The Benton News Archives for July 2008

 

July 26, 2008. It is the birthday of Callie Madelyn Hess, Christopher Ackerman, Brooke Laubach, Bill Lenhart and Grace Feola.

Didja ever wonder why lawyers are so hard-headed?
It could be because they have to butt and rebut so often!

It is the beginning of a beautiful weekend, time to drop the serious discussions of environmental impact as a result of gas drilling, the pros and cons of Presidential contenders, the energy crisis. We need to lighten up a bit. A way to do this is to read Cecil Adams' approach to weighty matters as written in the Chicago Reader under the title of "The Straight Dope." Who is Cecil Adams, you ask? He is the “world's most intelligent human being,” a man who “knows everything, and is never wrong.” Don’t believe me? Ask Cecil.

In a recent column, Cecil took up the question of what the Class of 2000 will be called. Cecil points out that "June, 2000," will be correctly pronounced "June of the year two thousand." Will the seniors be called the "Class of '00," the "Class of Zero-Zero," the "Class of Oh-Oh." See, I told you this is not an extremely weighty issue! Cecil points out that when this problem arose in 1900, the problem was solved by calling it the Class of Aughty-Aught, except at Mount Holyoke College where the graduates called themselves the Class of Naughty-Naught. Maybe this should be the "Class of Aught-Zero" or "two-triple-naught." Or maybe we should move on...

The Pennsylvania Germans have many sayings that make a lot of sense, including...

. Small and smart are worthwhile, too.

. A sheep that bleats loses many a mouthful.

. We grow too soon old and too late smart.

. The person who thinks too little usually talks too much.

. He who feeds well chums well.

. Children and fools tell the truth.

. As one tends the fence he also tends the farm.

Quickies...
• In the 2006/2007 year, the Benton Council of Churches helped 12 families with fuel assistance for a total of $3,220. In the 2007/2008 year, the Council of Churches helped 23 families for a total of $7,767.

• The Food Bank filled 89 orders to help 163 people in June. In July, 97 orders were filled, helping 184 people. The food bank is in need of paper bags, if anyone could donate bags. How 'bout this? Ask for paper bags when you buy groceries and then donate your bags to the Food Bank. You can drop off the bags at The Center.

• A daily average of 60 to 70 attended the vacation Bible School.

Children's author and illustrator Lindsay Barrett George recently paid a visit to children at Camp Victory, Millville. The program was arranged by the Columbia County Traveling Library with the author arriving by bookmobile. The author spent the afternoon instructing the campers from Camp Spifida (spinal bifida) on the processes of writing, illustrating, designing and publishing a book. Children were guided through several drawing projects that showed them how to develop a character, setting, and plot for a story of their own. After the program the campers visited the Columbia County Traveling Library's bookmobile.

Lindsay Barrett George is well known for books that teach children about nature and animals, many of which the author observes from her home in northeast Pennsylvania. Some of George's most popular books are from the Long Pond and Who's Been Here? series. For her visit to Camp Victory, she waived her usual author's fee as a gift to the Columbia County Traveling Library and Camp Victory.

At Selinsgrove Speedway tonight, 358 sprint cars, late models, pro stocks, and roadrunners begin their qualifying at 7. Eight-time winner Keith Bissinger, Orangeville, is points leader entering tonight’s 12-lap race.

Didja ever think about snowflakes?
They are one of the most fragile things in nature,
but when they stick together they make a huge influence.

There are few words in the English language that have the variety of meanings and spellings as "hotch-potch," "hotch-podge," "hotch-pot," “hotch-podge" and about every other conceivable combination of the syllables in these words found in the English language.

The words are mostly out of favor these days, although a game with that name is still sometimes played on sidewalks in New York City. It is easy to see the chalk marks of a hodge-podge game until a rainstorm washes them away. Some people of Scotch ancestry use hodge-podge to denote a pudding of various ingredients.

But the words are really of legal origin. In the days when it was the custom of a father to give a portion of his estate to his daughter for her "advancement in marriage," when the father passed away the balance of his estate would pass proportionately to his remaining children. In those cases where the daughter who received a tidy sum in order to find Prince Charming felt inclined, she could later divide the land she previously was given as her marriage portion with the rest of the land the estate was dividing. In this case, the lands would be thrown into "hotch-pot." If by doing this, she would have lesser status and wealth, the lands passed previously usually were retained.

The word "hodge-podge" is the word most often used today to designate any kind of mixture. I haven't a clue what the relationship with this word is with the game played on the sidewalks of New York.

The Benton News is somewhat of a hodge-podge, a jumble of unrelated facts and fantasy, thrown into the pot for readers to pick and choose at their leisure.

The name Historic Hodge-Podge was once a 1955 publication by Henry H. Greene in which the claim was made that a "block house" about "400 square feet" and two stories high with a stone fireplace once existed in Sullivan County where as many as fifty men "could be quartered at a pinch" as a "headquarters for disloyal men from Sullivan, Luzerne and Columbia counties." Sound like a draft-dodging Fishing Creek Confederacy story? It was.

For those who came in late, not all Northerners agreed with the objectives during the Civil War. Republicans often contemptuously referred to those who agreed with the South as “Copperheads.” These Peace Democrats were usually very vocal against the policies of President Lincoln, much as anti-war sympathizers are in today’s world, but in the wartime situation they were taken very seriously when they talked of armed insurrection which would have made them traitors to the Union.

Here in the upper Fishing Creek valley, we all know the story that 800 or so troops were dispatched to Appleman’s Grove to put down draft dodgers during the Civil War. We know that the soldiers arrived, as a diary noted, "Where we believed the Fishing Creek Army was massed and found not a man nor evidence that a man had ever been there. No such thing as the Confederacy to resist the U.S. government ever existed in Columbia County." General George Cadwalander, the man in charge of the “Fishing Creek Campaign,” quoted in a Pennsylvania Heritage article, said that “The whole thing is a farce.” The Historic Hodge-Podge article, based on stories told by a man by the name of Jim Edgar, suggested that the troops should have looked high in the mountains of Sullivan County along the banks of “Deserter’s Run” near Muncy Creek. Author Pete Tomasak recently announced that he had found remains of a former Sullivan County encampment which matched the description provided by Jim Edgar. Fact or fiction? You be the judge…

Didja ever think that about the only thing you can do better
than anyone else is read your own handwriting?

GoNaomi is free computer dictionary that currently consists of about 30 different dictionaries containing about 850,000 words. Give it a try.

 

July 25, 2008. It is the birthday of Bill Beishline, John Deeter, Ramona Diltz and Ruth (Chapin) Hilley. It is the wedding anniversary of Robert and Margie Kline. Six years ago this week nine miners were rescued after spending more than three days trapped in a Somerset County mine. It was on this day in 1814 that the first successful demonstration of the steam locomotive took place. The engine pulled eight loaded wagons of thirty tons' weight about four miles an hour up a hill.

The Irish can really get to the heart of a matter quickly. Take this email, for example…

“We, in Ireland, can't figure out why people are even bothering to hold an election in the United States! On one side, you have a pants wearing woman lawyer, married to a lawyer who can't keep his pants on, who just lost a long and heated primary against a lawyer who some think goes to the wrong church who is married to another lawyer who doesn't like the country her husband wants to run. Now, on the other side, you have a nice old war hero whose name starts with the appropriate "Mc" terminology married to a good looking younger woman who owns a beer distributorship. What in Lord's name are ye lads thinking over there in the colonies?

The crossroads community of Maple Grove is about ten feet in elevation higher than Fishing Creek and many residents live very close to the slowly moving stream. There are four Maple Groves in our state--in Columbia, Clarion, Wayne and Franklin Counties. An experienced map reader could easily miss the Maple Grove a mile south of Benton at the intersection of Routes 487 and 254, and would therefore miss the shortcut to Danville, or the villages of Rohrsburg, Millville and Jerseytown. Sokol Quarries is in Maple Grove. Here, too, has been the location of Harold's Market and Ritter's Market and Ritter's Nursery and later Wodrig's Nursery, the former home of Ken and Ethel Kelsey and the location where many contracts to have Lincoln Homes constructed were signed. Maple Grove is where the Pied Piper restaurant served hungry travelers for years. It is where farmers like O. B. Savage, Harry Troy, and Bubb Laubach worked the ground and made their living. Eric Scott Hess and R. Gregory Notestine were both killed south of Maple Grove four years ago in an accident that changed the lives of two fine families forever. Maple Grove is where Ruth Dietrich spent her summers with her parents, living in a former school house. From this location, Ruth walked "to town" and often happened to be walking just as Dayne Kline brought the cows in from the fields and the rest is, as they say, history.

The former Maple Grove school house, by the time that the Dietrich family bought it, had a wrap-around porch in the southern tradition. This porch was never part of the school house, but provided a good vista over traffic and activities on Route 254. The former school was adjacent to Fishing Creek, nestled under tall trees in a location cool in the summer and downright cold in the winter. The schoolhouse is no longer standing.

Students at the former Maple Grove School

Front row: Roy Kile, Jessee Young, Harold Tranner, Hazle Collman, Kathron Kile, Eanos Hartman

Middle row: _________, Eveland Tailor, Josephene Keller, Myrtle Dodson, Eleanor Dodson, Helen Keller, Dolly Collman, Oliver Kile

Back row: Howard Collman, Louis Hess, Russel Keller, Dawn Trainor, Harold Collman, E. J. McHenrey, Joe Kile

This picture of the school house and the students in a class prior to 1924 was provided by Harlan and Bonita Kile. Names have been matched with students of about 85 years ago, and in all cases the names are as spelled on the back of the original photo. In several cases, the spelling is obviously not correct.

The inbox lit up this morning with comments from readers about saving energy.

. Geraldine Laubach wrote about seeing wind turbines in Germany which had been constructed by individual owners. The electricity generated in excess of the owner's requirements was automatically sold back to the power company. The turbines became both a way of making money for the landowner and a way of saving money on energy consumption--and all done outside of the public coffers.

. Jim Laubach has long advocated rebuilding of our nation's railroads to reduce the number of energy-inefficient trucks on the highway. He cited the transportation company CSX Corporation's claim that a train can carry one ton 423 miles on one gallon of diesel oil. No truck could ever match that. Jim advocates that all main line railroads be electrified and powered by nuclear power plants. Clean air! Fewer trucks on the road! Now, how is that for saving energy?

Ruth Rode was the featured speaker at Monday's gathering of history buffs at the Brass Pelican restaurant, Elk Grove. She discussed things historical relating to logging in north central Pennsylvania. Ruth is from South Williamsport, a retired elementary school teacher, hiker, historian. Without aid of microphone or notes, Ruth quickly educated the capacity crowd on terms relating to the Pennsylvania logging industry from the 1790s until the early 1900s. Ruth ran through dozens of pictures of logging operations in nearby Sonestown, Lopez, and on Loyalsock Creek. She talked extensively about the logging operations in and around Williamsport.

She displayed on a PowerPoint presentation, prepared by Linda Poulton of the Muncy Historical Society, the many faces of forest workers bringing trees to the mills using their horses, slides, splash dams and water transportation. She showed pictures of lumber camps and the tools used in logging and the companies responsible for the logging operations. She discussed the establishment of lumber towns and talked about the eventual closing of the mills and the dissolution of the logging community.

She talked about the log slides and showed pictures of the greased log slides made from hewn logs in the summer and the iced log slides in the winter. The day of the logger lasted up to sixteen hours, and many of the activities of the loggers were extremely dangerous. Ruth followed the development of water power for the mills, and traced the development of steam power and engine power.

She discussed the terms associated with the making of charcoal, kindling wood, tanning, clothes pins and paper. Ruth used some terms during her PowerPoint presentation that were both familiar and unfamiliar to the history buffs. She told about the archaic term "lumberjack," simply a logger who harvests lumber. The term lumberjack usually refers to a logger from an earlier time before the advent of modern-logging equipment. Other terms include woodcutter and wood hick. The loggers worked in lumber camps and often lived a migratory life, following timber-harvesting jobs. They usually lived in bunkhouses or tents. Common equipment included the axe and crosscut saw. Loggers were hard-working, hard-drinking men.

Much of the early logging was steam-powered to haul logs to nearby railroads for shipment to sawmills. Logs were often transported to sawmills by floating them down a body of water on a specially-constructed log flume or "skid row" by loggers who were "down on their luck." Spiked boots known as "caulks" or "corks" were worn by lumberjacks as their regular footwear. Terms from loggers like "muckeymuck" (a higher-up person), and "hooch" (liquor) are still used by some people today.

Some terms were new to most listeners. A "peavey" or a "peavey hook" (named for blacksmith Joseph Peavey of Stillwater, Maine) is a logging tool consisting of a handle with a metal spike protruding from the end. The spike is rammed into a log, then a hook grabs the log at a second location. The handle gives the operator leverage to roll or slide or float the log. Ruth talked about "jobbers," "skippers," "teamsters" and "stickers." She went over the 14-day process of making charcoal and the 10 to 12 days it then took to cool.

Some of the terms used in the discussion included...
. Chemical-Acid Factory. Much of this came from the chemical works, Laquin, the Hillsgrove Tanners, and the Sonestown Stave Factory.
. Jam cracker. An expert river driver who is stationed at a point where a log jam is feared.
. Kindling wood mills. Clothes and box boards for crates were produced in these mills. Lath to hold up plastered walls were made here, as were shingles for atop a roof.
. Log Jam. Logs floated down a river accumulate and jam up.
. Mine-shaft props.
. Paper Mills.
. Stave Mills. Produced heads, tops and bottoms for barrels. The finished product was then shipped to a cooperage factory. The production of staves for the cooperage industry was profitable until the mid-1930s when cheaper forms of packaging replaced wooden barrels.

 

July 24, 2008. It is the birthday of Austin Kelsey. It is the wedding anniversary of Russell and Rebecca Whitenight and Kevin and Faith Schlichter. On this day in 1974, singer Cass Elliot, 33, known for her performances with the singing group The Mamas and The Papas, died in London. The official autopsy stated that Momma Cass died of a heart attack brought about by her overweight condition. Aviator Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, on this day in 1898. She grew up as a tomboy, wearing pants in an age when it was not acceptable for girls to wear pants. She loved to hike, fish and explore caves. She pursued medicine until she saw her first air show, then decided that being a pilot was her career choice. She became the first to fly from California to Hawaii, and she attempted to fly around the world. In her second attempt she was lost somewhere over the Pacific. Her body was never recovered.

Max Hartman introduced me to CCleaner a few months ago, a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system and allows Windows to run faster while freeing-up valuable hard-disk space. It cleans your online activities such as your internet history. It is fast and does not contain any spyware or adware!.

The Red Cross Blood Drive at the L. R. Appleman school in honor of Rev. David Diehl brought in 59 pints of blood. Seventy people signed up to donate, but eleven were turned away.

Roy M. Davis, an infrequent visitor to Jamison City, writes a column in the Tri-City Record, Watervliet, Michigan, called the Paw Paw River Journal. Roy is devoting one of his August columns to some recent writings in the Benton News about the great state of North Carolina, including my comments about matrimony in the case of premarital sex. Roy shared a similar story with me about a friend of his who said, "When I was a kid, my folks made me go to a church that was so strict... (How strict was it?) It was so strict they were against sex because they were afraid it might lead to dancing!" Which reminds me of the old story where a father was asked how his daughter was doing with her ballet classes. He answered, "she's getting better by leaps and bounds!"

Before you settle in for the long harangue which follows, settle back if you have a high-speed connection and watch a series of videos simply entitled "Living with Gas Wells."

With apologies to those who do not give a hoot about natural gas, the article about the Monday logging discussion at the Brass Pelican will be moved to the Friday edition. The bottom line is that I didn't have time last night to write it.

The following is extracted from a press release sent to the Benton News by the Appalachia Shale Water Conservation and Management Committee.

"A consortium of energy companies active in the Appalachian Basin have organized to form the Appalachian Shale Water Conservation and Management Committee (ASWCMC). The founding members include Anadarko Petroleum, Cabot Oil & Gas, Chesapeake Energy, Chief Oil & Gas, EOG Resources, Equitable Resources, J-W Operating, Marathon Oil Corporation and Range Resources. The ASWCMC has joined with the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), a leading research, development and training organization, and selected Tom Hayes as the Managing Director for the committee.

"The Marcellus Shale formation [snip] is an emerging resource for natural gas in the country with potential reserves estimated to be as high as 50-200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). As the shale development continues and new companies enter the Appalachian Basin, the companies participating in the ASWCMC will likely increase.

"The mission of the ASWCMC is to develop best management practices and technical solutions for shale developments in the Appalachian Basin. The committee will work cooperatively with the appropriate regulatory agencies to ensure that water resources are managed in an efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Initial goals of the ASWCMC will be to determine current and future water needs, water quality specifications for drilling and hydraulic fracturing, and to identify technologies that provide solutions for water management and water conservation. 'There are several water treatment and recycling techniques, some of which are being tested in other shale fields. The consortium has engaged GTI to help us identify the options available and help us find the best techniques for use in Appalachia and the Marcellus Shale development,' said Len Paugh, Operations Manager with Range Resources.

"Only around 200 wells have been drilled into the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian Basin, but the industry recognized the need to responsibly manage water resources early. In April 2008, the ASWCMC organizers submitted a cooperative government-industry research proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy - National Energy Technology Laboratory. 'The proposed project would include funding for studies to obtain water management information, to develop solutions to manage water streams associated with energy development and methods that minimize the demands on public water supplies,' said Tom Hayes, Managing Director of the ASWCMC. 'We will pursue other opportunities for research of industry pilot water treatment and recycling tests'."

Didja ever notice how many disasters are treated
as if they were trivialities? Smart people
never treat a triviality as if it were a disaster.

The capacity landowner turnout Tuesday night at the high school had as its focus the capture of natural gas from the Marcellus shale. Natural gas is only one element of the energy crisis in the world. Everyone has an energy solution--continued drilling, hydrogen, solar, nuclear power. Pick an alternative source of energy and someone somewhere will champion that cause.

• Corn-based ethanol takes nearly as much energy to produce as you get out of it. This year, our nation's corn-ethanol production could reach 9.3 billion gallons--about a fourth of what our nation produces in corn. Look at what has happened to food prices as a result.

• Hydrogen as power for vehicles is touted. Hydrogen awaits a method of developing a less expensive method of bulk production of hydrogen to accelerate the establishment of a hydrogen economy. The energy stored in a vehicle has to be produced from coal, natural gas or nuclear. A hydrogen tank on a car would have to be about three times the size of a conventional-gasoline tank. Can you imagine the result of kersmacking a hydrogen-powered car head-on?

• Wind power is heavily touted these days by oilman T. Boone Pickens, who has a great location for wind farms. Wind today powers about 1% of our electricity. Pickens and the Department of Energy claim that energy from wind turbines could supply 20% or more of the nation's power by 2030. In fact, the U.S. could soon become the world's largest wind market. I have spent many lazy afternoons on a pond watching a bobber with not a "breath of air" moving. Still, on a large scale, wind is viable. U.S. electrical demand could grow substantially over the coming years, so wind would help immensely. Wind production isn't cheap, but falls more in line as costs of coal and natural gas rises. Without subsides of any kind, wind energy costs about 10¢ a kilowatt hour, solar is up there about 30¢, and fossil fuels are 10¢ or less. But compared with $135-per-barrel oil and American money traveling overseas, fuel cost for wind is zero. Incidentally, General Electric is the largest wind-turbine manufacturer. As Jim Cramer told viewers of his Mad Money TV show Wednesday, "People better start caring about General Electric." First Trust Global Wind Energy (FAN) is an exchange-traded fund of merit if you like wind energy.

• Solar power is divided into photovoltaic, which converts energy from photons directly into electricity, and thermal, which uses the concentrated heat of the sun to boil liquids and turn a turbine. A rooftop photovoltaic system could cost up to $40,000 before tax incentives and rebates. It is not reliable for the overcast winter days in Pennsylvania. Thermal solar isn't cheap, either, unless you live in the southwest and can figure out inexpensive storage of solar energy when the sun isn't shining.

Some electric cars simply plug into your house electricity. A hundred kilowatts of electricity can propel an electric car up to 45 miles per hour for 75 miles while a hydrogen fuel cell car of similar size can do only about 16 miles. Toyota makes 20,000 of its Prius hybrid models a month. GM is planning to build 60,000 of its new Volt electric cars in 2010. The short, boxy battery-powered car with the improbable name "Think City" will enter the U.S. market in 2009 from Oslo, Norway. The car should travel 110 miles on a single charge, can speed up to about 65 mph and be bought for less than $25,000 including ABS and airbags.

The answer to the energy crisis? I haven't a clue....

 

July 23, 2008. It is the wedding anniversary of Miles and Esther Little. Look for some thunderboomers and a high of about 83° today.

Are you looking for something? Try these two sites...
. Muncy Historical Society, 40 North Main Street, Muncy, 570 546-5917. Their hours are Mondays and Fridays, 9 AM to 3 PM. Check their schedule by calling 570 546-5917.

. East Lycoming Historical Society, Carol Sones Shetler, President. The society is open to the public Sundays through Labor Day 11 AM to 4 PM. It is located at 66 South Main Street, Hughesville. The society has a web site in development.

This issue of the Benton News has quite a bit of information about natural gas. To get you acquainted with terms, turn to the Dictionary of Petroleum Terms here.

Quickies...
. Didja know that the US Department of Energy considers the waste water that is produced in gas drilling some of the most toxic of all industrial byproducts?

• Seating is first-com, first-served to hear John McCain at the F.M. Kirby Center, Wilkes-Barre, this morning. Doors open at 8 AM. No tickets are required.

. An admittedly slanted article about drilling for natural gas near the watershed that supplies New York City's drinking water can be found here.

. Didja know that in China, cars with license plates that end in an odd number are now banned from the roads every other day for the next two months during the Olympic Games and the Paralympics? These cars alternate with cars that have even-numbered plates. The Chinese government estimates that this will take one million cars off the road each day. In return, car owners won't have to pay road and vehicle taxes for three months. Trucks producing high emissions have been blocked from entering Beijing since July 1. The Beijing Food and Safety Office ordered Olympic-contractor hotels and restaurants not to serve any dishes made with dog meat "to respect the dining customs of different countries." China uses the death penalty for more than 60 crimes involving corruption, drug trafficking, embezzlement and tax evasion!

. Didja ever think that if you have to explain something you probably shouldn't have said it in the first place?

Eric Wanner, Assistant District Manager of the Benton office of Williams Companies, Inc. WMB spoke at the Benton Middle/High School Auditorium Tuesday night to an attentive audience that overflowed the 510 seats onto the steps to the stage and into the hallway at the rear of the room. Although the meeting started late--there were still about 150 to seat fifteen minutes after the scheduled starting time--the audience seemed appreciative of Williams' willingness to hold a seminar to discuss its pipelines in the local area.

The Williams Companies, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and founded in 1908, is an integrated-gas firm with the gas-pipeline business only one part of the total operation. Operating as a whole, the segments produce, gather, process, and transport natural gas. In 2007, Williams had 4.1 trillion cubic equivalent of proven oil and gas reserves, 14,200 miles of long-haul interstate pipelines, 8,500 miles of gathering pipes, and 14 gas processing and treating plants. Eric equated the pipeline operation to that of a trucking company.

The local operation is handled from Transco Station 520, Benton, built in 1992 near Divide. There are four employees in the local office. To move the natural gas through the pipelines in our area, four gas turbines generating 36,800 hp are required. The 18.5 miles of pipeline served by the office in Divide ranges from Route 42 to New Columbus. The lines range in size from 42" to 36" to 24" on the line north of Benton. The gas line parallel with Route 118 is a 24" line. You can go here (this is a large map and is slow opening) to view all the gas transmission lines in the United States. Eric made the point that nearly all natural gas in the United States is transported through steel pipelines.

The Williams Companies, Inc. incorporated in 1949 as a natural-gas company. The company primarily finds, produces, gathers, processes and transports natural gas. Its operations are concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Gulf Coast and the Eastern Seaboard.

The activities of the company are primarily operated through business segments, which include Exploration & Production, Gas Pipeline, Midstream Gas & Liquids, and Gas Marketing Services. Williams owns and operates a combined total of approximately 14,400 miles of pipelines delivering 12% of all natural gas transported in the United States. Gas Pipeline consists of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation and Northwest Pipeline GP. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation (Transco) is an interstate natural gas transportation company that owns and operates a 10,500-mile natural gas pipeline system extending from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the offshore Gulf of Mexico through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to the New York City metropolitan area.

Eric discussed the participation of the company in the "One-Call" System, which any Pennsylvanian can access at 1 800 242-1776 to check out gas problems. He said the natural gas is odorless and colorless. Additives give gas its familiar odor.

The next meeting of the Columbia County Land Owner's Coalition will take place Wednesday, August 6, for members of the Coalition only. The Coalition will spit into sub-groups with meetings taking place in August on the 6th, 12th, 20th and 30th.

Bruce Anderson of the Columbia County Landowners Coalition reported that he had met with the Columbia County Commissioners in an attempt to change current Clean and Green requirements. He had presented a petition to the Commissioners signed by a number of landowners. The Commissioners were told that the number of signers of the petition could be "doubled" or "tripled" if necessary. The Commissioners agreed to look into gas leasing on Clean and Green land and that additional signers of the petition were not necessary. Bruce reviewed contract addendums, including water quality and source, with coalition members. He reminded members that approximately 40% of all gas-lease money received should be earmarked for taxes before any money is spent.

Didja ever notice that we define "hard times"
as having to do without something our grandparents never heard of!

From our vantage point in the upper Fishing Creek valley, we can look back on the agricultural pursuits of our ancestors, while knowing a great deal about the lumber camps of Lycoming and Sullivan counties. For many of us who did not have lumbermen in our backgrounds, it always seemed a bit uncomfortable to read of the unregimented rush of men in search of work. They went in crowds from lumber camp to lumber camp. They were artisans, mechanics and skilled laborers whose mainstay occupations ceased to furnish them a livelihood. The man with "green hands" usually worked into disappointment as he tried to do the work of skilled woodsmen. The lumber mills were seasonal employment. As spring would come, many "woodhicks" bolted for the chance of agricultural employment.

Ruth Rode was the featured speaker at Monday's gathering of history buffs who assemble around the breakfast table on the third Monday of each month at the Brass Pelican restaurant, Elk Grove, to listen to discussion of things historical relating to the local area. Ruth is from South Williamsport, a retired elementary school teacher, hiker and historian. Without aid of microphone or notes, Ruth quickly educated the capacity crowd on terms relating to the Pennsylvania logging industry from the 1790s until the early 1900s. Joining Ruth was Linda Poulton of the Muncy Historical Society.

When we return Thursday, we'll tell you about Ruth's interesting presentation. In the meantime, please brush up on forestry terms which you can find here.

 

July 22, 2008. It's the birthday of poet Stephen Vincent Benét, born in 1898 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was one of the most popular poets of his day, and today he's remembered for his epic poem about the Civil War, John Brown's Body, which he wrote in 1928 about the 1859 episode in which anti-slavery activist John Brown led 21 men on a raid of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, and seized the armory to provide for his militia. His plan to arm slaves with the weapons he and his men seized from the arsenal was thwarted, however, by local farmers, militiamen, and Marines led by Robert E. Lee. Within 36 hours of the attack, most of Brown's men had been killed or captured. Brown was captured and later hanged. Benét's poem was one of the best-selling poems of all time, 15,000 lines of rhymed verse, telling the story of the Civil War from beginning to end. Benét made a fortune, but he lost most if it in the stock market crash of 1929.

Speaking of books, the Bookmobile will stop at the Little Tiger Teachery, Main Street, from 1:50-2:10 PM, the Central Hotel parking lot from 2:30-3:30 PM, Country Fresh Market, Route 487, from 4-6:30 PM.

Harold Ackerman has seven photos on display at the Multi-County Land Abstract Company, Main Street, Bloomsburg. Artwork by two artists is on display there on a rotation which presents seven works for the first month and then three works for the second month for each artist. Harold's three works for the remainder of July can be found just inside the door, while Donna Schaffer has a show of seven works toward the back of the room.

Eric Fricke, 15, is a native of Arizona and an official Friend of Phoenix as appointed by Mayor Phil Gordon. He is a junior in the high-school organ program at University of North Caroline School for the Arts in Winston-Salem. He has studied organ with both Lew Williams and Dr. Craig Westendorf. His musical training has encompassed nine years of piano studies and four years of organ studies. He has also studied solfege and music theory for two years with Professor Snezana Radojevic of Belgrade, Serbia, a doctorate student at Arizona State University.

His musical performances have been broadcast on NBC in addition to the concerts he has played across the country. Eric spends the summers in Benton with his parents. He is the grandson of Madge Hinchcliffe. Eric will give a free concert open to the public on Sunday, August 3, at 3 PM, at the Benton Christian Church.

A handout of the Hamline Church Fellowship is available in the First Columbia Bank, Market Street.

Take the time to read the letter published in today's Press Enterprise in which Rev. David Diehl thanks the American Red Cross along with the many blood donors who faithfully give of themselves to save the lives of patients in need. Rev. Diehl writes, "I count myself fortunate to have been the recipient of this gift of life that blood represents." The Benton Council of Churches is sponsoring their annual blood drive today at the L.R. Appleman Elementary School, Park Street, from 2 PM to 7 PM. Please consider giving of yourself to help others.

"In spite of the heat and rain" the Benton Rodeo had an excellent year, according to Dean Kelchner who monitors attendance and tickets and finances. Attendance was up slightly Thursday night, the opening night of the rodeo, despite a hard thunder and lightening storm that began as the Rodeo Chicks made their appearance in the arena during the opening of the show. The income for the rodeo Friday night was within $10 of last year. The heat Saturday night kept some people away and attendance was down from the record attendance last year. A hard rain Sunday night for the bull riding kept some away, but the skies cleared about 25 minutes before the show began. Anyone who can help with the aftermath of the rodeo is encouraged to show up evenings.

A company which is not involved in natural-gas drilling in the Marcellus yet stands to be a major player in the distribution of the gas from the drilling is Williams Gas Pipeline, a good neighbor in the upper Fishing Creek Valley. Eric Wanner will be the featured speaker for the company from 7 to approximately 8 tonight in the high school auditorium. This program is open to the public at no charge. The slide presentation will deal with pipelines owned and operated by Williams and will address the pipeline which is a neighbor to most of us.

Eric will speak prior to the Columbia County Coalition's July meeting beginning about 8 PM. The 8 PM meeting is for members of the Coalition only.

BP America Inc. (BP) and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) announced that the former has agreed to acquire all the latter's leasehold interests in 90,000 acres of Arkoma Basin-Woodford Shale in Oklahoma for $1.75 billion in cash. Chesapeake management is expected to concentrate on its Arkansas Fayetteville Shale and Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale properties. Chesapeake has drilled two wells in Marcellus shale and expect to reap 4 billion cubic feet equivalent per well. The stock of the company is up about 66% this year, 97% since Jan. 1, 2006 and 320% since January 1, 2005. If you would have purchased the stock of the company 15 years ago when it was formed, your money would have doubled 48 times.

Didja ever hear about the oil boom of the 1890s when a circuit-riding preacher making his rounds of the Pennsylvania oil fields would exhort against the exploitation of gas and oil? “The Lord stored oil in the earth to fuel the fires of hell,” he warned. “To remove it is sinful and the world will feel his wrath.”

To learn details about the former Forks Hotel, we turned to Theresa Hartman, 88, Market Street, and stories that Ruth Sutliff, a woman who loved to dance,told her daughter, Ann Ganshaw, about the dance hall in the Forks hotel. The large wooden building is still standing beside Route 487, but is no longer used as a hotel or dance hall. The Cipolla family lived in the building when Ann was in high school in the 1960s. It served as a dance hall in the 1920s and loggers were boarded there at night.

Forks was a "stopping place" on the mail route between Bloomsburg, Forks, Runyon (now Asbury) and Cambra. Another Forks stopping place was Idlers Camp, so named according to the grandson of the original owner, because Sheriff Dent and others from the Columbia County Courthouse spent a lot of their idle time there. The thought was that since "they didn't have a real job" that would be a perfect name for the place.

William D. Creasy, generally known as W.D. Creasy or as "Squire Creasy," was a justice of the peace in Forks and lived on the farm of his father, John P. Creasy, a soldier during the Civil War. He lived in the first farm below the old Forks Hotel. The grove was situated where Fishingcreek angles east and meets Knob Mountain. Older readers will remember that it was east of where Carl Fleckenstein lived. To access Idler's Grove, it was necessary to turn behind the Twin Bridges and continue on that road as far south as the road went. There was a great deal of lawn around the grove and was an ideal location to hold a picnic. The ACF in the early 1940s held their company picnics there. Those who attended the picnics from Berwick would ride the train to Bloomsburg, then ride the Bloomsburg & Sullivan Railroad to Forks.

During a severe flood in March, 1941, the high, swirling waters moved the supporting stone pillars and the building at Idler's Grove collapsed. The family tore the building down. Today, the area is grown up during the warm months with an invasive weed known as Japanese Knot Weed. The foundation and part of a huge outdoor fireplace remain.

The Forks Covered Bridge was known as PA/38-19-56 or as Forks Bridge (County #130). It was a single span Burr Truss 107' long (some sources claim it was 104'11" long) on a 15'3" roadway. It was located on Winding Road (SR1020 - LR19068) until replaced by the existing bridge in July, 1955 when the covered bridge was demolished.

Beatrice Hess Roberts and Louise Hess Lewis remember stories told by their parents of how Hurl Hess rented the dance hall over 80 years ago. He would bring truckloads of dancers from Benton and every night the hall was in use the building would be filled to capacity. Hurl brought the girl he later married, Audrey Hess (a Hess married a Hess) with him each night to sell tickets so that she would be occupied and not dance with anyone. Hurl did the calling and when tickets sales slowed toward the end of the evening, Hurl would dance with his girlfriend while calling the dance.

Devona Albertson remembers entering the dance hall by a side door where there was a flat-wood floor. Farther back there was a banister and a step down onto the main-dance floor. Theresa Hartman developed a wistful smile when she reminisced about the Forks dance hall. She said that she danced there for a period of about 20 years. She remembered a large stone fireplace in the main dance hall and a small side room where one table and four chairs accommodated the serious drinkers. Several people mentioned that the hotel was "very plain."

Dot and Allen Musselman owned the building at one time and lived upstairs. The Cipolli family also lived there and they tried to make a game room with pin-ball machines and a luncheonette through the late 40s and early 50s. They had sons Billy and Jay. The Cipolla's lived there until sometime in the 60s. Billy was an air traffic controller at Avoca but has retired and moved to the Reading area where his children live.

We are sorry that we can't tell you more about the old Forks Hotel. If you know of anyone with stories to share, please have them get in touch with the Benton News.

 

July 21, 2008. The North Mountain Historical Society meets at the Brass Pelican this morning at 8 for breakfast and 9 for a discussion on North Mountain logging presented by Ruth Rode. The meetings are free and open to the public. Remember to keep the blood drive Tuesday from 2 PM until 7 PM on your calendar. It takes place at the L. R. Appleman Elementary School, Park Street, in honor of Rev. David Diehl. The drive is sponsored by the Benton Council of Churches.

Many readers will remember Chet Siegel, a man who always had a little truth in everything he said. At one time, he was the caretaker of the mansion at Ganoga Lake and the grounds of the property owned by William Reynolds Ricketts and later by the granddaughters of Robert Bruce Ricketts. Chet also worked for the Pennsylvania Game Commission and lived in Jamison City for a time. Chet addressed the New Columbus Academy in the fall of 1982. In a discussion of the village of Noxen, Chet made the comment about the excellent health of the residents, saying "they had to shoot a guy in order to start a cemetery."

We promised to write about Forks, a village in the south-central part of Fishing Creek Township at the confluence of streams known as Huntington and Fishing Creek. Bernard Ammerman was the first settler we could find, dating to about 1820. The post office opened thirty-five years later. "Confluence" was a tough name for a town, so the name "Forks" was chosen when the post office relocated from neighboring Pealertown. Ammerman was the first post master. For reasons we don't understand, the post office didn't last long at Forks, and reverted back to Pealertown in 1861, but bounced back to Forks in 1871. The USPS discontinued the post office at both sites in 1904.

Forks became a stopping point on the Bloomsburg and Sullivan railroad line in August 1887 and for many years was one of two locations for the Rush Harrison and later the Neil S. Harrison store. Covered bridges, known as the Twin Bridges (East Paden and West Paden), were built over Huntington Creek east of Forks, off route 1020, east of Pennsylvania Route 487. The Twin Bridges were constructed in 1884 by W. C. Pennington for $720 and are named after John Paden, who operated a sawmill in the area. Twin Bridges County Park was created in 1963 when a new road bypassed the structures. Forks is located south of Benton on route 487, midway to Orangeville.

The primary authority on the village of Forks is the outstanding book written by Emma Harrison Burrus, entitled The Life and Times of a Country Merchant. The book is out of print, but available for reference at the Orangeville Library and the Columbia County Historical Society.

A second source of information about Forks is the twelve-page monthly Forks Bulletin which Rush Harrison began publishing in January 1911. The only copy found was the November 15, 1911, edition which is on file in the Columbia County Historical Society. Rush Harrison was a primary advertiser in the Bulletin, often simply advertising with the notation: " Harrison, Forks, PA." Many products sold are today mostly unfamiliar to readers. An example is Dr. Shoop's Restorative, a patent medicine sold as a "cure" for shingles, rickets, the "grippe, the vapors, neuritis, and neuralgia."

" Harrison, Forks, PA" sold more than patent medicine. Mr. Harrison sold smokeless powder and steel-lined shells, powder and shot. For those who were ill, Harrison sold "sick, death and accident" insurance for the Columbia Beneficial Association. The Harrison store was the place to buy oranges, bananas, grapes, celery, cranberries, sweet potatoes and fresh oysters--plus much more. If you needed to firm something up, the Harrison store sold Universal Portland Cement Company products. Sweaters for the ladies or aviation caps for the men were available. Or oyster shells and grit, flour, corn meal and feed? Harrisons, of course! Or maybe Dr. Shoop's Health Coffee Imitation, with "not a grain of real coffee in it." (Ingredients on the can say it was made with "pure toasted grains, with malts, nuts, etc.") And there was none of this "20 or 30 minute tedious boiling" nonsense. It could be "made in a minute," if one believed the advertising.

Forks had business support from others besides "Harrison, Forks, PA." John Smith, a "practical blacksmith" came from Orangeville with the logo on his wagon that "a horse on the ground is worth ten in the ground." John was known for turning an ordinary plug into a "ring-point calked horse." For the summer, it was time to shoe the horses with "Mud Calk Never Slips." For the winter, it was the "Never Slip Ice Calks." Horseshoeing was a big business at the time and the village was double-covered in this capacity. H. S. Wilson, operating out of Fishingcreek, Pa, (the name of the post office in what is today Jonestown) repaired wagons and did "general blacksmithing." Mifflinburg buggies and platform spring wagons ("Merit is the foundation of their fame") were some of the "high-grade hand-made vehicles" later sold by Rush's son, Neil S. Harrison.

The Orangeville Telephone Company, organized in the Forks railroad station, spread over the surrounding hills, connecting with the Bell Telephone Exchange in Bloomsburg and the North Central Company in Benton. McClellan Megargel, great grandfather of Gloria Megargel Miller, Orangeville, handled the switchboard duties from his home in Orangeville, along with his wife and daughter. At its best, the phone company had about 250 subscribers. Andrew J. Sordoni eventually acquired the company October 3, 1951, for $4,000. The company eventually became part of the Commonwealth Telephone System, Dallas.

The remaining business in Forks was the Forks Hotel, operated in 1911 by William Derr. It was "the place to get chicken, turkey, or a roast dinner of any kind." The hotel was open in 1911 year around (it later closed in the winter) with "good accommodations." Pictures of the hotel from 1911 are not clear enough for reproduction in the Benton News, but the hotel appears to have looked almost identical to the way it now looks. These businesses covered the economic side of Forks, Pennsylvania, in the year 1911.

We'll conclude the article on Forks in tomorrow's Benton News.

The side effects of hydraulic fracturing, commonly called “fracing,” in which up to several million gallons of water per gas well in the Marcellus could be required to release trapped gas, are suddenly taking center stage in the state. Groundwater saturated with chemicals could suddenly become undrinkable making the drilling area into an equivalent of a superfund site. Chemicals mixed with water when injected deep underground must eventually be flushed out of the ground. Pennsylvania authorities have sent letters to all wastewater treatment plants, including the one on the south end of Third Street in the Borough, warning them to not automatically accept the drilling fluids. A copy of the letter in this regard is on file with the Borough Secretary according to John Watson, President of the local sanitation plant. Fluids resulting from the fracing process could potentially be taken as far away as Franklin, Pennsylvania, for cleaning.

It is always fun to understand the motivation of someone who uses a nom de plume. Why did Samuel Clemens write under the pen name "Mark Twain?" Or mathematician Charles Dodgson write fantasy novels under the pen name Lewis Carroll? Creighton Tull Chaney came to become known as "Lon" Chaney, Jr. What was the motivation of Jack Sharkey?

Jack Sharkey (1931-1992) began his career as a copy writer for Sears Roebuck. He wrote novels, science fiction, humor and mysteries. Ultimately he wrote 82 stage plays under his name and four other names. As “Mike Johnson,” Sharkey wrote stage thrillers. As Monk Ferris he wrote comedies.

The Alumni Players of Bloomsburg University will present one of the Monk Ferris plays, A Fine Monster You Are, for the next two weekends in air-conditioned Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall, on the Bloomsburg University campus. The shows will be presented Friday, July 25, at 8 PM, Saturday, July 26, at 8 PM, Sunday, July 27, at 3 PM, Friday, August 1, at 8 PM, and Saturday, August 2, at 3 and 8 PM. Tickets are available at the door. The show is appropriate for all ages. This is the Alumni Players’ 13th summer show, directed by James H. Slusser, Bloomsburg.

The cast includes BU alumni: David P. O’Brien, Lightstreet, as Dr. Jonathan Starbuck; Audra Hearity dePrisco, Bloomsburg, a teacher at the Greenwood Friends School, as Kyla Calladine; Steven Lindenmuth, Bloomsburg, as Emily Holbrook. Michelle Lunger, Buckhorn, will play Agatha; Nicole Merkel, Bloomsburg, plays Suzette Larson; Mark Lehnowsky, Shickshinny, a Northwest Area grad, is cast as Corky Miller; Dana Weaver, Bloomsburg, as Flax Dempster, and Jeremy dePrisco, Bloomsburg, "writer, composer, producer, sound designer and grassroots advocate of intercultural understanding," as guardian of the Whoopee Diamond.

Allen L. Musselman (April 11, 1922-July 19, 2008, former owner of Musselman's Gas Station, Orangeville, died Saturday at his home at 166 McHenry Hill Road, Orangeville. He was 86. He was born in Jackson Township. He was a son of the late Sherman and Rachel (Ash) Musselman. Surviving are his wife of 66 years, Dorothy I. “Dot” (Rantz) Musselman; and his children Rick A. Musselman ( Cheryl), Millville, Keith E. Musselman (Liz), Orangeville, Kay E. Broyles, Berwick, and Marty L. Musselman (Irene), Sunbury. Also surviving are 13 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren, 1 great great grandson and a sister, Zelma Ash, Nescopeck. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Arthur; sisters Mary and Arbutis and by grandsons Ricky Musselman, Jr. and Jason Musselman. Funeral services will be held Friday at 10 AM at the McMichael Funeral Home, Inc. Burial will be in the Rohrsburg Cemetery with military honors accorded by a combined veterans group. A viewing will be held Thursday from 6 to 8 PM at the funeral home.

 

July 20, 2008. The 24th Annual Benton Frontier Days Championship Rodeo is about to come to an end. A lot of hard-working people made it the success it was. Tonight at 7:30 PM is the "Bull-A-RAMA. The adult admission is $12, children 4-12 pay $9 and little tykes get in for nothing.

It is the birthday of Dan McGarigle and of Wayne McMichael. Scott and Dori Doty celebrate their wedding anniversary. There are 64 days until the official start of autumn. The first two men to walk on the moon did it on this day in 1969 in a spot called the "Sea of Tranquility." Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, simply because he was closest to the lunar module door. His companion in space and the halls of history, Buzz Aldrin, observed a moment of silence after the landing to give thanks for their survival and observed communion with a wafer and a tiny chalice of wine. Armstrong and Aldrin described the smell of moon dust as being like "wet ashes in a fireplace" or "spent gunpowder."

We haven't a clue what caused the price of regular, unleaded gasoline in the Borough to drop to $3.699 and $3.739. That price beats the $4.069 of last week.

There are thousands of fancy daylilies in full bloom now at the top of Cemetery Hill, the same ones you see at the Benton Farmer's Market. The public is encouraged to park and walk through the gardens of Dorothy Winther at 441 Cemetery Hill Road or if you have a special interest call ahead at 925-2501. Directions are easy: turn on Sunny Hillside Road (at the Dollar General/Steve Shannon intersection), take the first left on Hill Street, the first right on Cemetery Hill Road and go one mile to the top of the hill.

Didja ever think that all churches should be air conditioned?
It is unhealthy to sleep in a hot, stuffy room.

The rocking chair, I suspect, was an invention necessitated because homes, from palaces to the humblest peasant hut, had dirty floors and no rugs. Everybody was obliged to avoid reclining on the floor and sit on something elevated. That era of filth is over, the floors are clean, rugs abound, but the rocking chair remains.

People have been on and off their rockers for centuries but the idea of rockin' while sittin' is an 18th century development. It was pure Yankee ingenuity and the American urge to put a little swing in their furniture that did it. Yankee craftsmen cut down various straight chairs--usually slat-back and Windsor models--and set them on "bends." The first of the "rocker-chairs" didn't come along until about 1825 when the "Boston Rocker" made an appearance.

Through the years, rockers have calmed babies and soothed presidents from Lincoln to Kennedy. Rockers were recommended for invalids and were at times known as "digestive chairs." In the 1860s, Americans exported rockers to England as "American Common Sense Chairs."

As rockers began to move out of sickrooms, kitchens and servant quarters, they took on the lines of the Bentwood--designed in England by a man by the name of Thonet. They began "dressing up" for their entry into drawing rooms. They acquired hair-stuffed seats and back cushions and were covered with silk, satin and velvet.

But before Good Friday comes bad Thursday! The chairs were not always as popular as they are today. The Wheeling Register in its edition of March 7, 1886, warned that "the alarming increase of divorces in this country during the past two or three years is due in a great measure to the rocking-chair habit." The article suggested that men should "rise up in alarm and look about them for means to stifle the terrible evil" noting that the "rocking chair has insidiously fastened its fangs upon the women of our country." The article wrote about an unnamed lady in Wheeling who "began with just one rocking chair." It didn't end there, the paper lamented. "Even the second caused no alarm" and "from the second rocking chair the way was easy to the third, the fourth, the fifth and even to the sixth." Suddenly her friends "realized her danger."

The chauvinistic writer, obviously a male, noted that when the "patient" husband returned home "from the lodge at the still hour of midnight" an "able bodied rocking chair would meet him almost at his door and knock him to the floor and fall over upon him." As he rose to his feet, another rocking chair would "lay him low and bring down upon his head a shower of bric-a-brac." After continuing in this manner for several more paragraphs, the writer argued that such scenes could lead to an unhappy ending. Love could not continue to abide amid such occurrences. The pessimistic writer concluded that "at first there were more mutterings, then came more emphatic language, and finally separation and divorce."

The writer argued that the rocking chair "never stands elsewhere than in a man's way when he is hunting for anything in the dark." It throws out "no warning that it is there" until the "defenseless victim goes down in a heap, a confused and demoralized wreck of humanity, while the rocking chair, in its own peculiar demonical way, jumps and dances upon his prostrate form."

The situation today is much different. We live in a busy world and a moment of relaxation is divine. Saturday I listened to some farmers list their work accomplishments for the day. They looked dog-tired, but their day was only a quarter over. They longingly gazed at the nearly completed front porch on the Benton Roller Mllls & Tack Shop, 15 Mill Street, in anticipation of the rocking chairs owner Christy Harrison plans to add to the front of the building in the next several weeks. To most, the appearance of the new front porch is as inviting as the front veranda of a magnificent Southern plantation or the porch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant. As soon as the rocking chairs are in place, I will be one of the first to kick back and relax. And did I tell you that the table between the chairs will be an old "hard-cider barrel?" Heck, I betcha I'll have to get there at milking time to just get a seat!

Didja ever think that troubles are a lot like babies?
The more that you nurture them the more they grow.

Allen L. Musselman, died Saturday, July 19, 2008, at his home at 166 McHenry Hill Road, Orangeville. He was 86. Arrangements will be announced by the McMichael Funeral Home, Inc., Benton.

Quote of the Day:
"Summer nights! The fragrant dark descends, the night creatures chitter and chirrup, and we linger on the porch, a little wine in the glass, children coming and going, and we inhale the sweetness of life. In Pasadena, Calif., people are lined up outside a bank, hoping to get their money out before it goes belly up, and John McCain's friend Phil Gramm says we are a nation of whiners complaining about a recession that is only mental, but we are engulfed in summer and don't notice. We are sitting on the porch, inhaling the breeze from the trees, and we are American optimists."
--Garrison Keillor

Sue Shaffner as been after me for weeks to write about the dances that were once held in Forks. It seems that July has been a busier time of the year than most and I have very little time to devote to the Benton News. I haven't written the article yet, but since I gave her a firm commitment that I would say something today I'll tell a sad story related to the dances.

Two young men were killed and two others, all of Berwick, were injured on July 26, 1914, in what was at that time the worst automobile accident in the history of Columbia County. The accident occurred on the main street of Orangeville. The four were returning from a country dance at Forks. The car skidded and the open rear-passenger compartment--at that time known as a "tonneau"--hit a huge tree with such force that all except the driver were hurled to the ground. The accident occurred when the driver of the car raced a Danville driver through the town. The driver of the car involved in the accident passed the Danville car on Main Street but his car went into a skid and his front end hit a tree with such force that the back end of the car swung around. Two of the passengers were thrown against the tree and then into the road. The details of the accident were gruesome enough that we won't bother to go any farther with them.

With that introduction to the dances, we'll continue the story in tomorrow's Benton News. If anyone would like to contribute their memory of the dances or of Forks please send them now.

 

July 19, 2008. It is the birthday of Lois Remley-Rhinard-Stere, Margie Kline, Kermit Moss, Carl Spiece, Bob Hess, Bruce McMichael and former-Pennsylvania Governor Bill Scranton. Happy second anniversary to the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center building, delivered to Benton on this date. How 'bout those rodeo fireworks last night! They lasted 45 minutes, ending at 11:50 PM.

This morning at the 24th Annual Frontier Days Championship Rodeo, breakfast is served starting at 7 AM. The Benton Rodeo Run to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society begins at 8 AM. There is a 3½ mile walk at 8 AM with 3 and 6 mile runs at 8:30 AM. The Kids Fun Run for those 12 years or younger will he held following the Walk & Run.

Awards go to the top three winners in the male and female categories for overall winners and age groups. The race benefits the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. The proceeds go toward finding a cure and benefits those who have Leukemia and Lymphoma. The past twelve races have raised over $40,000.

At 10 AM is a free show for all kids with special needs. These kids will be the guests of honor at this segment of the rodeo. There will be petting zoo and other activities for the kids.

At 5 and 10 PM tonight, the Tim Johnson Band performs. At 7:30 PM, it is time for the Championship Rodeo. The adult admission is $12. From 4 to 12 in age, the admission is $9.

Future automobile trips south along the Susquehanna River won't get any faster now that Federal and state transportation officials have put the stops--they term it "hibernation"--on the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway. The current end of the highway is most visible at the south end of Shamokin Dam as it bypasses Selinsgrove. The thruway was intended to alleviate traffic congestion on U.S. Routes 11 and 15 in Snyder County and Pennsylvania Route 147 in the Northumberland area.

Mamma Mia! The Movie opened Friday, a piece of fluff in which the cast has a great time and the audience gets to drool over a lovely Greek island and listen to a version of classic ABBA music performed mostly by the remnants of a pop band called "Donna and The Dynamos," represented by three women with left feet played by Meryl Streep, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski. Pierce Brosnan fails miserably as a singer. Did I mention that the setting in a Greek island is wonderful? The trivia question may be asked of you some day, so here is the answer: the name ABBA came from the first letters of each of the group member's given name (Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid).

Quickies...
• A 3/5% tuition increase and a nearly similar boost in a separate technology fee for the 2008-09 school year is on tap for the state system schools such Bloomsburg university.

• A Dance and Karaoke Night takes place tonight and every Friday night during the summer from 7 PM to 10 PM at Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center. Music is provided by DJ Al B. Jammin. Cost is $3 for members and $5.00 for non-members.

• Congratulations to the Old Filling Station which won the North Mountain "Best Chili Cookoff" on July 4 sponsored by the Royal Order of Raccoons.

• Friday morning, the Benton Laboratory Services drew blood from 46 patients for cholesterol screening. Take the time to write down the phone number, 925-2579, for the next time you need to have blood drawn.

• The Sullivan County Historical Society could use your participation and support. Contact the Society at Box 252, Laporte, PA 18626. An annual membership[ is $10. A life membership is $100.

• The national list of Starbucks stores which are closing can be found here.

There just wasn't much time yesterday to devote to writing anything for the Benton News, so we'll recycle an old story. You probably have heard it, so skip over it and we'll see you Sunday. The story goes like this...

"Girl Potato and Boy Potato had eyes for each other, and finally they got married, and had a little sweet potato, which they called 'Yam.' Of course, they wanted the best for Yam.

"When it was time, they told her about the facts of life. They warned her about going out and getting half-baked, so she wouldn't get accidentally mashed, and get a bad name for herself like 'Hot Potato,' and end up with a bunch of Tater Tots ! Yam said not to worry, no Spud would get her into the sack and make a rotten potato out of her! But on the other hand, she wouldn't stay home and become a Couch Potato either. She would get plenty of exercise so as not to be skinny like her Shoestring cousins. When she went off to Europe, Mr and Mrs. Potato told Yam to watch out for the hard-boiled guys from Ireland and the greasy guys from France called the French Fries. And when she went out west, to watch out for the Indians so she wouldn't get scalloped. Yam said she would stay on the straight and narrow and wouldn't associate with those high-class Yukon Golds, or the ones from the other side of the tracks who advertise their trade on all the trucks that say, 'Frito Lay.' Mr. and Mrs. Potato sent Yam to Idaho P.U. (that's Potato University) so that when she graduated she'd really be in the Chips! But in spite of all warnings, one day Yam came home and announced she was going to marry Tom Brokaw.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potato were very upset. They told Yam she couldn't possibly marry Tom Brokaw because he's just--ahem--a commentator!"

 

July 18, 2008. It is the birthday of Chelsea Lamoreaux, Grover Dressler, Cathy Goode, Melinda Goode, Nancy Baker Traubitz and Allison Nicole Kocher. It is the full moon for the month of July. Several horses at the rodeo last night learned something new--called a "backstroke." As the Benton Rodeo Chicks made their entrance to the arena, drenching rain and hard thunder and lightening left fans seeking shelter. It wasn't long until the weather turned better and there was a night of excellent riding.

Philadelphia-born playwright Clifford Odets came along on this date in 1906 and political activist and son of the chief of the Tembu tribe, Nelson Mandela, was born in 1918. Some believe that today is the anniversary of a fire that began in the summer of 64 when Rome burned for six days and seven nights consuming almost three quarters of the city. It is often said that emperor Nero was fiddling around while the city burned. Some historians say that Nero was thirty-five miles away from Rome when the fire began. Nero felt that blame for the fire had to be assigned to someone so he turned the heat on a new religious group which spoke of the coming of a new kingdom and a new king, a group which called themselves "Christians." This group suddenly found themselves crucified in the streets and burned at the stake. Two hundred years later the emperor of the Roman Empire himself converted to Christianity, and it became the dominant religion of Europe for more than 1,500 years.

Congratulations to John Hughes, a native of Stillwater, as he heads to the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks' coaching staff for the 2008-09 season. John is a three-time All-American and former NCAA Champion at Penn State. He won an NCAA Championship at 142 in 1995 and added All-American honors with a seventh place finish in 1994 and a runner-up finish in 1996. Hughes ranks eighth in Nittany Lion annals with 121 career victories. John was the 1995 Big Ten Champion and also won a gold medal at the 1994 Pan-Am Games and a University National Freestyle Championship.

While a student in the Benton Area Schools, John won four PIAA state championships. He earned his bachelor's degree in landscape contracting from Penn State in 2002. He worked for a time as an environmental technician for Groundwater and Environmental Services, Inc. He served as head coach for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Wrestling Club. John and his wife, Melissa, have one child, Riley.

Don't forget the free cholesterol screening at the Benton Laboratory of the Bloomsburg Hospital today from 8 AM to 11 AM in celebration of Bloomsburg Hospital having their Benton facility open for one year. The laboratory is located behind Ed Cole's Barber Shop, 4354 Red Rock Road.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you bought tires after the expiration of the "shelf life?" Go here and find out.

This morning at the 24th Annual Frontier Days Championship Rodeo, breakfast is served starting at 7 AM. At 5 and 10 PM tonight, country music outlaws Jesse Wade Gang perform. At 7:30 PM, it is time for the Championship Rodeo. At 11 PM, the gigantic fireworks display will be held on the rodeo grounds. WYOU-TV, Channel 22, will have Dave Kuharchik, Mike Chunigliaro and Robyn Ziska meeting, greeting and doing an opening and closing from the rodeo grounds.

Quickies...
. Barry and Cathy Beck contributed to the book 1001 Fly Fishing Tips. Expert Advice, Hints and Shortcuts From the World's Leading Fly Fishers, along with other contributors to Fly Fisherman magazine. The book 1001 Fly Fishing Tips is published by Headwater Books in paperback. 216 pages. The price is $13.57 an order over $25 from Amazon,

Didja ever think that if a woman steals your husband,
there is no better revenge than to let her keep him?

Wilbur Kline, Jr. sent several genealogical items to the Columbia County Genealogical & Historical Society and the Luzerne County Historical Society relating to the Kline family. The items include a computer disc, a written genealogical listing and a DVD of more than 100 photos, dating back to John Kline, 1811-1888. Wilbur would be happy to share information about the Klines of Louisiana and would love to renew contact with family members residing in Columbia and Luzerne Counties if they are willing. Contact him at wkline ATinsight.rr.com.

Didja know that when you need to use the telephone 411 information option, simply dial 1 800 FREE 411 and incur no charge?

A little girl said to her grandmother, "When I'm with you and we come 'home,' it is to your house. With my Mommy and Daddy I go 'home' to our house. I have two houses." This little girl is lucky because well-off older folks--simply called "Woofs," are an important part of her life. Sometimes we forget how the grandparent generation can enrich our lives and those of our children. Children need to be around older folks--whether real or "adopted" grandparents. It helps the youngsters realize the different stages of life. Because they care about life and living and children, Woofs have a big place in our society. They have much to give and share. If we don't let them do it, who will teach us how to grow old?

Didja know that a fine is a tax for doing wrong?
A tax is a fine for doing well.

CCFNB Bancorp, Inc. (OTCBB: CCFN) completed its merger of equals with Columbia Financial Corporation, the holding company for First Columbia Bank & Trust Co. As a result of the merger, CCFNB Bancorp, Inc. will have total assets of approximately $570 million, and create the second largest independent publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in the four county region of Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, and Luzerne Counties.

The resulting holding company will remain CCFNB Bancorp, Inc., and the resulting bank will remain First Columbia Bank & Trust Co. CCFNB common stock will continue to trade under the CCFN symbol and be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board.

This morning the signs show the name "First Columbia" at the old CCFNB building at 200 Market St., Benton.

		A worker by the name of "Chris" installs the new bank name on the side of the former CCFNB Bank, Market Street.
The 95° heat didn't slow him down at all.

When the merged banks open for business at 8:30 this morning, it will be one for the record books. The combined-banking institutions will reunite you with the friendly faces you know and trust.

Judie Scavone has taken the reigns of Branch Manager for the Benton Office. With 35 years of banking experience, Judie has shaped the banking business for First Columbia in the Benton Area. She has been with First Columbia for the past 18 years. She also worked at CCFNB from 1985-1990, running the Sweet Valley Branch. Judie is a resident of Mooretown. Judie and Richard, her husband of 35 years, have two grown sons. Judie is active in the Benton community as a member of the Board of Directors for the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center (The Center). She proudly supports the Benton Lions Club. In her personal time, Judie likes to relax at the beach and enjoy a good book.

Dean Kelchner will remain an advisor in the bank for a period up to six months. Dean Kelchner has served the CCFNB branch of the Benton Bank for 32 years--since November, 1976. Dean was instrumental in forming the Benton Rodeo and is an 18-year member of the Benton Lions Club. Dean is a member of Oriental Masonic Lodge, Orangeville. He has served his lodge as Master and as Secretary. Dean is assuming the office of Vice District Governor of Lions' Clubs in District 14G covering 64 clubs in north central Pennsylvania. Next year, Dean will be the District Governor.

The Customer Service Representative in the Benton Office is Tina M. Wood. With six years of banking experience, Tina delivers superb-customer service and greets bank customers with a smile. She proudly supports the Benton community and is active in The Center and Benton Lions Club. Tina and her husband, Richard, reside in Benton. She enjoys cooking and baking in her spare time. In addition to Judie and Tina, Bonnie Hook, Nancy McKenzie, Joyce Johnson and Devin McHenry will be new faces in the Market Street bank.

Please visit the "new" First Columbia Bank & Trust Co. at 200 Market St., Benton. A little patience today would be appreciated as the tellers learn their new computer systems and attempt to identify customers whose faces are familiar but whose names might not be known.

Louise Young Steward, a graduate of Benton High School in the class of 1941 passed away in McAllen, Texas, on July 14, 2008. She is survived by her husband, Richard Steward, a son, James of Tampa, Florida, and a daughter, Janis Ortiz of Abiquiu, New Mexico, and five grandsons, and by her sister, Avis McHenry, a resident of Bonham Nursing Center.

 

July 17, 2008, It is the birthday of Sheila Gilbert, Bloomsbrug. It is "Family Night" at the Benton Frontier Days Championship Rodeo. "Kristi Marie" will perform at 5 and 10 PM. The rodeo begins at 7:30. The adult admission is $10, children 4-12 get in for $7 and 3 and under are free. Wednesday night, representatives of theTimes Leader handed out copies of their newspaper at the rodeo. One of the most beautiful "non-red" sunsets we have ever seen graced the western sky over the rodeo grounds last night, just a day in advance of the Full Moon for July.

Don't forget to turn on WBRE-TV, Channel 28, this morning. Doug Simcox, a rodeo announcer who has announced rodeos from Ontario to Alabama and from Maine to Iowa, will head to Wilkes-Barre with Sam Swearingen and Allen Dale to tape a segment on the Benton Rodeo for television. The guys have to arrive at the South Franklin Street studios at 5 AM to tape background information on the rodeo. The telecast from the rodeo grounds planned for this morning by Channel 16 was cancelled last evening when the TV truck developed mechanical problems.

Benton Borough Council Meeting took place July 7, 2008, at the Benton Volunteer Fire Hall with Dan Hartman, Dan Jankowski, Michael Klem, Grant Little, Joshua Price, Mayor Swan, Bryan Getz and Kay Yankovich attending. Others attending were Lila Allen, Monty Hittle, Dan Keeney and Mike Evans. Based on the official records of the meeting prepared by Borough Secretary Kay Yankovich, the following actions were of importance.

Vice-President Grant Little chaired the meeting. Dan Keeney, Monty Hittle and Mike Evans addressed Council regarding the future of the Benton airport. Monty stated he has been doing most of the maintenance (mowing, etc.) since Bob Vincent became ill, and is interested in becoming the manager. The interested parties were asked to submit an official request and that Council would appoint an ad hoc committee to research the airport lease, investigate the issue, and meet with Mr. Keeney, Mr. Hittle and Mr. Evans to discuss future plans for the airport. The Committee will be chaired by Mike Klem with members, Josh Price and Dan Jankowski.

Upon receipt of a written resignation from John Jankowski, Council will elect a new Vice-President and appoint a new Council member. Dan Hartman gave an update on gas leasing in the local area. Council will review this issue at each monthly meeting. The Borough received two bids for cleaning drain pipes--approximately 1200 feet--with the lowest bid from J. L. Hartley, Inc., Gouldsboro, PA, to clean/flush pipes in the Borough of Benton at a cost of $1,040 a day, for a maximum of three days. The inlet box at Two and a Half Street needs to be redone. Picnic tables have been stolen from the park. Surveillance cameras are under consideration at prices ranging from $5,000-$10,000. Other items include...

' Crosswalks on Route 487 will be painted in the near future.

. Mayor Swan reported an incident occurred in which the use of the taser was necessary. Officer Barrett was recommended for a commendation for his performance in this incident. Mayor Swan reported the O.A.T.S. Bluegrass Festival was very successful. She would like to look into providing a shuttle service for the participants in 2009.

. Dan Hartman stated that Benton and Sugarloaf Townships have hired a firm to perform a survey of their current road conditions. This will provide proof of any damages caused by the weight of gas-drilling equipment which is expected to be transferred on their roads. He explained that Benton Borough will also be affected with the tremendous weight of this equipment being transferred on Market and Colley Streets. He asked Council to consider a street survey.

. Borough Council will continue the process to adopt the Outdoor Furnace Ordinance with a minor word change. A public meeting date will be established for public discussion on the Outdoor Furnace Ordinance.

Didja ever think that maybe the reason mothers know how to push our buttons
is because they installed them in the first place?

Because of the refurbishment of Park Street, this seems like a good time to refresh your memory about the Benton Park, the dam and the dike. To do that, it would be best if we went back to the spring of 1936 as the dam and the dike were under construction by the U.S. Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration (WPA) that existed from 1936-1940. Heavy spring rains suddenly raised the level of the creek and the unimaginable happened: about forty feet of the center of the dam washed out.

It is hard to imagine that the dikes that have served us so well and the dam that has provided so many hours of joy to the community would be wiped out in a single stoke. At the upper end of the dike system, across from the present high school and middle-school building, heavy rains washed around the dike which was still under construction.

As the dam gave way, the level of the creek dropped upstream, but the damage had been done. The basement of the high school was flooded and school had to be cancelled for a week. The torrent of water spilling over the area where seconds before the dam stood created havoc with the stream bank below the dam and with homes on Market Street near the present Park Street. In that area were homes of Lee and Sara Kline, Sara Kline's father, John S. Baker, the Presbyterian church and the manse for the Presbyterian church. The retaining wall crumbled in a flash.

Those who can remember the flood recall that prior to the construction of the dike and the dam each spring would bring its share of high water and resultant flooding. The stream would overflow its banks north of the town park, cascading through the athletic facilities and the park, flooding the Paul Shannon home on Park Street now owned by Frank and Barbara Edson, flooding the East side of the lower end of Main Street flooding houses in that area and on Market Street East of Main Street. The creek water would eventually reenter Fishing Creek via a large drain near the Presbyterian Church.

The dike and the dam stood another great test on Wednesday, June 21, and Thursday, June 22, 1972. The water levels in that storm exceeded the June, 2006, No-Name storm.

In a short amount of time, the revitalized Park Street and its new sidewalk from the Fishing Creek bridge to just south of the school will be finished. We'll explain more about this important wall of protection at that time.

Didja ever think that you'll never achieve 100% if only 99% is acceptable?

If you do a lot of printing, you might want to consider refurbished printer ink from a company called 4InkJet, a company that sells quality refurbished ink and backs up their product with a 365-day money back guarantee.

Today is the last day for the current banking institutions of the First Columbia Bank and the Columbia County Farmers National Bank as we know it. When we return Friday, there will be a physical location of a bank closed in Benton and a new, stronger bank at the corner of Main and Market Streets. We'll introduce you to the people you'll be seeing in the new bank.

We are convinced that the merger of equals of these two fine banks will position our area in a stronger position. These banks are not like the Countrywide Financial and New Century financial problems of last year or of Bear Stearns earlier this year or IndyMac last week. There is no federally mandated life support for institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac whose shareholders are getting the tar beaten out of them. We suspect that the resultant banking institution will be fiscally conservative and financially strong!

Locally, the Press Enterprise in its edition of Wednesday listed three local properties heading tor the foreclosure block this month.

Didja ever think that to really understand something,
you should make an attempt to change it.

Hazel I. Rhone (Oct. 11, 1919-July 14, 2008), Evans Road, Benton, died Monday in the Bonham Nursing Center, where she had been a guest since January. She was 88. She was born in Fairmount Township. She was the daughter of the late Howard and Ada (Crane) Hartman. She graduated from the Huntington Township High School in 1950. She was preceded in death by her husband, James E. Rhone, on Aug. 29, 2000. Funeral services will be held Thursday at 11 AM in the Dean W. Kriner Inc. Funeral Home, Benton. Friends may call Thursday, 10-11 AM. Burial will be in Raven Creek Cemetery.
--Obituary courtesy of the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary can be found in its edition of July 16, 2008

 

July 16, 2008. In previous years on this day we celebrated the birthdays of Sandy Johnson and Edna Knecht Laubach. With deep regret, we lost these two fine women in the last year. Richard Sutliff remains a patient in Edwards Heart Hospital, Naperville, Illinois.

Thursday morning will be a good time to watch Channel 28, WBRE-TV, as Sam Swearingen and Allen Dale tape a segment on the Benton Rodeo for television. The guys have to arrive at the South Franklin Street studios at 5 AM to tape background information on the rodeo. Both Sam and Allen are well known locally. Sam is the producer of the rodeo and the owner of Rawhide Rodeo, Leicester, NY. Allen was the announcer for the "Fun Horse" Show Tuesday night and he produces the team-penning show. He is also the tall, lanky fellow in the cowboy hat who sells tickets at the main gait. The rumor is that these two cowboys are taking a Benton Roller Mills calf to the television station. Wanna bet that a lasso is involved? About anything is possible from these two! Tune in!

Didja ever think that we are the only creatures that wonder?
Most of us at one time or another have wondered
about the meaning of the universe
or the complexity of life or of ourselves.

Quickies...
. The Bookmobile will be Back Home in Benton, PA, today, stopping at Two and a Half Street from 10:10-10:40 AM; Benton Senior Center, 10:45-10:55 AM; Northern Columbia County Community & Cultural Center, Benton, 10:55-11:25 AM; Stillwater Park, 11:35 AM-12:35 PM.

. Online & Telephone Banking Customers of CCFNB will not be able to access their account on the evening of Thursday, July 17, through the morning of Friday, July 18.

. The Williamsport Regional Airport will not lose its Piedmont Airlines flights, which provides USAirways commuter service, but will continue with at least two round trips daily to Philadelphia through Oct. 23. The Department of Transportation has set July 29 as the deadline to receive proposals to provide continuous commercial service at Williamsport.

. Richarts Grove One-Room School, off State Route 118, will host a reunion Saturday at noon. Visitors should bring a covered dish. For more information, call 356-7195.

. Celtic Thunder will appear at Wachovia Arena, Wilkes-Barre, November 6, 2008, at 8 PM. Not familiar with the group? Take a look and become a fan.

The rodeo always puts out an excellent program booklet, in which they give details on performers and schedules and specialty acts. The program brochure for the 24th Annual Frontier Days Championship Rodeo is dedicated to Wally and Debbie Gordon. The program reads, "There are many Benton Area Rodeo Association members who have belonged to the organization for a longer period of time, but there are few that are as dedicated as Wally and Debbie Gordon. Wally is our current General Chairman, but before holding that position he has been involved with the Rodeo in several capacities. He has worked security, helped with building and bleacher construction, helped with paint, and worked the arena, as well as various other things that needed to be done. Also, Wally has been been instrumental in bringing our food stands to the excellent level at which they operate. Debbie is the backbone of food stand organization and operation. She presently holds the position of Food Stand Chairperson. Without Debbie's expertise in ordering, preparing and serving, there would be a lot of hungry cowpokes As the old saying goes, 'behind every successful man there is a good woman,' so it is with Wally and Debbie. We thank them both for the great jobs they do. It is with the greatest appreciation that we dedicated the 2008 Program book to Wally and Debbie Gordon."

Didja ever wonder about the guy who seems to anticipate
that he'll make immortality,
but hasn't a clue what to do on a Sunday afternoon?

Earl F. Keller (August 25, 1921-July 14, 2008), 2807 State Route 487, Orangeville, died Monday at the Orangeville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center where he had been a resident for the past five years. He was 86. Earl was born in Greenwood Township. He was a son of the late Hervey and Ruth (Lemon) Keller. He was a graduate of Benton High School where he was a noted baseball player. Later he had played baseball for the Stillwater and Bendertown teams in the North Branch League. He served in the U. S. Army during World War II with the Military Police Detachment Section and was a member of the Persian Gulf Command Veterans Organization. Earl worked at the Berwick AC&F during his younger years and later was a well-known farmer. He was involved with agriculture his entire life and along with his wife had operated a produce market for many years. He had also been a school-bus driver for the Benton Area School District for 25 years. Surviving, in addition to his widow, Betty Jean (Cragle) Keller, with whom he was married for 61 years, are his three children: Larry E. Keller (Jane), Mifflinville; Randy A. Keller (Lynn), Hummels Wharf; Darlia J. Sponenberg (Lewis), Orangeville. Also surviving are grandchildren Tabatha Sponenberg, Bradley Keller, and Mackenzie Keller; a step grandson, Daniel Lusk; a great grandson, Cody Franklin and a sister, Betty Jean Danilowicz, Benton. Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by brothers Donald and Bruce Keller and by a sister, Lois Bender, as well as a brother, Charles, who died in childhood. Funeral services will be held Friday at 11 AM at the McMichael Funeral Home. Burial will be in the Benton Cemetery with military honors accorded by a combined veterans group. A viewing will be held Thursday from 6 to 8 PM at the funeral home.
--Obituary courtesy of the McMichael Funeral Home. A complete obituary will be published in the Press Enterprise in its edition of July 16, 2008

 

July 15, 2008. Mary Travelpiece, Carolyn Diehl, Elaine Rogers, Pat Threlkeld, Karl Myers and Keith Harvey celebrate birthdays today and Brian and Lydia Becker, Camp Hill, celebrate their wedding anniversary. On this day in 1828, a log building was consecrated as St. Gabriel's Church by Bishop Henry U. Onderdonk conforming to the rites of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

There is a free cholesterol screening at the Benton Laboratory of the Bloomsburg Hospital Friday, July 18, from 8 AM to 11 AM in celebration of Bloomsburg Hospital having their Benton facility open for one year. The laboratory is located behind Ed Cole's Barber Shop, 4354 Red Rock Road. The Benton Lab is an outpatient draw-site for Bloomsburg Hospital to meet the health care needs of the local communities. Along with the cholesterol screening, the Benton Lab is also offering free refreshments. For more information, call 925-2579.

It was out with the old and in with the new Monday at 200 Market Street, Benton. Carefully guarded by local police from Benton and Orangeville, the bank vault change-out took place in preparation for the Columbia County Farmers National Bank's merger with the First Columbia Bank & Trust Company. When the banks close Thursday afternoon, an era ends and a lot of changes take place overnight. There will be 14 branch locations and the bank will continue to be staffed with knowledgeable, professional and friendly bankers--people you know. The hours for the bank beginning Friday, July 18, will be Monday and Tuesday, 8:30 AM to 4 PM; Wednesday, 8:30 AM to 1 PM, with drive-in windows open until 4 PM. Thursday, the bank will be open 8:30 AM until 5 PM. Friday, the bank will open at 8:30 and close at 6 PM. Saturday, the hours are 8:30 AM to noon. The Benton branch phone number is 925-6181. For more, head to www.firstcolumbiabank.com.

Didja ever think realize that when you've raised your children,
stop raising them!

In concert with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Rep. Karen Boback (R-Columbia/Luzerne/Wyoming) is conducting free seminars to inform senior citizens of ways to avoid scams that could lead to the theft of their identity. The guest speaker at the events will be Joyce O'Brien with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The free seminars will be held on the following dates, with the special guests indicated. Please make a note of the seminar closest to you and mark your calendar:

. Thursday, July 24, 10 AM, Benton Senior Center at Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center, 42 Community Drive, Benton. The guest is Corporal James R. Edwards, Crime Unit Supervisor, Pennsylvania State Police Troop N, Bloomsburg. To RSVP, please contact the Benton Senior Center, 570 925-0163.

. Friday, July 25, 10:30 AM, Shickshinny Senior Center, 19 West Vine Street, Shickshinny, guest is State Trooper John Kovaly, Pennsylvania State Police. To RSVP, please contact the Shickshinny High Rise, 570 542-4308.

Today is the opening of the Fun Horse Show at the Benton Rodeo Grounds, presented with the Keystone Team Penning Association. Viamedia is the sponsor tonight, a company dedicated to bringing advertising to the people who will benefit from it. The free fun begins at 7:30 tonight, but come early and visit the vendors--over 20 different vendors. Food, you ask? There is lots of food and drinks available. There is the main food stand, the pizza stand, Sugarloaf Ambulance will be there with their funnel cakes, the Benton Fire Company will have their famous french fries, Boy Scout Troop 51 will have their nachos plus, the Benton Lions Club will have their ice cream stand, the Fishing Creek Sportsmen will sell milkshakes, and the Benton Lions Club will sell peanuts and hot pretzels. There is never a charge to listen to the bands.

Few realize the amount of work required of volunteers to bring the rodeo together. It takes a lot of sponsors, too. Here are some of them:
. Zeisloft Brothers, Route 11, Danville, the local home for Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep products, family owned for over 60 years. Zeisloft Brothers sponsors the bull riding.

. Country Fresh Market, 4435 Red Rock Road, Benton (formerly Benton Riverside), 925-6291. Country Fresh Market sponsors the team roping.

. Benton Roller Mills, at the corner of Route 487 and 239, Benton, 925-2543. "If ya haven't been in for while, you'd better stop by n/see what's new!" Sponsors of bareback riding.

. The Power Center, 2605 Columbia Boulevard (US Route 11), Bloomsburg, Tractor Parts Co., Inc., an excellent place to get outdoor equipment and power sports. Visit www.tpcpowercenter.com. Sponsors of breakaway roping.

• First Columbia Bank & Trust, sponsors of team penning, and Columbia County Farmers National Bank. CCFNB Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Columbia County Farmers National Bank and Columbia Financial Corporation, the holding company for First Columbia Bank & Trust Company, will join forces in a merger of equals transaction, creating the second largest independent publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, and Luzerne counties.

. Williams Gas Pipeline, sponsors of specialty acts.

. Keeney Auction Company, Inc., a full-service auction company located at 2821 State Route 487, Orangeville. Visit them at www.keeneyauction.com or call them at 683-6858.

. Del Monte Pet Products, Bloomsburg, sponsors of 2008 grand entry.

. Hess Market, Main Street, Orangeville, 683-5737, and Hess "Do-It Center," 2344 State Route 487, Orangeville, 683-5162. Hess Markers sponsors the calf roping.

. Pepsi and the Pepsi Bottling Group of Berwick, proud to be your choice of beverage for the 24th annual Benton Rodeo.

. the Creekside Family Restaurant--with ice cream, too! Located at 20 Norpole Road, Orangeville. Sponsors of mutton busting.

. Steve Shannon Tire and Auto Centers, Inc., the "tire experts." Their local store is on Route 487, Benton, 925-2821, but there are eleven convenient locations to choose from. Steve Shannon sponsors the barrel racing.

. Mill Race Golf & Camping Resort sponsors the special kids roundup. This outstanding golf course is open to the public with 18-hole championship play, a complete pro shop and a driving rand. There is the Sandtrap Restaurant, banquet facilities and camping. Call 925-2040 for more information.

. L & K Mills, Inc., Benton, 925-6200, sponsors of bronc riding.

. Sokol Quarries, Inc., State Route 487, Stillwater, 925-5993, sponsors of steer wrestling, selling stone, sand and topsoil.

The entertainment sponsor for the rodeo is Froggy 101, Radio WILK, 910 AM, 980 AM and 1300 AM, www.wilknewsradio.com and www.froggy101.com. WILK is a sponsor of entertainment at the rodeo. Tuesday the sponsor is Viamedia, 570 204-2000, www.viamediatv.com. On Wednesday, the rodeo grounds will get a special visit from the Times Leader newspaper where you can get the newspaper delivered for a special price of $2 a week. Call 829-5000 or stop at their table Wednesday night. WNEP Channel 16, "the News Station," will broadcast live Thursday night. WYOU Channel 22 will be here Friday night and WBRE Channel 28 will be on the grounds Saturday night. Head to www.pahomepage.com for more information. The Sunday Bull-A-Rama is sponsored by WVIA-TV.

Each night the grand opening riders are Tara Lane Kline, Melissa McHenry, Jess Sencheck, Tanya Konspinski, Stephanie Brown, Atchley Stackhouse, Haeli Fagan, Amanda Young, Kaylie Fronk and Austan Laubach. These talented riders are sponsored by the Bloomsburg Hospital, part of the Bloomsburg Health System and by the Susquehanna Valley Medial specialties. Deb Fagan coordinates all the riders.

If you think that you are a person of influence,
try ordering around someone else's dog.

 

July 14, 2008. It is the birthday of David Albertson and Edith Hartman Witchey. Today is the wedding anniversary of Robert and Betty Lewis. Benton Town Council meets this evening at 7 PM in the fire hall.

When it comes to the art of capturing an image in that instant when it is the perfect opportunity to snap a picture, Jimmy May of the Press Enterprise photographic staff is one of the best. In addition to his published pictures in the newspaper, he maintains a web site where he proudly displays some of his photography. Jimmy is appreciated across the country thanks to the distribution system of the Associated Press. Friends of Phillip and Susan Shultz sent the local couple a copy of an AP-released photo by Jimmy May from the June 28, 2008, Saginaw (Michigan) News which shows three Benton Area Schools seniors--Danielle Samsenak, Sherri Puterbaugh and Jessica Van Pelt--getting their picture taken by Jessica with her point-and-shoot digital camera. The three form a pretty picture within a great picture!

So you think the Benton News puts you to sleep? Wait until you see the sleeping pill here.

Kendria Perry, 23, Pittsburgh, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University who played a classical piano piece during the talent competition, is the new Miss Pennsylvania. The Miss America competition will be held in Las Vegas in January.

Rev. David Diehl of the Benton Christian Church recently received 22 units of blood during a hospital stay. There will be a blood drive July 22 from 2 until 7 PM at the L.R. Appleman Elementary School in honor of Rev. Diehl. The blood drive will be sponsored by the Benton Council of Churches. Donors will be entered for various prizes given by the American Red Cross. Give a little of yourself!

Keep Richard Sutliff and Leona Bardo in your prayers. Leona fell two weeks ago. Richard enters an Illinois hospital today because of a possible heart enlargement.

Didja ever think that cooperation is best achieved
when everyone realizes that nobody can get there
unless everybody gets there?

Donald L. Cole (September 20, 1942-July 11, 2008), born in Williamsport, formerly of Benton and currently living at 330 W. Third St., Bloomsburg, died Friday at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville. He was 65. Donald was a son of Dora (Winders) Cole, Benton, and the late Larue E. Cole. He attended Benton High School. He was last employed by the Press-Enterprise as a carrier. He had previously worked for Penn-DOT; Bloomsburg University, the Red Rock Job Corps, and the former Benton Texaco. Surviving are his mother, his widow, Brenda J. (Miller) Cole; a daughter, Cathy Hartman (Daniel), Benton; son Jarod Cole (Jolene), Benton; step children Harold Morris (Missy), Benton; Amy Raught (Ezra), Bloomsburg; Brian Morris (Paula), Berwick; nine grandchildren; a brother, Larry Cole (Sharon), Bloomsburg and a sister, Wanda Cole, Benton; plus numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to his father, he was preceded in death by a sister, Hazel D. Swigart on April 6, 2006 and by a nephew, Rodney W. Swigart, on July 12, 2005. A visitation will be held Tuesday evening from 6 to 8 at the McMichael Funeral Home, Inc. There will be no formal funeral service.
--Obituary courtesy of the McMichael Funeral Home. A complete obituary will be published in the Press Enterprise edition of July 14, 2008

Driving through a city is always somewhat of a strain for those of us used to the tranquility and beauty of the upper Fishingcreek valley. The traffic of my old hometown of Arlington, Virginia, makes a two-mile commute into a fifteen-minute experience. Because of an accident on I-270 north of the Washington Beltway Friday afternoon, a commute of fifteen miles turned into a two-hour experience. A taxi driver in New York city once made a left turn from the right lane, plowed his Checker cab into the front of my car and blamed me for the accident! And then there is Fort Worth, Texas, a city of 686,000, possibly the most important city in the United States as a hub for natural gas. Picture driving down a city street with natural-gas pipes laid along the side of the road. Look at the land owned by the Fort Worth City Council, which is leasing its land for natural-gas drilling. Turn on a cul-de-sac where gas wells are drilling below houses in order to get to the natural gas in the Barnett Shale. Using figures from Dr. Steve Sjuggerud's Daily Wealth, as of June 3, energy companies had drilled 7,766 gas wells in the Barnett Shale, and drilled and permitted another 4,661 wells--which adds $5.2 billion per year to the Fort Worth economy. Seven years from now, that could easily double. This country uses about 23 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year, but only produces about 19 trillion cubic feet. Between the Barnett Shale and the Marcellus Shale, a lot of people are going to end up being millionaires. This area is perfectly placed as the site of the next American energy boom. Take a hard look around today at the beauty of our area. What you see a few years from now may not be so pretty!

Leonard E. "Len" Hudack (April 4, 1950-July 11, 2008), a logger with Hudack Logging, Mossville, died Friday at the General Hospital, Wilkes-Barre. He lived at 47 Freas Road, Benton. He was 58. Len was born in Fairmount Township, Luzerne County. He was a son of Edward Hudack, Benton, and the late Gladys (Moss) Hudack. He was a 1968 graduate of Northwest Area High School. He was preceded in death by his mother, a brother, Joseph Hudack, and a sister, Beverly Diltz. Surviving are his widow, the former Cathy L. Seward, daughters Lisa L. Hudack (Rodney Fox) and Shelby Kester (Andrew), both of Benton; a son, Edward J. Hudack, Shickshinny; and nine grandchildren. Also surviving are nine siblings: Mary Erwine (Allen), Shavertown; Joyce Bednarek (Martin), Benton; Richard Hudack (Melissa), Benton; Judy Piatt (Sam), Sweet Valley; Kenneth Hudack (Nancy), Benton; Cindy Ashelman ( Richard), Benton; Joann Hudack, Benton; Edwina Stempien (John) , Sweet Valley; and Janice Perry (Jay), Benton. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday morning at 11 in St. Martha's Catholic Church, Bonnieville Road, Stillwater. Interment will be in the parish cemetery. Friends may call on Monday from 6-8 PM at the Dean W. Kriner, Inc., Funeral Home, Benton.
--Obituary courtesy of the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary was published in its edition of July 13, 2008.

Andrew Pavalonis (February 10, 1922-July 11, 2008), 178 Swamp Road, Sugarloaf Township, died Friday at the Geisinger Medical Center, Danville. He was 86. Andrew was born in Sugar Notch. He was a son of the late Simon and Agnes (Kreiradit) Pavalonis. He was a 1942 graduate of Benton High School. Andy was a U.S. Army veteran of service in World War II, participating in the Central Europe campaign. He was employed by the former Western Union, Co., Allentown, as a guard for 30 years, retiring in 1980. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Geraldine Gregory, on June 7, 1976; by a son, Andrew P. Pavalonis; two sisters: Blanche Pavalonis and Lillian Falvey; and by four brothers: Simon Pavalonis; Frank Pavalonis; George Pavalonis; and Anthony "Tony" Pavalonis. Surviving are daughters Diane Pavalonis, Staunton, VA, and Dina Hughes (James), Allentown. There are six grandchildren: Andrew McKeegan Allison McKeegan; Gregory McKeegan; Patrick McKeegan; Jenna Hughes; Daniel Hughes; and two brothers Albert Pavalonis (Jean), Benton and John Pavalonis (Joanne), Belle Vernon. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday at 10:30 AM in Christ The King Catholic Church, Mendenhall Lane, Benton, with burial in Raven Creek Cemetery with full military honors by the combined VFW group. Friends may call on Wednesday morning between 9 and 10 at the Dean W. Kriner, Inc., Funeral Home, Benton.
--Obituary courtesy of the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary was published in its edition of July 13, 2008.

Howard M. Peterman (June 4, 1907-July 6, 2008), formerly of Hughesville, honored last year by the grand master of the Masonic Lodge of Pennsylvania for more than 70 years of membership, having been a member of Muncy Lodge 299, joining on Jan. 3, 1935, died recently at the Masonic Home in Elizabethtown where he had been a resident for 14 years. He was 101. Howard was born in Nordmont. He was a son of the late Glen and Lizzie Little Peterman. His first wife of 41 years, the former Naomi Travelpiece, preceded him in death on May 20, 1973. His second wife of 34 years, the former Josephine Taylor, preceded him in death on July 25, 2006. He attended the former Sonestown School and graduated from the Muncy Normal School Class of 1926. He was an auto mechanic by trade owning and operating Peterman's Garage for 14 years. He was also employed at the former Lycoming Motors and retired from Freezer's Auto Parts in 1973. Howard was an avid writer for several newspapers, including the Sullivan Review and the Muncy Luminary. His column, Century Moment, was a popular addition to the newspapers. He also wrote an autobiography, Letters from Elizabethtown--Memories of a Sullivan County Man. Surviving are two daughters, Lois Brant, Williamsport, and Janet Stugart, Willow Street; a brother, Frank Peterman, Buena Vista, California; five grandchildren; and five great grandchildren. In addition to his parents and wives, Howard was also preceded in death by a brother, Herman Peterman; and three sisters, Beulah Sellers, Media Greene and Vernie Wabschall. Funeral services were from the McCarty-Thomas Funeral Home, Hughesville, with burial in Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
--A complete obituary was published in the July 8, 2008, edition of the Sun-Gazette, Williamsport.

Thought on Longevity for today:
"I had good health habits and did what was right."
--Howard M. Peterman

 

July 13, 2008. Huber Kline, JoAnn Karschner and Phil Edson celebrate birthdays today along with bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent. The Litwhiler family and L&K Mills deserve a lot of praise for making sure that the historic O.B. Savage barn is kept is great shape. The barn has been freshly painted in its traditional red. Artists and photographers will again be lining Route 487.

On this date in...
• 1947, three sisters from Montgomery County died and a fourth was in critical condition as a result of a car that "ran away" down the 18% grade of Red Rock mountain and plunged "into space" near the "Hope Larish barn" after knocking off three guard-rail posts. The runaway car was one of two cars in the party. The husband of one of the sisters, her two sons and the blind brother of the sisters were in the lead car, but were passed by the victim's car with horn blaring. Traveling at speeds estimated by police at 100 mph, the car flew 45 feet "into space" before hitting a large tree. Dr. Sentner, Chief of Police Meeker and the Holcombe ambulance aided the accident team.

. 2005, a "crushing wind" swept through the Upper Fishingcreek area. Market Street resident Scott Kline had a tree land on his kitchen roof and Scott subsequently fell through the kitchen skylight. A year later during the No-Name storm of 2006, Scott and other residents of Market Street east of Main Street were severely flooded by high water. Looking at the skies last night, we saw no evidence of floods this week this year, although there could be thundershowers this afternoon.

Didja ever think that nothing tests your personal ethics
like selling your own used car?

By now, you probably have heard that former Senator Phil Gramm said we are a "nation of whinners." By jove, I think he is right! Many Americans now realize that Congress doesn't represent the people who elected them. Congress seems to represent organizations who support lobbyists. Put yourself in the place of Congressmen. Would you listen to the people who represent you or the people lining your pockets? (By the way, I am very proud of you for the honest way you answered that question!)

Didja ever think of work as simply a slice of your life? It isn't the whole pizza!

Readers of the Benton News know that the Marcellus shale is under about 34 million acres of Pennsylvania land. Katie McGinty, head of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, appeared on Friday's Mad Money with Jim Cramer to deny the misconception that natural gas drilling has hit environmental roadblocks in the state. On the show, McGinty indicated that in the last three years, the Guv's administration has issued 25,000 new oil and gas permits. In 2008, McGinty estimated that the state has given out 130 permits for work in the Marcellus Shale. She called natural gas "the future of energy" while Cramer commented that natural gas remains the future of energy. Cramer thinks stocks dealing with natural gas should be purchased; i.e., Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK), one of the largest natural-gas producers in the United States (Friday close: $63.52, up $1.94 for the day; El Paso Corporation (EP), a company that fell on hard times in 2002, but succeeded in paying down its debt and expanded its pipeline projects plus acquiring Medicine Bow in 2005 and Peoples Energy Production in 2007 (Friday's close $19.57, down 17¢); and Devon Energy Corporation (DVN), a company which has sizable reserves in Texas' Barnett Shale (Friday's close $110.47, up 96¢).

Didja ever notice that we spend more money to buy bigger computers,
but spend less time to communicate with our friends?

This is the week! The Benton Rodeo runs this year from July 15 through 20 at the rodeo grounds off Mendenhall Lane. There will be the usual exciting bareback-bronco riding, steer wrestling, saddle-bronco riding, cowgirls-barrel racing, Brahma-bull riding, calf roping, team roping and kids-mutton bustin'. It all happens at the Frontier Days Celebration and APRA Championship Rodeo and Bull-A-Rama Back Home in Benton, PA.

The rodeo began in 1984 with a small group of concerned citizens and businessmen who set out to revitalize the Benton community. The Benton Area Revitalization Committee wanted to promote tourism and business, including sprucing up the town, getting residents together to help fix up yards, repaint eyesores, and spruce up the Laubach Library. Then came a fresh idea to boost tourism and draw customers to local businesses--a rodeo! The idea evolved into the Benton Frontier Days Championship Rodeo.

The major goal of the Benton Revitalization Steering Committee was to "upgrade the economic life of the Benton area and promote pride in the community." Officers were Danny Stoneham, chairman, Stan Barchik, vice chairman, and Ed Nork, secretary.

The Benton Revitalization group held other projects, like their "Clean Up Week" for the Firemen's Carnival and the Frank Laubach Celebration Ceremonies. The Women's Club and the Lions' Club sponsored an arts and crafts show on Park Street on September 2 and 3, 1984 with no flea-market items accepted. Sue Root was chairman. Mayor Wayne Yorks proclaimed July 16 through July 25 as "Making and Keeping Benton Beautiful Week." Volunteers from the Red Rock Job Corps Center helped.

The revitalization steering committee consisted of 25 or so merchants hoping to "provide some pride and promise to the northern Columbia County Borough." The work contributed greatly to two major events during the summer: the annual Farmer's Picnic and Firemen's Carnival, and formal ceremonies honoring the first issue of a postage stamp to honor Dr. Frank Laubach.

Right from the git-go, the Benton Area Rodeo Association was a nonprofit organization whose goal was to stimulate tourism to the Benton area and provide fundraising opportunities to local charities, service groups, companies and churches. In fact, the first year of the rodeo, when the rodeo was held on the property of Roy and Lorna Evarts, the organization donated money to 25 local organizations--even to the Benton Women's Club. All proceeds in excess of expenses benefited Benton area community groups.

The rodeo began as a two-day event on July 20 and 21, 1985. The event featured a flea market, food and plenty of country music acts, clowns, and those exciting rodeo events! On Saturday, July 20, an astounding three thousand spectators turned out to see what the rodeo was all about! On Sunday, July 21, an impressive two thousand came to see the action for themselves! Gate sales for the event totaled $12,585 in 1985. There were two shows on Saturday, July 20, and on Sunday, July 21. The arena was located next to the Mill Race Gulf Course along Route 487. Tickets were $5 in advance for adults and $6 at the gate, and $3 in advance and $4 at the gate for children 10 and under. Children 3 and under got in free.

The Benton Area Revitalization Committee-sponsored "Frontier Days' type celebration began with a few area residents who enjoyed the sport of rodeo and within the year grew to over 20 members who formed the Benton Rodeo Association. Plans included entertainment featuring live country music, contract acts, a clown, and a seven-event rodeo including bareback bronco riding, saddle bronco riding, Brahma bull riding, steer wrestling, team steer roping, calf roping and cowgirl's barrel racing. Plenty of food was available and they even had a flea market for the bargain hunter. Cowboys competed for a total purse of $5,000, along with points toward a yearly world championship.

The advertisements noted that a "well-manicured golf course is available next door and several campgrounds adjoin the rodeo property." The event was coordinated and produced by David Martin and the Benton Area Rodeo and Revitalization Association. Stormy the Clown was there, wearing a denim skirt and red leotards. His introduction to the rodeo rolled off the announcer's tongue, "He was so ugly when he was born, the doctor slapped the mother." WNEP Channel 16 featured the rodeo on its P.M. Magazine show and the co-host of the show, Chad Booth, rode a bronco during the event, except that the horse threw him and he had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. About 3,000 came out braving the 80° heat.

After another successful Rodeo in 1986 at the Evarts Farm in which gate proceeds totaled $10,822, the association found twenty acres next to the little league and soccer fields in Benton Borough to hold Frontier Days, and that became its permanent home.

The championship rodeo gets bigger and better each year. Now a six-day nationally renowned event, cowboys including several world champions come to Benton's Rodeo to compete. We'll see you at the rodeo!

 

July 12, the 194 day of 2008, with 72 days until the official start of autumn. Julius Caesar is on the birthday list today, born in Rome around 100 B.C. The month we're in was called Quintilis until Julius came along and the month was renamed July in his honor. Caesar as a Roman dictator and in the year 47 B.C. fought a brief war for the kingdom of Pontus in Asia Minor. Caesar is the guy, you'll remember, who was said to have uttered the line, "Veni, vidi, vici": "I came, I saw, I conquered." We celebrate the birthday of American essayist and poet Henry David Thoreau today (1817), author of Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854) and the Civil Disobedience (1849). Thoreau kept a journal, writing in it from the edge of Walden Pond, near Concord. He wrote, "Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something."

The mostly male line to buy the new Apple 3G iPhone at Tysons Center in McLean, Virginia, at 2:30 PM Friday was easily 300 people long--considerably shorter than the line in Tokyo where at 6:30 AM there were a reported 1,300 in line. That line formed Thursday. Around the corner, a dejected lot of ATT phone-store employees continued to tell potential customers that they had sold the 60 allocated to that store by 9 AM. The new phone promises faster web access than the iPhone introduced a year ago. The largest model Apple makes has 16 gigabytes of storage, sells for $299 with a two-year service contract in the U.S., compared with $499 for the older version.

Just about everything seems to be digital these days, including a movie which opened Friday in something called RealD 3D. Journey to the Center of the Earth is one of those movies where critters routinely seem to leap right off the screen. The only problem is that some theaters aren't showing it in 3D, but don't bother to make that fact well known until you get to the theater. That happened to me Friday night and a herd of other people who, mad as a wet hen, turned around and didn't bother to see anything at the theater.

We've referred to the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act in previous articles and even posted the wording of the act for those concerned about well placement and other drilling activities. Municipalities which have tried to enforce their local ordinances concerning local land-use regulations in natural-gas drilling have generally fought a losing battle, but now the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to consider the appeals of Oakmont, Allegheny County, and Salem Township, Westmoreland County. At Oakmont, a suburb of Pittsburgh, the Borough prohibited a company from drilling in a residential neighborhood because of its zoning rules. The court system invalidated the ruling saying that the state makes the rules as dictated in the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act. The situation in Salem Township was similar. The decision by the Supreme Court will be interesting.

A reader mentioned www.earthworksaction.org/LOguidechapters.cfm, which is a publication about "Oil and Gas at Your Door." It seems to have as its theme "protecting communities and the environment." I haven't had time to read it thoroughly, but it probably is well worth your time to read. Take the time to look over the chapter dealing with stories written by landowners. These stories relate many different perspectives and issues experienced by landowners in their dealings with the oil and gas industry.

Oilman T. Boone Pickens has come up with what he calls the Pickens Plan and he has taken $58 million of his own money to sell his idea to a nation in the middle of an energy crisis. His company, Mesa Power, is pouring about $12 billion into a huge wind farm near Pampa, Texas. Pickens has his bets covered! He is on the board of the country's biggest provider of natural gas for vehicles. His BP Capital is a private investment firm concentrating on investments in energy futures and stocks of public companies in various energy sectors and energy dependent industries. If you have a few minutes, learn more about the Pickens Plan.

 

July 11, 2008. Happy birthday to Lawrence Shaw and JoAnn McHenry Walk.

Quickies...
. If you enjoy history, head here to find the American Historical Review, which is now free and easily accessible via the internet. Content in the History Cooperative database is intended for personal, noncommercial use only.

. Copies of John Orlandini's popular book, Indians, Settlers, and Forgotten Places, have been sold out, but are again in stock at the Brass Pelican, Elk Grove, Mountain View Barn Antiques, Rt. 118, Eagles Mere Book Store, Eagles Mere, Sullivan Review, Dushore, Luzerne County Historical Society, Wilkes-Barre, Wyoming County Historical Society, Tunkhannock and Fitz's Store, Main St., Tunkhannock.

. Welcome to Wendy, Nicole, Lucas and Sandy Rosenberger, new residents on Central Road. Sandy is a daughter of Mary Janney. Wendy is a grand daughter and Nicole and Lucas are her great grandchildren.

. There is an interesting article about Hazletonians who fought at some of the worst battles of the Civil War--Antietam and Chancellorsville, at Gettysburg and Lookout Mountain. The article can be found here.

• Take the time to read about naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) by going here. The government generally takes the position that concentrations of NORM found in gas-drilling operations are not a threat to the public health and the environment.

• There is a "Rocky Mountain High" coming from impending climate-change legislation giving natural gas a bigger part of the nation's energy usage. The sky-high energy prices are making the gas suddenly attractive. And guess who has apparent extensive deposits of natural gas and is expected to become a major producer of commercial shale gas in the lower 48. If you said the Rockies you would have been correct. Had you said the Haynesville shale in east Texas and Louisiana or the Barnett shale in Texas or the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania you would have been correct. All these locations are years away from any large-scale commercial operation.

Drilling in unconventional reserves--of which shale is an example--varies according to its location within geological formations. Landowners in parts of Columbia County get no calls to lease their land, while other locations in the upper Fishingcreek valley are hot as a pistol, partially for geological reasons and partly for its proximity to an existing pipeline.

We'll continue with a short discussion of gold mining in the state of North Carolina. It was something like 20 years after gold was discovered before shaft mining came along to get to the veins of ore.

On the Reed property, yields of $18,000 to $20,000 of gold were mined using huge Chilean grinding stones and other then-sophisticated equipment to separate the gold from the quartz. Towns spring up to support the rush. Gold was circulated unminted in the Piedmont region as a way of paying for items in lieu of currency. The Philadelphia Mint transformed some of the gold into coinage.

John Reed entered into an agreement in 1834 whereby his sons and sons-in-law would provide labor for the mining and as landowner he would get one third of the income and his partners would share the other two thirds. John's wife, Sarah Reed, died in 1843, and the former Hessian soldier who had become an American citizen in 1842, died in 1845.

In May 1847, a vein of gold was discovered in the vicinity of Asheborough, North Carolina. The Houston Telegraph in its edition of March 22, 1847, noted that the "ore, by rough process, will yield $50 worth of the pure metal to the bushel.

In 1848 national attention was drawn to California and later to the Rocky Mountains. North Carolina's adventure in gold mining was ending, but the search went on with occasional positive results. The Maryland Sun in its edition of May 16, 1853, quoted the Norfolk Beacon that gold was discovered in Tyrrell County, North Carolina, the "first discovery of gold that has been made in the lower part of the state."

The Texas State Gazette of May 13, 1854, noted that the "gold region of the United States" begins in " Virginia, extending all through North Carolina, along the northern part of South Carolina, and thence northwesterly into Alabama, terminating in Tennessee." The newspaper noted that the "diggings are supposed to be pretty well worked out, though very productive at times." A lump from a branch of the Rocky River, in Cabarfrus County, North Carolina, weighed 28 pounds.

Using somewhat of a wishful tone, the paper talked about the rumors of a gold find in California. "The gold diggings of New or Upper California now embraces the whole basin of the Sacramento. In Oregon, in Utah, and al the countries bordering on California, gold is found."

Perhaps in an attempt to get miners to leave North Carolina, the paper reported that "The West coast of America is, perhaps, the region having the greatest number of gold deposits. Between 20° to 45° north latitude gold is found everywhere."

The Golden Eagle, published in the county of Franklin, North Carolina, in 1856 reported that "slaves in the Portis Gold mine found several nuggets of gold worth about $1,050--almost pure gold

By 1867, Flake's Bulletin reported that "hotels are crowded" with "Northern capitalists" and "every train brings mills, engines and machinery to be used in the mines."

The "Huey mines" were producing $300 in bullion every day and gushed that "scientific miners from California, with large experience in gold mining, have examined the mining interests of this state, and have pronounced them equal to the rich valleys and mountain gorges of that famous land of gold."

 

July 10, 2008. It is the birthday of Denise Kline and Susan Louise Cole. It is an anniversary of the Northern Columbia Community & Cultural Center. It was a year ago today that the Board of Directors of The Center "took title" on the new Community Center from the Columbia County Housing Corporation.

There has been lots of rain in North Carolina this week, which leads me to some of the weather lore found in the Tar Heel State, including the following...

Evening red and morning gray,
Help the traveler on his way.
Evening gray and morning red,
Brings down rain upon her head."

Raindrops in the morning,
Sailors take warning.
Rainbows' at night,
Sailor's delight."

"Smoke settling to the ground indicates rain" and "When smokes drops in a chimney, rain is coming."

A circle around the moon means bad weather is coming."

"Some folks say dat de only way ta stop de rain be de killin' of frogs or mice or sich as dat. Dat ain't right. De onliest cure for big rains is de family singin' all togetha. Yessir, singin'll stop de rain."

Your gas-drilling reading for this evening is to digest the contents of http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml.

"I know a boy, and I am he,
Who loves a girl, and you are she."
--Found in a Memory Book in North Carolina

Few outside of North Carolina have heard of a rebellion in colonial North Carolina known as the Battle of Alamance which ended the so-called War of the Regulation. This skirmish was fought with the local government over issues of taxation and local control. The battle took place in the central Piedmont west of Greensboro and north of the present I-40.

In a setting somewhat reminiscent of our own "Fishingcreek Confederacy," Tory Royal Governor of North Carolina Robert Tryon and a thousand or so troops left New Bern in 1771 to quell a rebellion of minor acts of violence as some rebelled against the colonial government over unfair taxation practices. A group, loosely known as "The Regulators," had twice as many men but didn't have a lot of leadership, organization or munitions.

The Regulators lost the skirmish and ten to fifteen were killed, with injuries of about a hundred. Tryon lost nine and 61 were wounded. Tryon took 13 prisoners, one of them executed on the spot and six hanged on June 19, 1771, in nearby Hillsborough. Regulators were then forced to pledge an oath of allegiance to the royal government.

One of the men hung at the Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough following the Battle of Alamance was Captain "Robert" Messer. The sixth great-granddaughter of Captain Robert Messer was born January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, into a poor family that would eventually include 12 children. She composed her own songs before she learned to read and write, got her first guitar when she was 8 and began singing on the radio when she was 11. Do you feel a quiz coming on? It is! What was this singer's name? OK, OK. I'll give you a clue. She has a sister who is a Willadeene. Answer at end.

Bruce T. Hall was originally from Shamokin, but now lives in Annapolis. He reads the Benton News and asked if I was aware of the role of North Carolina in the first gold rush in the United States. He probably knew that I didn't know diddly about the subject, so he graciously provided information from the Department of Archives and History of the U.S. National Park Service's North Carolina office.

Well, no, Bruce, I wasn't aware! Frankly, my awareness of things is limited to hunger signs every three hours and twenty-one minutes, a glimmer of memory recognition as a bikinied body walks by on the beach, and a flash of knowledge that tomorrow is Friday. Or is it Monday? Then I remembered that gold is that flashy yellow stuff that sells for $929.26 an ounce, the same stuff that was in the minds of the Spanish conquistadores as they pursued "Gold, God, and Glory" in the New World. The first English adventurers in North America were also motivated by a desire to find gold, but they, too, were not successful.

Gold was first discovered twenty miles northeast of Charlotte by Conrad Reed in an unincorporated part of Cabarrus County. Reed was the son of a Hessian soldier brought to this country by the British to fight in the Revolution. Instead of fighting, his father deserted and acquired a farm which eventually became known as Reed's Gold Mine.

In 1799, a 17-pound hunk of "heavy yellow' metal was found by Conrad John Reed, 12, and used as a doorstop in the Reed home until three years later when a Fayetteville jeweler gave Reed $3.50 for the nugget of gold. The find was important for Reed, his family, his county, his state, and the nation, focusing attention on the region and producing the county's first gold rush.

Reed and three partners began prospecting Little Meadow Creek and found nuggets in the gravel in and near the stream. His partners provided money and labor, and Reed received one fourth of the gold found by the slave labor. Incidentally, mining only took place when there was no field work for the slaves.

Some nuggets and some gold dust were recovered, but in 1803 a slave recovered a lump of gold weighing 28 pounds. Other discoveries on neighboring land followed as gold prospecting became more sophisticated.

The Director of the United States Mint told President Thomas Jefferson about the gold find as a solution to the struggling young Nation which depended solely upon foreign countries for its sources of gold. The architect of the Nation's capitol tried to get an option on land surrounding Reed's acreage and he established the North Carolina Gold Mining Company, but his plan to take over the properties failed because landowners, dreaming of striking it rich themselves, declined to sell their property, which sounds somewhat similar to the situation in today's upper Fishingcreek valley where owners of large tracts of land wouldn't sell for "love nor money" until the Marcellus drilling has run its course.

We'll continue with the first gold strike in the United States when we return tomorrow.

Quiz answer... Dolly Rebecca Parton made a name for herself while still in high school, but the day after she graduated in 1964, she moved to Nashville and later became a household name because of her country music and film endeavors.

Lisa (Lamoreaux) Remley (April 20, 1964-July 8, 2008), Everett Street, Benton, a mother of two and an eighteen-year employee of Columbia County Farmers National Bank, Benton, died Tuesday afternoon at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville. She was 44. She was a daughter of Shirley M. ( Sterling) Lamoreaux, Asbury (Orangeville address), and the late Glen L. Lamoreaux. Lisa was a 1982 graduate of Benton High School. Surviving are her husband, Jeffery L. Remley, with whom she would have celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary on September 5; her mother Shirley Lamoreaux; and her children Bryan L. Remley, serving in the U. S. Navy stationed at Newport News Shipyard, Virginia, and Katrina J. Remley, a recent graduate of Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia. Lisa had four siblings: Philip T. Lamoreaux (Barbara); Janell E. Karas (Phillip); Nadine C. Steward (Ron) all of the Asbury area and Kevin D. Lamoreaux (Holly), Stillwater. There were numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 10:30 AM at the McMichael Funeral Home, Inc. A viewing will be held Friday from 5 to 8 PM at the funeral home.
--Obituary courtesy of the McMichael Funeral Home. A complete obituary will be published in the Press Enterprise in its edition of July 10, 2008.

 

Wednesday, July 9, the 191st day of 2008. It is the birthday of Al Labonte and Bill Rogers.

The July 9 edition of the Press Enterprise gives a good rundown of the tax implications of signing a gas lease.

On July 4, the Guv signed into law what may entitle many Pennsylvanians to a reduction in their homeowners' insurance premiums. The Mortgage Property Insurance Coverage Act prohibits mortgage lenders from requiring borrowers to insure their property in excess of the value of structures on the land. Before passage, lenders in Pennsylvania often required insurance on the full-loan value of a property, although in the event of a loss a homeowners' insurance policy would only restore the value of the structure. Homeowners should check their homeowners' insurance policies to determine if they are paying for coverage on the full-property value or on the value of the structure on the land.

The S&P 500 had its worst month since September 2002 and its worst June since 1930. The Dow industrials yesterday climbed 152.25 points, or 1.4%, to 11,384.21. The S&P 500 closed yesterday at 1273.70, about where it was at in the beginning of 2006. All gains made throughout 2007 are gone.

The Columbia County Landowners Coalition has a meeting at 7 tonight at the Benton High School for coalition members and landowners wanting to join that group. The consultant will be negotiating for $2,800 per acre up-front money and 18.75% royalty. The up-front money could go higher. At the meeting, Bruce Anderson will attempt to contact the consultant for the group by telephone to answer questions from the members. This is an opportunity for landowners to ask questions on oil and gas leasing. Bruce Anderson can be contacted at 458-4337 for further information.

Surprises abound in North Carolina. The $2 bill is readily available at any bank, but they are rarely given out, except perhaps at Monticello, where Thomas Jefferson called home. In North Carolina, I have been given change several times with $2 bills, available in its current size since 1928. It was nice to receive the $2 bill, somewhat like meeting an unexpected old friend.

My inbox is always full of surprises. Susie Barkley, Taylorsville, North Carolina, whose husband is a "branch" cousin of Bea Lanyi, sent an email to welcome me "to the best state in the nation, (the one with the greatest people, except for those in Pa who are kinfolk"). Susie is an autoharp strummer at a Senior Center every Monday when the local pickers meet with their guitars, mandolins, etc. Susie indicated that "many of my ancestors lived in Pennsylvania before making the move down the Great Wagon Road to North Carolina so we are probably cousins many times removed."

Those of us who travel the interstates when time is a factor forget about things like the old Indian trail now referred to as the "Great Wagon Road," a once well-traveled path from Pennsylvania through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to North Carolina. You can better understand what was thought to have been the route if you look at the map of the road.

Picture the situation in Pennsylvania in the 1700s as the grandchildren of immigrants realized that much of the choice land had been taken in the state. There was great promise of wonderful land in North Carolina--and the hearty people drew their shoulders back and walked, hitched up the oxen or traveled the northern part of the trail in Conestoga wagons drawn by four to six horses.

The initial white settlers were mostly Scots-Irish (the term they preferred rather than the "Scotch-Irish, a term we hear more often), Presbyterians and German Lutherans. They pulled out of Pennsylvania with some coming from Maryland and Delaware. They came first in a trickle, then in a flood. Following their northern traditions, they built houses, taverns and mills, established ferries and cleared fields.

Like the early turnpikes of our area, the "road" was muddy in the spring, dusty in the dry weather, and "rough as a cob," as Father used to say. There was no stopping for a quick "Big Mac" and a plastic bottle of spring water that we are foolish enough to pay a dollar for--food and water had to be found on the trip. Remember that this all took place in the period of roughly 1735-1775 as the Scots-Irish, German, and English immigrants from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia moved south. The "road" was a route on the former Great Warriors' Trail. The route eventually stretched over 700 miles from Philadelphia, passing through Lancaster, Mechanicsburg (The many Conestoga wagon mechanics who set up shop along Trindle and Simpson Ferry Road gave Mechanicsburg its name), York, Winchester and the present Roanoke, Virginia, through Winston-Salem and Charlotte, ultimately reaching Augusta, Georgia.

Susie pointed out in her email the influence of the route is still felt. As the Pennsylvanians arrived in North Carolina, they drained swamps, cleared fields, grew crops and raised cattle and sheep. In Winston-Salem, an area founded in 1766 and known as "Old Salem" is full of Moravians, the German religious group that came to North Carolina from Pennsylvania on the Great Wagon Road. Some dropped off in the Virginia valleys before continuing into Piedmont North Carolina and "upcountry" South Carolina.

The first time I heard of the Great Wagon Road was when I read a newspaper article in the Charlotte Observer dated December 31, 1922, in which the subject was "camping parties" sponsored by the Foreman-King Motor Company as winter travelers stopped on remnants of the former wagon road on their way to winter camping sites in their "traveling homes" and "auto bungalows."

One interesting man mentioned in the newspaper article was Grant G. Edick, on his way to Florida "with his speedwagon hotel." The writer described the interior "of the car" which included "cupboards, clothes closet, toilet, lavatory facilities and arrangement provided for two full-size beds as well as ample facilities for making the occupants most comfortable during the longest trip." The article continued, "Provision has been made for storage space on each running board, underneath the floor and over the windshield. In the rear there is an ice box with entrance from the rear for filling it." Sounds like my kind of living!

 

July 8, 2008. It is the birthday of Bill Hess, Joan Franklin and Harold Steinruck.

Do you still get all misty eyed when you see the American flag? Take a look at a beautiful flag by going here.

Pat Wary bought a used paperback book at the Thrift shop on Mill Street. When she began reading the book, she found a "picture of a dog, which looks like a golden retriever, seated on a sidewalk of what must be a scenic overlook of the Golden Gate bridge." If you are the owner of the picture, contact Pat at 925-6183.

One thing that stands out in North Carolina is the system of highways, a continuation of the plank, tar, clay and macadam roads over which thousands of people have driven. After driving across the state Sunday and Monday, it is also obvious that North Carolina is both a large state and a divided state--partitioned into the coastal areas, Piedmont and mountains. On this trip, I am getting to see everything but the coastal area.

Many old-world settlers arrived in the coastal region when they first landed in the state. New Bern became the first state capital (1766). The first English settlement in America was on the easternmost part of coastal North Carolina. The Wright Brothers gave the nation a lift at Kill Devil Hill.

The state's biggest city, Charlotte, has fewer than a million people, and even the cities of Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Durham are small enough to warrant letting out a not-unusual title of "honey" by friendly waitresses. The state has long held special appeal to me because of the talented people who play their banjos and guitars in the style taught to them by their parents. Well-worn hands carve mountain dulcimers from a hunk of wood.

The humor of the people is of great interest to me. Nothing serious follows in today's report, so if you are not in the mood for humor, stop reading now. We'll get you started by asking the difference between the Prince of Wales, a bald-headed man, a young monkey, and an orphan child. You can find the answer at the end of today's report.

A city attorney visited a man of the mountains and could not help noticing a piece of fur on the floor in the corner of the room. When asked, the attorney was told that he "reckoned it was a mink skin." The attorney asked the price and agreed to the sale at $10. The old man got his money. The next week the lawyer was back and accused the man of hoodwinking him, saying "they told me down at the store that was a weasel skin--wasn't worth but two dollars." The old codger never changed the expression on his face, but there might have been a twinkle in his eye when he said, "You didn't let that other fellow beat you out of that mink, did you?"

It is a land of polite people. The story is told at parties about a man who shyly told a pretty girl as introductions were made that he was a "Southern planter." It was not until the first date that she found out that he was an undertaker. Religion is taken seriously; after all, this is the Bible belt. Casual sex has been known to result in a family demanding of the male when the marriage will take place!

Senator Erwin, who first came to attention during the debate over the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy, once told the story (New York Times, May 13, 1956) of the preacher who delivered a "fire and brimstone" sermon about North Carolina women who wore their hair in a topknot. A woman called the preacher on the sermon saying that there was nothing in the Bible about wearing a top knot, even it it was gaudy. The straight-by-the-text preacher immediately turned to the twenty-fourth verse of Matthew. It read: "Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house."

This issue of the Benton News comes from Statesville, North Carolina, a crossroads community where I-40 going east and west crosses I-77 running between Columbia and Cleveland. Specifically, I am spending time in the Lake Norman area northwest of Charlotte, the largest man-made lake in the state with something like 520 miles of shoreline, more than the coastlines of North and South Carolina combined. I haven't been in the Statesville area long enough to hear many stories, so I'll tell one I told before about a North Carolina woman who asked a banker for money to build a bathroom in her house. The banker was somewhat surprised about the question from a stranger to the bank and asked the woman where she had done her business before. "Oh, back in the pine thicket," was her quick response.

The Prince of Wales is an heir apparent; a bald-headed man has no hair apparent; the monkey has a hairy parent, and the orphan child hain't got any parent--at least that is what is said here in North Carolina.

 

July 7, 2008. It is the birthday of Carolyn Sue Remley and Kristen Kriebel.

Representatives from federal, state and county agencies will speak at a special Shickshinny borough flood meeting at 7 PM at the borough building, 35 W. Union St. The purpose is to prepare residents for future floods. About 20 buildings in the flood area may soon be elevated or razed by the county

Life is so very different from when I grew up. Take one of my favorite things, for example. Take food. When I was growing up, we had cows, we had goats, we had chickens, we had fruit trees and enriched by an endless supply of Golden Guernsey cow manure we had a huge garden.

It was always a thrill to take a package of seeds, prepare the soil according to strict instructions that seemed to change from year to year, water and fertilize and weed. Mother even said that talking to her plants helped them grow. The result was a wonderful garden. But much of what we grew was seasonal, and so Mother canned.

In our laundry room, created by Father's signature style of carpentry, we had sway-back shelves that bulged in the center from all the weight of fruit and vegetables. Every inch was filled. Elderberry jelly was a favorite, but jams and preserves and pickles came in a close second. Peaches and cherries were a must with Father when winter arrived. The problem with canning came with the heat. Everything seemed to get so hot in our small country home when canning was underway. Wheelbarrow loads of tomatoes and lima beans, for example, would be wheeled onto the porch. Mother would put on her sun bonnet and get her pairing knife out and go to work. It wasn't long before the kitchen was filled with the smell of boiling fruit or vegetables, and soon after that drab jars would begin to get filled with brightly colored food. It took me years before I found out Mr. Mason didn't personally lend us his jars.

I didn't know then, as I listened to the Phillies in the darkened room with Father, how much work Mother had accomplished that day. Her work continued long after I felt that I had done everything that I could do. The work continued day after day through the time that we put up the dried sweet corn. The work slowed down a little as fall arrived, and slowly the pantry contents began to shrink in size as winter bore in on us.

I still want to go into the pantry and pick out some of Mother's prize fruits and vegetables, or some of her jam or jelly. It seems that when I get to the panty these days I find only bags of potato chips and cartons of cookies and something called "chicken of the sea," and a jar of garlic. I can't even find the old Norton Cole Mill bag of walnuts, husked but still in the shells, that always occupied the corner. Life is so very different from when I grew up.

The drive yesterday from Benton to North Carolina was reminiscent of heading to Florida in the winter. From Washington, D.C. south the traffic moved at 20 miles an hour as if all the snow-birds had decided to turn around and head to Florida again. Driving rain would have made the trip difficult had I been allowed to go any faster. I finally decided to alter my night's destination and bunk down with old friends, Max and Loraine Hartman, Clayton, North Carolina, and continue my trip in the morning. It was 10:30 until I arrived at their house. Max and Loraine are far from being "Southerners," since they are both products of the upper Fishingcreek valley, but a nice piece of calligraphy hanging on their wall notes that...

"Southerner (or 'Sutharner' as it is written), A person born or living in the south, gracious, easy going, slow talking, friendly folks devoted to front porches, oak trees, cool breezes, magnolias, peaches, fried chicken, grits and watermelon."

 

July 6, 2008. It is the birthday of Herbert R. Fritz, Michael Gordon and Jan Jost. We hope that everyone is getting "back to normal" following the long Independence Day weekend. Thunderstorms continue to be a possibility through mid-week.

On this date in 1912, Jim Thorpe earned fame as the world's greatest athlete during the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. Thorpe, a full-blooded Native American, was known as Wa-tho-huck, which in English means "Bright Path." When the King of Sweden called Thorpe "the greatest athlete in the world," Thorpe brightly replied, "Thanks, King." Children's author Beatrix Potter was born on this date in 1866. If the name does not immediately ring a bell, we'll remind you that she did twenty-three illustrated storybooks about Peter Rabbit. Her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901) told about a rabbit who disobeyed his mother's warning to stay out of Mr. McGregor's garden. Most of us with children remember reading, "Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were--Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter." On this date in 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur successfully tested an antirabies vaccine on a boy bitten by an infected dog. On July 6, 1923, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed. Former first lady Nancy Reagan celebrates her birthday today as does President George W. Bush.

A middle-aged couple with German roots now living in New Jersey took great delight in telling me all about Benton as we each nibbled on a pork barbeque sandwich at the O.A.T.S. Festival Saturday afternoon.

They admitted that they didn't know much about rural communities. They were convinced that they liked what they saw Back Home in Benton, PA. Somehow these bluegrass fans thought that the original settlers of Benton were primarily farmers who lived in Benton and tended to their farms in the outlying area. They were relying on the stories they had heard about their relatives from the Rhineland region of Germany who lived in a village for protection--although whatever threat they once had was long since gone.

The couple threw around terms like "village" and "town," which in Pennsylvania have no legal status. I suppose the lowest fruit on the tree would be the hamlet, followed by the village followed by the town. The terms do not represent a form of government and therefore have to be part of a township which the state of Pennsylvania does recognize. Both the village and the town (we aren't talking about the "town" of Bloomsburg, an exception to the rule) are governed by the township government.

As a general rule, Pennsylvania divides into counties, townships, cities and boroughs. Townships were established in some cases in advance of anyone living in some of the townships. Townships get classified as first-class townships and second-class townships. It has nothing to do with the quality of people living there. A first-class township has a minimum of three hundred people per square mile and the people living in the township have to agree to become first-class through the means of a referendum. The rest of the townships are second-class.

The settlements in our state primarily sprung up where roads crossed or where traders met on a highway. The stream or creek along the mill was often the geographical dividing line between one village and another. Many of our villages came about when an ambitious person named the post office after himself, or built a grist mill or lumber mill to promote trade from elsewhere. The settlement supplied the farmer and the members of the village with the meager supplies needed to get on with life. The creation of a mill made the settlement an attractive place to live, and a general store and a blacksmith shop were logical next additions. Other craftsmen soon put down roots in the community. Soon farmers bought or traded store goods for excess products produced.

Water power was important to the early communities. Soon bridges sprung up to cross the creek so that the mill could be accessed from several directions. Pennsylvania is a state with many place names, often stemming from the water-powered mill. The suffix "mill" turned into "Millville," "Millford," "Milton," "Millcreek," etc. In some settlements, the French "ville" was tacked on to a family name to create tongue twisters like Schnecksville. In many cases, the English "town" was added to names, such as "Bendertown." There were the towns of German origin using the word "burg," such as Harrisburg. Sometimes what appears now to be unrelated words get added to each other producing places like "Hummels Wharf." Our state is full of names of settlements with suffixes such as land, bend, ford, field and dale. Several towns were named after old taverns and inns. Many settlements are named after Indians.

At one time, there were mills in the small communities for flour, meal, feed, linseed oil and cider. Soon there would be a tavern, a church or two sprung up, a school became a necessity. A hamlet thus passed to the village stage and eventually to a borough stage. You get the picture.

I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree.
Indeed, unless the billboards fall
I'll never see a tree at all.
--Ogden Nash

Communities were generally self-contained. The residents went to the same church. They rarely visited outside of the community. Others would come into the community to trade or shoo a horse or get the mail or go to church, but they then returned to their homes outside the community. The "village-folk" then traded news, gossip, argued about politics or played a game of checkers. As farmers "got up in years," they often retired from farming and turned the chores over to the kids. They built or bought a house in the settlement and moved off the farm--although often including an "out-kitchen where the family could work together, talk and be entertained when the grandchildren "came to call." Slowly the average age of the settlement increased as the elderly and the retired moved to an area with a larger concentration of people. Still, they "tended" their gardens and when help was needed on the farm they quickly and happily returned for the day. Many rose at "the crack of dawn," just as though they were still on the farm. Winters were difficult when there was little to do. They fretted over the state of the farm, but didn't want to interfere with the lives of their children. Some "wouldn't sit still" for this dormant life and they became the squire of the village or they became a justice-of-the-peace. Some entered politics.

Rural American is very much alive and well as several thousand people discovered this weekend as their enjoyed their stay at the O.A.T.S. Festival. They discovered that small communities are thriving and well--whether it be honoring the ABC Person of the Week or giving a "Shake and Howdy" to a newcomer at the bluegrass festival.

		Mahlon and Donna Fritz July 5, 1958-July 5, 2008. Fifty years of marriage. The couple had an open house Saturday at Faith Bible Church, Orangeville.
Mahlon and Donna Hayman Fritz

July 5, 2008. It is the birthday of Chad Hartman, Michael Gordon, Keith Yorks, Jesse Whitenight and Harry McClure. It is the 50th wedding anniversary of Mahlon and Donna Fritz. The stage at the O.A.T.S. Festival looked great Friday with the addition of decorations of live plants furnished by Stoney Acres Nursery. Whether it is for the Community Center or civic improvement or for pickers from out of town, Stoney Acres always comes through! It was beautiful weather Friday and with a high of 78° and only a chance of thunderstorms, it should be a super day today. The Benton News will be reduced in size for the next week while I am in North Carolina.

ABC's Person of the Week was Millville's Art Albertson, 85, a gas-station owner, veteran, neighbor and Grand Marshall of the Millville Parade, the annual "must-do" Fourth of July happening in the area. How did someone in a town of 951 get that honor, you ask. First, take a look at the Fourth of July ABC 6:30 PM news. In that clip, which will only be available for a few days, Art says that "I don't believe I have any real duties to do. I'm just going to ride around and enjoy everything." Art went "through the war from Normandy, clear through to central Berlin to the Elbe River to Magdeburg, where we met the Russians," Art remembered on the nightly news show, "and in between it was rough." He was only 19 when he landed on an Utah Beach in the D-Day invasion of Normandy June 6, 1944. For the next ten months, he marched through Belgium, Holland and Germany as a scout, much of the time behind enemy lines, part of a reconnaissance team in the Army's 30th Infantry division. He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his efforts. ABC could not have picked a man who better knew service and sacrifice!

Oh, no! It is time for another dreaded quiz as part of my adventure before dementia. You'll find the answer to the quiz at the end of today's report. Here is the question. Sidney wakes up and learns there has been a overnight power blackout. He doesn't have a watch and his grandfather clock had wound down. He rewound the grandfather clock and set the clock to noon (a guess on his part). Sidney was due at Larry's house to help him make hay. He walked the country road to Larry's farm and discovered that Larry had blackout problem, too. Larry has a watch. Sidney asks the time, they make their hay and as Sidney is leaving he asks the time again. He discovers he has been there for five and a half hours. Once home, he looks at the grandfather clock and resets it to the correct time. Assuming the power is still out and Sidney is still without a watch, how does he know the time?

There is an old saying that "If one is investing in precious stones, it is unwise to ask a fish vendor for an opinion." Please keep that in mind as you read the following paragraphs about gas drilling in the Marcellus shale.

In the business of leasing gas-drilling rights, there are few standard leases. The landmen the landowner deals with will provide a "standard lease," but by now you know that is slanted in one direction! There are some terms associated with gas leasing you should understand. Even if you do understand the basics you should consult an attorney. Here are some definitions that are basic to gas and oil leasing.
. "Lease." Go to www.lectlaw.com/def/l015.htm for definition.

. "Lessee." Go to www.lectlaw.com/def/l026.htm for definition.

. "Lessor." A person or entity who owns property to which a lessee receives use and possession in exchange for money.

. "Assignment." Go to www.lectlaw.com/def/a080.htm for definition. Generally, it means that another energy company or operator wants to take over the lease from the previous lessor.

. "Conveyance." Go to www.lectlaw.com/def/c310.htm for definition. Generally it means that rights are being sold.

. "Severance." Go to www.lectlaw.com/def2/s150.htm for definition. Generally it means that once signed the oil and gas and frequently other minerals are separated from the surface land forever. Many landowners lost their mineral rights when they were severed from the land by timber companies during the timber boom around 1900. The owner of mineral rights may be one of any number of heirs. Landmen are busy in the land-records rooms of court houses tracking down true owners of mineral rights.

. "Rule of capture." A legal doctrine that oil and gas pumped from a well belongs to the operator of the well, even if the oil or gas had been sucked from under a neighbor's land. Many oil wells are drilled closely together for this reason. Under common law, "rule of capture" permits the first person to drill a well that taps into a pool of oil and gas to remove all of that oil and gas even though it may extend under other properties, without paying the other owners." If you are in a "group" and a well is drilled on your neighbor's land but not on yours, you will receive money for it. If you are not in a group and you eventually sink a gas well on your property but the gas has been sucked dry you will not receive a production royalty. Joining a group makes a lot of sense for owners with small acreage. Proposed legislation now under consideration in Pennsylvania could alter this rule in the future.

. "Shut-In Royalty." A payment stipulated in the gas lease, which royalty owners receive in lieu of actual production, when a gas well is "shut-in" due to lack of a market for the product, a lack of facilities to produce the product, or other reasons defined in the gas lease. This comes into play when a company finds gas, but doesn't access it for some reason. The royalty owner would nonetheless get a royalty even though the gas is not removed.

A gas lease will include a legal description of the land with tax-map number. It will spell out how long the lease will remain in effect and the royalty that will be paid, which, as an example, could be $1,500 per acre and 15% of the gas. Some lessors are receiving a sign-on bonus. Leases can be written for certain depths--the rule is that they can be altered to meet specific requirements of driller and landowner.

Pooling--sharing by several mineral owners that border each other geographically--is being used in some leases and some of the landowners who have signed or are about to sign in the upper Fishingcreek valley are in a shared arrangement or "group." When minerals are found in one member's lease area, all members of the pool will get a share.

Lessors should determine the history of the company offering the lease. Complaints, if any, are lodged with the Department of Environmental Protection Oil and Gas Division. You can call them in Harrisburg at 717 772-2199. Please understand that all complaints are not justified. Some are lodged because landowners felt they did not receive fair payment for rights and some are lodged by surface owners who do not own the mineral rights but who are inconvenienced by the drilling.

Keep in mind the basic rules of business law. A written lease is binding if the basic elements of a contract are present. Verbal agreements are not enforceable, and the lease could be transferred to numerous brokers and drillers before the actual drilling takes place. The lease must be fair to both parties and is certainly a gamble for both parties. Don't get caught up in the "gasicane" going on in our area and get hurt. Keep educated by heading to the Natural Gas Lease Forum and the introduction to gas leases at http://gas-lease.org/.

Sidney was able to set the correct time by looking at the grandfather clock when he got home. Let's say it showed 6:10. Six hours and 10 minutes had elapsed since he left. He spent 5 1/2 hours at Bob's. That meant his total travel time was 40 minutes. So he added 20 minutes to the time he left Larry's and set the clock.

 

July 4, 2008. On this day in 1910, a major portion of the Borough was devastated by fire. It is the birthday of Rachel McKeel, Joe Curtin, Matt Crusan--and of America. It is the wedding anniversay of Don and Loraine Foote.

It is the Fourth of July and lets think what the original day or celebration was like. Some readers may conjure up visions of that first event as one in which a bunch of men of dignity sat around Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the Continental Congress in ruffled shirts, long-cloth coats, knee pants, silk stockings and low shoes listening spellbound to a strange and new "Declaration of Independence."

Some might envision the house thundering their agreement and thanking Mr. Jefferson for the fine wording. Some might picture the delegates to Congress hurrying forward to quickly affix their signatures to a sheepskin document. Others might think of the ringing of the liberty bill and the masses of people who assembled for the occasion, happy that they were no longer a British subject. They were suddenly free Americans.

It didn't quite happen that way as I remember reading the story, but that is not to burst your bubble of what really happened on the first Fourth of July. The day does symbolize the liberty for which the patriots of that time stood ready to sacrifice their lives in order to get the newly formed United States jump-started.

Consider the times. Some colonists still loved the mother country with true English pride, while others were so bitter with England that they willing gave everything they had to the cause of the new land. How hard it must have been to repudiate the sovereignty of George III which would have made them rebels with the strong possibility of being crushed by the wealth and power of England.

During the latter part of 1774, even George Washington wrote that no thinking man among the colonists wanted to separate from England. Benjamin Franklin ridiculed the idea, writing that he had never heard of anyone, "drunk or sober," express any sentiments for making a new nation. In fact, many would have thought of the idea as treason. Jefferson only heard the first whisper of getting out from under the power of Great Britain in mid-April, 1775. The inevitable didn't come until the spring of 1776.

A decision was made to convene the colonies on the first of July in order that delegates not previously instructed could receive orders on how to cast their vote. So as not to waste time, Congress appointed a committee of five to prepare a declaration of independence. Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson as chairman served on this committee. It was important that a Southerner write the declaration in order to increase the probability that it would be unanimously adopted. The pen of Jefferson was chosen, although history now convinces us that he didn't act alone and that the advice and counsel of all was needed. The Legislature then put the bill aside until the matter could come up to the entire Congress. A trial vote was held July 1 and only nine colonies were in favor.

The Fourth of July Congress met and immediately formed into a large committee to consider what now was called the Declaration of Independence. The President of the Congress was John Hancock, who announced that the committee agreed to the declaration. What happened next isn't exactly known since certainly many thought that they would be killed if the way they voted was made a matter of public record, but it took all day to resolve. There were changes, clauses taken out, matters involving slave trade left for resolution on another day. Some amendments were added.

By the end of the day, the Second Continental Congress had been unanimously endorsed the declaration by all thirteen colonies, and the United States officially broke from the rule of England.

John Adams the next day wrote to his wife saying, "Yesterday the greatest question was decided that was ever debated in America, and a greater perhaps, never was nor never will be decided among men." Adams then wrote a second letter in which he felt that the anniversary of the day should be celebrated by succeeding generations. Adams felt that the day should be celebrated by "deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty" and that it should be celebrated with pomp and parade, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illumination from "one end of the continent forevermore." It is interesting to note that both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third Presidents, died on this day in 1826.

The July 4 observance has not always been so highly respected. A fellow by the name of Hosea Biglow once wrote,
"Folks don't want Fourth of July t' interfere
With the business consarns o' the rest of the year."

Another sarcastic comment about the holiday actually came from Abraham Lincoln who wrote, "The Fourth of July has not quite dwindled away; it is still a great day--for burning fireworks." However you celebrate the day, have a hoot!

Kathryne Kile (March 12, 1921-July 3, 2008), Hellertown, originally from Sugarloaf Township, died Thursday in Bethlehem. She was 87. She was a daughter of the late Walter F. and Deborah (Peterman) Kile. She graduated from Benton High School in 1939. She was employed for 22 years at Champion Spark Machine Shop, Hellertown, and by Hellertown Manufacturing Co., Hellertown. Surviving are daughters Robin K. Thomas, Downingtown, and Randi J. Ratushny, Hellertown. Brothers and sisters are Leo W. Kile, Wayne W. Kile and Dorothy J. Thomas. Preceding her in death was her husband, Nicholas J. Ratushny. Services are private at the convenience of the family. The John P. Feeney Funeral Home Inc., Reading, provided the arrangements.
--Obituary courtesy of the Press Enterprise, where a complete obituary can be found

Spirits at the O.A.T.S. Festival last night were not dampened by the weather. A large crowd chose to sit under the tent at the rear of stage center and a new tent has been added at stage right, almost directly in front of the food stand run by the Old Filling Station. Under Danny Stewart's Jam Tent, twelve to fourteen at a time played and a crowd ringed the tent. Leg-Liftin' Karl Shiflett with his Big Country Show was a popular group last night playing his Bill Monroe style music. Another hit was the Doerfels, an amazing 12-member family-bluegrass band of two parents and ten kids, riding around the United States in a 40-foot bus. Sample their music here. The popular local group, Stained Grass Window, performed and the crowd was enthusiastic to have them back later in the weekend.

Today at the O.A.T.S. festival will be David Davis and the Warrior River Boys, Pine Mountain Railroad, Dan Paisley and Southern Grass, The Doerfel Family, and Chris Jones and the Night Drivers, plus three regional bands, Hillbilly Gypsies, Folk Spirits, and Hillbilly Water. David Davis and the Warrior River Boys is making its third OATS appearance on Friday. Pine Mountain Railroad will appeal to hard-core bluegrass fans. The Doerfel Family is a bluegrass group made up of twelve family members. Dan Paisley is lead singer and rhythm guitarist in a bluegrass group founded by his father, Bob Paisley. The group has appeared at seven OATS Festivals. Listen live by tuning in 89.5 on your FM radio.

The entertainment begins at 10:50 with Folk Spirits. At 11:45 AM, Hillbilly Water climbs on center stage. 12:40 a.m. David Davis and the Warrior River Boys are on at 12:40 AM and 7:05 PM. Pine Mountain Railroad is up at 1:35 and 8 PM. Chris Jones and the Night Drivers appear at 2:30 and 8:55 PM. The great Dan Paisley and the Southern Grass appear at 3:25 and 9:50 PM. Hillbilly Gypsies appear at 4:20 PM and 10:45 PM and Hillbilly Water is on at 5:15 PM. The Doerfel Family appears at 6:10 PM.

Natural gas drilling...
. Near Pittsburgh, some are concerned about methane gas as a result of gas-well drilling. East Vandergrift residents are protesting the reopening of a gas production operation next to their houses that was shut down in late May due to methane gas leaking from what is believed to be an abandoned well at a depth of about 3,500 feet while water under high pressure was being injected into the mine.

. In Hickory, also in western Pennsylvania, townships are beginning to require drilling companies to post a bond for road repair before beginning the drilling process in order to compensate for road damage. Many townships are hoping that the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) will get into the act, too. PSATS has advised the House Transportation Committee that, due to the sudden rise in road maintenance costs, the amount limits of bonds from haulers should be raised. This is a subject that County Commissioner Chris Young says the Commissioners will take up with their counterparts in Susquehanna County later this month.

 

July 3, 2008. It is the birthday of Frank Vincent, Sandra Kelsey and Christina Savage Guillen.

On the mend...
. Richard Sutliff was released from the hospital in Naperville, Illinois, yesterday, and is now facing a month of rehabilitation in a center in that city.
. William Hess is in rehabilitation at Geisinger Hospital's Health South following a minor stroke .

The O.A.T.S. bluegrass festival begins tonight with two nationally acclaimed headliners following the traditional "Grillbillie" covered dish dinner at 4 PM in which everyone on the grounds is invited to bring a dish and join in.

The Karl Shiflett Big Country Show comes on the stage at 6:55 and 9:40 PM. Karl Shiflett and his band presents music you might have heard on the "Grand Ol' Opry" or "Louisiana Hayride" stage fifty years ago. In fact, the group even creates its recordings in the manner of the 1950s. Karl Shiflett's vocal style is "hard core and uncompromising," and the group provides musical backing that is spontaneous and alive. The Doerfel Family are on stage Friday night at 8:45. The "Family" is made up of five related members aged 12 to 19. This band has been named by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America as one of the ten top instrumental bands.

The O.A.T.S. evening entertainment begins at 6 with Aimless Pursuit, a Southeast Pennsylvania band voted "favorite regional band" at the 2007 Wind Gap Bluegrass Festival. Their album Paradise at Last is a favorite. The group also ends the stage entertainment portion of the show at 10:35. The popular local group, Stained Grass Window, appears at 7:50.

Oatsfestival, Inc. is presenting their ninth annual OATS ("Out Among the Stars") Bluegrass Festival through July 6 at the Benton Rodeo Grounds. Twenty groups will perform at this year's festival. Tickets are available at the gate. A ticket for the entire weekend includes free camping. Tickets may also be purchased for each day. In Benton, follow the "Bluegrass Festival" signs to the Rodeo Grounds.

Quickies...
. The vacant Grid Iron Bar, Main Street, Lopez, was broken into in mid-June and about $300 in quarters taken.

. The Greenwood Friends "Head of School," Brenda Boggess, took over her new position July 1 bringing with her a combination of familiarity and experience in independent schools, including three other Friends schools. Since 2002, she has taught language arts, socials studies, science, and math in a fifth-grade classroom at State College Friends School. Brenda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Guilford College, has done graduate work at the University of Wisconsin in Women's Studies, Social Work, and Statistics, and at the Earlham School of Religion towards a Master of Divinity with a concentration on Pastoral Care and Counseling. Greenwood Friends School has a growing student body and a dynamic new head which should bring new energy to the school, including Camp Invention which comes to Greenwood during the last week of July. For more information about the school, visit their web site or call 570 458-5532.

. Don't let your worries get the best of you. Remember that Moses started out as a basket case.

. The Towanda Daily Review reports that Rep. Jim Wansacz, D-Old Forge, sponsored a bill requiring well operators to install meters that display the volume of natural gas being removed. The newspaper also reports that Rep. Sandra Major, R-Bridgewater Township, has a bill to prevent gas drilling under lands not covered by a lease agreement.

. Except for the area immediately around the Benton Rodeo Grounds and the O.A.T.S. bluegrass festival, showers and thunderstorms are expected Thursday through Sunday.

Rain or shine, today begins the dog days of summer. When I was growing up, the ponds and slowly moving water in Fishingcreek were covered with a green slimy scum during dog days which apparently has now been transferred as algae to China just in time for the Olympics. Dog days to me meant weather sticky and hot when the mosquitoes and flies stuck to my hide closer than a flannel shirt shrunk like a bung in a barrel as father used to say. Dog days, when I was growing up, meant doors and windows stuck so tight they wouldn't open when we needed them open. I was always hot and miserable. One summer, I told Mother that I was going to leave home if she didn't do something about the heat. She didn't and neither did I!

When I was a small boy, Mother had me convinced that swimming was a time to be careful if done during dog days. I believed that cramps could seize a swimmer in dog days, especially if there was green scum on the top of the water.

Few who call this hot weather "dog days" really know how the term started. The old Greeks paid a lot of attention to the stars. They let astronomy go to the dogs when they called the brightest star in the sky the dog-star. Its other name is Sirius.

An old tradition of dog days is that if the dog days are clear the remainder of the year will be bright and prosperous. If there is much rain the outlook is bad.

During dog days the things that are the busiest are the Snedekers of the world, the people who are the long-range weather prophets, invariably wrong in their forecasts; and the farmers who are compelled to make a living from the land. Clouds seem to bring rain upon the slightest provocation, rain dampens picnics, thundershowers ruin the hay crop and the life in the insect colony thrives during dog days. Somehow man survives and after the rain, thunder, lightening and clouds the sun shines for days at a time, the mornings are cloudless and the evenings are serene. Life Back Home in Benton, PA, is ideal and the city folks who come calling are happy to be here, while the county folks count the gains of the season and harvest the crops and say, on the whole, that it was the worst summer they ever experienced.

Dog days are back. No one will say they enjoy them.

Didja ever notice that friends don't always face each other,
but always stand side by side facing the world.

Mr. Doom and Gloom reporting here...
Former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as saying "We have fiddled away four years in which Europe tried to persuade Iran to give up voluntarily." He continued, "Iran in those four years mastered uranium conversion from solid to gas and now enrichment to weapons grade. Bolton predicts that Israel is likely to attack Iran between the November presidential election in the U.S. and the inauguration of the new president. Israel may attack because Iran will not give up its nuclear development program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel. An attack, if it came, would certainly result the launch of missiles at Israel and on oil shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz through which two-fifths of all globally-traded oil passes.

Didja ever notice that the squeaky wheel
gets the first drop of oil,
but is also the first to get replaced?

 

July 2, 2008. It is the birthday of Tracy Fritz, Dimi Marinos, David Chapin and Dennis Threlkeld. It is the wedding anniversary of Tom and Jackie Becker, Brian and Tracy Hess, and Bill and Agnes Hess.

On this day in 1863 during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, battle lines were drawn in two sweeping parallel arcs with the Confederate and Union armies facing each other a mile apart. The Union forces along Cemetery Ridge over to Culp's Hill were formed in the shape of a fish-hook, while Confederate forces were spread along Seminary Ridge. General Robert E. Lee ordered General James Longstreet to attack the Union's southern flank at the hills known as Little Round Top and Big Round Top at the southernmost end of Cemetery Ridge. These hills would have given the Confederates a good vantage point from which to attack the Union line. General Longstreet was slow to advance on the hills, but got to the base of Little Round Top before Union General G. K. Warren caught on, fending off the Confederate attack.

Local landowners continue the delicate balancing act of signing a gas lease versus preserving the outdoors as it is today. Our area is suddenly part of a "super-giant" gas field with exact numbers impossible to pin down. What appears to be clear is that natural gas will be enough to supply the entire United States for about two years at a wellhead value of about a trillion dollars! Last night was "get off the pot" night for a number of landowners as the final decision to sign or not to sign needed to be made. One local barber decided that he was "50% certain" that he would sign.

Here is something to help make your decision on whether to sign or not. The Marcellus shale in this and three adjacent states is said to be four times larger than the natural gas supply in the state of Texas. In the state of Texas, we read that landowners are getting something like $21,000 an acre to sign.

Didja ever think that a good story is at its best
when the line between truth and fiction is somewhat ambiguous?

Quickies...
. "Joe America" has some ideas for our presidential candidates. You might like them, too. You can find them here.

. Didja know that Pennsylvania has one of the largest elk herds east of the Mississippi? The state is home to about six hundred animals in an area of about 835-square miles in part or all of Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Clearfield, and Centre counties. A portion of southern Potter County is included because of the presence of elk in the Hammersley Wild Area.

Didja ever notice that when we want to do something
we will find a way, but the man who doesn't want to do something
will find an excuse?

It seemed like "old home week" at Kutztown Monday, a step back in time to the middle of the 19th century. For me, it was just as it always was with Mother. She loved wearing her sun bonnet whenever she went outside. She would not have been alone had she been at the Kutztown Folk Festival.

Younger readers probably won't understand sun bonnets. You won't see any in the local area, except in the Amish community. A sun bonnet is a close-fitting cap with a stiff-upper visor in the front, curved to fit to the contours of the face. There is a gathered part at the top of the head which gives a puffy effect with lots of space for the woman to pin up her hair and keep it out of her way, while keeping it clean and keeping her head cool. The bonnet ties on the bottom and if a wisp of wind should blow it from her head while she is "working the garden" the tie will keep the bonnet securely fastened around her neck.

The wearing of a head covering probably came from early Quaker settlers and gradually drifted into the Pennsylvania Dutch culture as part of the costume they wore. The bonnet was part of the lives of both religious and social groups.

Before the Civil War, the bonnet was a universally accepted part of the attire of women. As others abandoned the custom realizing that pure white skin was no longer attainable or fashionable in the farming community, the Pennsylvania Dutch women clung to the custom for both reasons of religion and practicality.

Custom and tradition have passed the sun bonnet from one generation to the next, and as one woman said, "Ve vear them chust 'cause ve always did." Mother made her sun bonnets from the same material as she used to make her dresses, her "left-overs" as she called them, and she often had an apron to match her bonnet. While the Pennsylvania Dutch use brightly colored material "chust for pretty," Mother, as I recall, used drab, colorless cotton material with an elastic band to make sure the wind didn't blow it off her head. The Pennsylvania Dutch generally feel that elastic is incompatible with their religious beliefs. The Amish sun bonnets are made of solid-colored material, the women wearing plain black and their children in smaller versions in solid colors other than black.

The elderly Mennonites in the Kutztown area wear a small black cap which fits on the back of their heads. At the Kutztown Folk Festival they wear the caps both inside a building and outside, but at home they possibly only wear them outside. Under their black cap, the Weibsleit (women) wear a smaller prayer covering. Younger Mennonites wear a bonnet that looks like a sugar scoop in the front with material to protect the neck from the sun. In fact, much of the face is hidden.

The next time you buy an outfit for a baby anywhere in the United States and it comes with a beautiful and practical bonnet, remember that it stemmed from a Pennsylvania sun bonnet. Babies don't have natural protection from the sun on the top of their heads or from the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter.

If you ever see a bonnet for sale or see the pattern to make one, go ahead and live on the wild side. Try one on and see "chust" how pretty you become. Don't be afraid to relive those sun-bonnet days!

 

July 1, 2008, the day in 1847 when the US Postal Service issued its first postage stamps to guarantee the government of a steady income from postal services. It is also the day in 1863 when the Battle of Gettysburg began when an estimated seventy-five thousand Confederate soldiers and about ninety-five thousand Union soldiers met.

Take the time to find a copy of the Wall Street Journal for June 30 and read about the "roadblocks" being thrown up to the gas-drilling companies accustomed to the royal treatment in exchange for economic benefit. They are finding increased red tape and restrictions on where they can drill thanks to a mix of environmentalists, hunters and landowners worried about producers encroaching with little regard for the noise, pollution or economic upheaval which comes part and parcel with large-scale energy development.

Didja ever notice that things that belong to us
don't seem as interesting
as those things that don't belong to us?

Quickies...
• Ainsley Mae Grigas was born June 30, 2008, at 10:50 AM at the Geisinger Medical Center, Danville. She is the first child of Teo and Tara Grigas, Benton. Ainsley weighed 8 lb 11 oz and measured 22 inches long. Proud grandparents are Richard H. Lehet and Colleen Bender, Benton, and Teo Grigas, Larksville, and Georgetta Roeder, Hunlock Creek. Great grandparents are Nancy Fox, Benton, and Henrietta Wolfe, Hunlock Creek. Great, great grandmother is Mary Janney, Benton. Mother and daughter are doing well.

• Bob Parks remembers when Grandma set her hot baked-apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her great granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

• Look for the possibility of the legislature slapping together some kind of a gas-well tax to replace what the state Supreme Court struck down in 2002.

• Didja know that you can get a free birthday smorgasbord meal at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord, East Earl, Pennsylvania, on the day of your birthday, when an additional adult smorgasbord meal is purchased at the same time and in the same paying party. You only get one free meal per birthday.

• Do you feel like attending a fair this summer? Go to http://pafairs.org/fsdate.asp for the list and dates.

. Congratulations to Dr. William Kuprevich, 61, Bloomsburg, chief medial officer for the U.S. Team and head physician for the boxing and weight-lifting teams at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing later this summer.

Clarification.
We used the acronym "MCF" recently without explanation and a reader asked about it. Gas volume is reported in "MCF." A "cubic foot of gas" or "standard cubic foot of gas" means the volume of gas, including natural and casinghead gas, contained in one cubic foot of space at a standard pressure base of 14.65 pounds per square inch absolute and at a standard temperature base of 60 F. If the conditions of pressure and temperature are different, the formula must be changed for those deviations.

The Benton News is coming to you from the Kutztown Folk Festival where what is tried and true is the order of the day. New and improved? Forget it! It is exactly the same event it has been since it opened in 1950--and that is what brings out the appeal to return to the Kutztown Fair Grounds. There is one change, and we'll tell you about it in a minute.

The craftsmen were the same, the songs were the same, the quilt designs were the same--heck, even the Amish were wearing the same outfits they wore the last time I was there!

For someone who doesn't know diddly about coverlets made on an 19th-century loom, for the small child in all men who can stand for five minutes and stare at the Hex Express, a train made from 55-gallon drums and pulled by a tractor, for those impressed with the tradition of great foods, or to plop your weary body down on a bale of hay as if it was the most comfortable Barca lounge in the world is heaven. Things to see include the beautiful Clydesdale horses, a llama in the petting zoo who sleeps lying down with its front legs straight out in front of its body, and Bill Meck who has replaced Professor Herman F. Schnitzel as the comedian of the Pennsylvania Dutch culture. And don't forget the drinks and the eats!

I'll mention the drinks first. The culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch is far different from that in Continental Europe. They abstain from alcohol, but have their share of good drinks. And some not so good! The most ancient of all drinks created by the Dutch is "Essich Schling," a vinegar- and sugar-water drink used in the fields during the hot grain and hay seasons. It has a sweet and a sour taste and one would certainly never over indulge with this drink! They don't just have iced teas, they have blue balsam, white balsam and spearmint tea. They make the usual compliment of drinks using oranges, lemons and limes, although a woman told me that lemonade is usually only served when the pastor comes to call (somewhat akin to "funeral pie," the local term for raisin pie, served only at funerals). Cider is popular because of all the apples in the area. And don't forget the fermented drinks such as root beer, birch beer, ginger beer and Sarsaparilla, all non-alcoholic made with yeast.

The church stand run by the Zion U.C.C. of Windsor Castle where I always have lunch ("Koom Rei, Huck Dich Un Essa," "Come in, Sit Down, and Eat!") serves about 16,000 people on average for the festival and they do it "family style." Yesterday I shared the table with people from New Jersey, Indiana, West Virginia and Kutztown. I know, I know. My midday meal could be funnel cakes, or sausage sandwiches, corn on the cob, watermelon, waffles and ice cream--or something of that nature. But I am still a growing boy who loves "Gute Essa," good eating"--and I certainly grew some after eating Monday!

Let me tell you about dessert. In addition to ice cream and shoe fly pie, they had "apple tarts" made overnight on premises, which was much like the milk pie Mother used to make, except it was made with brown sugar instead of white sugar.

Using statistics from a prior year, they serve over four tons each of chicken and ham. Each day they plan on 990 pounds of legs, 480 pounds of breasts, 120 pounds of wings and 30 pounds of gizzards. It takes about 250 members of the congregation and friends to provide the food. Yesterday's menu: ham, chicken, string beans, pot pie, potato filling, corn, "smier kase unlot warrick" (cottage cheese and apple butter), chow chow, pepper cabbage, celery and carrots, schnitz un knepp (dried apples and dumplings), bread and butter, beverage and dessert. A church member was quick to point out that there was no "foreign beef served, no 'store-bought' pies, and no California string beans."

So what is the change in Kutztown, you ask! The name has changed. The 56-year old annual folklife festival, known since 1996 as the "Kutztown Pennsylvania German Festival" now has its original name--Kutztown Folk Festival--back.