Great Bend - The Central House was badly damaged by fire last Friday morning, the interior being gutted by the flames, while smoke and water did much damage. The proprietor, former sheriff John H. Pritchard, having occasion to go to another part of the house, carried in his hand a lamp. As he passed through a swinging door he caught his foot in the carpet and the door was released from his grasp. Swinging back, it knocked the lamp from his hand, and as it was at the head of a flight of stairs, the lamp, in rolling, spread the flames their entire length. To make matters worse, there was a large tank of oil at the foot of the stairs. Realizing he could not hope to put the fire out unaided, Mr. Pritchard aroused the family and the sleeping guests and sent in an alarm. The Great Bend and Hallstead fire companies responded and worked until late in the morning to cope with any possible emergency. Passersby on the street would hardly know that the three story building had been through a fire, but once inside the great damage is too plainly visible and it will be months before it is again ready for occupancy.

Hallstead - The Hallstead baseball team defeated Camp Susquehannock in an eleven inning game at Hallstead on Saturday, the score being 7-6. It was the most exciting game Hallstead has witnessed in many a day.

New Milford - Mr. M. Bartle, a practical jeweler of Montrose will, on August 1st, open a shop for the repairing of watches, clocks, sewing machines and organs, in Edwards' phonograph store in this borough.

Susquehanna, etc. - Susquehanna, Oakland and Lanesboro are getting to be quite the centers for the pleasing pastime of boat motoring. At the last mentioned place alone there are thirty motor boats. If the citizens of those towns would dredge the channel of the Susquehanna they could have a course many miles in length that would equal anything in this section for boating.

Montrose - Many novel horns and sirens for automobiles have been heard in Montrose, but the latest and most striking is on S. D. Warriner's 60-horsepower Matheson. The horn makes a noise resembling the human voice volumized and when the car bears down upon a pedestrian sounding its warning, it causes even a non-excitable person's hair to stand on end and makes him fall all over himself getting out of the way.

Springville - The home of F. P. Snover was saddened by the sudden death of their infant son, Myron. Myron was an active little fellow, about two years of age, and the pet of the home. Thursday, while the mother and others were busy in another part of the house, the baby made his way to the kitchen, climbed upon a chair, unhooked the cupboard door and reached the matches on the second shelf. He bit the heads off a number and swallowed them. This was at 5 p.m.. He seemed perfectly well until 9 p.m., when he was taken violently ill, and died at 10 a.m., Friday.

Thompson - The librarian requests that all books be returned to the circulating library at once.

Hopbottom - One of the things badly needed in this place is a fire company.

Forest City - The proposed Marathon race of the Red Men has caught the popular fancy. There are a large number of candidates and the boys are training by making nightly trial runs. The course is about 4 1/2 miles in length. The contestants will start at the Vandling grove, fol-low the street car line to the Richmondale switch, go through the Blazing Stump, and along the road over the hill to Hudson street, thence to Main and back to the grove. It is expected the winner will make the run in less than 30 minutes, as the trainers of several of the contestants now claim their men have gone over the course in considerably less than 35 minutes.

Lawsville - Last Monday, as Charles Palmer was enroute to the creamery at Lawsville, his young team became unmanageable near Franklin Forks and ran to the farm of Thomas Mahoney, where they were caught, Mr. Palmer still holding pluckily to the lines.

Lenox - The descendants of Amos Payne, dec'd. will hold their annual reunion with the descendants of T. V. Dunn, dec'd, at the Payne homestead in Lenox, now occupied by Charles Manzer, Aug. 17. All friends of both families and neighbors are cordially invited to meet with us.

Choconut Valley - Choconut postoffice went into operation July 1st, 1829. Lewis Chamberlin was appointed postmaster, which office he held for a period of 42 years. After his death his daughter, Mary M. Chamberlin, was appointed postmistress, which office she held until her death, which occurred October last. Mrs. Catharine S. Dean now holds the office and although having held the position but a short time, is doing the business well, with good satisfaction to the people. The first returns, made up Oct. 1, 1829, amounted to $1.29 from Choconut P.O.

Herrick Center - Saturday night, July 10, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Gulley, of Susquehanna, came down to stay over Sunday with their parents Mr. and Mrs. Walter Halford. Monday morning Mrs. Gulley gave birth to a fine girl baby and the grandparents are so pleased over its arrival that they propose to keep it for a few weeks. Fred was able to go to his work today, July 19.

County Jail - A very clever attempt was made the forepart of the week, by some of the prisoners at the jail, to break therefrom and secure their liberty. The cell known as the hospital cell, from which escapes have been made at different times, had been condemned and is not at present used, but is kept locked. Prisoners were allowed in sometimes during the day to get articles used about the jail and they had been taking in the situation as to the lock and the possibility of its being successfully picked. Sheriff Conklin and his son-in-law, Belford Jones, being apprehensive there might be an urgent desire on the part of some of the prisoners threatened with long terms to break from jail, discovered an important "find." Upon looking at the lock and bolt to the hospital cell it seemed to be all right, but in passing his hand over the bolt, Belford detected a greasy feeling, which arrested his attention, and upon unlocking the door and taking out the bolt, found that it had been filed very nearly in two and the space filed away covered up with soap, iron filings and dust, so that in appearance it would not be detected. Enough metal was left so that the lock worked perfectly and the work by the file not detected, so that a few minutes more work with a file would have laid the lock open. This work was done during the day time, as all the prisoners were locked into separate cells at night. The present inmates are a noisy lot and at time sing, dance and make a lot of noise and it is supposed that while some sang, others filed. Had it not been for extreme vigilance, it is very likely there would have been a wholesale delivery.