Photo of the Month

Bloomsburg crowded with thousands and thousands of visitors hosted a two day celebration, August 8 and 9, 1919, to honor those who served in World War I. The local newspaper, The Morning Press, described the event in a headline: "Greatest Day in Bloomsburg’s History As She Gave Royal Welcome to County Soldiers." There was a wide range of activities such as band concerts, baseball games, wrestling, boxing, bicycle racing, horse racing, block dance party, turkey dinner for servicemen, fireworks display, and, most importantly, a big parade. It began on a beautiful Friday afternoon at two o’clock with 750 servicemen from all the branches and nurses plus numerous floats, bands, and Red Cross volunteers. The parade formed on East Street, turned onto Main Street and proceeded west to Leonard Street, and then counter-marched back to West Street in order to reach Fifth Street to return to East Street. From there it then returned to Main Street and continued to Market Street, turning south to Fifth Street, and counter-marched to Town Hall. The route was two and half miles long and took one hour for it to pass. Also included in the military pageant were seventy some Civil War veterans. The newspaper account concluded: "It was a sight such as Bloomsburg has never before seen – a sight that will ever remain as one of the brightest pages in its history, that of its county boys accepting the hospitality of the town and themselves making by far the finest feature of the parade."