The North Wales Borough Council committee appointed to ascertain the expense of building a bridge across the railroad on Pennsylvania avenue, reported to council on October 3, 1887 that they had viewed the site but that they could not see any call or necessity for a bridge at the present time. The report was accepted and the committee instructed to ascertain the probable cost of the bridge. The committee did not report again until March 5. 1888, at which time they made the following meagre report: “The committee on bridge in Washington avenue over the railroad reported their work done,” without making a definite report as to cost, etc. The report was received and the committee discharged.
The meeting place of council was again changed on March 5, 1888, from the office of the secretary to the Amusement Hall on School street [309-311 School Street].
At the council meeting of May 7, 1888, a petition was presented for a change in the time of putting out street lamps. The petition requested council to “have the street lamps lit all night and every night without regard of weather or face of the moon.”
At this same May 7, 1888 meeting council agreed to have notices printed to notify all persons that the council had resolved to “prohibit the use of slingshots and the playing of ball in the streets of the borough.” The constable was instructed to enforce this resolution.
At the meeting held May 21, 1888, the matter of keeping the street lamps lit all night was again brought to the attention of council when an adjourned meeting was held and the following minutes recorded:
“President Anderman stated the object of the meeting was to hear the opinion of the taxpayers regarding the movement to burn the street lamps all night. The expression of the meeting might help the council to decide what to do in the matter under consideration. The public was well represented. “President Anderman, after calling the house to order, invited anyone present to express his opinion relative to the street lamps. As no one responded to the invitation, Isaac G. Freed made a statement, giving the present cost, while the lamps burned until 10 o’clock and on only such nights when the moon is not shining, being about fifteen nights out of four weeks, a hundred and ninety-five nights or five hundred and eighty-five hours in a year, at a cost of about one hundred and fifty dollars a year; at that rate twelve hours a night and three hundred and sixty-five nights would amount to four thousand three hundred and eighty hours in a year, amounting to about six hundred and seven dollars, an increase in expense of about four hundred and fifty dollars.
“Elias K. Freed replied, showing the advantages of having lights burning all night, and giving his opinion in regard to cost as adding only about one hundred and eighty dollars and seventy cents, basing his opinion on experiment. H. S. Kriebel followed stating that the cost would be but a trifle more than at present.
“At a request made by H. S. Kriebel the petitions were again read. The petition favoring the burning of the lights all night was signed by about one hundred and thirty-six names, while that objecting to the extra expense involved in the change was signed by sixty-seven names, some of the signers appearing on both papers. The public having completed their task, council argued the matter for a while when A. K. Shearer moved that the first petition be accepted with this exception, that the lamps are not to be lit when the moon shines, until twelve o’clock at night and the sky is clear, but on rainy or stormy nights the lamps are to be lit at all times.”
The motion was carried five to one and the result was that the lights were to burn all night for the ensuing year.
The matter of fire protection had been considered by borough council from time to time over a period of years, but never seriously, until the meeting of September 7, 1888, when we find the following recorded:
“The protection against fire was next taken into consideration. After discussing the matter, it was on motion agreed to appoint a committee of two to purchase six hundred feet of Red Cross hose and two service pipes. R. R. Freed and A. K. Shearer were appointed the committee. It was further agreed to build a hose carriage house on the lockup lot, twelve by eighteen feet and nine feet high to square, of plain pine barn boards, tin roof, pitched both ways with ornamented front. Jacob H. Leister and R. R. Freed were appointed the building committee. On motion it was unanimously agreed that Frank Anderman, John Choyce and W. H. Barger be a committee to report at the next meeting the prices of hose carriages and other particulars about fire apparatus.”
This post is sourced from a column entitled Early North Wales: Its History and Its People penned by long-time North Wales resident historian Leon T. Lewis. The article appeared in its original form in the October 20, 1959 issue of the North Penn Reporter