East Kingsley – There was a Francis E. Willard [organizer of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union] memorial service held in the Universalist church, Sunday afternoon, Feb. 16. Rev. Dowson preached a fine sermon. Every one present felt that life was better worth living Mrs. Bertha Capron sang “Think of What Mother Has Said,” accompanied by Mrs. P. M. Wilmarth on the organ. The East Kingsley orchestra, composed of Leon Tingley, cornet; Olin Milton, violinist; and Mrs. Jess Wilmarth pianist, rendered some fine music.

Harford Twp. – A young daughter of Mr. Mercer, who came here from Allegheny to work on the new cut off, was stricken in school with diphtheria. They quarantined the home, and closed the school. It was supposed Sunday, the danger mark was passed, but she died Monday morning and was buried in the night, Feb. 17th, in Maplewood cemetery. The family has the sympathy of the entire community

Great Bend – Mrs. Libbie Shoemaker attended a neighborhood party at Bentley Stark’s, Friday evening. They take turns at each other’s homes. Six or eight families are represented, namely Bentley, Stark John Blakslee, Foster Williams, Jesse Strickland, Clark Giles, Lou Drake, Frank Williams and R. McMickens.

Dimock – Lee Estus has bought the coal yard here and will now keep on hand a fine lot of pea and chestnut coal for sale, which he will sell cheap for cash. Coal will be delivered at the door. ALSO A new street lamp has been placed on the corner of the roads leading from the stores and Hotel at Dimock which makes it well lighted.

Hallstead – The drilling at the oil well which has been discontinued for several months past is shortly to be resumed again for at a recent meeting of the board of directors it was decided to purchase as soon as possible a 3,500 ft. steel cable and drill the well deeper. Drillers have already gone down 2,615 ft. in the second well without finding any indications of either oil or gas. The first well was drilled about 3,000 ft. by drillers from Binghamton. When this depth was reached the work had to be abandoned on account of the drill becoming fastened in the hole and could not be gotten out.

Lake View – The Lake View Baptist Church has united with the Jackson Baptist Church.

North Bridgewater – Guy Angle, who is employed with the Kilmer Swamp Root Company, of Binghamton, is located at Crystal Springs, Miss., for a short time, and says it is nice, warm weather there, and seems like the “good old summer time.”

Brooklyn – A box social was held at the Tewksbury House on Friday night. A good time was reported by all present. Also The dancing school held at this place is proving a great success, many new scholars coming every night it is held.

News Brief: The new five-cent pieces, which have been put in circulation, are considered a much better design than the nickel now in general circulation. On one side is the reproduction of the head of an Indian. At the top is the word “Liberty,” and at the bottom the year. On the other side appears the figure of a buffalo and the denomination of coin. The design is very simple. Also W. H. Taft, professor of law at Yale, will receive $5,000 salary. Howard Jones, football coach, will receive $4000 “wages” a year.

Montrose – A most unique party was given by Miss Lyda Beebe last Tuesday afternoon, at her home on Cherry street. The guests were appropriately attired in Puritan and old fashioned costumes. The rooms were furnished with old fashioned furniture. The decorations were mementoes of the olden days. The entertainment was in keeping with the occasion, consisting of old fashioned songs and readings. A typical New England dinner was served in the candle-lighted dining room; old fashion dishes and silver were used, which completely carried out the idea of the party.

Brushville – There was no school last week on account of the illness of the teacher, Walter Mosher. We are pleased to say he is better and school opened again today.

Lawton – The automobile accident on Thursday of last week caused quite a sensation. Ude LaRue while out with his car, lost control of the machine and went over a steep bank. The car was badly wrecked but the occupants were uninjured. Leon Granger, Ralph Bunnell and Russell Kunkle were the other passengers. The accident happened along the road near Lawton at a point where grading had been done for the proposed S & B railroad; the machine swerved toward the bank and in bringing it back into the road it lunged in the opposite direction over the embankment. The top of the machine, which was up, was badly stove in, and the seats, guards, windshield and trimmings were bent or broken and both axles were bent. The machine is not considered beyond repair.

“Susquehanna County Formed 103 Years Ago Today.” It was formed of a part of Luzerne by an act of Legislature, passed Feb. 21, 1810, but it was not fully organized, with county officers appointed, until the fall of 1812, at the home of Isaac Post in Bridgewater township. Persons were selected to be recommended to the governor to fill the several offices necessary to complete the organization of the county. The county commissioners were Bartlett Hinds, Labron Capron, and Isaac Brownson. Hon. John B. Gibson was the first president judge of the district, which embraced Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga and Wayne counties. The county seat was located at Montrose in July 1811. Montrose was incorporated as a borough in 1824. The first deed recorded was dated July 24, 1812, conveying 439 acres in Bridgewater Twp., valued at $300, which was purchased by Elias Whitmore from W. Mitchell and his wife, Hanna. Susquehanna county, when first organized, contained only 10 townships. Willingborough—changed to Great Bend in 1814, was the first township and was organized in April 1793. Nicholson, now Lenox, was organized in 1795. Lawsville, embracing what is now Liberty and the greater part of Franklin, organized in 1798. (Continued next week).

I had a friend send me an article on “border” searches that raised the question of what is constitutionally required to support law enforcement searches at the border between the United States and Canada or Mexico. Generally speaking, when you are crossing into the United States, the courts have recognized that the prohibitions of the 4th Amendment are relaxed. The legal rationale for this distinction has to do with national sovereignty – the idea that the United States has a right to protect itself from harmful things being transported into the country from abroad. If you want to enter the country, then you know that you and your things will be searched prior to be allowed into the country.

I had a personal experience with border searches several years ago. Back in the early 2000s, my wife and I took a summer vacation in Maine – up near the Canadian border. One day, we decided to take a trip into Quebec for sightseeing purposes. When we neared the Canadian border, there was an outpost on either side – and since I was entering Quebec, there was a French word that I assumed meant stop painted in bright letters on the roadway. I stopped outside the outpost for a period of time, but no one came out, so I started to move forward slowly thinking that perhaps no one was on duty. When I started moving again, a bull horn alarm went off and some officer came running out the little outpost. I stopped and explained that I had been waiting for a period of time, but no one had come out. He spoke to me for about 30 seconds and we were on our way.

After several hours of sightseeing and a wonderful lunch that we were only able to order because of the kindness of another patron who translated the menu for us, we made our return back down the same road to the little outpost on the U.S. side. My attempt to re-enter my mother country took a lot longer than my attempt to leave it. I am not sure if the border agent saw me attempt to make a “run” through the Canadian outpost and decided that I was up to something, or maybe he was really bored and wanted something to do, or perhaps I met some profile of an international drug smuggler. Whatever the reason, we ended up at the border stop for quite a period of time. We had to get out of the vehicle, which he then searched thoroughly. I had to pop the trunk for a search of its interior. My wife had to give him her purse for a search as well – and then there were a series of questions that I had to answer about my whereabouts, purpose for my journey, and what my plans were in the United States. Somehow, I managed to avoid making sarcastic comments as this particular agent did not appear to have any sense of humor.

I would say that we were stuck there on the side of the road for about 15 minutes – during which time I did not see another car on either side of the roadway. In reality, I could not object to anything – border agents are allowed to conduct these kinds of “routine” searches, i.e., searching the car and any containers in it for contraband. If I had engaged in something that created a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, the border agent could actually have detained me in order to seek judicial approval for a “non-routine” search. For instance, a body cavity search is not considered routine – but if I had actually uttered some of those sarcastic things I was thinking, then I might have found myself the subject of a much more uncomfortable search. As they say, silence is golden.

Most of us understand that our things will be checked when we are going out of or into the country. The article that the friend sent me had to do with the expansion of these routine border searches into electronic devices, i.e., smart phones, laptops and I-pads – and it expressed some consternation that government border agents were allowed to search those items. The Department of Homeland Security has taken the position that searches of the contents of these electronic devices is part of a routine border search – and the federal courts have so far agreed with this determination. In other words, if you are coming back into the country, the border agent can require you to turn on your laptop (or smart phone or I-Pad), enter its password, and then allow the agent to go through your files without any reasonable suspicion of any criminal activity.

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/.

"Late February, and the air's so balmy snowdrops and crocuses might be fooled into early blooming. Then, the inevitable blizzard will come, blighting our harbingers of spring, and the numbed yards will go back undercover. In Florida, it's strawberry season— shortcake, waffles, berries and cream will be penciled on the coffee shop menus." - Gail Mazur, “The Idea of Florida During a Winter Thaw”.

If someone says they enjoy “Cozies”, they’re not referring to a quiet time in an overstuffed armchair next to a roaring fire in the fireplace or the warmth of your favorite snuggly sweater—they’re talking about one of the fastest growing fiction genres today—the “Cozy” mystery. A lot of the “Formula” for a cozy was ingeniously conceived by well-known Author, Agatha Christie. Your typical cozy has a amateur sleuth as a main character who lives in a small town or village with recognizable landmarks that make you feel like you know or live in the setting. The Protagonist is often but not always a woman, sometimes a small business owner, sometimes a single mother, widow or a single, hard working soul who dons her sleuthing cap after discovering a dastardly deed, but all have one thing in common, they all have a “Real life”, in addition to their wanna-be detective work. One of Ms. Christie’s cozy series feature ”Partners in Crime”, Tuppence and Tommy Beresford, who are “Adventurers for Hire” or “Intelligence Agents”. They get into many situations within the covers of the following titles that are available at the Library: “By the Pricking of my Thumbs”, “Postern of Fate” and “N or M”. Perhaps the most well-known of Ms. Christie’s cozy-type mysteries are those with her beloved character, Miss Marple. Local Library shelves also hold the following volumes: “The Invincible Miss Marple”, “The Moving Finger”, The Complete Short Stories of Miss Marple” and “A Murder is Announced”. The tale and its cast of characters will pull you in and before you blink twice, the series grows with new, widely anticipated escapades. A cozy also holds a connection to our own lives that lures us with its excitement, especially when we discover a new Author or series. We can’t help but feel, once bitten by the “Cozy-Bug”, that we want to go back and start at the beginning of the series and marvel at the progress your favorite characters have made. One of the main reasons for the growing popularity of cozies is the handling of foul language, sex and violence. Oh, it is right there for your imagination to wander into, but done subtly—not crass, bold or in your face. Romance is almost always included within the storyline—whether a single working soul finds the love of her life, or widows and widowers find they can share their love once more. The charm of a cozy is that the reader feels they know the characters (Identification by Association?) and the community described could be their own. Your local Library Branch has many cozies for you to choose from. Some Authors you may recognize, some you may not—but they all have characters you will love and never forget. On the top of the list is Author Joanne Fluke, with her Hannah Swensen mysteries. Hannah co-owns “The Cookie Jar” Coffee shop and Cookie Bakery and has a talent for getting tangled into murders within the otherwise calm town of Lake Eden, Minnesota and enlists the aid of the zany mix of family and friends to unravel the puzzle. Many of Ms. Fluke’s titles are on the shelf at any of the branches: “Carrot Cake Murder”, “Peach Cobbler Murder”, “Cherry Cheesecake Murder”, “Sugar Cookie” and “Gingerbread Cookie Murders”, “Lemon Meringue Pie Murder”.” Plum Pudding”, Cinnamon Roll”, and “Devil’s Food Cake Murders to name a few. Each volume includes the recipes for the goodies described within the story. Joanne’s latest, “Red Velvet Cupcake Murder” has just been released but is not on Library shelves yet. Your dog-eared, tattered cover columnist has been written in as Lisa’s Aunt Nancy and may fictionally be in Lake Eden in a future book as well. The Branch Libraries also have the following I know you will enjoy: Author Leslie Meier’s Lucy Stone works at the local newspaper and discovers more than her share of front page news in “St. Patrick’s Day Murder”, “Wedding Day Murder” and is part of the anthology,(starring Lucy’s youngest daughter, Elizabeth) entitled, “A Winter Wonderland”. Leslie’s title, “Easter Bunny Murder” is due to be released in April. Laura Levine’s Jaine Austen is a comical amateur sleuth whose antics will have you chuckling as well as trying to figure out the mystery. Two titles are on the shelves at present: “Death by Pantyhose” and “Pampered to Death”. I accidentally stumbled upon Author Sally Goldenbaum’s Seaside Knitters cozies, and am I ever glad I did! You’ll enjoy the Endicotts and their large cast of friends/family and the picturesque seaside town she has “painted” within the pages. Available for borrowing are: “Murders on Elderberry Road”, “The Wedding Shawl” (complete with the knitting directions for the delicate shawl), “A Murder of Taste” and “Queen Bee’s Quilt Mystery”. Many 0ther intriguing cozies await you. Author Jeff Abbott with his protagonist, Charles Jordan Poteet in “Collision” and “Adrenaline”, Nancy Atherton and her romantic English ghost in the popular “Aunt Dimity” series including: “Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil”, “Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday”, “Aunt Dimity and the Duke”, “Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea”, and nine others that are sure to whet your appetite for more. I just received an “Advanced Reader’s Copy” of Laura Childs’ soon to be released title, “Sweet Tea Revenge” from her Tea Shoppe Mystery series and was happy to learn the library stocks some of her other titles, such as: “Chamomile Mourning”,” Blood Orange Brewing”, “Oolong Dead”, “Gunpowder Green”, “Shades of Earl Grey”, and “Death by Darjeeling” and quite a few others. Kate Carlisle is another cozy author you may enjoy. Her titles include: “The Lies That Bind”, and “Murder Under Cover” within her “Bibliophile Series” starring super-sleuth, Brooklyn. There are so many other wonderful, inviting cozies and their talented authors I could name. Some we have on the Library shelves, some we don’t at present such as the works of G.A. McKevett and her Southern-born sleuth, Savannah Reid, of which I’m reading my second in the series as I write this. I hope some of her titles will find their way to the shelves in the future. By all means, take a break from your usual genre and delve into this world of easy, fast and enjoyable reading. It makes for a nice change of pace and produces a few chuckles as well.

As a reminder, the Susquehanna Branch Book Club is reading “A Walk in the Woods, Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail” by Bill Bryson. Mr. Bryson is an entertaining guide who introduces us to the history of the trail which stretches from Georgia to Maine and he speaks of its breathtaking beauty, rough terrain and the people (and animals) he encounters along the way. The book discussion will be held on Thursday, February 21st at 4:00 pm. If you would like to join the Book Club Group, please stop at the Library and speak with Laura, Pam, Elizabeth or Deb and they will be happy to help you sign up.

Big news on the literary front for young people!

Nancy Drew Diaries and Hardy Boys Adventures are going to be released complete with their classic sleuthing but now with contemporary themes. What a wonderful way to encourage reading! Who remembers “The Five Little Peppers” series? And Thornton Burgess books?

I read “Lightfoot the Deer” and “The Adventures of Reddy Fox” so many times, they were lovingly tattered but still readable. Take time to introduce your children to the wonderful world of reading and all of the adventures it holds. They will thank you in the years to come.

One last bit of trivia before I leave you for this month. The makers of Monopoly have retired the little metal iron game piece (I believe it has been put in “jail”), and picked the new favored cat as its replacement. So, you lucky souls who still have the iron in your possession, hang on to it—it will be worth something to collectors one of these days.

As I close, smile and think about this:

Surely as cometh the Winter, I know
There are Spring violets under the snow."
- R. H. Newell

Cozy up with a cozy—Watch for seed catalogs—Dream of tulips!

Enjoy!!