Forest City – The enrollment of the parochial school of Sacred Heart parish is much larger than last year. The school is under the care of four sisters of the St. Bernardine order, two of whom were in charge last year.

Thompson – Edward Avery, of Ararat, who recently purchased Charlie Crosier’s store on Jackson street, also his stock of goods consisting of confectionary, toilet articles, hunting outfits, fishing tackle, etc., has taken possession and is doing business.  They will keep fruit, green corn, vegetables, and oysters in their season, and will have a barbershop and ice cream parlor in connection with the store. ALSO Mr. Abdel Fatah, having rented S. D. Barnes’ store on Main St. and purchased his entire stock consisting of drugs, dry goods, groceries, crockery, wall paper, novelties, etc., is removing his stock of ready-made clothing, etc., from the Walker block on Jackson St., where he has been in business the past 3 years.

Harford – The hotel in Harford, conducted by Fred J. Skeels, was burned to the ground at about 10 o’clock Wednesday morning. The fire is supposed to have started from the chimney, a fresh fire having been started in a stove to heat some of the rooms. Most of the first floor furnishings were saved, but not the second. The building was a two-story frame structure and had been used as a hotel for many years and was one of the town’s landmarks. Partial insurance to cover the loss.

Franklin Twp. – The farmhouse on the Munger farm, near the old Munger tannery, was consumed by fire yesterday, shortly after the noon hour. How the fire started is not known. The occupants of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Mead, were not at home, being employed elsewhere, the children remaining and on their return the rear of the house was blazing. They managed to save much of the goods on the first floor with the assistance of neighbors.

Montrose – The temperance people of this place will get a great treat tomorrow evening, at the Colonial Theatre, when the J. L. Tempest Big Dramatic Company, of Philadelphia, will present the revised version of the touching and beautiful drama, “Ten Nights in a Bar Room.” The people just flock to see the play wherever it is given, and often many are turned away for lack of room. It is a play for the children to see, and points out very forcibly the danger of using strong drink. All are invited. Ten, 20 and 30 cents. ALSO Beach Manuf. Co. received orders for nine sawing machines of which three will go to England, four to Japan, and two for this country.

Brooklyn – The death of Ansel E. Tewksbury, an aged resident of the township, occurred on Sunday afternoon, of cancer. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. VanSciver on Tuesday, the Odd Fellows attending in a body and having charge of the services at the grave. One son, Elmer, of Buffalo, and a daughter, Mrs. H. E. Cogswell, of Washington, D. C., survive.

Herrick Center – School was closed on Wednesday, Sept. 15, on account of the Uniondale (Tri-County) fair and a large part of our citizens were present, enjoying the exhibits, the races and the visiting, and incidentally the hottest day of the season. The fair was one of the best ever held and was certainly well attended. Interest centered in the horse races, all of which were won by Admiral Bell and Elsie Marie, owned by Clark & Patterson, of Carbondale. The Novelty Amusement company gave free exhibitions.

Brookdale – A party of young people enjoyed a marshmallow and corn roast, Saturday evening.

Howard Hill, Liberty Twp. – I. H. Travis’ barn burned to the ground last night, with all the contents, including hay, oats, machinery, wagons, etc. Nothing was saved. It was caused by the lantern exploding. There is some insurance. ALSO Miss Jennie Webster has had to close her school on Rhiney Creek on account of ill health. She was a good teacher and has the sympathy of the entire community.

Gelatt – The Billy Sunday Trail Hitters, from Carbondale, held interesting meetings here Sunday.  There were Baptismal Services at 1:30 PM.

Susquehanna – Hugh Mackey, who has been in the First National Bank in this place for the past two years, has relinquished his position and leaves Saturday for Philadelphia, where he will enter the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.

South Montrose – Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Dill, who have resided here for the past four years, coming from Philadelphia, are making arrangements to remove to Glasglow [Glasgow], Montana, where they will locate on a half section of land, acquired from [the] government under the Homestead Act, being joined at Glasglow by three of Mrs. Dill’s brothers, Leonard and Arthur Titman, who come from the state of Washington and Clark Titman, from Indiana, who will also locate upon government lands. The three brothers and Mrs. Dill are natives of Auburn, being children of the late Isaac Titman and will be remembered by many of our county people.  Her niece, Mrs. Lou Phelps (nee Setser), from Elk Lake, lives at Glasglow.

Rush – Continued from the week of September 10, 2015: (Arrested For Murder: James Eagan and Cornelius Shew Now in Jail Charged with Killing Jackson Pepper). "Suspicions" On Wednesday morning, following the murder, District Attorney Ainey was summoned to Rush and quickly responded, reaching the scene of the crime several hours previous to the death of Jackson Pepper. Suspicions of all kinds were presented to him. Some people in their eagerness insisted that everyone in Rush township should be arrested and made to prove their whereabouts at the time the crime was committed--a sort of putting everything through the sieve, in the hope that the guilty person would not go through. Some wanted blood hounds, ignoring the fact that the rain of the previous night or early morning had obliterated the trail--and also that with nothing to set the dog to, the scent would more likely lead to the body of A.J. Pepper himself, or possibly to Mr. Pickett, Mr. Wilber or Mr. Granger, who had so kindly helped to carry the body to the house. There were theories and suspicions by the score; this one and that one being pointed out by an anxious public as the guilty parties. Realizing that there was a double duty to be performed--first to discover and bring to justice the guilty, if possible; second to clear away unjust suspicions resting on the innocent--Dist. Atty. Ainey offered his service to the acting coroner, A. Carter, Esq., who availed himself thereof. Every person with a theory or suspicion or a "suggestion" was heard, and so far as practicable, each of these was run out. At the very outset, two theories presented themselves prominently. First, that the crime was the work of local people; second, that it was the work of tramps. The former seemed the more feasible, because it was hardly to be credited that tramps would know the rumors concerning Pepper's secreted wealth, or that they would leave a pocketbook containing $85 untouched in the old man's pocket. There was, however, to support the tramp theory, the fact that two men who were credited with belonging to the "hobo" family, were seen in the vicinity of Fairdale, at Swackhammer's near Butterfield Springs, and at several other places on the road to Skinner's Eddy. Mr. Ainey had at once placed himself in communication with one of the best detective agencies in the United States, and within a week from the date of the murder one of their most skilled operators, fresh from the successful solution of another murder case, was in Rush and hard at work. He was given full sway and his daily operations were reported through headquarters to the District Attorney's office. One by one all "clues" concerning the local suspects were run out and abandoned. About 150 witnesses were examined before the coroner's jury, and a record of their evidence preserved for future use. [To be continued....] The above article is a murder mystery that took place in 1898 in Rush, Susquehanna County, brought to you in conjunction with “Susquehanna County Reads program. See details on the Library’s website.  Scavenger hunt to start soon.

News Brief:  The author of the song, “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier,” steps in the arena and says it was not a plea for peace but for motherhood against sudden reversion to barbarism in European countries.