@o. 116 No. 34 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 Local residents enjoying the final few days of summer at Harveys Lake. ( August 21 - August 27, 2005 POST . SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Beth Maffei reads ‘Let's Get a Pup’ to one of the groups of children. Rebecca Oley, team music teacher, sings with a group of children. Learning love is FOR THE POST/JONATHAN JUKA Rachel Maniskas, 6, looks at the picture she colored while Mitchell Robert, 6, works on his during a community-wide Vacation Bible School earlier this week. 150 children attend community-wide Vacation Bible School By KRISTA CONNOLLY Post Correspondent SHAVERTOWN - Candy comes in many fla- vors. So does religion. But, that didn’t matter to the 150 children at- tending a community Vacation Bible School — Kingdom of the Son, Prayer Safari — this week at the Shavertown United Methodist Church. As they used gummy Swedish fish, Sweet Tarts, and mini chocolate kisses to learn about God’s love, the children didn’t realize they were from different churches. The Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Bap- tist, Lutheran and Episcopalian children were busy playing games, eating snacks and hearing stories, all intertwined with the religious theme of the day. “This ecumenical VBS concept began ap- proximately eight years ago,” said Bonnie Zie- gler, Sunday school director at Shavertown United Methodist. “And it’s been going strong ever since,” add- ed volunteer staff coordinator Amy Hunting- ton. Although the VBS is sponsored and paid for by six of the Back Mountain Christian churches —Shavertown United Methodist, Dallas United: Methodist, Huntsville United Methodist, St. Paul's Lutheran, Prince of Peace Episcopal and Trinity Presbyterian), children from ages 3 to 13 of all churches were welcome. “This year, we have children from Gate of Heaven, St. Therese’s, Our Lady of Victory, St. Maria Goretti and Firwood United Methodist Church in Wilkes-Barre,” said Huntington. “The program is free of charge and everyone is welcome.” Huntington agreed. “We do not distinguish any differences in the children’s backgrounds,” she said. “If a Catholic child wants to bless themselves before snack time, that’s great. All during the school year, we join for soccer, tee ball, football and sports ac- tivities, why not come together during the summer, to blend our faith? It makes it bigger and better. “The children experience a prayerful week of worship, fun and fellowship with their friends and family.” The bigger and better idea is readily appar- ent at the makeshift summer camp. The chil- dren, grouped together by ages and animal nicknames are ushered through the various play stations by the 65 parent and teenage vol- unteers. One such volunteer, Jim Snyder, su- perintendent of the Trinity Presbyterian Church, proudly smiled as he donned his neon colored vest, with his new nickname badge “Crossing Guard Jim.” “We have a lot of fun,” he said. “We would only have had 19 students at our individual church this year, it would be a drain on re- sources, both with money and parent volun- See VBS, Page 9 Students at former one-room schoolhouses get together for reunion assmates, friends recall the good old days By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor JACKSON TWP. — They walked to school — yes, sometimes more than a mile in the snow and rain — and shared a single classroom with as many as 50 other students in eight different des. If they wanted a cup of water, they took a bucket to a nearby pump or stream — and carried the heavy bucket to the school. If drinking the water forced nature to call, they paid a visit to the outhouse. y There was no electricity. And if they wanted heat during the winter months, they helped their teacher start the furnace each morning. Life as a student in a one-room schoolhouse wasn’t easy. But Helen Franklin, Dorothy Gmiter and Keith Cragle say they wouldn’t trade their experiences for anything. The trio was part of more than 15 former one-room schoolhouse stu- dents from the Back Mountain who gathered last weekend in Jackson Township for a reunion. The third an- nual event was held at the home of See REUNION, Page 6 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/FRED ADAMS Helen Franklin rings a 100-year-old bell from the former Rome School in Jackson Tédnship. Franklin's mother, Victoria Maude Bul®rd, was a teach- er in the one-room schoolhouse during the early 1900s. COUNTRY WEDDING Areal country wedding New York couple anxious to tie the knot in Dallas barn next spring By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Post Correspondent DALLAS - It will be a wedding to remem- ber, something you might read about in Vogue magazine. And the “country chic” wed- ding that will take place on Mount Olivet Road next spring. Chandeliers and sconces will be brought in and each of the 200 guests will be chauffeured by bus from New York to Dallas. The wedding will represent a trend among young couples to leave the traditional wedding setting be- hind. They will be married in a barn. The wedding ceremony and reception will take “We |ike place in the three-story, red, gambrel-roofed barn near the barn the corner of Lower De- wood and munds and Mt. Olivet . roads. Built in 1912 by the history Wilkes-Barre coal baron W. behind the T. Payne, the barn has been recently painstakingly re- barn. It stored by its newest owners, will be a Rob and Allison Freidman. In 2003, the Freidmans lovely way. hoped to secure the barn to have from further damage, house our wed- some horses, and perhaps ,. _,, add a bowling alley or shops di ng. in the barn. Mika Kleban Then quite by accident, Bride-to-be Allison Freidman was look- ing at a message board on an Internet site for restored barns when she came across this message: “Looking for barn in PA for September wedding.” Friedman responded to the query and the engaged New York couple who posted the message is very glad she did. “We love being in the country and we don’t like tents,” says Mika Kleban, referring to her- self and husband-to-be Todd Schwartz. They will be married on a date to be determined in May. “We like the barn wood and the history behind the barn. It will be a lovely way to have See WEDDING, Page 6 FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Guests at a wedding next spring will be seated in these folding chairs. Country weddings have become a popular alterna- tive to traditional settings. ¥ Inside The Post 10 Pages, 1 Section CHONCAR Lhd vrs sedinirmnssvimemidiinse 10 HTL PR Me AIR 9 ODIEUBIIES sires ss vsetusinisvensiivinyrsonunsongintsssses 3 SCADOL. ciitiii vn ii niamiiaianiaons 5 2 Ln PEI RR A a LE Gr 7 v¥ How To Reach Us News: 675-5211 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18711 Advertising: 829-7101 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000
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