4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, September 27, 2000 EDITORIALS ‘History catches up with us Americans are notoriously apathetic about history, and most of us in the Back Mountain are no exception. But history has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it, and its lessons can be papered over, but never ignored in the long run. Two examples appear in this week's issue of the Post; a breakfast held to note the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war, and fresh plans to preserve the Rice Cemetery in Dallas, one of the oldest in the region. The war in Vietnam was one of the most contentious the U.S. ever took part in, and the sad result was that veterans of the conflict — like Korea it was never officially declared a war — did ‘not receive the respect servicemen and women had in the past. Perhaps our national confusion over the war fogged our perception of the uniformed personnel who risked life and limb in a fruitless and needless effort to contain Communism, or maybe we were embarrassed both by our involvement and our failure. Whatever the reason, Vietnam vets for the most part did not return to parades and pomp, but were unceremoniously flown back to the States where they were often treated like someone with a rare disease rather than people who had done their best to defend national interests, at least as they were defined by the political powers of the day. The breakfast ceremony, while modest, was a long-delayed recognition that the field of battle draws veterans together, it does not push them apart. It can be viewed as a small token of the honor that was denied to those who served during that bewildering time. A few blocks away, something is stirring in the Rice Cem- etery, which has been in limbo for decades. Originally offered as a place for anyone to bury their dead, it became an abandoned eyesore in part because it belonged to no one in particular. Now Tim Carroll, the Mayor of Dallas Borough, has decided to take responsibility for this historic site, and with help from others hopes to get it spruced up and maintained for posterity. In past years that task has fallen on volunteers like “Jim Davis, who lives near the plot and kept an eye on it for years simply because he felt someone should. Now an Eagle Scout candidate wants to make the cemetery his project, and Carroll is planning a fund to assure that his work doesn’t disappear under the brush and weeds of neglect. It seems we can't escape the history that is around us, whether it was made next door or half the world away. Instead, we can embrace it, and thus better understand where we came from, and where we may be going. Publisher's notebook The runup in oil prices has brought the 2000 presidential race into clear focus. Al Gore clearly believes the culprit is “big oil” companies, or at least that’s what his polling data tell him most of us would like to hear. George W. Bush, of course, thinks it's nothing of the sort, the real reason crude prices have shot up like a Fourth of July rocket is the lack of a “coherent energy policy” during the Clinton/Gore administration. Now, let me explain what they're really saying. Gore first. “My fellow Americans, don’t think for a minute that you have done anything to cause this crisis. Just because you're buying Grand Cherokees and Explorers that get 10 miles to the gallon, even though you have as much need for a big 4-wheel-drive truck as you do for a third eye, and you're building houses big enough for a sultan, it’s not your fault. Pay no attention to what I said a few years ago about conservation - you are Americans, and therefore entitled to consume and waste as much as you want. If you elect me, I'll make Exxon/ Mobil and Chevron give you a 20 percent rebate on all your purchases, or you can have your vote back.” Bush replies. “Clinton/Gore should have seen this coming, and it’s all their fault. They have no energy policy, but I do. I * agree that conservation is for the rest of the world, not us, so I intend to rewrite the tax code to encourage oil drilling in the Arctic, off the coast of Miami and in every town square and backyard in America. Talk about being self-sufficient! We won't ever have to depend on that mean Saddam for our daily fix of petroleum, and think what a boost this will be to the folks who sell oxygen masks.” I have to admit, Bush wins the sincerity test on this one. With Dick Cheney by his side, there won't be any question where the U.S. stands on energy - the more you can pump, drill and mine the better! These are possibly the only two people in the nation who could make you pine for a little dose of Jimmy Carter. 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 letter 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 do not publish anonymous letters, but will consider withholding the name in exceptional circumstances. We reserve the right to edit for length and grammar. The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 570-675-5211 Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER OFFICE MANAGER Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Ken Brocious ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Elizabeth Skrapits REPORTER ; Ruth Proietto Joanna Cease PRODUCTION MANAGER OFFICE/TYPIST/CLASSIFIEDS # PRINTED WITH PENNSYLVANIA SOY INK 1. Member INEWSPAPER Gas hog? Photo by Monica Marzani. How school began in the old days Back in.time Anna Mae Estus There was never a time that I did not want to go to school. The first day of school I'd be up at dawn anxious for the school bell to ring. With the dew still heavy on the grass I'd walk on the porch until the sun dried it. I didn't want me new shoes to get wet, shoes were leather then, nothing synthetic or rubber-soled like to- day, and wet shoes were squishy. The sidewalk was bordered with tall-growing daisies, the small ones that grew in clusters and were fragrant. The Clematis vine with small white blossoms climb- ing up a trellis between the living room windows smelled even bet- ter. You could hear the drone of Machell's silos being filled with corn. The smell of burning leaves and ripening apples perfumed the air. Once again I checked my pen- cil box, everyone would have one. They came in all sizes and colors not advertising anything. Some had two levels and a pullout drawer on the bottom. There would be several pencils, a pencil sharpener, erasers to cap the pen- cils and various shaped ones to use on bigger mistakes. There was a protractor and compass and a weight and measures chart on a card. There would be scis- sors and a ruler and colored pen- cils and crayons in that pullout drawer. The boxes were quite sturdy and would last most of the school year. The contents would have to be replaced as you used them up. We didn't have back packs, we carried our books and tablets. There were no lockers, there was a cloakroom with hooks on which you hung your coat and hat and put your boots (black with buck- les) and your rubbers on the floor underneath your coat. : Boys had their special things for school too. They also had a pencil box. They had to have high-top shoes that came to the knee with a little pocket on the side that held a pocket knife. They wore corduroy knickers that brushed together and were noisy when they walked. They wore a sleeveless sweater, brightly colored argyle patterned or striped, sometimes just one color, over a white shirt and tie. Before long these nice things would meet up with a spraying skunk, boys trapped animals and sold their pelts. It might by days before they could come back to school. Boys took turns raising the flag on the tall pole in front of the school. It was also his job to take the flag down at the end of the day. Another boy would help him fold the flag. At no time was the flag to touch the ground. On windy days more boys would keep that from happening. The flag ~was always treated with honor and respect. On nice days all the students circled the flag pole and said the pledge of allegiance and sang "America". This was done in every classroom every day along with the Lord's Prayer. There were no dropouts nor anyone in trouble that inevitably leads to criminal ones today. Having a truant of- ficer made one think twice about skipping school, there was a price to pay that negated any pleasure you might have had. Parents were responsible for anything their child did, and there were very few repeaters. You knew girls were girls, they wore a dress and hair ribbons. Their hair was made into two braids or if she was lucky to have curly hair, it would be neatly made into "Banana Curls". Short hair { was a long way into the future. Either way, they would have rib- bons matching the color of their dress. There were "tomboys", but by the way they looked you wouldn't know that. You knew when she could kick a football as good as any boy, or could catch a baseball and maybe decide the game win- ner by the "outs" she was able to get. Girls were taught tobe home- makers. Boys were taught to be men with ambition, to have a se- cure future. Miss Yaple was ahead of her time, teaching boys as well as girls etiquette, how to properly set a table and other household du- ties thought only for girls. She always said boys would be better husbands if they knew these things. She was adamant, even ¢ when one mother protested, not wanting her son tobe a "sissy" she complained all through the school years about one thing or another. Fortunately her son grew into a nice family man and [always cred- ited Miss Yaple. » Nn << ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - Sept. 26, 1930 FIRE CO. BURNS NOTES As a fitting gesture climaxing the final payment on the Dr. Henry M. Laing fire company's fire truck, . the entire community celebrated the event by burning the notes on a huge bonfire in the triangle on Main St., A parade headed by the fire truck and a group of musi- cians started at Lake Street and marched down the streets of Dal- las, ending at the high school where there was dancing and en- tertainment. Two county commissioners were removed from office, sen- tenced to one year in jail and fined 8500 after being indicted on six counts involving the misuse of approximately $192,000 in the excavation and grading of the highway in Trucksville. Now playing at Himmler The- atre, "Burning Up" starring Rich- ard Arlen 60 Years Ago - Sept. 27, 1940 SCHOOL BOARD BUYS LAND A fifty foot lot at the western end of the Kingston Township high school athletic field adjoining the school, was purchased by the school board for $250 from Min- ers Trust Co. The purchase per- mitted a needed extension of the athletic field. . You could get: Log Cabin Syrup, 12 oz., 17¢; Pillsbury pancake flour, 2 pkgs., 17¢; Crisco short- ening, 1 1b., 17¢; Bisquick, 40 oz. pkg., 49¢; Sno Sheen cake flour, 19¢; Sugar, 10 1bs., 44¢; peanut butter, 12 0z., 17¢; Ovaltine, 34¢. 50 Years Ago - Sept. 29, 1950 MISERICORDIA OPENS TO RECORD ATTENDANCE College Misericordia opened its doors to the largest student body in its history. New students from Massachusetts to Georgia, from the Bahamas and Haiti to Puerto Rico and as far abroad as China had registered. Among the upper classmen were girls from the Neth- erlands, West Indies and British Guiana. All five Back Mountain high - school bands, Lehman, Lake, Dallas, Dallas Township and King- ston Township, marched in the Booster Day Parade. It was the first time in regional history that they had appeared together. 40 Years Ago - Sept. 29, 1960 NEW VOTERS REGISTER IN LUZERNE COUNTY Luzerne County registered 14,852 new voters during a re- cent registration drive. While the Back Mountain's new voters were predominantly Republican, Lu- zerne County as a whole showed almost twice as many new Demo- crats as new Republicans. Residents were asked to be on the alert and notify Chief of Police Russell Honeywell immediately if children were seen exploding fire- crackers in the neighborhood. During the previous week a num- ber of firecrackers concealed in apples. had been thrown on porches where they exploded. Residents were unable to identify the boys as they ran through va- cant lots or hid in shrubbery. Chief Honeywell stated that there was a heavy fine for those who explode firecrackers in the Bor- ough, or even possess them in Pennsylvania. 30 Years Ago - Oct. 1, 1970 hd THREE COMPANIES FINED Three companies in Luzerne County were fined $100 plus $25 in costs for violations of State Air Pollution Commission Regulation V. One company was found guilty of open burning of refuse on com- pany property in West Wyoming Borough. The remaining two com- panies were fined for open burn- ing of salvage material at their @ junkyards. The Teenagers' March for ALSAC (Aiding Leukemia's Stricken American Children) ended this week. Fifty-five teen- agers collected over $3,000 for ALSAC. All money collected was donated to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. : & 20 Years Ago - Sept. 25, 1980 HOSPITAL PLANS FAIR The Shavertown Branch of the Nesbitt Memorial Hospital Auxil- iary had scheduled its Annual Holiday Fair for November 5 and 6, in the auditorium of the Nesbitt Memorial Medical Arts Building. It was decided that "Let Freedom Ring", would be the theme, with all booth decorations to center around American Songs. J Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news every week? A: Only in The Dallas Post, the Back Mountain's newspaper since 1889.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers