The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, together with Forest City Borough and the Forest City Area Historical Society invite you to attend the dedication of an official State Marker commemorating the accomplishments of Samuel L. “Roxy” Rothafel on Thursday, July 30th at 6 PM.
Samuel “Roxy” L. Rothafel
The marker will be unveiled at 600 Main Street, Forest City, the location of the Family Theater, opened in 1908 by Roxy, who went on to open many Roxy Theaters, create the Rockettes, and open Radio City Music Hall in 1932. The Honorary Exhibit, ‘From Forest City to Radio City, a Tribute to Roxy Rothafel’ will be on display all day Thursday and Friday at the Historical Society. There will be a showing of the 1987 Forest City ‘Follies’ and old time movies throughout the day. A reception at the Historical Society will follow the dedication.
For more information on the Old Home Dayz activities, visit our website: www.forestcityareahistoricalsociety.org.
My name is Alivia Hughes, Susquehanna County Dairy Ambassador and my job is to promote the dairy industry. Recently, joined by our Dairy Princess Taylor Sebring, I did one of my favorite promotions by visiting Treasure House Daycare. After reading the children a storybook about cows, we all sat down at tables to make cow masks.
Dairy Ambassador Alivia Hughes and Dairy Princess Taylor Sebring, along with children at Treasure House display their cow masks.
I chose Gogurt as a dairy snack for the kids because calcium and vitamin D are essential nutrients for building strong bones. Kids can get the calcium they need by enjoying Gogurt, or any other yogurt product or a serving of milk or cheese.
Any daycare or preschool in our county wanting a visit from our dairy promotion team to make cow masks and hear about dairy farms and dairy products can contact Evie Goff at 570-278-1212 to set up a date.
I would encourage everyone to enjoy “3 Every Day” of milk, cheese or yogurt.
The Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains was recently recognized as The Community Advisory Council Member of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Education. The award was conferred at the Association’s state convention in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania. The Community Foundation was nominated for this prestigious recognition by Dr. Alice Davis, The Executive Director of the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center. Each technology center in Pennsylvania forms its own Community Advisory Council to provide insight, suggestions, and support for various projects in the schools. Dr. Davis is proud to have Peter Quigg, President of The Community Foundation, serve on the Director’s Advisory Board. “His support over the years has been tremendous. He has helped benefit numerous career center students with scholarships and financial aid and has been very mindful of our students and their needs. We look forward to the continued invaluable advice and support from Mr. Quigg and The Community Foundation.” Quigg points out that “there are thousands of Community Advisory Council members in the technology schools across Pennsylvania and The Community Foundation is honored to be singled out for this important recognition.”
Dr. Alice Davis, Executive Director Susquehanna County Career & Technology Center and Peter Quigg, President The Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains
Since 2005 The Community Foundation has provided more than $250,000 in support for various programs at The Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center. Most notably with The Community Foundation’s participation in the Pennsylvania Education Improvement Tax Credit Program, and with the assistance of Peoples Security Bank and Trust and also Cabot Oil and Gas, numerous students through the years have received support for various items and equipment necessary for their courses. The Community Foundation also administers permanent endowments that support students and departments at the Technology Center. The Mario & Maria Fiaschi Memorial Fund has provided tuition assistance to adult Nursing students. The Bondurant Family Fund supports the Automotive Body and the Automotive Repair departments. The Jane and Leopold Schreiber Fund supports the Culinary Program. The John James Memorial Fund supports the Future Business Leaders of America Club. The Scholarships for Careers Fund, in addition to providing post-secondary degree scholarships, has helped purchase kitchen equipment for the culinary program. The Harry Torney Memorial Scholarship and the Lathrop Family Scholarship also provide assistance for SCCTC graduates to continue their education in post-secondary degree programs. Winners of these scholarships are eligible to be considered for matching grants for the scholarship awards due to The Community Foundation’s participation in the Pennsylvania Partners for Access to Higher Education program.
Furthermore, starting in the 2015-2016 school year, The Community Foundation’s Education Improvement Tax Credit Program will partner with Cabot Oil and Gas to provide support to students attending Career and Technology Centers from Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming Counties. Also, Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative has established The Claverack Education Fund at The Community Foundation, which is a permanent endowment that will provide annual financial support to the SkillsUSA programs in the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center and also the Northern Tier Career Center in Bradford County. The Community Foundation is honored to receive this state-wide recognition from the PA Association for Career and Technical Education and looks forward to many more years of support for our region’s young people and their education and career goals.
For more information about The Community Foundation’s various projects please visit www.community-foundation.org.
The Harford Agricultural Society is in the process of forming a “Youth Board” for 2016 to encourage young people to become more active in the Society’s affairs. Besides the Society’s affairs, which include sponsoring the Harford Fair, the group will be encouraged to develop their own exciting goals and activities.
They will be given their own base of operations during Fair Week. Also, monthly meetings will be scheduled during which they can develop their ideas and activities. The intention of the Harford Agricultural Society is to make the Youth Board an integral working arm of the Society and contributor to our communities. An agricultural background is not at all necessary to become a member.
The Youth Board will consist of young people between the ages of 14 and 21. Applications are available on the Harford Fair website at harfordfair.com. Click on the icon “Youth Board”, download the application, and read the details that are on the site. Applications are also available on the Harford Fair Facebook page and the 4-H Facebook page. Get the application to us as soon as possible to be one of the first members of the Harford Agricultural Society Youth Board.
Any questions should be directed to: Brian and Nancy Tyler 570-396-3477 or Ron and Lynn Stiles 607-239-0893, call or text.
The McKune Cemetery, a small rural cemetery, covering two acres, is located about 2 miles west of Susquehanna, PA. It is an older cemetery, with burials dating back to early 1800’s and hosts a number of hand hewn stone markers. There are two separate access paths that divide this cemetery into three parts. The oldest section is closest to Oakland Boro, a middle section, and the newest section borders the Aaronic Priesthood monument.
This cemetery is adjacent to the large monument honoring Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. His first born child, a son, Alvin, is interred within the oldest section of the cemetery. Nearby are his grandparents, Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis, plus a few more Hale and Lewis family members.
The McKune Cemetery began as a family burying ground. Over time it evolved into a cemetery. The beginning of the McKune Cemetery is undocumented, including how its name originated. From newspapers dated 1830 to 1880, deeds, maps, and the “Susquehanna County History” texts, published in 1873 and 1887, the reference to the ground was as follows: “Burying Ground near Mr. McKune’s farm”; “The Cemetery”; “Old Cemetery Lot”; “McKune Burying Lot”; “McKune Cemetery”.
In the late 1800’s to at least mid-1900’s, it bore the nick-name of “the Mormon Cemetery”.
When it came to be known as the “McKune Cemetery”, all the surrounding land was owned by B. F. McKune , aka Benjamin Franklin McKune a prominent citizen of that region. His name was oftentimes referenced as Franklin B. McCune. This name variation always had the surname spelled as McCune. Consequently some records mistakenly have the cemetery name recorded as the "Franklin B. McCune Cemetery".
On May 1, 1813 the tract of land purchased by Ezekial Travis was deeded to Joseph McKune. About 1820 Joseph and Anna McKune designated a section of their land, with poor soil quality for farming and situated on ground slightly above the river’s edge to not interfere with burials which may have occurred by the native Indians who once inhabited the area. The Indians habitually positioned graves near the water’s edge and often marked the grave by placing a pile of rocks on top of the burial. This region is plentiful with field stone.
By the time their land set aside for burials had become known as the McKune Cemetery, the properties opposite the cemetery (once part of the land tract owned by Joseph McKune) had subdivided and were owned by several families. And the land between the cemetery and the Susquehanna River had been sold to the New York and Erie Railroad, completed in 1848.
The burials that occurred on the ground chosen by Mr. McKune initially were intended for family. Very soon after, several families agreed and arranged to bury their deceased family members in a designated ground; hence the McKune small family burying ground grew into a cemetery.
Following is a partial list of those families in agreement, for which headstones today bear their descendants’ surnames: Barton, Ephraim A.; Cahill, M.; Drake, J. M.;Hale, Isaac & Elizabeth (Lewis); McKune, “B. F.” Benjamin & Mary E. (Barton); McKune, Joseph, Sr. & Anna (Gillett), and their sons; Shutts, Morgan; Skinner, Jacob; & son Jacob I.; Skinner, Nathan; Stoddard, Wilber David & Betsey (Prentice)*; Taylor, E. G.; Van Antwerp, James; Van Antwerp, Nicholas Teunis; Van Antwerp, Tunis Lewis.
Although the earliest burials occurred without remuneration for the ground, in-kind return gestures occurred as their payment.
When a burial occurred, a burial marking was placed on the grave, i.e., wooden stake, pile of stones, a carved stone, a tree or bush. The winters can be harsh in the region for this cemetery. Understandably many of the original grave markings have succumbed to the elements and are not recognizable today.
An extensive title search is needed to determine if the cemetery’s two acres were initially appropriated by Joseph and Anna McKune, or if additional land sections were acquired to comprise today’s two acres. It is conclusive that all of the surrounding properties had been steadily owned by members of the McKune family, until after 1900.
The only known, documented record for the cemetery is an incomplete plot map displaying who purchased which plot. There are not available records about who was buried where. The current visible headstones are the best determination for knowing a grave placement.
The 1,400+ McKune Cemetery memorials created for the Find-A-Grave site offers information that could be found for each known burial. Within each memorial, at the bottom, is a plot section offering a generalized description for a grave location.
If someone has more to offer for a bio of an established memorial, please use the small edit tab on the upper right of that memorial to send a message.
The McKune schoolhouse, again on property allocated by Joseph and Ann McKune, was positioned diagonally from the Mckune cemetery. By today’s landmarks, it was located at the corner of Rt. 171 and Skinner Hill Road. The McKune School House offered schooling and served as a meeting house for church and funeral services.
On September 1, 1922, the application was accepted for the McKune Cemetery Association, CHARTER, an incorporation to exist perpetually. The initial Board of Managers, consisting of five members were: J. B. Fenner, Susquehanna; Robert B. Thompson, Susquehanna; C. F. Beebe, Susquehanna; William Boyden, Susquehanna; C. Moore, Susquehanna.
The corporation, of 1922, remains active today.
There are two notable interments within this cemetery.
- Dr. William K. Nowill, M.D. who developed and perfected the anesthesia drip method as we know it today.
- Mr. Alfred E. Badgley, architect, who constructed a number of prominent structures within Susquehanna and Broome Counties, including (but not limited to): 1891 Stone Opera House, Binghamton; 1897 First National Bank building, Main St., Susquehanna; 1899 Johnson City Municipal Bldg. and Central Fire Station; 1906 Susquehanna County Historical building and Free Library at Montrose; 1915 Hallstead Boro concrete lock-up; 1915 nine passenger stations on the Lackawanna RR between Hallstead and Clarks Summit: Alford, Dalton, Factoryville, Foster, Glenburn, Hallstead, Kinglsey, La Plume, Nicholson; 1916 YMCA at Binghamton Railroad station; 1925-26 Columbus School, Hawley St, Binghamton.
And a worthy burial mention for Phebe L. Tinsman, older sister of William Haze Tinsman, a victim of the 1898 USS Maine explosion in Havana Harbor, Cuba. As a Landsman for the ship, William played left field on the baseball team for the battleship Maine.
*Betsey (Prentice) Stoddard, married to Wilbur Stoddard, was a sister of Sarah Jane (Prentice) married to James F. Blessing. Sarah Jane and James Blessing were paternal great-grandparents of the author for this historical text.
My, what big blue eyes you have, Ryanne. The better to see you adopters with? This gorgeous girl is available for adoption. She has been spayed, micro – chipped, and tested negative for FIV, FelV & HW. Ryanne enjoys the company of her feline friends in the romper room. Stop by and meet her and her pals today.
Pictured is Ryanne
Our countdown has begun, 1 month until Woofstock. Get your tie-dye tees and four-legged buddies ready for our biggest day of the year, August 15th, at Salt Springs Park, one of the most beautiful places a dog has ever seen.
Fun Fact: On average cats spend 2/3 of every day sleeping. Looking for a lay-back companion-adopt a snuggly kitty. My, what big blue eyes you have, Ryanne. The better to see you adopters with? This gorgeous girl is available for adoption. She has been spayed, micro – chipped, and tested negative for FIV, FelV & HW. Ryanne enjoys the company of her feline friends in the romper room. Stop by and meet her and her pals today.
Our countdown has begun, 1 month until Woofstock. Get your tie-dye tees and four-legged buddies ready for our biggest day of the year, August 15th, at Salt Springs Park, one of the most beautiful places a dog has ever seen.
Fun Fact: On average cats spend 2/3 of every day sleeping. Looking for a lay-back companion-adopt a snuggly kitty.
