The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, October 11, 1995 5 a Pastoral outreach volunteers commissioned The Pastoral Outreach Department at the Mercy Health System, Northeast Region, recently held a Commissioning Service for new volunteers, at which members of Trinity Presbyterian Church were commissioned to serve as pastoral outreach volunteers within their congregation. Volunteers complete a six week training, and are now working with the sick, elderly, homebound and disabled of Trinity Church. Attending were, row 1, Sr. Paulette Berang, regional service director, pastoral outreach; Rev. Bob _. Murdock, pastor, Trinity Presbyterian; Lynn Konicki, church leader volunteer; row 2, Joanne Hall, ® church volunteer, Lucy Stafford-Lewis, parish associates, Trinity Presbyterian; row 3, Kathy Beardsworth, Wilkes-Barre area coordinator, Pastoral Outreach; Carlene McCaffrey, church volunteer; Cathy Davis, church volunteer. Absent from photo: Catherine Bolinski, church volunteer. “ y TW. Bl John W. Johnson Some of you will remember China's Gang of Four, and its revamping of China's culture. Now that William Bennett, Ralph Reed and Newt Gingrich no longer have Communism as an organizing principle and focus, this U.S. Gang of Three has turned to music, art and America’s bedrooms, becom- ing the gang who wants to tell you what to read, how to think, and what is appreprizte for you to believe. «+ : ‘With a focus on Communist @ containment for the past 45 years pr now all but gone, our conserva- tive Congress is seeking refocus, and finding it in the hot button issues of morality, lumping it under the umbrella of so-called “family values.” This comes at the neglect of the major economic issues facing the United States today: integration into a rapidly evolving world econ- Fi = $x Beware the Gang of Three omy. Speaker Gingrich mouths words about the information age and our role in that segment of the world’s economy, but fails to seek support for this reality. It used to be us and the rest of the world's democracies as the First World, Communism as the Second World, and the balance of nations being in the Third World. The struggle then was for influ- ence and control over the Third World, either for raw materials or for ideological reasons, i.e., us as ‘God-fearing Christians versus the godless hordes. With Communism on its death bed, and with emergence of the European Economic Community and the Pacific Rim countries, (Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc.,) as economic forces, Third World nations are no longer pawns in this geo-political chess game bécause the chess board has been put away in favor of that favorite of capitalist games: Monopoly. A lack of vision from President Clinton, and the now holier-than- thou Congress, (notwithstanding the recent economic recognition of Vietnam) continued trade defi- cits, the aforementioned emer- gence of other economic forces, and a declining trust in our finan- cial institutions, finds the United States facing the real prospect of becoming a second rate, perhaps third rate economic entity, early in the next century. Agreed...current U.S. per cap- ita income is the highest in the world, exceeding $19,000 peryear. But that measurement is deceiv- ing when we learn that more than 50 percent of our citizens get some form of government assistance; in short, with government establish- ing policies that filter economic activity through least-common- denominator sieves, i.e., quota systems for employment, govern- ment, not private industry, is the prime economic force in our na- tion today. A major reason (the loss of ethical public servants, the growth of a legal system which encour- ages circumvention rather than respect for the law, and a corrupt labor union movement nothwith- standing), we are losing the battle for increased productivity and market share to emerging Pacific Rim economic entities, and likely soon to the new European Eco- nomic Community, is alsobecause we have forgotten one simple rule: Acquire new customers and then treat each of them as if they were the only customer we had, a great failing of corporate America. LIBRARY . * . By NANCY KOZEMCHAK " The Back Mountain Memorial Library is always willing to accept good used books for the library shelves, the annual library auc- tion or the on-going book sales in the library during the year. ' However, the Readers Digest books we do not accept, as they dre really not good sellers. A very interested library person, Doris Carey, called and asked about donating some last week and she was told we could not accept them. She ‘was in the library later in the day and asked me about them and I gave her our classic answer, we" just cannot accept them as they don't sell, we have to pay to haul them away. 1 suggested maybe she could try some of the nursing homes, as maybe they would like to have them. Fe ee ft ft fe te Se BS ee Be Bo I i | : / A Pe i] 1 GC i Ba { Try Our { ; 8'" Personal Pizza with One Topping i I Only $199 . Bring this ad in for S¢ per gal. off Power Premium. ALL AT ONE CONVENIENT STOP! THE PEN: MART COMPLEX - CORNER OF RTE. 415 & 118, DALLAS - LOADS OF PARKING - Y'ALL COME ON IN! Used books can be useful Coincidence: Everill Chadwick, formerly Country Farm Agent of Penn State Unviersity, was help- ing his grandson with his stamp collection for the display case and overheard the conversation; and Cy informed us that he would like to have them for use in the Thanks- giving and Christmas baskets that the Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis Club give to the needy. He would also be interested in more adult books and also some nice children’s books for the baskets. Doris had these books in her car, Cy went out and put them in his car and everyone was happy. “Timing is Everything”! New books at the library: “Brothers No More” by William F. Buckley, Jr. is a terrific novel of men and women caught between the force of history and the power of their own desires. Italy, 1944, Pfc. Henry Chafee and Pfc. Danny O'Hara are part of a regiment ordered to attack a German unit north of Rome. At the critical moment, one young man's cour- age fails him—court-martial and public shame are averted only by FILL UP... . .with fresh TEXACO Power Premium gasoline. We also have a diesel pump, and the only self-service kerosene pump for miles around. ls the other's valiant effort to cover for him. “Silent Night” by Mary Higgins Clark has crafted a very special story about the power of love and of a child's courage and faith. When her husband was diagnosed with leukemia, Catherine Dornan and their two young sons accom- panied him to New York, during the Christmas season, for a life- saving operation. Catherine takes the boys to see Rockefeller Cen- ter's famous Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. They are faced with courage in the face of adver- sity. “Love in Another Town" by Barbara Taylor Bradford is the story of Jake Cantrell who feels that his life has completely stalled at age twenty-nine. Saddened and disappointed by the failure of his marriage to Amy, he moves to another town: Kent, Connecti- cut. He becomes involved with an amateur theatrical group in his spare time. He encounters Mag- gie, who is soon to be forty years old and Jake realizes he is about to start the journey of his life. aul made and then some . . party subs. Plus, As Iwas saying Not that I mean to beat a sub- ject to shreds, but the thought came - several times - after writ- ing that column on why we need not apologize to Japan for drop- ping two experimental atomic bombs on them, thus abruptly ending WW II, the thought, in this never-ending paragraph, was that I had casually name-dropped “Bataan” probably to many read- ers who weren't even on the planet at the time and hadn't the slight- est idea of what I was referring to. I doubt history books make very much of that period, for all these “revisionists” have suddenly popped up, all of them seemingly ignoring actual happenings of the period. So I will remedy that and set my younger readers straight right now. Shortly after Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor (surely the revisionist history includes that event!) in the Philippines both American and Filipino troops were bottled up on the Bataan penin- sula. They ran out of food, ammo and medical supplies. They were outnumbered and exhausted. So they surrendered. They were then herded like cattle by Jap soldiers in a massive move which became known as the Bataan — why we should not apologize to Japan “Death March.” For an obvious reason...many never made the march'’s end. At this point squeamish read- ers should consider stopping. Words will not be laundered. There will be accounts - truthful ac- counts - of torture and behead- ing. Butifyoureadonyou will see why we ex-G.I's still can get pretty worked up over suggesting that we should apologize to this strange nation. Even before the Death March on Bataan, and only days after Pearl, the surrender of Wake Is- land was foretold what was to come. Captured troops were shoved aboard the Nina Maru, a Jap liner, and immediately lined up on deck for a speech by one Lt. Toshio, who said, “You have killed many Japanese soldiers in battle. For what you have done some are now going to be killed - for re- venge.” Five chosen were blindfolded and one after another had their heads chopped off. The Japs applauded, even when the blow was botched and a second, or even third, try had also to be made. Other men took turns slashing to cut the corpses in two, like old samurais. The bodies were then propped against a sake barrel so they could be used for bayonet practice. Carcasses and heads were later thrown over- board. On Bataan, days into the march, officers quickly learned to rip off any insignia because they iy i * “ were being singled out for espe- cially brutal treatment. Japanese soldiers would collect wrist watchesin five-gallon cans, shout- ing that anyone who resisted would have their throats cut. Parker pens were prized and taken. Fingers were cut off so they could take gold wedding rings. On the third day American offi- cers were tied at their wrists with phone wire and lined up. Japa- nese officers began at one end of the line, privates at the other end. The officers with swords, the en- listed men with bayonets, sys- tematically began butchering from behind. This took several hours. Between 300 and 400 men were killed. There was blood and screaming until nightfall. The senior officer who gave orders for this slaughter was Nara Akira, a general who had graduated be- fore the war from Fort Benning's infantry school in the United States. There is more. Much more. And some of it is worse. If you. want more try “Prisoners of the. Japanese” by Gavan Davis, awell- researched book where most of the above comes from. Then, if you want to apologize toJapan, as some poor misguided" persons do, go ahead. That is your privilege. That is your right. But you would be wrong. = The right course is pretty clear to me. It is they who should apologize to us, and not the other way around. The Back Mountain's hometown paper ..from people who live here "You'll like coming over to The Dallas Post. Jill Gruver is easygoing and. helpful. You get the feeling she really cares that things go smoothly and well." any sport. Jill just became Mrs. Ron Gruver in a June wedding. The Gruvers live in a newly-purchased home in Shavertown, but she grew up in Dallas. There are no pets yet, but there is an empty fish tank which is soon to be filled with exotic goldfish. Both Gruvers are active sports fans - Jill's title of Office Manager covers more than it implies. She handles the paper's accounts receivable, sends out ad billings and does the "Local Pros” page. Jill says, "I also fill in on the typesetting computer, and some days the phone keeps me going all day." Jill Gruver is just one of the local people who help put out the Back Mountain's hometown paper, The Dallas Post. UP... . .with the best and tastiest subs for miles around! We've got every sub ever like great try our luscious seafood subs. Bring this ad in for A FREE 6" Sub when you buy a Foot-long Sub and Medium Drink. WPS AN G> SN CLEAN UP... . with the best dry cleaning bargains i for miles around! This is the place I ~ "Where you aren't taken to the cleaners | ”. . 1] HE Y! GUESS WHAT! WE'RE GETTING A TRAFFIC LIGHT AT PEN-MART! THEN IT WILL BE EASIER THAN EVER TO STOP IN AND: : EAT each time your clothes are. POS 3 ——-— er ator abate AA a Plus, we do great shirts, and we can | clean, box and vacuum-seal bridal gowns. | I Bring this ad for $2.00 OFF five laundered shirts or more. I : |
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers