§ { { { | 1 i i i i | i 6 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, December 6, 2001 EDITORIAL Watching for crime is everyone’s job Neighborliness sometimes seems in short supply in our fast-paced, modern world. People come and go from their homes and businesses at a frantic pace, and it seems there's never enough time to get to know one another, making it not uncommon for neighbors to hardly ever meet and talk. Aside from the obvious deficiencies of such a lifestyle, it can cost us. That's because the less we know about the%people who live down the block or across the street, the less likely it is we'll notice when something's amiss at their home, making organizations like the recently formed Jackson Township Neighborhood Crime Watch suddenly important. There was no need for such formality in simpler times, when chatting over the back fence was an essential part of the day. With work and home now separated by several miles, and both parents on the job in most households, we need a reminder that there are practical as well as social reasons to be famil- iar with our neighbors, and that we share responsibility for one another's security. As Police Chief Jerry Leedock ex- plained at the most recent meeting of the crime watch group, ordinary citizens who notice and report extraordinary activity often are the key to stopping burglaries and other nefarious deeds. Every resident of every Back Mountain town is a de facto member of every crime watch organization, and can partici- pate simply by taking the initiative to let police know if they spot something suspicious. Doing so doesn’t make you nosy; it means you care about your neighbors, and about your community. Infamous date has new meaning December 7, 2001 is the 60th anniversary of the first “date which will live in infamy,” the day the U.S. installation at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was struck without warning by Japan- ese fighter planes. This year's remembrance of that day will have special significance because a second infamous date, September 11, 2001, is still fresh in our minds and hearts. Thousands of Americans died tragic, senseless deaths on both occasions, as human weakness and insecurity tem- porarily.triumphed over our better nature. But both strikes had the opposite effect intended by the attackers; instead of becoming demoralized and dejected, we responded with re- solve and fury, and the end result was devastating to our self-described enemies. Many explanations have been offered for the hatefulness that brought sorrow and bloodshed to our shores in Septem- ber, just as many were proposed for the Pearl Harbor attack six decades ago. But it would be wrongheaded to accept any rationalization for either attack. As the saying goes, there may be many reasons some people have developed an irra- tional hatred for Americans, but there are no. excuses for tak- ing the lives of innocent non-combatants. We must keep that principle’ in mind as’'we pursue the murderous. cowards who coaxed others into committing the heinous crimes of 9/11. Publisher’s Notebook I never watched the hit television show Home Improvement, and have tried mightily to avoid do-it-yourselfing for many years. I suppose that’s one of the side effects of thinking I can afford to pay someone else to do the dirty work. But things changed a few years ago, as a result of moving into a brand-new house. Now, you may have the mistaken impres- sion that people who live in new homes don’t have much im- proving to do, but you'd be wrong. For one thing, once they make the mortgage payment, there's not all that much cash left to dangle in front of a contractor, if you can find one who actually shows up to do the work. For another, the home may have been new, but in our case, it was hardly complete. As a result, chasing a little white ball around 18 holes has been replaced by toiling in the basement, doing my best to convert a cold, dank, empty space into a crowded, dark rec room we'll probably use once a month. Go figure. It's hard to imagine citizens of any other nation supporting hundreds of gigantic stores that sell nails, boards and electri- cal fixtures, particularly when hours of drudgery are required to turn the parts into a whole once they've been unloaded in the garage. Do you think the Japanese, who enjoy a standard of living near ours because they work day and night, would spend precious weekend time installing new shoji screens in their tiny apartments? No way; instead they bring home the snazziest new electronics, plug them in, take seat next to the fridge and enjoy the show. And how about Italians, with their legendary love of food and fun. I don’t think they'd be in any shape to put up drywall after starting dinner at 10 p.m. the night before. : Nope, it’s just us dumb Americans who get a thrill out of doing it ourselves. Can you imagine someone who would take pride in rippled walls and doors that swing open by them- selves, just because he did it himself? I can. The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER munity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DALL A 18612 » 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek Heather B. Jones GENERAL MANAGER REPORTER Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER Brenda McDonough ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. Darlene Sorber OFFICE MANAGER Ron and Charlotte Bartizek PUBLISHERS EMERITUS Stephen Peterson PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 1-800-427-8649 Sturdy reminder of Lehman's agricultural heritage. Photo by Ron Bartizek. eT ™N pe oN ® Pde FA ed AY AY HN ee BE eb) ay \ I I I I i DHS cheerleaders thankful for support from community As another year of Dallas High School football has ended, I, chairperson of the “Theme Bas- ket Fundraiser,” would like to thank, on behalf of the Dallas High School cheerleaders, every- one who has supported our chil- dren this year. From the spon- Carol King Holiday Open House: Every- one is invited to attend the li- brary’s Holiday Open House on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 18 and 19, from 1 to 5 p.m. each day. Library card sign-up: There is a winner in the campaign to in- crease the number of library card owners. Ron Petro of Shavertown is cardholder #14,225. He received a $10 gift certificate from the Tudor Book- shop and a library tote bag. The next prize winner will be #14,500. You may come in at any time to get a library card — why not come to the Open House and sign up then? Citrus fruit and cheesecake pick-up: Everyone who placed an order is reminded to pick it up at the library Friday, Dec. 7, ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - December 4, 1931 FIREMAN ACTIVE IN CHARITY WORK Dr. Henry M. Laing fire com- pany will meet once a week until Christmas to take care of the work of gathering toys, clothing and food for needy families in Dallas borough and Dallas town- ship. Warden Kunkle has donat- ed the use of his store room on Main Street for storing the col- lected items. At the American Stores Co. some of the items you could pur- chase were: 1lb coffee, 21¢; 3 tall cans evaporated milk, 21¢; 2 big cans of tomatoes, 25¢; 2 1-2 1b pkgs, 25¢; Pillsbury’s Pancake Flour, 10¢; three cakes Palmo- live Soap, 20¢. Some of the items you could sors, to the fans in our commu- nity who purchased tickets, the support has been wonderful and much appreciated. At this time I would like to publicly thank our sponsors and I apologize for any unintentional omission of names. The 2001 Holiday open house December 18, 19 from 7 to 9 p.m., or on Satur- day, Dec. 8, from 9 a.m. to:4 p.m. Cheesecakes must be picked up on Friday to insure the highest quality. Library and bookstore clos- ings: The library will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 24 and 25, and on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The Slightly Read Bookstore will be closed for two weeks, from Monday, Dec. 24, through Fri- day, Jan. 4. Gift ideas: Two sizes of library tote bags, @ $8 and $5, and a special one for children, also @%$5; and 2002 Entertainment Books, @ $25, are available at the library. Fred Krohle, who manages the bookstore, has a holiday gift table featuring Christmas books, tapes and a video. He also an- nounces a biography special — if you buy two biographies, @ $2 each, you get a third one free — and says he has a number of books on tape in stock right now. Everyone framed 9x12” who ordered a slate blackboard buy at Newell's New Clothing Store, Noxen were: men’s khaki overalls, 98¢; hunting caps,. 79¢; hunting coats, $3.95; wom- en's rayon hose, 19%’; house dresses, 89¢; men’s dress socks, 3 pair 25¢. 60 Years Ago - December 5, 1941 FIRE DESTROYS LAKE DWELLING Fire of undetermined origin completely destroyed the three- room house owned by Gordon Kocher of Harveys Lake. The property directly across the street from the Kocher hoe, and formerly occupied by Mr. Kocher’'s daughter and. son-in- law, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Reynolds, had been vacant. The fire was discovered by a neigh- bor, Dan Smith. Retail milk prices throughout the Back Mountain area were raised one cent a quart on all grades of milk, making the price of regular milk, making the price of regular milk 14¢ a quart. Reg- ular milk in the New York mar- ket is now selling at 18¢ a quart. Negotiations for the purchase of Rickett's Glen in Wyoming, season sponsors were: Premiere Video, Mr. Joseph Kirkpatrick, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Penn State Wilkes-Barre .Cam- pus, Cafe Decadence, Country Traditions, Mr. Bob Vanderhook, E.M. Video, and Domino's Pizza of Dallas. I would especially like will be called before Christmas when it is ready to be picked up at the library. A few others will also be available for Christmas; call now to place your order if you need it for a Christmas gift. The library will continue to ac- cept orders in 2002. The price is $25. These blackboards are be- ing custom-made from the blackboards removed from the 75-year-old former school build- ing now occupied by the library. A gift with sentiment for your child or grandchild who attend- ed the school in the “good old days” (My son's first-grade class was located in what is now the Community Room.) Winter-Spring story hours: Registration for the story hours will be held from January 7 to 13, 2002. Sessions for toddlers will start on Tuesday, Feb. 5, from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Story hours for 3 to 5-year-olds will start on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 10:45- 11:45 a.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 7,10 to 11 a.m. Other 2002 dates for your new calendar: The Friends’ Sullivan and Luzerne counties have been re-opened by the State. The Legislature previously had appropriated $150,000. and the Game Commission $30,000 under the terms of a previous “understanding.” 50 Years Ago - December 7, 1951 COMMONWEALTH WILL IN- STALL 3,000 PHONES Rewiring of more than three thousand homes and public tele- phone installations throughout the Dallas area in preparation for dial conversion will begin ‘soon. Harold Payne is the vice president and general manager of the Commonwealth Telephone Company. The rewiring of sta- tions will take approximately four to six months. : Some. of the weekend specials at Gavy's Market in Trucksville were: pork loin roast, 45¢; pork butts, 45¢; bacon, 1 lb. package, 45¢; oranges 5 doz., $1; apples, 4 1b., 25¢; Gavy's coffee, 79¢ 1b. A shortage of pennies an other change has caused the Philadel- phia Federal Reserver Bank to issue an appeal to children to exchange the coins in their piggy to thank Mrs. A.J. Decker, my co-chair, and my husband Ray, to whom I am very grateful. Again, I express sincere grati- he tude to our community and am [) ® looking forward to a successful ™ 2002. i Michele Geiser j C Fourteenth Annual Luncheon, featuring editor Esther David- ¢ owitz as the speaker, will be held on Thursday, April 18, at Apple- tree Terrace at Newberry Estate. Donations of books, odds and ends, and new goods, are al- ready being accepted for the, 2002 Annual Auction in July. The exact dates will be an- nounced later. Fd») S Book Review: The Monday morning book discussion group } recently indulged in the humor of Dave Barry's “Big Trouble,” his first “actual novel,” as the book cover states. Although , some members were critical of © its choice as being too light- Fie weight, most of us found our- ( selves laughing as we discussed the various characters and their inane actions in the unraveling & of a mystery. A scene at an air- port where the bad guys are pursuing the good guys (or is it vice versa?) is very reminiscent of slapstick a la the Marx Broth- ers, or maybe the Three Stooges. Someone mentioned that it would make a good movie, and { evidently that is in the works. Go at your peril. Prd LY Peed Ded Dein pede NL ee % banks for bills, according to ¢ W.B. Jeter, president of First Na- «; tional Bank, Dallas. Mr. Jeter said there appears to be no real shortage of pennies in Dallas, but Wilkes-Barre banks fre- quently call Dallas to pick up whatever change is available. 40 Years Ago - December 7, 1961 NOXEN RESIDENTS FORM IN- DUSTRY COMMITTEE Franklin Paton heads a com- mittee of Noxen residents who are seeking a new industry to i take the place of the Tannery, which will be closing soon. There will be plans to meet with Cham- bers of Commerce of Wyoming Valley, Pittston, and Scranton in an effort to locate an industry to occupy the large plant. Michael Adams, was reelected president of the Ross Township school board at a recent meeting held at the Ross Elementary School. Sworn in as a new mem- ber of the board, along with Mr. Adams was Cletus Holcomb Jr., Myron Moss, Justice of the Peace, administered the oath of ¢ Continued on page 7 LX FE ® I wey w—y i ed THON ONY ee pee
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers