Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-08-25
Enetttttg Gfrat

1t is rather an interesting fact
that Notwithstanding the unexam-
pied beauty of the Susquehanna
river as a setting for river fetes and
water carnivals that it has only
been within the last few years that
an organized effort was made TO in
sure annual celebrations, resulting
in the Kipona which is 20 be re-
ylVed next Monday in elaborate
FASHION. Kipona, which is an In
dian name for sparkling water"
was the suggestion of DIR. Hugh
Hamilton, of this city, president of
the State Federation of Historical
Societies, and long a student of the
river and its history. Several times
IN the last quarter of a century
there have been attempts at river
celebrations, but It was not until
few years ago that the people got
behind the plan and made a sue
cess. The Dauphin County Centen-
nial and Old Home Week. which
was 30 years after the centennial,
by >he way, each had some water
spo=ts, but it was probably the i'm
letds given to boating and canoe
ing by the erection of the sanitary
dam at Dock street and the compile
ton of the Front steps that
brought popular idea around to the
realization that Harrisburg was
overlooking a chance to do some
thing in the way of water fete. AS
told in the Harrisburg Telegraph
recently the Susquehanna had a
great vogue in boating some 80 to
40 years ago and boat races were
held. This racing with four and
eight cared shells was a revival of
a boating fever right after the Civil
War, boat parades having taken
place in the late sixties. Some of
these parades are described as be-
ing very fine, although no floats
seem to have been attempted and
nothing like the Kipona plans. An
interesting account of an early pa
rade on the river is found in the
Harrisburg Chronicle of late in
1928. 1t concerns the steam navi-
cation of the river which, accord
ing to the Chronicle, the Demo
cratic Herald, the Intelligencer
and other papers printed here in
that period, was a subject of much
discussion. The Chronicle notes
that when the steamboat Codorus
came to Harrisburg on Sunday it
had the members of the Legislature
from York county as passengers
and was met by the legislators and
State officials, the residents of the
city going out in boats. In earlier
days when Fourth of July town pic
MICS were held on the Island the
people of the young Harrisburg
boated to the island and lighted up
their boats on the return trip in the
evening.
Imagine shooting in a national
rifle match with a couple of yards
of mosquito netting strung around
your hat and nothing to protect
your hands from the ravenous in
sects of Jersey breed in a year when
the mosquito is worse than ever
known. Captain Fred A. God
charles. deputy Secretary of the
commonwealth, historian, editor,
naturalist, philatelist and crack
shot is at Caldwell with the Penn
sylvania Civilian Rifle team, of
which Cassius A. Dunn, of this city,
Is captain. Captain Godcharles
went to matches in Ohio, Florida
and many other places and has shot
all over Pennsylvania with expert
ence at Camp Funston and other
Army posts thrown in. but he has
hit the real thing at Caldwell.
There are mosquitoes by the mill
lion," he writes to Samuel C. Todd,
chief clerk of the State Department.
Every cot is provided with a frame
and netting, but even they they
come through in families of eight.
We look like a bunch of Hindu SOL
our heads and then get stung in the
bargain. 1 am a sight. My left
hand is swollen up the size of a
boxing glove and the back of NV
neck looks like Typographical
survey"
The State Police Department and
box bearing the advertisement of
we'll known whisky got into the
limelight day or so ago. The box
was delivered at the Harrisburg
Telegraph Building and consigned
to the State Police Department 1t
bore the whisky label in large let
ters and made some people pause
and look over it with lingering
thoughts. And when they saw it ad
dressed to the State Police, various
thought began to be expressed. FL
nally some one called up Captain
Leon Pitcher, the deputy superin-
tendent.
Captain, there is a box of whisky
in the Harrisburg Telegraph Build
ing consigned to YOU" he was told.
Il don't drink and the Telegraph's
- PNPN't ASoPOANSu TIE Sdp-
tain.
But it's a regular whisky box and
its addressed to the State Police"
"Oh! 1t is, is it? Well, that box
is consigned to the State Depart
ment of Fisheries and it contains
samples of water taken by police
men that I'll bet are deadlier than
any whisky ever invented" replied
the Captain.
Some policemen had been get
ting evidence of stream pollution.
From present indications Har-
risburg is going to do quite well in
the way of conventions this fall.
There will be the postmasters and
the Storytellers League early in
September, then the State Medical
Society and later on the the Ameri-
can Legion. Last winter and spring
were record-breakers for conven-
tions and annual meetings here and
the autumn seems to be starting off
well. And it all comes of having