The Great Pretenders provided the entertainment last night at the carnival. The parade route took a different route last night than scheduled and as a result a number of families did not get to see the parade. The parade route was scheduled to end by going up Third Street to North Street, the street on which it began. For unknown reasons, the parade route changed to Everett Street vice North Street. A number of on-lookers had nothing to look on!

Over a million volunteer firefighters serve their communities on a daily basis, community-minded individuals racing towards the fire station—day or night—to answer the call for help. And the old days of joining a volunteer fire department have changed. It isn't just donning a heavy canvas coat and duck-billed fire helmet and jumping out of bed at the first sound of the old siren wail. Thos days have changed, folks! The training is hard, technical, and covers a wide variety of hazardous conditions and there are plenty of rules, policies, procedures, and standards in the organization. The next time you hear the fire alarm blow, say a little prayer for your friend and neighbor—your local fireman.

Miniature donkeys Libby and April lead handlers Benny Pasukinis and Julie Beishline before last night's Pet and Toy Parade.

Mature miniature donkeys are easily trained to pull carts and to be ridden by small children. Miniature donkeys are native to the Mediterranean Islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

Quote of the Day:
"I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position."
--Mark Twain

There was a time when gasoline taxes were less than a cent per gallon, so gas sellers had to devise some way to build this into the price. For example, the tax on a 49-cent gallon of gas (that would have been a few decades ago) may have been 0.25 of a cent, so that price would be correctly spelled out as $0.4925. Although taxes today are much more than 1 cent per gallon, the practice of listing the price with fractions has remained customary.

Congress recently enacted a new tax law called the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, providing significant tax cuts to individuals, families, investors and businesses and is generally retroactive to the beginning of 2003.
Here is a quick rundown of the new law's key provisions, remembering that in matters of advice of the law, finances or the heart, professional help is recommended!
• For individuals: Under the new law, more of your income will be taxed at the 10% rate. Tax rates above the 15% bracket are reduced. Under the old rules, the tax brackets for middle- and upper-income taxpayers were 27%, 30%, 35%, and 38.6%. The new rates are 25%, 28%, 33% and 35% respectively.
• For families: The old rules permitted families to claim a $600 tax credit for each dependent child under age 17. The new law temporarily increases the credit to $1,000 per child. The new law contains two provisions to help alleviate the so-called marriage penalty. The new law increases the basic standard deduction for married couples filing jointly from $7,950 to $9,500. The new law also widens the 15% tax bracket for marrieds filing jointly.
• For investors: The new law reduces the tax rates on long-term capital gain. Under the old rules, with certain exceptions, the maximum capital gains tax rate was 20% for taxpayers in a regular income tax bracket above 15%. For taxpayers in the 15% bracket, the maximum rate was 10%. The new law reduces the maximum rates to 15% and 5%, respectively, effective for sales on or after May 6, 2003. The new law also reduces the tax that investors pay on dividends. Under the old rules, dividends were taxed at ordinary income rates, just like salaries or interest income. But under the new law, most dividends will qualify for the new lower capital gain rates.
• For businesses: The new law increases the bonus depreciation allowance to 50%. A tax law enacted in 2002 temporarily created a bonus depreciation allowance on the purchase of new equipment and machinery of 30% of the cost of their purchases—over and above their regular depreciation deductions. The new law also increases the Section 179 deduction for small businesses. Previously, small businesses could immediately expense up to $25,000 of their equipment and machinery purchases annually in lieu of depreciation. The new law increases the Section 179 deduction to $100,000 and makes more small businesses eligible for the deduction.

The Columbia County Historical & Genealogical Society is republishing the Jamison City book, A Quiet Boomtown, sometime this fall, and the reprint will include an additional chapter. The first printing of the Craig Newton and James Sperry book came out in 1972.

Political Quote of the Day:
"You know, everybody makes mistakes when they are president."
--Bill Clinton, on faulty intelligence included in President George W. Bush's State of the Union message.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission will soon mail its annual in-lieu-of-tax payments for State Game Lands it owns in 65 of the state's 67 counties. The Game Commission's checks, totaling $1,706,403.63 for the 2003 tax year, will be sent to county treasurers, school districts and municipalities. In 1929, the General Assembly set the Game Commission's in-lieu-of-tax payments at five cents per acre. In 1963, the rate was increased to 20 cents per acre; in 1980, 39 cents per acre; in 1984, 60 cents per acre; and in 1995, the rate was set at the present $1.20 per acre. This $1.20 per acre is evenly divided between the county, school district and municipal governments based on the acres of State Game Lands that are within each political subdivision. The Game Commission currently pays on a total of 1,422,002.95 acres statewide, with Columbia County getting $25,838.85 and Sullivan county getting $72,406.05.

For months gasoline has sold briskly in Benton, as the price matched or stayed under surrounding areas. In Bloomsburg yesterday, gas prices were much under ours. Coupled with the opening of the new Giant store, the supermarket fuel debuted with a price of $1.19 per gallon for regular gasoline, compared with Benton's $1.47 and Bloomsburg's $1.49 per gallon. Sheetz and Sunoco A-Plus on Route 11 matched the price.

July 30, 2003. Happy birthday to Baltimore, founded on this date in 1729, to staff reporter Chloe, now two, and to auto maker Henry Ford, born in 1863. He started the Ford Motor Co. in 1903 and was the father of the Model T—which originally sold for $850 and slowly dropped lower than $280. By 1925, he was producing almost 2 million a year.

The Johnny Jolin Band provided the music last night.

Don't forget the Pet and Toy Parade tonight. It forms on North Street at 6:30 PM and moves at 7 PM. The parade route is East on North Street to Main, South on Main to Market, then West to Third Street, North on Third Street to the end of the parade at North Street. The Great Pretenders provide the music tonight.

We ought to start thinking about the Fireman's Parade and the huge water battle in town Saturday night, the last night of the carnival. Here is the scoop... The parade forms—now we are talking Saturday night here, not tonight—at the Rodeo grounds and will move out Mendenhall Lane, South on Main Street, West on Market Street, North on Third Street and back to Main. Now this gets tricky, so listen up! The fire apparatus and others that will not participate in the water battles will proceed North on Main and back out Mendenhall Lane to the carnival. The fire apparatus that will participate in the water battles will proceed South on Main Street and let the battle begin until Center Street where the water gets turned off. The fire apparatus will then proceed to the carnival. If you want to throw a balloon this year, you will have to fill a balloon this year! And don't use anything but water! In fact, spectators are cautioned at the intersection of Main and North Streets to stay in the lower half of the block of Main. NO WATER IS TO BE THROWN AT ANY FIRE APPARATUS NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE WATER BATTLES. The local police will take your actions very seriously.

Did you ever wonder how this whole water battle got started? Did you ever know that even the National Geographic Magazine got so caught up in the event that a photo of the battle ran in the magazine? Well, lets get to the point and name some names! In 1953, David Bardo, Roy Colley, David Davenport, David Ward, Brooks Sutliff, Dan Stoneham, Robert Rabb, Linda Dildine, Bobby T., Tom and Kay and Mike Knecht, and even some big kids like Jim Dildine and Don Rabb, went to Yost's Restaurant and Vincent's Market, traded in all the soda bottles they could muster up for $.02 each, went to Buckley's Store and bought balloons. They then positioned themselves on the balcony of the Hotel Moses Van Campen and other stores on Main Street. When the fire chief, Gene Bardo, came by, all hell broke loose! Sitting on his front porch, even Ray Knecht got soaked and got his water hose out to defend his home and honor. Balloons flew everywhere. Firemen threw open the valves and water started spraying the crowd. Everyone had such a great time that more elaborate plans were drawn up for 1954 and a tradition began.

The long-standing Benton Fireman's Carnival tradition turned ugly in mid-August, 1984, as the annual water battle between Benton firemen and bystanders along the parade route stopped being good, clean fun. Someone started chucking marbles at the trucks instead of throwing water balloons. When a Bloomsburg fire truck was damaged, town officials told Benton firemen to either tighten controls on the parade or they could not hold the affair in 1985.

The marbles were either fired from a slingshot or thrown inside a water balloon, but one broke an emergency light on one truck and a side mirror on another. And a water balloon shattered one homeowner's window. Benton Mayor Wayne Yorks wrote a letter of apology to the Bloomsburg firemen. He also directed the Benton firemen to tone down the annual water battle. The Chief of Police in 1984 was Barry Lewis, who remembers that there was alcohol found near the parade route. Alcohol is no longer permitted at the parade.

The water battles are always the highlight of the parade and people who don't want to get wet usually stay home. We look forward to seeing you at the parade.

Giant Food Stores will open two stores today. A 45,000-square-foot store in the Shippensburg Market Place will employ 160 people and a 55,000-square-foot store in Bloomsburg will employ 120 people. As part of the store openings, the company is donating thousands of dollars to organizations and nonprofits in both regions. Carlisle-based Giant, a subsidiary of Dutch food giant Royal Ahold, has 114 stores in four states.

The Times-Leader for July 30 reports on a Martz bus ride from Philadelphia to Wilkes-Barre filled with about 40 Job Corps Center students from 16 to 24 years old smoking, standing, getting sick—an obscene-laced "ride from hell." The link will be up today only, but read it at http://www.timesleader.com/mld/thetimesleader/6414068.htm .

PPL Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $116 million, or 67 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $27 million, or 18¢ per share, in the year-earlier quarter. In last year's second quarter, PPL recorded two unusual items that affected earnings: a write-down of 64¢ per share in its Brazilian investment and a charge of 29¢ per share from a reduction in its domestic work force.

Another section of the old Carey Avenue Bridge was demolished Tuesday. The bridge crossed the Susquehanna River between Hanover Township and Plymouth.

A word to the wise should be sufficient! Down in Dauphin County yesterday, police nabbed about 100 motorists for speeding in an I-81 work zone. The radar was set up in the back of a truck! Troopers will point "radar out of dump trucks, foreman's trucks and other construction vehicles." Since last spring, state and local police have ticketed 7,552 people on interstates 81 and 83 and Route 581 in the Harrisburg area.

See you at the carnival tonight.

On this date in 1981, Britain's Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The couple divorced in 1996. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-NC, is 67 and ABC News anchorman Peter Jennings is 65 today.

Johnny Jolin provides the entertainment at the carnival tonight. Johnny has done 13 different opening acts for 11 Nashville recording stars, has written songs for his three albums, and is currently working on the fourth album. On August 6, Johnny will appear at the Tioga County Fair, Whitneyville, (7 PM to 10 PM). On Saturday, August 9, Johnny will appear at the Shangri-La On-The-Creek Campground, 670 Hidden Paradise Road, Milton, from 7 to 10 PM.

The more programs you allow to start with Windows, the less resources you're going to have to run additional applications. Your system only has "x" amount of RAM; once that's used Windows will start using hard drive space to add memory to your computer. In Windows XP this is called a "page file" or "paging file." You don't want to get into a situation that immediately after boot-up where you are using your "paging file" for memory. It slows your computer down and can cause program crashes. You need to control your start-up programs, removing everything but the essential programs, like anti-virus program.

Two police officers noticed Grandma staggering and thought that she had been drinking too much. They stopped to drive her home, loaded her into the police cruiser and one of the officers got in the back seat with her. They asked Granny where she lived. All she would say, as she stroked the arm of the officer in the back seat with her was "You're passionate." Each time the question was asked, she gave the same answer. The officers got upset at her answer, stopped the car and snarled at her for not answering the question. Her response was truthful and short: "I keep trying to tell you. You're passin' it."

If you know you will be exposed to poison ivy, try spraying your skin with an antiperspirant before you get close to the vine. If you know you've been exposed to poison ivy, wash your skin with rubbing alcohol and then water by dabbing with cotton balls, before the rash has time to appear. About 15% of the 120 million Americans who are allergic to poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac are so highly sensitive that they break out in a rash and begin to swell in 4 to 12 hours instead of the normal 24 to 48. Want to know more? Go to http://poisonivy.aesir.com/ .

Quote of the Day:
"I do not know which makes a man more conservative—to know nothing but the present, or nothing but the past."
--John Maynard Keynes

Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky are called commonwealths instead of states simply because the word commonwealth was used in the original royal charter of land. The residents liked the word and its connotation, and kept the label commonwealth even after becoming states.

The project manager for Benton Manor is now taking applications for one bedroom apartments which will be available for rental in the fall of 2003. Utilities are included in rent and rents range from $320-$405 per month. There will be a community room, and a laundry on premises. One of the units is handicapped accessible. Residents must be 62 or older and income eligible. For more information, contact Carol Wagner, Project Manager, at 784-9373. Twelve applications have been received so far, and there are still some openings in the higher income brackets. Folks are welcome to call Carol Wagner to see how their income and assets are counted. Call today and see if you qualify. Take the time to drive by and see the construction and get a feel for the community.

Rain interrupted the Vesper Services last night at the Benton Carnival, but thirty or so braved the rain and lightening and the thunder boomers to hear the message from Pastor Paul Gorba from the Hamline Church and hear the music from the bluegrass group, Raven Creek, made up of Joe and Loraine Feola with friend Joe Loran on fiddle.

Two unusual tree fires at 245 Church Street, overhead of the house of Doris Appleman, sparked the interest of firemen and PPL last night just after dark. Heavy rain and high winds blew electric lines into limbs of a 29- and a 31-year old silver maple causing arcing of wires and a major interruption to the nesting habits of hundreds of birds. Doris had often found dead birds in her front yard, but didn't realize they were being electrocuted. And how did Doris know the age of the trees? She remembers when they were planted.

During the late 1950s and through the 1960s, a young banjo player and tenor singer named Delano Floyd McCoury played bluegrass in the bars of Baltimore. William Smith Monroe, known simply as Bill Monroe, asked Del to try out for the spot of lead singer and guitar player in his Bluegrass Boys. A couple of years later, Del got his own Dixie Pals going and they played throughout the seventies and eighties. Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals were favorites of the Northeast bluegrass scene, often playing carnivals and fairs in this part of the state. Later, with sons Ronnie and Robbie, the band changed its name to the Del McCoury Band and today Del is at the top of the heap in bluegrass singing. The next time the group will be in this area will be the 22nd of August when Del plays the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival.

We remember back to the Benton Carnival August 7-9 and 12-15, 1970. The music included Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals, Jean Shepard, the Johnny Starr Show, the Range Riders, Sonny Miller, the Sandhill Singers and Crazy Elmer. Oh, and we won't ever forget the "wettest and craziest fireman's parade of them all." Robert Miller was secretary of the carnival. One of the biggest sponsors of the carnival was the "old country store" in Fairmount Springs. Ed's Esso Service offered $.39 off on any Atlas air filter and the Little Lumber Company offered a special of a vacation home "delivered on your lot for $2,800 and up, or completely built on customer's foundation for $3,600 and up." A choice was given of either the "John Doe," with 704 sq. ft. of living space, or the "Buttonwood," with 1044 sq. ft. of living space.

Make sure that you read the two articles in today's Press Enterprise about the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center which will house a full-sized gym, an exercise room, a weight room, library, museum, game and arcade area, computer lab, family center with a nursery, an outside deck or pavilion and a commercial kitchen. Stop at the carnival and say "hi" to the volunteers of the Center and learn more about the plans for the facility.

It is a little early for this quiz, we suppose, because it won't be until about late September that geese-wild honkers-start flying south.
The flights over the state extend into November. Answers are at the end...
1. Do Canada geese always fly in V-formation?
2. What are young geese called?
3. Do Canada geese ever reach a weight of fourteen pounds?
4. What is the fluffy material with which geese encircle their eggs in the nest?
5. How long does a wild gander keep a mate?
6. What is the color of a Canada goose's head and neck?

To empty temporary Internet files on a computer using Windows XP, either...
. right click on Start in the toolbar or go to My Computer.
. right-click on Drive: C and choose "Properties."
. Click the "Disk Cleanup" button.
Disk Cleanup will take a minute or two to work so be patient. When the dialog appears, click OK and then YES when asked "Are You Sure."
Please note that when you empty the Temporary Internet Files folder in Internet Explorer, files that start with the word "Cookie" may remain in the folder.

Ryan Newman captured the Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway yesterday, defeating Kurt Busch by 0.307 seconds. The victory was Newman's fourth of the season and fifth of his Winston Cup career. Newman became the second straight driver to win at Pocono from the pole.

Do you ever wonder how the "other half" lives? Just when you think you have seen everything along comes a luxury motor home that you can drive right into a lake and cruise like you're in a luxury yacht! Once afloat, the 45-foot Terra Wind's road transmission is placed in neutral and two propellers and traditional rudders take over. You might expect such an RV to look very strange, but it's hard to tell it's not a regular luxury motor coach. The price tag of the unique RV runs $850,000 to $1.2 million, and no fishing tackle is included. Take a look at this picture of the amphibious RV in the water.

Answers to the goose questions...
1. Nope. They often fly in loose flocks when making local flights.
2. Goslings
3. Yes.
4. Down pulled from the female's breast
5. For life.
6. Black.

We'll see you at the carnival tonight. Come out! The white chili and other food is great and you can listen to the music of the Cadillacs.

It has been 50 years since the signing of the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953—the only document that technically prevents North Korea and the US, along with ally South Korea—from resuming the war, since no peace treaty has ever been signed. Korea was divided along the 38th parallel at the end of World War II with the Soviet Union controlling the north and the United States controlling the south. North Korea tried to invade South Korea on June 25, 1950, and President Harry Truman ordered a military police action to stop the invasion. Douglas MacArthur led the United States' army, and we were holding our own in what MacArthur called his "Home By Christmas" offensive. But late in November of 1950, the Chinese entered the war and drove MacArthur back to the 38th parallel. The war dragged on endlessly. Truce negotiations began the next year and lasted over two years with 575 meetings between the opposing sides. In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower ran for president with a promise that he kept that he would end the war. The armistice was signed on this day in 1953 without a winner and with no celebrations. Almost 35,000 Americans were killed in the Korean conflict, 5000 captured or missing. Both sides still accuse the other of violating the agreement, as tensions rise over North Korea's nuclear program. For more on the Korean War on a more local level, read the article in today's Press Enterprise about the way the war affected Arthur Covert, 69, born and raised in the Benton area, served in Seoul and Inchon with the 1st and 5th divisions of the Marine Corps, wounded, still carrying battle scars affecting both the mind and the body.

Quote of the Day:
"Three years of heroism, frustration, and bloodshed are over."
--Dwight David Eisenhower.

Attendance and enthusiasm are up this year at the carnival. Friday night, as an example, revenue was about $1,500 ahead of last year's carnival revenue when it was held at the Benton Park. Representatives of both the volunteer fire department and the rodeo association seemed pleased about the temporary location and the crowd certainly was pleased. We talked with several people who actually were attending their first event at the rodeo grounds and loved it, and many walked into the arena to watch team penning for the first time. There is no agreement for future carnivals to be held at the rodeo grounds, and the impact of the loss of revenue on the park needs to be considered, but the rodeo grounds seem to be a winner of a location for a carnival.

Vesper services at the Benton Carnival will be at 6:30 PM tonight at the rodeo grounds. According to Pastor Howard Leh, the program will include...
• Call to Worship.
• Singing of "Let There be Peace."
• Reading of the scripture, Ephesians 2: 1-10.
• Special music by the bluegrass group Raven Creek.
• Message given by Pastor Paul of the Hamline Church, "Give Thanks,"
based on Proverbs 3: 19-27.
• Prayer of the Church.
• Closing Hymn, "Here I Am, Lord."
• Offering with proceeds going to the Benton Volunteer Fire Department.
• Special Music by the Raven Creek Gospel Choir.

Here is the lineup for the 2003 Bloomsburg Fair, September 20 through 27, 2003. Tickets go on sale August 9 at the fairgrounds ticket office, or by phone at area code 570, 387-4192, -4191 or -4145. Fireworks will be Thursday, September 25, at 10 PM.

Saturday, September 20, Figure 8 Race, $8
Saturday, September 20, Bill Ray Cyrus, $22, $18, $14
Sunday, September 21, Bull riding, $8
Sunday, September 21, Spirit of the Dance, $20, $16
Monday, September 22, Smothers Brothers, $21, $17
Tuesday, September 23, Lynyrd Skynard, $25, $21, $17
Wednesday, September 24, Michael Bolton, $24, $20, $16
Thursday, September 25, Lonestar, $24, $20
Friday, September 26, Horse pulling, $3
Friday, September 26, Charlie Daniels, $23, $19
Saturday, September 27, Demolition Derby, $8
Saturday, September 27, Tractor & Truck Pull, $10, $6.

A questionnaire recently went out to 500 registered voters within Benton Borough, Benton Township, Jackson Township, Sugarloaf Township, Fishingcreek Township, and Stillwater Borough—the regions which account for most of the Benton Area School District. The survey asked for each respondent's preferences about including certain features, services, and facilities in the proposed Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center. It asked for their views on how the center should be funded and on the ranking of each method. Respondents were asked if they would be willing to volunteer at the center, and if so in what capacity. At their option they could give their names and telephone numbers if they wished to be contacted as volunteers. Twenty-eight did. Finally, they were asked to add any overall comments they might have. There were 55 such separate remarks. Some addresses on the voter rolls proved to be faulty; where possible, these were corrected and a second questionnaire was sent to the same party. In other cases, a second name was chosen instead to make a full complement of 500 recipients.

A response rate of 25% is considered high for a mail questionnaire. Out of the 300 questionnaires, 154 responses (a 30.8% return rate) was achieved. A few gave minimal information, but the rest were generally supportive and provided much information. After about 12 days for recipient response, the replies were opened, numbered, read, and tabulated. The greatest number of responses came from Benton Township (39 or 25.3%), followed by Fishingcreek Township (38 or 24.6%); Sugarloaf Township (27 or 17.5); Jackson Township (19 or 12.3%); Benton Borough (18 or 11.7%); Stillwater Borough (12 or 7.7 %); and one from Fairmount Township.

The households surveyed were populated primarily by adults of ages 40-59 (137 individuals), then by adults 60 and older (87 individuals), next by adults 26-39 (52 individuals), and lastly by adults 19-25 (24 individuals). Where children were part of the household, the largest number (24) was in the 10-14 age group, followed by 22 in the 5-9 age group, 20 in the under-5 age group, and 17 in the 15-18 age group. A composite report analyzing the data according to township or borough is currently in the review process. We'll go through the findings in an upcoming report.

Ryan Newman will drive the Dodge to catch at Pocono Raceway at Long Pond this afternoon, after scooting around the 2 1/2-mile triangular track at 170.358 mph to claim the top starting spot for the Pennsylvania 500.

After attending Indiana State University for two years as a music performance major, DeWayne's love for performing took him to a cast position with Holiday World Theme Park in Santa Claus, IN, where he was on the stage six shows a day.

The sun rose this morning Back Home in Benton, PA, at 5:55 AM and sets tonight at 8:29 PM. Isn't it sad how the days are starting to get shorter! The moon popped into view this morning at 3 AM, by the way.

Alison Krauss + Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas come to the F. M. Kirby Center, Wilkes-Barre, August 18, followed by Pat Boone August 24. And speaking of entertainment centers, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, opened April 10, 1971. The final concert will be performed there tonight when Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and the Goo Goo Dolls cavort on the stage. Veterans Stadium is built on a 74-acre site in South Philadelphia, part of a complex that also includes the First Union Spectrum and Center, former and current homes of both the Flyers (NHL) and 76ers (NBA). It replaced 62-year-old Shibe Park which was known as Connie Mack Stadium. Its seating capacity of 62,382 is the largest in the National League.

Last night at the Benton Carnival could only be called a success, with warm temperatures and clear skies. The crowd was large and enthusiastic. "Covert Action" was the singing group and seats were stacked everywhere in order to see the show. The move to the rodeo grounds from the Benton Park was warmly endorsed by many in attendance and should be ideal for tonight's entertainment.

Our take on Seabiscuit is that the movie may bring a tear to your eye and a lump to your throat and does succeed as a "feel-good" movie, but you probably won't be cheering "Four Stars" at the finish line.

Aristide Du Petit Thouar was a French naval captain hired by Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV. He came to America to explore the valley of the Loyalsock Creek at what is now Dushore on the Asylum land tract and spent two years in this country. He lived in a small cabin in the Dushore area in a part of Sullivan Country that become known as Frenchman's Spring. Aristide Du Petit Thouar was the founder of the town of DuThouar, now called Dushore. He returned to France and became a French naval captain but was killed in the Battle of the Nile, a decisive naval battle that altered the course of world history by denying Napoleon his Eastern Empire, while crippling him at sea. While on the deck of his ship, Aristide Du Petit Thouar received a life-threatening wound, was carried below deck by the crew, but returned to the deck and continued to fight to his death. In 1795, the Asylum company which laid out the French town of Asylum purchased 100,000 acres beside the Loyalsock Creek, patented 400 acres on which Dushore is now built and cleared the area around Main and German Streets.

Quote of the Day:
"Victory is not a name strong enough for such a scene."
—Nelson, surveying the floating carnage the day after the Battle of the Nile.

One of the books that should be in your library is by Walter M. Brasch, Columbia County Place Names, published by Mayfly Productions. The book is a study of Columbia County place names, with emphasis on location, historical description, and etymology. Walter M. Brasch, Ph.D. is a university professor of journalism and mass communications, and author of a biweekly syndicated newspaper column, author of dozens of magazine articles, author of 13 books and the owner of a most interesting web site, http://www.walterbrasch.com/.

After struggling for 17 years to have children, a Pocono Mountains couple from Cresco, PA, got an instant family of five babies Thursday as Rebecca Wilson, 37, gave birth. The four boys and a girl were the result of four fertilized eggs implanted in Wilson's uterus. One of the eggs split.

Bob Dylan performed for the first time on this day in 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival and used an electric guitar. Folk music then was played on acoustic instruments, but Dylan walked on stage that day in his Johnny Cash outfit and began playing rock and roll. Last August, Dylan returned to the Newport Folk Festival dressed like a "biblical prophet in a cowboy suit, wearing a good guy's white hat," and this time he was not booed even though his singing had not improved.

It is either good or it is bad, depending on your perspective! It will cost over half a million dollars to renovate the old Cole's Hardware Store at the corner of East and Main Streets, Bloomsburg, into a 24-hour Greek diner with a bakery and delicatessen in the rear. Display windows in front, and an awning will be put up around the building. But with six restaurants in the Iron Street to the CCFNB area, some (read "restaurant owners") are not happy.

Term of the Day: cat's meow.
A nifty idea, thing or person, as in "She's the cat's meow." Cats can look enormously pleased, and the expression probably came from that appearance of satisfaction.

The first steam locomotive operated in England at the beginning of the 19th century. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began operation in 1828 with horse-drawn cars. After Tom Thumb, a steam train that nearly outraced a horse in 1830, steam power was added. By 1831, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad had completed a line from Baltimore to Frederick, MD. Railroads were the cat's meow in the 1830s, and by 1840 the nation had almost 3,000 miles of railway. The railroad network by 1860 become a national network of some 30,000 miles and nine years later the transcontinental railroad service became possible.

A railroad from Bloomsburg to North Mountain and then on to Bernice was granted a charter in 1883 to construct a railroad up Fishing Creek Valley. Ground was broken above Orangeville in August, 1886, and on Independence Day in 1887 the first train arrived in Orangeville and in August of that year the tracks were laid to Benton. Work on the Jamison City extension began in the spring of 1888 with railroad service in Jamison City opening in November, 1888.

Keep your eyes open for Martha. Sam Waksa, the 55-year old founder and ex-Chairman of ImClone Systems, Inc. checked in for a seven-year sentence for insider trading at the federal prison in Minersville.

The anti-tailgating "dots" on route 11 near Bloomsburg resulted in PennDOT getting a National Highway Safety Award from the Federal Highway Administration in 2001, when a 55% reduction in automobile crashes resulted from someone giving the road-dot program the credit. The large white dots on the pavement are 115 feet apart and with a two-dot space between two vehicles, drivers have a much better chance of survival in case of an accident.

The Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza is the new name (effective July 25) for what was the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza and—well, yes—it is the same arena that opened five years ago as the Northeastern Pennsylvania Civic Arena and Convention Center. It is the home of the American Hockey League's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, a farm team for the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins, and the home to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers of arena football.

Here is a sampling of new words from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition...
• bubble, noun, 5: a state of booming economic activity (as in a stock market) that often ends in a sudden collapse.
• Frankenfood, noun [Franken- (as in Frankenstein) + food]: genetically engineered food.
• oy, interjection [Yiddish], used especially to express exasperation or dismay <oy, what a mess>.
• headbanger, noun: a musician who performs hard rock; also a fan of hard rock.
• chin music, noun, 2: a usually high inside pitch in baseball intended to intimidate the batter.

All gift horses that come galloping your way are not Seabiscuit! The national "Do Not Call" list does not shield consumers from political organizations or charities, and telephone surveyors and companies with which consumers have existing business relationships are still free to make unsolicited calls without penalty. This last exemption is being touted on the Internet suddenly where in the very small print you might sign an unintended authorization to have companies call you. Read what you sign, since filling out a survey form or mailing in a completed contest entry or taking a free product might be construed as establishing a business relationship with that company.

We were recently asked when we are going to write up the history of the three huge radar domes and stall-standing antennas at the top of the 648th AC&W squadron at the Benton Air Force Station. The kettle is on the stove, but the pot isn't hot yet. We now have about half of what we need to write an informative article, but to tell the truth we just haven't put pen to paper yet.

We remember back in 1963 when Ruth Chapin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Archie Chapin, Stillwater, became the bride of Keith Hilley, son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Bruce Hilley, down at the Stillwater Christian Church. We hadn't heard a word from our old classmate (well, actually, all of our classmates are old!), when in popped an email from them. What a nice surprise it was to see their electronic voice coming from western Pennsylvania.

We also remember back to June of 1965 when Ann Louise Bennett married Rolland Blaine Zeisloft at the Millville Methodist Church. Ann was the daughter of Mae Bennett and the late Donald R. Bennett, who had partnered with Edgar Baker to form the Baker and Bennett Store, Main Street. We recently had dinner with Ann and Ron, as they prepare for their month-long stay in Australia and New Zealand with Dr. and Mrs. Getti Kelsey.

A year ago today...
• the House expelled Ohio Rep. James Traficant, convicted of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion. The man is now serving as a Pennsylvania resident!
• Nine coal miners were trapped in a flooded mine in western Pennsylvania.

The difficulty of travel during the Middle Ages is reflected in the etymology of the word "travel." We may complain today about delayed departures, lost luggage, and late arrivals, but consider the traveler on the Tioga Turnpike, as an example. The traveler often had to contend with the weariness that comes from long, dangerous and bumpy journeys. Travel comes from the French word travail, meaning work or labor, as in the labor of childbirth. And travail derives from the Latin tripalium—a kind of rack for torture purposes. One would hope that no journey could have been that uncomfortable, but the root of the word suggests that the word might have been coined after completion of one of the stages of the Tioga Turnpike! Now widely used in the English language, travel has come to mean a journey.

America's first covered bridge spanned the Schuylkill river at Philadelphia and proved the value of protecting the wooden structures from the elements. The construction work on a three-span 550 foot arch truss bridge worried a man by the name of Judge Richard Peters, who headed a stock company that financed the construction of the span. The Judge wanted to assure as long a life as possible and wanted to "weather board" the sides and roof the top of the bridge. The bridge maker's experience was that painting the joints and applying turpentine or oiling the timbers had little effect on preserving beyond a 10- to 12-year life. But the bridge life could be tripled by enclosing and covering the new covered bridge and that concept became the forerunner of thousands of covered bridges eventually constructed in this country.

In Columbia County, The Columbia County Covered Bridges Association is working to preserve our covered bridges. Under their ownership, the Josiah Hess and Stillwater Covered Bridges are being maintained and are open for the public's use for picnics, weddings or just plain photographing. They have placed picnic tables on both bridges, and at the Stillwater Covered Bridge, even a "Johnny on the spot." Next time you have a family gathering and want a "different" place to picnic, visit the Columbia County covered bridges. A third bridge may soon be added under their wing.

On Sunday, September 14, the Columbia County Covered Bridges Association will be holding their 2nd annual "Dinner on the Bridge" at Twin Bridges Park, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM with all profits going toward the preservation of the bridges. Tickets are $15.00. Call 458-4290 for more information.

As part of the migration of settlers from Connecticut into Luzerne County, many young men and women were self-educated sufficiently to serve as teachers. They built their crude log cabins and prepared for life in what for them had to be a new frontier. Their log cabins were hardly built before they turned to the process of education and the construction of schoolhouses. These places of learning turned out to be almost as "comfortable" as the homes in which they resided--if "comfortable" is the correct word to use. Indications are that desks and seats made of planed boards were used as early as 1800.

Over in the Huntington Valley, good education manifested itself in 1855 in the construction of a two-story academy at New Columbus. The school served the community and drew students from miles around for many years. After it was no longer used as a school it stood empty for many years and was beginning to show the ravages of time. A non-profit organization was founded of former students and civic-minded people in 1964 with the express purpose of preserving the building as a memorial. The building is an excellent example of colonial architecture and reminds one of the New England countryside where many similar buildings are to be found. The second floor is a very interesting museum of colonial and early educational programs and furnishings. It also depicts home life in the New Columbus area dating back to its incorporation in 1859.

The people of Benton and those associated with the Catawissa Marching Band love to hear praises given to Rick Martin, who passed away November 15, 2002. And Michael S. Milnarik, director of INNOVATA and a close friend of Rick Martin did just that last night in Bloomsburg as part of the town park series. Moved indoors because of the threat of rain, the concert was a smash hit with the audience. Mike's new trumpet player, Trent Austin, is the lead trumpet player for the Artie Shaw orchestra. The auditorium rocked as tunes like "Tiger Rag," "Ain't Misbehavin',"76 Trombones," Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, "Amazing Grace," and a trio of songs written by Michael's new bride, recently awarded her PhD in piano.

Mike Milnarik doing what he likes best—performing many styles of music from Renaissance through Contemporary including Dixieland and jazz—on the tuba.		With his many abilities, he perfoms with many different types of organizations including orchestras, chamber groups, jazz bands and as a soloist.
Mike shown with his father, Bob, a well-known man to the students at Benton High School.		Trent Austin, a new trumpet player with the group, autographing one of his CDs for the Benton News.

Quickies...
• A website that promotes Berwick and does it well is http://www.denoria.com/. Take a look.
• Ruth Kline is now a patient in the Orangeville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
• Eight of the ten people leaving from this area Thursday morning for Scotland are from Benton. We wish them well on their 15-day trip.

Quote of the Day:
"We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilization."
—Voltaire

You will see something next month never before seen in recorded history. Earth and Mars will be the closest between each other ever recorded.  Astronomers claim that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years, and it may be as long as 60,000 years. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. The encounter will culminate on August 27 when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles and will be the second brightest object in the night sky.  At a 75-power magnification, Mars should look as large as the full moon. At the beginning of August, Mars will rise in the east about 10 PM and reach its azimuth at about 3 AM.  By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 AM. Mars will be closest to Earth on August 27. Earth will pass between the sun and Mars the next day. For charts showing Mars' whereabouts, go to www.earthsky.org .

For those familiar with the article about the mountain lions under FEATURES , you know there is a picture of a mountain lion that was allegedly shot here in Pennsylvania. We labeled the picture a probable hoax for several reasons. A reader finally tracked the real story down. The big tom was actually shot six miles from Bellevue, WA, and was large enough to get listed by Boone and Crockett. Turn to the article under FEATURES for the "rest of the story."

July 23, 2003.

The announcement simply said that PPL Electric Utilities "has all available employees working to restore power to customers after a line of severe thunderstorms barreled across the company's 29-county service area Monday evening." We could spend all morning telling horror stories about trees down and power interrupted. We'll simply say that some Benton area PPL customers won't have power back until 9 PM Wednesday according to current estimates.

There was no "fast food" when we grew up and food usually proved to be "slow food." Mother cooked and we ate when Father finished his second job, before he started the evening chores of milking the cows. We would sit down together at the dining room table and if we didn't like boiled spinach or something that was served we would be allowed to sit there until we did like it. We mostly wore Levis and shorts in those days—except jeans were not allowed in school back then—and shoes in the summer were unheard of, except at Sunday School. Our transportation was as good as the one-speed bike we peddled—all thirty pounds of it—and swimming at the dam after we got the lawn mowed was just heaven and running to the railroad bridge so we could jump off as the B & S approached was grand sport.

We never had television in our house while we were growing up, but the summer we graduated and moved away from home a set with a piece of blue, green and red colored plastic over the screen appeared at the house and never seemed to shut off during the afternoon hours just as the radio never turned off at night when the Phillies played. I can still remember an announcer droning in the background something about "deceit, jealousy, rage, avarice, amnesia…these are typical traits that hover around Mary Noble Backstage Wife." And then there was the story of Young Widder Brown, a 30 year-old mother, who "struggled to raise her children without the small town mentality that came with living in Simpsonsville." And there one about how the world squirms or something like that.

We cleaned lima beans on the porch, picked strawberries and sold them on the street with the largest ones always on top, and never had a clue that spinach could be eaten without being boiled. We didn't know what "subs" or pizza pie was, or what a clean car looked like after Father finished his delivery of mail on R. D. 3. We grew up embarrassed with Mother for waiting for the phone to ding, then watching in horror as Mother lifted the receiver and listened in. Sometimes her eyes got real big, and she would raise a finger as if to say, "Don't you dare say a word right now; I am listening to something big..." We always had lots of high butterfat Golden Guernsey milk and we fed our pumpkins, neighbors and ourselves with it. We plucked huge icicles from the rocks across from our house and made wonderful ice cream in the winter and dreamed of it all during the next summer. Our homemade freezer was lined with buckwheat hulls for insulation. Once, for Mother's December 5 birthday, Father gave her a hand-cranked ice cream maker. For Father's Day the next year, Mother gave it back to him.

We kept a horse named "Lady" and got in serious trouble once for yelling at Lady when she got scared by a fast moving car approaching from the rear on a dusty dirty road. After yelling some unkind things to our horse "Lady," the lady in the car got out and chewed us up one side and down the other, thinking she was the lady we were saying unkind things about. For spending money, we tried delivering newspapers until we found out that it had to be done as they say now "24/7" and we were not allowed to sleep in ever. We swept cobwebs from barn ceilings and hauled manure and stacked hay and straw—anything to make some money for the Farmer's Picnic or the carnival or just for a VMP at Kozy Korners. Now that we think it over, we'll take slow food over fast food any day...

It is said, according to a story we once heard, that when the Bloomsburg and Sullivan railroad first rolled up the Fishing Creek valley to Benton and beyond that live stock occasionally strayed onto the tracks and were killed. Each time a cow or horse lost its life, the owner put in a claim for damages, and in each case asserted that the dead animal was of full-blooded, valuable stock. The president of the railroad discussed the situation with a railroad attorney and concluded that "nothing improved the quality of livestock so much as crossing it with a locomotive."

Do you remember what you were doing in July of 1972? Well, if you were in the Benton area you might have...

Emma Lazarus was born in New York City on this date in 1849. She contributed to the project to build the Statue of Liberty in Upper New York Bay by writing the poem "The New Colossus" to help raise money for it. The poem was later inscribed on the pedestal. It included the words...
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

For those who asked about more information about St. Gabriel's Church, we recommend two wonderful books...
• "John Godhard, Benton's Grandfather," researched by Polly A. Laubach-Eckrote.
• "St. Gabriel's Cemetery," by Polly A. Laubach-Eckrote and Mark C. Eckrote.

In fact, Polly was baptized at St. Gabriel's church Sunday!

Several alert readers caught the typo in the St. Gabriel's article yesterday about the incorrect spelling of the Meneely bell owned by the St. Gabriel's Church. Brad Cole, Annapolis, also provided these statistics:
* The Meneely Bell Foundry was started in 1826 by Andrew Meneely in West Troy, NY and a second Meneely bell company was formed in 1870 by relatives in Troy, NY.
* Andrew Meneely was an apprentice to Julius Hanks, who started the nation's first bell foundry in 1808 in West Troy.
* Meneely bells rang for President Franklin Roosevelt's and President John Kennedy's funerals, and for President Lyndon Johnson's inauguration.
* The replacement for the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, as well as many church bells in that city, were Meneely bells. Nearly every church bell in Troy, New York, is a Meneely bell.
* Other Meneely bells include bells at Cornell University, the Metropolitan Life building in New York City, and the West Point military academy. Overall, the Meneely companies produced about 65,000 bells.
* The Meneely companies eventually closed in 1952 owing to metal shortages and the increasing popularity of electronic bells and chimes.

Get ready for peach pie! The Pennsylvania Agricultural Statistics Service predicted that the state's orchards would produce about 70 million pounds of peaches this year, up 17% from last year's frost-and drought-ravaged crop. Sunny days are helping produce a more flavorful peach, and spring rains helped boost the size of individual pieces of fruit. We have also noticed that some of this year's sweet corn is very sweet.

After discussing an upcoming birthday with a friend, we concluded that he won't be "over the hill," but rather still going up the mountain...

In case you missed it last Fall, Laubach Literacy International and Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. have become ProLiteracy Worldwide. Laubach Literacy International was founded in 1955 by world literacy pioneer and Benton native Dr. Frank C. Laubach. Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. was founded by Ruth Colvin in Syracuse in 1962.

A school teacher who lives in Fishkill, New York, and his brother who lives in Sugarloaf (near Hazleton), came to the Brass Pelican July 23 as part of the North Mountain Historical Society's monthly series of speakers. Pictures and the narrative of that meeting have been moved to FEATURES, North Mountain Historical Society.

Quote of the Day:
"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse, and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was."
--Ernest Hemingway

On this date...
• in 1961, Virgil "Gus" Grissom became the second American to rocket into a suborbital pattern around the Earth, flying aboard the Liberty Bell 7.
• in 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the lunar module.
• in 1999, Navy divers found the bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, off Martha's Vineyard.

There are some cowboys with tender bottoms this morning as the bull riding last night brought the 2003 version of the Benton Rodeo to an exciting conclusion. A large and enthusiastic crowd came close to filling the stands. We should have more pictures of the rodeo posted by tonight.

Remember how dry it was last summer at this time? The current forecast is for three or more days of rain. And while we are remembering last year, we'll mention that the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at new lows for the year—their worst levels since 1997. The Dow Industrials, which closed just over the 8,000 mark, finished at its worst level since October of 1998. The Dow is now up 1,188 points year-to-year.

Poem of the Day:
I think that I shall never see
billboard as lovely as a tree.
Perhaps unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all.
--Ogden Nash, "Song of the Open Road"

Have you noticed that on the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' (DCNR) Web site, www.dcnr.state.pa.us, 83 of the 110 printed state park maps are online, with others being added regularly? Visitors can access the maps through DCNR's Web page, by simply clicking "State Parks," choosing a park and clicking on "Map." Additionally, there are 54 campground maps posted on the Web site, and all 19 of the bureau's cabin maps also can be found there.

According to Church records, the Episcopal congregation at St. Gabriels, Coles Creek, dates from 1792, probably organized by John Godhard, with the parish organized in 1793 by the Rev. Caleb Hopkins. Other priests followed, some assigned to the parish, others were "circuit riders" performing baptism, funerals and other services. The only priest to have been "in residence" at the church was the Rev. John D. Rockwell, now buried with his wife, Julia, behind the church within the iron fence. Ned, Rev. Rockwells "Missionary Horse," was buried under a giant oak tree, later cut down.

In the summer of 1828, Bishop Onderdonk consecrated a log building for use as a church. On Palm Sunday in 1876 the old log building burned. Under the guidance of the Rev. John Hewlett, ground for the present building was broken, and on May 23, 1876, the cornerstone of the present building was laid. The first service took place Thanksgiving Day, 1876.

The interior of St. Gabriels is solid chestnut, and the stained glass side windows were given by descendants of the pioneer families who were the first baptized communicants. The St. Gabriel window above the altar was consecrated in 1922 as a memorial to the Rockwells. This window replaced the first which was broken when a tree fell on the roof in a storm.

The original bell, inscribed "0 Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord," was a gift from Blanche Bernard and was cast in 1882 by the Meneely Foundry, Troy, NY. The bell was brought by team and wagon from Bloomsburg, and mounted on a frame attached to a large pine tree in 1884. The bell was later moved to the front of the church where it hung for years suspended between two pine trees. The tower from which the bell now hangs was designed by Franklin Newhart. Pews in the church were of virgin timber cut by an vestryman, James Peterman.

Old St. Gabriels Cemetery actually existed long before 1812. The land was deeded to St. Gabriel's Church by Ezekiel Cole. For the church homecoming, July 20, The Rev. Alan C. Mead, Rector, and the Rev. Joseph W. Hess, Jr., served as Celebrant and Concelebrant.

The first two men to walk on the moon did it on this day in 1969 in a spot called the "Sea of Tranquility." Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, simply because he was closest to the lunar module door. His companion in space and the halls of history, Buzz Aldrin, observed a moment of silence after the landing to give thanks for their survival and observed communion with a wafer and a tiny chalice of wine. Armstrong and Aldrin described the smell of moon dust as being like "wet ashes in a fireplace" or "spent gunpowder."

Quote of the Day:
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
--Neil Armstrong.

The Benton Rodeo was an exciting place last night with well over 1,000 cars parked in the main lot and virtually every seat in the arena filled. Everyone but the cowboys wearing their hats on the rodeo grounds at 12:15 AM Sunday needed to wash their hair following the gigantic fireworks display. If you didn't see the fireworks, create your own here. The free KJRA Junior Rodeo starts at 8 AM Sunday and tonight at 7:30 PM is the Bull-A-Rama—and that will be a lot of bull! Make sure that you look at all the pictures of the Benton rodeo.

We enjoyed a long morning in the social hall of St. Gabriels Church Saturday morning. We even have a number of pictures showing many of the hard-working people who came from all over the United States to celebrate the "homecoming" of that celebrated church. Turn to Churches on the left panel, then to St. Gabriels.

Speaking of Churches, if you are responsible for what we say about your Church or business, please review the Church and the Business sections and give us an update, if necessary.

After prolonged debate, the Pennsylvania House voted 120-81 Saturday morning to authorize expanded gaming at nine racetracks and at two non-racetrack sites in the state. The House measure will be taken up in the state Senate when lawmakers convene in Harrisburg on July 28. A total of 5,000 gaming machines were approved for each site.

The state might get another, unexpected source of income: The person who won the July 9 Powerball jackpot ticket has not yet claimed the prize. If the prize goes unclaimed, the Pennsylvania Lottery Fund will get nearly $10 million. A Missouri couple immediately claimed their half of the prize, but so far nobody has claimed to be holding the ticket purchased at a 7-11 near Pittsburgh.

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The General Casting Co. may be forced to shut down its foundry in Shippensburg August 29 if it cannot find a buyer for the operation. The foundry in Shippensburg makes iron castings for other equipment manufacturers. We asked Fritz Hall of the Benton Foundry for his outlook for the industry and for his organization in particular. Fritz told us that "in calendar year 2002, 150 foundries in the United States closed" and cited industry estimates that in calendar year 2003 another 200 could close.

Fritz warns that at the end of 2003, the United States will have less than 2,000 foundries remaining, compared to over 6,000 at the end of 1945. He says that many of these closures have been caused where highly leveraged operations could not withstand a downturn in the economy, coupled with foreign competition. Fritz cites statistics that show other countries are currently producing products that would not be legal for Benton Foundry or and other US foundries to produce. "We would either be fined or shut down for producing grates for barbeque grills, cast-iron water pipe and water pumps currently being shipped in from China containing high levels of arsenic that could leach into your water or food as you use these items."

According to Fritz, the current and the prior administrations in Washington have not been concerned about the problem or that the United States is being drained of all types of manufacturing. "These plants are all going offshore where there are no regulations such as OSHA, environmental regulations, workman's comp, product liability—all of which United States industries must comply."

Neither the state nor federal governments have taken a stand to enforce current laws on the books or enact new ones to cover existing problems. "We cannot exist without manufacturing and technology jobs, all of which are going offshore."

"Benton Foundry has made several adjustments to compete in this market. We have the best technology currently in the business. We are not leveraged financially and we have been very quick to adjust to market conditions. This flexibility has made Benton Foundry a survivor and a benchmark of the foundry industry. We do not at this time see anything drastically changing in our industry and expect to see another 500 foundry closings in years 2004 and 2005."

Fritz says that during this week ending July 19, 2003, Pennsylvania lost over 500 manufacturing jobs because of additional foundry closings. The Benton Foundry was advised this week by two of their customers that their plants will close and all manufacturing will be moved offshore by December 31, 2003.

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It was a fun time in Laporte yesterday as the town turned 150. Historian Wilson Ferguson tells us that Laporte Borough was founded by Secku Meylert (1784-1849), a German who served in the French army under Napoleon. Too politically liberal for Europe, he came to Pennsylvania in 1817 and was the agent for the financial and land-holding businesses of three Philadelphia families. Meylert had nine children, and son Michael became his father's business partner. In 1845-46, the Meylerts bought 33,000 acres in northeastern Lycoming County and were instrumental in the 1847 creation of Sullivan County. In 1850, Michael resolved the problem of where to site the county seat on his undeveloped land by plopping it at the county's geographic center. Laporte was named for Secku's friend, John LaPorte, the Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania.

The adjacent town and the home of Wilson Ferguson is at Lake Makoma, created in 1888 as a tourist attraction to rival the developing resort at Eagles Mere. These hopes were dashed during a flood in November, 1926, when a 35-foot section of the earthen dam washed out, leaving a stump-filled Sullivan County bog with a stream flowing through it. New investors bought the assets of the Lake Mokoma Company in 1927 and bought additional land, reconstructed the dam, drilled a deep well for a lake area water system, and began to aggressively sell lots. Older cottages at the lake date from these actions of the "New Lake Mokoma Co." Several cottage owners created the Lake Mokoma Association in 1958, sold shares, bought the lake and the remaining unsold land. Since then, the Lake Makoma association has been managed by a board of directors elected by 175 shareholders.

Up in Towanda, construction work is well under way on the Towanda School District's $28.5 million school facilities improvement project. Here in Benton, we are told that construction is slightly ahead of schedule for this summer on a similar project. We'll give you a report soon.

We can only tell you what the official party line is. Gasoline prices recently soared because of the "cost of crude oil" and because approximately 27% of what we pay at the pump goes to the state and federal government. About 32% of the cost of a gallon of gasoline is refining costs charged by the oil companies.

On this day in 1799, cracking the code of Egyptian hieroglyphics suddenly became easier after Napoleon's soldiers discovered the Rosetta Stone while knocking down a wall in the Egyptian town of Rosetta, near Alexandria. The tablet, inscribed with a proclamation honoring Ptolomy V, was written in three languages: hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek. The stone is now on display at the British Museum in London.

Today at the rodeo...
Start with breakfast at 7 AM, served this morning by the Benton Methodist Church; the Rodeo Run for Leukemia Cure is at 8 AM; Special Kids Roundup and petting zoo, 10 AM (free); chicken barbecue and Cabin Run band, 5 PM; APRA Championship Rodeo, 7:30 PM; Cabin Run, 10 PM, and the huge fireworks left over from last night starts at 11 PM. It is a full day of fun at the Benton Rodeo. Make sure that you see the pictures of last night's rodeo. Here is a sample:

Quote of the Day:
"An optimist sees opportunity in every calamity. A pessimist sees calamity in every opportunity."
--Anonymous.

The French defend their language to the hilt, and have banned the word "email" and replaced it with "courriel." Official documents have already started referring to electronic mail exchanges as "courriel." The ban on the word extends to all government ministries, documents, publications and websites. This is the latest step to stem an incursion of English words into the French lexicon. Courriel is a term coined by a Montreal professor contracting the words "courrier and electronique," the French term for electronic mail. At the moment, we are thinking of another word the French wouldn't like to use, too!

The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission has unveiled a web-based way to find more than 400,000 Civil War service record cards in its electronic archives. The electronic system started-up two years ago with Revolutionary War service records. Try the site at www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us . We tried it with Robert Bruce Ricketts, but were not successful. We therefore suggest that you join the North Mountain Historical Society Monday, July 21, at the Brass Pelican Restaurant, Elk Grove. The subject is the war record of Robert Bruce Ricketts. The buckwheat cakes should be on your plates by 8:30 AM. There is also a short segment of entertainment at the conclusion of the meeting that we won't tell you about until you get to the Pelican Monday.

Do you remember that as a kid we heard about "cooties?" It was a slang term associated with the military in World War One. The Scotch used the word as an adjective for farmyard fowls with feathered legs, but the word probably came from Malay, where "kutu" is a biting insect, but how it got from there into the slang of soldiers is not known.

DirecTV is now offering all the local TV stations. If you have a DirecTV multi-satellite system, you can call 1-800-531-5000 to subscribe to a package that includes the local channels. Dish Network has announced that they will carry local channels in this area by the end of this year, but it's likely that this area will lose its place on the main Dish Network satellites and subscribers would have to upgrade their equipment to the new SuperDish, which can see a third satellite location. Even owners of the Dish 500 units would need to upgrade to SuperDish to get local stations.

Quickies...
• Six people sustained minor injuries Friday night when lightning struck a tree at a Columbia County campground that is part of Knoebels Amusement Resort.
• Make sure you get your own copy to keep of Thursday's Press Enterprise so that you'll have the article on Servant Outreach, which continues the work of Dr. Grant Clark, formerly of Benton. Pastor David Diehl and his wife Carolyn of the Benton Christian Church were the driving force behind this mission to bring the word of God to Hondurans.
• The Laporte Volunteer Fire Co. will hold its annual carnival July 30, including an extensive parade including floats by organizations and county businesses. Laporte isn't done with the fun yet, though. On August 9 there will be a craft festival in the court house park and the 150th anniversary postage cancellation will take place from 1 to 3 PM. On Sept. 14, the Little German Band and a birthday cake will be cut and served at the Court House Park at 2 PM.
• The 61st Bald Eagle Kennel Club all-breed dog show and 39th obedience trial takes place next Saturday from 7 AM to 6 PM at the Consolidated Sportsmen of Lycoming County grounds, about 10 miles northeast of Williamsport along Route 87.
• Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.7% in June.
• Don't forget a prayer for Ruth Kline, now at Geisinger Hospital.
• The annual "Homecoming" service at St. Gabriel's will be Sunday, July 20, at 11:00 AM with Rev. Alan C. Mead officiating, assisted by The Rev. Joseph W. Hess. For those interested in "family roots," a get together is planned for Saturday, July 19, at the church beginning about 9:30 AM until about 3:00 PM.

The Benton Rodeo kicked off last night with the Grand Opening Presenters: Haeli Fagan, Allison Culver, Jess Senchak, Kim Stauder, Audrey Culver, Amanda Young, Shawn Stackhouse, Tricia Bump. Beth Litwhiler was the drill instructor. The ice cream stand and all of the food stands were perking with business last night. The Rodeo booklet this year is dedicated to Dean Kelchner, Treasurer of the Benton Rodeo for 19 years.

On this date in 1927, Ty Cobb recorded his 4,000th career hit. Two years later, Cobb finished out his major league baseball career with a grand total of 4,191 hits. Cobb stood as the all-time hit leader until his total was surpassed by Pete Rose.

It is Allison Kocher's 17th birthday today and Nevin Dressler celebrates his birthday today, too! These fine people share their birthday with Red Skelton, born in 1905, The son of a clown in a traveling circus, Red also worked the circus in the teens, and wrote and illustrated children's books. He was best known for his years in radio and television playing characters with names like "Clem Kaddiddlehopper," "Sheriff Dead Eye," "Willie Lump Lump," "Bolivar Shagnasty," "San Fernando Red," "Cauliflower McPugg," and "Freddie the Freeloader." He composed over 2,500 pieces of music including thirteen symphonies. He wrote many children's books, and wrote and illustrated coloring books.

It is important to know your state. Here are some things about Pennsylvania that you might not know...
. There was once a 50-mile railroad in Lackawanna County that operated its trains entirely by gravity. It had no locomotives.
. Wayne County is called the County of Lakes-119 lakes are located within its borders.
. Chimney Stack rock is a natural sandstone feature that appears to be a chimney stack. It is located on what we locally call Central Mountain, Sugarloaf Township.
. The tracks for America's first switch-back railway were laid at Mauch Chunk in 1827.
. Pittsburgh is the birthplace of the nickelodeon, for it was there in 1905 that the first moving picture theater in the world opened.
. The first record that we can find of a cub scout troop in Benton was when Emerson Stoneham was cub master and O. B. Savage was his assistant. We aren't sure of any year when it occurred more than 60 years ago, but we'll tell you that the six dens had the following den mothers: 1, Raven Creek, Mrs. Clyde Karns; 2, Maple Grove, Mrs. Jim Hess; 3, Divide, Waller, Mrs. Luther Mann; 4, Mrs. Herbert Davis (with cub scouts Richard Wilson, George Ketner, Alfred Harrison, Joel Confair, Paul Dodson, Gary Hess, Bruce Evans, and Charles Querry); 5, Mrs. Loren Appleman (with scouts Robert Fritz, Donald Gordon, Jerry Appleman, Arthur Comstock, James Harvey, Jack Young); 6, Mrs. Byron Dickson (with cub scouts Thomas Vincent, Sterling Dixon, Ronald Follmer, Ronald Goss, Joe Evans, Willard Arter, Billy Hartman). A member of the Boy Scouts was named as "chief" over each of the packs. Those six Boy Scouts were Billy Hess, Alex Ash, Lee Remley, Wayne Baker, Billy Follmer and Bob Baker.
. We read that a stagecoach in 1790 made the 90-mile trip between Philadelphia and New York in less than a day at the dizzy speed of up to 7 miles per hour.
. The quaint customs and dress of the Amish, Mennonites, Drunkards and other "Pennsylvania Dutch" have not changed in the hundreds of years since they settled near Lancaster.

Talking with people in Benton is not always easy-or as we might say, "it takes a little getting used to." Yesterday, a cow poke from the rodeo moseyed into a local restaurant. He inquired of the next table if anyone was sitting at a vacant table. A man adjacent said no, and added, "We reserved it for you." The cow poke reared back and with a startled look on his face that made one think that the bad guys were after him, asked, "How didja know I was a comin'? The answer was easy and given immediately, "I seed you walk in the door!"

Didja know that mosquitoes allegedly kill more humans than any other animal on earth? During World War II, Americans were protected from mosquitoes by a drug called atabrine. Later, the army tried out a organic insecticide called DDT that was originally prepared in 1873 but which got a new burst of energy in 1939 when Paul Muller of Geigy Pharmaceutical discovered the effectiveness of DDT as an insecticide. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology in 1948. There is, of course, more to this story, but we'll let that for another day.

Didja know that Sullivan County was formed in 1847 from Lycoming County and was named for Charles C. Sullivan, a state Senator from Butler. The first settler was Daniel Ogden in 1786. The first court was held at Cherry Hill in 1848, the second at Laporte in late 1848. The Courthouse was built in 1852. The first newspaper was the Sullivan Eagle in 1860. The first church was The Friends Meeting House in Elkland Twp. dating from 1805, the second was the "Peace Church" in Cherry Township. The first school was in Forks township, 1816.

A 25-year low in dairy prices has prompted Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis C. Wolff to form a statewide Dairy Task Force "to review and strengthen Pennsylvania's dairy industry," the largest segment of Pennsylvania agriculture.

In 1821, Spain ceded Florida to the United States. On this date in 1945, President Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II.

On this day in 1938, pilot Douglas Corrigan asked the Civil Aviation Authority for permission to fly from New York City to Ireland. The request was denied because of the "poor condition" of his plane. Corrigan got in his plane and took off West, then did a 180 turn to the east, headed over the ocean, landed in Ireland, and complained of a faulty compass. No one believed him and he lost his pilot's license, but back in New York over a million people came out for a ticker-tape parade honoring "Wrong Way" Corrigan.

The Benton Rodeo moves into full swing tonight. Come out for the excitement. Admission to the grounds is free. We'll add some pictures from last night's team penning later today.

Quote of the Day:
"Modo et modo non habebant modum." (By and by never comes.)
--St. Augustine

The upcoming Benton Fireman's Carnival will be held at the Benton Rodeo grounds this year—not at the Benton Park. Please make sure this word gets out.

Take a look at the magazine of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, http://www.palegacies.org/issues/0301/0301%20index.html , called Pennsylvania Legacies.

In need of prayers...
• Jean Dietrich, from a fall, July 9, outside her home, suffering a broken left hip--the ball joint separated from the leg. The good news is that her pelvis remained intact. She tolerated the replacement surgery very well on Thursday evening, July 10, and recuperated at Bloomsburg Hospital until July 15. She is currently admitted to the rehabilitation program at Orangeville Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, 200 Berwick Road, Orangeville PA 17859; (570) 683-5036. Please consider writing, calling or visiting during her BRIEF stay (hopefully not to exceed 3 weeks) at this facility. She is in room 209.
• Rick Henderson, from a heart attack.
• Mrs. Paul Stevens, from a fall.
• Ruth Kline, currently at home.

In Pennsylvania, riders of all-terrain vehicles are not required to wear helmets unless they are riding on state forest land. Neither are they required to have a license to ride the vehicles. From 1997 through 2001, Pennsylvania averaged 17 all-terrain vehicle deaths each year, ranging from 30 in 2001 to just four in 1999. Today, there are an estimated 175,000 ATVs operating in the state.

When the Phillies move into their new ballpark next year, ticket prices for seats in the 200 level in the infield, which list for $28 now, will increase to $35 or $40, depending on how close they are to home plate.

The tiger trout is possibly the rarest of naturally reproduced trout specimens in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission biologists turn up only one or two each year during their summer stream surveys.

There are state estimates that tiger trout only occur at a rate of one for every 8,000 trout. This trout, caught on corn, was tagged when caught.

Tiger trout are the result of a hybridization between two different species—the brook and the brown trout. This cross is unique because brook and brown trout each belong in a separate genus. This cross can easily be performed by a fisheries biologist or a hatchery technician, but it is rare in the wild.

Experiments performed in the 1950s found that even in the controlled conditions of a hatchery, less than 5% of the fertilized eggs survived to the fry stage. The survival rate never approaches the normal rate of brook or brown trout.

The trout is noted for it's smartness and its difficulty to catch.

The tag number on the tail of the Tiger Trout read, "7699."

The fish was probably raised in a nursery specializing in the raising and distribution of "Brook", "Rainbow" and "Tiger" trout.

Tiger Fish are usually sold by the inch for stocking in private clubs—not in state-owned waters—in the state.

People who have pools in their backyards often purchase Tiger Trout.

The Pennsylvania Fish Commission had no record of this trout.

July 16, 2003. On this date...
• in 1790, the District of Columbia was established as the seat of the United States government.
• in 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb, in the desert of Alamogordo, NM.
• in 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when their single-engine plane plunged into the ocean near Martha's Vineyard.
• 71 years ago, former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh was born.

Anna (Rabatin) Vansock, 95, (April 12, 1908—July 14, 2003), 291 Andy's Hill Road, Benton, died Monday, at the Bloomsburg Health Care Center. She was born in Hungary, a daughter of the late George and Elizabeth (Chorba) Rabatin, and emigrated to the United States and the Wilkes-Barre area with her family at age 5. Mrs. Vansock attended Wilkes-Barre schools, and was a resident of the Wilkes-Barre area until 1929, when she relocated to Jackson Township with her husband and eldest daughter. She lived there for 74 years. She was an active member of the Divide Union Church, and was past superintendent and served as a Sunday school teacher. She was preceded in death in 1970 by her husband, Andrew Vansock, Sr.; a son, Andrew Vansock Jr., who died Jan. 13, 1996; and a daughter, Anne D. Newhart, who died July 3, 2001; two brothers: George Rabatin Jr., who died in childhood; and George Rabatin; three sisters: Elizabeth Matyas; Catherine Partilla; and Margaret Rabets. Surviving are her daughter, Mrs. Doyle (Gloria E.) Klinger, Benton; nine grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; three adopted great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; and numerous step great-grandchildren and step great-great-grandchildren. Private graveside services will be 3 PM Thursday at the Waller Cemetery, with her pastor, the Rev. Robert R. Bennett, officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of the McMichael Funeral Home Inc., Benton.

There will be a blood drive Friday, July 25, at the L. R. Appleman Elementary School, Park Street, Benton, from 2 until 7 PM. To give blood, you must be at least 105 pounds, 17 years or older and in good health.

Have you noticed as you grow older that Phonesia—the affliction of dialing a telephone number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer—becomes a problem?

How can one be a fiscal conservative when the deficit runs to an incomprehensible figure of over $400 billion? With tax cuts and not balanced budgets topping our current fiscal priority—or as the New York Times puts it, "detax-and-spend policies—some of us are out of step with today's world. Remember that only two years ago, the US government ended the year with its fourth straight surplus—$127 billion.

Some Thoughts From Buster...
If I were ever left alone to explore the banks of Fishing Creek and the hills near where I live in Benton, I would first explore fields where the mouseys live and I would take She with me, but I think that I would leave Mother and Leader home. They worry too much and they don't let me explore everything that needs to be explored. We are curious animals, especially when it comes to water and getting wet. We love to run through the water and the sand, then charge Leader and shake our fur as we go by just fast enough so he can't catch us and then do it again. Mother calls it a "Bichon Buzz." Leader says it has to do with something about testosterone production. Our most fun adventure ever was when we crossed the river Leader called the "Susquehanna" on wood with some kind of a wheel on the back of it. We have lots of pictures of it under FEATURES. Leader said to tell you it is in an article called "The Millersburg Ferry."
--Buster, a staff reporter for the Benton News, is a male Bichon Frize deeply in love with his friend, Chloe.

The Benton Town Council will meet Thursday, July 17, at the Benton Town Hall for the purpose of determining the advisability of adding "tar and chips" to Culley Street. The meeting will be in the secretary's office at 10 AM.

More contributions came in yesterday for the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center. Two family pledges were received for a total of $30,000 and several gifts of area memorability were received. Two of the gifts are of significance: the first is the post office lobby from the Jamison City post office, which will be incorporated in the design of the community center building, and the second is the steam whistle from the original McHenry Distillery. And speaking of family names important to the historical development of the area, artifacts significant to those families will be cataloged and preserved after the current fund-raising is complete.

For the second time in a week, kids rang the bell at the Benton Christian Church during the night, this time at 3:30 AM Wednesday. We happened to read something written by one of the kids we suspect is staying up all night, and we suggest that he spend his time this summer learning to write an understandable sentence rather than concentrating on nighttime activities.

Ever notice mules make a great fuss about their ancestors having been horses?

Quote of the Day:
"Marriage is very simple: one man and one woman. Not two men or three men or four men or one man or one woman or two women and three women or three women and three men. It's not that. It's one man, one woman."
--Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), holding up various fingers to illustrate his points.

Larry W. Meeker, 57, (August 15, 1945-July 14, 2003), 209 Bendertown Road, Stillwater, died Monday at home. He was the son of the late Mason J. and Clara (Hines) Meeker, a 1963 graduate of Berwick High School, a 26-year resident of Bendertown and a employee of Kawneer Co. Inc., Bloomsburg. Mr. Meeker was preceded in death by a sister, Louise Bowman. Surviving are his wife, the former Shirley L. Rupp, and two sons: Larry M. Meeker, Elgin, SC; Chris A. Meeker, Monroe, LA; a stepson, Harold K. Wrba, Shickshinny; nine grandchildren, one great-granddaughter; and a sister, Mrs. Theodore (Lynne M.) Adams, Jerseytown. Services will be private and at the convenience of the family under the direction of the Kriner Funeral Home, Benton.

The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble and the Bloomsburg University Players present "Tales from the Arabian Nights" July 18 through August 3 at the Alvina Krause Theatre, Center St., Bloomsburg. To celebrate the Ensemble's 25th anniversary, you can buy one ticket and get one of equal or lesser value for 25 cents for the July 18 performances. This special is available one hour before show times, which are 1 and 7 PM. There are no advance sales.

The old saying of the day:
"Truth is stranger than fiction."

Colonel Robert Bruce Ricketts at one time owned outright or controlled over 80,000 acres of land. His heirs, through the Central Penn Lumber Company, sold 48,000 acres to the Pennsylvania Game Commission from 1920-24. This left them with over 12,000 acres surrounding the Ganoga Lake, Lake Jean and Glen area. What is now Ricketts Glen was approved as a national park site in the 1930's. In 1942 the heirs sold 1,261 acres, the Falls and Glens area, to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a state park. Additional purchases from Colonel Rickett's son, William Ricketts, in 1943 and 1949 resulted in a park nucleus of approximately 10,000 acres of former Ricketts holdings. Additional purchases from other individuals have brought Ricketts Glen State Park to its present size. Recreational facilities were first opened in 1944.

From the "I Don't Know Any More Now Than I Knew Before" Department...
"An electrical problem in the area of the Benton Foundry triggered a power outage hitting many parts of Columbia County on Saturday afternoon, a PPL spokesman said." This quote in the Press Enterprise is the only explanation we could find about the loss of power to almost 7,000 PPL customers Saturday night.

Joe Snedeker, WNEP-TV Morning Meteorologist, came to WNEP-16 in 1993 after working as a High School science instructor for the Carbondale Area School District. Now, in addition to his duties at WNEP, Snedeker is returning to teaching. The Western Wayne School District, Lake Ariel, has hired him as a science teacher. Snedeker will stay full time with WNEP until the start of the school year, then will limit his involvement to the morning news programs. During summer vacation, Joe will increase his hours and his airtime with the station.

The Washington Post is so casual about numbers: "The deficit projection due out today is nearly $50 billion more than economists anticipated just last week." Holy mackerel! Our Government is off by that much in just one week thanks to war, tax cuts and a third year of a flailing economy? Sorry, but a budget deficit in excess of $450 billion does not make sense to this writer. Watch for local taxes to go up and covered services go down as local governments struggle to make up the shortfalls. Down in Maryland, for example, 13 out of 24 counties have recently raised taxes.

Chloe's Column...
Mother told me that I should write something to put in whatever it is that Leader does when he pounds his fingers on the roof over my bed. My name is Chloe and there are just three living things in my life that are important to me: Mother, Leader and He.
• Mother rescued me when I was about to be tossed to the wolves, and I will always love her for that. Mother can hold me and cuddle me and talk to me even though I don't have any idea what she is trying to tell me. When I ignore her for too long, she likes to make loud noises with her hands and sometimes she tells Leader that he "has to deal with the situation."
• Leader thinks he is the leader of our pack and so He and I shall just go ahead and let him be the leader. Leader told me once that we are pack animals and there has to be someone to take charge. Sometimes I don't think Mother knows that Leader is the leader.
• The love of my life is He. He licks my ears and my eyes, He listens for wolves next door when I nap, He and I chase the mouseys together and hide from Leader sometimes. He and I do everything together, but I won't let him take food from my dish and if Leader gives He more than he gives me it is my responsibility to take a little back. Both He and I are trained in the art of sitting on older people's laps and we go sometimes to do that.

This weekend, we all went to where the little human kids are that act like Mother is their mother, too, and we went to the field where I think that I could have found a mousey to chase, but it was like when He and a mouse get in the corn crib with all the kids running and throwing their ball and not paying attention like sometimes He and I don't pay attention. Leader said something about a T-Ball championship and that it was very important, so naturally I took a nap with He. But when I woke up because Leader and Mother were clapping their hands and making too much noise for the mousey ever to come out, I heard that the kids that Leader didn't seem to like very much were 19 runs behind and that seemed to make Leader very happy. I had what Leader called the runs once for about as long as a can of my food lasts and Leader was not at all happy about that but was happy today about the runs. I don't understand Mother and Leader sometimes.
--Chloe is a white, female Bichon Frize. She is a staff reporter for the Benton News.

George A. Ricker, 80, (April 27, 1923-July 13, 2003), 343 Clarks Road, Benton, died Sunday, at the Bonham Nursing Center, Stillwater, after living in the Benton area for 33 years. He served in the Army with the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He had owned the Raven Creek Auto Garage, the Northern Construction Rental Co., and had worked as a farmer. He was preceded in death by brothers Harold and Frank Ricker, and by sisters Marceline Chung and Mabel Munger. Surviving is one son, George M. Ricker, Fairmount Springs, three daughters: Mrs. James (Cindy) Williams, Drums; Mrs. John (Karen J.) Cotter, Springfield, VA; Mrs. George (Annette L.) Walker, Huntington Mills; eight grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; a brother, Arthur Ricker, Seattle; three sisters: Mrs. John (Dorothy) Sanson, Philadelphia; Mrs. James (Faith) Faulkner, Des Moines; and Mrs. Leo (Ruth) Fitch, Colfax, Iowa. Funeral services will be at the convenience of the family under the direction of the Dean W. Kriner Inc. Funeral Home, Benton. Burial will be in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.
--from a Bloomsburg Press Enterprise article

James Case "Jim" Phillips, 77, (September 19, 1925-July 12, 2003), 1342 Old Tioga Turnpike, Cambra, died Saturday at home. Born in Huntington Mills, he was a son of the late Henry and Reba (Case) Phillips. He was a 1943 graduate of the former Huntington Mills High School, and a 1950 graduate of the former Eckels School of Embalming, Philadelphia. Mr. Phillips served as a corporal in the Army during World War II. He operated the James C. Phillips Funeral Home, Cambra, from 1951-1957. He later worked as a stock broker and real estate broker, operating James C. Phillips Realty Inc. for 20 years in Cambra. He retired in 1990. He was a member of the Town Hill United Methodist Church. He was also a member of the former New Columbus Elks Lodge and a past member of the Greater Wilkes-Barre and Susquehanna Valley Board of Realtors. Mr. Phillips was preceded in death by a sister, Faye Thomas; and a brother, John Christopher Phillips. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, the former Pauline R. Brown, and by a daughter Ceib L. Phillips, Hillsborough, NC; two grandchildren; and a brother, George Phillips, Huntington Mills. A memorial service will be held at later. Burial will be in Pine Grove Cemetery, Harveyville, under the direction of the McMichael Funeral Home Inc., Benton.
--from a Bloomsburg Press Enterprise article

The Laporte Sesquicentennial House Tour will take place Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM as part of the Sullivan County borough's 150th anniversary. A dozen homes and some businesses and historic structures will be open for viewing. Tickets may be purchased for $12 on the day of the tour and are available at the community hall. The tour includes...
• Barnstorme, an original barn built about 1867 in Forks Township, then disassembled in 1978 and moved to Laporte. Fireplace brick came from a Baptist Church in Milton and the cherry newel post and oak spindles from a hotel in Dushore.
• Summer Farm, a double-plank type farmhouse built about 1873.
The addition—with an enclosed stairway to the second floor—housed early travelers. Living and eating quarters—on the first floor—remained separate from the owner's side of the house. A carriage barn adjacent to the home was recently rebuilt by the present owners.
• Castle Brooke, built in 1939. This stone house was remodeled and enlarged by the present owners in the 1990s. A drawbridge and moat is a surprise as you walk around the lake.
• A Victorian home at the site of Carousel Cottage, where once a carousel operated at a cottage built in 1958, then demolished in the 1990s and replaced with the Victorian home.
• Beachview, the first cottage at Lake Mokoma, dating from 1911, now a restored year-round home. Frank Farrell, who had the beverage concession for the lake, bought the cottage in 1927.
• Weirwold, built in 1925 by Sen. John Snowden as a summer residence, overlooking Lake Mokoma. The original stone fireplace is an attractive feature.
• Bird's Nest, originally a two-story cinderblock summer cottage, rebuilt in 1991. All that remains of the original structure is part of the foundation and the chimney. The owners since 1999 have developed a "charming backyard."
• Early Cottage was built in 1930 by the owner of a Hughesville factory. One of the propellers produced there hangs on the second floor wall. A boathouse is underneath the living area. Major renovation was done by new owners in 1999, raising the roof and turned the attic space into a spacious second floor. Family quilts are on display throughout the cottage.
• Stone Cottage was built in 1927, the first summer after the breach of the Lake Mokoma dam. Two young boys renovated much of the inside. The house was further upgraded in the 1990s, with much of the youthful workmanship evident.
• Highland House was built on a lots bought from the original Lake Mokoma Company in 1897 by L.L. Ford who founded Camp Mokoma, a summer school for boys and girls. This home was built in 1897 as his personal cottage overlooking the summer camp. It was renovated in
2000.
• Cosgrove Home is a five bedroom Victorian built about 1890. The present owners bought the residence in 1955 and the most recent renovations occurred in 1996. Laporte memorabilia will be on display at the home.
• St. John's Sacred Heart and the United Methodist Churches will be open for visitors as will the Historical Society's Baldwin House. The borough building on Main Street, a former drugstore and later a tea room, also will be open. Lunch will be served at the community hall and prepared by the Laporte Women's Club from 11:30 AM to 2 PM for a donation of $2, which includes entertainment by a dulcimer duo, Lucy and Bruce Henry.

In this hot and sticky weather, separate postage stamps that have stuck together by letting them in the freezer for about then minutes.

Take a look at http://www.ritterchiropractic.com/, the new website of Earl Ritter, Doctor of Chiropractic.

The fifth-annual Iron Heritage Festival, Danville, will begin with a parade starting at 7 PM July 17, including a fife-and-drum band from New York State and at least four other bands. There also will be costumed marchers. After the parade, a polka party will take place at Cole's parking lot. John Stanky of Stanky and the Coal Miners will provide the music. Bring lawn chairs. Dottie Stanky has been the host of television show Pennsylvania Polka on WVIA-44 for 23 years.

In case we don't get around to writing a Benton News Sunday, remember that Huber Kline and Phil Edson celebrate their birthdays tomorrow.

Julius Caesar is on the birthday list today, born in Rome around 100 B.C. The month we're in was called Quintilis until Julius came along and the month was renamed July in his honor. Caesar as a Roman dictator and in the year 47 B.C. fought a brief war for the kingdom of Pontus in Asia Minor, and later wrote, "Veni, vidi, vici": "I came, I saw, I conquered." We celebrate the birthday of American essayist and poet Henry David Thoreau today (1817), author of Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854) and the Civil Disobedience (1849). Thoreau kept a journal, writing in it from the edge of Walden Pond, near Concord. He wrote, "Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something."

The annual "Homecoming" service at St. Gabriel's will be Sunday, July 20, at 11:00 AM with Rev. Alan C. Mead officiating, assisted by The Rev. Joseph W. Hess, retired, a Hess pioneer descendant. Everyone is welcome. There will be visiting and refreshments following the service. For those interested in "family roots," a get together is planned for Saturday July 19, at the church beginning about 9:30 AM until about 3:00 PM. This is a "come when you can and leave when you must." For those planning to spend the day, we suggest they bring a "bag lunch."

Quote of the Day:
"There are some days I practice positive thinking, and other days I'm not positive I am thinking."
--Dr. John M. Eades

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is distributing brochures to help residents prepare for a natural disaster, large-scale emergency or unexpected attack. Copies of the guide will be included in nearly 3 million home-delivered newspapers statewide Sunday.

In preparation for the Ricketts discussion upcoming at the North Mountain Historical Society July 21, we are going to daily start including little tidbits about the Ricketts family and Ricketts Glen State Park. We'll talk a little about the lakes today. Lake Rose was built originally about 1842 as a log pond for a squatter by the name of Dodson, and if you hear reference locally to "Dodson's Pond" it is the same as Lake Rose. The man cut and milled cherry for bedsteads. The log dam that ponds the water was reinforced in 1905 when the log dam holding back the waters of the original Lake Jean was constructed. Although Lake Jean was built (and Lake Rose's dam was reinforced) for hydroelectric power, neither dam was ever used for that purpose. In 1956, the Department of Forests and Waters replaced the log dam with a larger earth-fill dam and dikes at the east and west ends creating the present Lake Jean. This action joined the original Lake Jean with Mud Pond. Because of structural weaknesses, the concrete dam at Lake Leigh was condemned and a hole blown in it in 1957. Two branches of Kitchen Creek cut through the twin gorges of Ganoga Glen and Glen Leigh and unite at "Waters Meet" and then flow through Ricketts Glen beside giant pines, hemlocks and oaks. The scenic Ricketts Glen State Park consists of 13,050 acres in Luzerne, Sullivan and Columbia counties.

The Monster Truck show at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds is expected to attract more than 3,300 trucks from all over the northeastern United States and the South, while up in Wilkes-Barre is the 97th running of the Giants Despair Hillclimb. The action starts at 9 AM today and cars will run until about 4 PM and they'll do it all over again Sunday at the same time. Admission is free.

A field of medical waste estimated to be 15 miles long appeared off the coast of Ocean County in New Jersey Friday afternoon, forcing Jersey Shore beaches to close.

Pennsylvania State University trustees approved a 9.8% hike on tuition for the coming school year. The $788 increase is to help offset rising costs and an expected 5% cut in state aid. Counting this increase, Penn State has raised tuition 34%—or $2,250—over three years.

If you drive anything smaller than a Hummer, watch out for the craters in the Staples parking lot, Bloomsburg.

Starting on Monday, July 14, Miles Cole will go to Danville high school for a Robotic workshop. This is Miles' second year. Miles and others will work with a kit called Lego Mindstorms, a Lego product that involves computers. Miles writes, "We will use the traditional Lego pieces mixed with some newer pieces. We use a computer program made by Pitsco to program our robot to do certain tasks. Some of the special pieces are the sensors. There are light, touch, rotation, and temperature sensors. There are also motors that are used to make the robot move. But the most important piece is the RCX. The RCX is a microcomputer that we download all of our programs to using an inferred tower. In groups of about five students we will receive a task to complete and then use all of the necessary pieces to make a robot that will complete the task. Last year we had to make a robot that would move along a table and when in the center it would have to beep and then stop at the end of the table, then move back across the table and beep in the center and stop at the end of the table. This year I am hoping for some more challenging tasks to complete." Miles is the son of Ed and Susan Cole.

On this date in 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy was dedicated at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado.

Benton borough continues to need a lifeguard. Anyone interested in working as a lifeguard at the dam should call Karen Reed at 925-5779 or 925-2358. The job paid $6.50 an hour last year.

The 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (Fox, 8 PM) will be played Tuesday, July 15. There is a twist this year: the winning league at Chicago's Cellular Field will be awarded home-field advantage for the World Series.

Down by the Ohio river in a double-wide, former mayor of Cincinnati Jerry Springer plans to formally organize an Ohio "Springer for U.S. Senate Committee" and may do it as early as today. And out in California, Arnold Schwarzenegger is kicking around running for governor. We love living in Pennsylvania!

Trans fat hasn't gotten the attention its infamous cousin, saturated fat, earned but that is about to change. After 10 years of debate, the government will require food labels to reveal exact levels of the artery clogger.

The antique store in Benton, "Benton Antiques, Etc.," is now open. Pay them a visit.

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Someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though that person knows that you are slightly cracked has to be a good friend.

Several area people head north to the east side of the lake near Watkin's Glen today. It is time to pick bing cherries, even though the rainy weather isn't cooperating. Many sweet cherries experience severe cracking if water is allowed to remain on the skin for a few hours before harvest. Rains at harvest time will often ruin a crop. Meanwhile, at home, the red raspberries are wonderful this year, and the black raspberries will soon be available.

A local book worth picking up is Garrett, dedicated to the memory of Garrett Hess ((1886-1969) and written by Ruth A. Benscoter. Garrett Hess was named in honor of Garrett Edwards, who lived in Edsons, PA, about where the Mill Race Golf Course is now located. In fact, one of the old Edsons brown fieldstone houses still stands adjacent to route 487. The book is told through the eyes of Garrett Hess, describing St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church both as church and as school; the purchase of land in Sugarloaf Township using both cash and dowry; travel on the Bloomsburg and Sullivan railroad; Summer School in Benton—and much more. The book is for sale at the Brass Pelican and other locations. Pick up a copy; it is fascinating reading.

And speaking of the Brass Pelican, a national magazine named the Brass Pelican, Elk Grove, as having the "world's best" buckwheat cakes. Few will disagree. We obtained permission to reprint the article and have done so in a FEATURE article entitled "M to Eagles Mere," story and photographs by Brian Hollingsworth. You'll understand the title when you read the article, which, by the way, talks about Eagles Mere, Ricketts Glen, World End State Park and other local attractions. Monica had better stock up on buttermilk, we suspect her buckwheat-cake business will boom...

The Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center got a big boost this week through a number of pledges. Large and small, they are all appreciated and we'll give you a run-down in a few weeks. A pledge of $10,000 and one for $20,000 from private individuals in honor of their families were received this week, and other pledges are in the works. The generosity of everyone who has pledged their support in some way is so very much appreciated.

Didja know that the best known industry in Millville about 1900 was the John Eves and Co. wagon works? The founder of the company was Charles Eves, who started to assemble and sell wheels and other wooden wagon parts about 1837. He built a water-powered saw mill, and eventually constructed a building where hubs and bendings were made. The building burned in 1879. Four of Charles' sons carried on the family business when Charles died in 1855, and after the building burned in 1879, three brothers continued in the business and extended the operation to construction of farm wagons. Trading as Ellis Eves and Brothers, three brothers started a store where the present bank building is located, and J. B. Eves continued with the saw mill and the bending business. In 1883, the store and the wagon works rearranged their ownership position and consolidated under one management.

Unlike the Albertson and the Long Wagon Works in Benton, many products were made, including farm wagons, spring wagons, dead stock wagons, lumber wagons, huckster wagons, bobsleds, sleighs and truck bodies. The firm even constructed houses in the Millville area in 1873 and through 1908 at least eleven houses were built and remain standing to this day. The operation burned again in 1897, but was rebuilt and enlarged. A total of 144 wagons were produced in the year 1907, for example, but as motorized vehicles appeared on the scene the need for wagons decreased. Only 27 were sold in 1929, and on December 1 of that year the work force was laid off. In 1930, only two wagons were sold. Charles operated a smithshop until 1945, but most of the assets of the organization had been sold by 1940, much to Conners at Orangeville. It is always a pleasure to look at a Long Wagon or a Millville Wagon and remember an industry we can now only read about.

Quotes of the Day:
"Ye can lead a man up to the university, but ye can't make him think."
"Alcohol is necessary for a man so that he can have a good opinion of himself, undisturbed by the facts."
"The only good husbands stay bachelors: They're too considerate to get married."
--Finley Peter Dunne

Summertime is here, and it would be good to look at this link from Brita (the water filter people) where you can calculate how much water per day you need to drink to stay healthy. If you think eight 8 oz. glasses a day is correct, the answers just might surprise you.

Two tickets, one from here in Pennsylvania, matched the numbers drawn in the Powerball lottery, splitting the estimated $261.3 million jackpot. The winners have not stepped forward at press time. The numbers in Wednesday night's drawing were 19-21-26-31-51 and the Powerball was 40. Twenty-four states participate in the Powerball lottery.

Senate Democrats yesterday voted to kill White House-supported legislation to limit damage awards in medical malpractice lawsuits. Two Republican Senators and Independent John Chafee joined the Democrats in voting against the proposal. State Senators Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter voted to support the enactment of caps. The legislation is most probably doomed in the 108th Congress but look for it front and center in next year's campaigns.

Quote of the Day:
"Statesmen think they make history; but history makes itself and drags the statesmen along."
--Will Rogers

Herman and Winifred Stackhouse, Wolf House Hollow Road, Benton, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary June 25. They were married June 25, 1938, in St. John's Lutheran Church, Berwick. The family celebrated with them with a meal and a drop-in in the afternoon from 2-4 on the 21st. They have 3 children: Vanice, married to Robert Glidewell; Alan, at home; Richard, married to Nancy Trowbridge, New Holland.

Justin Eugene Lockard, 20, 665 Market St., Benton, faces felony homicide by vehicle and other charges stemming from the crash that killed Frank D.J. McHenry, 20, Orangeville February 7, according to today's Press Enterprise.

Philadelphia remains the nation's fifth largest city but around the far turn races Phoenix who could pass Philly in population sometime during the next year. Pittsburgh dropped two places in the "largest cities" rankings as Arlington, TX, and Anaheim, CA, both move ahead of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's population was nearly 700,000 in 1950 and today it is estimated at 328,000.

It would take 900,000 signatures of California registered voters to get a recall election for their Guv, Gray Davis. An alleged 1.4 million signatures reportedly are on petitions asking for the October "recall" vote. It appears that a change in employment may be in store.

Heather Vance, Orangeville, and daughter, Julia, are recovering well following the accident at Freas Avenue and Route 93 yesterday. According to reports, a car with teenage occupents pulled into their path.

It must make sense to someone that the Guv and Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed are cow-chairing a program that will bring a herd of more than 100 "life size fiberglass cows" to the Capital City area in 2004. The decoratively painted cows will be displayed throughout the City.

We never want the problems others have. For example, in New Zealand, farmers are being asked to pay a yearly tax of $4.9 million to help reduce greenhouse effects caused by the flatulence of millions of cattle and sheep.

Democratic Rep. Joseph Hoeffel said Tuesday he will seek the Senate seat held by four-term Republican incumbent Arlen Specter. Congressman Joe Hoeffel is a Democratic member of Congress from Pennsylvania's 13th District, which includes a portion of Montgomery County and most of Northeast Philadelphia.

The first Bush administration during the first Gulf War asked all of us to properly inflate car tires and tune up engines in an effort to cut down on expensive imported oil. The second Bush administration forecasts natural gas shortfalls this winter and is asking the public to lower window shades, switch to efficient fluorescent lights, and use low-flow shower heads to cut down the consumption of hot water. The idea is to save enough energy through the heat of the summer that natural gas storage levels increase enough to make it through the winter.

Computer tip of the day:
In most word processing programs, quickly go to the beginning of a document by pressing the "Ctrl" and "Home" keys. Similarly, a quick way to jump to the end of a document is to press the "Ctrl" and "End" keys. On web pages, just press "Home" or "End" to go to the beginning or end of any web page.

On this date in 1819, Elias Howe was born, the man known in history for inventing the sewing machine. He patented the invention, which was capable of 250 stitches a minute, in 1846. Howe struggled to protect his patent from imitators. Isaac Singer, for example, invented the up-and-down motion mechanism, and Allen Wilson developed a rotary hook shuttle. The three inventors eventually pooled their patent rights in the "Sewing Machine Combination," under which patent the sewing machine was successfully marketed for many years. The merging of patents was not a smooth one. The courts became a battleground during the early 1850s, but was finally resolved in 1856 with the formation of the "Sewing Machine Combination." Wheeler Wilson & Co, I. M. Singer & Co, Grover & Baker, and Elias Howe formed this cartel by pooling their individual patent rights and the costly litigation battles ceased. The Combination was dissolved in 1877, following the expiration of the key patents.

If you are a Pennsylvania resident and have listed your name on the state "do not call" list, there's no need to add your name to the national list.

Route 239 south from the Benton Roller Mills to the Luzerne County line has been widened and repaved with a thin wisp of macadam. About a mile and a half remains to be paved northbound from the Shannon Mill Road to the intersection of route 487 and 239. The current paving should last just about a month past the end of the current administration.

Even wonder what the eight juicy ingredients are in V-8 juice? Answers at the end.

Napoleon is credited with once saying that "History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." We had to hiccup in disagreement early in a July 2 article in the Sullivan Review entitled, "Bloomsburg/Sullivan Railroad Brought Jamison City to Life." The article claimed that "construction of the railroad from Catawissa, the junction of the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads, up the Fishing Creek Valley began in 1886 and was completed in 1889." In actuality, a railroad from Bloomsburg--not Catawissa--to North Mountain and then on to Bernice was granted a charter December 21, 1883, to construct a railroad up Fishing Creek Valley.

The honorable Charles Robin Buckalew received the charter and organized the company. The Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad Company constructed a twenty-nine mile railroad up Fishing Creek valley under a company organized at Williamsport with Buckalew its first president and Morton McMichael of Philadelphia its vice president. The treasurer was L. E. Waller, Bloomsburg; H. C. Conner, Bloomsburg, was secretary. The contractor was James Jameson and the general manager was F. M. Leader. Financial support largely came from Philadelphia bankers and attorneys, including Benton K. Jamison whose name the town of Jamison City took. Shares were $50 each with an initial capitalization of $500,000. The railroad route and resultant rights-or-way were secured from property owners through the skills of Cyrus McHenry and Cap Connor. Rights were obtained by direct purchase and by agreements by which the land would revert to the owner if and when the railroad was abandoned.

Around the First Union Arena in Wilkes-Barre, just off I-81, restaurants and mega-stores are springing up. The best of the best are coming or have arrived: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Bennigans, Cracker Barrel, the 6,000 sq. ft. Uno Chicago Grill and the 7,000 sq. ft. Smokey Bones bar-b-que house, Outback Steak House, Target and Wal-Mart super centers, and Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse. Who did we miss? We didn't mention Home Depot. The chain has stores in Dickson City and Stroudsburg and at 41 Spring Street, Wilkes-Barre, but none planned that we know of near the First Union Arena. Home Depot, with more than 1,500 stores, is near saturating the US market and in some areas stores seem to be opened only to sabotage the sales of competitors, mostly Lowe's which is about half the size of Home Depot. Founded in 1978, Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement retailer and is the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2002 sales of $58.2 billion. The Company's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HD." Home Depot is now a Fortune 500 company thanks to the leadership of a man by the name of Bob Nardelli, recruited from General Electric two years ago. His immediate actions after he was hired led to a slump in sales and stock prices and the exit of a lot of employees. His leadership is now starting to show. The stock closed yesterday at $34.55, up $.78 for the day--not a bad price considering its 52-week low of $20.10. But why when Wendys builds next to McDonalds and Target goes in next to Wal-Mart is Home Depot not going in against Lowes? It is possible that Home Depot doesn't think that the First Arena area has as much potential as others think it does. In the meantime, the eating will be good...

We noticed a man yesterday who had the dreaded furniture disease--that's when your chest is falling into your drawers.

Quote of the Day:
"An incompetent attorney can delay a trial for months or years. A competent attorney can delay one even longer."
--Evelle J. Younger

The eight juicy ingredients in V-8 juice are beets, carrots, celery, lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, spinach and watercress.

Joan Franklin celebrates her birthday today, and so does Bill Hess of the William Hess Farms. Bill is 70 today. Joan and Bill share their birthday with actress Anjelica Huston, 52.

On this day in 1932, the stock market hit its lowest point of the Depression. From September 3, 1929, to June 8, 1932, the market lost almost 90% of its value and didn't fully recover for 22 years.

Lance James Sheckard, 45 (February 11, 1958-July 7, 2003), 1144 Old Tioga Turnpike, Benton, died at home Monday morning. Born in Schenectady, he was a son of Florence E. (Beard) Sheckard and the late James Lee Sheckard; he was a 1976 graduate of Haverford Township High School; he had an associate's degree in forestry Penn State University and worked in landscaping. With his wife, Cherie, he owned and operated The Kitchen Garden in Benton, selling organic fruits and vegetables for the past four years. Mr. Sheckard was a member of the Benton Area Business Association, the Pennsylvania Certified Organics Association and The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. Mr. Sheckard was preceded in death by his father, James Lee Sheckard, and his brother, Ned Sheckard. He is survived by his mother, Florence E. Sheckard, Bryn Mawr; and his wife of 14 years, Cherie (Smith) Sheckard, Benton. Also surviving is a brother, Mark Sheckard, West Chester. A memorial service will be announced by the Chadwick & McKinney Funeral Home, Ardmore. Burial will be at the Greenwood Cemetery, Lancaster, under the direction of the McMichael Funeral Home Inc., Benton.
--from an article in the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise

Quickies...
• Most bikers in Pennsylvania will soon be able to ride motorcycles without helmets now that the governor signed into law a bill giving riders a choice. It takes effect September 4.
• We were sorry to see Barbara Hess move from her lovely Victorian Mill Street property yesterday in order to be closer to her daughter in Forty-Fort.

Childhood seems to be the time of our lives when we make funny faces in the mirror. Middle age seems to the time in our lives when the mirror gets even.

We love to see new books arrive on the scene. We remember the late 1970s when Emma Harrison Burrus wrote her interesting book entitled, The Life and Times of a Country Merchant. The book told how Rush Harrison opened a store at Forks, "a crossroads community where Huntington Creek joined Fishing Creek." Later, Neil S. Harrison operated the store under his name, and eventually opened a second store in Benton. A book that is both humorous and folksy is entitled Three Points Pennsylvania: and thereby hangs a tale. Jed Gregg wrote the book about "a country boy's recollections of a simpler time." In the book, he tells "the truth" about "Post Office," discusses homemade "shine," and gets into detail about Pop blowing his top. Interesting reading. The book is available at the Shed at Ivy Farm. Three Points is in the Catawissa area, by the way.

Back in 1943, on April 15, the Argus published a letter from someone named Uno Hoo, which went like this...

"After leaving where we were before we left for here, not knowing we were coming here from there, we could not tell if we would arrive here or not. Nevertheless, we are now here and not there.

"The weather here is just as it is at this season, but, of course, quite unlike the weather where we were before we came here. After leaving where we came by, we had a good trip.

"The people here are just like they look, but do not look to be like they were where we came from. From here to here is just as far as it from here to there. The way we came here is just like everyone comes from there to here.

"Of course, we had to bring everything we had with us, for we wear what we would wear here, which is not like what we would wear there. The whole thing is quite a new experience here, because it isn't like what it was like where we were before we left there for here.

"It is now time, in all probability, to stop this somewhat too newsy letter before I give away too much information, as the censor is likely to be a spy."

Cathy Thorne, 542-4540, is looking for a couple of free things. First, she wants a free wagon to haul water for her pets. Second, she wants a free ten-gallon aquarium so she can get some more pets. What pets does she have now, you ask? Well, let's see. There are about 75 chickens, 16 goats--well, we'll not bother with numbers or this will get too long. She has pot-belied pigs, dogs, cats, a rat, gerbils, hamsters, Guinea pigs, gold fish, tropical fish, horse, geese and rabbits.

The evening primrose is now in the height of bloom locally. With vivid yellow blossoms that can extend over five inches across, this perennial has flowers that when the mood hits open in about 15 seconds and are only around for a day or so. They first open locally about 8:15 in the evening and wither the following day. The flowers of the evening primrose typically have a large X-shaped pistil which projects beyond the stamens. After their astonishing show of yellow, the flower petals have one last touch of beauty, turning a deep salmon color before they shrivel and drop off the plant.

The 14th Annual Canyon Country Bluegrass Festival will take place July 12 at Hills Creek State Park, Wellsboro. National acts are featured this year, including The Seldom Scene and The Rarely Herd, along with great regional acts, from 9 AM to 11:30 PM.

Many readers will remember John and Ann Marie Croiter, who first moved to Benton about 1972. John was a beautician for a number of years before the family--including children Mia, Jonathan and David, and parents Amy and George Croiter--moved to Australia. They eventually came Back Home to Benton, PA, for a short time, moving into their old home in Green Acres, the house where Jeff Lynn now lives. John and Ann Marie presently live in Arizona, but will move to Sarasota, FL, next month. Mia is currently a month from graduating from University of Arizona and can remember when she lived here, even though she was only five when she left. She wants to eventually teach elementary or high school art.

The 16th annual Summer 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals are set to roll into Bloomsburg this weekend, with more than 3,000 custom 4-wheel drive trucks. The event will be at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds 10 AM to 8 PM Friday; 9 AM to 9 PM Saturday; 9 AM to 5 PM Sunday. Ticket prices are $18 at the gate.

Our favorite newspaper quotes from the Sullivan Review include...
"Ed Remsnyder who was confined in jail at Laporte on a charge of highway robbery, was taken to Towanda by Sheriff Deegan, on Saturday and placed in the jail at that place, as our jail is only intended for those prisoners who are willing to stay."
--The Sullivan Review, March 16, 1882

"D. W. Brown, of Wyalusing, has six sons, four of whom are practicing physicians, a fifth a druggist and the half-dozenth a druggist's clerk."
--The Sullivan Review, May 11, 1882

"Mrs. Sarah Gross, of Bloomsburg, was recently convicted of an attempt to produce an abortion on the person of Mrs. Chas. Krug, which resulted in the death of the latter. She was sentenced to pay a fine of $500 and the costs of prosecution and to undergo an imprisonment of four years in the Eastern Penitentiary."
--The Sullivan Review, May 17, 1882

"Ed Remsnyder, who was convicted of highway robbery last week, was sentenced to pay $300, the costs of prosecution and to undergo an imprisonment of three years in the Eastern Penitentiary. Sheriff Deegan left on Monday with Remsnyder for the penitentiary."
--The Sullivan Review, June 1, 1882

Now that we know where Ed Remsnyder and other evil doers spent years of their lives, we can close for today. Have a Happy Tuesday.

July 7, 2003

"Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man."
--Leon Trotsky

July 7, 2003. It is the birthday today of Benton Borough Tax Collector Carolyn Sue Evans Remley, and although we won't tell you what year she was born, we will mention that the Best Movie the year she was born was Beau Geste. Carolyn shares her birthday with fashion designer Pierre Cardin, 81, rock star Ringo Starr, 63, and Olympic silver-bronze medal figure skater Michelle Kwan, 23.

On this date in 1865, four people were hanged in Washington for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Lincoln. Five years ago today, a jury in Santa Monica convicted Mikail Markhasev of murdering Ennis Cosby, Bill Cosby's only son.

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige, who some say was baseball's greatest pitcher, was born on July 7, about 1906, in Mobile. The nickname, Satchel, went back to when he was a young boy carrying bags at railroad stations for passengers. His baseball skills came about after being convicted of petty theft and was placed in a black reform school. Five years later, Paige began pitching professionally for several teams in the Negro Southern Association, the Negro American League, and the Negro National League. He drew huge crowds on the field and off. Paige drove from game to game in his Cadillac Convertible, but also owned a bus and several airplanes with Satchel Paige's All-Stars blazed on the side. His race kept him from the major leagues at that time, but he barnstormed around the country playing in exhibition games against the best players. Major league teams barred their players from wearing their team uniforms for these games.

And speaking of baseball, didja know that the oldest professional baseball team in the country dates back to 1869. When they ran out on the field the first time, they wore red stockings. Fans instantly named them the Redstockings and later, during the era of Joe McCarthy in the 1950s, they were briefly known as the Redlegs. They eventually migrated to the simple name the Cincinnati Reds. Yesterday, the Reds third baseman Aaron Boone was selected to play in the All-Star Game July 15, by the way.

In September of 1975, then Postmaster William Mather recorded over 14" of rain during Hurricane Eloise. As much as 30" of water flowed Main Street in Benton.

There is an article and picture about Sheriff's Deputy Jim Arter, Elk Grove, in this morning's Press Enterprise concerning deadly domestic problems that face people in his line of work. The Columbia Country sheriff's department currently has a full-time chief deputy and six part-time deputies.

Over in South Avis in Clinton County, they found a unique solution to the lack of money in the volunteer fire department. The Avis Fire Co. faced higher costs for equipment, but fundraisers such as carnivals, bingo and food sales were bringing in less money. The solution the company employed was to buy the South Avis Inn last month with plans to expand the tavern to include a restaurant.

The 2003 version of the O*A*T*S* bluegrass festival is now history. We have added a lot of pictures, and when you get time you should pop on over and take a look. We still have a lot more to put up, so it is a work in progress. You'll recognize a number of local scenes and people. Although the weather was hot, the Benton area made a lot of new friends. A lot of the bluegrassers walked through Benton, ate in our restaurants, bought in our stores, and made friends with the people they met. Although the population of the town doubled over the weekend, everything but some grass at the rodeo grounds survived just fine...

If you are a fan of bluegrass music and only intend to buy one CD this year, try Down From the Mountain, featuring Fairfield Four, John Hartford, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Dan Tyminski, The Cox Family, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, The Whites, Chris Thomas King with Colin Linden, and Emmylou Harris.

And just for the record, the magazine Bluegrass Unlimited named the following groups as the bluegrass entertainers to watch:
Entertainer Of The Year: The Del McCoury Band
Vocal Group Of The Year: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Male Vocalist Of The Year: Dan Tyminski
Female Vocalist Of The Year: Rhonda Vincent

Up in Burlington, Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a theft along Route 6. Police said that an unknown person removed two plastic geese from the front yard of a house for a loss of about $66. Now we are not in favor of stealing things, but it just might be that the house looks a lot better now that the geese have flown...

This morning at 4:54 AM, the bell at the Christian Church, Benton, started ringing. Usually a ringing bell means that the faithful should gather around for services, or that various parts of the services are beginning as an announcement to those faithful who are absent from the church, or that the service is complete. We suspect this morning that the reason had nothing to do with any of the above. We have noticed this summer that the younger people in town seem to be up all night. Maybe Mark Twain was right when he said something to the effect that is OK for older people to get up early since they have done so many mean things in their life that they can't sleep anyway...

Our closing thought is that we know we're getting older when we look forward to a dull evening... Have a great Monday!

Children's author Beatrix Potter was born on this date in 1866. If the name does not immediately ring a bell, we'll remind you that she did twenty-three illustrated storybooks about Peter Rabbit. Her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901) told about a rabbit who disobeyed his mother's warning to stay out of Mr. McGregor's garden. Most of us with children remember reading, "Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were--Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter." On this date in 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur successfully tested an antirabies vaccine on a boy bitten by an infected dog. On July 6, 1923, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed. Former first lady Nancy Reagan is 82 today and President Bush is 57 and actually there are tons of famous birthdays including Merv Griffin (78), Janet Leigh (72), Della Reese (72) and Sylvester Stallone (57).

There is a good picture of Arizona Slim, today known as Elmer Hunter or "Uncle Elmer," in this morning's Press Enterprise, playing his heart out while "Jammin' at the Shed" at Ivy Farm, off Upper Raven Creek Road. You can see many other pictures of bluegrass players on the Benton News website, taken during the last full day of the O*A*T*S* Festival at the rodeo grounds. Sunday at 9 AM, the Rev. Al Lumpkin along with his wife, Jean, and some friends will conduct Church Services from the stage.

Stained Grass Window will play at 9:30 AM this morning. The group is a five-piece bluegrass ensemble from north-central Pennsylvania and has performed for the past nine years. While they are "bluegrass," this group also draws its music from jazz and gospel music. George Graham, host of WVIA-FM's Home Grown Music, who produced their first album, calls Stained Grass Window "eclectic." Individual members of Stained Grass Window have day jobs. Lou Eberlin is a contractor from Picture Rocks. Mark Doncheski is a motorcycle mechanic from Danville who plays banjo, mandolin, finger-style guitar and bass. Rick Marcera, Asbury, is a versatile musician who sings and plays bass, guitar, mandolin, saxophone, drums and piano. Stop by and say "Howdy."

Alan Hack leaves for governor's school today at Millersville University and will be there until August 9, 2003. Please keep him in your prayers.

Contrary to the rash of emails we received yesterday to the effect that a few drops of Lemon Joy in a container of water would kill mosquitoes, we say "hogwash." Lemon Joy has limited application against biting insects, in that soap does breaks the surface tension of water, making it possible to drown insects who would otherwise just bounce off the water. Lemon Joy would work to drown a critter retrieved from Buster or Chloe, but it isn't going to attract and kill insects and prevent the spread of West Nile Virus. This year's rainy spring and the areas of standing water it created, followed by the recent weeks of hot, dry weather, are optimal conditions for mosquito breeding.

According to this morning's Times Leader, the Guv's "2004 budget reduces aid for libraries by $37.6 million. Starting in January, local libraries will lose at least a quarter of their overall budget."

Serena Williams retained her Wimbledon title with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory against sister Venus in two hours and three minutes on Centre Court yesterday. By the way, in 1957 on this date, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard.

Drive carefully tonight. If you are traveling...
• I-80, single-lane conditions exist along two sections in the eastbound direction between Danville (Exit 224) and Buckhorn (Exit
232). Lengthy delays on Sundays are likely, from late afternoon through early evening.
• I-81, reduced speed and narrow, shifting lanes for nearly 6 miles in the Harrisburg area from just east of Interstate 83 to the Susquehanna River. In Lackawanna County, at the Davis Street/Montage Mountain Road, Exit 182B (Davis St) closed on southbound I-81, use Exit 182A.

The Mashanantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, could play a major role in a thoroughbred racetrack proposed for just outside Easton. The horsemen's group, called 100% Purses Inc., applied with the Pennsylvania Racing Commission for a license to build a track with a 2,500-seat grandstand, several restaurants, a 500-room hotel and conference center. Mashanantucket Pequot Tribal Nation wants to run a slot-machine casino at the facility, pending legislation to legalize gaming machines at the state's racetracks. The Guv proposed paying for an average 30% cut in residential school property taxes statewide with revenues from a state income tax hike and the legalization of slot machines at horse racetracks.

On this day...
• In 1946, French designer Louis Reard strutted out the bikini at a swimming pool in Paris. The name came about because Beard read about the United States exploding a nuclear weapon near some islands in the Pacific known as the "Bikini Atoll." Italy, Portugal, and Spain banned the suit. Brigitte Bardot wore one in 1956 in the French movie "And God Created Woman," four years later Brian Hyland wrote "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," and in 1963 the movie Beach Party was released with a the bikini-clad Annette Funicello. Bikinis were off and running and have been around ever since.
• In 1954, Elvis Presley recorded his first rock and roll song and his first hit, "That's All Right, Mama." Elvis in response to the question as to who he sounded like, once said, "I don't sound like nobody."

The Fourth of July was festive and patriotic for most Americans. Patriotism was alive Thursday! Hundreds braved the heat to attend Millville's 102nd annual Fourth of July parade. In Benton, a huge throng listened to bluegrass. Throughout the region, songs from Frank Sinatra, Lee Greenwood, the Charlie Daniels Band, Alabama and Neil Diamond were popular. And everywhere was the smell of hot dogs and hamburgs on family gree-yuhls. It was a great Fourth of July, sweat and all!

Today's Arcadia Word of the Day:
"GREE-YUHL" (noun). A cooking utensil of parallel bars on which food is exposed to heat (as from charcoal, gas or electricity).
Usage: "Y'all want me to throw some more ree-yubs on the gree-yuhl?"

Sunday at 9 AM, The Rev. Al Lumpkin along with wife Jean and friends lead a morning worship service at the bluegrass festival, with music beginning at 9:30 AM, running until about 3 PM.

Today's Quote of the Day:
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
--Henry David Thoreau

Towanda Borough is celebrating its 175th anniversary today with a parade, community picnic and block dance.

The invasive Japanese knotweed, the weed we love to hate, is the subject of an article in today's Times Leader. Knotweed spreads easily through an aggressive root system, preventing other vegetation from growing. Most of the streams in the area have knotweek growing along the banks.

The Tour de France is on the Outdoor Life Network at 9 AM today. We hope that Lance Armstrong wins a fifth title. Speaking of TV, Turner Classic Movies hosts a 24-hour "Tribute to Katharine Hepburn" starting at 6 AM Thursday, opening with the 1936 film "Mary of Scotland."

It was on this date in 1776 that the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence and the United States officially broke from the rule of England. The Declaration is the basis for the words "all Men are created equal."

Philadelphians celebrated the first anniversary of American independence. In 1804, explorers Lewis and Clark celebrated the Fourth of July as they traveled through what is now Kansas. At the mouth of a creek on July 4, they named it Independence Creek, fired their cannon, and allowed an extra ration of whisky for the men. Clark's diary entry read, So magnificent a Senerey in a Contry thus Situated far removed from the Sivilised world to be enjoyed by nothing but the Buffalo Elk Deer & Bear in which it abounds. (sic).

Observing Independence Day only became commonplace after the War of 1812. The day was celebrated with parades, bands, speeches, and crowning of pretty village girls as the Goddess of Liberty. Politicians and lawyers would get fired up and call the King of England names and would challenge England to a fight. Drunks would pick fights by calling other men "Englishmen." Eventually, events like ground-breaking ceremonies for the Erie Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroads were scheduled to coincide with July 4. By the 1870s, the Fourth of July was the most important secular holiday on the calendar.

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.
--John Adams

BBQ is as American as baseball, jazz, and rhubarb pie. The meat actually defines who you are in the South and Southwest where BBQ styles inspire fierce loyalty and local pride. North Carolinanians, for example, favor two distinct BBQ schools, Eastern style and Lexington style. Long debates can ensue over whether cole slaw should be layered in the sandwich or not. Beside the classic slow-roasted Southern BBQ, there is simple "barbecue," which encompasses anything cooked over an open flame. At the O*A*T*S* bluegrass festival last night at the rodeo grounds, the barbeque was "pulled" straight out of the pig and was simply delicious. Over 300 dined on pulled pig and casseroles last night, while being beautifully serenaded by a rendition of "Amazing Grace."

And we'll mention that over 500 campers have now arrived for the festival and who knows how many people. The setting is small and intimate and the people very friendly. Now here is a deal for you. If you are a "resident local to the Benton area," the organizers have agreed to let you in Friday night after 6 PM for only $10. Set your clocks, grab your lawn chairs, walk or ride to the rodeo grounds and see some wonderful entertainment. Mention the Benton News if you don't know if you are "resident local to the Benton area." Come on out. And stop and say "hi" when you do. We will warn you that greetings are sometimes unusual; i.e., we heard a man greet a long-lost female friend last night with the words, "How the hell you all are?" We heard a short, rounded man greet an over 6' lady with "So, what have you been up to?"

The state through a group called The Road Information Program says that one in four highway bridges is in poor shape and in need of immediate repair or replacement. Keep your eyes open for increasing state taxes on gasoline to raise the money needed to repair the bridges.

The Pennsylvania Lottery had sales of $2.1 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, topping the old record of $1.9 billion set in 2001-02. Lottery proceeds go toward programs that benefit senior citizens.

Benton got spruced up for the fourth of July. On the corner of Main and Market, the soon-to-open restaurant owned by Scott and Janice Maguire looks like a million in its coat of white paint, new Ansul system, deck and flower pots galore. KameeO's Restaurant & Lounge, route 487, is replacing their new bar top and selling the old one. The Old Filling Station is sporting a new sign in front and new siding on almost all of the building. Fritz's Taste Crème continues to do a huge summer business in things cold and hot. Becky's Sub Shop and the Kozy Korner have the least expensive breakfast in town. And the newest entry, the "Benton Antiques, Etc.," will include coffee and a few light eats. Chris Luttrell is the owner of the former Benton Store Company and if you think there are a few touches of the old Red Poppy Bed and Breakfast, it is because Madelyn is the manager of the operation. The antique mart opens July 10, by the way.

We love to turn to Sheila Brandon's excellent web site devoted to the research of the Southern part of Luzerne County, which focuses on the less populated, rural areas of the county. An interesting story posted recently is about the octagon-shaped house on a dirt road at the foot of Red Rock Mountain, just past Red Rock corners. The unusual house was the home of Huldah Sausanna Steel and John M. Hirlinger. The Hirlingers were wed May 29, 1866, and began their married life in the octagon house. Turn to to read the story and view the interesting pictures donated by local photographer, Lise Boorse. Sheila has given the Benton News permission to add the story to this site, but take the time soon to visit her site at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~lowerluzernecounty/ .

On this date in 1863, the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate soldiers mounted a massive artillery assault on Cemetery Ridge. General Robert E. Lee ordered General Longstreet to prepare General Pickett's troops for the assault. Longstreet advised Lee Confederate troops could not successfully mount an assault, but Lee ignored Longstreet and ordered a heavy bombardment of Union troops on the Ridge followed by an advance of Pickett's men. After two hours of heavy fighting, Union soldiers stopped firing until fresh ammunition and troops arrived. Confederate Colonel Alexander sent word to General Pickett that the Union troops were withdrawing and recommended that the Union forces be attacked. Pickett sent the note to General Longstreet and he approved the charge. The attack, known as Pickett's Charge, attempted to penetrate the center of Union forces on Cemetery Ridge. Only one Confederate brigade temporarily reached the top of the ridge, led by a commander who yelled, "Give them cold steel, boys!" just before he was shot. Casualties on the charge ultimately approached 60% for the Confederates. Robert E. Lee was forced to retreat and give up in his attempt to reach Washington via Pennsylvania.

Armistead leapt the wall and laid his hand on the gun,
The last of the three brigadiers who ordered Pickett's brigades,
He waved his hat on his sword and "Give 'em the steel!" he cried,
A few men followed him over. The rest were beaten or dead.
--Stephen Vincent Benet, John Brown's Body, Book Seven

Robert Bruce Ricketts (1839-1918), son of Elijah Green Ricketts, Orangeville and Long Pond (now Ganoga Lake), was mustered (enlisted) into military service July 8, 1861. In less than a month, on August 5, he was promoted to First Lieutenant. On May 8, 1863, he made Captain and on June 1 Ricketts assumed command of three officers and 141 men in what became known as Rickett's Battery. A month later at Gettysburg, one hundred and forty years ago today, the group was attacked by a reported 1,700 Confederate soldiers as part of Pickett's Charge at Cemetery Ridge, the "50-minute battle that killed 10,000 men." Infantrymen under George E. Pickett faltered and fell, but waves of brave men continued into the killing fire of Rickett's Battery. When Pickett's Charge failed, the Battle of Gettysburg was over. More Americans died in this battle than in any other single battle in American history.

A total of 28,063 Confederate and 23,049 Union soldiers were killed or wounded at Gettysburg. President Lincoln paid tribute to the Union soldiers in a gem of a speech eventually known as the Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg November 19, 1863.

Quote of the Day:
"It is all over now. Many of us are prisoners, many are dead, many wounded, bleeding and dying. Your soldier lives and mourns and but for you, my darling, he would rather be back there with his dead, to sleep for all time in an unknown grave.
--Maj. Gen. George Pickett, to his Fiancée

Robert Bruce Ricketts was promoted to Major on December 1, 1864. On March 15, 1865, at the age of 26, he was commissioned Colonel of the First Pennsylvania Light Artillery. Ricketts was honorably discharged on June 5, 1865. Colonel Ricketts was nominated for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsylvania by the Democratic Party in 1886, a year of Republican wins.

With his wife, Elizabeth (Reynolds) Ricketts, he bought the Long Pond property from his father in 1867 and began enlarging it from 1,000 acres to approximately 80,000 acres. Colonel Ricketts purchased more than 50,000 acres in 1868 "to exploit the natural recreational and mineral resources." Most or possibly all of the land is believed to have been purchased at tax sales for two to three cents per acre. In 1870, the use of "the stone house" was started as a summer resort. A large wooden building was built to accommodate those who came to the resort each summer. By 1883, the property consisted of "a clearing, on which there is a large and substantial two-story house, a three story frame boarding house, barns and other buildings, the place having been improved and fitted up as a Summer Watering Place, capable of accommodating from 200 to 250 guests."

Plan to join the North Mountain Historical Society Monday, July 21, at the Brass Pelican Restaurant, Elk Grove, for continued discussion of the many aspects of the name "Ricketts."

The O*A*T*S* bluegrass festival at the rodeo grounds gets underway tonight, following the arrival Wednesday of over 200 pull-behind and motorized campers. Last year by the time the concert was over, about a 1,000 campers arrived at the rodeo grounds from all over the United States.

We heard about a husband and wife who divorced over religious differences. As she explained it, "he thought he was God and I didn't."

Most Pennsylvania motorcyclists would no longer have to wear helmets under a bill that the state House of Representatives sent to the Guv, who says he will sign it. Motorcyclists over 21 with two years of riding experience or a rider education course will be able to go bareheaded. We wonder how those credentials will be immediately obvious when a rider goes voom-voom down the highway! Anyway, the bill passed the House in a 118-to-79 vote.

It isn't a tax cut, a tax rollback or a tax rebate unless the amount of money I pay in taxes is less this year than it was last year!

A reader sent us the word "farn" to be added to our Arcadia Word of the Day list:
FARN -- adjective. Not local.
Usage: "I cuddint unnerstand a wurd he sed... must be from some farn country."

July 2, 2003. There are 83 days remaining until the official start of fall. Happy birthday today to Dennis Threlkeld and Happy Anniversary in Camp Hill to Dr. Tom and his bride Jackie Becker.

For those interested in paranoia, today is the anniversary of the day in 1947 when an object supposedly fell from the sky over Roswell, NM, reinforcing newspaper and radio reports about sightings of flying disk-like objects. There were at least sixteen alleged sightings between mid-May and mid-July, 1947, including one story where a businessman saw "nine objects flying over a mountain" as he flew his private plane. He described the objects as flying like a saucer skipping across water, and thus began the term "flying-saucer."

On this date in 1863 during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, battle lines were drawn in two sweeping parallel arcs with the Confederate and Union armies facing each other a mile apart. The Union forces along Cemetery Ridge over to Culp's Hill were formed in the shape of a fish-hook, while Confederate forces were spread along Seminary Ridge. General Robert E. Lee ordered General James Longstreet to attack the Union's southern flank at the hills known as Little Round Top and Big Round Top at the southernmost end of Cemetery Ridge. These hills would have given the Confederates a good vantage point from which to attack the Union line. General Longstreet was slow to advance on the hills, but got to the base of Little Round Top before Union General G. K. Warren caught on, fending off the Confederate attack. On day three of this tragic battle, Union forces achieved victory.

They say the noise was incessant as the sound
Of all wolves howling, when that attack came on.
They say, when the guns all spoke, that the solid ground
Of the rocky ridges trembled like a sick child.
--Stephen Vincent Benet, John Brown's Body, Book Seven

Pennsylvania has its budget woes, but consider California. The state budget shortfall is $38 billion and the state is operating solely on borrowed money.

Through Sunday, the email version of the Benton News will be published later in the day. We--and we hope you, too--will be at the O*A*T*S* bluegrass concert at the rodeo grounds, Benton. Watch right here for stories and pictures. The concert officially begins Thursday night.

We understand that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge elevated the nations' bad-movie alert to Orange for "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," the movie sequel doing a disappointing box office.

Employment application blanks always ask who is to be notified in case of emergency. We suggest that the best answer is "A very good doctor."

For those of you interested in genealogy, we suggest you give http://www.genealogy.com/genehelp.html?Welcome=1053649151 a whirl.
This site offers how-to articles and genealogy classes that will help you dig deeper into your family's past.

The month of July gives three days of independence to celebrate: Canada Day (July 1), Independence Day (July 4), and Bastille Day (July 14). Canada's birth in 1867 came about after years of hard work by the Fathers of Confederation. In our country, July 4 marks the day in 1776 that the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. On July 14, 1789, civilians in Paris seized the fortress prison known as the Bastille.

If you eat sweet corn this weekend, it isn't local corn. About the third week of April was the first that corn was planted locally, but it grew very slowly at first because of our cold weather. Several growers say it will be three more weeks or so until we have local corn.

The Guv announced that the State government agreed on four-year contract terms for three unions covering about 50,000 state employees, subject to ratification by the unions. Wages will freeze for the first two years of the contract with about a 3? % increase in the final two years, with "Longevity" pay increases in years 2, 3 and 4. The agreements cover AFSCME, the Social Services Union and State Liquor Store employees. New employees will pay $40-monthly for health care.

So it ends, this lesser battle of the first day,
Starkly disputed and piecemeal
won and lost By corps-commanders
who carried no magic plans
Stowed in their sleeves,
but fought and held as they could.
It is past.
The board is staked for the greater game
Which is to follow...
--Stephen Vincent Benet, John Brown's Body, Book Seven

The funeral June 30 of Ivy Violet Young attracted many young people to the services at Kriner Funeral Home, the burial in Rosemont Cemetery, and the buffet at the Sub Shop. After the services, Becky Green closed to the sub shop to the general public from 3-6 PM and friends of Ivy gathered at the restaurant for a delicious buffet prepared and donated by Becky Green, proprietor of the Sub Shop, with salads prepared by ladies of the Benton Christian Church. A buffet table was up and every seat inside and outside of the restaurant was occupied by friends. Several people even drove from Cincinnati's Ronald McDonald House to attend the services. The Rev. Vernon McDormand thanked all of the people who have worked so hard to raise money for Ivy, and thanked all the people who have provided their emotional and spiritual support.

Eye-Yee, Inc., presents the fourth annual OATS Bluegrass Festival ("Out Among the Stars") from July 3-6 at the Benton Rodeo Grounds. The music will begin on Thursday evening at 6:00 PM and continue through Sunday afternoon. Eighteen bands will be performing. You can get all the details as they occur right here. Please come out and support this worthwhile event.

The Farmer's Almanac advice for today is to "start root vegetables cooking in cold water, everything else in hot."

Some people are finding out this is a bad time to be trading a used car, mostly because it's a good time to be buying a new one. Car manufacturers are offering rebates, zero percent financing, and other enticements to stimulate new car sales. The price of used cars has dropped in the past year so this might be a good time to get that "second car." Auto sales represent something like 20% of all retail sales in the US. General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) are expected to react in stock market activity today in reaction to nationwide car sales numbers for June, which analysts expect to have nudged one to two percent above May's levels.

Betsy would turn over in her grave... The United States imported $7.9 million worth of small American flags in 2002, according to the Census Bureau, many of them 53-star flags. By Executive Order of President Eisenhower in August, 1959, the arrangement of the stars is in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

The F. M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, Wilkes-Barre, is now selling tickets to members. Tickets to all 2003-2004 Season shows go on sale to everyone on Monday, August 4, at 10 AM. The lineup includes Alison Krauss + Union Station, August 18; Pat Boone, August 24; Don Rickles, October 8; "On Golden Pond," starring Jack Klugman, October 29; the man with the casual Mid-western charm, Garrison Keillor, December 2; Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker as performed by the Moscow Ballet in the full-length production, December 13; Giuseppi Verdi's Rigoletto with full orchestra and chorus, January 31, 2004; The Four Tops, March 6, 2004; the founder of two rock bands, David Crosby, March 14, 2004; William Shakespeare's Othello, April 1, 2004; the Tony Award-winning hit musical Fosse, April 2, 2004; The Sound of Music can be one of your "Favorite Things," April 16, 2004; Bill Cosby, May 15, 2004.

The state's fiscal year ended yesterday, with no money in the budget for school subsidies and no contract agreement for tens of thousands of state workers.

The seventh tri-annual Lena (Boston) Perry reunion took place in Benton Park June 21, 2003. The rain held off but there was a Benton chill in the air. The families visited and caught up on the latest family news and enjoyed some excellent chicken wings, meatballs and hot dogs, salads, canned pickles, relish and fruits. Geraldine (Yost) Laubach, known as "The Matriarch of the family" came from New Mexico. Vernon John Golder, the Patriarch, was not able to come from Creasptown, MD. Those present were Nellie Perry Golder's grandchildren and great grandchildren.
• Patty (Bradley) Boyle and her children and grandchildren and a great-grandson were there.
• Bill Guldin and his son Derek and daughters Kelsey and Audrey.
• Pamela (Guldin) Gallagher and husband Dan and son, Kevin and grandson, Dylan. Mark and Theresa Guldin attended also.
• Carrie (Perry) Yost's family included Geraldine (Yost) Laubach, her son Kip Watts and Lauren, Gerrieann Watts Jones and Bill. Laura (Trout) Freymoyer and Gretchen (Trout) Stelton. The Edsons, Frank and Barbara, sons, Dylan and Jesse. Lynn (Edson) Davis and daughter Amanda, Sue (Edson) Fields and husband Paul.
The coordinators for this reunion were Sue Fields, Bill Guldin and Laura Fremoyer. Pamela Gallagher and Gerriann Jones will coordinate the 2006 reunion.

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