$55,332. Since 1895, the latter company and its successor, the Cambria Steel Company, have assumed the maintenance, and on June 1, 1907, it had expended in all the large amount of $97,183.68. The plate on the Washington street front is as follows: : : : Johnstown Public Library. : Erected 1879 by the Cambria Iron Company Destroyed by the Flood of May 31, 1889 In 1876 about fifty young people who were fond of music met in the school house on Washington street, now the B. & O. station, and organized the "Johnstown Choral Society." In this building and in the school house on Iron street they held their weekly meetings. The year of its organization being that of the nation's centennial anniversary, the glorious Fourth of July was fittingly celebrated by the rendering of four patriotic selections on "the point," namely, "Let the Hills and Vales Resound," "The Star Spangled Banner," "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean," and "America." The interest was quite unabated for a few years, but at last the Choral Society passed out of existence. T. E. Morgan was leader and J. D. Lewis, accompanist. The next musical society was the "Germania Quartette Club," organized November 28, 1882, since which time it has met continuously every Thursday evening. The first officers were: Charles Ruth, president; E. Zang, treasurer, and Chas. Karr, secretary, and the men who comprised the quartette were: First tenor, Joseph Ruth, Erhardt Zang; second tenor, William Steigerwald, Martin Schaefer; first bass, Charles Karr, Thomas Seifert; second bass, Charles Ruth, George Haberkorn. In 1888 the club was incorporated, and in the flood of the following year lost fourteen members. It has constantly appeared before the public in concerts, patriotic celebrations and those for the G. A. R., and has given three conecrts for the benefit of the Memorial Hospital. In May, 1907, it was represented at Pittsburgh by a chorus of forty-two voices, who were accorded much praise for their music. Charles Martin is the present leader of the chorus, which numbers forty-five, and they are making preparations to fittingly commemorate their twenty-fifth anniversary this fall. During the winter of 1884-1885 as the successor to the Choral Society the "Cambrian Choir" was organized with a membership of about eighty-five, and their meetings were held in the churches and later in the Assistance Fire Com pany building. Miss Lulu Weaver was the accompanist. During each of the three winters it was in existence the choir gave a concert in Union Hall, sometimes bringing here artists of ability to assist. On Christmas Day, 1885, at the Eisteddfod in Fifth Avenue Music Hall, Pittsburgh, the choir, with one hundred and sixteen voices entered a contest with four other choruses in the rendition of "We never will bow down," and won the first prize. The following year, on the same holiday and occasion, they carried off the laurels in two competitions with the Choral Union of Pittsburgh. In 1888 the choir disbanded, but a small Cambrian choir of twenty-five voices was gathered together and gave a concert in Blairsville, In the spring of 1898, under the auspices of St. David's Society, an Eisteddfod was held in Johnstown, which revived the interest in the old Cambrian Choir, and it was the one to whom the honors were awarded. On September 24th of the same year, one hundred members of the choir sang at New Castle, Pennsylvania, and there won the prize of $500 in a contest with four other choirs, and their leader, T. E. Morgan, was the recipient of a gold medal. The Fortnightly Musical Club, originally the Derthick Musical-Literary Club of Johnstown, was organized Thursday evening, December 17, 1896, at Library Hall. At the first meeting the nineteen charter members elected the following officers: President, Mrs. Marshall G. Moore; vice-president, Mrs. Herbert H. Weaver; secretary. Miss Katharine Louther; treasurer, Miss Flora D. Price; and librarian, Miss Lilian Rosensteel. At the first meeting in October, 1897, it was decided by unanimous vote to disband as the Derthick society and organize the Fortnightly Musical Club. It has now enrolled forty-nine active members, together with quite a number of associate members. Several concerts or recitals by musicians of renown have been given in Library Hall under the auspices of the club, and the members of the club itself give three open evening meetings each winter. The next organization was that of the Philharmonic Society in 1899, which held its weekly meetings in St. David's Hall, Ellis building, and elected as its first officers: President, D. I. Rowe; vice-president, D. E. James; second vice-president, Moses Owens; secretary, Irvin E. Stuber; treasurer, Joseph Reese. Leader, T. E. Morgan, and accompanist Miss Rose Sloan. It comprised a chorus of about one hundred and fifty voices, and in 1901 sang at the National Eisteddfod at Cincinnati, and at Atlantic City the following year. The last in which it took part was the one held in Pittsburgh in May, 1903. In June, 1904, the society adjourned for the summer and has never reconvened. On the 8th and 9th of April, 1904, the Memorial Opera Company produced the opera "Pinafore" in the Cambria Theater, Johnstown, for the benefit of the Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital. The company had been organized for this especial purpose and was under the personal direction of Mr. E. B. Entwisle and Drs. John B. Lowman and M. C. Kohler. About eighty of the young folks participated in the production, either in the cast, the chorus or the orchestra, which was composed of twelve pieces. This venture was so successful both financially and in the pleasure it gave to the people of the city that on the 5th and 6th of the following May the same company presented the comic opera, "Chimes of Normandy." The chorus numbered over forty voices, and their splendid work, as well as that of the soloists, was highly appreciated. The third and last of the operas given by this company was "Erminie," on May 10th and 11th, 1906, under the same direction as the previous year, Messrs. E. B. Entwisle, H. B. Mainhart and Dr. M. C. Kohler. The musical director of all three operas was Mr. Iorworth Prosser. CHAPTER V. THE JOHNSTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND DISASTROUS FIRES. From the time when the Susquehanna tribe ruled along the Susquehanna river, as early as 1682, or when the Indian chieftain Okowelah reigned in the valley of the Conemaugh in 1731, until 1837, a destructive fire was managed in two ways: First, it was allowed to burn until it died out; or, second, to put it out by the gourd or bucket brigade. In 1837 a Merrick & Munson rotary engine, with the stinging name of the "Hornet," was purchased. It had a handle attached to a crank on either side that required twenty men to throw a spray twenty-five feet, in consequence of which there were forty blistered hands. In a few years it was succeeded by the "Yellow Jacket." The difference between these engines was that the "Hornet" went to the place of the fire and water in buckets was carried to it, while the "Yellow Jacket" went to the source of the water and pumped it through a copper-riveted leather hose to the fire. It had pumps of the reciprocating type, with handles running along the side of the engine. In 1853 the "Yellow Jacket" was out of date and the "Vigilant" was its successor, except when the fire was near the canal or the river, the "Yellow Jacket" pumped the water to the tank of the "Vigilant," which had reciprocating pumps, worked by handles running across the engine parallel with the axles. It required twelve men on the handles to do good work, and while they were putting their weight and energies on the bars the crowd would cry, "Down on the Vigy." The Seventeenth Annual Firemen's Convention for the State of Pennsylvania was held in Johnstown on October 6, 7, 8 and 9, 1896. The volunteer department was always efficient and well conducted, but the time came when it was insufficient to meet the new conditions of the city. A disastrous fire took place on March 28, 1906, destroying the Swank Hardware Company's building on the corner of Main and Bedford streets, the Journal office, John Henderson's furniture store, and P. S. Fisher's business place. By common assent it was concluded that the days of the volunteer fire department had gone, and the paid department soon took its place. Mayor Young appointed and the councils confirmed a board of fire commissioners, who were: Dr. George W. Wagoner, Dr. John B. MeAneny, George Haberkorn, Edward B. Entwisle and J. Earl Ogle. The board organized April 26, 1906, by electing Dr. Wagoner president of the department. There were thirteen volunteer associations in the city at that time; eleven of whom turned over their property to the board of commissioners, and the paid system was organized. Assistance Fire Company, No. 1, is the successor to all the fire apparatus or fire companies theretofore organized, and it was organized March 4. 1867, by Powell Stackhouse, Alexander Hamilton, Oberlin N. Ramsey, Samuel McKeever, Robert W. Hunt, William R. Jones, George F. Randolph, William Horace Rose, John Gore, Robert Morris, James Eldridge, John E. Fry, George Fritz, Daniel N. Jones, James Quinn, Charles Kennedy, Charles O. Luther, Richard Ryckman, Charles Butland and Alexander Montgomery. The charter was delayed until February 9, 1869. It always was a business institution; some of its charter members have reputations for skill and ability among the highest in the iron and steel industries of the world; its finances were carefully managed; its income was derived from donations, fines and holding annual balls, which were the events of society some twenty years ago; its funds were invested in stocks, just like the millionaire's; its apparatus was housed in a frame building on Washington street, just above the present site, and in 1882 sufficient funds had accumulated to erect a substantial brick building on the same location to accommodate the members and to shelter the old Amoskeag and its hose carriages, which had never failed to respond to a call of duty; but in the great disaster of May 31, 1889, many of the best members, with all the apparatus and the building, were swept out of existence in a moment. In 1890 a new Amoskeag and other necessary apparatus replaced the lost, and in 1892 the present building was erected. The destruction by fire of Frazer's corner, at Main and Franklin strees, on Sunday morning, January 13, 1867, was the most disastrous loss up to that time. The hand engine, supplied with water by the bucket brigade, was the only fire apparatus. A line of men and women led to a pump in the rear of what is now the Journal building, one line passing filled buckets and |