Vol. 121 No. 50 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 February 17 - 23, 2013 Paras Post. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER a= 2a: PA. NEW YEAR: Vietnam style Crowd packs Franklin Twp. Fire Hall to bring two cultures together. By SARAH HITE Dallas Post Correspondent About 200 people attended the Vietnamese New Year celebra- 0 hosted by Father Vincent hg of St. Francis Cabrini hurch at the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Hall in Orange on Feb. 10. Vietnamese New Year is often observed by decorating the tradi- tional Hoa Mai tree, which is dressed with families’ wishes for the New Year, and families give one another monetary offerings in red envelopes. Other tradi- tions include visiting family and friends and purchasing new clothes. From the specially-prepared cuisine to decorating the Hoa Mai tree, not many details were spared in the yearly celebration Dang emphasizes the impor- tance of bringing culture to- gether in this unique cele- bration. In addition to tradi- tional foods like roasted pig, fried rice and egg rolls, chicken wings and pizza have become staples of the Franklin Town- ship event. that Dang has hosted since he ar- rived in the Wyoming Valley area in the early 1990s. “The food is brought in special from Philadelphia,” he said. Dang emphasizes the impor- tance of bringing culture togeth- er in this unique celebration. In addition to traditional foods like roasted pig, fried rice and egg rolls, chicken wings and pizza have become staples of the Fran- klin Township event. “We have American food for the American people,” he said. “(The Vietnamese people) have Rev. Vincent Dang celebrates Mass in Vietnamese in celebration of the Vietnamese New Year. BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Hanh Le, of Wilkes-Barre, decorates the hoa mai tree, symbolic of the Vietnamese New Year before Mass at the Franklin Township Fire Hall on Feb. 10. come here and adopted the American culture, and now we share our culture, too. It’s about friendship.” For some parishioners, the mass and following meal are just as much about celebrating Dang as they are about Vietnamese cul- ture. “I bounced around from church to church until I met Fa- ther Dang,” said Richard Moo- ney, of Dallas. “He’s a wonderful priest.” Some attendees traveled from as far as Warrior Run, near where Dang was once the priest of an- other parish, to commemorate the occasion. “Wherever he goes, we go,” said Marion Croop, of Warrior Run. “He’s the best person in the world.” See VIETNAM, Page 11 The Franklin Township Fire Hall is packed for a Vietnamese New Year's Mass and reception. & By SARAH HITE Dallas Post Correspondent Jenelle O’Brien, of Dallas, posed a challenge for herself when planning her daughter’s birthday party this year. She wanted to find something unique and active to occupy about 20 6- year-olds for a few hours, and she had to think a bit out of the box. Instead of the same old rou- tine, O’Brien organized a make- your-own-pizza party at Original Italian Pizza in the Dallas Shop- ping Center for her daughter, Ky- la, and 19 of her closest friends on Sunday, Feb. 10. “I used to be a teacher so I like it when the kids can do some- thing interactive,” said O’Brien. “It’s better than kids just going to a party and eating.” The kids decorated their own aprons and chef hats upon arrival d took turns making real (in- ling rolling the dough) and Pe (using paper mache crusts) pizzas during the two-hour fete. It was the first event of its kind to be held at the pizza parlor own- ed by Joe and Joann Tomasino. “We’ve had pizza parties, but not this kind of hands-on learn- ing experience,” said Joe Tomasi- ¢'M0981512007 90g different kind of birthday party BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Noah Greco, 6, left, of Dallas, left, holds up his pizza craft with Jagar MacDonald, 5, of Trucksville. no, who opened the location about six years ago. Under Joe’s instruction, the miniature chefs-for-a-day floured and rolled out their own dough and assembled colorful culinary creations with several different toppings at their disposal. “I like pepperoni,” said the birthday girl. “That’s all I eat.” O’Brien chose Original Italian Pizza because it’s one of Kyla’s fa- vorite places to enjoy a slice. “It’s an amazing honor,” said “We've had pizza parties, but not this kind of hands-on learning experience.” Joe Tomasino Owner of Original Italian Pizza Joann Tomasino. “We value our customers’ opinions. It’s pretty tough to get kids to eat, and when they say something is their favor- ite, that’s huge.” Parents in attendance said it’s difficult to plan and create party offerings for youngsters that will See PARTY, Page 1l Mary Murray, center, a resident of the Meadows Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Dallas, recently celebrated her 100th birthday with her great-granddaughters Kimberly Kubast, left, and Stephanie Kubast. Mary Murray notes her 100th Meadows resident honored by family and friends on special occasion. Mary Murray, a resident at the Meadows Nursing & Re- habilitation Center, celebrat- ed her 100th birthday on Feb. 6 with her family by her side. Cake is one of Mary’s favor- ite things and there was lots of that at her party. Mary enjoys spending her days at the birthday Meadows socializing with staff and fellow residents and participating in the music pro- grams and church services. She especially loves visiting with the children from Little Meadows Day Care as well as the pet therapy dogs. A resident’ at the center since 2005, Mary has made a lot of friends who also helped share her special day.
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