My opening comments: A distant relative, the benefactor of this material was unable to be contacted. I was hoping to put some narrative and a personal story to this blog. We were unable to contact her perhaps for reasons of anonymity, privacy or health,we are not sure. In light of that we will present a timeline of John S. Fine Governor of Pennsylvania.
John Sydney Fine
1893
John Sydney Fine
was born in Alden on 10
April 1893 , the son of Jacob W. and Margaret C. Fine.
1896
The family moved
to Nanticoke
about this time. John S. attended Nanticoke
public schools, worked as a farm hand during the summer months, and also worked
about the mines.
1897
A handsome piano was purchased by Jacob Fine
yesterday. (WBR, Hanover column, Fri, 10/22/1897)
1898
Mrs. and Mrs. Jacob Fine, sons, John and
Franklin, and daughter Bertha resided in Rhone .
(WBR, Rhone column, Tues, 8/23/1898)
J.W. Fine was a member of Knights of the
Maccabees of the World, 1898 and a Nanticoke
1899
J.W. Fine has a baby boy. His son, John, is
ill with scarlet fever. (WBR, Tuesday, 2/21/1899)
Everette Fine, 2 months, son of Jacob Fine,
was interred in Newport
Cemetery Monday, 10 April 1899 . Pall
bearers were Maud Andrews, Ethel Cease, Blanche Whitebread and Katie Carr.
(WBR, Rhone column, Friday 4/14/1899)
Mrs. Jacob Fine and daughter Bertha spent
Thursday in WB. (WBR, Sat, 6/10/1899)
Jacob Fine, who was burned in the Auchincloss
engine house, is improving. (WBR, Wednesday, 7/26/1899)
Bertha Fine was a graduate of the High School
(1901) and teacher in the Nanticoke Kingston
1911
John S. Fine graduated
from Nanticoke HS. While attending HS, Fine became an assistant to TA McHenry,
in charge of the Nanticoke
department of the WB Record. Fine showed an aptitude for journalistic work, which
augured well for his success in that field and in his later legal profession.
John Fine and
John Smith left for Carlyle to take up the study of law at Dickinson College.
(9/23/11)
1912
Fine took the preliminary examinations before the State Board in Phil. A
total of 165 applicants tested and only 31 passed, of which Fine was one of the
latter. (2/15/12)
1914
Friends of John Fine will be pleased to know that he has successfully
passed his examination at Dickinson College at Carlisle and was handed his
diploma a few days ago. (5/2/14)
Date? Fine was
admitted to practice at the Luzerne County Bar and became connected with the
law office of Attorney Clarence Coughlin (later Judge Coughlin).
1915
Opened a law
office at 15 E. Main in the former rooms of
Atty. James M. Fritz over O’Brien’s Drug Store. (4/1/15)
1916
John S. Fine became
a candidate for Republican State Committeeman for the 20th
Senatorial District. (WBR 2/17/1916)
1916-20
District chairman
of the Fourth Legislative District of Luzerne County.
1917-18
Fine and Hale
Coughlin were among the first to volunteer for military service during WWI. After
a period in officer’s training camp at Madison Barracks, they were commissioned
first lieutenants and assigned to duty with labor battalions in the South. In
the early stages of the war, both men were sent to France with the
Expeditionery Forces of the 28th Division, where they saw active
service until the end of the war.
1918-19
After the close
of WWI, Fine entered Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland, where he
pursued the study of law before returning to the US.
Franklin Fine,
son of Mr. and Mrs. John Fine of Middle Road and brother of Atty. John S. Fine,
was a veteran of WWI. He was a member of the Medical Corps stationed in the
general hospital at Ft. Ontario, Oswego. (WBR 8/7/1918)
1919
Fine returned to
the US and opened a law office at 34 E. Main. (1919 CD)
1920
Fine and Atty. E.
Foster Heller of WB were alternates for the advance guard of the local GOP
attending the Republican National Convention in Chicago where nominations for
the next president of the US were about to begin. (6/5/20)
Served as
secretary of the Luzerne County Republican committee (1920-21), by
appointedment of Asher Miner.
1921
John S. Fine was
appointed instructor in the law course in the WB Extension School of Accounts
and Finance of the Wharton School of the University of PA. (WBR, Saturday, 1/22/1921)
Fine supported
Gifford Pinchot in his bid for the governorship of PA, thereby opposing the
political machine of Luzerne County, which was supporting William G. Altar.
After winning the election, Pinchot never failed to show his gratitude to Fine
for his help.
1922
Attorney John S.
Fine has returned to his home after spending several days at Washington. (WBR,
Saturday, 1/28/1922)
John S. Fine was
elected Republican county chairman, and was chairman of the Luzerne County
Pinchot-for-Senator committee. He began building a party machine, and for the
next 35 years the Fine Organization delivered votes to the party each election.
1923
JS Fine’s office
was at 34 E. Main and his residence was on Middle Road . (City Directory)
Franklin Fine and
Walter Walp, juniors at the Dental College of Temple University, have gone to
Philadelphia where they will resume their studies. (WBR, Wednesday, 10/3/1923)
1927
John S. Fine took
the oath of office as Luzerne County Judge in Bellevue-Stratford Hotel,
Philadelphia, on 3 January. Fine, who was named by Governor Pinchot, filled the
vacancy caused by the death of Judge John M. Garman on Thanksgiving Day, 1925.
Judge Fine, who was in Atlantic City recovering from a cold, was advised to
take the oath of office before 10AM on the morning of 4 January when the PA
Senate was due to convene. This step was taken to prevent the necessity of
Judge Fine’s name going before the Senate for confirmation, which would have
been the case if he had been appointed after the Legislature convened. Unable
to reach Harrisburg in the appointed time, Fine took a late train to
Philadelphia on the night of 3 January where he met John Brace of Plymouth, who
had brought the judge’s commission from Harrisburg. After a frantic search for
an available notary public to administer the oath of office to Mr. Fine, Mr.
Brace located Nathan Goldstein, a notary public and taxi driver (the only
notary public/taxi driver in the city), who administered the oath of office to
Fine at 11:57PM on 3 January. Fine thus became the only Judge of the US who
ever took the oath of office from a taxi driver. At age 32, Fine was the
youngest man to serve as a common pleas judge in PA. He was a member of several
fraternal organizations, including the Mason, POS of A, Nanticoke Lodge Knights
of Pythias, and Fraternal Order of Moose. He was a member of the Reciprocity
Club and attended St. George’s Episcopal Church, Alden. (1/4/27) (1/6/27)
A number of
public-spirited citizens of Nanticoke met and outlined tentative plans for a
big testimonial dinner to be given in honor of Judge Fine at the Broadway Armory.
(Jan)
On July 20, Judge
Fine announced his candidacy for continued tenure on the Luzerne County bench,
after a delay of several weeks during which he had “made a careful analysis of
the judicial situation.” Member of Nanticoke Post of the American Legion, Elks,
several Masonic bodies, POS of A, Junior Mechanics, Reciprocity Club, etc.
(7/21/27)
Re-elected a
Judge of Luzerne County, with 42,446 votes. (11/9/27)
Mr. and Mrs.
Jacob W. Fine of Nanticoke, parents of Judge John S. Fine, celebrated their
golden wedding anniversary on 25 December 1927. (WB Record Almanac)
1928
Fine’s commission
as Luzerne County Judge expired on the first Monday in January (2 January).
(He had been re-elected to a second term.)
(He had been re-elected to a second term.)
From: Eastern Pennsylvanians; Eastern Pennsylvania
Biographical Association, 1928
1931
The State
administration wing of the Republican Party organization in
retained control of offices gained in 1930, and by winning every office in the
1931 campaign gained power and influence. A spirited battle was staged between
State administration faction headed by Judge John S. Fine, Arthur Nicholson and
Ambrose Langan, and the Old Guard faction, led by William P. Gallagher and
former Lt. Gov. Arthur H. James. Candidates endorsed by the Fine-Nicholson-Langan
group at the primary won Republican and Democratic
nominations with few exceptions.
Luzerne County
nominations with few exceptions.
(Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac)
1931
1934
1935
1936
1937
1939
Fine was
re-elected county judge.
1942
Fine ran in the
Republican primary election for State Supreme
Court and lost.
Court and lost.
1943
John Sydney Fine, 76 W. Main Street,
Nanticoke (Nanticoke Telephone Directory listing, 1943)
1947
Governor Duff
appointed Fine to the State Superior Court (10-year term).
1950
Fine resigned his
position in the Superior Court on 1 March to seek the Republican candidacy for
governor of PA.
Fine became one
of the “Blue Bell Boys” of the Duff faction of the Republican Party in the 1950
primary. He won the nomination by defeating Jay Cooke of Philadelphia by
201,923 votes. In the general election he defeated Democrat Richardson Dilworth
in an extremely close election.
Under the
direction of Mayor Dreier and Chief of Police John Smereski, and a committee of
public officials and representative citizens, plans were made for a motorcade
and street demonstration in honor of Nanticoke’s native son, former judge John
S. Fine. The event was held in conjunction with the Duff-Fine rally at the
Kingston Armory. (Date?)
During the
campaign in October Fine’s wife, Helene, 42, fell from a platform and died
while undergoing brain surgery at University Hospital in Philadelphia, leaving
Fine with the upbringing of his two sons, John, 10, and Donald, 7. He never
fully recovered from the loss, which colored the rest of his private and public
life.
1951
Fine entered the
Governor’s office on 16 January knowing he had to raise $120 million in new tax
money to meet the increased cost of government, especially education. He asked
for a state income tax of one half of one percent, which would have meant a tax
of $50 on a salary of $10,000 a year. The tax passed the house but was killed
in the senate.
The 1951
legislature did pass some outstanding pieces of legislature, including laws to
begin the care of drug addicts, an indeterminate sentence program for sex
offenders, job retraining, and teacher pay raises.
1953
The state’s first
bicentennial $1 billion budget was approved and Fine was forced to take the 1%
sales tax to pay for it. The slogan “a penny for Fine” became popular and
seriously damaged his reputation.
1952
Fine received a
major blow from the unfavorable publicity he drew at the 1952 GOP national
convention. He headed the 70-member PA delegation, which was split between
General Eisenhower and Senator Robert Taft. Fine was caught in the confusion
and televised coast to coast as he raged to be recognized by the chair. It is
ironical that he was a victim of the searing eye of television, for he had been
the first governor to have his inaugural televised
1953
Governor Fine
urged the PA legislature to approve educational TV. His 1953 legislature
redistricted the State House for the first time in 32 years, approved a program
of area technical schools, and established the Governor’s Commission on
Industrial Race Relations. Fine set up the Chesterman Committee to find means
for modernizing government, and many of its suggestions were adopted by the
Leader Administration.
Letter to Eugene A. Hudak, City Clerk
1954
Letter to Thomas B. Thomas, City Clerk
1955
1957
Fine sought a
position on the Orphans Court of Luzerne County but was defeated. He farmed at
Loyalville in Luzerne County and then in March 1961 was indicted for income tax
invasion. While under indictment he remarried, and in May 1962 was declared
innocent of the tax charges.
1966
John S. Fine of
Loyalville, a life member of Nanticoke VFW Post 290, was principal speaker at a
testimonial dinner in honor of Louis T. Giusti, a long time quartermaster of
the local veterans organization. The dinner was held at the American Legion on
5 March. (Sunday Ind., 2/20/1966; with photo)
1971
1977
1978
Short Biography of
John S. Fine
1982
Road To Success
(Times-Leader, 5/26/1982)
1986
Oil Painting of John
S. Fine Presented to Board of Education
2007
2008
John S. Fine, Jr.
Married: Mariellen Daw
Children: John S. Fine III; Helene
