Amendment # 21 of US Constitution passed December 5, repealing Prohibition established by Amendment #18 in 1919.

Householders asked for scrap aluminum and used fats to be recycled for the war effort.   Local drop-off sites for metals were designated and Kate Smith was enlisted for advertisements pointing out to women that every bit of fat saved and handed in to the butcher will be used to make parachutes, synthetic rubber, and soaps, and that one tablespoon of used fats will help make five machine gun bullets.

Old Clover Distilling Company in Lemon will produce industrial alcohol from corn, wheat and barley.  The government is the principal user of alcohol during wartime for it is a vital ingredient in the production of explosives.  Seagram and Sons, Inc., famous whiskey distillers, announced that their chemists had developed a process for making synthetic rubber from grain alcohol.  In this manner, eight pounds of synthetic rubber can be produced from a bushel of grain.  H. F. Wilkie, Seagram Vice President, offered free construction blueprints and engineering assistance to any responsible organization that is in a position ”to help the country meet the present emergency.”  

Gas rationing cards issued limiting “non-essential” drivers to three gallons a week.

Earthquake felt here and reported on September 7.  Centered around Malone, New York, it was felt as far west as Wisconsin and south to Virginia.  The Episcopal Church chimney had several bricks were jarred loose, and customers at the Hotel Prins in Tunkhannock were alarmed by the way the brick structure was moved   The tremor shook beds and rattled dishes and furniture

Susquehanna County Conservation District was established on September 30, to conserve the natural resources of the county.  The District, in cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies, provides education, funding and technical expertise to promote and make possible the successful implementation of many resource protection programs. Click here to continue.

Wyoming County Commissioners voted that the county becomes a member of the Soil Conservation System, the first step toward the creation of the Wyoming County Soil Conservation District.  Offices were set up in the courthouse for a full-time farm planner, a part-time soil surveyor and agricultural aide.  By early 1950 about a hundred applications had been received through the Soil Conservation Service: working with the District, 126 cooperating farms had been mapped and 89 of them had conservation plans.  The scope of activities of the District has changed dramatically since those early days when the main focus was soil conservation for farmers.  Today’s county conservation district offers assistance to all landowners, from the large farmer with hundreds of acres to the urban homeowner interested in backyard gardening to attract wildlife. For more history click here!

Aldovin Dairy, Inc. installed one of the most modern milk evaporating and spray drying machines.

Lackawanna County Conservation District formed through a resolution adopted by the County Commissioners on May 27 to carry out “the policy of the Commonwealth to provide for the conservation of the soil, water and related resources of this Commonwealth, and for the control and prevention of soil erosion, and thereby to preserve natural resources; assist in the control of floods; prevent impairment of dams and reservoirs; assist in maintaining the navigability of rivers and harbors; preserve wildlife; preserve the tax base; protect public lands; and protect and promote the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth.  Click here to continue.

More cows than people in Susquehanna County and almost one cow for every citizen in Wyoming County.  Pennsylvania is one of the largest milk producing areas in the world, with dairying grown into the largest single industry in the state, paying $4.84 per hundred pounds of milk.  Susquehanna County ranks 64^th among the nation’s milk producing counties.  It was not long after this census that new regulations were enacted, requiring stainless steel refrigerated tanks with hoses in each dairy barn instead of the traditional milk cans.  The expense involved in meeting this safety standard looked too high to many local farmers who decided to sell their dairy herds and farm equipment.

Dalton native and Pennsylvania Governor Bill Scranton runs against Barry Goldwater, seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States.  After active duty in WWII, Bill continued his public service by joining community leaders in Lackawanna County to develop the nationally recognized “Scranton Plan”.  This outlined strategies for revitalizing a region long dependent on a single commodity, coal, on which we could no longer depend.   Having served Pennsylvania as US Congressman and Governor, he went on to serve the country as US Ambassador to the United Nations, and as elder statesmen and trusted advisor to Presidents.  As Governor, Bill Scranton was widely admired, tough and extremely effective due to his eagerness to work with both political parties.  He had regular breakfasts with the leaders of both sides of the aisle and was not averse to calling “special sessions” of the legislature to address legislation on important issues.

The Proctor and Gamble “Charmin” plant on the Susquehanna River in Mehoopany opened a pulp mill to process local hardwood logs into paper towels and toilet paper.  The plant had broken ground for construction in 1965 and a year later trucks and railroads began transporting pulp for diaper production.  The paper machine was added in 1967, and with this pulp mill the plant was ready to utilize forest products from a 75-100 mile radius.  During the next three decades it was common to see trucks piled high with logs on the region’s roads, doing their part to provide a part of the 500,000 tons of round wood the plant bought each year; it was common to see 10,000-60,000 tons of logs in the yard on any given day.