Al and Pat Hess entertained the folks during the meal.

Later in the day, they played at the MusicFest at the Benton Park.

The Columbia County Covered Bridges Association will hold their popular "Dinner on the Bridge" at the Twin Bridges Park, Forks, September 14, 2003. Go to www.coveredbridges.org for more information.

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sofia were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Bosnian Serb on June 28, 1914, setting off a chain of events that would culminate in a world war by August. Following the assassinations, a network of treaties among the nations of Europe led to a rapid escalation in the "Great War" between the Central Powers, including Germany, the Austro-Hungarian and the Ottoman Empires, and the Allied nations of Britain, France, Italy, and Russia. The United States entered the war April 6, 1917. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allies signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war and providing for the creation of the League of Nations.

Ivy Violet Young, 15, (July 7, 1987-June 24, 2003), 350 Third St., Benton, died Tuesday, at Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, where she had been a patient since Feb. 20. Ivy was born in Bloomsburg, a daughter of Barbara Jean (Ellis) Young, Benton, and Donald M. Young, Rosemont, NJ. She resided in Benton her entire life and was a member of the Class of 2005 at Benton Area High School. She was in her sophomore year when she was taken ill. At school, she played field hockey, volunteered with the Little Tigers and played AYSO soccer. She attended the Benton Christian Church. Surviving in addition to her parents is a sister, Joy D. Young, at home; two half-brothers, Jess L. Brown, Princeton, NJ, and Shannon Young, New Jersey. She is also survived by her paternal grandmother, Dorothy W. Young, Rosemont, NJ. Services will be held Monday at 2 PM in the Kriner Funeral Home, Benton, with the Rev. Vernon McDormand, retired pastor of the Benton Christian Church, officiating. Interment will be in New Rosemont Cemetery, Espy.
--From an article in the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise.

Are you over 60 years of age? Would you or someone you know like to use the Benton Senior Citizen's Center? The center is open 9-2 weekdays.

Robert T. Vincent, Jr., Airport Manager, tells us that the airport is ready for airplanes arriving for the bluegrass festival July 3-6 and for the rodeo July 15-20. The runway is freshly mowed and looks very nice. The airport is officially listed as "private," but the Airport Manager can grant access for landing by calling 570 925-2861. Prior permission is required for landing at the airport, known by pilots as PA-40. The "Best Village by a Dam Site" looks forward to all out-of-town visitors, however they arrive...

We welcome Karen Poist as the new owner of the Fishing Creek Lodge Bed and Breakfast, by the bridge in Central, PA. Karen also has a grocery and grill as part of the bed and breakfast. Old-timers will remember the store as the "Alfred Snyder" store.

PFC Matt Crusan, US Army, comes Back Home to Benton, PA, next week from Kuwait. Matt will be 20 on July 4, by the way. Proud Poppa Charles Crusan has a few surprises up his sleeve for Matt in celebration of his birthday and the 4th of July.

Imagine a full-sized gymnasium where adults play in an adult league game, volleyball tournaments take place, kids play after school. Across the hall will be a class where several residents are learning how to use the computer. Down the hall, kids are working on their homework and other people are quietly reading in the library or enjoying some of the historical items on display. Can this be possible in Benton? Yes.

In your mail box is a request for help in building the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center that will complete the move toward making the Benton area an even better place to live. The Center is asking for a pledge of support, not cash. Our local legislators have told us that they will be better able to help in Harrisburg with grants, etc., if we can demonstrate that the residents of the northern tier are solidly behind our effort. Therefore, we are asking that each resident seriously consider how much they will be able to contribute over the next seven years. That is, your pledge will not be called in until two years have passed. Then you will have five years to pay it off. Please make it as generous as you can because every penny will help. For example, if you were to start now putting a quarter each day in a jar on your kitchen counter, you will have $91.25 at the end of the first year, and $182.50 to send in when the pledges are first called in. Then for the next five years just send in $91.25 each year for five years and you will have made a significant pledge of $638.75.
That would be a welcome help.

On Palm Sunday, the Benton Area Council of Churches started our Capital Campaign. Since that time the Center has received pledges from totaling $20,000. In addition to this sum is a donation from Elsie Buyers of Jackson Township for $31,000. This was invested in the Berwick Health and Wellness Foundation who matched our investment which now totals $62,000. Then we received a grant from the same foundation for $75,000, a donation of the site (valued at $24,000). The United Way came to our aid with $5,000 for start up expenses. Mrs. Buyers' children followed with some donations totaling around $5,000. Hence, we now have approximately $192,000 toward our goal of approximately $300,000. Representatives George Hasay, John Gordner, and Sen. Ed Helfrick all have told us that $250,000 to $300,000 will go far in convincing the legislature and funding agencies that we are all behind the project.

We urge you to help us build and preserve the heritage of the Northern Fishing Creek Valley. Complete and return your pledge cards today.

A reader took issue with our explanation yesterday of the derivation of the town name Shickshinny. We paid particular attention since her writing is normally well reasoned and correct. She notes that somehow "in the writings of the history of Luzerne County and other publications, the town of Shickshinny is said to mean 'land of the five mountains' and 'the place where the five mountain meet.' We checked The History of Luzerne County published in 1893 by S. B. Nelson & Co. and that reference attributes the origin of the name to the Chocktaw Indian Nation, "said to mean the meeting of five mountains." The reader, however, says that she and others believe that was a "White" man's interpretation of it, reasoning that "if one thinks about it, you think a Indian would stand around and say "this is where the five mountains meet"--I don't think so." While we're at it, we'll tell you that the Luzerne County History from 1893 named the five mountains as "Newport, Lee's, Rocky, Knob and River" mountain.

The book written in the style of a bygone era explains "there were many reasons why in the days of panthers, bears and Indians" Shickshinny was a "rendezvous for all of them. A sweet little valley nestled here at the foot of the bold and picturesque hills. Then too here is a remarkable gap in the mountain giving an easy and natural outlet to the splendid agricultural country back of it." The book explains that "Shickshinny was the natural trading, shipping and business point for over 10,000 agriculturists back of the mountain, and for sixteen miles up and down the river there was no 'gap' offering to all these people such easy access to the river, the canal and the railroad. Its surroundings were most favorable to build here a great trading and business point. Two creeks cut their way through the mountain and fall into the Susquehanna within the borough limits. The main stream rises in Ross township, runs southeast through Union township, and the branch stream rises in the west side of Salem township and they join within the borough limits. These streams are the open doorway to the people of Salem, Huntington, Union, Ross and Fairmount townships. Here all these people naturally come to export, import, trade and traffic."

We welcome reader's explanations of the derivation of the name Shickshinny.

It is time to get ready for the 4th of July celebration. Go to http://www.theholidayspot.com/july4/quiz.htm and find out how much history of the holiday you know.

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

Trace Adkins received a surprise two weeks ago on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry when he was invited to become a member of the Opry. His formal induction will take place August 23. Randy Hess is a member of Trace's band, and we suspect that proud parents Al and Pat Hess will join the August celebration in Nashville. We'll ask them later today as they play at the MusicFest here in the Benton Park. Come out and you can congratulate them, too. After Adkins finished performing his current single "Then They Do," Opry member Little Jimmy Dickens walked on stage carrying a small step ladder. The 4'11" country music legend sat the ladder near Adkins' feet and climbed the ladder until he was almost eye-to-eye with the 6'6"Adkins. "I hope you'll accept my humble apology for interrupting," he said. On behalf of Opry management, Dickens then asked Adkins to join the Grand Ole Opry family.

Do you like your coffee fresh? Keep air and moisture away from your coffee beans, so store your beans in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Freezing is only necessary if you won't use your beans quickly. For freezing, store them in freezer bags. Beans are fine ground in their frozen state.

ACF Industries, Milton, is filling four orders for tank cars, in addition to orders for parts and industrial mixing bowls. The company does not anticipate receiving any new tank-car orders once the current ones are filled, and probably will have to trim its work force from 382 to 75 in August, September and October 2003, according to a letter from the company sent to Milton's Mayor. Founded in 1873, ACF is the oldest builder of rail cars in the United States. It currently has manufacturing facilities in Milton and Huntington, West Virginia. Want to know more about the ACF? Go to http://www.signaturepress.com/acf.html .

The state House of Representatives introduced a bill June 27 that would lower the state's intoxication level to 0.08% blood-alcohol from 0.10% and would impose fines of up to $10,000 for drivers convicted of drunken driving.

The over application of mulch is killing landscape trees and shrubs throughout the state, according to the Penn State Cooperative Extension. Mulch helps the earth, but can kill trees and shrubs if applied too thick and piled too high on trunks and stems.

On this date...
• in 1829, English scientist James Smithson died without ever visiting America. His will directed that if his only nephew died without any heirs, his estate should go to the United States of America, to found an institution for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." His fortune included 11 boxes of over 100,000 gold sovereigns worth well over $500,000. The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846. Today, the Smithsonian is the world's largest museum complex, composed of 18 museums and galleries around the world, including the National Museums of Natural and American History, the National Zoological Park, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Air and Space Museum.
• in 1950, President Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean conflict to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North.
• in 1975, Sonny and Cher called it quits as husband and wife.
• seventy-three years ago, business executive Ross Perot was born.

Quote of the Day:
"I'm not going to get into that with you because it's none of your business. I'm not going to--hey, look, I don't have anything to prove to you people to start with."
--Ross Perot

Ivy Violet Young

Ivy V. Young, 15, 350 Third St., Benton, died at Tuesday, June 24, 2003, at the Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, where she had been a patient following a bone marrow transplant. Arrangements will be announced by the Kriner Funeral Home, Benton.

We are back from the mountains of Sullivan County and we didn't miss our ability to communicate by telephone one bit! Phone conversations are so last century, we think! Not everyone will agree, but we think that email is a more valuable communications tool than the phone. Our reasoning: losing email communication for five days is personally more difficult than losing our access to Commonwealth Telephone.

It is always fun to look at names of towns and attempt to figure out how the name came about. I wrote this from memory, and I'll use that as my excuse if I don't get this exactly right, but locally we have Mocanaqua, the Indian name of Frances Slocum; Nescopeck, meaning "black, deep and still water;" Wapwallopen, "where the white hemp grows;" Shickshinny, "place of five mountains;" and Susquehanna, "long, crooked river." It always helps to know the meaning of words like these. Other names include Chicago, the "place of the wild onion." We remember reading on our last trip west about a prospector in the late 1800s who ventured into Apache territory despite friend's warnings that he would only find a tombstone rather than the gold he sought. When he found silver in Arizona, he named his strike Tombstone and the name of the town followed. In the Lancaster area, a tavern at the intersection of three major highways was known as "Cross Keys" and soon a town followed. A new name was needed and the town fathers chose "Intercourse." The Newce family once owned a Virginia plantation and when a shipping port was built adjacent it became known as New Port Newce and today is known as Newport News. The California train station, Morocco Junction, became the basis for a town with no people. The name of the town lacked class, so William Howard Taft's favorite summer hideaway at Beverly, MA, became the basis for the name of the town in California that today we know as Beverly Hills. Take a look under "Town Names" for other examples.

The only set of twin covered bridges in the United States is in Forks, a few miles south of Benton. There are several excellent web sites devoted to covered bridges, we include a section under FEATURES about local covered bridges and a local group dedicates itself to the preservation of covered bridges. We encourage you to get involved in some aspect of the history of these remarkable structures. A way of starting would be to buy the book, "Pennsylvania 's Covered Bridges," by Benjamin D. Davis and June R. Evans. When you have your next picnic at Twin Bridges Park, take the book along and leisurely enjoy a reading session along restful Huntington Creek.

The trophy case which stood in the old Benton High School didn't have a planned use in the new school. Joe Goode called to see if the Northern Columbia County Community & Cultural Center would like to have it. The 21' case now is in orderly pieces after Chuck Chapman, Jeff Lynn, Jr., Tyson Matthews and others worked for hours dismantling the case. It had been originally built by Ron Salsman with oak donated by Little Lumber. It will be reconstructed in a place of honor in the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center.

Heritage Day will be celebrated July 12 from 9-4 at the Hunlock Creek Athletic Association Field on Sunset Lake Road, behind the Hunlock Elementary School. There will be food, live music, craft vendors, historical items on display, etc. Space is still available for anyone interested in participating. A Car Cruisin will be held. Anyone with an antique or unique vehicle that wishes to participate, contact Vicki Seward at 256-7410. The Committee is seeking donations for rebuilding the World War 2 Honor Roll Monument. Come out and support the Hunlock Creek community and enjoy the day.

When we make a mistake we make a doozy. Pastor Paul Bowles of the Stillwater Christian Church told us that the church averages 330 per Sunday, not the figure that we quoted from a recent Press Enterprise article. Over 230 people have become members of the church since May, 1998, and over 190 of those people still attend. Last Sunday 482 were in morning worship and their building fund offering was over $27,000. Preliminary construction will begin in the spring of 2004.

Folks in Bloomsburg are seeing red! The 14th annual International Harvester "Red Power Roundup" of Farmall tractors is underway at the fairgrounds and the July fireworks show at the town park is still about $1,200 short on cash a week before the holiday. By the way, Benton's always popular fireworks display will light up the sky July 19 at 11 PM as part of the Benton Rodeo.

A Prairie Home Companion this week is live from Tanglewood in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Guests include Leo Kottke and the Nilsson Sisters, a string quartet. Accordionist Dan Newton joins the Shoe Band. Saturday's show is the last live broadcast until the end of September.

Flea market vendors and music lovers look forward to Saturday in the Benton Park. We'll see you there.

Edith Hess, 99, (July 9, 1903-June 23, 2003) Waller Road, Benton, died Monday at the Bonham Nursing Center, Register. Born in Waller, She was a daughter of Frank and Mayme Caroline (Cole) Hirleman. She attended the former Green Creek Elementary School, and graduated from Benton High School in 1923. Employed as a cook, she worked at the former Benton Hotel, the Char Mund Nursing Home, and the former Dent Nursing Home. From 1935 to 1969, Mrs. Hess with her late husband, Leland Hess, operated the Hess Bakery, Main Street, Benton. She was a member of Waller United Methodist Church, and was a life member of the Columbia Chapter, Order of Eastern Star and a Past Worthy Matron (1939). In addition to her husband, Leland B. Hess, who died in March 25, 1984, she was preceded in death by a brother, Budd C. Hirleman and a sister, Gladys Walker and two grandsons. Surviving are her son Elery H. Hess, Waller, and numerous grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Thursday at the McMichael Funeral Home Inc., Benton, Pastor Calvin J. Miller officiating. Burial will be in the Waller Cemetery.
--from a Press Enterprise article

Kimberly L. McCracken, 38, (June 30, 1964-June 21, 2003), 47 Homles Road, Stillwater, died Saturday at her parents' home in Catawissa. Born in Wilmington, DE, she was a daughter of Walter and Patricia (Williams) Warren, Catawissa. Surviving are a son, Mark Warren, Newark, DE; a daughter, Sarah Warren, Catawissa; one grandson; two sisters: Katie and Constance Warren, both of Bloomsburg; and her companion, Jason Davenport, Stillwater. She was also a foster mother to three teenagers. Memorial services will be 6 PM Friday at the Brady Funeral Home Inc., Danville. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.
--from a Press Enterprise article

Quote of the Day:
"If a man makes a better mousetrap than his neighbor, his neighbor will borrow it."
--Anonymous.

We are always looking for the next great company or the next great concept. We slept through XEROX, dozed when Microsoft was a baby, sold IBM much too soon. We love our DSL connection and would not consider giving it up. On the horizon is something generally overlooked until now that we predict will make it big. A competitor to DSL and cable is in our own backyard. BBL, or Broadband over Power Line, is in pilot testing in limited markets of the United States, and promises to deliver high-speed internet access right out of the electrical outlet in your wall. The technology was written off years ago, but the interference problems now seem to be gone and in-line transformers seem to be successfully scrambling signals. The only hurdle now is FCC approval and because the service should be less expensive than existing high-speed access, approval is expected. Think of the potential impact on rural customers out of range of existing DSL--and, by the way, on revenue for local power companies. Want to know more? Go to http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2195621 .

From the "Buster and Chloe Would Like You to Know Department."
Many people buy their puppies from pet shops. Often the puppies come from the Midwest where puppies are produced almost like livestock. Puppies are raised in elevated wire cages and receive almost no socialization or medical care. Missouri is the largest pet producing state in the nation, turning out an estimated 250,000 commercially produced puppies each year. Before you buy that adorable little puppy from a pet store, ask for a copy of the breeder's USDA inspection report. This report will give you a clear view of the conditions the puppy came from. If the store refuses or says they don't have the information, DON'T BUY THE PUPPY. Be an informed buyer. Read http://www.nopuppymills.com/in.htm .

Upcoming:
• The Benton Christian Church will present their second annual fun fair 4-8 PM June 28. The public is invited.
• The Millville Fireman's Carnival is upcoming June 27-July 5. Their annual parade moves at 10 AM, July 4, as it has every July 4 since 1890.
• The Catawissa Military Band plays appropriate music for the day July 4 from 9 PM to dusk at the Bloomsburg Town Park.
• The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will be held in downtown State College July 9-13, 10 AM-11 PM.
• The People's Choice Festival of the Arts will be held July 10-13 at the PA Military Museum, Boalsburg. The Lycoming County Fair will be July 10-19, 2003, in Hughesville.
• The Iron Heritage Festival will be held July 17-20 in Downtown Danville.
• The Giants' Despair Hillclimb will be held on Northhampton Street, in Laurel Run Borough, from 9 to 4 PM, July 12-13. Free.
• The Innovata Brass Quintet will appear at the Bloomsburg Town Park 2003 Summer Concert Series, Wednesday, July 23, 7 to 8:30 PM. The group consists of two trumpets, a French horn, trombone and a tuba. The group is directed by a Benton Area High School graduate, by the way, and is a "not to be missed" event.
--Visit Upcoming Events for additional events.

A reader from Florida wrote to say that the heat down there was giving her a "tropical depression."

In case you didn't know, the Benton post office, 250 Third Street, handles zip codes 17814 and 17878. The Benton post office is currently handling all mail services for the former Stillwater (17878) post office. Window service is available 7:30 AM to noon and 1 to 4:30 PM weekdays and 9 to 11 AM Saturday. The lobby is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We remember reading an article by Dick Holcombe, former Benton resident Si Holcombe's brother, about an 1871 map which showed 13 post offices in Sullivan county. Lopez, Mildred and Estella didn't even exist. Post offices dotted the now forgotten towns of Fox Center, Lincoln Falls, Millview, Davidson, Muncy Bottom and Plunketts Creek. The map showed 50 sawmills in Sullivan county.

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

The Columbia County Housing Corporation will send out applications for rental of Benton Manor starting July 3 to those who put their name on the interested parties list, and will start accepting those applications Monday, July 21, 2003 beginning at 8:00 AM, at the Columbia County Housing Corp. office, 700 Sawmill Road, Bloomsburg, PA (Lightstreet). No applications will be accepted before that date and time. Anyone still wanting to receive an application, can call Carol Wagner at 784-9373. Occupancy should begin late September.

The Sullivan County Historical Society Museum and the Baldwin House is open to the public Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1-5 PM until August 30. And if you visit, remember to stop at the site of Celestia, about a mile and a half west of Laporte on route 42. Sullivan County sends out tax bills for this property, even though Celestia was deeded to "Almighty God and to His heirs in Jesus Messiah for their property use and behoof forever."

It is a tough life! We're lolly-gagging along a beautiful lake in Sullivan County and for the first time in what seems like an eternity there are clear, blue skies and no rain. We don't have the Internet, cell phones or interruptions. And we're stripped right down to the essentials because the heat of the summer is finally here. The only thing missing is the pack of Black Jack chewing gum we carried as kids as we fished for catfish.

Most of us have chewed one natural thing or another. While hunting squirrels in the fall, I loved to search out the red teaberry hugging the ground of the deep woods. Many of us have sucked and chewed on wax, tobacco, and wheat kernels. Biblical frankincense and myrrh are African resins used for chewing and for mixing with spices and seeds to make incense. Remember that the magi presented the Christ Child with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh--gifts of great value (gold) and gifts of our equivalent of chewing gum.

The ancient Mayans harvested the sap of the Central American sapodilla tree, cutting it into chewable lumps. Tsictle is the name they gave it, from which we get our word chickle, the base for modern chewing gums.

Sometime, when we have even less to do than we have to do today, we'll tell you about the relationship between General Santa Anna (who'd slaughtered occupants of the Alamo) and an inventor named Thomas Adams. Thanks to these two men, Mexican chicle ended up as a chewable product and the Adams gum dynasty began. The Adams family made the first commercial chicle-based gum in 1871, calling it Adams New York No. 1. In 1888, a Thomas Adams' chewing gum called Tutti-Frutti became the first gum to be sold in a vending machine. The Adams company went on to create Clove, Chiclets and Blackjack gum. And what about Santa Ana and Adams? Santa Ana died penniless; Adams died rich. And growing up, many of us got to chew our beloved Blackjack gum.

Tonight is Midsummer Night's Eve, sometimes called St. John's Eve after the patron saint of beekeepers. The full moon June 15 was called the Mead Moon, because honey was fermented to make mead and that is the derivation of the word "honeymoon." Women washed their faces in "midsummer dew" to make themselves beautiful and young because of special healing powers some thought it possessed. Although not a locally documented fact, women allegedly skipped naked through the dew to make themselves more fertile. A Swedish proverb says, "Midsummer Night is not long but it sets many cradles rocking." Midsummer Eve is sometimes called Herb Evening, a night according to legend that is the best night for gathering magical herbs. This is the night used by Shakespeare as the setting for his play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

It came down a lot faster than it went up. This morning, the auditorium of the Benton Area High School came down with a crash.

The Press Enterprise details the building plans for the Stillwater Christian Church in a June 26 article. Pastor Paul Bowles reported that Sunday services bring in about 230 people, more than the capacity of the church. In May the congregation was asked to dig deep for a new building. In a solid show of church support, 123 families immediately pledged more than $526,000 for a new building set for construction this fall, which will seat 450. The cost: an estimated $1.3 million, including renovations to the existing church building.

Most people in the area have heard of Twin, Lewis and Sullivan falls located in state game lands 13 in Sullivan County, just west of Ricketts Glen State Park. Lewis Falls, up Heberely Run valley from Jamison City, has long been a favorite stopping place on walks and rides up Grassy Hollow Road. Sullivan Falls is on the township road between Jamison City and Ganoga Lake. Nothing beats getting up close and personal with the falls, but a new book comes close. "Hiking the Endless Mountains: Exploring the Wilderness of Northern Pennsylvania" is now available from Stackpole Books. Written by Jeff Mitchell, a Tunkhannock attorney, the book actually offers 56 different walks in the Endless Mountains.

Worried about intruders? Visit the National Safety Council web site, www.nsc.org, and look under "home and burglary." And if you are thinking of a security system, go to the Media Center at the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association. Their web site is www.alarm.org.

Next weekend will be a music weekend. At the Benton Park, the annual MusicFest, a completely free event, gets an early start, thanks to the flea market. The Forksville Folk Festival will be held June 28 and 29 at the Sullivan County Fairgrounds, starting at 10 AM each day. The admission cost at Forksville is $5 and the grandstand show is $15.

From the Didja Know Department:
• Didja know that the blades of a lawn mower can spin at speeds of
200 miles per hour. Objects can be thrown as far as 50 feet from coming in contact with spinning blades?
• Didja know that the residents of Selinsgrove made a banana split measuring (4.55 miles) in length along Market Street, on April 30, 1988? Want to know other trivia information about records? Go to the Guinness Book of Records at http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ .

The 129th Annual Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair will take place August 21-28, 2003 at Grange Park, Centre Hall.

We love to read poems by local poets and we have one today, written in 1948, by Harry Ritter, North Street, Benton. At the time, he called the poem "The Airman's Prayer." It goes like this...

Down in the Texas flatlands, Lackland is the spot.
Fighting a tropical heat wave, in the land that God forgot.

Living memory only longing to see our gals.
Hoping when we return they haven't married our pals.

Down with the snakes and lizards, down where a man gets blue.
Down in the middle of nowhere, a thousand miles from you.

No one knows we're living, no one gives a damn.
Back home we are forgotten, we belong to Uncle Sam.

We close with a story from Arcadia, about a southern lady looking to buy a house. The seller of the house proudly told the lady that the houses didn't have a flaw in it. Flustered, the southern belle replied, "Lawsy! Lawsy me. What do y'all walk on?"

The host for the Benton News gave us fits again yesterday starting at 10:23 AM. We apologize for the inconvenience of the web page being down, but the resolution of the problem is at a pay grade above ours.

The town of Benton gets their first official look at the Benton Fire Department building this afternoon. The festivities include:
• A parade starting at 2 PM. The parade leaves the old Fire Department building at the Town Hall, goes up Third Street to North, out to Main Street, South to Colley Street, then to the clean and new fire hall.
• Flag raising at the new Benton Fire Department fire hall follows the parade, approximately 2:15 PM. Jessica Lynn will sing the Star Spangled Banner. The Rev. Paul Bowles will lead the invocation. Ribbon cutting of the new facility follows.
• Speaker, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, Dennis Wolfe.
• Introduction of officers of the Fire Department, members of the Fire Department, Ambulance Drivers, Fire Truck Drivers; Heads of Building Committee, Kitchen Committee, and Grand Opening Committee.
• Barry Lewis will present the History of the Fire Department.
• Mayor Jan Swan, who graciously planted the flowers beside the flagpole, will speak.
• Benton Area Fire Board, Bob Conner speaker.
• Introduction of the Columbia County Commissioners, Chris Young, Leroy Diehl and William Soberick.
• Introduction of the Honorable George Hasay.
• Arrival of a Life Flight helicopter at the rear of the fire hall, approximately 4 PM, assuming that accidents cooperate.
• Tour of the Fire Hall and rides for children on the fire trucks.
• Dinner of hot dogs, hamburgs and baked beans in the new social hall. Free, but donations accepted.
• Christine Karns will provide music and karaoke from 6 to 9 PM.

A local man freshly off his honeymoon looked through the mail and found a bill for some clothes purchased three weeks previously. His bride, in her best seductive voice, asked if her husband was upset about it. "Well," he replied slowly, "it ain't quite fair to ask a fish to pay for the bait he was caught with."

Quickies...
• We used to support the use of solar energy and pushed for more tax incentives to create passive solar environments. Two months of solid overcast has tempered our thinking, we regret to say. We are simply fed up and sick with cloud burn! We want just a little genuine sun burn!
• We'll be leaving this morning on an abbreviated vacation, packed in the mountains of Sullivan County. We won't be anywhere near where we can access the internet or get our email or make a phone call. We'll scoot Back Home to Benton, PA, once a day for a hour or less through Friday in order to scoop up and send out the news.
• Starting Monday, drivers in a work zone convicted of going 11 MPH or more over the speed limit will receive a mandatory 15-day suspension of their drivers license. Turn your lights on, too!
• PPL is converting to an automated system to measure electricity usage. The $160 million project will replace 1.3 million meters system wide with meters that will transmit information on electricity use back to the utility through its power lines.

About the only time a woman is successful in changing a man is when he is a baby.

In late June and early July 1972, major flooding caused by the exceptional rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Agnes ravaged the Middle Atlantic States. Although only a category 1 hurricane when it hit Florida and a tropical depression when it moved into the Northeast, the rainfall produced by Agnes made this storm more than twice as destructive as any previous hurricane in the history of the United States and remains the worst natural disaster ever to strike Pennsylvania. You can read more about Agnes and its impact on Benton under FEATURES.

The Press Enterprise includes an article June 21 about the local weather. Locally, "normal precipitation from January to mid-June is 18.5 inches." Through early evening yesterday, "23.28 inches, or 4.78 inches more than average," have fallen as of mid-June this year.

Middle age is when everything starts to wear out, fall out or spread out. Yesterday was our initial encounter with a colonoscopy. Don't put the non-surgical test off thinking that it is a dreaded event. It wasn't.

Nursery Rhyme of the Day:
"Lizzie Borden took an ax
and gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done
she gave her father forty-one."

Anna C. Ruckle, 75 (March 16, 1928-June 19, 2003), 210 McHenry Alley, Benton, died Thursday at home. She had been in failing health since November. Born in Noxen Township, she was a daughter of the late William and Jennie (Patton) Barber. She became a resident of Benton in 1991, previously residing in Fairmount Springs. Mrs. Ruckle worked in the former Crystal Fashions, Benton; the former Benton plant of Milco Industries; and the Laurel Personal Care Home, Shickshinny. She was preceded in death by husband John F. Ruckle, and by a daughter, Faith Hammond. Nine children survive: L. Jean Bray, Shickshinny; Lewis Ruckle, at home; David Ruckle, Berwick; Beverly F. Galutia, Benton; Mrs. Wesley (Waneta) Robbins, Hunlock Creek; Mrs. Thomas (Winifred) Kittle, Elysburg; Charles Ruckle, Mountaintop; John W. Ruckle, Stillwater; Mrs. William (Jennie) Schnitzler, Stillwater; 30 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren, and a sister, Betty Weaver, Beaumont. Funeral services will be held at 2 PM Monday in the Dean W. Kriner Funeral Home, Benton, with the Rev. Gary M. Emrick, Columbia-Montour Hospice chaplain, officiating. Burial will follow in Cambra Cemetery.
--from a Press Enterprise article

Quickies...
• In February, 1946, Frank C. Yost sold Yost's Restaurant to Emerson Stoneham and Lee Yost. To many older residents, the Sub Shop is still Yost's Restaurant, but since 1946, the Stoneham family has set the table for their guests. The current owner is Becky Stoneham Green. Guests coming to town often ask for a sub from the Sub Shop, skipping our home cookin' completely.
• A reader is trying to find a 1936 yearbook from Benton Joint School to get a picture of Elmer Hunter and Dorothy Hunter.
• Ricketts Glen Park contains the Glens Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark. The Falls Trail will let you explore the Glens Area and the wild, free-flowing waterfalls. The 94-foot Ganoga Falls is the highest of 22 named waterfalls. The 600-foot beach is open daily until Labor Day. Only electric motors are permitted on Lake Jean. Dry mooring and two boat launches are available. A boat rental concession operates during the summer season and offers rowboats, paddleboats and canoes.
• The First Union Arena, Wilkes-Barre, will soon be known as the Wachovia Arena, following that bank's acquisition of First Union Bank.
• Martha Stewart showed off her newest earth-tone suit yesterday at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where she was indicted on charges of securities fraud and obstruction of justice. Martha wore what the Washington Post described as a "the equivalent of a man's sack suit." We aren't too experienced at describing women's clothing, but we think we're pretty accurate when we say that the unflattering outfit had a bark-colored jacket, a gray jewel-neck blouse and a strand of beads the size of melons. We hope that her choice of clothing improves for the January trial where she'll be judged not on the poor investment decisions she made, but on her ability to find and wear a flattering outfit.
• Carrie Bradshaw, the main character in HBOs Sex and the City, will soon only be available Homeon reruns. This is the last season for the show.
• The company Best Buy is warning consumers of an unauthorized and deceptive email entitled "Fraud Alert." This email asks for personal information like social security and credit card numbers. The email claims to come from the www.BestBuy.com Fraud Department. This message is NOT from Best Buy. If you have replied to the fraudulent email, contact your bank and/or credit card companies immediately.
• Direct TV (a satellite TV provider) is now offering channel 16, PBS, Warner Brothers and the local Fox stations in the Benton area. Channels 22 and 28 will follow.
• Two local 14-year old boys worked their tails off yesterday at the high school dismantling the trophy case in preparation for its future home in the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center. Jeff Lynn and Tyson Mathews assisted Chuck Chapman in the time-consuming job. And in the latest counting of pledges for the Center, an additional $20,000 was tallied Wednesday. If you have not done so, please consider making a pledge today. And when you visit the Fire Department Saturday for their open house, walk around the rear of the property and visualize the changes that will occur in the next few years.

A reader, up to his eyebrows in Fritz history, wrote, "How about a little lesson on the origin of the term fritz as used when something doesn't work right, as in 'My toaster is on the fritz'"? We'll try...
Fritz: pronounced "frits."
• -n. On the fritz, not in working order: Our TV went on the fritz last night.
• —v. fritz out, to become inoperable.

We'll say right up front that we haven't a clue where the term came from. We know that at one time the word fritz was used in an offensive manner to describe a German soldier and it is a popular given name in the Benton area (Fritz). The word is commonly used when something is malfunctioning or broken: "Laptop Larry is on the fritz again," just as the Brits and the Australian would say that Larry is "on the blink." The first found usage of fritz came in conjunction with something in a bad way or bad condition like the lack of success of something on a stage. It is possible that fritz is an imitation of the pfzt noise from a faulty electrical connection or the sound of a fuse blowing, but not probable since the word shows up before the invention of electricity, so we'll discard that theory. And the name was around before the nickname for a German soldier which appeared about World War One. But the word may actually have come from someone called Fritz, someone like "Fritz" in the comic strip The Katzenjammer Kids. In this strip, two youngsters called Hans and Fritz get involved in all sorts of capers, fouling things up to the point of putting everyone involved "on the Fritz." Rudolph Dirks created The Katzenjammer Kids in 1897 for the American Humorist, the Sunday supplement of the New York Journal. Inspired by Max Und Moritz, the German children's stories of the 1860s, The Katzenjammer Kids featured the adventures of Hans and Fritz, twins and foes of any form of authority. "The Katzies" rebelled against their mother, called Mama, der Captain (the shipwrecked sailor who acted as their surrogate father) and der Inspector (dreaded representative of school authorities). The series was great fun as you'll see when you go to http://www.geocities.com/~jimlowe/katzies/katzdex.html .

And just in case you ask about Katzenjammer, it means a "hangover; anxiety or jitters; a discordant clamor." It was taken from a German word which derives from Katzen, cats, plus Jammer, wailing or distress. In German it could also mean the depression that follows intoxication and so developed in American English a more general sense of what one might call a case of the willies.

In today's Bloomsburg Press Enterprise, there is an article about the cigarette-making plant in Maple Grove owned by Bob Gordon. Recently the plant started making little cigars, called Thunder Bay, and has shipped about 60 cases so far. Another order for 275 cases of the cigars is in the works. Each case contains 12,000 cigars: 20 per pack, with 10 packs per carton and 60 cartons to the case.

Christine Karns will provide music and karaoke from 6 to 9 PM at the Benton Fire Company's grand opening this weekend. Christine also provides karaoke at the Jamison City Hotel and here is the upcoming schedule for the Jamison City nightspot...
Sat., June 28, Fri., July 4, Sat., July 12, Sat., July 19, Sat., Aug. 2, 9th & 30, Sat., Sept. 13 & 27, Sat., Oct 18, Sat., Nov. 22 & 29, Sat., Dec 6.

We were going to write about maps today, but we stumbled on http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/maps/introduction.html and decided that everything you needed to know was right there. Our fingers are very grateful...

The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved legislation yesterday to can spam. Senators. Conrad Burns' (R-Mont.) and Ron Wyden's (D-Ore.) bill targets bulk e-mailers that disguise their identities, peddle pornography or scams, and fail to honor consumers' requests to stop receiving email advertising. Spammers would also be barred from using special software to collect email addresses from Web sites and from using programs that generate millions of e-mail addresses using random numbers and letters. Microsoft Corp., America Online, Yahoo Inc., EarthLink Inc. and eBay Inc. immediately jumped on the bandwagon. The bill bars class-action suits but allows Internet providers to sue spammers.

Thursday, June 19, 2003. Today is Dayne and Jeanette Hartman's wedding anniversary. Salman Rushdie was born in Bombay, India, on this day in 1947.

The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor on this date in 1885, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States. The statue commemorated the anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. Sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi's Liberty Enlightening the World stands more than 300 feet high, a symbol of freedom and democracy to the nation and to the world. And here is a piece of trivia for you... The length of the statue's sandal: 25', or expressed in a US Women's Shoe Size based on standard formula, 879.

Quote of the Day:
"We will not forget that liberty here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."
--President Cleveland

The Benton News is hosted by Domain Direct, and over the last year has had few outages and little cause to complain. Yesterday was an exception, when the Benton News and all other sites hosted by Domain Direct were down for the better part of a day. We got the usual Yada Yada from the company: "Tucows Inc. and its subsidiaries have no liability for any content or goods on the Domain Direct site or the Internet." We apologize for the loss of service yesterday.

A bachelor is a happy man. He never knows when he is wrong.

Do you remember when...
• Dr. John Morris, Brooklyn, NY, arrived in Benton in March, 1945, and rented the office and equipment of the late Dr. Confair? We do. In fact, we're sitting in Dr. Confair's and Dr. Morris' examination room as we prepare this edition.
• Mr. and Mrs. Frank Yost announced in June, 1945, the engagement of their daughter, Lillian, to Chief Petty Officer James Edson, U. S. Navy, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Edson? The bride elect graduated from Geisinger Memorial Hospital and was at the time a Senior Cadet Nurse at Kennedy Green Hospital, Memphis. Jim was attending Penna. State College at the time of his joining the Navy. He at the time of their engagement a chief motor machinist's mate and was on active duty in the Pacific area for 18 months.
• The Argus announced in August, 1945, "Superhighway in Red Rock Area?" The paper announced, many years too prematurely, that a "four-lane highway will be cut through the northern end of the county to prove a short cut from Williamsport to Wilkes-Barre." The route would "roughly follow the present 115." The paper said that the "superhighway will follow route 115 along the Red Rock mountain to a point near the Harrington Foundry, and then will branch off past Grassmere Park and will cut through the mountain pass to the Muncy section.
• "Wartime" was abolished September 30, 1945? Congress voted without dissent to end "fast" time on that date, and clocks were turned back an hour. The clocks were advanced an hour January 20, 1943.
• Betty Keller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hervey Keller, became the bride of Pvt Stanley Danilowicz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Danilowicz, New Columbus, August 4, 1945? The couple was married at the Benton Christian Church. The couple was attended by Mrs. Arthur Search, sister of the bride. Pvt. Danilowics was stationed at New Orleans at the time.
• Carolyn Cole became the bride of Willard Fritz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Fritz, in December, 1945? The ceremony was performed at the Benton M. E. Church by the Rev. John A. Herritt. The bride was a member of the faculty of the Benton school, and the groom had just been discharged after serving in the Pacific theatre for forty months.

We talked about Bruce Fritz yesterday and Betty Fritz Victory reminded us that at one time there were three local men named Bruce Fritz. Bruce Fritz on Klinger Hill comes from the following lineage:
• Phillip Fritz & Charlotte Deaberger (the Fritz Hill Fritzes)
• Phillip Fritz, Jr. and Catherine Hess
• Abijah Fritz and Sarah Golder
• Lawson Fritz and Savilla Wagner
• Bruce W. Fritz and Erma Cole

The children of Bruce W. and Erma Cole were Charles, Rosalyn Fritz Traub, Harold, Albert (married Helen Rider who still lives in the homestead on Klinger Hill), Grant, Helen (married Richard Woods), Willard, Betty (married Wayne Kile), Lois (married Elmer Young, and Jean (married Elmer Getz). As far as Betty Victory knows, Betty and Jean are the only two still living. Albert's widow, Helen, lives in the family homestead, but is confined to a wheel chair.

Term of the Day: Blamestorming...
Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible...

Didja ever wonder why...
People in old photos never smile? Were they afraid of the bright lights and the puff of smoke? Did they peter out waiting for the photo to be taken? Were they thinking about milking the cows? Were they really trying to look natural? Did they all have bad teeth and was that the reason they didn't smile? Was picture taking such a serious time that smiling was taboo? Was smiling or laughing in a photo undignified? Maybe it was because it took so long to take a picture that the subject had to sit still for a long period of time and a frown was easier to maintain than a smile. The "instant click" camera came along later. And we're glad that smiles came along, too!

Are you planning an airplane trip? Do you own a digital camera? Take a picture of your luggage and carry it with you on the airplane. When the last bag slides down the chute and the airline has lost your luggage, give them an exact photograph of your suitcase. They'll know exactly what they are looking for and you won't be embarrassed by telling them that it was "about this big, with a handle, and was either black or green--or possibly blue."

M. Ruth Kline is Back Home in Benton, PA, under Hospice care. Ruth has been a patient at the Bloomsburg Hospital on and off for the past month.

The man we remember by his first name, Napoleon Bonaparte, lost his final major battle near Waterloo Village in Belgium on this date in 1815. If you want more information about Napoleon, there are approximately forty-five thousand books written about him. Napoleon became dictator of France in 1799, in 1804 he declared himself emperor, dressed his soldiers in beautiful costumes and almost immediately started invading everyone in Europe. His invasion of Russia became the subject of Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, but he also attacked England, Germany and Spain. Napoleon marched north toward Belgium at Waterloo, where the alliance of England and Germany waited for him, and attacked June 18. His army and the English army fought for ten hours, when the Prussians joined the fray and helped the British win the battle. Napoleon lost twenty-five thousand men at Waterloo.

Roger Ebert, film critic, was born on this date in 1942. In 1975, he win a Pulitzer Prize for "distinguished criticism." Dr. Sally Ride became the first woman in space, aboard the Challenger in 1983 for a six-day mission. Rick Karns, Millsboro, DE, was born 50 years ago today!

Please come out Saturday for the dedication of the new Benton Volunteer Fire Department building. And when you do, walk to the back of the building and take a look at the elderly housing progress. Walls are springing out of the ground and the shape of the building is very evident. And make absolutely sure that you look in the area toward Fishing Creek where the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center will be sited. The area around the former Little Lumber Company property is becoming an important part of the community. And we should mention that volunteers worked long into the night last evening stuffing envelopes to continue telling the story of the Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center.

Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania has bought the naming rights for the new Philadelphia Phillies stadium and they are going to call the stadium--guess what--Citizens Bank Park, opening in April 2004. The 25-year contract cost Citizens $95 million and gives the bank the right to call itself the "Official Bank of the Phillies." Citizens is a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

It's also fun to meander into the past and see what happened to names we know. Perhaps you remember when ...
• Phyllis Strauch, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Err Strauch, Waller, and Mr. Dale T. Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. N. T. Smith, Benton, married at the Benton M. E. Church October, 4, 1939. The Smiths resided in the Alverna Smith property on Main Street.
• The Columbia County Guernsey Breeders got a surprise at their annual picnic in June, 1940, when Betty Jane Yost--a female--won fourth place for showmanship. Frederick Hack, Berwick, came in first; Robert Stevens, New Columbus, second; Drew Yost, Forks, third; Betty Jane Yost, fourth; and Buddy Hartman, Benton, fifth.
• The fourteenth annual commencement of the Sugarloaf Junior High school was held in the township junior high school building June 7, 1940. There were 14 graduating members of the class.
• P. J. Holcombe, Dushore, bought the Chapin Funeral Home from Ivin S. Chapin, and began doing business as the Holcombe Funeral Home.
• Galen Hilley, 70, seriously ill and confined to his bed, shot an eight-point buck through an open window from his bed.
• Frank Klase retired from the Reading R. R. Company after 57 years with the B & S Railroad Company. Frank came to Stillwater in his teens as a telegrapher before being sent to Jamison City as Station Agent. At the end of his career, he worked in the B & S office in Bloomsburg until it was purchased by the Reading Co. Frank retired in October, 1948.
• Lightning struck the barn of Willis Deitrick December 13, 1936. The 40x50 barn burned to the ground.

Question of the Day:
Authorities have found the body of Michael Kerkowski, but where is the $3 to $4 million he stole?

The second floor will contain the kitchen and dining rooms. Farther up the guest house will be the bedroom and the bath, the library, another utility floor, an attic and an observation deck. It will be a lovely structure when completed. We looked around and found out there are some other unusual silo houses in the country, like the missile silo home in Saranac Lake in the Adirondack State Park. We also found Madison Silo buildings scattered around the country. We're happy that this unique structure will be so close to Back Home in Benton, PA.

In need of prayers...
• Ivy Young, recovering from a bone marrow transplant.
• A. Ross Pennington, recovering from a fall at home.
• Ruth Kline, currently holding her own in the Bloomsburg Hospital.

It is time to mosey around the town and see what is going on, and today we'll look at the beginning of September, 1969...
• John Unbewust had just finished roaring down the 18% grade of Red Rock Mountain in his milk truck, passing three cars on the way down. John crashed landed at the bottom of the mountain, but escaped serious injury to him--but not to the truck.
• Bob and Sandra Kelsey and son moved to Jonesboro, Indiana, where Bob served as acting pastor of Jones Chapel Christian Church. Bob attended the Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis.
• Dr. Frank C. Laubach celebrated his 85th year at a birthday bash held by Laubach Literacy Staff, Syracuse.
• Prunes were two pounds for $.25 at Harold's Market, Maple Grove. Tomatoes were $.15 a pound and potatoes were $.59 for ten pounds.
• Eating steamed clams or shrimp cocktail Friday nights at Fink's Cafe was very popular.
• Carl Kessler completed eleven years hauling coke to the Benton Foundry under contract to Eastern Forwarding Co.
• The annual VFW clam bake cost $5 for members and $6 for non-members. Attendees were reminded that "you must be 21 to attend."
--from the September 4, 1949, Benton Argus.

The state policy of exempting basic foodstuffs from the state's 6% sales tax is--gulp--getting new scrutiny as lawmakers look for alternative sources of revenue to replace the school property tax and deal with other fiscal problems. Food exemption reduces state coffers an estimated $1.2 billion annually in uncollected revenues.

Wellsboro will hold their 62nd annual Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival this weekend. This annual festival celebrates the Mountain Laurel, the state flower of Pennsylvania. The event includes an arts and crafts fair, International Street of Foods, Firemen's Carnival, 10k foot race and two-mile Fun Run, Laurel Queen Coronation, a performance by Nashville musician Tim Williams and the Laurel Festival Parade. We can even remember back to when Jill Unbewust, Benton, was the Laurel Queen of the Festival.

Saving is fine, but it is better to spend all you make than not to make all you spend.

Long batted from pillar to post, the 38-year old Federal program Head Start, which serves almost a million children with a budget of approximately $6 billion, faces large-scale changes. Federal direction is steering Head Start away from concern with a broad brush of children's many needs to a focus on teaching early reading and math skills.

The state Senate voted Monday, on a 29-20 vote, to exempt most motorcyclists from a 35-year-old state law requiring them to wear helmets, and approved a bill allowing motorcyclists over 21 with two years of riding experience or a rider education course to go without a helmet. Watch insurance premiums go through the roof...

Our lead reporter, Chloe, wonders why humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another. She understands human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, the word "hello," beepers, chewy TBONZ, scent identification, and Frisbee flight paths. She does not seem to have a clue what humans understand, and possibly thinks that we don't understand anything. Anyway, next Monday night, Chloe graduates as a trained therapy dog.

Participating in the Dedication Service of the 1929 school building were Elmer E. Shultz, joint school board president; Rev. L. V. Barber, invocation; Rev. W. R. Jones, greetings; a speech by W. W. Evans, county superintendent of schools; Walter H. Witman, architect; T. C. Smith, joint board secretary; Rev. W. H. Patterson, benediction. The Dedication Address was by Dr. Frank C. Laubach, home on furlough from missionary work in the Philippine Islands. Other speakers were from the Department of Public Instruction.

An editorial comment by Percy Brewington, editor of the Benton Argus, noted: "The wonderful community spirit developed in this (school) project, was really the means whereby the goal was gained. It would have been nearly impossible to have built so well, had it not been for the work of hundreds of men, women, boys and girls who dug the foundations, cellar and laid the foundation walls."

The men and boys of Benton Borough and Township school districts drew the commendation for their willingness to give generously of their energies and tools to do the construction work within their capability. Much of what was done by community-minded citizens has stood the test of time. Women of the area provided food and beverages for volunteers doing excavating and foundation work.

The large auditorium seated 450. Graduations, plays, assemblies and other public school activities were frequently held in churches or the local movie theatre, even though it had a small stage. One of the problems the board faced was financing the purchase of 458 sturdy "opera chairs" for the auditorium. The women of the two school districts "got wind" of the need and formed a Civic Club. The women of the community took on the task of raising the more than $2,000. They staged plays and musicals to raise the money. Cash donations were never solicited.

Their fund-raising projects turned out so well that they were also able to purchase a piano for the auditorium. The piano was used for over 30 years for entertainment in the park during the Summer months as well as other public functions plus its primary role in the school program.
--To be continued...

A local couple, heading to Alaska via airplane last Friday, found themselves unexpectedly sitting next to their daughter on a connecting flight.

It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world.

Windows XP allows you to automatically download Windows updates. Click on Start|Control Panel|Performance and Maintenance| System. Then, in the System properties dialog, click the Automatic Updates tab, click on "Download the update automatically and notify me when they are ready to be installed" and Apply. This tip is interesting in that it is the first suggestion that we have offered that is Windows XP unique.

The investigation of Martha Stewart continues with her recipe for chicken casserole. First you boil the chicken in water. And then you dump the stock.

Quote of the Day:
"Most vegetables are something God invented to let women get even with their children. A fruit is a vegetable with looks and value. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts won't do.
--P. J. O'Rourke

Want to see where some speed traps are in Pennsylvania? Go to http://www.speedtrap.org/speedtraps/ste.asp?state=PA .

We'll take up the Benton Joint Schools again...
After completion, the auditorium was described as "large, airy and well lighted. The stage gave ample room for school entertainment using large groups, much like the garden club meeting on the stage. It was fitted with footlights and hung with a blue, sunfast velour curtain. A black valance with a monogram "B" was at the top of the stage arch." Under the auditorium was a large basement room for "a play room for the smaller pupils on stormy days."

Benton Garden Club Meeting "on the stage," as viewed from the balcony.
The annual flower show was held in the high school June 14, 1940.
Picture courtesy of Gerealdine Yost Laubach

Some of the beams in the ceiling of the basement were reportedly from the McHenry Distillery, and during the demolition of the auditorium in 2003 these beams could be seen, the charcoal from the burned Distillery clearly visible.

The building was heated with a steam heating system supplied by a "Harrisburg Star water boiler." The ventilating system was the unit type which delivered fresh warm air to each room.

A description of the new building from a Benton Argus article concerned its dedication on December 31, 1928. The article revealed the great pride of the community in its new school. Excerpts from the description noted:

"It is a two-story building with steel frame and brick walls. The wall finish is ivory colored Textone. The wood trim is stained light and varnished. The floors are double wood throughout, except in the toilets and entrances, which are cement.

At the ends of the halls the entrances and stairs are located. A third and main entrance comes into the middle of the hall from the front of the building. There are eight standard classrooms and the stage will also be used as a classroom.

There are laboratories for science, cooking, sewing and agriculture. The cooking laboratory contains a cafeteria where lunches are served at noon. In connection with the Home Economics Food Laboratory is a small dining room and a girls' rest room. One classroom on first floor contains the library of about 2,000 volumes and a small room on second floor above the stage will be used as a teachers' room.

Folding doors between the rooms of the seventh and eighth grades make it possible to open them into one large room for assembly work. The four toilets are modern although the building has excellent natural lighting by windows. It is completely equipped with electric lights. An emergency system, as required by the state, is installed that will enable lights to burn for 3 hours, in case of power failure. Although there is practically no ornamentation the building is exceptionally comfortable and workable. It measures up well with the present day ideas in school construction. It is a building that any community could feel well satisfied with."

A great factor in the success of the Benton schools was L. Ray Appleman. The faculty for the new school in its first term was L. Ray Appleman, principal; Blanche Shultz, assistant principal; Alvin C. Sutliff, supervisor of agriculture; Aurabel Pelton, supervisor of home economics.

Elementary - Harriet Hagenbuch, first grade; Marcella Hess, second grade; Helen Mendenhall, third grade; Esther Chapin, fourth grade; Helen Long, fifth grade; Mary Savage, sixth and seventh grades; and Carola Fritz, eight grade.

High School - Wayne B. Renschler, science and agriculture; Flora Fritz Henderson, English and music; and W. R. Jones, history and Latin.
--To be continued

Today is Father's Day and here are some quotes for you.
"That is the thankless position of the father in the family--the provider for all, and the enemy of all."
--J. August Strindberg
"The fundamental defect with fathers is that they want their children to be a credit to them."
--Bertrand Russell
"Fathers should neither be seen nor heard. That is the only proper basis for family life."
--Oscar Wilde

The dirt is flying at the Head Start building near the soccer fields at the elementary school. A Boy Scout Eagle project headed by Brandon Schupp consists of planting trees and designing and building a tricycle path, a bench, a sandbox and two raised flower beds to give the children a safe place to play. The Head Start staff and families will plant flowers in the flower beds and will paint the sandbox, but do not have money to provide supplies for the project. Brandon is looking for donations to help with the project to benefit the children of the community. Donations can be mailed to his father Jack's address, 190 Elmdale Road, Benton, PA 18714. We'll have before and after pictures here later. Lets join with Brandon and make the "after" pictures special.

It is the month of June,
The month of leaves and roses,
When pleasant sights salute the eyes,
And pleasant scents the noses.
-- N. P. Willis, American writer (1806-1867)

The June 15 Philadelphia Inquirer, in an article about the state's fiscal crisis, reports that each of the 253 members of the Pennsylvania Legislature has the option of leasing cars, in the House getting a subsidized assist up to $650 a month and in the Senate up to $600. Both chambers pick up insurance. Lawmakers also have the option of choosing a vehicle from the state fleet. According to the article, two out of three members of the state House and Senate drive vehicles subsidized by taxpayers. An example: Sen. Vincent Fumo leases a black 2002 Cadillac DeVille with dark-tinted windows. The tab: $600 a month, plus another $5,392 for insurance. The annual bill is $12,592. "The autos, which make up the most generous legislative perk of its kind in America, will cost taxpayers $850,000 this year," according to the Inquirer.

An interesting article in Sunday's Times Leader compares costs of attorney fees to represent municipalities. Fairmount Township's attorney earns about $8 per month to attend meetings, while Hazle Township's attorney brings in about $5,350 per month to attend meetings and handle about 40 hours of work.

Mother used to be fond of the expression "fit to be tied," as in "When she saw the mud I tracked in, she was fit to be tied." We understand the saying more now than we did when we were growing up. Chloe and Buster have helped us develop this understanding.

We have added Erik Jost to the list of service people:
RCT. JOST ERIK P 4336
PLT 3062 3rd BN I Co.
BOX 1 3062
PARRIS ISLAND SC 29905-3062
Erik's parents are Richard and Jan Jost, Benton. Erik would love to get a letter from you!

H9K TIMER provides 16 customizable clocks, skins, and fonts with a screen saver function and alarm feature. It updates with connection to a timeserver and is a free download at http://www.h9k.com/index.html .

Laptop Lillian arrived in Benton Friday, only a few weeks old. Lillian wasn't her name when she arrived in town in a plain brown box marked "Made In Malaysia," but who would want to go through life with a name made up of 14 alpha and numeric digits? She was a little troublesome at first getting "into the network" of things, but she eventually calmed down and did everything just like she should. We look forward to a long and happy relationship, unlike her ^%$&&%$ cousin.

Thomas L. Davis, Dr. Thomas C. McHenry, M. L. Cole, J. F. Ashelman, and F. I. Shultz were on the school board at the time the wood frame school in Benton Borough was built. In 1926, when discussions were held about building a new school to replace the wood frame structure, M. P. Edwards, P. G. Shultz and N. B. Cole were on the board--all sons of former school directors. Edwards and Cole lived in the Township, were on the Benton Township Board, and were instrumental in getting the Township to join with the borough. Several one-room schools were closed at the same time.

The original frame building was no longer large enough for educational purposes. The building was moved east on the lot across the street from Benton Park and through an addition was made "L" shape. This building had outside plumbing and six rooms, three up and three down. It was heated by a central hot-air system inadequate in the coldest temperatures to heat the second floor satisfactorily. Benton experienced lots of trouble with contagious diseases among the school children during that period and in one school term it was necessary to close three times. It was generally felt that the problem could be traced to the inadequate heating system.

The high school building as most students now remember it was built with a sense of community spirit. The school was made possible through the efforts and public spirit of a few people backed with their own personal resources and effort, not by a public school tax. A lot of the credit for the school went to Byron S. Keller and Dr. I. L. Edwards. Area residents worked together in August, 1927, to cut costs and get the school site ready for construction. The account of the "frolic" appeared in the Argus. The residents of the Benton School District were in a great mood the day that the article appeared, filled with a huge sense of accomplishment. The town--men, women and children--had turned out the day before for what the Argus called a "school frolic." Headline on headline read: "GREAT WORK DONE AT SCHOOL FROLIC HERE," HUNDREDS OF WILLING WORKERS BUSY AS BEES," and "REAL COMMUNITY SPIRIT."

Benton had long had the "Summer Institute" or "Summer School," a program where students who completed the public schools could attend the institute and become certified to teach in the public schools.

In 1915, the Benton school became the center of high school education in the northern end of Columbia County. Some townships had established two-year high schools, but some still went only to eighth grade. Pupils enrolled in Benton's High School to complete the four-year course from throughout northern Columbia County and some students came from adjacent townships in Lycoming, Sullivan and Luzerne counties.

The expanding enrollment at the high school level made it necessary for the Benton school board to consider more space. First the second floor of the Columbia County National Bank on Market Street was rented for the home economics department and a small former shirt factory adjacent to the north border of the school property was taken over and remodeled to serve as the "Ag" building. In 1917, the school purchased the home now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Ernie Koons, and used it for the home economics department.

L. Ray Appleman, a teacher and principal in the Benton schools for 50 years, was primarily responsible for organizing the Benton schools into grades with an established course of study while it was operating in the 6-room frame building. This effort along with his teaching in the Summer School helped form the nucleus and build the support for the high school.

The Borough and the Township residents worked on the project. Mrs. Guy Miller, Leona Masten, Mrs. C. K. Albertson, Mrs. Charles Seely, Mrs. Dallas Hess and Mrs. Ray Keeler were among the leaders in the organization. Volunteers did their projects well enough to be able to purchase a piano for the auditorium that was used for at least 30 years for entertainment in the park and in the auditorium.
--to be continued...

A year-ago today, ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co. announced it would spin off its slow-growing tuna, pet foods, private label soup and baby formula units and merge them into Del Monte Foods Co.

For readers who want to hear Randy Hess Saturday night at the Grand Ole Opry, but don't have access to a TV set via the CMT channel, try the Internet. Use one of these direct audio links via the Internet:

http://wtn-stream.alsw.com/Player.asp?STA=WSMAM&SPD=LO
http://wtn-stream.alsw.com/Player.asp?STA=WSMAM&SPD=HI

Use the first link for dialup connections and the second for high-speed hookups. These links connect you directly to WSM streaming audio without going through the station's home page, thereby saving you time, trouble and several key strokes. (All times are Central Daylight) Oh, yes, Trace Adkins will be playing with Randy... Also appearing will be Ricky Skaggs, Dusty Drake and Jimmy C. Newman from 7:00-8:00 Central Daylight (usually simulcast on CMT). Randy and Trace will appear again 11:00-11:30 Central Daylight time with Bill Anderson and Elizabeth Cook.

As much as I fight it, in Benton there no such thing as "lunch." For most, there's only dinner and then there is supper.

Quote of the Day:
"Generosity is always wise."
--Winston Churchill

The 6-L Corporation, a division of Paragon, has quit planting tomatoes in this area for the year. They put in about 460 acres locally, down from the planned 560 or so. The fields are just too wet to continue. And speaking of wetness, the invasive Japanese Knot Weed, a bamboo-like plant that grows about 12 feet high that can be found growing along Fishing Creek in various places isn't affected by most weed killers. Yesterday the ground was so wet that it could be simply pulled out by the roots--a very effective growth inhibitor!

Childhood is the time when you make funny faces in the mirror. Middle age is the time when the mirror gets even...

Sen. Arlen Specter and his wife weighed in with cushy retirement savings plans, blue chip stocks and a New Jersey beach house according to Senate financial disclosure records released Friday. The total net worth exceeded $2 million in assets and holdings.

Dedicated during the middle of winter, December 31, 1928, the 450-seat auditorium in the new Benton Joint School got its first use as the people of Benton Borough and Benton Township flocked to one of the state's first "consolidated" school systems, a combination elementary-high school. Seventy-five years later, the wrecking ball will descend on the auditorium and what is usually referred to as the "old part" of the school about June 23 as soon as the proper permits are issued. We'll attempt to convey some of the history of the building over the coming days.

An 1877 map of the Village of Benton shows a school located on Market Street about where Mr. and Mrs. Rod VanPelt currently live. Both John Appleman and Ben McHenry said they attended the Market Street school as children. You can read more about this school under FEATURES, The Writings of William Heacock.

T. C. Smith, former school board member and secretary of both the Benton Borough and the joint school board, in remarks made in 1928, said he was a pupil in a school that was operated on the third floor of the "Rohr McHenry Building," which