On this date in...
1804, the first self-propelling steam locomotive chugged out of the Penydarren ironworks. The locomotive sped through the countryside at five miles an hour, pulling ten tons of iron and 70 passengers. The engine had a single vertical cylinder, 8 foot flywheel and long piston-rod. The development of the steam engine locomotive was important in helping to shape the development of the industrialized world during the 19th century.

1855, the official dedication of the Washington Monument took place in Washington, D.C. The monument wasn't completed for another 33 years and took a total of 48 years to finish.

1931, Alka-Seltzer® was introduced. It came in glass tubes until 1984. Alka-Seltzer® contains citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). When you drop the tablet in water, the acid and the baking soda react and a fizz results. Alka-Seltzer® is compressed baking powder with a little aspirin.

Lillian Marguerite (Robbins) Parks, 89, (May 7, 1915-Feb. 19, 2005) 350 Coles Creek Mill Road, died Saturday. She was a daughter of the late Harvey Robbins and Catherine (Engles) Robbins Brooks. Surviving are children Ralph, Maple Grove; Charles, Almedia; Gerald, Waller; and Richard, Savage Hill. A sister, Freda Young, Waller, and a half-sister, Nancy Kline, Richmond, also survive. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Parks (April 3, 1994), a son, Eugene (June 17, 1990); and a brother, George Robbins (April 4, 2002). Viewing will be Tuesday from 6 to 8 PM at McMichael Funeral Home, Inc. Funeral services will be Wednesday at 2 PM at McMichaels. Burial will be in the Waller Cemetery.
--from the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary can be found

We miss reading the Argus and the home-town feeling of that paper. We loved reading tidbits like...
• "A surprise birthday party was given on January 19 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Follmer in honor their son Billy's birthday. Attending were Donald Baker, Billy Confair, Mahlon Fritz, Jack Healy, Gayle Arter, Bobby Bofer, Arthur Comstock, Wayne Baker, Blair Whitenight, and Franklin Seig."
• Mr. Carl Harvey, of town, has received his discharge from the Army, after serving for the past year. He had been at Camp Kilmer, N.J. for some time and previous to that, was stationed at Camp Claiborne, LA.
• Robert Vincent, of town, and Robert Brown, of Stillwater R.D. were the first to make solo flights under the G.I. Bill training program at the Danville Airport.
• The Benton Girl Scouts met at the Grange Hall. Badge work was begun by the four patrols which are First Air, Nature, Homemaking and Arts and Crafts. Present were Janet Follmer, Janet Knouse, Madge Kline, Virginia Koons, Laura Comstock, Joyce Fritz, Betty Hiscox, Joan Reece, Marguerite Fritz, Joan Polk, Eloise Sentner, Nancy Shannon, Shirley Smith and leaders Mrs. Frank Hosler, Mrs. Emerson Reece, Mrs. Harry Hiscox and Anna E. Thompson.

Paul Reichart passed along an article to us by the late Rev. Louis V. Barber, the Pastor of a group of churches once known as the Fishing Creek Parish. The Fishing Creek Parish encompassed Presbyterian Churches in Benton, Orangeville and Raven Creek. Rev. Barber served as pastor of the Benton Presbyterian Church and lived in the church manse in Benton from 1925 to 1943 when he moved to Potts Grove and Mooresburg after serving the local congregation for almost 18 years. The Market Street building known as "the manse" is now owned by Eric and Kelly Kocher. The article, published in The Presbyterian, provided insight into the structure of the Presbyterian Church in the valley. We have combined some elements from that article, primarily with content about the Orangeville Church, with content we had previously published on the Benton News website. We'll spend the next couple of days on this history.

The Orangeville Church is the oldest of the three churches, dating to 1842. Since none of us can remember that year, we'll refresh your memory about life 163 years ago. That was the year that Francisco Lopez plunged his knife into the ground looking for wild onions and found gold dust in San Feliciano Canyon of California. The first wire suspension bridge in the United States opened across the Schuylkill River in Fairmont, PA. Up in Massachusetts, children under 12 were barred from working more than 10 hours a day in factories. The President known as "Old Tippecanoe" had died the previous year and John Tyler, 52, was the nation's president. Benton Township wasn't even created until eight years later.

The Orangeville congregation initially worshipped in a building owned and used jointly by Presbyterian, Lutheran and Reformed congregations. This building was located about two miles west of Orangeville, was built about 1810, and used for more than 25 years until the roof collapsed in 1837 following a heavy snow. A school-house was later built at that location.

The Raven Creek Church, organized in 1859, is the next oldest Church in the group of three. Many changes had taken place in the country over the 17 years since the Orangeville church was established. Stephen A. Douglas had won his second term in the Senate, defeating Abraham Lincoln. Mount Vernon was dedicated as a national monument, Edwin L. Drake had drilled for oil on property owned by the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, silver was unearthed around Virginia City, John Brown was hanged in Charleston, West Virginia, guilty of "conspiring with slaves to create an insurrection at Harper's Ferry." Above the present town of Benton, John Swartout came from Albany to manage the Swartout Mill and about 150 acres that brother Robert bought the year before.

The Raven Creek parishioners worshipped in a building owned by the Methodists until 1870, when the building they now occupy was constructed on Upper Raven Creek Road, three miles east of Benton Borough. In 1926, the congregation bought ground and buildings adjacent to the church. The building was converted into a social hall and home for the janitor.

The church at Benton was organized in 1902. The world was truly a different place by the time this church came into being. The Walker Commission suggested the country of Panama as the place to build a canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific and that country agree to lower their asking price from $103 million to $40 million. The Twentieth Century Limited zipped from New York to Chicago in 16 hours. Helen Keller, 22, wrote the popular The Story of My Life. William James, Harvard's pragmatist philosopher, and Walter Rauschenbusch, a Baptist minister and professor of church history, were advocating the return to "old-time religion." Henry Ford was getting close to selling his first Model A (for $850). Teddy Roosevelt was president.

We'll continue tomorrow with an abbreviated history of the Presbyterians in the local area.

On this date in 1792, President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act. Letters delivered within 30 miles of the sender cost six cents to mail, and up to 150 miles cost 12-1/2¢. No guarantees were made for letters over 150 miles. Didja know that the General Court of Massachusetts in 1639 designated Richard Fairbanks' tavern in Boston as the official repository of mail brought from or sent overseas? The first monthly post was set up between New York and Boston on what became known as the Old Boston Post Road, today known as U.S. Route 1.

In our state, William Penn established the first post office in 1683. Benjamin Franklin, 31, the printer and publisher of The Pennsylvania Gazette, was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737. The post office was officially established in 1789 following the adoption of the Constitution in May, 1789. The office of the Postmaster General was created that year when George Washington appointed Samuel Osgood as the first Postmaster General. His responsibilities included 75 post offices and about 2,000 miles of post roads, a Secretary/Comptroller, three surveyors, one Inspector of Dead Letters, and 26 post riders.

When the postal headquarters moved from Philadelphia in 1800, all postal records, furniture, and supplies were transported to the District of Columbia in two horse-drawn wagons.

Pure Pennsylvania Gallery & General Store in the Washington Street Station at 1 Washington Street, Towanda, specializes in selling products made in Pennsylvania, things like eggs, LeRaysville cheese, honey, maple syrup, soaps, paintings, sweaters and pottery. The Towanda store is open 10 AM to 5 PM Wednesday through Saturday. In addition to the Pure Pennsylvania General Store and Gallery, the Washington Street Station is home to the Endless Mountains Heritage Region offices and the Northern Tier Cultural Alliance offices. The building is a former train station dating back to 1884.

We turned out for some of the local Boy Scout brand of spaghetti last night at the Benton Methodist Church, and we brought Bob Keller with us. Bob is having a spate of bad luck these days, with wife Shirley in rehabilitation at the Geisinger Healthsouth Rehabilitation Hospital, with Bob fighting to regain circulation below his knees and mother-in-law Florence Kocher a new resident at Outlook Pointe, Berwick.

Bob was in his usual good spirits, partially because of his well-stocked refrigerator. For the last few days, Bob has returned home to find his refrigerator filled with food, delicious food. Manicotti, tuna melt--well, we won't bother with the details of what was in there. Bob called a couple of neighbors, and all disavowed knowledge of how the food got in the refrigerator. But only Back Home in Benton, PA, can a man leave his door unlocked and come home to find his empty refrigerator filled. Bob is still looking for the person looking out for him, but in the meantime Bob summed it simply by saying, "Man, this woman can cook!"

When we returned Bob to his house after dark last night, he still had to feed his horses, geese, ducks and chickens. Bob, a former Mennonite, then used a word we haven't heard in many years. He said that at least he didn't have to feed the "wutz."

Now for those of you who have gone to Frankfurt and got lost somewhere between the airport and Sachsenhausen without learning the language, the word "wutz" means "pig." When we were growing up, we often heard Father and neighbors yelling "wutz, wutz, wutz, wutz" in an effort to get the pigs to come to eat. While you're learning new words, here are a couple more: "Zuggerschneggsche" is a pet name for a girl friend; a "Stinkwatz" is a person who doesn't smell good; a "Hinkel" is a chicken; and "Dummbabbler" is like a "Sabbelschnuut," in talking too much. We suspect that we have made a "Geknoddel" out of this paragraph (total mess) and that we are not very "fuddele" (accurate in our translation of Hessisch to English.

Lenten services are tonight at the St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church and that Church will supply the speaker. Music will be provided by Christ the King Catholic Church. On February 27, the Lenten Service will be at Christ United Methodist Church, the speaker will come from St. Gabriel Episcopal and the music will come from the Benton Christian Church. The Lenten Services for March 6 will be at Christ the King Catholic Church, on March 13, the services will be at Benton United Methodist Church and on March 20 the services will be at the Benton Presbyterian. All Lenten Services begin at 7 PM.

Alanna M. Bath, Bendertown, will perform in a voice recital with special guests of two pianists and another vocalist on Monday, February 21, at 7 PM. Alanna is a Vocal Music Education major at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre. She is a 2002 graduate of Benton Area High School. The free recital and reception to follow will be held at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 35 South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre. The church is across South Franklin Street from Boscovs and WBRE-28.

Bob Webster will be the guest speaker Monday morning at the North Mountain Historical Society meeting at the Brass Pelican Restaurant. Bob will speak on Henry Ford and his impact on America. The breakfast begins about 8:30 AM and the speaker will start clearing his throat about 9:15. The program is free and open to the public.

February 19, 2005. Frank Conrad and Jamie Rabb celebrate their birthdays today. Jean and Ray Foust celebrate their wedding anniversary today.

On this date in...
1831, the first practical US coal-burning locomotive made its first trial run in Pennsylvania, but the good news for the railroad industry didn't last long. On June 17 of that year, a fireman, annoyed by the noise of steam escaping from a safety valve, held the valve leaver down. The resulting explosion injured four men and wrecked the engine. The engines were redesigned to place the valve levers out of reach of everyone except the engineer, and the railroad started using "barrier cars" filled with cotton bales between the engine and the rest of the train.

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.

Need to be uplifted today? Try the local number for Dial-A-Prayer at 925-6402.

Shirley Keller, Dotyville, has been moved to Geisinger Healthsouth Rehabilitation Hospital, Danville. She is expected to remain there for an indefinite period of time as she recuperates from a Lightstreet-area crash about a week ago. Husband Bob Keller continues with circulation problems in the lower legs. Both need to be kept in your prayers.

Head on over to Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe Friday, March 11, for a wonderful evening of bluegrass with four of Rounder Records and bluegrass's finest acts, all in one night. Come see the James King Band, the Grascals, Alecia Nugent and Blue Highway perform. It should be a great night for bluegrass. The show is going to be video taped and shown on cable networks in Pennsylvania and a possible DVD release. Come along and join in the fun and maybe even get in a video. General admission seating doors open at 6 PM, show starts at 7 PM. Each act is a 45-minute set (Blue Highway is 75 min). $15 advance/$20 day of show; tickets are available from the Penn's Peak Box Office, (866) 605-7325. Penn's Peak is located at 325 Maury Road, Jim Thorpe PA 18229.

It is better to be concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are. Your reputation is merely what others think you are.

A reader wrote to us last year from Florida to say that the heat down there was giving her a "tropical depression." We are not going to get to the Sunshine State this winter, but perhaps next summer we will.

There really isn't much difference between the summer and the winter in Florida. In the winter, they get the Cadillacs, Lincolns and stuffed shirts. In summer, they get Fords, Chevrolets, and stuffed shorts. Actually, summer in Florida can be expensive. We once paid two dollars an egg at breakfast, and with a bit of sarcasm in our voice asked if eggs were scarce during the summer. The waiter replied that "Eggs are plentiful, but Snowbirds they are hard to find in the summer."

You rarely see the same person wear the same clothes two seasons in a row in Florida. There are a couple of reasons for that. The women tell us that they don't want to--and they can't! We remember the last time we were in Florida, we met a woman whose husband called her "Angel." We asked him, out of earshot of his wife, why he called her "Angel." He told us that she always had things up in the air, was always harping about something and never had anything to wear.

We minded the cold Back Home in Benton, PA, yesterday. It was a penetrating cold. But have you ever thought how bad it would be if the government started regulatin' the weather instead of predictin' it? Spring is getting closer, but it isn't close enough for us.

We came across an 1871 map which showed 13 post offices in Sullivan county. Lopez, Mildred and Estella didn't even exist. Post offices graced the now forgotten towns of Fox Center, Lincoln Falls, Millview, Davidson, Muncy Bottom and Plunketts Creek. The map showed 50 sawmills in Sullivan county.

And speaking of sawmills, didja know that the present Benton Roller Mills was the site of the first sawmill in Benton, built by a man by the name of Jesse Pennington. The town of Benton is actually a latecomer on the area scene. Benton Township, you'll recall, was formed out of Sugarloaf and Fishing Creek Townships in 1850, but David Jackson who cut the trees and cleared the land in what is now the town of Benton didn't arrive in the area until 1872.

A Prairie Home Companion will feature a first-year music performance major at Bloomsburg University in its annual teen talent contest February 19. Drew Nugent calls Blue Bell his hometown and Bloomsburg his university. Drew plays some mean ragtime and loves to rip into the high-steppin' music of Scott Joplin, and is fascinated with the trumpet styling of Louis Armstrong. Drew plays old jazz classics on the piano and trumpet. He plays with the jazz, concert, and marching bands under the guidance of music professors Dr. Stephen Clickard and Dr. Terri Oxley. Drew also loves the violin and Civil War re-enacting with his father.

On this date in...
1930, Elm Farm Ollie, a "golden" Guernsey, became the first cow to fly in an airplane. She also was milked in flight over St. Louis. The milk was then sealed in paper containers and parachuted over the city. Scientists milked her to observe midair effects on animals. Each year, Wisconsin observes an Elm Farm Ollie Day.

"Sing we praises of that moo cow,
Airborne once and ever more,
Kindness, courage, butter, cream cheese,
These fine things we can't ignore."
--From The Bovine Cantata in B-Flat Major, by Giacomo Moocini and Ludwig Von Bovine

Life is busy for several Benton Area School seniors...
• Samuel K. Dressler becomes an Eagle Scout Saturday, March 12, at ceremonies scheduled at the Benton Christian Church. Less than a week later, Sam will perform in the Region IV State Chorus Festival representing more than 60 high schools in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania. Locally, the group will present a concert March 19 in the Danville Area Middle School auditorium. Last week, Sam played Bat Masterson in Guys and Dolls.

• Adrian Wright-Fitzgerald, Stillwater, is the Bloomsburg Rotary Student of the Week. Her accomplishments are impressive, including the National Honor Society, a listing in Who's Who, the part of Sarah Brown in last week's school musical Guys and Dolls, a member of the yearbook staff, class vice president, co-captain of the field hockey team and cheerleaders, and a district medalist in track and field.

• Sarah Fulmer was the Bloomsburg Rotary Student of the Week for Jan. 6. She is a distinguished honor roll student and National Honor Society member. She participates in many things musical, from the Catawissa Military Band to the concert band and the concert choir, the County Band and Chorus and District Chorus. Last week, Sarah played the flute, the piccolo and the alto sax in the production of Guys and Dolls.

The following tip comes from a reader in California, Dan McGarigle, who lived in Benton for several year before he moved to the Left Bank. The tip is for anyone who has trouble seeing the letters displayed on a computer monitor. The tip works in both Windows ME and in XP. The size of desktop icons text, and of a lot of other text displayed by Windows (not by an application, but by Windows itself), can be set to any size you like. The normal size is 96 dpi, a large size of 120 dpi is there, or you can set any custom size that you like. Just click on Start, Settings, Control Panel, Display Properties, then the tab for "Settings," then the button "Advanced," then the tab "General." The DPI setting has a pull down menu. The "Normal" size, 96 dpi, is the default. The pull down menu has two other settings, "Large" size, 120 DPI, and "Custom" which gives you another "Custom DPI Setting" window. Your computer may need to be restarted for the changes to take effect.

Though for the Day:
"He that goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing."
--Benjamin Franklin

On this date in...
1818, Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun patented the "draisine," a forerunner of the bicycle, as a rebellion to the soaring price of oats for his horse following bad harvests and by the ravages of Napoleon's starving army as it retreated from Moscow in 1812. Europe was in an critical energy crisis. von Drais's first machines were four-wheelers driven by a treadmill and propelled by a servant pedaling in the rear while the owner steered from the front. von Drais later reduced the number of wheels from four to two and called the resulting velocipede a "draisine." The two-wheel version was propelled across the rutted roads by pushing with the operator's feet. Soon the vehicles scooted onto the sidewalks where the going was a little easier. Milan, London, New York and Philadelphia quickly banned them from sidewalks. Decent harvests returned after 1817, and the vogue for velocipedes diminished.

1934, the first high school automobile driver's education course in this country was conducted in State College. Later on in this issue, we'll tell you about a driver's course for seniors that if completed will result in a lower insurance premium.

1911, General Motors installed the world's first self-starter. The unit was installed in a Cadillac and was much improved over the crank starters used in cars like the Ford Model T's. The founder of Delco (Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company), devised countless improvements for the automobile. Charles Kettering also designed lighting and ignition systems, lacquer finishes, antilock fuels, and leaded gasoline. He also invented the electric cash register.

Users of Windows XP and/or Internet Explorer 6 should turn on Internet Explorer and run Windows Update by either choosing Tools > Windows Update or going to www.windowsupdate.com/ in Internet Explorer. Microsoft released eight critical updates recently so you MUST Run the Express Install for the critical updates, then restart your computer when you are finished. Run Windows Update a second time in order to insure that you got all of the available updates. If you have Norton Antivirus or a Symantec product, manually run Live Update by opening your Symantec or Norton product and clicking on the Live Update button as soon as possible. Restart your computer when you are finished.

When someone around here talks about "the Fair," we all assume that it is the Bloomsburg Fair, which this year will run from September 24 to October 1.

A few readers may remember another fair in the local area about the same distance from Back Home in Benton, one that in a single year featured top-shelf entertainers including the bluegrass of Ricky Skaggs, the father-daughter country duo of the Kendalls, the Rhythm & Blues, jazz, rock & roll of Ray Charles, the chart-topping classics of the Temptations and the Spinners, Eddie Rabbit singing bluegrass, country and pop, Willie Nelson and the rock music of Kansas. Now that, you have to admit, was a lineup featuring something for everyone: Motown, rock, country, bluegrass--it was all there. The year for this lineup was 1987 and the fair was in Berwick.

Well, actually, there were problems with the fair, but generally everyone agreed that most involved with the fair deserved an "A" for effort. Some problems were just too large for the staff to do much about. One problem was its proximity to the Berwick Sewage Treatment Plant. Drums of chemicals that smelled like vanilla and like bubble gum were brought to the sewage treatment plant hoping to mask the smells of things less desirable. The fair went from nothing to something overnight, and perhaps the growing pains came too fast. The bills for the entertainment exceeded the income for the entertainment.

When the Berwick Fair opened in 1986, stock was sold and $150,000 placed in escrow. In 1987, $200,000 was raised from the sale of stock. The fair organizers declared chapter 7 bankruptcy in August, 1958, two years after the fair first opened.

Are you over 55? Are you paying too much for your automobile insurance? The Benton Women's Club will sponsor a driver's (classroom) course April 13 and 14 from 9 until 1 PM. The course will be at the Benton Methodist Church. Satisfactory completion of the course will result in a reduction in automobile insurance under certain circumstances, although husbands and wives must both complete the course in order to qualify. We suggest that you contact your insurance agent to see if this applies to you. The cost is $10 per person. Call 925-6242 to register. Do it soon, since the course closes when 20 register.

If you haven't downloaded the updates we recommended above, please do it now.

On this date in...
1741, Benjamin Franklin published America's second magazine, The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle for all the British Plantations in America. The publication lasted only six months.

1903, Edgar John Berggren was born. One of his early purchases was a 25¢ book on ventriloquism and from that beginning came Charlie McCarthy, complete with monocles, suits and linen, various hats and a $10,000 kidnapping insurance policy. As Edgar Bergen, he received an honorary wooden Oscar in 1938. He was the father of actress Candice Bergen.

1946, the four-seat Sikorsky S51 flew, the first commercial helicopter. It was the first Sikorsky helicopter to be licensed by the U.S. Civil Aviation Administration. It could carry three passengers over 250 miles at a speed of 100 miles per hour.

If you have a question about Microsoft Word, try going here for answers on Microsoft Word in versions 6 through 2003. We suspect your answer will be there.

A reader would like to correspond with people associated with the Eyers and Bardo families in and around Bloomsburg. If you are interested, please email us.

The next meeting of the American Veterans group (AMVETS) will be Wednesday night at the Benton United Methodist Church at 7 PM. The January meeting resulted in many wonderful suggestions. If you are serving in the Armed Forces and received an Honorable Discharge, or you are currently serving, you are eligible for active membership in the AMVETS Post. It does not matter if you were Active Duty, National Guard or Reserve. If you have any questions, call Pastor Calvin Miller at 925-6858.

In Benton boys basketball Tuesday night, defending district champions Muncy came out on top 68-52 in a District 4 Class A preliminary game at the Montgomery Community Center. Seniors T.C. Musser, Shane Otis and Deric Sharkuski did not start due to a violation of team rules. Sophomore Harry Schlichter had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Musser had 10 points and Nate Schlichter had five points with seven rebounds.
--from the Press Enterprise, where a complete sports wrapup can be found

We haven't seen any statistics on the subject, but we betcha the American kitchens are generally getting smaller and someday may not be much larger than a whiff of nostalgia. We get more kitchen smells --all good, mind you-- from the three restaurants within a stone's throw of the Market @ Main intersection in the Borough than we get out of our own kitchen. The American kitchen seems to be disappearing and changing into a video room or workout room or an office. In fact, a 25.2 cu. ft. refrigerator is now being sold that includes a television set with FM stereo! The microwave is taking the place of the wood-fired Crawford Grand from the Walker & Pratt Stove Co. that once sat in the kitchen of an in-law's home. Gone are the smells we associated with that stove.

The Pillsbury Doughboy used to tell us that nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the oven. It probably originated with someone who loved the smell of fresh meatloaf or the apple pie just out of the oven. Possibly it came from someone who had just experienced "kitchen counseling" with the "woman of the house." The women of a by-gone era seemed to conduct their sessions with their troubled children or nervous neighbors in their big, old-fashioned kitchen where between the smells and the advice the problems got solved. There was always something about problems going away when under the control of a good friend with a cup of freshly brewing coffee and a loaf of homemade bread right out of the oven.

We've recently found ourselves in the position of having to dispense kitchen-counseling advice, and we are getting better at sympathetic listening. We are learning that telling someone to "Look on the positive side" or "don't worry" isn't worth a hill of beans. We all need to take the time to listen and a hug or an extended hand means a lot.

February 15, 2005. Happy birthday today to Ted Fritz, Klinger Hill, his 72nd.

On this date in 1758, mustard was advertised for the first time in America, thanks to Benjamin Franklin who reportedly ate mustard with fresh eggs. He loved to empty six fresh eggs into his goblet with butter, salt and pepper, and mustard. He called the concoction "Philadelphia stew." Mustard probably originated in ancient Egypt and arrived in Europe thanks to the Romans who used it for food and medicine such as mustard seeds seasoned with unfermented grape juice called "must." The origin of the word mustard is believed to originate in this way.

Millers in England crushed mustard seeds into a fine mustard flour, much like buckwheat was locally milled. The hull and bran was sifted out based on the type of mustard being made, then usually further ground and crushed. Seasonings and flavorings, plus water, wine, vinegar or beer, were added. The mustard was then simmered, cooled and aged. Laws enacted in 1658 protected mustard producers, making it an offence for anyone other than mustard producers to make the concoction. In the 17th century, Louis XIV gave the city of Dijon, France, exclusive rights to produce Dijon mustard and created strict rules concerning its production. Verjuice (unripe grape juice) was substituted for vinegar in prepared mustard for the first time.

Mustard had other uses, too. In addition to Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound which we have discussed before, the mustard plaster was considered a cure for a congested chest. The mustard plaster seemed to open the lungs to make breathing easier and at the same time Doctor Mom applied it for cures involving the stiffness associated with arthritis and rheumatism. Mother used to apply an oil like olive or castor oil to a poultice of egg white, flour and dry mustard powder sandwiched between cloth dressings, then applied to the skin. We had to leave it on until we felt our skin start to burn or until we screamed in pain, then it was removed and Mother would say to us, "Now, see there, don't you feel better!" Her comments were never asked as a question. Readers should not attempt to make mustard plasters, since our memory of the subject was more of pain than of relief.

Florence Knouse Knowles, 96, (July 7, 1908-Feb. 14, 2005), Third Street, Benton, died Monday at the Bonham Nursing Center, where she had resided for the past ten years. Born in Lopez, she was a daughter of the late John and Minnie (Hess) Knouse. She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles (Charlie) E. Knowles, on Nov. 24, 1994. She was a former tax collector for Benton borough for several years and worked at the Hotel Moses Van Campen, owned by her parents and later by her brother, Jacob. She is survived by a niece, Sarah Harriet (Derr) Dooley, Shermansdale; a nephew, Franklin Knouse, Hughesville; and a sister-in-law, Margaret Knowles, Phillipsburg. She was preceded in death by her husband, sisters Amy Derr and Gertrude Yost, and by her brother, Jacob Knouse. Funeral Services will be held Thursday at 11 AM at the McMichael Funeral Home, with a viewing preceding the service. Burial will be in the Benton Cemetery.
--From the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary can be found

At Monday's School Board meeting, the early retirement of Terri Hahn, Walker Rilk and Linda Foulkrod was approved.

Registration for Benton AYSO soccer is Thursday from 6-8 PM in the elementary school. The cost is $25.

A new term has emerged in the state and when first heard makes one think of State Game Lands #13 where the Pennsylvania Game Commission harbors 49,528.72 isolated acres in Columbia and Sullivan Counties. The state advertising called it "the wildest, best-preserved natural area between New York and Illinois." The land even includes a 127-mile scenic drive with several pull-outs where viewing is at its best most of the year.

The term is "Pennsylvania Wilds," and we aren't talking about the State Games Lands 13, we are talking about the 12-county region of Pennsylvania where huge critters with magnificent racks roam the fields and the hills--and the towns. We're talking about the Pennsylvania elk in and around the town of Benezette. We have often written about the 800 or so elk in the state and love to venture out to observe them in their natural state in Elk and Cameron Counties.

At this time of the year when food is scarce for the elk and the rigors of herding up to 40 cows creates a huge need for food, they often walk the streets of Benezette. While fall during the mating season is probably the most popular time to visit, winter is the best of the viewing seasons for elk. The male have not lost their antlers and the background of snow makes the animal stand out for good viewing.

The "Pennsylvania Wilds" comprise 36 state and national parks. About 2 million acres of the land are covered in forests, including 86,467 acres of wilderness. Stop lights are virtually unknown, until you get to the town of Ridgway, a town that once had more millionaires than any other town its size in the world. The town was once the home of the Hyde-Murphy Co., whose workers carved the elaborate woodwork for the Pentagon, U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress and the Smithsonian Institute. Hyde-Murphy ceased operations in 1961.

Woodworking today in the town of Ridgeway takes place as the world's largest chainsaw-carving event. Hundreds of chainsaw carvers from all over the world showcase their talent. The event is a rendezvous, not a competition, a great place to learn to handle a chainsaw. Each carver donates a wood sculpture for the auction Saturday, Feb 26, with proceeds going to The Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Ridgway YMCA. The event begins Wednesday, February 23. We suggest that you combine elk watching and the sawing program into a weekend jaunt into the wilds of Pennsylvania.

February 14, 2005. Hearts and flowers to you on this Valentine's Day, originally a Roman feast of the celebration of fertility. The holiday was Christianized in 270 A.D. to commemorate Saint Valentine. It is the wedding anniversary of Bill and Elaine Rogers and Carolyn and Rev. David Diehl. Birthdays on this date include the man who invented the Ferris Wheel, George Ferris, born in 1859; Jack Benny, born in 1894; Hugh Downs, born in 1921; and Carl Bernstein, born in 1944.

On this date in...
1819, the inventor of the typewriter, Christopher Latham Sholes, (1819-1890), was born in Mooresburg, just off the present I-80 on Montour Ridge, 32 miles from Back Home in Benton, PA. Sholes 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. The layout of the letters on a keyboard, QWERTY, is still in use today just as when Sholes designed it. 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.

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

1912, Arizona, from the Indian word meaning "little or young spring," became the 48th state. For almost five decades, the Grand Canyon State was the 48th state in the union. Fourteen different American Indians tribes live in Arizona, more than any other state. Spanish influence in the state ranges from the bolo tie, the official neckwear of the state, to its motto of Ditat Deus (God enriches).

1952, NBC-TVs Today show premiered, with David Cunningham Garroway (1913-1982) as the host. Dave Garroway was eventually found dead at the age of 69 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot following postoperative complications of open-heart surgery. Mr. Garroway's signed off each show by saying "Peace" and extending the palm of his hand.

All inquiries and comments are welcome here at the Benton News. We actually attempt to answer all email, and pride ourselves in our excellent filing system. We just don't have a good retrieval system! So if we fail to respond to your email, please accept our apologies and feel free to try again.

The St. Francis PA Red Flash (13-9, 11-2 NEC) wiped Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights, 67-54, on Saturday evening at DeGol Arena in Loretto, PA. In the first half, the Red Flash took control of the game right away, going on a 16-0 run over the first five minutes. Regina Schlichter had 10 points for the game.

Steve Haines is the hero of the Fire Company this morning after he took on the challenge for the success of the weekend gun show at the Benton Fire Company--and he delivered with the help of friends, the community and the fire company. From the community came 20 donated pies and from the Mayor came an offer to cook at the event. Others pitched in as well. Steve Haines summed it up when he observed, "There were a lot of people working together. It was like a big family down there." Spokesperson David Albertson commented that the "show exceeded our expectations." The fire company provided 69 tables for venders at $25 per table. The total admission paid was $7,700 by 723 visitors on Saturday and 380 on Sunday. The next show will be September 10 and 11 at the same location. In fact, based on the show success this weekend EVERY table is sold out in advance for the fall show. Well done Fire Company!

On the slow road to recovery...
• Jim Edson and Pat Boyle have a new address in Florida. Barbara Edson tells us they are well, "getting back in to their own routine of cooking, walking, shopping, church, sitting on the deck" following Pat's fall and recovery in a rehabilitation facility. Their address is: 180 Lightkeepers Dr., Port St Joe, FL 32456. 850 647 8845.
• Ken Kelsey is scheduled for eye surgery today as a treatment for macular degeneration.
• Shirley Keller, Dotyville, suffered a broken hip socket Friday in an automobile accident above Lightstreet. She also has neck and leg injuries, all on the left side. Other injuries were minor compared with these injuries. It was unclear Sunday night when surgery could begin. Husband Bob continues to be plagued by almost constant pain in the legs from a circulation problem unrelated to the accident.
• Nathan Llewellyn, Central Road, Benton, was injured in the Friday Lighstreet accident and is also a patient in the Geishinger Hospital, with reported leg, head and lung injuries.

We read in a magazine about something that reminded us of an event planned for the Benton Area senior class today. The magazine told about two students deciding what they would do the following day. The boy wanted to go to the movies and the girl wanted to go shopping. The students both fretted a bit over the fact that a major exam was scheduled. One of the students said, "Tell you what we'll do. We'll toss up a coin. If it comes heads, we'll go to the movies. If it comes tails, we'll go shopping, and if it stands on edge we'll study."

It is "Senior Skip" day today at the Benton Area Schools, and it does coincide with an exam scheduled by Mr. Cashman, although the two events don't seem to be related. The "skip" day for seniors has been an annual tradition for the past couple of years and indeed the girls go shopping and the boys do what boys do. From the rumors we hear, most seniors will be among the missing, except for the ones who play basketball on Tuesday night and the ones who must be in school in order to attend the Fire Company meeting Monday night. (School attendance is required for high school students in order to attend a fire company meeting). We hope that the seniors remember to have their parents call in with a good excuse... By the way, we recommend the movie "Hitch."

Marital problems often begin when a man gets so busy earning his salt that he forgets his sugar.

Many couples do not marry for good; they marry either for better or for worse.

On Valentines Day, a wise husband forgets the past, but remembers the present.

We have reached the age where we stop lying about our age and start bragging about it.

On this date in...
1741, The American Magazine, the first magazine in this country, was published in Philadelphia. The magazine imitated The London Magazine and The Gentleman's Magazine. The magazine continued for three years.

1867, the Blue Danube Waltz was played for the first time at a public concert in Vienna. There were actually two Johann Strausses, a father and his son. The younger Strauss composed the Blue Danube Waltz.

1988, Michael Jackson purchased a ranch in Santa Ynez, CA, and later named it Neverland. It houses a full size movie theatre, a zoo, an amusement park with bumper cars, a merry-go-round and a Ferris wheel, and the complete library of the Marquis de Sade.

Esther Howland is credited for sending the first valentine card in the United States. 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.

Congratulations to Rob Cashman for being "one of the guys" last night at the production of Guys and Dolls. There is one more performance, but a few good seats remain. The production is well done and worth seeing.

According to Sunday's Press Enterprise, Judith E. Scavone has been promoted to assistant vice president of the Benton Branch of the First Columbia Bank on route 487. Mrs. Scavone was raised in Harveyville and resides with husband, Richard, in Sweet Valley.

We remember walking into a West Virginia restaurant for breakfast many years ago. We told the waitress that we wanted two poached eggs, a cup of coffee and a few kind words. The waitress soon returned with the eggs and the coffee, but said nothing when she laid them on the table. When we reminded her of the "few kind words," she quickly replied, "Don't eat them eggs."

Luckily, we live where we are blessed by lots of kind words about the quality of our restaurants. Many of these fine restaurants and caterers will come together on April 24 at the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center benefit auction at the Benton Fire Station. We'll announce the participating restaurants in Wednesday's edition.

On this date in...
1872, a toothpick-making machine was patented by Silas Noble and James P. Cooley of Granville, Massachusetts. The machine converted blocks of virgin white birch into toothpicks, and that is exactly the process followed today. The birch logs are steamed to make them easier to cut, then they are veneered by peeling each log into a thin sheet, somewhat akin to a roll of paper towels. Flat toothpicks are stamped from the sheets, while round toothpicks are cut into oversized blanks, then milled through a "rounder" to grind them into javelins for very small people. We still remember a friend who leaned over to give his future wife a kiss, forgetting that he still had a "javelin" protruding from his mouth. For a time, we all suspected that the wedding would be off, but as soon as the bleeding stopped all was forgiven.

1935, the first U.S. patent for open-mesh steel flooring for a bridge was issued to W.E. Irving.

Several people were injured in a series of head-on collisions above Lightstreet on Route 487, just north of Stoney Brook Road, Thursday morning, including several people associated with Benton. A south-bound Dodge Spirit occupied by a five-year old passenger and driven by Frank Frey, 73, Rohrsburg, apparently strayed into a north-bound lane around 8 AM, head-on into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer truck driven by Travis Fink, 27, Shickshinny. In the resultant crash, the truck lost its steering control and the hood obscured the driver's vision. The tractor-trailer then ran into the south-bound car driven by Shirley Keller, 66, Dotyville, who was seriously injured. The truck then continued into the path of a third vehicle driven by Nathan Llewellyn, 27, Central Road, Benton, and hit that vehicle head-on. Keller and Llewellyn were both life flighted to Geisinger Hospital. Steve Rothermel, Orangeville Area police chief, indicated that Shirley was probably alive because she was wearing a seat belt. Route 487 opened to traffic just before noon.

Shirley Keller's husband, Bob Keller, was discharged earlier in the week from the Geisinger Hospital and needed to rely on medicine which was not available last night, possibly because it was in the family car in anticipation of testing scheduled for later in the day. Attempts will be made to locate the medicine early this morning when access to the car, which was towed to Rohrsburg, will be available. Shirley, an auditor for Columbia County and a former teacher, faces major surgery. Because of the accident, we have postponed our trip to Florida pending outcome of surgery. Shirley Kocher is a sister-in-law.

The Press Enterprise in Saturday's edition indicated that Superintendent Andrew Pollock and middle school principal, Gary Powlus, have applied for the top position of the Benton Area Schools. Dr. Pollock's retirement is currently scheduled for June 30.

A bunch of gamblers and do-gooders captivated an enthusiastic audience at the Guys and Dolls performance last night at the high school auditorium. After three months of rehearsals, over 75 students and faculty brought their countless hours of practice into a top-notch event on the beautiful stage of the Richard Martin auditorium. The "three Jens"--Jennifer Bates, Production Director; Jennifer Welliver, Orchestra Director, and Jennifer DiLossi, Vocal Director--combined to produce a wonderful production. Jess Swidinsky, often seen at Riverside Market, played the part of Miss Adelaide to perfection. James Madera seemed comfortable playing the part of Nicely Nicely Johnson. Adrian Wright-Fitzgerald played Sarah Brown, Sam Dressler was cast as Sky Masterson and Joe Schultz did Nathan Detroit. The rest of the cast also performed marvelously, as did an unexpected walk-on performer who drew applause. The show continues through tonight and Sunday afternoon. Plan to attend and enjoy!

We spent some time yesterday looking at the Benton School System through the eyes of those who graduated in 1952. Today, we'll move further back in history to the year 1924. In that year, the school was known as the Benton Vocational School. L. R. Appleman was principal and Blanche Shultz was the assistant principal. Alvin Sutliff and Esther Smith (later McHenry) had fancy titles; i.e., Supervisor of Agriculture and Supervisor of Home Economics. Flora Fritz and Ward McHenry were the other two members of the faculty but had no titles. Mrs. Fritz simply taught English and Music and Mr. McHenry taught mathematics and the sciences. Esther Smith and Ward McHenry eventually married.

We obtained our information about the school for the year 1924 from our previous writings on the subject and from The Broadcaster, a publication somewhat akin to an abbreviated yearbook, loaned to us by Carolyn Remley. Inside the paper-bound journal was a cartoon showing an unnamed teacher saying to a student, "Joe, spell 'deer.'" The unnamed student responded, "Does yer mean 'deer' an animal, or my 'dear' Mabel?"

We were poring over the publication in order to get more information on Mary Hartman, a Benton High School graduate of 1925 and a student known as "Bobby" to her friends. The Junior class was small, so we'll list the class members, and see if there are some names you might remember. Evelyn Harrison, Gladys Hirleman, Herman Funk, Samuel Harvey, Mary Hartman, Lawrence Savage, Elda Keefer, Cletus Hartman, Kathryn Dodson, Jay McMichael, Margaret Peterman, Frank Pealer, Glen Hess, Doris Fritz, Charles Jones, Donald Kline, Hilda Knouse, Samuel Laubach, Sheldon Cole, Anna Folk, Chapin Weller, Mabel Coleman, Fred Zarr, Lcris Letteer, Larue Evans, Marie McHenry, Dallas Baker, Oliver Beishline, Mabel McHenry, Freddie Stoker and Raymond Ribble.

The Vocational School had a baseball team and won every game--except for a "hard fought contest of two innings." As it seems to happen in any organization, certain names seem to pop up time and again. Ward McHenry was the coach and Howard Brewington was the manager. The school also had a team of "foot ball." The manager was Howard Brewington and the assistant coach was Ward McHenry. G.H. Dippe was the head coach. The "foot ball" team played Espy, Danville, Berwick, Shickshinny and Catawissa.

The Broadcaster paid special recognition to the first two graduates of the school, Carl McHenry, a graduate of Scranton Business College, and Dela Dodson, a Williamsport Business College graduate.

High school humor abounded, including this line.
"Jack says my mouth is the prettiest he ever saw."
"Indeed! Well, I'll put mine up against it anytime."

Sponsors of the Broadcaster included the Laubach Motor Company, who advertised their Fords and their Fordsons and their Lincolns. Shannons Mill and Burr Appleman and the Universal Theatre advertised their wares, along with the Golf Gas and Supreme Oil station of Jay B. Smith (located in the location of the present Uni-Mart). From Bloomsburg, the Gross Bottling Works advertised their drink they called "Whistle." The motto of the drink was "When better soft drink is made GROSS will make it."

Beishline's Garage (later owned by Doyle Sutliff), W. C. Follmer Lime and Fertilizer (on Everett Street), the "Butter Split Bread" of the Benton Bakery (Ski Seigfreid, Prop.) and Hess' Photo House, all of Benton, were names some might not recognize. The Fleitz & Sproul Fruit Farms, with operations at Vosburg, Benton and Mechanicsburg, were under the management of Homer Howe. This farm was later the Far Fields Farm owned by Harry Hiscox, then by Kent Shelhamer and later by the John King family.

The most humorous note in the publication was one posted by a marshal on some houses in the Borough. It read, "I have been instructed by the Town Council to enforce the ordinance against chickens running at large, and cars running through the alley."

Thomas Edison was an American inventor with 1,093 patents to his credit. When he was 7, his teacher in the one-room school lost his patience with the child's persistent questioning, deciding that the boy's brains were "addled" or "scrambled." He sold newspapers on the railroad when he was 12, learned how to operate a telegraph, invented an electric vote-recording machine in 1868, then made improvements to the stock-ticker. He moved his laboratory to Menlo Park, NJ, in 1876 where he later displayed a prototype of a incandescent electric light bulb. He made motion pictures by the late 1880s and developed electric power from central generating stations.

On this date in...
1752, through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin, the Pennsylvania Hospital, the first in America, opened and the first patient was received at the hospital's temporary quarters. The Pine Street Hospital opened in 1756 for both mentally ill and general medical patients. Patients performed light manual labor including spinning and carding wool for recreational therapy activities. Today the hospital is a 534-bed acute care facility with a full-range of diagnostic and therapeutic medical services and is a major teaching and clinical research institution.

1808, Judge Jesse Fell, Wilkes-Barre, burned "anthracite stone coal" in a grate for the first time in order to keep his house warm, demonstrating how clean coal burned and how cheap it was as a heating fuel. He developed a method to burn the coal without the use of forced air and his fireplace grate opened up the home heating market.

1943, General Dwight David Eisenhower was selected to command the allied armies in Europe. The General changed occupations when he was inaugurated President of the United States in 1953.

1990, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, South Africa's leading antiapartheid figure, walked through the gate of Victor Verster prison outside Cape Town after 27 years in prison.

The February meeting of the Fishing Creek Femme Chapter of the Red Hat Society will meet February 16 at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant, Buckhorn, at 11 AM. Guests are welcome and proper attire is required; i.e., purple outfit and a red Hat. The chapter is open to new members.

Today is the last time in the next several weeks that the Benton News will be published in any kind of order. We come out of the driveway and head south Saturday. It is getting close to "crunch" time to pack a swimming suit and some shorts and hit the road. We'll check in from time to time if Laptop Lillian cooperates.

If you intend to fly-fish in Western Washington lakes or fish in the Kamloops area of British Columbia or want to try out your new spey rod, the 2005 fly fishing show through Sunday at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington, may be what you need. Over 36 programs and demonstrations are scheduled each day, plus more than 125 booths of equipment manufacturers, guides, lodges and authors. There also will be casting demonstrations and lots of fly-tying from Barry and Cathy Beck.

Coming south from the township into the borough, the 35 miles per hour signs don't seem to be highly effective in slowing motorists to the posted legal speed limits. Sutliff Motors slowed traffic Thursday, however, by simply displaying a bright yellow ATV in the lot.

Members of the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center Board of Directors met with Mike Narcavage (Northeast Staff Director) and Mary Ensslin (Director of Community & Economic Development) from United States Senator Rick Santorum's office Thursday.

The Board was briefed on available funding for the preservation of historical items including funds to build an environmentally safe room to store items that deteriorate in sunlight and normal air. The representatives of Senator Santorum's office pledged their assistance in finding funding for technological programs including the purchase of computers, the cost of materials for education, bringing in DSL lines, etc.

After the meeting, Ms. Ensslin expressed her appreciation for "the opportunity to assist you with the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center." Senator Santorum's office will be of great help locally in navigating the maze of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and various library technology funding sources.

We'll start telling you about the restaurants that have signed up for the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center auction coming up on April 24, and about many of the items that will be in the auction. Give us a couple more days to get into that.

Didja know that Valentine's Day is the second largest card sending holiday with an estimated one billion cards sent each year?

EVERMORE, along with several other bands, will be playing a benefit concert Friday evening at the Espy Fire Hall for the Tsunami Relief. Admission is free, but a donation to aid the victims is requested.

We spent some time yesterday leafing through the 1952 Kaleidoscope, a yearbook published by the senior class of Benton High School. We came across a few things we would like to share, including...

• Names. Lee Remley was known as "Cutie," Janet Knouse as "Toots," Donald McHenry as "Curly," and Mahlon Fritz as "Fritzie."

• Responsibilities. Bob Lewis was editor of the yearbook, Gloria Vansock was May Queen and was crowned by class president, "Donnie" Baker.

• Supporters. In this category was The Music Club of Benton; Baker and Bennett advertised their "genuine Deepfreeze Home Freezer" for sale starting at $299.95. The Farmer's National Bank of Orangeville and the Columbia County National Bank of Benton both helped out. Richard "Dick" Bender represented Bloomsburg Lincoln-Mercury Corporation. The Benton Sales-Service & Auction Co, L. W. Sharek, owner, advertised their auctions of poultry, eggs and farm produce every Wednesday at 1 PM and their auctions of general merchandise every Saturday at 7 PM. Some of the other local advertisers included M. D. Pennington, the Holcombe Funeral Home and Kile & Thomas Garage. In the television line, Bill & Joe Electric sold Crossley, Arvin and Motorola radio and television. Sands Electric sold "Axeman-Anderson Anthratubes." Dorothy Jackson ran the Towne Dress Shoppe.

• Food. Included Vincent's Meat Market; Harry Hess Neighborhood Store, "A good Place to Buy;" and the two Fairlawn Food Markers, one on Market Street owned by Ross and one on Main Street owned by his brother Horace Harrison. Benton Roller Mills, managed by D. L. Myers at the time, advertised their XXXX Standard Brand, "Fishingcreek's best buckwheat flour." "Joe's Restaurant" was on Main Street and the Pied Piper Inn was at the intersection of "254 and 339." The Benton Meat Market, "sausage and scrapple a specialty," owned by James Vance was a proud sponsor. Harry Hiscox's "Far Fields Farms" was in the book, along with Doyle Sutliff Chevrolet, Inc., Benton and Shickshinny and Herman Funk's Store, selling Aristocrat and Morning Glory products. A. R. Allegar advertised his Royal Swan Store.

Google is at it again, although their new service is only in beta testing and we spotted some mistakes. Google Maps lets you search for addresses and local business listings using high-resolution graphics, then plot them on a map. The service is only in early beta testing and at this time to access it you must paste "maps.google.com" (without the quotes) into your browser. Combined with the regular Google features, their mapping service could do great damage to the traditional "Yellow Pages" concept of finding business phone numbers and locations. The service does not have any advertising at this point.

Today the coyote hunt begins at the North Mountain Fire Company, 991 Elk Grove Road, Benton from 4 to 9 PM, February 11 and 12 from 8 AM to 9 PM and February 13 from 8 am to noon.

The Huntington Mills Elementary School PTO will hold its annual auction on Saturday, February 26, at the Huntington Mills Elementary School, from 10 AM.

The Style Section of the Washington Post frequently includes a segment where readers are asked to take any word from the dictionary and alter that word by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter in order to come up with a new definition. One of our favorite new words this winter is "Bozone," a "substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating." There is little chance that the bozone layer will break down in the near future.

Joshua Vincent, Alabaster, Alabama, recently received the Arrow of Light Award in Cub Scouts. This is the highest award a boy can receive in the Cub Scouts and is the only award that can also be worn in Boy Scouts. The Cub Scout must earn the Webelos badge and at least eight activity badges, including Citizen, Readyman, and Fitness in order to qualify. Josh completed all twenty activity badges in Webelos! He will be crossing over from Cub Scout Pack 220 to Boy Scout Troop 548 later this month. Grandparents Lee and Carolyn Remley and Spencer Vincent and Martha Vincent are beaming broadly.

Candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones each February in the name of St. Valentine, a man shrouded in mystery that dates back to ancient Rome and early Christianity. Who was Saint Valentine or were there more than one martyred Valentine or Valentinus?

There seem to be three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, all of them relating to February 14. One was a priest at Rome, another a bishop of Interamna, the third Saint Valentine did something that no one seems to remember in Africa. We'll pick up the story of one Valentine, a priest during the third century in Rome. Emperor Claudius II, more of a fighter than a lover, decided that single men were better soldiers than ones with wives and families. His solution was to outlaw marriage for young men. Valentine defied Claudius and married young lovers in secret. Claudius ordered that Valentine be put to death when his actions were discovered. Other versions less favorable to the February love interests holds that Valentine was killed for attempting to help Christians escape from Abu Ghraib treatment in Roman prisons. One legend says that Valentine sent the first "valentine" greeting from prison. This story says that Valentine fell in love with the young daughter of his jailor. Valentine wrote her a letter and signed it "From your Valentine." The truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, but the guy certainly was a romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

We remember listening to a friend many years ago who prattled on about being in love with his new girlfriend, than proceeded to tell us something about what she had told him in a rather intimate moment. Our memory is foggy on the exact words, but the essence was that she told him that in the past she had admired some men for their looks and their strength and their courage and their intelligence, but she told him that in their case it was different--it was love, nothing else. The couple actually married and are still in a state of bliss.

Why not do something different and very romantic for Valentines Day? How 'bout a romantic interlude with overnight lodging just a short distance from Back Home in Benton, PA, complimentary continental breakfast for two, and free workout at a local health fitness center. Enjoy the evening with two free movie passes, dinner for two at a local restaurant and a special surprise in your room. The price of package is $89.99 plus tax and it takes places in Bloomsburg. The package is valid from February 11 to February 14 at the Econo Lodge, Bloomsburg. Call 570 387-0490 to book.

"I love your company, you look real fine,"
In a voice polite as preachers set to dine,
I ask the lady, "Mind if I trouble you, Ma'am,"
Easy like, "to be my Valentine?"

On this date in 1942, the Philadelphia Phillies officially changed their nickname that had been in use since the 1880s to the "Phils," mostly for the benefit of newspapers headline length. That was the same year that left fielder Danny Litwhiler became the first outfielder to play a whole season and field a perfect 1,000. The Phillies ownership was moving from Gerry Nugent to William Cox to Bob Carpenter. Fans in the meantime picked a new nickname--the Blue Jays--for the team, but it also never became popular, was phased out by 1949 and we still know and love the team as the Phillies.

As a team, the Phillies finished last 29 times and managed only five pennants with a single World Series win. Still many of us have fond memories of sitting in a darkened room listening intently to a Phillies night game broadcast on a fleeting AM frequency that came and went faster than an unemployed relative.

Some may remember Daniel Webster Litwhiler from when he grew up in Ringtown, 45 miles south of Back Home in Benton, PA. Some will remember Danny from when he earned a bachelor's degree in Science and Social Sciences in 1938 from Bloomsburg State Teacher's College, or from when he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, or as a college baseball coach who was later inducted into the American Baseball Coaches' Hall of Fame. His career chasing fly balls included the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Braves, and the Cincinnati Reds. He coached at Michigan State University and Tom Ropel received a baseball scholarship from Litwhiler and played for him at MSU.

Danny Litwhiler went to Bloomsburg State Teacher's College in 1934, and played college ball in 1935 and 1936. Danny and brothers Woody and Truman also played for the Bloomsburg town team but Danny's father never gave up asking him to quit baseball and come back to the farm in order to "make a good living." Nevertheless, Danny had an 11½-year career in the majors. The right-handed 5'10½" 190-pounder averaged .281 lifetime with 107 home runs and 451 RBI.

Teacher's colleges at that time allowed pro players to play college ball during the academic year so long as they were not playing professionally during that period. Whittier Letteer and Ted McHenry attended a seminar at the Bloomsburg State Teacher's College put on by Danny. Whittier remembers that he played first-base and "never played the outfield," but in the seminar that is where he was put. Danny taught Whittier "how to stand and where to place your feet so you are ready to throw when there is a man on base."

During spring training in 1939 in Arlington, Texas, he tore cartilage in his right knee which kept him from playing that year. So Danny played town ball, at first base, for Bloomsburg and was a designated hitter. Other teams allowed him a courtesy runner if he hit safely and legged it to first. Despite the knee, Danny played the entire 1942 season error-free. The Baseball Hall of Fame has his glove on display in Cooperstown. The Rawlings Company presented him with a Gold Glove, maintained on display at Bloomsburg University.

Danny invented a speed gun to measure pitching speed, a "bunting practice only" bat, and a product used for drying wet fields. He is a member of the Hall of Fame for Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg University, Florida State University, the American Baseball Coaches, and the Helms Athletic Foundation.

Long-time friends Bob Casey, Lightstreet, and Danny Litwhiler still write to each other. Danny recently lived in New Port Ritchie, Florida, then Trinity, Florida, and his most recent letter to Bob was from a Tampa address. Danny summed it up for many of us when he wrote in his last latter, "I'm still kicking, but not as high."

Perhaps we asked Whittier Letteer too many questions about baseball when we wrote the last piece, because he turned it around and started asking questions of us, like what does it mean when we say we "fly off the handle," meaning to get angry, an obvious reference to the handle of a crudely fitting homemade ax. We traced the expression back in the Bible to 2 Kings, and seven verses about an experience in the life of Elisha. The head of an ax would often fly off as a woodsman chopped. This sudden flying off by the head of an ax and the danger that it caused eventually came to suggest the trouble that people get in when they suddenly lose their tempers. Related phrases are "to go off the handle," "flip one's lid" possibly relating to what happens to a lid on a cooking pot when we cook spaghetti. "Flip your wig" and variations like "flip out" and "hit the ceiling" and "go through the roof" are also related.

The Blue Devils dropped their fourth straight 62-54 to the Red Flash Monday night. St. Francis was up by 19 at 23-4 with just over 10 minutes to play before the half. The Red Flash finished the first half shooting 60% on 15-of-25 from the floor. Regina Schlichter finished the night in double digits, pulling in 15 points.

For the readers interested in the military, the following bases were being considered for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure round of 2005:
AIR FORCE--Altus AFB, Oklahoma; Beale AFB, California; Brooks AFB, Texas; Cannon AFB, New Mexico; Columbus AFB, Mississippi; Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; Goodfellow AFB, Texas; Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota; Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts; Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; Los Angeles AFB, California; McConnell AFB, Kansas; Nellis AFB, Nevada (to realign); Seymour Johnson AFB (to realign), North Carolina; Shaw AFB, South Carolina; and Vance AFB, Oklahoma.

Army --Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; Detroit Arsenal, Michigan; Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico; Fort McPherson/Gillem, Georgia; Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; Fort Monroe, Virginia; Fort Polk (to realign), Louisiana; Fort Richardson, Alaska; Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Lima Army Tank Plant, Ohio; Natick Soldier Center, Massachusetts; Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey; Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois; Sierra Army Depot, California; and Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.

MARINE CORPS--Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California; Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia; Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California (realignment); Marine Corps Mountain Warfare School, California; Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California (realign or close); and Marine Reserve Support Unit, Kansas City.

NAVY--Ingleside Naval Station, Texas; Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, New Jersey; Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi; Naval Postgraduate School, California; Naval Recreation Station Solomons Island; Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, Indiana; Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Virginia; Navy Supply Corps School, Georgia; New Orleans Naval Support Activity, Louisiana; Pascagoula Naval Station, Mississippi; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire; and Saratoga Springs Naval Support Unit, New York.
--source: Armed Forces News

In golf, if your best shots are the practice swing and the "gimme
putt," you should reconsider the game.

Some people get confused in golf. They shoot a six, yell fore and
write five.

February 8, 2005. It is Mardi Gras. And for readers who are football fans, we'll mention there are 213 days until the opening kickoff of professional football, and there are 362 days until Super Bowl XL in Detroit

Pittsburgh-born and University of Pittsburgh educated quarterback Dan Marino was elected Saturday to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Marino becomes the 26th Pennsylvania native named to the Canton, Ohio, facility. The state now leads among the 50 states, with Texas coming in second with 24 members.

On this date in 1910, William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Born in Plum, PA, just east of Pittsburgh, and a former owner of the Chicago "Ledger" newspaper, he later founded "Lone Scouting." Boyce conceived the idea of using boys to sell his papers across the country, and 30,000 youngsters worked for him at one time. After incorporating the BSA on this date in 1910, Boyce turned the organization over to two men from the YMCA.

Scouting itself was conceptualized by Sir Robert S.S. Baden-Powell. The story goes that Mr. Boyce got lost one day in foggy London town and was guided by a young boy who refused any payment for his good deed. The boy explained that he was a Scout and Scouts did not accept a reward for doing a good turn. Boyce located Baden-Powell in order to learn more about the British Scouts. Boyce formed the Boy Scouts of America when he returned to the United States and during the first year of its organization, Boyce kept it afloat by donating $4,000. His donations came with only one condition, the BSA would include all boys, regardless of race or creed.

Quote of the Day:
"Under his patronage and guidance, American Boy Scouting as we know it today received its impetus. From that original vision of Mr. Boyce, have developed thousands of troops of clear-eyed healthy young men, representing all that is finest in American youth..."
— Eulogy by James E. West, Chief Scout Executive of the BSA

The Boy Scout Troup of Benton has been in existence for 83 years, only 13 years less than the national organization. The Benton Christian Church has been the chartered organization sponsor of the local troop since the 1980s. Cecile Martin is the Church representative.

Dennis Albertson, Reese Smith and Jack Schupp, along with many Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, attended Sunday worship services at the Benton Christian Church earlier this week, and stressed that the Benton Troop is a "happy troop and the biggest troop in our district." In fact, the local cub scout troop has added 19 new members during 2005! The Benton Troop has participated in the Klondike Derby placing for the past two years, placed two teams in both the District and Council First Aid Meet, collected food for the Food Bank, provided food at an auction, participated in God and Country Service, adopted a family for the holidays by providing gifts for Christmas and worked at both the rodeo and the carnival.

All adults and scouts involved with the troop in Benton are trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use. Many have attended leadership training including Junior Leader training, Den Chief, and chaplain aide. As a troop, the boys swim, ski, toboggan, white water raft. In the year 2994, the Troop had an Eagle Scout and another boy has just completed his Eagle requirements. Fourteen went to Boy Scout camp and 23 boys and men went to Sea Base in Florida for an adventure of sailing, snorkeling, swimming and training. They were unexpectedly evacuated during a hurricane.

The troop is busy, active and visible in the community and attended Church as a group to show their appreciation for the support of both the Church and the community.

The next project of the Boy Scouts is their annual spaghetti supper February 19 from 4-7 PM at the Benton Methodist Church. Please come out and help the scouting movement in the upper Fishing Creek Valley.

Take the time to take a third-grade geography quiz by going to www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf .

Jungle Paradise is a family owned and operated local business specializing in orchids and rare and unusual house plants.

Around the area...
• We understand that Dayne Hartman has "lost his sense of humor" after three weeks of chemo. We suspect that even the post office will know who the sender intended it to go to if a letter of cheer and good wishes is simply addressed to the "grouchy old goat on Everett Street, Benton."

• Taylor Remphrey proposed to Kim Uselman on her birthday on the first of February. Both are stationed at Eileson AFB, Fairbanks, Alaska. Parents Sharon Remphrey and George Remphrey are thrilled.

• The Benton Christian Church will host Council of Churches Lenten Services February 13. Music will be furnished by the Christ United Methodist Church and the speaker will be furnished by the Hamline Fellowship.

• Clair and Marlene Harvey have been in Sedona, Arizona, for the past week and are currently in Utah enroute to Tucson, Arizona. From all reports, Clair's health is good in the dry desert air of the southwest.

• The 2005 Benton Area School's Hall of Fame nominations to honor those graduates who have excelled in their chosen careers have been announced. They are...

On this date in 1804, John Deere (1804-86) was born in Portland, Vermont. He had a short stay at Middlebury college, apprenticed as a blacksmith and worked in that trade shaping things like hay forks until 1837, then moved with the $73.73 that he "had to his name" to Grand Detour, Illinois, about 100 miles west of Chicago where he had a forge and blacksmith shop up and running within two days.

The soil around the Rock River in Illinois was sticky compared to the soil of Vermont and the wood and cast-iron plows used back east didn't work well in Illinois. Deere took a broken steel saw blade, cut off the teeth and fitted it to a wrought iron moldboard and wood handle bent over a log. The moldboard was polished on the upper surface to prevent clogging.

By 1838 he had produced three plows of his own design. By 1840, he made 40, the next year he manufactured 75, and in 1846 he made a thousand which began the agricultural machine business which he expanded when he moved to Moline in 1847. Moline was chosen for its proximity to water power and river transportation. Soon Hawkeye riding cultivators, grain drills and other implements rolled out the doors. Deere's finances were always a mess until a young accountant, his son Charles, joined the company in 1853. In another ten years, his annual production had increased ten-fold. After experimenting with imported English steel instead of cast iron, he converted to U.S. made steel when Pittsburgh steel plants cast a suitable plow blade. By 1855 he was selling more than 13,000 plows a year. John Deere obtained his first patent for the walk-behind plow in 1864. In 1868 his business was incorporated as Deere & Company. In 1869, the company sold 41.133 plows, cultivators and harrows and earned $646,543. By the 1880s, the company employed almost 800 men in its Moline Plow Works factory.

When he died on May 17, 1886, his implement company was nine acres under one roof in size and manufactured 180 types of plows. The tractor which we identify with the Deere name today was only four years old when he died. John Deere, the founder, was succeeded by his son, Charles Deere, who took the company from the age of the horse through the age of steam and to the age of the internal combustion engine. The Deere & Company line included cultivators, harrows, seed drills and planters, wagons and buggies, and even bicycles in the late 1890s.

John Deere's oldest tractor sold in England in 1917, a 25hp Waterloo Boy from 1917, sold under the Overtime name. Several years ago at the Nittany Antique Machinery Association Show, Penn's Cave, we saw a four-cylinder, gasoline powered, all-wheel-drive tractor that dated to 1918 that had been discovered in a junk pile and purchased for five dollars. It was the last remaining model of its type and the oldest existing John Deere tractor, with a collector's value of more than one million dollars. The tractor had been designed by a member of the Board of Directors of Deere & Co, Joe Dain, and was called the "Dain." Features of the tractor included its 30-inch wheel with an 8-inch face, two speeds in forward and two in reverse with a top speed of 2.6 mph. The tractor was purchased from the estate of the late Frank Hansen of Rollingstone, Minnesota. It is now on permanent display at the John Deere Collectors Center in Moline.

The upper Fishing Creek valley is alive during the prime farming months with the putt-putt of the John Deere tractor. We remember the story about the old farmer who wanted a new John Deere and told the dealer that he wanted to take it home and if it was any good he would send the dealer a check. The John Deere dealer had an alternative suggestion. He suggested that the farmer leave a check and if it was any good, they would deliver the tractor.

Many individuals collect ornaments, tractor seats, factory manuals, worker pins, signs, or promotional brochures from the John Deere line. There must be money in green and yellow: the company had net income of $1.406 billion in 2004 .

M. Ruth (Wilson) Roberts, 85, (Jan. 8, 1920-Feb. 5, 2005), 929 Mt. Pleasant Road, Bloomsburg, died Saturday. She was a Bendertown native, a 1937 graduate of Benton High School and lived in Mt. Pleasant Township. She was a daughter of the late Torrence B. and Lola (Drescher) Wilson. She and her husband, Weldin B. Roberts, were married May 29, 1941. Ruth worked as a secretary for the Superintendent of Columbia County Schools, a teacher's aide for Central Columbia Schools, teacher's aide for the Susquehanna Intermediate Unit and later as a cook for the former Charmund Nursing Home. Surviving are her husband, Weldin, and children; David A. Roberts, Johnson City, TN; Jane E. McHenry, Danville; John W. Roberts, Bloomsburg; Dean L. Roberts, Bloomsburg; and a foster son, George Drumheller, Scranton. A viewing will be held Monday from 6 to 8 PM at the McMichael Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 11 AM at McMichael's, with burial in St. James Cemetery.
--from the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary can be found

Aaron Burr was precocious. At 13, he applied for admission to Princeton and was admitted to the sophomore class; he graduated at 16. Burr shared a law practice with Alexander Hamilton. In 1791, Burr became the United States Senator from New York, defeating Alexander Hamilton's father-in-law, a fact that Hamilton never forgot. In the presidential election of 1800, Burr and Thomas Jefferson received the same number of electoral votes. The tie was broken in the House of Representatives after three days and 37 ballots in Jefferson's favor partly because of the influence of Hamilton, and Burr became the country's liberal vice-president--our third vice-president. On July 11, 1804, Burr and Hamilton met at ten paces, both fired and Hamilton, his professional rival and political enemy, was mortally wounded by a shot in the chest by Burr's smoothbore flintlock pistol. Burr stayed on as Vice-President in Jefferson's administration. Burr later was charged with treason, but acquitted. He sailed to England hoping to gain support for a revolution in Mexico, but was ordered out of the country leaving him so penniless he couldn't even travel home. He finally returned to the United States to pursue his law practice.

We recognize that we'll get questions about the ethical nature of dueling, so we'll briefly explain. "Judicial combat" was an early term for dueling, so called because God allegedly let the man "in the right" win. Various heads of state and the Catholic Church eventually banned dueling.

Parties in a typical duel acted through a second who attempted to reconcile the warring parties without violence. If one of the parties apologized, the matter usually ended. If they continued to want to fight, the recipient chose the weapons and the time and place of the encounter.

The first recorded duel in this country was in 1621 in the Massachusetts colony only a year after the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth. Both men received minor sword wounds. But duelists usually chose guns as their weapons. Flintlocks frequently misfired and the men who dueled were frequently not very accurate as in the case of a 1802 duel between DeWitt Clinton and John Swartwout, a friend of Aaron Burr. Swartwout accused Clinton of trying to ruin Burr and five rounds were exchanged. Seconds tried to get the men to mend their differences after each round, but Clinton refused to sign a letter of apology. Swartwout, shot both in the thigh and ankle, refused to quit. Clinton refused to continue shooting at the wounded man and departed. When there was no danger of being shot themselves, surgeons tended to Swartwout's wounds.

Button Gwinnet, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was shot in a duel. Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur died in a duel with another Naval officer. Andrew Jackson was a formidable duelist. Many jilted lovers suffered death in this manner and did it without condemnation. Abraham Lincoln finally apologized to an Illinois state official to avoid a sword duel. Alexander McClung once shot a man at 100 feet in a duel, but the last man he shot with a pistol happened to be himself, in 1855.

The most popular dueling ground in America was at Bladensburg, Maryland, just outside the nation's capital, where dueling was legal. Politicians could fire at will in Bladensburg, then hurry back to their legislative affairs. Men who refused to duel would be "posted" in newspapers or in public handbills somewhat akin to our modern-day 30 Seconds. A post involving Virginia Congressman John Randolph declared "In justice to my character I denounce to the world John Randolph, a member of Congress, as a prevaricating, base, calumniating scoundrel, poltroon, and coward."

Dueling in Pennsylvania has been illegal since 1794, and people who engaged in it could be fined, imprisoned and lose their citizenship for seven years. Nevertheless, the last recorded duel in Pennsylvania happened 199 years ago on January 8, 1806, between Thomas Stewart, a merchant, who challenged Tarleton Bates, a Prothonotary in Allegheny County. Bates Street in Pittsburgh was named for Tarleton Bates who "fell at the second fire, shot in the breast, and expired in an hour." Stewart vamoosed to Baltimore and never returned.:

Route 15 improvements are now officially underway in Tioga Township from route 287 to the New York state border at Lawrenceville. The existing two-lane highway will become a four-lane road. The next section to undergo improvements will be in the Steam Valley section of route 15 where lanes near Fry's Turkey Ranch will be widened and access roads installed. Route 15, when completed, will be renamed Interstate 99 and become part of the Eisenhower interstate highway system.

Bob's Custom Golf is located a mile south of Mill race Golf Course and a few hundred feet North of the Benton Borough line, on the old Alvin Sutliff farm. Bob became a certified teacher in 1998 after completing the United States Golf Teachers Federation course and examination. He has been active as a teacher for the past six years and is involved with high school golf teams, individual lessons and golf clinics! Need a tune-up? Call 925-2690.

February 5, 2005. Sixth grade teacher Walker Rilk celebrates his birthday today along with Allison Cross. She and hubby Dr. Ken Cross also celebrate their wedding anniversary today.

On this date in...
1824, "The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts" was founded in honor of Ben Franklin and his inventions. First located in the Philadelphia County Court House (today called Independence Hall), it soon was moved in a new location where it remained for its first century. In 1930, $5.1 million was raised in twelve days to move again into a new building which opened to the public at 20th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. There it is complemented by the Fels Planetarium, donated by Samuel S. Fels, the second planetarium in the U.S. The Franklin Institute Science Museum opened to the public in January, 1934.

1825, a housewife in Troy, NY, created a detachable collar on one of her husband's shirts in order to reduce her laundry load. Soon merchants began manufacturing collars in mass quantities for sale to the outside world. From woodsheds to store fronts, collar making became big business in Troy, the "Collar City" of America.

If you are planning to have visitors from out of the area and need a bed and breakfast, consider choosing from the following list. We apologize if we have missed any bed and breakfasts in the area.
• Cottage at Skymeadow Farm, 205 Shultz Hollow Rd, Benton, 17814; 570-925-2786.
• Country Farms Bed & Breakfast, 11 Andys Hill Rd, Benton, 17814; 570 925 2267
• Featherbed and Breakfast, 126 Jamison City Rd, Jamison City, 17814; 570-925-2277
• Fishing Creek Angler Bed & Breakfast, 314 Saint Gabriels Road, Benton, 17814; 570-925-2709
• Fishing Creek Lodge Bed & Breakfast, 889 Central Road, Central, 17814; 570-925-5991
• Hart's Content Bed & Breakfast, PO Box 97, Route 239, Huntington Mills, 18622; 570-864-2499

In 1890, an electric trolley car was patented by Belgian inventor, Charles Van Depoele. He designed the first commercial electric railway in the US in 1886 for the Scranton Suburban Electric Railway. The line remained in operation until 1954. Scranton was the site of the first successful electric street car line in Pennsylvania.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad opened the Lehigh Valley Railroad Picnic Grounds at Harveys Lake in 1891. The cost of a ride to the amusement park from downtown Wilkes-Barre was 20¢. Passengers were moved by a street railway system known as a "trolley line."

The concept of the trolley evolved slowly from the days of a live rail, much like a Lionel model train with a third rail, a truly "shocking" experience on rainy days. Charles Van Depoele's system for getting power to street cars used a "troller" that rode on an overhead wire and connected to the car with a slack cable following the street car. The device reminded fishermen of trolling for fish from a moving boat, hence the name "trolley."

The "troller" wasn't exactly practical because when the trolley stopped the momentum of the troller kept it going until the slack was taken up. When it ran out of slack, the troller would jerk to a stop and often fell off the wire. Later, a trolley pole with an under running wheel and still later with a sliding "shoe" came into being. A spring-loaded pole to make contact with an electric wire above the trolley was finally the answer. The trolley car boom was underway.

In a publicity stunt in 1930 a trolley actually raced with an airplane. One trolley engineer "opened it up" and hit speeds up to 80 mph for a short distance. One trolley line offered breakfast on board and another used airline-type hostesses to serve beverages and snacks.

In Scranton during the operating season, the Trolley Excursion now operates through the 4747 foot long Laurel Line Crown Avenue Tunnel and along the Laurel Line and Erie Railroad right of way to the Lackawanna County Visitors Center at Montage.

On this date in...
1824, J.W. Goodrich first introduced rubber galoshes. Later, the B F. Goodrich Company decided to market galoshes with hookless gizzies that could be fastened with a single zip of the hand and soon hookless fasteners became known as "zippers." Boots and tobacco pouches with a zippered closure were the primary uses of the zipper for about 20 years until the fashion industry discovered the closure for garments. When we were growing up, we wore "rubbers," a term still widely used in England, fastened with finger-nipping hook-and-eye clamps. We loved the story of Keith Harvey and his galoshes. It seems Keith could not stand his galoshes, so he arranged a galosh slashing, figuring father Carl would pitch them out. No such luck, using a tire patch, red in color, Carl patched the black galoshes and sent Keith off to school to the complete mortification of young Keith. "Galosh" probably comes from the French word galoche, which probably came from the medieval Latin galopedium, meaning "wooden shoe," but on the other hand it could have come from the Latin gallica, meaning "Gallic sandal."

1951, the longest operation in medical history began in Chicago and lasted four days. The operation removed a huge ovarian cyst. Gertrude Levandowski weighed 616 pounds when the operation began. Her weight dropped to 308 pounds after the operation.

1983, singer Karen Carpenter, 32, died in Los Angeles at her parent's home of heart failure caused by chronic anorexia nervosa. Her death, at the age of 32, was characterized by a loss of appetite brought on by mental illness.

1987, Liberace, 67, died of AIDS at his Palm Springs estate. He was a favorite in Las Vegas and thousands still flock to his museum there to see Liberace's outlandish suits, trademark candelabra, and learn of the myths behind the television star.

1997, a civil jury in Santa Monica found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. The jury awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages to Goldman's parents. A few days later, the jury added $25 million in punitive damages to go to Nicole Brown Simpson's estate and Goldman's father. To satisfy the judgment, Simpson was later ordered to give up his Heisman Trophy and about a half million in valuables like his golf clubs.

Ain't America great! Thanksgiving, Christmas and Super Bowl Sunday are days to chow down, to "pig out, legally and without fear of being yelled at. Overeating is permitted three times a year, and one of those days is just around the corner.

Super Bowl eating is somehow special. We don't have to worry if the cook took the gizzard out of the turkey before it went into the oven, we don't have to listen to children scream about eating cranberries and oyster stuffing, we can forget about the slight cardboard taste that comes from the regular stuffing; no one questions if there is anything "hard" in the eggnog. We can eat like it is the Last Snack, In fact, often the women of the family don't plan the events and the food for Super Bowl Sunday, but let it completely in the capable hands of the men of the family. And we "pick up the ball and run with it," to coin a phrase appropriate to the day. There is no month-long planning about table settings, whether Danny and Donna can enjoy their food with Sigmund in the same room, whether the red turtle neck will go with the lace crème tablecloth.

And the men get the food preparation right! Pretzels are a necessity, and a case of Yuengling from Pottsville or a case of Straubs from St. Marys gives a nice ring to the evening. Tortilla chips and black bean salsa should be served first as a tension breaker. It is too early to serve the stuff that is messy or has to be pulled apart, shredded, altered or added to like wings and blue cheese, pizza, fried chicken and other goodies involving a stove and heat. Halftime is time enough to bring out the stuff that makes a permanent stain on carpet, or changes the color of the couch or gives the dog an upset stomach. This is time to bring out the Philadelphia cheese steaks. Extra food is welcome in the living room during half time when there is no chance of a field goal ricocheting off a goal post or a drumstick getting wacked across the forehead of Cousin Bertrum's second cousin's neighbor. Who invited him anyway? We can expect that the game will turn ugly at some point, since only 8 out of the 38 Super Bowls were decided by less than 7 points. We all want the Philadelphia Eagles to come out on top, but the chances the final score will be close are slim. Bon Appetit!

And speaking of Philadelphia, even though we are rooting for the Eagles, we will have to mention that all in all we would rather be Back Home in Benton, PA, than in the City of Brotherly Love. We share these thoughts with people the likes of...
• Edgar Allen Poe, who once lived there. He considered jumping off a bridge over the Schuylkill River--not because he didn't like the city but because his mother-in-law had moved into his house.
• Philadelphia native W. C. Fields once said, "Count our blessings! You might have been born in Philadelphia or some such." H. L. Mencken loved to come to Philadelphia for "bathroom gin" and would leave very much under the weather.

One of the world's biggest pure fly-fishing shows open at the Marin County, California, Civic Center, February 18-20. The event includes more than 125 exhibitor booths, as well as at least 24 live programs and demonstrations each day. Authors will sign books, outfitters will promote their opportunities, and conservation groups will offer updates on projects and angling access all over California. The headliners of the show include Barry and Cathy Beck. For more information, call 800 420-7582.

Want to listen to the Grand Ole Opry this weekend? You can on WSM-AM at 650khz or on the web at www.wsmonline.com/ . The show is also on Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 137.

Avis McHenry is back in the Bonham Nursing Home as of Wednesday after an eight-day stay in the Berwick Hospital. Cards or a note from her many friends would be so helpful to her recovery. Take the time today to tell her how much you care. Her address is c/o the Bonham Nursing Center, 477 Bonnieville Road, Stillwater, PA 17878.

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.

We receive many phone calls from people who read the Benton News in the email version, but almost never initiate email or read web pages.

The computer you are using can do so much more than receive email. Searching for things of interest on the internet opens many doors that would never otherwise be available. For example, we are in the middle of tax season. Didja know that you can prepare and print your taxes by using a free web site called TaxACT at www.taxact.com/ ? The site even includes all commonly used forms and schedules. You can find virtually anything in the world using a search engine.

We have included Google on our home page, and with it you can search for anything Benton-related or anything worldwide, simply by clicking in one box. The search engine is conveniently located on the opening screen of the Benton News. Many people are setting the Benton News as their "home page" because of the wealth of information about the local area. You can listen to music, make movies, paint, draw, correct photographs and do countless other things from that little Google search box. Need to find addresses, phone numbers, maps, pictures, read movie reviews, get TV listings, read the news, figure out the weather? The internet is limited only by your imagination.

We included Google simply because it is the leading search engine, according to a July 2004 report from Nielsen/Net Ratings. Google had a 41.6% market share, according to EngineWatch.com. Google was followed by Yahoo Search, with 31.5%; MSN, 27.4%; AOL, with 13.6%; and Ask Jeeves with 7%.

A reader, knowing that snowshoe hares become plentiful every nine or ten years, then drop off in number for a couple of years, asked about the population of the critter this winter. In case you are not familiar with this animal, at this time of the winter the hare is white with dark hairs at the base. The hair sometimes has some brown in it. The ears are black-tipped and moderately long. The hind feet are large, good for running over the snow. The snowshoe hare likes to rest during the day in hollow logs. It also loves to run in large circles over several acres when it is being chased. It can bound over the snow up to 12 feet at a single leap at speeds up to 30 mph. During a chase, the rabbit usually comes full circle, passing close to its point of departure. When it tires, it often hides in brush. The rabbit may thump its hind feet to show alarm. Its baths are usually in dust rather than water.

We inquired of a number of North Mountain hunters if they were seeing any snowshoe hares. No one seems to want to own up to hunting the animal and several we asked aren't even seeing tracks this winter. Anyone have any different experience?

Lois and Ira McHenry are now both residents at the Masonic Village in Elizabethtown. While Lois and Ira are not in the same building, at least they are living near each other. Meals are served in the beautiful formal dining room of the main building. Men must wear a shirt and tie at meals and women dress nicely. Tables are set with linens and fresh flowers and the wait staff is in uniform. Lois says the food is fabulous. If you are in the Elizabethtown area and wish to visit, Lois is on the third floor of the Dauphin Building in room 1126. Their addresses follow: Lois McHenry, 379 Freemason Drive, Masonic Village, Elizabethtown, PA 17022, 717-367-1121, extension 15681. Ira McHenry, BF 2, Room 2841-A, One Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, PA 17022-2199, 570-898-1266..

Why is it that when a person assists a criminal in breaking the law before the criminal gets arrested, we call him an accomplice? When a person assists a criminal in breaking the law after the criminal gets arrested, we call him a defense attorney.

February 2, 2005. It is Groundhog Day, which has nothing at all to do with ground chuck, but everything to do with Punxsutawney Phil. It is also Candlemas.

Richard S. Johns, 90, (Jan. 22, 1915-Feb. 1, 2005), Johns Road, Benton, died Tuesday at home. He was the son of the late Dr. Robert G. Johns, M.D. and the late Mary T. (Williams) Johns. He attended the Wyoming Seminary, Forty Fort and lived in Wilkes-Barre and Dallas before moving to the Benton area in 1950. Dick was a nationally recognized dog trainer, specializing in field trials. He served in the U.S. Army as a staff sergeant during World War II. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Madge Space, on Aug. 24, 1996, and by his only brother, Robert G. Johns, on Sept. 5, 1992. Surviving are a brother-in-law, James C. Lurba, Luttrellville, Va.; and two nephews: James B. Lurba, Lottsburg, Va. and Robert T. "Tim" Lurba, Luttrellville, Va. Funeral services will be held Friday at 10 AM in the Dean W. Kriner, Funeral Home, Benton. Interment in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Wilkes-Barre. Friends may call Thursday, 7-9 PM.
--from the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary can be found

Erva E. (Whitmire) Campbell, 87, (Sept. 8, 1917-Jan. 31, 2005), 358 Martenas Road, Orangeville, died Monday. She was the daughter of the late Claude and Leah (Stiner) Whitmire and a 1935 graduate of Orangeville High School. She was preceded in death by her husband, R. Glen Campbell, on Sept. 11, 1992, and by two brothers, Fred and Glenn Whitmire; and two sisters, Elva and Betty Whitmire. Surviving are her daughter, Ruth C. Laubach, Benton; son, Robert D. Campbell, Orangeville. Also surviving are five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Also surviving are two sisters, Marla Shuman, Bloomsburg, and Ruth Boudman, Millville; a brother, Robert Whitmire, Orangeville; and several nieces and nephews. Friends and relatives will be received Wednesday from 6 to 8 PM at McMichael Funeral Home, Inc. Funeral services will be held Thursday at 11 AM at the Orangeville United Church of Christ. Burial will be in the Laurel Hill Cemetery, Orangeville.
--from the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary can be found

The girls of Mount St. Mary's and St. Francis (Pa.) take to the hardwood floors tonight for their 39th meeting. Mount St. Mary's holds a series edge of 21-18, but the Red Flash has won the last five meetings and have defeated the Mountaineers in the last three NEC quarterfinals matchups. The Red Flash comes to the game 9-9 overall and 7-2 in Northeast Conference action after defeating Sacred Heart by 20 points January 24. Senior Regina Schlichter added 14 points and seven rebounds against Sacred Heart. The senior also recorded 14 points in a 61-44 win against Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 8 and is averaging 6.8 points per game.

Regina recently told us, "It means a lot to me that everyone back home still thinks of me, as I still think of everyone back home."

As we sat with friends in Dunkin' Donuts yesterday sipping on our coffee and gulping down a fat pill, one of the ladies at the table asked, "What in the Sam Hill is Fastnacht?" We were immediately overwhelmed with two things that we couldn't answer. First, we didn't know who in the Sam Hill "Sam Hill" was and secondly we didn't exactly know what relationship Fastnacht had to Shrove Tuesday or to Mardi Gras, all events taking place February 8.

The reference to "Sam Hill" is apparently simply a euphemism for "hell." The folks in this nation who have structured our speech patterns have always been creative in getting around various blasphemies. Terms like "heck," "drat" and "darn," "gosh," "gee-whiz" and "goldarn," all seem to mask a deeper meaning of surprise or rage.

We remember that Father was filled with questions like "what in the name of heavens," "what in the world," "what the dickens," "what the hay" and "what the heck." We usually didn't take those questions too seriously, since we always figured Father knew "what the hay" when he asked "what the hay!"

To understand the concept of Fastnacht, one needs to go back to pagan times when winter-weary warriors drove out the evil spirits of winter thereby encouraging the coming of spring. In southern Germany, masks were worn during the merrymaking of Fastnacht. In the Middle Ages, people hid behind masks and costumes so others would not know what class system they represented. Poor people and rich people appeared the same behind masks, and often poor people used the occasion to mock the clergy. The partygoers would dress as people important in their lives, people like knights or priests or fair maidens, as a way of poking fun of them. The practice is often associated with German festivals of the Christian church before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and in Germany at this time of the year some nights in some cities look a lot like Halloween in this country. In Germany, the celebration could be called Fastnacht, Karneval or Fasching, depending on the dialect.

Shrove Tuesday is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It's a day of penitence, a day of celebration as the last chance to feast before Lent begins, although it appears as though the celebration is more muted than that of Fastnacht. Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving or confessing sins and receiving absolution for them. The practice dates back over 1,000 years when the week immediately preceding Lent everyone sought out a priest to confess dastardly deeds so that the priest could shrive him. Shrove Tuesday became the last chance to indulge before giving up the foods not allowed in Lent. Foods like meat and fish, fats and eggs were not allowed during Lent, so families would have a feast on the shriving Tuesday to use up all the foods that wouldn't last the forty days of Lent.

The American word "Mardi Gras," meaning Fat Tuesday in French, comes from the need to use up the fats before Lent. Pancakes are often associated with Shrove Tuesday, since they would use up all the eggs, fats, and milk in the house by simply adding flour. The largest celebration of Mardi Gras will take place next Tuesday in New Orleans. New Orleans has Mardi Gras. Venice has Carnevale. Southern Germany has Fasching, the "eve of the beginning of the fast." If you've tried Mardi Gras and that isn't for you, next year give Germany's Fasching a whirl.

John Herbert Laubach is the local authority on things German. John reminds us that an equally huge event in Cologne is Rosenmontag (Rose Monday). Celebrated a day earlier than Fasching, it is spectacular in its own right. John remembers that "The main event is a parade along Cologne boulevards where spectators link arms, moving and singing together in outlandish costumes as hilarious floats pass by. Once the parade is over, thousands of spectators gravitate to Cologne pubs where revelers display their affections to one another. The less they know about each other, the more they display their new-found affections. As the beer supplies deplete, revelers can pack up for Frankfurt or Munich where the whole thing can be repeated on Tuesday."

Vinniedee McHenry Hippensteel, 907 E. 8th Street, Berwick, PA 18603-3432 has completed the update of the McHenry book. The original information contained in May and Torrence McHenry's book has been supplemented by records like death certificates, obituaries and newspaper articles. The book is strictly genealogy and connections.

Vinnie, who is the Regent of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, has devoted many years of her life to the research of the McHenry family. Her book sells for $25 plus $10 mailing. You can also pick up a copy at the annual McHenry Reunion held each year on the second Saturday in August at the Benton Park. This year, the event takes place August 13. Contact Vinnie for more information.

On this date in...
1851, the submarine "Le Plongeur-Marin" was tested in Kiel Harbour, but the hull leaked and the craft sank in 50 feet of water. Its German builder, Sebastian Wilhelm Valentin Bauer, was on board the 26.5 feet long, 6.5 feet wide submarine. He survived by waiting for the inside air pressure to match the outside water pressure and seven hours later he and his crew opened the hatch and popped to the surface arriving in the middle of a funeral service in their honor. He later built a treadmill-powered, 52-ft iron submarine, Le Diable-Marin, that carried a crew of eleven.

1887, Harvey Henderson Wilcox, a real-estate salesman from Kansas who had lost his legs due to typhoid fever, subdivided 120 acres of rolling California hillside that he owned and began selling it off as a real estate development. He carved out Prospect Avenue, later known as Hollywood Boulevard, for the main street, lined all the dirt avenues with pepper trees, raised money to build two churches, a school and a library and imported some English holly--which didn't live. He called his town Hollywood.

1923, the world's first leaded gasoline went on sale in Dayton, Ohio, down at Willard Talbott's service station on S. Main Street. Ethyl was the name given to the fuel. Named after its new additive, tetraethyl lead, it was developed to stop engine knock. Most gasoline at the time had high levels of components that did not ignite easily, now known as a low octane number. In newer high-performance engines with increased power, increased compression ratios boosted power. The low octane fuel with its inefficient combustion jolted passengers, caused backfires and cracked pistons. Since the 1970s, toxic lead has been gradually replaced with unleaded gasoline.

Didja hear Santa Ynez, California, vineyards that primarily produce Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio wines have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic? It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night. The new wine will be marketed as Pinot More.

And speaking of the Santa Ynez Valley, the comedy movie Sideways is playing at local movie theaters. Paul Giamatti treats his old college friend played by Thomas Haden Church to a weeklong fling before the character "Jack" marries. The two tour Santa Ynez Valley vineyards hitting our favorite restaurants like the Los Olivos Cafe and The Hitching Post, the wonderful Fess Parker vineyard, and our favorite towns of Santa Ynez, Solvang, Los Olivos, Buellton, Santa Barbara and others. They meet two ladies, and the plot sickens from there. Worth seeing for the superb beauty of the Santa Ynez valley, a sailor could come out blushing and there is a scene with full-frontal nudity. Like a good wine, the movie will sneak up on you and you'll leave in a buzz.

Christine Karns will host Karaoke at the Central Park Hotel Saturday night at 10.

We love to look at the names of towns and try to figure out why they are called what they are called. We side with Robert Louis Stevenson who once wrote "There is no part of the world where nomenclature is so rich, poetical, humorous and picturesque as in the United States of America."

The original English settlers seemed to use very little imagination in naming new settlements. They invariably made use of names familiar to them. As they moved inland and encountered the native Americans and strange sounding names for rivers, mountains, lakes and even towns words like Potowanmeac sprung up, then slowly evolved into Potomack and then Potomac. Names like Tallahassee, Susquehanna, Mississippi, Allegheny, Chicago, Kennebec, Patuxent and Kalamazoo add to the charm of the English language.
Often settlements would spring up based on famous people, towns like Washington, Lafayette, Jefferson and Jackson, and towns with natural objects like Bear Creek, Bald Knob and Buffalo. Words like Elk, Beaver, Cottonwood and Bald became commonplace. There are over 100 post offices in the country that use the word "Elk."

Here are some examples from our state...
• Warriors Mark, between Bald Eagle Mountain and Tussey Mountain in Huntington County 118 miles Southwest of Back Home in Benton, was founded in 1768. The name comes from the gathering of Indians in the area each spring to practice their bow and arrow shooting. Several large oak trees just north of the town were used as targets and became badly scarred over time as a result of the warriors shooting at the "mark." Florence Kocher, Market Street, was born in Warriors Mark 90 years ago. She is currently and temporarily a resident at Outlook Pointe, Route 11, Berwick.

• Eighty-Four was the town where Joseph A. Hardy III established his lumber company in 1957. The original "cash and carry" lumber yard known as "84 Lumber" and the town were 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. The village took its unusual name from the election year of 1884 and the Grover Cleveland election. The previous name, "Smithville," was in use elsewhere in the state.

• Ashley has been known as Coalville, Scrabbletown, Peestown, Nanticoke Junction, and Skunktown. Its current name comes from Herbert Henry Ashley, Wilkes-Barre. Ashley is 31 miles East of Back Home in Benton.

• Falls in Wyoming County between Tunkhannock and Pittston, takes its name from nearby Buttermilk Falls, near the mouth of Falls Creek. Falls is 49 miles Northeast of Back Home in Benton.

• Frackville in Schuylkill County, in the heart of the Coal Region, was founded by Samuel Haupt from Columbia County and Daniel Frack. We couldn't find the history of Frick. The borough of Frackville was settled in 1854 and chartered in 1876. Frackville is 67 miles South of Back Home in Benton, just off I-81.

• Hazleton was referred to as Hazel Town for many years, because of the many hazel bushes in the area. The name later became Hazeltown, then Hazelton. A story often told blames the spelling of the town's name to an error by a clerk in Harrisburg who should have spelled it "Hazelton." Hazleton is 39 miles from Back Home in Benton via route 93 through Orangeville and 41 miles via route 80.