Hyssong Pottery, Bloomsburg Pa

 

BLOOMSBURG HAS ITS OWN POTTERY
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 One of the Few to Be Found in the State.-Has Wide Reputation 
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O. A. HYSSONG OWNER 
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One of the few, potteries in Pennsylvania and one of the best in the business is the Bloomsburg Pottery which Charles A. Hyssong is the proprietor.
The success of the business is easily understood when it is stated that Mr. Hyssong has spent this entire life time in the business, and succeeding his father, under whom he learned the business and who was himself in the business for more than fifty years. When advancing years caused his father, with whom he had been associated for years, to give up active business, it was only the natural thing that the son should take over the business in which he had been given such a thorough schooling and which he understood so well.
Lines Largely Extended.
 Since taking over his father's business Mr. Hyssong has extended the lines, built a new kiln and in many ways expanded the business which had been established upon such a firm foundation.
The pottery manufactures crocks of all descriptions- butter jars, jugs and flower pots, and has capacity of 48,000 gallons a year. Wherever Mr. Hyssong's pottery is used, there it is  appreciated.
 In addition to manufacturing crockery, he deals extensively in sewer pipe. He is one of Bloomsburg's substantial citizens who enjoys the respect and esteem of all who know him.

From the Morning Press, 1921

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1896

September 23rd 1909

"Thursday night lightning struck the pottery of A. L. Hyssong, in Bloomsburg. The bolt was of the freakish sort. Entering the building, it splintered a hemlock post, driving a splinter into the celling. Running into  another room, it struck an umbrella,  splintering pieces the hard wood handle.  Several of pieces of pottery were ruined but this was the principal damage."

1968

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OCR Included for search purposes, but spacing, errors, and spelling have NOT been corrected in this text:

AUSTIN  L.  HYSSONG  has  carried  on  a 

pottery  business  at  Bloomsburg  for  over 

twenty  years,  during  which  time  he  has  had  to 

enlarge  his  original  plant  to  accommodate  the 

profitable  trade  he  has  built  up  in  stoneware, 

stovepipe  collars,  flower  pots  and  similar 

goods.  His  father,  Elisha  B.  Hyssong,  fol- 

lowed the  same  calling. 

Elisha  B.  Hyssong  was  a native  of  Franklin 

county,  Pa.,  and  was  there  bound  out  in  boy- 

hood to  learn  the  potter’s  trade,  serving  four 

years  as  an  apprentice.  Later  he  went  to  Cass- 

ville,  Huntingdon  Co.,  Pa.,  where  he  first 

worked  as  a journeyman,  and  there  he  mar- 

ried Rachel  E.  Green,  a native  of  Huntingdon 

county.  When  he  built  a pottery  of  his  own 

he  had  to  clear  the  location,  and  that  plant 

was  carried  on  by  the  Hyssong  family  for 

nearly  sixty-five  years,  Elisha  B.  Hyssong  con- 

tinuing to  operate  it  until  his  death,  in  1873, 

after  which  his  son  Bruce  took  it,  running  the 

business  until  the  spring  of  1912.  Mr. 

Hyssong  was  a much  esteemed  citizen  of  his 

neighborhood,  where  he  was  very  well  known 

not  only  in  his  business  relations  but  also  be- 

cause of  his  activity  in  politics,  the  administra- 

tion of  public  affairs  and  church  work.  He 

was  a justice  of  the  peace  for  over  twenty 

years,  a stanch  Republican  in  political  senti- 

ment, and  a lifelong  member  of  the  M.  E. 

Church,  which  he  served  officially  for  over 

forty  years,  being  deacon,  elder,  class  leader 

and  Sunday  school  superintendent.  In  his 

prime  he  was  a noted  singer,  and  music  af- 

forded him  one  of  his  chief  sources  of  enjoy- 

ment. He  died  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him, 

and  his  wife,  who  still  survives,  continues  to 

make  her  home  at  Cassville.  Twelve  children 

were  born  to  their  union,  ten  reaching  ma- 

turity, namely : Annie,  who  is  living  in  Pit- 

cairn, Pa.;  Jennie,  now  deceased;  Martha, 

widow  of  Oliver  Beaver,  of  Altoona,  Pa. ; 

Bell,  at  home  with  her  mother ; Margaret,  mar- 

ried and  living  in  Philadelphia ; Austin  L. ; 

George,  of  Altoona,  Pa.,  who  became  a potter 

(he  is  married)  ; Bruce,  also  a potter,  now 

engaged  in  the  crucible  factory  at  Philadelphia, 

who  married  Jennie  Horton;  Russell,  who 

learned  the  potter’s  trade,  now  employed  as 

a guard  in  the  reformatory  at  Huntingdon ; 

and  Alice,  who  died  unmarried. 

Austin  L.  Hyssong  was  born  Dec.  25,  1851, 

at  Cassville,  Huntingdon  Co.,  Pa.,  where  he 

acquired  a common  school  education  in  youth 

and  early  commenced  to  learn  the  potter's 

trade  with  his  father,  and  he  has  always  fol- 

lowed it.  Remaining  with  him  until  he  at- 

tained his  majority,  he  then  went  to  Lewis- 

town,  Pa.,  where  he  was  located  most  of  the 

time  for  the  next  twenty  years,  for  several 

years  running  the  Dipple  pottery  there.  He 

was  at  Lewistown  for  the  four  years  follow- 

ing his  marriage,  spent  the  next  year  at  Peters- 

burg, Pa.,  returned  to  Lewistown  for  two 

years,  and  then  did  business  in  Huntingdon 

for  three  years.  Going  back  to  Lewistown  he 

formed  a partnership  with  J.  & C.  Dipple,  with 

whom  he  was  associated  four  years.  In  1891 

he  came  to  Bloomsburg  and  purchased  from 

John  Rehm  the  plant  he  has  ever  since  oper- 

ated. During  his  ownership  it  has  been  con- 

siderably enlarged,  and  many  valuable  im- 

provements have  been  made  in  the  property. 

Mr.  Hyssong’s  patronage  has  been  extended 

steadily,  his  wares  being  sold  in  various  sec- 

tions, and  besides  manufacturing  he  deals 

quite  extensively  in  terra  cotta  sewerpipe,  for 

which  he  has  found  a good  demand  in  the 

local  market.  His  substantial  position  in  the 

community  has  come  as  a recognition  of  solid 

worth.  Though  his  activities  have  not  ex- 

tended into  public  life  he  is  well  known,  and 

like  his  father  is  a stanch  Republican  and  an 

earnest  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  in 

whose  work  he  is  thoroughly  interested,  help- 

ing it  along  zealously.  Socially  he  is  a mem- 

ber of  the  P.  O.  S.  of  A.,  having  belonged  to 

the  camp  at  Lewistown,  No.  462,  for  over 

twenty  years. 

In  1875  Mr.  Hyssong  was  married  to  Anna 

Margaret  Dipple,  daughter  of  John  and  Mar- 

garet (Peters)  Dipple,  of  Germany.  The 

father,  who  was  a potter  by  trade,  settled  at 

Lewistown  and  operated  a pottery  there  until 

his  death,  in  1872.  He  was  killed  while  cross- 

ing the  Pennsylvania  railroad  track,  on  his 

way  to  dig  clay.  His  wife,  who  survived  until 

1903,  ran  the  business  he  established  for  sev- 

eral years  after  his  death.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Dipple  had  six  children:  Anna  Margaret, 

Mrs.  Hyssong;  Anna,  widow  of  James  Irwin, 

of  Lewistown,  Pa. ; Ida,  who  married  William 

Miller,  of  Lewistown ; John,  deceased,  who 

was  a potter  and  worked  with  his  father ; 

Andrew  G.  C.,  who  owns  the  old  pottery  his 

father  established  at  Lewistown ; and  Charles, 

who  was  formerly  in  the  grocery  and  confec- 

tionery business,  now  a mail  carrier  at  Lewis- 

town. 

Five  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 

Mrs.  Hyssong : Charles  has  always  worked  as 

974 

COLUMBIA  AND  MONTOUR  COUNTIES 

a potter  and  is  engaged  with  his  father;  John, 

a carpet  weaver,  now  settled  in  Philadelphia, 

married  Nettie  Cashner,  and  they  have  four 

children,  Robert,  Martha,  John  and  Ruth ; 

Walter,  who  died  when  twenty-fours  year  old, 

learned  the  trade  of  potter,  but  afterwards 

worked  as  a machinist  at  the  locomotive  works 

of  the  Standard  Steel  Company,  at  Burnham, 

Pa. ; Irwin,  a resident  of  Bloomsburg,  who 

also  learned  the  potter’s  trade,  married  Mary 

Beagle,  and  they  have  three  children,  Robert, 

Edna  and  Esther ; Wilbur,  who  worked  with 

his  father  in  the  pottery  until  twenty  years 

old,  and  has  been  a machinist  in  the  governm

ment employ  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  for  the 

last  two  years,  married  Estella  Knepp  and  ha.<5 

two  children,  Alargaret  and  Estella. 

From Beers History Of Columbia & Montour Counties

Guava, Columbia County, Pennsylvania

On Wednesday April 17th 2024, The Sugarloaf Historical Society will meet at the Jamison City Hotel for an open discussion on Guava.  They know it was located between Benton and Center City, but it is their hope that others will attend with more information.

In preparation for that meeting, here's what I found:

SOME HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT NORTHERN COLUMBIA COUNTY By Edwin M. Barton

 SOME HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT NORTHERN COLUMBIA COUNTY
By Edwin M. Barton
Delivered at a meeting to the Columbia County Historical Association at Memorial Hall, Waller, PA, November 10, 1956

In discussing the history of Northern Columbia County, one must separate the wheat from the chaff, as all that is purported to be history is not history at all, rather it is a mixture of truths, half-truths, and in some cases downright untruths depending on the veracity, dependability and objective aims of the those giving the information to the history writers.

We are now in the village of Waller (originally called Hilltown), Jackson Township.

Jackson Township was erected in 1838 of portions taken from Greenwood and Sugarloaf, with the boundary on the east being Fishingcreek and on the west Little Fishingcreek, however the residents of the Fishingcreek side would not tolerate this set up and in 1940 the portion taken from Sugarloaf was re-annexed to it, leaving Jackson as it is today.

The township was named partly for Andrew Jackson and/or Daniel (Silas) Jackson, a supposed relative of the famous Stonewall, who removed from Benton in 1831 and was very active in the proceedings leading to the erection of the township.

Settlement of the township was retarded largely by the dishonest practices of the Asylum Land Company and its agents.

This company of land speculators headed by Frederick Veates by devious methods and collusion with PA Land Office Personnel secured warrants for enormous acreage in Jackson, Greenwood, Pine, and Madison townships, and Lycoming and Sullivan counties.

Prospective settlers found their titles defective, or as in many cases, could not find the land at all.

Jacob Lunger was probably the first settler in 1800, followed by Abram Whitman, Johnathan Robbins, Paul Hess, George Farver, Abram Golder, Benjamin Everhart, John Campbell, Ephraim Parker, and the The New Amsterdam (Dutch) families of Levi Priest, William Waldron and Peter Yorks.

The first school was conducted in a log dwelling near the building in which we are now meeting, formerly the Union Church, which was erected in 1854.

The first Post Office (called Polkville) was established in 1848 at the residence of John P. Hess, now occupied by the grandson J. Brittain Hess, just west of town.

In 1879 a Post Office was opened at Derrs with A. J. Derr as Postmaster.

So much for Jackson Township, and now we turn to Benton Township and Benton Borough.

Benton Township was erected in April 1850 by taking the north end of Fishingcreek Township from the present south boundary of Benton Township to the southern boundary of Sugarloaf and naming it in honor of Thomas H. Benton, a political figure of the time.

Peter Appleman was probably the first resident, residing on the farm now occupied by Robert E. and H. Dayne Kline, described as the southern boundary of Putney Common in the deed of 1789. In this deed Ezekiel Cole was described as the north boundary.

The northern half of Putney Common (500 acres plus) was warranted to James Athill, March 1770, and the southern half of like acreage to Francis Hopkinson, March 6th, 1770, both deeds being recorded in Coventry, England.

The southern half was sold in 1789 to the Warren family of New Jersey, who in turn sold it in 1831 to Michael Hartman of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, whose son, George, built the first permanent house (known as Dr. Patterson house) in Benton, according to the will of Michael Hartman in 1847.

In 1800 Daniel (or more likely Silas) Jackson having purchased land at a fork of Fishingcreek built a log cabin near the fork and occupied it until 1831, when the Hartmans came to claim their land. Mr. Jackson finding that the land he bought was on another Fishingcreek, moved over to what is now Jackson Township.

An early settler was Cornelius Coleman on land purchased by his father, Benjamin Coleman, from Daniel McHenry in 1791, still occupied by descendants of Cornelius Coleman.

Benjamin Coleman, my great-great-great-grandfather, was a resident of Bethlehem Twp, Hunterdon County, NJ and never lived in Columbia County.

My great-great-grandfather, William Eager and his wife, Elizabeth, of Orange County, NY, secured warrants dated April 22, 1793 for 800 acres of land on the hill just across the creek from Benton, for which they paid 6.5 cents per acre.

Other early settlers were Peter Dildine, Jonathan Colley, James Peterman, Jesse Pennington, Young, and Uriah McHenry.

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-rohr-mchenry-distilling-company.html

John McHenry, the first white child born in the up-creek area (married Helena Cutter, the daughter of Samuel Cutter and Mary Cole, a first cousin of Ezekiel Cole), started the McHenry Distillery about 1812 at a spring on his farm west of Benton Borough, which thrived for over 100 years.

The first mill in the township was built in 1819 or 1820 by Ezekiel Cole for his son, Isaiah, and was washed away by the flood of 1848.

Isaiah rebuilt the mill at the site of the light plant, but ran into financial difficulties and the mill was sold by the sheriff September 6, 1858 to Bob Swartout as a place for his brother John of New Rochelle, NY.

Another mill was built shortly after the turn of the century (exact date unknown) by George Hess and is still in operation, now operated by Norman B. Cole, who was recently the subject of an enlightening illustrated article in “The Pennsylvania Farmer.”

So much for Benton and Benton Twp., and let us move up the creek in the northernmost and most-maligned township of Columbia County, as far as history is concerned.

In the histories of Columbia County, where all the pages relating to Sugarloaf Township were deleted, very little factual history would be lost.

All this did not just happen, but was actuated by malicious intent, with a nefarious purpose in the mind of the man giving the ill-intended information to the history writers, and being a newcomer was almost totally ignorant of the facts, as is quite the usual thing in such cases.

A recent purported historical map of Columbia County by Mr. Wilt of Towanda, PA, shows everything north of Benton owned by John J. Godhard.

The mistake is not Mr. Wilt’s, but rather the Columbia County history from which he took his data.

Sugarloaf was erected in 1813 by severance of the north end of Fishingcreek, and by Connecticut Yankee influence the name of Harrison applied to it, which the sturdy PA Dutch and Germans from NJ absolutely refused to accept, applying their own name, Sugarloaf, to the township.

After the massacre at Wyoming, volunteers were called for to form the “Rangers on the Frontier for Northumberland County,” (not a very choice assignment as it was considered that the opportunity of having one’s hair parted by a tomahawk was excellent). Ezekiel Cole, a veteran of the Continental Line, joined the Company of Lt. Christian Rhoads coming to Columbia County under Moses Van Campen, patrolling from Fort Augusta to Forty Forts (Fort) and west to Fort Brady, thus being in all probability the first white man to completely explore the Fishingcreek valley, and was discharged from service in 1783.

In 1786 he returned to Columbia County in company of a neighbor, William Hess, (an officer of the Continental Line) of Williams Township, Northampton County, and these two bought in Fishingcreek valley all the flat land from the North line of Putney Common to the (northernmost point) above Jamison City and up the west branch to above the village of Elk Grove.

"Elk Grove has been a hamlet in the West Branch of Fishing Creek.

The road that it is located on was called the Laporte Turnpike. They had a hotel called the Perry's Hotel which was note for it services and a lot of people stay here as they passed through. They also had a post office and a school.. The post office still stands as a hunting cabin but the school is gone."

The settlement took place in 1790 or early 1791 as the first child of Ezekiel Cole and Elizabeth Hess, Catherine by name, was born December 25, 1791 in a log cabin across the road from Greystone.

The first four families to come to Sugarloaf at this time were those of John Keil (Kile), Godfrey Dils (Diltz), William Hess and Ezekiel Cole.

William Hess had ten sons and eight daughters, and Ezekiel Cole had five sons and nine daughters (two sons and three daughters by his first wife, Rebecca Coleman).

Stones from the Cole Gristmill, on the property of Camp Lavigne

https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Cole-8468

In 1794 Ezekiel Cole started to build his gristmill by constructing the dam and race, and at the wasteway of the race he built an Indian Hammermill operated by a small waterwheel to hammer grain for their own use, and built a small distillery at a spring about one mile up Colescreek, presumably for their own use also.

This was last operated by Norman Cole about 75 years ago.

The gristmill was then completed and started to operate in March 1802, being the first successful mill north of the river.

Next in 1803 a log schoolhouse was built on the northwest corner of the plot, set aside by Ezekiel Cole for a church, graveyard and school, and was used until 1837 when the township schools were set up.

The log schoolhouse stood until September 1865 when it was destroyed by soldiers.

Next to be built in 1806 was the stone house now called Greystone and is now owned by Thomas Lockard.

Then, about 1810, the house being completed, the log church was started at Zeke Cole’s Meeting Place and completed in 1812, to which we now turn our attention.

According to the Columbia County histories, John J. Godhard was a wealthy Englishman, was a patriot, was an Episcopalian, and had a large family of daughters, that he bought an enormous tract of land at the headwaters of Fishingcreek. One source says it extended from Benton to the mountain; another source grows bolder and says that he planned the church, gave toward it and assisted in the building of it.

Now let us see how much truth is in all of this.

My great-great-great-grandfather, Johannes Jacob Godhard, was most certainly not an Englishman (he was a German from the Palatinate), nor was he an Episcopalian. He was definitely a Reformed, as just a casual perusal of the First Reformed Church records will prove.

He was a patriot as the archives show and he may have been wealthy.

As for the large family of daughters, Mr. Godhard had three, Mrs. Henry (Elizabeth) Deberger, Mrs. Jacob (Mary) Frentchey, and Mrs. William (Catherine) Hess.

He never actually owned anything in Columbia County, although he did in 1794 bargain to buy 200 acres of Edward and Sarah McHenry and 201 acres of Daniel McHenry which the Deberger heirs paid for in 1800 and these are the original deeds.

Mr. Godhard never lived in Columbia County and only ever visited here twice, 1794 and 1796.

That he planned the church, gave toward it and helped in the building is certainly one for the “Ripley’s Believe it or Not,” as Mr. Godhard was dead for 13 years before the church was started, lying in Mahoning Township, Northumberland County at Jacob Frentchey’s in the spring of 1797, his will being probated June 7, 1797 at Sunbury in Will Book 1, page 183.

In the year 1796 or before, Ezekiel Cole bought 230 acres of land warranted to one Reinhart Miller in 1784 in Land Book 14, page 281.

In the year 1796 or before, Ezekiel and his wife, Elizabeth Hess, set aside two acres 96 perches of this land and had it surveyed by Edward McHenry as a gift for a school, graveyard and church, for and to the use of the Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Lutheran congregations.

Exactly when services were first held here is not known, however a letter dated July 7 or 9 1796 (in possession [1939] of Mr. C. A. Coleman of Butztown, PA) from Cornelius Coleman on the west bank of Fishingcreek to his brother at the forks of the Delaware, says in part: The Sunday before we went to services at Zeke’s Meeting Place and it took almost 3 hours by ox, and since we were the last the boys cut logs for seats. William Hess and John Gettardt (Godhard) talked.

So it is evident that services were held there before the first Sunday of July 1796.

This photostatic copy of the deed recorded in Columbia County Deed Book 12, pages 533 and 534 I wish to present to the Historical Society, the original of which with the words Presbyterian and Lutheran included was last known to have been in the possession of John Swartout the evening of June 6th 1881.

Rev. Jacob Keiler (Keller), Lutheran, and Rev. Hermanus (Hermandus) Funk, probably Reformed, were two of the earliest preachers at St. Gabriel’s and their record book was found in 1926 when the Zeke Cole Meeting Place was torn down; but it has disappeared, in all probability destroyed.

Other preachers there in the early days were Rev. John Kramer, Rev. Shelhardt, and Rev. Baraghey, all Lutherans, whose records likewise cannot be found.

Presbyterians, the McHenrys, the Cooleys, the Petermans, the Penningtons and the Eagers, were all out of the church prior to 1845 and I can find no record of the Presbyterian preachers serving the church.

One history states that it appears that the Presbyterians and Lutherans made some use of the church in the early days. As a matter of fact, they made practically all the use of the church in those days.

At our Benton meeting three years ago, Professor Hummel very effectively debunked the idea of the Fishingcreek Confederacy, and now I would like to state that the fiasco up the creek was nothing more or less than a conspiracy between the Republican party and the Army to keep the Democrats from voting.

The main body of soldiers of the Department of the Susquehanna were camped on my grandfather’s farm where Hervey Long now lives, and my father was mail boy to Lt. Col. Stuart, the drunken lout that commanded the regiment and spent all his time at the hotel bending his elbow, until grandmother would chase him out with her old hickory broom on his back.

Looking south from the door of this hall and just a little to the left is a large white barn where the soldiers hung the boy, because he would not tell where his father was.

[This is where the document I have ends - but my copy is downloaded from Ancestry.com, so I am not completely certain there is not more]

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Maps are from the 1860 atlas of Columbia & Montour County

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2022/07/benton-columbia-county-pennsyvlania.html

Run For The Diamonds - Berwick's Thanksgiving Marathon

The Annual Berwick Marathon was held for the first time in 1908.  The Run For The Diamonds, occurring on Thanksgiving Morning has been an annual tradition, only missing two years during WW1.

Peacock Gardens, Grovania Pa

Peacock Gardens in Danville Opened in 1934 and closed in 1942.

The location " Just off route 11, north of Danville, on the left as you turn to go over Grovania Hill To Catawissa", was formerly known as Montour Park.  Montour Park was a 

On June 14th 1934, 500 attended the grand opening of Peacock Gardens, in Grovania (Between Bloomsburg & Danville)

"NIGHT OPEN THURSDAY Floor Show And New York Orchestra Will Feature First Night. With a floor show and orchestra from New York City as its opening attraction the Peacock Gardens, this section's newest night club, will open Thursday night at Montour Park in the remodeled dance pavilion.

 Several months have been devoted to turning the spacious building into the most beautifully decorated restaurant and dancing space in this part of Pennsylvania. Lester Herr, of Bloomsburg, brother of Max Herr, Mill street, women's apparel merchant, is proprietor

The grove surrounding the building has also been equipped with tables and converted into an attractive garden for refreshments. The ceilings and wall of the building have been repainted and papered and the floors sanded. New furniture and equipment have been installed, and a modern kitchen and grill installed. Dressing rooms for the members of the floor shows, and sleeping quarters for employees, have been provided. 

The enterprise gets its name from main decorating motif, which consists of large paintings of peacocks about the walls. The orchestra pit has been decorated, a large crystal ball suspended from the ceiling and individual lights placed on each table. Sea food will be a specialty. No reservations will be made for the opening night, the management said, but arrangements will be made to give prompt service to all comers" - The Danville Morning News, June 13 1934

Nearly 500  were turned away on opening night,  for lack of space.  The entertainment that night was Buddy Harrison's Radio Band.

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"A giant metal peacock mounted on a Model A Ford chassis helped publicize the late Lester Herr's Peacock Gardens, as it was drive around the Susquehanna Valley.  two windows cut into the fowl provided a view to the rear"

1969

Many of our local trolley lines created amusement parks as an incentive for trolley travel.  The North Branch Transit [trolley] created dance halls.  Their first was Columbia Park, midway between Bloomsburg and Berwick.  In the 1920s, they opened Montour Park in Grovania - between Danville and Catawissa.

At their Columbia Park location, there was a swimming pool and a small zoo.  It was a popular picnic spot.  At Montour Park, there was no land available for outdoor amusements, the spot was limited to a dance hall.

Shamokin News, June 1939

The club featured live peacocks in the garden, and many paintings of peacocks inside.

A 14 foot mechanical peacock, covered in light gauge wire and lavishly painted in yellow and lavender, was used to promote his club.  

The venue was open Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays for dinner and dancing, and was a popular venue for weddings, class reunions, and banquets.

Herr sold his peacocks to a farmer, and closed his club in 1942.  

September 1944

By 2009, only a small section of the foundation remained.

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There was also  a game farm named "Peacock Corners".  Located outside of Lightstreet, there were bears, deer, exotic birds, and other wild animals.

This Peacock is at the library in Danville, but they are uncertain of where it came from

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1937022316434629&set=a.1943811432422384

Mr. Lester Herr Mr. Lester Herr, a well known resident of Bloomsburg, died at 10:30 a.m., yesterday, in Bloomsburg Hospital where he had been a patient for a week. His death followed a lengthy illness. A native of Russia and the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Israel Herr, he came to this country with his family when a child and resided for some years in Lock Haven. From there he moved to the Benton area where he was employed in the store of his late brother Max Herr. Following his return from service in World War I he owned and operated a men's shop in Lock Haven. He came to Bloomsburg a number of years ago and for some years operated the Peacock Gardens midway between Bloomsburg and Danville and also developed real e estate interests.

A member of Beth Israel Synogogue, he was also a member of the F. and A.M., St. Mary's Caldwell Consistory and Irem Temple Shrine, Bloomsburg. He was interested in horses through much of his life and affiliated with the Columbia Horsemen's Club. Surviving are three sisters, Miss Rae Herr, with whom he resided: Mrs.

Henry Baer and Mrs. B. W. Krauss, all of Bloomsburg, and a number of nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held art noon Monday at the Baker Funeral Home, with Rabbi, Emanuel Kramer, of Williamsport, officiating.

Burial will be made in Beth Yehudi Cemetery, Lock Haven. The family has requested that in place of floral tributes, memorial contributions be made to the cancer society. There will be no viewing..

Danville News June 1934

August 4th 1939

Her also ran the cafeteria for Kennedy Van Saun

October 1942