Sunday, August 15, 2010 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 When event was in jeopardy of ending, Laura Berlew intervened. A hundred years later, Wright family still gathers annually By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Wright family held its 100th annual reunion Aug. 8, but the Noxen clan might not have made it without the intervention of Laura Berlew, grandmother of the reunion’s chairwoman, Laura Harrison. Fifty years ago, the family con- sidered putting an end to the yearly Dymonds Grove get-to- gether. “There weren't enough people coming,” said Berlew. “They wrote on the postcards that they might not have it the next year.” Fortunately for the family, Ber- lew spoke out in favor of the re- union. Though she was living in New York with her husband and children, she still wanted to make time for her extended family. “This is what I look forward to,” she said, hugging a nephew she hadn’t seen in years. Family members sported cus- tom-made T-shirts while eating lunch Sunday, all the time shar- ing memories and laughs in an ef- &- to strengthen their family tree. “I come here for a lot of rea- sons,” said Arnold Wright II “You can see how fragile your ex- istence is.” The family knows this all too well — a few members of the fam- ily who started holding the re- unions died near Dymonds Grove in the early 1900s. Charlie Wright was killed while working on a nearby concrete bridge on Tunkhannock and Tannery Roads. Orlando Wright, who owned a dairy farm in Noxen, seemed to have just “disap- peared,” said Arnold Wright. Trying to piece together their “I come here for a lot of reasons. You can see how fragile your exist- ence is.” Arnold Wright II About annual family reunion family history is just part of the reason the Wrights reunite every second Sunday in August. Alber- ta Webster, formerly of Elkland, Pa., currently residing in Middle- sex, N.C., wanted to find more in- formation about her past. “I haven’t been to a reunion since I was a teenager,” she said, holding a navy binder containing her family tree. From what she gathers, the * first known Wright was John Wright, who may have escaped religious persecution in Germa- ny to settle in England or New Amsterdam. Webster still isn’t sure. One thing is certain, though — the family has its current history well documented for generations to come. Thirty years after Ber- lew thought the annual event would end, she became secreta- ry/treasurer of the reunion com- mittee. Nineteen years after that, her granddaughter, Harrison, acts as chairwoman. Keeping track of the ever- changing clan is part of the cele- bration. “After lunch, we have a meet- ing and ask for deaths and mar- riages,” said Harrison. The orga- nizers also award prizes to the youngest, oldest and those living furthest away from the meeting site. It’s a fun way to keep a tally on family whereabouts and it helps incorporate the younger Wrights. “They (the children) don’t care yet,” said Harrison, who has two teenage boys. “But it’s neat to see where you ‘came from.” 2 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Rosemary Kubiak and her mother, Evelyn Wright Buckman, and Donald Wright, Harveys Lake, hold up a picture of their parents, Fam- ma and Bill Wright, of Noxen, who had 19 children. The Wright family gathered for its 100th annual reunion at Dymonds Grove in Noxen. Family Reunion in Noxen. Florence Wright Faux, left, and Laura Harrison talk about their ancestry at the 100th Anna Wright Donald Wright, of Harveys Lake, is a direct descendent of John Wright. LAKE TOWNSHIP Supers share drilling knowledge By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent At their regular meeting ednesday night, supervisors passed on to the public what they learned after touring EnCa- na Oil and Gas US.A’s Fair- mount Township site. Supervisor Amy Salansky said the supervisors were invit- ed to tour the Buda site in Fair- mount Township to see the drill- ing operation first hand. Chair- man Lonnie Piatt was impressed with the cleanliness of the site and how low the noise was. “There was low noise only at the back side where the genera- tors were,” he said. Salansky learned EnCana will use a “closed loop system” which means all waste products, including rock shavings, will be piped into a waiting tanker truck and hauled to a treatment facility in Lycoming County. “There will be no waste water ponds,” she said. Truck traffic was still a con- cern for Shirley Smith and Libby Davis. Davis was concerned about five proposed gas wells to be placed off Loyalville Road. Sa- lansky said the permits request- ed were for five wells but they would be locdted on a one-acre Supervisors were invited to tour the Buda site in Fairmount Township to see the drilling operation first hand. drill pad. “From what I understand, the five wells will be on one drill pad,” Salansky said. “Each well will be drilled in different direc- tions.” . Smith, a Loyalville Road resi- dent, is worried about the trucks trying to navigate around the “S” curve on Loyalville Road. “We live in the area and have a handicap accessible van,” she said. “How are we going to safe- ly get out of our driveway?” Piatt told Smith that she can get handicap driveway signs to place in both directions from her driveway. He assured her the truck traffic will only travel in one direction from the well site to Route 118. He said, during the next traffic meeting with the trucking company, the company will be made aware of the situa- tion. d Smith asked if the trucks could take a different route and avoid this location altogether but Piatt said supervisors can- not prevent truck traffic from traveling on public roads. “In the winter, when it is icy, those trucks will not be able to Robert Dale Chorale slates auditions The Robert Dale Chorale will hold auditions for new singers from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 16, at the Darte Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Wilkes University. Auditioning singers will be required to sing a prepared solo or choral selection and to dem- onstrate sight-reading ability. There are paid openings availa- ble in the alto and tenor sec- tions. For more information and to reserve a time, contact Dr. Ste- ven Thomas, music director of the Chorale, at 408-4434. The Chorale’s upcoming sea- son begins with “An American Tapestry,” a program of Ameri- can choral music including pieces by Aaron Copland, Sa- muel Barber, Randall Thomp- son and the premiere of a new work composed for the Chorale by Dr. Thomas. make the uphill right turn onto 118,” Smith said. Township emergency coordi- nator Barney Dobinick said that section of Loyalville Road was frequently used by tri-axel trucks traveling to Route 118 from the gravel quarries and sees no problem with the tanker trucks using this route. “These trucks are not over- sized vehicles,” Dobinick said. Dobinick is in the process of organizing a public information night but is not yet ready to re- lease a time and date. He hopes the session will help clarify con- fusion and calm nerves of resi- dents. In other news ... e The township’s annual Fall Clean Up is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11, at the municipal building. Residents are required to bring proof of residency. A service fee of $15 per pick-up truck load, $20 for large pick-up trucks and $6 per car trunk load will be col- lected at the time of drop off. An additional $6 fee will be charged for the following items: washers, dryers, carpets, over- stuffed chairs, couches, dress- ers, televisions, hot water heat- ers, boilers, furnaces, stoves and large appliances. The following items will not be accepted: tires, hazardous wastes, chemicals, brush, tree stumps, cinder blocks, animal or human waste, shingles, sheet rock, or other building materi- als, leaves, grass garbage, freez- ers refrigerators and air condi- tioners. Residents with questions re- garding the clean up are asked to call the municipal building at 639-2828. DALLAS ROTARY CLUB INSTALLS OFFICERS The Dallas Rotary Club officers and board members for the 2010-201 service year were recently installed at a dinner meeting held at the Appletree Terrace, Newberry Estate, Dallas. From left, seated, are George Bacon, treasurer; Ken«Chapple, president-elect; Paul Saxon, president; Todd Buckley, vice-president; Randy Loyd, secretary. Standing, Melissa Saxon, Joe Stager, Jerry Reis- ch, Dan Jones, board members; and Sandy Peoples, immediate past president. Absent at the time of the photo was board member Lois Macri. ROSS TOWNSHIP Project to repair building floor completed Concrete floor poured in municipal pole building that houses heavy equipment. By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent A project to pour a concrete floor in a municipal pole building has been completed, supervisor David Williams said at Tuesday night’s super- visors meeting. Supervi WoIRing for two months to have a con- crete floor poured in the pole building where some of the municipality’s heavy equip- ment is stored. The project is intended to cut down on mois- ture rising from the ground and prevent the bottoms of heavy equipment from rusting out. At the June meeting, super- visor William Ferry Jr. report- ed the tailpipe and muffler of a truck parked in the pole build- ing had to be replaced due to tting of the floor Aiming to keep the price tag low, the municipality’s road crew did the prep work, in- cluding digging down about 10 inches in preparation for a vapor and moisture barrier to be laid down. ESP Concrete Pumping Company of Sweet Valley poured the concrete and ap- plied a sealant for about $9,700. The next supervisors meet- ing will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, in the munic- ipal buildi
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