Editorially Speaking: m— Nation Will Observe Flag Day Because the first American flag was made in Pennsyl- vania, the State holds a prominent place when the Nation observes Flag Day next Sunday, June 14, according to the State Department of Commerce. According to some historians it was in the Betsy Ross House, still standing in Philadelphia, that the widowed seamstress put together the American banner in 1777. George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross, rela- tive to Betsy, were appointed by Congress to suggest a standard flag for all the troops of all the colonies. The historic house at 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia, was built about 1700 and restored in 1937. It is open to the public from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M. weekdays and from 11 A. M. to 5 P. M. Sundays. On display in the Public Library in Easton is the Easton Flag, considered by many to be the first stars and stripes in the United Colonies. It is said to have been made in 1776. Certain historians claim that when Captain Abra- ham Horn, Jr., and his company left the city of Easton for action in the War of 1812, they carried the flag as a pres- ent from the women of the community. The emblem is designed with a circle of 12 eight-pointed stars on a solid blue field. The 13th star is in the circle’s center. In the upper lefthand corner is a rectangle of red and white stripes. One of the most interesting collections is the group kept in glass cases in the rotunda of the Capitol in Harrisburg. These are the original flags carried by the various Penn- sylvania regiments in the Civil War. There are also some banners carried in the Spanish-American War. The State Flag of Pennsylvania is the same color as the blue field in the Flag of the United States. The staff is nine feet high including the brass spearhead and ferrule. In the center of the flag the Coat of Arms of the Common- wealth of Pennsylvania is embroidered in silk, the same on both sides. The edges are trimmed with knotted fringe of yellow silk with a cord and tassel attached to the staff of the spearhead. Two Pennsylvania flags always fly on either side of the American flag, from sunrise to sunset, atop the Capitol in Harrisburg. * * Now Or Never “Now or never is the time for every virtuous American to exert himself in the cause of liberty and his country; and that it is become a duty cheerfully to sacrifice the sweets of domestic felicity to attain the honest and glori- ous end America has in view.”"—George Washington. * * Free And Independent “If I have a wish dearer to my soul, than that my ashes may be mingled with a Warren and a Montgomery, it is that these American States may never cease to be free and independent.”’—John Adams. * * Does anybody really like to be read to? * * A good way to quell a domestic uproar is to turn on the radio real loud. * * Gentlemen prefer the same kind of women that attract roughnecks. FROM. PILLAR TO POST By Mrs. T. M. B. Hicks, Jr. The trouble with making a stab at writing poetry is that everything about the house translates itself into a rhyme-scheme. While mashing a kettleful of potatoes and whipping them to a creamy froth with milk and butter, you find yourself feverishly trying to rhyme them with something besides tomatoes. Rutabagas, by courtesy of poetic license, might fill the bill on a pinch, but nothing more inspiring than the vegetable bin has even a ghost of a chance. An adolescent daughter appears, and the subconscious mind automa- tically pulls out the proper stop on the organ, the one labelled Vox Humana, inserts an appropriate record, and starts grinding forth the indicated words and music. Mater- nal feeling requires that the eyes glaze with a loving mist and a “These are my jewels’ expression, and that the' quotation, “Standing with reluctant feet, Where the brook and river meet’, come springing to trembling lips. The trouble with this picture is that she so seldom stands. She am- bles, or she goes through a series of rapid-fire cart-wheels, or she flips casually to a head-stand with the garments of her sex draped about her neck. Or she makes a beautiful three-point landing in an over- stuffed arm-chair, knees across one arm, nape of the neck reposing com- fortably on the other, spine describ- ing a perfect arc. She indulges in endless telephone conversations of the “I sez to him and he sez to me” variety. She chaws gum. And I don’t means she chews gum. The distinction between chewing gum and chawing gum is that the former is done with the mouth closed. Maybe the Greeks had a word for it, but the poets insist that she be a fragile, windblown flower. The tangled curls that sound just too ducky when spaced out in perfect iambic pentameter leave much to be desired when attached to a living and breathing High-School scalp. There is that breathless scanning of the morning paper to foresee if possible the probable state of the weather. With the weather-man regarding the imminence of rain as something that must be concealed at (Continued on Page 8) Take it from one who knows, it can’t be done. THE DaLiLas Pos MORE THANE A NEWSPAPER, A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION Buy War Bonds # [Every Pay Day Woman Arrested For Deserting Children Arrested Saturday night by Har- vey’s Lake police on charges of dis- orderly conduct, Mrs. Ruth Scott, 22, of Alderson was committed to Luzerne County Prison to serve a 30-day sentence, folowing a hearing before Squire Ralph Davis. Mrs. Scott was taken into cus- tody on the complaint of her sister- in-law, Mrs. Russell Scott of Loy- alville, who charged that she had virtually deserted her two small children to consort with a man other than her husband. Vol. 52 { pi pr FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1942 No. 24 Close Contest Marks Election Of Clark As Sixth District Chairman Small Margin Of Victory May Indicate Decrease In Power Of G. 0. P. Leader; Bribery Indicated In an election which appeared to strongly minimize the new-won power of the State Republican Organization in the Back Mountain Region, Peter D. Clark received 37 committeeman votes to .35 for his opponent, Arnott Jones of Forty Fort, at Kunkle Grange Hall Monday night and gained his third consecutive chairmanship of the Sixth District by the Re-Elected Chairman Peter D. Clark Hobo Assailant Of Noxen Girl (Still At Large Panhandler Attempts Attack On Minister's Daughter Saturday The brutal assailant of a 12-year- old Noxen girl was still at large this week despite the efforts of police officers and a cordon of aroused citi- zens who combed the wooded area about Harvey's Lake all Saturday night. The 16-hour man hunt followed an attempted assault on young Alice Rundell, daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Harry E. Rundell, which took place on the highway between Noxen and Harvey's Lake about 3 o'clock Sat- urday afternoon. The girl's attack- er, described as a bearded, unkempt hobo, jumped out from behind a bush as she bicycled past his hiding place, struck her on the head with a heavy stick and then pulled her from the bicycle. As she struggled in his grasp, an automobile drew near along the highway, and the would-be assailant released his victim and plunged into the woods. While the car did not stop, Miss Rundell was able to es- cape to the protection of a nearby home. Harvey's Lake and Tunkhannock police were notified of the incident and immediately instituted a search, aided by more than a score of Noxen residents. Several suspects were rounded up, but Miss Rundell could identify none of them as her assail- (Continued on Page 5) Death-Defying Drayman Escapes Fate Again, Lady Luck is still riding with Bill Casterline, Harvey's Lake drayman who barely escaped a watery grave last February when his truck broke through the ice and sank in deep water off Sunset. For, aside from severe bruises and lacerations, Bill has only a three-day hospital bill to remind him of his latest brush with fate—in which he was all but crushed to a pulp under the heavy box of a dump truck. The accident occurred about 4.30 Friday afternoon, just after Caster- line had delivered a load of wood shavings to Bill Kern in Alderson. The young trucker had climbed be- tween the cab and the up-raised dump box to adjust a jamming in the mechanism, when the catch let go unexpectedly. The 1500-pound metal box fell. instantly, crushing him. against the back of the cab and pinning him there in a prone position. George Zacharias and several other. neighbors of Mr. Kern came immediately to the aid of the dray- man, who had been knocked un- Survives Crushing conscious by the heavy blow. The box was pried from his body by means of a thick timber. As soon as the pressure had been released, Casterline became delirious and thrashed about on the ground, moaning with pain. Chief Ira C. Stevenson, who had been summoned shortly after the accident, speeded the injured man to the General Hospital in Wilkes- Barre, where he was put under treatment and finally regained con- sciousness Saturday morning. Several X-rays were taken, but no broken bones or other serious injuries were discovered. And Tues- day morning Bill Casterline returned to his home, badly bruised about the head and back, but otherwise just as good as new. Witnesses of the accident were amazed at the slight extent of his injuries. His body had been crushed into a space where struck with the full force of the falling box. Said Bill himself, “I'm getting used to this sort of thing.” | Howell there is normally but a few inches | of clearance, and his head had been barest of pluralities. was closely fought from the out-set and two hours before the commit- teemen began to ballot there was a strong indication that it would end in a tie, since an equal number of delegates attended pre-election din- ners given by the two candidates. The final results were presaged by the election of Clark as temporary chairman by the identical vote of 37 to 35, and as the ballots were cast the two candidates were telled even-steven until the final stages of the election, when Clark gained his twaq-vote margin. : The close vote came as a consid- erable surprise to political observ- ers, who had considered Clark an easy victor on the basis of the May Primary returns, in which he (Continued on Page 8) Memorial 5 Committee Di ~ Former ost itor Speaks On Bahamas Members of the general committee of the All-Back Mountain Memorial Day Observance were the guests of Alexander Tough at a dinner Mon- day night at Herman Kern’s Res- taurant, Harvey's Lake. There was discussion of plans to make next year’s event even better than the observances of the past two years with perhaps more em- phasis on the exhibition of farm draft horses. Burgess H. A. Smith read the treasurer's report showing a small balance on hand which has been deposited at First. National Bank, Dallas, for use at next year’s observance. There was some dis- cussion of the need for rain insur- ance since the past five Memorial Days have all been marked by beau- tiful weather. The diners then all contributed to help swell the bal- ance on hand in the bank. At the conclusion of the dinner, H. Austin Snyder, general chairman, called attention to the work done by each committee member and thanked Mr. Tough for his generous invitation to the committee to be his guests. He then called upon Rees, recently returned from two years service in Nassau, Bahama Islands, to tell of his ex- periences there. Mr. Rees prefaced his remarks by saying that there is only one more beautiful spot in the world than the Bahamas . . . and that is the Back Mountain region in spring . . . its wooded hillsides, rolling farms and attractive homes make it not only the garden spot of Luzerne County (Continued on Page 5) Boro Band Gives Teacher Send-Off LaBar And Two Other Local Men Inducted Private Clarence E. LeBar, until last week physical education teacher and athletic coach of Dallas Bor- ough High School, set off for the Army Monday attended with all the pomp and ceremony his erstwhile students could muster in the gray light of dawn. At 6 A. M. the entire Dallas band assembled at the school, struck up a martial tune, and escorted Private LaBar down Huntsville road to Main street, whence he departed from Local Board No. 1 at Wyoming, final physical examination and induction. Other participants in the ceremon- ies were sleepy-eyed Dallas resi- dents, who, awakened by the en- thusiastic blaring of the bandsmen, dotted bedroom windows along the itinerary of the parade. Two other men of this area— Fred Mosier Harris of Lehman, ave- nue and Rolland James Bellas of Trucksville—were also called up Monday by Board No. 1, together with 20 selectees from Wyoming, Exeter and vicinity. All were sent to the reception center at New Cumberland. The contest | U. S. Paratroops In The Making TOP: Getting clear. Student sits in suspended plane and watches a veteran leaper take off. The chute must not be opened until the jumper is clear of the fusilage and the danger of ntanglement. BOTTOM: After landing, the chute must be deflated as soon as possible lest it drag the jumper over rough ground. The jumper lies flat and twists the lines to release the air from the silk sack. War Labor Board Grants General Wage Raise To Tannery Employes Noxen CIO Local Gains First Recognition As Bargaining Agent For Plant Personnel A wage increase for all workers of the Armour Leather Company tan- nery at Noxen was approved Wednesday by the War Labor Board at ‘Washington, D. C., constituting a major victory for the CIO Fur and Leather Workers Union which has sought full recognition from the tan- nery officials for the past ten months. The increase, granted by a Tie Decided By Bizarre Drawing Shaver Is Declared New Committeeman The tie vote between Floyd Chamberlain and Merle Shaver, candidates for Middle District com- mitteeman in Dallas Township, which was precipitated in last month’s primaries by the last-min- ute challenge of two voters, was decided in an equally unusual man- ner last week. The two candidates were sum- moned to the Commissioner's office in the court house Friday aft- ernoon to draw lots for the decision. Chamberlain, accompanied by a lawyer, arrived on schedule. Shaver did not make an appearance, but was represented by a county em- ployee. A box, said to contain two pellets, was brought forth. Whoever drew the pellet marked “one” was to be the winner. The box was shaken and then presented to Shaver’s representative, who drew, yelled “number one”, and immediately re- placed the pellet. Shaver was there- upon declared the winner. Chamberlain was not given an opportunity to draw. Neither he nor his lawyer was allowed to in- spect the box, before or after the drawing. He attempted to protest the drawing, on the grounds he could not be sure there were even two pellets in the box, but his pro- test was over-ruled. Said one of the attending officials, “What do you think we are, a bunch of crooks 7” Has Broken Rib Byron Atkinson of Breslau, son of Bruce Atkinson of street, was admitted to General Hospital Wednesday morning for treatment of a fractured rib. He was injured when a heavy piece of metal fell on him in the Louis Cohen scrap yards, where he is em- ployed. Davenport i unanimous vote of the WLB in or- der to ‘“‘equalize wage rates of the various Armour Company plants”, amounts to three cents an hour, re- troactive to April 3, and affects some 250 employees of the Noxen tamfiery. Raises were also granted A"two other Armour Company plants in Pennsylvania, those of St. Mary’s and Gleasonton. The workers were represented at the Labor Board hearing by officials of the CIO Leatherworker’s Union, who up until then had been unable to obtain full bargaining rights for the Noxen employees. Morton Whitaker, superintendent of the Noxen tannery, was unable to state yesterday how and when the two-and-a-half months’ back pay, stipulated in the retroactive clause of the Labor Board ruling, will be granted the workers, and said that he could make no an- nouncement regarding the payment (Continued on Page 6) Local Residents To Register For Sugar In Dallas Bpplications For Ne Canning Ration Taken In Himmler Building Special registration for the can- ning sugar allotment will be held here in Dallas three days next week for the convenience of local resi- dents, who would otherwise have to travel to the rationing board head- quarters at Wyoming, and registra- tion will also be conducted in Leh- nan, Lake township and Sweet Val- ley. ; The local registration will take place in the Himmler Building on Lake street Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and will be open to resi- dents of Dallas and Kingston, Dallas and Franklin townships. Hours: Monday, 10 to noon and 2 to 5; Tuesday, 10 to noon and 7 P. M. to 9 P. M.; Thursday, 10 to noon. Registration will be held at Lehman High School Monday, from 9:30 to -|4, and on Wednesday at Lake Township High School and Farver’s Store in Sweet Valley. : One adult from each family desir- ing the canning allotment is to ap- ply, and ration books must be brought to the registration center. A statement as to the amount of fruit to be canned, the amount can- ned last year and the number of pounds of sugar on hand will be required. One pound of sugar for every four pounds of fruit will be allowed, and also one pound per family member for preserves. The present ration is to be used for can- ning cherries, pineapple, strawber- ries and rhubarb and other produce now in season. The Dallas registration was ar- ranged by Irving O. Hunt of Wyo- ming, diréctor of Ration Board 40-1, and local civilian defense workers who volunteered to do the job. These include Mrs. Thomas B. Rob- inson, Mrs. James Huston, Mrs. Al- bert Bryden, Mrs. Harold Rood, Mrs. Oswald Griffith and Mrs. Sutch. Council Seeks Release Of Oil Shipment “Freezing” May Doom Road Work Daniel Confronted with a government ruling which may entirely disrupt the street repair program for Dal- las, borough Councilmén determin- ed Friday night, at the regular monthly meeting, to seek the aid of State Highway officials in gain- ing the release of a large supply of oil for road surfacing. The oil in question, some 10,000 gallons, was purchased the latter part of April for the surfacing of three borough streets, and has since been stored in a tank in Trucksville, “frozen” by federal order. The pe- troleum, in its present state, is useful only for road work, and the Councilmen believe that steps may be taken for its release to the bor- ough if the matter is appealed to the State. A committee was ap- (Continued on Page 5) Harvey's Lake Marine Boards Ship For Action Overseas Next Ties Lean, bronzed and every inch a U. S. Marine, young Elwood Davis, who is visiting his parents, Squire and Mrs. Ralph Davis, at Alderson this week, is ready and anxious for the action that awaits him at the end of his furlough. On Tuesday the 25-year-old sharpshooter, long known as one of the best hunters in this region and an outstanding per- former on the rifle ranges at the Marine training base on Parris .Is- land, boards ship at Norfolk, Vir- ginia, for an unknown destination in the War Zone. Whether or not he'll be assigned to a combat unit has not yet been disclosed. His recent training has been in communications, and he’s rated as a specialist in that field. He might find himself at the switch- board of a battle-ship, or perhaps servicing communication lines with a front-line outfit. Or maybe he'll end up in a fox-hole. “One thing about the Marines,” says Elwood, “You never know what's going to happen next.” Another characteristic of the Marine Corps, apparently, is hard work. Elwood’s been on the go con- stantly ever since he enlisted last December. At Parris Island, train- ing center for Marine recruits—or “Boots”, as the old hands call them, he was hurried through 13 weeks of instruction in just two months. Sometimes, he says, they used to be on the drill field until one o’clock in the morning. The pace must have agreed with him, however. He was outstanding in all phases of the training, and especially in marks- manship. Got a score of 224 out of a possible 250 on the rifle range, and was rated 87 per cent perfect with the pistol. That made him tops among 600 recruits, and aces high with his dad, who was his first shooting instructor. Three and a half months ago El- wood was shipped to the Marine school at Quantico, Virginia, after he had achieved an excellent mark in a preliminary communications (Continued on Page 8)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers