Last update of this page 2023.SEP.28
Jacob established his family and his business in Mocanaqua, Pennsylvania, at the turn of the 20th century. We do not know the forces that influenced this decision. The house and store were located at the corner of Main Street and Pond Hill Road.
Detail is lacking for this picture, but the two-story family house and cinder block garage are clear. The cluster at the right could perhaps be the Simon children. The date is uncertain.
This item appeared in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, 1915.MAR.11. Among other activities, Jacob was keeping a hotel. It’s not known whether this was part of the family house or at an adjacent building. The charges include selling to miners on credit (yes, the area had miners), selling to minors, keeping a disorderly house, and gambling. No record has been found as to how this case was resolved.
Jacob sold furniture, and perhaps other goods, and turned eventually to automobiles and auto parts.
Jacob registered an automobile in 1917.
Prohibition started in 1920. In this 1921 incident, reported in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader on 1921.FEB.05, Jacob was arrested in Berwick for transporting liquor. He spent the night in jail.
We don’t know what this 1922 activity was all about. It’s possible Jacob purchased a plot of land from the Sabatini family.
Jacob had a business card. At this point the business had diversified to include automobiles. The home phone went through an operator.
Jacob was also a bail bondsman. There is a risk to this! This account in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, 1927.DEC.01, is a case in which the accused fled, costing Jacob the $10,000 he had put up as bail.
The sum is impressive. It would be about $175,000 in 2023 dollars.
A letter from Maury Simon to Gary Simon, April 24, 2012, contains the sentence “Also, if I remember correctly, Grandpa Simon was involved in the boot-legging business during Prohibition.” This is confirmed by the 1921 newspaper report above. It is plausible that Maury heard this story from his father, Nate. Jacob’s obituary in the Pittston Gazette, May 6, 1929, noted “He was a familiar figure at Luzerne County Court House as professional bondsman.”