From the Public Spirit, Week of Dec. 11-17, 1958 Hatboro zoning board approves controversial industrial park Amid the violent protests of more than 30 Mitchell Park residents, Hatboro's Zoning Board of Adjustment on Tuesday night paved the way for a small industrial park at County Line Road between York Road and the Reading Railroad. When the decision was announced, resident Marshall Blum said that the majority of the people present are willing to appeal in the courts. The Board rejected the request for the variance last July 8 because of the objections of 32 Mitchell Park residents, even …
From the Public Spirit, Week of Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 1924 Horsham fire destroys barn, kills livestock Fourteen cows, three horses and sheep, and thousands of dollars worth of farm machinery and crops, were burned late Sunday night when flames, fanned by a high wind, destroyed a barn at the George Walters farm, off Limekiln pike below Prospectville. Neighbors within a mile radius were awakened by the screaming and bellowing of the cattle and horses trapped in the blazing building, which is situated on the crest of a hill, near the Park creek. The fire cast a reflection in the sky which could be …
From the Public Spirit, Week of Nov. 12-18, 1931 Consumer spending helps Hatboro weather the Depression While the world is Depression-minded and decries the shortage of cash, Hatboro hustles on to do an estimated retail cash business of approximately $4,500 daily. A survey made of business conditions in Hatboro by the Public Spirit reveals that approximately $27,000 is handed across retail counters by consumer trade each business week [most businesses in this era were closed on Sundays]. Walter S. Gifford, the man entrusted by President Hoover for caring for the jobless, believes consumer …
From the Public Spirit, Week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 1914 Hatboro's first Hallowe'en parade a great success Hatboro's Hallowe'en demonstration Saturday night was a great success, far better than the most extravagant prediction or the hopes of the managers. Too much credit cannot be given to the Hatboro Business Men's Association, and those who gave their valuable assistance. The affair, the first of its kind ever attempted in Hatboro, was a great credit and advertisement to the town. Everybody who was fortunate enough to see the parade and attend the entertainments were loud in their praise of …
From the Public Spirit, Week of Oct. 17-23, 1957 Pamphlet stirs up Hatboro council race Hatboro Republican Councilman Dr. Eugene L. Brooks has refused to campaign for election, terming a pamphlet prepared by the Democratic organization as "propaganda." Dr. Brooks made his statement in a letter to Democratic leader Mrs. Mary Coleman. He said he hoped to remain out of the area until after Election Day, and added that his aim has been "to bring some form of good government to our town." The pamphlet, distributed Saturday, attacks the Borough Council and School Board on a variety of charges. …
From the Public Spirit, Week of Oct. 2-8, 1925 Old York road to be paved with concrete Work is progressing rapidly on the building of the new concrete roadway on Old York road from County Line road south through Hatboro. With favorable weather conditions, the work will be completed and the entire new roadway open to traffic by the middle of December. At the end of this week, the mammoth steam shovel, which has been tearing off the surface of the old road from Monument avenue south, will have reached Moreland avenue. The Union Paving Company, contractor for the operation, plans to continue …
From the Public Spirit, Week of Sept. 17-23, 1942 Hatboro collects scrap metal for war effort - Hatboro "got in the scrap" in a big way Wednesday, when a group of collectors appointed by the Salvage Committee of the local Defense Council made a one-night blitz raid on junk piles gathered by the citizens. Starting promptly at seven o'clock, a fleet of seven trucks, each manned by a crew of volunteer air raid wardens, auxiliary police and firemen, headed for the various sections of the borough assigned to them, and cleaned up the job by 9:30. The committee's goal was twenty-five tons of metal, …
From the Public Spirit, Week of Sept. 6-12, 1934 Trolley tracks to be removed in Hatboro - Under an ordinance adopted by Hatboro borough council and an agreement made with the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, the trolley tracks in Hatboro will be removed within the next few months. Action on the project was taken at a special meeting of the borough authorities on Tuesday evening. Under the agreement, the P.R.T. Company will do the work of removing the tracks from their termination at Byberry avenue, south on York road, west on Horsham road and south on Continental road to the borough line…
From the Public Spirit, Week of Aug. 19.-25, 1911 Two men race from Hatboro to Willow Grove - A sporting event occurred one evening this week in Hatboro, when Andrew the barber and Brown the bootblack, of Moreland avenue, were boasting as to their abilities as runners. To settle the question which was the best, a race to Willow Grove was proposed. The purse was to be $4, each man to place $2 in the hands of O'Regan, the bartender. When it came to raising the funds each man was short, so O'Regan lent 50 cents to Brown and $1 to Andy. The winner of the race was to telephone his arrival at …
From the Public Spirit, Week of Aug. 6-12, 1953 Horsham police investigate man's murder - Horsham Township police are investigating the death of a man whose badly burned body was found in a car deliberately set afire. About 2:45 Saturday morning, a Cadillac sedan was found blazing furiously in a field about 25 feet off Limekiln pike north of Welsh road, near Maple Glen. Horsham Township police were called, and Chief George Freas, quickly on the scene, worked on the blaze with a hand extinguisher until Horsham Fire Company arrived and put out the flames. Not until then was it discovered there …
From the Public Spirit, Week of July 21-27, 1927 Hatboro council considers sewer system - The building of a sewer system, which will cost the residents of Hatboro an estimated $200,000 but which will be the most beneficial improvement the borough could have, is being contemplated at the present time by the town council. This question, which has been unofficially discussed for several years, was formally opened in the meeting of Hatboro Borough Council held in the town hall Tuesday night. An idea of the expense of a sewage system for Hatboro was gleaned from a communication from the borough of…
From the Public Spirit, Week of June 23-29, 1932 Prominent Hatboro businessman dies - Jacob Schaffer, for a number of years one of the most prominent citizens of Hatboro, and before that a well-known Horsham township farmer, died suddenly Saturday evening at his home on South York road, Hatboro. Mr. Schaffer and his family had been entertaining friends Saturday evening when he became suddenly ill, and local physicians were called. He died within a short time, however, and death was described as due to heart disease. He was seventy years old. Mr. Schaffer immigrated to this country from …
From the Public Spirit, Week of June 9-16, 1917 Hatboro joins Red Cross fund drive - [Editor's note - After remaining neutral since World War I started in August 1914, the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917. America joined Great Britain, France and Russia in the fight against Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. The war ended Nov. 11, 1918, when Germany agreed to an armistice]. President Woodrow Wilson has requested that for one week, beginning June 18th, an intensive campaign be carried out to collect funds for Red Cross work in all cities and towns of the United States. One…
From the Public Spirit, Week of May 31-June 6, 1951 Allentown mayor to speak at high school graduation - Donald V. Hock, Mayor of Allentown, will be the commencement speaker at the graduation exercises at Hatboro-Horsham High School next Thursday evening. Mayor Hock is a veteran of World War II, a practicing lawyer for the Lehigh Company, and a past president of the Exchange Clubs of Pennsylvania. He also is known as an author, and the title of his address will be "Aladdin Had a Lamp." Mayor Hock will be introduced by A. Harvey McCall, Jr., Secretary of the Hatboro-Horsham Board of Education…
From the Public Spirit, Week of May 11-17, 1923 Hatboro annexes 159 acres from Upper Moreland - At a hearing in Norristown on Wednesday, the Court approved the annexation by Hatboro of a portion of Upper Moreland township northeast of the borough limits. This portion includes Hatboro Manor, the Tanner tract and that section along Jacksonville road occupied by the Hatboro Stove Foundry, making a tract of 159 acres in all, bounded on the east by the Newton Wood road, on the north by the county line and on the west by the present borough line. This tract and the Hatboro Farms tract, which was …
From the Public Spirit, Week of May 3-9, 1945 Hatboro quietly marks V-E Day - Editor's note - Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies on Monday, May 7, 1945, but President Harry Truman did not make an official announcement until the following day, designated as V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. While Americans were grateful, rejoicing was low-key because the war against Japan continued. The country would not erupt in wild celebrations until V-J (Victory over Japan) Day on Aug. 15 News of the end of the European war, and the official proclamation of victory, was received quietly and with little …
From the Public Spriit, Week of April 17-23, 1930 Police investigate man's death at Hallowell Hotel - Byron Thompson, 62, of Hatboro, died Saturday night of dilation of the heart aggravated by a kidney ailment, according to a report made this week by Dr. John C. Simpson of Norristown, Montgomery County Coroner's physician. Thompson, a long-time resident of Hatboro, died suddenly in the Hallowell Hotel [now the Horsham Inn] on Easton road, conducted by Robert Burns. It was reported at first that he had strangled to death on a large clam which he had attempted to swallow. This was denied by the…
From the Public Spirit, Week of April 5-11, 1956 Two Hatboro councilmen, burgess resign - The independent Republican-Democratic coalition of Hatboro gained almost complete control of Borough Council this week, when three members of the "old guard" suddenly resigned. The resignations of Council President Robert J. McLaughlin and Councilman George E. Hoffman came during Monday night's council meeting after a debate over amendments to the borough's plumbing code. Burgess [Mayor] A. Harvey McCall also submitted his resignation at Wednesday night's meeting, a continuation of the Monday night …
From the Public Spirit, Week of March 22-28, 1913 Horsham woman's barn burns down - The members of Willow Grove Fire Company were called into service about 12:45 a.m. on Thursday morning by the continual blowing of the whistle at the power house. Word had been received that a large barn in Horsham was ablaze, and the fire laddies at once started up the Doylestown pike to the place where the blaze could be seen. The fire was on the premises of Mrs. Burley, on the Saw Mill road, near the Orthodox Friends meeting house, where her barn was being consumed. When the firemen arrived at the scene …
From the Public Spirit, Week of March 1-7, 1940 Area digging out from snow storm - Eastern Montgomery county has been digging out all this week from the paralyzing snow storm of last Wednesday. Indeed, many rural roads, including portions of County Line road near Hatboro, were still reported closed earlier this week. Not for many years has a winter storm so tied up transportation. The bobtailed blizzard hit the county with unexpected swiftness and was gone in "a whoop and a holler," leaving many communities completely isolated from the rest of the world. The storm caught the state highway …
