( ye Tt at a th rss “ HEE Diss dpi ot Te Be 0 through Sept. 14 Y 1 Sunday, September 5, 2010 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 The 48th annual event features plenty of entertainment, food, fun. The 48th Annual Luzerne County Fair will be held Sep- tember 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, at the fairgrounds, Route 118, Dallas. Fair hours are 4 to 11 p.m,, Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 8 and 9; 4 to 11:30 p.m., Friday, Sept 10; 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11; and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 12. Admission price is $8 which includes unlimited amusement rides sponsored by S&S Amuse- ments. Children under 2 years of age are admitted free and se- nior citizens pay half price ev- eryday. Week-long attractions include antique tractor display, arts and crafts, be a farmer for a day, County fair opens Thursday bucket times, Back Mountain Food Pantry, pottery by Skip, Catherine McAuley Parade of Baskets, baby farm animal ex- hibit, 4-H and agriculture exhib- its, farmers’ market, Silly Sally Balloon Animals, Ag for Kids free activities tent, Monkey Man & Money Pal Django, live entertainment and over 250 food and commercial exhib- itors. Entertainment includes: Wednesday, Sept. 8: the Blues Brotherhood, fair amphitheater, 7 to 8 p.m. and 9 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9: Flaxy Mor- gan, fair amphitheater, 7 to 8 p.m. and 9 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 — NOMaD - North of Mason-Dixon, fair amphithe- ater, 7 to 8 p.m. and 9 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11: the Cadil- lacs, fair amphitheater, 3 to 5 p.m.; Doug Brewin as Alan Jackson, fair amphitheater, 7 to 7:30 p.m. and 9 to 9:30 p.m; Ryan Pelton as Elvis, fair am- phitheater, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. Three, Band, fair amphitheater, 2 to 4 p.m.; Star Fires, fair amphithe- ater, 6 and 8 p.m. at 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 12. ble in lot “A” on the fair side of Route 118. A free shuttle is of- fered from parking lot “B” on the north side of the fair- grounds, Handicapped parking is availa- ble by using Gates A or B. Park- ing for persons with wheel- chairs is available by using the Gate B entrance only. the fair office at 675-FAIR. Sunday, Sept. 12: Two out of a Meatloaf Tribute A fireworks finale will be held Parking for the fair is availa- across Route 118. For more information, call Calling all amateur photogs First Dallas Days Photography Contest The 2010 Dallas Harvest Festival Steering Committee is conducting the First Dallas Days Photography Contest. The contest is open through September 14 to any Back Mountain resident who wish- es to “capture the beauty and culture of the Back Mountain” in a still photograph. More information and con- test rules are available by con- tacting Gina Major, photo contest coordinator, at gma- jor@aol.com, Photography by Andy at 696-4646 or the Dal- las Harvest Festival at 675- 1950. CUB SCOUT PACK 155 PLANS SIGN-UP NIGHT Pack 155, Trucksville, invites boys ages 6-10 to sign up for Scouts from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at the Dal- las Elementary School. Families are also invited to attend the pack meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept16, at the Trucks- ville Educational Building at Trucksville United Methodist Church. on Kretchmer, left, is Scoutmaster and George Bath, right, is Cubmaster. For more information, call Crys Jennings at 696-6941 or Diane Bath at 696-4990. Skyhaven pilots plan The Skyhaven Pilots Associ- ation will hold its bi-annual Fly-in Pancake Breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 19, in the main hangar at Skyhaven Airport on Route 29, approximately 1/8 mile south of downtown Tunkhannock. The breakfast, including eggs, ham, sausage, coffee and range juice is priced at $7 for dults and $3 for children. Spectators are invited to spend the day at the airport, enjoying aviation-related activ- ities free of charge. Participa- nts with lawn chairs may sit in specially-provided spectator areas. RC Model Airplanes, classic cars, antique airplanes, home- builts, recreational type and public safety vehicles will all ya A Preparing for the Skyhaven Pilots Association bi-annual Fly=-in Pancake Breakfast are Charlie Gay, left, airport operations manager; and Bobby Zampetti, public relations manager. be on display. Airplane rides eas adjacent to the airplane will be available for a nominal hangars. fee. There will be an arts and Charlie Gay, Skyhaven Airport crafts show outdoors in tent ar- Operations at 836-4800. fly-in breakfast AK A For more information, call William Long, chairperson of a fundraising campaign at the Trucksville United Methodist Church, burns the bank loan note dedicating the church and its auxiliary buildings debt-free. Also participa- ting in the note-burning act are, from left, trustee chair Raymond Metzgar Jr., Rev. Charles Gommer, Louise S. Hazeltone and Rev. Lori Steffensen. Celebrating at TUMC Pentecost Sunday, May 23, wasa great day of celebration for the members and friends of the Trucksville United Methodist Church. The morning began with two worship services, including confir- mation, and was followed by the re- dedication of the church’s debt-free campus and the naming of the Dr. Richard C. Post Memorial Hall. Bishop Susan B. Hassinger pres- ided over the day’s events with the assistance of seven other members of the clergy, including Rev. Lori J. Steffensen, pastor of Trucksville United Methodist Church; Rev. Gregory C. Myers, Wilkes-Barre District superintendent; Rev. Ken Carder, Rev. Charles F. Gommer, Rev. Dr. C. Travis Kendall, Rev. Wil- liam Kennard and Rev. Ernest A. Steffensen. Atthe10a.m. worship service, 14 young people were confirmed and received into full membership of the United Methodist Church. Following this, the congrega- tion, led by Bishop Hassinger, pro- ceeded to the William and Melba Dickson Educational Facility for a service of re-dedication. Rev Charles F. Gommer reflect- ed on the importance of this occa- sion. He reminisced about a day, 40 years earlier, when he, as the pastor of Trucksville UMC, witnessed the dedication of a new educational fa- cility on May 24, 1970. He then re- flected on how that space had grad- ually become inadequate to meet the needs of the 21st century. As a result, he said, on Decem- ber 10, 2000, the congregation vot- ed to upgrade the existing build- ings, including the sanctuary, and approved the addition of a new wing to the educational facility. A building campaign was undertak- en and construction began two years later. “Now, we stand here today,” Rev. Gommer said, “our expansion complete and our debt entirely paid off!” William Long, chair of the cam- paign, then presented the new, debt-free buildings for re-dedica- tion by Bishop Hassinger. Included in the act was the re- naming of Fellowship Hall as the Dr. Richard C. Post Memorial Hall in recognition of a generous gift re- cently received from Dr. Post's es- tate. A well-known veterinarian in the community, a Scout, a beloved friend and member of the church and its first crucifer, Dr. Post passed away in 2009 but did not for- get his church. The events of the day culminat- ed in the burning of the bank loan note, symbolizing the completion of the 10- year 2.1 million fundrais- ing campaign. Participating in this act along with Bill Long and Rev. Lori Stef- fensen, were trustee chair Ray- mond Metzgar Jr., Louise S. Hazel- tine and Rev Gommer, campaign co-chairs. “By working together we were able to pay off the entire debt in just 10 years,” said Bill Long. “We are all very proud of what we have accom- plished as a church family. “These facilities,” Long added, “not only serve the congregation at Trucksville but are here for the en- tire Back Mountain community.” “Indeed, the generous outpour- ing of support from the extended community was an integral part of our success,” said Morag Michael, community chair. “Scout Troop 155 and Cub Pack 155, both spon- sored by our church, worked hard in raising funds and helping to fur- nish a space dedicated to Scouting activities and meetings. Families and friends of Trucksville Nursery School (recently re-named Trucks- ville Early Childhood Educational Center) also held fundraisers and sponsored the sale of bricks dedi- cated in an ‘Alcove for all God's Children’.” Under the original building plans, a section of the basement was also offered to the Back Moun- tain Ministerium and the Commis- sion on Economic Opportunity to house the Back Mountain Food Pantry. The church had long sup- ported this organization when it was housed in the former Kingston Township Municipal Building but, by the turn of the century, many re- alized that space was becoming in- adequate and increasingly difficult to access. The Ministerium accepted this offer and the congregation voted to incorporate a larger, handicapped accessible space in the basement of the new wing to be used solely for the new pantry. As an ecumenical project, many outside groups, in- cluding foundations and local churches and businesses, lent sup- port to this community endeavor. Hazeltine observed that, when the new pantry opened in 2003, it was serving 75 households. Today, she said, that number has climbed to 245. With such facilities in place, in- cluding a new educational wing used by both the Sunday School and the community early child- hood education program, the chal- lenge before the Trucksville Church, said Pastor Lori, is to now use these gifts to glorify God by be- ing Christ's hands and feet in the world. Earlier, in worship that day, Pas- tor Lori invited the congregation “to dance with God and trust God to lead us. May we be found faith- ful.” A reception with refreshments followed the conclusion of the morning's events for the over 200 people who attended the celebra- tion. HARPIN' ON THINGS After being away for I> years, it feels really good to come Good morning Dallas Post readers. After a brief hiatus from the Wyoming Valley (a little over 15 years) during which the missus and I went looking for the mean- ing of life, we have returned to The weather in Florida was un- beatable except for the occasional evac- uation for hurricanes and the people in South Carolina were the friendliest we have ever met. But the smell of fresh cut hay, the feel of real dirt when plant- ing a garden, the mountains cov- ered with maple and oak trees and seeing childhood friends again overrules the places we have been. Heffernan Several weeks ago, Dallas Post Editor Dotty Martin asked if I was interested in writing a week- ly column. I responded in the af- firmative because once you are in the newspaper business it is hard to get it out of your system. I did a little writing and photog- raphy while guiding fishermen and women in the Florida Keys but never as much as I wanted. I did get to fish with some in- teresting people, though, during my tour on the platform. The platform is a small piece of fi- berglass 18 inches wide by 24 inches long which extends above the motor on a flats boat and is connected to the boat by alumi- num poles. Newcomers to flats fishing thought it was cute that we all had covers to keep the sun off our outboard motors until it was explained that we stood on that small piece of fiberglass and pushed the boat around for six or seven hours a day with a 21- foot long carbon fiber pole in 12 inches of water while hunting fish. Back to the people I had the y pleasure of fishing with. Actor Ed Marinaro from Hill Street Blues was fun and is a great an- gler. We fished together in the Redbone Tournament in Islam- orada and he is the only man I have ever seen the missus not be able to talk to. When he stuck out his hand to greet her, she tentatively reac- hed towards him. Then he gave her a hug and I thought she was going to faint. Those big blue eyes were glued to him and she listened to every syllable he ut- tered. When he left, I guided her to a chair and was tempted to call the paramedics. I did some early morning tar- pon trips with astronaut General Tom Stafford. He was a riot to have in the boat. He would rattle off all the constellations and tell stories of his days at the Cape. I told him he was the craziest per- son I had ever met because he sat on the world’s largest fire- cracker and survived. The most memorable person I fished with was the American Sportsman Curt Gowdy. What a class act. I had the opportunity in the 80s to fish with him in the Williamsport area when he was announcing the Little League World Series. I met him again in 1997 at another Redbone Tour- nament and, would you believe, he remembered my name and where we went fishing? It had to be at least a dozen years. No wonder he was the greatest. I have a photo of myself and angler Tom from Detroit who caught one of the largest fish in the tournament, receiving an award from President George HW. Bush and Curt Gowdy. I sent that photo to George Smith, who was the outdoor editor of The Times Leader back then and he ran it on the outdoor page. That was an awesome day, standing with two legends of our time. Since we are on the subject of fishing (one of my favorites) I recently ran into Bob Albee and Kenny at Dallas Sporting Goods. I was glad to see Bob still in business with a shop stocked full of fishing supplies. Last I re- membered, he was at the lake. Nothing beats a local store where you are known by name and not just a number. It’s good to see some of the businesses and people I remem- ber still operating. Gino’s Shoe store was always a stop when traveling back to Pa. from Flor- ida. We talked about cars, some- thing I will get into in later co- lumns. The next stops before the road trip south would be Grotto for a pie for the road and Cook’s in Lehman for a supply of Mid- dleswarth chips. The Gunn Brothers are still operating in Lehman, Gary Ide took over the John Deere build- ing on Route 118 and Tommy Williams will coach wrestling at Lehman. Bill Norris, with whom I power lifted at Rick’s Gym, is now a Dallas policeman and Jim Eason and Gerard Geist are do- ing a wonderful job at Dallas Hardware. Now for the “Atta Boy” of the back home week. An “Atta Boy” or “girl,” as the case may be, is a pat on the back for doing something right or good. Mr. Lacek from Ply- mouth, who helped teach me how to drive, would give me an ‘Atta boy’ when I remembered to put on the turn signal before turning or put the plug in the row boat before putting it in the river. “Atta Boy” Kenny Cook for the flashing neon “OPEN” sign which can be seen traveling West on 118 at least 200 yards away and has helped numerous people avoid getting rear ended while deciding whether or not to turn into your parking lot by mo- torists doing 45 mph (yeh, right) through the center of Lehman. It’s nice to be home. Harp Heffernan was the associate publisher, outdoor editor and chief photographer of the Sunday Inde- pendent, a newspaper that was in his family for 87 years in Wilkes-Barre. His column appears every other week in The Dallas Post.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers