By: Iris Naylor
Today is St. Bartholomew’s Day.
It was once thought the weather on St. Bartholomew’s Day was an indication of the weather during the coming autumn.
The Beacon predicted in 1898, since the day was "intensely hot," that Lambertville and vicinity would have a hot autumn.
The week prior to St. Bartholomew’s Day brought a severe storm to the valley. High winds and heavy rains leveled the cornfields. Fire, caused by lightning, leveled Jacob Johnson’s barn on Goat Hill.
The brutal summer heat didn’t bother John I. Blair who celebrated his 96th birthday in August and planned to enjoy several more. It certainly didn’t bother 90-year-old William Watson of Raven Rock who worked at haying and harvesting all summer and boasted that he could run a foot race with any young man. He did not boast that he could win.
The heat did bother the quarrymen in Stockton. They were forced to start work at 6 a.m. and quit at 11 a.m. because the sun reflecting off the sides of the quarries and the lack of air circulation made unbearable working conditions.
On the fashion scene in 1898, it was predicted skirts would be longer in the fall, thus insuring cleaner sidewalks. Hat pins were found to be as important as the hats they pinned since one Lambertville lady almost missed the excursion train to Ocean Grove because she couldn’t find her hat pins.
The Spanish-American war was finally over, and the town was looking forward to greeting the local members of the 4th regiment, only to find they were not coming home because they were going to do garrison duty in Puerto Rico or in Cuba.
September brought a cold wave that dropped the temperature some 20 degrees in the evening. That ended what was reported to be the longest and most excessive late summer hot spell the area had ever experienced.
Contractor George W. Arnett began to build four new houses, two on Perry Street and two on George Street. The houses would contain bathrooms and hot and cold water throughout.
The chief conversation around town centered on the coming winter weather. Ragweed was found to be unusually tall, which meant deep snow to the weather predictors. The corn husks were thick and heavy, indicating the coming winter would be intensely cold. Nature observers noticed in late October that apple trees and honeysuckle were blooming again, and red raspberries were producing a second crop while the leaves on the trees were still green.
Members of the Hibernia Fire Company left town by train Oct. 4 to take part in the annual parade of the New Brunswick Fire Department. They took with them the 20-piece Liberty Band, the engine, 60 members of the company and assorted well-wishers.
They also took a beautiful silk banner, green on one side, dark red on the other, fringed with gold and inscribed with the name of the company and the date it was incorporated. The entire banner was made in Lambertville.
The members wore dark green suits with caps to match. They did spectacular fancy marching with difficult maneuvers, executed with great precision, and were applauded all along the line of march. When they returned home, they were greeted with a display of fireworks.
At its next meeting, the Hibernia Fire Company passed a resolution giving thanks to those who helped make their participation in the parade a success, including the City Council for its unanimous consent to take the steam engine out of the city.
