HISTORY: We’ve enjoyed sharing information from Curly Walters about what Bradford was like in 1899.

Here’s some more.

“Telephone service is gaining popularity. Most businesses have a three digit number.”

To think today, only about 46 percent of households still have landline telephones at their homes. Most are wireless only, according to the Center for Disease Control National Health Information Survey.

“Three-hundred cases of the ‘grippe’ and diphtheria sweep the city. Quarantine is 14 days for each case.” The grippe was an old-fashioned term for influenza.

Another item of note was the rise in popularity of bicycling, and the perceived scandal that might arise for female riders.

“Bicycling is the rage in the city, and nearly a dozen bicycle clubs are formed. The Bradford Era wonders how girls are going to be able to ride a bicycle and still remain a lady.

“So many people get run down by enthusiastic bicyclists that the city passes an ordinance requiring all bikes to have a bell attached to warn those in its path. This ordinance still stands.”

The information also lists a few specific dates and brief synopses of major stories of the day.

On Jan. 1, 1899, “The new city jail is opened in the rear of the new City Hall building on the corner of Kennedy and Boylston streets. The first inmate is named Frank Brown, who is accused of kidnapping Grace Lee, age 14, and the murder of a DuBois man.”

On Jan. 18, 1899, “Terrific windstorms level 150 derricks in the Bradford area.” That must have been a costly storm.

We particularly liked this next story, about the town garbage man and local character’s mule causing a bit of a ruckus.

On Feb. 8, 1899, “Eddie Dollivar’s mule scares David Phillips’ horse, which promptly jumps off the Mechanic Street bridge to the ice 12 feet below. Neither Phillips nor the horse are injured.”

What a sight that must have been!