Vol. 124 No. 23 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 August 11 - 17,2013 AS POST . WILKES-BARRE, PA. WWW.MYDALLASPOST.COM AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER The Walk for Debbie’s Darlings’ remembers a special lady DOTTY MARTIN dmartin@mydallaspost.com Debbie Darling Belenski had a larger than life heart and compassion for oth- ers. She was an inspiration to everyone she met as she always lent an ear or a hand to anyone who needed it. When Debbie passed away suddenly from a brain aneu- rysm on Oct. 13, 2012, she left a void not only among her parents, her husband, her brothers and her nieces and nephews. The entire Back Mountain community and everyone who knew her felt the loss. Now, as the family and all those Debbie left behind attempt to move forward with their lives, they will remember her with “The alk for Debbie’s Darlings” at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. Debbie Darling Belenski had a larg- er than life heart and compassion for others. Darling died in October 2012 of a brain aneurym. 24 at the Dallas High School track. The event, a 1-mile walk, is a fundraiser in which proceeds will be used to purchase and fill backpacks with much-needed items for students from need-based families. The goal for the first year is to assist 50 stu- dents. Once that goal has been met, additional funding will go to the Debbie Darling Belenski Memorial Fund, partnering with The Luzerne Foundation, for use in similar community projects in the future. “We wanted to do this in honor of her,” said Rebecca Darling, Debbie’s niece who is coordinating the event. “Uncle Mark was really push- ing to do this. He wanted something in her honor.” Assisting Rebecca is her cousin, Katie Darling, and Dalton Ell, a student at Wilkes University and a for- mer basketball player at Holy Redeemer High School. Mark Belenski is the head coach of the Royals basketball team. Debbie Darling Belenski was the daughter of Norman gi A sudsy good time | Bill Tarutis | For The Dallas Post Hailey Shaw, 8, of Dallas, wears a suds ‘hat’ at Kids’ Day at the Harveys Lake Homecoming. For more photos of the Harveys Lake Homecoming Weekend, please turn to page 3. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dallas Post Correspondent Four and a half years ago, in an unusual twist of fate and circumstance, Brenda Saba, of Kingston, was given custody of her two grandchildren, a 5-year old and an 18- month old. “I was in a desperate situ- ation, totally unprepared but the JCC camp support- ed us with babysitters and a place to bring the kids. Really, they gave us almost everything,” Saba recalls. The camp provided her with the facilities, supplies, along with the warmth and IF YOU GO ... The Walk for Debbie's Darlings Saturday, Aug. 24 11am. Dallas High School track 1-mile walk with proceeds to fill backpacks for students from need-based families More information: Call 675-3864 and Mary Darling, of Hildebrandt Road, Dallas. In addition to her parents and her husband, she is survived by brothers, Norma, Paul and Joseph, several nieces and nephews. A graduate of Dallas High School Class of 1978, she was employed by Prudential Securities in Moosic at the time of her death. She was a lifelong member of Gate of Heaven Church, Dallas, where she and her husband of 26 years both served Charlotte Cutler, of Kingston, whose first husband, Aaron Lisses, was the first mayor of the camp, spent a summer as a nurse there,and has been a sup- porter ever since. friendship she needed. Saba’s grandchildren are older now her crisis past. On this day, she sits with about 40 other “Friends of the Camp” at a luncheon in their honor. Saba has become a board member and a friend of the Jewish Community Camp in Dallas, as a result of her experiences. Many of the other par- ticipants at the friends’ lun- cheon have similar stories. Mimi Ross, of Kingston, remembers when the camp was held on Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre in the 1930s. “The camp was started to help poor children have at least one good hot meal during the summertime” she said. “My brothers and sisters, five children? Yes, we were poor, too, then, but enjoyed the meals and our friends very much.” Today, Ross’ grandchil- dren attend the camp and her grandson, Benjamin Ross, was a camp counselor at one time. Nadine “Cookie” Savitz and her husband Jesse, of Kingston, as Eucharistic Ministers. Debbie was born Nov. 15, 1960, in Wilkes-Barre, and resided in Dallas. She graduated from Dallas High School, Class of 1978, and was employed by Prudential Securities in Moosic - See more at: http://www.legacy. com/obituaries/timesleader/ obituary.aspx?n=deborah- ann-darling-belenski&pid=1 60459669#fbLoggedOutSp onsorship opportunities for See DARLING | 8 Debbie Darling Belenski was a big supporter of her husband Mark's Holy Redeemer basketball team. The two are shown here after the Royals won a district championship. JCC Camp makes forever friends Luncheon honors long-time supports of Back Mountain camp Charlotte Bartizek | For The Dallas Post Eileen Trompetter, Mimi Ross and Sheila Fendler, all from Kingston, enjoyed a special luncheon at the JCC Camp in Dallas. re are camp sup- camp. Zach Kaplowitz, of, Kingston, proudly holds up an article he wrote for the newspaper at the JCC Camp in Dallas. With Zack is his counselor Wendy Patton. porters because Savitz had been the camp bus driver for many years. His fond memories of that time encouraged him to buy a tennis ball machine and other equipment for the “It’s the best camp in the world,” says Cookie Savitz, whose grandchildren now come from Minnesota to stay at the camp all sum- mer. See CAMP | 13 A Evans family keeps tradition alive for more than 100 years Members aren't sure if they've been gathering annually for 102 years or 112 years SARAH HITE Dallas Post Correspondent About 50 members of the Evans clan gathered for an annual reunion at the Orange United Methodist Church on Sunday, Aug. 4. The family wasn’t sure if it was the 102nd or 112th eeting - either way, mem- bers have been celebrat- ing common kinship for at least a century. That's a little longer than Alice Robbins, of now-defunct Hanson’s East Stroudsburg, has Amusement Park in been alive. The 92-year- Harveys Lake. The United old still remembers rid- Methodist Church in Orange has been its meet- ing space for the past 30 years. Stan Zarnoch, Robbins’ nephew, said the reunion was once a much larger gathering with more chil- dren than adults in atten- | 0981512007 9%iq ing the roller coaster at Hanson’s Amusement Park in Harveys Lake, a former site of the reunion, when she was a young girl. “I think I would get a bit light-headed if I did that now,” she laughed. The first Evans Family Reunion was thought to be held in Eaton Township in Wyoming County, and the group has held reunions at the former Fernbook Park in Dallas and the dance. The 65-year-old from Orange said the clan used to order so much of the orange-flavored beverage made by the former Orange Farms Dairy, the company would supply blocks of ice, chipped from Cummings Pond, at no charge to keep their drinks cold. “Back then, kids didn’t drink soda - there wasn’t any soda,” he said. Zarnock’s bers’ mother, Lucy x) Evans Zarnoch, was in charge of children’s games at the event, and she would plan fun activities like Penny Pitch and Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Now the annual fam- ily fete features a penny auction and the raffled raise money to pay for the gathering and to offset some family mem- traveling eo faa Bill Tarutis photos | For The Dallas Post The Evans Family Reunion is well attended every year. Sue Hand, right, shows old family photographs to Dorothy Petrilak, Florence Jones and Alice Robbins. items expens- See EVANS | 13 Gina Evans, of Nicholson, presi- dent of the James and Oliver Evans family reunion, holds a family photograph from the 1901 reunion. i Stan Zarnoch, of Orange, talks about memories of previous Evans family reunions. 5) 3 W
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers