17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, August 21, 1912: Went to Watsontown this afternoon.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Watsontown was about one and a half miles east of the Muffly farm. Why did Grandma go there?
Since school was going to start in a few days, maybe she went to Watsontown to shop for school supplies . . . or maybe she went there to run an errand for her mother or father. . . or to . . .
I’ve previously shown you photos of downtown Watsontown, so today I’m going to show you some of the industries.
Watsontown was a small, but bustling industrial town at the time that Grandma was writing the diary. Over the last forty years or so, Watsontown has had lots of struggles as industries have moved abroad, but it currently seems to be on an upswing.
A hundred years ago the major industries were the Watsontown Door and Sash Company (later it was the Philco plant and now Moran Industries is located on the site), the Watsontown Boot and Shoe Company, and the Watsontown Steam Flour Mill.
Just outside of town were two brick Companies—Watsontown Brick and Keystone Brick (later Glen-Gery).
A Hundred Years Ago 
Kudo’s to those who stay and keep the economy rolling along so that families can enjoy a similar life as previous generations. It’s all to familiar to see town main streets boarded and neglected.
Watsontown is very fortunate to still have a really nice downtown area. There are some nice places to eat there as well as other businesses.