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Becoming a City Took More Than a Vote

From the 1947 referendum to the 1950 organization of government, Shamokin’s city status arrived through several steps.

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Thomas F. Landy taking an oath before Judge Robert M. Fortney while other city officials stand nearby, with the original newspaper caption below.
Shamokin’s city government takes office, 1950Thomas F. Landy takes the oath of office before Judge Robert M. Fortney during the January 2, 1950 organization of city government. The ceremony was one step in the transition to city government, following the 1947 referendum and 1949 charter action.Image date: January 2, 1950; published January 3, 1950Credit: Shamokin News-Dispatch photo, published January 3, 1950

Shamokin’s transition from borough to city was a process, not a single ceremony. Voters considered the change in a referendum on November 4, 1947. Reports in February 1949 then described Governor James Duff’s action on the city charter.

The next stage put people into the new government. In November 1949, Landy was reported elected mayor, with Persing, Kehler, Badman, and Wiest elected to council. On January 2, 1950, the organization of city government included oaths and the assignment of departmental responsibilities.

The appointments of solicitor Kearney and clerk Wary were part of that practical beginning. A change in municipal status had to become an operating administration. Seen together, the referendum, charter, election, and organization explain why more than one date appears in Shamokin’s story of becoming a city. Each marks a different step rather than a competing version of the same event.

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Four newspaper portraits labeled Persing, Badman, Kehler and Wiest, with their heading and complete identifying caption.
Four councilmen before the transition to city governmentPortraits published November 9, 1949 identify, from left, Persing, Badman, Kehler and Wiest as the four men who would serve with Mayor-elect Thomas Landy. Landy is not pictured in this group. The photograph date is unknown; this is an election-era portrait group, not the January 1950 induction ceremony. The printed heading, names and full caption are preserved.Image date unknownCredit: Shamokin News-Dispatch, November 9, 1949; photographers uncredited