Here’s a holiday cartoon that greeted readers of the New Era 100 years ago, on Jan. 1, 1909:

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If you still haven’t made up your mind about New Year’s resolutions, or are just looking for some ways to mark the holiday or avoid problems in 2009, here are a few ideas from the Dec. 30, 1933, New Era.

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One hundred years ago, in December 1908, the U.S. economy was rebounding from the “Panic of 1907,” in which the stock market had fallen 50 percent from its peak in 1906.
The nation was still in recession in early 1908, but was recovering by the end of the year. That’s the context for this cartoon, which […]

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In recognition of the tough economy and tight household budgets, Lancaster’s Theater of the Seventh Sister has adopted a “Pay What You Will” policy for the entire run of its Dec. 10-28 production of “A Christmas Carol.”
“We decided to offer the play as a way to open up to the community in the spirit of […]

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Old-timers sometimes refer to how much less crime there was in Lancaster 40, 50 or 60 years ago, compared with today, but you wouldn’t know it from this list of warnings city police had for holiday shoppers in 1958.
Their recommendations: Lock your doors and windows when you go out, guard your pocketbook, avoid crowds, don’t talk to strangers, and beware […]

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Layaway is back! Can Christmas savings clubs be far behind?
Credit cards allow you to buy things before you have the money. Layaway allows you to put them on hold until you have the money.
With the old-fashioned savings clubs, shoppers put money aside throughout the year, then withdrew it in time to do their holiday shopping with cash, when they had the money. […]

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Halloween shenanigans are nothing new. And sometimes, they can truly get out of hand.
In 1958, the annual Halloween celebration on North Queen Street was canceled because of a raucous melee the previous year, in which “girls had their clothing torn off and were molested by gangs of young hoodlums,” according to police Chief William B. Hershner. (New Era, […]

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