Franklin Twp. - "Four Living Brothers, All in Two Greatest Battles of the Civil War." Aaron Stockholm enlisted in 1861 in the 44th NY. He re-enlisted in 1864 and was discharged at the close of the war. John Stockholm enlisted in 1862 in the 141st Pennsylvania and was discharged at the end of the war. George Stockholm, youngest brother, enlisted in the 151st in 1862, for 9 months, and re-enlisted in the 1st NY Mounted Rifles in 1864 and served to the end of the war. Jacob Palmer, a brother-in-law, enlisted in the same regiment and was also honorably discharged. All four were present at two of the greatest battles, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Aaron was on Little Round Top, the second day at Gettysburg, as was John, George and Mr. Palmer. John and Jacob were at the now famous Peach Orchard, when they were driven back. All the color guards were shot down and John, although wounded in the arm, ran back and brought both state flag and the stars and stripes. Jacob was wounded at Mine Run, through the thigh, and pieces of bone came out for 20 years after, which made him a cripple ever since. George was located at the old Theological Seminary and was in the First Army Corps that was engaged in battle the first day of July, was taken prisoner on the retreat through Gettysburg, and laid behind the Rebel lines during the rest of the battle, as the other troops did not come up until late that night and the next day. He has a Rebel canteen that was given him in exchange for his, that was full of water.
East Rush - This quiet little hamlet was in tumult one day last week when the news was flashed over the wire that the 8 year old child of Judson Bell's had been kidnapped from the home of C. L. Hughes. No reason so far has been asked for now nor no record offered. Detectives are in hopes to run down the guilty parties.
Kingsley - The M. E. Aid Society met with Mrs. Will Bennett last Thursday, 46 were present. They sewed 21 lbs. of carpet rags, added to the treasury about $7 and had a royal good time. Mrs. G. C. Finn photographed the crowd.
South Gibson - Leonard Hoal has purchased a new automobile of Ralph Tiffany, who is agent for the Buick make of machines. ALSO Philura Powers celebrated her 95th birthday June 14. She is very active and retains all her faculties. She has recently pieced a quilt for Mrs. George Stevens, to be forwarded to the State of Washington. South Gibson has two others, Curtis Howell and Mrs. Sabra Carpenter, who are well in the nineties.
Fowler Hill, Auburn Twp. - We think Mrs. James Marbaker is the champion lemon raiser. She has a lemon tree which has several lemons and also a blossom, and one that has ripened that is 12" around and 13 1/2" in length. West Auburn - We will all miss that grand old soldier, George Brotzman, who passed away June 14.
Montrose - The band rendered a fine concert from the porch of the Montrose House Saturday evening. ALSO Rough and Ready's Minstrels, which are scheduled to appear at Colonial Theatre on July 23d, are not only for a beneficial cause but to give to the dull routine of every day life a little laughter, a little music, and a little of that beautiful land of make-believe. If we do this and send you away from the doors with a smile we will feel assured that our efforts have not been in vain. Special permission was obtained to use some of the songs, music, etc., used last season in the New York Hippodrome. The first Minstrel Troupe appeared in 1843, five years before Rough & Ready was organized. You old timers, come and see how minstrels have improved.
Uniondale - Jesse, the young son of James Burns, is suffering from a broken arm, the result of falling from overhead in a barn.
Elk Lake - Don't meditate where you will spend the Fourth, but "put on your old gray bonnet with the blue ribbon on it and hitch old Dobbin to the shay," and come to Elk Lake.
Heart Lake - This is our last chance to impress upon the people that the best balloon ascension ever seen in Susquehanna county will be seen here, July 4th.
South Montrose - The mail car on the Montrose branch of the Lehigh Valley railroad took fire from the stove on the morning of the 15th and it was necessary to stop the train near here, get out the kit of emergency tools and chop a hole in the roof to extinguish it. The car is an old one which is kept for use while the regular car is being repaired and the heating apparatus had no fire brick in it, which permitted the wood-work to become over-heated.
Laurel Lake, Silver Lake Twp. - Miss Lydia Hill, assisted by Mrs. Asher Hill, gave a children's party last Saturday afternoon. The time was spent in games and in displaying their dolls. All returned home happy after tea.
St. Joseph - The funeral of Thomas E. O'Connell, formerly of here and a New York policeman, was held Friday morning at 10 in St. Joseph's Church, Rev. J. P. Dunn, of Friendsville officiated and preached the funeral sermon. The pall bearers were Thomas O'Connell, Michael O'Connell, George Kane and James Healy, all patrolmen of New York, who were sent by the commissioner of police. Burial was in St. Joseph's Cemetery.
Susquehanna - James E. Paye was engaged in business in Montrose on Monday. Mr. Paye is a pleasant man to meet, always refreshing and with some new thought and with such a strong individuality that to think of Susquehanna is to think of Mr. Paye. And Mr. Paye will sell you a piano--while you wait. ALSO One hundred horses will be sold at auction here on Monday.
Great Bend - Demer Brothers, of this place, have recently employed a number of new glass cutters; business is booming here in this line.
Hop Bottom - The ground is getting very dry, making the dust from the autos very disagreeable to property owners.
I was talking to my veterinarian, Dr. Sullivan, and the topic came up about the legal obligations that pet owners have toward their pets. Dr. Sullivan properly noted just how much pets provide to us – unconditional love that has translated into a myriad of positive healthy side effects for pet owners. He talked about studies that revealed that pet ownership helped to alleviate depression, anxiety and loneliness and that families with pets have been shown to have less instances of mental illness. Dr. Sullivan also told me that there were studies showing that pets help to lower blood pressure as well as helping people cope with pain with less medication. Pets are just plain good for you and your family.
Pets also come with the legal obligation to care for them. Dr. Sullivan passed on a form from the ASPCA regarding pet care costs – and it was pretty interesting to see just how much you should plan to spend on a pet in the first year of ownership. For a dog, the costs ranged from $1,300 to $1,800 depending upon the breed; both a cat and rabbit were right around $1,000; and the bargain pets were a small bird or fish, which were around $200. These numbers seemed high to me as I cannot recall spending that much money on our small dog in any of our 10 years of ownership – but the ASPCA included a health insurance premium ($225) in their estimate, which is something that we do not have for our dog. On the other hand, there have been a few years when our dog needed some extra veterinary work care – and you certainly need to be prepared for the financial responsibility that comes with pet ownership.
The Crimes Code actually requires a pet owner to care for his or her pet. It is a summary offense for any pet owner to “wantonly or cruelly . . . neglect any animal as to which he has a duty of care.” The Cruelty to Animals statute provides further that it is a summary offense to deprive an animal of “necessary sustenance, drink, shelter or veterinary care.” The question is whether people really understand their obligations to seek veterinary care – and the Animal Cruelty statute in Pennsylvania has utilized some pretty strange wording when it required the denial of care to be “wanton or cruel.” These are common law terms which have largely disappeared from legal parlance when the common law was codified. The Crimes Code generally refers to the following types of conduct: intentional, knowing, reckless or grossly negligent.
In other words, the Animal Cruelty statute does not criminalize simple neglect. It must be cruel and wanton neglect – something of a linguistic paradox itself. In fact, the Superior Court has indicated that wanton conduct “means that the actor has intentionally done an act of an unreasonable character, in disregard of a risk known to him or so obvious that he must be taken to have been aware of it and so great as to make it highly probable that harm would follow. It usually is accompanied by a conscious indifference to the consequences.” Generally, this definition comes close to the recklessness definition in the Crimes Code – you knew or should have known about the risk posed to the pet in failing to provide food, water, shelter or veterinary care. In law school, my criminal law teacher used to say that you cannot stick your head in the sand and then expect to avoid responsibility for your conduct.
I am not sure how any person cannot “know” the harm that they are perpetrating upon a pet by failing to provide food and water, clean shelter or veterinary care. But there are pet owners out there who provide very little care for their pets – and some of the conditions that I have seen in the animal abuse cases have been abhorrent – and we still end up arguing with the defense attorney about whether this is simple negligence or “cruel and wanton” conduct.
Recently, the Judge responded to the defense attorney’s arguments by simply holding up a picture that the humane society officer took – and the Judge noted that a picture is worth a thousand words – or rather that one picture was more powerful than any of the linguistic gymnastics that defense attorneys often use to evade responsibility for animal cruelty.
Pets give so much to us and expect so little in return – and the law only requires the bare minimum – food, water, shelter and reasonable veterinary care. Hopefully, if you decide to become a pet owner, you intend on providing a lot more than the bare minimum, but it is also important to know that your pet ownership comes with substantial responsibilities and your neglect of those responsibilities can have serious consequences.
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/.
Are you one of those persons who cannot resist a book sale? I am. In fact, I planned a vacation this winter to coincide with the Green Valley Book Fair in Virginia, home to more than 500,000 books.
As a teaser to the annual Blueberry Festival’s giant book sale, the Library will be conducting a special book sale in the old Liberty Carpet building in Montrose (rear of 21 Public Avenue) on July 4th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This location will be just steps away from the Green, where all the vendors will be. You can also visit the front lawn of the Library for a special sale of Blueberry Festival commemorative items (t-shirts, aprons, cookbooks, towels, tote bags, commemorative pottery, and much more) plus refreshments, including delicious blueberry scones.
If you are a golfer, the ninth annual Dale & Trudy’s Golf Tournament is scheduled for July 15th at the Conklin Player’s Club. This event raises money for the Hallstead-Great Bend Library location. If you are interested in playing, contact the Hallstead-Great Bend Library (570-879-2227).
Based on the last week, it looks like we will be having a hot summer. Need some books to read while you lounge at the lake, stop in at the July 4th sale or make regular visits to one of our locations in Susquehanna, Forest City, Hallstead/Great Bend or Montrose. Check out the books and audio items you can borrow. Don’t have a library card? It only takes few minutes to get one. Hope to see you soon.
