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Mr. Thomas' opinion: the depiction was not a fair in Willow Grove.

At this writing, we have a local artist with an unknown subject, created for an unknown person, of uncertain value Back Home in Benton, PA. Because of the local artist, we are inclined to include it in the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center, if the Lebanon Historical Society decides to part with it. We look forward to you stopping at the Community Center when it opens. We'll tell you then whether you'll get to see the display up close and personal or whether you'll have to trudge to the balcony of the Lebanon Historical Society to see it. Stay tuned.

January 5, 2006. Today is the eve of the Epiphany, observed in some branches of Christianity as concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas. At one time, it was observed as the last day of the Christmas festivities and a time of merrymaking.

Happy birthday today to Pennsylvania State Senator John Gordner of the 27th Senatorial District, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, George Remphrey, John Kogut, Adam Worley and Joe (Brooks) Sutliff.

Pennsylvania's Role in the Development of the Washing Machine...
When we stroll through the Laundromat on Market Street and as we look in our own laundry rooms, it is hard to believe that in the mid-1800s some wives still pounded their clothes on rocks in a stream to wash away dirt, sometimes used sand as the "cleansing" agent and finished the process with elbow grease, a hard twist and a good wind.

Washing clothes became a mechanized endeavor centuries ago when women began stirring clothes around during the washing process with a stick or with a paddle. The high-tech washing machines of today swish as a refinement of that early idea. Gone are the contraptions of the 19th century, thanks to persistence--and the help of electricity and motors to run the washing machines.

Didja know that two of the first washing machines were invented in Pennsylvania, both by men with the name Smith? Back in 1858, Hamilton E. Smith, Pittsburgh, jury-rigged two paddles turned by a hand crank that agitated both the water and the person using the machine. The manual unit was operated by turning a crank that rotated paddles on a vertical shaft inside a tub. The idea didn't click with housewives, because it was harder to wash with this gizmo than with a conventional washboard.

The second Smith who saw the need to get his wife out of the laundry room was Moravian-pastor-turned-industrialist Stephen Morgan Smith who marketed a washing machine that he built for his wife, the first washing machine to be commercially produced in the United States. He built a factory in York where he produced the Success Washing Machine and the Success Clothes Wringer. He did quite well at the product, but was very philanthropic and gave too much of his money away. He had to start over again in life, this time making hydraulic turbines, blades and other parts of the hydropower business, eventually becoming one of the largest in the world. The company was later purchased by Allis-Chalmers and is now owned by York Manufacturing.

Electricity came along in 1906 and out in Chicago an inventor filed a patent for an electrically-powered machine. The Hurley Corporation began manufacturing and marketing the product in 1910 as the "Thor." The wooden container included a paddle driven by an unprotected electric motor mounted below the tub. Newer and safer washing machines came on the market whereby dirty clothes were dumped in the top and were washed by rotating or reciprocating paddles. In 1937, the Bendix Aviation Company began producing a machine that rotated in the horizontal plane, with washing going in through a watertight door at the front.

Some of us used to be afraid of things that went "bump in the night," but we got over it and moved on. But some we know haven't quite leaped the hurdle of technology. Some feel that the pace of technology is leaving them behind, even though it is revolutionizing our work, our lives and our free time. Some will remember the difficulty we all had programming a VCR, or hooking up the first home entertainment system with television. Start calling technology by its name, just as you would address a person you know by their name. TVs are LCD or Plasma. Broadband is DSL or cable modem. VoIP means Voice over IP. Learn what role gizmos, devices and gadgets have. What does a wireless router do and what related devices and accessories are needed to connect? A wireless router manages internet access, network administration and security, and wireless connectivity for multiple computers. A user needs a wireless adapter if he has a wireless router. The wireless adapter allows a desktop to communicate with the wireless router. Understanding what devices do and their relation to other devices is important. Know what device you need when you adopt technology. If you intend to build a wireless home network through your high speed internet from the ISP you need to connect both your desktop and laptop to the internet. Learn the language and learn more about technology. Scan the list of technology terms here. Technology isn't going away! Welcome to the 21st century.

Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.

Quickies...
• The Pennsylvania Farm Show opens January 6 and runs until the 13th. As you work your way in to the main entrance, you'll have to spot the 800 pound butter sculpture in the Main Hall of the Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, Harrisburg.

• Have you noticed that one nice thing about egotists is that they don't talk about other people.

• Dean Kelchner is recovering very well from knee surgery, and we suspect he'll show up at the CCFNB soon.

Help! We are trying to identify the hand-carved mockup of the Benton Carnival shown below. It was carved by "Al Senavitis, Benton, PA," the year is unknown. Four of the pieces are automated.

The Third Annual Burns Dinner is coming up. Go here for more information.

January 4, 2006. Amy Remphrey, Kelsey Lee McGarrigle and Nick Chabra celebrate birthdays today.

On this date in 1809, Louis Braille was born. He lost his eyesight at the age of three following an accident while playing with an awl in his father's harness shop. Braille was a creative person, learning to play the cello and organ as a boy. In 1821, Braille was at a school for the blind and a soldier showed him a code system he had invented. The system, called "night writing," had been designed with dots and dashes for soldiers in war trenches to silently pass instructions. The army code was slow and cumbersome and Braille developed a simpler scheme using six dots and no dashes. His tool for making the dots was the same instrument that destroyed his eyesight--the awl. The position of the different dots represented the different letters of the alphabet. His work was not widely recognized until after his death at the age of 43 of tuberculosis and even at the Royal Institution, where Braille taught, braille was not in the course of instruction until after his death.

The German Heritage Society of the Susquehanna Valley will hold its January meeting at 7 o'clock this evening at CareerLink, 713 Bridge Street, Selinsgrove. The public is invited to join members and guests as they explore "The Castles of Ludwig II." Society Member Shelby Deutschle will provide a presentation and video about the Bavarian Castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. A short business meeting will be held before the presentation. Refreshments will be served throughout the meeting. As always, socializing will precede and follow the meeting. For more information, contact GHSSV President Jeff Sheaffer, 374-7730.

The North Branch Bird Club will be hosting a free presentation by PA Game Commission Wildlife Biologist Kevin Wenner on Tuesday, January 9 at 7 PM in the Agricultural Center on Sawmill Road, Bloomsburg. The presentation is entitled, "PA Game Commission Barn Owl Initiative: Helping the Farmer's Friend." Wenner will discuss the current efforts to assess barn owl populations across the state and how biologists are helping landowners make their property more attractive to the owls through nest box and habitat improvements. Become involved and hear more about the current status of the barn owl in Pennsylvania at this presentation.

Some people make a tremendous impression on young kids. There are teachers who to this day are still referred to as "Miss Helen," a person of influence we sometimes read is known as "Miss Manners," and some of our old girlfriends we know as "Miss Steak."

One of the people who influenced my early years was a World War I nurse who has been dead for the past 60 years. Her name was Lillian May Kline, both a World War I nurse and a personal nurse to the Rockefeller family, an old lady when I had my last memory of her frail frame, her smiling face and snow-white hair. She lived at the time of her death on Mill Street, a victim, I remember Father saying, "of consumption," a term once applied to a person who seemed to be "wasting away to nothing," often bothered with a nagging cough and fever. Tuberculosis was called "consumption," and this was the illness that probably caused the end of Lillian.

Lillian was a daughter of John S. and Mary Elizabeth Appleman Kline, lived at Maple Grove on what later became known as the "Harry Troy farm" until she entered nurse's training in New York City, a monumental move out of this area for a young girl. She became a reserve nurse from February 1, 1918, to August, 1919, in the U.S. Naval Hospital at Cape May, New Jersey. Lillian served as a "nurse nanny" to perhaps the richest American family in history--the Rockefeller family--for fourteen years. She was especially fond of the young Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912-February 22, 1973), the fourth son of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. Winthrop later served as the first Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction.

Winthrop was known as "Win" to family and friends. Lillian called him "Winnie," although few locally ever knew if she did that to his face.

For additional information about the growing up years of Winthrop Rockefeller during Lillian Kline's service to the family, see John L. Ward's two biographies: The Arkansas Rockefeller (Louisiana State University Press, 1978) and Winthrop Rockefeller, Philanthropist: A Life of Change (University of Arkansas Press, 2004).

After serving the Rockefeller family, Lillian worked for the Welfare Island Hospital in New York until she retired in 1936.

Lillian Kline with her nephew, John S. Kline, Stillwater.

Photo courtesy of Robert and Betty Lewis.

Before her retirement, she asked her brother, Sam Kline, to oversee the construction of a new home, now owned by Wilson and Sharon Lynn. Sam Kline and his wife, Luella, lived two houses north on Mill Street.

Doyle, Nell and Bruce Sutliff rented Lillian's house for a number of years, a convenient location for Doyle to walk across the street to the Sutliff garage to go to work. Lillian eventually moved to Mill Street, Benton, although she "wintered over" in Virginia for many years with a nurse friend, Ruth Pendleton and husband, Warren.

Ten or so years ago Bob and Nina Baker and I were in Florida and we visited what was then a cultural and community center in Ormond Beach, but was at one time known as "The Casements," named, I suppose, for the many casement windows in the building. John D. Rockefeller bought the house for his winter residence in 1918. In this house is where Will Rogers allegedly once remarked after a game of golf with Rockefeller, "I’m glad you won today, Mr. Rockefeller. The last time you lost the price of gasoline went up!" Rockefeller died in his sleep in 1937 and two years later the Rockefeller family sold The Casements. When Bob, Nina and I visited the property, I saw a picture at the bottom of the stairway leading to the second floor of Lillian Kline tending to Mr. Rockefeller. Her face is as vivid to me today thanks to that photograph as it was as a kid when I would stop at her house to have a piece of strawberry pie served on a lace doily. I suspect that the photograph still hangs on the wall.

A 1963 photo of Miss Lillian Kline

Photo courtesy of Robert and Betty Lewis

Lillian was active in the Christian Church of Benton, especially when it came to missionary work and the teaching of vacation bible school. Although she was a private person and would never have done it for herself, Winthrop Rockefeller purchased a window for the local church engraved with Lillian's name and it proudly resides in the Christian church to this day. She was proud of her affiliation with the Daughters of the American Revolution and with the Columbia County Historical Society. Her braided rugs and her gardening were treasures. Lillian died 42 years ago on July 25, 1964, and is buried in the Benton Cemetery.
--Thanks to Robert Lewis and Dayne Kline for their assistance in preparing this article.

January 3, 2006. Tonight is a full moon known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the full moon in February.

On this date in...
1871, oleomargarine was patented for use as a butter substitute by Henry Bradley. Margarine came into its own during World War II because of its durability in long-range shipping and storing. Some readers may remember when oleomargarine was white and was sold in plastic bags with a color tab inside the bag. The tab would be broken and the yellow color would be massaged through the oleomargarine. It was once illegal to sell margarine that looked like butter. Regular margarine must contain 80% fat. The remaining 20% consists of liquid, coloring, flavoring and other additives. Soft margarine is made with all vegetable oils, while whipped margarine has had air beaten into it. There are also many reduced-fat margarines on the market today, with from 25% to 65% less fat than regular margarine. There's even fat-free margarine, the ingredients of which include gelatin, rice starch and lactose. We mention this subject in light of the announcement that pastries and other foods sold at half of Starbucks Corporation's U.S. outlets will be free of artery-clogging trans fats starting this week.

1957, the world's first electric watch was introduced in Lancaster by the Hamilton Watch Company. The idea of a watch which never needed winding was an instant hit to the 1950s consumers, but by 1969, when production ended, more advanced technology made the Hamilton Electric obsolete.

Quote of the Day:
"Deny it to a king? Then happy low, lie down! Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"
—William Shakespeare (Henry IV, Part II), perhaps writing about Philadelphia Republican John Perzel

Pennsylvania lawmakers and lawmakers-elect descended on Harrisburg for swearing-in day Tuesday, during the convening of the 2007-2008 legislative sessions. Marcia Kay and I attended the swearing in of Karen Boback of the Pennsylvania 117th Congressional District at noon in the State Capitol of Pennsylvania. The Capitol is the home of the Pennsylvania General Assembly with chambers for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and other state officials.

The Hall of the House is a beautiful setting for the swearing-in. The state Capitol was inspired architecturally by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. An October, 1906, edition of the Harrisburg Star Independent noted that President Theodore Roosevelt declared the building to be the "most handsome state Capitol I have ever seen and I don't believe that there is a finer on earth." The swearing-in took place amid marble, sculpture, murals, gold leaf and stained glass.

Following the swearing-in began the swearing at as Democratic State Representative Tom Caltagirone, Reading, supported Philadelphia Republican John Perzel rather than Democrat Bill DeWeese for Speaker of the House, which would mean that a 102-101 Democratic Majority State House would have a GOP Speaker.

Following two parliamentary challenges to rulings by the temporary presiding officer, Republicans in the State House lost a struggle to keep John Perzel as Speaker of the State House.

In a move that this country boy certainly didn't fully understand, the Speaker's position did not go to Greene County Democrat Bill DeWeese as DeWeese nominated Dennis O'Brien, a Republican from Philadelphia, to undermine GOP Speaker John Perzel, who was trying to win re-election with the help of Democratic State Representative Tom Caltagirone. O'Brien won the Speaker's position in the new Session by a vote of 105-97. Nearly all House Democrats and a half-dozen Republicans voted out Perzel in electing O'Brien.

The state Legislature ran into trouble in July of 2005 during a middle-of-the-night vote of pay raises ranging up to 54% that led to a political backlash for many legislators and a Supreme Court justice. Perzel took the heat for the pay raise and for losing Republican control of the House.

The losers in the situation were the House Democrats, Perzel and DeWeese. The Democrats will lose much of their majority clout before having a chance to wield it. This is the first time Republicans elected a speaker from the minority caucus in more than a century. Democrats have been out of power for 12 years.

During some free time, we enjoyed chatting with Dick Culver, Sweet Valley, about topics like hauling milk, politicians and events of the upper part of the state. We wished that we would have had more time to stop to see Sen. John Gordner or Rep. Dave Millard.

Anyway, former Rep. George Hasay's office has a new tenant in Rep. Boback, even though she will soon be reassigned to a different office suite. We not only saw her sworn in, but we got to see state politics played out. As a result, we have decided to stay Back Home in Benton, PA, and leave politics to others.

January 2, 2007. Sandra Kelsey celebrates her birthday today.

The Press Enterprise reported school-comparison figures in their Tuesday edition as presented in Standard & Poor's analysis of school districts, www.schoolmatters.com, and specifically of the Benton Area School District. Benton (and Southern Columbia) students did best on standardized tests in 2006. In 2006, Benton scored the highest in math and second in reading in the district. With the exception of 2004 when the high school moderation took place, cost of educating our youth was well under the state average.

One of the nicest electronic Christmas cards we saw came from Rail Europe. Head here, then pick a destination. Have your sound on.

Didja know that...
. when the Dug Road leading out of Benton Borough toward Huntington Mills was under construction, back at the beginning of September, 1926, one of the pieces of construction equipment owned by the Lane Construction Company was known as a "Lynn caterpillar truck." As the "digging out" of the side hill continued on the road from Benton to Cambra, a caterpillar truck driven by Joe Bond slipped over the bank and tumbled about 125 feet. The driver jumped from the out-of-control vehicle, but was only slightly injured. To show the quality of construction at that time, the truck was pulled to the top of the hill, placed on its wheels, dents pulled, and the engine fired up and the truck placed back in service. At the time of the accident, the driver was dumping his load of dirt when the embankment gave way.
. During the fall of 1926, the Lane Construction Company, a company out of Meriden, Connecticut, finished the laying of concrete on the "Dug Road" about October 1. When the concrete was finally ready to be poured, the crew made good time. On Monday, September 13, 80 years ago, cement was laid on the Mill Street side of the new Benton Bridge to the old bridge site, across from the present Hill Street. That concrete work was finished by Tuesday evening. Wednesday and Thursday of that week the road was laid as far as what was then known as the McHenry pasture grounds, a short distance down the hill from what was then the Harry Laubach farm.
. Large crowds walked to the construction area each day and we found several tributes to the construction superintendent, Charles Way, and the "working organization" of the Lane Construction Company. The company apparently had a policy of training all employees "in the art of road building," and the company had "all the latest road building machinery." Two steam shovels were used to excavate the steep side hill.
. The Benton Argus crowed, "With the completion of the cement road it will make Benton one of the biggest trading centers in this part of the state and the farmers and hucksters will have improved roads to the coal region where they have a large market."

We know how hard it is to get help on a volunteer basis, and so we are truly amazed when we read about the size of some of the events that took place in the area over the years. The road builders and the local residents back in 1926, for example, loved the game of baseball. While many worked from daylight to dark during the week, the weekends were time for relaxation and the sport of baseball. On Saturday, September 11, 1926, in a break from watching the completion of the new "highway to the coal region," the Borough was celebrating the fourth consecutive year the Benton A.A. were the "County Champs." On Saturday the local team won the final game of the series at the Bloomsburg Athletic Park by a score of 12 to 3 over Clyde Croft's Berwick nine. R. W. Rabb was the manager of the local team and a crowd of more than 2,000 saw the locals "knock the ball to all corners of the lot." Benton scored one home run when "Jones hit for the circuit." The ball "rolled near the flag pole and was momentarily lost in the grass by Bender." By the time the Berwick player found the ball, "Jones was almost to the plate."

The Honorable John AJ Creswell was the first Postmaster-General, appointed by Ulysses S. Grant. He served until July, 1874. Creswell reorganized the postal department, proposed a postal savings system and a postal telegraph. The Penny Postcard came about during his term as a way to speed up postal traffic.

Sending a postcard through the mail for a penny was a way to the outside world for farm families in the early 1900s. Writers could send their regards via the cards so long as a rural mail carrier with a horse and wagon, or a local post office, could pick up or deliver.

The U.S. government began issuing plain, penny postal cards in 1873. One side of the card was reserved only for the address of the person receiving the card. Cards that were privately produced and sent through the mail required a two-cent stamp.

Beginning in 1898, private mailing cards were allowed to use one-cent postage, instead of the previous two-cent rate. Private printing firms were allowed beginning in 1901 to use the words postcard or post card, instead of printing the previous authorization on a card. One side was still reserved for the address.

Rural Free Delivery (RFD), the service by which the United States Postal Service delivered mail directly to residents in rural areas, became an official service in 1902. Areas petitioning for RFD service were required to show that accessible roads existed for the delivery of mail. The increasing demand for better rural roads and mail service created closer links between town and country.

Postal history was made in 1907 when U.S. Post Office regulations allowed privately produced postcards to have a divided back side. The left half was reserved for the message and the right half for the name and address. The front side could be used for a photograph, artwork or advertising.

Collecting and sending picture postcards became popular as high-quality German printing techniques were produced for the American market. Cameras became more affordable for the general public, which helped with the availability of photographic postcards. Photographers, such as the Kemp studio in Benton, were able to take black and white images that could be printed and sent through the mail as postcards.

Postcards were proudly displayed in decorative albums. The study and collecting of postcards is termed deltiology. Collecting postcards is a hobby that continues to this day. During 1907 to 1915 seemed to be the golden age of postcards, and that didn't end until the World War I years. Just a simple day trip to Bloomsburg would trigger a postcard to the folks Back Home in Benton, PA.

Postcards were turned out showing railroad stations and trains, stores and products sold by stores, monuments, courthouses, post offices, schools, libraries, streets, rivers, bridges, hotels, stores, county fairs, parades and community events.

A nice way of spending time looking at penny postcards from around the United States is by going here. If you get hooked on penny postcards, you might want to consider buying some from the selection here or at Antiques, Etc., Main Street. You might also go here for U.S. Postal Cards. A postcard is intended for writing and mailing without an envelope and with the addition of a stamp at a lower rate than a letter. The post card is distinguished from a postal card in that the postage is pre-printed on the latter, while a postcard requires a stamp and is privately produced.

January 1, 2007. Attorney William Kreisher, Bloomsburg, celebrates his birthday today, and Frank and Brenda Conrad, Lebanon, celebrate their wedding anniversary. Country singer Hank Williams Sr., died of a drug and alcohol overdose on this date in 1953. During the early morning hours on New Year's Day, while traveling through West Virginia on the way to a show in Canton, Ohio, Hank Williams died in his sleep in the back seat of his Cadillac limousine at the age of 29. Daughter Jett is well received today singing her daddy's songs. In 1966 on this date, all US cigarette packages began carrying the health warning, "Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health."

Happy New Year to All Readers of the Benton News.

Garrison Keillor and the Prairie Home Companion crew did a great job with their live New Year's Eve broadcast from Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. I taped the show and intend to watch it again when I don't have to squint through the toothpicks holding my eyelids open.

A reader sent in some resolutions that he intends to keep. He says he is going to read less, put on at least thirty pounds, watch more television, procrastinate more, spend more time at work, start buying lottery tickets at a luckier store and will read more, including learning what the word "resolution" means.

Politically, it is out with the old and in with the new. Out are U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. and U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood, R-Tunkhannock Township. Sherwood and Santorum lost costly races. A Democrat and political newcomer, Chris Carney, took over Sherwood’s primarily Republican district. Santorum lost to Bob Casey Jr. George Hasay, R-Shickshinny, retired and Karen Boback, 55, is taking his place. Karen blanketed Benton Borough just as though it was essential to her winning the election. She seemed to contact almost every registered Republican in the 117th District and never overestimated her chances of winning. The retired high school teacher must give credit to winning by more than a 2-to-1 margin over Shickshinny police officer Fred Nichols to the grass roots campaign to get-out-the-vote. .

Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians get a raise beginning today as the minimum wage goes up for the first time in nearly ten years. The rate goes from $5.15 per hour up to $6.25. The rate will jump to $7.15 per hour on July 1.

In case we ever throw a quiz about the 15th President of the United States, here are some facts: James Buchanan (1791-1868) was born in a log cabin at Cove Gap, near Mercersburg. He graduated from the Old Stone Academy, Mercersburg, and Dickinson College, Carlisle, Class of 1809. His accomplishments:
• PA House of Representatives 1815-1816
• US House of Representatives 1821-1831
• US Minister to Russia 1832-1833
• US Senate 1834-1845
• Secretary of State 1845-1849 under President Polk • Minister to Great Britain 1853-1856 • President of the United States March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1861

The monthly meetings of the Benton Borough Council have been changed to the second Monday of each month. The January 8 meeting will be held at 7 PM at the Benton Fire Hall. A reader suggested that police protection for the Borough would be a topic of discussion and that Borough residents who wanted to express their thoughts on police protection should email the Borough Secretary or attend the meeting in person.

A Fly Fishing Show arrives in Denver, Colorado, Friday through Sunday, weather permitting, in an attempt to shake the winter doldrums. The show at the Pavilion Building of the Denver Merchandise Mart will feature Barry and Cathy Beck, who will provide separate demonstrations. Barry will lecture Friday and Sunday on taking better digital photographs and Saturday on tactics for larger trout. Cathy will demonstrate casting techniques all three days.

Pop the balloons to welcome in the New Year.

The News from Back Home in Benton, PA

Archives for the Month of January, 2007