Friday, September 3, 2010. It is the birthday of Barry D. Wise, Jr., Julie Jackson-Parr, Owen Hess, Jr., Scott Kriebel, Nathan Becker and Eleanor Sands. It is the 38th wedding anniversary of Kay and Chuck Chapman. Events in the tropics have been at full velocity for the past few weeks, and now back home the weather will begin evolving rapidly. Daytime temperatures should hit 90° today, but be 20° cooler Saturday. Hurricane Earl is bearing down on North Carolina and a string of states bordering the Atlantic as a category 2 hurricane. Tropical Storm Fiona is nearing hurricane strength, although heading out to sea. Off the coast of Africa, Depression No. 9 transformed into Tropical Storm Gaston with more tropical waves behind it. The peak of the hurricane season is right around the corner.
• I caught the dickens from a water-truck driver who lives near Meshoppen, who was hoppin' mad about the harassment the water truckers and other truckers associated with the drilling rigs are taking from the state police. The driver was stopped three times in one day and all within a mile stretch of highway. Another local trucker with his own rig was stopped and retained for 3 1/2 hours while the state police performed an inspection of his vehicle. The driver was fined $100 for a crack in body sheet metal at a screw which had nothing to do with safety. The driver admitted that "there are many 'cowboys' driving the trucks," but said that there are many locals who think that they own the roads and make it look bad for the old codgers (his term--not mine) who drive the trucks and pay attention to other traffic and conditions of the roads.
• There is a new Pennsylvania website to keep residents connected with their elected officials. The website, www.palegis.us , is compatible with mobile devices such as the iPhone, BlackBerry and Droid. When you need to contact members of the General Assembly, or find bills by number or keyword, your smart phone can get you there.
• The breeding season of the Pennsylvania elk herd falls during September and October. By this time, a bull's antlers have lost their velvet and the older males proudly carry their towering masses of polished ivory. Bulls issue challenges, called bugles, to rival bulls and they attempt to attract cows into small breeding harems. Elk are primarily found in an area of about 800 square miles in six north-central counties of Cameron, Elk, Clearfield, Clinton, Potter and Centre. The largest concentration of animals occurs in and around the small town of Benezette in southeastern Elk County. The next two months are excellent times to view the elk herd in the state.
• Tons and tons of "rip-rap" were added to the downstream side of the Benton dam yesterday and work continues. Pictures will be posted on the Benton News tomorrow.
• The thrift shop on Mill Street run by The Center is getting out of the clothing business, except for good-quality jeans. There are wonderful sales ongoing at the shop right now. Stop in.
• Please don't forget the Christmas sale at The Center. The hours are Wednesday and Friday from 11 Am to 2; Thursday from 4-7 PM; and Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM. There are many items still available, including the fiber-optic tree.
• Buster and Chloe want you to see the video of a dog by the name of Carrie dancing the merengue by going here.
• The small-town newspaper headline on one of the inside pages read simply "In our next issue, we'll bring you up to date on all the dirt dug up in town." Subscriptions immediately went up and the issue promptly sold out. When the readers opened the paper, they found the headline, "Farmer Smith finishes plowing." Such as it is with newspapers embellishing a fact. For example, I sometimes wonder why so many people are dying. Pictures of persons on the obituary page make them look so young and healthy. Here are some snippets from the years 1914, 1915, 1916 and 1917 looking at the local area and the events that were taking place.
Events in 1914
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 culminated 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.) The year 1914 was the year when the rebuilding of the Presbyterian Church began following a terrible fire on May 16, 1913. It was the year in which the big wing was added to the Ricketts Mansion at Ganoga Lake. A post office established at Elk Grove September 3, 1890, was closed April 30, 1914. In 1914, Benton was supplied with electricity generated at the site of the old Swartwout mill. The powerhouse contained a 75-kilowatt generator, operated by a 100-horsepower turbine. In October 1914, large crowds of voters in the Democratic stronghold of Columbia County greeted Senator Bones Penrose, causing the Philadelphia Inquirer to conclude that "Democrats are in revolt against the Palmer-McCormick leadership." A rally filled the court house to listen to speeches on the tariff, war taxes and other issues. "Horticulturist Murray," Catawissa, declared that the peach crop in Columbia County would be a failure because the intense cold froze the buds on the trees. A warm spell came in December, followed by a cold snap afterwards. In October 1914, the United Brethern church in Roaring Brook township exploded when the janitor tried to light up the structure using gasoline. The lighting system exploded and the janitor was knocked unconscious. He recovered in time to leap from a window of the church and speed away in his car to find help. The Wilkes-Barre Times noted that he didn't get far before his car "plunged over a bank and in addition to the burns resulting from the fire he was badly bruised by the fall from the machine." People on their way to church services rescued him from under the car. The church was a loss. The largest trout caught in Fishing Creek in 1914 was caught by Dr. William Hoffa, Benton. In a half hour, he pulled in a trout measuring slightly less than 24", weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces. The second one was 20 inches long and weighed 3 pounds, 2 ounces.
Events in 1915
A standard for local historians, The History and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, was published in 1915. Following a rebuild of the Presbyterian church, services resumed March 16, 1915. Frank C. Laubach earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University 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 only went 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. On September 10, 1915, Shickshinny defeated Benton in a double bill by the score of 7-2 and 8-6. The Wilkes-Barre Times noted that "Shickshinny hit when hits meant runs!" The Glen Lyon Elks was a popular team to play in Benton.
Events in 1916
Jim Thorpe headed the Canton Bulldogs football team to an unofficial world championships in 1916. Effie Edwards Potter was a popular teacher in the Benton Grammar School. Flag Day, the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777, was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30, 1916. The Bloomsburg state normal school was purchased by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1916 and it officially became the Bloomsburg State Normal School. (It became the Bloomsburg State Teachers College in 1927.) Gasoline Back Home in Benton, PA, sold for twenty-five cents a gallon. Politics was at the forefront with the Democrats and Republicans holding their national conventions. Benton Democrats took time out from the war effort on November 14, 1916, to attend an ox roast to celebrate the election of President Wilson. The Benton and Jamison City bands marched.
Events in 1917
In 1917, the local school purchased the home at the intersection of Church Street and Park Street and used it for the home-economics department. The United States entered World War I April 6, 1917. Ben McHenry was in charge of the first fire company carnival in Benton in 1917 on the school grounds of the old school. The state Farm Show became an annual event beginning in 1917.
Wednesday, September 1, and Thursday, September 2, 2010. Hurricane Earl is now a Category 2 hurricane moving on a path that is currently expected to sweep along the eastern coast of the United States and could influence our holiday weather. Track the storm locally by going here. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.3% during August, its worst showing since 2001. Would you believe there will be an abrupt change in the weather Saturday as daytime temperatures will only hit the very low 70s? Three days to go of the super-hot temperatures...
September 1, the birthday of Bob Gordon, Lynn Watson and Paul Bowles. Wedding anniversaries include Dennis and Chris Dawson. Two couples--Rose and Terry Hack and Paul and Melody Bowles--were married on this day 32 years ago.
September 2, the birthday of Brian Wenner, Diane Raski, Brett Becker, Cindy Raski Fuller and Miles Cole. It is the wedding anniversary of Ed and Mary Ann Baker.
The birds sing summer's parting song
And start their southern trek ere long
The Sullivan County School District was awarded a $630,000 Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority grant Monday for a biomass-energy system for the school district. The cost of the system is estimated around $1.9 million. The system would be the primary heat and hot-water system for the Sullivan County Junior/Senior High School and the Laporte Elementary School if the school board decides to proceed with the project.
The Benton Area Schools burned its biomass boiler from January 15 through March 12, 2010. During that time, the school system saved 17,177 gallons of fuel (Elementary, 7,576 and high school 9,601 gallons) for an estimated cost savings of $39,851.00 based on the bid price of $2.32 per gallon of oil.
Fishing Creek Watershed Association is holding a training and registration September 13 from 7 to 9 PM at The Center (N4CS), Community Drive, Benton. There is no registration fee, but pre-registration is necessary at 784-1310, extension. 102. The class is limited to 35 trainees. Those attending will be provided with a registration card and logbook for recording observations. This training will show how to document and record important observation information and who to call in the event of environmental harm or public-safety issues. Join your friends and neighbors for an interesting evening and learn how to participate in the protection of our environment.
The Marcellus Shale natural gas play has become the focus of intense energy development. The Department of Environmental Protection has a rigorous permitting and inspection process that companies must follow in order to extract the gas. DeP personnel cannot watch all activity of all people, rigs and trucks contracted and subcontracted to produce the gas. Many contractors and companies brought in from outside the state are not yet familiar with state and local regulations regarding waste disposal and water usage, erosion and sedimentation. The region is too large and the resources of the regulators too limited to effectively keep track of the exponential growth in activity taking place.Those who attend this course--known as Fishing Creek Waterdogs--will help monitor this process! Please call Stephanie Singer, 784-1310 extension. 123, at the Columbia County Conservation District with questions.
When I was a pup growing up along the railroad tracks south of Benton, sumac lined the railroad bed in a canipe of color. Late in the summer, a slow-moving two-car train sprayed the underbrush on either side of the railroad track and wiped out all woody growth for that season. The sumac immediately turned its characteristic beautiful colors of Fall, far in advance of the sumac that waited for its natural winter sleep with the advent of fall.
Sumac was a wonderful companion to kids growing up. The woody plant made wonderful swords. No one was hurt very badly when they got thumped. Because the center of the stalk was hollow, it opened up a number of possibilities. The texture of the stalk had almost a furry feel.
In the late 1860s, sumac was imported to the United States from Sicily and Southern Europe. The bark, leaves and flowers of the young shoots of the shrub were ground and used in tanning leather.
The tannin was sent to Europe and found a quick sale in England. It was also used domestically by dyers and tanners in the leather business. The berries, leaves, and bark were used for vegetable tanning of leathers and as red, black and yellow shades of dye. Sumac contains high levels of tannins when gathered from dried young twigs before the flowers of the plant develop. The leaves were beaten from the twigs and used separately as a dye. Berries, fermented or fresh, produce different shades of tan, red and black depending on the variety of sumac. Local tanning processes using hemlock bark didn't begin until about 1889 when the tannery was built in Jamison City.
Tannin containing dye from sumac has been used worldwide since ancient times. From sumac comes a powder used as a spice in some Middle Eastern cuisines when added to salads and kebabs. The shrub was used in treating ailments in medieval medicine in Islamic countries. Chinese made some of their beautiful lacquers from sumac. In the history of sumac, the plant has had a medical purpose. The berries were "extensively used in decoction (boiling plant material, including stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) for malignant fevers and inflammation of the throat," according to the Macon Weekly Telegraph of September 17, 1869.
Fred Mitchell remembers that when he was a "sprout," his mother made a tea from the sumac berries. A few of sprigs (clusters) of "fresh red berries rubbed together and soaked in cold water for a couple of hours and then sweetened makes a nice substitute for a puckery kind of lemonade." Fred said to "use really fresh ones though; once they've been rained on there's not a whole lot of flavor left in them. And don't use hot water, either, since that turns the tea bitter. Strain well to get all the hairy fibers out and serve ice cold."
The American Indian sometimes mixed certain varieties of sumac with tobacco. Charles F. Millspaigh, M.D., writing in the book "American medicinal Plants" in 1887, wrote, "Sumac berries are considered an antidote to nicotene" (sic). Such a blend would work for those who want to smoke but understand the dangers of tobacco.
Sumac grows today in the forty-eight contiguous states where it thrives in abandoned fields and along the edge of rural roads. Sumac propagates from bird droppings and by new shoots from rhizomes. The shrub often is rather inconspicuous until late summer when deep-green foliage changes to brilliant red. Sumac will grow in poor, sandy, gravelly or rocky soil. Certain varieties of sumac have a wonderful scent much like honey and loved by bees.
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It may be hot as the hinges of Hades today and stay that way until the weekend, but it won't be long until the fields are full of orange pumpkins and foliage of red sumac, gold of the goldenrod, yellow sugar maples and copper oaks all vieing for the spotlight of Fall. |
For more on the subject of sumac, read an article written by Kathleen Arcuri and published in the August 2010 edition of Inside Pennsylvania Magazine,
August 31, 2010. It is the birthday of Marvin Albertson and the wedding anniversary of Ken and Lynn Dressler.
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• From the "This Isn't Anything I Intend To Try" Department, comes this. |
• Jackie Evancho, 10, the fifth-grade girl with the mature soprano voice from Allegheny County is on the NBC stage tonight for the semifinals of "America's Got Talent." The top five from each semifinal advance by viewer vote to a September 7 show. From there, the four highest vote-getters perform September 14 and the winner will be announced the next day. Listen to her version of
Ave Maria by Franz Schubert by going
here. Learn more about
Ave Maria by going
here.
• The music for today comes from Whisperin' Bill Anderson appearing with an aging Roy Acuff doing "I Wonder If God Likes Country Music." By now, Roy has probably found the answer--he died in 1992--and now Bill uses his bass guitar player, James Gordon Freeze, to play the part of the old man. Watching Bill and Roy do it is a real treat. Here he is with Mr. Acuff.
• This coming Sunday is the monthly Fellowship Breakfast at the Benton United Methodist Church beginning at 8. This is a wonderful time of breaking bread together.
• If you see a spiffy cherry-apple red Honda Golden Wing three-wheeled motorcycle around town, it belongs to Gary Elliot, head of the local fire police.
• There is a barn sale at the former Bubb Laubach farm South of Benton on Route 487 Saturday, September 4. No, the barn is not being sold, but the kitchen sink is! And Stoney Acres, North of Benton on Route 487, will have a yard sale with 15 families participating on September 3 and 4.
• Good news for Verizon cell-phone users. The Columbia County Planning Commission has granted conditional approval to Summit Towers for the Verbella tower in Benton Township.
It would not be fair to say that those who plead for something between a reasoned slowdown and an outright moratorium on natural-gas drilling are environmental nuts. They tend to be "regular" folks, truck drivers, parents with children, foundry workers, teachers, farmers, generally people who have had a long history of love of the land, someone who pays taxes, raises children, attends the church of their choice, keeps their nose clean and stays out of the business of others. They read the horror stories of ruined water, denuded landscapes and other environmental damage and factor it in with the potential for economic ruin.
A few express their concern out loud. Many don't know if they should be worried, think that it will only happen to others or are convinced that with government looking over the shoulders of the drillers it won't be a local issue. They reason that what happened to our neighbors "up the river" with the coal barons isn't the same as what could happen here with the natural-gas barons. Some say we won't be worse off after the drillers leave our pristine countryside than we were before they came. None of us know now what the final answer will be.
Water for drilling is needed for deep shale gas development to carry rock cuttings to the surface and lubricate drill bits. Chesapeake Energy estimates that a Marcellus deep shale gas well requires approximately 100,000 gallons of water during the drilling process. A mixture of water and sand combined with who-knows-what is injected into the deep shale and used in hydraulic fracturing to allow gas to freely flow to the surface. Chesapeake Energy estimates that a typical Marcellus horizontal well requires an average of five and a half million gallons per well. Chesapeake Energy discusses this in detail
here.
Our experience with traffic in Tioga County last week was not fun. Understand what we are talking about by looking at the monster trucks used by Marcellus drillers by going
here.
The large trucks aren't confined to Tioga County. In
Jeff and Jody Andrysick's satirical documentary
All Fracked Up, more than 100 of these large trucks were filmed driving through Towanda in the space of one hour. Wysox is a zoo as relates to traffic. Jeff and Jody were former residents of Unityville and now live outside Hammondsport, New York.
Until you have a huge water truck bear down on you as you drive the speed limit, you haven't experienced firsthand the Marcellus water thrill. Lines of trucks driven by men wearing cowboy hats remind me of my high-school days when we some used the term "cowboy" to denote someone driving erratically. These drivers are probably getting paid by the number of round trips they make in a day's time. A large number of drivers--100% in fact of the ones we met--seem to be from Texas and Oklahoma. I expected a lot of local drivers on the fracking trucks. Not happening! The reason? I was told that possible lethal-fracking fluids are deposited back into the earth in a way that will never be approved by authorities, including using fracking fluids to water down remote dirt roads as "dust control." And who is doing that? Truck drivers who have nothing to lose, men who have no ties to the local economy or family life, are everywhere. When their job is finished, they can head on to the next fracking situation. And why, I asked, are there so few local truck drivers when there are so many who would love to have jobs. Because, I was told, local drivers would never stoop to ruining the local environment by bending the law. Some jobs do go to local residents, but consider the major housing shortages in areas now running full-speed ahead in drilling. The housing shortages come from out-of-the area people.
Our local fire companies can't handle a major spill or a well blowout, and the nearest emergency response team is in Texas. In the event of a disaster, the role of the local fire companies would be limited to evacuation procedures. Most likely the fire companies would not be allowed to venture past the gates of the pipeline or well. Fire and disaster control would be the responsibility of the pipeline or drilling company.
If you are still in the dark about horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, go here.
August 30, the 242nd day of 2010. It is the birthday of Shelley Farrell, Josh Frey, Loren Lewis "Tyke" Bly and Donna McMichael. There are 23 days until the official start of autumn. Hot, Hot, Hot is a popular Buster Poindexter song in the Bahamas. Locally it will be "Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot" for the next four days.
During the night of August 30, one hundred and forty-six years ago a number of military squads camping just south of Benton were given orders to stop anyone they met and guard them until daylight, to arrest all men and grown boys, and to surround a number of houses until daylight. The soldiers spread out quietly and secretly south to Stillwater, north and west into Sugarloaf and Jackson Townships. Some went to Cambra and New Columbus. All operations were conducted with the utmost of secrecy, although even the most remote destinations seemed easily reachable by the soldiers, guided it appears by local citizens. To learn more, head to the
FEATURES section of the Benton News and read about the Fishingcreek Confederacy.
Didja know that we usually include a question on the Benton News which begins with the local word "didja?" Didja know there are so many "didja know" questions that there is now a web site to handle the inquiries? There is. It is found
here and it is worth a stop on your internet tour today.
There is a pop quiz today, an easy test and we suspect you'll get 10 or 11 out of eleven questions correct. The results are interesting since your answers are compared with the answers provided by others across the United State. The results will probably show you that most Americans don't know what is going on in the world. There are 11 questions. Compare your answers with how others did. Go
here to try it.
Didja ever think how many people would rather be certain they’re miserable
than risk being happy?
Quickies...
• If you want to build a new house next year or sometime later in your life, the state will require the installation of a sprinkler systems beginning in 2011 in all newly constructed single-family homes in Pennsylvania. The requirement is part of the state's updated 2009 Uniform Construction Code.
• The recent fundraiser in the Benton park for Christian radio station WGRC brought in $1,700. The tower to serve the Benton area will be erected on Grover & Deb Dressler's property.
• Today's chuckle comes from Mary Maxwell on the foibles of aging, to the delight of this audience of senior-care experts gathered to discuss Alzheimer's care and dementia care. Go here to laugh.
• Gmail has gotten a whole lot better now that the chat feature has been added. You can now call phones from within your email and you can also do video chat as well. You will need a microphone and some tweaking on the part of Google, but most computers of recent vintage are equipped and ready to go. It absolutely works as they say "right out of the box." You simply sit down at your computer, open Gmail, go to the menu on the left side and press "Call Phone." Call cell phones, land lines, anyone with a phone. Wait, you say! What about calls to you? Well, don't forget that we recently told you about Google Talk where you get a phone number free from Google. Let's say you have two children and scads of grandchildren living in New Jersey. You simply get a free Google Talk phone number assigned to you with a phone number from the town where the inheritance will eventually end up. Now your kids can call you free from their landlines at home to the Google phone near their residence. It rings on your house phone in Pennsylvania and on your call phone at the same time even if you are in another state. And did we mention that the calling is free from within the USA and Canada? It costs you nothing to call here in the United States from your Gmail account. That certainly beats shelling out a lot of money to get long-distance service from landline companies. Calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free for at least the rest of the year and calls to other countries will be billed at Google's low rates starting at $0.02 per minute.
Didja ever wonder why the time of day with the slowest traffic is called "rush" hour?
Here is a picture of Benton's new ambulance. The local fire company took delivery Saturday, August 28. This is the ambulance that the fire company had refurbished. The chassis is a brand new 2010 Ford E450 and the patient compartment box is one that was reused off their 1997 ambulance. There is a complete refurbishment of the box, including new paint/graphics, upgraded LED emergency lighting and some practical modifications and upgrades. This process saved the fire company more than $50,000 compared to buying a completely new ambulance.
Saturday and Sunday, August 28-29, 2010. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday expect temperatures hovering around 90° during the day, with cool temperatures overnight.
August 28, the birthday of Jamie Wood and Donalyn Minkiewicz (Donalyn Clark Minkiewicz) and the wedding anniversary of Rachel and John Kaminski, Harold and Jane Ackerman and Dan and Cathy Hartman.
August 29, the birthday of Allen Roberts, Dean Marshall and SuAnn Wech Zenzel and the wedding anniversary of Amy and Chris Vincent and Jeff and Jody Andrysick.
It happened because I was not "spet-cific," as Dr. Mui would say, a former history professor of mine at Wilkes University. When I tried to bluff my way through an examination, he would write his strangely formed English with a Korean twist to the letters and reprimand me by telling me to "be spet-cific!"
A teacher from Arlington, Virginia, wrote following yesterday's edition that he didn't have a clue what a "bark peeler" was, and asked if it "was some sort of dog." Assuming that others might not know the term, today's article is about bark peelers. The Philadelphia Inquirer in its edition of August 30, 1897, included an article about Harrison Gehris, 30, better known as "Pete," the champion bark peeler of Potter County. Harrison weighed 165 pounds. The newspaper reported that "this past season he peeled 236¼ cords of bark himself. Some days he peeled as high as eleven cords."
The story would not have a lot of impact today, except that Potter County six years before was in danger of losing all of its hemlock from a worm that destroyed the foliage and killed off much of the hemlock timber. The Sun newspaper reported from Bradford, Pennsylvania, that the "choppings" left behind by the bark peelers" were "filled with worms by the millions" on trees cut between Coudersport to Port Allegheny. Miles and miles of trees were turning brown and the forecast was that the entire area would be ruined. The newspaper said that the worms were of the "measuring worm species, about an inch long and barely an eighth of an inch in diameter."
Wages for bark peelers were often an issue. The Philadelphia Inquirer in its edition of June 10, 1897, reported a general strike among the bark peelers near Ridgway, Pennsylvania. More than a hundred refused to continue working at their wage level. A man by the name of D. R. Johnson, who employed about fifty men in peeling bark, had a disagreement with his employees over price and measurements. The men refused to accept the measurements made by Johnson. In 1900, bark peelers in the Galeton area were paid "the highest wages paid for ten years--$2 and $2.25 a day and board. The Philadelphia Inquirer of May 28, 1900, reported that they will be "scarce at that price." Wages of bark peelers in 1900 were generally from $2.50 to $3 a day and "found" (boarded at the camp). The bark peeler had to both peel the bark and carry it to where it could be loaded onto wagons and slid down a bark slide.
The bark peelers were certainly husky, hardy, hungry and happy. Up early, a breakfast of ham, bacon, boiled potatoes, black coffee and warm pie was provided by the "cookee's" and the "cookee" assistants who had been up for two hours.
At noon, one of the "cookee's" assistants brought a basket to the cuttings which was crammed to the top with sandwiches and pies. A white jug filled with mountain water deftly was tilted to the mouth and water poured down the throats of the rugged fellows. At the end of the day, when the men "fell to" around the camp table, the sight must have been worth seeing as the boiled beef, baked beans, potatoes and pie disappeared.
Bark peelers were not the only "characters" in a lumber camp. A journal from 1891 told about the cook in the lumber camp who had been jailed "owing to one of his bi-monthly sprees." The camp hired the "first-comer" to "preside over the culinary department of the shanty and chop wood for the engine during the interval." The substitute cook must have been quite a guy! He was described as "tall, gaunt and gawky," with "immense ears, which projected from his unkempt head like the fans of a wind-mill." The man had "nothing to say." His idea of humor consisted of an "interminable comic song of the dreariest description, which he would gravely sing, night after night, when the boys had told their stories over the post-prandial pipe." The previous job of the substitute "cookee" was that of a bark peeler. Precisely what his name was the author of the journal could not remember, but the boys called him "Mr. Vanderbilt," because "he had constructed an ingenious tramway of logs and boards from the wood-pile to the engine boiler."
"Mr. Vanderbilt" took great pride in his railway, and would load his little car with its rough-hewn wheels to the extent that it would try to run away from him on the downhill grade. Once started, "it would go creaking and bumping along the wooden rails, until it wrecked itself against the hemlock stump which was the lower terminus of his 'road'."
"Mr. Vanderbilt" didn't have a happy end to his summer. Something happened to him, although I was not able to figure how it happened. But his funeral was worth remembering. "The boys draped Mr. Vanderbilt's little car in black-paper muslin." The "boys" followed "the cigar box, which contained a few dirty shreds of flesh and a patch of his blue checked shirt, to the last resting place at the end of his wooden railroad." Life was not easy in the logging camps of Pennsylvania.
The Williamsport Record in 1905 provided most of the information that I gathered to tell you about bark peelers. From various articles, I conclude that the husky woodsmen of Pennsylvania's timber industry "humped themselves" primarily in May, June and July. When they were not killing rattlesnakes and fighting mosquitoes, the peelers were cutting hemlock and cutting the timber into board lengths for loggers during the winter months. Except for the hazardous work of log driving--as a man by the name of Lewis found out when he lost his life on Heberely Run in Sullivan County--there was nothing in the woods that commanded the wages or entailed the dangers that bark peeling did. There were also odors associated with the tanning trade, as Bill Mather is fond of telling about--which was a prime factor in the demise of the Proctor Hotel in Jamison City.
The hardy chaps who gladly accepted employment at sawmills or at logging during the cold months would no more help peel bark than they would, as Kay says, "fly to Guinea." They had to reckon with falling trees and the ever present rattlers and copperheads. On Cook's Run, near Williamsport, two crews of bark peelers in 1905 killed 78 rattlesnakes and more than 40 copperheads. Two men were bitten by rattlers and a third by a copperhead. The men feared copperheads more than the rattlesnake. The copperheads seemed to have a liking for the smell and the cool of the fresh bark. They often curled up under a slab of bark and were lifted off the tree before the men even knew what hit them.
Bark peelers were the "trail blazers" of the lumber industry. These were the men who pushed back into the unbroken wilderness and deep swamps where dangers were prevalent. Mosquitoes during June and July were a dangerous pest. Bark peelers sometimes went blind from the onslaught of the pests, stirred up by the swarm in the deep swamps. Each peeler was provided in the morning with a half-pint bottle filled with a mixture of coal tar and sweet oil (olive oil is a "sweet oil"), and that concoction was smeared on the face, hands and arms, with care not to get it in the eyes or a "layover of several days was needed to doctor the optics."
The bark peelers were also provided with strong string to bind the arm or leg bitten by a snake. A compress was applied above the wound to stop circulation below that point. A man bitten by a snake was "also plentifully dosed with whiskey."
Bark peelers' hours were from 6 AM to 6 PM, and they were rousted from bed at 4:30 in the morning. Breakfast was served at 5 AM. Cuttings were generally not more than a half hour from camp. Bark delivered to the tanneries commanded an average price of $8 a ton. An "ordinary" tree yielded a half cord of bark, although there were hemlocks cut in our Commonwealth that produced more than a cord of bark. A large hemlock was worth about $3 for the bark and $15 to the millman for its lumber. At Painter Den it is possible to find the remains of large hemlock trees cut more than a century ago solely for the bark.
When peeling season was over, the bark peelers fell in with the ranks of saw-mill men and ordinary loggers and their wages no longer remained at peelers' rates.
It was about this time that lumber companies cutting the hemlock began to worry about the future. Tanners anxious about their future supply of bark began stockpiling stacks of wood at their mills and
bark peelers certainly must have began worrying about the eventual day when their source of employment would be gone.
For further reading on tanneries of the local area, consult "A Quiet Boomtown: Jamison City, Pa, 1889-1912."
Wilma R. Johnson Ridall (March 2, 1927-August 24, 2010), Mehoopany, died Tuesday in the Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre. She was born in Benton. She was a daughter of Warren and Ella Stackhouse Johnson. Wilma was a 1946 graduate of Benton High School and a graduate of the Empire Beauty School. She was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, Harold J. Ridall Sr.; and by brothers Sterling Johnson and LaRue Johnson; and sisters Nola Baker and Lila Woolever. Surviving are sons Van, Mehoopany; Terry, Retta, PA; Earnest, Jenningsville, PA; Mark, Mehoopany; and Harold, Meshoppen; brothers Warren Johnson Jr., of Williamsport, and Paul Johnson, of Bloomsburg; 15 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at 10 AM Saturday from the Sheldon-Kukuchka Funeral Home Inc., 73 W. Tioga St., Tunkhannock. Interment will be in Jersey Hill Cemetery, Jersey Hill, PA. Friends may call at the funeral home on Friday from 5 to 7 PM. For directions and online condolences go to www.sheldonkukuchkafuneralhome.com.
Friday, August 27, 2010. It is the birthday of Lee Fritz and mother and daughter Faith and Regina Schlichter. It's the birthday of Mother Teresa, born in Macedonia in 1910. Watch out for fog this morning and Saturday morning.
One of the songs by
Dan Stoneham II from the CD "Happy Rabbit Songs for Elizabeth" is now available on YouTube. You'll also see a number of people from the area. The song, "Whomp Whomp," is what Dan Stoneham's granddaughter calls her grandfather. Take a look at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKTS8XQHP6I .
Our travels this week took us to the largest "creek" in the United State, a Pennsylvania scenic waterway in Tioga and Lycoming Counties, the largest tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River. The stream is Pine Creek. The Iroquois word "Tiadaghton" was used for the present Pine Creek, and although we aren't certain what that meant, authorities say it either meant "The River of Pines" or "The Lost or Bewildered River." The Pine Creek Gorge--which most know as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania--is a thousand feet deep in places.
A group from the Benton area drove from Wellsboro to Blackwell along the waters of Babb Creek where that body of water joins Pine Creek. On the road from Wellsboro to Blackwell and South from Blackwell it is possible to drive a car, truck or motor home in Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon. The scenic PA Route 414 follows Pine Creek South to Jersey Shore with much of that trip in the Tiadaghton State Forest.
Bicycles are the main method of transport South from Ansonia to Blackwell, and the 57-mile long Pine Creek Rail Trail also continues along Pine Creek South to Jersey Shore. A railroad (Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway) opened in 1883 through the gorge. The ownership of the railroad changed a number of times over the years. The last train ran through the gorge on October 7, 1988. I have camped in Cedar Run at Pettecoat Junction campground, and have listened to the train as it rumbled up the Grand Canyon about 2:15 in the morning. Like listening to the rumble of thunder in the mountains, the far-off whistle of the approaching train was not something to be slept through--but is very much missed today. Jim Laubach remembers that a "train ride through the canyon was awesome," and was lucky enough to have taken that trip in the early 1950s.
The stream and a road make a long journey though desolate country. North of Cedar Run, the road is only one-lane for some distance. (See pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/bentonnews/20100826#). The stream then heads Southwest until it reaches Lycoming County, and continues to Waterville where Little Pine Creek joins. At this point, the creek becomes the border between Lycoming and Clinton Counties as it flows south to Jersey Shore where it joins the West Branch of the Susquehanna.
The canyon has had its share of problems. In June 1889 Williamsport and points north were hit with a devastating flood. People living along the banks of Pine Creek, their homes and settlements, their saw mills and their other industries, were swept away. Hundreds of men, women and children became destitute. They were forced to sleep under lumber piles, in lumber camps and any place where they could find shelter. Houses not washed away by the flood were so waterlogged that sickness set in. Dead animals were lodged in trees. The flood was 18 feet deep--three feet deeper than the flood of 1865. Only one bridge, an iron county bridge at Waterville, remained standing. At Waterville, one family was responsible for feeding forty refugees. Eighteen bark peelers drowned on Bobb's creek as water rushed in as they slept. Settlements known as "Standard Nail" and "Iron Works" were washed away. Five dams upstream from Ralston broke and the town was overwhelmed with the flood. Saw mills, grist mills and tanneries were carried away. A number of women and children survived by hanging onto trees until the water subsided. Morris and Lloyds were total wrecks.
Walking in the Grand Canyon requires a lot of looking down. While not for everyone, I choose to walk with my head bent toward my feet in order that I can see any snakes in my path. In 1912, the Pine Creek area had such a crop of venomous snakes that the residents of Cammal, Walterville and other towns bordering on Pine Creek asked the state for help in getting rid of the snakes. One resident came on a den of thirty rattlesnakes and killed most of them with his hoe. In the mining community of Oakum during the summer of 1912, lumber operators killed an average of half a dozen rattlers each day. One snake leaped for a horse, but missed and was run over by the wheels of the carriage. The snake was six-feet long. The Morris Township Fire Department continues the tradition of a rattlesnake roundup each year in mid-June.
The area is now a hunter's paradise, but in 1906, although deer were "more plentiful than in a score of years," there were 24 hunters for every deer.
Much of the allure of the Pine Creek gorge is the rail-trail which opened in 1996. The trail began life as a railroad with connections to the Pennsylvania Railroad at Tyrone via the Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad. The railroad was intended to tap the trade out of the Finger Lakes and would catch up with the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad at Jersey Shore. Products would arrive in Philadelphia by a route 57 miles shorter and of much less a grade than via Williamsport and Elmira. Backers felt that a huge market for pine would open up with much less loss of lumber than if conveyed by flooding waters. There were coal fields in Potter, Tioga and McKean which could use the route through the Grand Canyon.
Thanks to a stockpile of old Philadelphia Inquirer newspapers for the historical aspects of this article. Two books to recommend provides history of the railroad along Pine Creek. Both should currently be in print. (1) Wellsboro's Own Railroad by Richard L. Stoving, and (2) Bloss Coal - North By Rail by J.A. McMullen. Fall Brook Coal Company once operating near Blossburg was a big player in combining a number of small railroads from Geneva, NY, to Williamsport. Photos of the Pine Creek gorge are available here.
August 26, 2010. It is the birthday of Ann Marie Pez Fought, Ann Fought and former governor and president and CEO of Ridge Global Tom Ridge and of former U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson, born in 1908 near Stonewall, Texas. He was a member of Congress, John F. Kennedy's vice president, and became president when JFK was assassinated in 1963. Breezy and beautiful today and Friday, with temperatures dipping below 50° both nights. Warming Saturday to "very warm" Sunday.
You won't be faced with as many choices for state offices come election day. You'll vote either Republican or Democrat or you won't vote! Why? Some politicians in Harrisburg got together over their Starbucks and decided that it would take more than 19,000 signatures to get an independent on the ballot, while someone registered as a Republican or as a Democrat would only need 2,000 signatures. Pennsylvania's ballot-access laws look like a partisan political mechanism to remove political candidates from the ballot who are not aligned with one of the two major parties. So much for "free and equal" elections. Want to know more? Read about the "
Voters' Choice Act."
Our travels have taken us north into the upper reaches of Pennsylvania to the Tompkins Campground at Ives Run near the Tioga-Hammond dam where the depths of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon can be explored, the charm of Wellsboro draws us to one of our favorite Pennsylvania cities, where we can explore the beauty of Route 6 and the allure of the Pine Creek Valley and the surrounding mountain areas.
We'll tell you about our leisurely ride down the Grand Canyon in tomorrow's edition and show you pictures of what we found, but today we'll mention our foray into the Finger Lakes region of New York state where we spent Tuesday. Indians claimed that the finger lakes were formed when the Creator laid his hands on the earth to bless the land. The resemblance to fingers on a hand is actually rather accurate if viewed from space or a map. We have to marvel at the ability of the Indians who so understood the big picture.
Scientists would have an explanation different from the Indian version. They would probably tell you that the lakes date to the glacial age when advancing ice sheets dammed adjacent valleys, which then filled from stream runoff and buildup from springs.
There are a number of Finger Lakes in upstate New York, but six which would be considered major and all are orientated on a north-south axis. All have Indian names. Going east to west there are Skaneateles Lake, followed by lakes known as Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca, Keuka and Canandaigua. There are a couple more smaller lakes West of the big six and South of Rochester: Honeoye, Canadice, Hemlock and Conesus. Going back to the Indian version of the Finger Lakes, it actually appears as though the five-fingered God put both hands on the land. The part about the land being blessed is certainly accurate.
This part of New York state has magnificent gorges and stunning waterfalls, one of which is higher than Niagara Falls. There are vine-covered rolling hills that gently slope to the water's edge. The hills around Canandaigua Lake, Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga are known as "viticultural areas" because of unique geographical conditions for growing grapes.
Our travels took us to the shores of Keuka, a "Y-shaped" body of water with about 70 miles of shoreline and lots of bays and coves and a delightful little town at the southern end of the lake and another at the northern end. The Indian word for the lake meant "canoe landing." White settlers chose to call the body of water "Crooked Lake." The name of the lake finally ended up with the Indian name. Much of the water for the lake comes from an inlet at the base of the "Y" and flows out of the lake and into Seneca Lake from a stream, called Keuka Lake Outlet, at the northeastern end of the lake.
The lake was used by Indians for fishing and the sport has also been good for the White Man. The lake carried its share of commerce. Grain and other products were transported South on the lake to Hammondsport, then hauled by team about ten miles to Bath, where waiting flat-bottom boats took a slow voyage down the Conhocton to the Susquehanna where it slowly made its way to markets in Baltimore and Philadelphia. The coming of the Erie Canal moved the transport to calmer water north of the lake.
Although Hammondsport on the South end of the lake remains a favorite with me, Pen Yan at the Northern tip of the lake has its charm--as well as a rather strange name, certainly not one that had its origins with American Indians. Settlers from New England and settlers from Pennsylvania could not agree on a name for the town which some jokingly began referring to as "Pandemonium." Eventually the town on Crooked Lake came to be called Penn Yan--Penn to appease the Pennsylvanians and Yan to make the Yankees happy.
The grapes on Keuka are a popular crop, but the lake has other claims to fame. It is where Glenn Hammond Curtiss, a native of the area, lived and worked, first building bicycles, then moving on to motorcycles, then to engines for balloons, then to the first airplane flight in New York state. Naval aviation began here. He opened the first flying school in America in Hammondsport in 1911. Curtiss developed his biplane known as the "Jenny," in which many flyers learned to fly during World War I. Twice as many people were employed in the Hammondsport plant for Curtiss than lived in the town.
It is impossible to see much of the area in the short time we were here. We can do little more than find a quiet place to sit and reflect on the many Indian names and dream what it would have been like when this area was divided among the three Iroquois Nations of the Long House, the Onondagas, the Cayugas and the Senecas. We wonder why it had to be that General John Sullivan had to cut a path of death and destruction around the lake. We are told by the locals that the towns grew up in former Indian settlements and the highways followed former Indian trails. We wonder as we head South to the campground how many native Americans actually passed this point. Our thoughts don't stay with us long as we look forward to returning to our campground and turning on the Little League World Series.
August 25, 2010. It is the birthday of John Andrezze, Brandy McHenry and the wedding anniversary of Herbert and Jane Fritz. The local kids have their first day of school under their belts! For those of us not in school, it seems hard to believe that the traditional end of summer in Benton has arrived. The longer this week goes, the better the weather becomes.
• The German Heritage Society of the Susquehanna Valley will celebrate its eighth anniversary of its founding on Thursday, September 2, at 6 PM at Herwig’s Austrian Bistro, 219 Mill Street, Danville. Herwig’s offers traditional Austrian cuisine paired with drink selections that enhance the dining experience. Members and guests are invited to attend this celebration. Registration is required and meals must be pre-ordered. Register by contacting GHSSV President Jeff Sheaffer at 570 374-7730.
• Expect the next generation of email to prioritize which emails should be read first. If you have emailed to the recipient before, your message will be pushed higher up a queue of other new messages. If you both correspond on a regular basis, you travel higher still.
• Scott and Karen Osborne, Green Creek Road, Benton, welcomed a daughter Wednesday afternoon, August 18. Her name is Sara Elizabeth. Karen is the daughter of Larry and Susan (Fritz) Fausey, McHenry Road, Benton. Sara joins a brother, Wayne, who is 21 months old. Mother and daughter are both doing well, as are the grandparents.
• Satellite TV company Dish Network has launched
http://beta.dishonline.com/ that integrates live and recorded TV with more than 150,000 movies, TV shows, clips and trailers. DishOnline allows users to watch live TV, their DVR recordings, and view movies, TV shows, and clips from the Food Network, Discovery Channel, MTV, EPIX, Starz and Encore with a paid subscription. Users can search for content by title, network, actor or genre. DishOnline will list episodes recorded to the DVR, as well as upcoming episodes that users can record with one click. People with a Dish Network subscription can access DishOnline by logging in with their existing account information.
• Rev. Calvin Miller writes that "An American Indian legend says that if anyone desires a wish to come true, they must first capture a butterfly and whisper their wish to it. Since a butterfly can make no sound, they cannot reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all. In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom, the wish will be taken to the heavens and be granted. Columbia Montour Home Hospice Wings of Hope Butterfly Release will take place September 19, 2010, at 1 PM at Maria Hall on the grounds of St. Cyril and Methodius, 1 Maria Hall Drive, Danville. The community is welcomed to this healing ceremony to observe the release of hundreds of beautiful monarch butterflies. Anyone wanting to order butterflies may call Columbia Montour Home Hospice, 784-1723, or 1-800 349-4702. Orders must be received by September 10, 2010.
• The Fishing Creek Players continue to look for a young man and young woman (teens to twenties) for roles in The Passion of Dracula. Anyone interested please contact M.R. Daniels at mrdanATepix.net .
• The Robinson Oil/Gas Group will meet on Wednesday, September 8, at the Benton High School auditorium. The meeting begins at 7 PM. Representatives will be on site at 6 PM. Chris Robinson will provide the update on the current status with gas leases. All group members are welcome to attend, as well as any other interested landowners. The Robinson Group is sponsoring a Landowners Picnic on Saturday, September 11, from noon to 3 PM at the Benton park. Anyone interested in gas leasing and Marcellus Shale is welcome to attend. Please bring a covered dish. The sponsors will provide hot dogs, chips, baked beans and beverage. This picnic is not landowner-group membership oriented, no landmen, and no lectures! Come out with your neighbors and enjoy the fellowship.
• Christopher Cleaver sent an update from Camp Phoenix, Kabul, Afghanistan, the headquarters of Task Force 435, the organization responsible for all detainees in that country. Lt. Col. Cleaver works in the J-9 shop--strategic communications--following a schedule starting about 7:30 in the morning and finishing around 9 PM each day. He is in a tent for the next month so sleeping is low on the list of items he will accomplish. He says that "The number of attacks on military personnel at some locations is mind-numbing." An aircraft was attacked at his base the day he sent his email so the base was "locked and loaded" as he took a minute to write a message.
• A Special Meeting of the Benton Area School Board of Directors will be held Friday, September 3, 2010, at 6 PM. The reason for the meeting is to discuss negotiations and litigation along with any other Board business. The meeting will be held in the cafeteria in the middle/high school building.
-- Kathleen DeYong, Board Secretary
• Didja ever think about the proximity of Pennsylvania and New York, yet so different in approaches to natural-gas drilling? In our Commonwealth, the state Department of Environmental Protection says nearly 1,800 wells have been drilled since 2008. New York state has a state Senate moratorium on drilling until May 2011 and that moratorium is being considered for adoption in the Assembly awaiting the state Department of Environmental Conservation to rewrite drilling rules to make them tougher.
Quote of the Day:
If New York bans drilling the values in PA will go up unless the nuts in PA end up banning it here too! There is more damage to ground water through the use of farm and home chemicals than there ever will be from natural-gas development! There is more contamination done to streams from natural-rain runoff than will be done by natural-gas development!
--A long-time Benton News reader
The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.
--Article I of the Pennsylvania State Constitution, Sec. 27
David Robert Sutliff died Friday, August 20, 2010, in Tennessee at the Maury Regional Medical Center. He was 78. Sutliff’s body will be cremated, and a memorial service will be conducted later in Pennsylvania where his cremains will be buried. He was the son of the late Cletus and Anita Jones Sutliff, and was a native of Wilkes-Barre. He was retired from Walker Die Casting and was a member of Lewisburg First United Methodist Church. Survivors include his wife, Jane Ruth Robinson Sutliff, Petersburg, Tennessee; two daughters, Debbie Hanna and Diane Switzer, Benton; his stepson, David Richard Price, Petersburg; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. London Funeral Home is in charge of Tennessee arrangements.
Monday and Tuesday, August 23 and 24, 2010. LeeAnn Wagner has a baby boy born March 4. His name is Chase Robert Craig born to LeeAnn M. Wagner, Benton, and Robert R. Craig, Orangeville. The grandparent is Mary Craig, Millville. Expect cooler temperatures through Tuesday, and rain at times through Wednesday. So much for repairs to the Benton dam this week! Please keep Marge Barchik and Sally Brewington in your prayers.
August 23, the birthday of Travis Kline and Becky Westover Stahler. It is the 52nd wedding anniversary of Lee and Carolyn Remley.
August 24, the birthday of Deb Black McHenry, Fremont, Nebraska and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Elaine Taylor Hartman, Jovon Karschner, Pat Thomas and Mary Ann Hartman Hoffman. Dale and Anna May Brandon have a wedding anniversary to celebrate. There is a full moon tonight.
Delivery of the Benton News before Saturday will be sporadic.
The Benton Christian Church held an old-fashioned corn roast and covered-dish supper Sunday in Benton town park to welcome its new pastor, the Rev. Dr. David Mansfield and his wife, Cathy, and Rev. Father Jeffrey Thoms, the new priest at Christ the King Church. The church prepared the corn and those attending brought a covered dish to share and lawn chairs for sitting. Following the meal, the Wehry Family, Northumberland, presented a concert. The family--Randy (bass guitar) and Wendy (piano)--has been singing together for more than 30 years. They are joined by children Jared (rhythm and lead guitar, dobro, harmonica, mandolin, pedal steel guitar, banjo), Janessa (rhythm guitar) Jessalyn, Joshua and Jourdan. Pictures of the corn roast and concert can be viewed here. Pictures can be downloaded, emailed, printed from this location.
On my honor
I will do my best
To do my duty to
God and my
country and obey
the Scout Law; |
|
To help other people
at all times;
To keep myself
physically strong
mentally awake, and
morally straight. |
Quote of the Day:
"Scouting: where boys go to become men."
TJ Schultz, Benton Boy Scount Troop 51
Armies everywhere have used scouts. The war scout was stationed on the danger line or at an outpost, protecting those comrades who trusted their lives to his care. The most daring of the army was selected for scout work in the most dangerous part of the fight. The pioneer on the edge of the wilderness was a scout. Before that, Columbus was a scout, as were the English settlers. Daniel Boone was a scout and figured heavily in the history of our country. General Baden-Powell of the British Army was founder of the Boy Scouts. He realized that a boy could be diverted into undesirable avenues unless a path was shown to him to lead him into manhood. His vision was to have a trained and disciplined force of quick, intelligent boys and from that goal sprang the Boy Scouts.
Thousands of boys have joined with the goal of service, the notion of doing something for somebody. The Boy Scout movement spread all over the country, and within eight years of its establishment the tiny hamlet of Benton organized its first Boy Scout Troop, five years before the Columbia/Montour Boy Scout Council organized.
Those who have served the Upper Fishingcreek Valley were honored Saturday night when Boy Scout Troop 51 pulled out all the stops to honor the scouting movement in the Benton area. Various scouts provided the history of the local troop. Speakers ranged from Greg Harvey, who is one of three working on his Eagle designation, to Dr. Dale Neiderhiser, president of the Columbia/Montour Boy Scout Council, to Jack Schupp, Scoutmaster of the local troop. Audrey Schupp was given special recognition for the work that she does for the local scouts, including a huge amount of work for Saturday's event.
The timeline of scouting in Benton was given by Eagle Scout TJ Schultz. Nathan Steinruck enumerated the list of sponsors of the Boy Scout Troop, ending with the current sponsor, the Benton Christian Church. Michael Diltz, who is working on his Eagle and is an Assistant Scoutmaster, read the current list of scouts in the troop. Brandon Schupp, Eagle and Assistant Scoutmaster, and John Shultz, who is working on his Eagle, were also presenters and closed the session. Scoutmasters from the past were honored.
Past and present Eagle scouts were recognized. Those attending included David Baker, Robert Edwards, Jack Schupp, Derek Ashenfelder, Brandon Schupp, Mick Steward, T.J. Schultz and Olin Covington.
Dr. Joseph English was the keynote speaker for the evening. "Dr. Joe" told about the importance of scouting to former President Gerald Ford, a distinguished Eagle Scout and Silver Buffalo Award recipient. Dr. English began his scouting career in 1944 at the age of 12. He talked about the outstanding leadership qualities of Boy Scouts and how they are recognized and respected wherever they travel in the world. He encouraged boys to join scouting and those in scouting to "keep scouting."
Former scouts of the Benton troop were recognized, including Brandon Wech, Stillwater, who achieved Eagle with six Palms; former Eagle Scout Jamie Laubach, Saranac Lake, New York, who went with Troop 51 to Yellowstone National Park in 1988; John Sibly, a former Eagle Scout who was involved in local scouting from 1945 to 1958.
Mark Fenstermacher, Millville, was involved with local scouting from 1990 through 1997. Mark is a former Eagle Scout, and helped built the clothing give-away shed at the Stillwater Christian Church. Joe Schultz, Orangeville, a former Eagle Scout, loved the weekends at Camp Victory, Sea Base High Adventure Trip, the Crystal Lake ski trip, rock climbing, rafting on the Lehigh River and volunteering at the rodeo and the carnival.
Retired teacher and elementary school principal Bob Edwards started with Cub Scouts in 1947 and was active as an Eagle Scout through 1955 under the leadership of Harold Colley. Douglas Peterman, Erie, Pennsylvania, was an Eagle with two Palms. He was Scoutmaster with J. Schupp, Sr., and Jack Laubach.
David Baker, Muncy, Eagle with two Palms, spent at least two weeks each summer and many winter weekends at Camp Lavigne and was at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1959. Robert Zettle achieved Life, remembers his scouting outings "without plumbing." Dimi Marinos, Eagle, remembers staying at Graystone during the flood of '72 and not being allowed to leave camp for fear that the bridge would go out. He remembers building a bridge across the creek.
Jack Schupp, Eagle with one Palm, remembers "doing skits and songs that cannot be done today." Today Jack is active in collecting scout memorabilia, much of which was on display at the Benton Fire Hall Saturday night. Jerry Laubach was Life with 19 merit badges. Jerry helped build the Bailey bridge and attended Philmont Scout Camp and the scouts own camping site on Savage Hill. Mick Steward, Orangeville, was Eagle and Assistant Scoutmaster, and most liked white-water rafting, hockey games, Florida trips to Sea Base, the rodeo and carnival events and the spaghetti suppers. Shon Robbins, Stillwater, Eagle, went to Yellowstone and Philmont Scout Ranch, and completed the one-mile swim, and the 50-meter hike on the Loyalsock Trail. Travis Schupp, Summerland Key, Florida, Eagle with one Palm, worked at Florida's High Adventure Camp for four years and one season at the Oklahoma Scout Camp.
Dr. Donald Rabb was an Eagle with two Palms under Scoutmaster and minister Louis Barber. Don missed the World Jamboree because of the chicken pox in 1948. Leif Covington, Brooklyn, New York, Eagle, remembers the years of camping at Run-a-Muck. Olin Covington, Eagle, loved cycling at Camp Lavigne, even though "they wanted to kick us out of camp for being rebels on our Treks. We had a biker gang." Brandon Schupp, Eagle, continued in scouting after high school as a merit-badge counselor, assistant Scoutmaster and a Board of Review member. Ron Kelsey, First Class, helped build the rope bridge across the dam, was an usher at the Bloomsburg Fair and was a member of the Order of the Arrow.
TJ Schultz, Orangeville, Eagle, helped Cub Scouts at Cub Skill Weekend, participated in first aid and Klondike events and made it through Wilderness Survival at Camp Lavigne. Jesse Fritz, Life Scout with God and County Award, had Nelson Thomas, minister of Benton Methodist Church as his scoutmaster. Jesse is a veteran of "Lower Wilderness." Gregory Fritz, Eagle, recalls that "achieving Eagle required considerable self discipline and is was fun to finally achieve the award." Richard Strauch, San Diego, Eagle, had Rev. Louis Barber as his Scoutmaster. He spend long hours collecting and baling newspapers and magazines for the war effort. He patrolled the streets of Benton during black-out exercises." Derek Ashenfelder, Shippensburg, Eagle and Senior Patrol Leader, hiked the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon and the Loyalsock Trail and attended Sea Base, Philmont and Yellowstone. David Strauch, a recently deceased former member of Troop 51, had Don Rabb as his Scoutmaster.
Pictures of the celebration in honor of the Benton Boy Scout Troop's 92nd year are posted here, where they can be printed, downloaded, viewed as a slideshow or emailed.
Softly falls the light of day,
While our campfire fades away.
Silently each Scout should ask:
“Have I done my daily task?
Have I kept my honor bright?
Can I guiltless sleep tonight?
Have I done and have I dared
Everything to be prepared?
--Boy Scout Vespers
Saturday and Sunday, August 21 and 22, 2010. Art Fest , a free outdoor fine-art exhibition under tents, takes place in downtown Bloomsburg Saturday until 7 PM & Sunday 11 AM-4PM. Center Street will be closed between Main and Third streets for ArtFest. There will be a juried art show, along with lots of music, food from local restaurants and kids' activities. In case of rain Sunday, there will be tents. This year's schedule of music includes bands playing everything from folk to jazz to Aztec soul on Saturday. On Sunday, there will be Irish music and step dancing, along with blues and rustic melodies.
August 21, the birthday of Matt McHenry. It is the wedding anniversary of Ken and Lynn Dressler. The Benton Boy Scout Troop 51 open house is today as the community celebrates 92 years of service to the youth of Benton. Please join the Boy Scouts for an open house from 11 to 2 to commemorate this milestone. The scouts will have displays, memorabilia, powerpoint presentations, trophies and awards of achievement, photos of the past and present, and time to spent with scouts of the past and present. Light refreshments will be available. It takes place at the Benton Fire Hall, 150 Colley Street, Benton.
August 22, the birthday of Stephanie Stewart, Haleigh Karschner, Lindsey Keller Harvey and Clark Sellers. The Benton Christian Church will hold a corn roast and covered-dish dinner today at 4:30 in Benton town park to welcome to Benton their new pastor, the Rev. Dr. David Mansfield and his wife, Cathy, and Rev. Father Jeffrey Thoms, the new priest at Christ the King Church. The church will prepare the corn and those attending are asked to bring a covered dish to share and lawn chairs for sitting. Desserts would also be appreciated. Following the meal, the Wehry Family from Northumberland will present a concert at 6:30 PM. Everyone is welcome to attend. The family is made up of Randy (bass guitar) and Wendy (piano) who have been singing together for more than 30 years. They are joined by their five children: Jared (rhythm and lead guitar, dobro, harmonica, mandolin, pedal steel guitar, banjo), Janessa (rhythm guitar) Jessalyn, Joshua and Jourdan.
Quickies...
• Deeter Massage Therapy is now located at 1520A Main Street, Lightstreet. Call Florence at 784-1613. Massages are given Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8 AM to 8 PM. Full body massages are $30/$27 and 30 minutes $18/$15. Ear candling is $20.
• Penn State has formed an "education and research initiative on the Marcellus Shale" to work to protect the Commonwealth’s "water resources, forests and transportation infrastructure" while handling the state’s natural-gas deposits. The Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research brings together the expertise of the University.
• Didja know that the Commonwealth issued 1,915 permits to date to drill in the Marcellus shale in 2010. A total of 848 wells have been drilled in 2010. A total of 732 violations have been issued so far in 2010 in the state. The Martin well, adjacent to St. Gabriels Church, completed basic site preparation during the past week.
• With the help of the Benton Lions Club, Benton Women’s Club and Stillwater Christian Church, Jillian Christie, 16, will be holding a benefit blood drive with the American Red Cross on September 21 at the Northern Columbia County Cultural Center (N4C’s) from 2 to 7 PM. Jillian is a member of Stillwater Christian Church. She is a junior at the Columbia/Montour Vocational Training School majoring in cosmetology. Jillian suffers from "common variable immunodeficiency" (CVID) (also known as acquired hypogammaglobulinemia), an immune-system disorder. In order to build up her immune system, she receives an IV infusion treatment every 28 days. It takes more than 100 units of blood to make one treatment! You can call 925-1090 or the Red Cross to schedule an appointment to donate blood. If you are unable to donate for some reason, you can also help by volunteering to make refreshments for the day of the drive or by making reminder phone calls. Please share this information with your family and friends and help the American Red Cross reach its goal of 100 pints!
• Humor for today comes from fishing. Go here to see what we mean.
• ESPN and its family of networks will televise every game of the 64th Little League Baseball World Series. The 16-team tournament began August 20 with four first-round games. The International Championship game will be played August 28 at 1 PM with the U.S. title game to follow. The consolation and World Championship contests will be played the following day with the consolation game at 11 AM and the final game of the tournament scheduled for a 3 PM start. In between games, at 1 PM ESPN will air the Little League Baseball World Series Web Gems/World Series Preview Show which will highlight the best defensive plays in the tournament and preview the championship game. For the first time, this year's tournament will feature a double-elimination format in the first round of play. That will reduce the field to four teams, two International and two U.S., which will play with a berth in the World Championship game on the line. Follow Little League Baseball World Series on www.LittleLeague.org .
Quote of the Day:
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
--Matthew 7
