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Watsontown History by Major Fred H. Knight, 1915 |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 26 April 2005 |
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Page 8 of 17
Next came dissemination of information and in 1870 the first newspaper was published under the name of the Watsontown Record with Oscar Foust, Manager, and P.M. Coup, Editor. Later John J. Auten became Editor and Proprietor and so continued until 1877. Its ownership passed through several hands. Later, the West Branch Star was launched by Lew C. Fosnot, who had associated with him at different times, W.W. Fisher, now of Sunbury, and Theodore Burr. So successful was this latter undertaking that it soon absorbed the business of the old Watsontown Record and the merged paper was first issued to the public in 1884 under the name of the Record and Star, since which time it has been published and edited by Lew C. Fosnot, and latterly by himself and son J. Clyde Fosnot. Through their tenacity and untiring efforts they have built a publication that has greatly aided in the development of the community. These, together with the Watsontown Blade, published for a short time in 1889, by J. Ward Diehl, the founder of Old Home Week, comprised Watsontown's newspaper enterprises.
Next in line of development came amusement and entertainment. In response to the first of these demands the Minerva Hall was erected in the fall of 1869 at the southeast corner of Main and Second Streets, where the Klapp Drug Store now stands. It was a two story, sixty by ninety feet building, with two store rooms facing on Main Street and two facing on Second Street on the first floor and the entire second story used as an Auditorium equipped with stage, scenery, curtain and gallery, and gave a finished structure that, at that time, was the pride of the community. Who of the Old Timers does not remember the two egg cylinder stoves and the long line of cain seated chairs for reserved seats, and the wooden benches in the rear, the gallery with its gallery gods, the oil footlights with their tin reflectores, and the deep maroon of the curtain with its yellow rope tassels. Here was produced "Ten Nights in a Bar Room," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "East Lynn," "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh," and other dramas of a generation or two ago. Here, the Beau Brummels of other days escorted their sweethearts for entertainment and here, too, were danced the minuette, the mazurka, quadrille and numerous other gentle steps that would put the present day "tango" and "hesitation" to shame.
In December, 1894, a fire which swept the entire half block from Second Street south to the present residence of Dr. Hummel, leveled the building to the ground.
Following shortly upon the completion of this place of amusement came the organization of the Watsontown Silver Cornet Band, in December, 1872, with Dr. J.R. Housel as its instructor and leader and Fred A. Willard, Samuel A. Davis, A.H. Cooner, Ambrose Lamm, Clem Bly, J.R. Cooner, S.P. Burns, John Carl, Joe Fisher, John Hample, John Peterman, Oliver Eilert and Sam Beaver. They had a band of fourteen pieces, uniformed in cadet gray, that for that date had reached a high degree of efficiency. Many of these men have passed to the Great Beyond but the Watsontown Band, with its same leader and organizer of forty-three years ago, is still in existence, now furnishing music to the grand-children of the men who organized it. Only two other bands were ever organized in the Borough, one the Citizens' Band, which was of short duration, and the other the present Trate's Military Band organized and trained under the leadership of the late C.E. Trate and continued as one of the prize organizations of the town.
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Watsontown History 
