Clifford – Sylvester H. Johnson, aged 67 years, died at his home, Fern Hall, the Johnson family homestead at Crystal Lake, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 1914. His death occurred in the house in which he was born. Fern Hall, which was conducted by the deceased as a summer resort, was patronized by the best people of the east until Mr. Johnson’s declining health necessitated its closing. He was a brother of James and Robert Johnson, of the noted drug firm of Jonson & Johnson, of Brunswick, N. J and which is known the country over for its excellent surgical and medical preparations. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Carrie Fancher Johnson, formerly of Montrose.
Herrick Center – Herrick township high school opened Aug. 24 with the following teachers: Prof. George Norman, of Liberty, Pa., principal; Miss Geneva Lewis, of South Gibson, intermediate; Miss Edyth Smith, of Uniondale, primary. There is a good attendance and every prospect of a successful year.
Auburn Twp. – The Cavanaugh, Donlin and Keough family reunion was held in the grove near St. Bonaventure’s church, Auburn, on Thursday of last week. A splendid dinner was served and a fine time enjoyed. A number of the relatives from Montrose attended, including Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Donlin, John Corbett, Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Keough and George Deuel, Sr. ALSO Lightning burned the barn owned by the David Raub estate, at West Auburn, on Thursday of last week. In the barn was stored 23 tons of hay belonging to John W. Sims, and all was totally destroyed. There was no insurance.
Kingsley – During the storm of last Thursday, lightning struck a barn on the farm of the Watson Jeffers estate near Kingsley. The barn was fired by the bolt and the blaze communicated to a second barn by way of a shed. The two structures, a large silo, creamery, forty tons of hay and much farm machinery were destroyed and two calves were burned to death. Ernest Jeffers is in charge of the farm.
Forest City – The storm of Thursday afternoon of last week damaged property in here to the extent of $10,000. From 6 until 11 o’clock that night the street car service was out of commission, lines having been torn down by trees falling against them and the light service was out for the same length of time. A large stained glass window in the Sacred Heart of Jesus church was blown in and the water badly damaged a new $3,000 pipe organ. Many trees were blown over on the street car tracks, and it took some hours to remove them.
Montrose – New and attractive improvements have lately been made in Zion A. M. E. church and there is an effort being made on the part of the pastor and people to promote a deeper spiritual relationship among the colored people of Montrose. The side-walls and ceiling of the church have been repapered, a new pulpit cloth and hymn books added, and the windows have been repainted. If anyone feels disposed to help the church in any way, the congregation will feel grateful. Books may be contributed to the Sunday school library, spiritual books may be sent to the pastor, or religious mottoes for the church may be made use of. The present pastor is Rev. H. J. Bexley of Baltimore, and he delivers helpful messages to his flock every Sunday. A festival will be held at the church basement tomorrow evening for the benefit of the church. Years ago the membership was large, but it has dwindled down to a few faithful since the older generation has crossed the “wide river,” and it is hoped the remaining few will be encouraged toward putting forth new zeal in their work by a good attendance tomorrow night. ALSO A large addition will be made to Rosemont Inn, this Fall, to accommodate the large number of guests coming to this popular inn.
Brooklyn – Work on resurfacing the State old road from the Lathrop township line north, 4 ½ miles to A. J. Smith’s, will begin next week. This road has endured great wear during the past three years. Nearly every Sunday over 100 automobiles pass over it during the summer season.
ALSO The Tewksbury family reunion was held in the M. E. church, on August 20th. This is the 17th annual reunion held by the family and most of those who were active in promoting the meeting of the descendants of Jacob Tewksbury, who settled in Brooklyn in 1800, have passed away, and their places were filled at the tables with other and younger faces. The history of this family is good; few dark sheep have been members of this household and many bright and faithful servants of the Master have lived and wrought and passed to their reward.
Harford – Our little town is again teeming with life. School began Monday with an enrollment of 140 pupils, with Miss Clara Winans, principal; Miss Cooper, grammar room; Miss Clark, intermediate and Miss Sarah Stevens, primary.
Bridgewater Twp. – A very pretty wedding took place at East Bridgewater last evening, Aug. 26th, when Miss Ruth Curtis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew F. Curtis, became the bride of Stanley S. Roach, of Lock Haven, son of Mr. and Mrs. N. O. Roach, of East Bridgewater. The house was handsomely decorated with ferns, white and pink asters, carrying out an attractive color scheme. The bride wore a white voile gown, with a real lace collar, one hundred years old, a prize family heirloom, and carried a bouquet of pink and white asters. The happy pair took the midnight train for Lock Haven, where the groom has a position as department superintendent with a paper manufacturing company. Both Mr. and Mrs. Roach grew up from childhood, in East Bridgewater, and have a host of friends who wish them God-speed on their matrimonial journey.
Gibson –The Brundage reunion, held at the pleasant home of E. W. Brundage, Aug. 22, was a very enjoyable affair. The day was an ideal one and the tables were spread in the orchard under the trees. Between 60 and 70 were present. Singing and recitations by the younger people enlivened the occasion. The rest of the time was spent in visiting and all returned to their homes feeling that they had a good time.
Gelatt – In the thunder shower, Tuesday night, lightning struck and burned the large cow barn belonging to H. B. Potter. There were twenty-four large loads of hay and some lumber in the barn. It is a great loss to Mr. and Mrs. Potter.
Hallstead – Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Swartz have received word in a round-about way from a relative in Elmira, in regard to their daughter, Miss Myrtle Swartz, who is traveling in Europe with a party of friends, stating that they had reached London in safety and were making preparations to sail for home as soon as passage could be secured. The family received a letter from her on the 7th but have heard nothing since.News Brief: Pennsylvania’s automobile tags for 1915 will be of turquoise blue enamel, with white letters and figures and a soft metal keystone for the maker’s number. The contract will be for about 150,000 for next year.
Be sure to visit our Facebook page listed under Susquehanna County Historical Society.
Padge Victoria Windslowe is known as Black Madam – a singer in the Philadelphia area and an amateur cosmetic surgeon. In addition to her vocal talents, the Black Madam apparently was skilled in the art of silicone injections. In fact, the Black Madam was known for her “pumping party,” where guests were invited and she would inject them with silicone for cosmetic purposes – including buttocks enhancements – in return for cash.
At one of her pumping parties, the Black Madam ended up killing a 20-year old British woman who had paid the Black Madam $1,800 for buttocks enhancement. After the injection, the Black Madam left the hotel room where the young woman was struggling to breathe and told the victim’s friends if things got worse, they should call an ambulance. The young woman ended up dying from a pulmonary embolism and the Black Madam was charged with third degree murder. In another case, she was charged with aggravated assault for a similar procedure performed on a 23-year old exotic dancer who paid her $1,000 for buttocks enhancements – and silicone ended up in her lungs prompting her hospitalization in an intensive care unit and life-long damage to her lungs. In the different criminal charges, the Commonwealth focused on the dangers of an untrained, unlicensed person injecting dangerous and toxic chemicals into victims without any regard to the health risks associated with such conduct.
In preparation for her homicide trial, the Black Madam had an interesting legal theory – she wanted to bring in her satisfied customers to attest to her cosmetic enhancing skills. The defense contended that these witnesses were necessary to her defense of proving that she did not act with malice – and third degree murder requires proof that a killing was done with malice. The law defines malice in this context as “wickedness of disposition, hardness of heart, cruelty, recklessness of consequences, and a mind regardless of social duty.” The law will also permit a finding of malice where a person “acts in gross deviation from the standard of reasonable care, failing to perceive that such actions might create a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or serious bodily injury.”
Through her prior satisfied (and enhanced) customers, the Black Madam wanted to show that she was not acting maliciously – her argument would be that she had successfully performed the procedures previously not only without problems, but with good results. The defense contended that her past practices demonstrated that she was acting in good faith – not maliciously. The defense attorney argued that she believed her procedures were “safe” and that in her “heart and mind” she did not believe she was putting anyone in danger.
In response to the potential litany of enhanced Black Madam customers testifying, the Commonwealth objected and made a clever analogy: it would be akin to a drug dealer bringing in satisfied drug customers who did not die from his products to testify to how much they enjoyed what the drug dealer was selling. In the end, the trial judge agreed with the Commonwealth and ruled that the Black Madam’s satisfied customers would not be permitted to testify.
The Court did suggest that the defendant, if she testified at trial, would be given “great leeway” to explain her state of mind, i.e., she can tell the jury that she had done this many times in the past with good results and happy customers – so she believed that it was safe and effective. This particular argument is a bit of a double edged sword as it simply reinforces the idea that the Black Madam was playing Russian Roulette with the lives of many women – and the mere fact that the others did not die does not suddenly morph reckless conduct into reasonable behavior.
The argument reminds me of a defense argument that I encountered in my first homicide trial. The case involved a terribly abusive relationship – with the victim being beaten time and time again by the defendant to the point that she eventually died from internal bleeding. In his closing argument, the defense attorney argued that the jury could not convict his client of first degree murder because there was no intent to kill – after all, the defense attorney countered, she had always gotten up after every other beating and how was he supposed to know that she would not get up after the last one. The Black Madam’s argument is very similar – every other time she injected toxic chemicals into people, they did not die, so how could she have been acting maliciously?
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/.
Should Paul take one of the new blood thinners?
Paul, 60, visits his neighborhood pharmacy and asks the pharmacist about the blood thinner he takes. “I’m on warfarin. But according to the TV ads, the newer thinners do not require regular blood tests to see if they’re working correctly. Should I switch to a newer drug?”
According to the American Heart Association, 2.7 million people have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (A-fib). This is a quivering or uneven arrhythmia that can lead to blood clots, stroke, and heart failure. “My heart flip-flops, skips beats, and feels like it’s banging against my chest wall, especially if I’m carrying stuff up my stairs or bending down,” says Paul, who has A-fib.
For over six decades, warfarin (Coumadin™) was the only available prescription blood thinner or anticoagulant to help lower stroke risk. However, 3 products have been recently approved by the FDA for A-fib: dabigatran (Pradaxa™), rivaroxaban (Xarelto™), and apixaban (Eliquis™). They work in ways similar to warfarin by obstructing the cascade that forms artery-clogging clots. But are they better than warfarin? They are certainly pricey: all retail at approximately $350 for a month’s supply, compared to around $20 for warfarin, and that’s without insurance. Your insurance company may be loathe to cover the new drugs. However, the websites of these new drugs offer savings cards which will cut the cost somewhat.
Also, they, like warfarin, increase the risk of bleeding and if you cut yourself and are on any thinner, it can look like a scene from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Except that warfarin has an antidote called vitamin K if an overdose or other problem occurs. The other 3 new drugs state in their package inserts that a specific antidote or reversal agent is not available, leaving you at risk for serious hemorrhaging.
My opinion: The fact that no antidote for these new drugs exists should an overdose occur concerns me. The newer medications have not been in the public’s hands long enough to prove that they are safe for long-term use. Revelations of rare, but critical, adverse reactions only emerge with time. Medications, like Vioxx™ for arthritis and Rezulin™ for diabetes, collectively killed many thousands of patients who took them and as a result were pulled off the market. Other reasons exist to prescribe these specific medications and your doctor (sometimes) knows best. But if you are doing well on warfarin, like Paul, who gets regular blood work, while saving a ton of money, why switch to the unknown?
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Write him at ron@rx-press.com.
