FRIGID WEATHER: The long-continued cold spell has been a record breaker, both in point of severity and in duration. Perhaps last Saturday morning saw the lowest temperature. In Montrose, at Burns’ Drug Store, the mercury stood at 14 below zero, although temperatures as low as 18 and so are reported at different points, 32 below zero at Rush, and 28 at Franklin Forks, as extremes; 35 below also comes from Rushville and Brooklyn, modest as usual, claimed but 20 below.

HALLSTEAD: T. J. Connors, a Lackawanna engineer, set his clothes on fire at Nicholson Friday night and was quite seriously burned by a torch igniting his overalls. He tore the burning garment off but the flames reached his legs and his hands were scorched. In spite of his burns Connors ran his engine from Nicholson to Clark’s Summit and then back to Halstead, making the round trip of fifty-six miles. Since reaching his home he has been threatened with pneumonia due to the accident and exposure.

SUSQUEHANNA: John Leslie, one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of Susquehanna, died on Jan. 12, 1912, in Scranton, where he had been for the past month undergoing medical treatment. Mr. Leslie was for many years one of the leading marble dealers but his mind had been in bad shape, mentally, for the past two years.

FOREST CITY: The feet of Frank Eustice, a peddler of Leggart St., Forest City, aged 50 years, were amputated at the State hospital in Scranton last Thursday morning. Eustice, on Wednesday last, while walking along the road near Uniondale, came to an empty farm house, which he entered, intending to rest awhile. His feet were cold, so taking off his shoes he wrapped his coat around his feet and lying down fell asleep. On awakening he found that his feet were so swollen it was impossible to replace his shoes and he was forced to walk three miles barefooted. His feet were so frozen by the walk it was found necessary to send him to the hospital in Scranton where it was discovered amputation was imperative.

MONTROSE: Automobiles have been flitting about our streets regardless of the zero weather. They are fast becoming an all the year round vehicle even in freezing latitudes. We see Mr. Ballantine’s machine almost every day, and Landlord Horton is a persistent auto user.

UNIONDALE/TIRZAH: George Giles, of Tirzah, had the misfortune of letting his team get away from him last Friday. He was getting ready to take his milk to Herrick Station; he had loaded milk in the sleigh when the team became frightened and ran; they made for Johnson Hill, which is very steep and 1/2 mile long. They unloaded the milk along the route and were caught near Harry Howells. One of the horses was injured quite badly. ALSO, a bevy of school girls from Uniondale School went for a straw ride last Saturday; the weather was fine and they reported a lively ride, visiting the Forest City Poor Farm and Herrick Centre. They ate candy, sang songs, cracked jokes and had a huge time.

HEART LAKE: The home of Amos Rose was burned Wednesday evening. The interior of the building was in flames when Mrs. Rose made the discovery, the odor of burning wood causing her to investigate. On opening a stairway door the flames burst forth, and the three inmates had barely time to escape with their lives, being unable to save but little of the household goods. Mr. Rose was working at Heart Lake at the time and arrived when only the burning embers of his home remained. The goods were insured for $200.

FOWLER HILL: John Wooton, who went to Sayre hospital some weeks ago, has not returned home yet, but is improving at this writing.

CLIFFORD: Prof. Lyndon Auers (Ayers?), who traded his Philadelphia property for Peter White’s, in this place, has now traded the latter for Hiram Rivenburg’s farm and Mr. Rivenburg, whose health is poor, will occupy the White property.

FAIRDALE: Will we see you there? Where? At church next Sunday. Your presence would be an inspiration to others. In short, we need your help and you need ours. Come!

LYNN, SPRINGVILLE: Our oldest citizens say this is the coldest weather we have had in 18 years. The cold has, in many places, penetrated the cellars, many losing their apples and potatoes.

NEW MILFORD: Mrs. C. R. Bailey has a supply of feather beds made from live geese feathers which are doing no one any good and could be obtained by addressing her at New Milford. A reasonable sum would be required for packing and expressing, as the newspapers say.

FRIENDSVILLE: The homes of Miss Louisa Whelan, sister of the late Rev. J. B. Whelan, of Scranton, and Mrs. Ann Tierney, an aged lady, were totally destroyed by fire at an early hour Tuesday morning. The fire started in Mrs. Tierney’s residence first and in a few moments the house of Miss Whalen was ablaze. Kind neighbors are caring for Mrs. Tierney and Miss Whelan has been cared for at St. Francis Xavier’s rectory, since the fire. Miss Whelan carried $1500 insurance and Mrs. Tierney, $900.

MASON AND DIXON LINE: The name Mason and Dixon line has been popularly applied to the whole divisory line between free and slave soil, but properly it belongs only to the south boundary of Pennsylvania, surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, 1763-67. For over 100 years this line was a bone of contention. England sent Mason and Dixon to the colonies to make an official survey which was to be final. At the end of every 5th mile of this line a stone, brought from England, was placed, engraved on one side with the coat of arms of Lord Baltimore, and on the other with those of the Penn's; while the intermediate miles were marked by smaller stones, 16” square and 18” high, bearing a letter M on one side and P on the other. The line is 280 miles long.

CIVIL WAR VETERANS: It is a coincidence that a single issue of the “Montrose Democrat” chronicles the death of two men who were with Gen. Sherman in his historic march to the sea. Only two days intervened between their deaths. One was Isaac Hart, of Fairdale, born in 1841, who served in Co. B. 17th Pennsylvania cavalry. He was captured during one of the engagements and taken to Salisbury, N.C., where he was confined in a Confederate prison until the surrender of Gen. Johnson. The second was Charles M. Sherman, of Montrose, born in 1836. When the war broke out he enlisted as a veterinary surgeon with the 9th Pennsylvania cavalry. He was with Sherman in the march that cut the Confederacy in two and also among the envied veterans who marched past the capitol, at Washington, in that historic review by President Lincoln.

NEW SONG HITS: There’s a Mother Old and Gray Who Needs Me Now, Years, Years Ago, Down in Melody Lane, The Undertaker Man, and Let Me Call You Sweetheart.

On Saturday, January 7, 2012, my stepfather, Thomas Conaty, died suddenly from an apparent heart attack. He was 55 years of age - and still so full of life. Over the past few days, memories that I had forgotten have flooded back bringing with them both tears and laughter. If you have followed this column over the years, you have read about the influence that my paternal grandmother and my mother had on me - and I want to pay Tom the same tribute.

I have been trying to think about how old I was when Tom came into my life - and I am thinking I was around 7 or so. I remember that I road home from my first baseball tryout with Tom and my mother - I made the team but my little brother did not. Actually, my little brother was probably too young to make the team, but he was still at the tryout. It was still hard - my brother and I did everything together - so I was upset as well because I felt bad about making the team and him not making it. Anyway, I remember Tom telling us about the time that his older brother made a baseball team - and he did not - and how hard it was for him too. At that time, Tom was probably only 22 years of age (he was 4 years younger than my Mom), but even then he knew the right things to say to make us feel a little better.

When my mother got ill, we had a private conversation where she wanted to make sure that I understood just how blessed we had been to have Tom. I am not sure why she felt the need to do this except to make sure that when she was “gone” that I would keep Tom in my life. She told me that after her divorce, she knew that if she ever got remarried that she had to pick the right man - not just for her, but for us. We were a package deal. This may seem like an obvious proposition, but experience tells us that some parents fail to consider how the new stepparent will interact with their children. It is not an easy situation - and it takes a very special and loving person to do it well - and Tom excelled at it.

Tom and my mother got married in June 1980, and I remember that they took us on their honeymoon. I heard my brother ask someone yesterday how many 24-year old husbands would take their new wives’ children along on their honeymoon - and want to do it. I suspect not many - but Tom never hesitating in sacrificing himself for us.

Tom never stopped moving, working and helping others. He went full tilt from the minute he got up in the morning until he laid his head down to sleep at night. Even when he stopped for meals, it really was a brief stop - and he could clean his plate in an astonishingly short period of time - and then he was off again. If the scanner went off in the middle of dinner, he would jump into his boots and off he went to help someone else. For 40 years, he responded to calls as a Silver Lake Volunteer Fireman - serving as the assistant fire chief for the last 19 years, and if he was around, he went to the call. In fact, the last time I saw Tom was the morning of his death, we passed in our cars and waved as he was driving back from an ambulance call.

At his viewing, there was a solid line of people for nearly 4 hours - and I cannot even guess how many people went through it - but I heard more stories than I can count about how Tom helped them in their time of need. If someone needed something, Tom provided it. It was his creed. It is not surprising that he was such an amazing stepparent - Tom’s life was guided by love.

The years leading up to my mother’s death were particularly difficult for him - trying to balance work and caring for his bedridden, terminally-ill wife. ALS is a terrible disease, but Tom faced it with a courage and grace that is frankly difficult to comprehend. As I watched him with my mother, I saw the sacramental nature of love - true love between a husband and a wife that transcends understanding and becomes truly divine. He was there for my mother - and he was still there for us, for his community, and for whoever needed him.

I remember when my mother gave birth to Tom’s first son, Sean in 1981. Tom left the hospital and got us out of school early to see our new little brother. He was so excited and full of joy and energy. Before we got to the hospital, Tom talked to us about whether we would feel comfortable calling him Dad now. He was concerned about Sean getting confused if we kept on calling him Tom. For whatever reason, we never did call him Dad, and he never mentioned it again that I can recall. I cannot say whether it ever bothered him - he would never have told us if it did. It was not his way.

Rest in Peace, Dad.

Please submit any questions, concerns, or comments to Susquehanna County District Attorney’s Office, P.O. Box 218, Montrose, Pennsylvania 18801 or at our website www.SusquehannaCounty-DA.org or discuss this and all articles at http://dadesk.blogspot.com/.

The Susquehanna County Library location in Susquehanna is celebrating a milestone in 2012 - ten years in its present location. To mark this occasion, the Susquehanna County Library Committee will assist branch Librarian Amelia Paterno in holding an open house on Thursday, February 2 from 10 a.m. to noon and then again from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

We invite you to stop in on February 2. If you have not visited our Susquehanna location in the past, use this event to stop in at our place at 83 Erie Boulevard-Suite C, adjacent to the Borough Building. The library is all on one floor and has a very friendly staff.

Evergreen, the new statewide library circulation system, launches on January 23. This system replaces the Millennium system that we have been using since 2002. Although the staff of each location has been receiving training for several months, they will have not had live access to Evergreen before January 23.

To make this transition run more smoothly, all library locations will be closed on that day. If things go well, we may open later in the day, so please call your local library before paying them a visit on January 23. No fines will be charged that day.

The year 2012 looks to be a very interesting year - a year of hot topics. Keep yourself informed. Borrow books to keep yourself up-to-date. Remember it is the goal of the Susquehanna County Library to be your resource for lifetime learning. Visit often!