4 The Post EDITORIAL Sunday, January 2, 2005 OUR OPINION Service to others takes many forms o men featured in this issue illustrate the wide range of service one person can provide to others. David Williams, a Dallas native, is about to take the top position at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. The organization, which has a local affiliate, grants wishes to chil- dren with life-threatening medical conditions. Williams is a highly educated and experience professional who could easily land an executive job with the kind of salary that makes head- lines. Instead, he has chosen to use his skills to help the less fortunate, first at the Houston Food Bank, then with Habitat for Humanity and now at Make-A-Wish. Michael Laskowski has service of a different sort in mind. The 19-year-old wants to be a marine, and has no qualms about risking his life to help others. Right now that would mean going to Iraq to support the effort to create democracy there. Actually, the earnest young man will probably make that trip next year, as a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 110th Infantry. Military red tape has kept him from pursuing the career he desires, although he says that will not dissuade him from enlisting when his active-duty Guard tour is over. How different these approaches are, yet they share a deep desire to improve the human condition, whether on an indi- vidual or national scale. We can be proud that such people live among us, and strive to emulate their commitment to our fellow man. MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel e On Jan. 5, 1643, in the first record of a legal divorce in the American colonies, Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a divorce from her absent and adulterous husband, Denis Clarke, by the Quarter Court of Boston. e On Jan. 7, 1785, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air. The two men nearly crashed into the Channel - along the way, however, as they were weighed down by extrane- ous supplies such as anchors and silk-covered oars, with which they hoped to row their way through the air. e On Jan. 8, 1867, Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson’s veto of a bill granting all adult male citizens of the District of Columbia the right to vote, and the bill becomes law. It was the first law in American history to grant black men the right to vote. e On Jan. 9, 1958, the Toyota and Datsun (later Nissan) brand names make their first appearances in the United States at the Imported Motor Car Show in Los Angeles. Previously, their cars had sold in America only under U.S.-brand names, as part of joint ventures with Ford and GM. e On Jan. 4, 1965, Nobel Prize-winning poet T.S. Eliot dies in London at age 76. Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” published in 1922, is considered the single most influential work of poetry of the 20th century. ® On Jan. 6, 1993, renowned jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, whose work includes “Night in Tunisia” and “Salt Peanuts,” dies of cancer at age 75. Gillespie's collaboration with sax player Charlie Parker helped shape “bebop” jazz. ¢ On Jan. 3, 2000, the last daily “Peanuts” comic strip is pub- lished in 2,600 newspapers as Charles Schulz retires. “Peanuts,” which followed the exploits of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and his trusted dog Snoopy, first appeared in 1950. (c) 2005 King Features Synd., Inc. Here's lookin" at you, kid. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. Low-interest loans available in rural areas USDA Rural Development offers a sub- sidized government program designed to assist low-income, credit-worthy families and individuals in purchasing or building homes in rural areas. To qualify, applicants must be under the low-income limit for the county in which they live (80 percent of median income), have an acceptable credit histo- ry, and meet certain debt to income ratios. The current interest rate is 5.875 percent fixed (33 years). No down pay- ment is required, and funds for repairs (and sometimes closing costs) may be included in the loan. The unique feature about USDA Rural Development mort- gages is that the payments may be subsi- dized, or reduced, based on the appli- cant’s income. Call the Wyoming office at 836-4157, mortgage. visit the ext. 4, for more information. You may be prequalified over the telephone, if you supply your annual gross household income and monthly debt payments. Deductions to the annual gross income are made for the number of children in the household, child care expenses and persons with disabilities. USDA Rural Development does not compete with other lenders. In fact, USDA Rural Development will participate in a joint loan where another lender con- tributes part of the money as a first mort- gage, and USDA Rural Development con- tributes the balance of funds as a second For more information on the programs offered by USDA Rural Development, website at www.rurdev.usda.gov/pa. KING Story hours begin Jan. 4 Happy New Year to all! First, a reminder that registration for the children’s winter story hours will start on ing the week of February 1 and end the week of April 4. 000 The Wordhorde held during the Dallas Fire department web addresses Five local fire departments now have web pages where anyone who is interested may find out more about the departments and how to become a volunteer. Thye are: Shavertown: http://go.to/shavertownfire Trucksville: http://www.trucksvillefire.com Kunkle Fire & EMS: http://home.usnetway.com/~kunkle Harveys Lake Fire & EMS: http://www.geocities.com/harveyslakefire Northmoreland Fire: http://www.geocities.com/station140 desk. Harvest Festival was so successful that the Friends of the Library are staging another program on Friday, January 28, at 7 p.m. Anyone interested in performing in the open-mic forum in the areas of poetry, prose, or music is invited to sign up at the Free computer classes will be offered again at the library in the near future. A someone at the desk for details. Tuesday, January 4. Th " programs will begin dur g#® Sa J Letters, columns and editorials Editorials, which are the opinion of the management of The Post, appear on the editorial page and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. Any artwork represents the opinion of the cartoonist, and columns are the opinion of the author. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published, sub- ject to the following guidelines: ¢ Letters must be signed and include the writer's home town and a telephone number for verification. e Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear threat to the writer. e The Post retains the right to accept or reject any letter, and to edit letters for grammar and spelling, as well as to eliminate any libel, slander or objectionable wording. Letters can be sent many ways: By e-mail to: thepost@leader.net By mail to: The Post, 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre PA 18711. By using the drop box located in the Uni-Mart convenience store on Route 309 in Dallas, across from the Dallas Shopping Center. Always include a daytime phone number for verification. Send your news to The Post by e-mail. thepost@leader.net Digital photos welcome, too! Deadline for submitted news is Wednesday at noon. Tie POST TIMESeLEADER Community Newspaper Group 15 N. MAIN ST., WILKES-BARRE PA 18711 » 570-675-5211 thepost@leader.net Ronald Bartizek Patrick McHugh EDITOR PUBLISHER Justin Wisnosk ADVERTISIN Pat O'Donnell PREPRESS MANAGER 70 Years Ago Jan. 4, 1935 LOCAL PILOT SPOTS DOWNED PLANE Phillip Reynolds, a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Reynolds of Trucksville, was a co- pilot on the American Airlines ~ plane which YESTERDAY discovered, deep in the Adirondacks, the wreck of the ship which had crashed on Friday night during a snow- storm. An article by Miss Anne Dorrance of Huntsville appears in the January issue of American Home. Photographs taken at “Wild Ledges,” the Huntsville home of Misses Frances and Anne Dorrance and Frances Markham, illus- trate the article. Dallas Rotary Club met last night at Colonial tea Room and enjoyed an interesting program which was featured by an enter- tainment given by a group of youthful artists. Among the young people who entertained were Dorothy June Rimple, Ellen Jane Palermo, Betty Thomas and John Garinger. They were directed by Miss Dorothy Schechler. 60 Years Ago Jan. 5, 1945 SAILORS GET A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Frank Kuehn of Dallas had a memorable Christmas. He and five crewmates went celebrity hunting in Beverly Hills while on shore leave. Directed to the home of Joan Fontaine, Kuehn knocked at the door, only to see the actress answer. Not only did they get autographs, they were invited to stay for Christmas dinner, along with Fontaine’s guests Joan Crawford and Olivia DeHaviland. Dallas Junior Woman’s Club has exceeded their quota by $9,880 as the sixth War Bond Drive came to a close. A total of 122 bonds were sold, bringing in $17,880. Blue Star pins, earned by selling ten or more bonds, were won by Betty Brace, Adria Jones, Murial Garinger, Phyllis Elston and Alberta Oliver. Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Culp enter- tained at a watch party at their home at Huntsville Sunday evening. Dinner was served at midnight. Guests were Mr. and Mrs. Jack Roberts, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Nuss, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Elston, Mrs. Frances Culp and Mrs. Ralph Frantz. 50 Years Ago Dec. 30, 1954 DALLAS HARDWARE IS SOLD TO BACK MOUNTAIN LUMBER AND COAL Granville Sowden, Back Mountain Lumber & Coal Company, and Lawrence Updyke, Dallas Hardware & Supply, announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached for the sale of the Dallas store. Mr. Updyke, who owned and operated the Dallas Hardware & Supply for eleven years, says he will occupy his time with other business inter- ests. Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lavelle and their infant had a narrow 9] escape from death early Tuesday morning when their home at 56 Elizabeth street filled with coal gas fumes from a hot air furnace. Persistent cry- ing of the baby, sleeping in another room, round Mr. Lavelle. He then carried his wife and the baby to the home of Theodore Lavelle.. Among businesses taking out Happy New Year greetings ads were Main Street stores Cards & Stuff, Circle Cleaning and Dyeing Co. and Henry, Your Jeweler. 40 Years Ago Dec. 29, 1964 FIREMEN DOUSE BLAZE AT GAS PUMP Men of Dr. Henry M. Laing Fire Company, Dallas, put out a blaze in the high-test pump at Harry Wesley’s Gulf Station after it was struck by a skidding car. Bob Richardson, Bill Berti and chief Don Bulford took part. Mr. and Mrs. Courtney Carkeek, of Pikes Creek, will celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary on New Year’s Day. She is the former Alice: Hazlett. They were married in the parsonage of Dallas Methodist Church by the late Rev. Fred Young. The couple had dinner at the old Raub Hotel before returning home, making the trip by horse and sleigh, an all day event six decades ago. From the column “Better Leighton Never,” associate edi- tor Leighton R. Scott Jr. wrote: “A popular touch: Christmas lights in the middle window of the railroad passenger station and smoke coming out of the chimney for the first time since stationmaster Jim Murray locked the door after the last day of operation.” 30 Years Ago Editor's Note: The Dallas Post was shut down abruptly after the Dec. 23, 1974 issue by its owner, Greenstreet News. A new owner resumed publication Jan. 30, 1975, and “30 Years Ago” will return when we reach that date. 20 Years Ago Dec. 31, 1984 ‘ANYTHING ELSE’ FROM SANTA WAS OKAY WITH HER Writing to Santa, Carey Mazzoni said, “I was pretty good this year so I would like you think.” Greg Coblei asked for a “toe truck.” lost of toys. Or anything ® Doug Whitesell, of Whitesell Brothers building supply com- pany, collected his winnings from the Masonite Corporation, a trip for two to the 1985 Super Bowl in San Francisco. The Trucksville Volunteer Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary donated $1,000 to the fire com- pany to help with equipment purchases. Brunilda Saxon was president of the auxiliary and Mille Wall was vice president. The Farinola family of Shrine Acres in Dallas, won the urlighted display category in a house decorating contest spon- sored by The Dallas Post. The Newell family of Noxen won the lighted category. Only Yesterday is compiled from the ( ) back-issue files of The Post.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers