This Was Doylestown, 1958

Yeggs Get $2,500 At Moose Home -

[original headline; "yegg" is slang for burglar or safecracker] -

The Doylestown Lodge No. 1284, , 127 East State street, was burglarized early Saturday by professional safecrackers who got away with cash estimated at close to $2,500.

The yeggmen cracked a 500-pound safe in the grill room of the club and a 1,400-pound safe in the office on the second floor, and hammered open several cash boxes belonging to the stewards.

The burglary was discovered at 6:20 Saturday morning by David Carlson, the janitor, when he came to work. Carlson immediately notified the club manager, D. Ralph Stone. The club was closed at 1:45 a.m. by Stone and at that time all doors and windows were locked.

Entrance to the building was gained through a window on the east side of the building facing the Hayman Hospital entrance lane. An instrument of some kind was used to snap a cast iron window lock.

"No amateurs did this. This was done by professional safecrackers," declared Doylestown Police Chief Felix R. Gowan. He summoned Chief of Bucks County Detectives Clarence Irwin, who obtained a number of fingerprints.

Footprints on the grill room floor behind the bar, where one of the safes was located, indicate that at least two and maybe three yeggmen took part in the burglary. Approximately $700 was taken from this safe.

The upstairs safe in the office of the secretary was upset, ripped open with heavy tools and approximately $1,200 was taken, maybe more. Additional cash was taken from several cash boxes belonging to the stewards. Club records were not touched, although there was considerable damage done to some of the office furniture upstairs.

The burglars helped themselves to Coca-Colas, as a number of empties found in the various rooms indicated. A hurried check of the liquor stock showed nothing missing.

Manager Stone said that the club and lodge has burglary insurance sufficient to cover whatever the loss may be.

Church buys "Windemere" mansion -

Another forward step in the religious progress of Doylestown and vicinity was made Sunday when the congregation of the voted unanimously to purchase "Windemere," on East Court street, from the Estate of Julius B.B. Stryker.

The sale was made through the real estate offices of Wynne James Jr. and of Doylestown, the price being $35,000, with settlement in September.

The 26-room mansion, which was one of the outstanding showplaces of Doylestown for some years, will be used for the expansion of the congregation's Sunday School. The present church, directly opposite the newly acquired real estate, was built in 1865 and enlarged in 1928.

At the congregational meeting Sunday morning the pastor, Rev. Gerald W. Dieter, declared, "This is the biggest forward step that we have made since 1928." Rev. Dieter has been pastor for the past five years.

The church now has between 700 and 800 members. With the renovations of part of the Stryker property, much more Sunday School space will be available to relieve the crowded conditions in the church edifice itself.

"Windemere," copied after an old English estate, was built in 1887 by Mr. and Mrs. J. Monroe Shellenberger. It was sold in 1891 to Dr. George C. Wheeler, of Philadelphia.

In 1902, "Windemere" was purchased by the Pennsylvania Society for the Advancement of the Deaf, and was used as a home for the deaf until it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Conroy, who lived there for four years.

The Conroys sold "Windemere" to Mr. and Mrs. Julius B.B. Stryker, who lived there until two years ago. Mr. Stryker, a glue manufacturer, is now deceased, and his widow is a resident of Arizona.

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Firemen rescue dog from well -

The M.J. Venturina family, of North Hamilton street, was happier Wednesday--especially the youngsters in the family--and all because of a good deed rendered Tuesday afternoon by a rescue squad from the .

"Thunder," a young puppy belonging to the Venturinas, had been missing for two days.

Shortly after lunch Tuesday, one of the children heard a familiar puppy whine underneath the back porch. The youngster crawled under the porch and discovered a 30-foot-deep abandoned dry well. At the bottom was the missing "Thunder."

A hurried call was turned into the fire company. An emergency squad headed by Walter M. Carwithen, Jr., Fire Chief Joe Howe, Nick Petrillo, Bill Cathers, John Arcade, Vic Fell and Clayton Long hurried to the scene.

A hole was cut in the porch. Carwithen was fastened to a rope, and with a bucket in his hand was lowered to the bottom, where the puppy was scooped up and rescued.

"Thunder" was very much alive--not too frisky--but a bit hungry.

Restaurant guests arrive by helicopter -

Guests brought by helicopter stopped off for lunch Thursday noon at Conti's Cross Keys Inn. And, believe it or not, they parked just as close to the popular eating place as the autos nearby.

Shortly before noon, Walter Conti, manager and son of owner Frank Conti, received a telephone call from one of his customers, George R. Miller, senior member of the firm of George R. Miller and Son, paving experts, with headquarters in Horsham.

"Is your new parking lot clear? We want to come up for lunch," said Miller. Conti thought it was a funny question. He told Miller "yes."

Miller laughed, and then told Conti, "We are coming up by helicopter." Eighteen minutes later there was a buzzing over the inn.

A slick-looking Bell Ranger 47-J Helicopter landed as clean as a whistle in the middle of the parking lot, in a space about 60 by 100 feet, without touching one of the many wires close by. Out stepped George R. Miller; his son, George Jr.; and the pilot J.H. (Bud) Orpen, regional sales manager of the Bell Helicopter Corporation of Fort Worth, Texas.

The three were greeted by Host Conti and ushered into the dining room, as a crowd of amazed spectators looked on. After a luncheon of onion soup, Walt Conti's Caesar salad and cold melon, the trio took off to inspect from the air a number of jobs now being completed by George R. Miller and Son.

The Bell Ranger 47-J is exactly the same type and make helicopter used by President Dwight Eisenhower. In fact, Ike has two of them. They cost about $70,000 apiece. They have but one motor and can carry 250 pounds of baggage in addition to the pilot and three passengers.

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Doylestown's new sewer plant in operation -

Doylestown's new $500,000 sewage treatment plant, which will serve approximately 230 more homes within the borough, has been completed and is now in operation.

The plant, located on a portion of the Clemens Farms tract, is owned by the Doylestown Borough Authority, and operated by the borough. The Authority also owns the borough's other treatment plant.

Doylestown will be approximately 99 percent sewered when the 230 additional homes are hooked up. The charge for hooking up is now $75, which goes to the borough treasury. The new plant was built to take care of future expansion needs.

"We have experienced no trouble whatsoever about property owners being unwilling to hook up," declared Borough Manager Gardner Pearsall. "Most everyone has been very cooperative and thankful that the service has been extended."

New areas sewered include Maplewood, East Hills, Hillendale drive, Green street, Meadow lane, Clemens road, West street and Doyle street.

Sewer service costs a minimum of $6.60 payable every three months. If all the 230 additional homes to be served would use the minimum, the income to the borough would be approximately $6,100 annually, but many of the homes will use more than minimum service.

Chamber of Commerce urges repair of Route 611 -

The Central Bucks County Chamber of Commerce on Friday joined other organizations in this area in an effort to convince the Pennsylvania Highways Department that much-traveled Route 611 between Doylestown and the Bucks-Montgomery County line is in dangerous condition and very badly in need of repair or rebuilding.

Bruce B. Burkhart, chamber president, sent a letter to Secretary of Highways Lewis M. Stevens in Harrisburg.

"As president of the chamber, I would like to inform you that our organization believes that the repair, renovation or reconstruction of Route 611 for the seven miles south of Doylestown to the Bucks-Montgomery County line should have a high priority on your list of future road work," wrote Burkhart. "I am sure that the reports which you have in your department show the deplorable condition of the stretch of road below Doylestown."

"In view of the construction of the new in Doylestown, we anticipate even heavier traffic in the future which will cause further deterioration and greatly hamper traffic on this one stretch of road. Would you please advise us when it is expected that this section of road will be repaired or replaced?" the letter concluded.

At last Monday night's meeting of Doylestown Borough Council, members were advised that the Highways Department has nothing whatsoever in the present agenda that would indicate the department intends to repair the seven-mile stretch this year.

From The Daily Intelligencer, Week of July 20-26, 1958