Heart Lake – Heart Lake is on the boom with five new cottages going up this summer. The electric light line passing through this section and the prospects of the trolley coming this way surely will increase the value of real estate.

Forest Lake – Hugh Booth and family, of Nebraska, are visiting relatives here.

Springville – The store of Brown and Reynolds was broken into Sunday night, entrance having been gained by prying open a rear window. Several pairs of shoes were taken but it is not known if anything else was stolen. They were evidently frightened away by hearing Mrs. Diller, who had heard them, calling someone on the phone.

Laceyville – On account of no intoxicating liquor being sold in Laceyville, it is thought that many families will go there to celebrate the Fourth. Parents with growing children appreciate a dry town.

West Auburn – Contractor Gill is now putting on the telford on the new State road down the Tuscarora creek. When the road is completed it will make the farms of this section of the county very much more desirable. And, by the way, we know of several farmers who are about ready to retire to the villages to spend the balance of their days. There should be a movement to get their places filled by bright, enterprising young farmers with families.

Montrose – Att. George P. Little, one of the oldest members of the Susquehanna County bar, who has been ill the past few days at his home on Chenango street, passed away last night. His death shocked he community, he being very highly respected and for many years a deacon in the Baptist church. His father was the late Ralph B. Little, also a lawyer. The deceased was born in Montrose in 1842 and was admitted to practice in the county courts in 1863. Ralph B. Little is his son and our present judge. Mrs. Little died less than a year ago. Mr. Little continued to practice up to within a few days of his death. Also A 55 ft. vestibule car has been put on the Montrose branch of the Lehigh Valley [Railroad] to accommodate the rush of summer travel. This is the first vestibule car to be run regularly upon the branch and is pretty tony stuff.

Great Bend – Miss Lola Mahoney, age 18, had an exciting experience with burglars at her boarding place, in the Newman block, which she will remember all her life. Two burglars entered her room through an open window by using a ladder and in rummaging through the bureau drawers awoke her. She sat up in bed and started to call for Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Miller, with whom she boarded, when the robbers choked her and threatened death if she screamed. Then gagging her and striking her over the head with some instrument until she was unconscious, they carried her to the window and evidently lowered her as far as they could reach, and dropped the inert body to the ground. She was not found until morning, lying unconscious in her night clothing, in the yard. She will recover. The burglars secured about $8 in money and two gold rings. The guilty parties have not been caught but the State Constabulary is working on the case.

Susquehanna – The parishioners of St. John’s church have presented their pastor, Rev. Fr. Patrick F. Brodrick, with a new 5-passenger Buick car.

Harford Twp. – The editor of the Independent Republican, Montrose, is reminded of the following: “In reading of the re-election of Geo. A. Stearns to the office of county superintendent of schools, of Susquehanna county, he notes that Stearns is from Harford township, as was the first county superintendent, Willard Richardson, in 1854. Prof. Richardson’s salary was $350 a year, and the opposition to the new office was great. Some really thought the office unnecessary and the trifling sum really wasted. One person even declared he thought better to spend the sum for candy and divide equally among the scholars of the county, giving each one-half a stick.”

Clifford – Prof. and Mrs. G. R. Bennett arrived home for the summer vacation from his school in Chicago. They made the trip from Thompson in a new Metz auto. Also W.J. Bennett, a merchant here, is in the State hospital at Scranton with a dislocated wrist, and Miss Cathrine O’Connor, of Dickson, is nursing a cut on her head as a result of an auto collision, in Scranton, yesterday. With Bennett in his car were his wife and his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Bennett. The younger Mrs. Bennett was hurled 12 feet and landed heavily on the pavement but she seemed practically uninjured. The other couple suffered only from fright. The crash was caused by another auto darting out in Mr. Bennett’s path.

Glenwood/Lenoxville – The Lenoxville boys and the Glenwood boys had quite a lively game of ball the first of the week. The game was in favor of the Lenoxville team; now then, Glenwood, get busy and trim them proper next week.

Liberty – Burlington Allard made a business trip to Hallstead, Monday, and on his return home killed a big rattle snake that measured 45 inches long and had 23 rattles and a button on it.

Forest City – Forest City is to have one of the most beautiful and modern school buildings in this section of the State. The building will be of brick, two stories high and will contain nine rooms and a gymnasium in the basement. It will measure 107 by 103 feet and will be modern in every detail. The gymnasium will measure 53 by 60 feet. The estimated cost of the building is $30,000.

Brooklyn - W. C. Rockwell, aged 81, died at his home at Nicholson, June 10, 1914, following a lingering illness. He was born in Brooklyn on Aug. 21, 1833. When the Civil War broke out he was one of the first volunteers and joined a company organized at Montrose. Upon the arrival of the company, at Washington, he was made a member of Company D, Fiftieth regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He took an active part in the battles of Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor and was wounded in the battle of Four Oaks. He also took part in the sieges of Vicksburg and Richmond. At the end of the war he returned to his home in Lathrop Township, where despite his age, he engaged in farming until a few years ago, when he returned and moved to Nicholson.

Mr. Rockwell was a direct descendant of Rev. William Rockwell, who was a Baptist minister and came to this country with a colony of 140 persons of the ships Mary and John in the year of 1630. His grandfather, whose name was William Rockwell, came to this state in the year 1736 and founded, with other colonists, what is now the township of Brooklyn.

I read a recent article written by Justin Bell in Columbia magazine regarding the Pledge of Allegiance – and the following historical facts have been summarized here.  In August 1892, the original pledge of allegiance was penned by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister – but the original pledge did not contain the reference “under God.”  Schools across the country recited the Pledge for the first time on Columbus Day, 1892.  It was not until 1942 that Congress officially adopted the Pledge of Allegiance – and by that time Bellamy’s pledge had undergone some revisions.  The 1942 version still did not contain the words “under God.”

The use of the term “under God” began to informally make its appearance at different functions, with the first inclusion attributed to an attorney in Illinois who allegedly included “under God” to the pledge at a meeting of the Sons of the American Revolution.  In April 1951, a council of the Knights of Columbus voted to amend the pledge to include the words “under God” after “nation” when it was recited at their meetings.  In August 1952, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus requested that Congress make that amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance.  The movement to include those words into the Pledge slowly gained momentum. 

On February 7, 1954, President Eisenhower listed to a sermon by Rev. George M. Docherty which included the following statement: “To omit the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance is to omit the definitive character of the American way of life.”  Shortly thereafter, on June 14, 1954 (Flag Day), President Eisenhower signed the Congressional resolution that amended the Pledge of Allegiance to include the words “under God.”  President Eisenhower actually recognized the Knights of Columbus for the work that the organization performed in seeking the inclusion of “under God” into the Pledge.  President Eisenhower stated that: “These words will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble.  They will help us constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded.”

In his farewell address, President Eisenhower again used the term “under God” in an even broader context: “You and I, my fellow citizens, need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice.”  In his inaugural address in 1961, President John F. Kennedy, a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, acknowledged the concept of “one nation under God,” and stated that “the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”

President Lincoln actually used the same phrase in his Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.  Lincoln’s own handwritten and signed version of the address (the “Bliss Copy”) is displayed at the White House, and it contains the following words: “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

This Flag Day, June 14, 2014, the “under God” portion of the Pledge of Allegiance turns 60 years old – and whether it will survive much longer depends upon the outcome of seemingly endless litigation challenging the constitutionality of those two small – but powerful – words.  For now, the words “under God” have survived several different constitutional challenges, but it is hard to say how many more birthdays it will see.  If you believe in the importance of those two simple words – as did President Lincoln, President Eisenhower and President Kennedy – then you should celebrate now.

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 bride and groom — May their joys be as bright as the morning, and their sorrows but shadows that fade in the sunlight of love.” ~Minna Thomas Antrim, A Book of Toasts, 1902

June is full of wonderful occasions—Graduations, Birthdays, Anniversaries, but none are as splendid as a June Wedding. A sunny day, cool breezes tossing the Bride’s wispy veil around as she cautiously makes her way to the beginning of the aisle, awaiting her turn to approach the Altar and the nervous Bridegroom who is waiting there. Tears, smiles, memories of the children they used to be all come flooding to those assembled. There has been much planning done to make this day special, and your local Library Branch has a variety of books to help take the stress out of the occasion and make this a memorable time for all. Some titles available are: ”The Perfect Wedding Details: More than 100 Ideas for Personalizing Your Wedding” by Maria McBride-Mellinger, Emily Post’s “Wedding Etiquette”, “Simplify Your Wedding” by Allana Baroni, “Wedding Occasions: 101 New Party Themes for Wedding Showers, Rehearsal Dinners, Engagement Parties and More” by Cynthia Lueck Sowden, “The Everything Wedding Book” written by Janet Anastasio, “Wedding Crafts” by Lucinda Gandurton, Judith Martin’s “Miss Manners on Painfully Proper Weddings”,(Which will help answer the questions to those pesky details, such as the attendant line-up at the Church, the seating arrangement at the Bridal Table, and thank-you notes, just to name a few)  “Craft an Elegant Wedding” by Naomi Baker and Tammy Young, and “Your Complete Wedding Planner” by Mariabelle Young Stewart plus many other volumes of helpful hints and clever ideas sure to make your special day as unique as you are.

Are you still in the midst of your Spring Cleaning?

Have some items you no longer have any use for?

Please consider donating them for the 2014 Blueberry Festival, to be held on August 1st and 2nd, from 9am to 4pm both days (With the Pancake Breakfast at 8am Fri. and Sat.). We welcome book donations for the giant book sale. We appreciate your gently loved books, but please remember we cannot accept text books, Reader’s Digest condensed books, encyclopedias, or VHS tapes. Book donations will be accepted until Tuesday, July 1st and should be dropped off at your local Library Branch.

We will also welcome “White Elephant Sale Items” These include gently used items, (All items should be in clean, sell-able condition). We’re sorry, but, we are not able to accept large appliances, large furniture, or exercise equipment. We also cannot accept clothing items and suggest that you consider “Interfaith” in Montrose or other such charitable organizations. Please make a note that there is a new drop-off location for White Elephant Items Only: The white pharmacy building next to the old hospital building on the corner of Maple St. and Grow Avenue in Montrose. Donations will be welcomed every Monday and Thursday in June from 9am to 1pm and continue with every Monday and Thursday in July, starting with Monday the 7th until Thursday the 17th—which will be the final day. If you have any questions, please call 570-278-1881 or your local Library Branch. There will also be a “Silent Auction”, a “Handcraft & Harvest” Table and many basket raffles. The Library will always welcome handcrafted items for its Handcraft & Harvest table, as well as donations of jams, jellies, and fresh produce from our culinary and green thumb-talented patrons. Unique items are always needed for the Silent Auction or if you would like to create a raffle basket, please contact the library. Thanking you in advance for your generosity and kindnesses which help to make the Blueberry Festival a success and help us to continue the programs and services which are enjoyed by communities all over Susquehanna County.

A reminder: that the Susquehanna Branch Reading Group’s choice for their June discussion is “Caleb's Crossing” by Geraldine Brooks. The discussion will be held on June 19th at 4:00 pm. This is a New York Times best selling tale, set in Martha’s Vineyard in the 1660’s and is centered around Bethia Mayfield, a restless and curious young woman amid a small band of pioneering English Puritans, one of them being Bethia’s Father, a Calvinist minister who seeks to convert the native Wampanoag. Caleb is the young son of a chieftain, and he and Bethia forge a secret bond –drawing each other into unknown worlds. Ms. Brooks brilliantly captures the triumphs and turmoil of two brave, openhearted spirits who risk everything in a search for knowledge at a time of superstition and ignorance. If you would like to join in this discussion, or sign up to be a member of the Reading Group, please stop by the Susquehanna Branch and speak with Laura, Pam, Deb or Elizabeth—there is always room for more voracious readers.

Have you purchased your “Library Lottery” Ticket yet? You haven’t? What are you waiting for? You could be the lucky winner of $15,000, $25,000—even $50,000!! All you have to do is fill out an application (available at your local Library Branch, or print out a copy from the library website (susqcolibrary.org ) and return it with a check for $100.00 (made payable to : Susquehanna County Library). Please mail both to: Susquehanna County Library, P.O. Box 223, Montrose, Pa. 18801. Your ticket will be mailed to you. The drawing will be held on August 16th, 2014, from noon to 4 pm, at a picnic partially sponsored by Cabot Oil and Gas and featuring “Greenley’s Barbeque” and music by “AP Entertainment” located at the Montrose VFW on Route 706. Your ticket will admit two to the picnic and additional guests may attend by making a $15.00 donation. Please, (in order to place a correct count for the food), note how many will be attending on your application. You do not have to be present to win. All prizes will be mailed and a list of winners will be posted on the Library webpage.

The days are flying by, so don’t delay in signing your children up for the much-beloved Summer Reading Program. This year’s theme is “Fizz, Boom Read!” and will start on June 24th in both the Susquehanna and Hallstead/Great Bend branches. The Susquehanna Branch will begin at 10:30am and Hallstead/Great Bend’s Branch will start at 12:30 on the 24th, then switch to a 10:00 am starting time for all remaining sessions, and will include a free lunch for all program participants at the Hallstead/Great Bend Branch only. What a wonderful way to beat those “Summertime Blues”!

Have you made your reservation to participate in the First Annual Sporting Clays Tournament? Your spot must be reserved by July 12th and can be accomplished by stopping in at your local Library Branch. This is a new fundraiser to benefit the Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association, and will be held on Saturday, July 19th, starting at 10:00 am at Rock Mountain Sporting Clays, located at 674 Leon Mitchell Road in Springville. This event is limited to 100 participants. The fee is $120.00 per individual participant or $450.00 for a team of four participants. The fee includes a continental breakfast, 100 rounds of ammo and clays, a catered lunch by Greenley’s Barbeque and will also feature a Chinese Auction, a 50/50 drawing, and a gun raffle. Check-in begins at 9:00am. If interested, don’t delay—make your reservation today!

As I pour over family photos from long ago, I leave you with this thought:

“I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife.”
~Author Unknown

Wild White Roses—Strawberry Shortcake—Last Day of School

 ENJOY!!