Odyssey of the Mind Page 3
The Home News Your Local News
MARCH 9-15, 2017
Looking by Back Ed Pany Fourth in a seriesA $650 Home (Originally published in 2002)
Today, Mr. Clyde Roberts shares some Chapman Quarries memories with our Home News readers. Clyde is a lifelong resident, whose family worked in the borough’s quarries. He recalls, “In my youth, we played ball in the streets, which were all dirt. In about 1928, the street was paved. That’s when Gifford Pinchot was governor of Pennsylvania. We hung out at Cyrus Minnich’s General Store. There was no television in those days, but plenty of games of checkers. The old road had so many deep ruts, you could get lost in one. In those days you were lucky to see ten cars drive through Chapman’s.” I asked about the homes. He said, “All the homes were owned by the Chapman Slate Company. We rented the home for eight dollars a month. When the company sold them, the renters were given first choice. My father paid $650
for the home. Not all the people bought the homes and many were sold to a Moravian Society. The Chapman Slate Company was in need of funds and wanted to sell all the homes.” Mr. Roberts recalls, “Later they were sold for $1200. If the home had a porch, the price increased to $1600.” It may be some years before we see those home prices again. Chapman’s also had their own post office. Mail was but a short walk from Mr. Roberts’s home. Mr. Roberts, Rev. Klingborg and Dana Ackerman kindly showed me the company rental book. Some of the monthly rates were: 1919 Thomas Seip, $8, Joseph Durs, $6, 1931 Allen Henry, $5 and Oscar Miller, $8. The 1928 pay book listed a five-and-a-half-day week and a nine-hour day. The pay of William Beal’s, Mr. Ackerman’s grandfaContinued on page 2
50 cents
Borough of Bath Holds monthly Council meeting
By KERI LINDENMUTH The agenda was once again full during the Borough of Bath’s monthly council meeting on Wednesday, March 1. In terms of the new municipal building, great strides are already being made to make sure that borough offices will be able to move in this summer. During the meeting, council agreed that the building should be sold through an open bid, which will provide “more security,” in Council President Mark Saginario’s opinion. “[We will] know we have it sold” instead of potentially paying bills on two different properties, he explained. The council also began discussions on which furniture and items from the current municipal building they would like to preserve and reuse in the new S. Walnut Street property. For example, Councilman Michael Reph mentioned preserving the building’s old display cabinets and antique lampposts. Council will compile a list of other items they wish to transfer to the new building. Finally, council also spoke to
representatives of the Bath Museum, who were in attendance Wednesday evening. Council is currently brainstorming ways to keep surplus artifacts in storage at local storage centers at minimal or even no cost to the borough. Drawings of the new building’s historical resource room have also been completed. Also on the agenda for the evening was a discussion in regard to a borough tree well ordinance. Such an ordinance, according to council, would come with legal fees as high as $2,000. There are many complications that can come with the ordinance, including the types of trees that can be planted, fire safety concerns, borough costs, administrative responsibilities and what happens when property owners no longer wish to maintain the trees in front of their homes or businesses. “[It was] the guidelines we were having a hard time coming up with,” explained Saginario, when asked by resident Jen George why it has taken the council several months to come to a decision. Continued on page 4
Clocks will jump Ahead by one hour On March 12 at 2 a.m.
Our Best Friends have Hairy legs Page 8
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