PAGE SIXTEEN Local balladeer, waging a campaign for the revival of folk music, is Gary McCoog, vocalist and guitar player, of Dallas. McCoog, who is be- coming increasingly popular throughout the area among young and older people alike, has entertained since he was about five years of age when his father started him at the piano. Born in Camden, N.J., McCoog is the son of Mrs. Marie McCoog and the late James A. McCoog. The McCoogs with their eight children moved to the Back Mountain area about 1955. Gary was raised in the Back Mountain and at- tended Dallas High School but finally received his diploma through the G.E.D. program, at- tending classes in Wilkes- Barre in order to receive it. “My dad loved music,” said Gary ‘‘And his lifetime dream was to have his entire family on stage at the same time as vocalists or instrumen- talists. ‘‘He never achieved that dream but he did instill in all of us a love for music. We sang together as a family and had musical programs every holiday or family reunions. In fact, we still do. ‘My dad was my biggest fan-and an in- spiration. He never gave up hope that one day I would be a great success and now that he is gone, he is a bigger inspiration than ever. “When I was five years of age he taught me to play “Chopsticks” on the piano. My first guitar was a Christmas gift from my father. ‘‘He played the guitar and he knew how much I wanted one.” McCoog started singing ballads and playing the guitar as an amateur in talent shows and before community groups when he was a teenager. He performed in the Dallas Kiwanis Club’s talent shows and in ‘‘Show Biz” contests geared more toward girls preparing for pageants. -such.-as.-.Miss Pennsylvania or Miss America. He entered the ‘‘Super- star Contest’’ in Charleston, S.C., where he placed sixth and re- ceived a life-sized trophy for his singing and playing the guitar. McCoog sings a little of everything but is classified as a “balladeer’’. “I love to sing for children,” said McCoog. “They are enthusiastic about the songs.” After McCoog returned from South Carolina, he started playing professionally in local lounges and other business places. MecCoog writes a lot of his own music and his brother, Dan, who lives in Tucson, Ariz. writes the lyrics. Unlike most teams, Dan usually writes the words first and sends them to Gary, who then writes the music. “Folk music is a part of America’, said McCoog “And I am one of the few trying to revive its popularity. It is part of every American’s heritage. 5 “I prefer to sing simple ballads to which people can relate.” McCoog started finger- picking when he was working at Shawnee-on- the-Delaware. He and his dad worked together at that time and sang together. McCoog does enter- taining for children in groups such as the Back Mountain Cultural Center and similar organiza- tions. It was from his own family’s reunions that he got his start in singing ballads for children. He hopes sometime in the future to perform pro- fessionally for children. McCoog is quite well- known in the Back Mountain and was master of ceremonies for the Mike Daley benefit held during this past summer. Having been severely burned himself at one time, McCoog had em- pathy for Daley and the pain he was suffering. With the exclusion of his performances in local business places, his most recent community ap- pearance “was ‘for the Center’s ‘Antique and Toy JIM SCHWARTZ 307 S. MAIN STREET MOUNTAINTOP PA. 717-474-9743 AFTER 5 P.M. LEWIS-DUNCAN Sale Price sis $15.95 NYINNG-SIMIT _ LEWIS-DUNCAN Save $7.00 NYINNG-SIMIT Adult Figure Skates NVINNG-SIMAT NVINNG-SIMIT NYONNQG-SIMIT NYINNG-SIMIT Hot Waxed *8.00 NYINNG-SIMIT Ca NYINNQ-SIMIT \ NVINNG-SIMIT PHONE 287-1181 NYINNG-SIMIT LEWIS-DUNCAN : ‘ wi LEWIS-DUNCAN Show. Two of Meccoog’s favorite ballads are ‘‘City of New Orleans’ and “Garbage”, an ecology song introduced by Pete Seeger. McCoog’s, wife, the former Karen McConologue, also plays the guitar but for her own enjoyment not professionally. When he writes songs, their seven- year-old daughter, Heather, sings them along md with McCoog. Employed at Back Mountain Lumber and Hardware during the day, McCoog usually plays one or two nights weekly but in the near future plans to play more often. McCoog’s ambition is to play more engagements outside of the local area but the field is highly competitive and it takes a patience. McCoog loves life for On Friday, Oct. 17, Cub Scout Troop 155 held their annual Halloween party. Prizes were awarded to Aaron Tillman, prettiest; Ben Cosgrove, scariest; Jason Popeck, most original; Michael Mathers, best all around costume; and John Baller, funniest. Judges were Chief Sabol and Patrolmen Lou Rozelle. The entertainment was a Halloween skit in- volving ‘‘Dracula’’, ‘“Egor’’, and ‘‘John Johnson’, presented by Dave and Bev Neiman, Maureen Smith, and Lee Weavers=s~aGider~ and dougnuts ~~ were the refreshments for all at- tending. Also presented at the meeting were the volunteers working with the scouts this year. The new cubmaster is Dave Wertz, with assistant cubmaster, Lee Weaver. The new Webelos leader is Lee Williams with assistants Walt Bennet, Dave Morris, and Le~ Weaver. Den mothers are Jar Weaver, Glenda Bankes, Lil Wertz, Pat Lupinski, Rita Masley, Jean Sniecos, Chris Mathers, and Betty Mathers. The . Religious -awards coordinator: fisvioJoan Roginski. The liason: jis Nancy MacDonald. committee chairman is Bob Kelley. Xi living but especially loves children. He also is an enthus- iastic sports fan parti- cularly the Phillies and the Eagles. “I have followed the Phillies for the past eight years and when they won the World Series, I was as they were,”’ said McCoog. In addition to the Phillies and Eagles, McCoog says there is nothing like the Nittany Lions. : “My father’s avocation was music,’’ said McCoog, ‘‘And my brothers and sisters are all musically adept. We sang in church, atehome and at parties. All of us are vocalists and my brother, John, plays the guitar. Dan plays the harmonica. “My mother is at- tending college pursuing a degree with a major in art education for the handi- capped. She has excellent artistic talent.” McCoog is a member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 140. He also is a member of the Shavertown Fire Com- pany. He likes to play darts and is a member of a local dart league. Among musical recognition McCoog received was honorable mention for his song “Shelter At Your Door’ Written reports, oral reports, original stories, bulletin board displays, book exhibits are all topics familiar to Eleanor Buda’s students at the Dallas Junior High School. However, unlike the traditional academic approach, these projects are included in an op- tional Independent Study Contract available to several of Mrs. Buda’s classes. As a supplement to regular classroom ac- tivities in developmental reading, Mrs. Buda’s students work at projects of their choice throughout the school. The activities reinforce reading skills developed in the classroom, and illustrate the practical application of such skills in an in- terdisciplinary scope. Students choosing to participate in the learning adventure select a project and submit a contract describing the finished product and specifying a completion date. The range of acceptable projects is limited only by the students’ ambition and imagination. Mrs. Buda sees the program as a creative extension and sound supplementation of the at the school. Independent sutdy contracts stimulate the self-directed student in the persuit of ex- cellence within the action curriculum of the junior high. from the American Song- writers Festival. He was selected from more than 700,000 writers who en- tered their songs on cassettes. He has entered again this year and hopes to go over the top with one of the four he has entered. His favorite entry is “Tucson Goodbye’’, natural since his brother lives in Tucson. McCoog is always willing to perform before area community groups. He presently appears at a local lounge nearly every weekend. McCoog’s love for children becomes very evident when he talks about singing before children’s groups and also when he talks about his daughter, Heather’s musical talent. “I hope that sometime in the future, Heather will follow in my footsteps as a ‘“‘balladeer’’. She cer- tainly has the talent.” For ballad lovers, who haven’t had the op- portunity to do so, take advantage of the next opportunity to hear Back Mountain’s own folk singer and balladeer, Gary McCoog. PTG meets at * . The monthly meeting of the Parent Teacher Guild was held recently at the Gate of Heaven School in Dallas. The class presented their Halloween Program under the direction of Ms. Carol Oliver. The program, ‘‘Ghoul Days” of 7-213 was dedicated to classmate Eddie Stradford. Ms. Oliver was presented a bouquet of roses from the class by Mark Stosh. Bob Rose has won the Century III Leaders Scholarship competition at Dallas Senior High School, . according to sylvania for two $1,500 scholarships, two $500 scholarships, and also for a $10,000 national scholarship that will be awarded in" a conference of state winners in historic . Colonial Williamsburg, Va. Rose triumphed in the "TIMMY" $ 675-9674 \ “Know thyself’ is indeed a weighty admonition. But in this, as in any science, the difficulties are discovered only by those who set their hands to it. against a door to find out whether it is bolted or not. Montaigne. oChairs eStools oTables oDry Sinks oHutches oCorner Cupboards _ eBookcases oMany other pieces We also carry PRE-WAY FIREPLACES PHONE 836-2346 local phase of the Century III Leaders program, a scholarship competition which emphasizes the future concerns of judged on the basis of their leadership abilities, community involvement and seore on a current events examination. To compete at the state level, Rose must now write a brief projection outlining what he thinks is one of America’s future challenges and how it should be met. Runners-up in the competition at Dallas Senior High School are Ingrid Fries and Andrew Krivak. Rose, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rose, Shrine Acres, Dallas, now competes with other high school = winners from around the state for four scholarships and an op- portunity for the $10,000 top national scholarship. The two Pennsylvania all-expense-paid trip t the fifth annual Centurf; Seminar in Williamsburg, March 13-16, 1981, to participate in seminars on current issues. In previous years, speakers at these seminars were such notables as news commentators Harry Reasoner and Howard K. Smith, architect-futurist Buckminster Fuller, and Daniel Boorstin. The program is ad- ministered by the National Association of Secondary School Prin- cipals and funded by the Shell Oil Company. Bob is president of the senior class, a member of the Dallas Community Council, Citizens Advisory Board, and has Who. As an athlete, Bob i involved with the volleyball team. Students of the Dallas Intermediate School recently took a field trip to College Misericordia. Students of Team A of the sixth grade class toured the facilities of the science and mathematics departments of the college. The students had the opportunity to see the chemistry and biology laboratories. They were able to learn scientific procedures and examine equipment and models. The children were also able to use the new computer in the computer center at the college. They used both the video and printing terminals. Responsible for the field trip to Misericordia were Dallas Intermediate school members John Doerfler, Mrs. Jean Myers, and Mrs. Virginia Jenkins. College Misericordia tour guides included Olney Craft, geology and ecology; Carl Konecke, assistant professor of biology; and Mrs. Estelle Steiner, expert. store hours Monday thru Saturday : 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers