IT IS STILL ON THE BOOKS

IT IS STILL ON THE BOOKS

BY

JACK GOUDSWARD

Ever since our town was founded Borough Ordinances have been enacted. Ordinances like clearing sidewalks and Fire Hydrants reflect to need for public safety and fire protection. But many of them reflect the changes in the town over the years and are still on the books.

One case in point is Ordinance # 33- “Licensing and regulating Cemeteries and Mausoleums”. This was enacted to address the fact that the dearly departed were being laid to rest on the family farm. This was a common practice that is still practiced on farms in other states to this day.  This was enacted on December 28, 1931. This was later superseded with Ordinance #139 prohibiting the interment on private land.

Another one is Ordinance # 58 “Concerning stray cattle, horses, sheep and etc. running at large”. This was enacted in April 13, 1944 in response of roaming livestock eating “Victory Gardens” planted during World War II to stem the rationing of food. This was a large problem around Pulis Ave. It seems the owner would walk his livestock to the road cut of the new Rt. 208 to eat the grass and brush there. But the livestock had other ideas. They would return home and on their way find better food to eat.

Lastly there is Ordinance #75. This is listed as “Prohibiting the running at large domestic fowl”. This was created on March 24, 1948 in response to a problem. When the town was still rural people were allowed to own and raise all types of fowl. But again they would escape and visit gardens, crops and ornamental planting in neighbors’ yards and farms. This Ordinance addressed ways to curtail this problem.

The above Ordinances are amusing but they serve a large function. They show the growth of the town and the problems faced. It also shows the ways the town government took to address the problems and the steps taken to fix the problems. The Ordinances also give us a yard stick to measure how far our town has come since it came into being in 1922.