The backbone of a good community is made of solid stock. One hundred years ago Jacob Faust was that type of man. J. Herman Keilman is a man of the present day. An unusual and valuable contribution to the history of Barnesville is the diary Mr. Keilman kept for many years.

Mr. Keilman was born in Mahanoy City but has lived for eighty years in the house his parents built on the land they cleared. He attended Barnesville school and helped organize the first telephone company on February 10, 1910, which was called the Barnesville Rural Telephone Company.

Dates of interest are as follows:

January 19, 1897: Big explosion in Hazleton. People thought it was an earthquake. It broke the glass in the Moses Dry store.

May 16. 1897: Sam Ohl plowed up road going into farm.

June 16, 1897: John Spaar and Annie Lutz married. Boys drummed them in the evening. Engine broke down on railroad. Blew out a cylinder head.

July 19, 1897: Two years ago started work in post office and store.

August 16, 1897: Charles Brill and Claude Brobst started for Alaska.

August 20, 1897: Charles Brill and Claude Brobst came back. People laughed at them.

August 25: Camp meeting started in Kraus' grove.

December 21: Train wreck at Lakeside. Engine smashed.

May 28, 1899: Had a party of relatives at Keilman's. Twenty-five present. Men got mad because women left the beer run away. Had 1/4 barrel.

October 28, 1899: Mr. Francis Job died last night. I stopped and helped carry him down and put him in the icebox.

November 5, 1899: Guy Schwank caught an owl in the corn crib.

January 9, 1900: Paid $2.00 to have doctor fill horse's teeth.

August 6, 1900: Hard hailstorm knocked the oats all to pieces. Blew the corn and buckwheat over. Hail as big as cherries. Split cabbage heads.

September 15: Went to West Penn to make cider. Left here at 5:15 and arrived at 9. Started home at 11 and arrived home and 2.

September 19: Harry Houser here to cut corn. Paid him $4.00 for six acres.

November 21: Showers and heavy winds. Had to put stoves on shanty roof to hold down the tin.

June 16: Went to White Church. Heard sermon by Jewish rabbi.

November 27, 1901: Started out to Tamaqua for malt. The wagon broke down at Weldy Powder Plant.

November 28: Went down for broken wagon. Stephen Neifert helped me. Was very kind.

Delano Township

Delano

Geographically, Delano is located in the northeastern portion of Schuylkill County, being the principal community in the township bearing the same name. Originally, it was part of the old township of Rush but was made an independent political subdivision in 1882. It occupies a strategic place in the heart of that portion of the rich anthracite region known as the Lower Anthracite Field; this location being directly responsible for the existence of the town and its importance as a railroad center.

The rapid development of the anthracite industry in the Mahanoy region and westward to Shenandoah and Mount Carmel, with the ever increasing markets in eastern cities, and the growing rivalry among the various transportation companies for this rich business, formed the combination that resulted directly in the founding of Delano in 1861.

Warren Delano, a prominent New York capitalist, was attracted to the anthracite country by the promise of profitable industrial development of virgin coal territory. He had been in the mercantile business in China, returning there in 1859 because of the severe business panic which began in 1857. At his departure he left his Pennsylvania affairs in the hands of his brother Franklin.

The anthracite business was almost paralyzed by the 1857 panic and many of the men who had invested their capital in this section hastened to dispose of the their holdings, getting out at great financial sacrifice. Warren and Franklin Delano and a few others, among them Judge Asa Packer, refused to let go of their interests and later organized several mining corporations for developing their tracts. Among these was the New Boston Land Company which gave its name to the little mining village of New Boston located south of Mahanoy City.

Warren Delano's daughter Sara became the wife of James Roosevelt and was the mother of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Warren, Jr. was connected for many years with the anthracite mining at New Boston and died in 1920.

The town was built for the Lehigh Valley Railroad, controlled by the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and derived its total sustenance from the Lehigh Valley Railroad. For many years it was owned in toto by the Lehigh Valley Railroad. By the early part of 1863, the railroad was completed as far as Mahanoy City and the first passenger train to operate from Delano to Mahanoy City ran on June 19, 1863.

As the new railroad approached the set goal, it became evident to the builders that a permanent place would be needed to locate the operating forces and power equipment as well as the classification yards necessary for handling the traffic the founders knew would develop quickly with the new venture.

The natural advantages of the Delano plateau made it the logical place for the new railroad center. Nature also provided the ideal topography for handling this kind of business. The grades from the mines to the proposed yards were moderately ascending, making it an easy matter to bring coal from the mines in small trains with the output of each mine handled by a single train crew. The grade to canal boats which carried the coal to tidewater was a steadily descending one so one crew could handle a large train made up in the yards from smaller ones brought from the mines. The return of the cars to the yard was accomplished easily since the burden of six tons per car were left in the coal pockets at the head of the canal.

The population of Delano probably never much exceeded 1200 people and has varied little in that number. This has been due to limitations of expansion in a physical way and not to industrial reasons. Within its 255 acres were constructed railroad shop buildings, round houses, offices, freight and railroad stations, railroad yards and residences. At no time in Delano's Lehigh Valley Railroad history was there such a thing as a vacant house.

It is likely that mining operations made it impracticable to use outlying sections for building developments. Mining activities sometimes made it necessary years ago to remove a whole street from its original location to other parts of the town. Mine breaches would open up within a hundred yards or less of the school building and a change in the location of the highway leading westward to Mahanoy City had to be made for that reason.

At one time over three hundred fifty men were employed in the shops alone and probably many more than that on the railroad. Although the town never attained prominence in the matter of size, it boasted an unusual class of citizens. Many of the first settlers came direct from the English Isles and Germany. English, Irish, Welsh and German, with a large portion of native-born, made up the population and nearly all of them were skilled workers in the mechanical trades.

Some of the pioneers of Delano spoke of the early days when thick forests surrounded the first buildings erected there and the wilderness-like conditions in which they dwelt. William McCarroll, who came to Delano at the age of eight, just four years after the first house was built, tells of having seen deer and bear within sight of the little settlement and, on occasion, of Indians passing through. Mrs. Jonathan Bretz tell of traveling when a girl with her father from Mahanoy City to Quakake and that frequently on these trips her father would shoot at deer and bear which roamed over the mountain between Delano and Quakake.

So it was, that in the early part of 1861, the ambition and enterprise of man began clearing this unbroken wilderness for a new center of industrial activity, bringing into existence a town of importance because of the things wrought within its confines and because of the men and women whose lives were molded in the atmosphere of this little railroad center and who carried to far places of our land the skill of hand, the keenness of mind and the fineness of character that developed naturally in this wholesome American community

Mahanoy City

It was on Wednesday, December 16, 1863, that the courts of Schuylkill County granted a charter to the town which was beginning to mushroom in the wilderness in the eastern nook of Mahanoy Valley.

The planning that went into the new town was by no means haphazard. As early as the mid-1850s, the landholding companies who held rights to the real estate envisioned a community some day occupying the site.

Things began moving rapidly when, in 1859, the construction of the Mahanoy Tunnel commenced. Dwellings and business places already had begun to appear on the site and completion of the tunnel, bringing easy rail-access to the coal-rich valley, would pave the way for a boom. In order to be ready when that time arrived, the landholders in 1859 engaged a surveyor to map out a town with an orderly system of streets where the influx of settlers could purchase lots to erect homes.

With the tunnel completed and coal moving to market to meet the Civil War demand, the moving fathers decided it was time to bring orderly government to the community. thus it was that a group of 70 men, one woman and two businesses banded together and took the legal steps to carve a borough out of what was then Mahanoy Township. Their names appear on the petition presented to the courts requesting legal status for a new borough.

The grand jury gave its stamp of approval on September 16, 1863, and forwarded the petition to the courts. The courts granted approval for the charter on December 16 and thus Mahanoy City was born.

Peter Otterbach was a founder of both St. Fidelis parish and Mahanoy City borough. He was treasurer of the committee who formed the parish and a signer of the petition for borough incorporation. Otterbach owned a hotel in the first block of East Centre Street, north side, and built the mansion still standing at Eight and Centre Streets. It was to serve as the home for what he must have dreamed would be a large family but his wife and young child died before the building was finished and he sold the mansion to the Kaier family.

In every war fought by the United States, the sons of St. Fidelis Church have responded to the nation's cause. The most prominent member on the roster of Yankee soldiers in the Civil War was Charles D. Kaier, the pioneer brewery man who signed the petition for borough incorporation and started manufacturing his famous beer the very same year that Mahanoy City and St. Fidelis parish began their history.

When Spain declared war on the United States on April 24, 1898, a dozen parishioners rallied to the country's cause. The honor roll at St. Fidelis Church lists these twelve men among whom appears the name of Richard Fritz , son of Jacob and Eliza (Murphy) Fritz. The war lasted only eight months, concluding with the peace treaty signed at Paris on December 19, 1898.

The little village of Bowmans Patch, located just north of the borough, is where some of the Fritz relatives lived in the 19th century. It memorializes the names of brothers David and Jonas Bowman who played a key role in the birth and early growth of Mahanoy City. They were 1863 signers of the petition for Mahanoy City's incorporation as a borough. Together with a third brother, Peter, they operated the colliery associated with Bowmans Patch from 1862 until the early 1870s when the bigger companies moved in to monopolize the industry.

Rev. George M. Bock, a brilliant 23 year old preacher from Rochester, NY, became pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in August, 1893. The church was somewhat disorganized, having been without a resident pastor for some time, but with characteristic energy and enthusiasm, Pastor bock set about the work of putting the church in good order. He performed many marriages, baptisms, and funerals for the Fritz clan.

John J. Fisher, another pastor who played a role in the Fritz history, was one of the first boys from Mahanoy City to enter the Protestant ministry. His family moved there from Pottsville in 1858 and his father Daniel, a brickmaker, contributed to the construction of many more structures. After graduating from Ursinus College in June 1879, John accepted his first call to Trinity Church, Tamaqua, a charge which included the congregation of St. Peter in Locust Valley, Christ Church, Rush Township, and Union Church in Delano.

One of the biggest days in Mahanoy City's history was the GAR celebration on September 12, 1892, for the unveiling of the soldiers' monument at the German Protestant Cemetery. The Civil War monument towers 21 feet above the cemetery plot wherein rest the men who answered the call of President Lincoln. The model of the bugler was Frank F. Reed, one of the town's veterans, who served as a bugler in the Civil War at the age of 12. He volunteered for the service on September 18, 1861, and fought in many of the war's most famous battles, including the defense of Washington.

An authentic Civil War cannon on wheels once stood at the base of the monument but today the cannon stands at the Gettysburg National Park, donated by the Mahanoy Sons of Union Veterans Camp. The present cannon is a World War I field artillery piece.

Songs of war were the most popular melodies on stage and in the music stores during the two years that America was in conflict in World War I. Many folks remember tunes such as "Over There," "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag," "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," and "Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous." During the 30s, the lodge and churches of Mahanoy paid tribute to the town's fallen heroes of 1917-18 by planting trees at the East End Park, one for each Gold Star.

The years leading up to World War I were the peak of the boom for Mahanoy. The population in the 1910 census was 15, 936 with an influx of immigrants still in progress. Then came the war and the turning point. Hundreds of men left for the service and by 1920, the war long over and the soldiers mustered out, the borough had decreased by 335 residents. The 1980 census listed 6167 and this had fallen to 5650 by July 1, 1986.

Mahanoy City had the distinction of having a ship named in its honor during World War II. The SS Mahanoy City victory, built in just 80 days, was launched on February 26, 1945, at Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard near Baltimore. It was a 10,700 ton, 475-foot vessel which could do 18 knots and was operated by the North Atlantic and Gulf Steamship Company, out of New York City.

Young men of draft age were hard to find in town during the war years. Some entered the service even before they finished from high school and a few returned after the war to resume high school classes to earn their diplomas.

At 9:40 p.m. Sunday, September 5, 1926, the voice of Sydney Shepard declared, "Station WKBG of the Record-American broadcasting directly from the stage of the Hippodrome Theatre." This historic event lasted seven days in Mahanoy City. Every set in town and for miles around were tuned to the 215, meter wave length to hear a continuous stream of local personalities. There were clergymen, orators, vocalists, musicians, recitalists, comedians all doing their thing for the unseen audience. Few of the town's folk owned radios in 1926 but those who did own sets were good enough to share them for the historic week, inviting relatives, friends and neighbors over to gather round and listen.

Prohibition was supposed to purify society by legislating the nation's alcoholic breweries and distilleries out of business. However, the advocates of "The Noble Experiment" soon found that no mere federal law was going to deprive the Mahanoy Valley hard coal miners of their beloved shot-and-a-beer to slake the thirst born of a day's sweat and labor in the dusty caverns where coal was cut.

Like other brewing firms, the Charles D. Kaier company was forced to seek alternate products to stay in business. In addition to manufactured ice, the firm went in to the soft drink business which was announced in the June 30, 1922, edition of the Record-American.