Page 20 - SUSQUEHANNA BULLETIN
Adam and Eve
Jim and Sharon Roberts
met each other when Jim
won another promotion with
F.W. Woolworth Variety
Stores in 1970. Each year
since joining the company
he had been moved up to a
more responsible position.
This time he “was made
manager of a Woolworth’s
in a suburb of Baltimore.
Sharon had been book-
keeper at this store for six
years and like the other
employees was curious a-
bout what kind of person the
new manager would be.
When she first saw the
new manager she was
surprised how young he
was, and how slim.
As she got to know him
better she was constantly
surprised how broad his
interests were; including
water skiing and motorcyc-
ling.
&®
%
ks
Sharon, Michele and Jim Roberts
No romance on job
But there was no hint that
the new young manager had
any romantic interest on his
very able bookkeeper.
It was Jim's strict policy
never to get romantically
involved with any of his
employees.
Several weeks after Jim
became manager of the
store, another Woolworth’s
in downtown Baltimore was
having trouble with its
accounting and Jim volun-
teered to lend his skilled
bookkeeper, for a while, to
the other store.
Loses bookkeeper
The manager of the other
store was impressed by
Sharon’s abilities; he offer-
ed-her a 35 per cent salary
increase if she would come
to work for him permanent-
ly.
Timberdoodles spied
by J. L. Biesecker
A dreary, damp darkness
was settling into night as I
drove past the State Game
Lands at Mount Gretna last
Thursday evening. Al-
though I was heading home
from work to a waiting
supper, I pulled off the road
when 1 spotted an old doe
and a yearling sneaking
along the edge of the nearby
woods.
As 1 got out of the car to
watch the deer a little more
carefully, a brown blob
suddenly burst into the air
several feet away from me.
Whistling wings and a
familiar peeping sound re-
gistered in my startled
mind, telling me that a
Timberdoodle was airborne.
Several more exploded into
the air in quick succession,
flying off in different direc-
tions. In the next several
minutes eight or more of the
little fellows flew over; their
unique silhouettes against
the late evening sky con-
firmed that these were -
indeed Woodcocks.
Woodcocks (Timberdoo-
dles) are small (8 1/2 inches
long) with short legs and
tail, but with a long thin bill.
Wood brown feathers with
black bars help them blend
into the background. Since
the Woodcock eats mainly
earthworms they can most
frequently be found in
damp, but not wet, bottoms
and thickets.
Migratory flights of
Woodcocks pass through
this area each fall on their
way to the Gulf Coast after
summering in eastern Can-
ada and New England. My
experience indicates that
the greatest numbers come
through eastern Pennsyl-
vania in early November.
However, only small num-
bers actually stop over in the
Donegal area. Each year 1
®
Sharon accepted, and Jim
was without a bookkeeper.
He hired a new bookkeeper,
and then another, and still
another. No one could be
found to fill Sharon's shoes
at the store.
In desperation he called
Sharon and asked her to
stop in at his store after
work and help him try to
straighten out the books.
Sharon agreed, and every
evening she stopped at
Jim’s store, which was near
her home, and went over the
records with him.
A place to eat
On evening after working
late together, Jim said,
“Well, 1 guess I'll have to
look for a place to eat
tonjght.”’
Sharon said, ‘“Why don’t
you come to my place for
dinner?”’
manage to get some shoot-
ing at these interesting, and
tasty, little fellows.
Although they fly slower
than the pheasant or grouse,
the Timberdoodle is often
considered a more difficult
target by many shotgunners
This is due, in part, to their
ability to dip and twist as
they fly out in front of a
surprised hunter. The small
size of the bird also enables
them to fly through holes in
the pellet pattern.
Switching to a smaller
size of shot will increase the
number of birds in your
game bag. Quick reactions
also assist in taking birds.
Whistling wings and the
unique peeping of the
startled Woodcock are us-
ually heard before the bird
is seen. With this warning,
one can usually bring the
gun up quickly and shoot
deliberately. Of course, all
of this is easy to say, but
remembering to do it all at
the right time is difficult.
Everyone should go out
Jim accepted her invita-
tion— and their relationship
stopped being purely pro-
fessional.
Married
One year after becoming
manager of the Baltimore
store, Jim was transferred
to the new Woolworth store
in Park City, Lancaster.
Weekends he travelled to
Baltimore to see his former
bookkeeper.
One year after coming to
Lancaster, Jim and Sharon
were married and she
moved into his apartment
near Landisville.
Moving up
But Jim's successful
career with Woolworth’s
took him next to Bradford,
Pa., where he was made
manager of a new store in
the shopping mall there.
Jim and Sharon bought
their own home on a
mountainside with a beauti-
ful view of the wooded peaks
around.
Michele arrives
A year after coming to
“ Bradford their daughter
Michele was born.
With Michele,
Sharon started to
about their life.
Every year Jim had been
moving up in the Woolworth
company. The next logical
move from a 30,000 square
Jim and
think
foot store in Bradford would
be to a store in a big city,
Philadelphia or New York.
A new life
They didn’t want to bring
Michele up in a big city.
They wanted to live closer to
their parents families, Jim’s
in York and Sharon’s in
Baltimore. And they wanted
to have their own business.
Jim investigated a num-
ber of business opportuni-
ties and finally decided on
opening a Western Auto
Store in Mount Joy as the
best opportunity of all. From
having lived in Lancaster J
they knew Mount Joy well.
Mount Joy
They sold almost every-
thing they owned, property,
stocks, bonds, etc., took
looking for our stocky little
visitors in the next week or
so. The non-hunter will
capture the thrill of the sight
of a skittering Timber-
doodle, while the hunter will
appreciate the flavor of
Woodcock slowly simmered
in butter and red wine. Cold
weather pushes them on to
Louisiana all too soon, but
we can relax in the
knowledge that the little
fellow will return again in
late February, forcasting the
rebirth of Spring.
their savings out of the bank"
and put it all into their new
business in Mount Joy.
In 1974 Jim, Sharon, and
Michele moved into Har-
vestview Apartments in
Mount Joy and opened their
new Western Auto store.
A ‘‘new’’ house
They wanted their own
house but having put all
their money into their new
business, they could not
afford anything very nice.
They purchased one of the
most run-down houses in
Mount Joy at 123 West
Main Street. Before they
bought the place last spring
it had been inhabited by the
Sons of Satan, who parked
their bikes in the living room
and who used to startle
neighbors by revving up
their motors indoors in the
middle of the night.
Jim and Sharon’s parents
had always been impressed
by their children’s good
sense, but they wondered
what had gone wrong when
they
house.
dé ’
saw their new
December 3, 1975
Transformation
In a month’s time, how-
ever, Jim and Sharon had
fixed up the house enough
to move in. In two and a half
months’ time it was almost
completely done over.
In that short time the
appraised value of the house
almost tripled.
Neighbors help
The miracle of transform-
ing the house from a wreck
into a truly beautiful home
was accompanied by Jim
and Sharon working around
the clock, sometimes till
S a.m. It was also accom-
plished with the help of
neighbors who pitched in,
sometimes as many as nine
at a time, eager to assist
their new neighbors. Harvey
Stoner, next door at 121
West Main, worked many
hours each day and also
gave the Roberts lots of
practical advice.
Jim and Sharon Roberts
have a whole new life, of
their own choosing and their
own doing.
Jim working on the roof
drawing by J. L. Biesecker