Minooka Fire Hose Company No. 1

Contributed by Maria Montoro Edwards

Woodrow Wilson School, MInooka, 1960

First Grade at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School.

1960

Contributed by Tina Taticchi Ortega

School Ma'ams May Go Out on Strike 1906

THE EVENING NEWS - NORTH TONAWANDA - March 26, 1906

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., March 26 – The school teachers of Minooka, near here, following announcement that owing to the present lack of funds the force of teachers will have to be reduced next school year, threaten to strike if such action is ordered.

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They say that for the past three years the school term has been shortened to eight months; that teachers have been kept waiting six months for their wages, and that if the proper officials attended to their duties there would be no occasion for financial stringency.

In view of this they give public notice that they will not return to their positions next year until they are assured of a minimum term of nine months and regular payment of salaries; nor will they permit a reduction in the number or wages of teachers. 

Contributed by Maria Montoro Edwards

Aid Girl Stikers (at Silk Mill) 1910

The New York Call

“Devoted to the Interests of Working People”

January 5, 1910

Aid Girl Strikers

Scranton, Pa., Central Labor Union Takes Decisive Action

Scranton, Pa., Jan. 4 – Daniel Hartnett, a member of the advisory board of the Silk Workers’ Union, announced at the last meeting of the Central Labor Union that the girls at the Simpson mill, Minooka, were fourteen weeks on strike, and so far as he knew, there was no [action] made on either side to effect a settlement.

Hartnett made a strong plea for funds to aid the strikers. He said that many of them were feeling acutely in the effects of their prolonged idleness, but that they were determined to remain out until the two demands that they have made of throwers of the mill were conceded.

It was stated by some of the delegates of the Minooka local that there were only four girls at work in the mill. It was also stated that when the strike was settled some thirty of the girls who were formerly working in the mill will not be permitted to return to work, owing to the fact that they have not reached the age limit fixed by the new factory law.

After some discussion of the situation a motion was made and adopted that the following delegates be instructed to help the girls obtain funds from the various locals in and around Scranton: John T. Dempsey of the Miners’ Union; P.M. Moffitt, of the Saddlers’ Union; Joseph Hodgkins, of the Miners’ Union; Michael Kane, of the Teamsters’ Union; P.J. Keegan, of the Street Car Men’s Union, and William La Fontaine, of the Molders’ Union.


Contributed by Maria Montoro Edwards

Poem to Festus Higgins by Eugene Carney

By Maria Montoro Edwards

The following poem was in my Aunt Winifred Philbin Rader’s scrapbook. It is an original typed copy probably given to Winifred’s mother, and Festus Higgins’ sister, Winifred Higgins Philbin. In the fourth stanza is the following, “He’s quietly, gently resting, With a pal that he loved so”. I wonder if the author is referring to James Connolly who is listed as “mascot” on the famous Minooka Blues team photo.  James “Francis” Connolly was the first World War I death for Minooka and for whom the legion is named. Festus Higggins was a promising pitcher until he was hit by a fast pitched ball in 1908 against a team from Carbondale, and his career was cut short. He continued to play in minor leagues following the injury but was never the same. My grandmother, Dolores Philbin McDonough remembered her father, Patrick Philbin taking Festus to a mental hospital of sorts. He had seizures following the injury.  The funeral was in the family home of Patrick and Mary Mulkerin Higgins on Pittston Avenue and the funeral mass was at St. Joseph’s Church. Honorary pall bearers were the O’Neill brothers, Chick Shorten, and Mike McNally.  Attached by paperclip to the poem was a scapula with scalloped edges and “J” and “M”.

This Poem Is Dedicated In Loving Remembrance Of Festus Higgins. One Who In Life Taught Me Much.

“Memories”

Years ago there was a dreamer.

            Hoping, waiting day by day,

With a heart that was never yearning

            For in big league games to play.

He had youth and strong ambitions,

            Hoping someday to win fame,

As a pitcher in the majors,

            Playing in a baseball game.

Joe Walsh and His Class

Coal Mine Fire - 1875

Auburn Morning News - Official Paper of the County - Monday, Oct. 4, 1875

A Burning Coal Mine

A RAGING FIRE IN A VEIN OF ANTHRACITE – THE NATIONAL MINE NEAR SCRANTON THREATENED BY FLAMES – WORKMEN COMBATING THE ELEMENT DAY AND NIGHT

Scranton, Pa., Sept 26, 1875

The sensation of knowing that beneath ones’ own house, at a depth of about 100 feet, a fierce fire is raging fed by acres of anthracite and bidding defiance to all human efforts employed to extinguish it, it is not calculated to excite emotions of the most tranquil nature, and yet this is the precise position of the people of Minooka, a mining suburb of Scranton, for more than a week past.

About two weeks ago a clump of straggling brushwood, on the side of a ravine some eight feet in depth caught fire, and exhausted itself in the flames. The fact did not attract attention at the time, as the burning of the clump of brushwood was nothing uncommon in that vicinity. A branch railroad connecting with a coal breaker runs along the brink of the ravine at the point where the brushwood burned, and the employees of the coal train were somewhat surprised to see smoke emanating from the embankment without an indication of fire being present. A few days later smoke was observed escaping from a crevice in the rising ground about one hundred feet north of the ravine, at night a red glare of light was visible where the coal fire caught from the burning brushwood. The news soon spread in the vicinity and the fact the “vein” of coal in the National Mine was on fire created considerable alarm. The attention of Mr. William Connell, one of the proprietors of the mine living at Scranton, was called to the circumstance, and he, at once realizing the threatening character of the conflagration  sent a force of one hundred men to extinguish it, working in gangs of fifty, day and night.

Thomas Joyce Killed in Train Accident - 1886

PITTSTON GAZETTE-MARCH 19, 1886
Mr. Thomas Joice [sic], a prominent resident of Minooka, while on his way home Thursday the 11th of March, 1886, was struck by an Engine on the Reading Road and thrown under the wheels, cutting off his head and mangling his body fearfully. He leaves a wife and family. His home is at the lower end of Minooka, at a place called Joiceville, which was so named after the deceased, he being the first to locate there.

Contributed by Barbara Fuess Ciancichi