en Sr —— i : i { ! i i i -. : Sunday, March 26, 2006 EDITORIAL THE POST PAGE 5A * the United States and one of the most highly regarded American The History Channel * On March 30, 1867, the United States government puts the fin- : ‘ishing touches a deal to purchase Alaska. The U.S. paid Alaska’s owner, Russia, $7.2 million, or roughly two cents per acre of land. In certain circles, the deal was derisively known as “Seward'’s Folly” after Secretary of State William Seward. ® On April 1,1877, prospector Edward Schieffelin begins his search for silver in the area of present-day southern Arizona. Later that year, he found one of the richest silver veins in the West, naming it . the Tombstone Lode. Tombstone attracted gamblers, criminals and would-be lawmen such as Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers, fa- ‘mous for their shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. * On March 31,1889, the Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris. Gustave Eiffel's tower was greeted with skepticism, as critics argued it would be structurally unsound. Within a few decades, however, the tower ® On April 2,1902, the first American theater devoted solely to movies opens in Los Angeles. Housed in a circus tent, the venue was dubbed “The Electric Theater.” Admission was about 10 cents for a Fon to be regarded as an architectural masterpiece. one-hour show. ® On March 27,1912, in Washington, D.C., on the northern bank of the Potomac River, Helen Taft, wife of President William Taft, plants two Yoshina cherry trees in celebration of a gift of 3,020 cherry trees from the Japanese government. ¢ On March 28, 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of generals of World War Il, dies in Washington, D.C., at the age of 78. a * On March 29,1973, under the provisions of the Paris Peace Ac- @ the last U.S. troops depart South Vietnam, ending nearly 10 - Vyears of U.S. military presence in that country. Roughly 8,500 U.S. i civilians stayed on as technical advisers to the South Vietnamese. (c) 2006 King Features Synd., Inc. STRANGE BUT TRUE ¢ Do you suffer from ailurophobia? That's just a fancy way of saying that you hate cats. If you are ailurophobic, you're not alone: Accord- ing to historians, Napoleon, Genghis Kahn, Adolph Hitler and Julius Caesar felt the same way. Interesting company to be in, don’t you think? e |t was Thomas Haliburton who noted, “There's many a mistake made on purpose.” * The jukebox has been around since 1889, when the machine made its debut at a saloon in San Francisco. Though it wasn't called a juke- box. At the time, it was known as a “nickel-in-the-slot player.” And it wasn't exactly like the music players we're familiar with today. It was simply a wooden cabinet with a phonograph player inside. Four tubes that resembled stethoscopes were attached to the cabinet, so no more than four people could enjoy the music at any given time - and each of those four people had to deposit five cents to activate the listening tube. e It's required by law that all U.S. currency have the national motto “ “In God We Trust" somewhere on it. e When you're whipping up a meal for the family, do you ever use saffron? If so, you know that it'll put a dent in your pocketbook. Not only is it one of the most ancient spices - records show that it was sed as far back as 3,000 years ago - it is also one of the most ex- ensive, with a price today of nearly $30 for a single ounce. Why the “high cost? It's because of the labor involved. Saffron comes from a type of crocus, and the delicate flowers must be processed by hand. Experts estimate that it takes 70,000 flowers to yield one pound of dried saffron. ® 0 0 Thought for the Day: “Never pray for justice, because you might get some.” = Margaret Atwood ROGERS DISPLAYING DISNEY COLLECTIBLES Lehman Township resident Bob Rogers is displaying some of his many Disney collectibles at the Back Mountain Memorial Li- brary. Rogers has been collecting new and old Disney items for more than 15 years. Some of his more interesting pieces include a 12-inch Mickey figure that was used to hold a dish of peanuts on the bar of Han- @ in Harveys Lake, a comic book written in Arabic, a Donald uck lamp, an original Mouseketeers black and white photo ,and a set of nesting eggs from Russia of Mickey and his pals. Rogers also has several beautiful snow globes, collector books about Disney World, large and small figurines of all the characters, a Minnie soap dish, and numerous postcards. | Rogers says his son David works in the Wilderness Lodge in Disney World. That means a visit to his son is also a visit to Dis- ney World. In addition, many items were received as gifts from his family. He is still on the lookout for more pieces, especially a tin pull-along toy that was popular years ago. THE POST TIMES®LEADER Community Newspaper Group 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18711 ® 570-675-521 thepost@leader.net Patrick McHugh - PUBLISHER David C. Konopki EDITOR Erika Calvert ADVERTISING xT better days, brighter days, and balmier days, yet to come. hit S heltered by a thin armor of plastic and a bubble of artificially tepid temperature, some race ahead of the weather in the vanguard to Reading program, babysitting course offered at library Mary Baker, storyteller and musician, will present the book “Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse” in a special program encourag- ing early literacy at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 5 in the Chil- dren’s Room at the Back Moun- tain Memorial Library. Preschool through fifth grade children are invited to attend this evening of song and story- telling. “Pennsylvania = One Book, Every Young Child” is a yearlong program that hopes to communicate to parents and ca- regivers how to develop early lit- eracy skills through books and stories. Parents may register their children by calling the library at 675-1182. ® 6 ° An American Red Cross Baby- sitting course will be offered at the library on Saturday, April 22. The time for the daylong class will be announced in a future co- lumn. Youth between the ages of 11-15 are welcome to register. Participants will learn to per- form first aid and how to get pro- fessional medical help fast, iden- tify common safety hazards and prevent injuries, perform basic care routines like diapering, feeding and dressing, handle bedtime issues and more. Interested participants must register in advance at the main desk of the library by presenting the $40 program fee in cash or check made payable to the American Red Cross. A babysit- ter’s handbook will be included and distributed at the program. Participants are asked to bring a bag lunch. For more information, call the library. ® 0 0° The library is planning to hold an evening book discussion group for adults. If you are inter- ested in participating, contact the library for more information. An organizational meeting is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 25. ® oo 0 The library is accepting dona- tions for the odds and ends booth at the Back Mountain Me- morial Library Auction. The pre- ferred drop off time is 3-5 p.m. Saturdays. Anyone not able to drop items off at this time should contact the library to make other arrangements. ® oo 0 Some lovely spring and Easter items are on sale in the foyer of the library. Included are wreaths, decorated baskets, rab- bits, pottery, dishes, Easter and spring novelties, stuffed animals and dolls. All proceeds directly benefit the library. "70 YEARS AGO March, 27 1936 YESTERDAY STUDENTS ASSIST IN FLOOD Two Kingston Township High School pupils who worked tire- lessly on rescue crews through- out the disastrous flood in Wyoming Valley last week relat- ed their experiences for 500 stu- dents from the high school and the seventh and eighth grades at assembly on Wednesday morn- ing. The talks were suggested by Prof. William Martin, supervis- ing principal of Kingston Town- ship schools as a means of illus- trating for the school body how the Red Cross works in emergen- cies. Miss Sarah Pfahler had charge and Valerio Hunt presi- ded. The annual production of Henry M. Laing Fire Co. will be staged in Dallas Borough High School on Thursday and Friday, April 16 and 17, with more than 100 persons, including promi- nent men and women about town, taking part. Leonard O’Kane, chief of police of Dallas Borough, is general chairman of this year’s show and Arline Rood, who has directed several splendid performances for the firemen, will again supervise in production. Aroused by numerous com- plaints about the number of large dogs running loose in the borough, Dallas police this week issued a warning to owners, and declared that dogs without li- censes or found damaging prop- erty or annoying children will be + dispatched. For some time, residents in some sections of the borough have complained about the noise of dogs at night and about the damage caused by loose-run- ning ‘ canines. Several people have been in encounters with the larger dogs. 60 YEARS AGO March 29, 1946 NO DOGS SHOT IN FIGHT AGAINST RABIES Local police officers report that hey have not shot any dogs this week, the first in Luzerne County’s stringent 180-day anti- rabies campaign. So far few dogs have been seen and in those cases owners were given clem- ency because the animals were of good reputation. Warnings were delivered to the owners, however. Chief of Police Walter Covert expressed delight be- cause the new ruling has proved that so many apparently home- less dogs have homes. Since the ruling went into effect he has not seen a single unleashed dog in Dallas. Approximately 500 persons, the majority of them veterans, will be served this week by the Dallas office of the United States Employment Service, located in the former Dallas Borough ‘Building on Mill Street. This is twice the number served last week, the first week the office was open. W.A Henry, who is in charge, said that scores of per- sons from points as far distant as Sweet Valley and Noxen are now visiting the Dallas office instead of going to other Wyoming Val- ley employment offices. 50 YEARS AGO March 30, 1956 DALLAS TODDLER SAVED FROM DEATH Eight month old David Quare was dismissed from Mercy Hos- pital on Saturday, 24 hours after his admission. He was black in the face from strangulation. Re- covering from his hanging with a bounce, once seven hours of ox- ygen had restored conscious ness, the 21-pound mite could not be kept in the hospital crib. He went back on Monday for a final checkup. If his father, Francis Quare, Midland Drive, had not discov- ered little David when he did, the child would have died. Fran- cis put David in his crib for a nap after the morning romp, and went to the basement to fix the furnace. Coming up, he investi- gated the suspicious silence, and found David hanging from the crib post, his sweater tightened around his neck, caught on the post when he tried to climb over the side of the crib. Mrs. Dwight Fisher of Pioneer Avenue will display her fascinat- ing collection of ten miniature rooms for the benefit of the Wyoming Valley Crippled Chil- dren’s Association and The Wheelchair club, Inc., on the sec- ond floor of the Boston Store next week, April 5, 6, and 7. She will be assisted by Mrs. Paul Bedford and James P. Harris. After providing pleasure and wholesome recreation for thou- sands of Black Mountain and Northeastern Pennsylvania resi- dents over the past nine years, Sweet Valley Memorial Day Pa- rade may be abandoned this year because of lack of interest on the part of participating groups. Sponsored by Sweet Valley Volunteer Fire Company, the pa- rade annually attracted to Sweet Valley throngs estimated at be- tween 10,000 and 15,000 per- sons. 40 YEARS AGO March 31, 1966 SNOWDON TO SHOW LIFE-SAVING TECHNIQUES Mouth to Mouth Resuscita- tion and External Cardiac Com- pression, which can mean the last chance of life in many in- stances, will be demonstrated by Harold Snowdon Jr. at Trucks- ville Fire Hall on Friday evening at 9 p.m. The public is invited. A Norwegian doctor, Dr.-As- mund Laerdal, who lost his 14- year-old daughter by asphyxia- tion, is responsible for the wide- spread interest in the demon- stration. All equipment used is manufactured in Norway and the life-size mannequin that will be used in the demonstration by Mr. Snowdon is an exact replica of the lost child, whom her fa- ther thought could have been saved if someone known what emergency means to take. A March of Dimes dance, staged Friday night a Lake-Leh- man for High School students of the Back Mountain, drew 500 enthusiastic dancers who wrig- - gled, stomped and cheered their way through the intricacies of the Philly-Dog and the Booga- loo, occasionally reverting to the ancient history of the Watusi and the Twist. 30 YEARS AGO April 1, 1976 LAKE-LEHMAN BAND TO GIVE SPRING CONCERT The Lake-Lehman High School Symphonic Concert Band directed by John Miliaus- kas, will be present their annual spring concert at the high school on Thursday, Friday, and Satur- day evenings, April 8, 9, and 10. Thursday will be the premiere performance with’ a limited number of tickets available, and regular admission Friday and Saturday nights. More than 100 Dallas Rotar- ians and Rotary-Anns gathered to celebrate the 49th anniversary of the chartering of the club last Thursday at Irem Temple Coun- try Club. The evening featured a buffet dinner and entertainment by a barbershop quartet known as the Tag masters. Jane Ann McGough and David Dierolf, students at Dallas Se- nior High School, were selected by the Luzerne Intermediate Unit No. 18 to take part in a nu- clear science project at the Penn- sylvania State University Wilkes- Barre campus in Lehman Town- ship. They are among 40 juniors and seniors from each public and private high school in the Unit to take part in the mobile nuclear science lab for five weeks.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers