Among the items in the Erie Historical Societies collection is an almost complete set of the Erie News printed from June of 1903 thru January of 1906. The editor was Clyde Stanley a 16 year old. The following are excerpts taken from the pages of those papers.
1903 – The Erie News
September 4, 1903
Mrs Tony Konantz and Irene Hershey were in Denver on Monday.
Some thief crawled through the back window of Beukma’s drug store Sunday Night and prying off the money drawer got $3.50 in change. He also took two boxes of cigars and some perfume.
Friday, August 20, 1903
Mrs. Wise of Canfield is very sick.
Our marshall on Sunday night arrested George Robinson and John Flukiger for being drunk and disorderly and using obscene language. They were brought before Judge Nicholson Monday morning, who severely reprimanded them in strong language and fined each one $25.00 and costs.
The Wise Elevator Company are putting in a new 40 horse power engine at their mill
in Canfield. They have been grinding alfalfa meal for some time and have a car load of
it to ship to St. Louis in a few days.
Persia is blowing some of her Undesirable citizens from the mouths of cannon.
Of course, England is fearfully shocked at such cruelty. It is a long time since the days of the Sepoy rebellion.
Of the thirty towns that H.R. Lowe of the International Correspondence school, visits every month he reports that the three mining towns, Louisville, Lafayette and Erie are the liveliest and show signs of greater prosperity than any of the others.
Candy amounting to twenty tons a month is sent to our soldiers in the Philippines, to cure them from the liquor and tobacco habits.
J.O.V. Wise of Canfield has purchased a threshing outfit and prepared to thresh this fall.
The Erie Hotel is now open for the accommodation of the public. It has been refitted and is under new management. Mr. Rose, the landlord, is well known in Erie and all will wish success to his venture. 10/2/03
Circus managers throughout the country have decided to abandon all street parades. The license fees are too high.
Oscar Wise is threshing for Carters today.
The machinery for the Reliance mine is in place and the owners expect to start work the middle of this month. Later on they expect to employ about fifty men. They have what is said to be the driest mine at Erie. 10/2/03
Grand Ball at the opera house in the evening. Tony Konantz, President of the Day. 7/4/03
(The Opera House was located at NW corner of Katell and Wells)
The Phoenix Oil and Gas Company has struck oil and gas on the Hiram Prince ranch, two and one half miles west of town. The flow of gas was encountered several days ago and was so strong that it had to be piped away from the derrick. The well is down about 1,200 feet and the drillers say that the formation is the same as that of the Florence field. The flow of oil is not very large, but it is expected that within the next hundred feet a producing well will be opened. The Prince Well is four miles farther east than any oil well in the Boulder field and is the nearest well to Erie. The Phoenix Oil company has a lease on about 3,000 acres of land in the vicinity of Erie and it is expected that more wells will be drilled in the new field. ‘03
1904 – The Erie News
The Lister coal is getting such a reputation that the Japanese government cabled orders for 50,000 tons for use to their battleships but the boys are unable to fill the order at present. ‘04
The Lister mine is working steady every day, and unable to keep up with their orders, but Manager Duncan expects to have the mine in shape by next fall to produce 300 tons per day. ‘04
The manager of the Lister mine took out a lumb of coal weighing a trifle less than 25 tons, which was intended for the World’s Fair at St. Louis, but owing to some misunderstanding with the railroad company they were unable to send it. ‘04
Erie’s population as give in the census report for 1900 is 679, but these are probably underestimated. Its principal industry is coal mining, being one of the best camps in the state. It is also a shipping point for stock and grain, having a stock yard on the Burlington and an elevator on the Union Pacific railroad. Erie owns and controls its own electric light plant and water works system. ‘04
1905 The Erie News
It is reported that Beukma is bottling our fragrant Erie water and selling it as white rose perfume at .50 cents a bottle. ‘05
Wanted
A good coal miner who has a small family and whose wife would keep the boarders who work at the mine. A good chance for a man and woman of energy to make money. Two other coal miners wanted also. Enquire. Washington Coal Mine, Erie, Co. ‘05
