At the Catlin House |
Circa 1910
What was life like in this area a century ago? There were phones and
electricity and excellent public transportation but no television,
radio, computers, cell phones, or any of the other “necessities” of
modern life. Who were the people who lived here? What did they do for
employment and for entertainment? What was life like at that time? A
new exhibit at the Catlin House presents a peek of what life was like a
century ago using artifacts from the Lackawanna Historical Society
Collection and information from the Thirteenth Census of the United
States. The people who lived then faced the same problems that we do
but solved them with what was available at the time. The 1910 building
quiz and the related Casey Hotel Exhibit are on the main floor of the
Catlin House and the rest of the exhibit is on the second floor.
This exhibit was prepared by Dennis, Sharleen, and Scott Martin, LHS
volunteers.
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At the Catlin House |
The Hotel Casey
Scranton’s Place To Be For Over a Half-Century
On March 28, 1910, the cornerstone for the Hotel Casey was laid.
Patrick and Andrew Casey, successful owners of their own wholesale
liquor business, wanted to build a place where their business contacts
from out of town would be impressed when they stayed the night. As all
Scranton could attest, they succeeded very well. Over the years it was
the place where any visitor of importance was honored. In later years,
it fell upon hard times and was finally demolished in March of 2001 to
make room for the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center. A new exhibit
honoring the Hotel Casey is now installed in the hall on the main floor
of the Catlin House. It includes artifacts from the time capsule as
well as a variety of Casey items through the years.
This exhibit was prepared by Dennis, Sharleen, and Scott Martin, LHS
volunteers, as part of the Circa 1910 exhibit.
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At the Catlin House |
Capes and Coats
A selection of the best examples of Victorian, Edwardian and post-WWI
period outerwear from the Society's costume collection are on display
at the Catlin House. All nine are on exhibit in the Fashion Room on the second floor.
This exhibit was prepared by Arlene Devereaux O’Hara and Bridget
Conlogue, LHS volunteers.
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At the Scranton Post Office |
Black Americans on Postage Stamps and Coins
Among the ethnic groups that have contributed to the richness of this
area are Black Americans. To commemorate their contributions, there is
a new exhibit at the Post Office in Scranton of recognition in the form
of stamps and coins. Included are the Black Heritage Series from the US
Postal Service, 1979-2006, with first day of issue covers and stamp
folios.
The commemorative coins honor Crispus Attucks (Revolutionary War
Period), Booker T Washington and George Washington Carver (Education),
the Little Rock Seven (Education and Civil Rights), Martin Luther King
(Civil Rights) and the Obama Commemorative Cachet.
This exhibit is on loan from Richard A. Goodall Sr. and Richard A.
Goodall Jr.
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At the Scranton Post Office |
Pencils and Matchbooks
Inexpensive and effective are words that can be used to describe the
useful advertising media currently on exhibit at the Scranton Post
Office. Your company name on a pencil will bring it to the mind of the
user more often than a billboard display along the road. Names on
pencils can also be remindful souvenirs of meetings and your name on a
pencil might bring it back if borrowed. Matchbooks, on the other hand,
provided twenty reminders of your firm before being discarded. At a
time when smoking was much more prevalent, they were very likely to be
used. Today, the pencil is still an effective device and this exhibit
uses classic matchbooks and a variety of classic and contemporary
pencils to honor the past and highlight the present.
The exhibit is on loan from James Howard, who has been collecting since
the 40’s and has over 2,000 pencils in his collection (not all of which
are on display).
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At the Scranton Post Office |
The Spirits of Scranton
In the late 19th and early 20th
century, whiskey was distilled locally and then decanted into stoneware
jugs for retail sale. Many of these jugs were made by local companies
such as “Evans & Co.” This went on until the start of statewide
prohibition on July 1, 1919. This display at the downtown Scranton Post
Office features a collection of these jugs and accompanying newspaper
advertisements.
This exhibit was prepared by Ed Osman and Nick Petula, LHS volunteers
in Collections Management. |
At the Scranton Post Office |
Domestic Science in Early Lackawanna County
Diaries and letters from the period 1840 to 1860 portrayed life for the
majority of women as one of exhausting physical labor from sunup to
sundown. Days were consumed by chopping and hauling wood, making and
tending fires, preparing meals, lugging and heating water, and
scrubbing and ironing clothes. Some of the tools they used to
accomplish these tasks were used in the kitchen for baking, butter
making, meat and vegetable preparation and cooking, and fruit
preparation; for laundry and clothing care including washing, ironing
and drying; and items for a variety of other household uses from foot
warmers to lighting devices to a hand operated vacuum cleaner. A new
exhibit provides a sampling of the domestic tools that people (almost
always women) used in Lackawanna County from the late 1700s to the
early 1900s.
This exhibit was prepared by Ed Osman, LHS volunteer in Collections
Management. |
