, afterward a mem
per OIL city council, stopped to view
one on his way to see his girl and
a spark set fire to his coattail, a lit
tie thing he did not discover until
| the names were running up his back
Another time Pennsylvania rail-
road man contributed a half-dozen
OF the oil barrels that used to grace
| every oil-house along the system.
The bonfire makers put the barrels
in the center of the heap of boxes
boards and other materials and when
the flames got to them one of them
went off with a tremendous bang,
scattering the embers for a half
| square around and bringing the
celebration to an untimely end. An
other time the late Patrick McNiff
| lost half the boards from the rear
yard of his home on Seventh street
| and when he went to look for them
| found their ashes on a lot near by,
having been taken by boys ambitious
to make their fire bigger than an
other that was burning down the
street some distance. The late Chas.
| A. Miller, city clerk for years and
| then mayor, used to tell how when
ne was young the gang" of which
ne was member, built big bonfire
In a held of the Eighth Ward which
caught the long grass that had been
drled by the autumn winds and had
to get out a hose company to save
a number of stables. The ranid
growth of the city, the coming ot
electric lights which dispelled the
| intense darkness that used to mari
the city between the old-time o..
ana oil street lamps did mucb tC
make bonfires unpopular. II re-
NAMED Tor the Boy Scouts to sti,
she memories of many old Harris.
burgers Saturday night.
Sixth Ward Republicans ou,
strong Tor bonfires in celebratin, ~
election of a President, Tha Iar .m'
Dis nre there was after Rutberfo,.s
p. hayes had been declared eIactae
over samuel ]. Tilden. Tbis 49,
uEauon was several DAYS in copo;ne,
mere oelng some doubt as r. 1,,tI
was erected until the official oo,n Wy
~ electoral votes was annovns
streot oolhre was at Seventh and Pail,
eatb tor weeks the Repuhlico ~
eeIahna boxes and barrels for AZ
fire n a.loh. Nearly a busheI of rar
red 90 g,owuer was thrown in ana tt,
bnn5nae tafe IN the skies attracted man' 'n'
Good 1 WI, people to the scene % IN,
on hand flre Company had ma'
joinin~ 20 prevent damage to ad
there u buildings but at that +ino, %u
around that ,oou, ot many structure,
supporters of the late
Hfa.terson, who was tw;os 'onn ID
b;a OF Harrisburg. also ca,ohte Ihecte'
ms victory with bonfires ~ ate'
populdr IN the lower end s wa
I,V ana the First Warders u TN
se nre on the river froto ao
1ro"d from the Fourth and 4
wards with the aid of boata rlIti
70 the grass plot which wen
shat time between Hargest snd =, d
dependent Islands, and ceiahr IN
mere, lighting UP the Susouebann,
MRS. Franklin N. Templar forr,
nest or young wild rabbits naa,
neI cottage at Perdix the other Ia
anu Few days later when sb,
went back to see them, thew wer,
ainlost starved, the mother proba hi,
haVlng peen killed. Mrs. TennIa
Droueht the rabbits home and 4
aeeulhs them. In a few weeks sh,
lntends to turn them loose again !,
the mountains. -
Dauphin County ATTORNEYS wb,
motored to Bedford Springs las
week to attend the closing session
OF the Pennsylvania Bar Associatio,
went to that place on the Lincol,
Highway and returned on the viii
liam Penn Highway. Both are i,
good condition. They report seein,
hundreds of tourists.
Baseball fans who see the Alliso,
Hill league games every night dur
ing the weekdays have found quit,
collection of peculiar seats. Eacl
night the bleachers are crowded ant
the late arrivals line up on tn,
curb on the west side of Seven
teenth street, climb a large pile o
telegraph poles along the left fielc