Editorially Speaking: : A Fair Price When you walk into a store to buy a dozen eggs, a pair of shoes, some kitchen utensils or any other article, what is a fair price? Is it the price that existed last year? Or is it the price that was in effect in 1940, or 1900, or any other date? That question is obviously unanswerable. The price of any- thing is made up of a long list of factors, all of which are in a Raw materials, wages, taxes, transporta- So does the extent of consumer purchasing constant state of flux. tion enter into it. power. So does employe efficiency and output. demand for commodities which are in tight supply here. Js Tue Darras Post MORE THAN A NEWSPAPER, A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION se 20 So does foreign And so, to a very great degree, does the fact that we have a record national debt, after the most destructive war in history, and the government is still spending money at a prodigal rate. Business, on both the manufacturing and retailing levels, gets much of the blame for high prices. But business is as worried about them as any consumer. Mass production and mass distri- bution are the backbone of the economy, and if consumers are priced out of the market the ultimate effect will be disastrous. A number of manufacturers have cut prices and absorbed the loss. Retail margins, both independents and chains report, are shrink- ing fast, and the inventory problem is the cause of much concern and uncertainty among merchants. Everything possible is: being done to prevent further price increases, and to effect price de- creases when possible. It should be widely known that retailers’ profit margins are now generally less than under OPA. The same thing is true of many manufacturers. board price cuts cannot be met. of prices will be. permit. The demand for arbitrary, across-the- No one knows what the future But, by and large, they will be as low as costs FROM PILLAR TO POST By Mrs. T. M. B. Hicks, Jr. Montmorency has arrived, but without fanfare of trumpets and strictly incognito. When we first contracted for Montmorency, away back last October when the nursery salesman with the pronounced Oxford accent was beating the Back Mountain bushes armed with an order pad and a profusely illustrated catalogue, we leaped to a somewhat exaggerated and wholly unfounded conclusion. It may be remarked in passing that we are very green about nursery stock, considerably greener than the stock itself. A two-year-old sour-cherry tree, we felt, if planted within speaking distance of the sickel- pear tree, might very probably in the course of a year or so be expected to sus- tain half the weight of a hammock, the ropes arranged in such a man- ner that the older and more ex- = 2d tree would bear the brunt of the resting gardener. We have on hand a sturdy hammock, one of those air-conditioned netting jobs, but oddly enough there are not two trees near enough together on the whole place to hold it up. A hammock slung from two limbs of the same tree leads to jackknif- ing of the spine, besides suggest- ing a cargo-sling. Montmorency would come in a truck, we dreamed fondly, a large truck, his feet wrapped in a burlap sack containing a snug ball of earth to protect his tender rootlets. Two burly individuals in canvas jackets bearing the name of the nursery in red outline-stitch across the shoulder blades would lower Mont- morency tenderly to the earth, and place him near enough to the brink of the larger of the humus pits (garbage dump to you) so that two amateurs could tip him into place and pile potato peelings and eggshells around his roots for add- ed fertilizer, following the Indian custom of planting a fish along with the four kernels of corn per hill. No trunk put in an appearance, but the rural mailcarrier hung a longish box containing raspberry canes to the hook on the mailbox. There were peremptory words on the outside, mentioning dire results if the canes were not planted at once, and disclaiming all respon- sibility if directions were not fol- lowed to the letter. With one eye on the ploughed land, we filed the raspberry canes along with the strawberry plants in our Uh-huh department. The garden still looked like a thick and nourishing soup, with its excess of water draining steadily into a later- al ditch but with more, much more, to come. A week passed, and still not a prayer of getting a tractor with a harrow in tow onto that soggy ground. The raspberry box re- mained unopened, the roots pre- sumably packed in damp fiber. Came a sunny day when the up- per reaches of the garden had dried sufficiently to be worked. The man With the Hoe sloshed around in rubber boots, reducing what look- ed like the by-product of a large but misguided mole to something more nearly resembling a seedbed. We opened the box and lifted out oma ‘the raspberry canes, all twelve of them. There was a thirteenth cane which had not been accounted for, a trifle longer than the others, a trifle thicker, and with a large and naked root exposed. Suspicion blossomed into certain- ty. The unpromising looking walk- ing stick bearing “two twigs like horns at the top, bore a label. Here, in the bark was the cherry tree. Montmorency, we reflected bitter- ly, looked not only dormant but entirely defunct. Closer inspection revealed three embryonic yellow (Continued on Page Two) Durbin Among Highest Tenth Gets High Mark In Scholarship Tests Word has been that James Gordon Durbin, son of received here Mr. and Mrs. John Durbin, former Dallas residents, scored among the highest ten per cent of the selected 46,112 high school seniors through- out the nation whb took the. Pepsi- Se" James is a senior high school Cola scholarship student ‘at fitchourg, Mass., where the family now resides and where his father is an electrical engineer with the Simons Saw and Steel Company. The examination was prepared and scored by the college entrance examination board and administer- ed in accordance with standard in- structions. Jimmy attended the first eight grades at Dallas Borough schools where his father was for several years a school director. His older brother, now with the Marines on Guam, was also a former student here. His dad, a graduate of Penn State, was formerly electrical en- gineer with Luzerne County Gas & Electric Company. Durbin Sunday School Class of Dallas Methodist church was for years taught by his mother. Parents’ Night At Lake Schools May Organize Parent Teacher Association All parents and patrons will be guests of Lake Township students and teachers, in the High School Auditorium on Friday night, May 21. ’ G. E. Taylor, Supervising Prin- cipal will speak concerning forma- tion of a Parent Teacher Associa- tion. These plans have been*under way for some fime and afe nearing completion. , § AF After introdirefion of the faculty, Walter Nolan, teacher of physical education, will present a gym ex- hibition by the boys of the Junior High School. Showing a typical class in physical education. The program will include calisthenics, relays, group tumbling, special stunts, boxing matches, and pyra- mids. Following the entertainment there will be an open house. Special exhibits have been prepared, and teachers, assisted by student hosts and hostesses, will be in their rooms to further entertain visitors. Outstanding among these exhibits will be the new Homemaking De- partment, Vocational Shop, and art work of the elementary students. Refreshments will be served cafe- teria style by members of the Homemaking Department, in the Homemaking Room. Vol. 58, No, 20 Lehman Firemen Name Chairmen For Horse Show Hendricks Is General Chairman; Ed Hartman Is Chairman Of Show Committee chairmen for the fourth annual Lehman Horse Show on July 3 were appointed Monday night at a meeting fof Lehman Volunteer Fire Company by Héward L. Hendricks, general .g Airman. Assisting Mr. Hendricks as vice- chairman will be Edward Oncay. Edward V. Hartman is again show chairman. Walter Chamberlain is show secretary and Charles Nuss is treasurer. Committee heads are: host, H. A. Smith; advisory committee, H. A. Smith’ and Howard Risley; parking and police, Joseph Ide and L. E. Beisel; program, Morton Connelly; admittance, Walter Chamberlain and Harry Edwards; show grounds, Arthur Ehret; stables, Alex Tough; publicity, Howard Risley. The list is still incomplete and will be increased as plans progress. Mr. Hendricks appointed the dinner and refreshment committee who will report at the next meeting. Members are Mr. and Mrs. Lansford Sutton, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Ide, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Ehret and Mr. and Mrs. Loren Keller. As plans are now developing the show will be larger than last year’s and includes many new features. Horses from nearby counties as well as Luzerne will be shown. Seating arrangements will be the same as last year, but box seats will go on sale shortly. Planned primarily to give local horsemen, as well as those who had taken part in a horse show, an opportunity to exhibit in compe- tition, the Lehman show was started in 1942 and after two sea- sons was interrupted by the war. Last season it was resumed. As a community affair supported by the entire area it is in a cate- gory with the Memotial Day Parade at Sweet Valley; Back Mountain Library Auction and Hallowe'en Parade in Dallas; Fireman’s Field Day at Shavertown; and the Fire- men’s Bazaar and Fair at Trucks- ville. William R. Neely Now Eighty-Five Retired Merchant Honored By [Directors William R. Neel eighty-five years have been blessed with birth- day anniversaries that came dur- ing the midst of the apple blossom season. The one on Wednesday was no exception. Mr. Neely was the honored guest at a dinner given at Evans Falls, by W. B. Jeter, president, for the Board of Directors of First National Bank. On Sunday he received a number of lovely gifts at a family party at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Alice Elston of Lehman. There surrounded by his sons, daughters and grandchildren, he recalled events during his almost fifty years as a merchant in Lehman. Home for the day were his children and their families: George L. of Syra- cuse, N.Y.; Walter of Bloomsburg; Mrs. K. L. Terry, Berwick; and Mrs. Elston. Six of his eight grand- children were also present. Mr. Neely retired from active (Continued on Page Five) FRIDAY, MAY 14, 1948 Seniors In Final JOHN MILUS Township Board Lets Contracts Budget Provides For Cafeteria Dining Room Dallas Township School Board has formally adopted the new School Budget for 1948-49. Pro- vision was made for construction of 3 cafeteria dining-reom, and for boys’ and girls’ shower rooms. Actual work on these projects will not, however, start unless con- struction estimates are well within the sum set aside in the budget. Bids were opened for bus trans- portation of students, and were awarded to Andrew Bittenbender : and Arthur Newman, who hold present contracts. The secretary was authorized to advertise for bids to be opened in June for coal for the coming year. Present were: Donald J. Evans, president; Stephen N. Davis, Walter J. Elston, Thomas S. Moore, and Floyd W. Chamberlain, secretary; Prof. Raymond E. Kuhnert, super- vising principal, and Attorney Jona- than C. Valentine, board solicitor. Next regular meeting will be held Tuesday evening, June 1st. Lay Leader To Speak Mr. G. Wesley Lewis, lay leader of the Wilkes-Barre District Meth- odist Church and a delegate to the general conference of Methodist Churches recently held at Boston, Mass., will present the legislation and trends of the Methodist Church as evidenced at the Conference at the Sunday morning service in Dal- las Methodist Church. Rev. Fred- erick Reinfurt will be in charge of the worship service. Mr. Lewis, a resident of Mt. Zion, is fast becoming one of the out- standing lay leaders in the Meth- odist Church. one of two men selected in the North Eastern Jurisdiction to serve on an important committee for the coordination of actions and organi- zations of the Church. He was recently] Concert Tonight CHARLES NUSS Lehman Twirler BETTY IDE Pike's Creek Quarry Employs Fifteen Men Coon Certified Concrete has opened its Pike's Creek Quarry where fifteen nien are employed under superintendent, Frank Piatt of Fairmount Sprifigs. The quarry has been operating during the summer season for the past eight years and all sizes of blue stone are crushed there for highway and driveway and build- ing construction. The firm has con- tracts with the county and State to supply thousands of tons annual- ly. It also supplies various sizes of broken flagstone for sidewalk and terrace construction. The plant is located two miles from Pike's. Creek corners, near Loyalville. Harvey's Lake Service Club Holds Mother-Daughter Tea Party The Harvey's Lake Womens Ser- vice Club held a Mother and Dau- ghter tea in the Elbow room at the | Harvey's Lake Hotel on Thursday evening, May 6. Table decorations were tall tapers, and a three tier Mother’s Day cake. The president Mrs. Joseph Rauch, had charge of the meeting. Plans were made to hold a rummage sale June 14, 15 and 16, in the Keller Building in Luzerne. Any one hav- inging any rummage should get in touch with Mrs. Otis Allen. Mrs. Donald D. Smith, who at- tended the county convention March 31, gave a report on Litera- ture, which was given at the con- vention by Mrs. Baker, the State chairman of Literature. Mrs. Giles Comstock and Mrs. James Garey gave reports on the health seminar which was held at Hotel Sterling. The president announced that the club had won the county and state award for increase in per- centage of membership. A musical program followed called “Melodies Through the Years”, with Mrs. Alan Sanford as guest singer. Mrs. Sanford also led the club in group singing. The narrators were Mrs. Martha Price, and Helen Biologowicz. Mrs. Harry Ro8sman played several guitar selections. Present were: Mrs. Harry Ross- man, Mrs. Minnie Hoover, Mrs. Roy Rogers, Mrs. Richard Williams, Mrs. Warren Dennis, Mrs. Alan G. Kist- ler, Mrs. Sara Sanford, Mrs. Rob- ert Payne, Vida Comstock, Helen Bialogowicz, Mrs. Dorothy Morris, Carol Scouten, Mrs. Carolyn Gebler, Mrs. Loretta Nelson, Edna Miller, Mrs. Helen Fittin, Mrs. Therese Franzoni, Mrs. Margaret Garey, Bert Kern, Anne Borton, Mrs. John Stenger 3rd. June Kistler, Helen Scouten, Anna Fittin, Bessie Armi- tage, Carol Deets, Mrs. William Deets, Mary E. Senigo, Mrs. June Deater, Mrs. Hazel Kerr, Mrs. Gene- vieve King, June Swanson, Mrs. George Taylor, Pauline Davis, Bethia Allen, Hilda Leinthall, Mrs. Eva Allen, Mrs. G. N. Carpenter, Mrs. Esther . Gay, Miss Eleanor Humphrey, Mrs. Raymond Garinger, Mrs. Harry B. Allen, Mrs. Fred Swanson, Mrs. David Price, Mrs. Edgar McMurtry, Mrs. Calvin Me- Hose, Mrs. Grace Sorber, Mrs. Ferne Smith, Mrs. Hattie Wesley, Mrs. Henry Wolfe, Mrs. Dean Kocher, Mrs. H. R. Garinger, Mrs. Albert Armitage, Mrs. Harvey Kit- chen, Mrs. Joseph Rauch, Mrs. John Zorzi Jr., Mrs. Donald Smith, Mrs. Harold Payne, Mrs. Earl Payne, Mrs. Elwood Whitesell, Mrs. Clarence W. Payne, Mrs. H. E. Payne, Mrs. Harry LaBar and Mrs. Harry Broadhead. 6 CENTS PER COPY Lehman Band Plays Tonight Top Ranking Band Was Formed Ten Years Ago Lehman High School Band will observe its tenth anniversary to- night at its annual Spring Concert in the High School Auditorium. The program will feature opening numbers by the girls’ chorus of sixty voices followed by“ a piano solo by Mary Joan Williams and a marimba solo by Alice Ehret. The senior band program will feature required and selected num- bers used in the State Forensic Contest at Oil City in which the band competed two weeks ago and placed fourth among seven com- petitors. Also featured will be Forensic student conducting by John Milus, a senior member, who competed at Oil City and won a rating of ex- cellent. Charles Nuss, another senior member, will be featured in a trum- pet solo in an earlier part of the program. Just before the concluding num- ber, Betty Ide, senior, will give a twirling exhibition. Miss Ide re- ceived the rating of excellent at Oil City and was also this year’s May Queen. ! Two of the seniors graduating this spring, John Milus and Charles Nuss, started with the band when it was organized ten years ago. They are the only remaining mem- bers of the original organization. The entire progrom will be un- der the capable direction of Ber- nard J. Gerrity who has made an enviable reputation since coming to Lehman as the head of its music department. Twice during his brief tenure he has had his band in State competitions. Mothers Receive Crimson Azaleas Mrs. Jenkin Oldest Mother At Services Mrs. Bertha Jenkin was the old- est mother at the services of Hunts- ville Christian Church on Mothers’ Day. Two of her daughters, one | grandson and two granddatighters, and three great-granddaughters were present with her. Mrs. Milton Culp was the mother having the most children and Mrs. Carleton Hadsell was the youngest mother. Attending church with Mrs. Wal- ter Covert, Sr., were three of her children, three grandchildren and, one great granddaughter. All received crimson azaleas. Oldest Native MRS. ALLIE MORRIS Mrs. Allie Morris, 83, 1s making a slow recovery and is now able to sit up in a chair part of the day after undergoing a serious ill- ness. Mrs. Morris, the widow of the late Frank Morris, beloved Dal- las schoolman, is the oldest citizen of Dallas who was born in the Borough. Mrs. Jane Stroud, her neighbor on Franklin Street, is ninety-five and has lived here for many years but was not born in Dallas. Mrs. Morris’s father, the late Ira D. Shaver, was an outstanding pion- eer citizen and for many years con- ducted the leading store when Dal- las had only 200 residents. Mrs. Morris enjoys company and would like to have her friends call Back Mountain Highway Deaths and . DALLAS BOX SCORE Serious accidents since V-J Day Hospitalized Killed 2 1 1 20 4 2 3 2 31 Federal Jury Indicts Former Dallas Woman Mrs. William Howey Charged With Using Mails To Defraud A Federal Grand Jury sitting in Philadelphia on Wednesday in- dicted Mrs. Gertrude Howey, Shav- ertown, formerly proprietor of the “Les Lilias Shoppe” Dallas, on charges of using the United States mails to defraud. The indictment handed to U. S. District « Judge J. Cullen Ganey charged that Mrs. Howey received merchandise valued at $5,000 from Philadelphia stores, sold it and failed to pay the suppliers. Bail was set at $1,000. Judge Ganey issued a bench warrent for her arrest. The indictment charged that Mrs. Howey received toys, furniture, furs, books, smoked turkeys, cloth- ing and other items on credit after supplying references and then sold the merchandise to patrons and sec- ond hand stores and pocketed the money. It was further charged that she tried. to obtain additional goods on credit by postponing and delaying payment for the mer- chandise she previously had re- ceived. Although Philadelphia stores pressed the charges, it is alleged her field of operations covered the United States, and thousands of dollars worth of merchandise was shipped to her through the Dallas freight and express office during 1945, 1946 and 1947 when she oper- ated her “Shoppe” in her, home in the former Albertson house on Church street. At one time shipment, of a grand piano by a distant firm was for- stalled only by a quick-witted exe- cutive who called Dallas for credit information. At other times Mrs. Howey filed claims against the Le- high Valley Railroad for merchan- dise received in damaged condition, and after collecting, failed to pay the supplier. Her operations in Dallas and sur- rounding areas have been common knowledge for several years, local bankers, taxi drivers, railroad men and postal workers said this week. U. S. Postal inspectors investigated the case several months ago. . Her husband was formerly em- ployed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The family moved to this area several years ago. Kiwanis League Opens June Ist Six Kids’ Teams To Play Twenty Games Potential Babe Ruths’ and Lou Gerhigs’ of the Back Mountain re- gion will get a chance again this year to show their stuff in the Dal- las Kiwanis League. Six teams represented, reports George Mont- gomery, chairman of the clubs base- ball committee, are: Dallas, Fern- brook, Dallas Township, Trucks- ville, Shavertown and Jackson, a newcomer. Players must be under fifteen years of age and have a strong de- sire to play baseball. Richard Prynn is League Supervisor with the team managers, elected by their fellow- players, to assist him. The league opens Tuesday, June 1 with each team having a schedule of twenty games, ten home and ten away. Teams have their own dia- monds with the exception of Dallas and Dallas Township, who will share the Dallas Township field. The games will start at 6 PM. The Kiwanians are providing baseballs and bats and are financ- ing part of the cost of furnishing each team with distinctive bi- colored jerseys. At the close of the season Kiwanis Club will give a banquet to the championship team. Branch Rickey, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, has written a letter commending Dallas Kiwanis and asking them to be on the look- out for local baseball talent. 5 National Director Meade J. McMillen, Shavertown, past president of Wyoming Valley Junior Chamber of Commerce, was elected a director of the national organization at its convention ‘in on her. Philadelphia last weekend. ° 2 nN
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers