PAGE 6 EDITORIAL Sunday, January 3, 2010 Richard L. Connor PUBLISHER 829-7202 rconnor@timesleader.com The Dallas Post www.mydallaspost.com Community Newspaper Group THE TIMES LEADER 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18711 ® 570-675-521 news@mydallaspost.com Christie Delicati ADVERTISING 970-7111 cdelicati@timesleader.com Dotty Martin EDITOR 970-7440 dmartin@mydallaspost.com New books on library shelves The following new books have been added to the shelves of the Back Mountain Memorial Li- brary, 96 Huntsville Rd., Dallas for December 2009: EXPRESS (1 WEEK) “Spooner” by Pete Dexter, “Help” by Kathryn Stockett and “The Honor of Spies” by W.E.B. Griffin FICTION “The Four Corners of the Sky” by Michael Malone, “Spooner” by Pete Dexter, “Deeper Than the Dead” by Tami Hoag, “The Honor of Spies” by W.E.B. Griffin and “A Separate Country” by Robert Hicks NONFICTION “Frommer’s Italy 2010,” “The Good Soldiers” by David Finkel, “Why Our Health Matters” by Andrew Weil and “Nutureshock” by Po Bronson BIOGRAPHY “True Compass” by Edward M. Kennedy REFERENCE “The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2010” BOOKS ON CD “The Imperial Cruise” by James Bradley, “A Rumpole Christmas” by John Mortimer and “Witch and Wizard” by James Patterson YOUNG ADULT “Front and Center” by Cathe- rine Gilbert Murdock , “A Brief History of Montmaray” by Mi- chelle Cooper and “Marching for Freedom” by Elizabeth Partridge SPECIAL DONATIONS “D-Day: the Battle for Norman- dy” by Antony Beevor presented by Daddow-Isaacs Post 672 American Legion, “Starr Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil” by Drew Karpyshyn presented by The Bernard Bronsberg Family MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel ® On Jan. 5,1643, in the first record of a legal divorce in the Amer- ican colonies, Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is grant- ed a divorce from her absent and adulterous husband, Denis Clarke, by the Quarter Court of Boston. ® On Jan. 10,1901, a drilling derrick at Spindletop Hill near Beau- mont, Texas, produces an enormous gusher of crude oil, signaling the advent of the American oil industry. The geyser flowed at an initial rate of 100,000 barrels a day. Within a year, there were more than 285 active wells at Spindletop. Today, only a few oil wells still operate in the area. * On Jan. 6,1936, Porky Pig makes his world debut in a Warner Brothers cartoon, “Gold Diggers of '49." When Mel Blanc joined War- ner Brothers the following year, he became the famous voice behind Porky, as well as the Warner Brothers characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety. * On Jan. 7,1959, six days after the fall of the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship, the United States recognizes the new Cuban govern- ment of Fidel Castro. The U.S. government believed it could work with Castro and protect American interests in Cuba, but less than two years later, the U.S. severed diplomatic ties and unleashed the Bay of Pigs invasion. ® On Jan. 8,1966, rock-and-roll TV variety show “Shindig” on ABC airs its last episode. The show had debuted in September 1964, fea- turing acts including the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys. STRANGE BUT TRUE By Samantha Weaver e |f you ever travel to the British territory of Bermuda, you might want to stop off in Ely to see the world's smallest drawbridge. Somer- set Bridge is less than 20 feet from one embankment to the other, and when the draws are raised, there's barely enough room for a single small sailboat to pass. e Early in its history, the Catholic Church decreed that imbibing coffee was sinful. It was Pope Clement VIII who, in 1592, declared it to be a Christian drink. e Early 20th-century ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky is considered to be one of the most gifted dancers in history. Despite his talent and his fame, though, he was fired from the re- nowned Mariinsky Theater because one of his performances offend- ed the Russian Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. It seems Nijin- sky appeared onstage wearing tights, but without the so-called mod- esty trunks commonly worn by male dancers at the time. * When George Eastman sold the patent to his Kodak camera, he received only $5,700. * The world's best long-distance swimmers are Alaskan seals. In order to avoid the brutal northern winter, every fall these aquatic mammals leave their calving grounds on islands off the coast of Alaska and don’t return until spring. For eight months they remain in the ocean, never touching land and sometimes traveling more than 6,000 miles before returning home as the weather warms. YOUR SPACE CNEL i 5 i 0 While taking a walk along an old stone wall on an abandoned farm in Shavertown, Joan Taylor, of Harris Hill Road in Shavertown, came across this old truck. Who played with this truck? Did mother call “Supper’s ready” and the little truck's owner went running home? Is that person still alive or have they passed on? Such intriguing questions one little rusty toy can invoke! "YOUR SPACE" is reserved specifically for Dallas Post readers who have something they'd like to share with fellow readers. Submitted items may include photos or short stories and should be sent via e-mail at news@mydallaspost.com, by fax at 675- 3650 or by mail to The Dallas Post, 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711. Information must include the submitting person's name, address and a telephone number in the event we have questions. Readers wishing to have their photos re- turned should include a self-addressed/ stamped envelope. Items will be published in the order in which they are received. The editor of The Dallas Post reserves the right to reject any items submitted for publication. 20 YEARS AGO The Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Red Cross, recently completed a babysitting course with the members of Troop 636 at the Dallas Trinity Presbyter- ian Church. During the course participants learned Basic First Aid mea- sures, “sit- ting” re- sponsibili- \ ties, how to diaper and feed infants, how to choose ap- propriate toys and games for toddlers ages 1-5 years. Those in attendance were: Ro- byn Weber, Becky Barna, Tracy Jones, Adeline Groblewski, Na- talie Temperine, Cari Cave, Me- lissa Hill, Sarah Podehl, Jennifer Parrish, Jada Kozick, Wendi Hunter, Carey Mazzoni and Leah Vincelli. Dallas girls’ basketball player Laura Poynton was named to the Hershey Girls All-Tournament Team in the competition last week at Hershey. The Dallas girls’ team entered the Hershey Tournament with teams from Hershey, Palmyra and Ann-Ville-Cleona. In first round action played at Hershey YESTERDAY Middle School, the lady Moun- taineers lost by a big score to Palmyra, the team that took the tournament, despite Poynton’s 21 points. In the consolation game held Thursday night at Hershey High School, the Dallas girls defeated Annville-Cleona 57-55 paced by Poynton who tossed in another 21 points. 30 YEARS AGO The judges in the Back Moun- tain Holiday Decorations Con- test this week announced the winners in the annual event. The contest is sponsored by The Dal- las Post in cooperation with nine other sponsors. None of the entries fell into the unlighted category. So for that reason the judges decided to award the two $25 bonds to the first two selections in the lighted category. “It was not too difficult selec- ting the grand prize winner. It is exceptionally beautiful,” ex- plained Contest Committee Chairman James B. Davies, III, mayor of Dallas. “The grand prize display is at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Crane, Outlet Road, Harvey’s Lake. The two best-lighted displays were at the homes of Gerald John, Country Club Road, Dal- las, and Dr. Len Medura, Wel- lington Drive, Shavertown. Scout Pack No. 155, Trucks- ville, held its annual Christmas Pack meeting last Friday. The Webelos held the opening skit which was entitled, “Santa’s Di- lemma On The Night Before Christmas.” Participants includ- ed Enrice Nardone, Nathan Kel- ley, Brian Freeman, Lee Wil- liams, David Morris, Paul Ka- planski, Albert Sutcavage, John Baller, Chris Peeler, Billy Gabel, Lon Miller, Billy Schmidle, Fred Shiptoski, Joseph Perrone, Brian Kaplanski and Dale Morris. 40 YEARS AGO The infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Alpha Hilbert, RD1, Dallas, was the first baby born in the New Year Thursday morning at 3:20 in Mercy Hospital. The Chansonairs, a group of students from the Dallas area, delighted visitors to the main of- fice of the First National Bank on West Market Street in Wilkes- Barre with a concert of holiday music on Christmas Eve. The group is under the direction of James Pichert and the accompa- nist is Paulette Stasko. Other members of the group are: Jay Miller, Cathy Wilson, Bob Carle, Brenda Richards, Ruth Lewis, Ruth DeWitt, Chuck LaBerge, Lorene Darling, Nancy Pichert, Cliff Dungly, Bonnie Loan, Ernie Gelb, Deb- bie Anderson, Barb Reese, Grant Davis and Clark Siertzer. 50 YEARS AGO Two 12-year old boys, Mar- shall Rumbaugh and Sumner Bachman, both of Upper De- munds Road, Dallas, had an ex- perience Monday night that nei- ther of them will soon forget. Though the temperatures had not been too cold, there was skating ice on the newly made lake at The Maples on Upper De- munds Road and the two boys decided to do some skating after school. About dusk, Sumner Bach- man, who was trying out his new Christmas skates, couldn’t stop as he approached thin ice and be- fore the boy knew what he had done, Sumner plunged through the ice into the water over his head. As he struggled toward the surface, he screamed for his friend Marshall Rumbaugh to help him. Marshall, weighing less than Sumner, took off his coat, and with considerable care- fulness crawled on his stomach to Sumner and extended it so that Sumner could grab it. After quite a struggle, they finally made it to thicker ice. Both boys were considerably shaken up by the experience but learned a lesson about thin ice and also the value of having a good friend. 60 YEARS AGO The house of Mr. and Mrs. James Kozemchak, Huntsville, was awarded first place in Dallas Business Association’s Business Association’s Christmas Light- ing Contest for the best decorat- ed home. Mr. Kozemchak wrapped his door in gaily-colored cellophane and tied it with red ribbons and sprigs of evergreen to resemble a wrapped Christmas package. The eaves were festooned with ropes of ground pines and gin- dow boxes were filled i greens and colored lights. The home was then given indirect lighting by spotlights placed in shrubbery. Mrs. Fred Swanson of Har- vey’s Lake was Queen for a Day last week on Mutual Broadcast- ing Company’s Program of that name, but she is a Queen every day of the year according to her husband, Chief of Police Fred Swanson even though she didn’t place among the five women of the nation who were chosen to go to Hollywood where one was chosen Queen of America. And the neighbors and the newspa- per agree with Fred. 70 YEARS AGO Two days before Christmas Burt Jones of Pioneer Avenue, Dallas Township, mailed a Christmas card to his next-door neighbor, Floyd Sanders. Six days later Mr. Sanders received the card. It had been sent to Dal- las, Texas and returned, travel- ing over 3,000 miles to go 100 feet. The detour was not without precedent, however. Mail to Dal- las, Pa., is so often misdirected to Dallas, Tex., and vice versa, that it has ceased to be a joke. AS. Culbert, express age Lehigh Valley station, kee Dallas, Tex. phone directory hanging on the wall for refer- ence, so often does he receive shipments which should have gone to Texas. David Joseph of Dallas was elected president of Mt. Green- wood Kiwanis Club at its reorga- nization meeting. Other officers were Russell Houser, Shaver- town, vice-president; George Turn, Mt. Greenwood, secretary. Information for “Only Yester- day” is taken from past issues of The Dallas Post which is 120 vears old. The information is printed here exactly as i ap- peared in the newspaper years ago. “| went to Evans Falls and rode the buses. It seemed safe to me.” Amanda Robinson Vernon “DO YOU THINK SCHOOLS IN THE BACK “Yes, | went to Dallas through "05. No prob- lems when | went.” Dan Drury Dallas “| taught math in Dal- las for 32 years and there weren't many problems. Of course, | don’t know what goes on today.” Lena Baur Shavertown MOUNTAI “Actually, | do. | don't see a problem. My kids went from Dallas to Lake-Lehman schools.” Kim Trindle Harveys Lake N ARE SAFE?” “They are mostly safe. | graduated last year but there could be a couple of small chang- es, like making sure the doors are locked.” Michael Kornoski Harveys Lake "| feel safe. | go to the school games and work here. The admin- istrators do a good job." Sandy Eramo Exeter
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers