Riley's Tin Shop, Elm Street In Milton

Morris Riley's Tin Shop, 117 Elm Street,  Milton PA

I first came across mention of Riley's tin shop in the Miltonians "On This Day" historical notes: 1921 - Morris T. Riley seriously stabbed by Peter Hottenstein.  There were a few newspaper reports about this incident, and as best as I could piece them together, this is what happened:

February 1921 must have been unseasonably warm, as Riley, the "well known tinner and plumber" of Center and Elm Streets was washing his car on the Elm street side of his home, at 8:30 pm. 

Here the reporting is really unclear, as each newspaper has something different to say.  The Harrisburg paper said that Hotterstein sent his son to complain at the water company office.  (at 8:30 at night?  Or was this perhaps an ongoing feud?)  The Miltonian said the hose was hooked to a spigot in the house, the Mt Caramel paper said the water was from a hydrant.  Whatever the case, Riley accused Hotterstein of being nosy, and Riley stabbed him in the chest with a pen knife.

Riley didn't even realize he had been stabbed at first, he thought he had just been hit.  The wound were not too serious, and he appears to have recovered without complications.

In May of 1921, The Miltonian was not impressed with the sentence given to Hotterstein.

While searching for more information on the two men, I found the above photo of the tin shop in Milton. 

This 1918 Map shows the tinshop, on the end of what today is the Hermani/Milton Garden Club Park.  The Central Grammar School is today a parking lot.

The 1919 Fire

In the very early morning hours of March 20, 1919, a fire began in the butcher shop of P. Ketchem on Center street. "The fire was discovered by some passers-by, who gave the alarm, which was about as much of a success as fire alarms in general are at night, since the whistle was removed to it's present location". Nonetheless, the Miltonian reported that 5 companies arrived at the scene in record time.

"When the companies arrived, the flames were shooting half way across Center street from the meat market and had eaten their way through the Trutt bicycle repair shop".

Riley's tin shop was damaged by smoke and water, with fire damages contained to the third floor.   Damages were also sustained by Mr Bower the "tailor whose establishment was next to eh meat market toward front street". Tutt "the bicycle repair man" sustained the heaviest losses. 

The map is from 1918, but it appears that the tailor moved into the vacant building prior to the fire in 1919.

This 1926 article  [below] mentions "the barn at the rear of Riley's tin shop", which is confusing, looking at the above photo - as I can't see how there is room for a barn behind that structure and am not sure exactly what it was referring to, unless it was building D in the map above, or perhaps part of the attached structure.

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Morris & Mae Riley, inside their Elm Street Home

According to the obituary for Morris Riley, he was born about 1872, the son of J.C. & Ellen Riley.  Morris learned his trade under his father as a young man, and was engaged in the plumbing and tinning business in Milton for "many years", but had retired in 1936.Mr Riley was a member of the Lutheran Church, a director of one of the Milton banks, a member of Sons of Veterans and the Knights of Pythias Lodge, as well as of the Union Fire Company of Carlisle, where his parents had lived. Funeral services were held at his home at 117 Elm Street.

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