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News events of 1914: Open air Methodist services are held in the patch-town of Cranberry with Rev. W. Russell, pastor of St. John's Methodist church of Hazleton in charge. South of Cranberry, there are plans to erect a public school in Harwood at a cost of $11,653.
This is the peak year of employment in the anthracite coal region as more than 180,000 workers are gainfully employed. Cranberry exhibits its peak employment this year also as its employees number in excess of 1,400 workers. Employment in the coal region will show a steady decline from this year forward.
There are over 1,000 telephones in Hazleton and several hundred more in the outlying patch-town areas. Neither the Kudrick or Mudry families have any use for a phone because it is considered an unnecessary expense.
People are humming "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish Lullaby)" and whistling the toe tapping, "If You Don't Want My Peaches, You'd Better Stop Shaking My Tree." In literary circles, people are "leafing through" "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs and "Penrod" by Booth Tarkington. The general public is introduced for the first time to Kelvinator, Stutz Bearcat racing car, nonskid tires, Mother's day and the red-green traffic light system.
Three years ago, 146 girls are killed in a fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City. Litigation on behalf of the dead girls is settled this year--families of twenty-three victims receive $75. (No, this is not a misprint.)
The Panama Canal opens, directly connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Andrew McDeshen, future husband of Helen Kudrick will work on the Panama Canal.
A Maxwell automobile costs $695, a Model T Touring car costs $550, a Cadillac costs $2,900 and tuition, room, and board at Harvard costs $700. Meanwhile, a thin dime will get you a pack of Camel cigarettes.
A fire in Maizeville, PA. levels 17 homes and a church. It is the worst fire in Gilberton's history which is the home town of my mother, Anna Zokuskie.
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