95 Years Ago - Fire damages Blakely Power Plant

Nov. 26—Nov. 26, 1927

Blakely Electric Plant damaged by fire

Blakely and Peckville were in the dark after a fire at the Blakely Electric Plant on Electric Street in Peckville.

The power plant, made of wood and brick, and its machinery were heavily damaged in the fire. The cost of damages was estimated to be close to $30,000.

It was believed the fire was caused by an overheated stack in the boiler room.

Fire companies from Blakely, Peckville, Throop, Olyphant and Dickson City responded to the blaze.

Blakely operated the power plant to provide electricity to residents in the borough and in Peckville.

It was unclear when the power plant would be back in operation. Arrangements were being worked out to connect Blakely and Peckville to the Scranton Electric Co. plant.

Milk fight at city councilMilk was a hot topic during the Nov. 25 Scranton City Council meeting.

Dr. A.A. Donohoe, a North Scranton veterinarian, told council a large percentage of the dairy cows that provided the milk distributed in the city were diseased and the conditions of the farms where they lived were intolerable.

Hearing this statement, council immediately summoned Scranton Public Health Director Dr. J.D. Lewis to the meeting to receive his input on Donohoe's statement.

Lewis denied Donohoe's statement and said he had documents from state officials calling Scranton's milk supply "among the purest in the country and that practically all the cattle furnishing the milk are tuberculin tested by the state."

Council asked Donohoe if he first presented his claims to Lewis before coming to council. The veterinarian declined to answer the question.

Lewis said he would wager that Donohoe could not provide facts to substantiate his claims within 10 days.

Brian Fulton, library manager, oversees The Times-Tribune's expansive digital and paper archives and is an authority on local history. Contact Brian at bfulton@timesshamrock.com or 570-348-9140.

Originally published on thetimes-tribune.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.

Brylane Home

BH Studio Oversized Cotton Bath Sheet by BrylaneHome in White Towel

$23.99

Shop Now

upc:196391035056 BrylaneHome

Tractor Supply

Pit Boss Grill Glove, 67262

$14.99

Shop Now

upc:684678104569 Pit Boss

Tractor Supply

Readi-SOIL Seed Starter

$17.99

Shop Now

upc:610877625284 Readi-SOIL

ShopKitchenAid.com

2.8QT Casserole

$59.99

Shop Now

upc:883049329475 KitchenAid

___

(c)2022 The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

Visit The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at citizensvoice.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.