Blossburg News & Views for April 11, 2012

by Lonny Frost 8. April 2012 21:50
EVENTS
Blossburg V.I.B.E. will be collecting electronics you do not want at the Riverside Plaza parking lot on Sat., April 21, from 8am to 1pm.  Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority is working in cooperation with V.I.B.E. to make this recycling option happen.  Remember any hard drives dropped off are destroyed using Department of Defense standards, then the vendor disassembles everything.  It is all done in the U.S.  Please note: NO TVs or microwaves accepted!  For a full list view go to http://www.ntswa.org/recycle.htm .
 
Blossburg Borough would like to remind its local residents that the town's Spring Cleanup Week is April 23rd-27th.  All items must be out by Tues. night, which is April 24th.
 
Blossburg will hold its Community Yard Sale on Sat., April 28th, 8am - 2pm.  If you want your sale listed on the map, email vibe@blossburg.org or call Heidi Jones at 638-2486 by Apr. 15th.  
 
The North Penn Little League would like to thank all those who helped in the field clean up! 
 
Those celebrating birthdays this week are Tom Musingo, Wilma Hall  and Zackary Osborne.  So Happy Birthday from your family and friends in Blossburg!
 
Send your announcements to news@blossburg.org or call (570) 638-2486.  Deadline for items is 8 pm. on Saturday.  Visit www.blossburg.org for any thing about Blossburg that you may be looking for.
 
BLOSSBURG TIES 
Around April of 1866 Draketown was formed.  It was a very small but fast growing coal town settlement nestled in Blossburg Township.  It was approximately 4 miles south of Blossburg.  Draketown existed among other settlements in Tioga County. 

The first inhabitants were from Blossburg, Fall Brook, and Morris Run. They were men who had worked in lumbering or mining camps in those areas. The Dunsmores, Sullivans, Landrus, Camerons, Herons, Jones, Davis’s, Coles, Allens, Harrisses, Logans, and Dugans, all had formerly been employed by the Fall Brook Coal Company or the Morris Run Coal Company.

Draketown came about when a large deposit of coal was found south of Blossburg.  This find led to the creation of the Blossburg Coal Company on April 11, 1866.  The first president of this company was none other than, Franklin Drake.  The man Draketown had been named for around that same time.  Mr. Drake was a wealthy lumberman from Vermont, he moved to Blossburg and had previously lived in Stueben County, New York.


Serving on this newly formed board of the Blossburg Coal Company besides Mr. Drake, was Constant Cook, a business man; his son, Henry Cook;  Charles Cook, a merchant; Ferral Dininy, a lawyer; Lorenzo Webber, who was an intelligent man who had been a farmer, merchant, lumberman, miller, as well as, a tanner.  Also serving on the board was Henry Sherwood, a Horatio Alger hero, who had gone from poverty to wealth.  The last board member was John Arnot, who was known for being shrewd, especially in business matters.
 
In 1867, when Nicholas Schultz came to the area, there were only 3 houses to accommodate the large crew of men who were going to build a village in that area for the growing number of miners and lumbermen coming in to work.   When the new post office needed a permanent name, Draketown was surprisingly changed too, what is known today as, ARNOT!  
 
The sudden change in the town's name left many baffled.  Others simply believed that John Arnot used his personal influence and his well known shrewdness to have Draketown renamed Arnot.  Although, there is no written proof to how this name change actually occurred,  I believe I found the reason why Draketown had its name changed shortly after the post office was built.   Simply, there was already a mining and timber town named Draketown, Pa., which was created in 1768 and is located three and a half miles north of Confluence, Pa., in Somerset County.
 
Athough the town did not keep his name, Mr. Drake, demonstrated the feasibility of making coke from semi-bituminous coal, causing two hundred coke ovens to be constructed under the immediate direction of S. B. Elliott.  Mr. Drake was also very instrumental in the erection of churches and schools in the area, while he worked with the Blossburg Coal Company for many years. 

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MISSION

Blossburg V.I.B.E. (Visions in Business & Entertainment) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created in 2004 to envision, plan and implement projects that will enhance the quality of life for those who live, work, play or attend school in Blossburg, Pennsylvania.

MEETINGS

We meet the fourth Wednesday of each month, usually at the Brick Tavern. Our next meeting is Wednesday, April 25,  6:30 p.m. ath the Brick Tavern.

May 30, 6:30 p.m., Brick Tavern

June 27, 6:30 p.m., Brick Tavern

July 25, 6:30 p.m., Brick Tavern

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