> fire, police or r anbilancs person- inners 14 Vol. 101 No. 49 Newspaper, : A Community Tnssitution el miami. Ne i Dallas, PA Wednesday, December. 12, 1990 The advertisers in The Dallas Post have important messages for y Job Read their advertisements and follow their suggestions ~ and you'll save money. : : nd .PA., ~ FRIDAY, “OCTOBER 5, 1934. md No # GAC - TTT [mest nann Death H | As State —— DEFENSE ATTORNEY T BROWN IN TAYCH YEARS AGO. teresting de- Prank McGuigan, i Aton ney toward Dr. AN if i (Ermestns's dence Rocks Courtroom; Composure | pn os am ue Se | Juin; hi Rh Contents Of Letters To Aurora, epluty coroner Ww NO Be = S ; | = i tl abe Sweetheart Unprintable; Not Known McKeehnie's.. hody when it was ; N. Y., able; No | | 1 en from Harvey's i AY ; How State Secur m ay . . pleted his testimony a denny Lag = adil i a | ne Eo a sone. occured. ° perms EXPECTED | surprise move, divuis BE. ao otters Tehisrh FAwards had NATIONWIDE COVERAGE - The mirder tial of Robert Edwards made headlines across the nation, similar to this one which appeared in'the Dallas Post in 1934. overs , Over i Climaxes Its Case. | BY J - E DEALT HARD BLOW == DEFENSE | VELATIONS IN 172 LETTERS, ares Intimate Det eet cold, and yeReetm torres cl ikelihood of public offense, Edwards ails Of Passionate QGourte oser over the vowed head ot the smashing climax in Sa ns th murdered 21. vear-old Edw ardsville you marcy because he wanted io ate and pussionate cor ts nmorints written -to Miss Crain. The. wonton A 56-year-old Harveys Lake murder case has once again come to light in the Back Mountain as a group of love letters which were instrumental in putting a convicted killer to death have been found by a homeowner. Recently, a Wilkes-Barre woman found a publication of love letters written by Robert Allan Edwards before he killed Freda McKechnie, a former lover, in 1934 at Harveys Lake. The love letters were an intri- gal part of the prosecution's case which convicted Edwards of first degree murder. The incident took place in July of 1934 when Edwards brought McKechnie to the Sandy Beach area of Harveys Lake on the pre- tense of taking a swim and dis- cussing their future. Newspaper reports from the time say ‘that { McKechnie was pregnant by Ed- ~ wards, but the Edwardsville man Love letters are ominder of famous murder case By RICH JOHNSON A taff Writer ji we The 172 letters to his lover were key to the prosecution case against Robert Allen Edwards was in love with another woman, Margaret Crain of New York. According to the newspapers, Edwards told McKechnie that he wanted to marry Crain. McKech- nie reportedly fainted and Edwards used a blackjack to kill the woman and dumped her body into Har- veys Lake in an attempt to make her death look like an accidental drowning. : Days after the murder, authori- ties charged Edwards with the crime. In October of that year, Luzerne County became a hot-spot for news as reporters from all over the country flocked to the court- house to report on Edwards’ trial. Assistant District Attorney Harold Flannery called many wit- nesses to the stand but it was the : reading of the love letters from 1 Edwards to Crain that highligh the case. : The letters, which were Edwards. A copy of these letters has How. been found in a basement in Wilkes-Barre. The woman who found the letters did not wish tobe identified but said that she was “very surprised and somewhat startled” when she read them. The woman now wants to sell the let- ters, which seemed to have been 911 emergency number now in use By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer rs Back Mountain residents now , Teed only | to dial three numbers — ervicd irom nel. Commonwealth Telephone Company and the Back Mountain Communications Center an- nounced that thebasic911 emer- gency service was in effect at a press conference held Dec. 7 at the Commonwealth offices on Lake Street. Kingston Township Police Chief Paul Sabol, president of the Cen- ter, explained tg’ those in the _audienca it at the Bela! fountain Us the fre BI ole Coa hy to installa oi 1 system. “The county plans togotoa911 system in the future and when they do they will have our full cooperation,” Sabol said. “Com- monwealth has done a wonderful service to our community,” Sabol continued. “It will be a lot easier for children and the elderly per- CHANUKAH - Kristen and Lisa Gurdin of Dallas described how their family observes Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, the 8-day Jewish holiday which began at sundown Tuesday night. (Post Photo/Charlot M. Denmon) Jewish 'Festival of Lights’ began Tuesday evening By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer The C. Stephen Gurdin family of - Dallas, like many other Jewish families in the Back Mountain and around the world, begins the ob- servance of Chanukah at sundown tonight (Wednesday) with the light- ing of the Menorah. Each night for eight nights a candle in the Menorah will be lighted in the symbolic “Festival of Lights.” Chanukah marks the celebra- tion of the Maccabees returnin the second century B.C. to the temple which was desecrated by their enemy. The Maccabees (which means Hammer) were named after Judah Maccabee, whowas a strong and powerful man who never gave up and kept hammering away at the enemies of the Jews. When they returned to the de- scrated temple, the Jews wanted torededicate it and searched for oil to relight the “Eternal” light. All they could find was one small cruse of oil which was only enough for one night. While they lit the cruse of oil, they sent one man off to a neighboring town to look for more oil. Miraculously, the cruse burned for eight nights and days and since that time the Jewish people have celebrated Chanukah, a joyous occasion. Kristin Gurdin, a senior, and her sister Lisa, a junior high stu- dent, are the daughters of an inter- faith marriage. Although they are raised in the Jewish faith, they celebrate both the Jewish and the Christian holidays. “My mother makes a large din- ner during Chanukah,” explained Kristen, “And my grandmother, who is Jewish i moved here from New York to be able to spend the holidays with us, comes for dinner. “When we were younger we used to spin the Dreidel (a toy like a top) every night and we were given the - See CHANUKAH, pg 18 Y 7% sons to dial three digits instead of seven.” The system, which will service the 674, 675, 696, 639 and 477 exchanges, went into service Mov... FRE Rosia ils otownis whicheiie tooperationin getting theservice - not members of the 911 service off the ground. may also have their calls dis- EMERGENCY CALLS patched by the Comm Center by ONLY ON 911 telephone. Residents will not be charged directly for the 911 service; it will be supported by the Back Moun- tain Communications Center. “This is our Christmas present for to the people,” said Sabol, as he commended Kingston Township manager Jeff Box, Kunkle Fire Chief Jack Dodson and Joseph Bren for their assistance and Sabol also stressed that non- emergency calls should not be made by dialing 911. “There are alternate numbers non-emergency numbers,” Sabol explained. “These are, in Kingston Township, 696-1175; Dallas Township, 675-5251; Har- veys Lake, 639-1620; Dallas Bor- ough, 675-0161 anda general non- emergency number of 675-4650. “Amy person who intentionally calls 81 Mor'any but emergencies - commits a misdemeanor of the third degree. The penalty is a fine up to $2,500 and a year's impris- onment. ; “Lake Township, Fairmount Springs and Ress Township are not members but we must dis- patch to a regular number to get them service. It is important that people stay off the service lines; n NUMBERS NEEDED Dallas Township Police unet of the roads do not have name | See 911, pg 3 w Dallas High cheerleaders headed for nationals By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer The Dallas Senior High School cheerleaders won the regional grand championship of Eastern Pennsylvania recently, and quali- fied to enter the UCA National High School Cheerleading Champion- ship Finals, in Orlando, Fla. This year marks the third time the girls have qualified for the National Championships although this is the first time they go as the regional champs, having been runnerup in the past. As first place entrants, they will receive more recognition than in pastyears and . their advisor, Mrs. Sheila Bonawitz, 10 this year. The girls are holding several fundraisers to help defray the expense of the trip to Florida, the first of which will be Breakfast with Santa and the Dallas High School Cheerleaders at the Dallas Middle School Cafeteria, Saturday, Dec. 15, from9 a.m. to 11 am. A donation of $3.00 will be solicited. is hoping the girls place inthe top & _ Shovlin. (Post Photo/Charlot M. Denmon) TALKING WITH SANTA - Dallas Senior High School cheerleaders joined in a ‘Breakfast with Santa’ last week at the high school. Above, first row from left with Santa, are Sara Cuba, Ruth Ann Selenski, Tami Landon; second row, Camille Parulis, Colby Gauntlett, Wendy Vaughn, on Santa's lap; Courtney Gauntlett, on his lap; Jennifer Bryant, Jessica Oravitz; back row, Laura Selenski, Terri Phillips, Jamie Maniskas, and Ginger Williams. Absent Lori Kraynak, Kim Francis and Patrice Cale ndar RN 11 “Police report................. 2 Classified. 15-17 Property transfers......... 5 Editorials........ 4 SCRA0L..........cie ini 12-13 Obituaries......2 Spofis.................. 14-15 Community Events Back Mountain Widows Club Christmas Party - Sat., Dec. 15, 11 a.m., Mark Il Restaurant, Dallas. There will be a $3.00 exchange gift. Christmas Musical- "Baa, Baa, Bethlehem," Sun., Dec. 16, 6 p.m., Shavertown United Methodist Church. Santa visit- Idetown Fire Hall, Sun., Dec. 16, 2 p.m. Free tickets available from fire department members. Area police departments worked together Monday, to catch a man accused of stealing $400 from a home in Lehman Township. . Jordan Delevas, 19, of Hudson, was caught Monday afternoon fol- lowing a two-hour search by au- thorities. The chase began Monday morn- ing after the money was reportedly stolen from a home in the Bri- arcrest section of the township, according to Sgt. William Bockus of the Lehman Township Police Department. —_—— Police cooperation helps to catch fleeing suspect Bockus said that Delevas was staying at a friend's house when he allegedly took the money from a purse in the home. When he was questioned by the family, Delevas reportedly escaped outa bathroom window in the home. “He could not be found right away,” said Bockus. “We received calls from private citizens who spotted the youth and we we kept an eye out for him.” Lehman Township's search for See SUSPECT, pg3
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers