A note on arithmetic congruences

By analyzing the coefficients of the power series defining the Kubota--Leopoldt $p$-adic $L$-function associated to the non-trivial character of a real quadratic field, we prove a congruence of Ankeny--Artin--Chowla-type for prime power modulus. Additionally, we show how some classical congruences relating Bernoulli numbers and Wilson quotients fit naturally into the theory of the $p$-adic Riemann zeta function.