Page 16 - SUSQUEHANNA TIMES
Barney; ex-equestrian Hollywood stuntman and ex-mayor
Letter
Dear Editor:
At the recent Donegal
High School Fair, parents
and friends were allcwed to
come in the auditorium and
observe a drama workshop.
A drama workshop is
exactly what the name
implies, we work on con-
centration, alertness, dic-
tion and on over-coming
inhibition. Sometimes it
does .get a bit loud and
boisterous. However, 1 feel
this is much more con-
structive that racing around
in cars and defacing school
property.
Some parents found the
noise (?) offending and
made a point of saying so.
Therefore, I'd like to de-
fend the cause.
In the first place, most
people did not even sit
close enough to the stage
to really see what was
going on. In the second
place, the workshop was
not meant to entertain the
audience. And, in the third
place, 1 don’t feel that
many (if any) people in the
audience had any theatrical
experience, otherwise they
would have realized we had
a very successful work
shop.
A Disgusted Dramatist
‘““After twenty years as a
councilman and mayor, I've
done my share. It’s time
for younger people to start
taking over.”
Barney McDevitt, recently
ly retired mayor of Mari-
etta, spread some more
stain on the chair propped
on the workbench. The
Susquehanna Times was
visiting him in his newly
opened Fix-It Shop on Bank
Street, where he refinishes
furniture, among other
things.
“Yeah, 1 really like it
here,”” he continued, wav-
ing at his shop. “I work for
a while, then 1 smoke a
cigarette and watch TV for
a while. It’s great to take it
easy for a change.”
Barney, who resigned
last week for health rea-
sons, has had a long and
varied career. Born in
Marietta in 1911, he learn-
ed about politics from his
father Paul (himself a long
time member of the Bor-
ough Council) and about
horses from his grandfath-
er, a veterinarian.
Graduating from Mari-
etta High in 1929, Barney
traveled west to California,
working with horses. He
spent one year as a stunt
rider in Hollywood.
Returning east in 1935,
he continued to work with
horses and teach riding,
untii he went into the
contracting and hardware
business in 1938. The same
year, he married his wife
From left to right are models Liz Edwards, Tammy Shelly, Stephany Robeson and
Pat Enos.
Seiler fashion show
The Seiler School and
Home Association will hold
it’s bi-monthly meeting on
Tuesday evening, March
22, 1977. The business
meeting will start at 7:15
p.m. and the program,
starting at 7:30 p.m., will
be a Fashion Show.
The children’s fashions
will be shown from the Tot
to Teen Shop in Manheim.
The models for the show
will be students from the
Seiler Elementary School.
They are as follows -
Stephanie Robeson, Kyle
Hipple, Greta Brenner,
Todd Keener, Stephanie
Ricedorf, Mathew Blasick,
Tammy Shelly, Jerome
Chappel, Stephanie Max-
well, Mike Lehman, Liz
Edwards, Mark Wagner,
photos by Corky Flick
Tammi Johnson and Andy
Shank.
Also modeling, will be
3% year old Erin Sites, and
S year old Dylan Sites, the
children of Seiler School’s
principal, Woodroe Sites -
Scott McDonald, 4 year old
son of Mrs. Judy McDon-
ald, a third grade teacher -
and Chris Pierce, 2'2 year
old son and Missie Peirce,
Kathryn.
Barney served on the
Borough Council from 1940
to 1952, and again in 1965.
He was also a county
committeeman, tax assesor,
and member of the sewage
committee. His tem as
mayor began in 1966.
Barney considers his
greatest achievements as
mayor to be the remodell-
ing of the council chamb-
ers, widening of the inter-
section of Market Street
and Rt. 441, and the
Christmas decorations
along Market Street. He
wanted to enlarge the
Borough, but the program
was ‘‘never completed to
my desire. Everybody just
ran out of steam and forgot
it’’ he told us.
Although a mayor is a
‘“figurehead’’ with no real
power, it’s still a tough job.
The toughest parts?
‘‘Keeping harmony among
my office, the police, and
the townspeople can be
difficult,”” Barney told us,
‘“and the other thing is
educating the people to call
the councilman responsible
for their specific complaint.
Everyone seems to call the
mayor."
The time he enjoyed the
best was when he enter-
tained the Governor during
the Marietta Horse Show,
“the nicest highlight we've
had for a long time.” said
Barney, who founded the
Horse Show.
March 16, 1977
Barney sees continued
development in Marietta’s
future. ‘Route 441 will be
solid with businesses in ten
years,’ he told us, ‘“‘and I
expect that Marietta will
become an Historic Town.
The State may designate us
that soon, I suspect.”
Barney doesn’t dislike this
idea. He is doing his own
thing to keep Marietta
history alive by talking to
older citizens and recording
their information.
Barney asked us to relay
this request to the public:
anyone who has old photos
or information about local
history should contact
Barney. Any material lent
him will be handled care-
fully and returned prompt-
ly.
Mayor McDevitt spoke
highly of his successor, Jay
Robert Flanagan. ‘‘He’s
the man for the job. I
support him wholehearted-
ly,”” Barney told us. ‘‘He
doesn’t pull any punches -
he’ll tell you exactly what
he thinks. But he won’t
hold a grudge, either. He's
a good man.” The new
mayor’s biggest problems
in the future will relate to
streets, sewage, and the
Police Department, accord-
ing to Barney.
In summation, he said,
“It’s been a great pleasure
to work with the people of
marietta.”” The Susquehan-
LR]
na Times is sure that the
people of Marietta feel the
same way about him.
Mrs. Belle straightens Stephanie Ricedorf’s outfit for the
fashion show.
6 year old daughter of Mrs.
Barbara Pierce, also a third
grade teacher at Seiler.
Women’s fashions will be
shown from the Orange
Owl, Mount Joy. The
models will be teachers
from the Seiler School.
They are: Mrs. Anne Bell,
second grade teacher; Mrs.
Patricia Enos, Music teach-
er; Mrs. Ann Fitzkee,
Primary reading teacher;
Mrs. Winnie Geyer, fourth
grade teacher; Mrs. Judy
McDonald, third grade
teacher; Miss Linda
Smeltz, second grade
teacher; Mrs. Cheryl Wise,
Art teacher and Mrs. Dor-
othy Young, first grade
teacher.
Everyone is
attend, and there
admission charge.
invited to
is no
a