Tuesday, February 21, 2023

What were some of the ordinances back in the day....

 I decided to have some fun. In 1910 a booklet was created that contained the Villages Ordinances for Springville, lets learn about some of them.

Part of Ordinances 1,read that… No person shall within the limits of said

Village keep or maintain any disorderly or gambling house or house of ill fame. No

Person shall take part in or join, aid, or abet any riotous or tumultuous assemblage

upon the streets on in doorways or stairways adjacent thereto or loiter about such

places. (Geez, you need a dictionary to figure out some of these don’t you) And, no

person shall use or engage in any profane, vulgar or obscene language or conduct in

upon the street or public places. (guess you got to keep your swearing to you own

home!) No person shall, on Sunday, nor upon any other day, between the setting and

rising of the sun, make or contribute to the making of any loud noises, or fires, or

discharging of guns, or be guilty of any loud hallooing, or yelling or blowing

trumpets, beating on fences boards, buildings or rattling any sticks or bones, oh and

no ball playing or any other games on Sunday. WOW, can you believe that. If you

violated this ordinance, you shall for each offence forfeit and pay the sum of $10 for

the use of the Village.

To give you and idea you could by a nice coat or a suit for $10, a dress was

from $2 to $10, a pair of shoes, $4 and up, a kitchen cupboard was $7.50 – $16.00,

Coffee was 25 cents a pound, Bread 10 to 15 cents a loaf, so we are not talking a

small sum they had to pay.

The Ordinances regarding sidewalk usages read in part as follows …No

person shall ride, drive or lead any horse, team, cow or other animal on sidewalk

except a dog. No person shall slide upon any sidewalk on a sleigh, sled board or

other contrivance. No person shall by selling or advertising goods upon the streets,

attract a crowd and obstruct the sidewalk. No person shall construct any sidewalk,

except under the supervision, and on accordance with the direction of the street

commissioner. Again, if these are violated you shall be pay the sum of ten dollars for

the use of the Village.

Now this next group of Ordinance (#3) is the best … ready, Every person

operating a motor vehicle on any of the public streets or alleys of the Village shall

drive in a careful and prudent manner and at a rate of speed not to exceed 15 miles

per hour. The Model T during this time frame could go up to 45 miles per hour, got

20 to 30 miles per gallon, and started with a crank, just to give you an idea. No

person shall race or run any horse or team or engage in fast driving or trial of speed

in or upon any street, lane or alley in Village. No car, engines, or trains shall stand

upon any street crossing longer than five minutes at one time. No person shall

cause, authorize or permit any horse, cattle, sheep, swine or other animals to run a

large upon the streets or alleys or public ground. The same fine would apply as the

others if violated… a sum of ten dollars for the use of the Village.

Ordinances 5 reads in part, no person shall swim or bathe in open water,

exposed to the public, within the bounding of the Village. Now we laugh at some of

these, but if you think about it, for there to be an Ordnances, these thing must have

happened. No person shall willfully or maliciously break, tear, injure, remove or

deface any building, fence, awning, sign board, tree etc, in the Village, including

inciting or inducing dogs to fight, anywhere on the streets or public places. If these

were violated a sum of ten dollars was charged for the use of the Village.

 

Ordinance 7 was for the licensing occupation and read , no person shall

pursue or exercise any of the following trades or occupations within the Village,

without first obtaining a license, for Auctioneering, except sales by executors,

administrators, or by residents in good faith disposing of their goods, three to ten

dollars a day for license. Hawking and Peddling was two dollars a day, Circuses,

theatres, exhibition or performances, amusement devices, was fifteen dollars a day.


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