PAGE 4 THE POST EDITORIAL Sunday, July 24, 2005 FROM THE EDITOR [t's great to be back In a special community t certainly wasn’t meant to be callous. 1 In fact, the question posed by one of my colleagues last week is probably on the minds and lips of many Back Moun- tain residents who area reading this edition of The Post. “Why would a person with more than 20 years experience in the newspaper industry volunteer to leave a position with a medi- um-sized daily newspaper to work for a small community publi- cation?” But if you know me — or if you've lived in the Back Mountain for any length of time — the answer is simple. This is a special community that has meant a lot to me and my family for decades, from the time my relatives moved to the Back Mountain in the 1800s when my great-grandfather built a home in Fernbrook. There are still four generations of my family living in this community. I've spent almost all of my life in the Back Mountain — by choice. I graduated from Dallas High School, as did my two brothers and two sisters. Four of us still live here and our chil- dren attend schools in the Dallas and Lake-Lehman school dis- tricts. Our family has always been active in the community, whether it’s a membership at a local church or civic organization. And between myself, my wife If there's a Donna and my father John, we have more than : ? special even 50 years of volunteer coaching in the Back Spee ae of i Mountain Baseball Little League program. ora Specia Starting with this edition, I'm taking over person = in duties as editor of The Post. I'm replacing Ron our backyard, Bartizek, who has moved to a new position as we want you team leader of the Times Leader’s business section. to know about So I won’t be covering high school state it. championship games, college playoffs, or profes- sional sporting events. Instead, I'll be covering ice cream socials at our churches. Christmas concerts in our elementary schools. Fund-raisers for our fire companies. Special events sponsored by our Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary clubs. And I'll enjoy every minute of it. The Post will be a very feature-driven newspaper with lots of stories about the people, schools, civic organizations, churches and youth sports organizations in our neighborhoods. If there’s a special event — or a special person — in our backyard, we want you to know about it. That doesn’t mean the “hard news” issues that affect the people in our community will be ignored. Those stories will be aggressively pursued by the news team at the Times Lead- er, which purchased The Post a few years ago. In order to write the stories about your friends and neighbors, civic organizations, churches, schools and sports organizations, we're going to need your help. Be sure to let us know about your special event at least 10 days in advance. That will give us the best chance of being sure a writer and photographer can cover the event. Let us know about your story ideas. When I was editor of The Back Mountain Leader — a former community newspaper pro- duced by the Times Leader — some of our best stories started out as a tip from a reader. If you have an idea for a neat feature, let us know about that, too. I can be reached by phone by calling at 829-7248 or 831-7306. You can also reach me by e-mail at dkonopki@leader.net or the- post@leader.net. I'd love to hear from you. Dave Konopki MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel ® On July 29, 1588, off the coast of Gravelines, France, Spain’s “Invincible Armada” is defeated by an English naval force. After eight hours of furious fighting, a change in wind direction prompted the Spanish fleet to break off from the battle and re- treat, its hopes of invasion crushed. ® On July 27, 1921, at the University of Toronto, Canadian scientists Frederick Banting and Charles Best successfully isolate insulin — a hormone they believe could prevent diabetes — for the first time. By 1923, insulin had become widely available, and Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine. ® On July 26, 1945, in the 11th hour of World War II, Winston Churchill is forced to resign as British prime minister following his party’s electoral defeat by the Labour Party in the first general election held in Britain in more than a decade. ® On July 25, 1965, folk legend Bob Dylan performs for the first time with electric instruments. His fans, who were used to hearing him play folk songs on an acoustic guitar, were so disappointed that they booed him off the stage at the Newport Folk Festival. ® On July 31, 1975, Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing in Detroit. He was last seen alive in a parking lot at the Red Fox restaurant the previous afternoon. To this day, Hoffa’s fate remains a mystery, although many believe he was murdered by organized crime figures. ¢ On July 28, 1990, Maximo Menendez falls into a coma and later dies after drinking a Colombian soft drink, Pony Malta, in Miami. The next day, FDA officials determined that the soft drink had been laced with a lethal dose of liquid cocaine in an apparent smuggling operation gone awry. (c) 2005 King Features Synd., Inc. Tae POST TIMES®LEADER Community Newspaper Group ¢ 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18711 ® 570-675-5211 thepost@leader.net Patrick McHugh Dave Konopki PUBLISHER EDITOR Erika Calvert ADVERTISING Pat O'Donnell PREPRESS MANAGER Shed no tears for the fate of these pungent beauties. Whether destined for salad or soup, they will be loved. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. 70 Years Ago July 26, 1935 RASPUTIN’S DAUGHTER FEATURED IN CIRCUS The great Hagenbeck-Wallace and Forepaugh-Sells Bros. Com- bined Circus will present after- noon and night performances in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Aug. 2. Many new features have been’ added, these include Maria Rasputin, sensational European wild animal trainer and daughter of the famous Russian monk, Gri- gori Rasp- ONLY utin, who YESTERYDAY Tuled the Raminoffs with the power of his hypnotic eyes prior to his demise in 1916. Junior Miller, 8, Johnstown, wrote to the state highway de- partment for a road map, of which he had read in the local newspaper. The article said a 2- cent stamp should accompany requests for the map. Junior had four cents, spent three on a stamp to mail his letter, and was left with only a penny. Junior sent a one-cent stamp, explain- ing he was anxious to surprise his daddy and would send the other penny “as soon as I saveit.” Secretary of Highways Warren Van Dyke sent Junior the map and returned the penny. A liquor store will be opened in Dallas soon by the State Li- quor Control Board according to an announcement made in Har- risburg this week. The store, the first for Dallas since the repeal of the 18th Amendment, will be one of four to be opened in Lu- zerne County. Salaries of teachers who have been elected to serve in Dallas Borough schools for the next term were approved at a meeting of the directors last Friday night. Ronald Doll, who will act as prin- cipal, will receive $1,380. Other salaries announced: first grade, Miss Mack, $900; second grade, Miss Gardner, $900 with a $50 additional for extra work as girls athletic coach; fifth grade, Miss Anderson, $990; sixth grade, Mr. Rood, $950. High school teach- ers: Miss Emmert, Miss Tayler and Miss Dymond, $1,170 each. 60 Years Ago July 27, 1945 PLAN $10,000,000 POST-WAR RURAL ROADS PROGRAM Close on the heels of the an- nouncement that the new Wilkes-Barre-Williamsport high- way, connecting with the Har- veys Lake highway at Idetown, will be one of the first post-war construction jobs of the Pennsyl- vania Department of Highways, comes word that the department is drafting a secondary post-war highway improvement program which will cost $10,000,000, which will take place in rural ar- eas of the state. : One thousand dairymen and their families from all parts of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and some from Southern New York and Northern New Jersey, are ex- pected to attend the grand open- ing of NEPA Artificial Breeding Association Tuesday, Aug. 14 at the association’s newly acquired property on the Tunkhannock Fair Grounds, according to an announcement of the program made this week by Arthur Gay, president of the association. William J. Snyder, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry J. Snyder of Claude Street, was among those who received commissions at Hondo Army Air Field, Hondo, Texas last week. Second Lt. Wil- liam will act as flight engineer on a B-29. ; Jive Junction, Dallas Teen-Age Center, will be closed for the bal- ance of July and August until a new dance floor can be laid and interior decorations completed. 50 Years Ago July 22, 1955 BACK MOUNTAIN IS SPORTS CAR WEEKEND MECCA Back Mountain area can boast that it is the United States mecca for the sports car world this weekend, as scores of virtually every type sports car converge on Greater Wilkes-Barre for the 1955 Hill Climb being held to- day, and the Brynfan Tyddyn Road Races scheduled all day Saturday. A plucky little white-haired mongrel dog named Ted is reco- vering from a rattlesnake bite at Dr. George Flack’s hospital in Trucksville. Teddy discovered the rattlesnake late Tuesday af- ternoon in the field of his mas- ter’s home at Evans Falls. Then he went after the snake, as all good dogs do that have a home and family to protect. The cash registers over-heated at Gosart’s grand opening Friday and Saturday, thousands of cus- tomers and spectators streaming through the modern building with its spotless walls and coun- ters, sampling the 50-pound an- niversary cake, and getting free hand-outs of soda-pop and sam- ples. : ; Cars jammed parking facilities on Memorial Highway, Dallas, from 10 in the morning until 10 p.m. both days. The 10th annual Dog Show sponsored by Back Mountain Kennel Club attracted a huge crowd of dog lovers all day Sun- day. Many exhibitors and vis- itors spoke of the beautiful spot in the Pennsylvania hills and were impressed with arrange- ments for outdoor rings. Dogs were entered from as far away as Hawaii and Venezuela, as well as from southern and eastern states. Edward Earl Oncay, Dallas RD, and Edward Keller, Harveys Lake, have been accepted for Ju- nior Membership in the Ameri- Vv can Guernsey Cattle Club. 40 Years Ago July 22, 1965 LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES ARE URGED TO BUILD SEWER At last census, in 1960, the “metropolitan” Back Mountain, Dallas Borough, Dallas Town- ship, and Kingston Township numbered 12,089 people. In 1980, the combined popula- tion will be something like 19,400, according to a feasibility report. Along the lines of this study, the Back Mountain Protective Association is urging local mu- nicipalities to build a sewer sys- tem under the new Appalachia program. The 19th Back Mountain Li- brary Auction chairman, Merrill Faegenburg, stated yesterday that approximately $14,000 would be realized from the big event this year. The Book Booth brought a fine figure of $800, the Art Booth ran up a total of $200, Odds and Ends Booth, $400. On July 3, 1965, the Lehman- Jackson-Ross Class of 1955 met for the 10th anniversary of its graduation. The reunion was held at The Brothers Four, Main Street, Dal- las, with a buffet style meal en- joyed by 47 persons. The reunion committee was headed by class president, Alice Ide Hudak. The following classmates served as committee members: Jay E. Long, Harry Thompson, and Jeanne Casterline Barrall. Richard Mahle “turned the ta- bles” Tuesday evening when he showed slides and explained the geographical features and inter- esting historical facts on Swit- zerland, France and Italy to three of his former teachers, Florence Worth, Jessica Thomas, and Mildred Garinger. Others who enjoyed the slide were Lina Garinger, Tillie Love- land, and Raymond Caringer. Richard recently completed his term of service in the United Sates Army, during which time he was stationed in Germany. by Postal workers, subscribers to this newspaper should save the address portion of this week’s pa- per. Issues of the paper will be available during the strike either at our newspaper office or at des- ignated places announced by ra- dio. Just in case you haven't heard, here are the lineups for the big donkey baseball game to iD played at Huntington Valley Lit tle League filed on July 26 at 6 p.m. The Muleskimmers is cap- tained by Allen “Cowboy” Rit- tenhouse and will have the fol- lowing players in the lineup: Don “Pretty Boy” Staltz, Frank “Farmer” Petrosky, Steve Macei- ko, Ron “Tiny” Peterson, Rich “Gettyup” Davis, Thelma “Slug- ger” Leach, Wayne “Beltem” Dennis and Jim “Wothere” Mi- nor. , Frank J. Summa Jr, a 1975 graduate of Trenton State Col- lege, N.J., ended seven years of track competition by winning two gold medals in this is) New Jersey State College Tra Championships. He placed first in both the long jump and triple jump. Frank is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Summa, Water Street, Dallas, and a Dallas High School graduate. 20 Years Ago July 24, 1985 SEVEN DIE IN BOARDING HOME BLAZE Seven boarding house resi- dents were killed and 12 others narrowly escaped death early Tuesday morning when a gener- al alarm fire ripped through Tho- mas’ Guest Home on Main Street in Sweet Valley at approxi- mately 4 a.m. A 5-7-acre section of land at Frances Slocum State Park has become the permanent camping grounds for a very persistent and sometimes pesky, beav colony, park officials told TY Post. For the past four years the beavers have been building, and rebuilding, a dam along the stream and running through the park. Park officials have repeat- ~ edly broken open the dam in or- 30 Years Ago July 24, 1975 MENNONITES TO CONDUCT SERVICE AT DALLAS BAPTIST CHURCH The Dallas Baptist Church, 42 Mill Street, has extended a general invitation to everyone of this area to attend a unique event. The members and Pas- tors of the Valley View Menno- nite Church of Schoeneck will conduct a worship service at 7 on Sunday evening, July 28. These folks are one of the “plain people” groups of the Lancas- ter County, Pennsylvania Dutch country. While not of the “horse and buggy” Dutch, their dress and manner is distinctive. Notice: In an event of a strike der to keep the water level down, but the beavers have rebuilt the dam as fast as they can break it open. John Miliauskas, director of the Lake-Lehman High School Band has been appointed an ad- junct faculty member in the Hu- manities Department of Luzerne County Community College and will serve as the instructor of.a new course, entitled “LCCC Community Band,” scheduled to begin this fall. A grand re-open- ing of the Robert D. Wintersteen Memorial Recreation Center at Harveys Lake was held on Tues day, July 16. Through the efforts of current borough council, and especially councilman Frank Bu- ono, recreation chairman, dong with Ailene Forster, wife of cou cilman David Forster, the build- ing is going to bé used as a recre- ation center for borough youth." p J { I] : % n ) I I le. -.e.-4SL pe ——— ea ——————— ——— Tr —
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers