Did you know?
The following is another Did You Know? quiz about Fayette County history.
1. A New Salem native had an important impact on the Allied Force’s victory in WWI. What was it?
A) He was Medal of Honor recipient, Alvin C. York’s, barber.
B) He led a key charge at the 2nd Battle of the Marne.
C) His invention was widely used during the war.
D) He was a special assistant to General John J. Pershing.
E) When the Germans signed the Armistice in a railroad car on Nov. 11, 1918, it was his pen that was used.
2. On Jan. 18, 1952, the Uniontown Evening Standard carried a warning that, in part, said, “Flare up at touch of flame and burn up.” What was the cause of that warning?
A) Hula Hoops
B) Davey Crockett hats
C) Surplus Cheese
D) Rayon
E) People were mixing gasoline with their house paint.
3. There are estimates that the current weekly unemployment benefit, nationwide, is about $307. What was that weekly average during the Great Depression?
A) $350
B) $200
C) $50
D) $10
E) $4
4. In June of 1946, a local lawman made a bit of national news because he undertook an unusual assignment. What was his task?
A) He’d been assigned to serve an arrest warrant on a man who was hiding out in a movie theater.
B) He was forced to arrest his wife in a check kiting scheme.
C) He was forced to arrest an entire classroom full of high school students.
D) He had to issue a traffic citation to a former U.S. president who was driving through the area.
E) He had to arrest his brother, who was a sitting judge.
5. In November of 1973, a Uniontown man took his wife to court, and that made national news. Why?
A) She’d tried to cash-in his winning lottery ticket.
B) She’d falsely claimed he’d owed her a million dollars in child support.
C) She’d sold his business without his knowledge.
D) She left him for another man – his brother.
E) All of the above
THE ANSWERS
1. C, His invention was widely used during the war.
Isaac Newton Lewis was born in New Salem in October of 1858.
When he left Western Pennsylvania, he joined the military and rose to the rank of colonel in 1913.
He would later invent what was called “The Lewis Automatic Machine Gun,” which would be used by American, French and British troops during WWI.
His invention was so effective, 150,000 of them were eventually manufactured, and they were used until the Korean War.
2. D, Rayon
“INFLAMMABLE SWEATERS MAKING FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE DISTRICT,” was the headline of a story that stressed the supposed combustibility of the increasingly popular fabric.
The semi-synthetic fabric was being marketed under a variety of names during the early 1950s.
There was a fear that, as the article mentioned that, “Many district people may be wearing sweaters that could turn them into human torches in an instant.”
But Rayon, in its various forms, has been around ever since, with no evidence that people are being turned into “human torches” while wearing clothes made from it.
3. D, $10
The Uniontown News Standard reported in its Feb. 8, 1938 edition that 5,000 unemployment checks had arrived at the local post office.
Those people getting those unemployment checks would receive between $7.50 and $15. The average payment, according to the article, was only $10.
4. A, He’d been assigned to serve an arrest warrant on a man who was hiding out in a movie theater.
The June 30, 1946 edition of the Walla Walla (Wa.) Union-Bulletin, reported that Assistant Fayette County Detective Lawrence Haggerty had been assigned to serve the warrant on an “alimony dodger” who vowed to hole up in a Uniontown movie theatre until police officers grew tired of their search.
Haggerty claimed he’d never seen so many movies in his life.
5. A, She’d tried to cash-in his winning lottery ticket.
The San Mateo (Ca.) Times reported that the man had been the ninth winner of Pennsylvania’s millionaire drawing.
But the man filed suit because he said his wife took the winning ticket to lottery headquarters and claimed it was hers.
There were no further details about the outcome of the lawsuit, or if the next suit the man filed was in divorce court.
Edward A. Owens can be reached by email at freedoms@bellatlantic.net