Out of the Long Ago Forty-five Years Ago March 15, 1889 The McDonald Presbyterian Sunday school has grown to such proportions that some of the classes have been transferred to the chapel. A McDonald Corporationist: "You just wait till the months of July, and you 'll see a Board of Health walking round here in the hot sun looking at our pig pens, our outhouses, our stabled, our filthy backyards, our slaughter housed, our dead dogs and our dead hogs and dead horses and dead mules lying in the commons, along the runs, and about the suburbs. These officials will then order the town incorporated and cleaned up in the name of the Commonwealth." When Squire LOVE came to McDonald in 1873 to take charge of the mill that was then at this place, there were but few houses. The following included nearly all: Two Brier Hill blocks, the HADDEN residence, John A. HUNTER's house, a log house near where Mr. SAUTER's house now is, occupied by George SMITH, a teamster, the South Side Fannie JOHNSTON house, S. H. COOK's house, and the house of S. S. JOHNS, Patrick HOEY's house was at that time in course of erection. The Squire for a time lived in the red house in mud gulch on the Southside where Thomas LEWIS now is. The Laurel Hill mine was first opened during that summer. The U. P. church has purchased from the heirs through Hon. John N. MCDONALD the triangular lot in front of the church building, bounded by McDonald street and North avenue, coming to a point at Grant street. The church trustees have also bought from the same parties the quadrilateral north of the church bounded by McDonald street, North avenue, and Washington avenue. Forty Years Ago March 10, 1894 The committee to solicit stock in the water company reports $15,00 subscribed. On Monday night the easternmost of REND's two tipples in Laurel Hill was destroyed by fire. The loss is estimated at $3,000 covered by insurance. August DIZON, 57, a Belgian, residing near MILLER's crossing, was set upon one night last week by tramps at the Laurel Hill coke ovens and so beaten up that he died in Pittsburgh Saturday evening on his way to the hospital. His whole side was caved in. The school board met Tuesday evening and decided to sell the old schoolhouse and ground around it to build in some central location a brick school building. Squire LOVE was elected president of council Tuesday evening. Dick CONLEY was elected policeman. The Forest Oil Co. agreed to allow the town to use the water for fire protection from its water main under the railroad track. The members of council are H. H. PLANCE, J. C. ROGERS, Amos LOVE, J. D. BROWN, Richard CROOKS, A. VALENTOUR. On Tuesday a boiler at the Forest Oil company's well on the DICKSON farm near Bishop exploded, instantly killing a man named NEELY. Howell WILLIAMS found his Oxford Bible in the ruins of the post office fire slightly scorched, but not destroyed. It is still legible and will be carefully kept as a relic. Thirty Years Ago March 12, 1904 The Women's Club of McDonald, having been previously urged to join the Federation of Women's Clubs, it was decided by vote of the club to do so at its meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Oil closed at $1.74 yesterday. The Midway borough finished its first corporate year last Monday and council organized for the second year with these officers: President, Eugene WADE; secretary, W. T. KERR; treasurer, George MCFARLANE. The report of the McDonald public schools for the month ending March 1 shows an enrollment of 557. The roads and culverts about Venice were washed out worse than we have seen them before. The Tri-State Gas Co.'s lines at Oakdale suffered much from the recent rains. Twenty-five Years Ago March 12, 1909 Mt. Pleasant township will build two miles of brick highway this summer. The main street through Hickory extending to the terminus of the road near Westland, and the other piece will be the Mt. Prospect church road to the residence of J. MCILVAINE. Leocadia LUPEN, an employee of the Harvey hotel, was killed on the railroad Friday evening. B. D. TILLINGHAST, who had dozed off on the ten trained coming from Pittsburgh and missed getting off at McDonald, found the body on walking back from Primrose. Dr. A. L. RUSSELL of Midway was thrown from his horse Monday when it caught its foot in a mud hole near Shaw mine. The horse fell on the Doctor and he was badly shaken up. Thomas GRIFFITH, who was so badly hurt at the well on the J. A. MCNALL farm last week, is slowly recovering. The Anti-Saloon league local option bill was defeated in the State Legislature on Tuesday by a vote of 187 to 66. Of the three Washington county members, HOLLAND and CAROTHERS voted for the measure and BENTLEY against it. Twenty Years Ago March 14, 1914 H. W. EBEL, superintendent of the West Penn Lighting Co., sustained a fractured leg today when assisting in loading a car with poles. He lost his footing and fell a distance of 12 feet. There is an unusual amount of sickness in the town and doctors are being run off their feet attending cases of tonsillitis, pneumonia, and heavy colds. Eugenie KORZINSKI died Tuesday morning of burns sustained when the KORZINSKI home in Briar Hill was destroyed by fire. The fire followed an explosion of powder, which was placed near an open grate. Miss Laura BACCU, aged 20 years, of Laurel Hill, plunged to her death down an elevator shaft of the factory of the Armstrong Cork Co., at Oakdale, Thursday morning. J. C. HARPER writes from Dewey, Okla., that it is a little more than a year since he left McDonald and he is looking forward to the time when he can come back to visit with his old friends. Fifteen Years Ago March 14, 1919 A. V. CAMPBELL has been appointed by the Red Cross to assist soldiers and sailors in making out applications for their $50 bonus, which has been awarded by Congress. Memorial services will be held in the Valley Presbyterian church, Imperial, Sunday, for Corp. William Vance HAYS, who died November 1, 1918, in France, from wounds received in action. Victor SERVOIN, 34 years was killed Tuesday morning by a fall of slate in the Fayette mine. William J. AUSTIN left Sunday for San Francisco, Calif., and from there he will sail for Yokahama, Japan, where he is to be employed by a steel company. He also intends to sell the Curtiss airplane. Ten Years Ago March 14, 1924 The citizens of Burgettstown and vicinity are tendering a testimonial dinner to the county commissioners Thursday evening, felicitating all concerned on the opening of direct communications to both Pittsburgh and Washington over concrete roads. The McDonald high school basketball team won second place in the Bethany (W. Va.) scholastic tournament, winning all but the final game on Saturday evening. Their defeat came from Follansbee by the score of 32 to 28. VEZIE, DICKSON, MCELHANEY, AGGERS, GLADDEN, playing for McDonald, each received a silver basketball and the team received a silver loving cup. VEZIE, the highest scorer during the tournament, was given a silver loving cup and a gold Eversharp pencil. J. E. MCCLENAHAN is coach of the team. McDonald will enter the Washington county tournament this week. James CARRUTHERS of Fannie street was on Thursday presented with a twenty-five year veterans' jewel by the members of the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 111, Sturgeon. Five Years Ago March 15, 1929 For the third time in as many meetings the Legion bridge team took over the Komoko bridge team in a tournament arranged between the two organizations. While the worst snowstorm of the winter was raging in Colorado on Tuesday the thermometer stood at 70 in the shade in this locality.