On Tuesday, July 18, 1905, Edward Piltz of Wiconisco, a driver for the Lykens Brewing Company, was approaching the Fountain Springs Hotel, in Williamstown, to deliver beer. Another team was immediately in front of the hotel, so he pulled up to a watering trough west of the hotel to let the horses drink. The horses hadn't yet finished drinking when he noticed the trolley car at the top of the hill coming west. The wagon extended out over the tracks, so he turned the horses to the right to avoid the collision. But, as the horses cleared the tracks, the trolley car struck the wagon in the center with great force, completely wrecking it and scattering the contents in every direction. Mr. Piltz had with him on the seat, the little son of John Schmuck, of Lykens, whom he was taking to spend the day at the home of his grandmother, Mrs. Henry Bopp, near Tower City. The two of them were thrown high into the air and struck the ground with such force as to render them unconscious. Piltz received a severe sprain of the right hand, cuts about the head, and bruises of the left side. Young Schmuck was cut about the head and had his left hand injured. The wagon was a new one, having recently been purchased from Milwaukee, and built to the special order of the Lykens Brewing Company. The horses, three abreast, moved gently to a telephone pole close by, all traces of the straps having been snapped off by the collision.
A train derailment occurred on Monday, July 18, 1921 at 11 a.m. Train No. 8513 was on the "Long Stretch", about a mile from the Lykens train station. As it approached the switch near the coal scale, the engineer saw that the switch was open and applied the breaks. By the time the train stopped, the engine and ten cars had left the track. Many local residents were passengers aboard the train, but no one was hurt.
William Showers, of the Berrysburg Hotel, met with painful injuries on Wednesday morning, July 18, 1934, at 2 o'clock, when he figured in an auto accident on the State highway near Wiconisco. Shortly after striking a pole head-on, which practically demolished the car, he was found by a passing motorist and taken to his home. He was later admitted to the Geisinger Hospital in Danville.
The section of calls we've responded to has been compiled from fire company records, newspapers, and other sources. Listings for years prior to 1981 might be incomplete.
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The listing of local incidents is for incidents that happened around our local area, including some from Lykens for which the fire company was not dispatched. It is certainly not a complete listing, and is not intended to be. It is included here for your entertainment. Incidents listed here have been gathered from public sources.
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The listing of other noteworthy incidents includes incidents from anywhere outside our local area (for which we were not dispatched). Also included in this section are historical events from our fire company, Lykens, or around the world. It is certainly not a complete listing, and is not intended to be. It is included here for your entertainment. Incidents and events listed here have been gathered from public sources.
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These lists can be filtered. Use the control section above to activate or de-activate filtering. Filtering will not affect the list of incidents we've responded to. But, it will be applied to both the other lists.
