PAGE TWO
THE POST, FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 1950
BROADWAY AND MAIN STREET
Undaunted, Unhaunted Gotham
Finds a Ghost Story of Its Own
By BILLY ROSE
We men of Manhattan are an undaunted and unhaunted lot—
or at least think we are—and so ghost stories seldom stand a ghost
of a chance in this town.
The other night, however, a real estate man buttonholed me coming
out of ‘21 and told me a chiller about a deserted house in the Flushing
section of Queens,
and on the off-chance that your scalp can use a
tingle or two, I'd like to pass it along . . . .
On the night of the big snow three
winters ago, a doctor in Queens an-
swered his doorbell and found a
smallish man in a
faded mackinaw
standing on the
stoop.
‘My wife is very
sick,” he said. “I
hate to ask you to
come out on a night
like this, but it's
only a few blocks.”
The doctor fol-
lowed him to a
large wooden house
near the intersec-
tion of Vine street and Broadway,
and when the man unlocked the
door the physician could see by the
glare of an unshaded droplight that
the lower floor was empty except
for a few kitchen chairs and a
length of carpet.
“THIS IS NO PLACE for a sick
woman,” he said. ‘“You ought to
have some heat in the house.”
The man led him up a creaky
set of stairs to the second floor,
and in the front room an emac-
iated woman was lying in an old
four-poster bed. She kept cough-
ing into a blood-flecked bandker-
chief, and though the doctor went
through the motions of an ex-
amination he knew at once it was
an advanced case of tuberculosis.
“I can give her something to re-
lieve the congestion,” he told her
husband, ‘but she’ll’ have to be
moved to a hospital first thing in
the morning.”
He then wrote out a prescription.
“Ill get it filled right away,” said
the man, and showed the doctor to
the door.
Next morning, wondering how
the woman was getting along, the
physician stopped by the wooden
house, but theré was no answer
when he rang the bell. Moreover,
there were no tracks in the ‘snow
to indicate that an ambulance or
any other vehicle had pulled up in
front of the place.
Billy Rose
Puzzled, he went to the office of
a real estate agent on the next
street and asked if he could get
some information about the resi-
dents of the house.
* - -.
“THAT’S A FUNNY sort of ques-
tion,” said the agent. “There aren't
any residents and there aren’t like-
ly to be any. The house hasn’t been
occupied in 15 years, and though
it’s always been on my list, no-
bedy’s ever wanted it.”
“Do you think squatters might be
living in it on account of the hous-
ing shortage?’ asked the doctor.
“Could be, but I doubt it,” said
the agent. “There's been a lot of
queer talk about that house, and the
last family that moved in during
the depressian could only stand it
for a few weeks. The husband and
wife slept in- the front room on the
second floor, and to hear them tell
it they were kept awake night after
night by the sound of a woman
coughing. It finally got so bad they
packed and left.”
“I know its sounds absurd,” said
the doctor, ‘but I examined a sick
woman there last night, and if
you've got a key I'll walk over with
you and prove it.”
When they got to the house,
it took the agent quite a while to
get the rusty lock open, and when
they entered there wasn't a stick
of furniture in sight. “lI could
have sworn | saw some chairs
and a carpet down bere last
night,” said the doctor.
‘Maybe you've got this house
mixed up with another one,”’ the
agent suggested.
“I still think it’s the same place.
Let's look upstairs.”
On the second floor they went into
the front room. It was also empty.
Empty, that is, except for a piece
of paper on the window sill—the
prescription the doctor had written
the night before.
SWIM TRUNKS
GABARDINE SLACKS
" MAIN STREET
JOE'S MEN'S SHOP
OFFERS
A complete Line of Summer Needs
SHORT SLEEVED SPORTSHIRTS
POLO SHIRTS
WASHABLE SLACKS
BONDSHIRE SHOES FOR DRESS
THOROGOOD SHOES FOR WORK
U. S. KED SHOES FOR ALL THE FAMILY
“ADAM” STRAW HATS
Also
Many other items to choose from
for Father's Day
JOE'S MEN'S SHOP
DALLAS, PA.
Why use it? Because:
insurance, and for
local business.
You place the order for the car, for your
your financing all
specialists: the dealer for sale and service of the
car; your own insurance agent for _protection;
the Kingston National Bank for finaneing. i
The entire transaction is local.
“Ve KINGSTON
NATIONAL BANK
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporsition’
with
You help
AT KINGSTON CORNER
This Is Where
We Lived
BY LORETTA OLVER
MN
In the days. before there were
many cars, it was a great thrill
for Trucksville and Kingston Town-
ship people to go to Harveys Lake
and Fernbrook picnic grounds. The
excursion trains did not stop at
Trucksville. The easiest way to
get there was to take the street
car and transfer to a steamer at
the end of the line. At the time
the writer remembers, there were
four lake steamers, the Wilkes-
Barre; the Kingston; the Natoma
and the Acoma; also the launch
Emily. The largest of these was
the Natoma which would comfort-
ably hold about 250 people. Some-
times it was uncomfortably filled,
so much so that there was water
on the deck. On a hot summer's
day when all five boats were run-
ning, and’ they still couldn’t ac-
commodate the crowds, impatient
people would try to jump from the
wharf. to the deck of the steamer
as it was pulling out! Mr. George
Anderson (9) who died about two
years ago at Harvey's Lake, was
a captain on one of these boats.
A Scranton attorney, Mr. Charles
Olver, a cousin of the writer, died
on one of these boats from a heart
attack.
Mrs. Grover Anderson of Har-
veys Lake (9) remembers when
steam boats first sailed on the lake.
The five boats mentioned above
were owned by the boat company,
as was also the Rosalind, the first
company boat, which was later
shipped to Lake Carey. But the
first lake steamers were the Mistle-
toe, owned by the Mr. Rhodes who
had a hotel on the shore; ‘the City
Charter owned by Captain Bond;
and the Shawnee. The launch,
Emily, is still in service. A Har-
veys Lake resident bought it, and
occasionally sails it. The Natoma
was for years on the shore at
Alderson, used as a diving deck
and boathouse. Last year it was
taken away. Mrs. Anderson has
in her possession photographs and
postcards of some of these boats.
As you drive over our beautiful
roads, you cannot imagine what
they were once like! The story
is told of a mother and her three
children and the children’s grand-
mother, who used to walk down
Mt. Greenwood road to the main
road at the stone bridge, with the
intention of going to the post-
office. At the crossroads they
would draw lots to see which one
had to go for the mail while the
others waited. Because the road
was nothing but a mass of mud!
For many years the Upper road
as traveled much more than the
ower because of the unspeakable
condition of the main highway.
And in the wintertime children
would sleighride—sometimes alone,
sometimes ‘hitched’, sometimes
with great bobesleds, from the top
of the hill at Herbert DeWitt's
residence, to the bottom where
Dr, Flack now lives. The writer
remembers a wild ride taken down
Mt. Greenwood hill one wintry
night. Her’s was the third sleigh,
the boys ahead held the rope with
a great deal of slack, and she soon
landed in the ditch! Very “mad”,
but otherwise none the worse for
the experience!
Natural history creates itself, as
everywhere, in the locality. There
is the huge oak tree at 80 Mt.
. Greenwood road, which is in it-
self a panorama of natural history.
Nobody knows how old that tree
is! = And to determine its vital
statistics you must kill it, for the
only way is to count the number
of wood rings in the trunk and
that would be an autopsy! Since
this tree now has a ten year old
offspring, not yet three feet high,
it must have taken quite a while
for the mother tree to grow.
‘This is where we used to live!
Would you recognize it now?
Bibliography:
1. Brewster, William.
History of the Certified Town-
ship of Kingston, Pennsylvania,
1729-1929. pp. 251 and 291-294.
2. Bradsley, H. C., Editor
History of Luzerne County of
Pennsylvania. Publishers, S. B.
Nelson and Co. 1893. Loaned to
the writer by H. B. Pesevento.
3. Olver, Rev. H. D.
Souvenir Bulletin. Prepared for
the 30th Anniversary, Free Meth-
odist Church, Trucksville Rededica-
tion Services, May 4, 1941.
4. Hazeltine, Ralph
A History of Trucksville Meth-
(Continued on Page Six)
THE DALLAS POST
“More than a newspaper,
a community institution”
ESTABLISHED 1889
Member Pennsylvania Newspaper
Publishers’ Association
A non-partisan liberal
progressive newspaper pub-
lished every Friday morning
at the Dallas Post plant
Lehman Avenue, Dallas
Pennsylvania.
Entered as second-class matter at
the post office at Dallas, Pa., under
the Act of March 3, 1879. Subsorip-
tion rates: $2.50 a year; $1.50 six
months... No subscriptions accepted
a
than six months. Out-of
$2.00 six months or
issues, more than one week old, 16¢
8i copies, La rate of So qagh,
Wei iriion® every Prigsy Minh
) at the He ue, Soma
Dallas T. Yaliy-He Bomar
Restaur:
ant ;
D Store; Tre hese A
Ds Shaver's Store; Idetown—
Caves Store; Barmes
Store; Alderson—Deater's Stors;
Fi —Reese’s Stere.
‘
When requesting & change
dress subscribers are Sang 3 hid
their old as well as new address.
Allow two weeks for chauges of
dress or new subscription to be y
on mailing list.
We will not be responsible for the
return of unsolicited manuscripts,
photographs and editorial matter un-
less self-addressed, stamped envelope
Is enclosed, and in no ease will we
be responsible for this material for
more than 80 days.
Nationa! display advertising - rates
63c per column inch.
Local display advertising rates §0c
speci
per column inch; fied position 00¢
per inch.
Classitied rates 8c per word.
Minimum charge Bc.
Unless paid for at advertising rates,
we can give Bo assurance that en-
will in a specific issue. In mo
case will such items be taken on
Phuredayse
Editor and Publisher
HOWARD W. RISLEY
Associate Editor
MYRA ZEISER RISLEY
Contributing Editor
MRS. T. M. B. HICKS
Sports Editor
WILLIAM HART
ONLY
YESTERDAY
From The "Post of ten and
4wenty years ago this week.
From June 14, 1940 Ediion of
The Dallas Post
George Armitage, postmaster at
Harvey's Lake for the past twenty-
five years, retired June 1, 1940, He
is being replaced by Peter T. De-
laney, appointed acting postmaster.
Examinations will be held soon for
Alderson postmaster.
100,000 men will take part in
the biggest peace maneuvers in the
nations’ history in Plattsburg-
Watertown area this August. Na-
tional Guardsmen from 109th Field
Artillery, Wilkes-Barre, and Battery
B, Tunckhannock will participate.
Health Hikers from McFadden’s
Physical Culture School stopped in
Dallas Sunday morning, removed
their shoes, and prepared to re-
lax. They were on their way to
Dansville, N.Y. and planned to
stop for a picnic at Harvey's Lake
before proceeding to Tunkhannock,
their evening port of call. At the
note of the whistle and the com-
mand, “Shoes On”, the happy hik-
ers got under way again. They
ranged in age from nine to sixty-
seven,
Mrs. F. A. Katon, the former
Dorothy Eck, received her L.L.D.
degree at George Washington Uni-
versity this week. Mrs. Fred Eck
drove Mr. and Mrs. John Eck to
Washington to attend their daugh-
ter’s graduation.
Harrisburg: Contractors are put-
ting the finishing touches to Amer-
ica’s first high-speed, super-high-
way. The turnpike will be open in
three weeks.
Henry R. Souder was strolling
through Hershey Park when he saw
an old Conestoga wagon, the kind
that once crossed the plains to Cal-
ifornia. “Looks like a wagon I
helped my father build seventy
years ago’, opined Mr. Souder. Sure
enough, on the wagon tongue he
found the name, “Samuel S. Soud-
er”, Henrys’ long-dead father.
Call
GAY
ARTHUR GAY
(CEE RRCEERERETRER RRR RCTRCRRERRRRRRR
INSURANCE
® Farm Bureau Mutual Auto Ins. Co. g
@® Farm Bureau Mutual Fire Ins. Co.
® Farm Bureau Life Ins. Co.
CENTERMORELAND 62-R-12 or 62-R¢3
° ERNEST GAY
Home Office: Columbus, Ohio
CN —————— r
For
The Book Worm
In response to numerous calls for
books on ceramics, the Back Moun-
tain Library now has for general
circulation a volume on the sub-
ject, “The Craft of Ceramics”, by
Geiza de Vegh and Alber Mandi.
Not too technical, yet giving all
the information essential for a be-
ginner, this book covers all pro-
cesses from preparation of the
clay to final decoration and firing,
with easily understandable draw-
ings illustrating each step. It goes
into the question of molds versus
the potter's wheel, showing photo-
graphs of each type of modelling.
People who have decorated
blanks and seen what interesting
results can be obtained through
correct coloring and . firing, now
wish to start at the beginning and
evolve their own designs, copying
an old-time favorite from their
grandmother’s collection or creat-
ing novelties of their own. This
book on ceramics is the answer
to their questions as to correct
procedure. Members of the adult
group who studied ceramics at
Kingston Township High School
during the evening courses this
past winter, please note.
“Room For One More”, by Ann
Perrott Rose, should be required
reading for parents. Mrs. Rose
supplemented her own modest
brood of three with three more
children, drafted from the ranks
of the underprivileged, all three in
need of special attention because
of former insecurity. Not three
extras all at once, but three ex-
tras over a period of years until
the family numbered six children.
It was a family of moderate means
which opened its doors to children
needing special care and under-
standing, and Mrs. Rose makes no
bones about stating that she ac-
cepted all possible. aid from wel-
fare agencies in the matter of
clinic care, supervision by psy-
chiatrists, etc. But mostly she got
results by being interested in the
children -themselves and giving
them a warm personal feeling of
belonging, so complete a feeling
in fact that the extra children
sheltered for a trial period of two
weeks, became an integral part of
the family and remained until time
for college and beyond.
“The Grand Alliance”, by Wins-
ton Churchill, gives the Second
World War from Crete to Pearl
Harbor.
“Cut Glass”, by Dorothy Daniel,
follows cut glass from its small be-
ginnings in 1771 to the peak of its
popularity in 1905. The author
lays down easily recognizable
standards, so that anyone who has
inherited cut or engraved glass
may determine the period and the
value. She includes colored cut
glass and engraved glass in her
book, and accompanies the text
with many illustrations.
For those who are members of
Book-of-the-Month, the addition to
the library shelves of the newest
gift bonus, “Treasury of Early
American Homes”, will come as
no surprise. This is a large vol-
(Continued on Page Six)
LOOK
For The Name
REALTOR
when buying or selling
real estate.
The principal interest
of a realtor is to see
that the transaction,
large or small, is com-
pleted in an intelligent,
ethical manner. 1
Your loeal realtor
D. T. SCOTT JR.
Dallas 224-R-13
D. T. SCOTT
and Sons
REALTORS
10 East Jackson Street
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Y Barnyard Notes
Sunday is Father's Day. We might sit at our desk this morning
and fill this column with all the happy memories of our own dad or
conjure up all the nice things that could be said about all dads; but
in the end we would have said less than is expressed below in a col-
umn written, not about dads, but about boys.
Nobody but a father could have written that column. It ex-
presses all the pride and deep affection that a real dad has for his
son. It came across our desk several weeks ago and has appeared in
newspapers across the country.
We do not know who wrote it; but knowing fathers, we know
that he won’t mind remaining unsung and unpraised.
HERE’S TO THAT CREATURE
WE CALL A BOY
(Contributed and Suggested for
use on American “Kid's” Day)
Between the innocence of baby-
hood and the dignity of manhood
we find a delightful creature called
a boy. Boys come in assorted
sizes, weights, and colors, but all
boys have the same creed: To en-
joy every second of every minute
of every hour of every day and
to protest with noise (their only
weapon) when their last minute
is finished and the adult males
pack them off to bed at night.
Boys are found everywhere—on
top of, underneath, inside of,
climbing on, swinging from, run-
ning around, or jumping to.
Mothers love them, little girls hate
them, older sisters and brothers
tolerate them, adults ignore them,
and Heaven protects them. A boy
is Truth with dirt on its face,
Beauty with a cut on its finger,
Wisdom with bubble gum in its
hair, and Hope of the future with
a frog in its pocket.
When you are busy, a boy is an
inconsiderate, bothersome, intrud-
ing jangle of noise. When you
want him to make a good impres-
sion, his brain turns to jelly or
else he becomes a savage, sadistic,
jungle creature bent on destroy-
ing the world and himself with it.
A boy is a composite—he has
the appetite of a horse, the diges-
tion of a sword swallower, the
energy of a pocket-size atomic
bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the
lungs of a dictator, the imagina-
tion of a Paul Bunyan, the shy-
ness of a violet, the audacity of a
steel trap, the enthusiasm of a
fire cracker, and when he makes
something he has five thumbs on
each hand.
He likes ice cream, knives, saws,
Christmas, comic books, the boy
across the street, woods, water (in
its natural habitat), large animals,
Dad, trains, Saturday mornings
and fire engines. He is not much
for Sunday School, company,
schools, books without pictures,
music lessons, neckties, barbers,
girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime.
Nobody else is so early to rise,
or so late to supper. Nobody else
gets so much fun out of trees, dogs,
and breezes. Nobody else can
cram into one pocket a rusty knife,
a half-eaten apple, three feet of
string, an empty Bull Durham
sack, two gum drops, six cents, a
sling shot, a chunk of unknown
substance, and a genuine super-
sonic code ring with a secret com-
partment.
A boy is a magical creature—
you can lock him out of your work
shop, but you can’t lock him out
of your heart. You can get him
out of your study, but you can’t
get him out of your mind. Might
as well give up—he is your captor
your jailer, your boss, and your
master—a freckle-face, pint-sized,
cat-chasing bundle of noise. But
when you come home at night with
only the shattered pieces of your
hopes and dreams, he can mend
them like new with the two magic
words—“Hi Dad!”
Antiques Collect
Three New Members
Newly appointed to the antique
committee for the Library Auction
in adition to names of personnel
already released are Miss Miriam
Lathrop, Mrs. Archibald Brooks,
and Mrs, John Ferguson, according
to an announcement by Mrs. Fred
Howell, chairman.
- »
Kitchen.
W.C.T.U. Meeting
Dallas District W. C. T. U. will
meet at the home of Mrs. A. A.
Neely, Idetown, Tuesday at 2
o'clock. Mrs. Z. E. Garinger will
preside and Mrs. Homer Middle-
ton be in charge of the program.
Serving committee: Mrs. Walter
Kitchen, Mrs. Oscar Swan, Mrs.
Thomas Stacey and Mrs. Harvey
°
7%
77%
LRT
4
772
22
7
EE
7
* AUTOMATIC
about it .
to tend.
* ECONOMICAL
_ Water Heater.
Over A Thousand Owners
Of Electric Water Heaters
Can't Be Wrong
ENE (A i ;
m {
33
Over 1,000 Home Owners
Whom We Sevre Find That
Electric Water Heating Is:
heater installed, set the controls and forget
. nothing to watch . .
* CLEAN - SAFE - DEPENDABLE
of only lc per kilowatt hour for your Electric
For cost of Electric Water Heating, consult your
dealer or any of our offices and learn how reasonable
it can be for your family. |
LUZERNE COUNTY GAS
AND ELECTRIC CORP. |
RK
You can have your
. nothing
. You get a special rate
~
w el
RE