lai Fo Re
s
Up the highway, down the highway — traffic is
awful and business is worse. Or so it looks,
Curious as to just how much local businessmen were
affected by construction of the new Memorial Highway,
the Dallas Post inquired a little along the line. The ques-
tion: With all the mayhem of a road being built on your
front doorstep, how’s business?
Optimism prevailed, as reflected by one businessman,
left by the state with darned little else: Gavy (Ambrose
Gavigan, whose Trucksville Supermarket unexpectedly
fell late prey to the whims of state planning) says “It’s
got to get worse before it gets better.”
Henry the Jeweler in Shavertown: “We hope things
will be better when the road is finished. Up to now, in-
convenience to my customers has been chiefly at night,
when it’s hard to find the small entranceways left during
digging.”
Across the road, Mrs. Willard Hoover at Back Moun-
. tain Lumber said that business in the section had defin-
itely been off the last couple of weeks, but that customers
were doing a valiant job defying the small entranceways
to come shopping. wh
In general, the Post found, the merchants’ evaluation
of how bad things were varied directly with how recently
the men were working in front of their stores. If merchant
X had been enjoying a widened four-lane highway for the
last three weeks while his competitor a half mile down the
road had to direct customers to park in a nearby two-lane
canyon, then chances are X would be optimistic.
Some were pessimistic, like Harry Holak, whose
Trucksville Pharmacy next to Gavy’s also got swallowed
by the roadway’s infamous ‘fifth lane.” . “It’s awful,” he
answered the big question, “business is cut right smack
in half.” : ;
Up at the mangled intersection of the highways last
week, Clyde Birth’s service station was feeling the punch
too. It was estimated that business had fallen off by about
5 per cent, with only one small entranceway to the plaza.
We asked Duke Isaacs how business was. “It stop-
ped,” he noted frankly. “We moved our used car lot to
Kingston for the winter, until we can work out something
with the state. People just won’t bother to find their
way in.” Mr. Isaacs said he hoped to rebuild farther back
on his lot eventually, noted he had been lucky so far that
none of his windows had been damaged by construction.
Shel Evans and Gavy both brought attention to the
fact that much regular trade had gone because customers
picked alternate routes to avoid the mayhem. “We lost
some of our trade in papers,” Shel observed, “and that
means a fall-off in other sales such as bread, milk, film,
and shaving stuff—almost anything that a customer re-
members he needs while he’s in the store.”
At McCrory’s Bob Boyer said the Shopping Center
was definitely feeling the pinch—possibly as much as
twenty per cent.
The rental business wasn’t so hot either, according
to Art Garinger, ‘Business is bound to be hurt a little,”
he said. It knocked out my brother-in-law’s Tastee-Freez
place a month early.” Mr. Garinger said it was not the
best season for renting things anyway, but that he did
considerable fall trade in household improvement equip-
ment.
Roy Elliott of Hall's Pharmacy said: “The new road
construction has certainly hurt our business. This fifth
lane wasn’t necessary at all.”
Ted Parrish, Ted’s Barber Shop agreed: “With the
road torn up at present, it has affected our business. There
is only a narrow lane to drive in and no parking space.”
Andy Roan, Beer Distributor, felt better about it:
“Business is fine at our new location, better than this
73 YEARS A NEWSPAPER
Oldest Business
Institution
Back of the Mountain
— | c—
THE DALLAS POST
Along Memorial Highway: Business Is Awful, But Hopes Are High
time last year. It dropped off at the old location due to
road construction.”
In the center of Dallas, the effect of highway con-
struction was less pronounced “I don’t notice any
change,” said Boyd White, appliance dealer. “Of course,
I have a lot of customers from out toward Noxen and
Sweet Valley who wouldn’t be affected.”
Bob Besecker, realtor, said there wasn’t much change,
if any for realty in Dallas area. “It isn’t a particularly
good season for real estate, anyway. And a lot of in sea-
son business comes from the Valley.” Thus, in the spring
and summer, when kids are out of school and companies
start shifting men, the highway could be a factor.
“Restaurant business has improved, if anything,”
Bob Grose noted. “At least we've got about seven new
customers who work on the highway.”
“No great change in business here,” said Warren
Reed, manager of Dallas’ busy state liquor store. We
replied: ‘If anything it should improve as people have to
face those potholes and the dust.” The door of the store
flew open, and a man strode in and urged: “Warren, open
one of them jugs and give it to me. I gotta drive down
that highway to Wilkes-Barre.” :
TWO EASY TO REMEMBER
Telephone Numbers
674-5656
674-7676
It's Hallowe'en;
Parade Tonight
Forms In Front Of
Commonwealth Bldg.
Annual Back Mountain Hallowe'en
Parade forms this evening in Dallas,
6:30 in front of Commonwealth
Telephone building.
Marchers will proceed down Lake
Street to Main through Mill to Me-
morial Highway and back to the
judges stand.
Many prizes will be awarded to
the best dressed, most original,
funniest, best group and historic
with special prizes going to many |
others. Every participant will re-
ceive candy.
Robert Dolbear will head the
judges, twenty teachers from Dallas !
School . District. ;
In case of rain, the parade will
be held tomorrow evening at the
same time.
TEMPERATURE DROPS
FIFTY DEGREES AS
DRIEST MONTH ENDS
The driest October on record
is ending with a spectacular
drop in temperature, from 80
degrees over the weekend; to
near-freezing Wednesday night,
with a forecast of possible snow.
Hopes for precipitation to re-
lieve the drought were dashed
when a cold front moved into
the area, and Hurricane Ginny
veered off to the North Atlan-
tic, taking with it any possi-
bility of fringe benefits.
Many shallow wells are dry,
and people with deep drilled
wells are wondering when their
submersible pumps will start
stuttering. A brief shower
Sunday night was over in five
minutes.
Old-timers say that if we don’t
get a soaking rain before the
ground freezes, we are in for
real trouble next summer
14,722 Take
Polio Vaccine
Make-Up Clinic
Sunday, 12 To 4
All three Back Mountain Polio
inoculation centers worked Sunday
afternoon with well oiled efficiency,
applicants for Sabin Oral Vaccine
passing through the gymnasiums
even more quickly than they did
September 15. As soon as church
services were over, Dallas Junior
High School, Westmoreland ele-
mentary, and Lake-Lehman High
School saw the rush begin, in one
door and out the other, in a steady
stream.
Make-up date, for those who
missed the vaccine on Sunday, is
this coming Sunday, November 3,
noon to 4 p.m. at Miners National
Bank, Wilkes-Barre.
Reports from Dallas Junior High
School center show 5,871 recipients
of the vaccine; from Lake-Lehman,
4.818; Westmoreland, 4,033, for a
total of 14,722. Final figures show
a slight drop in response, 63 people
who now lack protection unless
they get their oral vaccine on Sun-
day or from their doctors.
A completely unfounded rumor
of bad results from the September
15 inoculation had less effect than
expected.
Police Association
Back Mountain Police Association
Auxiliary will meet tonight at 7:30
in Lehman Fire Hall. A merchan-
dise and card party is planned for
Wednesday, November 6, at the
Fire Hall, Chairman Mrs. James
Davenport.
Ban On Burning
Leaves, Rubbish
Do not burn leaves until the cur-
rent drought is over. High winds
spread the fire. Volunteer firemen
are being run ragged.
A blaze uncontrolled can destroy
YOUR house, YOUR barn, YOUR
life.
| Smith,
. | drove.
CENTS PER COPY—SIXTEZN PAGES
Back Mountain Area
Ambulance Logbook
Dallas ambulance made only one
call this week, an emergency at |
Demunds, when Mrs. Elizabeth!
Sisco. was injured by stove explo-
sion at the Sisco’s tavern early Sun-
day morning. A door blew off when |
she ‘tried. to light the gas. Lane Jar-
rett, Bill Berti, and Ed Roth at-
tended. :
Kingston Township
Mrs, W. L. Lemmon, Carverton
Road, Carverton, to Nesbitt Hos-
pital Sunday afternoon, by Harry
William Frederick and
Walter Davis. i
Tommie Parker James Street,
! Shavertown, to Nesbitt Hospital for
removal of body cast and new cast
applied to right leg on Monday
afternoon, Marvin Yeust and Wil-
liam Pugh attending.
Noxen
Mrs. Sadie Mullen to General Hos-
pital Tuesday, Walter Galka, War-
ren Dymond, and Dave Fritz attend-
ing. Other calls in October: Alex-
aner Finlayson (Nesbitt-home) ;
Florence Ruff (General-home); Wil-
liam Gensel (to General).
Lehman Township
Willard Sutton, Outlet Road, to
General Hospital Sunday, Lee Went-
zel attending.
Mrs. Frank Moznik, Dallas RD2,
to Nesbitt Sunday night, Wentzel and
Pete Hospodar attending.
Franklin Township
Franklin - Northmoreland ambu-
lance was called to. Orange Church
Sunday morning, when Fred Risch |
fell faint there, but transportation | §
was ‘not needed. Stacey Schooover '
Route 118 Collision
No injuries resulted when two
cars collided on Route 118 at Yur-
ko’s road at 5 Tuesday evening. Ve-
hicle driven by Michael Castellani,
Hunlock Creek RD 1, hit the rear:
of one driven by Clarence Newberry,
Hunlock Creek RD 2, which was
turning left.
MORE THAN A NEWSPAPER. A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION
Chiltions Theatre At Misericordia
Will Present Beauty And The Beast
MARYANN HOMNACK
PAT WALTERS
Hot Political Scene For 1963:
School Board Race To Be Close
Election week draws near in Dal- |
las and Dallas school district, with |
James Martin has compiled a statis-
tical chart which shows that the
hard scraps slated for positions of most equitable distribution of direc-
school director at large. Somewhat | tors per ‘municipality, in terms of
less of a contest is expected for four | of population would be: Borough:
Featured players in College Miser-
icordia’s coming production ‘Beauty
and the Beast” are Maryann Hom-
nack and Pat Walters. In coopera-
| tion with Wilkes-Barre's Junior Lea-
gue, Misericordia Players will pre-
sent. this play for the young people
at Walsh Auditorium weekends of
November 8 and 15.
| “Beauty and the Beast” is: the
first presentation .of the community
Children’s Theater, which will be-
come an annual cooperative under-
taking of the Wilkes-Barre Junior
League, College Misericordia, King's
College ‘and Wilkes College
‘college producing one play for child-
ren every year.
The Misericordia Players will pre-
sent Jesse Beers’ children’s. play,
matinees -at 2:30 Saturday and Sun-
day afternoons; and a performance
each Saturday morning at 10. Friday
evening performances were consid-
ered by the planning committee as
a- possible . convenience for adult
Back Mountain residents who would
want to accompany their children.
Director is Gerald Godwin, “#scad
of the department of speech- and
drama, assisted by George Roberts,
faculty member of the mathema-
A tics department.
Idetown Fears
A Cat Poisoner
Two Pets Stricken;
Another Is Missing
Parents in the Idetown area have
been worried the past week, with
the poisoning of several cats and the
disappearance of two others.
One cat, belonging to the W. H.
Wrights, Forty-Second Street, was
subsequently found killed on the
highway, but two belonging to the
Louis Laning family got into some
poison, and another, owned by
David Barr, Forty-Second Street
has been missing for several days.
| One of the Laning cats died, and
the other, a mother with kittens
staggered home after several days
and recovered.
Mrs. Laning says parents are con-
each |
“Beauty and the Beast” November |
8-10 and November 15 - 17. An |
| evening performance each. Friday;
seats om Dallas Borough counefl,
where three out of four members |
are bidding again. |
In Lehman township, the Republi-
cans will probably garner one sup-
ervisor seat, two school director- |
ships, a justice of the peace, and an
auditorship, without a fight.
Former Superintendent of Schools
Ear] Phillips and Farrar; Township:
Stanley and Kozemchak; Franklin:
Steinhauer; Kingston township: Wal-
ter Phillips and Vernon.
Or alternatively: Phillips and
Richardson from the Borough; all
the rest remaining the same as
above.
Republicans Offer Four For Reelection
Republican party, always a strong!
contender in the Back Mountain, |
offers: L. L. Richardson for reelect- |
ion and Andrew Kozemchak, both to
school board, as directors at large.
Only one new candidate, George
Thomas, is trying for the Council
seat vacated by Steve Hartman.
Returning lettermen - are Harold
Brobst, Robert Parry, and Robert
Post, all very qualified candidates. |
Farrar, Dixon, Up Democrats’ Chances
Unfortunately, the Republicans
failed to deliver write-ups for their
candidates by press-time, so the Post
did not have much to go on for news
stories. We refer you, however, to
last week's run-down on L. L. Rich-
ardson and Amdrew Kozemchak on
the front page of last week’s Post.
Both are well-known figures in ‘the |
community.
cerned that, if there is a poisoner,
their children might be endangered.
Leaves Iron Lung
For Short Periods
Edward Stredney, Harveyville, is
making good progress at General
Hospital, where he is taken from
the iron lung several times each day,
spending more and more time with
no aid to breathing. Polio quaran-
tine has been lifted, and he is per-
mitted visitors.
Lake South District
Polls At Loyalville
Voters of Lake Township South
District, will cast their ballots at
Swire’s garage in Loyalville instead
of at Joe Weller’s service station
at Pikes Creek.
The Democratic Party is pushing
with surprising vigor this election,
presenting a formidable front for
both School Board and Council. Wel-
ton Farrar and George Cave are
both giving the G.O.P. something to
worry about.
A large segment of Republicans
| bolted from party endorsement of
|
i
“It must have been the chim-|
ney,” Jack Covert mused as the re- |
|
lives, sizzled and smoked under the
efforts of five fire companies.
| ran up to my dad’s.”
The six-room, two story building,
parents, had just heard on the 6!rived.
p. m. Tuesday news of a mother |
home near Laceyville,
smelled smoke. | and Lake Silkworth companies, and
Mother, Three Tots, Escape From Flaming Home
VOL. 75, NO. 44 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1963
The roof upstairs wasn flames. ' Lake police. Lake fire chief Richard
“l said to myself ‘That's it?’ she | Williams directed the operation,, in
mains of the old frame house, from : noted, looking at the embattled re- | which seven lines were fed by tank
which his daughter and thres little mains, “‘grabbed the kids and any-! truck from nighbor Ed Heltzel's
children had just escaped with their | thing else I could get a hold of, and | pond.
|
Mrs. Jacqueline Hendricks, living | that had been standing for over | as possible before the heat got too
in the old Covert home near Loyal- | eighty years, was a red ball of fire much. Heavy wind
ville jyst down the road from her | when the volunteer companies ar- flames. The Hendricks children, two
Mr. Covert pulled as much furni-
ture and belongings out of the house
fanned the
boys and a girl, are three months,
Shown in this Post photo are | eighteen months and three years
and child burning to death in a Lake and Sweet Valley firemen. Al-| old. ‘Mr. Hendricks, not at home
when she | so helping were Lehman, Jackson, |
at the time, is employed in New
Jersey. !
Editorially Speaking:
THE POST ENDORSES FARRAR
Howard Risley would have endorsed the candidacy of
Welton Farrar in his fight for election to the Dallas Union
District School Board. Howard was in favor of what he con-
sidered the best man for the job, regardless of party affiliation.
In line with Howard's feelings that the Back Mountain
must forge steadily ahead in education, looking to the future
and not to the past, offering to the rising generation the ad-
vantages which older generations were denied, the Dallas Post
goes on record as endorsing Welton Farrar.
Mr. Farrar did not seek the candidacy. He was drafted
because many forward-looking residents view with alarm
possible down-grading of education on grounds of economy.
Education costs money. .
It will continue to cost money.
Nobody can turn back the clock.
Consumers pay more for food than they did thirty years
They pay more for rent, and for clothing.
They will pay increasingly for teachers’ salaries, as the
State puts pressure on school districts for mandated in-
creases, and operating costs mount. :
These things are facts, which no amount of wishful think-
ing can deny.
Know Your Neighbor
ago.
|
Chief Pete Lange Keeps Township
Crooks Advise Steering Clear Of
The Grand Jury returned 150 true
| bills and ignored 57 last week, and
| among those charges they thought
| worthy of bringing to trial were
| several from Dallas Township.
Four officers, meeting at the dairy
bar Friday night for a concentrated
| Hallowe'en patrol, turned as the
door opened all the way, a huge
gas from construction equipment at
ment. at the Country Club and the
College. In the first instance the
| hannock, 18,
a hamburger and pizza truck at |, IP 3 TLE
Sholly Side, and the other hud taker] have a healthy respect for the chief,
42nd Street and cars and equip- |
accused were Rodney Decker, 22, |
|
Li gin Lo A | tain police chief, Pete Lange, 56,
I
|
Prof, Welton Farrar Francis Dixon
?
! Andrew Kozemchak, and is now | figure in blue settled slowly into a
backing Professor Farrar and Fran- | seat and rumbled in a bearish voice:
cis Dixon.
Drafted for the slot by popular
| demand, Farrar is Professor of Eco-
| nomics and Business Administration
i at Wilkes College. His teammate is
| Francis Dixon, Manager of Proctor
and Gamble local sales division.
Recently made Commander of the
American Legion Post, George Cave
will get a lot of votes on personal
appeal, as will Stephen Chisarick.
Cave is manager of Percy A. Brown
Luncheonette, and Chisarick a silk
mill mechanic.
They are expected to capture a
very large vote.
“Tl got me three true bills today.”
This came as little surprise, be-
cause the chief is a very successful
policeman, whecse awesome record
reflects the enthusiasm he puts into
the job. Although a grand jury
true bill is not always a conviction,
| Pete ‘(actual name: Frank) Lange
| likes to muse: “Most of them tell
| each other to stay out of my ter-
ritory.”
Two of the true bills were on
charges of larceny, with statements
by defendents attesting to the fact
that the one group had stolen
| money and cigarettes from Art's,
and Fred Dymond,
Tunkhannock RD 1. Accused of gas
theft were James R. Walko, Swoyer-
ville and Richard Hoover, Luzerne.
In the case of the theft at Art's,
Pete had it easy. Lavelle later de-
cided to drive off with Decker’s
One Year Old Wins
Sutliff's Top Prize
Little Charles W. Glasser, one
year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles
J. Glasser, W. Center Street, Shav-
ertown, was awarded the lovely
Early American living room suite
donated by Sutliff’s new furniture
store in Dallas Shopping Center at
the end of its opening week Satur-
day evening.
The child’s name on the winning
ticket was placed in the contest by
his parents. The prize was delivered
to the Glasser home on Tuesday.
Twelve hundred shoppers visited |
the new store during the week,
stimulating interest in the entire
shopping center,
James Goodwin, Trucksville, was
awarded the second prize, match-
ing mattress and springs.
Other winners were Rita Cutler,
Mrs. H. R. Thompson, Mrs. Charles
Back Mountain
Growth By 1980
No. 1 In County
13300 Acres Needed
For Homes, College,
Industry And Roads
The Back Mountain is, and will
continue to be, the fastest grow-
ing section ¢.’' Luz rne County in
total numbers of people in the fore-
| seeable future, according to recent
report of the County Planning Com-
mission,
Second only to Hazleton area in
the amount of land which will have
to be “developed” to cope with area
growth, ‘his area is estimated to
need 3,300 additional acres between
1960 and 1980. -
To determine how much land will
be needed, and what for, the Com-
mission, in its report, divided the
county into areas similar to those
covered by chambers of commerce.
Boiling it down to types of land
needed, the commission says: 1000
acres more for residential, mostly
between Trucksville and Oak Hill; 56.
additional acies for “manufacttiiiy
suggested behind Linear, and pos-
sibly aa ‘“‘irdstrial reserve’ in
Kunkle,
Sixteen more acres will be needed
for semi-public use, which is pri- |
marily College Misericordia, now oc-
cupying much of the 400’ acres |
classed as “institutional.”
Land for public use (schools and
municipal sites) will have to grow
by 130 acres. Although the Back
Mountain now has over 1500 acres
of roads, streets, and alleys in serv-
ice, it is estimated another 400 will
be needed.
For ‘“‘commercial” development
(chiefly highway service use), par-
ticularly in Dallas. and Kingston
townships and Dallas Borough, we
will need, according to the commis=-
sion, thirty more acres.
Residential Suggestions
Commission suggests ‘that
urban development stop at the ridge |
to the west. so that sewage will not
drain towards the Rulison Evans
Reservoir (Huntsville Dam-ed.)—".
Next largest residential develop- |
ment, it is conjectured, will be in
the south portion of Harveys Lake. |
As recreational needs for
1980, what parks and public recrea-
tion areas we now have will be ade-
quate,
Kennel Club Show
Has 541 Entries
Back Mountain Kennel Club,
scheduled for Saturday at the 109th
Field Artillery Armory at Kingston,
has a banner registration of 451
dogs. Doors will open at 8 a.m. close
at 7 p.m.
Judging will begin promptly at
for
Lasher, Richard Owens, Jessie :
Roger, Harold Brobst, Mrs. E. J. DOOR. Dogs not required for further
Roberts, Ruth King, Mrs. Warren judging will be excused at 3 p.m.
_| Stanton, Dallas; Dorothy Steinruck
Mrs. Bertha Traver, Tunkhannock;
Mary Wahlgren, Shavertown.
Supervisors To Meet
Franklin Township ‘Supervisors
will meet Monday evening at the
home of Herman Coons, Carverton.
All 'dogs must arrive by moon. Rules
are according to AKC, chapter 18.
Entries range from Great Danes |
to toy breeds.
Novice obedience class is sched-
uled for 11 a.m. and novice B at
12:30.
Junior showmanship competition
is at 2 p.m.
if not for the law. Tt was only a
matter of time till the name was
traced, through a few more inform-
| ants, to two caddies at the Country
| Club.
More than any other Back Moun-
has working knowledge of Luzerne
| County underworld paths, essential
|
i
|
|
|
because much of whatever serious |
crime occurs in the Back Mountain
is not always locally contrived. He
has this knowledge because, since
about age 22, he has been a law
enforcement officer. He was even
car, was on his way to Binghamton | ay MP in the army.
when Tunkhannock State Police | His career
picked him up on Decker’s com- | sheriff for
y ] g i Luther Kniffen, when
plaint which was embellished with | rival coal mining unions were throw-
an account of the goings on in
) In ling bombs at each other by bounc-
Kunkle. Dallas Township police | ing them off deputies. When Pete
were immediately called. |
jeune home at night, his mother
The second arrest resulted from | would beg him not to go out on
a tip-off — the name “Mousie.” | the job again the next day. Later
Pete has a mental library of po-|on, he spent eighteen years as a
tential informants, all of whom railroad detective, trouble-shooting
began as a deputy
from county to county. He became
Township assistant chief in 1959.
The chief cuts an unmistakable
figure. He weighs, and proudly ad-
mits to weighing, 300 pounds. He
weighed 210 pounds in his twenties.
Quitting cigarettes in 1946 helped
add the extra poundage, but most
of it muscle. “I pull a deer or a
bear down off the mountain every
year,” he’ shrugs.
Only slightly less famous than
Pete's girth is his laugh, generally
following on the heels of a really
funny story about his day's work,
which makes the whole room
tremble. .
His , honest, explosively good-
natured approach to life, combined
with a doggedly-determined, twenty-
four hour approach to his job makes
him one of the most highly esteem-
ed officers in the Back Mountain,
both by local and state police.
“There isn't anything Pete
wouldn't do for you,” says a fellow
(Continued on Page 6 A)
|
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