Wayne Leroy Hartman Sr., (Oct. 1, 1915-June 22, 2004), died Tuesday afternoon in Tallahassee. His parents were Daniel and Kathryn Hartman, Benton. He attended Wyoming Seminary and Bloomsburg State Teachers College. He flew 21 B-26 combat missions with the 5th Air Force and received numerous citations including the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and Presidential Citation with two clusters. He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. Wayne was married to the former Mary Ashmore for 60 years. Survivors include his wife, son Wayne Hartman Jr., Tallahassee, and grandsons and granddaughters in Florida. His sister-in-law, Mary Hartman, Benton, also survives. Services were held June 25, 2004. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery, Tallahassee.
--from an obituary in the Press Enterprise

The State Constitution requires the State Legislature is to have a 2004-05 spending plan in place before the tonight's end to the fiscal year. All state agencies have been advised that government operations should continue at the current level until further notice "pending the final outcome of the budget process."

Expect heavier traffic than usual in town this week. The much-anticipated bluegrass festival opens at the rodeo grounds Thursday. Jamison City will hold their parade Saturday. July 4 falls on Sunday and many will have Monday off. We hope that you have a wiener of a day! Happy Independence Day and Happy Birthday America!

The following is a short article from Buster, a staff reporter for the Benton News...

I was very ill last night. Leader took She and I to where they are going to have the bluegrass festival. She saw what Leader later called "Trail Markers" and decided to roll in them. I know that makes Leader very angry and knew that Leader would yell at She, so I ate some grass to settle my stomach. I found out that grass makes me sick.

When Leader saw the color She turned after rolling in the trail markers, he said some things that always makes Mother shake her finger at him. He shut She and I in the yellow buggy and locked the door. I couldn't find any grass to chew on, so I nibbled on a rubber mat that Leader puts his feet on. Rubber mats make me sick, too. Leader says that She and I can stay home tomorrow when he goes to the bluegrass place.

The stocked trout streams in Pennsylvania should offer excellent hot-weather angling in the month of July, the first time that local streams will warm up. Good trout fishing in July requires cool water to keep fish alive and active during hot weather. Water temperatures must be kept low for trout to survive. Lean back and think about wading a stream, casting your line into the gently running waters and feel the strike of trout. In Fishing Creek, you'll probably have the stream all to yourself in July, except for the folks from Central and Elk Grove who may drift by in one of their kayaks.

Fishing Creek received a pre-season stocking of 1,070 brook trout, 2,810 rainbow and 2,940 brown trout. Stocking began at Camp Lavigne Road (state Route 4049) downstream through Benton, then to Orangeville ending up at the Light Street bridge.

We haven't had an Arcadia Word of the Day for quite a while. But before we pass it along to you, we should mention for the benefit of new readers how it came about. Marcia Kay and I were marooned in Arcadia, Florida, floundering about with a problem brought on by a worn-out appendix, and obviously a northerner in a Southern town, but accepted by a nurse since she had a relative in the north, in a town in New York by the name of "Aw-bennie," as in "The capital of New Yawk is Aw-bennie." Using her words, she convinced me that it was bad "bidness" to get sick in Arcadia, and that I would have to go many "mauls" away to Naples, FL, for medical help, but that I should not go over 55 "maul-anar" getting there because of police patrolling the highways looking for speeders. OK, you get it. Without telling you the "in-tar" list of all the Arcadia words we know, here is Wednesday's Arcadia Word of the Day:

LOWERED (noun). A diety.
Usage: "Lowered, bless this pick up truck."

Contributions in memory of Greg Notestein may be sent to the Columbia County Farmers National Bank, Market Street, Benton. The bank is administering the account on behalf of Greg's daughters, Rachel Ida Mae Notestine and Emily Terri Marie Notestine.

Another day, another virus! A new virus takes advantage of three separate exploits built within Internet Explorer. Microsoft issued a patch for two of the three exploits, and is working on the third. We suggest you either use a Mozilla based or Opera browser in place of Internet Explorer. Firefox deserves your attention as a browser.

The Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board, which sets minimum wholesale and retail prices for milk, plans to cut prices by 8% starting tomorrow. Shelf prices are expected to fall, but not until present inventory is exhausted.

On this date in...
1897, the Chicago Cubs scored 36 runs in a baseball game against Louisville, a record for runs scored in a single game.

1947, radio show Strike It Rich was a favorite on CBS radio with host Todd Russell.

1953, the interstate highway system was born. The Federal Highway Act authorized construction of 42,500 miles of freeway from coast to coast in the United States.

1969, Detroit Tiger Jim Northrup hit his third grand-slam home run in seven days, setting a record in major league baseball.

R. Gregory "Greg" Notestine, 42, (Sept. 12, 1961-June 27, 2004), 1013 Elk Grove Road, Benton, died Sunday morning, in an automobile accident in Stillwater borough. In addition to his wife, the former Kimberly A. Savage, surviving are his daughters: Rachel Ida Mae Notestine and Emily Terri Marie Notestine; a sister, Wendy J. Knouse, McVeytown; his stepmother, Patricia Notestine, Manhattan, KN; his stepfather, Harold Benjamin, Stillwater; and his wife's parents: Joseph G. and Emmalu (Funk) Savage, Third Street, Benton. Funeral services will be 11 AM Thursday in Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1600 Fowler Ave., Berwick. Interment will be in St. Gabriel's Cemetery, Sugarloaf Township. Friends may call at the Dean W. Kriner, Inc. Wednesday from 6 to 8 PM or at the church, Thursday after 10 AM.
--based on a Press Enterprise obituary in the June 29 edition.

The Grillbillies are arriving in town for the annual O.A.T.S. bluegrass festival! The Grillbillies are a group of bluegrass musicians and fans from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, Massachusetts and Tennessee. The Grillbillies are sort of a bluegrass band, but not in the usual sense. They love to camp and go to bluegrass festivals together and pick and eat. They even registered their name as a trademark in 1996.

Many of the Grillbillies are in their own separate bluegrass bands and about the same number don't even play music. They just follow along to all the festivals. The ones who do play are the "house" band with no leader or hierarchy or constitution, and there are no rules for joining.

People who love to come to bluegrass festivals visit the Grillbillies campsite and see if they like the group. At festivals, the group can usually be found under a big silver canopy, called "Grillbilly Grove."

And after you arrive, if you think Beth doesn't like you, that's a good sign. (It means that she does. Ask her for some wine.) The "grill" part of their name comes from the fact that the group love to cook while they're camping.

Last night, Matthew McBriarty, one of the organizers of the festival, was complimentary about the cooperation that the town has extended to the rapidly approaching festival. He cited the brochures of businesses of the area dropped off by Mayor Jan Swan, and the actions of the rodeo association in having the grass mowed and in providing brochures of the upcoming rodeo. The group is almost ready to begin the festival and it is only Tuesday. They are a very well-organized group!

Jerry and Joanne Laubach will be serving food at the OATS festival this week. They will have the Double "J" Chuck Wagon on the rodeo grounds from Thursday night through Sunday.

The smell that is permeating the town at the moment comes from the blossom of the chestnut. Some may disagree, but the smell is somewhere between unpleasant and vile. It will soon be gone.

The State House this week...
• passed a bill 200-0 creating a special wild turkey hunting license. The license would cost $20 for Pennsylvania residents and $40 for nonresidents.
• Created a new "flying while impaired" offense for airplane pilots who fly while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Violators would face at least three days of imprisonment and a fine of $1,000 to $5,000.

On this date in...

1907, the Washington Nationals stole 13 bases in a single baseball game against the New York Highlanders. The New York catcher had a mediocre baseball-playing career, but he made the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967. In fact, he made it on the basis of being instrumental in introducing batting helmets to major league baseball. He signed Jackie Robinson, who became the modern major leagues' first African-American player. Former catcher Branch Rickey later became baseball commissioner.

1914, World War I began. Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while at (what is now known as) Sarajevo, Bosnia. The Archduke was chosen as a target because Serbians feared that after his ascension to the throne, he would continue the persecution of Serbs living within the Austro-Hungarian empire. Exactly five years after it began, World War I ended with the signing of The Treaty of Versailles on this date in 1919.

1919, Elizabeth 'Bess' Wallace became Bess Truman when she married the future U.S. President, Harry S Truman. Truman often introduced his wife as "the Boss" and his daughter, Margaret, as "the Boss's Boss.

1996, The Citadel abruptly ended its opposition to enrolling qualified female cadets following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a similar all-male policy at the Virginia Military Institute was unconstitutional. The court said the school could not refuse to accept women while receiving federal or state tax dollars.

Eric Scott Hess, 19, Mill Street, Benton, and R. Gregory Notestine, 43, 1013 Elk Grove Road, Central, were both pronounced dead Sunday morning between Maple Grove and Stillwater following a head-on automobile accident near the Boudman residence at 3805 Route 487. Greg Notestine and his wife Kim along with their two infant children were driving South on route 487 on their way to church in Berwick. Eric Hess, son of Larry Hess, Benton, was driving North. The accident occurred around 8:30 AM.

Greg's wife, Kim, was "life-flighted" to Geisinger Medical Center using a state police helicopter from the State College area. Kim and their two daughters were later released from the hospital and are currently staying at the home of her parents, Joe and Emma Lou Savage, Third Street. Greg was a business teacher at the Red Rock Job Corps Center in Sullivan County, but music and his family were the love of his life. Greg sang lead for B&S Connection, a barbershop quartet. A recent sought-after auction item at the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center was the donation of three songs sung for any event by the group. Greg also directed The Susquehanna Valley Chorus.

Greg's parents are Robert and Patricia Notestine, Manhattan, Kansas, and Harold and Dorothy Benjamin, R.D. 1, Stillwater. Greg and Kim are the parents of a daughter, Emily Terri Marie, born May 17, 2004 and Rachel, 3 1/2. Emily joined the Family of Christ June 20, 2004, when she is baptized. Funeral arrangements from Greg will be announced by the Dean W. Kriner Inc. Funeral Home, Benton.

Eric Hess graduated from the Benton Area Schools in 2003 and was employed by Haddon Craftsmen, Espy. Funeral arrangements will be announced by the McMichael Funeral Home, Benton.

The Benton Volunteer Fire Company served 297 people at Sunday's breakfast. It was not a record but was very close! During the breakfast the firemen were called out to the accident on Rt. 487, leaving the firemen very short handed in the kitchen. Once again the Upper Fishing Creek family responded by offers to wait on tables, serve coffee, and provide much needed help in the kitchen. The firemen "thank all that helped us in our time of need."

Just below town in what Father always called "the bottom," a reference to Peter Appleman's "Sugar Bottom," where something like a thousand Federal troops were encamped during the fracas in the northern end of the Fishing Creek Valley which is sometimes referred to as the Fishing Creek Confederacy, there is a long, narrow body of landlocked water. We always called it an "eddy" because the water always seemed to run counter to the flow of Fishing Creek, a little like the thinking of the Federal troops quartered in Appleman's Bottom that hot summer of 1864.

Military exploits unparalleled in the history of America occurred right here in the upper Fishing Creek valley that summer. In what some referred to as the Fishing Creek Confederacy in August, 1864, about 100 local men were rounded up and rousted out of bed without time in most cases to even dress or say goodbye to family or even to have charges read to them. They were marched to the Christian Church in Benton, at that time located on top of Hill Street just up from the covered bridge spanning Fishing Creek. Some prisoners were released, but forty-four prisoners were hurried off without food. There were both old and young, some sick, some able-bodied, some monied and some poor. The Federal troops shackled the prisoners together and marched them with force and without food through Bloomsburg, then by rail through Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and then to Fort Mifflin. The names of those arrested were common Benton names, and descendents of these 44 remain in the community today. A partial list of names included Coleman, Appleman, Stiles, Chapin, Rantz, Yorks, Everett, Stott, Colley, Benjamin, McHenry, Karns, Davis, Baker, VanSickle and Kline. You can turn to the pages of this web site for a complete list, filed under FEATURES.

We have long felt that "items of interest" from the men involved in the incident reside is their descendant's attics or in their prized collections. We have asked before and we'll ask again if you know of anything related to this stormy period of American History to let us know in order to shed more light on this interesting subject.

To go back to the "eddy" for a second, a biologist once studied the green frogs in the eddy when the frog population started declining at an alarming rate. A chemist friend suggested a solution. The frogs, due to a chemical change in the swamp water, simply couldn't stay coupled long enough to reproduce successfully. The chemist then brewed up a new adhesive to assist the frogs' togetherness, which included one part sodium. It seems the little green frogs needed some monosodium glue to mate.

For those of you ready to "hit the road," here are some suggestions...
. The Kutztown German fest celebrating Pennsylvania Dutch folklife continues through July 4 at the fairgrounds in Kutztown. The festival emphasizes the unique customs and contributions of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Entertainment includes a traditional Fourth of July parade around the festival grounds, a folk dialect band from Germany's Rhineland-Pfalz region, more than 200 nationally recognized and traditional American craftsmen, and more than 2,000 handmade quilts in one of the nation's largest quilt shows.
Historical re-enactments, antiques, collectibles, folklife demonstrations, folklore, five stages of entertainment, music, dancing, children's activities and plenty of Pennsylvania Dutch food round off the show. Admission for adults is $10, seniors, $9; parking and children 12 and under, free. The festival is expected to attract about 100,000 visitors.

The Kutztown Fairgrounds are at Route 222 between Allentown and Reading, 109 miles from Back Home in Benton, PA via I-80 and I-476 to route 222. Get an early start. The fairgrounds are open 9 AM to 6 PM daily.

. Travelers looking for a slower-paced, scenic trip should order a copy of Take the High Road, a guide to the Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corridor, one of the nation's first transcontinental highways. Route 6 in Pennsylvania spans 11 counties and over 400 miles across northern Pennsylvania. For a copy of the brochure, call 1-877-276-8836.

For Your Coffee Break

June 26, 2004. We celebrate the wedding anniversary today of Rich and Sherri Plocinski and the birthday in 1819 of Abner Doubleday who had something to do with the game of baseball twenty years later.

On this date in...
1284, the Pied Piper lured 130 children of the German town of Hamelin away from their parents never to be seen again. Townspeople had agreed to pay the piper to rid their town of rats, so the story goes. He had played his pipe and the rats had followed him into the River Weser. The local folks didn't pay up and the piper played his pipe for the children of Hamelin and led them into a hole in a hillside never to be seen again.

1933, The Kraft Music Hall with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra debuted on radio. Later, singer Al Jolson hosted and still later Bing Crosby became the host. The Kraft Music Hall eventually came to television under several similar names.

1945, fifty nations signed the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco. The charter preamble stated its mission: "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war...to reaffirm faith in the dignity and worth of the human person...and to promote social progress and better standards of life."

1963, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin and at the City Hall announced Ich bin ein Berliner. The Soviet Union had erected the Berlin Wall to stop the mass exodus of people fleeing East Berlin for West Berlin and the non-Communist world. Ironically enough, the word "Berliner" in German means a particular kind of jelly-filled pastry as well as a citizen of Berlin. Twenty-four years later, President Ronald Reagan in the same city said, Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin. ["I still have a suitcase in Berlin."] The wall was taken down in 1989.

1981, Virginia Campbell clipped her coupons and rebates and bought groceries at a supermarket in Mountain Home, Idaho. Grocery checkers totaled $24,460 worth of groceries, but Campbell paid only 67 cents! We read that she would have received a refund of $12.97, but she decided to get film and flashbulbs after the bill was totaled.

1985, organist Wilbur Snapp got ejected from a baseball game at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, home of the Phillies during spring training. Snapp played Three Blind Mice after a call by umpire Keith O'Connor. The umpire was not amused and pronounced the organist "outa here!"

For those who love to listen to Garrison Keillor and would like to watch Garrison Keillor, try the web version of A Prairie Home Companion! All you need to watch and listen is a copy of RealOne Player installed on your computer. The show is available during every live show from 4:45-7:00 PM CT Saturdays at www.prairiehome.org.

The statewide Uniform Construction Code, a good idea probably carried too far by rules and regulations tacked on by state regulators, is slated to take full effect in early July. Some local governments have already adopted the regulations with some remodeling jobs dead in their tracks in the middle of the prime construction season. Last week the House amended the Code exempting residential buildings from some provisions of the regulations and this week the State Senate approved similar language. The House is expected to approve the language the Senate used in their bill 1139 next week and send to the Guv for signature.

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
--An old Irish Wish

Growing corn has gone on almost as long as people have inhabited our country. Corn is grown on an estimated 76,000,000 acres of land in the United States. Father talked about corn being "knee high by the 4th of July," the height needed for the corn to produce. This year, much of the corn locally will be "shoulder high by the 4th of July" and should produce something around 150 bushels per acres.

An email program called Incredimail in its free version creates email messages containing a Web bug, a small animated GIF of a blinking envelope. The graphic can be used for tracking purposes, can collect information about the sender and possibly the recipient, and is capable of sending information back to an Incredimail server. Why is this information capable of being collected? We don't know, and we don't get a clue from reading Incredimail's eleven pages of mumbo-jumbo. We simply know we don't want any part of any email sent to us that is capable of tracking what we do.

Microsoft is advising customers to increase their browser security to the highest settings, although that could cause some Web site functions to stop working. The company is reporting widespread Web server compromises that are turning some corporate home pages into points of digital infection. The researchers believe that online organized crime groups are breaking into Web servers and inserting code that takes advantage of flaws in Internet Explorer that Microsoft has not yet fixed. Those flaws allow the Web server to install a program that takes control of the user's computer. The flaws affect every user of Internet Explorer, because Microsoft has not yet released a patch as of press time.

We're going to talk about a company prominent in the upper Fishing Creek Valley a hundred years ago in a moment, but first we need to talk about one that is relatively new to Benton. Columbia Works Inc., 400 Smith Street, Benton, is a metal fabrication shop with over 30 years of excellence in all types of machining. The company has high standards of delivering under tight timelines. If you need a part of any kind made, repaired, redesigned or maintained, Columbia Works Inc. can do the job. Columbia Works Inc. specializes in custom fabrication, machining, and machinery repair. Certified welding, brazing, and soldering services are available for steel, aluminum, cast iron, bronze, and other materials. Learn more about the company by visiting their demonstration green house at the Benton Borough line in front of the home of Robert and Margie Kline, by visiting the company, or by reviewing the company website at http://www.columbiaworksinc.com/ . The company motto is, "If it can fit on a semi, we can build it."

The Kemp family had a small studio in Benton next to the present Hotel Hess on Main Street, adjacent to the Old Filling Station. The Kemps were often seen roaming the countryside in the northern section of Columbia County and neighboring counties operating from a horse drawn "studio on wheels."

The Kemp studio and its collection of negatives and prints were destroyed in the Benton fire of July 4, 1910. Heat from the fire at the Exchange Hotel is said to have ignited and destroyed the building.

The Kemps recorded the community's history on film and documented many of the photographs in a book they called a Souvenir Book of Benton, Penna. The book included a series of 40 photos of the community along with a one-page story of the town. The undated book is assumed to have been published in 1904. We have a section under FEATURES devoted to this book and the story of the history of the town that the Kemp's wrote. This section of the web site is unfinished and will likely remain this way for some time. The three churches in the town were Methodist Episcopal, Christian and Presbyterian. Some of the buildings included in the booklet are still standing, although in many cases they are almost impossible to recognize.

Buildings that were destroyed during the 1910 fire were Columbia County National Bank, Exchange Hotel, People's Department Store, Post Office and Confectionery Store of R. E. Keeler, Fred Hagenbach's Racket Store, Kemp's Photo Gallery and the F. M. Golder residence and Millinery Store, Later fires either destroyed or heavily damaged the Presbyterian Church, McHenry House hotel, Benton Roller Mills, McHenry Distillery, Joe Mamolen's Store, the Planing Mill and the Benton Meat Market.

Please take the time to turn back the clock to 1910 and prior by going to the section of this web page that is a "Souvenir Book of Benton, Penn'a."

June 25, 2004. It is the birthday of Jill Pascale and singer Carly Simon, 59.

On this day in...
• 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, 37, and more than 200 federal troops of the 7th Cavalry Regiment lost their lives in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Custer's Last Stand. The battle took place after the 7th Calvary was attacked by an estimated 2,500 Sioux and Cheyenne Indians under Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Custer and his troops were attempting to remove Indian groups from Southern Montana. Last in his West Point class, Custer advanced to become the youngest general in the U. S. Army two years after graduation. One survivor of the battle was a horse named Comanche that belonged to an Army Captain.

1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set a minimum wage and a mandatory ceiling on the number of work hours per week. The controversial new law established 25¢ per hour minimum wage and a maximum 44 hour work week for minors.

1950, North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea, marking the beginning of the Korean War. About 37,000 Americans and more than a million Koreans lost their lives in this conflict. The Korean War concluded without success; no celebrations marked its end.

1968, San Francisco Giant Bobby Bonds hit a grand-slam home run in his first game with the Giants, the first baseball player in the major leagues to make such a booming entrance.

Mabel G. Whitenight Grimes, 98, (July 11, 1905-June 22, 2004) died Tuesday morning at the Orangeville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was born in Orangeville and graduated from Benton High School. She was preceded in death by her husband, her brother Bruce Whitenight, and a sister Helen Dodson. Eight nephews survive: Ted Whitenight, Hobart Whitenight, Blair Whitenight, Dane Whitenight, Robert Dodson, Richard Dodson, Charles Dodson and Paul Dodson. Memorial services will be held on the day of her 99th birthday, July 11, at the Benton U. U. Church.
--Based in part on a Press Enterprise article

Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike will appear at the Out Among the Stars Bluegrass Festival at the Benton Rodeo Grounds on Friday and Saturday, July 2 and 3. Originally from Holt, Missouri, Valerie's life was filled with the folk, bluegrass and country music of the Carter Family, the Louvin Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Jean Shephard, and Emmylou Harris. Determined to perform and teach music, she studied at the University of Missouri Conservatory, Kansas City.

In 1992, when Valerie taught music in Brentwood, Tennessee, she would drive 45 miles to Bell Buckle, Tennessee, every Saturday to perform on a live radio show. One year later, her debut album, Patchwork Heart, was produced by Grammy award-winner Alan O'Bryant. Her second album, entitled Turtle Wings accompanied Valerie's growing popularity on the bluegrass festival circuit.

Becky Buller plays fiddle and clawhammer banjo and sings both harmony and lead vocals. She is a songwriter whose music has been recorded by groups such as IIIrd Tyme Out, Rhonda Vincent, and Doyle Lawson. John Wesley Lee (mandolin) and Jessica Lee (bass) are a brother and sister team who played together in the high-pressure competition circuit. He received first place in the 2001 MerleFest mandolin contest. Matt Wingate, the group's guitarist, is also a virtuoso player. Matt was the first and only person to win both the mandolin and guitar contests at MerleFest in 1997 at age 13.

Valerie's newest album, No Summer Storm has just been released. Valerie and Liberty Pike were selected as one of five nominees for IBMA's "Emerging Artist of 1999 and 2000" and for SPBGMA's "Traditional Bluegrass Female Vocalist of the Year" award in 1998-99 and 2001-04. Her song Red Clay Halo was nominated for "1999 Bluegrass Song of the Year" and was selected one of the best 100 songs of the decade, as noted by Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine. Valerie Smith has boundless energy and gives her audiences a memorable performance every time.

Leaders of the Pennsylvania Legislature report in the Daily Racing Form they have reached an agreement on a proposal to legalize slot machines at 14 state sites. They say they plan to draft their agreement and send it for approval by both houses and signature by the Guv, a supporter. It could happen before the Pennsylvania legislature recesses June 30. The plan would legalize up to 37,000 slot machines at eight racetracks, four non-racing sites, and two resorts. Tracks and non-racing sites would be allowed up to 3,000 slot machines and resort sites would be allotted 500 each.

Ever wonder what your house looks like from space? Go to http://www.globexplorer.com/ and find out.

The Press Enterprise reports that the work zone between the Buckhorn and Mifflinville interchanges (Exits 232 and 242) of I-80 has been removed.

A reader asked us to include a current picture of the Benton dam and we are happy to oblige.

Benton's Opera House as it looked in 1908 before Third Street was paved and the need for fire equipment to be housed in it necessitated its renovation.

Medicine shows would perform at the Opera House for a week at a time, with entertainers staying at the McHenry House or the Exchange Hotel. Once, when Uncle Tom's Cabin was the production, bloodhounds were tied outside the side door at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor.
The play Uncle Tom's Cabin was a "melodrama," a play with music. An 1853 playbill for the production called it a play "beautifully interspersed with singing and dancing." G. C. Howard wrote most of the songs.

Many shows played in the old Opera House. During intermission, medicines were sold with little consideration of their quality or their ability to fulfill the claims for the product. According to promises, elixirs sold at these traveling medicine shows would cure just about any ailment that a potential customer could have.

Quote of the Day:
So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war.
--Allegedly attributed to Abraham Lincoln, said when he met Harriet Beecher Stowe

Did you hear the sad story of the two-story house? The real estate agent told the buyer one story before he bought it and another story afterward.

The 1932 vintage one-span bridge carrying State Route 239 over West Creek can hardly be identified these days.

The former Norton Cole mill is on the left.

Today is known as Midsummer's Day, an event that has been celebrated for thousands of years. Many stone circles and other ancient monuments are aligned to the sunrise on Midsummer's Day, including the one at Stonehenge.

To the ancient farmer, Midsummer's Day was the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvesting, a cause for celebration.

Lithuanian tradition holds that the dew on Midsummer Day makes young girls beautiful and old people look younger. All the men of the community named John would be recognized on this day by fixing a wreath of oak leaves around their doors. This was usually done in secret, and John had to guess who did it or catch the person in the act.

1940, Japan formally asked Britain to close the Burma Road. Allied forces had endured disease, monsoons, and Japanese attacks to build the infamous 700-mile supply line that wound through three nations. For more information, we suggest you read Burma Road: The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II, by Donovan Webster, or sit down with a coffee and Dayne Kline for a couple of hours.

1948, Berlin found itself isolated from the outside world when Joseph Stalin blocked ground and water access and cut electricity to the Western sector. Rail and road access to the city was nonexistent. Within a few days, the Berlin Airlift began with United States planes dropped up to 13,000 tons of goods per day for the next ten months. Stalin lifted the blockade May 23, 1949.

1949, Hopalong Cassidy movies premiered on television starring William Boyd as Hopalong and Edgar Buchanan as his sidekick, Red Connors. George "Gabby" Hayes played the character Windy Halliday in Hoppy's early movies. Hoppy's silver white Tennessee Walking Horse was named Topper.

1960, The Romance of Helen Trent was heard for the last time after airing for 27 years--7,222 episodes--on CBS radio. Helen planned to tie the knot with her boyfriend, Gil Whitney, but sponsors pulled the plug before they could exchange their "I Do's." Helen Trent never smoked, drank, or swore and even her thoughts were pure. She might not last two weeks on television today!

1987, Herbert John Gleason died at the age of 71. His career began on the DuMont Television Network. He starred in Gigot, The Hustler and Smokey and the Bandit in the movies, but Jackie was best remembered as bus driver Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners on television.

The Sun, as common, went abroad,
The flowers, accustomed, blew,
As if no soul the solstice passed
That maketh all things new.
--Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

It is spooky what information is available on the internet. Here is a list of individuals contributing more than $200 to a single presidential campaign between January 1, 2003 and April 30, 2004.

How many hikers miss the Adams Fall, one of the nicer waterfalls in Ricketts Glen? It is often overlooked because of the popularity of the Falls Trail. After walking past the fall, the hiker must cross the stream and pick up the trail on the other side. It is a pleasant hike in an area that is seldom visited.

And while you are remembering the Ritz Theatre, lean back and see if you remember these...

The Royal Order Of Raccoons will hold a flea market rain or shine July 2 from 9 to 3 and July 3 from 9 to 12 in the parking lot of the Jamison City Hotel. Menu items include hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken barbecue sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. Donations of items are welcome. Call 570 925-6054 or 570 925-2179 .

On Saturday, July 3, there will be a parade lineup starting at noon, with the parade beginning at 1 PM. Everyone is encouraged to join in the parade at Jamison City. Cars, trucks, go carts, bicycles, floats, etc. The Royal Order Of Raccoons is a non-profit organization working for their community and deserve your support.

Keep these people in your thoughts and prayers...
• Richard D. Wenner, having hip surgery June 28, at Geisinger.
• Alanna Bath, Bendertown, having surgery on her jaw June 30. For the past two years, her jaw has been having problems with opening and closing. Alanna was a Benton Area High School All-State Chorus participant during her senior year and is now a voice major at Wilkes University. Alanna has TMJ. She will be having open-joint surgery, which includes making an incision next to the ear, repositioning the disc on the jaw, tightening the ligaments, and shaving part of the jaw joint to create space for the disc to be replaced in the correct position. She has experienced jaw problems since high school, but her pain worsened in 2002. Oral surgeons recommend surgery as the best decision based on her future career as a singer and a teacher. Please keep Alanna in your thoughts and prayers as she goes through her surgery and recovery.
• Carla Lee, a stroke victim, a patient at the Geisinger Hospital.
• Betty Kline Lewis, recovering at Balanced Care, Bloomsburg.

A view from the overlook East of Benton on route 239.

Route 487 heads right (or North) on this picture. Route 239 North bears diagonally Northwest on this picture. The dirt road leading toward the bottom of this picture goes to the protected waters of Fishing Creek.

The Southern terminus of PA 239 is at PA 93 near Nescopeck. The Northern terminus of PA 239 is at PA 42 near Lungerville.

On this date in...

1611, English navigator Henry Hudson, famous for his voyage on the ship Hopewell to find a northeast passage to Asia through the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole, was set adrift in Hudson Bay by mutineers and is presumed to have died.

1683, Chief Tamanend of the Leni-Lenape tribe and William Penn signed a friendship treaty at Shackamaxon, near Philadelphia. The French philosopher Voltaire hailed this as "the only treaty between Indians and Christians that was never broken."

1860, the United States Secret Service was created by an act of Congress as an arm of the United States Treasury. The agency was only responsible for protecting against the counterfeiting of United States currency until 1901 and the assassination of President William McKinley. The Secret Service then began protecting the President. Later, responsibilities spread to the President and Vice-President's family, major presidential and vice-presidential candidates, past presidents and their families, visiting heads of foreign governments and (at the request of the President) other foreign dignitaries.

1868, Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for a prototype of the typewriter known as a "blind-writer" because its design prevented easy viewing of the typed characters. It only had capital letters and
it took up as much room as a large table. Sholes was born near Mooresburg, 32 miles from Back Home in Benton, PA.

1917, Babe Ruth decked an umpire during a baseball game between Boston and Washington. Ruth had thrown four pitches, all called "balls." Ruth stormed to home plate and let loose with a barrage of words we can't publish, thrown out of the game and fined $100. Ernie Shore took over as pitcher and pitched what would have been the fourth perfect game in major league baseball history since the Red Sox defeated Washington 4-0. It was the only perfect game ever thrown by a relief pitcher, but Shore came into the game with Ruth's walk on first, so the game was not perfect. The base runner was called out stealing second.

1933, Don McNeill took over the The Pepper Pot show renaming it The Breakfast Club on the NBC Blue network. The morning show became one of radio's longest-running programs lasting until 1968.

1971, Rick Wise threw a no-hitter and hit two home runs in the same game. He was pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies against the Cincinnati Reds.

2003, the auditorium of the Benton Area High School came down with a crash.

Last week the state House voted to loosen some of the restrictions in Pennsylvania's new construction code. Today, the Senate is scheduled to vote on amending the regulations. The bill exempts certain residential buildings from the Uniform Construction Code. The code makes construction plans, reviews and inspections mandatory for many commercial and residential building and fixum-up projects that previously required no permits or inspections. The Pennsylvania Housing Research/Resource Center estimate up to 5,000 certified code officials will be needed if the code takes effect. They said that 941 people in Pennsylvania currently have some form of certification from the Building Officials Code Administration.

Abraham Lincoln wasn't the popular figure many think he was when he attained the presidency in 1860. He failed to win a majority of the popular vote, but the 51-year-old lawyer carried 18 states with 180 of the total 303 electoral votes. He rarely showed emotion, but left the streets of Springfield to rush home and tell his wife, "Mary, Mary, we are elected."

In the years before the Civil War, this area did not have the Republican strength it has today. It was a Democrat territory, and Lincoln was considered a dangerous man by many. William Packer was Pennsylvania's governor when Lincoln moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Governor wanted the slavery question to be resolved by a national convention of elected delegates, not by a Civil War.

Lincoln was snubbed in his first run for the White House, but carried the state when he ran for re-election, soundly defeating General George B. McClellan. The President carried 22 states with 212 electoral votes, while McClellan won just Delaware, Kentucky and New Jersey to bring in 21 electoral votes. The popular vote was much closer.

The President once told a story about General McClellan's "tardiness and unwillingness to fight the enemy," saying that it reminded him of "a man back in Illinois who knew a few law phrases but whose lawyer lacked aggressiveness. The man finally lost all patience and springing to his feet vociferated, "Why don't you go at him with a fi.fa., a demurrer, a capias, a surrebutter, or a ne exeat, or something; or a nundam pactum or a non est?" The President then observed, "I wish McClellan would go at the enemy with something--I don't care what. General McClellan is a pleasant and scholarly gentleman. He is an admirable engineer, but he seems to have a special talent as a stationery engine."

One of the last acts that President Lincoln did before that fateful night at Ford's Theater was the signing of a proclamation putting the phrase "in God we trust" on federal money. The motto was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout persons. The first known appeal came in a November, 1861, letter written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, just north of Honesdale.

For more information, please consult www.oatsfestival.com or the top portion of this web site.

Harley is home! The wandering Lab decided to come home. Call off the search teams!

On this date in...

1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Readjustment Act of 1944, more commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights. One of the most important governmental measures of the years following World War II, the bill was designed to provide greater opportunities for returning war veterans. Almost 8 million veterans have taken advantage of the program.

1959, Eddie Lubanski bowled 24 consecutive strikes (two perfect games), back-to-back, in a bowling tournament in Miami.

1969, Judy Garland, then 47, died in London of a Seconal overdose. Her death was attributed to "an incautious self-overdose of sleeping pills." More than 22,000 people filed past her bier in New York City. Her first appearance was that of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

1970, President Nixon signed a measure lowering the voting age to 18.

1985, People Magazine counted the deaths in Sylvester Stallone's Rambo movie and found that 44 were killed, an average of one person dying every 2.1 minutes. Seventy explosions killed an unknown number of people in the movie.

Gregory James "Greg" Kelchner, 34, (June 12, 1970-June 20, 2004), 4394 Red Rock Road, died Sunday at Geisinger Medical Center, where he was a patient. Greg had ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). The viewing will be held Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 PM at the Stillwater Christian Church. The Funeral Service will be Thursday at 11 AM at the church with burial in the Benton Cemetery. A complete obituary can be found in Tuesday's Press Enterprise.

At the Benton Area School Board meeting Monday night...
• Retiring teacher, Tom Wenner, received a certificate for 21 years
of service.
• Jay McHenry received an award for his efforts to integrate technology into education.
• Cherie Roberts reported on the Adult Technology classes recently
completed by 20 members of the community. Cherie with Christina Wood plus assistance from Edward Cole and Miles Cole, cited an impressive list of accomplishments by the class.
• The final amount of scholarships awarded to the graduating class totaled $665,000, a surprising $125,000 increase over last year. When shared by many of the 45 graduating members of the class, it is an impressive amount.
• Summer school runs from Wednesday, June 30, through July 21.
• A Benton Area School District budget of $8,870,999 was approved for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2005. The tax rate will be 41.0 mils on assessed evaluation of real estate ($41 on each thousand dollars of assessed valuation of taxable property).
• Samantha Andes was hired as a teacher's aide, as was Felicia
Lingafelt. Jeffrey Kelsey was hired in a full-time maintenance/custodial position. Tom Wenner was hired as a substitute teacher.
• Coaches were hired as follows: boys basketball, Head Coach Michael
Klem, assisted by Paul DuMond. Girls basketball, Head Coach Carrie
Lockard and Assistant Coach, Allison Cross. Wrestling head coach is
Eric Kocher with Scott Schaffer as assistant. The cheerleading advisor is Ruth McHenry. Tom Daugher will coach Junior High Basketball.

The school board meeting last night brought a story in from a reader. We first heard the story from Karl Fritz about a friend of his in the Jamison City school who was called upon to recite for the class. The young fellow twisted and turned while the teacher prodded him for the verses. The poem of the moment would not come but the young lad came up with one of his own.

"Oh Lord of love
come down from above,
and pity us poor scholars.
We hired a fool to teach our school
and paid him forty dollars."

An impressive list of venders plan to attend the flea market July 10 in the Benton Park. Vendors are still wanted. Call 925-2334 to make sure that you have a spot reserved for you. The rent for the space is simply a donation to the Benton Park.

We remember a gas station in the Eastern part of the state because we had to pay for gasoline there by carefully poking bills through bars on a window. Not that we ever considered such a thing, but we vowed on the spot that we would never live under conditions like that! By way of contrast, we attempted to check out a purchase at the UniMart yesterday and found that we were $.68 short. Embarrassed, we put the chocolate milk back in the cooler, but one of the employees on duty reached into her jeans and advanced us the necessary money. A true example of the Back Home in Benton, PA, spirit!

It appears that there will be both teaberry and real red raspberry ice cream at the festival at St. James Church July 3 starting at 4 PM. We'll keep you updated. At this point, seven flavors of ice cream have been announced. The flavors are banana, chocolate, peanut butter, pineapple, strawberry, teaberry and vanilla. Hamburger barbecue, hot dogs and homemade soup will be served.

The upper Fishing Creek Valley has a long history of grist and flour mills. Somewhere across from Benton Park there once was a mill dam. We have read where traces of the mill race were still evident in 1929. The mill race lead downstream to the Parvin Masters shingle mill, erected in 1870 as a planing mill and furniture factory and later changed to a Buhr process flour mill. In 1898, the mill became a fifty-barrel roller process mill. Even later, the mill was changed from a Buhr--meaning "millstone" mill--to a roller mill and it still operates in 2004 as the Benton Roller Mills. Nearby were other mills, many of which are covered under FEATURES on this web site.

Old Country Grist Mills was the subject of a North Mountain Historical Society meeting Monday.

Bob Webster, a former miller and a retired educator, was the guest speaker at the packed session. He told how he grew up with "flour running through his veins."

The business of milling is an old and honored profession, and the speaker traced it back 1100 to 1200 years before Christ. The basics of milling with millstones always involves a pair of stones. The bottom stone is called the "bed stone." The top stone is called the "runner." The stones are normally grooved so the feed can work to the outside of the turning stones and to keep the heat--and the danger of fire--from building.

The first mills from Roman times used slaves are power. Mills moved toward the use of animals and later started using water for power. Locally, mills used overshot and sometimes undershot water wheels, with the water channeled over or under the wheel. The flow of the water caused the wheel to turn. This rotary motion was transferred through a system of belts and pulleys and gears to operate the mill machinery. Later water powered turbines were used instead of mill wheels.

There were at least three levels of activity inside a mill. Water flowed from a gate at the spot where creek water dammed. The water then passed through a flume on the creek side of the mill frequently called a "race," down a steep incline to the lower level of the mill where the rushing water turned the turbine. A series of belts, pulleys and gears transferred energy from the water's force to the machinery which operated the mill.

The upper floors of mills were used for storage. The middle floors had most of the machinery for making the flour or grist. Customers brought their grain to loading docks where it was weighed, and each customer's information, including weight and type of the grain, was recorded. The grain was then poured into hoppers in the basement of the mill and from there carried to different locations in the mill by small scoops attached to conveyor belts. A fine mesh silk screen sifted the flour to remove impurities and stray hulls.

The finished product was poured into grain bags unique to the mill to return to the farmer. This bag came from the Norton Cole Mills known as the West Creek Mills.

On this date in...
1633, Galileo Galilei was found guilty and convicted of "suspected heresy" for publicly saying the Earth and other planets orbit around the sun.

1788, The United State Constitution went into effect.

1940, Richard M. Nixon married Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan.

1948, Columbia Records introduced the 33-rpm record. Each side of the "long-playing" record played for up to 23 minutes, compared to four minutes for the 78-rpm record.

1958, Bobby Darin recorded Splish Splash, a song that took 12 minutes to write. Darin died during heart surgery in 1973.

1964, Jim Bunning pitched the first National League perfect game in 84 years, leading the Phillies to a 6-0 win over the New York Mets. On November 3, 1998, Jim Bunning was elected U.S. Senator for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a position he holds to this day.

1975, The Captain and Tennille's Love Will Keep Us Together was the number 1 song.

The Tom Hanks film The Terminal, which opened Friday in the United States, is loosely based upon the experience of Merhan Karimi Nasseri, waiting for a flight out of France, he claims, for the last ten years. He lives in the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. Dreamworks paid him an estimated $250,000 for the rights to make the movie and he is the subject of three other films, two of them documentaries. Expelled from Iran for protesting against the shah, he somehow landed in Paris without any documents. Because of his mental condition and Europe's stiff stance toward refugees, the state kept him in a legal limbo. Living in a Catch 22 situation, Belgian authorities offer proof of his original refugee papers, but insist he pick them up in person, but won't let him into the country to do that. The Hollywood version of the movie is about a fictitious Balkan traveler (Tom Hanks) stranded at New York's JFK Airport.

We recently asked readers to help us remember the writing on a monument that once stood at the intersections of route 239 and route 487, near the old Yost's Restaurant.

A reader from New Mexico knew, as well she should! Her father ran the restaurant near the bridge. Geraldine Yost Laubach writes, "The monument between Yost's and the mill had names of towns, arrows pointing and mileage. Names like Wilkes-Barre with arrow pointing toward the town and how many miles. There was Bloomsburg, Red Rock, and I can't think of the rest. It was taken out when the road was changed." Thanks, Geraldine! Geraldine also wrote, "I sure wish you could send some rain out here. It is so dry." She tells us that East New Mexico has been getting storms, but they haven't "seen any since early April." We're moving toward a dry spell here, too! We went for a whole day yesterday without a drop of rain! Merton and Geraldine Laubach, formerly of Benton, now live in Vanderwagon, New Mexico, adjacent to Zuni and Navajo Indian reservations.

The Press Enterprise reported that Greg Kelchner,who turned 34 just nine days ago died Sunday, June 20, at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville. Arrangements will be announced by the McMichael Funeral Home Inc., Benton. Greg had Lou Gehrig's disease.

On this date in...

1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Readjustment Act of 1944, more commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights. One of the most important governmental measures of the years following World War II, the bill was designed to provide greater opportunities for returning war veterans. Almost 8 million veterans have taken advantage of the program.

1959, Eddie Lubanski bowled 24 consecutive strikes (two perfect games), back-to-back, in a bowling tournament in Miami.

1969, Judy Garland, then 47, died in London of a Seconal overdose. Her death was attributed to "an incautious self-overdose of sleeping pills." More than 22,000 people filed past her bier in New York City. Her first appearance was that of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

1970, President Nixon signed a measure lowering the voting age to 18.

1985, People Magazine counted the deaths in Sylvester Stallone's Rambo movie and found that 44 were killed, an average of one person dying every 2.1 minutes. Seventy explosions killed an unknown number of people in the movie.

Gregory James "Greg" Kelchner, 34, (June 12, 1970-June 20, 2004), 4394 Red Rock Road, died Sunday at Geisinger Medical Center, where he was a patient. Greg had ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). The viewing will be held Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 PM at the Stillwater Christian Church. The Funeral Service will be Thursday at 11 AM at the church with burial in the Benton Cemetery. A complete obituary can be found in Tuesday's Press Enterprise.

At the Benton Area School Board meeting Monday night...
• Retiring teacher, Tom Wenner, received a certificate for 21 years
of service.
• Jay McHenry received an award for his efforts to integrate technology into education.
• Cherie Roberts reported on the Adult Technology classes recently
completed by 20 members of the community. Cherie with Christina Wood plus assistance from Edward Cole and Miles Cole, cited an impressive list of accomplishments by the class.
• The final amount of scholarships awarded to the graduating class totaled $665,000, a surprising $125,000 increase over last year. When shared by many of the 45 graduating members of the class, it is an impressive amount.
• Summer school runs from Wednesday, June 30, through July 21.
• A Benton Area School District budget of $8,870,999 was approved for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2005. The tax rate will be 41.0 mils on assessed evaluation of real estate ($41 on each thousand dollars of assessed valuation of taxable property).
• Samantha Andes was hired as a teacher's aide, as was Felicia
Lingafelt. Jeffrey Kelsey was hired in a full-time maintenance/custodial position. Tom Wenner was hired as a substitute teacher.
• Coaches were hired as follows: boys basketball, Head Coach Michael
Klem, assisted by Paul DuMond. Girls basketball, Head Coach Carrie
Lockard and Assistant Coach, Allison Cross. Wrestling head coach is
Eric Kocher with Scott Schaffer as assistant. The cheerleading advisor is Ruth McHenry. Tom Daugher will coach Junior High Basketball.

The school board meeting last night brought a story in from a reader. We first heard the story from Karl Fritz about a friend of his in the Jamison City school who was called upon to recite for the class. The young fellow twisted and turned while the teacher prodded him for the verses. The poem of the moment would not come but the young lad came up with one of his own.

"Oh Lord of love
come down from above,
and pity us poor scholars.
We hired a fool to teach our school
and paid him forty dollars."

An impressive list of venders plan to attend the flea market July 10 in the Benton Park. Vendors are still wanted. Call 925-2334 to make sure that you have a spot reserved for you. The rent for the space is simply a donation to the Benton Park.

We remember a gas station in the Eastern part of the state because we had to pay for gasoline there by carefully poking bills through bars on a window. Not that we ever considered such a thing, but we vowed on the spot that we would never live under conditions like that! By way of contrast, we attempted to check out a purchase at the UniMart yesterday and found that we were $.68 short. Embarrassed, we put the chocolate milk back in the cooler, but one of the employees on duty reached into her jeans and advanced us the necessary money. A true example of the Back Home in Benton, PA, spirit!

It appears that there will be both teaberry and real red raspberry ice cream at the festival at St. James Church July 3 starting at 4 PM. We'll keep you updated. At this point, seven flavors of ice cream have been announced. The flavors are banana, chocolate, peanut butter, pineapple, strawberry, teaberry and vanilla. Hamburger barbecue, hot dogs and homemade soup will be served.

The upper Fishing Creek Valley has a long history of grist and flour mills. Somewhere across from Benton Park there once was a mill dam. We have read where traces of the mill race were still evident in 1929. The mill race lead downstream to the Parvin Masters shingle mill, erected in 1870 as a planing mill and furniture factory and later changed to a Buhr process flour mill. In 1898, the mill became a fifty-barrel roller process mill. Even later, the mill was changed from a Buhr--meaning "millstone" mill--to a roller mill and it still operates in 2004 as the Benton Roller Mills. Nearby were other mills, many of which are covered under FEATURES on this web site.

Old Country Grist Mills was the subject of a North Mountain Historical Society meeting Monday.

Bob Webster, a former miller and a retired educator, was the guest speaker at the packed session. He told how he grew up with "flour running through his veins."

The business of milling is an old and honored profession, and the speaker traced it back 1100 to 1200 years before Christ. The basics of milling with millstones always involves a pair of stones. The bottom stone is called the "bed stone." The top stone is called the "runner." The stones are normally grooved so the feed can work to the outside of the turning stones and to keep the heat--and the danger of fire--from building.

The first mills from Roman times used slaves are power. Mills moved toward the use of animals and later started using water for power. Locally, mills used overshot and sometimes undershot water wheels, with the water channeled over or under the wheel. The flow of the water caused the wheel to turn. This rotary motion was transferred through a system of belts and pulleys and gears to operate the mill machinery. Later water powered turbines were used instead of mill wheels.

There were at least three levels of activity inside a mill. Water flowed from a gate at the spot where creek water dammed. The water then passed through a flume on the creek side of the mill frequently called a "race," down a steep incline to the lower level of the mill where the rushing water turned the turbine. A series of belts, pulleys and gears transferred energy from the water's force to the machinery which operated the mill.

The upper floors of mills were used for storage. The middle floors had most of the machinery for making the flour or grist. Customers brought their grain to loading docks where it was weighed, and each customer's information, including weight and type of the grain, was recorded. The grain was then poured into hoppers in the basement of the mill and from there carried to different locations in the mill by small scoops attached to conveyor belts. A fine mesh silk screen sifted the flour to remove impurities and stray hulls.

The finished product was poured into grain bags unique to the mill to return to the farmer. This bag came from the Norton Cole Mills known as the West Creek Mills.

On this date in...
1633, Galileo Galilei was found guilty and convicted of "suspected heresy" for publicly saying the Earth and other planets orbit around the sun.

1788, The United State Constitution went into effect.

1940, Richard M. Nixon married Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan.

1948, Columbia Records introduced the 33-rpm record. Each side of the "long-playing" record played for up to 23 minutes, compared to four minutes for the 78-rpm record.

1958, Bobby Darin recorded Splish Splash, a song that took 12 minutes to write. Darin died during heart surgery in 1973.

1964, Jim Bunning pitched the first National League perfect game in 84 years, leading the Phillies to a 6-0 win over the New York Mets. On November 3, 1998, Jim Bunning was elected U.S. Senator for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a position he holds to this day.

1975, The Captain and Tennille's Love Will Keep Us Together was the number 1 song.

The Tom Hanks film The Terminal, which opened Friday in the United States, is loosely based upon the experience of Merhan Karimi Nasseri, waiting for a flight out of France, he claims, for the last ten years. He lives in the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. Dreamworks paid him an estimated $250,000 for the rights to make the movie and he is the subject of three other films, two of them documentaries. Expelled from Iran for protesting against the shah, he somehow landed in Paris without any documents. Because of his mental condition and Europe's stiff stance toward refugees, the state kept him in a legal limbo. Living in a Catch 22 situation, Belgian authorities offer proof of his original refugee papers, but insist he pick them up in person, but won't let him into the country to do that. The Hollywood version of the movie is about a fictitious Balkan traveler (Tom Hanks) stranded at New York's JFK Airport.

We recently asked readers to help us remember the writing on a monument that once stood at the intersections of route 239 and route 487, near the old Yost's Restaurant.

A reader from New Mexico knew, as well she should! Her father ran the restaurant near the bridge. Geraldine Yost Laubach writes, "The monument between Yost's and the mill had names of towns, arrows pointing and mileage. Names like Wilkes-Barre with arrow pointing toward the town and how many miles. There was Bloomsburg, Red Rock, and I can't think of the rest. It was taken out when the road was changed." Thanks, Geraldine! Geraldine also wrote, "I sure wish you could send some rain out here. It is so dry." She tells us that East New Mexico has been getting storms, but they haven't "seen any since early April." We're moving toward a dry spell here, too! We went for a whole day yesterday without a drop of rain! Merton and Geraldine Laubach, formerly of Benton, now live in Vanderwagon, New Mexico, adjacent to Zuni and Navajo Indian reservations.

The Press Enterprise reported that Greg Kelchner,who turned 34 just nine days ago died Sunday, June 20, at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville. Arrangements will be announced by the McMichael Funeral Home Inc., Benton. Greg had Lou Gehrig's disease.

On this date in...
• 1793, Eli Whitney applied for a cotton gin patent. The cotton gin was on the forefront of the concept of American mass-production.
• 1863, the first bank to get a charter from the United States Congress was The National Bank of Philadelphia.
• 1909, Errol Flynn entered the world, the swashbuckling role model for actors like Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harrison Ford.
• 1948, the The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971) was first televised. The show was known as Toast of the Town until 1955. The Ed Sullivan Show presented more than 10,000 performers Sunday nights for more than two decades.

Eleanor Laubach, 84, 69 Saddlerock Road, was flown to Geisinger Medical Center following a car accident in South Centre township Saturday.

Eric Hess, 12, wrestles for the Tigers Back Home in Benton, PA. He just won the 80-pound Schoolboy state title in freestyle and finished second in Greco-Roman at the Schoolboy National Dual Meet tournament. Read the entire story in today's Press Enterprise.

The Columbia County Covered Bridges Association breakfast Saturday morning at the Masonic Hall in Orangeville was a great success, according to Bob Parks, newsletter editor for the group, and there certainly seemed to be plenty to eat. The objectives of the group are the care, restoration and preservation of some very historic structures. They presently own the Josiah Hess and Stillwater Bridges and may be acquiring an additional bridge in the near future.

A fire of suspicious origin damaged one of the two Twin Bridges at Forks April 21 of this year. Leaves piled beside the bridge apparently caught fire. Firemen kicked out boards on the side of the bridge and extinguished flames coming from a major support beam. The bridges were closed at the time of the fire following a November 2003 wind that ripped through the upper Fishing Creek Valley and blew a tree down onto the east Paden Covered Bridge roof, and did extensive damage to it.

The bridges are the pride of Columbia County. They span Huntington Creek in Fishing Creek Township, east of Route 487 and a stone's throw east of Forks, off route 1020. Both bridges were constructed in 1884 by W.C. Pennington and named for John Paden, a sawmill operator who came to the area about 1810 and lived near the bridges.

The Twin bridges will be closed until at least October for reconstruction. The bid request for the reconstruction is now "on the street," with bids due in by July 1.

A new bridge of pre-stressed concrete was opened for traffic in 1962 over legislative route 19068, in order to get around the wooden structures. The new bridge was slightly upstream of the twin bridges. A company out of Lancaster, H. R. Miller, built the bridge and relocated the highway at a cost of $334,786.12.

The two bridges are not identical twins. One, West Paden, is of the style of Theodore Burr, a combination of king posts and queen post trusses with an over all arch structure. This bridge has a clear length between supporting abutments of approximately 78 feet, portal to portal of approximately 95 feet. The East Paden bridge is shorter, 72 feet from portal to portal and 58 feet between abutments. Because of its shorter length, construction was of a simpler queen post truss with supplementary bracing and with iron tie rods.

The name "Forks" was apparently not always a popular name. The original name of Forks was Pealertown. The name of the post office in the village of Pealertown was changed to Forks in 1855, changed back to Pealertown in 1861 and back to Forks in 1871.

Elias M. Laubach was a farmer and pump manufacturer and operated a "shingle and chop mill and a pump manufactory" at Forks. Mr. Laubach delivered his pumps over the twin covered bridges and a capsule look at Elias is worthwhile.

Elias was a grandson of Peter Laubach, who came to the Light Street area from Northampton County, and Elizabeth Stetler Laubach. Peter Laubach was a cooper and in later years a farmer. The couple had five children: Jacob, Lydia, George, one who died in infancy, and John. Peter's son George (1804-1853), a carpenter, was the father of Elias. George's wife was "Misa Elizabeth McHenry" (died 1888), daughter of Daniel McHenry. Their children were Mary, Sarah Ann, John C., Anjaline, and Elias M. Elias was born late in 1828 and was a carpenter until 1857 when he went into pump-making, with farming as a sideline. He bought a farm owned by a man named Ed Hull, "across Huntington Creek from Forks," in 1883. He married "Miss Savilla," daughter of Daniel and Catherine Pealer, in 1858.

And if you are wondering why bridges were covered, we rely not on the "shelter from the elements" or the "keep the horses from panicking at the moving water" theories. We like what someone once wrote, "Our bridges were covered, my dear sir, for the same reason that our belles wore hoop skirts and crinolines--to protect the structural beauty that is seldom seen, but nevertheless appreciated."

The Twin bridges will be closed until at least October, but the group have a number of interesting events coming up, including the Covered Bridges Annual "Dinner on the Bridge," Sept 14, 2004, which will be held at the Masonic Lodge at Orangeville, and the Twin Bridges Festival, normally held at the Twin Bridges Park, scheduled for this year in the Benton Park, October 8-10.

The group Nothin' Fancy will appear at Out Among the Stars Bluegrass Festival at the Benton Rodeo Grounds on Thursday and Friday, July 1 and 2. In fact, this exciting group will be the first to perform Thursday night when the festival opens.

The group formed as a bluegrass band in 1994 to compete in the East Coast Bluegrass Championship in Crimora, Virginia. Since their debut, they have grown in popularity, released five full length albums, and played the Ryman Theatre in Nashville and Lincoln Center in New York City. They have their own Virginia bluegrass festival in Buena Vista, now in its third year.

In 2002 Pinecastle Records released Nothin' Fancy's first project on their label, a recording entitled Once Upon A Road. Mike Andes, who plays mandolin and guitar, is the group's lead singer and the writer of most of their original songs. Mitchell Davis plays banjo, and he produced the band's three self-released albums. Gary Farris is the tenor voice and guitarist. Tony Shorter sets the beat for the band on upright bass. Chris Sexton, the fiddler, is the newest member of the group. All of its members are native Virginians. They appeared last year at the OATS Festival, and the audience's response to their music triggered an early invitation for them to return this year.

The OATS Festival is held at the Benton Rodeo Ground from Thursday, July 1 through Sunday, July 4. Tickets are available at the gate for all four days (which includes rough camping) or for individual days.

A new resident of Sugarloaf Township, a weight challenged but happy black Lab named Harley, has decided to check out his new surroundings and has not returned home. He has been seen all around Cambra wagging his tail and saying "hello." If you happen to see him, please invite him to a bowl of cold water and call Anis at 864-0750.

Reservations in the great outdoors of Pennsylvania's State Parks are as easy as calling 888-PA-PARKS.

Yesterday was not a good day. It isn't easy to put a finger on any one thing. It wasn't specifically the terrible situation in the Sudan where fighting has displaced more than 1 million people and forced more than 150,000 refugees to neighboring Chad. It wasn't that the sheer enormity of those numbers boggles our mind. It wasn't the uncertainty of the world in general, or the beheading of the American hostage kidnapped in the Saudi capital Riyadh or the prospect of a town with little money cranking up to go deeply in debt for a new municipal building or that the prospects of getting rid of its old municipal building without complications are dismal at best or that the Christian Church in town suffered a washout, or that friends are suffering ill health or that our desk is so cluttered that we can't find anything, or that there are only 24 hours in a day and not enough time to get everything down. True, these are all things that tend to make for very unsettled days. Still, it was not the big things that got us down. The piddly things were the backbreakers.

The people who think that the pleasantry, "How are you" is a question rather than a greeting, the people who smoke and cloud up the air, the nuisance rain, the people who act surprised when at the checkout line they forget to get their money or their ATM cards out in advance--these are the little things we are talking about. These are the exact people who have just ordered the last one of the only thing on a menu that we want, they are the ones who always park their carcasses in doorways and their cars on the one-lane alleys.

They are the ones who litter the countryside and invade our privacy and leave voice mail with bad phone numbers and send us spam and pop-ups and forward email about absurd statements of nontruth. Their cell phones go off when we are eating, they drive too fast and unpredictable when they are young and too slow when they are old and gape at the strangest things when they are in their in-between years. They roller blade on bank parking lots and town streets and don't deposit their litter in receptacles and sit on their front porches until much later at night than we think is prudent.

Some days, the little things bother us the most.

The Columbia County Covered Bridges Association will host their third annual "Breakfast on the Bridge," at the Oriental Lodge Hall, Route 487, Orangeville, this morning from 7:30 to 10:30, rain or shine. The breakfast costs $6 and children under 5 are free.

Eddie and Martha Adcock will appear at the "Out Among the Stars" Bluegrass Festival at the Benton Rodeo Grounds on Saturday, July 3.

Eddie Adcock was born and raised in Scottsville, Virginia. Shortly after getting his first banjo as a child, he began performing with his brother Frank singing in local churches and radio stations near Charlottesville. In his teens, he played in a band called the James River Playboys. He left home when he was 14 and supported himself through semi-professional boxing. For seven years, he boxed during the day and played music at night, then switched to racing cars and won 34 straight. He continued to play music at night. In 1953, Eddie joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys and later worked with Mac Wiseman, Bill Harrell, and Buzz Busby. He played with Bill Monroe in 1957 and 1958, and he played with the Blue Grass Boys for a short time. Adcock founded the band IInd (Second) Generation in 1971. In 1996, Adcock was inducted into the IBMA's Hall of Honor as a member of the "Classic" Country Gentlemen. Eddie now lives in Nashville, where he performs and runs a state-of-the-art recording studio.

Martha Hearon began playing stringed instruments with her South Carolina family when she was 8. Although classically trained, she was drawn to bluegrass music. Martha joined IInd Generation in 1973 to mix sound and later performed with the group. Eddie and Martha married in 1976. They formed Eddie Adcock and Talk of the Town with Missy Raines on bass and toured with David Allan Coe in a 7-piece band doing country rock.

Eddie and Martha have appeared on Austin City Limit, Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree, TNN's Nashville Now and Wildhorse Saloon, Grassroots To Bluegrass, and numerous NPR specials. They currently record for the Pinecastle label.

On this date in...
1429, French forces under Joan of Arc and Duc D'Alencon defeated the English at the battle of Patay.
1812, the United States issued a declaration of war against Great Britain beginning the War of 1812. Violations of America's rights on the high seas and the involvement of the British in Indian uprisings on the American frontiers were causes.
1815, former French emperor Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo, Belgium. Almost 50,000 men were killed or severely injured in the one-day battle. Napoleon was an impatient person. Once at a hot-air balloon launch there was a delay in the launch. He simply cut the balloon loose with a penknife because he was tired of waiting.
1873, Civil Rights leader Susan B. Anthony was found guilty of voting. She told the judge, "I will never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty...resistance to tyranny is obedience to God."
1898, Atlantic City opened its Steel Pier and featured a horse that would dive off the pier into a pool. Many from the area went to hear Bobby Vinton.
1927, The United States Post Office offered a 10-cent postage stamp honoring Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis," the first stamp to feature the name of a living American.
1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman passenger to fly across the Atlantic.
1939, "Ellery Queen" debuted on CBS radio. Just before the program ended, the show was stopped for a panel of experts to guess the mystery's solution.
1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to act as if "This was their finest hour."
1953, In a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers, 17 major league baseball records were tied or broken. The Sox hit 17 runs in the seventh inning, winning 23-3.

Ira McHenry, 91, Danville, needs your prayers today. Ira was treated and released from the Geisinger yesterday.

The hard rainstorms of Thursday penetrated the inside of the Benton Christian Church. ABC Construction is installing a new roof and between hail, rain and even a tornado warning for Columbia County, the damage was done. Water even ran into the basement from the roof leaks. As of midmorning Friday, water had been collected in 15 pots and garbage cans and saucers. Water that came through the ceiling of the church was black from the roof and there is a lot of discoloring inside the church. Many of the overhead ceiling lights had water poured through them.

Interested in politics? Try the brainchild of University of Virginia Center for Politics director Larry Sabato, which he calls "the Crystal Ball." The site started as a single pre-election seminar on national presidential, gubernatorial, and Congressional contests.

Rep. John Gordner reported that he heard from DCNR that they had approved a $150.000 grant for the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center. The Berwick legislator said that the Capital bill has been passed by the senate with the Community Center request attached. They sent it to the House, but the House has another amendment to attach. He said that meant that some Representative had a project that he wants to push. The bill will come back to the Senate for signature and go to the Governor. John said that the Governor should get it next week.

When Daniel Boone did his thing in the wilderness, was he carrying his trusty Kentucky Rifle or his trusty Pennsylvania rifle? Well, if you count where it was made, it was a Pennsylvania rifle. Daniel Boone was born in 1734 in a log cabin in Berks County, near present-day Reading. When he went to what was then called 'Kaintuck,' he carried his rifle. Once there, the rifle was called a "Kentucky rifle." Others call them American long rifles, and sometimes "Lancaster rifles."

Pennsylvania Gov. William Scranton issued a challenge in 1963 to Kentucky's governor and set up "Interstate Shooting Matches" using the historical weapons. Whichever state won would be entitled to name the rifle, the way the two governors saw it!

The headline on the Harrisburg Evening News of September 30, 1963, tells the tale: "Punkin' Balls Bounced Off State's Ego By Them Thar Rifle-Totin' Kaintucks." According to the article, "Kentuckians not only are not about to give up their claim to the long rifle, but they don't even need to take us seriously when armed." Shooters from Pennsylvania lost the match, 1,074 points to Kentucky's 1,189, even though Scranton himself "took a calm aim and blew a hole in the target so close to dead center, nobody but the hundreds of witnesses who saw it will believe it."

From the world of entertainment...
• The Bloomsburg Theatre Company presents The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, July 16 through August 2, 2004. There is a Benton connection to this play and we'll tell you about it in the coming weeks.
• A movie by Stephen Spielberg, "The Terminal," comes out today. Tom Hanks plays a man who becomes stuck in a New York airport after a coup in his country. The reviews aren't that great. One review said the movie itself was a lot like being stuck in an airport!

Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time will appear at the Out Among the Stars Bluegrass Festival at the Benton Rodeo Grounds on Friday, July 2. Two performances are scheduled for 3:30 and 8:30 PM. Larry Cordle is a superb song-writer. His songs have been recorded by George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Diamond Rio ("Mama Don't Forget To Pray For Me") Loretta Lynn, Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss, The Osborne Brothers, Ricky Skaggs ("Highway 40 Blues"), George Jones, John Michael Montgomery, John Anderson, and Gene Watson. His songs have appeared on recordings that have sold a combined total of 50 million copies. He was nominated for a Grammy in 1992, the same year he received the IBMA Song Of The Year award for the song "Lonesome Standard Time."

Cordle is best known for his Nashville-bashing song "Murder on Music Row." The recording of this protest of commercialism in country music by George Strait and Alan Jackson led to the irony of the song receiving the Country Music Association's award for "Song of the Year" in 2000. A USA Today review says the song is "a real killer, so to speak. It's a honky-tonk lament that could be the country anthem for the times, a poignant yet pointed commentary about how honest-to-goodness country music has fallen victim to the industry's obsession with pop-crossover success." A review in Bluegrass Unlimited magazine said that they were "sure that real country music isn't dead. Every once in a while, though, it manages to show a flicker of its old personality. As long as we've got artists like Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time, there will always be some who remember it just like it used to be."

In creating Lonesome Standard Time, Cordle selected excellent musicians, including bassist Terry Eldredge singing tenor, and Jenee Keener, 19, on fiddle and high baritone. Banjo player David Talbot is a solid baritone. Booie Beach plays lead guitar. The instrumental abilities of these players combine with Larry Cordle's impressive singing and songwriting to deliver a hard-drivin' bluegrass sound. The group calls itself "a bluegrass band with a rock 'n' roll attitude."

Well hello, it's good to hear your voice
I hate to call so late, but I didn't have a choice
I'm calling you from dallas, headed for l.a.
I wish I had more time to talk, there's so much to say.
--"Mama Don't Forget To Pray For Me," Larry Shell/Larry Cordle.

Joe Nardone and the All-Stars fan pin worn around town yesterday by Kelly Yost.

Joe always took center stage and he always opened with Brown-Eyed Girl. No one played the saxophone like Joe.

Joe is married to the former Irene Hasay, Cambra.

June 17, 2004. Allen Harvey celebrates his birthday today, and Michael and Carol Ann Bath, Bendertown, celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary. It is also the birthday of religious leader John Wesley, born in England in 1703. Wesley officially established the Methodist Church.

On this date in...
1775, British forces defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill at Breed's Hill near Boston.

1856, Philadelphia hosted the first national convention of the Republican Party.

1885, the Statue of Liberty, in 350 individual pieces, sailed into New York harbor aboard the French ship Isere.

1928, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

1972, five men were arrested in the Democratic National Committee headquarters, at the Watergate in Washington, DC. Two years later, President Richard Nixon resigned after he became implicated in an attempt to cover up the political scandal.

1994, a bizarre event took place with a white Ford Bronco traveling along the freeways of Los Angeles with police cars following. In the Bronco was O.J. Simpson, then 46, hours after being charged with two counts of murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, a waiter. The procession ended at Simpson's Brentwood estate, and a new a stand-off ensued.

1997, Texas cattlemen were talking of suing talk show host Oprah Winfrey and her distribution company under a 1995 Texas law that protected agricultural products from slander. Winfrey previously had a guest who said that feeding ground-up animal parts to cattle could spread mad-cow disease to humans. Winfrey had told the audience, "It has just stopped me from eating another burger!" Cattle prices fell rapidly.

Need a death record for Pennsylvania? Try this site:
http://death-records.net/pennsylvania/death-records.htm .

We get people stopping by our inbox who have stumbled across the Benton News while surfing the net. Many take the time to email us to ask a question or make a comment. A recurring question concerns place names of the area. The standard for our area, of course, is Walter Brasch's Columbia County Place Names and we frequently point readers in that direction. In return, readers often tell us about towns they know with unusual names. Some examples...
• Caress, West Virginia, probably a family name.
• Kiss Me Quick, South Dakota, named we are told from bumps in the road known in South Dakota as "kiss-me-quicks." We suspect they are somewhat akin to the famous speed dips of Benton and the "thank-you Ma'ams" that Father used to mention with a sly smile and a knowing glance toward Mother.
• Another River, Alaska. One never knows what the next turn of the road will bring.
• Fact, Kansas, named when the post office was to be established in the area and no name had been selected. A patron innocently asked the question, "Is that a fact?" The name was the best that came to mind, so it was used.
• Culdasac, Idaho. Well, what else would you name it when the railroad came to a sudden end?
• Go to Hell, South Dakota, named when a crotchety old geezer told a stranger where to go when he made the mistake of asking a question. We also find Frostburg, Frost and Frozen, where apparently Hell is frozen over.
• Locally, names that are somewhat unusual include Hawk Hollow, Arbutus, Bald Hill, Bee Sellers, Honey Pot, Brugler Deer Lick, Waller, Catawissy Creek, Dilt's District, Dog Town, Dummy Hole, Divide, Hop Bottom, Freck's Patch and Gorrell Patch, Each town has a special story. Take Chinchilla, for example. Once known as Leach's Flats, the female postmaster of Leach's Flats felt the need to rename the village. She chose Chinchilla in honor of her cherished chinchilla shawl. And we can't forget our Indian names like Shickshinny, Macungie, Meshoppen, Mocanaqua, Wallenpaupack and many more.

Implementation of the new Universal Construction Code, which is a fancy name for the state building code, took a sudden turn in the road yesterday. The State House adopted Representative Bob Belfanti's House Bill 2668 with an amendment by State Representative Lynn Herman to exempt existing residential buildings from the Code when making alterations or repairs not involving structural changes. It now goes to the Senate.

The Federal Trade Commission has told Congress that a national "do-not-spam" list could be a target for spammers, bringing the volume of unwanted email even higher. The thinking is that the contact information on such a list would be more current than the email addresses supplied by typical spamware applications. The opposition of the FTC probably will make it more difficult for Congress to enact legislation to create a no-spam list. The antispam laws on the books have been basically ineffective.

A husband is the kind of man
Who drives me to a rage:
He can't recall my birthday
But always knows my age.
--Capper's Weekly

For drivers...
Heads up to I-80 drivers coming West from the Columbia/Luzerne county line "to near the entrance to the Mifflinville rest area." The Press Enterprise reports that beginning Monday, work will begin on approximately 1.5 miles of the westbound lanes. The paper also reports that Shickshinny will again start to enforce parking and speed regulations within the Borough. Read and heed: 25 mph on route 11 through the Borough. In Wilkes-Barre, the last remaining section of the old Carey Avenue Bridge will be demolished by explosion Monday.

Bob Kelsey is now recovering at home for the rest of the week before returning to work. Bob experienced a TIA, sometimes referred to as a "mini-stroke." He tells us that it lasted for 10 to 15 minutes and then was gone. Bob experienced it as being "very dizzy and the double vision was with one image directly above the other image. It was intense and would not subside as quickly as I had hoped." Fortunately, there was no damage and Bob expects that he will return to full activity, although he needs to add an anti-platelet drug to his medications. Some other things concerning diet and medical care will also change.

Eye-Yee, Inc. presents The "Out Among the Stars" Bluegrass Festival this year at the Benton Rodeo Grounds from Thursday, July 1 to Sunday, July 4. This is the same bluegrass festival that started in the early 1990's at Jerseytown.

The Rev. Al Lumpkin, minister of the Benton Presbyterian Church, had the job of getting the organization's name incorporated. Rev. Lumpkin said that group tried to name it for the Cajun yell, "iiiieeee," but when "I inquired about 'I.E., Incorporated,' I found that an engineering group had that name." When Rev. Lumpkin suggested 'Eye-Yee, Inc., the clerk said, "I don't think anybody else will want that one." Another name that might not be familiar is "Grillbillies," a group of friends who meet at bluegrass festivals to organize dinner feasts. Stage musicians often join them. The Grillbillies sponsor the Thursday evening pig roast.

The lineup of 16 bands for 2004 is impressive. National bands include a bluegrass group that has been around for over 40 years, "Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen." Charlie Waller will be here Saturday only (and, yes, his tour bus is still for sale). "Nothin' Fancy" returns for a second year and will play both Thursday and Friday. "Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike," a popular Tennessee band, and "Pine Mountain Railroad" will pay Friday and Saturday. "Bob Paisley and the Southern Grass," a hard-driving regional favorite, also appear Friday and Saturday. Over the next two weeks, we'll tell you about all the groups.

The 2004 festival will feature sixteen bluegrass groups. "Pickers" from nearby and pickers from out of state will pack their tents, campers, and motor homes and descend on Benton in exactly two weeks from now. Part of the joy of the festival is hearing the many campers performing music at their campsites. A person can walk around the rodeo grounds and find groups of people playing and singing familiar songs. Music in ongoing all the time, and often the stage performers are sitting in on these campsite jams.

The OATS Festival is a family event with something for just about everyone. The rough camping comes free with the four-day ticket (and children under 12 are admitted without charge). Festival tickets for whole four-day festival or for individual days are available at the gate. For more information, go to http://www.oatsfestival.com.

June 16, 2004. Today is the 168th day of 2004. There are 198 days left in the year. The official start of summer arrives in four days.

Scott and Karen Edwards celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary today. Oh, how times have changed from June 16, 1979, when they were married! President Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel had signed a peace agreement, and President Carter had declared that "Peace has come." The Pittsburgh Steelers were the top dogs, beating the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. Chrysler was on its way to losing more than $207 million in the second quarter alone. Presidential brother Billy was cleared of bad business dealings obtained through Burt Lance. Ronald Reagan said, "For the average American, the message is clear. Liberalism is no longer the answer. It is the problem."

On this date in...
1858, Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln said of the slavery issue, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Lincoln delivered these lines when accepting the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate from Illinois. In July of 1858 he challenged Democrat Stephen Douglas to a series of debates. Lincoln's skill in debating Douglas helped him win the Republican Party's nomination and his 1860 bid for president.

1903, Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Michigan. The corporation's common stock was entirely owned by Henry Ford and a few local investors. In 1919, Henry Ford bought out all of the investors and reincorporated the company in Delaware. From 1919 to 1956, all stock in the company was owned by members of the Ford Family, the Edison Institute, and the Ford Foundation.

1946, Lloyd Mangrum won the U.S. Open golf title when tournament leader Byron Nelson was given a penalty stroke following his caddie accidentally kicking his ball, costing him the title. During his career, Mangrum won thirty-four PGA tournaments.

1959, actor George Reeves, then 45, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a week before his upcoming wedding. The former star of the Superman series had recently filed a complaint with the district attorney's office about one of his married ex-girlfriends who was pursuing him. After his death, she received a huge piece of his estate.

1967, the Monterey Pop Festival started at the Monterey Fairgrounds in Northern California. Fifty thousand spectators came to the site to see Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Mamas and the Papas and The Who. Over 200,000 people gathered in and around the Monterey County Fairgrounds for the three day celebration two years before Woodstock .


The US Supreme Court has ruled in a Pennsylvania case that employers cannot be held responsible in cases of sexual harassment in the workplace if the alleged victim fails to follow established procedures to report and remediate the alleged behavior.

The Stillwater Bridge,
a Burr Arch Truss Covered Bridge

The Stillwater Covered Bridge spans Fishing Creek in the Borough of Stillwater. James McHenry built this 168-long bridge in 1849 for a cost of $1,124. It is a Burr Arch truss with a herringbone wood deck. But what does a Burr Arch Truss mean and who was Mr. Burr?

Theodore Burr (1771-1822) was born in Torrington, Connecticut, in 1771. Burr developed and patented an arch-supported truss in 1804 that became known as the "Burr Truss," the basis for many of the covered bridges built in United States in the 1800's, including the Stillwater Covered Bridge. A Burr Arch Covered Bridge can be distinguished by its curved arch. The description gets a little more complicated from there. William Shank in his book, Historic Bridges of Pennsylvania, further defines the bridge as having "ends firmly toed into the adjoining piers and supporting the upper and lower horizontal 'chords' which formed the support for the bridge floor and roof. Multiple king posts between chords, each firmly pegged to the arch, completed the structure."

Burr built a four-span bridge at Troy, New York, over the Hudson River, with spans varying from 154 to 180 feet in length. Burr also built a five-span bridge in 1804 over the Delaware River at Trenton with spans of 161, 186, 198 and two spans 203 feet in length. The bridge lasted for ninety years. Burr built a twin bridge in 1812 over the North Branch between Northumberland and Sunbury. Much of the lumber for the bridge was floated down the Susquehanna to the construction site. Burr also contracted for a bridge at Berwick. His attempt to supervise the army of people needed to construct the bridge resulted in him being constantly on the move to avoid his creditors

Pennsylvania has a Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society where you can read more about bridges in our area.

Worth visiting on the web...
• A site called the Elder Geek provides a comprehensive forum and compilation of information for Windows XP Home and Pro.
• A New York Times web page celebrates the 100th birthday of Times Square.

Do you love your computer? Would you like to listen to a concert consisting entirely of Windows sound files? Go here.

Quickies...
• Bill and Loretta (Strauch) Hiscox arrived safely home in Florida following their Benton visit. Bill especially enjoyed seeing Calvin Follmer, a classmate he had not seen since high school. Bill hints that they may return for the Bloomsburg Fair.
• Dottie Ann Pollock is back in the hospital with continuing hip problems.
• County workers in Luzerne County are worried following the commissioners' announcement of 225 layoffs by month's end.

...a universal blow throughout my whole body from head to foot, which seemed within as well as without; after which the first thing I took notice of was a violent quick shaking of my body.
--descripton by Benjamin Franklin of when he first got "shocked" by electricity.

There is probably no other inert substance which so excites the mind.
--Charles Goodyear, talking about rubber. Goodyear was obvioulsy speaking for himself.

On this date in...
1215 King John of England signed the Magna Carta in a meadow called "Ronimed." By signing the Magna Carta, King John conceded to the demands of English barons who wanted a limit on the powers of the monarchy. The Magna Carta is one of the most important and notable political documents in history establishing that the power of the king could be limited by a written grant.

1520 Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther by the bull Exsurge Domine, condemning 41 of Luther's theses as heretical.

1752 Benjamin Franklin attached an iron wire to a kite and flew it from a long piece of twine tied to a silk ribbon and then he attached a metal key. He believed that overhead electricity would be attracted to the wire at the top of the kite. As it began to lightning, he placed his hand near the key and sparks shot out. His experiment was a success and launched him into a new business selling and making lightning rods which were attached to the tops of buildings. Wires running down the side of the structure to the ground lead the electricity down the wire to ground without damaging the building.

1775 George Washington became Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.

1844 inventor Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanizing rubber to keep natural rubber from melting in the summer and hardening in the winter. Goodyear never disclosed exact details, but apparently discovered the process after experimenting for years from a jail cell. His accidental discovery happened when he dropped some rubber mixed with sulfur on a hot stove--somewhat akin to a meal we had last Tuesday night. Goodyear's resulting substance resembled resilient and elastic charred leather. Goodyear called the process vulcanization, after Vulcan the Roman God of Fire. We'll discuss that process as applied Back Home in Benton in a couple of paragraphs.

1909 Benjamin Shibe patented baseball's cork center on this day. A baseball stadium, Shibe Park in Philadelphia, was named for him. The stadium later became Connie Mack Stadium, the home of the Phillies until 1971.

Joe and Lorraine Feola will host their first summer Jammin' at the Shed this Saturday off upper Raven Creek Road. The time is 3:00-9:00 PM, and the stage opens at 5:00 PM. Light refreshments are sold. Take your lawn chairs and instruments or just go to listen to some of the area's most entertaining people. Need more information? Call 925-5201.

Ellen Patricia Benz entered the world Sunday morning, the daughter of Denise Benz and Dr. Robert Benz, Fort Collins, Colorado. Pat and Dennis Threlkeld became grandparents for the first time and haven't yet come off of the clouds.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

If today does not go well for you, remember the man who has not been able to work for years.

Remember when a relationship goes bad of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved.

If your car breaks down and you have to walk for assistance, remember the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

It may have been the result of rocks falling on route 239 as the road worked its way up the Dug Hill or it could have just been fate, but Emerson decided because of all the motorists who asked him to repair tires to start selling Firestone tires. He did well with that, and started a "retreading" tire business. Emerson retired in 1975 and son Dan, now the manager of the Shannon Tire Store on Mill Street, took over the business. In that period, you may remember that the Dol-Ang dress factory resided in the present Sub Shop building.

Dan saw an opportunity to purchase the old Sutliff Chevrolet garage on Mill Street. Doyle Sutliff had sold the garage to Loren Hess who later sold it to George Miller. Jim Vance ended up with the garage when he bought it at public auction. Jim rented the showroom to a dance studio and rented the car bays to a produce stand. Lester Boudman lived in the apartment on the second floor. Dan kept three employees at the store near the bridge, and moved the rest to Mill Street. He had a total of eleven working for the company.

An early picture of Yost's Restaurant. Can anyone tell us what the inscription was on the monument or what happened to it?

In 1979, Dan's sister, Becky Stoneham Green, opened the Sub Shop (in partnership then with Dan's wife, Betty Lou Stoneham) in the location where Yost's Restaurant had been. The Sub Shop celebrated its 25th Anniversary this year.

Dan Stoneham is now the manager of the Benton branch of the Steve Shannon Automotive Warehouse, the company that bought Dan's business. Steve founded his company in 1988. The Benton operation moved to its new Mill Street facility over a year ago.

Mending...
• Dottie Ann Pollock was released Monday from the rehabilitation hospital in Del Ray, FL. According to father Don Rabb, she seems to be doing very well. Don writes, "She is being very careful not to do anything that might cause the socket to disjoint again. We are prayfully optimistic that (her hip) will remain in place now."
• Seth Andes, 9, Park Street, remains in Geisinger Hospital, but his condition is much improved.
• Bob Kelsey was released from Geisinger about 11 AM today.

Here we go again with another virus. McAfee is warning of a new mass-mailing worm that spreads via email. The worm can both spoof the sender's From address and send itself out in different languages. The subject varies, but some examples are...
- You've got 1 VoiceMessage!
- Don't worry, be happy!
- Check this out kid!!!

The text of the body varies, but some variations are...
- Hi Honey! I'm in hurry, but i still love ya...
• (as you can see on the picture) Bye - Bye:
- Send me back bro, when you'll be done...(if you know what i mean...) See ya,

The attachment also varies. The worm will be attached with a .pif file extension.

The Benton Borough Zoning Hearing Board consisting of members Lynn Watson, Tom Wenner and Ed Stevens approved applications of...
• Dean and Beverly Ribble for a variance from the Benton Borough Zoning Ordinance relative to use regulations for a property at 240 Park Street. The 15x68-foot property runs between Park Street and McHenry Alley. The building will be used for a beauty parlor and apartment.
• John Jankowski for a variance from the Benton Borough Zoning Ordinance relative to use regulations for a property at 152 Third Street, known in the past as the Fire Hall connected to the Benton Borough Town Hall. The applicant will use a portion of the property for an internet mail order business as a home occupation.

On this date in...

1775 the Continental Congress created the United States Army in the midst of the American Revolution.

1777 during the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, John Adams "Resolved that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation." Flag Day, the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777, was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916

1923 the country music recording industry was born when Fiddlin’ John Carson recorded The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane.

1937 Pennsylvania became the first (and only) state to observe Flag Day as a legal holiday.

1951 the world's first important commercial computer, Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC I), was demonstrated by Sperry Rand
Corporation in Philadelphia. The US Bureau of the Census computer was 8 feet high, 7.5 feet wide, and 14.5 feet long.

Sometimes you have to get to know someone really well to realize you're really strangers.
~ Mary Tyler Moore

People change and forget to tell each other.
~ Lillian Hellman

Common sense is seeing things as they are; and doing things as they ought to be.
--Harriet Beecher Stowe, born on this date in 1811

A reader was stumped and asked us to help. She could not think of a specific word describing a mountain lion, and was only able to think of the word cat-a-mount. We knew the answer, but had we not we would have turned to http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml , a beta program that is more often wrong than right. Here is how it works. Enter a meaning--in this case, "cat-a-mount," and it returns a list of words that might fit your description. Try it with a term like "shoes horses."

The high school class we were part of is approaching retirement age, but many we expected would retire are not. Reasons include rising eligibility age for full Social Security benefits (age 67 in 2004), healthcare costs that keep going up, returns on investments have fallen over the past two years. Only 39% of baby boomers thought they would have enough money to live comfortably once they retire according to a recent survey. Some who can afford to stop working in their early 60s don't know how they would handle a life of leisure. Some are talking about rehirement and some are talking about freetirement.

Quickies...
• Look for resident fishing licenses to hit $20 from the current $17 sometime after election day.
• Robert Kelsey remains a patient in the Geisinger Hospital. His condition was improved Sunday night, following a stroke. Bob has offered his prayers to many over his life; it is time to return the favor.
• Did you hear about the grapefruit-sized meteorite that smashed into a house in New Zealand Saturday? The hit was a billions-to-one event. It is only the ninth meteorite ever found in New Zealand and the first to hit a home. The rock landed on a leather couch and bounced back up to the ceiling before coming to a complete stop.
• Nanticoke police arrested a naked lady riding a motorcycle Saturday evening.
• Benton's streets are being swept today. Give the workers lots of room.
• Jimmie Johnson was the man right to the finish leading the pack 126 of the 200 laps at Pocono Raceway.
• Former Friends star Courtney Cox became a Mom Sunday. She will turn 40 Tuesday.
• A state representative from Montgomery County has introduced legislation that would make flying under the influence illegal. The bill, which has the blessing of the House Transportation Committee, would give jail time and fines for violators.
• The hustle of activity at Market and Fifth Streets is site preparation for the Sun-Dry Laundry, Inc. When completed in September, the building will provide a coin laundry, drop-off laundry service, tanning and nail salon. Rick Iddings is the new owner. A laundry is long overdue for the town and we applaud Rick for getting the job done! You may also know Rick from the Affordable Self-Storage Company, providers of indoor and outdoor storage on Fifth Street, Benton, Rt. 239 and Old Tioga Turnpike, Cambra, and route 118, Grassmere. Rick owns Innovative Building and Design, Inc., builders of custom homes, log homes, additions, renovations and design.
• If you happen to be in Bellefonte on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, take a ride on "Mollie the Trolly." Historic Bellefonte Inc. is trying out the trolley service. If feasible, "Molly" could become a permanent fixture.

On this date in...
1789 Mrs. Alexander Hamilton whipped out a new dessert that we now call ice cream for visiting General George Washington. He liked it and bought a "cream machine for making ice" of his own, serving the dessert exclusively in pewter pots.

1921 "The Sultan of Swing," George Herman Ruth, Jr., hit a 460 foot home run into the center field bleachers at New York City's Polo Grounds. It was the longest home run the Babe made in his career.

1942 President Roosevelt created the Office of War Information, and appointed radio news commentator Elmer Davis to head it up. The OWI absorbed the functions of the Office of Facts and Figures, the Office of Government Reports and two other agencies.

1948 during farewell ceremonies for Babe Ruth, his uniform number 3 was retired. He died of throat cancer two months later.

1966 The Supreme Court issued its "Miranda versus Arizona" decision, ruling that criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights prior to questioning by police.

1971 Geraldine Brodrick gave birth to nine babies in Australia, one of the few recorded instances of nonuplets where nine offspring are produced during a single pregnancy. Although there have been recorded pregnancies and births of nonuplets, there are no known surviving babies.

1990 East Germany began the final demolition of the Berlin Wall, knocking out concrete slabs to reopen streets sealed from the time the Cold War barrier was built in 1961.

2004 the Bicentennial Choir under the direction of Pat Gensemer will perform Pennsylvania Proud, celebrating our Pennsylvania Heritage, at the grandstand beginning at 8 PM. The event is part of Summerfest, an advance celebration of the 150th Bloomsburg Fair.

Joe and Betty Helwig were featured in the Spring Issue of the Red Cross Matters Magazine as a thank you for the years of offering their "time, talent and treasure in support of the American Red Cross." Joe and Betty have donated more than three-quarters of a century of time and talent to the Red Cross, and have been among the organization's most steadfast financial supporters for more than 20 years.

Betty began volunteering for the Red Cross during World War II, rolling bandages for soldiers as part of a community service project Back Home in Benton, PA, where she grew up. Years later she served as a first aid instructor and blood nurse mobile volunteer in Springfield, Delaware County, where the couple raised their family. She spent more than 30 years volunteering for the Red Cross and still runs into neighbors that she trained as children in first aid years ago.

Joe has donated many hours and many pints of blood to the Red Cross over the years--more than 35 years--as a regular blood donor. He also served two three-year terms on the board of directors for the Chapter's Delaware County Branch.

The common elderberry is a shrub which grows wild in our area. Elderberry produces a purple black fruit used locally in pies, wines, jellies and jams. Elderberry blossoms are also used in wine making or can be deep fried. Elderberry is an ornamental shrub at the moment showing clusters of white berries. And the significance of this? Right now is the time to locate the wild elderberry by spotting the white berry clusters. When the berries are ripe, you will have hours to get the berries picked before the birds do the job for you. Birds are a major pest affecting elderberries. The most effective means of combating the birds is netting.

Have you lost track of the man who gave the world the Ford Mustang and kept Chrysler afloat by popularizing the minivan, Lee Iacocca? He is concentrating on olive oil instead of motor oil these day. Iacocca, 79, is the founder and principal owner of Olivio Premium Products, a butter substitute made from olive and canola oils. Iacocca claims to donate all of his profits from the company to diabetes research.

The rush is on for area businesses to get ready for the crush of people coming to Benton for the O.A.T.S. bluegrass event over the July 4 weekend. We are very pleased at the number of people who have developed a community spirit in anticipation of our upcoming out-of-town guests. While you are thinking of it, click the O.A.T.S. symbol at the top of the page to see what is planned.

Tom Wenner retired from the Benton School System Friday after teaching locally for 21 years. He taught for a total of 35 years, the early years in Emporium. Tom told us a story we had forgotten, the one about Thomas Hezekiah Mix dying.

Tom Mix appeared in about 300 Westerns, mostly released on combustible nitrate film stock which is no longer viewable. He made up to $10,000 a week by the early 1920s. Talkies ruined Tom's career. He ended up working rodeos and circuses, then died in 1940 in a freak automobile accident, his head crushed by a suitcase that flew off the rear shelf of his single-seated roadster in the middle of the desert.

Ignoring warnings that a bridge was out over a dry wash between Florence and Tucson, Mix and his 1937 Cord single seat roadster plunged off route 79 and landed in what is now named the Tom Mix Wash. His suitcase flew from its perch on the rear shelf of the roadster, and smashed the actor's head.

The subject came up when we were talking with Tom Wenner about things to do in Emporium. The Tom Mix Comes Home Museum is near Driftwood, 19 miles South of Emporium on route 120. The "museum" is on a rural road off route 555, west of Driftwood. The sign "Welcome To Tom Mix Territory," gives no clue to the miles of rutted road to Mix's birthplace and his celebrity outhouse. The current owners sell a square inch of the land around his birthplace for $10. Ronald Reagan bought ten square inches in 1986 and marked it as a contribution, so taxpayers actually paid part of it. Over his square inch is a sign reading, "The President Of The United States Owns This Lot."

The Tom Mix Museum in Dewey, Oklahoma, has a life-size replica of Tony the Wonder Horse and the suitcase of death that pulverized Mix's head. The Driftwood museum has Tom Mix's boyhood outdoor toilet and some memorabilia of when Tom Mix was a pallbearer at the funeral of Wyatt Earp. The Imperial Palace Car Museum in Las Vegas did have Tom Mix's Cord automobile, although the last time we were there we did not see it. We remember wondering if Jay Leno had just passed through.

Tom Wenner seems to be very happy to be living Back Home in Benton, PA. His earlier fascination with Emporium and Driftwood seems to have passed.

Dancers at the Benton Fire Company Building last night decided that it is definitely hip to be square. The Fire Hall was filled with happy dancers as the Masters Band from the Cambra/Huntington Mills area, with Leon Johnson doing the calling, played until 11 PM under perfect weather conditions. As the large group got fired up, overhead doors slowly rolled up and the evening breeze rolled through. The evening turned out to be very popular not only with the participants, but with the large crowd of people who stood outside the fire hall and watched the excitement inside. The Fire Hall could turn out to be the new Lightstreet Grange Hall!

Benton's newest member of Town Council, John Jankowski, was chairman of the event and seemed to cover all the bases in his planning. John may turn out to be the person who turns some members of the current Town Council around in their thinking of "us" and "them," when talking about Town Council and the Fire Company. It would be nice to have the thinking shift to "we." Anyway, The Benton Fire Co. will host a round and square dance on July 10 from 7-10 PM. Refreshments will be available. Several of us "lookers" have decided to participate next time. We're rusty and may slow down a set or two, but we'll be darned if everyone else is going to have that much fun and we're going to miss out! We'll see you on the 10th of July!

C'mon now, let's all get on down,
let's do-si-do now, we gon' have a good ol'time
Don't be scared, 'cuz there ain't nothin' to worry 'bout,
let your hair down, and square dance with me!

June 12, 2004. Greg Kelchner celebrates his birthday today as does Hobe Whitenight and they celebrate their birthdays with the 41st President, George Bush. Jane Ackerman, Jamison City, is celebrating her retirement from Northwest School System (31 years) and from teaching (34 years). Tom and Denise Kline celebrate 28 years of marriage today. Do we have a new Lightstreet Grange Hall here? There is round and square dancing at the Benton Fire Hall today (fee) and the kick-off to the Bloomsburg Fair's 150th anniversary, called Summerfest, takes place in Bloomsburg all weekend (free).

Keep Dottie Ann Pollock in your prayers. Her hip replacement operation was not successful and an additional operation appears necessary to set the hip. Dr. Ken Cross needs to be kept in your prayers, too.

We have some very important information for you about the infusion of approximately $664,000 into the educational hope chests of one of the smaller schools in the state of Pennsylvania--our own Benton Area School System. We'll get to the future after we remember the past for a moment.

On this date in...
1839 the game of baseball, as we now know it, is credited to Abner Doubleday (1819-1893), who later become a presence in book publishing. His historian, however, claims that Doubleday was not at Cooperstown in 1839 and never referred to the game, much less claimed that he invented it. His obituary in the New York Times did not mention baseball.

1923 in New York, internationally known magician Ehrich Weiss (Weiss Erik in his native Hungarian) (1874-1926) thrilled a large audience with his extraordinary act while performing as Harry Houdini. He struggled free from a straitjacket while suspended head downward and 40 feet above the ground. Houdini died of peritonitis at the age of 52 on Halloween. Houdini sustained a blow to his abdomen from a college boxing student in Montreal two weeks earlier although this incident is now not considered the cause of the peritonitis. Worth seeing: the Houdini Museum, Scranton.

1939 in Cooperstown, the Baseball Hall of Fame was formally dedicated. Serving as a shrine to Major League Baseball, the Hall of Fame still stands in honor of baseball greats of the past. Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley were elected into the Hall of Fame in 2004 and will be inducted July 23-26.

1979 one of America’s greatest legends died. Marion Morrison passed away from the ravages of cancer. Known professionally as "The Duke," John Wayne (1907-1979) was 72 and over a period of almost 50 years had made about 200 movies. His only Oscar-winning performance was True Grit."

1987 President Reagan visited the divided German city of Berlin and publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were slashed to death outside her Los Angeles home. Orenthal James Simpson--in spite of the Ford Bronco, bloody gloves, Kato Kaelin, Paula Barbieri--was acquitted of the killings in a criminal trial. O.J. was later held liable in a civil action.

Seth Andes, 9, Park Street, darted into the side of a moving Toyota Tacoma driven by Teri Castle, route 239, Benton, Friday about 12:30. The boy and others were apparently heading for a pizza at Valley Pizza and crossed route 487 from Ed Cole's Barber Shop into the side of the vehicle. Reports are that he suffered a concussion and a broken leg and Saturday's Press Enterprise indicates that he is in critical condition.

Erik Jost is stationed in Hawaii and has spent about five weeks in Korea where he earned a commendation for work as a Data Network Specialist. Eric's address is LCPL Eric P. Jost, CSSG-3 HQ CO S-6, KANEOHE BAY HI 96863. Jared Laubach, an MP, is also stationed at
Kaneohe Bay. Skyler Galgon is in Okinawa.

The June 16 meeting of the Red Hatters will be at the Hoboken Sub Shop at 2 PM.

The storybook life of our 40th president turned its last page Friday with a funeral fit for a king. Past and present world leaders eulogized former President Ronald Wilson Reagan and those who could watch television during the day did just that!

Having computer problems? Feeling down in the dumps? This is better than an aspirin.

The 45 members of the graduating class of the Benton Area School System walked across the stage at the elementary school last night and walked off with scholarships just dollars short of $665,000. A series of presenters funneled an extraordinary amount of money back to the community in scholarships from local businesses and individuals, alumni associations, clubs, colleges and universities.

The graduating seniors head off into the world in a big way. Four students received over $65,000 in scholarships each. Karla Stevens received nine scholarship awards. We have listed the complete list of scholarships, accurate to noon Friday. Other scholarships may have changed the totals after that time.

Scholarships were presented to local students who excel academically and who show promise in their chosen field of study. Past scholarships in 2002 were in the neighborhood of $500,000 and no one thought that amount could ever be topped. Last year, the figure went up slightly. The Class of 2004 raised the mark significantly!

Let's take a second to review the school. There are approximately 62 teachers resulting in 12 students per staff member, compared with the state average of 16.6. There are on average 9.5 instructional aides for the school system, or about 80 students per aide compared to the state average of 139. The three guidance counselors attend to 255 students each compared to the state average of 580. The school system has two librarians/media specialists serving about 383 students each, compared to a state average of about 931. There are three administrators serving on average 255 students compared to a state average of 438.

When we look at dollars alone, the Benton Area School System operates on a budget of about $8 million, one of the lowest school budgets in the region and the state. We often hear that larger classes will ultimately produce graduates of the same quality as smaller class size. We look at the achievements of last night and dismiss these arguments as balderdash.

School board chairman Dennis Threlkeld, one of the many thrilled with the results, said, "In this age of ever increasing public scrutiny of our educational systems' cost benefits, we tend to become slaves to the "Standard and Poors Dollars Spent vs. Test Results" mindset." He went on to say, "when you look at the whopping award and scholarship amounts that our kids put up, (and from one of the smallest schools in the state), it is gratifying to see that the hard work of the students and parents, bolstered by the investments of the communit,y really does pay off for these kids. True education, as in life itself, has many measures, and equally as many rewards."

We are very proud of our school Back Home in Benton, PA. Take the time to read the information about the scholarships awarded last night. There isn't a person reading this report who should not be extremely proud of his roots Back Home in Benton, PA.

June 11, 2004. Today is a "day of mourning" in Pennsylvania and the nation. The American Flag will be at half-staff for thirty days from the date of Reagan's death as will the Flag of the Commonwealth. Banks are closed, school is out for the summer, post offices are deserted.

Alanna M. Bath, Bendertown, celebrates her birthday today. She is turning 20. Paul and Joan Franklin celebrate their wedding anniversary.

On this date in...
1776 the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence from Britain. Thomas Jefferson was chosen by the committee to write the draft. Minor corrections were made by James Madison and Benjamin Franklin embellished it. The document was given to the Congress on the first day of July and the Congress modified and abbreviated it. The Declaration was adopted on the Fourth of July.

1936 the Presbyterian Church of America was formed in Philadelphia.

1939 the King and Queen of England came to call on President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The King and Queen were offered some of the United States' gourmet foods including American hot dogs.

1949 Hank Williams sang Lovesick Blues at his debut on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. The crowd loved his performance so much that he sang it a second time.

1973 Pennsylvania women were licensed to box and to wrestle after a ruling by the state Justice Department. Even we do not know why you needed to know this!

1993 Jurassic Park opened in packed U.S. theaters. Produced for $63 million, by 1999 the film had brought in more than $900 million.

The Italian government is considering installing a clock in the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The reason? What good is it if you have the inclination, but you don't have the time?

An article in the New York Times Thursday about New York City pigeons being captured and brought to Pennsylvania where they are sold for live pigeon shoots came across our desk about the same time as a request from Kay Taylor to see if we could find an owner for a "disabled" banded homing pigeon that has taken up residence with the folks from Lincoln Logs. The bird is "a beautiful bird, healthy other than a bad limp." We doubt that there is a connection between the two events. Anyone know of any lost homing pigeons?

Homing pigeons are a variety of domesticated doves that are bred to be able to find their way home over extremely long distances. Since any pigeon will generally return to its own nest and its own mate, it was relatively easy to selectively breed the birds that found their way home over repeated long flights. The birds carry messages in small tubes attached to one of their legs. Flights in excess of 1,500 miles have been made by birds in competition. The average flying speed is around 30 miles per hour, and they can achieve speed of 60 miles per hours for short periods.

We clearly remember that warm January day in 1981. Brother Dayne had accepted our invitation to join us on the lawn of the Capitol at the inauguration of Ronald Wilson Reagan. It was the first time that either of us had been up close and personal at an event of this nature, and this one was special since it was being held on the terrace of the West Front of the Capitol. Chief Justice Warren Burger administered the oath of office and later on inauguration day, we were all thrilled beyond description to learn that American hostages held by the government of Iran were released.

Brother Dayne was not sure how to dress for the occasion. His frame of reference when he was packing for the trip Back Home in Benton, PA, was anticipation of a bitterly cold outdoors day, no sun, some wind and lots of people. As we dressed for the event, it was evident that Dayne anticipated the worst in weather. He was prepared for anything.

We knew that we would stand for hours on end, but we didn't know much more than that. Dayne sloshed toward the car from our house in Arlington wearing his snowmobile boots and a parka that would have made the top of North Mountain in January a walk in the park!

The pass that we had was certainly a good one, but we were not alone. There were people everywhere--and many were taller than Dayne. Somehow, when the lines formed, all the tall people were shunted to the front. Dayne stood out in our area, short as he was, because of his snowmobile boots, his bright parka and the huge pair of field glasses slung around his neck. His cap with the earflaps said something like "Ed's Esso." We remember seeing a matronly woman look at Dayne, then nudge her female friend and gesture toward Dayne. Her elbow tapped her friend's elbow twice and she whispered knowingly to her friend, "FBI!"

That inauguration in Washington, the day that Ronald Reagan became president and George Bush became Vice-President, seems like yesterday.

Today we'll take our final, respectful look at the 40th president of the United States as he begins his slow procession to his funeral service at the beautiful National Cathedral. This time, we'll do it from the comfort of our living room and television.

Traveling in Maryland? The state is installing fee-based high-speed wireless Internet hotspots in their rest areas. The Internet access should be available in the next few weeks.

We remember two years ago when Dr. Robert Marler was mentioned during the graduation exercises for the class of 2002. The speech touched on Dr. Marler's background as father, husband, fisherman, writer, and accomplished educator. Bob retired as a member of the Benton Area School Board due to health reasons after contributing much to the Benton Area School District for over four years. The Marlers have now sold their home in the area and have purchased a home in New Jersey. We wish them the very best in the coming years. We'll check in from time to time to see how life is treating them, and we'll provide an occasional report.

On this date in...
1935 after completing one full day without a drink of alcohol, Dr. Robert Smith, better known as Doctor Bob, an alcoholic surgeon from Akron, and his friend William G. Wilson, an alcoholic stockbroker from New York, founded Alcoholics Anonymous. This was the beginning of a lifetime without booze for the two and for thousands more throughout the years. Bill got sober through a set of principles that he felt had saved his life, ideas that later evolved into the Twelve Steps of AA. He shared those principles with Dr. Bob and this date is officially counted as AA's founding.

1944 pitcher Joseph Henry Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds pitched in his first major league baseball game. Nuxhall became the youngest pitcher in major league baseball history when at 15 years and 314 days he pitched one game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Nuxhall was signed after receiving special permission from the player's school principle. He did not play again in the National League until 1952. He retired in 1967 and started a new career as a broadcaster for the Reds.

1988 Louis Dearborn LaMoore, the writer of the Old West, died of lung cancer at age 80. Nearly 200 million copies of his books were printed and his works translated into 20 languages. Writing under the name Louis L'Amour he published 101 books, nearly all Westerns. L'Amour personified the early frontiers of North America. More than 45 of his novels and short stories were made into films. L'Amour was the only novelist in America to receive the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, both awarded to him by President Ronald Regan. L'Amour never smoked, and it was believed that his lung cancer may have come from his work as a young man as a coal miner.

Quote of the Day:
I think of myself in the oral tradition--as a troubadour, a village tale-teller, the man in the shadows of the campfire.
--Louis L'Amour

Through July 6, General Motors will pay $250 cash to any customer who takes one of the many General Motor's 2004 vehicles home for a "24-hour test drive" and then buys another company's car instead of the GM car. In case the impact of that didn't filter through, we'll say it a different way. GM is offering free money to not buy one of their vehicles. For people who intend to buy a Ford or a Dodge, simply pick up a Chevy, drive it to the store or Aunt Margaret's house or deliver the soccer team to Cincinnati. Then 24 hours later, go to your Ford dealer's store and buy what you want and then go back and collect a check for $250 from GM. Ain't America great! Remember, you didn't hear that from us!

On Monday, June 14, Susquehanna Supply Co., Williamsport, will begin to replace the 1932 vintage one-span bridge carrying State Route 239 over West Creek in Benton Township.

The $974,000 project will replace the structure located approximately 1½ miles west of the intersection with State Route 487 with a new, one-span concrete bridge. Work will also include approximately 20,000 cubic yards of excavation to improve the sight distance at both roadway approaches to the structure, as well as associated paving, guide rail installations, drainage improvements and other roadway work.

During the construction, local traffic will have access up to the structure from either end, but the road will be closed at the bridge.

A signed detour using State Route 487, State Route 4049 (Camp Lavigne Road) and Route 118 will be utilized during the construction, from June 14 until the end of October.

The bridge is across the road from a grist mill erected by a Mr. Black about the year 1800. The mill is generally referred to as the Norton Cole Mill. Norton Cole was born in 1871, spent around 67 years in the mill, and died in 1962 at the age of 91. Ledgers, grind stones and many of the tools associated with the mill were sold at public auction in 1965. Click here to see can what the mill contains.

The open-grate deck bridge was built in 1932. Harry Warner, Akron, Ohio, lived in this house beside the bridge for many years.

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

Connect your tuner and speakers to your Dish Network connection and listen to GREAT music, compliments of Sirius! If you have Dish Network 120 channel plan or better you now receive SIRIUS satellite radio stations.

Carolyn Stevens, the Secretary of the Borough, resigned Monday night at the monthy Town Council meeting. We congratulate Carolyn for "holding up" over these many years of dedicated service to the community under what has to be difficult working conditions. We wish Carolyn the best in her future endeavors and on behalf of the community thank her for all that she has done. Council member Grant Little said, "I was sorry to learn of Carolyn's resignation at our meeting on Monday night. She has been an asset to our community for 11 years and has worked diligently to make our Borough a better place to live. I am sure the entire council wishes Carolyn well in her future endeavors." Council member Nancy Laubach also wrote saying how much Carolyn will be missed as secretary of the Borough.

Select Medical Corporation plans to open a new 30-bed long-term acute care hospital within Geisinger Medical Center, Danville. The hospital will treat patients with complex medical conditions such as respiratory failure, neuromuscular disorders, cardiac disorders, non-healing wounds, renal disorders and cancer. Select Medical Corporation now operates 80 long-term acute care hospitals in 24 states with outpatient rehabilitation clinics in approximately 777 locations.

We continue to search for a picture of the original band stand at the Benton Park. Can you help?

The "Medicare Class" of 1957 from Benton High School met for dinner last evening, and celebrated the June birthdays of some of the older members of the class. Richard Lehet and Donald Hess on June 7 and Calvin Follmer on June 4 turned 65. Class members (and their spouses) attending included Beatrice Hess Roberts, Carolyn Sue Evans Remley, Donald Hess, Ed Campbell, Bill Hiscox, David Kline and Kay Kline.

Josh Turner, who opens for Trace Adkins at the Bloomsburg Fair September 28, recently wrote a country song that deals with the stresses of war. Josh is a native of Hannah, South Carolina, and had ancestors who fought for the Confederacy. The song is in memory of a scene in the movie Gods and Generals about an aurora appearing across the night sky during a break in the fighting. Gods and Generals is the prequel to The Killer Angels, the novel upon which the film Gettysburg was based. Josh's song will eventually be part of a series of albums for a box set using the title of America Will Always Stand. Other artists including Kenny Rogers, Alison Krauss and Trace Adkins.

Reports out of Phoenix indicate that Joe McHenry came through his hip replacement surgery yesterday very well.

On this date in...
1790 nine days after the first copyright law was enacted under the U.S. Constitution, the very first copyright entry was submitted to the U.S. District Court of Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Spelling Book was the first piece of content legally protected from piracy.
1893 all three floors of Ford's Theater collapsed in Washington, D.C., killing twenty-two clerks and seriously injuring 68 others. This was the theater where John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln 28 years earlier.
1900 band leader and composer Frederic Malcolm Waring (1900-1984) was born in Tyrone. It's interesting to note Fred Waring's own Alma Mater, Penn State, turned away his bid for the president of its own Glee Club. Today, Waring is one of Penn State's distinguished alumni.
1934 Walt Disney created a new cartoon character, Donald Duck, and presented him in The Wise Little Hen.
1954 Army counsel Joseph N. Welch asked anticommunist crusader Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" during the Senate-Army Hearings.

I hear thy presence in the whispering air,
The lifting leaf, the honey-bee's low tune,
The drowsy hum of insects everywhere;
The world is full of thee, O peerless June.
--Mary E. Hobbs

The Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture concluded after observing 500 participants in a study that everyday eating habits of healthy men and women show that those who ate the greatest amounts of white bread per year had three times greater increases in waist circumference than their healthier-eating counterparts.

Using a seven-day dietary record, the scientists derived five dietary patterns and correlated each participant to one of them. These dietary patterns were labeled "healthy," "white bread," "alcohol," "sweets" and "meat and potatoes."

Volunteers in the "white bread" group consumed about 16% of their daily calories as white bread or refined grains, which is almost five times more than was consumed in the "healthy" group. While those in the "healthy" cluster gained an average 1/6-inch in waist circumference annually, those in the "white bread" cluster gained close to half an inch annually.

Abdominal weight gain and corresponding increase in waist circumference contribute more than does overall weight to the development of "metabolic syndrome," a combination of abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, high blood pressure and poor blood sugar control, all of which increase risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, reduced-fat dairy products and whole grains--and low in red and processed meat, refined grains, fast food and soda--is associated with smaller gains in both waist circumference and body mass index.

Similar information was not immediately available on eating foods made from buckwheat flour.

The Wednesday edition of the Press Enterprise gives a capsule description of the Benton Area School District's $8,870,999 tentative budget for 2004-05. Local taxes make up 49% of the budget. The state kicks in 47%, the Feds kick in 3.6% according to the article and various local per capita and earned incomes taxes make up the balance. On the expenditure side, administration and teacher pay including benefits accounts for 53%. The budget for next year's teachers salaries is up 4% while next year's budget is down 4%.

Three bids were opened Tuesday by the Lackawanna County commissioners to purchase the Montage Mountain Ski Area but none met the minimum asking price of $9.6 million for the 400-acre recreational site.

Last night over clams and liguini white at the Foothills Restaurant on route 118 just above Moorestown Road we were talking with Pete Tomasak who heads to the Rotunda today to pay his respect to the nation's 40th president. President Reagan will lie in state in the room that is tall enough to hold the Statue of Liberty (although not her pedestal). The Rotunda is 96 feet from wall to wall, 186 feet from the floor to the canopy.

We remember 31 years ago when former President Johnson lay in state in what has to be the ultimate resting place for any American. Son David was young enough that we knew he would not remember the president, and so when we figured the lines were short enough, about three in the morning, we bundled David up and we paid our respects to the President. David still remembers that night, and had we not done it he would have no memory of that aspect of American History.

We recommend that you brave the long lines you'll experience today, listen to "Hail to the Chief" and pay your respects to Ronald Reagan.

By night's end Tuesday, more than 105,000 patient and solemn people had trooped by Ronald Reagan's flag-draped casket at his presidential library high over Simi Valley.

Scott Edwards and Edwards Construction Company deserve high marks so far for the professional way they are cleaning up the former Benton Flower Station site. If you walk by, take a look "in the pit" at the remarkably well preserved "laid-up" stone-foundation wall. If you stop and become a "sidewalk superintendent," you'll likely be joined by others holding the same position.

Pennsylvania's monthly revenue report says that the state cigarette tax is $13-million under estimate because of increased Internet and Indian reservation sales, increases in cross-border sales and smuggling, and--thankfully--smokers quitting because of cost and health reasons.

The Guv will be the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July.

Thinking of buying a computer? You might want to consider a couple of things. It won't be long before the CPUs and the displays are connected over wireless Wi-Fi connections, and might not even be in the same room. Laptops will fall from the rectangular mold to new shapes and new colors. Look for rapid improvement in design, display, storage, and batteries. Deadweight CRTs will be replaced by flat, light, thin plastic tacked on your wall. Disk drives could exceed a terabyte within a decade.

Want to check your email from your hotel? Hyatt Hotels and Resorts announced plans to provide wireless Internet service at most of its domestic properties from the lobbies and other public areas at most Hyatt hotels, as well as in some guest rooms.

Pennsylvania was invaded three times during the Civil War.
• In October, 1862, General James Ewell Brown Stuart, following the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas, August 1862) and the Battle of Antietam (September 1862) entered Pennsylvania where he seized boots, shoes and clothing. He captured 247 soldiers in a hospital, then headed South with an estimated 1,200 horses and $150 worth of supplies. He was able to cross the Potomac and escape into the Shenandoah valley. Lee later called Stuart the "eyes of the army."
• The Gettysburg invasion was next and listing all the participants in this battle is too big a job for today and is left for the historians.
• After Sheridan decimated much of the Shenandoah valley, Brigadier-General John McCausland daringly descended upon Hagerstown and the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C., and then invaded Chambersburg. He demanded $100,000 in gold and $500,000 in currency from the townspeople of Chambersburg. The money was all gone from the banks and the citizens could not raise the money so McCausland burned the town, the only Northern town burned during the Civil War. The fire on July 30, 1864, destroyed 278 homes and 271 other structures. Losses were estimated at $713,000 in real estate and $915,000 in personal property. The General and his troops rode South toward Virginia as fast as his trusty steeds could carry them.

No Confederate infantry or rebel raider again crossed into Pennsylvania during the Civil War to disturb the peace of the state.

June 8, 2004. Today is the birthday of Mary Lou Buckalew who celebrates with former First Lady Barbara Bush, 79.

The members of the Fishing Creek Sportsmen's Association are thrilled that about 375 kids came out Sunday for the annual Fishing Derby. The club meets tonight at 7 PM at the Benton VFW. If you haven't seen what they have accomplished at the Benton Overlook, take the time to ride up the Dug today. And they did it all with a $1 per year lease from the Borough of Benton. The lease runs for ten years.

Congratulations to John Jankowski, the newest Town Council member, appointed last night to fill the term of Alton Getz who had resigned. The town was fortunate in that Corey Lockard and John Jankowski, both well-qualified local men, offered to run. In other Town Council business, by a four to three vote, the proposal to lease office space from the Benton Volunteer Fire Company was defeated. On the losing side of the vote were Grant Little, Mike Klem and John Jankowski. On a motion by John Herbert Laubach and a second by Nancy Laubach, Council voted to proceed with having Lawson Design put together the bid specifications for a Town Council Building to be constructed at the airport. In a companion move, the Council again voted to ask for bids for the former Town Hall with bid opening at the next Council meeting.

"[A] bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse."
--- Thomas Jefferson, December 20, 1787

On this date in...
1789 - The American Bill of Rights was first proposed by James Madison.
1809 - The largest ocean going steamship, the "Phoenix," left New York Harbor for Philadelphia. The term steamship usually refers to larger, ocean-going, propeller-driven vessels, but is similar to our paddle-wheel boats.
1947 - Lassie debuted on ABC radio, a 15-minute show about a collie. Animal imitator, Earl Keen, provided the whines and other dog noises. The sponsor was Red Heart dog food.
1948 - Milton Berle starred on the Texaco Star Theatre. He soon earned the nickname "Mr. Television," and he continued to be America's top TV comedian until 1956. Berle's second series was the The Buick-Berle Show. His third was Milton Berle Starring in The Kraft Music Hall, and the fourth series was The Milton Berle Show.
1961 - A major league baseball record was set when four Milwaukee Braves batters hit consecutive home runs in the game' seventh inning.
They were playing against the Cincinnati Reds. More perfect games have been thrown than four home run games.
1968 - Don Drysdale, pitcher for LA Dodgers, lost his major league streak of scoreless innings pitched, when it was stopped at 58-2/3 by Howie Bedell, of the Philadelphia Phillies, who hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Always linked with pitching mate Sandy Koufax, Drysdale won 209 games as part of five pennant winners. His 58 2/3 innings shutout streak in 1968 was a record that stood for 20 years.

Officers Warren Nelson and Mike Kreisher apprehended a Luzerne County man Saturday night on Center Street. The man had an expired license, an altered registration, was on parole, had another man's Social Security card for identification, had cotton gloves, a crow bar--well, we hope that you see where this is going! He was taken away in handcuffs and impounded in the Columbia Country jail on numerous charges. Please read and react! Lock your doors and take necessary safety precautions.

The nation's oldest National agricultural organization is the Grange. Branches exist in 3,600 local communities in 37 states, including Back Home in Benton, PA. Nationally, 300,000 members provide service to agriculture and rural areas in issues dealing with economic development, education, family endeavors, and legislation designed to assure a strong and viable Rural America. The national organization can be traced to just after the American Civil War as it sought to unite private citizens in improving the economic and social position of the nation's farm population. Over the past 137 years, it has evolved to include non-farm rural families and communities.

The Grange also serves as a fraternal order known as the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, and that is the reason for the "Pof H" on the organization's logo. The early founders felt that a fraternal organization would be best able to combine loyalty and democratic ideals to provide service to others. The National Grange has formally admitted women to membership on an equal basis with men for many years.

The Benton Grange #88 will meet at 6 PM June 9 for a covered dish in the Benton Town Park with a meeting to follow. Everybody is welcome. The Benton Grange is down to only seven members following the passing of Bill Strausser. In the early days of the Grange, there were over 150 members in the local organization. The Benton Grange could be forced to fold or join with another Grange if more members are not found. Join the Grange for some fresh strawberrys and shortcake and be proud that you were one of the people who kept the organization alive.

By the way, the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair, better known as "The Grange Fair," will begin August 27 and will last until September 2, 2004.

Town Council President Karen Reed reported that Church Street repaving could be complete by the end of June, if the weather starts cooperating.

In response to a reader's question about the choice of a browser, the primary choices seem to be Internet Explorer <http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx>, Mozilla <http://www.mozilla.org/> or Netscape <http://www.netscape.com/>. Max Hartman put us onto Mozilla and more and more this seems to be our browser of choice. We use Opera <http://www.opera.com/download/> for RSS streaming.

Scheetz advertised that they lowered the cost of regular gas by 12¢ a gallon yesterday. The Sheetz gas station at Marysville (route 15) had regular unleaded at $1.859 and the Shamokin Dam Sheetz had regular unleaded at $1.899 Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, Back Home in Benton, PA, gas was selling for under $1.75.

Barry and Cathy Beck have their new website up and running at www.barryandcathybeck.com and their photography is beautiful.

Upcoming...
• Vascular Disease occurs when major arteries are blocked by plaque deposits which interrupt circulation. Learn more about peripheral Vascular disease, carotid artery disease, varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis and aortic aneurysms tonight at 7 on WVIA-TV Channel 44's Call the Doctor.
• Benton VFW Post 8317 meets Thursday at 7 PM at the post home.
• Millville's 25th Firemen's Carnival runs July 2 to 10.
• Benton's Volunteer Firemen will hold an evening of round and square dancing Saturday from 8 to 11 PM at the fire hall. The Masters Band will play and Leon Johnson will call.

The name David Rittenhouse (1732-1796), is no longer a household name in Pennsylvania. He was a clockmaker by trade and was an American astronomer and instrument maker. He was born at Paper Mill Run in what is now Germantown (Philadelphia). His mechanical models of the solar system, precision clocks, surveyor's theodolites, compasses, and optical lenses were of the highest quality then available in the world.

Self-taught and a man of ordinary means, his mathematical and mechanical genius was a primary force of colonial American achievements in science during what was known as the "Age of Enlightenment."

By 1767, Rittenhouse's achievements were already significant enough for the College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania) to grant him an honorary Master's degree, and to be inducted into the American Philosophical Society. He constructed an orrery, which is now in the Founder's Room in the Library, which shows the solar and lunar eclipses and other phenomena for a period of 5,000 years either forward or backward. An orrery, or "mechanical planetarium," is a mechanical apparatus which illustrates with balls of various sizes the relative motions and positions of the planets.

Rittenhouse observed and recorded the transit of Venus across the sun in 1769 just as it is doing on this date in 2004 using his own precise surveying instrument. His records of those observations were distributed by the American Philosophical Society and brought the Society world-wide scientific recognition.

"Half this game is ninety percent mental."
-- Danny Ozark, fired by the Philadelphia Phillies September 1, 1979. As a manager, Ozark was known to throw equipment in frustration and to toss reporters out of the clubhouse for dumb questions.

"When I was secretary of state...I had all my partisan instincts surgically removed. They have really grown back."
--Madeline Albright, the 64th United States Secretary of State.

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
--Marion Barry, former Washington, D.C., Mayor.

"We are all pleased with the Speaker's announcement that John Sullivan will be named the Parliamentarian." --House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Other events occurring on this date include, in
1937: Jean Harlow, a Hollywood sex goddess, died after poisoning from an inflammation of the gall bladder. Harlow's mother, a Christian Scientist, denied medical treatment for her daughter because of her religion. Harlow, 25, eventually was taken to the hospital by friends, but her infection was out of control.
1942: The Battle of Midway came to an end, the first major Japanese naval defeat of the war.
1945: The Adventure of Topper made its NBC Radio debut. Topper eventually moved to TV.
1953: The first network telecast in "compatible color, Ollie, Kukla, and Fran with the Boston Pops Orchestra directed by Arthur Fiedler, was broadcast from Boston.
1955: The last presentation of The Lux Radio Theatre aired on NBC. It was a feature for 21 years.
1971: Carole King's album Tapestry was awarded a Gold Disc on this date. The album was in Billboard's Number 1 album spot for 15 weeks and stayed on the charts for 292 weeks. Tapestry and King were later awarded the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female). The album sold 12 million copies globally within two years.
1974: Marvin Hamlisch earned a gold record for his efforts as pianist and conductor for "The Entertainer," music from the motion picture, The Sting.
1976: The NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor and David Brinkley aired for the first time. Brinkley eventually moved to ABC, but Chancellor remained as anchor until he retired.

On the morning of June 8 the planet Venus will pass between the Earth and the Sun, appearing as a black circle drifting across the face of the Sun. Only six of these transits have ever been observed, the first in 1639 and the most recent in 1882. The expeditions to observe the Venus transits during the 18th and 19th centuries were the first great international scientific program, sending scientists around the world to make measurements. One expedition even traveled to Tahiti with Captain Cook.

This year's transit is important for science as astronomers use the change in the spectrum of light from the Sun as Venus passes in front to test instruments which will be used in the next generation of planet-hunting telescopes.

The Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth will be observing the transit of Venus on the morning of June 8, using two computer-controlled telescopes mounted outside Aberystwyth Arts Centre. The views from the telescopes will be streamed .

* There is a story in today's Press Enterprise of what it is like to be 90 and suddenly discover that you have 9 great-grandchildren. That is what happened to Kenneth McCahan, Benton.

John Sullivan, husband of Nancy Sands Sullivan and son-in-law of Donald F. Sands and the late Florence Raski Sands formerly of Benton, recently became only the fourth person to hold the position of House Parliamentarian at the Capital in Washington, D.C. Sullivan served first as assistant and then deputy Parliamentarian before attaining the top parliamentarian post. Parliamentarians both apprentice for and serve in their positions for long periods. Developing the expertise required for the job is an extensive effort, requiring a law degree and years of watching parliamentary maneuvers play out on the House or Senate floors. Sullivan earned a bachelor's degree from the Air Force Academy in 1974 before moving on to get a law degree from Indiana University in 1977.

The House Parliamentarian serves with the consent of the Speaker of the House in a non-partisan capacity and advises Members of both parties. The Parliamentarian advises the Member of Congress presiding over the floor throughout the day's session and guides the Chair in formulating his responses to parliamentary inquiries and his rulings on points of order. The House Parliamentarian stands to the right of the Chair or sits very close by on the rostrum. The Member of Congress presiding normally abides by his guidance.

The Parliamentarians also answers questions from individual Members and staff confidentially and on a wide variety of subjects. They assist committees in preparing for and conducting hearings and mark-ups of legislation and for compiling and publishing at the start of each new Congress any changes to the rules of the chamber. They also compile and maintain the parliamentary precedents of the chamber.

Sunday, June 6, 2004. The Poinsettia debuted at the first Pennsylvania Horticulture Society exhibition on this date in 1829. Will Jones celebrates his birthday today, and Ralph and Nina Ford celebrate their anniversary today. It is Fishing Derby Day compliments of the local Sportsmen's Club. The official start of Summer will be in 14 days, although we wore a sweater to dinner last night.

We are very happy that son David, Santa Ynez, CA, is visiting with us, even though it is for a very short period of time. Our only regret is that Pennsylvania-style sunshine has prevailed during his visit! David and his wife, Heidi, live on Refugio in Santa Barbara County. California is different from our state. Naming of streets is a prime example. The street name Refugio probably applies to a Road or a Street or a Lane or a Whatever, but when it is not duplicated within the same area the last word is dropped. For example, if this were California, we would live on simply "Market." Anyway, David lives on Refugio which is a street, although not a very wide street in places, that runs from the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara over the mountain to the town of Santa Ynez and beyond.

Refugio leaves the beach with the beautiful sunset on the Pacific Ocean and winds up a mountain to the former home of Ronald Reagan, 93, the Hollywood actor who died yesterday in his Los Angeles home after becoming one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century with his vision of conservative government.

Refugio then steeply winds down the other side of the mountain on a narrow road that actually is closed at the moment following a wash out. If the road were open all the way through, Refugio would end up in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley and the town of Santa Ynez and points more easterly.

California's Santa Ynez Valley has been called the "capital of quaint," oak-filled rolling hills that are home to horse ranches (including the Michael Jackson ranch "Neverland,") family vineyards and the Danish gingerbread town of Solvang. David and Heidi live on the Hobby Horse Ranch on Refugio in Santa Ynez.

There are no "town hall" issues to contend with along Refugio, but the residents do have a thorny problem. A wealthy former "Daniel Boone" and "Davy Crockett" television star, Fess Parker, has come a long way since his coonskin cap-wearing frontiersman days. He now owns a beautiful winery and several hotels in the valley. Parker paid $6 million for about 1,400 acres in the valley in 1998. Since then, he has made repeated efforts to develop a hotel and golf resort, always rebuffed by Santa Barbara County officials. Parker now is attempting to sell the land to the Chumash Indians, who have one gambling casino in the valley. What goes unsaid but is underlying is the gambling revenue issue, as Indian nations are seeking to buy land and develop it in a way that often conflicts with local regulations.

David's Benton portion of his visit ends today, but not before he consumes his share of buckwheat cakes and sausage--something unknown to the residents of most California cities. We hope he comes Back Home to Benton, PA, again soon.

The Lennie Lenope tribe was a general name for Algonquin tribes which formerly occupied the coastal region of North America from Connecticut to Virginia, including Eastern Pennsylvania. They included the Mohicans, Delawares, Shawnees, and several other tribes. At the time of Columbus as many as ten million Native Americans lived in North America. Many thousand lived in "Lenapehoking," the vast homeland of the Lennie Lenope tribe.

Although admired and respected by William Penn, the Lenape were later betrayed and forced from their village by the policies of Penn's grandsons and the infamous Walking Purchase.

Carla Messinger, a Lenape descendant, presents life and times, the language and social customs of the Lenape people June 9 at 7 PM at the Orangeville United Church, across from the Orangeville Library. For more information, call 570 683-5354. The program is open to the public and is sponsored by the Orangeville Public Library.

For the sixth time in eight years, a Triple Crown bid was foiled at the Belmont. Birdstone, at 36-1, spoiled the party and Smarty Jones' eight-race winning streak by overtaking the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner in the final lengths. Andy Borowitz wrote that only "moments after Birdstone upset his fabled horse at the Belmont Stakes, Smarty Jones' trainer conceded that it 'might have been a mistake' to have held a pre-race victory rally complete with a banner reading "Mission Accomplished." Birdstone paid $74 for a $2 win ticket.

• There are more than 150 breeds of horses in the world. China has an estimated 11 million horses within its borders.
• The Mongolian Wild Horse is the oldest known form of horse. The theory is that this horse is the ancestor to all our domestic horses.
• Horses have a blind spot in their vision in front, between the eyes.
• The breed of the Thoroughbred horse is only about 300 years old, although horse racing has been popular in England since Roman times, and can be traced back to Central Asia among prehistoric nomads.
• Racehorses have been known to wear out new shoes in one race.
• It takes a horse sixty days to double its birth weight.
• A horse can sleep standing up.
• A horse focuses its eye by changing the angle of its head, not by changing the shape of the lens of the eye, as humans do.
• A horseshoe for a full-grown Clydesdale measures more that 22 inches from end to end and weighs about five pounds. It is more than two times as long and four times as heavy as a shoe worn by a riding horse.
• Champion racehorse Secretariat was featured on the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated in the same week in 1973.
• One of the oldest breeds in the world is the Icelandic Horse, dating back over 1,000 years. It is the only breed of horse permitted in Iceland and is considered pure. You can learn more about this horse and breeding Icelandic Horses from a favorite ranch in Santa Ynez, CA. Although the Icelandic Horse averages 13-1/2 hands it is technically a horse due to it's bone structure.

• For social and military reasons, the horse was of importance in early Ireland. They had deep affiliation with the rights to kingship and with fertility.
• Horses shorter than 14½ hands (58 inches) at the withers (top of the shoulders) are technically ponies. The Shetland, around 43 inches tall, is called a pony, not a miniature. Miniatures start 9 inches shorter, and prices go up as size goes down.

Quote of the Day:
Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.
-- W. C. Fields

Didja know that Pennsylvania has a...
State Animal: Whitetail Deer
State Beverage: Milk
State Bird: Ruffed Grouse
State Capital: Harrisburg
State Dog: Great Dane
State Fish: Brook Trout
State Flower: Mountain Laurel
State Insect: Firefly
State Song: Pennsylvania
State Tree: Hemlock

Joe McHenry, Phoenix, faces replacement surgery June 9 involving his right hip.

We drove from Camp Hill to Benton Friday afternoon. The fastest part of the commute was coming down our driveway. There were cars everywhere, moving slowly in the towns between traffic lights and roaring down the highway wherever traffic violators were being monitored and picked up. The lines were long at the two gas stations in Benton, where regular unleaded sold for $1.729 and $1.749, far better than the $1.999 we paid in Camp Hill earlier in the day in order to fill our empty tank.

We had difficulty understanding if the long lines for gas at D.R.'s Quick Mart were for the "inexpensive" gas or if they just wanted to stop and see the adjacent old Benton Flower Station crumble to the ground. The article in Friday's Press Enterprise about the price of gasoline in Benton didn't hurt the town one bit. Gas stations were pumping at a furious pace, and local restaurants were doing a booming business. Still think that the price is high? Consider England. In England, petrol currently sells for $5.80 a gallon.

We could see gas prices drop somewhat because of OPEC's decision to increase production of crude oil. Oil dropped below $40 a barrel Thursday after exceeding $42 earlier in the week.

If you rest, you rust.
--Helen Hayes

Remember that everyone has a bad day every so often.

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
--Oscar Wilde

Don't tell friends about your goiter. "How are you" is a greeting, not a question.

When you rent a car at an airport, you don't have much leverage. There you are, tired from your trip, unwilling to lug your bags another step and obviously desperate to get your hands on the car and head to your hotel. You are, well, the perfect victim. There is no need for you to buy the insurance offered by rental car companies unless you have no applicable coverage of your own. But chances are you already do have a separate source of coverage, and maybe even more than one. Have a look at your car insurance or homeowner's insurance policy--either of these may well cover car rentals (though some may not cover them if your travel was for an employer). Another source of coverage might be your own credit card company--many companies provide insurance coverage if you use their card to pay for the rental. This might be a benefit you didn't even know you had, because the companies typically don't charge extra for it. Look into these possible coverage sources now, before you find yourself tired and impatient at the airport. Make some copies of the appropriate policies or contracts to tuck into your pocket to show to the next rental car enchilada if they try a hard sell on you.

The Milwaukee Admirals defeated the Penguins 2-1 at Wachovia Arena and now lead the Calder Cup finals three games to none and could complete the sweep in Game 4 Sunday. No team has ever lost the first three games and come back to win the series.

Sunday night at 9 PM is the season conclusion to HBOs The Sopranos. Most viewers are still stunned about the killing of Adriana La Cerva, girlfriend of "Christufuh" Moltisanti. If you don't know what we are talking about, don't bother to tune in now. You might end up with a sleepless night Sunday!

From the "interesting places to visit in PA department" comes the Crayola Factory in downtown Easton. Opened in 1996 after tours became oversubscribed at the real Crayola factory on Easton's outskirts, this "family discovery center" is a tourist attraction with hands-on art activities and a crayon-making demonstration. The real factory produces about 3 billion crayons a year. The not-so-real factory attracts about 350,000 tourists a year. The factory is on the second floor of a four-story tourism complex called Two Rivers Landing (the Delaware and Lehigh rivers meet in Easton). A former department store, the red-brick complex also houses the National Canal Museum and a local history exhibit.

What did the cannibal give his wife for Valentine's Day?
A box of farmer's fannies.

Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. A reader suggsted that after washing windows, go over the surface with crumpled newspaper (black and white, not glossy) to get rid of the streaks. The reader said that the "30 Seconds" section of the Press Enterprise is excellent for this.

We were in the middle of a long discussion about how to get from Derrs to Waller, and then discovered that we could not find Derrs on the only map we could lay our hands on. These bigger towns just seem to fill up space on maps, don't they.

On Saturday, October 2, 2004, Pennsylvania Freemasons will host their first one-day membership development initiative, which they are calling "Man to Mason" day. The day will begin at 8 AM and conclude at 5 PM. On this day, an interested man who has petitioned a Masonic Lodge and has been approved for membership will receive the first three degrees of Freemasonry, and have the opportunity to obtain up to the 32nd degree and become a member of Shrine. The normal timeframe for these ceremonies is approximately four months. This "One Day Masonic Journey" is being held for the first time in Pennsylvania.

The one-day class will be held in Bloomsburg, as well as in Allentown, Altoona, Coudersport, Erie, Harrisburg, New Castle, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Scranton, Uniontown and Williamsport. Interested men may contact a Mason or call the Grand Lodge membership hotline at 1 800 990-1935.

Freemasonry is the oldest, largest and most widely known fraternity in the world, based on the cardinal virtues of brotherly love, charity and truth. Its roots can be traced back hundreds of years in Europe.

Today, there are more than 3.5 million members worldwide. In the United States, there are 1.7 million members, who contribute more than $2 million a day to charity. Freemasonry was established in Pennsylvania in 1731, with a current membership of 130,000. Many of our nation's early patriots were Freemasons, as well as 13 signers of the Constitution and 14 Presidents of the United States including George Washington.

A sound mind in a sound body is a thing to be prayed for.

Use three Physicians,
Still-first Dr. Quiet,
Next, Dr. Merry Man
And Dr. Dyet.
--Advice from the year 1607

June 4, 2004. We celebrate the birthdays of Pam Andrezze, Helen Harvey and Amy Vincent today.

On this date in...
• 1896, Henry Ford took a test run around the streets of Detroit in his Ford automobile, which he called a "quadricycle."
• 1939, In Oklahoma City, Sylvan Goldman introduced the first grocery store shopping cart, which was really a folding chair on wheels.
• 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made his famous "We shall fight on the beaches ... we shall never surrender" speech to the House of Commons.
• 1942, The Battle of Midway, the turning point in the sea war in the Pacific, began.
• 1946, Gen. Juan Peron was inaugurated as president of Argentina.
• 1964, Los Angeles Dodger, Sandy Koufax, tied Bob Feller’s 1951 record when he pitched a third career no-hitter baseball game. Koufax beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0, striking out a dozen Phillies’ batters.
• 1984, For the first time in 32 years, golfing legend Arnold Palmer failed to make the U.S. Open golf tournament, missing out on the tournament by two strokes.
• 1989, In Peking, the People’s Army of China opened fire on crowds of democracy demonstrators only a month and a half after students began a demonstration on behalf of democracy. The demonstration of hundreds of thousands of people from all aspects of life defied the government's ban on the students’ action. The People's Army sent in tanks which actually rolled over demonstrators. The Chinese government claimed only a few people died, but some estimated hundreds to thousands of protestors were killed in Tiananmen Square. Thousands of demonstrators were jailed over the event.
• 1998, A federal judge sentenced Terry Nichols to life for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.

We suspect that you have heard by now about the automobile accident. The woman and the man who were involved were not injured, but both of their cars were totally demolished. After they crawled out of their cars, the woman said something to the effect that the accident must be a sign that they should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of their days. Flattered, the man agreed. The woman continued, pointing out another miracle. Her car was completely demolished but a bottle of wine didn't break. She suggested that they drink the wine and celebrate their good fortune. The man agreed, opened it and drank half the bottle and then handed it back to the woman. The woman took the bottle, put the cap back on, and handed it back to the man. The man asked, "Aren't you having any?" The woman replied, "No. I'll just wait for the police."

Traffic will pick up today at our two local gas stations, DR's QuickMart and the UniMart, with the disclosure in Friday's Press Enterprise that gas prices Back Home in Benton, PA, are "15 to 20 cents cheaper per gallon than other local pumps." And we should also start seeing more of Nate Sorber, 24, who is challenging Republican state Rep. George Hasay. The 117th District throws Benton Borough and Benton Township in with townships in Luzerne and Wyoming County.

Someone estimated that more than $60 million in bets will be riding on Smarty Jones by the time he kabooms from the gate at tomorrow's Belmont Stakes. The Pennsylvania horse is currently a 2-5 favorite. There won't be any money made by the people who bet on Smarty. Better to bet on the number of lengths by which he will do it or what the stud fee will be if Smarty wins the Triple Crown, or the second and third place finisher or... Belmont seats, with a face value of $9 to $45, were bringing eBay bids of more than $400 for a pair. The Belmont was first run in 1867. The Preakness has been around since 1873 and the Kentucky Derby since 1875.

The Royal Order Of Raccoons is having a flea market and selling refreshments July 2 from 9 to 3 at Jamison City Hotel. On July 3, the flea market is 9 to 12 and a parade departs Jamison City at 1 PM going to Elk Grove and back. The lineup begins at 12. Everyone is welcome to join in. Lets all meet at the Jamison City Hotel for the Royal Order of Raccoons, a non profit organization working for the community.

Make sure that you read the article about Benton senior Aaron Vincent, son of Paul and Kerry Vincent, Stillwater, in today's Press Enterprise. Aaron has faced some obstacles that would have stopped most of us cold.

We will finish with a list of remedies from a hundred years ago, but always consult your physician before trying any home remedy! We create means to better our everyday lives, but it is still important to remember the wisdom of the past and the remedies that worked a hundred years ago. Many of these remedies are hopelessly outdated and have been replaced by modern ideas and science, but are still an indispensable living example of history.

• It is a good plan to drop a lump or two of gum camphor in the nest of a setting hen, as it has a tendency to keep away lice.
• Too frequent wearing of rubbers and rubber overshoes is a fruitful source of tender feet and soft corns. Stout slices with heavy soles are the best for out-of-door use, except in snow and slush.
• See that the playthings that the baby likes are too large to be crammed into its mouth, and so avoid not only the danger of disease, but a tendency to disfigure the mouth.
• Half a teaspoonful of boric acid in two-thirds of a glass of water (if warm it will dissolve better) will relieve many cases of sore eyes in from twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Apply freely, using a fresh piece of clean, soft cloth with each application.
• A slice of ripe cucumber rubbed over the face is cleansing and is excellent for the skin.
• In cases of frost bite no warm air, warm water, or fire, should be permitted near the parts affected until the natural temperature is nearly restored. but gently the affected part with snow in a cold room, and make applications of ice water.
• If the roots of trees coming from a nursery are dry, they should be allowed to stand in mud for several days before planting.
• For a canker sore alcohol applied to the parts will shorten its course in a great measure.
• To get comfortably fitting shoes buy them in the afternoon when the exercise of the day has stretched the muscles to their largest extent. Do not neglect to frequently pour household ammonia, or some other disinfectant, down all waste-pipes especially in summer time.
• In case a piece of the sting of a bee remains in the wound extract it with the fingers or a small pair of tweezers. The best application for the inflammation is diluted ammonia water, after which a cloth covered with sweet oil should be placed upon the part.
• Milk and butter should be kept covered when in the ice chest, as they readily absorb the flavor and odor of other foods.
• If table silver be washed with hot water and soap with occasionally a little ammonia, it can he kept bright without powder or paste.

Learn'd he was in medic'nal lore,
For by his side a pouch he wore,
Replete with strange hermetic powder
That wounds nine miles point-blank would solder.

Expect traffic delays through Monday evening as PennDot works on the approaches to the route 487 bridge over Fishing Creek. The bridge will be resurfaced on Monday but it will not be necessary to detour around the bridge..

Benton loses an old friend today, as the building that burned Saturday, March 28, gets demolished.

A fire broke out about 10 PM March 28 in the rear of the Benton Flower Station building on Main Street. The building is between DR's QuikMart and the building housing Brian Laubach's beauty shop at 215 Main Street and the offices of Clark, Schaeffer, Jones & Eichner, Certified Public Accountants, at 219 Main Street.

The Flower Station building was extensively damaged before it was brought under control by an estimated 100 firemen from Benton, North Mountain, Espy, Orangeville and Millville. Two trucks from Bloomsburg, including Ladder 42, were on the scene. Espy's Rapid Response Team was also on the scene. Insurance estimators decided that the building was a total loss and it would have to be torn down. Edwards Construction will begin the demolition process this morning.

The first time we can remember seeing the building, the store was a five and dime store called Buckley's Store. The building was sold in 1963, when Ray and Alice Davenport sold their business, which had operated under the name of Buckley's 5¢ to $1.00 Store, to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Fullmer, Bloomsburg.

The name of the store came from Mr. and Mrs. Willard Buckley, Shickshinny. The couple operated a variety store in Benton for many years, in the location where the Benton Flower Station was on Main Street when it burned. The couple had three daughters, Mrs. John (Laura) Devens, Shickshinny, Mrs. Walter (Grace) duBose; and Mrs. Ray (Alice) Davenport. Alice Davenport lived in Benton for many years in the present location of the Old Filling Station, and now lives in Houston, TX.

Please keep Dr. Ken Cross in your prayers today as he faces his second heart bypass operation in six months at Geisinger Hospital. Keep the prayers also coming for Susan Shultz's father, Charles Broich, Sr., Silver Spring, Lancaster County. And if you personally need an uplift, the Dial a Devotion number for the Benton area is 925-6402.

Caitlin Curtin, Kingston, celebrates her birthday today, while Harry and Shirley Ritter, Benton, celebrate their anniversary.

William E. Strausser, 79, (July 4, 1924-June 1, 2004), 104 Pleasant Valley Road, Pine Grove, died Tuesday at Pottsville Hospital. He was born in Danville, a son of the late William and Dorothy Johnson Strausser. Mr. Strausser was a funeral director and started the Strausser Funeral Home in Benton in 1975, retiring in 1995. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Florence Barnhart, in 1998; by a brother, Dale Strausser; and by a sister, Shirley Jordan. Survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Robert (Judy) Torrens, Pine Grove; sons Dennis, Orangeville and Mark, Rosemount, MN; brothers: James, Wayne, Jack, Richard, Don and Rodney; and sisters Sandy Ickler and Janice Shepperson, Danville, and Donna Diehl, Talmyra, NJ. Funeral services will be held Friday at 1:30 PM at the Brady Funeral Home Inc., Danville. Burial will follow in St. James Cemetery, Bendertown. Friends may call at the funeral home Friday from 12:30 PM until the time of the service.
--From an obituary in Thursday's Press Enterprise. Please read that paper for the complete obituary.

This is for anyone in the local area who would like to be included in a map of businesses for the people who will be in town for the O.A.T.S. bluegrass festival. The organizers of the festival have asked for a map of local businesses to hand out to those who attend the festival. They are particularly interested in service stations, restaurants, grocery stores, plumbers and plumbing supply locations, antique shops, hardware stores, camp grounds, etc. Unless someone else volunteers to put it together, we'll put the map together. Please let us know if you would like to be included. We would like a short description of the services that you provide and directions to get to your place of business.

One high school student and one middle-level student in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were recently named State Honorees in the 2004 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. The Honorees received $1,000 awards, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. in May for four days of recognition events.

Paul Anderson, 13, Benton, was one of the students chosen. Paul is an eighth-grader at Wyoming Seminary Lower School in Forty Fort. He designed and constructed five wooden checkerboard games for hospitalized veterans. Paul organized a carwash to raise funds for materials, built a prototype, and then organized volunteer workdays to construct the patriotic-themed checkerboard games. For more information on the Prudential Spirit of Community Award and a complete list of winners, visit www.prudential.com/spirit.

The local area is seeing a lot of black bear. You can find an article on living with black bear and one on safety precautions in dealing with bear . If you have any current bear stories to share, send them in.

A surface fire at a former coal mining operation in Sullivan County has been burning for several weeks according to the Mildred fire chief who discovered the fire Sunday. Refuse coal is burning in a bank 500 to 600 feet off of Route 487, Cherry Township, Sullivan County. The coal fire, about an acre in size, is at the former Klin Ricci coal mining operation in the area called Murrytown. Local fire officials have now turned to the state Bureau of Mines and the federal Bureau of Surface Mining for help in getting the fire out.

Higher gasoline prices didn't slow down American buyers from snapping up autos in May at the fastest rate since December. General Motors had a 6.5% gain. DaimlerChrysler's North American sales rose 1%. Toyota sales were up 12.6% while Honda's May sales were up 14%. Nissan's sales rose 28.4%. Subaru of America reported that sales dropped 13% in May and Ford sales fell 3.1%.

Greg and Kim Notestine are the parents of a daughter, Emily Terri Marie, born May 17, 2004, at Geisinger Medical Center. Maternal grandparents are Joseph and Emmna Lu Savage. Parental grandparents are Robert and Patricia Notestine, Manhattan, Kansas, and Harold and Dorothy Benjamin, R.D. 1, Stillwater. Emily joins a sister, Rachel, 3½. Emily will join the Family of Christ June 20, 2004, when she is baptised.

What we announced May 10 has been officially announced. The Press Enterprise writes that Trace Adkins will be at this year's Bloomsburg Fair September 28. And that means that Benton native Randy Hess, son of Al and Pat Hess, will also be on the stage. Another country performer Josh Turner will make his fair debut that night. We wrote about Josh May 20. Turn to the ARCHIVES of the Benton News for these stories. Get your tickets for this performance as soon as you can. It will sell out early.

Back in January, the "Can-Spam" Act, to combat unsolicited commercial email, came into effect. Someone who counts this sort of stuff estimates that five months later 83% of all U.S. email is spam compared to 2001 when only an estimated 8% was spam. Spam opens the door to pornography, is downright annoying and potentially lets in computer viruses and worms.

In Europe, readers must "opt-in," meaning they have to actively request commercial emails. The Can-Spam Act, by contrast, requires that people reply to emails to stop receiving them.

Last month, the first arrests under the Can-Spam legislation took place in Detroit. Four were charged with emailing fraudulent sales pitches for weight-loss products and accused of disguising their identities and delivering emails by bouncing messages through unprotected relay computers on the Internet.

Spammers seem to be ignoring the Can-Spam Act for the most part. Most spam email fails to offer a working unsubscribe mechanism, a feature required by the act. Many spam emails that offer an unsubscribe mechanism use the request as verification of the email address and then sends more junk email to the individual. Eradicating spam will never take place until people stop buying products hawked by the electronic sales pitches.

Terri Hahn, third grade teacher at L.R. Appleman Elementary, has been named Benton Teacher of the Month for April.

Remember the Hotel Sterling at the Kingston Bridge on River Street at Market Street in Wilkes-Barre? The 180,000-square foot, four-building complex is springing back to life.

The old proverb went something to the effect that the medicine was worse than the malady. We were thinking of the medicine that we need to take these days and wondered what remedies were used a hundred years ago. Today and tomorrow, we'll review some of the remedies used 100 years ago. A partial list follows:

To keep a spoon in position when desirous of dropping medicine into it and needing both hands to hold bottle and cork, place the handle between the leaves of a closed book lying upon a table.

Do not stuff cobwebs into a cut unless you want pus to form, as cobwebs are rich in bacteria which produce pus. Instead, stop bleeding by the use of water as hot as you can bear it, and healing will take place in half the time.

Common alum melted in an iron spoon over hot coals forms a strong cement for joining glass and metals together. It is a good thing for holding glass lamps to their stands.

Plums, peaches, lemons and similar small fruits keep best in papers. It will repay the housewife to do her perishable fruits up in paper as soon as purchased.

For insomnia a glass of hot milk, or better still hot malted milk, taken just before retiring, will often have the desired effect.

After touching poison ivy wash the parts exposed in alcohol and avoid anything greasy.

Be careful in buying second-hand books; diseases may be easily conveyed by them, and books, moreover, are very hard to fumigate.

When beating the whites of eggs, the addition of a pinch of salt will cause the eggs to come to a froth more quickly.

A little glycerin added to tincture of iodine will enable the discoloration due to the iodine to be readily washed off.

Dental silk should be used instead of tooth picks whenever it is convenient to do so, as the former is much less injurious to the teeth.

A deposit of alkali should never be allowed to accumulate in the tea kettle. Remember that tea kettles should be washed like any other utensil.

A little vinegar put in the water when boiling fish will tend to harden the flesh and keep it firm.

Every other day
Take a drop in water.
You'll be better soon
Or at least you oughter.

Certain compounds in oats, called avenanthramides, hinder the ability of blood cells to stick to artery walls. A research team concludes they significantly suppress adhesive molecules that "glue" blood cells to artery walls. When blood cells stick to and cause inflammation of the artery wall, plaque builds up. That accumulation, called atherosclerosis, can eventually block the blood vessel. The suppression provided by avenanthramides in oats may prevent this narrowing of the passageways through which blood flows.

The suppression of plaque provided by avenanthramide compounds may lessen the gradual constriction of vessels that leads to hardening of the arteries.

Water-soluble fiber from oats has long been believed to help reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol circulating in blood. To gain heart-healthy benefits from fiber and avenanthramides, the researchers suggest adding oat products as part of an overall healthy diet and cutting down on high-fat, high-cholesterol foods. As a grain, oats are included in enriched cereals and breads, in oatmeal as rolled oats, and in muffins and other baked goods as oat bran.

Not everyone was out celebrating with the Alumni this weekend. Up at the Jamison City Hotel Saturday night, there was lots of singing going on with the "First Preliminary Karaoke Contest" at the Jamison City Hotel. Albert Wood was the first prize winner. Lorie and Becca came in second and third. What is being billed as the "Second Preliminary Karaoke Contest" is at the Elk Grove Inn June 12. The third is at The Central Park Hotel July 17. The audience votes for their favorite singing by purchasing one ticket to benefit the "Royal Order of Raccoons." Three winners are taken from each contest to compete at the finals in the Fall. The bar that raises the most money for the Raccoons will host the finals.

Quickies...
• We keep suggesting that you consider refinancing if you still have a high interest loan. Here is a calculator to determine if that is a good idea .
• Berwick thumped Hazleton Area 11-1 Tuesday to win the District 2 Class 3A baseball championship.
• Actress Julia Roberts, 36, is pregnant with twins and is due to give birth early next year. The Academy Award winning actress is married to cameraman Daniel Moder, 35, and lives in Taos, New Mexico, Venice, California and New York.
• Have you ever noticed how the sports page registers accomplishments? The front page registers failures.
• Please don't forget the 126 U.S. soldiers who've died in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Term of the Day: "Rack and Ruin."
The original Old English form of wreck was wrack. The spelling has changed but the pronunciation of the old expression wrack and ruin remains the same. If a merchant's ship wrecked with a full load of goods, he could be ruined financially.

If you want to teach yourself about your car's engine or review basic physics or learn how to write your own web page, go to http://www.free-ed.net/. This site offers free online courses, tutorials, study guides and lessons in 120 academic and vocational/technical topic areas. The courses are simple and straightforward and best of all they don't require homework.

We have asked this question before without any results. We saw a reference to a road survey from Port Nobe to a mill and aqueduct at Benton. We recognize that prior to 1800, the local language and spelling and meaning sometimes gets lost in the translation, so these words may not mean exactly what we think they mean. Any help from readers?

On this date in 1938 the first issue of the comic book Superman appeared in news stands throughout the country. Kids who are my age all remember the words, "Look, up in the sky, its a bird, its a plane, its Superman!" The guy in the blue tights and red cape is probably the most famous comic book character ever. He was the last son of Krypton, sent to Earth before his planet exploded. He tried to live a normal life as Clark Kent, a bespectacled newspaper reporter who always fought for Truth, Justice and the American Way.

Superman was created by teenagers Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, both aspiring writers living in Cleveland and who first worked together on their high school paper. The first version of Superman came about in 1933, except that Superman was a bald villain. They then created a second and a third version of Superman. Siegel conceived the Superman we now know and Shuster applied the pen and ink.

D.C. Comics on this date in 1938 issued Action Comics #1 introducing Superman to the world just a few months after the comic strip The Phantom made its introduction to the world. Clark Kent was not as slow as most thought. He actually asked Lois Lane out on a date in the very first issue of Superman.

Superman counted among his laurels saving a man from a lynch mob, rescuing people from fires, stopping robbers and stopping Lex Luthor before he could produce any offspring with the same name. There were also episodes with Bizarro, Supergirl, Streaky the Super Cat and Comet the Super Horse. Superman became a movie star in 1941 appearing in the first of 17 cartoons. Superman moved to live action films in 1948 when he appeared in the Superman serials shown Saturday afternoons at the Ritz Theater, Market and Two and a Half Streets. Another movie followed in 1950 and starting in 1978 three Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve were popular. There were the 104 episodes of the Superman television show which aired between 1951 and 1957. We are hoping for a revival soon. We could use the Man of Steel in Iraq!

Greg Kelchner celebrates his birthday June 12 and on June 6 a spaghetti dinner will be held to raise money to raise money to defer expenses from his Lou Gehrig's disease. The dinner will be held at the Maria Assunta Society on Monroe Street in Berwick from noon to 7 PM. Call Jennifer, 759-3838, for tickets.

Correction: we said that Hazel, the eighth hurricane of the year 1954, "was hitting the Carolinas on this date in 1954." We typed that information from the Farmers Almanac faster than we thought about it. In fact, in retrospect, we didn't even think about it! We just typed it as written. Actually, Hurricane Hazel came ashore in South Carolina with 140 mph winds October 14, 1954. A reader remembered it well from sixth grade in Osceola Mills October 15 and 16, 1954. He writes, "My brother was a senior on the team. A game was started in Madera and the coach from Osceola forfeited at half-time, when one player nearly drowned at the bottom of a pile up when he was submerged in several inches of standing water. Madera was ahead 7-0 at the time on a touchdown scored when a fumble was pounced on several times and kept bobbing up until it crossed the goal line. People rarely believe me when I tell them about this game, but I was there."

For a break from this news- and history-orientated web site, try this fun diversion.

Make sure you read the article in Tuesday's Press Enterprise about the educators from the American School of Guatemala visitng the Benton Area Schools. The comparison between the two schools is striking.

Doing your summer planting? Deer-resistant shrubs are spirea, andromeda, boxwood, blue star and Japanese varieties of juniper. Try flowering herbs. Thyme and lavender are popular. A systemic deer repellent, Repellex, can be used for other shrubs when planted providing shrubs with deer protection for two years. Consider window boxes and hanging baskets.

The price of gasoline in Benton is the best of the area, currently selling at $1.879 and $1.899. A year ago at this time, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $1.56 nationally, with the lowest price, $1.15, in Euless, Texas. Benton unleaded regular gas was selling at $1.37 and #1.39 a year ago at this time.

We like to take a look at people who have done well from the local area. One of these people we write about from time to time is the country singer Lacy J. Dalton. She currently lives in the Nevada mountains known as the Virginia Range near the circa 1859 "Comstock Lode" gold and silver mining town of Virginia City. The town is south and east of Reno, north and east of Carson City.

Lacy's music is a product of her wide-ranging musical tastes. She was born in Bloomsburg into a family of music lovers. Her father played a variety of stringed instruments, sang and wrote songs. Her mother played guitar and sang harmony, and her sister was a pianist.

Early in her career, Lacy traveled as much as 300 days a year and was on CBS Record's "most active" list for several years. Lacy now primarily appears at County Fairs and benefit shows, rodeos, clubs, and occasionally a support position for major headliners. Lacy and friends Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson will appear at the 2nd Annual UFO Music Fest Eastern New Mexico State Fair Grounds in Roswell, NM, on July 3.

Lacy has had many hit singles including "Hillbilly Girl With The Blues," "Takin' It Easy," "Dream Baby," "The Heart" and "Black Coffee." Lacy¹s biggest hit was "16th Avenue." One of her favorite songs was "Crazy Blue Eyes" which Lacy wrote with Mary McFadden, who has been her best friend since the two were eight years old growing up in Bloomsburg.

A major emphasis in Lacy's current career is promoting the protection and preservation of wild horses. In 1998, she formed the Let 'Em Run Foundation, which is dedicated to the cause.