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July 31, 2010. It is the birthday of Richard Rhoads. On this day in 1792, construction began on the first building to be used only as a United States Government building, the United States Mint in Philadelphia. Covert Action takes the stage tonight at the Orangeville Carnival. Today is the last day for "Out of Sight ... Out of Murder," a mystery and comedy, presented by the Bloomsburg University Alumni Players at 3 and 8 PM in Carver Hall. Buy your tickets at the door.

It was on this day in 1930 when The Shadow radio program first aired. The show became one of the most successful pulp-novel series in the 1930s and 1940s and ran for 21 seasons. The show starred a mysterious narrator of a weekly mystery show called the Detective Story Hour. The shows were narrated by James La Curto, and later Frank Readick Jr., using the name "The Shadow." The narrator became very popular and began narrating for the Blue Coal Radio Revue (The term "Blue Coal" was a trademarked brand of anthracite from the Glen Alden Coal Company sprayed with a blue dye before shipping to distinguish it from its competitors) and Love Story Hour during 1931-1932. The fourth season of The Shadow radio show featured Orson Welles, 22, who stayed with the show until 1938. The Shadow could "cloud men's minds so they cannot see him." The Shadow's alter ego was Lamont Cranston and his leading lady was named Margo Lane who knew the true identity of The Shadow. Over the years, many actors and actresses would assume the roles of The Shadow. It is still possible to find glow-in-the-dark rings given away to those who listened to the show. Listen to an episode here and learn more about The Shadow by going here.

Word of the Day:
"Highfalutin"
A term originally applied to well-to-do travelers on steamboats who sat on the decks amid the high-fluted funnels. Terms with similar meanings include hoity-toity, pompous, arrogant and egotistical.

Quickies...
• The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is sponsoring a driver-safety program for senior drivers. The eight-hour class is divided into two four-hour sessions on Tuesday August 17, and Thursday, August 19, from 5 until 9 PM in conference room one inside the main entrance at Bloomsburg Hospital. There is a $14 registration fee payable to AARP. AARP members receive a $2 discount. Attendees must register and complete both sessions in order to receive a course certificate. Those who complete the class will receive up to a 5% automobile-insurance discount for three years. Seats are limited. Please call John at 784-8545 to register. AARP members should give their membership number to receive the discounted fee.

• Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Pennsylvania's largest outdoor-agricultural exposition, takes place August 17-19. This popular event is sponsored by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The event is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on PA Route 45. Learn more here.

• The Wall Street Journal in a recent article proclaimed 2010 as very possibly the worst year in the history of motion pictures and then went on to name "Dinner for Schmucks" the worst film of the year.

• The U. S. Energy Information Administration says that natural-gas prices are mixed, with some markets up slightly and others down slightly. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, futures contract for August delivery at the Henry Hub climbed about 6% since the previous Wednesday. Natural gas in storage is about 9% above the 2005-2009 average.

• We wish Dave Albertson the best as he sheds his responsibilities with the Benton Volunteer Fire Company. Dave until recently was President of the local firefighters and has been a member of the fire company since 1978. Luther Spiece becomes the new president and we wish Luther the very best in his new role in the fire company. Changes in the fire company come at a time when drilling for natural gas in the local area begins in earnest and the need for trained responders increases. Local police and firefighters are often the first on the scene of an incident during natural-gas drilling.

• I never did understand the meaning of certain "highfalutin" words. Tom Ridge, former governor of our Commonwealth and the nation's first Department of Homeland Security secretary, will serve as strategic adviser to an industry group led by companies drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus-shale formation. His group will be paid $75,000 a month for "public outreach, education and coalition building." Heck, for that amount I'll happily build some coalitions and reach out for the public.

July 30, 2010. Chloe, a Bichon Frise with no last name, is 11 today. Others celebrating include Cory Lee and Shirley Fullmer. There are 54 days until the official start of Autumn. You'll be happy with the weather today and Saturday, and the following two days won't be too bad, either!

Quickies...
• The Northern Columbia Quilt Guild meetings will resume its meetings on September 27, the fourth Monday of the month. Meetings will take place the fourth Monday of each month, except December's meeting will be on Monday, December 13. There are no meetings in July or August. The quilters meet at the Stillwater Christian Church Fellowship Hall, Wesley Street, Stillwater. Doors open at 6 PM for registration. Meetings begin at 6:30 and last until 8:30 PM. For further information, contact Joanne Riley, 925-2563 or Jackie Parks, 925-6498.

• WGRC, a contemporary Christian Radio Station in Lewisburg is attempting to place a radio tower in Benton in order to bring Christian-orientated programming to the upper Fishing Creek valley. Activities to further this goal include a concert in the Benton town park August 21 from 4:30 to 9 PM. Five bands will perform: Water's Edge, the Randy Fisher band, the A.W.E. Band, the Second Coming Band and Last Days Worship. There will be a Chinese auction from 4:30 to 6 PM. There will be lots of food available. A motorcycle ride will begin at the town park August 21 with the main pack leaving at noon. Registration is from 11:30 to 1 PM or you can preregister at www.wgrc.com/ . The price is $18 per ride and $15 per passenger. The ride will be a picturesque journey through Rickett's Glen, Dushore and Laporte. Everyone is welcome at this rain or shine event. The station currently operates at FM 91.3 out of Lewisburg, 90.7 and 107.1 from Williamsport, 90.9 from Lewistown, 91.9 in Pottsville, 101.7 in State College and 107.7 in Bloomsburg and streams live on the internet here.

Didja ever think that how you lose or keep your hair
depends on how wisely you choose your parents?

We'll poke around with some words we heard as a kid growing up in the upper Fishing Creek valley. Perhaps you have heard some of them too.

EASY. A word meaning that obtaining money is not hard to do. An example is "That bank is easy" or "That store is easy on credit." It became an obsolete term in the last year.

MEADOW. Grass land which produces feed for cattle. A similar word, now rarely heard, is "upland," the opposite of meadow.

'TAINT. An abbreviation for it is not, heard earlier this week in the Kozy Korner restaurant.

HALF COCK. An expression borrowed from sportsmen for a person who attempts something in a hurry without adequate preparation and consequently fails.

HANKERING. Strong desire; longing. It is probable that your grandfather took a strong hankering to your grandmother.

YOU DON'T SAY. A substitute for "indeed" or "really." An example is "Mr. Jones fell out of the second floor window of his house." "Your don't say!"

RAFT. In a broad sense, timber and fallen trees floating in rivers until they dam up in shallow places and block further passage. Sometimes used as a localism to mean a large quantity. As used on Fishing Creek, boards tied together as a float and supported by inner tubes preliminary to upsetting and getting soaked.

CHUCK. To throw a short distance using a quick and dexterous motion. Teri Castle used the word "chuck" at work once, while cleaning out the lunch-room refrigerator. Chuck Musitano told her teasingly, "Hey, Chuck is not a verb, it’s a noun." Teri now always says toss it out, not chuck it.

CAHOOTS. A word used only in its plural form, meaning something in partnership of a nefarious, questionable or unethical nature. "Collusion" is close in meaning.

BARGE. The word has two nautical meanings; i.e., it is applied to a flag officer's boat or highly decorated vessel used for ceremonial occasions. The second usage refers to the flat-bottomed work boat which is hard to maneuver and difficult to control. And from this word comes the term "barge in."

While some will disagree, on these hot summer days nothing beats a cold glass of lemonade. My favorite recipe for lemonade is simple. Take 12 lemons, three cups of sugah (this is a Southern recipe, you know), five quarts of water, and lots of ice cubes. Thinly slice four of the lemons and set them aside. Roll each of the remaining lemons, unpeeled, against the countertop with the palm of your hand to release the juices. Slice each lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a large pitcher. Add water and sugah, stir until the sugah is dissolved. Add the sliced lemons. Pour the lemonade into tall glasses filled with ice. This recipe makes about 20 eight-ounce servings.

Arla Mae Miller remembers the tradition of her family's reunions from many years ago. Arla recalls, "The women always took enough lemons and sugar for their family and then my mother and two of her sisters used them to make a large batch of lemonade in a big granite kettle." In recent years, a few younger families started bringing iced tea and eventually the making of lemonade came to an end. But even those we thought would stick to the tried and true recipes of the past are wavering! Arla admits that "Country Time Lemonade Mix is good with a few fresh lemon slices added."

July 29, 2010, the birthday of Ruth Gillespie Taylor, formally of 2½ Street, Benton. Ruth, at 102, continues to be "sharp as a tack," plays bridge and claims to have "no aches or pains." Her son, Larry, Louisville, KY, says her mobility is only slightly less than last year. Her address is Nottingham Retirement Village, Neitz Street, Northumberland, PA 17857. The Benton Rodeo Association meets tonight at 7 at the rodeo grounds. We'll flush out the weather system this morning with some rain as a Canadian cold front arrives, then settle in for more seasonable weather for a few days.

• For those of you who drive weekend mornings in search of garage sales, take heart at the find of one man. Go here for the story.

• The Press Enterprise reported in its July 28 edition that Williams Production Appalachia LLC filed a notice of intent with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission for approval to use up to 4 million gallons of water per day for drilling of natural gas wells on the S. Farver 1V drilling pad in Dotyville. The paper also disclosed that the liquor license from the former Elk Grove Hotel is being considered for transfer to a 6,000 square foot Japanese Restaurant planned for opening this fall in the former Kmart plaza on Route 11. The Elk Grove Hotel has been closed since 2007.

• The popular Press Enterprise Tuesday feature, Northside Beat, is now being written by Mike Lester, 387-1234, extension 1311. Gary Pang has moved to the layout desk.

Younger readers will seize the topic of today's revisit with the past and associate it with the political rascality of crime and rottenness of politicians on both sides of the aisle. The subject for today is "whitewash," but not about covering up--"whitewashing"--a misdeed. It is about the material that in the past adhered to the surface of buildings, fences and trees to which it was applied. Farmers and fruitgrowers made good use of whitewash in various ways, but first and foremost, lime is an excellent means of sanitation.

Some may think that farmers paid little attention to beauty, and that the only thing they had time to do was work. While there may be a grain of truth in that, they also had an eye for making things look nice. Consider nature in its full spring attire with the farmer's fields carpeted in green, the air fragrant with blooms and blossoms, the gorgeous views of the upper Fishing Creek valley available in a 360° world, the smell of fallen rain bathing the earth in moisture. The world around the farmer was beauty. The farmer and his wife cleaned up the rubbish that accumulated on a farm, the house was kept white-glove clean as a sign of the "prosperity" of the farmer and the outbuildings were whitewashed. Whitewash was the cheapest way to cover barn walls and when applied to fences and buildings changed the appearance from dingy and dull to bright, clean and inviting. A few mornings with a whitewash brush (whitewash took much of the day to dry and was rarely applied late in the day) and the farm turned into a sanitary place of beauty.

Whitewash is a preparation of lime, water and salt. Brother Dayne liberally used whitewash in his barn and I remember--rather vaguely, I admit--the rainy days when he would take a bushel of quicklime slaked with gallons of water. The mixture would go into a covered barrel until the steam stopped rising. He stirred it a couple of times to keep it from scorching. Some rye or wheat flour was mixed with cold water (the flour kept the whitewash from rubbing off), then mixed with a couple gallons of boiling water. Some rock salt was dissolved in boiling water, then all the ingredients were poured into the barrel and stirred again. The result was a paint-like solution that could be applied with a brush. The mixing of lime and water created heat and the whitewash was applied while it was hot. Germs were either burned to death or suffocated when encapsulated.

I once walked through a barn with a girl from the city and she soon asked if there wasn't a way I could get rid of the "disagreeable odor" that was present in the barn. This lovely creature suggested that we should train the cows as she trained her dog--to do its business outside. Had the barn been better whitewashed, the stable smell might have greatly dissipated. In hindsight, it probably is better that she felt the barn didn't smell good and by association didn't want any more to do with me

Many farm wives were as happy whitewashing as a boy is with a new puppy. I have visited farms where for months after whitewashing it was impossible to brush against fences, walls or anything else within reach without the lime leaching onto your clothes. The strategy employed by Tom Sawyer was once tried on me, but it didn't work. Remember Aunt Polly punished Tom by making him whitewash the fence in front of her garden. He knew he would be the laughing stock of the neighborhood when other boys saw him working. When Ben Rogers came by eating his apple, Tom--well, heck, it probably has been years since you read Tom Sawyer. Take the time now to read the section in Google about whitewashing by going here.

I knew about the keen thinking of Tom Sawyer in getting the fence whitewashed, but I didn't have any friends who hung around the barn with me. I was out of luck. I had to apply the lime solution by myself. It started out fun to slop pints of whitewash on walls in a big old barn with no one around. The part that was covered with whitewash was in my daydreaming mind beautiful like a bride in a white wedding dress. Little did it matter that some of the liquid went on me, recast one Golden Guernsey to a milky white, and brightened up a second-cutting bale of hay and the handle of a manure fork. My hair took an especially hard hit. But the job was getting done and with each masterful stroke of the brush no portion of the siding was overlooked, no cracks left unattended, no barn flies not covered over or spiders not rendered powerless. I expected no less than statements of admiration for the work accomplished and half suspected there would be some mild applause when I finished. That thinking lasted all of five minutes.

The first visitor to the barn decided that whitewashing was a more complicated operation than I was making it out to be, muttering something about getting it covered around the corners. The woman took the brush away from me even though I was doing what I thought was a splendid job. Brother Dayne later muttered that nothing was done right unless he was involved. It was very discouraging. But the truth of the matter was that after proclaiming that others could do the job better, these same people worked at it for a few minutes and then found excuses and went elsewhere, leaving me to finish the job..

Life is somewhat like whitewashing a fence. Everyone complains about it, most think they are better at it than those who are doing it, and unlike the immigrant who spends 24/7 bending over to pick cauliflower or broccoli there simply are too few Americans who would stoop to making a living doing that. We love to argue about how to do things when most of the time we haven't a clue, but when everyone pitches in and helps the job gets done and everyone is happy. And that is the lesson I learned from my short career in whitewashing.

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July 28, 2010, the birthday of Rich Scavone and Lee Ann Kline, and the wedding anniversary of Jason and Jennifer DiLossi. Jacqueline Lee Bouvier (1929-1994) was born on this date in 1929 in East Hampdon, Long Island. She graduated from George Washington University, then worked as the Washington Times-Herald's "inquiring photographer." Jacqueline met the young congressman from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, in 1952. On this day in 2002, nine coal miners were rescued after being trapped 77 hours in flooded Quecreek Mine, Somerset, Pennsylvania. The McNett Country Band performs tonight at the Orangeville Carnival. Keep Don King in your prayers. Don is a resident at Bonham Nursing Home.

Printing on a McHenry whiskey bottle:
   Printing on side:
      "REWARD. We will give $100.00 for evidence leading to the detection of any one refilling the McHenry bottles with any other whisky or adulterating the McHenry Whiskey in any manner or for selling something else and calling it McHenry when McHenry is asked for."
Rohr McHenry Distilling Co.

   Printing on back:
"This whiskey is the product of selected Rye and Malt pure mountain spring water and scientific distilling with years of perfect aging in charred barrels in heated warehouses and coming direct from us it brings to you the finest & purest Whiskey made, and costs you no more than the other brands.

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   • McHenry whiskey fans continue to talk about the $770 that a full bottle of McHenry whiskey brought at the Park Street sale Saturday.

   • Congress passed the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act in 2003. This legislation lowered the maximum tax rate on qualified-dividend income and long-term capital-gains income to 15% (5% for taxpayers in the 10% and 15% marginal income-tax brackets, dropping to 0% for these taxpayers in 2008). As originally enacted, these changes were effective through January 1, 2009. In May 2006, Congress passed the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act. This legislation extended the dividend and capital gains tax reductions through 2010. Before these measures were enacted, capital gains were generally taxed at a maximum rate of 20%. Without additional action by Congress, long-term capital gains and qualified dividends taxes will revert to 20% after 2010. Let your representative in Congress know how you feel on this issue.

   • All those who think it unfair to raise taxes while the state spends tax money on projects like the Arlen Specter Library in Philadelphia and the "John P. Murtha Center for Public Policy" or a hotel for $10 million or authorize "walking-around money" of $300 million, raise your right hand. Didja know that if spending had been held to inflation over the past eight years, we would have ended the fiscal year with a surplus rather than a deficit (even without federal stimulus money)? The Commonwealth's total operating budget grew from $45 billion to $66 billion since 2003.

   • Watch for stories over the coming months about what is believed to be a prehistoric cave buried under a culm bank in Shickshinny near the Shickshinny/Salem Township line. The cave was once referred to as the "Shickshinny Ice Cave" and written about in Volume 19 of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society’s Proceedings and Collections, published in 1926. I visited an ice mine in Coudersport many years ago--little more than a shaft hand-dug into the earth in a fruitless search for silver. The shaft trapped the cold. The heavy, cold air of winter sinks under the warmer air in the pit. In summer, the outside air is warm, but the heavier cold air in the pit is unable to escape. Ice was in the shaft in summer, but nowhere to be found in winter.

   • A bill that is not likely to endear Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY 15th District) to the American people is HR 5741 IH which has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee. The bill is similar to the peace-time draft our country once had, except with this bill women as well as men will be subject to the draft for two years. There won't be any college deferments or paying to stay out of service. Draftees will be able to fulfill their obligation in a civilian capacity, as long as it is related to national defense or homeland security. Those who have served in the military are exempt. The bill only allows actual induction into the military during a declared state of war, something which has not happened since WWII. Rangel's bill does not elect to call the people forced into Government servitude by the names that Hitler used: jugend proper, for older boys 15-18 years of age; Deutsches Jungvolk for ages 10-14; or Bund Deutscher Mädel for the girls.

   • A Stephanie Spiece Memorial Golf Tournament will take place Saturday, July 31, at Mill Race Golf Course. Stephanie graduated from Benton High School and was attending Bloomsburg University majoring in special education. Stephanie lost a two-year battle to oral cancer last June at the age of 21. Stephanie's parents, Carl and Ann Spiece, have started a scholarship fund at Benton High School in her honor. All money that is raised in this tournament will benefit the scholarship fund. Hole sponsors are needed! Anyone interested in being a hole sponsor, or donating to the tournament in any way, should call 683-6041.

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A popular attraction at Heritage Days at Benton Park over the weekend was the quilting tent run by a number of very enthusiastic women. Deb Dressler put together a history of quilting which was passed out to those interested in the subject. Quilting came to Europe from the Orient when Crusaders discovered how comfortable the Turks were with two or three thickness of fabric “quilted” together under their armor. Early colonists in America concerned themselves with survival and used less-expensive woven blankets rather than high-priced quilts. Dull colors characterized quilts in the 1700s, with indigo the top color for more than a hundred years.

Colonists combined wool and course linen into "linsey-woolsey" for use as bedcovers or warm outerwear. The homespun linen or cotton was woven to match the size of the linsey-woolsey piece, and the two were basted together with a thin pad of natural unwashed wool between, then stretched over four stout sticks. The designs for quilting included baskets of flowers, leaves, ferns, feather wreaths, diagonal lines, basket weave, waffle and pineapples.

If you would like to be part of the quilting group in the local area, please get in touch with me and I'll help you find someone locally who can tell you all about the activities of the quilting group.

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It was one of those conversations that spring up when there isn't anything else to talk about. Leon Robbins was telling about Niter, the mineral form of potassium nitrate, commonly known as saltpeter, which his father used for problems relating to inflammation of the blatter. He told how he "fixed dogs up" using camphorated oil. He used camphorated oil on himself from time to time, mixed with turpentine--good for rheumatism and a remedy for bronchial colds if it was rubbed on the chest. Father used to call camphorated oil a "Winter medicine."

Well, yes, although camphorated oil soothed muscle aches and pains and helped relieve coughs, there was a toxicity problem when it was combined with alcohol. Old-timers often used it as a "pick-me-up" until they discovered it was really a "lay-me-down" when liver damage came about. The FDA banned camphorated oil in 1980 after reports of poisoning through accidental ingestion and skin absorptions. Topical creams--Ben-Gay, Aurum Gold Analgesic, Vicks Vapo Rub and Vicks Vapo Steam--contain as much as 11% camphor, but have been deemed safe by the FDA. Larger percentages are poisonous when ingested and can cause seizures, confusion and irritability.

Peter Edward "Bear" Niedzwiecki (January 22, 1918-July 25, 2010), co-developer of Bear Fuel Service and Excavating, Inc. and adjacent gas station on Route 118, passed away Sunday at his home near Red Rock mountain (rural Benton). He was 92. He was born in Glen Lyon. He was the son of John and Alexandria Jankowski Niedzwiecki. He was raised with four brothers and two sisters on a farm near Broadway. Pete was self-employed for most of his working life, employing a crew in the timber industry, supplying props and lumber to the coal mines. As mining shut down, he transitioned to an owner/operator of a school-bus route in Ross Township. He also established a custom excavating, coal and fuel-oil business with his son, Leo. This business continues into the third generation, operated by his grandsons. (Barbara Niedzwiecki once explained that Niedzwiecki is a derivative of the Polish word niedzwiedz, meaning "bear." The family name was pronounced "Nedge Vege ski" but everyone knew the family as "Bear."

Pete is survived by his loving wife of 70 years, Antoinette. Pete and Antoinette Venetski married in 1940 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Lake Silkworth. They lived in Broadway, Sylvan Lake, where they began to raise a family before moving to the Red Rock mountain area. Pete is also survived by sister Jenny Kutz, Sylvan Lake, son, Edward Niedzwiecki, Camarillo, California; Barbara Bear (Leo), Benton; grandchildren Loreen Auchus-McGill (Thomas). Euclid, Ohio; Rachelle Weed (Michael), Sacramento, CA; Tracy Bear (Bernadine), Peter John Bear, and Leanne Bear, all of Benton; great-grandchildren Braeden and Coveyn Bear, Benton; Alexandria and Peter McGill, Euclid, Ohio. His daughter, Leona, and son, Leo, predeceased him in death.

The funeral will be held Thursday at 9:30 AM from the Curtis L. Swanson Funeral Home Inc., Pikes Creek, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 AM from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Lake Silkworth. Interment will be in the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery, Lake Silkworth. Friends may call Wednesday from 5-8 PM. Memorial contributions be sent to the Columbia-Montour Home Health and Hospice, 410 Glenn Ave., Suite 200, Bloomsburg, PA 17815.

July 27, 2010. It is the birthday of Polly Baker Pitcock, Jackie Evarts, Kathaleen Glasgow Shannon, Gary Beach, Jon Crawford and Luanne Chorba Wren.

On this day in 1953, United States, China, North Korea and South Korea signed an armistice agreement, ending the Korean War. The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on this day in 1995 in Washington, D.C. The pet and toy parade in Orangeville forms tonight at 6:30 and moves at 7 PM. Expect sunny and hot temperatures through Wednesday.

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   • Thanks to Bob Parks and Deb Dressler, more pictures of Heritage Days have been posted. They can be found here.

   • Eleanor Stewart graduated from Glasgow School of Art with a degree in Visual Communication. She created a music video for the classical music work "Hoedown" from the Rodeo Suite by Aaron Copland. It is a stop-motion animation in which various cowboy characters come to life from the musical score. What she created didn't deluge her with job offers, but is worth a visit here.

   • Josiah Craig Peterman was born July 22 at 6:05 PM at home near Joplin, MO, under the care of a midwife. He was 8 lbs., 11 ounces and was 20-1/2" long. Josiah is the son of Rachel and Craig Peterman. I first ran into Craig Peterman when he was living in West Virginia in October 2005. At the time, I was struggling to come up with an acceptable concept of "hardpan." Craig told me that the term hardpan was used on his family's farm in Lycoming County as a description of the "ground that gets hard after years of plowing the same depth. In other words, if you plow the same depth each year, the ground immediately under that depth gets very hard--like a clay base--in other words, hardpan." Craig's sister and husband live on Main Street in Ruth Sutliff's former home. Craig delivered mail in Benton as a substitute carrier for a few years around '02-'04 under postmaster Gary Strauch. Gary and Rachel own and operate Peterman's Upholstery , their full-time business. The couple have three children: Hannah (5), Elizabeth (4 in Oct.) and Josiah.

   • On Sunday, August 1, 2010, Rev. Dr. David Mansfield will begin ministry at the Benton Christian Church (Disciples Of Christ) located at Church and Third Streets, Benton. Rev. Mansfield will be joined in ministry by his wife, Cathy. Rev. Mansfield earned his BA degree in Bible and Ministry in 1974, a second BA degree in 1976, a Master's degree in 1990 and a Doctorate in Ministry in 2003. The Mansfield's have performed missionary work in Zambia from 1977 to 1983 for the Salvation Army. They previously served the Huntsville Christian Church, Dallas, and Fairhill Manor Christian Church, Washington, PA. They currently serve as co-chairs of the PA Region Spirituality Committee. Rev. Mansfield has produced videos on several subjects, including the life of Thomas Campbell, founder of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. Worship services at the local church are 8 and 10 AM.

   • The dumpster for the post office found its way to Church Street Sunday morning and parishioners of the adjacent church had to return it to the post office parking lot again. The matter was referred to the state police. The dumpster is now chained to a concrete car bumper. The borough continues to need the watchful eye of the community to get this and other vandalism under control.

Chloe, our female Bichon Frise, is our dedicated and constant companion. She turns 11 Friday and agreed to write a few lines to let you know how her advancing age is treating her. Chloe's report follows:

"Leader said I need a subject for what I write. I don't know much about subjects so I will just tell you what I want to say. A man is a dog's best friend and therefore has certain responsibilities toward his pet. Man is bigger than his dog and the dog is at his mercy. Most of the time, man walks on only two of his legs which makes him look taller and what is worse and more of it is that man always looks down on his pets thinking he is superior to us. Because he only uses two of his legs to walk, he has the other two free to pick us up and mess up the hair on our backs.

"Common sense would tell you that dogs are supposed to eat all the time, but Leader only gives me one or two meals a day. And the meals he feeds me are for the birds! They aren't the same as Leader and Mother eat and they should be. Either baloney or roast turkey or smoked brisket would work for me, although steak that is too well done isn't my favorite. And what gripes me is that a cat never listens to man, yet it gets fed twice a day. And I have seen the same with fish. They don't know sickum, but they get lots of food.

"Our disposition is such that we need a soft bed on which to sleep, or a cushy chair would do if it was out of range of the television. Mother often interrupts my naps and moves me to the carpeted floor or moves me outside where I am exposed to heat or cold or wind.

"Thanks to my superior reasoning--I am related to the wolf, you know--I take no offense to Leader being more powerful or that he is able to climb ladders and trees. He once told me it was time for a bath. I told him in my dog language to go ahead and take one! (A little dog humor there.) I patiently take my turn doing things in which I excel in order to throw Leader off the track. I have found that in order to train Leader, I have to use psychology and have given up on using common sense. We have a saying in the dog world: 'you can't teach an old man new tricks.' Leader simply refuses to learn how to bark and when he tries to bark he simply looks and sounds stupid. I can't understand a thing he is trying to say.

"But even dogs can do silly things. I have a friend--Snowflake, she lives on the street where Leader lets me wee--who for the first year of her life liked to gnaw on books on the lower shelves of a bookcase at her house. Her master finally gave up man-solutions and wisely raised the books to a higher shelf. Snowflake kept getting taller and devoured the books on the raised shelf. As the years went on, he built higher shelves out of reach, but Snowflake kept getting the books. The books finally were taken to the attic and Snowflake gave up her book-eating habit. Her master, by the way, gave up reading.

"Leader looked at something on that television he sits in front of and found out that I'll be the equivalent of 60 this year. (Editor's note: a dog-year to human-year calculator is available here.) I may not be as big as he is, but I work twice as hard. I'll continue to be a playmate to Leader, but we'll never be on the same intellectual level. He is such a slow learner. He does not even have a schnozzle on the top of his head. I plan to completely ignore Leader on my birthday--although really I should do something different on this special day."

July 26, 2010, the birthday of Callie Madelyn Hess, Christopher Ackerman, Ronald Mark Caldwell, Brooke Laubach, Bill Lenhart, Mark Caldwell, Grace Feola and playwright George Bernard Shaw. Shaw's most famous play is Pygmalion, about a cockney girl who learns to pass as a lady. It was the basis for the musical My Fair Lady. On this day in 1948, Babe Ruth made his last public appearance as he attended the New York City premiere of the film, The Babe Ruth Story. Ruth's physicians allowed him to attend the picture because "it might do him good." Hordes of police protected him from the crowd gathered to welcome him, but under terrific physical pain he was able to remain in his seat for only 20 minutes. Three weeks later, the Bambino died after a two-year struggle with throat cancer.

• Verizon Wireless customers in rural areas in 79 service areas will soon be AT&T customers. AT&T is activating its service on a market-by-market basis and integrating the two disparate networks. Verizon Wireless customers locally who want an iPhone are a bit jealous, since Pennsylvania is not involved in the transaction.

• This is going to be a catch-up week. I am going to try very hard to see what kind of wood the top of my desk is made of, walk to the Tastee Creme and have one of their delicious sundaes, watch a movie on television and perhaps take the time to see a movie on the big screen. I would like to write something much as the retiring editor of the Boston Daily Star once did: "Any one wishing corn hoed, gardens weeded, wood sawed, coal pitched in, paragraphs written, or small 'chores' done with dispatch and on reasonable terms, will please make immediate application to the retiring editor."

• The potential that natural gas drilling could poison drinking water and threaten public health prompted a congressional subcommittee Friday to approve a $1 million federal study of how "fracking" for natural gas would impact the Delaware River and its watershed. The full House committee will now look at the matter before it goes to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote, and then move into the Senate to be signed into law.

You may have heard that St. John's Wort was good for something. Actually, it is an old remedy, named for a saint that was beheaded. Its roots--so to speak--come from Germany. St. John's Wort bleeds red when you crush it. The old timers said that when the flowers were put in tea, nerves would be calmed and depression eased--something like nature's Prozac. The dried herb does cause increased sensitivity to the sun. St. John's Wort is an expectorant, analgesic, antibacterial and antiviral and some consider it a remedy for sore throats and cold symptoms.

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

Facebook says it now has 500 million members, making it equal to the size of the world's third largest country. Facebook had about 150 million members in January 2009. The social network began in a Harvard dorm room in 2004. A movie titled The Social Network depicting the rise of the company will be released this fall. See the trailer and consider joinging the local Facebook frenzy by looking for "Bentonnews" on Facebook.com.

Tuition is going up for state universities, which serve 117,000 students, including Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

Didja ever think that if you have to explain something
you probably shouldn't have said it in the first place?

The 83rd annual Orangeville firemen's carnival begins today and continues to Saturday, July 31. The Robin McNett Band is on stage tonight.

The National Motorists Association ranks Pennsylvania number 31 in the country in likelihood of issuing speeding tickets. Florida ranked first in the nation. Our neighbors in Shickshinny get an honorable mention. Take a look at the speed trap information for that Luzerne County borough.

Please support the Heritage Days Celebration this weekend in the Benton Town Park. Learn about the fire which took place a century ago by listening to George Turner and more about the celebration this weekend from the Executive Director of the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center, Rob Hutchinson, as they appeared on WVIA. You can hear it here. You should also visit the web site for The Center at http://www.n4cs.org/ .

We'll get the negative out of the way first. Vandalism is a problem in the borough. On Monday, just to use a "for-instance," flowers were torn out of a flower bed at the corner of Third and Church Streets. The dumpster at the post office was moved for the third day in a row from its location (It ended up on Third Street Tuesday morning) and two stop signs were ripped out of the ground. One stop sign was thrown onto a roof of the "Brewington Building" at the Benton Christian Church and the other carried up a fire escape to the second-floor. A neighbor saw two "teens" about 3 AM at the rear of the church, one with long blond hair. State police at Bloomsburg were notified. The incidents are under investigation. Please help do your part to catch and apprehend those responsible.

We can't say enough good about the 2010 version of the Benton Rodeo, and neither can others. Watch what WNEP, Channel 16, had to say by going here. You can view pictures of the Benton Rodeo by going here where you can view the pictures as a slideshow, or email or download the pictures. The pictures are courtesy of Bill Neiswender, Catawissa, owner of B and L Hauling, one of the venders at the rodeo. Bill can be reached at 594-6081 if you have action pictures you would like taken. The aerial shots of the rodeo were shot from the Super Cub plane of Dick Karschner piloted by Rick Farwell.

The cowboys who ride the bulls, rope the calves, navigate around the barrels, wrestle the steers, ride either bareback or with a saddle on what cowboys calls a "bronc" and are responsible for the many other aspects of the rodeo have headed for distant points. Some went home with well-earned rodeo-prize money. Some will be stiff and sore for weeks, others will eventually make it to the Calgary Stampede and the "big-time." The amateur-rodeo performers who appear at Benton earn an estimated $30,000 a year, but set their sights on becoming professionals where the yearly take can approach a million dollars.

As the cowboys ride off into the sunset, as old western movies liked to suggest, an important aspect of the upper Fishing Creek valley ends for another year, although future hopefuls from time to time ride into the arena and practice for the day when they can ride in the center ring. The Benton Rodeo is a "big deal" for the economy and the status of Benton, but pales when compared with an event that occurred on July 4, 1910.

As most of you know, a century ago a large portion of the borough burned--nearly twenty merchants and several industries, along with a number of houses. The changes which occurred as a result of that fire altered the community in its physical appearance, its main entry into the village from the South, was the reason for the construction of the Benton dam, and altered the future economic importance of the upper Fishing Creek valley.

The account of the 1910 Benton Fire is contained in an article entitledThe Benton Fire of July 4, 1910 written by George A. Turner. The article first appeared in 2002 in Carver, a Bloomsburg University publication. Under a new title, A History of the Benton Fire of 1910: One Hundred Years Later, new information and a few editorial changes are presented. Locations of houses and the occupants and owners of the houses are provided. Professor Turner gave his permission to the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center to use his article and volunteers of The Center led by Robert Parks prepared a booklet on the fire.

In addition to the booklet, this year's annual Fishing Creek Heritage Days will provide the opportunity to hear historian George Turner tell the story of the fire. Turner will speak at 9:45 AM and 1:30 PM Saturday, July 24, and at 1 PM. Sunday, July 25, in a pavilion in the park. You can also listen to Mr. Turner discuss the fire by going here to listen to an interview with Erika Funke of WVIA.

Heritage Days are sponsored by the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center. Admission to the event is free.

Fishing Creek Heritage Days is a family-oriented program that lets participants more fully understand the important and authentic events that have shaped our past and guide our future. Activities last year included Civil War re-enactments; a theatrical production by Fishing Creek Players; artillery demonstrations; a lecture by George Turner relating to the Fishing Creek Confederacy; authentic period music and food; and much more. If you need more information about the activities that will take place this weekend, call 925-0163.

The CEO stepped from his Mercedes to attend what he thought would be just another meeting. His underlings, all generals, had other ideas following the decision to wage war on two fronts--to the East in Russia and to the West where more than 500,000 had fallen and 25 generals were prisoners. Adversaries of CEO Adolph Hitler had landed at Normandy 44 days before. The board resisted taking drastic action until German tactician Erwin Rommel, the "Desert Fox," agreed to the plot, although he didn't exactly jump into the fray with enthusiasm.

A briefcase containing the Fuhrer's flawed fatal fireworks was placed under a window--but on the wrong end of the table. The bomb went off, but Hitler received only a superficial wound, and Rommel was forced to take poison. The Germans lost their best commander, kept their worst strategist and saw the arrest of about 7,000 people by the Gestapo and the assignation of nearly 5,000 Germans.

The staff of the Millville Carnival would like to thank everyone who came out to support the carnival and would like to thank the community for its contributions to the carnival through donations and volunteer time in the stands. Jeremy Reese, 2nd Assistant Chief of the Millville Community Fire Company, stressed that "community support is one of the main reasons for the success of the carnival." There is no way to gauge the attendance because of the free admission, but there was a great turnout every evening. With the heat experienced during the week, the Christian Church iced tea and Sunset ice cream served by the Little Fishing Creek Rod and Gun Club were very popular items this year. Jeremy remembers that he personally drank three large cups of iced tea on the afternoon of July 5. The carnival sold out of popcorn and caramel corn and there were folks buying caramel corn to send to friends and family across the country as far away as Colorado and Iowa. The dates for the 2011 carnival will be July 1-9.

• The local Red Hat group meets Wednesday afternoon, July 21, at The Sub Shop at 2. The subject will be wine tasting.

Snuggled between when the Republicans nominated Dwight Eisenhower and the Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson to replace Harry Truman for the office of the President, an event occurred on this day in 1952 that made headlines around the world and rivaled tabloids stories of today. The subject was aliens taking over the most powerful nation in the free world. Radar at National Airport picked up a batch of bogeys bothering the bureaucrats in the White House, Capitol building and the Pentagon. A half dozen radars showed what was best described as unidentified flying objects cruising in a circle about 150 miles an hour over 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Air-traffic control asked pilots to check on bright lights above the White House. When one plane moved toward the area, three of the blips took off at a speed that showed up on the screen at a reported 3,000 mph. The Air Force scrambled planes and the remaining blips vamoosed at the same radar speed. The press picked up the story, but the White House press office tried to pooh-pooh the sightings and similar sightings later that week. Another mysterious sighting took place in Washington July 25. An Air Force jet was scrambled but as it approached the object, radar screens showed the object pulling away up to seven times the jet's fastest speed. The sightings were confirmed by ground, airplane radar and visual reports from pilots sent to validate the objects. The Pentagon called the sightings "weather inversions."

"Way back in the late 1970s (1978 or so)," a reader of long standing with me who asked not to be identified, was in the Air Weather Service stationed at Elmendorf AFB Alaska. The Weather Service "caught one of those silvery white disk-shaped 'Weather Phenomena' on weather-satellite photos as it zoomed up from the base." As recalled thirty years later, "it came in from the west over Cook Inlet, maneuvered slowly about the 270 runway for several minutes, long enough to get just about everyone who was paying attention--from the weather tower, to the air traffic controllers in their tower, to the guys in the weather station, and the MAC and SAC and TAC guys on air strip scurrying about." About the time it had everyone's attention "it took off straight up towards the weather satellite then stationed over Alaska." For a "weather phenomenon," it was "pretty impressive, self-steering, totally unaffected by wind speed and direction, flew at a speed in excess of several hundred mph, and had a surface temperature as measured by the satellite as it zipped past it of 3,000 Kelvin's." The major in charge of the satellite station showed the satellite pictures the next day and swore everyone to secrecy, then locked those nifty shots in his bottom desk drawer.

• It could take half a day to pick a quart of huckleberries "on the mountain" this year. As Father would say, "pickings are slim." But, oh, boy, what flavor!

• The state Senate will meet for a total of ten days in September and October before breaking for the remainder of the calendar year, with no lame-duck sessions after the November 2 election. A ceremonial session will be held on November 18 to elect the next President Pro Tempore.

• Natural gas futures have fallen 19% this year as analysts predict that supplies are sufficient to meet demand in our sluggish economic. Gas continued its decline after Baker Hughes, Inc. reported the number of U.S. drilling rigs rose to the highest level in almost 17 months. The company reported 859 horizontal rigs in production.

• Is your vegetable garden finally going gangbusters now that we’ve gotten some rain? The Benton Food Bank could use any extras. Recipients are always very appreciative of all the beautiful homegrown foods added to their normal rations of dried and canned goods. In fact, some of the folks from the Senior Center check back at the end of the morning to see if there is anything left for them. Please be generous, and drop off your donations of vegetables, eggs, herbs and flowers at the rear of the Community Center on Tuesday between 8 and 9 AM. Thank you as always to all the gardeners who bring such nutritious fare.

Bloomsburg University Alumni Association will hold its 15th annual show, Out of Sight...Out of Murder, in six performances July 23-July 31. The play is set in a gloomy guest house in rural Vermont, and focuses on a mystery writer whose plans for a new thriller go hilariously awry when the characters in his mind take on a life of their own and no longer behave in quite the way he thought they would. The play, suitable for all ages, will be presented in beautiful, historic Carver Hall on the Bloomsburg University campus. Shows will be Friday and Saturday, July 23 and 24, at 8 PM; Sunday, July 25, at 3 PM; Friday, July 30, at 8 PM; and Saturday, July 31, at 3 and 8 PM. General admission tickets are $7; students and seniors, $4. All tickets are available at the door. For more information, phone the Bloomsburg University Alumni Association, 389-4058 or 800-526-0254. This is the Alumni Players' 15th summer show under the direction of James H. Slusser (1990, '92, '04), Bloomsburg. Members of the cast include Bloomsburg alumni Audra Hearity dePrisco, '95, Bloomsburg; David P. O'Brien, '73, Lightstreet; Jim Sachetti '73, Bloomsburg. Rounding out the cast are Mark Lehnowsky, Shickshinny; Nicole Merkel, Elysburg; Michelle Lunger, Buckhorn; Kathryn Sweeney, Washingtonville, and Seth Chamberlain, Bloomsburg. Sets are by Randall Presswood, director, performing arts facilities and programming at Bloomsburg University; costumes by Karen Anselm, professor of theater at BU; sound by Jeremy dePrisco, Bloomsburg.

What the Jellyby and the McGee closets contained were exaggerations as relates to your closets or mine--but in principle it isn't that outrageous.

It distresses me greatly when wonderful reminders of the past are thrown out. I was invited to the attic of a local lady. It was a sight to see. She probably never threw anything out in all the years she lived in the house. As soon as something went out of fashion, it was transferred to her attic. Most of what was in the attic was too old to be of use and too new to be classed as an antique. One of these days, her daughter or perhaps a complete stranger will be called on to clean out her attic--and what a job that will be.

On the top shelves, in the cellar and in the attic there was an accumulation of stuff that never should have been kept--whatnots, picture frames, old shoes, a worn-out umbrella, Christmas bows and wrapping paper from "back in the day," several broken chairs, hundreds of keys, Mason jars from when canning was popular. All these items probably had a slight possibility of continued use, but actually not one of them ever was or ever would be used. She never could bring herself to have a grand cleaning-out of all these things, and by-and-by she died and the job fell on those who survived. So why is it that we hang onto things that we no longer need? The clothes hang in our closets, getting more and more out of fashion, dusty and moth-eaten--and in many cases they have shrunk when we try them on years later.

There have been years of leisure in my life in which I had time to sort out the closets in my house. I could have sold some of it, given some away and thrown away the rest.

My top shelves are piled with boxes and it comes as a real surprise when I open them and find things that I have looked for. I keep piling stuff into the closet, like Mrs. Jellyby and Fibber McGee, and one of these days I'll pass on and leave the dirty chore for somebody else. Why do we think that it is better to shirk our work and pass it on to others after we are dead and buried than to leave it to be done by others while we are still living? It is important to move the stuff on so that your heirs and assigns won't be bothered by all of it.

It is important to save the things that are really valuable, especially if it grows in value as time goes on, but that isn't true of the stuff tied up in paper and packed in boxes that clutters up the storage room, the stuff that could be tossed aside without a second thought.

When we have a day when it storms, start a task that somebody someday will have to perform. The rule is that if you can't use something now, it is time to give it to somebody who can. Don't keep anything on the chance that you may be able to use it the next year.

Now comes the hard part. I'll have to get Kay to agree to get rid of all this stuff...

July 16, the birthday of Billie Jo Creveling, Jennifer Moreno-Perez (Jenn Babb), Wendy Laubach and former governor Dick Thornburgh. There is breakfast at the rodeo grounds beginning at 7 AM, the Robin McNett Band mounts the stage for its first show at 5 and fireworks at the Benton Rodeo tonight at 11 PM.

July 17, the birthday of Melvin Parks and Sheila Gilbert. Happy second anniversary to the First Columbia Bank & Trust Company, which merged with the Columbia County Farmer's National Bank on Friday, July 17, 2008. Breakfast begins at 7 AM at the Benton Rodeo grounds and the "Run for Leukemia Cure" begins at 8. The Special Kids Roundup begins at 10; the group Crossfire begins its first show at 5. Don't forget the ice cream festival at Waller Memorial Hall from 4 to 7 PM.

July 18, the birthday of Chelsea Lamoreaux, Grover Dressler, Cathy Goode, Melinda Goode, Nancy Baker Traubitz and Allison Nicole Kocher. Ranch Rodeo takes place at 11 this morning. The Bull-A-Rama is set for Sunday at 7:30.

July 14, the birthday of Reyden Hoffman, Terri Adams, David Albertson and Edith Hartman Witchey. Today is the wedding anniversary of Robert and Betty Lewis. Team sorting takes place tonight at the rodeo at 7:30. For more information about the rodeo, call 925-6536 or www.bentonrodeo.com. Erika Funke, WVIA-FM, will interview Professor George Turner about 11 AM about the fire a century ago which devastated much of Benton. It will make it to the web site as a podcast late in the day Thursday.

July 15, the birthday of birthday of Mary Travelpiece, Carolyn Diehl, Elaine Rogers, Pat Threlkeld, Karl Myers and Keith Harvey. Brian and Lydia Becker, Camp Hill, celebrate their wedding anniversary. On this day in 1828, a log building was consecrated as St. Gabriel's Church by Bishop Henry U. Onderdonk. The church conformed to the rites of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Country Express comes on the stage at the rodeo tonight at 5. The rodeo begins at 7:30.

• For those of you who love Alaska, Max Hartman recently returned from a trip and has posted pictures of Alaska here.

   • For those interested in natural-gas drilling in the Marcellus, you might go to a site run by the University of Pittsburgh. It is hosted by the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, an environmental group that funds local projects aimed at protecting the state’s waterways. The site is www.fractracker.org/ .

   • There are more and more bluegrass fans in the area each year. But didja ever hear it played accompanied by a farm tractor? Well, if not, go here and have a listen.

   • A Columbia County Land Owners Coalition group meeting takes place Thursday, July 15, from 7 to 8 PM.

   • I never met a goose I liked, and apparently those in the know at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park feel the same. (Brad Cole calls them "rats with wings.") Every single goose in the park--about 400 of them--was gassed to death last week in order to reduce the goose population around airports.

• Dontcha feel sorry for the hard-working people in the state House of Representatives? Their fall legislative session includes three weeks in September, a week in October and two weeks in November as the last days in the current two-year session of the General Assembly. The state Senate will not return to session following the November 2 general election.

• A web site is raising money for Marines who have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and need help with family expenses that are not covered by the government. Melissa Harvey was a Marine and she will be participating in two events this fall to raise money for the cause. Check out this site and please donate if you can to a very worthy cause.

• Recent rants have been about the state borrowing money for cockamamie projects when it can't come up with money to fix roads. The "Arlen Specter Library" at Philadelphia University and the "John P. Murtha Center for Public Policy" are examples of self-aggrandizing projects of nothing but pork spending. There are other projects of similar unneeded stature: Highmark will get a new facility, St. Marys will get a new hotel, grants will go to unnamed businesses. Well, sure, just as we borrow to buy a car or house, government has the right to issue bonds to build new facilities, schools and roads. But what gives them the right to dole out money to politically-selected companies and special-interest groups and then send the bill to the taxpayers and extend the expense over to their children? The debt service in the General Fund nearly tripled from $350 million to $975 million in the current budget under the current Guv. Is it any wonder that more residents jump off the sinking ship and relocate to other states than come into the Commonwealth each year? As a voter, what are you going to do about the out-of-control debt spending that plagues Harrisburg and holds back the state economy?

• The 98th annual Wenner-Beishline-Kropp reunion will be held August 15 at Ber-Vaughn Park, Berwick. in the pavilions lower side number 11 & 12 at 1 PM. Bring your favorite covered dish. There will be games and a picture taken of the group at 2 PM. For information, call Madelon at 875 9622 or Lisa at 204 3798.

Nina Ford, Huntington Mills, is the recipient of the Volunteer of the Quarter recognition at the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center. Nina is a long-time supporter of The Center. She loved everything about the place from the first time she set foot in the door. She has great ability to meet and greet people and thrives when she is around people. She has been excellent at training new volunteers at The Center. The newly trained volunteers in turn carry forward a love of community service and share the dedication of Nina. She has been married for 37 years. She met her future husband, Ralph Ford, at a CB jamboree in Cecil County, Maryland. The couple have five children and are grandparents to Kaitlyn, Austin, Max and Logan locally and have five grandchildren in other states. Nina's career was in home health and she was a dietary aide at the Bonham Nursing Center and Clear Brook Lodge prior to that. After she retired, she "could not stand the thought of being alone all day--so I thought why not volunteer." Nina reflected on what she said, then commented "I did and here I am." Nina is "grateful to be honored by the N4C'S" and felt honored to be named. In turn, the patrons of The Center thank Nina for her commitment to the community and her dedication to professionalism.

On this day in 1863, ten days after the Union victory in the Battle of Gettysburg, draft riots began in New York. The riots became the largest civil insurrection in American history apart from the Civil War. There was no general military draft in America until the Civil War, but because of a military-manpower shortage, the government began America's first military draft on Saturday, July 11, for all U.S. males between 21 and 45, including all males of that same age group who happened to be aliens intending to stay in the U.S. Conscription nurtured substitutes, bounty-jumping and desertion. Many in New York who were drafted were Irish immigrants who had fled the potato famine in 1848 and who worked 14 hour days digging sewers for less than one dollar a day. The Irish were ticked off that rich kids legally bought their way out of the draft by paying $300 as a "Commutation Fee." The "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War" notes that of the 249,259 18-to-35-year-old men whose names were drawn, only about 6% served. Some who were drafted immediately lost their jobs to newly freed slaves. Three days of burning, lynching and civil disobedience began on this day. If you wish to read more on this subject, go here.

Quote of the Day:
If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.
--Benjamin Netanyahu

If you are like everyone else in the world, you haven't a clue whether the stock market will go up or come down. Last week in the market was a good example. There were wide price swings and whatever opinion you wanted on the future of the market was available somewhere. Father would have called it "talking out of both sides of their mouths." The public debt is too high for the good of the country, unemployment is too high and a continuing credit crunch will soon affect most of us. In our own state, we rank near the bottom nationally in the growth of jobs, personal income and population. When the market moved up last week, it was because of expected optimistic retail sales while at the same time Goldman Sachs and Citigroup cut their forecast for Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target and Macy's because of high unemployment, weak consumer confidence and virtually no demand for new homes. We all have our opinions. Recognizing that free opinions are worth exactly what you pay for them, my opinion is that economic recovery will be virtually nonexistent in 2010. Those who predict the market in the coming months will help create some very wide swings.

The expressions of my youth stick with me like oil to the frying pan. For example, I still use the ward "bard," as in Lee "bard my trailer to move some wood." When I lived on the farm, anyone more than 60 years old was an "old coot." Father referred to my boyhood friends as "cut-ups." Anyone who didn't wear bluejeans was a "farner," someone from a "farn" country. Father had memory problems back then (which I seem to have inherited), often referring to a specific part on a broken tractor as a "doohickey," meaning it was some kind of a thingamabob, a term that the employees of Neil Harrison's store always recognized when the part was replaced. If I ate with brother Dayne and Babe, "dinner" meant the noon meal; at home, dinner was in the evening. My job as a kid was mostly to "fetch" things, an abbreviated way of telling someone to go, get and bring back.

"Bless yore heart!" was one of Mother's favorite sayings, used when she wanted to thank someone for something nice that had been said. Although not used in our family, "et," the past tense of "eat," was popular. My friends got in a "fix" quite often, meaning they got in trouble, which would wear Mother to a "frazzle." "Dang," a word thrown in for emphasis, was popular. After leaving Benton, the word "polka" wasn't heard from for twenty years, which is strange considering the number of times I went to "Plimmit" to dance. Father referred to local drinking establishments as "beer gardens," places where Stegmaier beer could be purchased from the cooler under the picture of the Pope. If someone was cheap, Father called them "chinchy." He also frequently used the local word "hafta," a long version of "must."

Greetings were typically "hire you," and were uttered in order to determine the health of the person spoken to. "Hi'Ya!" was reserved for friends frequently met. "See'Ya!" was a favorite way of parting. And with that, I pass along a ""See'Ya!" until next we meet.

• Today's touch of patriotism honors the veteran. Go here and feel good about the watchdogs of our nation.

July 10, the birthday of Bill Megargell, Cindy Pennypacker, John Weaver, Denise Kline, Eugene Laubach, Carol Arnhold and Susan Louise Cole and the third anniversary of the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center. It was three years ago today that the Board of Directors of The Center "took title" from the Columbia County Housing Corporation.

July 11, the birthday of Terrie Sidinger, Lawrence Shaw and JoAnn McHenry Walk. It is the wedding anniversary of Robert and Mollie Hough.

• David and Teresa Wojton, Stillwater, have a new grandbaby: Zachary David Wojton, 6 pounds, 6 ounces, 19 inches long, born July 8, 2010. The proud parents are Christopher and Candice Wojton, Berwick.

• The Bloomsburg Fair succeeded in booking another grandstand show I won't attend. The British Columbia "post-grunge" rock group, Theory of a Deadman (also known as "TOAD" and sometimes as "Theory"), will appear at the Bloomsburg Fair Friday night of "Fair Week." The group will probably wade into the theme song to World Wrestling Entertainment's No Way Out 2006 pay-per-view concert, but even with that strong incentive to attend, I'll pass, thank you. Take a listen if you are not familiar with the group.

• Benton's Heritage Days are rapidly approaching on July 24 and 25. These are the days when those who love the upper reaches of Columbia County gather to celebrate their heritage. Each year this festival increases in size and with the increased size comes the need for additional volunteers to make it all work. Volunteers are needed for the weekend of July 24 and 25. If you are able to find an hour or two to help out, it would REALLY be appreciated. Please check your schedules and see if you can spare just a little bit of your time. If you can help, please call Ellen Hall at 864-3856 or email echall AT epix.net.

• Speaking of counting your blessings, didja know that the Marcellus is among the top five in betting on natural-gas production? The five includes the Barnett in east Texas, Haynesville in Louisiana, Fayetteville in Arkansas, and Woodford in Oklahoma. Investment bankers Barclays Capital writes that they expect Marcellus gas will surpass Arkansas and Oklahoma production by the end of 2012 and compete with the Barnett by 2020.

• The Fishing Creek History Club met at The Center on Tuesday, July 8. The group will have a table of Benton memorabilia at the fundraiser for Eric Hess in Benton Park Saturday. The next meeting will be Tuesday, August 3, at 7 PM at The Center. Those interested in the history of the northern end of Columbia County are encouraged to attend.

• The Benton Frontier Days & Rodeo is rapidly approaching. It begins July 13 and continues through July 18. The rodeo features nightly entertainment, fireworks, American Professional Rodeo, food, crafts and more. The rodeo, which begins at 7:30, has been voted Best in the East. Benton Rodeo grounds are located off Route 487 on Mendenhall Lane, Benton. Contact 925-6536 with questions. Dusti Lynn Crain McCall, Tennessee, will be this year's specialty act. Hollywood Harris and Boogerhead, Micanopy, Florida, will perform as rodeo clowns.

• A recent rant on the Guv's "Walking Around" money in the state budget made the inbox sing. In case you came in late, in the middle of the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression the Guv will be able to dole out $600 million for development projects across the state and name $302 million in projects for approval by him or the next governor. including $10 million to build a hotel, funds to redevelop a Tasty Baking facility, build a library in honor of Sen. Arlen Specter and construct something called the "John P. Murtha Center for Public Policy." The Guv will rake in the money from bond money, not state General Fund revenue, with one-third of the money bestowed on his hometown of Philadelphia and four surrounding counties. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the 48 projects that the Guv came up with in 24 counties and Philadelphia will cost taxpayers up to $963 million over 20 years. The Guv justifies these excursions into the absurd by saying they will create "thousands of jobs." These projects tend to overlook programs that are being cut, pension costs that are rising, federal stimulus money drying up and issues that real Pennsylvanians consider important. It will be interesting to see what candidates Corbett and Onorato do with the money that the Guv doesn't get spent before he leaves office.

July 8, the birthday of Bill Hess, Joan Franklin and Harold Steinruck.

July 9, the birthday of Al Labonte and Bill Rogers.

Thursday I am at the Kutztown Folk Festival and Friday night I watch Phillies baseball at Citizens Bank Park. Through next weekend, I'll be hiding in the mountains of Sullivan County. The Benton News will check in from time to time.

• Scott Maguire's recovery from brain-tumor surgery is progressing. He had a benign tumor removed and he has regained his vision as daily progress takes place. Saturday, at the former Bub Laubach farm, Scott and Janice held a barn sale with "attendance exceeding expectations." They had a record number of vendors and for the first time, a food vendor, who sold out of food by the end of the day. The sale is in its third year and it seems to keep getting bigger and better. Look for additional activities at that location when Scott is back to 100%.

• Nina Ford admonished me saying that "a person should never show their undies." She was referring, of course, to the web version of the Benton News where the daily Quickies column has been retired in favor of "Benton Briefs." The column remains in the email version, but has been retitled "Benton Briefs" in the online version.

• The area is losing a good man as James Albertson, 23, the ambulance supervisor for the Benton Volunteer Fire Company, moves to Linchicum, Maryland, to take a position with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems as a Specialist in Forensic Technology. James will be missed at the Brass Pelican and with the ambulance crews.

Afternoon temperatures should inch down from the past several days to the 92° range and there is a possibility of afternoon thundershowers Thursday through Saturday. By Sunday, temperatures should be in the mid-80s. Perhaps an official drought warning has not been officially issued, but the area is in a full-fledged serious situation with the lack of water and warm-water temperatures.

July 6, the birthday of Erin Hess Ackerman, Joe Prosey Jr., Herbert R. Fritz, Michael Gordon, Jan Jost, former First Lady Nancy Reagan and former President and author George W. Bush.

July 7, the birthday of Jessica Kitchen Lewis, Carolyn Remley and Kristen Kriebel. Ringo Starr turns 70. It was on this day in 2005 when the legislature passed and the Guv signed a pay raise for all three branches of state government. The action resulted in major public opposition and triggered calls for reforms and a Constitutional Convention.

I remember going bare footed the entire summer, even to the point of walking along the railroad tracks on cinders left over from a bygone age. I wore shorts held up by suspenders and rarely anything from waist up--except for Sunday when Mother made me put on a "good shirt" and a pair of long pants, socks and shoes in order to sit through Sunday school where we always seemed to sang Little Brown Church in the Vale. I remember Father listening to the Phillies games at night, but remember that we couldn't get Bloomsburg radio stations on our Philco after twilight. I remember "sneaking a sit" on Father's rocker. I remember looking for "odd jobs" to fill in the few hours of spare time I had each day. I remember getting my hair cut "on the square" by barber Guy Miller and remember him telling me that the chain hanging from a ceiling register was to string boys up who squirm when they were getting their hair cut. I remember floating Fishingcreek on an inner tube peering into the water for "suckers," a bottom-feeder fish with a fleshy mouth and thick lips that point downward so that it could forage for food along the gravelly stream bottom. I haven't a clue what happened to all the suckers from those days..

• A reader suggested that with the death of Senator Byrd, the West Virginia senior senator and coal-energy supporter, coal and the railroads that haul them could be in deep trouble, while the shale business could really become huge in the northeast. He could very well be right in his thinking.

July 3, the birthday of Frank Vincent, Sandra Kelsey, Christina Savage Guillen and Dimi Marinos. The gifted ice-cream makers at St. James Church, Bendertown, begin serving at 4 PM. Today is the start of "Dog Days," the 40 days or so days generally considered the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere, originally named for the days when Sirius, the Dog Star, rose around sunrise. Dog days to the superstitious people of an ancient time marked a season of burning heat, blighting drought and desolating pestilence, somehow associated with the rising of the brightest star in the sky. Dog days to folks like my parents simply indicated a period, like the one to come in the next forty or so days, when fog and moisture were common and when combined with the midsummer heat and a somewhat lifeless condition of the atmosphere produced a season of general uncomfortableness. The concept of dog days was scratched on a piece of paper I found from the year 1916: "During Dog Days the ponds hereabouts will all be covered with a green slimy skum, the wether will be sticky and hot and the muskeeters and flies will stick to a persons hide closerna brother, as the saying goes, or closern a flannel shirt which has shrunk up and is too dadblamed tite. Flies and muskeeters aint the only things that sticks tite in Dog Days neither--during Dog Days buro drawers sticks titern a bung in a barl and sometimes doors and winders sticks so tite they can't be got open. A person is going to feel hot and miserable and out of sorts but there don't seem to be no way to pervent Dog Days from making their regular appearaance about this time every yr."

July 4, Independence Day, the birthday of Pat Bankes, Rachel McKeel, Joe Curtin, Matt Crusan, Forest Fronheiser, Pat Bankes--and of America. Knoebels Park is 84 years old today. It is the wedding anniversary of Don and Loraine Foote. It was a hundred years on July 4 that the village of Benton suffered one of its most disastrous fires. Read more on this subject in the July 4 edition of the Press Enterprise. On this day in 1776 in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress committed the treasoness act of voting to dissolve its connection with Great Britain by formally declaring independence from England. A document to this effect was signed August 2, but not circulated until January 1777 following battles at Trenton and Princeton when it actually appeared that Americans might win the war. John Adams put it this way in a letter to his wife, Abigail:

"Yesterday the greatest Question was decided, which ever was debated in America, and a greater, perhaps, never was or will be decided among Men. A Resolution was passed without one dissenting Colony 'that these united Colonies, are, and of right ought to be free and independent States, and as such, they have, and of Right ought to have full Power to make War, conclude Peace, establish Commerce, and to do all the other Acts and Things, which other States might rightfully do... This . . . Day . . . will be the most memorable Epoch, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. . . . It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

• Natural gas spot prices have decreased across the lower 48 States with declines of as much as $0.68 per million Btu (MMBtu). The Henry Hub natural gas spot price fell $0.37, or about 7 percent, averaging $4.53 per MMBtu in trading June 30. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.

• The Sullivan Review of June 30 includes an article on the proposed 30-inch 200 to 250 million dollar MARC-1 natural-gas pipeline which will connect the Tennessee Gas Pipeline near Wyalusing to the Transco Pipeline east of Picture Rocks. The pipeline will pass approximately three miles east of Dushore and will cross Route 487 approximately one mile southeast of Dushore in the Route 220 corridor. Construction is expected to begin in June 2011.

• The O.A.T.S. bluegrass festival continues through Sunday. The schedules are available at www.oatsfestival.com/schedule . In and around Benton, many are listening to the festival at FM 89.5. Saturday night from 6 PM until midnight, present a certificate to enjoy an evening of bluegrass at the special rate of $10 offered only for Benton-area residents. The rate is per person. Coupons are available from various Benton merchants and at the OATS gate. Sunday morning worship services will be headed up by the local group known as Ravencreek, composed of Joe, Loraine and Grace Feola, with special assistance Sunday from the Benton Beauties, Mark and Mary, and others. Pictures of O.A.T.S. 2010 are available for viewing here . The pictures can be shown as a slideshow, downloaded or emailed.

• Saturday there will be a barn sale and flea market along route 487, a half mile South of Benton, featuring antiques, tools, fishing equipment, retired license plates, old movie posters, glassware and household items. Food is available on site.

• We didn't have the time to include everything for the regular Sunday edition. A supplemental Sunday version of the Benton News will be issued sometime during the day Sunday.

July 1, the birthday of Brandon Prosey, April S. Carter, Kelly O'Brien Gavin and Frank Mika. July 1 is the day in 1863 when the Battle of Gettysburg began when an estimated seventy-five thousand Confederate soldiers and about ninety-five thousand Union soldiers met. The O.A.T.S. bluegrass festival begins tonight. The lineup is the Forgotten Mountain Boys at 6 PM; Remington Ryde at 7 and 10; Hillbilly Gypsies at 8 and 11; and Stained Grass Window at 9 PM.

July 2, the birthday of Tracy Watkins Fritz, Dennis Threlkeld, David Chapin, Holly Green, Donna Cristia Moros and Deborah McHenry. It is the wedding anniversary of Tom and Jackie Becker, Brian and Tracy Hess and Bill and Agnes Hess. Jerry and Peggy Laubach celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary today. The O.A.T.S. festival continues starting at 10 AM with Coal Country Express. At 11 AM, Chester Johnson & Foggy Mountain Grass mount the stage for the first of two performances Friday (the second is at 6 PM). At noon and at 8 PM, Louie Setzer & The Appalachian Mountain Boys are up. The afternoon performances include Stained Grass Window at 1, the Hillbilly Gypsies at 2 and 7, Steep Canyon Rangers at 3 and 8, Balsam Range at 4 and 10, and Hickory Project at 5 and 11. For more info, download the OATS Festival Flyer (pdf) .

The fine folks at the 11th annual Out Among the Stars bluegrass festival extend an invitation to twilight performances Friday, July 2, and Saturday, July 3, at 6 PM until midnight. Present a certificate to enjoy an evening of bluegrass at the special rate of $10 offered especially for the Benton-area residents. The rate is per person. Coupons are available from various Benton merchants and at the OATS gate. Questions? Call Lucie at 394-6914.

The Civil War lasted three days less than four years. During the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, the first battle of the Civil War, no one was killed and as the Union forces surrendered they were allowed to safely return to the north. The hostilities immediately took a downturn. As states seceded from the Union, President Lincoln and Confederate President Davis called men to arms, one to preserve and defend the Union, the other to do the same for the South. From the time that the boys on the farm enlisted in 1861 until peace was signed at Appomattox in 1865, there were more than a million casualties.

The Civil War was fought over a huge expanse of land--from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, battle lines penetrated as far South as New Orleans, Tennessee and New Mexico. The coastline along the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico was especially hard to defend.

On the first day in July in 1863 and extending through July 3, Generals George Meade and Robert E. Lee met on the battlefield in Gettysburg. There were 23,000 casualties from the North and 28,000 casualties from the South at Gettysburg. Casualty figures are approximate. The figures include killed, wounded, missing and captured. The figures are the generally accepted estimates.

• Benton United Methodist Church coffee mugs are available for $5 each. This fundraiser will support the ongoing Ministries and Missions of the Benton United Methodist Church. For more information or to place an order, contact Pastor Calvin Miller at 925-6858.

• A recent article about gathering-line easements included some verbiage that was incorrectly stated. I wrote, "If you "don't play the game," you may find the pipeline company will employ the right of eminent domain to condemn the land as a last resort." Gas companies do not have the right of eminent domain for gathering lines. They do have eminent-domain rights for interstate-transmission lines which have received the approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and intrastate-transmission lines which have received approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The error is regretted.

• There will be a blood drive at the L.R. Appleman Elementary School, Park St., on Tuesday, July 20, from 2 to 7 PM. The blood drive is sponsored by The Benton Council of Churches. Donors in July will receive a free (tax additional where applicable) carton of Friendly’s ® Ice Cream.

• Don't forget to have a slice or three of Pappa Johns pizza served by the Benton Rodeo Association or sample some of Kay Campbell Stanton's delicious food at the O.A.T.S. festival. And include the worship services Sunday morning with Joe, Grace and Lorainne Feola and friends.

• The movie "Gasland" has been mentioned on the Benton News a number of times. Mail continues to pour in either singing the praises of the movie or debunking it. Natural gas must play an important role in the coming years and honest discussions about the subject would be wonderful. Instead, there seem to be a stream of half-truths emanating from both sides of the issue. I recently asked the same questions to representatives on both sides, expecting that the responses would be helpful in an article I planned to include on the Benton News. The questions I asked were not the questions that either side answered. The opinions offered remain one-sided and biased. My recommendation: listen with an open mind to both sides of the questions relating to environmental safety in the fracking process and draw your own conclusions. You can start by viewing Gasland playing intermittently on HBO through next year or by purchasing the DVDs which will go on sale in December of this year. Or for the other side of the coin, you might turn here and listen to what America's Natural Gas Alliance has to say.

• Stocks staggered to the end of a dismal second quarter Wednesday in another low-volume session. It would appear that events are posed for soaring unemployment, falling home values and a new round of banking and credit problems. The market is down nearly 1,200 points in two months in trading characterized by 200-point-plus down days. The stimulus money is about used up and the economy doesn't seem to be able to make it on its own. Almost one in four Americans are living without a paycheck and job growth is non-existent now that Census jobs are petering out. Retail sales are falling. Foreclosures are increasing again. Banks are wringing sweat from their palms. States like California and New York are at the end of their rope. We gasp when we realize that our debt is far in excess of either Portugal or Greece. We worry about interest rates that could soon begin to rapidly rise. Is a "long" position in the stock market a place where you want to be at the moment?

The Archives for the Benton News

for July 2009