IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 30 DEC 1924 - 5 JAN 1925
This week's many stories include Uncle Ben's comments on the Christmas jollifications, the New Year's Eve dance in Rainford Village Hall, the man who'd spent 60 years employed by Doultons, the Water Street woman accused of running a betting house, the man on the best farm in Lancashire who had not been sober for four years and the 71-year-old found incapable in Higher Parr Street whose excuse was that he had no mother to look after him.
We begin at the start of the week when a series of unusual motoring offences were heard in St Helens Police Court. Solicitor Allen Tickle of Laurel Road in St Helens was ordered to pay costs after leaving his motor car unattended on the street with its engine running.
Hand-cranking an engine to start a vehicle took some effort and so there was a temptation not to turn off the engine when stopping for a brief period. Although electric self-starters became standard on new cars in the early 1920s, many older vehicles did not have them and self-starters could be unreliable. And so up until the 1960s, crank handles came with cars as a back up.
Garages were supposed to put trade number plates on cars while going on test runs. Thomas Pilsh of the Lingholme Garage was ordered to pay court costs after moving a car from Liverpool to St Helens without such plates. John Ashall who was foreman for the Windle Motor Company did have trade plates on a vehicle that he was repairing.
But there was an additional rule that stated that details of the temporary number transfer needed to be entered into a book and a copy carried in the car. As a result of his failure to do so, Ashall was also ordered to pay court costs.
On New Year's Eve the Rainford Motor Club held a dance in the Village Hall. The Reporter wrote: "The carnival spirit pervaded the atmosphere, and the many hued dresses of the ladies enhanced the kaleidoscopic scene created by the carnival with which the dancing hall had been decorated." A group called the Manhattan Syncopators Band performed the music and the paper wrote that just before midnight "fairy horns", rattles etc. were handed round and the New Year was "enthusiastically heralded".
The St Helens Reporter's children's column prior to WW1 bore the motto "Love One Another" and was conducted by someone using the pseudonym "Daddy". The shortage of newsprint during the war led to the column being axed. However, early in 1921 it was resurrected as the "The Children's Reporter", and "Daddy" became "Uncle Ben".
It was not until the death of William Gentry in 1954 that it was revealed that the longstanding editor of the Reporter had also been the mysterious Uncle Ben – and probably had been Daddy too. That was not a great surprise as Gentry had a great interest in young people and for many years was chairman of the St Helens Juvenile Court. This is how Uncle Ben introduced his column on the 2nd:
"My dear Boys and Girls, Well, the jollifications are all over now, and I hope none of you are any the worse for all the fun you have had and all the rich things you have eaten. Naturally, my post bag has fallen off considerably during the holidays, but I am not complaining of that, as no healthy boy or girl would dream of sitting down to write to an unknown uncle with Christmas and New Year festivities claiming all their attention.
"I have no doubt that as soon as what we call “the holiday spirit” wears off and we all get into our ordinary every day habits, you will keep the postman busy, and once more I shall have the pleasure of going through your interesting contributions and your delightfully chummy letters."
Many people used to work for the same employer for a very long time. The Reporter profiled Arthur Marshall who now lived in Rainhill but for most of his life had been a resident of Church Street in St Helens. Arthur had spent 60 years employed by Doulton and Co, initially at their old pottery site at Greenbank where Pilkingtons now kept a timber yard, before transferring to their works in Boundary Road where he mainly worked as a salesman. And he said he had no intention of retiring from his job.
The Reporter also stated that when George Birchall had appeared in Liverpool Bankruptcy Court, he claimed a government potato order had badly affected his Bickerstaffe farm. But William Forster of Cabbage Hall Farm in Windle begged to differ. He told the Registrar: "Mr. Birchall is on the best farm in Lancashire, but he has never been sober for four years."
When the Registrar who was adjudicating the bankruptcy hearing asked Birchall if that claim was true, William Forster said: "Tell them the truth, George." "It might be three", was all that poor George Birchall could say. Forster then added: "He could not cart the bottles away from the back of his house with the one horse that he has."
Women rarely took bets on the street but a few did inside their homes, which the authorities considered a more serious crime. The Reporter described how Minnie Leyland of Water Street had appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with using her house for betting purposes. Detective Higgs gave evidence that on Saturday, December 13th he had concealed himself in a position where he had a full view of Leyland's house and within less than an hour saw 11 women, 7 men, 15 boys and 16 girls (totalling 49 persons) go inside.
On the following Saturday, watching from the same vantage point – which would likely have been a neighbouring house – DC Higgs witnessed a similar number go into Mrs Leyland's home. Later that day the police conducted a raid and found betting slips, coupons and money in many rooms. Minnie Leyland had told the police: "All the betting done at our house is done by me and nobody else. My husband and daughters have nothing to do with it." But Joseph Leyland was also charged because he was the householder.
And also in the dock were Frederick Leighton of Brook Street and Florence Grayson of Silver Street. Despite all the police activity at the house, they had wandered inside while the raid was taking place bearing betting slips. Not a very wise thing to have done! That said Fred Leighton came up with a creative excuse for his presence in the betting house saying he had gone to ask Joe Leyland if he wanted to go and watch a football game.
He insisted that he had given up betting a long time ago and had been wearing an old coat that he'd forgotten contained betting slips inside a pocket. Surprisingly, the magistrates gave him the benefit of the doubt and dismissed the charge but Florence Grayson was bound over for 12 months. The Leylands, however, were not treated so lightly. The husband insisted to the magistrates that he took no active part in the betting and had wanted his wife to give it up. He said he had had many rows with Minnie over it but was still fined £10 and his wife received a hefty fine of £25.
The flooding at Watery Lane / Moss Nook in Sutton had been a nightmare for its residents for many years. Often at times of heavy rains, the level of water in Sutton Brook had overflowed into neighbouring houses, sometimes causing locals to live only in their upstairs rooms. But a scheme had taken place to try and improve matters and the Reporter said it was a case of so far, so good. The recent heavy rains in the town had led to some parts of St Helens flooding. And although a large expanse of water had collected at Moss Nook, none of the nearby houses had been affected.
For the last few years, public donations had paid for Christmas parties to be held each year for around 2,000 of the poorest children in St Helens. Last December the Mayor of St Helens, Alderman Thomas Hamblett, said deciding which kids qualified for the parties had been problematic: "It was a difficult and sometimes a painful task to single out the ten per cent. of poorest children from their classmates."
And so after discussing the matter with headmasters he decided to provide Christmas parties for all of the children attending the town's elementary schools. In total about 20,000 kids had now received a party and the scheme funded by donations would operate in the town for many decades. In this week's Reporter, the mayor thanked the public for their generous support that, he said, had made the parties "such a splendid success" and Alderman Hamblett added that the donations had totalled £430.
James Chadwick – whose address was stated as the Salisbury Street lodging house – was charged with having been drunk and incapable in Higher Parr Street on Christmas Day. The police evidence was that at 10:45pm on Christmas night, Chadwick had been seen lying prostrate on the footpath. Chadwick's face was badly bruised, apparently caused by his fall.
The defendant told the Bench that he was 71-years-old and "have no mother to look after me now" and asked the magistrates to let him off at half price. Asked to explain what he meant, Chadwick replied: "Why, if you fine me 2s. 6d. I expect you to let me off for 1s. 3d." That evoked laughter in the courtroom but Chadwick did even better than half-price, as the charge against him was dismissed upon him promising not to come to court again.
And finally, the annual old folks treat was held on the 2nd at what was then known as the Robins Lane Council School in Sutton. Five hundred persons over the age of 60 were entertained to tea and then a concert party performed for them.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the New Year's Day breakfasts for poor children, the Higher Grade Girls' New Year's parties, the opening of Newton Cottage Hospital and the man who claimed his punch up had not created a disturbance.
We begin at the start of the week when a series of unusual motoring offences were heard in St Helens Police Court. Solicitor Allen Tickle of Laurel Road in St Helens was ordered to pay costs after leaving his motor car unattended on the street with its engine running.
Hand-cranking an engine to start a vehicle took some effort and so there was a temptation not to turn off the engine when stopping for a brief period. Although electric self-starters became standard on new cars in the early 1920s, many older vehicles did not have them and self-starters could be unreliable. And so up until the 1960s, crank handles came with cars as a back up.
Garages were supposed to put trade number plates on cars while going on test runs. Thomas Pilsh of the Lingholme Garage was ordered to pay court costs after moving a car from Liverpool to St Helens without such plates. John Ashall who was foreman for the Windle Motor Company did have trade plates on a vehicle that he was repairing.
But there was an additional rule that stated that details of the temporary number transfer needed to be entered into a book and a copy carried in the car. As a result of his failure to do so, Ashall was also ordered to pay court costs.
On New Year's Eve the Rainford Motor Club held a dance in the Village Hall. The Reporter wrote: "The carnival spirit pervaded the atmosphere, and the many hued dresses of the ladies enhanced the kaleidoscopic scene created by the carnival with which the dancing hall had been decorated." A group called the Manhattan Syncopators Band performed the music and the paper wrote that just before midnight "fairy horns", rattles etc. were handed round and the New Year was "enthusiastically heralded".
The St Helens Reporter's children's column prior to WW1 bore the motto "Love One Another" and was conducted by someone using the pseudonym "Daddy". The shortage of newsprint during the war led to the column being axed. However, early in 1921 it was resurrected as the "The Children's Reporter", and "Daddy" became "Uncle Ben".
It was not until the death of William Gentry in 1954 that it was revealed that the longstanding editor of the Reporter had also been the mysterious Uncle Ben – and probably had been Daddy too. That was not a great surprise as Gentry had a great interest in young people and for many years was chairman of the St Helens Juvenile Court. This is how Uncle Ben introduced his column on the 2nd:
"My dear Boys and Girls, Well, the jollifications are all over now, and I hope none of you are any the worse for all the fun you have had and all the rich things you have eaten. Naturally, my post bag has fallen off considerably during the holidays, but I am not complaining of that, as no healthy boy or girl would dream of sitting down to write to an unknown uncle with Christmas and New Year festivities claiming all their attention.
"I have no doubt that as soon as what we call “the holiday spirit” wears off and we all get into our ordinary every day habits, you will keep the postman busy, and once more I shall have the pleasure of going through your interesting contributions and your delightfully chummy letters."
Many people used to work for the same employer for a very long time. The Reporter profiled Arthur Marshall who now lived in Rainhill but for most of his life had been a resident of Church Street in St Helens. Arthur had spent 60 years employed by Doulton and Co, initially at their old pottery site at Greenbank where Pilkingtons now kept a timber yard, before transferring to their works in Boundary Road where he mainly worked as a salesman. And he said he had no intention of retiring from his job.
The Reporter also stated that when George Birchall had appeared in Liverpool Bankruptcy Court, he claimed a government potato order had badly affected his Bickerstaffe farm. But William Forster of Cabbage Hall Farm in Windle begged to differ. He told the Registrar: "Mr. Birchall is on the best farm in Lancashire, but he has never been sober for four years."
When the Registrar who was adjudicating the bankruptcy hearing asked Birchall if that claim was true, William Forster said: "Tell them the truth, George." "It might be three", was all that poor George Birchall could say. Forster then added: "He could not cart the bottles away from the back of his house with the one horse that he has."
Women rarely took bets on the street but a few did inside their homes, which the authorities considered a more serious crime. The Reporter described how Minnie Leyland of Water Street had appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with using her house for betting purposes. Detective Higgs gave evidence that on Saturday, December 13th he had concealed himself in a position where he had a full view of Leyland's house and within less than an hour saw 11 women, 7 men, 15 boys and 16 girls (totalling 49 persons) go inside.
On the following Saturday, watching from the same vantage point – which would likely have been a neighbouring house – DC Higgs witnessed a similar number go into Mrs Leyland's home. Later that day the police conducted a raid and found betting slips, coupons and money in many rooms. Minnie Leyland had told the police: "All the betting done at our house is done by me and nobody else. My husband and daughters have nothing to do with it." But Joseph Leyland was also charged because he was the householder.
And also in the dock were Frederick Leighton of Brook Street and Florence Grayson of Silver Street. Despite all the police activity at the house, they had wandered inside while the raid was taking place bearing betting slips. Not a very wise thing to have done! That said Fred Leighton came up with a creative excuse for his presence in the betting house saying he had gone to ask Joe Leyland if he wanted to go and watch a football game.
He insisted that he had given up betting a long time ago and had been wearing an old coat that he'd forgotten contained betting slips inside a pocket. Surprisingly, the magistrates gave him the benefit of the doubt and dismissed the charge but Florence Grayson was bound over for 12 months. The Leylands, however, were not treated so lightly. The husband insisted to the magistrates that he took no active part in the betting and had wanted his wife to give it up. He said he had had many rows with Minnie over it but was still fined £10 and his wife received a hefty fine of £25.
For the last few years, public donations had paid for Christmas parties to be held each year for around 2,000 of the poorest children in St Helens. Last December the Mayor of St Helens, Alderman Thomas Hamblett, said deciding which kids qualified for the parties had been problematic: "It was a difficult and sometimes a painful task to single out the ten per cent. of poorest children from their classmates."
And so after discussing the matter with headmasters he decided to provide Christmas parties for all of the children attending the town's elementary schools. In total about 20,000 kids had now received a party and the scheme funded by donations would operate in the town for many decades. In this week's Reporter, the mayor thanked the public for their generous support that, he said, had made the parties "such a splendid success" and Alderman Hamblett added that the donations had totalled £430.
James Chadwick – whose address was stated as the Salisbury Street lodging house – was charged with having been drunk and incapable in Higher Parr Street on Christmas Day. The police evidence was that at 10:45pm on Christmas night, Chadwick had been seen lying prostrate on the footpath. Chadwick's face was badly bruised, apparently caused by his fall.
The defendant told the Bench that he was 71-years-old and "have no mother to look after me now" and asked the magistrates to let him off at half price. Asked to explain what he meant, Chadwick replied: "Why, if you fine me 2s. 6d. I expect you to let me off for 1s. 3d." That evoked laughter in the courtroom but Chadwick did even better than half-price, as the charge against him was dismissed upon him promising not to come to court again.
And finally, the annual old folks treat was held on the 2nd at what was then known as the Robins Lane Council School in Sutton. Five hundred persons over the age of 60 were entertained to tea and then a concert party performed for them.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the New Year's Day breakfasts for poor children, the Higher Grade Girls' New Year's parties, the opening of Newton Cottage Hospital and the man who claimed his punch up had not created a disturbance.
This week's many stories include Uncle Ben's comments on the Christmas jollifications, the New Year's Eve dance in Rainford Village Hall, the man who'd spent 60 years employed by Doultons, the Water Street woman accused of running a betting house, the man on the best farm in Lancashire who had not been sober for four years and the 71-year-old found incapable in Higher Parr Street whose excuse was that he had no mother to look after him.
We begin at the start of the week when a series of unusual motoring offences were heard in St Helens Police Court.
Solicitor Allen Tickle of Laurel Road in St Helens was ordered to pay costs after leaving his motor car unattended on the street with its engine running.
Hand-cranking an engine to start a vehicle took some effort and so there was a temptation not to turn off the engine when stopping for a brief period.
Although electric self-starters became standard on new cars in the early 1920s, many older vehicles did not have them and self-starters could be unreliable. And so up until the 1960s, crank handles came with cars as a back up.
Garages were supposed to put trade number plates on cars while going on test runs.
Thomas Pilsh of the Lingholme Garage was ordered to pay court costs after moving a car from Liverpool to St Helens without such plates.
John Ashall who was foreman for the Windle Motor Company did have trade plates on a vehicle that he was repairing.
But there was an additional rule that stated that details of the temporary number transfer needed to be entered into a book and a copy carried in the car.
As a result of his failure to do so, Ashall was also ordered to pay court costs.
On New Year's Eve the Rainford Motor Club held a dance in the Village Hall.
The Reporter wrote: "The carnival spirit pervaded the atmosphere, and the many hued dresses of the ladies enhanced the kaleidoscopic scene created by the carnival with which the dancing hall had been decorated."
A group called the Manhattan Syncopators Band performed the music and the paper wrote that just before midnight "fairy horns", rattles etc. were handed round and the New Year was "enthusiastically heralded".
The St Helens Reporter's children's column prior to WW1 bore the motto "Love One Another" and was conducted by someone using the pseudonym "Daddy".
The shortage of newsprint during the war led to the column being axed. However, early in 1921 it was resurrected as the "The Children's Reporter", and "Daddy" became "Uncle Ben".
It was not until the death of William Gentry in 1954 that it was revealed that the longstanding editor of the Reporter had also been the mysterious Uncle Ben – and probably had been Daddy too.
That was not a great surprise as Gentry had a great interest in young people and for many years was chairman of the St Helens Juvenile Court.
This is how Uncle Ben introduced his column on the 2nd:
"My dear Boys and Girls, Well, the jollifications are all over now, and I hope none of you are any the worse for all the fun you have had and all the rich things you have eaten.
"Naturally, my post bag has fallen off considerably during the holidays, but I am not complaining of that, as no healthy boy or girl would dream of sitting down to write to an unknown uncle with Christmas and New Year festivities claiming all their attention.
"I have no doubt that as soon as what we call “the holiday spirit” wears off and we all get into our ordinary every day habits, you will keep the postman busy, and once more I shall have the pleasure of going through your interesting contributions and your delightfully chummy letters."
Many people used to work for the same employer for a very long time.
The Reporter profiled Arthur Marshall who now lived in Rainhill but for most of his life had been a resident of Church Street in St Helens.
Arthur had spent 60 years employed by Doulton and Co, initially at their old pottery site at Greenbank where Pilkingtons now kept a timber yard, before transferring to their works in Boundary Road where he mainly worked as a salesman.
And he said he had no intention of retiring from his job.
The Reporter also stated that when George Birchall had appeared in Liverpool Bankruptcy Court, he claimed a government potato order had badly affected his Bickerstaffe farm.
But William Forster of Cabbage Hall Farm in Windle begged to differ. He told the Registrar:
"Mr. Birchall is on the best farm in Lancashire, but he has never been sober for four years."
When the Registrar who was adjudicating the bankruptcy hearing asked Birchall if that claim was true, William Forster said: "Tell them the truth, George."
"It might be three", was all that poor George Birchall could say. Forster then added: "He could not cart the bottles away from the back of his house with the one horse that he has."
Women rarely took bets on the street but a few did inside their homes, which the authorities considered a more serious crime.
The Reporter described how Minnie Leyland of Water Street had appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with using her house for betting purposes.
Detective Higgs gave evidence that on Saturday, December 13th he had concealed himself in a position where he had a full view of Leyland's house and within less than an hour saw 11 women, 7 men, 15 boys and 16 girls (totalling 49 persons) go inside.
On the following Saturday, watching from the same vantage point – which would likely have been a neighbouring house – DC Higgs witnessed a similar number go into Mrs Leyland's home.
Later that day the police conducted a raid and found betting slips, coupons and money in many rooms.
Minnie Leyland had told the police: "All the betting done at our house is done by me and nobody else. My husband and daughters have nothing to do with it."
But Joseph Leyland was also charged because he was the householder.
And also in the dock were Frederick Leighton of Brook Street and Florence Grayson of Silver Street.
Despite all the police activity at the house, they had wandered inside while the raid was taking place bearing betting slips. Not a very wise thing to have done!
That said Fred Leighton came up with a creative excuse for his presence in the betting house saying he had gone to ask Joe Leyland if he wanted to go and watch a football game.
He insisted that he had given up betting a long time ago and had been wearing an old coat that he'd forgotten contained betting slips inside a pocket.
Surprisingly, the magistrates gave him the benefit of the doubt and dismissed the charge but Florence Grayson was bound over for 12 months.
The Leylands, however, were not treated so lightly. The husband insisted to the magistrates that he took no active part in the betting and had wanted his wife to give it up.
He said he had had many rows with Minnie over it but was still fined £10 and his wife received a hefty fine of £25.
The flooding at Watery Lane / Moss Nook in Sutton had been a nightmare for its residents for many years.
Often at times of heavy rains, the level of water in Sutton Brook had overflowed into neighbouring houses, sometimes causing locals to live only in their upstairs rooms.
But a scheme had taken place to try and improve matters and the Reporter said it was a case of so far, so good.
The recent heavy rains in the town had led to some parts of St Helens flooding.
And although a large expanse of water had collected at Moss Nook, none of the nearby houses had been affected.
For the last few years, public donations had paid for Christmas parties to be held each year for around 2,000 of the poorest children in St Helens.
Last December the Mayor of St Helens, Alderman Thomas Hamblett, said deciding which kids qualified for the parties had been problematic:
"It was a difficult and sometimes a painful task to single out the ten per cent. of poorest children from their classmates."
And so after discussing the matter with headmasters he decided to provide Christmas parties for all of the children attending the town's elementary schools.
In total about 20,000 kids had now received a party and the scheme funded by donations would operate in the town for many decades.
In this week's Reporter, the mayor thanked the public for their generous support that, he said, had made the parties "such a splendid success" and Alderman Hamblett added that the donations had totalled £430.
James Chadwick – whose address was stated as the Salisbury Street lodging house – was charged with having been drunk and incapable in Higher Parr Street on Christmas Day.
The police evidence was that at 10:45pm on Christmas night, Chadwick had been seen lying prostrate on the footpath. Chadwick's face was badly bruised, apparently caused by his fall.
The defendant told the Bench that he was 71-years-old and "have no mother to look after me now" and asked the magistrates to let him off at half price.
Asked to explain what he meant, Chadwick replied: "Why, if you fine me 2s. 6d. I expect you to let me off for 1s. 3d."
That evoked laughter in the courtroom but Chadwick did even better than half-price, as the charge against him was dismissed upon him promising not to come to court again.
And finally, the annual old folks treat was held on the 2nd at what was then known as the Robins Lane Council School in Sutton.
Five hundred persons over the age of 60 were entertained to tea and then a concert party performed for them.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the New Year's Day breakfasts for poor children, the Higher Grade Girls' New Year's parties, the opening of Newton Cottage Hospital and the man who claimed his punch up had not created a disturbance.
We begin at the start of the week when a series of unusual motoring offences were heard in St Helens Police Court.
Solicitor Allen Tickle of Laurel Road in St Helens was ordered to pay costs after leaving his motor car unattended on the street with its engine running.
Hand-cranking an engine to start a vehicle took some effort and so there was a temptation not to turn off the engine when stopping for a brief period.
Although electric self-starters became standard on new cars in the early 1920s, many older vehicles did not have them and self-starters could be unreliable. And so up until the 1960s, crank handles came with cars as a back up.
Garages were supposed to put trade number plates on cars while going on test runs.
Thomas Pilsh of the Lingholme Garage was ordered to pay court costs after moving a car from Liverpool to St Helens without such plates.
John Ashall who was foreman for the Windle Motor Company did have trade plates on a vehicle that he was repairing.
But there was an additional rule that stated that details of the temporary number transfer needed to be entered into a book and a copy carried in the car.
As a result of his failure to do so, Ashall was also ordered to pay court costs.
On New Year's Eve the Rainford Motor Club held a dance in the Village Hall.
The Reporter wrote: "The carnival spirit pervaded the atmosphere, and the many hued dresses of the ladies enhanced the kaleidoscopic scene created by the carnival with which the dancing hall had been decorated."
A group called the Manhattan Syncopators Band performed the music and the paper wrote that just before midnight "fairy horns", rattles etc. were handed round and the New Year was "enthusiastically heralded".
The St Helens Reporter's children's column prior to WW1 bore the motto "Love One Another" and was conducted by someone using the pseudonym "Daddy".
The shortage of newsprint during the war led to the column being axed. However, early in 1921 it was resurrected as the "The Children's Reporter", and "Daddy" became "Uncle Ben".
It was not until the death of William Gentry in 1954 that it was revealed that the longstanding editor of the Reporter had also been the mysterious Uncle Ben – and probably had been Daddy too.
That was not a great surprise as Gentry had a great interest in young people and for many years was chairman of the St Helens Juvenile Court.
This is how Uncle Ben introduced his column on the 2nd:
"My dear Boys and Girls, Well, the jollifications are all over now, and I hope none of you are any the worse for all the fun you have had and all the rich things you have eaten.
"Naturally, my post bag has fallen off considerably during the holidays, but I am not complaining of that, as no healthy boy or girl would dream of sitting down to write to an unknown uncle with Christmas and New Year festivities claiming all their attention.
"I have no doubt that as soon as what we call “the holiday spirit” wears off and we all get into our ordinary every day habits, you will keep the postman busy, and once more I shall have the pleasure of going through your interesting contributions and your delightfully chummy letters."
Many people used to work for the same employer for a very long time.
The Reporter profiled Arthur Marshall who now lived in Rainhill but for most of his life had been a resident of Church Street in St Helens.
Arthur had spent 60 years employed by Doulton and Co, initially at their old pottery site at Greenbank where Pilkingtons now kept a timber yard, before transferring to their works in Boundary Road where he mainly worked as a salesman.
And he said he had no intention of retiring from his job.
The Reporter also stated that when George Birchall had appeared in Liverpool Bankruptcy Court, he claimed a government potato order had badly affected his Bickerstaffe farm.
But William Forster of Cabbage Hall Farm in Windle begged to differ. He told the Registrar:
"Mr. Birchall is on the best farm in Lancashire, but he has never been sober for four years."
When the Registrar who was adjudicating the bankruptcy hearing asked Birchall if that claim was true, William Forster said: "Tell them the truth, George."
"It might be three", was all that poor George Birchall could say. Forster then added: "He could not cart the bottles away from the back of his house with the one horse that he has."
Women rarely took bets on the street but a few did inside their homes, which the authorities considered a more serious crime.
The Reporter described how Minnie Leyland of Water Street had appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with using her house for betting purposes.
Detective Higgs gave evidence that on Saturday, December 13th he had concealed himself in a position where he had a full view of Leyland's house and within less than an hour saw 11 women, 7 men, 15 boys and 16 girls (totalling 49 persons) go inside.
On the following Saturday, watching from the same vantage point – which would likely have been a neighbouring house – DC Higgs witnessed a similar number go into Mrs Leyland's home.
Later that day the police conducted a raid and found betting slips, coupons and money in many rooms.
Minnie Leyland had told the police: "All the betting done at our house is done by me and nobody else. My husband and daughters have nothing to do with it."
But Joseph Leyland was also charged because he was the householder.
And also in the dock were Frederick Leighton of Brook Street and Florence Grayson of Silver Street.
Despite all the police activity at the house, they had wandered inside while the raid was taking place bearing betting slips. Not a very wise thing to have done!
That said Fred Leighton came up with a creative excuse for his presence in the betting house saying he had gone to ask Joe Leyland if he wanted to go and watch a football game.
He insisted that he had given up betting a long time ago and had been wearing an old coat that he'd forgotten contained betting slips inside a pocket.
Surprisingly, the magistrates gave him the benefit of the doubt and dismissed the charge but Florence Grayson was bound over for 12 months.
The Leylands, however, were not treated so lightly. The husband insisted to the magistrates that he took no active part in the betting and had wanted his wife to give it up.
He said he had had many rows with Minnie over it but was still fined £10 and his wife received a hefty fine of £25.
Often at times of heavy rains, the level of water in Sutton Brook had overflowed into neighbouring houses, sometimes causing locals to live only in their upstairs rooms.
But a scheme had taken place to try and improve matters and the Reporter said it was a case of so far, so good.
The recent heavy rains in the town had led to some parts of St Helens flooding.
And although a large expanse of water had collected at Moss Nook, none of the nearby houses had been affected.
For the last few years, public donations had paid for Christmas parties to be held each year for around 2,000 of the poorest children in St Helens.
Last December the Mayor of St Helens, Alderman Thomas Hamblett, said deciding which kids qualified for the parties had been problematic:
"It was a difficult and sometimes a painful task to single out the ten per cent. of poorest children from their classmates."
And so after discussing the matter with headmasters he decided to provide Christmas parties for all of the children attending the town's elementary schools.
In total about 20,000 kids had now received a party and the scheme funded by donations would operate in the town for many decades.
In this week's Reporter, the mayor thanked the public for their generous support that, he said, had made the parties "such a splendid success" and Alderman Hamblett added that the donations had totalled £430.
James Chadwick – whose address was stated as the Salisbury Street lodging house – was charged with having been drunk and incapable in Higher Parr Street on Christmas Day.
The police evidence was that at 10:45pm on Christmas night, Chadwick had been seen lying prostrate on the footpath. Chadwick's face was badly bruised, apparently caused by his fall.
The defendant told the Bench that he was 71-years-old and "have no mother to look after me now" and asked the magistrates to let him off at half price.
Asked to explain what he meant, Chadwick replied: "Why, if you fine me 2s. 6d. I expect you to let me off for 1s. 3d."
That evoked laughter in the courtroom but Chadwick did even better than half-price, as the charge against him was dismissed upon him promising not to come to court again.
And finally, the annual old folks treat was held on the 2nd at what was then known as the Robins Lane Council School in Sutton.
Five hundred persons over the age of 60 were entertained to tea and then a concert party performed for them.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the New Year's Day breakfasts for poor children, the Higher Grade Girls' New Year's parties, the opening of Newton Cottage Hospital and the man who claimed his punch up had not created a disturbance.