Jimmy Dorsey was born on this date on leap year day in 1904 in Shenandoah, PA, Hugh Hefner introduced the world to the Bunny Girls when he opened his first Playboy Club in Chicago on leap day 1960, Tokyo was rocked by an earthquake on this date in 1972, and Trudeau stepped down after 15 years as Canada's Prime Minister on this date in 1984.

Women are given special dispensation by everyone but their fathers one day a year and may propose marriage on February 29, a custom believed to have originated in Ireland when St Patrick granted women permission to propose on leap years. Go for it, girls!

Have you bought your dog license for 2004? Remember that all dogs three months or older must be licensed. An annual license costs $8, while a lifetime license costs $51. Spayed or neutered animals are eligible for reduced license fees of $6 annually or $31 for a lifetime license. Discounts are also available to senior citizens or people with disabilities.

Copies of trout stocking lists are available at Sen. John R. Gordner's district offices in Bloomsburg, Millersburg, Mount Carmel and Shamokin Dam.

Trout season begins at 8 AM, April 17. Anglers 16 and older must possess a valid 2004 Pennsylvania Fishing License and Trout Stamp to fish for trout. Pennsylvania's creel limit is five trout per day, and the fish must be at least seven inches in length.

The Class of 2006 is holding a basket bingo bonanza at 1 PM today in the Benton Volunteer Fire Hall. There are $20/20 games; specials, raffles, refreshments and door prizes.

The Monday morning edition of the Benton News may be a tad late. We do not answer phones, touch a computer or even think non-associated thoughts the night the Oscars (The 76th Academy Awards (8:30 PM, ABC)) are handed out. It is the one night of the year that we don't leave our TV sets and we'll go to bed very late. We aren't too excited about some of the races this year, but we are very much in favor of Charlize Theron and her role in Monster (don't come back and suggest that we said we liked the movie, we said we loved the actress!) and Renée Zellweger for her role in Cold Mountain. We predict that both of these women will Go for the Gold! Others to watch include director Peter Jackson, and actors Sean Penn and
Tim Robbins. Gone with the Wind won eight Academy Awards, including
best picture of 1939, on this date in 1940, a far cry from Peter Jackson's probable win with Return of the Ring tonight.

A Wal-Mart employee announced that "We are under contract to go in up there pending excavation and legalities." He was talking about a new 203,000 square feet Lewisburg Wal-Mart Supercenter with a drive-through pharmacy, a vision center and a tire and lube express center, plus a full offering of groceries. The tentative date to begin construction on the new store is September of this year with the project completed and set for a grand opening in late summer or early fall, 2005. A Sheetz convenience store and an Applebee's will be located adjacent on route 15.

We extend our best wishes to the couple following the announcement of the engagement of Misho Vance and James Phillips. Misho is the daughter of Jim and Ruth Vance, Orangeville, and granddaughter of Betty Ruckle, Benton. The prospective groom is the son of Eugene and Joan Phillips, Dallas, and is an associate professor at Luzerne County Community College. The big event takes place August 14.

So you think that English is easy!
We'll begin with a box and the plural is boxes.
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
The one fowl is a goose but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may found a lone mouse or a whole set of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of a foot and you show me your feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why should not the plural of booth be called beeth?
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say Mother, we never say Methren,
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis and shim.

In any discussion of the things that are outstanding about the Borough of Benton, the Benton Town Hall, originally called the Benton Opera House, comes to mind. The vision of a refined building dating from the 1850s rapidly fades from thought as the things that are wrong with the building come to mind. The building is steeped in history. For example, in March, 1852, a performance of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin used live bloodhounds on stage for the performance. Countless dances were held on the second floor and the whole building would swing and sway with the dancers. The building has long been used for voting, and for meeting of scout troops and garden clubs and other civic-minded events. But all these things are in the past. The building now sets cold and dark and deserted.

For various reasons, the building can no longer be called "historically accurate," because of several changes made to the building over the years, such as the concrete exterior handicap access and the front addition of a fire-department bay. As a result of some "improvements" to the building which took it out of the "historic" classification, funding for restoration is limited.

A group calling itself the Historic Benton Preservation Society, a non-profit charitable organization, wants to renovate and rejuvenate the building and put it in "first-class shape." The group plans to submit a bit for the purchase of the building March 1 when bids for the sale of the building are due. Bids from other organizations and individuals are also anticipated.

If the group is successful in purchasing the 2,100 sq. ft. building, they plan to proceed with revitalizing the structure utilizing "donations of money and building material" and are hoping for some volunteer help. The non-profit group feels they need a year for completion of the project. The scope of the project will include a new roof, exterior painting, repairs/replacement of the cupola, removal of the concrete exterior handicapped ramp with the handicapped ramp then going inside the building in order to maintain the original architectural integrity of the building. The North foundation wall will be fully supported and bracing of the floor as necessary will take place. The repairs to the building will generally follow the recommendations of the Larson Design Report of 2002 for the first-floor and substructure.

Carl Stuehrk, Waller, is pushing for the renovations with two other local men forming a non-profit organization. Carl Stuehrk has experience with older buildings, having recently greatly improved the old C. A. Edson & Sons building which now is an antique shop owned by his daughter.

Part of the Third Street building is owned by the Borough of Benton and part is owned by the Benton Volunteer Fire Department. Facing from Third Street, the South ambulance area was once owned by Miss Muretta Hess, but "given" to the Fire Department about 1952. The first ambulance the town of Benton owned, a 1953 Chevrolet purchased from Doyle Sutliff, was proudly parked in this area for many years. When Phillip and Susan Shultz purchased their Market Street home, they discovered that they were paying taxes on the "ambulance shed," that Miss Hess never had a deed prepared to convey ownership of that area to the fire department. Phil and Susan Shultz then conveyed the single bay of about 12' by 21' to the Fire Department. The Fire Department has recently entered into an agreement with the Jankowski family for the ambulance bay and the 21' wide double-bay garage with double overhead door that enters off Center Street, complicating the proposed purchase of the Borough assets by the Historic Benton Preservation Society.

Monday night's town council meeting should be a full session, with time on the agenda for the discussion of revitalizing the existing town hall building. Carl Stuehrk asked for fifteen minutes of the council's time for this discussion.

Town Council will be faced with a number of decisions, since they are proceeding with plans for construction of a town hall on the airport property. Few in the Borough outside of some members of the town council seem in favor of building on "the back 40," but up to now there has only been sporadic support for renovating the existing town hall.

The non-profit group proposes to sell the building back to the Borough for use as a town hall within one year.

We applaud the Historic Benton Preservation Society under the direction of Carl Stuehrk for at least coming up with a plan to save that Old Chestnut of a Town Hall, willing to think enough of the community to do their part in making the old new again at a price this town might be able to afford.


On the other side of the coin, a number of town residents are expected to attend the Borough Council meeting Monday night at the High School in protest of Council President Karen Reed's apparent decision to allow rental of condemned property in the Borough. A September, 2003, court decision upheld condemnation proceedings and directed that appropriate action be taken by landlord Nevin Hartman who owns three properties in Benton that were condemned in September, 2003. A comparison of the pictures of the properties in the September 16, 2003, Press Enterprise, with the condition of the properties today shows virtually no action taken. The condemned property at 245 Market Street is now rented, and the condemned signs removed from both sides of the front of the house. Water to the property, previously turned off by water department officials, has been turned on, although who turned it on seems to be a mystery.

Kip McCabe, the Benton Borough Code Enforcement Officer who originally went after the condemnation proceedings, is currently on military assignment serving overseas. His position is secure until his return according to present laws, but it appears as though there are code enforcement duties that are not being attended to in his absence.

The three properties were found to be in violation of the Benton Borough Property maintenance Code; i.e., Structure Unfit for Human Occupancy and Closing of Vacant Structures. At a hearing before District Magistrate Ola Stackhouse, Millville, Hartman was found guilty, paid a fine and the landlord agreed to make repairs to the houses. The three buildings have set vacant since the hearing until about a week ago when tenants moved into the building.

A call to Officer Nelson resulted in a return call indicating that the properties could be rented by order of Karen Reed. A review of past minutes of council meetings does not show any votes by the town council supporting this decision. We did find suggestions from Attorney C. Cleveland Hummel in a letter to the code enforcement officer dated November 3, 2003, in which the Borough Solicitor recommended that the code enforcement officer identify where "the pools of stagnant water was found," that "good condition" be defined, that gutters were not inspected to determine if they were obstructed as part of an allegation that runoff water was flooding an adjacent property. We hope that the decision to permit the renting of these buildings has more to it than a couple of loosely worded sentences that may not be as precise as an attorney would like. The fact remains that many people and groups like the Historic Benton Preservation Society are attempting to improve the quality of life in the Benton area through the improvement of their homes and their community. These people will be carefully watching to see if this matter is allowed to be swept under the carpet by Town Council or if it is dealt with and resolved.

Nothing wears us out quite as much as hanging on to uncompleted tasks

When we say that we were wrong about something we are really only saying that we are wiser today than we were yesterda

The first U.S. railroad chartered to carry passengers and freight, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co., was incorporated on this date in
1827. And we should mention the gun battle that erupted in 1993 on this date at a compound near Waco when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to serve warrants on the Branch Davidians. Four agents and six Davidians were killed in the 51-day standoff.

Doris M. (Wiant) Harvey, 75, (Nov. 22, 1928-Feb. 26, 2004), Bethel Hill Road, Sweet Valley, died at home Thursday. She was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, the daughter of the late Charles and Jessie Wiant. She graduated from the University of Montevallo, Alabama, taught at the Huntington Mills Elementary School, was a certified Lay Speaker for the United Methodist Church, and ran a Wednesday bible study group in her home and had a Bible study and prayer group at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas. She was a member of the Bethel Hill United Methodist Church and served as a director of the youth group. She also was a Sunday School teacher. She provided important historical information to the people of the Luzerne and Columbia County area. Her husband, Herbert Harvey, and her brother, W. Lloyd Wiant, proceeded her in death. Surviving is her daughter, Bonnie Lukesh, Forty Fort; and sons: Douglas, Grove City, Ohio, and Duane, Sweet Valley. There are nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held 11 AM Monday from the Clarke Piatt Funeral Home Inc., Hunlock Creek. Interment will be in Bethel Hill Cemetery, Sweet Valley. Friends may call 6 to 9 PM Sunday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Patterson Grove Campground, c/o Joan Franklin, 26 W. Creek Road, Benton, PA 17814.

Geisinger Health Plan and Bloomsburg Hospital have signed a two-year contract, adding the hospital back on the insurer's list of approved providers. The 6,000 or so patients of GHP can again soon get health care and services at Bloomsburg Hospital. Read the story in today's Press Enterprise.

A mass-mailing worm is on the loose again, arriving in email as a .ZIP attachment. When run, the virus emails itself to addresses it steals from the infected computer, spoofing the "from: field" with one of the harvested addresses. The virus does not mass-mail itself to addresses that contain @avp., @hotmail.com, @microsoft, @msn.com, local, noreply, postmaster@, and root@. The virus also attempts to terminate the process of several security programs. An infected email can come from addresses you recognize. The message body will be empty. The email will contain a randomly named binary within a .ZIP file (~16KB). If your computer is not running an up-to-date virus protection program, please turn off your computer and work on your income taxes until you have computer protection.

We usually don't put whole letters in the Benton News, but we make an
exception here. The following letter was signed by the three Columbia
County Commissioners and was sent to Rep. George Hassay. It reads,

We are writing this letter to inform you of our overwhelming support for a grant submitted by The Columbia County Housing Authority for the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center. The people behind this project have talked with you several times, so we assume you know that this project will serve the entire northern part of Columbia County as well as the western Luzerne, and southern Sullivan Counties.

This area of the counties mentioned have no facilities of this type. The center will have a gymnasium for the public, an exercise room for the elderly, and a weight room for everyone. One of the most important features will be that the Senior Center, now housed in the Benton Township building, will move into this center and have access to a commercial kitchen as well as the library and museum. The center will also have a computer room where after-school tutorials will be conducted.

The folks behind this project have done everything you and John Gordner have suggested to strengthen their application. They have raised over $400,000--itself a feat that none of us who know the county expected. In our opinion, this in itself demonstrates the need for this project. The people are solidly behind them.

We hope this letter will strengthen your case when you argue for the funding to make the center a reality. Perhaps it would help if we and a representative from the housing authority could accompany you to meet with Secretary Yablonski.

If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please call us immediately.

A great substitute for experience is being a teenager

We never know what we can do until we give it a try

May your neighbors respect you,
Trouble protect you,
The angels protect you,
And Heaven accept you.
--An Irish Blessing, quoted in the Christ U.M.C. Newsletter for
March-April, 2004

Harrisburg's Farm Show Complex is home to a pair of expositions this weekend. The 30th Pennsylvania Home Builders Show runs through March 7. Adult admission to the show is $7. More than 350 exhibitors will be at the show, which also features an expanded Garden Faire and Designers' Expo. If you're more into horses than houses, the second annual Pennsylvania Horse World Expo is ongoing until Sunday at the complex. More than 20,000 people are expected to attend the show. Seminars on topics such as horse-keeping technology, marketing and management, saddle fitting and trail riding will be offered. More than 450 vendors will provide visitors with information on barns, equestrian vacations, horse training and breeding. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 10-14.

We have added Clifton E. Moore to our service people list. Moore is a combat meteorologist stationed at Barksdale AFB Louisiana. His address is SrA Moore USAF, Regional Operations Manager 26 OWS/WXC, 865 Douhet Drive, Unit 128, Barksdale AFB, LA 71110. Moore's parents are Stephen and Elaine Moore, Stillwater.

Our favorite towns are Wellsboro, Lewisburg, Jim Thorpe, Bellefonte, Hershey, New Hope, and Lititz. We don't seek an argument here, but our rationale is as follows:
• Bellefonte: we love the Big Spring, the 11,000,000 gallon a day water supply for the town, next to Talleyrand Park with its gazebos and footbridges. We loved walking through the town when a stranger asked if she could answer any questions. We had questions and she had answers, especially as relates to the Mills Brothers (whose ancestral home was in Bellefonte) and about the Underground Railroad. She even took us into an attic in a brownstone in town, where escaping slaves hid. How did she know so much? She was the mayor and she felt she had a duty to make us enjoy her town. We'll never forget the nice gesture or the nice town. Bellefonte is 95 miles west of Benton via I-80 and route 26 south.
• Hershey: we always loved the hill climb and the roses in the Hershey gardens and the zoo and the rough/tough ice hockey, and the smell of the chocolate and the theatre where the clouds in the ceiling seemed to move and the fact that the town was planned as a company town and that orphans might have a chance at life if they could get into the Milton Hershey School and that each student is given a computer. Besides, we have always been partial to Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and semi-sweet chocolate. Hershey is 99 miles from Benton traveling through Centralia and then south on I-81.
• Jim Thorpe: this town is a real find, a slice of someplace in Europe in our own state, with narrow Victorian streets and steep steeples and funny gables and a wonderful train that goes right through the town. We have always been amazed that people speed through that town and never stop to find out why it is such a special place. They never go into the Asa Packer museum where strange things are so close that some dogs will not even go into the well-preserved building. There are grand buildings and the Jersey Central Railroad Station dating back to 1888 and the Carbon County Courthouse and Millionaires Row and the Switchback Railroad and most of all we remember all those who entered our area so many years ago after a float down the Lehigh River and then had to resort to the belly-wrenching rides of covered wagons starting in what was then called Mauch Chunk as they bounced along various turnpikes to make a new life on the "frontier." These were often our forefathers. Jim Thorpe is 60 miles east of Benton via route 93.
• Lewisburg: We're partial to Victorian and to brick and to period street lights and to farmer's markets on Wednesdays and to any town along the Susquehanna River and the Weis Center for the Performing Arts at Bucknell University and to anyplace that is a center for arts and crafts. We also like to eat and to shop and the Country Cupboard solves both of those problems at the same time without denting the pocketbook too badly. Lewisburg is 38 miles from Benton via routes 254 from Maple Grove, then south on route 15.
• Lititz: who wouldn't like a town where most every weekend one could enjoy a band concert in the park, can stroll down a beautiful Main Street eating a pretzel made in town and munch on a Wilbur Chocolate product? There are lots of bed and breakfasts and it isn't far to Strasburg and Marietta, two other charming Lancaster County towns. Lititz is 132 miles from Benton, just north of Lancaster.
• New Hope: Washington crossed a few miles south and if the town was good enough for him it is good enough for us. The scenic Delaware River is there and so is the beautiful Bucks County fieldstone and Parry Mansion and the old Delaware Canal where the mules will tote you along on a scenic ride along with all the other tourists. New Hope is about 136 miles from Benton, and is East of Allentown.
• Wellsboro: try driving up to Wellsboro from Jersey Shore, up along the winding and beautiful Pine Creek, through Cedar Run where the lovely inn beckons and the trout are jumping just feet from the shoreline, up the 50 miles of the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania while at times being 1,000 feet down in the canyon and end up in a town of wide boulevards, gas lights, stately old maple trees and well-kept lovely homes.

Sit in front of The Green which locals call their town park and stare at the bronze statue called Wynken, Blynken and Nod. Then try to tell us that Wellsboro isn't near the top of your list of favorite places. Wellsboro is 98 miles from Benton via route 15 north.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night,
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,
Sailed on a river of crystal light, Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
--Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, by Eugene Field

The mill house is finally off the ground, resting comfortably under its cradle.

Much of the house rested on a double-walled foundation, under which a beam jutted into the hillside to keep the house from tipping. When this beam was severed and the frost in the ground loosened, the house reluctantly gave way to the move.

Picture courtesy of Robert Parks

February 27, 2004. We celebrate the birthdays today of Ora Karns and Lynn Watson, and they share this date with actress Joanne Woodward, 74; actress Elizabeth Taylor, 72, and consumer advocate and wanna-be President Ralph Nader, 70. On this date in 1991, President George Bush declared a U.S. victory over Iraq and announced that combat operations would cease at midnight in the Persian Gulf War. On this date in 1900, Rochester, accumulated 43 inches of fresh snow. In 1997 on this date, divorce became legal in Ireland. "Mr. Rogers," then 74, died of cancer a year ago today. Fred Rogers, a Pittsburgh Presbyterian minister, hosted the award winning public television show "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" for 32 years.

Doris M. (Wiant) Harvey, 75, Bethel Hill Road, Sweet Valley, died at
home, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004. Mrs. Harvey was a local historian,
journalist and museum curator from Bethel Hill. Mrs. Harvey had
lymphoma. She was active in the Harveyville Methodist Church and
Patterson Grove Campground. She was the daughter of Charles and Jesse
Wiant who ran the Wiant museum at the foot of Bethel Hill. She and
husband Herbert lived in the old Harvey homestead on Bethel Hill.
(Herbert died in 1998). Doris had a wealth of historical knowledge
about our area and has always been thoughtful to answer any questions
about the history of lower Luzerne and northern Columbia County, about
local business, and families that influenced and settled in the local
townships. Many will remember Doris for her writings in the Suburban
News. Before her death, she generously contributed items of
historical nature to the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center
and generously answered questions that the Benton News asked of her.
Funeral arrangements will be announced by the Clarke Piatt Funeral
Home, Inc., Hunlock Creek.

There will be no school for students of the Benton Area Schools on March 4 and 5, except for seniors scheduled to give their graduation projections March 4.

A Fly Fishing Show March 6-7 at the Ontario Convention Center in sunny and warm Southern California will feature all aspects of fly angling, from travel to casting, fly-tying, tackle, techniques, guides and boats. There will be 24 programs and several conservation organizations attending. Barry and Cathy Beck, Benton, are featured speakers.

About once a week we get on a kick to preserve family history and we are climbing up to the podium right now. Skip to the next paragraph if that is not a subject of interest. If you want to print out some family pictures, we suggest you consider the obvious.

Microsoft Word is a fine program to use for printing your photos. Rather than messing with unfamiliar photo programs that only let you print one photo per page, use Word to assemble your photos and save paper when sharing pictures. Just plunk down a bunch of photos on one page, adjust their size, add some names and dates and places (so if you end up cooked like Cousin Claude you will know who the pictures are), print the page, put the pages in a binder and you have an instant photo album and an instant history lesson for future generations.

To insert a photo into a Word page, just choose Insert | Picture | From File and bring the photo you want from your hard drive.

Word is excellent at keeping the resolution when you resize photos on the page. Click to select the photo and drag on a corner handle to change the size of pictures you need to print. This technique is great for printing a lot of smaller copies to pass around to friends.

As an aid, we offer a few questions and answers dealing with Healthcare Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)...
Q. Do all diagnostic procedures require pre-certification?
A. No. Only those you need.
Q. What are pre-existing conditions?
A. This is a phrase used by the grammatically challenged when they want to talk about existing conditions.
Q. Can I get coverage for my pre-existing conditions?
A. Certainly, as long as they don't require any treatment.
Q. What happens if I want to try alternative forms of medicine?
A. You'll need to find alternative forms of payment.

This is the final weekend of the season for Grand Ole Opry performances at the Ryman Auditorium. Next weekend through October, the show will originate at the Grand Ole Opry House. The show will return to the Ryman in November for a four-month winter run.

Garrison Keillor asks "What happens if you play country music backwards?" His answer, "You sober up, get a job, and your wife comes back."

Term of the Day: Ampersand.
Schoolchild get the credit for this word, which derives from a school practice dating into the 1830s of reciting the 26 letters of the alphabet plus the "&" sign, pronounced "and," once considered part of the alphabet for learning purposes.

A letter that itself was a word, such as "A," or "I," or "&" [and]) was preceded in the recitation by the Latin phrase "per se" ("by itself") to draw the students' attention to that fact. The daily ritual would end "X, Y, Z and per se and." The phrase slurred to "ampersand" by children who normally were challenged by games like Huckle Buckle Beanstalk, and the term crept into common English usage.

The ampersand symbol "&" is a stylized rendition of the Latin word "et," meaning "and." Proofreaders reading copy aloud to one another still pronounce the ampersand symbol "et" to distinguish it from the actual word "and."

Hours were spent Thursday, February 26, trying to move the house. It was finally determined that several beams under the foundation of the house were solidly dug into the hill. A chain saw finally sawed through the beams and the house was free to move from its foundation. Before the move began, however, two large raccoons made a hasty exit from under the house.

Benton resident Allen Hess didn't get very excited about the move. He came to look at what was going on, saying "I just came to watch it move. I didn't have anything else to do. This was the action around town for now."

An estimated 30,000 horse owners in Pennsylvania read the Pennsylvania Equestrian, published 8 times a year.

If you have a few minutes today take this quiz at to see if your speech patterns favor the North or the South.

Term of the day: "hornswoggle."
A cow that has been lassoed around the neck will toss and twist its head around frantically in an attempt to slip free of the rope. A cowboy who allows the cow to succeed is then said to have been "hornswoggled."

Internet Hoax of the Week: The Appleby Hoax
We keep getting requests to validate the endless hoaxes circulating on the Internet--and, mind you, they mostly sound pretty good, usually something for nothing. As a weekend feature, we'll review the newest of the hoaxes. Here is a sample:

EMAIL: My name is Bill Palmer, founder of Applebees. We'll give a $50 gift certificate to anyone who forwards this email to 9 of their friends. FACT OR FICTION? FICTION. There's no way anyone is going to pay people money just for forwarding an e-mail. We checked the Applebee's Web Site for this answer, but subsequently it went down, possibly from an overload of people checking out the validity of the claim, possibly from irate people who wanted their $50.

Federal regulators and lawmakers are applying pressure on broadcasters by revisiting their indecency standards, delaying live broadcasts so they can delete offensive material and telling parents how to block specific programs. The first major program to be affected was Howard Stern's show, suspended Wednesday by Clear Channel Radio.

In Isaiah 53:5, probably written 700 or so years before the birth of Jesus, warnings came that God's servant would be wounded and whipped and the Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ," is all about that coming true, sometime around 32 AD. The movie is sort of a "Lash Wednesday." We suspect that many in the theatre where we saw the movie Wednesday were not quite prepared for the graphic depiction of Jesus' anguish in the 12 hours before His crucifixion as He is kicked, beaten, lashed and flogged, with spikes driven through His hands and feet.

Christians believe that we are healed and achieve everlasting life through the wounds that Jesus suffered, and events leading to the crucifixion were so severe one wonders how He survived to the point of the crucifixion. What seemed to be only about a minute was devoted to the resurrection.
Some might say that by focusing only on the last 12 hours of Jesus' life and omitting virtually everything about his ministry that provoked authorities to crucify him might deprive viewers of key messages of his existence. The movie will come across in different ways to different people, but hopefully viewers will better grasp how in the 21st century they can understand how best to follow a man who died on a cross.

How many of you remember when the only television station that could be received in Benton was WNBF, channel 12 out of Binghamton? How many of you can remember back to March, 1955, and these television stations?
73 WTVU (Ind.) Hotel Jermyn, Scranton
34 WILK-TV (ABC-Du Mont) 88 N. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre
28 WBRE-TV (NBC) 62 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre
22 WGBI-TV (CBS) 1000 Wyoming Ave., Scranton
16 WARM-TV (ABC) 333 Madison Ave., Scranton
12 WNBF-TV (All Networks) 40 Wall St., Binghamton

If you can remember these stations, you probably will remember Tom Powell, president of The Associated Press Broadcasters Association in the late 1960s. He died Tuesday in Scranton at the age of 76. Powell started at WGBI radio in 1947 as a disc jockey and on June 7, 1953 was the first person to appear on a telecast originating in Scranton after WGBI's owners started WGBI-TV. He went on to spend more than 30 years as a television reporter, anchorman, news director and editorialist, mostly at WDAU-TV, now WYOU-TV, Channel 22.

Parents: if your kids go to the the Benton Area Schools, your kids homework assignments are available at www.bentonsd.k12.pa.us and are available via the side panel of this web site.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin'
it back in.
-- Will Rogers

If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience. --Sir Francis Bacon

Frederick V. Berlin, 86, (Dec. 14, 1917-Feb. 23, 2004), Berwick, died Monday. Mr. Berlin was the owner and operator of Berlin Greenhouses, Berwick, and of Berlin Mobile Home Park, Benton and other locations. He is survived by his wife, Ann and three sons: Wayne F. Berlin, Huntingdon, Rod V. Berlin, Berwick, and Fred C. Berlin, Berwick; one sister, Geraldine Romeo, Berwick; two brothers: George Berlin, Berwick, and Charles Berlin, Berwick

Some civic-minded people in Scranton are hoping to illuminate the historic 67-year-old "Scranton The Electric City" sign atop the Scranton Electric Building and are trying to raise about $180,000 for the project. PPL Corp. kicked in $30,000 toward the campaign, and others are helping out.
Scranton became known as "The Electric City" because it was the first city in the country to have electric trolleys following the introduction of electric motor technology. We might as well remind you how the trolley got its name. The shoe or wheel at the very end of the trolley pole, the part that actually touches and runs along the underside of the overhead wire, is called the trolley. The trolley is attached to the trolley pole, which is attached to the trolley car.

The street railway industry was born, using electric power as a way of solving problems associated with horse-drawn cars. The new method of commuting prompted housing booms in the suburbs allowing people for the first time to live outside the city and commute to their jobs in the city. The electric trolley should be given much credit for moving the people who built our cities and developed and populated the suburbs.

Go to http://www.geocities.com/historicscranton/ to see how the Scranton sign originally looked and how it looks today.

For those hooked on tobacco, an cheap alternative to the expensive brands is to smoke cigarettes manufactured offshore or to smoke "off-brands" not covered by the national settlement with Big Tobacco. As Big Tobacco companies increased their prices to offset the settlement expenses, off-brands stepped in selling much cheaper. A carton of off-brand cigarettes costs in the range of $12, compared to $30 or so for a carton of something like Winstons. Sucking on cigarettes is an expensive habit and for those people concentrating on their outgo of money, switching to the off-brands makes sense to some people who insist on smoking..

Pennsylvania will rake in an estimated $400 million this year from the settlement with Big Tobacco. But estimates from the original $11.3 billion 1998 Master Settlement Agreement are shrinking as more and more smokers buy off-brands that were not even around when we first slipped out behind the woodshed. Big Tobacco companies can reduce their payments to the states because the settlement pegs what they owe to their market share in each state. If the market share declines, so do the payments.

We confused a reader the other day when we talked about the Census of 1790 counting three-fifths of a person. She asked if we could briefly explain. Well--yes and no! We can explain, but we can't be brief. The Constitutional Convention was big on liberty and equality, but the Southern states made it clear that would not join the Union if slavery was not accepted. Nowhere in the Constitution is the word slavery found, but it is referred to in three places.

Blacks in the state of Pennsylvania were occasionally allowed to vote, but whatever power they had slowly melted away through the era of the Dred Scott decision in 1857. In case you forget, the Supreme Court through the majority decision of Chief Justice Roger Taney stated that the Construction was written only for whites and that blacks, free or not, could never be citizens. Cheers came from the South and boos came from the North at this decision, but it was not until 1863 that the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the seceding states. In 1865, the 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States and three years later with the 14th Amendment full rights of citizenship were granted to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States." And the 15th Amendment in 1870 added the "regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude" and the 24th Amendment in 1964 abolished the poll tax making it clear that "we the people," meant all the people and not just those who were more than three-fifths of a person.

Dayne Hartman tells us from Florida that he has not seen Witty Ear LaTear, but suspects that they likely could be found at a flea market.

Two professors were vacationing with their spouses, enjoying the warm breezes sweeping across the veranda.

The history professor asked his fellow teacher, " Have you read Marx?"

The other replied, " Yes. I think it's these darn wicker chairs."

One of our favorite places to be is Santa Ynez, CA. Except today that is not the place to be! The forecast is for 4 to 8 inches of rain.

Shrove Tuesday is also known as "Fat Tuesday" or "Mardi Gras," a day of preparation for Lent. The name "shrove" probably came from the word "shrive" or confess. It takes place on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent). The tradition in the church of having pancake suppers and the secular tradition of just plain partying comes from the practice of feasting before the fast.

Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras go hand in hand. "Gras" is French for fat and "Mardi" is French for Tuesday. The annual festivities start on January 6, the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany, when the three kings are supposed to have visited the Christ Child. The climax comes on Fat Tuesday, which always occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday. Parties and parades continue until Lent begins at the stroke of midnight tonight. Mardi Gras is scheduled to occur 46 days before Easter. Since the actual date Easter occurs on changes yearly, Mardi Gras can happen on any Tuesday between February 3 and March 9.

The word "carnival" comes from the combination of the Latin words "carne" and "vale," meaning "meat" and "farewell." Mardi Gras carnivals are a farewell to meat before Lent begins.

And for the Germans of the area, we can't forget "fasnacht, "a yeast-raised potato pastry that's deep-fried like a doughnut. Fasnachts were originally made and served on Shrove Tuesday to use up the fat that was forbidden during Lent. They're diamond-shaped and often have a slit cut down the center before frying. They first appeared in Pennsylvania, though there is some argument whether the actual origin is German or Dutch.

A reader convinced us that bread is the root of all evil, reminding us that more than 98% of convicted felons eat bread and that about half of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests. When bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever and influenza ravaged whole nations. Bread is addictive. Deprived of bread and given only water to eat, men have begged for bread after as little as two days. Bread often leads to "harder" items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter and even cold cuts. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400° Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute. Most American bread-eaters are not able to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling.
--Based on some meaningless statistical babbling seen on the Internet

It wasn't this way on the Steel Pier. Canonsburg-native Bobby Vinton, 68, collapsed during a performance Sunday night in Lancaster at the American Music Theatre. A number of Benton residents have seen Bobby perform at his opulent dinner theater in Branson.

The Uniform Construction Code becomes law statewide on April 8. The code requires that homes be built to nationally recognized standards. The code will regulate construction, alteration, maintenance and demolition of structures. Third-party inspections will be done to ensure that work meets the codes. Building and remodeling could be turned on its ear in the post-April 8 timeframe. Its most noticeable effect locally will probably be its impact on the pocketbook.

Ralph Nader is making Democrats nervous again, remembering back to the last presidential election that was decided by only 537 votes in Florida where Nader pulled in 97,488 votes and probably only a few of them from George W. Bush. This year's election could be a lot closer than some suggest, so we expect to see action in a few states to keep Nader off the ballot.

The Press Enterprise published the list of honor students at the Benton Area Schools in today's edition. Take a read, and then make sure that those achieving students are remembered by you.

There are a limited number of seats available for the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown March 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the elementary school multipurpose room. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students. Tickets are available by calling the high school at 925-2651.

We enjoyed reading the warning issued by Bob Thomas about fellow cardiac inmate Witty Ear LaTear and "his woman" from the French outpost of Stillwater. The warning was to Dayne Hartman about Witty Ear arriving in Florida, a place where many of us now wish we were when we see the white stuff outside.

We were rummaging through some old letters and got to thinking about "what Mother used to say." The older crowd may remember a couple of these and the younger crowd can skip to the next paragraph...
Are you deaf or something?
Beds are not made for jumping on.
Call me when you get home, just so I know you're okay.
Close the door! We don't live in a barn.
Did you brush your teeth?
Do you think we're made of money?
Don't make me get up!
Don't run in the house.
This is a Mell of a Hess
Don't talk with your mouth full!
Don't walk away when I'm talking to you!
How do you know you don't like it if you haven't tried it?
Go ask your father.
I'll leave the light on.
Did you say your prayers?
I hope someday you have children just like you.
I just want what's best for you.
I'm doing this for your own good.
I'm not going to ask you again.
Isn't it past your bedtime?
Look at me when I'm talking to you.
Pick that up before somebody trips on it and breaks their neck!
This hurts me more than it hurts you.
Turn that racket down!
What did I say the first time?
Where do you think you're going?
You kids are going to drive me crazy!
You're going to put your eye out with that thing!
Your father is going to hear about this when HE gets home!
You'll understand when you're older.
Be good.
Go to your room and think about what you did!
How many times do I have to tell you?
If I catch you doing that one more time, I'll...
If I've told you once ... I've told you a thousand times.
If you don't clean your plate, you won't get any dessert.
Look at this room! It looks like a pigsty!
Now, say you're sorry...and mean it!
When I was your age...
You will eat it, and you will like it!
You'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to your shoulders!

Birthday boy Donald Rabb recalls that Dr. John Brittain Laubach, the dentist father of Dr. Frank C. Laubach, had an "ancient drill powered by a foot treadle very similar to an old sewing machine which transferred the power to turn a small red cotton "string" up to the drill to drill the tooth." Don wasn't very happy getting a tooth filled in Dr. Laubach's office, a slow and painful process. Don only recalls making one trip to his office, which was on the second floor, rear, of what many now know as the former Horace Harrison IGA Market.

Donald's grand father, I.L. Rabb, was a dentist in Bloomsburg and Don normally went to him, but "didn't gain anything because GrandDad had the same darn drilling unit that Dr. J.B. had." In later years, Dr. Freas Golder practiced dentistry with an office in the house where Hube and Nancy Kline now live. Over the years, Dr. Ginter had an office in what is now the "Old Filling Station." on Main Street.

Our mention of Dr. John Brittain Laubach is preliminary for a series that originally appeared in this section on John Brittain's son, Dr. Frank C. Laubach, Missionary to the World and Benton native. This section on Dr. Laubach has now been transferred to the PERSONALITIES section .

Following severe fighting on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, the flag was raised on Mount Suribachi on this date in 1945. As the flag was being raised, Navy Secretary Forrestal stood on the beachhead and when he saw Old Glory waving in the breeze, he reportedly said “The raising of that flag on Surabachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years.” This day has special significance to School Board President Dennis Threlkeld, whose father served on Iwo Jima.

Buster recently heard us talking and wanted everyone to know that although some might say that man's ability to use language to communicate is what makes him the dominant species on the planet, Buster concludes that it is our ability not to be afraid of the vacuum cleaner that makes us superior.

We enjoyed the handwritten sign that said, "Would The Person Who Took The Step Ladder Yesterday Please Bring It Back or Further Steps Will Be Taken."

Is your Windows XP running slowly or strangely? Try this. Run Windows XP "Repair Installation" by inserting the Windows XP CD into the CD-ROM drive. Shut down the computer. Wait 60 seconds and turn the computer back on. A screen that says "To Boot From CD press any key" will appear. Press any key. The first option reads something to the effect that to "Install Windows XP" press enter. At the next screen press the "R" key. Windows XP will now attempt to repair the current Windows XP installation. None of the current settings, programs, or documents should be lost, and this could save you a large repair bill.

Didja know...
• The application to have Benton incorporated as a borough was approved by the grand jury in 1894 and the town began. On April 2, 1894, the following officials were elected: Burgess, A. L. McHenry; councilmen, C. B. McHenry, R. T. Smith, C. A. Wesley, Alfred McHenry, B. G. Keller, W. M. Appleman. The borough population in 1900 was 635, increasing to 719 in 1910.
• The Benton Borough Council in 1914 was composed of C. E. Yorks, Burgess; G. D. Yost, W. S. Laubach, R. T. Smith, councilmen.
• After incorporation of the town, sidewalk and street improvements were made, and contracts were let for light and water supply. In 1914, the town had electricity from a company of which Charles Bellas was president and manager; C. B. Whitmire, vice president; G. L. Hess, secretary and treasurer. A concrete dam, 280 feet long, was in operation at the site of the old Swartwout mill, and the powerhouse contained a 75-kilowatt generator, operated by a l00-horsepower turbine.
• The population of Benton township in 1860 was 893; in 1870, 1,050; in 1880, 1,062; in 1890, 1,252; in 1900, 857; in 1910, 769. The population of Benton borough in 1900 was 635, and in 1910 it was 719.
• The Pennsylvania state population for 2000 was 12,281,054. The 2000 census for Columbia County was 64,151. The current population for Sugarloaf Township is 885, using figures from the 2002 Census. Other figures from that Census include Benton Borough, 954; Benton Township, 1,120; Fishing Creek Township, 1,393; Jackson Township, 598; Stillwater Borough, 194.
• The Rohr McHenry Distilling Company burned in 1911. Fires in 1913 destroyed the Presbyterian Church, the planning mill of R. T. Smith and Son, a shirt factory and adjacent dwellings.
• The Moses Van Campen Hotel was rebuilt in 1932 and reopened in April, 1933, following the fire in June, 1931. When John H. Knouse, proprietor of Hotel Moses Van Campen, passed away at the age of 76, he had been "seriously ill for some time with complications." Surviving were his wife; a son, Jacob; three daughters, Mrs. George Derry, of Montrose; Mrs. Harold Yost and Mrs. Charles Knowles, Benton; and two grandchildren, Franklin Knouse and Sarah Derr.

Some find it strange that a house in Benton found to be in violation of zoning ordinances and subsequently condemned is suddenly rented without benefit of repairs being made or Zoning Hearing Board review. How does this happen?

Quickies...
• Krysten Ritter will appear on NBC's Whoopi March 23 at 8 PM.
Celeste Holm (All About Eve) stars as Krysten's grandmother, and Krysten plays a snotty NYU freshman named Brynn. Father Gary and Grandparents Harry and Shirley Ritter are excited.
• We hear about the rising costs of fuel and we hear estimates of $2 per gallon in the near future, but still drivers like their Firebelch 500s. Despite increasing sales of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles, 8-cylinder engines were installed in 29% of US passenger vehicles built in North America last year.
• Is it our imagination or is the state fighting a fight where there is no enemy? Recently passed House Bill No. 1512 would make hunting and fishing a guaranteed constitutional right in the commonwealth. Remember, now, Pennsylvania is a state where many school districts close schools on the first day of buck season, it is a state where hunting and fishing are naturally ingrained in residents, where politicians avoid offending hunters and fishermen (or fisher-people). So why are legislators trying to appease voters? Is it an overreaction to a cause looking for a constituency, is it in response to success of animal-rights forces elsewhere? Somehow we feel that HB1512 is a useless and unnecessary amendment, but we suspect this is not the first time--nor the last-that a useless amendment comes out of politicians.
• LCPL Erik Jost is a Data Network Specialist supporting Marine operations in the Pacific. He's off to Korea for a month on March 8, then back to Hawaii for more combat training, and possibly some time in Thailand. He can be reached at CSSG-3 HQ CO S-6, Kaneohe Bay HI 96863.

Millay, whose friends called her "Vincent," often published under the pseudonym Nancy Boyd, led what was called "a notoriously Bohemian life," allegedly had numerous love affairs and wrote her poetry mostly in traditional sonnet and ballad forms. She once wrote that she was "very, very poor and very, very merry." Millay was bisexual but married and the couple acted liked two bachelors, remaining "sexually open" throughout their twenty-six-year marriage. Her husband died in 1949 and Edna St. Vincent Millay died the next year, in 1950. The reports were that she had been up all night drinking coffee and reading proofs of a translation of Virgil's Aeneid. She went downstairs to pour herself a glass of wine, felt faint, sat down on the stairs and died "quietly of a heart attack with a glass of wine in one hand and a page of poetry in the other."

"My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But, ah, my foes, and oh, my friends-
It gives a lovely light."
--Edna St. Vincent Millay

Spot Fetcher Bush, 14, (March 17, 1989-February 21, 2004), a brown-and-white English springer spaniel known as "Spotty" to her famous master and mistress, was "put to sleep yesterday at the advice of her veterinarian. Spot was born in the White House, the only pet to live in the White House twice. Spot was named for Scott Fletcher, a former shortstop for the Texas Rangers, the baseball team her master once owned. Spot was a puppy of Millie, moved to the governor's mansion in Texas and then returned to her birthplace for the inauguration in January 2001. Her career included amusing newsmen, chasing birds and grasshoppers, and she loved retrieving tennis balls that her master hit with a tennis racquet. Her master claimed that she was "a good runner," "a great water dog" and she "understands where the hedges are." She was, however, more of a Momma's Dog and followed the First Lady everywhere. Spot was the "Senior Fellow" among canines in the White House. Spot aged noticeably during her second tour at the White House, and recently began walking into doors and has had a series of strokes recently, including one this week.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan issued the following statement: "The president and Mrs. Bush and the entire Bush family are deeply saddened by the passing of Spot. A loyal and loving companion, Spot was a beloved member of the Bush family for nearly 15 years. She will be missed."

Spot is survived by life partner Barney, a Scottish terrier, a gift from Christine Todd Whitman, then governor of New Jersey. Spot will be buried at her beloved Texas ranch.
--Obituary courtesy of Buster and Chloe's diary

One of the Internet virus seems to be dying down but there is probably one lurking in the wings to take its place. We hear that the delivery success of the Benton News is improving. If this is your first issue in a few weeks, sorry! Blame it on the lower species who write viruses--the only species of subhuman that's actually below the spammer. Have we mentioned that you should never buy anything from a spammer--EVER?

The Sons of The American Legion Post 495, Shickshinny, will hold a "Night At The Races" April 10 at 7 PM at the American Legion Post on route 239 near Shickshinny. The cost is $10 per ticket, including food and beverage. For tickets, call 683-5472 or 542-5262.

Tonight at 9 PM will be the last time you'll see Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha on "Sex in the City" before the reruns begin. This is the last episode.

A reader took us to task on our idle comment that a duck's quack does echo, contrary to claims we saw on an email trivia list. The reader wrote, "I hate to disagree with you but I did see on a show called Myth Busters that they did perform several experiments with a lot of technology and they did discover that a duck's quack has NO echo. I believe that particular program is on the Discovery Channel. They tested it in valleys, on water and in mountains."

We didn't have access to either a duck or a canyon to prove or disprove this quackery but we knew that sound waves are sound waves so we called Bob and Shirley Keller who live up the valley in Dotyville, owners of about six ducks and a goose. We patiently listened to their ducks, hoping to prove or disprove the theory. The answer quacks us up! We didn't have a recorder to make a "duck tape" but as we sat in the cold having "soup and quackers" we certainly heard an echo from the ducks. We then consulted the Internet, turning to http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/acoustics_world/duck/duck.htm . Same answer. A duck quack produces an echo.

So--have you heard the one about the enormous alligators that live in New York City's sewer system?

Brandon B. Schupp, 17, became the 44th Benton Area Boy Scout to make Eagle, following in the footsteps of brother Travis, 20, and father Jack, 48. Accolade after accolade fell on the broad shoulders of Brandon at ceremonies at the Benton Volunteer Fire Station last evening. Letters of praise were read from the President of the United States, the Army and the Marine Corps, County Commissioners, and various Boy Scout dignitaries. Pennsylvania Senator and Scout Executive John Gordner attended and congratulated Brandon. Rep. George Hasay wrote a letter and sent a representative.

Brandon met 325 different requirements in order to make Eagle, earning 22 merit badges.

Go to http://www.usscouts.org/eagle/bsfamous.html to read the distinguished list of Americans who have made Eagle Scout.

During the awards ceremony, Brandon heard a portion of the 1938 Handbook for Scoutmasters quoted, "The badges which accompany his advancement and which the Scout wears on his Uniform are not to show that he has "passed certain tests, "There should be no past tense implied! On the contrary, each badge cries out "I can, right now and here!"

Jack Schupp, Scoutmaster, and Eagle Scout son Brandon Schupp at swearing in ceremonies Saturday night.

Brandon led troop #51 as Asst. Sr. Patrol Leader, Sr. Patrol Leader, and Jr. Asst. Scoutmaster. He served his community by building a tricycle track, sandbox, bench and landscaping for the head start program.

Following the ceremony Eagle Scout Brandon Schupp, his Boy Scout Leader Father Jack and his proud mother, Audrey, and well over 100 people sat down to eat and congratulate Brandon.

Clark Byers, 89, painted some 900 barns in 19 states over three decades with catchy slogans such as "To miss Rock City would be a pity." Mr. Byers died Thursday.

Rock City is a roadside institution, a collection of buildings constructed from stone atop Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN, on the Georgia border. It was opened by Garnet Carter, the man who invented miniature golf. Garnet Carter set up a putting green on Lookout Mountain and experimented with using pipes and rocks on a small course. His Tom Thumb miniature golf course was hugely popular and miniature golf courses opened all over the country. By 1930, more than 25,000 miniature golf courses were in place around the world and the Carters were multi-millionaires.

Byers painted the Southern barns with a "See Rock City" advertisement on them making the collection of barns perhaps better known than Rock City. Byers started painting barns beginning in 1937 and over the years he braved slippery roofs, flashes of lightening and a charging bull to paint barns in the rural South. He used black paint that he said was virtually fade-free and painted the barns for free. The barns will live on like Burma Shave signs for years. Think of Clark Byers when you see the next painted Southern barn.

"Success is outliving your failures."
--Erma Bombeck

"All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them."

We have a friend who says she is on two diets at the same time because she wasn't getting enough food for just one.

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."
- Thomas Jefferson

Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't.
Richard Bach

The Press Enterprise Church of the Week is the Benton Assembly of God, 3686 State Route 487, Stillwater.

Traffic on route 239 will be disrupted Monday morning near the former Norton Cole's Mill as John Lapp, Turbotville, attempts to lasso a century-old residence using a cable suspended from a crane. The crane will attempt to lift the house to an altitude of up to 100 feet in the air, and deposit it over electric lines, moving water and cars. The crane will set the house down a couple of times and will move under electric lines and across the West Creek steel bridge before it completes its three-stage journey to deposit the house in its temporary resting place in the middle of a field beside the historic West Creek Mill, which we describe under FEATURES as part of the Mills of the Area series. Front and back porch roofs were dismantled Friday in preparation for Monday's move, and a few trees were taken down. We suspect that we'll see lots of our friends and neighbors watching the progress Monday. If you miss the excitement, we'll update the web site to keep you part of the action.

We often wake up early in the morning and think "Horsefeathers, we haven't written anything for the Benton News." We fly from bed and fling some coffee in the pot and check our incoming email for outlandish things--things like emails that claim a duck's quack does not echo--and peck something out. Yesterday was a good example, We said about Ansel Adams...that he was a perfectionist and only produced about twelve new images a year that he felt satisfied with.

A loyal reader got very wrathy with that sentence. The reader, who shall go nameless, wrote, "Nothing tears at the very fiber of my being more than the misplaced 'only.' I have labored diligently for the past several years to correct this glaring error in the English language." He continued, "If old Ansel had only produced, etc., that means he did nothing else. Didn't brush his teeth, didn't eat, didn't have sex, didn't drive. The 'only' belongs immediately after the verb (except in rare instances) in a given sentence. Therefore, Ansel produced only, etc., and did other things too.

Only is a strange word, and its placement in a sentenced totally changes the meaning. For example:

I only have eyes for you.
I have eyes for you only.
Only I have eyes for you.
I have only eyes for you.

And, by the way, contrary to those foolish, endless and incorrect emails that go around, of course a duck's quack echoes! If you don't believe it, get that duck away from the middle of the pond and take him to the hills.

Buster and Chloe think that it is normal that people talk to their pets, and asked us to mention the woman who pulled into a parking lot, allowing her collie to remain on the back seat of the car. The woman walked away pointing her finger at the car and saying emphatically, "Now you stay. Do you hear me? Stay!"

A driver who was parking his car nearby gave the woman a startled look.

"I don't know about you, lady," he said. "But I usually just put my car in park."

We recently wrote about the year 1903, and mentioned the start of construction of the Panama Canal, Ford's first "Model-A" and the Wright Brothers first flight. Some things we didn't mention: The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years, there were about 8,000 cars in the US and only about 150 miles of paved roads, there were more people in Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee than in California. Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound. We rarely knew of knee or hip problems, and the five leading causes of death were pneumonia and influenza, tuberculosis, diarrhea, heart disease and stroke. About 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school, even though marijuana, heroin and morphine were available over the counter at the local drugstore.

We recently mentioned Wilson Ferguson's talk about Sullivan County in the period 1750 to 1850, and a reader asked about how the makeup of an area was really determined back in those dark ages. Lets take a quick look at the nation's first census, dating back to 1790. A deputy marshal of the U. S. District court rode through counties and asked questions, like how many free people were in the household and what sex and color they were. Questions included how many free white males over 16 were in the household and how many under 16. How many slaves? The name and address of the head of the family. There were no questions about religion, place of birth, occupation, income or quality of life and except for separating the men from the boys asked no questions about age. The census simply counted heads, and it took 18 months to do it. The total in the country according to the census was 3,929,214, of which about 19% were black and most of those were slaves and therefore according to Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution, each was counted as three-fifths of a person. Philadelphia was the second largest community in the United States in 1790 and Northern Liberty, PA, was the sixth largest.

The census got serious by 1830 when printed questionnaires were introduced. The Feds went way overboard by the time that the 1890 census was taken, asking for 13,000 bits of information and for the first time, each family was enumerated on a separate sheet of paper. Many of the records from 1830 were destroyed by a fire at the Commerce Department in Washington, DC, in January, 1921. The records of only 6,160 of the 62,979,766 people surveyed survived the fire.

Sheila Brandon reminds us that the history of an area like ours is frequently quoted from various books concentrating on a particular area, and that these books are not one hundred percent accurate. Often they are based upon memories or interpretations of the author or from the contributors of the information or by paying to get a family history inserted into a publication. The writings form a good basis for information, but regretfully may only be the truth to the best of the author's ability.

Wouldn't this be a different place today if the white man had not prevailed over the red man. The Indian contributed potatoes, tobacco, cocoa, quinine, the hammock, canoes, toboggans, lacrosse and an elaborate system of Indian paths, but their existence is hardly noticeable on the landscape compared to the contributions of later generations.

February 20, 2004. We overlooked the 47th wedding anniversary yesterday of Jean and Ray Foust, Benton, and we left home yesterday without our birthday list and so we apologize to those whose birthdays we are forgetting. It is the birthday today of photographer and conservationist Ansel Adams, born in 1902, the most famous landscape photographer of the twentieth century. Adams loved Yosemite National Park and his quality of photographs of that beautiful park have not been equaled to this day. A perfectionist, he only produced about twelve new images a year that he felt satisfied with.

The vacant Bloomsburg building at the corner of Main and Market Streets will soon come alive with a new Italian restaurant called "La Fontana," meaning "the fountain." Two people with Benton roots, Christine and Dena Hess, sold the 105 W. Main Street building for $390,500 according to papers filed at the Court House yesterday. Read the entire story in today's Press Enterprise. Bloomsburg would be sitting pretty now if someone could find a use for the old Capitol Theatre.

The schedule for the Friday Night Opry and the Grand Ole Opry for this weekend can be found here. Regretfully, the schedule is incorrect on the Country Connection page on the side panel. We are not able to correct that page at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Dr. Wilson Ferguson, Lake Mokoma, was the featured speaker Monday, February 16, 2004, at the North Mountain Historical Society meeting at the Brass Pelican, Elk Grove. Dr. Ferguson spoke on settlement patterns in early Sullivan County and concentrated on the period 1750 to approximately the time when Laporte, the county seat, was incorporated.

Sullivan County was created March 15, 1847, and was named for Senator Charles C. Sullivan who took an active role in passing legislation to create the county. Laporte, the county seat, was incorporated in 1853 and was named for John LaPorte, Surveyor General of Pennsylvania from 1843-1851.

Dr. Ferguson, quoting T.J. Ingham, author of the History of Sullivan County, read what the county was like during this 100-or-so year period. "The country at this time, between the north and west branch of the Susquehanna river, was an almost unbroken wilderness, consisting of dense forests of heavy timber trees, thick tangled growths of laurel bushes, windfalls full of tall blackberry briers, and dark, dreary swamps containing alders, tamarack bushes, and coarse grass. This wilderness of woods, rocks, hills, mountains and streams was well peopled with wild animals, such as deer, elk, bears, wolves, panthers, catamounts, wild cats--to say nothing of the smaller inhabitants, such as minks, beavers and foxes. There were also serpents, such as rattlesnakes, copperheads and blacksnakes.

Dr. Ferguson also read from writings dating back to around 1850. One writer noted that "When I first passed through Sullivan county, in 1850, the most of it was a primeval forest; but old settlements, like islands in a sea of woods, were scattered through it. Around the Forks, and in Elkland, Fox and Hillsgrove were old farms, free from stumps, with stone fences and old buildings. In Shrewsbury, separated by miles of dense woods from the Forks, was a settlement which seemed to have been finished forty years before. A thread of small farms along Muncy creek and some old farms along North Mountain and at Elk Lick constituted Davidson; while far away from these settlements, and separated from them by lonely wildernesses, was the township of Cherry. The new county-seat, Laporte, was a mere stumpy clearing, with a few small buildings, surrounded by miles of dark woods."

Although Dr. Ferguson touched on all the townships in Sullivan County, we paid most attention to Colley, Cherry and Davidson and we'll touch briefly on them.
• Cherry Township: The township was organized in 1824 and was originally settled by many Germans as a result of the Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike. Between 1840 and 1855, many Irish came to the county.
• Davidson Township: This township was established in 1833, and named for the Hon. Asher Davidson. Many descendants are of English, German and Scotch settlers.
• Colley Township: The township was established in 1849, carved out of Cherry Township. It took its name from the Hon. William Coley, an early settler. The Susquehanna and Tioga turnpike separated the township from the townships of Davidson and Laporte. The people of Colley township were mainly of German descent, and many early settlers came into the county from Columbia and Luzerne Counties.

Minutes of the North Mountain Historical Society are filed under FEATURES at the top of this page. Pictures from most sessions are included.

We need to add a postscript to our earlier report about the bridge at Norton Cole's mill. PennDOT announced that the OFFICIAL detour route for highway 239 during the construction phase will be Route 239 to Route 118 to SR4049 to Route 487. SR 4049 is locally known as the Camp Lavigne Road. Those familiar with cow paths and back roads will seek shorter, alternative routes.

PennDOT will include some "alignment" work at the North end of the existing bridge and will lower the grade by over six feet which should greatly improve the "sight" distance. At the South end of the bridge, the horizontal curve will be improved.

Ron Wing, owner of the house on the outside of the curve beside the former Norton Cole mill, reports that he signed a contract with an Amish firm Wednesday night to move the house from its present location. The house will be braced on the inside and lifted by crane on Monday, January 23, to an adjacent field. s

The porch removed from the front (and from the rear of the house), inside braced and windows removed. Bring the crane on!

The house will eventually be placed on a foundation and moved to a location on the old mill race North of the mill.

We'll share some information about the house on route 239 beside the former Norton Cole's Mill that will be moved later this month. Harry Warner, Akron, Ohio, provided some of the history of the house. We wrote that the house was owned by Norton Cole and Harry can trace its history back to 1936 when Raldo and Thelma Warner moved in after being married earlier that year. Harry cannot trace the history of the house before that. Harry recalls that the end nearest the creek was over a hundred years old and remembers that rooms had plank walls when Raldo put in an archway between the living room and dining room in the early 50's.

Raldo and Thelma lived there until Norton Cole died in 1962. The house remained empty until sold after Thelma's death in '64. Harry recalls that the house was rented when the Benton Radar Station was active.

Raldo and Harry installed electrical service about 1952 and had used kerosene lights and battery-powered radios prior to that, Water was carried by the bucket from a hand-dug well via a hand pump on the back porch. An electric pump was installed sometime after Harry left for the Air Force in 1956. Hot water was never installed that Harry knew about. As Harry was growing up, there was only one faucet in the kitchen. An outhouse on the bank at the edge of the woods served all the occupants who lived there from a pit Harry grudgingly dug in the 1950s. Harry recalls that as a child he had a specially sized and lower-level seat "because no one wanted to have to pull me out."

The house is so close to the road that from the north end of the porch the family could step directly onto the macadam. On the second level, Harry could step out of his bedroom window and be in the woods.

The open-grate deck bridge was built in 1932, and we are attempting to find a picture of the covered bridge that was there before that. Harry always enjoyed watching the road crew dig out the tar covered planks ("4 by 10"s") and replace them when they rotted out. The bridge was always dangerous as there was a negative crowned curve coming down the hill that tended to throw cars across into the wrong lane. There was a stone abutment on each end of the bridge that was about three feet above ground, three feet wide and 8 or 10 feet long. Harry "remembers a few accidents, especially when excessive speed, and/or drink and/or slippery road was involved. The steel railing was always bent and scratched on the house side. The steel grating that was installed in 1954.

Harry's favorite memory of the bridge is of Norton Cole as he crossed the bridge every night just after 5 PM and around noon on Saturdays when he closed the mill for the day.

The state has designated the North Branch of the Susquehanna River as Pennsylvania's 2004 featured River of the Year. The North Branch begins in New York and flows into Pennsylvania in Bradford County near Sayre, winds through Wyoming and Luzerne County in a 100-mile stretch through the Endless Mountains Region.

Here are two groaners to get you through the weekend...
. Two antennas meet on a roof, fall in love and get married. The ceremony wasn't much but the reception was great.
. Why did the vampire read the Benton News? He heard it had good circulation!

February 19, 2004. Today is the birthday of Jamie Rabb and of Frank Conrad. There are 30 days until the official start of Spring, and the "almost above freezing" temperatures get us quickly in the mood for warmer weather. On this date in 1945, 30,000 or so U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima, where they began a month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.

Here is the lineup of candidates running for state and federal offices following Tuesday's deadline for submitting nominating petitions to get on the primary ballot...
• Nate Sorber, 25, a Democrat, appears heading for a race against 34-year incumbent Rep. George Hasay, R-Shickshinny, in the November general election for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Sorber is a 1998 Northwest graduate, a Bucknell University graduate, a former basketball player, and an umpire for Benton and Northwest Little League. Sorber currently lives in Fairmount Township. The 117th House District includes Benton and Benton Township. His opponent is also a graduate of Northwest High School and attended Husson College for one year.
• State Sen. John Gordner faces George "Ollie" Wagner, a Riverside attorney and Dr. Wayne Miller, Coal Township, for the Republican Party nomination in the April 27 primary for the 27th Senatorial District. The winner of that scrap will probably face Democrat John Boback, an Elysburg real estate agent.
• Rep. George Hasay, R-Shickshinny, and Rep. David Millard, R-Mount Pleasant Township, are unopposed in the primary but will find opponents in November. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, who represents Columbia County, is unopposed in his bid for an 11th term.
• U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood, R-10, Tunkhannock, faces a challenge this fall from Democrat Don Stechschulte of East Buffalo Township.

Quickies...
• The Johnny Cash hit "Ring of Fire" written by June Carter Cash in 1963 won't ever be used in a commercial for Preparation H if Rosanne Cash has her way. A production company has already taped the spot, and is trying to work out a deal with the song's publisher.
• We forgot yesterday to mention that it was the birthday of Walter Palanuik, born 43 miles from Benton 85 years ago in Lattimer Mines, near Hazleton. We'll give you a couple of clues as to who he is. He worked in the coal mines, he boxed, he has a degree in journalism from Stanford University, and in fact just finished a book about intimacy with women in the "autumn of his years." He played Attila the Hun and Fidel Castro in the movies, he started doing one-handed push ups at the age of 71 and he has acted under the name of Jack Palance for more than 40 years.
• Well that turned out to be just a big nothing. A U.S. Justice Department prosecutor has warned that criminal sanctions of the new spam law won't much stem the flow of bulk solicitations that are flooding into email in-boxes. In fact, Anthony Teelucksingh, an attorney in the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section said Tuesday that criminal laws "haven't done much to deter virus writers and hackers." Although we haven't seen statistics, we suspect that things have become worse now that the Feds have passed their "spam us and we'll tell your Momma" legislation.
• The State House Republican Policy Committee yesterday heard witnesses testify about the feasibility of extending the 6% state sales tax to items not currently taxed in order to raise revenue to lower local property taxes.
• Philadelphia ended up in the bottom 10 of 277 cities in ranking by Inc. Magazine, looking at cities unfriendly to entrepreneurial business. The story was not on the Internet when we checked last, but it may be on the Inc. site by the time that you check http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040201/index.html .

On the Internet...
• If you need more information and pictures of the MARS rover, turn to http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/images.html
• We often talk about Jim Thorpe, PA. See what the excitement is about, by turning to http://www.visitjimthorpe.com/

The song goes "girls just want to have fun," and the same applies to twenty or so women of that "certain age" of the local Red Hat Society who donned red hats and purple dresses to eat ham and drink tea Wednesday afternoon at the Benton Sub Shop. Even Becky Green, owner of the Sub Shop, raced from the kitchen in time to enjoy the "dis-organization" of some ham and humor with "the girls."

Membership in the Red Hat Society is limited to women age 50 and older. Younger women have formed their own “pink hat and lavender dress” clubs, donning the “red hat” (and purple dress) when they reach “that certain age.” The motto of the Society is “greeting middle age with verve, humor and elan.” Members wear purple dresses and red hats and most clubs are comprised of a limited number of women with similar interests.

February 18, 2004. Betty Ruckle is 85 today and, yes, she is the same lady for whom "Grandma Betty's Apple Dumplings" are named. If you have never tried them, call 781-3882 and order a couple of boxes.

Don't forget that there is a movie to watch tonight at 9 PM Eastern on Lifetime. And if you forget what that movie is, buy a copy of today's Press Enterprise where an excellent article by Chris Krepich tells all about it. Ah, heck, the movie is Sinners Need Company, based on the 1947 novel The Sure Hand of God, by Erskine Caldwell. The film will air on the LIFETIME channel at 9 PM. Benton native Yvonne Lenbergs was executive producer of the film and daughter Ellen Lenbergs was set designer.

Dale Earnhardt Sr., then 49, died from injuries suffered in a crash at the Daytona 500 two years ago on this date.

Doris Harvey remains a patient in the Geisinger Hospital.

This year, there are five Sundays in February. Do you know what happens on the last one? The 76th Annual Academy Awards will be held that Sunday night, three weeks earlier than usual. We do have a favorite actress and she will present at the awards ceremony. Renée Zellweger will present and is nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Cold Mountain. Last year, she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in the Best Picture winner Chicago and in 2001 she was nominated for her leading role in Bridget Jones' Diary.

February can have five of any particular day of the week only in a leap year since in an ordinary year, February has exactly four weeks, so every weekday occurs exactly four times in the month. To have five Sundays in February, it must be a leap year, and the first day of February must be on a Sunday. In the past, this has happened every 28 years; i.e., 1976, 1948, and 1920.

Good morrow, Benedick.
Why, what's the matter;
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?
--William Shakespeare, "Much Ado About Nothing"

Threading a needle? Moisten your finger with spray starch or hair spray and apply it to the end of the thread. It will stiffen just enough to make threading easy.

Bob and Joyce Gordon are Back Home in Benton, PA, after outwitting our winter for a month with other snowbirds in the Orlando area. From other sources we hear that the Florida population is rebounding for the first time in three years. We have never heard a snowbird not say "It is good to be home" when they arrive Back Home to Benton, PA.

Sue Thursby reminds us that the collectibles from Christ the King Church can be picked up today up today from 3 to 6 PM at the Benton United Methodist Church. The next project in this popular series is the original bandstand at the Benton Park. Sue needs a good picture of the bandstand if anyone can loan it to her.

Back row, from the left: Shirley Fullmer, Food Bank Coordinator Peg Krum, Bernard Shultz, Bill Thursby. First row, from the left: Eleanor Klementik, Darlene Shelly, Carolyn Watson, Lynn Watson, Whittier Letteer

Civil War research lead Patty Matthews and Sheila Brandon, members of the Plymouth Historical Society, to the task of preserving burial records for the local Veteran’s Office.

Patty (Thoma) Matthews, member of the Board of Directors of the Plymouth Historical Society (PHS), is helping her husband, Rick Matthews, research material for a book on the 143rd PA Infantry during the Civil War. The couple resides in Luzerne, in the area of what was once Camp Luzerne, the place where local soldiers assembled to learn the techniques needed for the battlefield. The book will be released at a later date. It is a history on the “men” that served with the 143rd, rather than the battles of the Civil War. Their quest into the past has led them on a journey through nearly every county in Pennsylvania. They have traveled thousands of miles to cemeteries across the United States to take pictures of soldiers' tombstones. There are soldiers from the 143rd buried in approximately 30 states across the U.S. So far they have photographed over 800 graves of the 1500-plus men of the 143rd PA Infantry, and have amassed a collection of over 100 photographs, hundreds of obituaries of the men, and several letters written by the soldiers. Anyone with information or photographs regarding the men of the 143rd Regiment is asked to contact Rick or Patty .

Sheila (Malenovitch) Brandon, a close friend of the couple, and a PHS Board Member, runs the popular local history website, Lower Luzerne County, PA. This site is free and can be accessed at www.lowerluzernecounty.com or by typing the keyword lowerluzernecounty into any search engine. The website covers the sometimes overlooked rural communities on the southern end of the county, most of which are very close to Benton. Several of the companies of the 143rd PA Inf. were from the area covered by this Lower Luzerne County site.

Brandon and the Matthews have joined forces to uncover the past, which led them to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office. The office is situated along the banks of the Susquehanna River, on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre, just across the street from the Luzerne County Courthouse.

The office houses books pertaining to the interment of soldiers from the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I and World War II. The information for each soldier may vary, but a record usually includes soldier's name, regiment, date of discharge, date of death, and place of interment. Some records are more extensive than others, even including the names of the pallbearers.

A discussion arose between the Veterans Office personnel and the members of the Plymouth Historical Society regarding the preservation of these books. Due to the age and handling of the books, it was suggested that the books be preserved onto CDs, which would allow anyone to view the material via computer, without having to handle the books. The Veterans Office personnel agreed it was a worthy cause to preserve the local veterans burial records, and permission was granted to the Plymouth Historical Society to take the necessary steps to complete the first phase of the preservation project. The books can now be properly preserved to ensure they will be around for generations to come.

The members of PHS volunteered to scan each book onto a CD, then typed and printed an index of soldiers' names, thus making it easier to locate a record for anyone seeking information on a particular soldier. Prior to this, you would have to look through each book trying to locate the information. The index contains approximately 2,200 soldiers. Copies of the index will be available online at the Lower Luzerne County website or the yahoo group The_Courthouse_Gang; those who may not have computer access can view these records at the Plymouth Historical Society. Anyone seeking this information may contact PHS at (570) 779-5840. The Veterans Affairs Office Personnel ask that you do not contact them directly due to the volume of daily activity at their office, and they encourage anyone interested in these records to call or visit the historical society.

The Plymouth Historical Society is seeking funds to purchase a large format scanner to continue with phase two of the preservation project. The second phase of the project will be to computerize a series of oversized books pertaining to cemeteries located throughout Luzerne County. The society operates on a very limited budget, relying on membership dues and public donations for its funding. Anyone who wishes to donate to this worthwhile cause can do so by sending a check to the Plymouth Historical Society, Attention: Veteran’s Project, 115 Gaylord Ave., Plymouth, PA, 18651. Their goal is $5,000.00. The society is 501 E(C)3 tax-exempt, all donations are tax deductible.

February 17, 2004

"A camel is a horse designed by committee."
-Sir Alec Issigonis

February 17, 2004. It is the 63rd wedding anniversary of John and Zane Unbewust. We ran into them in separate places over the past couple of days and asked them when they got married. John said 1941 and Zane said 1940. When we pointed out the discrepancy, John threw up his hands and simply said that it has been so "%$#&^ long I just can't remember." Neither have seen daughter Yvonne and granddaughter Ellen's movie that premiers Wednesday night on the Lifetime channel, and they are very excited about it. We'll tell you more about the movie and share another story about the couple after we have pecked out a couple more paragraphs.

Jared and Amy Dressler proudly announce the birth February 16 of daughter Gianna, weighing in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces and 21 inches long. She is actually a pretty good size for having a mother who weighs less than 100 pounds. Gianna is the granddaughter of Grover and Debby Dressler.

The Benton Rodeo rides into town July 13 through the 18th, 2004. We'll talk about both the music and the entertainment. First the music. The old bandstand that has blinded performers for so many years--did we mention that this is the 20th anniversary of the Benton Rodeo?--will soon be replaced with one that is twice as large and will face South instead of West. In fact, it will even have two dressing rooms. Construction should begin as soon as this cold and miserable weather takes a hike. The new bandstand will be approximately where the Dodge trucks were sold in prior years.

And the other news comes from the Lone Indian Chief who will bring his Native American culture to this year's rodeo and combine it with the art of Roman Riding. The Lone Indian Chief is also known as Will Powell, and he let us know that he begins his performance astride two fourteen year old paint horses, Ghost Dancer and Lakota.

The chief and the horses perform several maneuvers, including the figure eight and the side pass. He then reverses one horse around the other, and, with the two horses head to tail, walks and side passes them through fire stakes, then the chief adds the third horse to his team and jumps all three horses through a burning hoop of fire.

Will and his trained horse presents several dance maneuvers, and ends the performance by "Ghost Dancer" walking on his hind legs.

In 1999 and 2002, Will performed with his Roman Team during an opening for the National Finals Rodeo held in Las Vegas, Nevada. And what is Will doing this Winter? He is a paralegal in his wife’s law practice.

Quote of the Day:
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
--Antoine de Saint Exupery

Set your TIVOs now for Sinners Need Company, based on the controversial novel The Sure Hand of God, by Erskine Caldwell. The novel sold over two and a half million copies. The film will air on the LIFETIME channel at 9 PM Wednesday, February 18, 2004. Yvonne Lenbergs was executive producer of the film and daughter Ellen Lenbergs was set designer.

Sinners Need Company is the story of Molly Bowser, a widow who wants to save her teenage daughter Lily from the kind of life Momma Molly was forced to live. Momma wants to pull this off by snaring Lily a rich, respectable husband. Molly experiences one misadventure after another with results that range from hilarious to moving to tragic, but never predictable.

Our fingers are loosened up so we'll share a John and Zane Unbewust story. Back about 1948 or 1949 after they had purchased the old homestead from John Unbewust, Sr., Zane told John to back the old dump truck up to the side of the house and she and sister Pat started heaving things out of the attic into the truck. The attic was full of generations of odds and ends and she made quick work of that "stuff."

Shortly thereafter she decided to open up some of the rooms and took the initiative with a sledgehammer and knocked out a wall and even had daughter Yvonne breaking through some of the wooden lathe in the wall.

When John arrived home, he got a bit excited and said, " #%^$@ woman, this could have been a load-bearing wall and the whole house could have come down." Her reply was pure Zane, "Well it didn't did it!"

One time son Mac didn't respond fast enough to Zane's famous whistle to come home. Zane grabbed him and paddled him good only to discover that she had grabbed his playmate, Brooks Sutliff, now a car dealer in Harrisburg, by mistake and had just punished the wrong boy. Mac says that he still can't enjoy a football game because every time they blow the whistle he looks around to see if his Mother is whistling for him!

Didja know that Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the United States? Didja know that Benton's famous son-in-law's movie "Fargo" translated in Chinese means "Mysterious Murder in Snowy Cream?" Didja know that on this date in 1801, the House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president and making Burr vice president? Didja remember that the Benton Area Class of 2006 will host basket bingo February 29 at the Benton Volunteer Fire Hall? Didja know that Sen. John Gordner got in "cold" water yesterday when a ceiling pipe in his office burst flooding several office rooms with one to two inches of water? Didja remember that the firemen are serving buckwheat cakes Sunday at the fire hall? Didja know that friends of Willie Hosking contributed $1,545 in his memory to the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center? And didja know that exciting announcements will be coming from the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center in the immediate future? Lets save that for another day... Have a toasty Tuesday!

February is the birth month of two American presidents...
• George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
• Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president, was born on February 12,
1809, near Hodgenkille, Kentucky.

We honor Washington, Lincoln, and forty other presidents (Richard Sutliff reminds us that Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President, with Benjamin Harrison between Cleveland's terms. He was kind of a girthy fella but we still can't count him twice) on the third Monday in February and call the holiday President's Day. This observance dates to the Monday Holidays Act of 1968, which became effective in 1971. But, just to confuse you, the Office of Personnel Management still officially refers to today as Washington's Birthday, but it is popularly and legally known at the state level as President's Day.

Six years to the day that his father won NASCAR's first race of the season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. roared to a victory in the Daytona 500 Sunday, pulling off a masterful pass of Tony Stewart with 19 laps remaining and holding on for the win.

If you create a shortcut to your favorite folder it will save you time to navigate to it each time. Create a desktop shortcut to your favorite folder this way: Click Start | My Computer to open Windows Explorer. Locate the folder that you want to create a shortcut by navigating through the list then right click on the folder and select Send To | Desktop (Create Shortcut).

The temperature outside at press time is 3°, "long johns" weather. But where did that funny name come from? The name originally referred to the winter underwear issued by the Army, the ones that create that itching sensation that soldiers remembered from the war. The terms conjures up a vision of a soldier swelling his chest, flexing his biceps and strutting around like a Banty Rooster or like John L. Sullivan (1858-1918), the last of bare-knuckle champions and world heavyweight champion from 1882 to 1892), after whom these practical long johns are named that we are so happy to put on these cold Winter mornings.

A fire apparently started in a wood-burning stove did substantial damage to the exterior of the Mill Street home of Bob and Margie Kline last evening about 7:50 PM. Firemen found a cracked fly liner, but that could have been caused by the heat of the flames.

The fire apparently started near the "thimble" (flu liner) of the stove on the north-facing wall of the frame, vinyl-covered house.

Everyone was evacuated and there were no injuries, although there was smoke, water and fire damage.

Flames in the wall are evident in this picture.

The temperatures hovered around 16° outside as firemen from Benton, Millville, Orangeville and North Mountain responded with axes, foam and water.

Bob and Margie first heard noise, something like running water, in the wall behind the wood-burning stove about 7:30 PM. They soon saw smoke coming from a light-fixture and immediately called for help.

The inside of the house was saved from serious damage, but the exterior was chopped up quite badly in order to get to the flames inside the wall. The living room of the house had black walnut paneling milled from a tree that had grown on the property for over a hundred years, and that was saved. The house had new carpet, furniture and electrical. Orangeville fire chief Bob Sutcliff, a carpenter and home-improvement contractor, had completed the renovations for the Klines. The Orangeville fire company responded with their rescue truck.

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual."
--Galileo Galilei

"A pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood. "
- General George S. Patton

February 15, 2004

If your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall.

Today is the birthday of Italian astronomer and the father of physics, Galileo Galilei, (1564-1642), born in Pisa in 1564. He developed the idea for the pendulum clock when he observed a bronze lamp swinging, and noticed that the swings, whether through a large or small arc took place in equal or nearly equal times. He wrote that all objects, regardless of their density, fall at the same rate through a vacuum. He invented the pump, the hydrostatic balance, and the refracting telescope. He studied the earth's moon, verified the existence of the four moons of Jupiter, observed a supernova, and discovered sun spots. He provided evidence for Copernicus' theory that the earth revolves around the sun, which had been declared heresy by the Inquisition. Pope Urban VII told him that he could write about it as long as he treated it as merely a mathematical theory. But Galileo continued to openly support the theory and in 1634, his book Dialogue Concerning the two Chief World Systems was banned and burned by the Church, and he was forced to renounce his beliefs. As he signed his prepared declaration that the earth was stationary, he whispered, "And yet it moves." From 1633 until his death, he lived under house arrest in his home in Florence although he became Professor of Mathematics at Padua where his lecture hall held 2,000 students. He was still full of ideas for new inquiries when he "was struck down by fever." He died in January of 1642 when he was 78.

Esther E. (Cragle) Rhinard, 81, Jonestown, died Saturday, February 14, 2004, at the Millville Health Center. Her husband Warren W. Rhinard, died April 29, 2003. Arrangements will be announced by the McMichael Funeral Home, Inc., Benton.

Many students attend the L. R. Appleman School, and some may not know about the man for whom the school is named. L. Ray Appleman was the oldest child of the marriage of Samuel Francis Appleman to Nellie Hess. He was born February 16, 1885, and was named Leslie Ray Appleman. He died February 9, 1963, just a week short of his 78th birthday. He married Emma D. Strauch on December 3, 1908, and they had two daughters, Ruth and Kathleen. Samuel and Nellie had six other children: Edith Florine Appleman, Reuben Glen Appleman, John Burr Appleman, Sarah Ellen Appleman, Ethel Vee Appleman and an unnamed child born in November, 1887, who only survived for twenty days.

So time moves on and so do we,
and nothing stays the same,
But I sure love to reminisce
and walk down memory lane.

A nice feature of Microsoft Word is the ability to return to the last place where an edit change was made. Shift+F5 returns you to that point and subsequent Shift+F5 key combinations will toggle through the last three edit locations.

Faced with falling patient demand, intense local competition, a difficult insurance environment, and stresses from other financial factors, the Bloomsburg Hospital is in its fifth year of unprofitable operations. Standard and Poor's has lowered the hospital's rating to a "BB-" on $15.99 million in bonds issued by the Columbia County Hospital Authority. The hospital will proceed with a planned $3 million remodeling project knowing that it faces a difficult job of raising investor money. Read the entire story in today's Press Enterprise.

Spam keeps right on coming, prompting the Federal Trade Commission to issue a report on the latest scam on the Internet, a site collecting email addresses on behalf of spammers. A web site claims to offer an email version of the federal do-not-call registry. The "Do Not Email Registry" suggests submitting email addresses to stop getting junk email, but apparently the fox is guarding the chicken coup and the collected email addresses end up in the hands of spammers. The site has no affiliation with the government, even though its Web address might suggest it does. The ".us" domain was once reserved for local governments and schools, but it now can be used by businesses and individuals in the United States.

Seventeen of the 20 most attended sporting events in 2003 were NASCAR races, and we wish that we were attending one today. Not, mind you, for the race so much, but for the weather in Daytona Beach.

Herman Hollerith (1860-1929) founded the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. Herman Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Company and the Computing - Tabulating - Recording Company merged in 1911 under the name "the Tabulating Machine Company." On this date in 1924, that company and additional merger companies became the IBM Corporation.

Glenda C. (Conner) Glassmire, 88, died February 11, 2004, in Langhorne. Born in Benton, she graduated from the former Bloomsburg State Teachers College with a degree in elementary educations, and had lived in Langhorne since 1960. She was a teacher in the Bristol Township School District for 41 years, where she taught kindergarten, first and second grades. Mrs. Glassmire was preceded in death in 2001 by her husband, John W. Glassmire Jr. She is survived by her son, John W. Glassmire III of Langhorne, a sister, Phyllis Conner of Cockeysville, MD, and a brother, J. Hubert Conner of Media. Services and interment will be private.
--from a Press Enterprise obituary.

Love is in the air. Your sweetheart is waiting for her Valentine's present. Stop reading this drivel, tell her Ti amo and get that present wrapped now. Be a hero! If you do this one small favor, Spring will be here in five weeks. If you don't do it, Spring won't be here for another 35 days.

And why do we even have a day like this, you ask? Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. February 14 was a holiday to honor Juno, the Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses and she served double duty as the Goddess of women and marriage on the night before the Feast of Lupercalia. Roman girls would put slips of paper with their names on them into a clay jar, and the boys would choose their partner for the festival by taking a slip from the jar. This was one of the few times girls and boys were allowed to socialize, and the dancing and games often evolved into courtship and marriage. In this country, husbands and boyfriends give their lover gifts of things like roses, chocolate or fine jewelry.

There are many versions of the origin of Valentine's Day. One version has it originating from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on this date in 269 A.D. An old legend says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for his friend the jailer's daughter, signing it "From Your Valentine." Other versions hold that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius, who had Valentine jailed for defying him. Pope Gelasius I set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine in 496 A.D.

In the United States, Esther Howland is credited for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's to the joy of companies like Hallmark. In this country, an estimated 1 billion Valentine cards and 50 million roses are sold to celebrate this event each year. According to U.S. candy manufacturers, Americans shell out more than $1,105 million each Valentine's Day on candy.

Oft have I heard both Youths and Virgins say,
Birds chuse their mates, and couple too, this day:
But by their flight I never can divine,
When I shall couple with my Valentine.
--Robert Herrick, written in 1648 to his Valentine.

It's the birthday of the inventor of the typewriter, Christopher Latham Sholes, (1819-1890), born in Mooresburg, just off the present I-80 on Montour Ridge, 32 miles from Back Home in Benton, PA. He grew up in Danville. He designed the keyboard so that all of the letters in the word "typewriter" would be on the top row, thinking that this would impress skeptical customers. The first machine had a few problems, since it only wrote in capitals and was heavily influenced by the workings and appearance of the sewing machine. Sholes layout of the letters on a keyboard, QWERTY, is still in use today.

Sholes built his first typewriter in Wisconsin, where he worked in the field of publishing. Sholes sold his patents and the first machines, the "Sholes & Glidden Type Writer," were produced by the gun makers E. Remington & Sons in Ilion, NY, from 1874-1878.

Quickies...
• The February 14 issue of the Press Enterprise reports that newly elected David Millard is urging a state legislature committee to fund the cleanup of Max Starr's tire pile in Greenwood Township and the development of a technology center in Bloomsburg. The paper quotes Department of Environmental Protection statistics that the 5.9 million tires make that heap the largest on the state's "Priority Waste Tire Pile."
• The Zion United Church of Christ is the Press Enterprise's church of the week.
• Bill and Karen Boston are in Palm Springs, but moving to Las Vegas on Tuesday. Their dog was put to sleep in Yuma, and that has put a damper on the trip.
• The standoff between AOL and EPIX is still in place. At times, email can pass, but generally EPIX cannot communicate with AOL.
• Brad Cole with Mother Samina Cole, both of Annapolis and formerly of Bloomsburg, were in town last night sans Dad Dave Cole. Sadly, a funeral this morning brings them North and they will hurry back to warmer weather later today.
• Joselle, the Queen Mum who is not mum about anything, announced that the February meeting of the Fishing Creek Femme Fatales will be at the Hoboken Sub Shop Wednesday, February 18 at 2 PM. The menu for the members of the Red Hat Society will be ham loaf with scalloped potatoes, dessert and beverage for $8, including tax and gratuity. Guests are welcome, proper attire is required. The chapter is open to new members.

The February 16 meeting of the North Mountain Historical Society will feature a talk by Dr. Wilson Ferguson, Laporte, on settlement patterns in early Sullivan County. Dr. Ferguson will attempt to answer questions like what was the area which later became Sullivan County like before European settlers got there? Who were these early settlers? How did they get to Sullivan County? What did they do after they arrived? The History Group meets on the third Monday of each month at the Brass Pelican restaurant. Breakfast is available from 8 AM and the discussion begins about 9:15. The public is invited. There is no cost, except for any food or drink that is ordered.

Bogus emails known as the "Bear Virus" were circulating yesterday which attempted to lure users into deleting perfectly innocuous, standard Windows files from their systems. The target file was JDBGMGR.EXE, a Java Debug Manager program used by the Microsoft Java runtime engine, part of a standard Windows installation and is not a "virus." The icon for this file is a graphic of a bear. It is OK if you deleted the file, since only programmers who use Microsoft Visual J++ 1.1 to develop Java programs feel warm and fuzzy toward it. If it is not there, your PC will still work unless you are a Java developer.

First time he kissed me, he but only kiss'd
The fingers of this hand wherewith I write;
…A ring of amethyst
I could not wear here, plainer to my sight,
Than that first kiss.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

February 13, 2004

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned,
Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
-William Congreve

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same."
-Elbert Hubbard

"We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it."
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

February 13, 2003. Yes, it is Friday the 13th! Happy birthday, Nancy Kline. Have you arranged your Valentine's Day cards and presents yet? Remember the adage: They do not love that do not show their love. And start thinking about Sunday night when it could get into the double digits BELOW zero!

Glenn H. Tripp, 79, (Sept. 1, 1924-Feb. 11, 2004), Tripp Road, Benton, died Wednesday at the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. He was a son of the late Harry and Affie (Evans) Tripp. He was self-employed in the excavating business. He was a military scout in the U.S. Army during World War II, serving in the Battle of Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland Ardennes and Central Europe with the 8th Armored Division, receiving the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He was preceded in death by his sister, Betty Hall. Surviving are his wife of 57 years, the former Beatrice Bonham; daughters Ronna Dzoch, Benton; Lori Harvey, Sweet Valley, and Penny Crockett, Benton; a son, Kenneth Tripp, Stillwater; six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren; sisters: Irma Pettitt, Savona, NY; Barbara Shiers, Benton, and Anna Brandon, Sweet Valley; brothers: Lee Tripp, Portersville, and Earl Tripp, Kingsley, Michigan. Funeral services will be held 11 AM Saturday from the Clarke Piatt Funeral Home Inc., 6 Sunset Lake Road, Hunlock Creek. Interment will be in Mossville Cemetery, Fairmount Township. Friends may call on Saturday from 10 AM until the time of service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Fairmount Township Ambulance, 671 State Route 118, Sweet Valley, PA 18656 or to a charity of the donor's choice.
--from a Press Enterprise obituary

Prayers are needed for Doris Wiant Harvey, 76, local historian, journalist and museum curator from Bethel Hill. Doris just returned from Ohio visiting with her son Doug over the holidays and this past Wednesday was sent to the Geisinger Hospital and diagnosed with lymphoma. Doris has always been active in the Harveyville Methodist Church and Patterson Grove Campground. Doris' parents were Charles and Jesse Wiant who ran the Wiant museum at the foot of Bethel Hill. She and husband Herbert lived in the old Harvey homestead on Bethel Hill. (Herbert died in 1998). Doris has a wealth of historical knowledge about our area and has always been thoughtful to answer any questions that individuals inquired about the history of lower Luzerne and northern Columbia Co region, local business', and families that influenced and settled in the local townships. Many will remember Doris for her writings in the Suburban News.
--our thanks to Linda Moss in helping to write about Doris. We regret that we are unable to send an email via AOL to thank Linda for her help! In fact, we are within days of doing our monthly rant about the uselessness of AOL.

Paul Reichart, former Chairman of the Board of the Columbia County Farmers National Bank, will seek the Democratic nomination for state representative in the May primary. His opponent will be incumbent Republican David Millard.

Are you thinking of running for office in the April 27 primary? You have until close of business Tuesday, February 17, to get your petitions properly filled out, notarized and filed with the Department of State, Bureau of Elections.

As we mature, we dust less and read more, we spend quality time with our family and our friends and take on new interests involving cards and television and good food. We worry less about things undone. We concentrate more on sharing the good in our lives, the stories of our family, the mementoes that have come down through the generations, the white fudge that Cousin Connie gave us. We tend to try to look as though the world has treated us well. We are not as bad as Father was twenty years ago, when he donned a white shirt and tie to go to Kozy Korner for a cup of coffee, but we tend to avoid the tattered jeans and flannel shirts that we once wore regularly. Looking prosperous seems to make paying $32 for a fill up at the gas station seem more acceptable.

We use the terms "around to it" and "someday" a lot less, because if it is important to do sometime it is important to do it now. We see too many of the things that can only happen to other people happening to us, and we are starting to think that maybe we won't buy green bananas, either. We'll go at the drop of a hat to eat buckwheat cakes or Thai food or Mexican food or Vietnamese food. We'll get those little notes written that we have been putting off, and we plan to visit those far-off friends and revisit those haunts we used to love.

Each morning as we start the day we know it will be special and each minute and each breath a gift from God.

Tonight on the Friday Night Opry, which you can listen to directly from the side panel of this web site, will be the Osborne Brothers, 8:30-9:00; Ralph Stanley, 9:00-9:30; Old Crow Medicine Show, 9:30-10:00; Del McCoury Band, 10:00-10:30; Jesse McReynolds & the Virginia Boys, 10:30-11:00. All times Eastern.

Rite Aid Corp. reportedly has offered up to $4 billion in cash and stock to acquire the Eckerd drugstore chain.

Upcoming...
• the Harlem Globetrotters, Wednesday, Feb. 25, Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza, Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Twp., 7 PM. Tickets $13.50. Arena box office: 693-4100 or www.ticketmaster.com .
• Annual Auction at the Huntington Mills Elementary School, 9 AM, Saturday, Feb. 28, off Route 239, Huntington Mills. Furniture, baseball cards, WWF items, crafts, candles, Longaberger basket set, handmade wooden items, autographed celebrity photos, hotel accommodations, tickets to east coast attractions: theme parks, sporting events, museums, theatres. Lunch, refreshments available.

We had to smile when we read a high-school essay about Valentine's Day that included this sentence: "She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef."

Ellen Lenbergs continues to get rave reviews for set design at Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in the play that opened February 6, "Red Herring." In the play, sets depict simple and effective apartments, a pier, and a bridal shop. Between scenes, the stage darkens and stage hands, dressed like detectives in black suits and hats, come in with flashlights and search under the bed and around the set as they move out the bed and move in the kitchen table or the desk and chair. If you want a funny play about nuclear espionage, triple romance, and false clues ("red herrings") and if you want to see six actors playing 18 roles, this is for you.

This is another example of a way to start a sentence with the word "this" and end it with the word "that."

We recently wrote about the "Gentlemen's Club" that once stood at the
foot of Knob Mountain, now the home of the Briar Creek Mutual
Insurance Company. We have received a number of emails about the
club, but no one so far has been able to provide the name by which the
club was known when Col. Robert Bruce Ricketts was a member.

		The Westmoreland Club
Several people wrote telling us that the beautiful bar from the club was eventually taken to the Westmoreland Club, 59 S. Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre.

Ann Harris Brandt, Mifflinville, the granddaughter of the man who
purchased the Orangeville house after Schuyler Reynolds sold it,
remembers that under the carpet of the first floor bathroom was a trap
door. As a little girl, she was not allowed to go down the ladder to
that portion of the basement, which was not accessible from any other
part of the house. She remembers, however, seeing several five-gallon
McHenry whiskey bottles come out of that hole in the floor when the
house was sold. Mrs. Brandy assumes that members of the "Gentlemen's
Club" did more than just play cards during the national Prohibition
years of 1920-33.

"To write a good love letter, you ought to begin without knowing what you mean to say and to finish without knowing what you have written."
- Jean Jacques Rousseau

February 12, 2004

"Mr. Lincoln was an extremely strong man when in the Right -- the most sincere & powerful man I ever saw. His sincerity was all over his face, integrity & honor were there."
-- William Herndon

All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.
--Abraham Lincoln

And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
--Abraham Lincoln

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.
--Abraham Lincoln

Major Rod Dietrick reported Monday to the Joint Military Intelligence College as Department Chairman and Professor of Information Warfare. The Joint Military Intelligence College is part of the Defense Intelligence Agency located on Bolling AFB, DC. Mother Jean Dietrick is very proud.

Honest Abe! It is the birthday today of the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, born near Hodgenville, Kentucky, in 1809. He had little formal education, heading off instead to work on a Mississippi River cargo boat as a "friendless, uneducated, penniless boy, working on a flat boat." He settled in New Salem, Illinois, a town of about 300, helping to manage a general store, worked as a surveyor and postmaster, tried debating, read books on grammar and rhetoric and studied to become a lawyer.

Lincoln joined the Illinois House of Representatives in 1834 and served for eight years. He was elected to the United States Congress in 1846. In 1858, Lincoln ran for Congress against Stephen A. Douglas, an Illinois Democratic senator, who had introduced the Kansas-Nebraska bill to repeal the restrictions on slavery for some northern states. Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates in seven different Illinois cities. Douglas argued that slavery should be allowed if that was what a majority of a state's citizens wanted. Lincoln argued for the abolition of slavery on moral grounds. Lincoln lost the election, but boosted his confidence to run for president two years later.

Lincoln was not a popular president at first and only received 40% of the popular vote in 1860. We recommend that you turn to the FEATURES section to read Civil War Dissent in Columbia County, PA, by George A. Turner, to learn more on the subject of Lincoln's popularity.

President-elect Lincoln left his home in Springfield on February 11, 1861, to begin his inaugural journey to Washington, DC, and arrived in the city surreptitiously because of a death threat. People poked fun of his appearance; i.e., "he was six feet, four inches tall, skinny, slightly stooped, wore an old top hat and a coat that was too small for him."
Plain-spoken and to the point, Lincoln was a fine public speaker, as evidenced in his second inaugural address, "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

A $115 million Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will open in Springfield later in the spring of 2004 when climate conditioning problems are solved.

Quickies...
. We enjoyed reading Andy Borowitz's report that Saddam Hussein had planned to destroy America by luring every man, woman and child onto the fat-laden Atkins Diet, as "a weapon of mass consumption."
. School will have a 12:30 PM early dismissal Thursday, Feb. 12, and will be in session Friday, Feb. 13, as a make-up day.
. The Lewisburg Wal-Mart on route 15 has been listed for sale by CB Richard Ellis of Houston for a reported $2.094 million. The 93,188-square-foot building is for sale because the retail chain is planning to build a new store.
. The boys from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are inspecting the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station nuclear power plant in Salem Township for loose bolts on emergency diesel generators.
. Head on down to Bloomsburg to see the play Red Herring at BTE's Alvina Krause Theatre, 226 Center Street. Tickets and information are available at the Box Office, (570) 784-8181 or 800-282-0283. Information is also available on the Web at www.bte.org. The show runs through Feb. 29.
. One of our favorite web sites has moved. All it means to you is that you need to bookmark the Lower Luzerne County Web Site, http://www.lowerluzernecounty.com/. Please note this is a new location and you need to change your favorites in your web browser. And if you have never looked at the site, do it now.
. Your prayers are needed today for Marcia Worley, Dover, PA, a patient in the Penn State Hershey Medical Center.

Take the time to think about the fact that dinosaurs survived for almost 150 million years--75 times longer than humans have now lived on earth. And while you are thinking about things that don't mean a hoot, consider the days of the week.

Sunday was named in tribute to the Sun; the days the Romans called "dies solis" (Day of the Sun). In Old English, the Latin phrase was translated as "Sunnandaeg," which eventually evolved into "Sunday."
If you're going to have a "Sun Day," you pretty much have to have a "Moon Day," and we do. The word comes from the Old English "Monandaeg." The name for Tuesday came from the Germanic god Tiu, the Grand Poobah in charge of war and the sky. The Romans called Tuesday "Dies Martis," after Mars, the Roman god of war. "Mardi" in French means Tuesday, as in the festival of Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday".

The Romans called Wednesday "Dies Mercurii," eager to give some tribute to the god Mercury. The Germanic tribes of Europe substituted their god Woden (or Odin, in case you are reading about Norse mythology), giving us the Old English "Wodnesdaeg." The Romans called Thursday "Dies Iovis," after Jove, their god of thunder, but the Germanic folk renamed it after their thunder dude, Thor. The Old English "Thunraesdaeg" became our modern "Thursday."

Friday was known to the Romans as "Dies Veneris" after Venus, the Roman god of love. The Norse god Frigg (Odin's wife) was substituted, giving us the Old English "Frigedaeg," and, eventually, "Friday." And, lastly, Saturday comes from tribute to the Roman god Saturn.

Days of the week, incidentally, were not usually capitalized until the 17th century.

Will voting for dogcatcher be far behind? A company called Broadjam Inc., a provider of Internet and desktop tools for musicians, record labels and publishers, will create and implement an online voting mechanism for the Academy of Country Music. ACM will move its voting process onto the Internet for its annual awards show in May. ACM members will cast votes online via a secure third-party site on the Internet. Members will be able to stream instantly and listen to the music they're voting on during the final rounds of polling in various categories, including song of the year and video of the year.

Didja know that Emily Dickinson wrote more than nine hundred poems, of which only four were published during her lifetime?

Another month, another virus. The fast moving MyDoom is driving everyone bonkers. Email users must learn to filter out messages containing *.EXE, *.PIF and *.SCR extensions and be very careful of *.ZIP extensions, but enough people executed the virus to create havoc for the rest of us. MyDoom collects addresses from text files, the Windows Address book (*.WAB), from HTML files, from other sources and even makes them up, using common first names and domains it finds in the files it scans. The virus sends messages to and/or from bogus addresses and antivirus programs blocks delivery, creating a heavy load on already swamped servers by sending notification to a falsified address that they sent an infected message.

Quickies:
• David Millard became a member of the State House Monday, and was appointed to the House Committees on Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Children & Youth, and Commerce.
• A doctor has a stethoscope up to a man's chest. The man asks "Doc, how do I stand?" The doctor replied, "That's what puzzles me!"
• Circuit City is closing unprofitable stores starting today in 14 states, none in Pennsylvania, but stores in Ohio, Texas, Indiana, Illinois and Florida are affected.
• Six new nominations were received for the Hall of Fame at the high school. Coupled with the nominations still under consideration from last year, some excellent choices are available.
• The Pennsylvania Horse World Expo comes to the Farm Show Complex February 27 through 29. More than 450 booths and 180,000 square feet of exhibit space will be devoted to horses and their apparel, care and feeding. Expo hours are Friday, February 27, noon to 8 PM, Saturday, February 28, 9 AM to 8 PM, and Sunday, February 29, from 9 AM to 6 PM. Daily admission is $10, $5 for children ages 10 to 14. Children 10 and under will be admitted free. Tickets are available at the door or at www.horseworldexpo.com . The Farm Show Arena at Cameron and Maclay streets charges $5 per day for parking.
• In answer to a reader's question, we suggest that you considere comparison shopping for computers, electronics, and software at Price Grabber, http://www.pricegrabber.com/ . NextTag.com at http://www.nextag.com/ and Shopping.com/DealTime at http://www.shopping.com/ are also possibilities.

Bob Maynes remembers that "The CCC guys around here were lucky. We were hermits in Beaverhead, NM." Bob was 17 years old at the time, and almost died in service to the CCC. He filed this report, "We sent one or two truckloads of men to Silver City every two months or so. Because of the six-hour ride in the hot sun riding benches in the back of Chevy stake body trucks, and a cold six hour ride back leaving about 10 pm the same day, it was hard to find takers."

Bob continues, "After we moved lower down to winter camp in Mimbres, NM, we sent trucks to town every other Saturday night. Still a long haul of more than 8 hours round trip. As I recall, the gals in Silver City crossed to the other side of the street when they saw us. We lived in squad tents in Beaverhead up 'til about mid October when everything froze up and we had to build fires under the D8 Cats in order to warm up the oil enough for the pony gasoline engines to start the main diesel engine. Many a day we started out from camp in tee shirts and dungarees, and by the time we reached the job site a couple of thousand feet higher, we were wearing every available piece of clothing we brought with us. In Mimbres, we lived in barracks heated by a pot-bellied wood stove at each end of the building. We drove those damn cats from Beaverhead down to Mimbres camp. It took almost a week, as there was no such animal as a lowboy to trailer them on."

There were about 25,000 local enlisted men, popularly called LEMs, who trained unskilled enrollees to go from a city life to a life of using an pick and shovel and axe. Bob Maynes recalls that "Many camps did have LEMs who were recruited from the immediate communities and served in the camp. Usually in a camp of 150 or 200 men who came from all over the country, there were four or five LEMs. The LEMs were effective in reducing any fears of the local populace that there were a bunch of roughnecks being dropped in their neighborhood. The other 200 or so were sent from out of the state and had a tough time going AWOL.

Bob Maynes recalls that enlistments were for six months and guys did "Go over the hill." No penalties were attached if the guy made it home, but if he was picked up enroute there, he was returned to camp and stood for a court marshal. The usual sentence was hours of extra duty around camp on weekends. Extra duty was ordered for fights, pranks, insubordination, etc. Bob remembers that he "Had some myself."

FDR tried to make the Civilian Conservation Corps permanent in April, 1937. Congress refused, but extended the CCC as an independent agency for two more years.

In 1939, storm clouds forming over England and France impacted the economy of the United States. Jobs became more plentiful, and interest in and applications for the CCC declined. Also in 1939, the Federal Security Agency (FSA) consolidated several offices, service and boards under one Director. The CCC merged into the new organization and Fechner was told to report to the Director, FSA. Fechner resigned in protest, but later withdrew his resignation. In December of 1939, he had a heart attack and died on New Year's Eve.

The new Director, John T. McEntee, had been Fechner's assistant, but soon got in trouble with Harold Ickes, Department of Interior. The Corps remained popular, but as in 1936, the President tried again to scale back operations, but vote-conscious Congress added $50 million to the CCC's 1940-41 appropriation and kept the 300,000 enrollees.

The era and prestige of the CCC soon was over, however, as the defense of the country moved to the top of the priority list. Unemployment was gone. Some Congressmen called for termination of the Corps and by the summer of 1941 the Corps was in serious trouble with fewer than 200,000 men in about 900 camps. Defense of the nation was top priority following Pearl Harbor. Any federal project not directly associated with the war effort was in trouble and Congress recommended the Civilian Conservation Corps be abolished by July 1, 1942.

The Corps was actually never abolished. In 1942, Congress just didn't fund it. Congress did provide $8 million to liquidate the agency. The full Senate confirmed the action by voice vote and the Civilian Conservation Corps passed into history.

A total of 194,500 Pennsylvania citizens served in the CCC nationwide. The value of the work completed by the CCC nationwide is estimated at $8 billion and it is estimated that "Roosevelt's Tree Army" was responsible for planting an estimated three billion trees from 1933 to 1942.

February 10, 2004. On this date in 1996, an IBM computer called Deep Blue beat world champion Garry Kasparov, a machine's first victory under classic tournament rules.

There will be a public auction of Metcalf Steel Services, 400 Smith Street, Benton, starting at 9:30 AM, Tuesday, February 10. The auction includes a 2003 Ford F-550 truck 4x4 with snowplow and flatbed, a 30' gooseneck trailer, a welding truck with boom, a Peterbilt road tractor, four forklifts, many welders, tooling, drills, nail guns, band saws, scaffold, ladders, steel.

David Millard became a member of the State House yesterday after winning the Special Election January 27 to fill the House seat vacated by Berwick's John Gordner. Millard, the 108th Member of the Republican Majority Caucus in the House, was appointed to the House Committees on Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Children & Youth, and Commerce.

Registration for Little League is Thursday, February 12, from 5:30 to 8 PM in the Benton Elementary School lobby.

Didja know that Scarlett O' Hara, Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind lead character, was originally given the name Pansy?

"Puttin' up a first-class privy," author Charles "Chic" Sale wrote, is something that the "average man don't think about. It's no job for an amachoor, take my word on it." Lem Putt, the title character in a little book called "The Specialist," uttered those words in 1929. Sale wrote tales about a rural carpenter and his privy-building. He wrote about an outhouse under an apple tree: "There ain't no sound in nature so desconcertin' as the sound of apples droppin' on the roof." Or digging the waste hole: "It's a mighty sight better to have a little privy over a big hole than a big privy over a little hole." Building them sturdy was the best policy: "you've got to figger on...that Odd Fellows picnic in the fall."

There are many fine outhouses scattered around, and we talk about some of them, including one that was two-stories tall, in an article under FEATURES. Making the list of local ornate outstanding outhouses was a four-unit one in Orangeville. The outhouse proudly stood behind a club house frequently used by Col. Ricketts and a group of well-heeled men from the Wilkes-Barre area.

The clubhouse had a dining room, a formal bar, a hotel-sized kitchen and a reported ten bedrooms--each originally with its own outhouse. Facilities were also available for service personnel.

One of the members of the club was the brother of Elizabeth Reynolds Ricketts, the Colonel's wife, a man by the name of Schuyler Reynolds. Schuyler lived much of his life in Orangeville in a house once owned by Frank Ricketts. Orangeville resident Elizabeth Chamberlain remembers living next to Schuyler and provided us with this picture of him--with cigar.

Mrs. Chamberlain remembers Schuyler as a "gentleman, but an epileptic," a man his wealthy Wilkes-Barre family wanted out of sight. The late Fred Keller of Orangeville accompanied Schuyler on many trips to exotic places of the world. Former Press Enterprise columnist Ted Fensteremacher once described Schuyler and his continuous smoking of expensive cigars, saying of one of Schuyler's vests that it had "ten pockets--some for cigars, and one, so help us, holding a metal ash tray."

After the club disbanded, Schuyler made the club house his permanent home. Kate Kayle, who cooked for the club, stayed on to cook for Schuyler and later Mr. and Mrs. Ray Fritz helped in the house. All the outhouses were removed, except for the four-holer, which was kept.

Schuyler died about 1941, according to Mrs. Chamberlain's records, and the house stood empty for a few years until Frank C. Harris, elected secretary of the Brian Creek Insurance Company in 1933, moved the insurance company to the location. Later, the insurance company purchased the property from Harris, erected a steel building and made the location its home office. A picture of the building as it exists today can be found at http://www.briarcreekmutual.com/. The insurance company tore down a barn and the outhouse, but neighbor Marqueen Bankes remembers that she was offered the outhouse free and didn't take it.

One of my bygone recollections,
As I recall the days of yore,
Is the little house behind the house,
With the crescent over the door.

'Twas a place to sit and ponder
With your head bowed down low,
Knowing that you wouldn't be there,
If you didn't have to go.

We'll resume our history of the CCC, and will remind you that we add a little more each day to the CCC section under FEATURES.

The Emergency Conservation Work Act didn't mention either education or training of the CCC ranks, but in 1933 President Roosevelt appointed Clarence S. Marsh as Director of Education. By 1934, education and training both became part of the CCC experience. More than 40,000 enrollees were eventually taught to read and write and did it mostly on their own time. Only in the later years of the program was training given during normal working hours.

From 1933 to 1942, over three million young men enrolled in the CCC, including 250,000 who were enrolled in about 150 all-black CCC companies. Early in the program, some camps were integrated, but the Army and CCC administrators succeeded in getting integrated CCC camps disbanded in July, 1935, holding that "segregation is not discrimination." That rule remained in effect through the remainder of the program.

The national economy was always a problem for President Roosevelt. He tried cutting back the number of camps and enrollees in order to balance the federal budget, but budget reform during the period that the Corps was so popular didn't work. No one wanted camps closed in his area. Both Republicans and Democrats rallied to reverse Roosevelt's policy.

Using official agency figures, the Corps built 3,470 fire towers, 97,000 miles of fire roads, spent 4,235,000 man-days devoted to fighting fires, and planted more than three billion trees.

In 1935, Roosevelt created the WPA (Works Progress Administration) which was similar to the CCC but used local people who lived at their homes rather than in a camp as the CCC group did. Many roads, buildings and bridges were built in Pennsylvania State Parks using WPA people.

A tragedy hit the CCC during a hurricane on Labor Day in 1935 when three CCC camps consisting of 684 veterans on the Florida Keys got caught up in hurricane. The official report listed 44 dead, 238 missing or unidentified dead, and 106 injured.

Many of those joining the CCC organization never had been more than a few miles from their home, few had been beyond the borders of their state. Many never returned, instead choosing to remain near their camps in new communities they soon called home. The men fell in love, married, raised families and put down community roots. For those who did return to their community of their youth, they came a better man than when they left. Many returned home to tell of their experiences, and many more extended their enlistments.

Life in a CCC camp was a six-day a week work routine. Camps came to life after the evening meal was over, when the men kicked back, relaxed and had fun. Each camp had a building that was a combined dayroom, recreation center and canteen. In this building, Ping-Pong and poker, cokes and occasional beers were part of the evening ritual.

Winter clothing covers many second helpings.

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.
- African Proverb

I can't understand why a person will take a year to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars.
- Fred Allen

February 9, 2004

The whisper of a pretty girl can be heard further than the roar of a lion.
- Arabian Proverb

February 9, 2004. Happy birthday today to Kay Emily Kline, 49. The official start of Spring is 40 days away and with the outside temperature in the single digits this morning, it can't come too soon for most of us, although almost 2,000 people visited the Eagles Mere Ice Toboggan Slide and 4,000 piled into Winterfest 2004 at Alparon Park in Towanda Sunday. On this date in 1964, The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

For those waiting for the movie Lost in Translation to arrive in Bloomsburg, we recommend that you either buy it or rent it. Sofia Coppola's offbeat film with Bill Murray, which counts a best-picture bid among its four Oscar nominations, debuted on DVD Tuesday. The movie does contain sexual scenes and obscenity.

The Press Enterprise reports that children under 18 are no longer allowed out after 10 PM on weekdays and 11 PM on weekends, according to a new Borough curfew ordinance enacted February 2. The curfew runs from 10 PM to 6 AM Sunday through Thursday and 11 PM to 6 AM Friday and Saturday. Violators will receive a written warning for a first offense, but could be fined up to $300 the second time.
Exceptions to the curfew permit children under 18 to be out when...
• Working or traveling to or from work
• ending to an emergency
• Returning from a school, church or civic organization event sponsored by adults, as long as they travel directly to or from the event
• Exercising First Amendment rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion or right of assembly
• Beginning, ending or in the midst of interstate travel in the borough
• Running an errand for a parent if they have a signed note from a parent stating the time frame of the errand and contact information of the parent.
• Accompanied by a parent, or on a sidewalk abutting their home.

Today's Press Enterprise reports on a Shamokin man, Mike Garcia, 28, who shot a Northern Idaho cougar recently that is almost 9 foot long, weighed over 200 pounds and had a 17-inch skull. Read the entire article in the February 9 Press Enterprise, learn more about scoring the size of cougars for a trophy on Boone & Crockett here, and check under FEATURES for a history of mountain lions in this area.

The 2004 Pennsylvania trout season opens Saturday, April 17. Want the details? Go to
http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/fact_fast_trout.htm .

We headed down to Mitrani Hall at Bloomsburg University yesterday to hear the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with Sergey Kondrashev, Principal Conductor, in an all-Russian program featuring piano soloist Yuri Rozum, now permitted to play with the orchestra outside of Russia. The program featured Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture for chorus and orchestra, a marvelous piece composed in record time between October 12 through November 19 in 1812. The orchestra and chorus also performed a number of other Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky numbers including Marche Slave.

We were especially interested in the program because a family friend from Moscow, Tatiana Vichnevskaya, is a member of the chorus. The enthusiastic audience called Kondrashev back from the wings three times before letting the group exit the stage. As the audience filed from the auditorium, we made our way to the back-stage area. Tatiana was well known but hard to find in the large group. We stumbled into a hallway serving as a changing room before we learned to walk backwards rapidly. We followed a sign that "roughly" was lettered XOP HCEKUYUKGI, found Tatiana and exchanged warm hugs. She had not spoken in English in a very long time and much in the way of gesturing and facial expressions were needed to communicate at first.

Our conversation with Tatiana made us very much aware of the old story that goes something like this. A person who can speak three languages is called trilingual. A person who can speak two languages is called bilingual. A person who can speak one language is called an American.

Yuri Rozum autographed a Russian-language CD where he plays all Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, and he ended the signature with the words, "with love." Buster and Chloe fear that Marcia Kay won't wash dishes for a week!

We watched as three huge buses pulled away within 15 minutes after the concert ended, security taking no chances on anyone lingering in the state of Pennsylvania without permission.

The 2004 Pennsylvania trout season opens Saturday, April 17.

We have been doing a lot of reading about President Lincoln lately, and thought that this story was interesting. An elegantly dressed young Virginian assured Lincoln that he had done his share of hard work in his lifetime. Lincoln was amused by this, and said: "Oh, yes; you Virginians shed barrels of perspiration while standing off at a distance and superintending the work your slaves do for you. It is different with us. Here it is every fellow for himself, or he doesn't get there." And speaking of "every fellow for himself," it is time to get back to our discussion of the tough old guys who made up the CCC.

Goin' down to the Greyhound station
Gonna buy me a one-way fare
And if the good Lord's willin' and the creeks don't rise
By tomorrow, ah, I'm gonna be there

Don't it make you want to go home?
Don't it make you want to go home?
All God's children get weary when they roam
Don't it make you want to go home?
--Words and music by Joe South

The History of the Civilian Conservation Corps that occupied the original of today's news has been moved to the FEATURES section in order to conserve space.

"Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real."
--Jules Verne

February 8, 2004. Novelist John Grisham was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas on this date in 1955 and one of the fathers of science fiction, Jules Verne, was born in Nantes, France, on this date in 1828.

Didja know that about a million people visited the Pennsylvania Cabela's store in its first month, and 7 million are expected in its first year.

Staff reporters Chloe and Buster asked us to remind you that the 128th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place Monday and Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. It will be broadcast on the USA Network.

When it's winter in Pennsylvania,
And the gentle breezes blow,
About seventy miles an hour
And it's fifty-two below,

You can tell you're in Pennsylvania
'cause the snow's up to your butt,
And you take a breath of winter air
And your nose holes both freeze shut,

The weather here is wonderful,
So I guess I'll hang around,
I could never leave Pennsylvania
Cause I'm frozen to the ground!

It is a very small world made up of fleeting moments. Ken and Ethel Kelsey were driving in their camper and stopped on a four-lane highway in Land-of-Lakes, Florida, when suddenly they were aware of a driver of a car making a turn in an adjacent lane yelling frantically at them. They immediately feared the worst, but their fears went away when they realized that they were seeing Dick and Pat McHenry Braaten as they turned at an intersection. The couples never even got a chance to exchange words as they sped off in opposite directions, but at least they all got to see friends from Back Home in Benton, PA.

Quote of the Day:
"Glory is fleeting but obscurity is forever."
--Napoleon Bonaparte

We enjoyed reading an advertisement for the Elk Grove Inn, which said that it is a "Great place when you find it." You can find it by calling 925-2584.

The History of the Civilian Conservation Corps that occupied the original of today's news has been moved to the FEATURES section in order to conserve space.

The boys catching a "cold one" while enjoying a relaxing afternoon.

Dave Albertson does not remember a winter since these pictures were taken that the ice on the spillway of the dam was so thick.

The boys passed on a suggestion that they try it again 22 years later.

February 8, 2004

Part II of the Series on the CCC

Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities and the state's faculty union have reached a tentative four-year agreement, subject to ratification by both sides. The faculty will get broader health benefits, but no salary increases in the first two years and a 3% salary increase in the final two years of the pact. Professors would contribute toward their health benefits, but would receive prescription drug benefits for the first time.

Didja know that when you eat the fish "orange roughy" you are eating a fish whose average age on the plate is between 30 and 50 years?

Prosecutors filed paperwork Friday to seek the death penalty against Hugo Selenski, accused of killing several people whose bodies were buried in his yard. The prosecutors also filed charges against Selenski's aunt and cousin for harboring a fugitive when Selenski made his recent prison break.

The historic and beautiful St. Michael the Archangel Church in Glen Lyon will be demolished. There is an excellent picture of it in today's Citizens Voice.

Are you older? Do you want a job? The world's largest home improvement retailer, Home Depot, plans to hire about 35,000 people this year for its 1,700 stores. AARP plans to train workers and help them apply for Home Depot positions in plumbing, landscaping, kitchen and bath and other areas.

A reader used the term "Sam Hill" in an email and set us wondering who the Sam Hill Sam Hill was. We actually didn't figure it out, but conclude it is a way of not cussing in front of ladies. We tend to believe that the reference is to Col. Samuel Hill, Guilford, Connecticut, a man who perpetually ran for office, but we were not able to actually find that he actually even existed so we believe that the term was just a personalized euphemism our puritanical ancestors used for "hell," a lot like the word "blazes," "heck," and "Hoboken." The term was popular as we were growing up when Father needed to clean up his language in the presence of ladies. We'll close on that note, before someone asks where in tarnation did "tarnation" come from!

The History of the Civilian Conservation Corps that occupied the original of today's news has been moved to the FEATURES section in order to conserve space.

We talked yesterday about the derivation of the name "Benton" and about Thomas Hart Benton. We mentioned some of the various towns and counties in the United States that are fortunate enough to share our name, and received several emails on the subject.
• An IBM relocation of Walt and Evy Lysk brought the couple from Benton, Arkansas, to Back Home in Benton, PA. Evy recalled that during the relocation, they stopped in Benton, KY, and accidentally started talking with a lady, who happened to be traveling to Benton, IL.
• Fred DePoe lives next to Benton, ME, in the Kennebec River Watershed. His daughters attend elementary school there. Fred writes that "When my daughters wear their Benton tiger sweaters to Benton Elementary events, "Everyone wants to know where they got them. Benton, ME, was also named after Thomas Hart Benton."

Yvonne Lenbergs, a Benton native, announced yesterday that the LIFETIME movie channel will premier the film, The Sure Hand of God, based on the novel by Erskine Caldwell. In true film fashion, the movie industry changed the name to Sinners Need Company. The film will air on the LIFETIME channel at 9 PM, Wednesday, February 18, 2004.

Yvonne was Executive Producer, and daughter Ellen Lenbergs, Bloomsburg, was set designer.

The Sure Hand Of God was adapted from Erskine Caldwell's novel of the same name, and sold in excess of two and a half million copies. Caldwell's themes were centered around social injustice, some of the same issues we wrestle with today. The film tells a story of survival and overcoming tremendous odds. Set somewhere in the rural South, the dramatic-comedy explores the challenges that strong-willed single mothers had to overcome, faced with judgmental small town attitudes. The story is a real pleaser, a great looking film with a terrific cast. Set your TIVOs now!

Hearings on the Guv's fiscal 2004-05 budget before the Senate and House Appropriations committees get under way February 23.

A reader asked about the state's uniform construction code (UCC) which requires that towns like Benton monitor construction projects. You can read about the UCC at
http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/lib/landi/laws-regulations/bois/a-45.pdf .

The Benton Lions Club has returned to their regular meeting schedule on the first and third Thursday of every month at the Benton Christian Church. The meetings start at 6:30 PM. Anyone wanting to find out more about becoming a member may attend a meeting or call the Lions president, Harry Baker, 570 864-2735.

Readers tell us that they continue to receive false warning messages indicating that the I-Worm/Mydoom virus was sent from their email address. This happens because the I-Worm/Mydoom virus changes the address of the sender of the infected email, making it difficult to identify the actual sender of the virus, and therefore difficult to notify the sender that his computer is infected. Usually the virus displays a different email address from that of the actual sender of the infected email. When the infected email is detected by the anti-virus system on the receiving computer, a warning message is often sent concerning the infection to the address that is indicated as the sender of the infected message, even when the email was NOT sent from this address. Keep your anti-virus protection up to date!

The History of the Civilian Conservation Corps that occupied the original of today's news has been moved to the FEATURES section in order to conserve space.

It is time for the annual Ice Follies at Painter Den Club, and the first wave of participants left Thursday.

Top row, from the left: Lee Fritz, Gordy Acornley, Buster, Chloe, Max Wanich, Darlene Moss.

Bottom row, from the left. Seth Eyer, Dale Sellers, Don Eyer, David Moss.

There are 44 days until the official start of Spring, but there is no sign of it arriving. Last night was another mess for traveling and although the weather will be fine through the day today, the sunshine will give way to clouds, with snow beginning to fall sometime around midnight tonight. It should start in the form of snow, then turn to sleet and freezing rain.

The Benton Water Department reports that 115,000 gallons of water were pumped through the system in Benton yesterday, down from 190,000 gallons a day before, following the insertion of the valve at the corner of Two and a Half Street and Market Monday.The goal is to get the water usage down to about 90,000 gallons a day. Some of the water consumption is coming from water running through faucets to keep from freezing, but there are still leaks in the system that need to be found. If you suspect a leak, please let the water department know as soon as possible. Pennsylvania America in Milton is the group who needs to know about the leaks.

Mark your calendars. The schedule for speakers for the next four months for the North Mountain Historical Society is as follows:
February 16, Wilson Ferguson, on the subject of Early Sullivan County
March 15, Robert Webster, Old Country Stores
April 19, Brenda Kocher, Threads Through the Ages
May 17, Eileen Wylie, Sullivan County's First Hanging

Kelly Yost is looking for performers for this summer's music fest. If you have a suggestion, let us know.

The Local Trivia Question of the Day:
What man of local significance appeared on the $100 gold certificate from the 1880s until the 1920s? (Answer at end)

Seen On an old post card sent from Red Rock, PA:
"You're only a friend, like a Duesenberg is only a car."

Quote of the Day:
"The past actually happened but history is only what someone wrote down."
--A. Whitney Brown

The culinary magazine Saveu, tells in its current issue about a Danville-area family spending a cold day making sausage. Vincent Varano of Heather Hills and his family are included in the current issue of the magazine.

Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858) of St. Louis was born near Hillsborough, Orange County, NC, on March 14, 1782. He was a a brother of Elizabeth Benton Mendenhall, wife of Eli Mendenhall, Benton. He was a Democrat, a member of the Tennessee state senate in 1809; U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1821-51; and a U.S. Representative from Missouri 1st District, 1853-55.

On September 1, 1813, a gun and knife fight pitted General Andrew Jackson and Colonel John Coffee against Colonel Thomas Hart Benton and his brother Jesse, at the City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The fight ensued after Thomas Benton reprimanded Jackson in a letter for standing in as a second to his friend, William Carroll, in a duel against Jesse Benton. In the fracas, Jesse Benton shot and wounded General Jackson in his left arm and shoulder. Jesse was wounded in the buttocks in that incident, a source of both pain and embarrassment. Ironically, when Jackson was elected to the Senate in 1823, he occupied a seat next to Thomas Hart Benton and later became a political ally.
Benton's portrait appeared on the U.S. $100 gold certificate from the 1880s until the 1920s. He died in Washington, D.C., April 10, 1858. He is buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.

There are Benton counties in Ark., Ind., Iowa, Minn., Ore. and Wash. named for him and the town of Benton, PA, is named for him. Benton County, Washington, has researched the exciting life of Thomas Hart Benton . His U. S. Senate biography can be found here.

Allow your friends to be themselves

Friendship involves forgetting what one gives and remembering what one receives

February 4, 2003

Failure gives us the opportunity to begin again

What we see often depends on what we look for

Wednesday, February 4, 2004. The outside temperature is hovering right above the freezing mark at press time, but we remember the old English proverb, "A February spring is not worth a pin."

The weather Back Home in Benton, PA, was not worth a pin yesterday, a snowball-packing snow, rain, freezing rain, leaking main water main at the corner of Two and a Half Street and Market that forced the turning off of water to the Southern part of Benton and all of Hoboken for hours.

Poor robin redbreast,
Look where he comes;
Let him in to feel your fire,
And toss him of your crumbs.
--Christina G. Rossetti

On this date in 1789, electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States. On this date in 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, CA, and 20 years ago today singer Karen Carpenter died in Downey, CA, at age 32.

On this date one hundred years ago, the second major fire to hit the Bloomsburg State Normal School campus resulted in an estimated $25,000 worth of damage to the employees' dormitory. Ths dormitory had been completed in 1895, and also held the music conservatory and laundry. The building was repaired, and renamed North Hall in 1908. It became the men's dormitory until New North Hall (now Northumberland) was completed in 1960. After that, North Hall contained only faculty offices and locker rooms for teams using the nearby athletic field, and was torn down in the summer of 1966 to allow for the construction of the South Hall dormitory, now Luzerne. The first campus fire completely destroyed the main dormitory building on September 4, 1875. The building was later rebuilt as Waller Hall.
--compiled by Robert Dunkelberger, Bloomsburg University Archivist

The Benton Borough Town Council meeting was held Monday night. Some items not previously reported by the Benton News include the resignation of Council Member Mike Ruane in mid-January. Former Council member Alton Getz was named as his replacement.

A group led by Philip Shultz attempted to get Council to reconsider using the existing Town Hall for some purpose. The Council, however, adopted a motion (two votes opposing: Klem and Little) to construct a building on the airport grounds that will be used for a town hall, dependent on acceptable financing. The previously discussed 40-year financing was discarded and local banks will be asked to consider funding of the project.

Ed Kocher, zoning officer in Benton Township, is under consideration for the office of zoning officer in the Borough.

John Kerry picked up victories in five states yesterday and the Democratic presidential race, for practical purposes, may well be over. It appears almost certain that Kerry will be the Democratic nominee for President and will run in November against President Bush. We felt, therefore, that we should revisit a former Pennsylvania resident, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Teresa Heinz Kerry was born in Mozambique and is fluent in five languages. After studying in South Africa and Switzerland, she moved to the United States to work for the United Nations. She married Senator John Heinz in 1966, with whom she had three sons. She lost her husband and Pennsylvania lost a Senator in a plane crash shortly after their 25th wedding anniversary.

She was asked to run for her husband's Senate seat, but instead became chair of The Howard Heinz Endowment and the Heinz Family Philanthropies, part of the nation's largest private foundations. The Heinz foundations are involved in environmental, arts and educational issues and in the lives of young children.

She first met John Kerry by introduction from her late husband at an Earth Day rally in 1990. They began dating in 1993, and were married in 1995. She holds 10 honorary degrees and last September she received the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism for her work protecting the environment, promoting health care and education and uplifting women and children throughout the world. She was recently elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The Huntington Mills United Sportsmen would like to thank the 83 hunters and the people who came to breakfast for the 2004 coyote hunt. The winners included Ron Taylor who bagged a 42-pound male; Bob Cragle got a 41 1/2 pound male; Jeff Cragle for a 41 pound male. Four females were shot, ranging in weight from 36 to 31 pounds.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted January 20 to increase rates for trucks by nearly 43% beginning August 1. Starting this summer, 80,000-pound commercial vehicles running the entire 359-mile length of the Turnpike will pay $150.75, compared to $105.55.

The International Institute for Sport and Olympic History in State College, a fledgling organization in Pennsylvania with little money but big dreams for a 300-acre museum and library, is trying to auction one of sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg's three Rocky statues on eBay. Since it's a nonprofit, the group says it will "give away" the statue to the first person to donate $3 million (the starting bid on eBay).

Too often our words hide what we are really thinking

Inexperience is what makes a young man do what an older man says is impossible

The rest of our days depends on the rest of our nights

February 3, 2004

We should not count a man's years until that is all there is left to count

It does not do one much good to have a driving ambition if that person is on the wrong road

The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on this date, giving the federal government the power to impose and collect taxes on income. Rock and Roll starts Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died on this date in 1959, following a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

Betty Rabb Helwig has a birthday today and she shares her birthday with writer Gertrude Stein, born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1874, and with Norman Rockwell born in New York City in 1894.

Betty also shares her birthday with novelist James A. Michener, born in 1907. He is known for books about space, Hawaii, Israel, Colorado, Spain, the Caribbean, Maryland's Eastern Shore, South Africa, Poland, Alaska, Mexico, and even about being a county chairman in Bucks County. His parents abandoned him soon after he was born, and he was adopted shortly after birth by a poor widow named Mabel Michener.

Surviving with few resources and little to eat, they moved from house to house in Doylestown, sometimes in the middle of the night. Michener's classmates and even a teacher tormented him about his thrift-store clothes and toeless sneakers with tangled laces. His foster mother read to him and he grew to love old-fashioned novels.

Michener enlisted in the Navy in 1943, and the next year he was sent to the South Pacific. After his Navy plane crashed, he decided that he would become a writer and stayed up much of each night writing what he called the Tales of the South Pacific to show young men what life in the military was like. The manuscript, typed on old envelopes and the backs of letters from his foster mother, was eventually given to Random House without retyping. Published intact, Tales of the South Pacific won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 and two years later, Rodgers and Hammerstein made it into the musical South Pacific.

Michener sold more than 75 million books in his lifetime. Find out more at http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mic0int-1 .

Quote of the Day:
"I was brought up in the great tradition of the late nineteenth century: that a writer never complains, never explains and never disdains."
--James Michener

We heard from the Hartman Brothers last night, two very different emails.
• Dayne Hartman wrote from Florida saying that a person only needs two tools: WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use the WD-40. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape.
• Tom and Elaine Hartman are in Destin, Florida, until March 15 and would love to see some visitors from their home town. Their phone number is 850 654-3390. The Hartmans are neighbors of Hobe and Jesse Whitenight.

California is up to something again. Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger has become governor, Gray Davis has taken up acting. And remember Tom Laughlin, 72, the actor with martial arts skills and the star of the "Billy Jack" films? Laughlin is one of 13 candidates running against President Bush in the Republican primary. In 1992, Laughlin, ran for president as a Democrat.

A tanker truck leaking "some kind of acid" at the I-80 Mifflinville rest stop led to about a thousand people being evacuated from their homes and wreaked havoc on traffic yesterday. Both lanes of a 16-mile stretch of I-80 between the Conyngham and Mifflinville exits closed for about eight hours, and traffic was funneled onto Route 93 somewhat akin to stuffing 6 pounds of horse feed into a five-pound bag. Traffic was backed up a reported 25 miles.

The Merck Foundation awarded the Montour County Recreation Authority a $111,000, multi-year grant to build a covered bridge across a section of Mahoning Creek. We think it would be a fine idea if the company would cough up some money to help preserve some of the fine old covered bridges we now have.

The polka was originally a Czech peasant dance, developed in what was known as Eastern Bohemia, and generally credited to a peasant girl by the name of Anna Slezak about 1834. She came up with the steps one Sunday for her own amusement. It was composed to a folk song "Strycek Nimra Koupil Simla," meaning "Uncle Nimra brought a white horse." Anna called the step "Madera" because of its quickness and liveliness. The dance immediately became popular in the ballrooms of Prague. The name Pulka" is Czech for "half-step," referring to the rapid shift from one foot to the other. We can all see the picture in the ballroom of the man with his right arm behind the woman parading her around, both suffering slightly from what appears to be arthritis. Fast "mall walking" would be a good way to describe it. Bobby Vinton is singing in the background.

So where did polka dots come from? When the polka phase was in full swing (no pun intended), a period often called "Polkamania," many products came on the market, many of which didn't have much to do with the dance, such as polka hats, polka gauze, polka curtain ties, and polka-dotted fabrics. The polka-dot pattern became popular, especially with the tie-wearing crowd.

Think back to a previous generation watching the Lawrence Welk show on television and listening to a Red Barons game from "the Valley" on the radio, chomping down a couple of Mrs. T's Pierogies visualizing the ballroom dance for couples in 2/4 time.

Strike up the music
The band has begun
The Pennsylvania Polka
Pick out your partner
And Join in the fun
The Pennsylvania Polka
It started in Scranton
It's now Number one
It's fun to entertain ya
Everybody has a mania
To do the polka from Pennsylvania
--Verse 1 of The Pennsylvania Polka

Jack Taylor, owner with his wife, Kay, of Lincoln Log Homes, was diagnosed with a form of leukemia in September just before Fair. Jack has undergone two of the chemo treatments which have caused the leukemia to go into remission but the effects have done other damage to him. Jack is waiting to be called for the third treatment to begin. In case you look at the well-done web site the Taylors have, http://www.jackandkay.com/main.html, and decide to run over and look at the selections that are available for a log home from a company that is celebrating their 20th anniversary in the Columbia County area, we suggest that you call for an appointment.

"Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems."
- Rene Descartes

February 2, 2004

February 2, 2004. On this date in 1897, fire destroyed the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg.

It is groundhog day. Phil from Punxsutawney saw his shadow this morning, which means six more weeks of winter weather, according to a German legend. The tradition is rooted in a superstition that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will drag on. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early. Over a 60-plus-year period, the groundhog has accurately predicted the coming of spring only 28% of the time." We now hear that groundhogs that pop from their dens in early February are probably looking for sweethearts, not shadows. And what's more, the girl groundhogs invite the boys in for a visit.

Anyway, Richard Sutliff points out that there's always at least six more weeks of Winter. Spring this year arrives March 20, six weeks and five days away. So much for the woodchuck theory.

It was an exciting night around the R-rated Super Bowl in Reliant Stadium, Houston, as Adam Vinatieri ended the game with a boot. Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give the New England Patriots their second NFL championship in three seasons with a 32-29 victory against the Carolina Panthers. It is doubtful that MTV will ever produce another half-time show following singer Justin Timberlake tearing off part of Janet Jackson's top, exposing her breast, and this R-rating added to "riveting" and "remarkable" sum up Super Bowl XXXVIII.

James Dickey, born on this date in 1923, speeded up our recent trip through Georgia. We had a momentary flash of his book (and subsequent movie) entitled Deliverance, and like the carpenter driving the truck, we "put the metal down" as we drove through the backwater towns of Georgia. The 1970 book Deliverance told about four men trapped together on a white-water canoe trip on the Cahulawassee River in the Georgia wilderness, and the movie adaptation that followed introduced fine banjo music. Deliverance was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1972 including Best Picture and Best Director. Dickey played the sheriff in the movie, by the way.

And speaking of our westward jaunt, we arrived in Camp Hill at 11 AM yesterday, about 6,500 miles in 31 days.

The 2005 budget will be released today. The Washington Post estimates that President Bush's "$2.4 trillion budget for the fiscal year that begins in October will leave the government $521 billion in the red. But by trimming domestic spending and eliminating up to 65 federal programs, the White House expects to cut the deficit to $237 billion by 2009."

Old Doctor: No, sir. I never have a patient die on my hands--never.
Young Doctor: How do you manage it?
Old Doctor: When I find a man is going to die I get him to call a specialist. --Seen in an 1886 newspaper

Here is a simple exercise for smokers. When you get up each morning, Take your cigarettes from the pack and toss them on the floor. To smoke a cigarette, reach over without bending your knees and pick one up with your own two hands. If you haven't the breath or energy to do this, you didn't need it to begin with.

We read a note dated 1892 which went like this...
Man: I see that a new law prohibits the selling of liquor within three miles of a church or schoolhouse.
Woman: That's a terrible blow to Pennsylvania.
Man: Think so?
Woman: I should say so. In three years there won't be a church or schoolhouse left in the state.

The fourth annual Northeast Regional Coyote Hunt concluded yesterday with 667 hunters participating in the hunt. The event encompasses Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming, Susquehanna, Wayne, Bradford, Pike and Sullivan counties. We don't have a final tally, but with the hunt nearly over, 21 coyotes, the heaviest weighing 44 pounds, were harvested. The heaviest coyote weighed in received a $2,000 prize.

Russia is in love with imported American hot dogs. They are consumed at breakfast, lunch and dinner, frequently sliced lengthwise, fried in butter and dished up with bread, cheese, and smoked fish. In 1996, Russian imported nearly $76 million worth of American cured-meat products. And in case you wonder about the name "hot dog," we consulted the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, who told us that "The term "hot dog" was coined in 1901 in New York City at the Polo Grounds, home field at various times for both the New York Yankees and the Giants. On a chilly April day, concessionaire Harry Stevens was losing money trying to sell ice cream and cold soda. He sent his salesmen out to buy up all the "dachshund" sausages they could find, along with rolls to put them in. "

Soon his vendors were selling hot dogs from portable hot-water tanks, shouting "They're red hot! Get your dachshund sausages while they're red hot."

Hearst Newspapers cartoonist Tad Dorgan, working on deadline and short on ideas, [a little like the situation we find ourselves in this morning, when we resort to talking about hot dogs] observed the vendors and hastily drew a cartoon of barking dachshund sausages nestled in their rolls. Not sure how to spell "dachshund," he simply scrawled the words "hot dog." His drawing became a hit, and so did the hot dog's connection with baseball. So, for want of a dictionary, an American icon was born.

February 1, 2004. Happy birthday today to Brooke Benjamin and Clint Kline. Today would be a fine day to head on over to the Philadelphia International Auto Show or up to Eagles Mere and take in the toboggan slide. It is open 10 to 6 today. The Press Enterprise has a couple of articles on the slide in today's paper. The slide has been in use for 100 years as of this year, using plans designed by Capt. E. S. Chase to honor a request from his grandchildren. The first rider actually burned out the seat of his pants riding in a heavy iron scoop shovel, but you can rent one of the 55 toboggans so your back side won't be at risk.

Joan A. Martenas, (May 7, 1949-Jan. 31, 2004), 54, passed away Saturday. She was a daughter of the late Allen and Blanche (Davis) Beaver, attended Bloomsburg High School, and was employed by Wise Foods, Berwick, and Fishingcreek Transportation, Orangeville. She was a member of Benton, Millville and Orangeville Fire companies.

Mrs. Martenas is survived by her husband, Irvin C. Martenas and by her four children: Cindy Matthews, wife of James Matthews, Benton; Tammy Watts, Millville; Matthew Martenas, Shippensburg; Tracy Martenas, Harrisburg. She is also survived by a brother, Rollin Beaver, Tucson; a sister, Marie Hons, Bloomsburg; and her twin brother John "Jack" Beaver, Danville. Services will be 10:30 AM Tuesday at Kitchens United Methodist Church, Millville with burial in the Kitchens Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday from 6 to 8 PM at Bunnell Funeral Home, Millville. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to United Methodist Church.
--Based on an obituary in the Press Enterprise

From our history...
• The Universal Theatre preceded the Ritz Theatre in Benton, at the corner of Two and a Half Street and Market Street. The theatre operated during the 1920's and 1930's under the management of Harry Chapin. Ruth Appleman Pealer was pianist for much of the silent picture days. It was generally open on the weekends and was also used by the school for plays and other activities until the construction of the new school building in 1928. As the Ritz Theatre, it became part of the Magazzu chain and was managed for a few years by a Mr. Zerby and then by Martin Appleman until it was closed in the 1950's. Popcorn was a dime, the seats were hard, and on Saturdays you usually could see a Lone Ranger or Superman serial in addition to the regular movie.

• We show a number of pictures of the old Benton Store Company building on the pages of the Benton News. B. G. Shultz was manager and Harry Crossley was chief clerk. It was a general store with a second floor meeting room used by various groups such as the Order of Eastern Star and the IOOF. Over the years, the building has served as the Benton branch of the Neil Harrison Store. It later became the C. A. Edson store specializing in plumbing, reverted back as the Benton Store Company specializing in antiques, and is now again a successful antique mall. The building is currently in the best condition that it has been in years and worth a visit from you.

• The McHenry House was a two-story frame building on Main Street, and eventually the site became the location of the Hotel Moses Van Campen. The McHenry House was destroyed by fire in the early 1930s.

• The "Little Red Hotel" was located at the corner of Main and Church Streets. The hotel was known through the years as the Benton Hotel and the Ikeler Hotel. On the spot where the hotel set, Charles Seely, father of Grace Hosler, built Benton's first brick house in 1904. The Hotel Moses Van Campen was built on the east side of Main Street in the early 1930s and was operated by the Knouse family, until it was sold to Eldon Bankes and Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bankes about 1970. During their ownership, a newly created bar opened inside the front door on the left. They operated the hotel until 1972 when they sold it to a man by the name of Davis, a retired Army officer. It was subsequently destroyed by fire.

• You can continue your collection of Benton memorabilia by purchasing a Christ the King Church wooden cutout from the Benton United Methodist Church, The cutouts each cost $17. Call 925-6903 or 925-2513 to order and pickup is on Wednesday, February 18.

The commonwealth’s new driving-under-the-influence law takes effect on Sunday, a day when many people will be traveling to attend Super Bowl parties. The new DUI law, which the Guv signed on Oct. 1, creates stronger deterrents to drunken driving in Pennsylvania. The law increases punishments on the basis of the driver’s blood-alcohol level and carries more severe penalties for repeat offenders, doubling fines in some cases and imposing longer jail terms. Make today a Super Sunday. Don't drink and drive.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots go head to head this afternoon and you can see it on CBS, along with the half-time show with Janet Jackson, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Kid Rock and Nelly and a "mystery group." We'll miss the game this year as we complete almost the last leg of our Western jaunt. We'll arrive in Camp Hill about the time of the kickoff after spending last night at Fort A. P. Hill in Virginia.

One of the things we pick up on the CB between the cursing is highway information. From the "heard on the CB department" comes word that the revenue officers are enforcing a new 55 mph I-81 speed limit around Carlisle calling it behavior modification: "the tickets separate motorists from their money."

A Pennsylvania Department of Transportation press release indicates that "beginning February 1, the Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection will implement federally mandated vehicle emissions inspections in Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties for most gasoline-powered vehicles from 1975 and newer. The testing program will bring Pennsylvania into compliance with federal air-quality standards. Emissions inspections will be required once a year during the time of the annual safety inspection." Reminds us of the saying, "As California goes, so goes the nation."

Some of us remember filming family events in 8mm. Most of us are familiar with VHS camcorders, and we especially remember an early model that came in three parts, connected by a cable. Later models became smaller and easier to use, eventually moving into the DVD-R camcorder category. The newest small camcorders, Panasonic's D-Snap SV-AV100 and the Fisher FVD-C1 CameraCorder, use 512-megabyte SD Cards about the size of a postage stamp to record video. These camcorders weigh something like six ounces and make you feel like you are in a James Bond movie. The flash memory can upload movies to a computer in seconds.