a
Editorially Speaking:
God Bless Americal
Two hundred men and women in uniform read this
newspaper while dozens of their. comrades glance over
their shoulders. That's why we're ashamed to tell them
in this editorial that practically everything we have at-
tempted on the home front has been a flop.
If this war is lost, it will not be the fault of the boys and
girls who have risked all they have to win. It will be lost
behind their backs by us who remain at home and by
the muddlers who sit in Washington.
. Several weeks ago everybody registered for gasoline,
furnishing the government with sufficient information to
take care of gasoline rationing for the duration. Today,
while teachers are on vacation, farmers in the midst of
harvest, and housewives busy with gardens and canning,
we are required to waste time, gasoline and rubber to
register again. Our rationing boards are provided with
little or no information and 15,000 people in the Back
Mountain country must waste effort and valuable supplies
to go to Wyoming as their rationing center. Washington,
Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre are so bound in red tape that
they will not permit the establishment of a board here.
Everything is confusion. One group saves at the spigot
while the other wastes at the bung.
There has been no effort to save gasoline and irreplace-
able tires. You can buy all the gas you want at the
stations. Traffic on the new Harvey’s Lake highway over
the Fourth and on Sundays has been as heavy as during
any of the peaks last year. Schoolboys drive their dates
out in jalopies. Drunks run their cars in the Lake.
The scrap rubber collections have been a farce. Only
the angry protest of a Dallas man prevented a large gaso-
line company from selling parts of its rubber collection to
tire retreaders. Nobody but the kids have taken it ser-
iously. Ln ;
Long queues of housewives have stood in line hours in
Dallas to apply for sugar for canning because adequate
provisions for rationing were neglected . . . then lied about
the amount of their canning in order to have more sugar
than they needed.
i been baled and waste has been collected—
volunteer truckers and Boy Scout collectors have been told
to take it back home when they tried to deliver it. A
Volunteer registrars have worked hours on rationing
boards—teachers have given their time—all of us’ would
help if we could, but we're in a muddle. God knows all
of us want to do our part—but nobody takes any of the
efforts on the home front seriously. Enthusiasm has been
dampened by bungling.
Defense workers boast of their high wages and proud-
ly display their wage tickets while selfish interests attempt
to get more. Merchants post price ceilings on ‘merchan-
dise while buyers bid for the goods. Trousers come
through without cuffs while the cuff material is turned
up on the inside. 5,
Despite radio and newspaper urging and volunteer
solicitation by air raid wardens who didn’t know what they
were talking about—our efforts to get people to put
10% of their earnings in war bonds and stamps have been
futile. But one Dallas nurse at Camp Claiborne buys a
bond a month out of her $70 army pay.
Much of the indifference can be blamed upon Wash-
ington where Congressmen balk and block needed appro-
priations when patronage is cut off—where labor and
farm bloc play leapfrog with price ceilings and efforts
to control prices are sabatoged from the inside, where
censors throttle the war news and newspaper man report
henanigans of our leaders. §
te have a treated so long like school children—we
have heard so many beautiful fairytales—that we have
come to believe that scrap campaigns and gasoline saving
are not really necessary . . . that the W. P. A, old-age
pensions, John L. Lewis, Wages and Hours and God knows
what will somehow see us through. ;
If our leaders would once and for all forget that this
isn’t a private war—if they'd start talking in honest not
big terms—if they’d omit rhetoric to deal in fact—if
they’d forgo their benevolence and treat us as equals—not
in talk but in deed—then we, too, might have a chance to
win this war on the home front.
FROM.
PILLAR TO POST
By Mgzs. T. M. B. Hicks, Jr.
The small room where I keep my sewing-machine and typewriter desk
used to smell like the Elks-Club. There was a haunting fragrance of stale
cigar-butts and the floor around the waste-basket was gray with a thin
film of cigarette-ashes. The wastebasket itself overflowed with crumpled
sheets of typewriter paper, each sheet bearing one line of discarded typing.
Genius burned nightly. Sniffing sus-
piciously, I once asked B. B. if he
were concealing an elk about the
premises, but he said no. He ex-
plained at length that he was using
my typewriter instead of his own
antiquated machine because mine
had a new typewriter ribbon while [*
his own ribbon was worn to a
frazzle. He had tried re-inking it
Lake Gives Up
100 Old Tires
Youngsters Perform
Thorough Salvage Job
with ‘an ink-pad and a sponge, but
the results had not been notable ex-
cept in the matter of blots. If I
did not believe him, I could look in
my bathroom sink and inspect my
face-towel. And if I would come
across with a dollar for the purchase
of a new typewriter ribbon he would
cheerfully keep the crumpled papers
and the film of ashes and even the
elk in his own room.
Every time I buy a new type-
writer ribbon, the entire family de-
scends joyfully upon my workroom,
elbowing the sewing-machine into
a corner and planting itself immov-
ably upon the typewriter-stool. The
results are so delightfully black and
clear. The English teacher at High
School appreciates neatly-typed
themes. The college thesis, some
year-and-a-half overdue, will get a
much better grade if it looks au-
thoritative instead of weakly gray.
By the time I get around to shoo-
ing away the intruders and. settling
down to the typewriter myself, in-
tent on tapping out my own entries
(Continued on Page 8)
Enterprizing Harvey's Lake
youngsters have sdlvaged more than
100 automobile tires and other scrap
rubber totaling 500 pounds from
shallow areas along the shores of
the lake.
Most of the rubber was brought
up by Harold and Bud Hoover and
by James Taylor, aged 14, and his
younger brother. The boys used row
boats for observation and grappling
purposes with other row boats in
tow for the salvaged rubber. They
used grappling hooks and ropes in
deeper water.
Bulk of the rubber was in the
form of automobile tires and tubes
discarded by motorists in changing
tires and by swimmers who had
used the tubes for bouyancy. Rubber
boots, garden hose and a variety
of other rubber articles were also
brought up. The rubber was sold
to a local gasoline station, after
the boys had completed a thorough
“around the lake” search and were
sure that there wasn’t another piece
of rubber the size of “a walnut” in
the lake.
THE Darras Post
MORE THAN A NEWSPAPER, A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION
Vol. 52
FRIDAY, JULY
10, 1942
No. 28
Not everybody with a dollar
to spare can shoot a gun
straight—but everybody can
shoot straight to the bank and
buy War Bonds. Buy your
10% every pay day.
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Scores Of Local Men Are Drawn
For Induction On July en
Two Draft Boards Call 205 Men F
First Three Registration Groups |
With greatly increased calls from the Seléctive Service System for
replacements, the two local draft boards drawing selectees from this
area are hard pressed to fill their quotas. A total of 205 men from Draft
Board No. 5 at Shickshinny and Draft Board No. 1 at Wyoming has been
called for physical examination and induction on July 15. Not all of
these men will go into the Army be-
cause the selectees are being called
under the old system whereby all
are given physical examinations at
the same time and if accepted im-
mediately inducted into the Army,
or if rejected returned to their
homes.
All gre Class 1A men drawn from
the first three registrations—the 21
to 25 age group of October 1940;
the 20 to 21 group of July 1941, and
the 35 to 45 group of February 1942.
Difficulty in obtaining full quotas
arises from the large number of de-
ferrments for men in defense work
and other necessary wartime occu-
pations and because of the wealth
of detail involved in reclassifying a
large number of men in Class 1B,
previously deferred because of phgy-
sical defects but who ‘will soon “be
called to replace physically fit men
in army clerical, office and other
duties for active service.
All regular and occupational
men in the first three registrations,
and occupational . questionnaires
have been mailed to the men in
the 45 to 65 age group or Fourth
Registration. No questionnaires
have yet been mailed to those in the
last (18-20) registration.
In all more than 10,000 are reg-
istered with Draft Board No. 1 at
Wyoming, the largest board in the
county. According to officials of the
board it will probably be late sum-
mer after considerable reclassifica-
tion before any married men will
be called.
In addition to Fred Houghwout,
clerk, and Kathleen Moicuk, assist-
ant clerk, Draft Board No. 1 now
has four .other young women assist
ing in the detail of mailing and
checking occupational question-
naires. They are: ‘Ruth Morgan,
stenographer-clerk; Sophie Gerlock,
supervisor of mailing, and Sophie
Moicuk and Eleanor Groblewski, as-
sistants.
Called By Board 5
Among the eighty men drawn by
draft board No. 5 in Shickshinny
are eighteen local men. They are:
Dallas—Benjamin Alfred Gale,
R. D. 1; Glenn Elwood Ehret, R. D.
2; Marvin Sheldon Short, R. D. 2;
John Steven Ladamus, R. D, 2.
Alderson—Percy James Higgins,
Frank Halowich, Kenneth Cuddy, R.
D. 1; Edward Joseph Kupstas, R. D.
1; Ear] Henry Davis.
Sweet Valley—Arthur Eugene Mc-
Roy, R. D. 1; Harold Ray Culp, R. D.
1; Thomas J. Swire, R. D. 1; Warren
Norman Kittle, R. D. 1; John Jos-
eph, Box 1; Harold Ephriam Kittle,
BeD. 1.
Trucksville—Gilbert Dick Tough,
R. D. 1; Stanley William Parcin-
ski, R. D. 1.
thur Kitchen:
Draft Board One
Robert F. Reidenbach, Irem Tem-
ple Country Club, Dallas; Howell
Edward Rees, 65 Lake street, Dal-
las; Michael Mitchell, R. D. 3, Dal-
las; James M. Knecht, Center Hill
road, Dallas; Michael W. Cavanaugh,
Hillside avenue, Trucksville; Mat-
thew Evans, Jr., Hill Crest avenue,
Shavertown; Leo Niezgoda, R. F, D.
2, Dallas; Paul M. Redmond, Pioneer
avenue, Shavertown; Edwin John
Rhodes, R. D. 1, Dallas; William P.
Gries, R. D. 3, Dallas; Euclide P.
Laliberte, Williams road, Dallas;
Ernest F. King, Center street, Shav-
ertown; Darwin Kocher Roberts,
Davenport street, Dallas,
Goss Manor Included
On New Bus Schedule
Dallas busses of the Wilkes-Barre-
Wyoming Valley Auto Bus Company
are now following a prolonged route
which includes the new Harvey's
Lake Highway to Center Hill road,
thence east on Center Hill road to
Goss Manor where they follow the
new highway into Wilkes-Barre.
District Receives Check
State Treasurer G. Harold Wag-
ner announced that having received
the proper warrant he had this
week mailed a check of $196.25 to
Dallas Township School District for
training out of school youths.
questionnaires have been mailed to
Mountain” “Springs—Malcolm Ar- |
| man, one of the newer camps on the
a 0
COPPER’S NEW TOPPER SUCH
A RELIEF COUNCIL ORDERS
UNIFORM TO OUTFIT CHIEF
No two men could be more
proud of the Dallas Police force
than Councilman Joseph Mac-
Veigh and Chief Walter Covert.
Between them they have com-
pletely renovized the appear-
ance of the force. A few weeks
ago the genial councilman pre- -
sented the chief with a shin-
ing gold badge for his coat and
a similar sparkling’ emblem for
his cap. After some pondering
Joe came to the conclusion that
the cap wasn’t liging up to
the standards set by the em-
blem and this week presented
the chief with a new topper.
Not to be out done Council,
which had also been studying
the problem, last week voted to
purchase a brand new uniform
for the chief.
New Hydrant Will
Protect Heights
Installation Bpproved
For'-Davenport Street
Installation of a new fire hydrant
on Davenport street had been au-
thorized by Dallas Burough Coun-
cil. This brings the number of hy-
drants installed during the year to
five and will afford protection for
property valued at more than
$53,000 in the vicinity of Jackson,
Parrish, Davenport, Water, Pine-
crest and Huntsville streets.
The hydrant will be installed near
the tower owned by Dallas Water
Company and with the hose con-
nections now available to Dr. Henry
M. Laing Fire Company should pro-
vide protection for the major part
of the Parrish Heights section of
(Continued on Page 8.)
Lieut. William Cairl
Army Recognizes
Cairl’s Ability
upetvises Wire Work
Hen Strike Stops Job
William Cairl, former wire chief
of the Commonwealth Telephone
Company, has been promoted to first
lieutenant in the Signal Corps.
Lieut. Cairl entered active service
on April 10 and after some time at
Fort Monmouth, N. J., was transfer-
red to Fort Mason, California, on
May 18, and later to Camp Stone-
west coast.
When a strike tied up installation
of switch boards and telephone
equipment at the camp Lieut, Cairl
was called in to solve the problem,
Sixty Thousand Planes In 1942 .
TOP: Scene at the Curtiss-Wright Corporation showing how America
is answering the President’s call for 60,000 planes in 1942. Similar fac-
tories all over the United States are on a 24-hour-a-day basis in an all-out
attempt to reach or exceed this quota.
BOTTOM: An American Kittyhawk in practice. White lines (retouched
in this photo) are made by tracer bullets.
Tanks find Combat Cars May Lend
Military Note To Road Opening
Governor James Will Be Present For
Ceremonies In Dallas on July 18
»
Tanks, combat cars and jeeps may add a or. to the
formal opening of the new Harvey's Lake Highway if requests of the
general committee are approved by the War Department. The new high-
way which bisects the Back Mountain region will be dedicated by Governor
Arthur H. James at fitting ceremonies on Saturday afternoon, July 18.
supervising the work of installation
himself. The new equipment was
(Continued on Page 8.)
Burgess H. A. Smith, acting chair-
man of the general committee, and
Clyde N. Lapp, chairman of the
parade committee, have asked Col.
Thomas Atherton and Governor
: James to prevail upon the War De-
"partment to have
military units
take part in the celebration. The
War Department recently an-
nounced that wherever feasible it
would co-operate in acquainting the
public with the progress of its war
effort by permitting military units
to take part in patriotic parades.
Governor James has assured the
committee that he will be present
as have many other prominent State
and County officials, members of
the State Highway Department and
Motor Club representatives. Back
Mountain organizations, fire com-
panies, = service clubs, schools,
township supervisors and borough
officials have pledged their co-op-
eration and the committee in charge,
headed by Governor James as hon-
orary chairman, is composed of
representatives from every borough
and township through which the
new highway passes.
The program will start at 2:30
P. M. with a parade from the “Y”
intersection, where the highway
joins the Tunkhannock road, to
Dallas. In the line of march will be
a squadron of State Highway Patrol-
men, Dallas Township, Dallas Bor-
ough and Lehman High School
bands; Dallas Borough, Lake, Leh-
man, Kingston and Dallas Town-
ship supervisors and officials, fire
companies of Dallas, Shavertown
and Trucksville;. civic clubs, service
clubs and fratérnal organizations.
Both Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs will
have floats, also Wyoming Valley
Motor Club. There will also be
floats entered by businessmen in-
cluding those of Ruggles Lumber
Company, Thomas Reese and Dyke
Brown. The committee has invited
William Conyngham to act as grand
marshal with John Blackman and
Andrew: J. Sordoni as aides.
(Continued on Page 8)
Sudden Storms
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Kill Pigeons
Less Than 25 0£.1:000
Birds/ Re To Lofts
Because of a number of sudden
violent wind, rain and hail storms
throughout the summer racing sea-
son, A. N. Garinger and many other
Luzerne County homing pigeon
fanciers have lost some of their best
birds this year. The 500-mile race
from Greenville, Tennessee, some
weeks ago was a complete smash
with less than 25 birds out of 1,000
entered returning to their home
lofts. The following week in anoth-
er 500-mile race about the same
number of birds were lost. Last
week in the 600-mile race from
Sweet Water, Tennessee, three birds
returned to Wyoming Valley lofts
taking more than a week to com-
plete a journey usually finished in
a day, and on Tuesday—a week and
two days later—one of Mr. Garin-
ger’s birds straggled in.
Mr. Garinger says that there have
been only two good races during
the whole season—one of 300 miles
and one of 200 miles. All the others
have been seriously marred by
storms. Although racing men fol-
low weather reports closely and
have frequently postponed the
races a day or two, the birds have
flown into bad atmospheric condi-
tions after being released in good
weather at Tennessee points.
Hail storms such as struck Wyo-
ming Valley on Monday or wind
storms such as this section had a
few weekends ago easily blow the
birds off their path or kill them.
Nesbitt says that he is glad the rac-
ing season is now over for the sum-
mer and thinks that the fall season,
which is even more hazardous, can
hold no terror for birds that have
weathered one of the worst summer
seasons in years.
Insect Bite Is
Fatal To Young
Dallas Soldier
Howard Cosgrove
Succumbs To Rocky
Mountain Fever
Fisgt of Dallas Borough youths to
give his life in World War II, Pvt.
Howard A. Cosgrove, Jr., 23, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Howard A. Cosgrove,
Sr., of Bulford street, died Friday
morning of Rocky Mountain spotted
fever at Aberdeen Station Hospital,
Aberdeen, Maryland.
The young soldier was stricken
June 26 while on bivouac with fel-
low soldiers. His symptoms were of
minor nature but were accompanied
by a high temperature which caused
Army physicians to urge hospitaliza-
tion. Although he had remained in
the hospital for a week it was not
Pvt. Howard Cosgrove
until a few hours before his death
that his condition became alarm-
ing, or that Army medical men’ be-
gan to suspect the nature of his
ailment after he casually men-
tioned that he had been bitten by
wood ticks duting encampment. His
parents were summoned to Aber-
deen Friday morning but he was
dead before their arrival.
Capt. William Churchell, com-
manding officer of the Ordnance
Department at Aberdeen, and mem-
bers of the hospital staff told Mr.
and Mrs. Cosgrove that it was the
only case of its kind on record at
the Ordnance Training Center.
In a letter to the family Capt.
Churchill said:
“The officers and men of this or-
ganization wish to express their
deepest sympathies on the occas-
ion of the loss of your son, Pvt.
Howard Cosgrove, Jr. To the best
of my knowledge Pvt. Cosgrove is
the only victim of Rocky Mountain
spotted fever in the history of the
ordnance replacement center. It is
regretted that your son has not
lived to see the eventual victory of
the Army of the United States.”
Squad Corporal Rauhauser of
Aberdeen, accompanied the body. to
Dallas on Saturday night. Twelve
members of Daddow-Isaacs Post
American Legion conducted Memor-
ial services at the Cosgrove home
on Sunday evening. Funeral ser-
vices were held from the home at
2:30 ‘Monday afternoon with Rev.
Francis Freeman, former pastor, and
(Continued on Page 8)
Band Director
Given New Job
Forty Fort Board
Elects Miss Knappman
Evelyn Knappman, supervisor of
music and director Dallas Township
High School Band for the past year
and a half, has been elected to a
similar position in the schools of
Forty Fort, her home community.
Miss Knappmann succeeded Mrs.
Evelyn Haley on the Township
faculty. She is a graduate of Forty
Fort High School and New York
University and is taking graduate
work at the latter school this sum-
mer.
She has not yet tendered her
resignation although her sister tele-
phoned the news of her election to
Albert Jones, secretary of the Town-
ship board, and her resignation is
expected to follow shortly.