Jersey Hill, Auburn Twp. – Next Tuesday all roads lead to Jersey Hill where the G. A. R. will hold memorial services.  An able speaker has been engaged and the ladies will serve a warm dinner in the church basement.  This cemetery is one of the largest in this section and Jersey Hill is a beautiful place to spend your day and dine with your friends. ALSO  Auburn Corners – Wm. J. McAvoy, who closed his hotel here in January, has gone to Lestershire and has a position in the shoe factory.  His family is still at Auburn.

Montrose – A boy was seen on Wednesday evening making a target of an electric light bulb on Lake avenue.  He succeeded in breaking the bulb, and also brought the wires in contact, which resulted in the entire fixture burning out at a considerable loss to the company.  Thoughtless boys would do well to use less destructible property for targets, as a continuance of it will mean detection and prosecution. ALSO The few dry days made dust in the business section quite unbearable.  It has been suggested that the streets about the stores be oiled this season.

Susquehanna – “The Birth of the Nation,” the world’s greatest photoplay, was given in this place on Wednesday and Thursday.  It will be produced in Honesdale today and tomorrow. ALSO During the services over the remains of Thomas Barnes, Sr., at this place, last week, the floor in a room, which was occupied by about 18 mourners, suddenly settled four inches, very much frightening the occupants of the room, composed mostly of ladies.  The cause of the floor settling was an iron post in the center of the room, used as a support, which had rusted at the top and breaking off, dropping the floor to the solid part of the post.

Brooklyn – H.H. Craver, the veteran storekeeper of this town, has been remodeling the interior of his residence, installing bath and all modern improvements.  This substantial residence was built by the late Dr. W. L. Richardson, of Montrose, when a young man, for his uncle Dr. B. Richardson.  W. L. Richardson was a carpenter by trade, but while building this house began to read medicine with his uncle and afterwards became a very successful physician.

Harford – Henry Jones, of New York city, was at his home in Harford last week saying good-bye to friends and relatives in event of his starting for the war swept continent, where he will work under the auspices of the Red Cross Legion, in sunny France.  The best wishes for his safe return home go with him. [Henry Sweet Jones, son of Congressman E. E. Jones, eventually became a pilot with the Lafayette Escadrille, moving from the Ambulance Corps, in November 2016. During his nearly 13 months as a combat pilot he logged more than 400 hours in the air above France.  More on Henry can be found in The Lafayette Flying Corps: The American Volunteers in the French Air Service in World War 1.]

Hallstead – The commencement exercises of the Hallstead High school were held in Clune’s Opera House on Friday evening.  There were eight graduates in this year’s class: Mary Decker, Evelyn Hand, Helen McLeod, Dorothy VanWie, Henry Claxton, Floyd Merrill and James Smith.

Dimock – T. S. Newman, of Athens, Bradford county, a well-known contractor, is building a concrete dam on the Norris farm.  When completed, the dam will cause water to overflow 35 to 40 acres of land, forming a fine fishing and boating pond, also furnishing power to produce electricity if desired.

Forest City – An effort is being made to secure free mail delivery for Forest City.  A petition in circulation setting forth the material facts is being generally signed and in cooperation with the movement the Borough Council has passed a sidewalk ordinance and contemplates insisting on improved walks about town.  It has also arranged for the re-numbering of the houses.

Laurel Lake – A hop will be given at Lakeview Hall, Monday evening, May 29th.  This hall has been put in very fine shape and those who have attended similar events at this charming lake will be interested in the announcement of the opening dance of the season.  Excellent music has been provided and no pains will be spared to royally entertain the guests.

Hop Bottom - Miss Marguerite West, daughter of Jos. West, went to Scranton Monday to enter the state hospital to study to become a trained nurse.

New Milford – “The Oldest Grave in Susquehanna County.”  According to the New Milford Advertiser, the oldest [known] grave of an inhabitant of Susquehanna county is located in the New Milford cemetery.  It is that of a child, a son of the first permanent settler in New Milford.  The small dark slab of slate which marks the grave bears this inscription: “In memory of Warren Corbett, who died March 23, 1795, aged 7 years.”  The grave is located at the top of the hill at the right of the first entrance to the old portion of the burial ground.  The child’s father located his cabin on the site of what is known as the Phinney Hotel.  In 1803 he sold his farm to Colonel Longstreet and moved to Corbettsville, N. Y.  [Warren was most likely the son of Robert Corbett who lived, at that time, in what was known as Willingborough Township, Luzerne County and considered the first settler in that vicinity.  He came from near Boston, through the agency of Mr. Cooper, of Cooperstown, New York.  In 1801 he was taxed as an “innkeeper,” but left soon after with his sons for the mouth of Snake Creek—now Corbettsville.  Willingborough, now Harmony, Oakland and Great Bend, did extend over the area of New Milford, established as a township in 1807.  Susquehanna County was separated from Luzerne County in 1810.]

Heart Lake – Heart Lake is a little settlement in the farming and dairying country around Montrose.  To accommodate the dairymen and their product the Lackawanna Railroad switches a milk car each night to the track on the branch that runs from Alford to Montrose, along which is situated Heart Lake.  Car No. 1542 takes turns with car No. 1461 in carrying the morning’s milk to Hoboken.  A robin’s nest, with egg, was found in car No. 1461.  Every morning, now, groups of yardmen gather around the Heart Lake car when train No. 42 pulls in and eagerly look what robin and his mate have for the daily surprise.  Not a hand is laid to the nest, not an egg is disturbed, and No. 42 probably gets the gentlest bumps of any train on the bulletin board.  Al Norton, car inspector, said “I’d like to see this thing to the finish.”  “I don’t want to see any home broke up and this nesting business gets me.  I’m pulling for the babies, I am, and there won’t be any interstate commerce butting in, either, or I’ll take it up before the Brotherhood.”  Norton and his fellows are planning a dummy nest for No. 1461 to keep Mrs. Robin comfortable and contented.

News Briefs: The bitterness of war having been softened by 50 years, efforts are being made to have the veterans of the Civil War—Union and Confederate—hold joint reunions in the future.  The plan is being urged as a final demonstration that the United States is one country, knowing no North, South, East, or West.  According to the Southern veterans there is more opposition to the proposition in the North than in the South.  There are less than 70,000 Confederate veterans now living and not more than 150,000 Union veterans.  Because of their advanced age every day sees a reduction in the ranks.  There will not be very many more reunions, as very few, except those who enlisted at the ages of 16 and 17, are likely to be living ten years from now.  ALSO

There is nothing more annoying than to have dogs or chickens, which are allowed to roam about at will, destroy flower beds and gardens.  Many instances of this kind are reported about town and owners will do well to see that pets and poultry are given less free range.  If the nuisance is not abated, judging from what we heard one irate property owner say the other day, there is likely to be “somethin’ doin’.”  A muzzle loading shot gun, which scatters well, is part of her (now you know it’s a woman) preparedness program.

200 YEARS AGO – from the Centinel, Montrose, Pa., May 28, 2016. 

Isaac Tewksbury’s Estate.  All persons indebted to the estate of Isaac Tewksbury, late of Waterford [Brooklyn], deceased, are requested to make immediate payment; and those who have demands against said estate, are desired to present their accounts, legally attested to.  Ephraim Tewksbury, Executor. Waterford, May 20, 1816.    ALSO     FAIR NOTICE.  All person[s] are hereby forbid cutting or destroying timber on the lands of the subscriber in and near the village of Montrose, as those who have & those who shall, will be prosecuted for damages.  DAVID SCOTT.  May 20, 1816.

“Long stormy spring-time, wet contentious April, winter chilling the lap of very May; but at length the season of summer does come.”~ Thomas Carlyle

Please be sure to jot these dates down on your calendar—the 37th Annual Blueberry Festival will be held on Friday, August 5th and Saturday, August 6th on the Green in Montrose. As you all know, this is an invitation to fun for all ages and a chance to sample all things “Blueberry” from ice cream, muffins, and pies to pizza!

The Annual Author Luncheon is scheduled for Friday, September 16th.If you have not attended one of these luncheons, you’re missing a wonderful time featuring an award-winning Author and their works, scrumptious food, plus lots of fun and friendship among Bibliophiles. This event is generously sponsored by the “Novel Woman Book Club” and the proceeds benefit the Forest City Library Branch. Author Natalie Harnett has been selected as the Guest Speaker and her novel, “Hollow Ground” will be featured. “Hollow Ground” is long listed for the “2016 International Dublin Literary Award”, as well as being a “John Gardner Fiction Book Award” winner and receiving the Appalachian Book of the Year Award, among many other accolades. “Hollow Ground” is set in Carbondale, Pa. in the early 1960’s and is a coming-of-age novel, a murder mystery, a family saga, and the American tragedy of an environmentally and economically devastated region. Inspired by real-life events, underground mine fires ravaging a Pennsylvania coal town lead eleven-year-old Brigid Howley (who has been compared to “Scout Finch” from “To Kill A Mockingbird”) to make a grisly discovery in a long-abandoned bootleg mine shaft. Old secrets arise and threaten to prove just as dangerous to the Howleys as the burning, hollow ground beneath their feet. You won’t want to miss this golden opportunity to expand your Library, as well as your knowledge of our area.

It’s the 75th Anniversary of the beloved children’s picture book, “Make Way For Ducklings”, written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941, the Author tells the charming story of a pair of Mallard Ducks who decide, after checking out many possible nesting places in and around the busy, and, oft times, chaotic city of Boston, Massachusetts, to raise their family on an island in the Charles River. What a family is turns out to be, as Mrs. Mallard hatches eight ducklings named Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack. While Mr. Mallard checks out the rest of the river, Mrs. Mallard teaches the eight ducklings all they need to know about being ducks, such as swimming, diving, marching along, and to avoid dangers such as bicycles and other wheeled objects. Your family will enjoy the duckling adventures, as well as getting acquainted with such a kind character as “Policeman Michael”, who befriends the feathered family. As of 2003, the book had sold over 2 million copies, as well as won the Caldicott Medal for the charcoal illustrations and its popularity led to the construction of a statue by Nancy Schon of Mrs. Mallard and her brood, which is still a popular destination for children and adults alike. It is interesting to note that in 1991, now former First Lady Barbara Bush gave a duplicate of the sculpture to Raisa Gorbachev as part of the START Treaty and the work is still displayed in Moscow’s Novodevichy Park. “Make Room for Ducklings” is the official Children’s book of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although it is currently not on the shelves of our local Library Locations, I’m sure, that if requested, it could be acquired from another Pa. source.

With Summer vacation on the horizon, why not make it a point to pencil in some trips to your local Library Branch and discover the myriad of programs, services and new-to-you Authors that they have to offer? It may just be the cure for the “Summertime Blues”!

As I watch for the bear to return who stole (much to the Woodpeckers, Baltimore Orioles, and Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks dismay) our suet feeder, I leave you with this thought:

 “Sweet May hath come to love us, flowers, trees, their blossoms don; and through the blue heavens above us, the very clouds move on.” ~Heinrich Heine

Sweet Violets—Flying the Flag—Children’s Dandelion Bouquets!

ENJOY!!

Stick It In Your Nose

Lucy came to the pharmacy register with 4 boxes of Kleenex piled in her arms. Then, she started to sneeze 3-4-5-6 times. “Lucy, do you have a cold?” the pharmacist asked her. “No, “she sniffled and then blew her nose honkingly. “It’s gardening time and my nose just will not cooperate,” she replied. Is there anything I can do to make my nose behave?”

The pharmacist explained to Lucy that seasonal allergies are not only annoying and sloppy but they diminish one’s quality of life. How could a person work in a garden with one hand on a trowel and the other hand repeatedly snatching tissues from its box? Yes, there are over-the-counter oral remedies such as loratadine (Claritin®) and cetirizine (Zyrtec®). But let’s just cover the nose issues right now. There are 3 types of remedies for the nose: nasal steroids, decongestants, and saline.

Allergy symptoms such as nasal congestion happen because of inflammation (swelling). Nasal steroids cut swelling, mucus, and congestion in the nose. Consequently, one’s nasal passages are less sensitive and are less likely to get irritated by triggers such as pollen, animal dander, or dust mites. Steroid sprays are not the anabolic steroids some athletes take to bulk up their muscles. Rather, they are corticosteroids, a safer, more allergy-targeted drug class. While many of these steroids can be taken by mouth, directly squirting the spray into one’s nostrils cuts down on some of the side effects one can experience with the oral formulations.

While these steroids, such as fluticasone (Flonase®), start working within a few hours, one might not notice the full benefit for several days or even weeks. One can take them with other allergy medications if needed. However, a doctor might ask the patient to stop the other allergy drugs to see if the nasal steroids work by themselves. Once you can determine when your allergies start, begin using the steroid spray about 2 weeks prior to that time

Nasal decongestant sprays relieve nasal and sinus congestion caused by allergies or colds. These drugs shrink the tissues and blood vessels in the eyes and nose that swell in response to a cold or contact with allergens (substances that cause an allergic reaction). These medicines do not cure colds or reverse the effects of chemicals in the body that cause allergies. Instead, they promote nasal drainage and relieve stuffiness. A decongestant such as oxymetazoline (e.g., Afrin®) can produce some side effects such as dizziness, irritation of the nasal tissues, and hypertension. Ask your pharmacist about the possible side effects these products can cause.

Using OTC nasal saline should be a routine as common as brushing your teeth or combing your hair. Because saline is just salt water, you can use it every day as much as you want. In fact, if you are outside doing chores, you should use it when you go inside to flush any pollen out of your sinuses. And unlike nasal steroids and decongestants, you snort it far into your nostrils and then blow it out of your nose with a tissue. As with any nose spray, it should not be shared with other family members to avoid transmitting germs.

Sneezing Lucy ran to the aisle where these products were kept and returned to the register. She also bought the boxes of tissues – just in case.

Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Write him with any ideas or comments at ron@rx-press.com. 

Chapter 8 – Booming Town But Some Setbacks.

In the last chapter and in this edition we have an 1870’s photo of the 3 story school house on Main Street and a bakery on the corner of Franklin Ave; all would be gone in 1874.  I am not sure if there was one great fire that took out the school and jumped across the street or there were 2 fires close in time, but regardless, the school burned down in 1874 and the whole block from Erie Ave. to Franklin burned to the ground around the same time; wooden structures were now going to have at least all brick or some brick.

Susquehanna’s population is 3000 in 1872, referring to old maps in a book that has been owned by me for about 30 years has finally started to pay off with info about the town’s makeup, who lived where, location of schools and businesses, how the streets ran at the time, etc; a valuable tool to have now.  This book/map covers all of Susquehanna County but I will be referring to the Tri-boro and surrounding towns close by at this time.

Fourth of July. 1876. Notice the little girl on the front of the train, the flags are blowing and blurry from the wind, with children up on the bank watching it all. The Laundry building would be the future Vincent's Laundry owned and operated by Mr. WIlliam Mazikewich after WW2. This train is headed to Philadelphia to celebrate the Centennial Celebration of our country’s independence. To put this in a time perspective, General Armstrong Custer and the battle of the Little Big Horn was only about 2 weeks prior. 

What I discovered was the toll bridge just downstream from the current bridge had a road from the end of the bridge that ran to the very end of the underpass which makes sense, they didn’t want people going over tracks, as eventually the tracks would go almost to the river bank.  Near the end of the bridge, on the Susquehanna side along the river bank there were 11 homes. Further down near the Oakland Dam there were 10 homes, all on the Oakland side of the tracks. Eventually the Erie took over all that acreage, but at that time many people lived right along the river bank.  Also at this time a street around the area of French’s Service Station, East Main shot down over the hill and went right down over the bank behind the present day Dollar General Store to Drinkers Creek, with lots of homes down in the area. West Hill starts with 2nd Ave now but there was once a 1st Ave that extended to Main Street and it was just to the side of the recently dismantled building towards the old fire station, just up from the present day post office. The street went right up to Washington at this point; that is kind of a steep hill even now.  The majority of the population and businesses were on Front Street, out and up to Prospect Street and all the way out. The map clearly defines the work areas, offices, boiler shop,  foundry, with an ice house at the end of the Starrucca House on the way out to Great Bend.

Erie railroad boiler shop crew 1880 - Susquehanna, PA. The bosses are obviously on the left. Hard work meant you provided for your family; if a father got hurt often a young boy would take his place, and there are several young men in this photo. 

On the Church Hill Side, lots of homes were half way up present day Jackson Ave. and over to Laurel Street, up to where Laurel Hill was and up (partly) on Pine Street with a couple of homes heading down toward the SCHS area.  Simon H. Barnes had a business of some sort directly across the street from the hospital. Pleasant Ave. does not come down off of Turnpike down to Grand Street like it does now and no Oak Street either. One great - grandfather of mine lives in one of those nice houses on Erie Ave. and another great - grandfather has a lot on Washington Street and a home way up on Oak Hill on Koosish Road.  He would build several homes in Oakland eventually.

In Oakland, just 24 years after the completion of the Viaduct most of the population was from Prospect Street down to River Street. There is hardly anybody on High Street which is the 2nd street on the left going up Westfall, with some scattered homes going up Oak Hill, but not many living on Westfall Ave. yet.  There was a hotel at the corner of State Street and River Street, with steps leading to each street.  There was another street a little further down named Cherry Street and yet another  connection from State to River Street further down near the dam area; no name for that street.  Amazingly there are 8 homes from the bottom of Westfall to River Street on the river side of State Street. There is a sash and blind factory were Matis’ Mfg is, during the WW2; I believe it was a bowling alley before Mr. Matis took it over.  A few families own lots of the land in Oakland: J.M. Westfall, W.M. Post, B. Beebe. A Grist Mill down past the present day Oakland Dam was owned and operated by C.J. Lyons.

At one time, even before 1872 there was a road from the top of Jail Hill over the bank to the tracks and back around to Main Street.  This is probably the turn of the century. Notice the steel bridge in place where now there is a cement bridge.  That was built in 1930.  Notice the stone quarrying on the mountain behind the viaduct; these stone quarries were used to build the bridge and are the same ones I visited with Stan Rockwell and Butch Coleman this past March. 

In Lanesboro, at the top of Jail Hill, a road went down over the bank and over the tracks, leading to a little stopover for picking up train riders along side of the tracks. The binnacle is a busy place, the water from the river wraps around behind the old PVI  and connects with the Canawacta Creek.  Several businesses line the shore of this waterway. Two schools (in 1872) in Lanesboro, the location of the present day church on Main Street is seen and it was a Methodist/Episcopal Church and right across the street was a school.  Another school was down where the little railroad bridge that used to go over the Damascus Road, I believe it is the Barnes’ property now, right there in that field near the tracks.  Later a school would be built in the area of the Rotorcast building. The Lackawanna and Susquehanna Railroad were active while, later the D&H is transiting under the viaduct in 1872, just completed I believe in 1870. Brandt is not a town yet, but was referred to as Harmony Centre and had a acid factory and several homes. Stevens Point had multiple saw mills, grist mills and many homes along the creek area.

Kids all over the school on Main Street (entrance) to present day Dollar General and Methodist Church, in 1870. It would burn down in 1874 along with a fire from Erie Ave up to Franklin Ave, destroying the whole block.

I will have the book/maps available for anybody who would like to look at it, just contract me.  It is of somewhat small print so bring your reading glasses or bifocals.

CHAPTER 9 – More Growth And Technology

The date was April 12, 1861. Forces of the secessionist state laid siege to Fort Sumter. Not a person was killed during the three days the fort was under fire. But the damage was done and the event was used as the proximate cause for four years of hostilities. The Civil War, or War Between the States, or War of Rebellion--however one wants to refer to the warfare of April 1861 to April 1865--was not about Fort Sumter itself. It was not truly about secession from the union; neither was it economic issues nor matters of trade and tariffs. Underlying factors they all may have been, but ultimately the fundamental division was all about SLAVERY, i.e., to say, “Can one human being own another?”

Today America is grappling with another core issue, “What is the definition of SEX?” Controversy erupted in February 2016 when the city of Charlotte amended a local ordinance effectively abolishing sex-segregated multi-use public accommodations. The State of North Carolina responded in March 2016 with passage of a bill that asserted a statewide standard for public accommodations based on “biological sex.” and tying the definition of biological sex to that which is on one’s birth certificate. The Obama Administration proceeded to file suit against the State of North Carolina, and North Carolina responded with a counter-suit against the federal government.

“DEAR COLLEAGUE”

On Friday the 13th (in May 2016), the “sex controversy” culminated in a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Obama Administration to every school district in America. The missive, bearing double-letterhead from the Dept. of Justice (Civil Rights Division) and the Dept. of Education (Office of Civil Rights) proffered itself as “significant guidance” [that] “does not add requirements to applicable law, but provides information and examples to inform recipients [school districts] about how the Departments evaluate whether covered entities are complying with their legal obligations.”

Those obligations of which the letter informed include creation and sustainance of inclusive, nondiscriminatory communities for all students, with principal focus on civil rights protections for transgender students. The “Dear Colleague” letter continued, “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and its implementing regulations prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs and activities operated by recipients of Federal financial assistance. This prohibition encompasses discrimination based on a student’s gender identity, including discrimination based on a student’s transgender status.”

So that there is no misunderstanding, here are the terms and their definitions included within the letter’s body:

• “‘Gender identity’ refers to an individual’s internal sense of gender. A person’s gender identity may be different from or the same as the person’s sex assigned at birth.”
  
  
• “‘Sex assigned at birth’ refers to the sex designation recorded on an infant’s birth certificate should such a record be provided at birth.”
  
  
• “‘Transgender’ describes those individuals whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth.  A ‘transgender male’ is someone who identifies as male but was assigned the sex of female at birth; a ‘transgender female’ is someone who identifies as female but was assigned the sex of male at birth.”

GENDER FLUIDITY VS IMMUTABILITY

The mainstream media trumpets charges of transgender discrimination and “bathroom wars” in its news coverage, but precious little is given in the way of facts. The word “transgender” was coined in the 1990’s. Since the word’s inception it has been an umbrella term which includes, but is not limited to, individuals who may or may not self-identify as drag-kings, drag-queens, cross-dressers, transvestites, transsexuals, genderqueer, or bi-gendered.” The key to understanding “transgender” is that the gender expression (outward expression) and gender identity (internal sense of self) may not match. Transgender people are generally regarded as gender-nonconformists. Because some transgender individuals are “gender fluid” they may not have a consistent gender presentation. Some people manifest anxiety while in the presence of individuals who are gender non-conforming, particularly when the locality is one reserved for the exclusive use of one sex. 

Some 96 to 99 percent of the population is “gender binary” (explicitly male or female) and classifiable as “cisgender,” i.e., gender identification and gender expression match, or put another way, genitalia matches brain sex and the individual has no desire to take steps  to change either.  Many, but not all, cisgender people consider one’s sex to be an immutable characteristic. 

Perhaps surprisingly to some, a segment of the transsexual population would agree that one’s sex is an immutable characteristic, and that one never changes one’s sex, but only one‘s “legal sex designation.” Among this group, “Gender Confirmation Surgery” (formerly known as Sex Reassignment Surgery) is merely viewed as correction of a physical deformity since the brain is already pre-wired for the correct sex, and “tells” confirm that the sex assigned at birth was incorrect (albeit an “honest mistake“ was made due to outward appearance). [According to “Chambers Dictionary of Etymology,” the word “transsexual” dates from 1957 and doubled as both an adjective and a noun; it derived from the 1941 word, “transsexuality.” Originally, a transsexual (person) was someone “desiring to belong to the opposite sex.”] America’s transsexual population numbers some place in the neighborhood of 64,000 to 85,000. Approximately 1300 Gender Confirmation Surgeries are performed in America each year. And contrary to popular mythology, surgical intervention is highly successful and the only proven medical solution for diagnosed cases of severe gender dysphoria. Generally speaking, transsexual individuals consider “transition” a medical solution--not an optional or “life-style” issue.

The perspective of many transgender individuals, however, is that gender is fluid. By that they mean everyone is on a spectrum ranging from extreme femininity to extreme masculinity; shifts along the gender spectrum over time are completely natural and normal in their view. Not surprisingly, effectuation of this idea leads inevitably to the blurring of gender distinctions. Those activists, both cisgender and transgender, who advocate this idea often do so with an endgame in mind: total egalitarian equality.

REDEFINING WORDS

Widely-knowledgeable readers, by this time, have already caught on to the “fast one” being pulled by the Obama Administration. The word “transgender” did not exist in 1972 when Congress passed Title IX legislation. In prohibiting sex discrimination legislators considered the definition of sex to mean what it had meant and how it had been construed for eons. To be sure, “transsexuals” did exist in 1972, and their status was sorted out, for better or worse, in the courts over subsequent years. But how is it that the Obama Administration can redefine the word “sex” and issue veiled threats of withholding school funding to any or every school disagreeing with its redefinition?

Consider two unrelated examples of President Obama’s proven agility (guile) at redefining words. “Treaty” seems to have disappeared from his vocabulary, to be replaced by the word “deal.”  Anyone remember the Iran Nuclear deal used by the President to put $150 billion dollars in the hands of the mad mullahs and nuke-up Iran, even as America received nothing in return? Had an opposition party, or even the President’s own party, held him accountable, the Senate would have been required to ratify the treaty by two-thirds of Senators voting. 

Or perhaps readers recall President Obama’s redefinition of “navigable waters” over at the EPA. “Navigable waters” was once understood to be a major waterway, such as a river, a stream, or a lake where fair-sized boats or even ships operated. Yet in just the last few years, the EPA has redefined them to include not only mud puddles, but dry indentations where water might collect in the event of rain. 

What constitutes a treaty or navigable waters may not concern many people, but the redefinition of sex, not only in Title IX, but Title VII of Federal Law, will impact every single person in this country. Most people, it can be assumed, DO wish to treat everyone fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner. And that’s what makes the Obama Administration’s “significant guidance” so insidious. Just as passage of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was imposed on an unrealistically utopian premise that all people were entitled to affordable health care, unintended (or perhaps malevolently-intended) consequences were its result. Some six years after passage of the ACA the severest impacts of that legislation are just now being felt. Might the redefinition of sex also have negative consequences which cannot even be fully comprehended at this early stage?

REORDERING OR CHAOS?

Might President Obama’s redefining of “sex” in Title VII and Title IX lead to a complete reordering of the civil society? Any prioritization of gender fluidity over gender immutability as a pattern for ordering civil society requires that the “nomenklatura” answer not a few questions. Will the blurring of gender lines make the continued existence of sex-segregated multi-use bathrooms, locker rooms, or showers unviable? Will women’s sports teams, no longer held to the former standard of all team members possessing like chromosomal genes and/or genitalia, be able to continue their existence? Might an evolving definition of sex ultimately obviate the original purpose of Title IX?

Parents well know that raging hormones directly influence their teens. Perhaps today’s young people have terrific self-awareness, are supremely polite, and are respectful of the modesty of their peers. In that case, gender fluidity might be a less concerning issue. The alternative view is that there just might be some individuals not-quite-so-self-aware who will crash the party, so to speak. Key questions must be addressed to reassure the parents of every girl. How will jerks, criminals, rapists, and other unsavory characters who are not truly transgender be kept out of spaces previously reserved exclusively for female-bodied persons? Aren’t there non-transgender individuals who will see an opportunity previously non-existent to enter women’s spaces for criminal reasons? Until parents and daughters can be certain that their modesty, their safety, and their security are not being put at increased risk, amicable resolution of this matter will not be achieved. 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE

If the federal bureaucracy can dictate local school board policy, our country is well and truly no longer a constitutional republic. Day-to-day operations MUST be locally controlled; the state’s department of education is sufficient means for ensuring some level of uniformity in administration and operation. But federal interest and influence should be virtually nil to non-existent, at least if observance of the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution still means anything. Assuredly, abolition of the U.S. Department of Education would go a long way toward stopping federal over-reach into local schools. And notably, education is not one of the 18 enumerated powers assigned to the federal government in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. 

The gender binary system works relatively well for some 96 to 99 percent of the population. Within that context, exceptions for the transgender population are made. Most “trans” people already understand that they should use the bathroom that reflects their gender presentation, and they do so by-and-large so that they attract as little attention as possible. Transgender people are not well served by top-down fiat directives that suddenly change the existing order, and give no voice to people with more traditional views. Any sweeping change, without public consensus and legislative remedy, is a recipe for social alienation, polarization, disorder, and ultimately chaos. Might not that also include a backlash against transgender people as the proximate scapegoats responsible for social upheaval? No one should be surprised that a community activist, and now-sitting President, is superbly adept at using divide-and-conquer techniques to keep people squabbling, roil their emotions, disrupt previously pacific lives, and all the while make claim that he’s “doing it for the children.”

A constitutional republic depends upon the rule of law, not whim and fancy for every fleeting fashion. America is in muddy waters indeed if every person is left to define reality contrary to a medical diagnosis or objective evidence. Autonomy is a good of the highest order, but it requires that individuals tread softly at its furthest bounds. There ARE competing interests--modesty, privacy, safety, security--which MUST be balanced. The war that was opened in Charlotte has many battles (and court cases) ahead. It is unfortunate that the Obama Administration continues to stoke fires rather than ameliorate animosities. Would that we had a functioning Constitution scrupulously followed by the president and federal bureaucracy! The States, their political sub-divisions, and their school districts are best left to work out issues of the Civil Society.