Wo RN NR SE Se a ——_— 4 - The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, December 6, 1995 EDITORIALS New jobs are welcome, more commerce needed ee Voriey may not be everything, but it sure helps smooth out the rough spots in life. For most of us, money comes from jobs, whether we're aday laborer, a lawyer or a corporate manager. The more jobs — and the better they pay — the stronger the local economy. About 100 newjobshavej ustbeencreated in the BackMountain, or soon will be. That's good news, but must be viewed in a wider context. About the same number of positions were lost less than a year ago when Native Textiles moved its Dallas operations to upstate New York, and those jobs generally paid better than the new ones will. That is not a criticism of the newest employers, who deserve credit for taking the risks necessary to open businesses here, but it is a fact that affects all of us, even the new stores. -. The Back Mountain is a wonderful place to live, and it also provides a livelihood for many of us. Many others earn their living outside of the immediate area, commuting to jobs in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton or even more distant towns, while choosing to establish theirhomes here. They do so because better jobs, and more of them, are available outside the Back Mountain than in it. We would like to see that change. There are several substantial employers right here. Among the largest and best-paying are Offset Paperback, Energy Converters and Payne Printery. All three praise the quality of their workforce, most of whom live in the Back Mountain, and we're sure outside ~ employers also benefit greatly from the skills and dedication our neighbors bring to their work. ‘The problem is, there are limits to how many people these three and other established firms can employ. Like all businesses today, they face heightened competition and customers who won't tolerate price increases just because the company would like to make more money. So, they are seeking increased efficiency, which means in ~ essence figuring out how to produce more product without hiring more people. That's exactly what they should do, because if they do it well they will insure their survival and ability to provide good jobs. What we need, then, are more good companies that will provide meaningful employment. To achieve that, we need a few other things. First, our schools and colleges must send graduates into the world with useful skills and a strong work ethic. The latter is the most important, as our major employers demonstrate by providing training toemployees who show they want to succeed and grow. But the schools can do better, by aggressively seeking advice from good companies about specific skills they need in new hires. All high schools and colleges should have an active program to bring employers into the schools and send students out to visit offices and factories for a real-world look at their future. * We also need a place for new businesses — an attractive commercial park with the attributes responsible companies look for. The Back Mountain boasts some of the finest land in Pennsyl- vania, easy access to major transportation routes and a willing workforce. Now we need a place to bring all these qualities together, 80. ‘that there will be enough good jobs to assure that our local Be can support our fine communities long into the future. There's nothing wrong with jobs in retail stores, banks and Bestonmants. but there will be a problem if those are the only jobs ‘ available. Those businesses must be supported by people who earn ‘higher salaries and can afford to patronize them, and we'll all be ‘better off when there are more jobs of all types right here in the Back ‘Mountain. They're still standin’. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. As I was y Jack Hilsher ' Publisher's notebook od Among the creatures that inhabit our home is a cat. Her name is Shotsie, and I'm sure if you asked all four of us to spell her name «you'd get four different versions. She's a nice cat, a tortoise-shell “calico who has been far more gentle with the kids than her ‘predecessor, whowasflattened by a car. Shotsie’s also pretty smart, : fas cats go. We have a garden bench on the deck, and in the winter a s positioned next to the rear entrance door. Last year she iscovered that she could lean on the handle and open the door to Tet herself in, which wasn't much of a problem in warm weather. rEven when the bench was moved away, she continued to jump up ‘and rattle the handle to tell us she wanted to come in. 4 Every day, perhaps every minute, must be an adventure for -animals. When she comes in at night, Shotsie is compelled to follow ithe same routine — right after eating of course — most of which is ‘a jaunt through the kids’ bedrooms, as noisily as possible. She's ‘pretty noisy anyway, with a miniature cowbell around her neck to ‘warn birds of her approach, but as she circles the rooms she ‘manages to knock over anything thatisn't glued down, jump up and ‘down from every piece of furniture and generally do her best towake ‘up Katie and Carl. Fortunately, they're sound Slespers and she (doesn't usually succeed. ’ I'm not sure why there's such a strong connection between ‘certain animals and their human masters — a word I use lightly ‘when talking about cats — but there is something comforting about ‘these furry creatures that provide enough pleasure to more than faite) their aggravation. A farmer once accused a neigh- bor of allowing chickens to raid his garden. The neighbor denied it until the farmer took a picture ofthe neighbor's old rooster, along with shapely members of his harem, all happily pecking away in the farmer's garden. The complaint became a court case with the picture as evidence and the farmer was awarded $10 and costs. That was a little over 100 years ago and the camera the farmer used was one of Mr. George Eastman’s newfangled Kodaks, a “Brownie” box camera, to be ex- act. Since then the Brownie has spawned as many offspring as there are stars in the Milky Way, and that's aplenty. There were 750,000 of the original Brownies sold about a buck each. They were sturdy, built around a wooden box and covered with imitation leather. They had viewfinders, a classy leather strap and a glass lens. Ashutter opened and closed with a satisfactory “twang” and a little window Fa Br Pade 3 * Hometown news « Hometown product The Dallas Post "LIBRARY - : The Dallas Post . Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 i 717-675-5211 ¥ Ronald A. Bartizek Charlotte E. Bartizek i : PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER 5 Peggy Young Grace R. Dove r, _ ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC REPORTER : Paul Rismiller Olga Kostrobala , PRODUCTION MANAGER , CLASSIFIED/ TYPESETTING Jill Gruver ¢ OFFICE MANAGER te MEMBeR Ed of 2] PRINTED WIT NINE PENRSYIVANTA ' 4 CS} IRZISOV INK] ASSOCIATION = PER NEWSPAPER By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library is selling some special items that would make nice Christmas gifts. The library cook- book, “Chefs and Artists” is still available for $12.95 and would make a nice extra gift for some- one. The Back Mountain Color and Read Book can be purchased at $5.00 These are very nice books for children to color and read. The pictures in the color book are all of local businesses, restaurants, barns, animals and lakes. The pictures were designed by children from kindergarten through sixth grade. The pictures and the story with them gives some facts about the Back Moun- tain area. The library 50th anniversary coffee mug is selling for $5.00 and it is now filled with some Christ- mas surprises to coincide with The cameras of yesterday — some oldies but goodies showed how many exposures had been taken through a red peep- hole. 1 had one once but it is long gone...darn it! Today any box camera found i in a flea market is pretty well beaten up and not worth very much. Ifin mint condition however, or any- where near it, it can be worth about $100. A Boy Scout green model goes for $350! You can tell by now, as a collector's item, older cameras are hard to beat. That combination of metal, leather and glass, all carefully crafted together to work smoothly in producing an image that lasts, is really unique in the catalog of man's inven- tions. (Most collectors don't bother taking pictures however, they just accumulate cameras!) But it must be said that today’s cameras - even yesterday's - do not engender the same awe, the same fascination, yes the same thrill as any of the 35mm models which followed Oscar Barnack’s Leica in the late 20s and lasting until the bodies all began being stamped out of the same plastic vats, say the 40's or thereabouts. No, so help me, they all look alike. Even though their cost ranges from $50 to over $400 they all seem to be touted by the same ad copywriter. The “drop-in” load- ing, the “red-eye reduction” (whatever the hell that is) and the “zoom” and the “sensor flash.” Why don’t they build in some common sense while they are at’ it? Good photography does not need all that silly automation. Want proof? Look at those hor- rible pictures. Now you may have begun to wonder if this column has a point. It does. I suggest you take advan- tage of the current olde camera fascination and look in your attic or similar space for cameras 50 years or more in age. Keep an eye out in particular - although these aren't all the names by far - for Exacta, Contax, Nikon, Leica, Retina, Canon, Zeiss, even any twin-lens Rollies. Soyou've found one. Now what? Well, it's as simple as this: write the model name and number down and send it to me with an SASE. | have a collection of price lists from a large and reputable east- ern dealer in old cameras, and I will be pleased to tell you about him and suggest your next step. You could you know, be sitting on a windfall. (Not a gold mine, just a windfall!) Oh, one more thing. There will be no consulting fee for this serv- ice but you probablay should promise to continue reading me. Good hunting. You can do your holiday shopping at the library the holiday season. The Enter- tainment Book for $30.00 and the Dine A Mate book for $25.00 are also available for sale at the li- brary. All of these items may be purchased at the Information Desk in the library. The Book Club of the library met on November 20 and made final plans for the Christmas Tea to be held on Monday, December 18at 1:30 in the community room. The program will be presented by Mary Lou Swingle, Cathy Berkey and Kim Hogans who will be dressed as clowns. The program is titled, “Fools For Christ” and will include some intricate paper cutting to tie in with the special program. All Book Club members and friends are invited to this special Christmas get-together. The library will hold its annual open house on Tuesday, Dec. 19, andWednesday, Dec. 20, from 1 to 4 p.m. Everyone is invited to come to the library and enjoy some cookies, candy, coffee and punch and relax for a moment during this busy time of the year. New books at the library: “Strange Highways” by Dean Koontz is a spellbinding collection of tales interconnected by the strange highways of human expe- rience. “All That Glitters” by V.C: An- drews finds Ruby Landry living in a humble bayou shack. Strug- gling to make a living by selling handcrafts, she is determined to make a life. : “Dear Emily” by Fern Michaels tells that Emily put her life on hold for 20 years to pay lan's way through medical school. She had believed in him and she got dumped. “Wonder Boys” by Michael Chabon is the story of troubled young ‘wonder boy’ James Leer's obsession with Hollywood suicides that leads him to commit a pair of startling crimes. “Memoir from Antproof Case” by Mark Helprin is about a man who, in the face of the world’s cruelty, refuses to stop loving...An American living in Brazil writes his memoirs. ONLY YESTERDAY 60 Years Ago - Dec. 13,1935, . ! WPA PROJECTS BRING ' JOBS, IMPROVE ROADS ., Several WPA projects have heen started in Kingston Townshipand several more are under consid eration to be inaugurated soon. The grading and laying of a stone base and surfacing with grave] of Warden Avenue, Trucksville, is underway and the cross roads between the Porter Michaels and Charles Cease farms in the Carver: ton section of the township will be improved. The first project will employ 57 men, the second 47 men for about three months. Seniors of Dallas Borough Hi School scored a decided hit in their initial matinee performances of Robert St. Clair’s “Tiger House" before an enthusiastic crowd of youngsters yesterday afternoon.” You could get - Pork shoulders picnic style, 19¢ Ib.; lard, 2 Ibs: 27¢; butter, 2 lbs., 69¢; Bokat Coffee, 1 Ib. can, 21¢. Tuftn § 3 L oxi 50 Years Ago - Dec. 14,1945 LAST WAR BOND DRIVE. SETS RECORD in Idle workers who are receivi unemployment compensation wil have their benefit checks handed to them when they report to their local office in the future instead of waiting to receive them through the mail, according to an ‘afis nouncement made by William H. Chestnut, Secretary of Depart- ment of Labor and Industry. “We are doing this,” the secretary said, “in an effort to speed up delivery of benefit checks to unemployed workers. Under the law, the claim* ant is entitled to a check when he’ has been idle for a week, and any delay may also be areal inconven-- ience. Si With almost three times their quota of $6,000 already in, the. bag, Dallas Woman's Club mem, bers are making an enviable rec- ord in the last War Bond Drive. To, date they have raised $16,221.90. The drive closes December 31. 40 Years Ago - jivy 9, 1955 ROBERT TURRELL BUYS - SHAVERTOWN LUMBER Robert M. Turrell, Tunkhan-, nock, former partner with his | brother, James in the Turrell Motor Co., has purchased the Shavertown Lumber Co. from Ralph Garrahan and George" Ruckno. The transaction ‘'wa$~ completed yesterday. There will: be no changes in personnel. bg! Three positions for substitute’ clerk and substitute carrier are. open in three Back Mountain pos offices, according toan annouriee-: ment made this week. An exami= nation for each of the positions + open in Dallas, Shavertown ar] : Trucksville offices will be he d® shortly according to information: released by the Director of the: Third U.S. Civil Service Regiofr.} You could get - Porterhouse: steak, 78¢ lb.; rib roast, 59¢ Ib Idaho all purpose potatoes, 1016s bag, 59¢; tomatoes, 2 cello pkgs: 29¢; Ritz Crackers, 1b. pkg. 38¢. 30 Years Ago - Dec. 9,1965 "<3 ANN VERNON ELECTED % TO SCHOOLBOARD i: With a pledge of dedicatiof tg= the continuation of good educa tion in the Back Mountain areds. Mrs. Ann Vernon became the first: woman to head any school board- in this region. Also elected and. named to a top post was Mrs Louise Steinhauer of Franklin Twp. Ta hy Workmen this week were in process of demolishing a oes: storage shed on Lake Street. ta allow more parking for Com=_ mownealth Telephone Co. Aframe building 46x42' behind the old ; Devens home was included in an : extensive real estate tract, includ- ing the Himmler Theater, bought ! : by the utility . i Mr. and Mrs. James McFar- ¢ land, Shavertown, were honored | atasurprise anniversary celebra- ! tion Nov. 27 to observe their golden | anniversary December 8. The , couple have two daughters and ; three granddaughters. em * [] " 20 Years Ago - Dec. 11, 1975: BUS FARES INCREASE RE ES as at Lo = Luzerne Couttity Transpoitation § b Authority today announced that | bus fares will increase on Jan. 1, | 1 The increase raises the base fare ! from 25¢ to 30¢, will apply to-aHl.! zone and express fares. > of of of |
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers