West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 110 by Charlie Miller

____September 27, 1915 – A bid received from the Ohio Electric R. R. Co. -

To furnish electricity for the town’s street lights for a period of 10 years with not less than 33 lights to be ornamental standard equipped with one-80 Candle Power and two 40 Candle Power incandescent electric lamps, also 53 light ornamented standards for the sum of $42.00 each, per year. The 80 Candle Power lamps in the standards are to be lighted in the evening until 11 o’clock each and every night during the period of ten years, Main Street only.

____November 29, 1915 – Above contract was approved. This amounted to $3.50 per month for each of the 33 lights which were to be connected with underground cables.

____December 10, 1915 – A contract was entered into with the Ohio Electric R. R. Company for lighting the east and west ends of Main Street with overhead suspension street lamps for a period of 10 years beginning January 1, 1916, with 16- 60 Candle Power overhead suspension nitrogen street lamps at $23.00 per year per lamp. Each lamp is to be lighted from twilight in the evening until dawn in the morning.

____In 1915, the village population was 1, 070. The village Fire Department consisted of Fred Grassel, James Strain, Oscar Sprague, William Grassel, Charles Bunting, Vint Davenport, William Furrow, Joe Hockenbery, Miller Clark, A. Borland, and M. Langdon.

____1915- The village was supplied with natural gas for lighting purposes, and it was piped in from Columbus.

____June 15, 1915 – The Commercial Men’s Club was formed. Mr. Kubitschack ran a motion picture and vaudeville show in the Opera House. On February 19^th, the Farmer's Telephone and the Citizens Telephone Co. merged.

____March 6, 1916 – A petition signed by 75 people was presented to the council requesting that a water and sanitary sewer system be constructed.

____May 16, 1916 – Ed Scott has purchased the confectionery of Matt Stutson and has also added an ice cream parlor to it.

___May 16, 1916 – The following officers of the West Jefferson Alumni Association have been elected for 1916: Miss Ruth Murray, President; John Holland, Vice President; Miss Lucille Gillivan, Secy.-Treasurer.

May 23, 1916 – A highway engineer predicts that within 10 years, the horse will practically disappear from the public highways for both pleasure and business.