v
ASHER MINER PUT IN COMMAND
From the History of 109th Field Artillery
(Continued from last week)
Usually the mere presence of
troops was sufficient to maintain
peace and quiet. There was an oc-
casion in 1902 when a negro, who
had been cooking for men trying
to break the strike in a Plymouth
colliery, decided he was going to
visit Wilkes-Barre. As soon as he
appeared outside the colliery a group
of small boys congregated and
called him various vile ngmes and
threw stones at him. The colored
man was badly frightened and as
the boys closed in he drew a knife
and cut one of them. He then made
his way back to the colliery but
the mischief had been done. A
mob bent on instant retaliation soon
formed. A telephone message to
our regimental headquarters brought
the third battalion to the scene in
the dark of night and in a train
without lights. The mob became
quiet as we approached and those
in the rear could hear the rhythm
of marching feet, the sharp busi-
ness-like command to form line and
the impressive sound of fixing bay-
onets. Rifles were then brought
to the port and our companies
moved forward slowly while the
members of the mob fled as rapidly
as they could in the opposite direc-
tion.
On another night someone had
turned a railroad switch and nearly
wrecked a freight train. A com-
pany was ordered out on patrol
until dawn when it was decided the
immediate need of their services had
passed and they were relieved. As
they were marching to the street
car that would taken them back to
quarters and a warm breakfast, it
was in late October, they heard
shrill screams and cries from a
nearby colliery. The noise was un-
mistakably to the officer in com-
mand—it could only come from an-
other mob. He double-timed his
company for a half mile, hoping to
arrive before too many people were
hurt. The double time became a
run for the noise increased as the
company drew nearer to its source.
As they made a column left around
a large building they spied the
source of the “unmistakable” noise.
It was a yard full of idle mine mules
braying at the morning sun. Officers
and men halted without command
and laughed so loudly that the
mules stopped braying. The mem-
bers of the company thought they |
were fully recompensed, however,
by a breakfast of ham and eggs
generously provided for everybody
by the colliery cook until the final
reckoning came when Colonel
Dougherty reprimanded the officers
for accepting the hospitality of one
of the parties to a dispute which
they were trying to adjust.
1903-1904
In 1903 the Federal Government
took cognizance of our existence by
officially designating us ‘“‘organized
militia.” From that time on to
the present our organization has
been prescribed for us and we keep
up to it as closely as we can, for
sometimes the changes have been
quite rapid. That which started out
as the hospital corps, for instance,
became the sanitary detachment,
medical detachment and medical de-
partment detachment in turn al-
though their duties never changed.
They still wore their Red Cross
brassards, carried out their missions '
of mercy in war time without
weapons for their defense and in
peaceful times they harassed all of
us about the necessity of sanitation
and cleanliness for keeping us fit.
We opened a new rifle range at
Sugar Notch Gap in 1904.
Our brigadier commander, Gen-
eral Gobin, who had attained his
rank of brigadier general by brevet
in the Civil War included the fol-
lowing statements in his official re-
port this year:
1905
“In preparing for this encamp-
ment I concluded first to eliminate
board floors throughout, the ex-
pense of these had become burden-
some and where they were owned
by organizations the expense of
transferring them and the trouble
of handling them was equally so.
The result was a decided improve-
ment in my judgment and as a rule
tents were kept cleaner and no pri-
vate refrigerators under the floor
were in existence. The men ap-
peared just as well contented and
few complaints were heard.
“It is difficult to break up old
customs and yet the gradual in-
crease in the use of lumber in Na-
tional Encampments is one that is
not only decidedly obnoxious to
the old soldier, but is not in keep-
ing with any reasonable purpose
for which a National Guard En-
campment is conducted. The quick-
er we get rid of the picnic feature
of our National Guard Encamp-
ments the more rapidly will our
military efficiency increase. It is
efficiency we are seeking; it is
what we are working for, and it
can not be acquired by luxurious
quarters and an effeminate sur-
rounding.”
At camp that year he marched us
from Mt. Gretna to Bellaire, more
than ten miles on a blazing day,
and back by a longer road on the
next.
The roads of Mt. Gretna seemed
always dusty or muddy and one of
the tasks of the quartermaster was
to obtain enough civilian farmer
wagon transportation to provide for
{games and dances.
the camp needs. ‘As camps are
CAPT. DANIEL SHAVER,
THEATRE OWNER, CALLED
BY U. S. ARMY RESERVE
Latest of Shavertown’s busi-
nessmen who have been in the
U. 8. Army Reserve to be
called to service for a year is
Daniel Shaver, owner of Shaver
Theatre. He has been notified
to report for duty June 3 at
Carlisle. He will have the rank
of captain. Later he will go
to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis,
Mo., where he will be stationed
with the Army Air Corps. Capt.
Shaver served two years at the
front with the United States
Cavalry in France during the
World War and has retained
membership in the Army Re-
serve’ since that time. Mr.
Shaver has two daughters aged
7 and 2%. Mrs. Shaver was
the former Yvonne Coles of
Washington, D. C. A
usually “in the midst of the haying
and harvest” there was an inevit-
able shortage at the making and
breaking of camp. The wagons
were of all varieties from the light
spring wagon, which usually broke
down, to the generously large farm
wagon with the hay rigging, which
was usually overloaded. As the
drivers were civilians, the quarter-
master would mark with chalk on
the side of each wagon the organ-
ization to which it was assigned.
It was not considered unethical to
alter these designations, a custom
which had the effect. of still further
confusing the situation. Much of
the baggage was carried between
camp and railroad siding on the
backs of the men.
At this time there were two regi-
ments of semi-military organization
in the valley embarrassing us in the
competition for recruits and wear-
ing the same uniforms as we did.
Their other attractions were a sum-
mer camp free of any serious re-
sponsibility and a lack of any obli-
gation to any government.
1906
When Colonel Dougherty was
promoted this year he was succeed-
ed by Frank L. McKee who was
then the lieutenant colonel. He
had been a member of the regiment
since 1888 and had served with the
Plymouth company until he had
been made a major.
At this time of our existence the
Wilkes-Barre companies kept close
to the public by battalion drills and
parades, -band concerts, basket ball
Admission was
by invitations which, judiciously
handled, gave us much dignified
advertising and interested desirable
young men in the regiment.
1907-1911
Asher Miner became our twenty-
sixth commanding officer in 1907
after intermittent service with us
since 1884. Those of us who spon-
sor this history knew him so well
and loved him so sincerely that it
is necessary for us to guard against
over-praise. He was unusually
loyal to his subordinates, a quality
which endeared him to the officers
and men of the regiment. He was
the beau-ideal of the citizen soldier.
He was wounded in action in the
Meuse-Argonne battle during the
World War and received the Dis-
tinguished Service Cross for his
deeds of valor that day. While the
first aid men were wiping the blood
from a wound on his face he was
turning over the affairs of the regi-
ment to his successor. For his ser-
vices in administering the regiment
he was awarded the Distinguished
Service Medal. That is enough his-
tory for any soldier to understand
the kind of officer he was. While
he was in command, the history of |
the regiment was his history.
The commanding officer arranged
a trip to the Jamestown Exposition
this year by obtaining considerable
financial aid towards it by popular
subscription so that the members
of the regiment made the trip at
a merely nominal expense. We
traveled by train to Washington
and by boat to Norfolk and held
a number of formations ‘while at
| Jamestown. Our band playing
“Dixie’’ became popular with vis-
itors.
Colonel Miner in his report advo-
cated pay to men for attending
drills in this year. Eighteen offi-
cers of the regiment spent several
days at the War College in .Wash-
ington at their own expense in 1909.
Ordinarily, one can not learn much
in two days but in this case the
time was significant. The profes-
sional soldiers of that day were just
learning the value of small man-
euvers and the instructors at the)
War College who gave several days
of intensive training to our officers
were the leading exponents of the
new idea in the Regular Army. It
was a time of change in systems
of training following the Spanish-
American War and the organization
of the first General Staff. Our of-
ficers came back with a realization
of the value of tactical walks and
map maneuvers and problems as
military training.
A rifle range accessible to Wilkes-
Barre and Pittston companies was
established at Hilldale in 1910. We
also made our acquaintance with
the McCall incinerator at camp in
this year. This was a system of
incinerating excreta which was be-
ing tried out experimentally. ‘May
we never meet or smell them
again,” was the official reaction of
our regimental commander.
1912
At this time regimental com-
manders were elected by vote of
the officers and when Colonel Miner
decided that he could not accept
the responsibility for another five-
year term, he, with some other of
the senior officers, selected one
whom they wished as his successor.
In this way Captain Dorrance Reyn-
olds, a junior officer became our
next colonel and commanded us
for four years. The World War
brought him back into service and
he had an excellent war record
thought not with our regiment. In
the battle of Meuse-Argonne in
1918 Colonel Reynolds was second
in command of the 112th Infantry
when they made the attack on
Chatel Chehery. After his regimen-
tal commander was killed and he
himself was wounded he wrote an
exceptionally clear message to his
brigadier commander, which evoked
the admiration of some of our offi-
cers on duty at the same brigade
headquarters.
=.
Ca
SHY)
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THE POST, FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1941
of films of “enemy positions.”
Among the Luzerne County busi-
ness institutions that have enjoyed
an enviable reputation for quality
merchandise and fair dealing
throughout the past fifty-two years
is Eastern Pennsylvania Supply
Company, headed by a man whose
interest in, and love for the rural
region makes him an outstanding
citizen of the Dallas community.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Supply
Company is one of the oldest and
largest jobbing houses in North-
eastern Pennsylvania. The busi-
ness was originally organized as a
partnership in 1889 under the name
of the Pennsylvania Supply Com-
pany by Messrs. Woodward Leav-
enworth and John N. Conyngham,
“DEAR BILL:
home spoiled everything.
speed.
“That might have been
I
ed for ranking army officials at Wright Field, Ohio.
i
exemplary business executive of this
community.
The business was established pri-
marily to furnish supplies to min-
ing companies in which the above
gentlemen were financially inter-
ested.
Messrs. William H. Conyngham,
R. M. Green, Fred Turner and David
Gallen were subsequently admitted
to partnership.
The present company was chart-.
ered under the laws of the State
of Pennsylvania December, 1909.
Between the time the company was
organized and incorporated all the
foregoing named gentlemen except
William H. Conyngham withdrew
from the company and Mr. Conyng-
ham became the executive head of
“I don’t think I care to go out with you again.
“Most of last evening was wonderful, Bill. But the drive
“You behaved so nicely and acted so considerately up till
the minute you got your hands on the wheel and we headed
home. Then you suddenly were transformed into what
seemed to me a bad-mannered and irresponsible gorilla.
i “You yelled at people who had just as much right on the
road as you. You disregarded white lines and signs put there
for your safety. You scared my wits out by going at an absurd
considered smart once upon a
CARE TODAY * HERE TOMORROW
U. 8. Army Develops High-Speed Photo Service
portable dark room. Five minutes later Sergeant A. E. Matos produces a finished print.
WILLIAM H. CONYNGHAM HEADS
SUPPLY COMPANY FIFTY YEARS
A high-speed photo service for reconnaissance work, developed by the U. S. Army Air Corps, is demonstrat-
Left, a photographic plane drops by parachute a batch
Top right, Sergeant’ L. D. Vickers rushes the container of negatives to the
(Central Press)
the institution, and in that position
still takes an active interest in the
control of the business.
Under the direction of William
H. Conyngham the company has
materially expanded — occupying
quarters in two distinct brick units,
56-62 South Pennsylvania avenue,
and maintains a warehouse and
large pipe shed on the opposite side
of the street.
To the original line of mine sup- |
plies has been added a full line of
plumbing, heating, mill, contractors’
and tinners’ supplies as well as
paints, roofing materials, pumps and
tools. Only reputable lines of mer-
chandise are handled. The com-
pany caters to the territory com-
prising Luzerne County and the
greater portion of Northeastern
Pennsylvania.
The company employs eight house
salesmen and six road salesmen.
The executive personnel of the com-
pany includes Wm. H. Conyngham,
president; H. N. Breese,
time, but I assure you it’s silly and childish today. Call me
stuffy and prudish if you like. But I don’t relish dying quite
yet.
“Nor do I want to get in one
am just hurt. I have sense enough
rest of the boys wouldn’t be ringing my phone if my face and
body were inexpertly rearranged by a smash-up in your auto-
mobile.
“So I don’t think I'll go out with you again, Bill. At least
ou’ve grown up enough to behave decently as a
not until you realize that you owe a certain re-
sponsibility to the person you ask to share your car with you.”
not until 7
driver, an
LOOK Magazine & Travelers Safety Service f
PAGE SEVEN
ai
Youths Accused
Of Farm Thefts
Reapers, Plows, Tools
Stolen To Sell As Junk
Charged with the theft of hun-
dreds of pounds of farm machinery,
in the Hunlock
Creek area, which they later sold
to Wilkes-Barre junkyards, five
youths ranging in age from 15 to
22 years were arrested last Friday
by Shickshinny detail of the State
j Police. :
motors and tools
Two of the youths, Martin Crane,
18, and his brother, Bruce Crane,
22, of Hunlock Creek R. F. D., were
taken to Luzerne County prison
while the other three, Harold Wolfe,
18, Hunlock Creek; Ted Spencer,
16, West Nanticoke, and Vernon
Stackhouse, 15, also of West Nanti-
| coke, were released in the custody
of their parents.
Their arrest followed an investi-
gation by Private N. G. Munson,
who discovered a score of farmers
had lost plows, reapers, binders,
|harrows and all types of tools
while he was checking the theft of
some pipe from the saw mill owned
by Frank Covert.
The youths, State Police charged,
broke into a school at Fairmount
Springs last month and ripped
doors and other metal off furnaces.
In addition the youths admitted
stealing motors from a saw mill at
Huntington Mills and breaking into
a gasoline station on the outskirts
of Shickshinny on April 15.
Police said they learned the iden-
tity of the boys while checking
theft of some pipe sold to a junk-
yard in Wilkes-Barre. They planned
to pick up the Crane brothers but
Martin Crane fled to Elmira. When
he returned home last week they
{nabbed him and the four others.
dent; H. D. Deemer, secretary; W.
J. Stout, treasurer and general
manager, and John M. Miles, assist-
ant manager and director of sales.
William H. Conyngham has been
actively identified with the com-
pany for fifty years; H. N. Breese
forty-seven years; W. J. Stout,
forty-one years; John M. Miles,
thirty-six years; Elwood May, four-
teen years, and many of the other
vice presi-employes from ten to twenty years.
of those accidents where I
to realize that you and the
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