4 . The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, June 1, 1994 [3 oh - " re [1 py ix 2 Sh be A debt of life we can never repay 7 ‘They're old now, and a shadow of their former selves, that is : the ones who have survived this long. Many didn’t live beyond . their youth, dying on the beaches of Normandy or in the raging ' sea that greeted the greatest invasion force in world history. "But they are not forgotten, nor should they ever be. ~The men of America’s 29th, 4th and 1st Infantry stormed .-ashore in Normandy 50 years ago June 6, along with equally *. brave soldiers from Britain and Canada. There were something - over 150,000 of them, few tested in prior combat. That may -'have been fitting for men who were led into their first battles by ageneral — Dwight David Eisenhower — who himself was quite ‘new to the fields of battle. Nearly all were seasick after the rough passage from England, especially the last 11 miles spent “in landing craft rolled by the waves. “Operation Overlord” had been meticulously planned over - nearly two years, even to the point of plotting a grand deception . to fool Hitler about the actual landing site. The result was Axis . forces scattered along miles of coastline, making what was - impossible into only the extraordinarily difficult. But the best ‘plans often go awry, and many Allied troops came ashore i ‘someplace other than where they planned, frequently without “their commanding officer. ~ Many never made it to land, drowning as they left their - landing craft or in “floating” tanks that didn't, while others were mowed down by enemy machine guns. Omaha Beach was the ‘worst, but the carnage was widespread as 9,000 men were killed on the first day of the invasion. The ones who made it to the beach followed the most basic of orders; stay alive and move forward. Somehow they managed to do both, battling their way inch-by-inch to the top of the bluffs and over sand dunes. Through it all there were incredible acts of individual heroism, more than we'll ever know about. By noon the first line of the German defense had been breached. By late afternoon it was quiet, as if nothing had happened, save forthe bodies and debris that littered the once beautiful coast. D-Day was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe, because once Allied forces established a presence on the continent there was nowhere for Hitler's forces to hide. But that was only one face of the most widespread and deadly war of all time. Once Europe was secure, many veterans of that front headed halfway around the world to take on Emperor Hiro- hito’s armies, where thousands already had died as thousands more would before the first and only use of an atomic bomb in war put an end to the slaughter. : © We are now two full generations away from World War II, and in a few years there will be no one left to tell of its horrors and heroism. As the participants leave us, events like the 50th ‘commemoration of D-Day become important reminders of the source of our present-day comfort and security. We must never forget that our parents and grandparents truly saved the world, whether on the beaches of Normandy or Anzio, or in the jungles of the South Pacific. Were it not for their bravery and skill we -might be living under the thumb of a mad despot. At the very least we would be facing such. a foe across one or both oceans. The generation that followed WWII was given the unfortu- nate mission of Vietnam, and that misguided war has soured many on the military. But the military is us, and that was never more true than in the 1940s, when hundreds of thousands volunteered to fight Hitler's and Hirohito’s armies. To their eternal credit, they succeeded in putting a stop to the most fearful period in world history, leaving dead buddies and parts of their bodies as testimony to their courage. We owe them a debt we can never repay, except by appreciating their gift and honoring their memory A EE 3 SE a eo a a TRE oh ad PB I AS EST SS ATi i AS Hh .,, PRE SRE A GN a Do you agree? Disagree? Editorials are the opinion of the management of The Dallas Post. We welcome your opinion on contemporary issues in the form of letters to the editor. If you don't write, the community may never hear a contrasting point of view. Send letters to: The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612. Please include your name, address and a daytime phone number so that we may verify authenticity. We donot publish anonymousletters, but will consider withholding the name in exceptional circumstances. We reserve the right to edit for length and grammar. ie . +] Published Weekly by Bartsen Media, Inc. Pd | P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 ” i Telephone: 717-675-5211 8 Ronald A. Bartizek Charlotte E. Bartizek « Editor and Publisher Associate Publisher 5 ho, / > Peggy Young Grace R. Dove ho? Advertising Acct. Exec. Reporter . | Paul Rismiller Olga Kostrobala pd - Production Manager . Classified/typesettin 1s * "<a Jill Urbanas dd 9 jc! Office Manager Nb y MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION +f ge 2 AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION ; 7% 4 2 V 00, 2%, ALAC y %.% WELL NEVER FORGET THE FLOOD OF 72. \ Ned 8 Na S WN N aN DN 22 27 7 %, 245. “HY: RRNA RRR AR NY aS WN AW NN XA AN NN N RO Aa aN N SX NN No) RN RN J W.J. Character counts for Baseball Hall of Fame By J.W. JOHNSON This column is written for sports fans, specifically, baseball fans. If you are neither, more’s the pity...but...uh...catch me next week. : Can you believe it! The Scoote is now in the Hall of Fame. For- mer Yankee shortstop and long- time Yankee broadcaster Phil Rizzuto has finally made the Hall...which fact will inevitably bring up the name of Pete Rose. You remember him...the living baseball legend who had in ex- cess of 3,000 more at-bats, but who nonetheless broke Ty Cobb's all-time hit record...and who is now a convicted felon. In summary, Rose was accused of gambling, specifically of gam- bling on baseball. Rose denied the charges but pleaded no con- test to them, a legal admission of guilt....and he has been cooling his Hall of Fame heels ever since. Gambling and sports, particu- larly and historically baseball, are supposed to be like oil and water. This has been true since the 1919 Black Sox scandal, during which eight members of the Black Sox team were found to have thrown the World Series that year in exchange for money from a known gambler. Since then, and to pre- serve the game's integrity, base- ball has had an unrelenting hatred for gamblers. The rulesare simple: —if you bet on a baseball game in which you have no duty to perform, you are suspended for one year from the game. —if you bet on a baseball game in which you have a duty to per- form, you are banned from the game for life. Short and sweet. Of course, we'll never know with absolute certainty if Rose bet on baseball, or bet on his own team. Those facts were permanently buried with the settlement reached between Rose and baseball in which he accepted a lifetime ban from the game. He accepted the ban in exchange for sealing of the information which led to the ini- tial gambling investigation. Cynics would say that Rose accepted the ban so that his place in the Hall of Fame would be insured. However, he served time in prison, not because he bet on baseball—something which he continues to deny—but rather because Rose cheated on his in- come taxes. He did so with the arrogance born of acclaim and, because of his gambling addic- tion, he was caught. Rose, and despite his various attempt to rehabilitate his public image (notice I said his image, not his behavior) now stands in dis- grace, before the baseball com- munity, his fans, the city of Cin- cinnati, and his family must endure the continuing glare of publicity surrounding the splin- tering of a legend. Not that Rose has done some- thing of which some of you are not also guilty: Income tax cheating andillegal betting. You know who you are. Beyond feeling empathy for Rose's family, uppermost in the minds of baseball fans is: Should Pete Rose be inducted into base- ball's Hall of Fame? Some say no, based on his banishment from baseball and his now being a convicted felon. Rose had denied betting on baseball. However, and aside from lifetime banishment, his incarceration has once again raised the specter of Rose's possible exclusion from the Hall. Members of the Baseball Writer's Association cast the bal- lots. A casual glance show that, in addition to statistics, subjec- tive criteria is often used to elect Hall members, or to deny elec- tion. For example, subjectivity is clearly illustrated in the election of the Tinkers to Evers to Chance double play combination. These men were statistically average baseball players at best, and play- ers now in the Hall primarily on the popularity of a poem and song written about them while they played. And while the statistics Babe Ruth put up would place him in the Hall without question, he was a reprehensible human being. So while statistics help, a ma- jor media presence is often the deciding factor. It should be stated that, based on Rose's numbers, he obviously belongs in the Hall. Beyond the obvious statistics and in part because of the larger- than-life presence bestowed upon anyone who succeeds at some- thing during the novelty of its infancy, it's clear that Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb were also elected despite Ruth being a flagrant womanizer, and Cobb being an avowed racist and admittedly “dirty” player. Because of the aforementioned larger-than-life presence of these men, in concert with some awesome statistics, these shortcomings were ignored (not to mention acceptable then) and both men were among the first inductees in 1939. In all the cited cases, negative or positive subjectivity was part of the thought process which now finds these men in the Hall of Fame. The point is that subjectiv- ity—as opposed to the objectivity of purely statistics—has already been established as the modus operandi for election to the Hall. All of this goes to show that elec- tion is a confusing mix of opinion, statistics and subject to what scientists call the pattern of chaos. In keeping with this already es- tablished subjectivity, I believe that election to the Hall of Fame should continue to be based on more than just statistics. What an athlete does outside of the game, and as that provides an example for American youth and protects the game, should also be figured into the mix. As such, and just as, subjectiv- ity, Tinker, Evers and Chance were elected to the Hall, (and statisti- cally superb Shoeless Joe Jackson of the 1919 Black Sox was subjec- tively denied election), perhaps Rose should also be subjectively denied election. His numbers say yes; his char- acter says no. And my only regret is that Keith Sutton isn't here to see Scooter’s induction, or to debate the Rose question. Batter up! Library news Kids can board the magic bus at the library By NANCY KOZEMCHAK Kids, ages four through 12 are invited to join Ms Frizzle and her Magic School Bus friends for “Reading Is a Magic Trip” at the Back Mountain Memorial Library. The library is launching a new reading program that encourages children and families to discover the limitless world of information, entertainment and adventure at their library and in books. “Reading Is A Magic Trip” is a free, noncompetitive reading pro- gram that begins June 27 be- tween the hours of 2and 4 p.m. a the library at 96 Huntsville Road in Dallas. Children who participate will receive free personal reading logs to record the titles of books they have read and the adventures they have had in reading. At the end of the program, children will receive a reading certificate from Ms Frizzle. “We think this program will help children and families learn to love reading and to better use all the resources of the library,” says Mrs. Rudolph, children's librarian. “Learning to enjoy read- ing as a child sets the stage for a lifetime of learning, enjoyment and success.” This program features charac- ters from the popular book series The Magic School Bus was devel- oped by the American Library Association with the support of McDonald's family restaurants. For more information, or to sign up your child for the program, visit the library or call 675-1182. Advance registration is not neces- sary, just come to the library on June 27 and start the program with your sign-up. New books at the library: “Stalking Horse” by Bill Shoe- maker is the story of the greatest jockey of all time who moves in a world of fast horses, high living, and gorgeous, dangerous women. Now, in this novel, the author draws on his experiences on and off the track to spin one of the most suspenseful and entertain- ing mysteries to appear in years. The hero was a jockey himself until a race-fixing scandal got him barred from the track. “Di and I" by Peter Lefcourt is a brilliantly funny novel. At last, after all the fuss about Charles and Camilla, the cellular-phone tapes, the sweaty workout pho- tos, Di's finally found the right guy—an American commoner with a taste for long-legged blondes and epic poetry. They carry on a tempestuous affair under the noses of Diana's bodyguards, her regal in-laws and young princes, William and Harry. They finally flee to seek a more private life. Bill, why haven't you Written? Let ine Back Mountain know what you think by writing a letter to the editor. Always include your name, address and a daytime phone number; we don't publish anonymous letters. Send letters to: The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612 Only yesterday 60 Years Ago - June 8,1934 RECORD CROWDS AT FERNBROOK PARK Dallas Borough School direc- tors authorized the borrowing of $2,400 for 90 days at their meet- ing to pay off bonds in the amount of $2,412.50 which mature June 30. "al Forty eight men from Head- quarters Battery, First Train of 109th Field Artillery will take part in a mounted hike to Huntsville Saturday and encamp there for the night as part of their training. Hot weather of past few weeks has greatly increased traffic to Harveys Lake and Fernbrook Park: Crowds at Fernbrook are larger this season of the year than for many years past. ® 9 oo - 50 Years Ago - June 2, 1944 AREA MAN THROWN FROM TRACTOR DIES | Harry Zacharias of Alderson died Wednesday afternoon at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he had been rushed in a semi-conscious condition when he was thrown from a runaway tractor at Beaumont. On his way to obtain air for a tire, he had attempted to change to a lower gear. His new Massey-Harris-101 tractor got beyond control and raced down the hill at a speed estimated at 50-60 miles per hour. Four more carloads of potatoes were shipped this week from Dallas to alcohol plants in Ohio. It was originally planned to ship the potatoes to a Berwick potato chip factory until the factory was destroyed by fire. ri “Lassie Come Home" now play- ing at the Shaver Theatre starring Roddy McDowell. 4 40 Years Ago - June 4, 1954 BUS SERVICE TO EAST DALLAS IS PLANNED Dallas Community Ambulance is ready to answer calls to the home or hospital for its residents and their visitors and handle, accidents on the highways. Ten drivers, graduates of the advanced First Aid Course, are qualified for accident or crash work. The ambulance will carry two stretcher victims or a bed patient and two or three others. Dr. Henry M. Laing Fire Co. has offered the use of the Fire Phone for ambulance calls. he A new bus route to serve East Dallas is planned to start within two weeks. Proposed route will- probably startat East Dallas, pick up passengers at Maplewood Hts., visit Fernbrook, go to Goeringer. Hts., thence to Center Street. in: Shavertown and on to Wilkes-: Barre, traveling over Lehigh Street to Harris Hill Road, where it will take the main highway. % The Shavertown Nesbitt Auxil- jary needs treadle sewing ma- chines in good condition for nec- essary sewing for the hospital. Funds are lacking for purchase of supplementary machines. 30 Years Ago - June 4, 1964 - LIGHT COMPANY BUYS BEN FRANKLIN STORE , The Harveys Light Co. this week revealed to the Post the purchase of the adjoining Ben Franklin Store on Church Street in Dallas, through announcement of L.F. Kingsley, vice president. Property was formerly owned by Back Mountain Lumber & Coal Co. and is leased to Mrs. Frances Wil- liams, who operates the Ben Fran- klin Store. New owner of the Atlantic Sta- tion in the middle of Dallas is Albert Williams, White Birch Trailer Camp, who took occupancy the first of this week. : You could get - Round steak and roast 69¢ lb.; chicken legs and breasts, 45¢ 1b.; bing cher- ries, 49¢ lb.; 4-1 lb. cans Del Monte corn or peas, 4/69¢; sugar 5-1b. bag 49¢. 20 Years Ago - June 6, 1974" KIWANIS HOLDS ITS FIRST CHARITY BALL Dallas Kiwanis Club will hold its first Charity Ball June 29 at Irem Temple Country Club and will feature Hal Cragle and his “Sounds of Summer” band. Pro- ceeds from the gala event will be used to support charitable proj- ects in the greater Back Mountain Area. : Dallas School District Board of Directors proposed a budget for 1974-75 in the amount" of $4,462,666. Revenues to sup- port proposed budget will be ob-, tained from a 66 mill real estate’ tax, per capita taxes that total $10 per taxable person, a 1% earned income tax to be shared 50-50 with the municipalities of the district and a 1% real estate. tax also shared with municipali- ties. U2 e EW nN
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers