L 2 The Post FOR THE POST/SANDY PEOPLES Donna Matcho plays with her sons, Andrew, left and Nicholas on the sliding board at the Trinity Learning Center just before the mini-march began. Children (continued from page 1) that is raised in my children’s names,” The event raises at least $2,000 every year. Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease that causes a malfunc- tion of the pancreas and fre- quent respiratory infections. Parents may never get the dis- ease themselves, but can easily be tested to see if they are car- riers. Physicians can diagnose suspected cases of CF by test- ing the patient's perspiration. Symptoms usually occur during infancy or early childhood. “There are no local CF care centers,” said Matcho. “Andrew and Nicholas must travel for medical treatment.” There is no cure for cystic fi- brosis, but antibiotics are used to fight the lung infections. “Patients may also fail to di- gest their food completely, and that is why doctors recently gave Nicholas a feeding tube to help with this problem.” Because of the lack of local facilities to handle patients with this disease, the Matchos have had to learn physical and respiratory therapy and the nursing skills associated with caring for their boys, not to mention making the long trips when they need professional care. When asked how she and her family manage it all and keep their stamina, Matcho simply said, “We have to.” Matcho also sees the psycho- logical aspects of this disease for children. “As time goes on, they don’t want to talk about this disease or have anyone else talk about it. They want to keep it private. They want to try to lead normal lives and they don’t want to appear dif- ference from their peers. They just want to be kids.” There are two ways anyone can help Andrew and Nicholas and other children with CF. Vis- it cff.org/legistlative_action to learn about and support Senate Resolution 298, which if passed, will proclaim the month of May as National Cys- tic Fibrosis Awareness Month. This national exposure will help raise needed dollars for ge- netic research. Locally, cheerleaders and bas- ketball teams will take the court at the Wilkes University gymnasium on April 17 at 7 p.m. for a hilarious attempt at “trading places” as a fundraiser in the names of Andrew and Nicholas Matcho. Tickets are $1 for students and $3 for the general public. OBITUARIES MARGARET WEAVER Member of Center Moreland United Methodist Church Margaret M. Weaver, of Creamery Road, Tunkhannock, died April 5, 2004, at Wesley Village, Jenkins Township. She was born in Wilkes-Barre on Dec. 24, 1916, daughter of the late Lewis J. and Margaret Gwynn Siperko. She was a member of the Center More- land United Methodist Church. She was preceded in death by a brother, Lewis Siperko; half- brother, David Siperko; and sis- ter, Charlotte Morgan. Surviving are her husband of 66 years, Stanley E. Weaver; daughters, Carol Richardson, Tunkhannock; Beth Matthews, Timonium, Md.; Alice Weaver, Tunkhannock; sisters, Doris Huffman, Severna Park, Md; Audrey Bennett Morgan, Dun- nellon, Fla.; six grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; half- brothers, Charles, Carl, Edward and Fred Siperko; half-sisters, Ellen Yost and Barbara LaCovi- ta. Interment, Perrins Marsh Cemetery, Center Moreland. More obituaries appear on page 5 Tell our advertisers you saw them in The Post. They'll appreciate it, and so will we. WET BASEMENT? B-DRY SYSTEM \(; Independent Licensee of B-Dry, inc. WWW. DRYBASEMENTNET t The B-DRY SYSTEM has been proven to be SO UNIQUE & SO EFFECTIVE at eliminating basement leakage, that il has i been awarded a United States Government Pafent! FREE ESTIMATE. ie a — JAY, ¥. OCTOBER. 5, 1034, a —— DEFENSE ATTORNEY TAUGHT BROWN IN When Dr. HarryéBrown of lL.eh- man, deputy coroner who was the first physician to examine Freda Mekechnie's body when it was taken from Harvey's Luke, coms the Edwards trial an incident, in. teresting to local persons, occured. Attorney Frank McGuigan, de- fense chief, walked toward Dr. Brown and shook hands with him, “I taught Dr. Brown physiology forty years ago. when I was a tencher in the Lehman schools” Attorney McGuigan sald, LEHMAN,YEARS AGO. pleted his testimony on Tuesday at! Margaret Crain of East Aurora, N.Y, Death Hovers Over Edwards “As State Climaxes Its Case DEFENSE DEALT HARD BLOW BY REVELATIONS IN 172 LETTERS Prosecution Bares Intimate Details Of Passionate Court- ship; New Evidence Rocks Courtroom; Composure Deserts Edwards; Contents Of Letters To Aurora, ~~ N.Y, Sweetheart Unprintable; Not Known . How State Secured Them. DEFENSE EXPECTED TO BEGIN ITS CASE SOON Death--stark, cold, and vengeful--hovered closer over the bowed head of Robert Allan Edwards yesterday as the Stato reached the smashing climax in {te dramatic effort to prove that the 21-year-old Edwardsville youth murdered I'reda McKechnie, hig neighborhood sweetheart, because he wanted to marry Disregarding a likellhood of public offense, the progecution, in a dramatic surprise move, divulged the intimate and pussionate contents of some of the the trial. 1172 letters which Edwards had written to Miss Crain, The contents, unprint. able and damaging to the youth's character, created the greatest sensation o Shortly after this issue of The Dallas Posty was published Robert Edwards was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Freda McKechnie, and subsequently sentenced to death. Tragedy (continued from page 1) man wading in the lake. They went past the floating dock walking close together in a leisurely and friendly manner. Mrs. Ruff corroborated her husband’s testimony, adding that her husband called her to the window to see the couple wading out. . The two young people were respected and well-known, from a Welsh church communi- ty in Edwardsville. The follow- ing morning, Irene Cohen, a summer resident, found the body of 26-year-old unwed mother-to-be Freda McKechnie 85 feet from Mayer’s Landing, her head bludgeoned beneath her white bathing cap. George Jones, a Sandy beach lifeguard, went to get the body, along with Ben Williams and Tony Kotch. Dr. H. A. Brown of Lehman, deputy coroner, was called to examine the body. Miss McKechnie’s neighbor- hood sweetheart, 21-year-old Robert Edwards, was charged with the murder. “I knew Daniel Edwards, his father. He collected the rent from our family every month,” said Danny McCue. The Mc- Cue family rented a company house in Larksville from the Kingston Coal Co. Daniel Ed- wards ‘was paymaster of the company and his son, Robert Edwards, was a surveyor. “My father went into the mines when he was 7 years old. We all worked in the mines and collieries at some time,” said McCue. The mother and father of Robert Edwards were “sweet and quiet people,” he noted. “Daniel Edwards was a gen- tleman; he would sit and chat with my parents when he col- lected the rent each month. They were really broken up about this.” Danny McCue found Freda McKechnie’s clothes, red hand- bag, and gold watch the morn- ing of July 31. Tenters at Rood’s Camp- ground washed in the stream, but cooking and drinking water came from the communal well and that’s where Danny McCue was going when he discovered a woman's clothes under some newspapers. “Everything was very neatly placed and folded with the gold watch on top,” said McCue. A photograph in the Wilkes- “No, Mr. Lewis, that’s not how I did it. I did it like this.” Robert Edwards Barre Times Leader from Octo- ber 3, 1934 shows a young man wearing a cap pointing to the spot where the clothes were found. When he found the clothes, McCue ran to August Gomez's gas station and told him to call policeman Fred Swanson be- cause the find was so unusual during the Depression era. The shocking murder drew national attention when it was learned the handsome Robert Edwards, president of his 1931 class at Mansfield State Teach- ers College,” was engaged to marry Margaret Crain of Auro- ra, New York, a classmate. Informal testimony asserted that Robert Edwards could not have killed Freda Mckechnie. Unnamed sources in The Dal- las Post close to the family thought murder could not have been committed by such a “clean, wholesome, and re- spectful” person — a person from a “good family home at- mosphere with religious train- SENIOR MENUS Senior Citizens Centers sponsored by the Area Agency on aging for Luzerne and Wyoming Counties offers hot noon meals Monday through Friday to people 60 years of age or older. Donations from partic- ipants are gratefully accepted and needed in order to expand this program. The following is the menu for the week of April Mexican Mondays 1-9 p.m. $2.00 Coronas & Corona Lights Tuesday 30¢ Wing Night (In House Only) Kitchen Open || a.m.- |] 12-16. All menus include mar- garine, milk and coffee. The Se- nior Center is located at 22 Rice St., Dallas. MONDAY: Roast pork with bread stuffing and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans with mushrooms, spring cupcake. TUESDAY: Chicken scampi over rice, vegetable medley, lieba-+tions pub Happy Hour M-F 5-7 75¢ Domestic Drafts $2.00 Mixed Drinks Wednesday Peel & Eat Shrimp (in house only) $4.50 Dozen Friday DJ 9:30 - 1:30 Playing 70's, 80's, 90's p.m. Dail 675-2627 - 34 Main St., DF. 1 1 F. EY Ea! ing.” The Harveys Lake murder was referred to as Pennsylva- nia’s “American Tragedy,” a ref- erence to Theodore Dreiser’s novel. The 1925 classic tale of love and murder was based, ac- cording to Dreiser, on 15 mur- der case stories. In the novel a small town boy tries to better himself by mar- rying someone more refined but is hampered by a poorer girl who is pregnant with his child. He takes the girl out row- ing and murders her, then claims it was an accident. Danny McCue’s testimony and that of policemen Fred Swanson were challenged by the defense lawyers. Said Mc- Cue, “They really tried to rattle us. But that’s all I could do was tell the truth.” The trial concluded Friday night October 5, 1934 around 11 or 12 p.m., according to Mc- Cue. “We were there all week and that whole day. Around 4 or 5 p.m. we stopped for sup- per, we were all very tired, but they kept on after Bobby until he broke down.” Prosecuting attorney Thomas Lewis tried to estab- lish the exact manner in which Freda McKechnie was killed. Fi- nally, according to McCue, Robert Edwards said very po- litely, “No, Mr. Lewis, that’s not how I did it. I did it like this.” A blackjack was found in Harveys Lake and 172 love letters to the other woman were also shown as evidence. Robert Edwards was convict- ed, mostly from his own in- criminating statements, at 2 a.m. Saturday October 7, 1934, according to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader from that date. He was subsequently sentenced to death and electrocuted for his crime. chocolate pudding. WEDNESDAY: Kielbasa with sauerkraut, oven brown pota- toes, chilled peaches. THURSDAY: Stuffed cabbage . with tomato sauce, whipped potatoes, green beans, plum. FRIDAY: Sweet and sour pork over rice, Oriental vegeta- bles, vegetable egg roll, cake. Sunday, April 11, “® « Trial (continued from page 1) demands that Clyde marry her, he takes her rowing on an isolated lake and “accidental ly” murders her. He is found out, tried, convicted and exe- cuted. The novel caused a stir when it was published, achiev- ing the dubious distinction of being banned in Boston. It was also made into a movie. in 1931, just three years before the Harveys Lake murder that seemed to mirror it. A later movie based on the story, “A Place in the Sun,” starred Eliz- abeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift and won awards for best director and best screenplay. Ironically, the novel was based on an actual crime that had occurred in 1906, and oth- er cases in which men had murdered women with w. they had been romantical volved but who had become in- convenient. Dreiser himself came to the trial of Robert Edwards as a special writer on assignment. Danny McCue remembers him at the trial. “He came with his secretary, a woman with blonde hair, and they both took notes and wrote.” Another aspect that fired in- terest was the social status of the players. The two young people were respected and well-known, from a Welsh church community in Ed- wardsvillee. ‘The handsome Robert Edwards had studied for the ministry at Mansfield State Teachers College, ‘and was president of his 1931 class. He also was engaged to marry Margaret Crain of Auro- ra, New York, his classmate. An article in the August 17, 1934 issue of the Post de- scribed the national blow-up of the trial. “Half a hundre more reporters, sob-siste special writers will come to Wilkes-Barre next month. to cover the trial in the Luzerne County Court House. The Western Union has requested 30 typewriters. Nearly every metropolitan newspaper devot- ed a page to the story and pic- tures and all except the sedate New York Times carried front page leads and banner head- lines which grew in size and feeling as the trial progressed.” The trial was front page news in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader from Monday October 1 thru Saturday Octo- ber 6. The Post attributed the national attention som t to the secretiveness of the lawyers and also to a desire for a titillating = “murder-of-the- week” story in the national press. : Do you love local sports? The Post is seeking a correspon- dent to write a weekly local sports story. We're hoping to find some- one who has contacts in the local sports community, can ask inter- esting questions, write clearly and meet a deadline. We're not looking for game re- ports, but rather stories about peo- ple who just happen to be in- volved with sports at a local level — from youth leagues to adult recreation. If you can take a decent photo, that’s a plus! If you think this might be a good spot for you, drop an e-note to: rbartizek @leader.net. THE POST APRIL MENU DAILY: * Multigrain * 100% Whole Wheat ' Roasted 3-Seed * Italian + Cinnamon Buns * Cinnamon Raisin Walnut * Cinnamon Raison Walnut Twists SANDWICHES: Mozzerella, Basil, Romaine and Tomato on Multigrain or Avacado, Sprouts, Cucumber, Romaine and Light Cream Cheese on Multigrain SPECIALS: Raisin Bread Cranberry Orange Walnut and PANE de CHAMPAGNE Onion Dill and ye Oatmeal Rye Bread and Sunflower Seed Bread Challah Bread, PAIN aux OLIVE, Garlic Bread Main St. Shavertown ;....> 696-3949 Coverage Area: The Post covers the “Back Mountain” area of Luzerne County, including the Dallas and Lake-Lehman school districts, and southern Wyoming County. We try to get to as many events as possible, but staff and space limitations make it impossible to cover everything. If you have news about your family, town or organization, please send it to us and we'll try to get it in. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers