Professor Hamilton's Diary: Jan. 29, 1935

The mid-winter vacations are cancelled; illegal booze found in a coal bin

While dealing with exams and a disputed classroom space with a chemistry professor —this colleague was “a bit peeved” — Professor Hamilton got the sad news today that there would be no vacation break between semesters “on account of several cases of measles in the dormitories.” Indeed, the new semester would begin in two days. “This cuts out our brief vacation of 5 days!” he lamented.

There was more news of liquor busts and alcohol poisoning in the Reading Times today, as well as this amusing ad for the “smartly modern Cocktail Lounge” at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel. Paid subscribers can read on about how Reading was slowly finding its way in liquor law enforcement, a little over a year after Prohibition ended.

By the way, that 30 cents translates to $6.67 in current dollars. Not bad!