WORLD WAR I ARMISTICE CELEBRATION

IN CATAWISSA, NOVEMBER 11, 1918

The German government in early October 1918 reached the conclusion they had no hope of winning World War I. Rather than face an invasion of their country by the Allied forces, Germany decided to pursue negotiations with the United States to end the fighting. After a month of diplomatic negotiations among the different countries and with increasing pressure from Allied forces, Germany accepted an armistice based on Wilson’s fourteen points with two reservations: freedom of the seas would not be open to discussion and the Germans would have to pay reparations for damages inflicted on Allied property. News quickly spread throughout the world when Allies informed the German government the terms of the armistice on November 8. Three days later, the parties signed the armistice at five o’clock in the morning on November 11 which stipulated the fighting would end at eleven o’clock in the morning.

When news reached the country that an armistice was near at hand countless communities made plans to celebrate the end of the war. When the fighting ended on November 11, this date became known as Armistice Day; today it is now called Veterans’ Day. The above photograph taken by A. R. Johnson is a snapshot of Catawissa’s celebration that occurred at the intersection of Main, Fourth and Mill Streets. A crowd consisting of young and older residents, intermingled with cars and a horse and buggy, and with American flags interspersed, looked south on Main Street at a raised platform. In the upper right corner is the front of the Opera House built in 1869 and the building is still in use.