For Historic Trenton’s Day in the Life, we’re looking back through newspapers from the beginning and examining everyday problems, solutions, and needs during historic Trenton’s past. Today, we return to Thursday, December 24, 1908, as the city swings into the holiday spirit.

In an article featuring the city’s celebration of Christmas, it was revealed how and where (addresses included) each of the city representatives were going to be spending their holiday. This included Mayor Walter Madden, who spent his Christmas on South Broad Street dressing up as Santa Clause and Tax Receiver Andrew J Berrien at 629 Monmouth Street, who would have a Christmas tree for his dog to play around.

While hotels and restaurants offered special menus throughout the city and rented out their evening dinner spaces to parties, The Salvation Army distributed baskets of provisions and serval hundred children of St. Joachim’s Parish gave out gifts at the church Rectory. The Nurses at Mercer Hospital set up three different trees for their patients across the hospital. The sisters of St. James Day Nursery tried to make Christmas Day a happy one for the children of Trenton by giving them little “articles of amusement” and a decorated Christmas tree.

Patrolmen Adams was in the news that day for laughing so much in the morning that he could hardly make an arrest. He was arresting Andrew Dura, who was walking down Broad street with a live duck in one hand and a dead duck in another. Dura stepped from side to side as the times reported the duck making quite the commotion on the street. To quote the times,” the dead duck, the live duck, and Dura were all taken before Sergeant Zenker.  The man was put in a cell, the live duck was put in the yard, and the dead duck was locked up for safekeeping over Christmas.”

The holiday spirit certainly was alive and well in Trenton as the papers reported on making news across the city.

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