Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
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Ever wonder why we have “April Fool’s Day”? Why not May Fool or August Fool? The practice of telling someone their shoelace is untied when it is not or sending someone on a foolish errand is pretty much observed all over the world. In many countries, according to Britannica Online, newspapers or radio stations might observe this special event with false headlines or stories. When I worked at the Bedford Gazette it was an annual fun time to think up something to fool the readers. One was a picture of a submarine that had supposedly subme...
My least favorite quirks of man and nature are happening in 2024. I detest Easter coming in March. I know, this beautiful religious event occurs on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox. I have to blame the moon for what will probably be a cold and chilly day with few spring flowers emerging from the cold ground. Growing up I remember the excitement of a new Easter outfit. With a frilly dress, patent leather shoes, and a light weight “topper”, I would fret over the anticipated weather. If it were to be cold and sno...
One of God’s greatest blessings is our two great-granddaughters. Our only complaint is we don’t see them often enough. The oldest, Chloe, 8, is sweet, sociable, and has so much love and empathy. The three-year-old, Landyn, is strong-willed and misses nothing. Ask her where her neurons are, and she will quickly tell you “In my brain”. Her “neurons” are busy day and night. Her personality has led to what our grandson calls, FOMO, or “fear of missing out”. It is a term adapted by the internet and social media in 2004. Those who have FOMO might...
On Facebook, I belong to a group called “Miracle of Christmas” where people show off their holiday decorations. Most of them begin this festive adoration in late October. If that is what you like, go for it! Personally, I prefer to wait until after Thanksgiving. As I look back, neither my mother nor my mother-in-law continued to decorate into their octogenarian years. We continue to decorate with a much smaller tree, a few knick knacks, our huge glass star made by my husband and lights on the yard bushes. Smaller, but satisfying. I do love Chr...
We usually think of Thanksgiving as a big family time with grandparents, kids, cousins, uncles, aunts and all the assorted relatives. While that may be true when you are young, life constantly changes traditions. Most of us know the first Thanksgiving was in 1621. It was a bountiful dinner between the Wampanoag natives and the pilgrims. Two cultures came together peacefully and gave thanks for a bountiful harvest. The event was recorded by William Bradford, governor of Plymouth, Mass. It was Sarah Josepha Hale, in the 1800s, who read...
As the third annual NBC School District Alumni reunion got underway, it became apparent that this is no longer just a social group to meet old friends at an annual gathering. The program listed the mission statement which read: Alumni organizations are often formed to facilitate periodic gatherings of individuals who previously attended a common school. In addition to providing a platform for the continuation of school friendships, the association may engage in fund raising to support organizations sponsored activities and community and...
Situated in scenic Morrisons Cove, Northern Bedford County High School graduated its first class in 1963. Or so many think! The first NBC class graduated in 1958 and the seniors that year and all ensuing years up to 1963 graduated from the Smith building, which is no more. While I don’t know all of the history of education in the Cove, I do have personal knowledge of as far back as 1924. After my mother’s mother died in Chicago in 1921, my grandfather brought her back to Loysburg to live with her grandmother. She went to grade school in the pre...
It all started last Christmas when an echocardiogram revealed I needed a heart catheterization. The “cath” showed I had a leaky diseased aortic valve and to top it off, an aneurysm. I could get it fixed or die, simple as that. My family convinced me I still had some years left on planet Earth and I pushed onward. Having a cardiac anesthesiologist cousin was mighty handy. He guided me in finding the best place to go. “You want a team,” he said. “A whole team of good doctors, not just one. If something goes wrong, there is backup. He also note...
I scrolled through the “Smart News” on my iPad and was once again dismayed to see a story of a young girl committing suicide because she was bullied. It’s a rare day that a story like this does not appear somewhere. Most school shootings are traced back to someone who was bullied in adolescence. What is a “bully”? It is someone who has a sense of entitlement over others. They lack compassion, impulse control, and social skills. According to one survey, one in four children are bullied at school. While enough water has passed under the bridge to...
There is a framed quote in our living room that reads, “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts and we are never quite the same.” Some of those who leave prints are thought of often but lost in time. Lost until Facebook came along. I know there are those in my age group who find the internet a waste of time. I would beg to differ. I am constantly using Google to find out all sorts of things from the side effects of a pre...
When the phone rings after 9 p.m., I know it isn’t either of our children. They are already in bed. Usually, it is someone checking on our health insurance, car warranty, or electric company. One night, about a year ago, I looked at the caller ID and saw a name. It was no one I recognized but I was curious and answered. “Is this Linda Gail Clapper Williams?” a male voice asked. Since he knew my maiden name, I answered in the affirmative. He was a genealogist calling to tell me I was a direct descendant of Benjamin Rush, who signed the Decla...
Cold, dark, drab, dreary, January is the longest month of the year. I realize that it has 31 days the same as March, May, July, August, October, and December, but it seems days longer. I am thankful that the Romans decided to shorten February. The long days leave us retired folks wanting for something to do. Puzzles are a good cure for our cabin fever. They were first created by John Spilsbury in 1766. Spilsbury, a cartographer and engraver, cut up maps with a marquetry saw to teach children...
We have always been “critter” people. Throughout our 63-plus years of marriage we have pampered dogs, cats, a squirrel and various other forms of wildlife. The squirrel, “Scamper Gray,” was found on my parents’ farm in the Cove and raised on baby formula. He was a summer’s full of fuzzy-tailed enjoyment for our children. Scamper dined royally on cashews and breakfast cereal and spent his nights in a doll baby buggy in our daughter’s room. At times he would crawl up one leg, bury a cashew in the...
All attendees of the Replogle School, your memorabilia is wanted for a small museum to be located in the former third grade room at the elementary school now owned by the Southern Cove Fire Company. A number of Replogle School attendees have organized to keep the memory of their much loved school alive. Replogle was the school on the hill of the little town of New Enterprise where children in the southern Cove got their first taste of education. Replogle High School opened in 1917 with the first graduating class in 1918. A large portion of the...
Facebook and various news sources have quoted some experts as saying we should skip Christmas this year. That made me snort my tea! Skip Christmas! Do these medical geniuses have even a clue what Christmas is all about? It certainly is not all office parties and bar gatherings. No, Christmas is about the birth of Christ. Jesus is the reason for the season! There are two times in one's life when Christmas reaches a pinnacle. One is when you are a child and expecting Santa Claus with lots of...
Several years ago, a singer, songwriter, poet named Jim Morrison said, "Whoever controls the media controls the mind." Today, 90 percent of the media is controlled by six corporations and, unless you are willing to search for other news sources, they are controlling your minds. It was around 2008 when I realized journalism died. When you hear a story, you hear only one side. There is no longer any competition. There is no digging for dirt on both sides of the aisle. Each mainstream media outlet...
For our 61st wedding anniversary, we treated ourselves to a robot Rumba Sweeper. That evening, we removed the cardboard wrappings and three of us sat back to watch. My husband, myself and one cat were enthralled. The second cat hid trembling under the couch. We are very pleased with the results. Thorough cleaning does require the bigger vacuum, but the robot does a great job on both carpets and floors. As we watched, I sent an email to my daughter telling her of our evening's enjoyment. "You've...
Like many others, I hate masks. I have them in various colors and designs, some are homemade by me and others have been purchased. I also have a face shield. I don't like any of them, but I must confess, I believe they work. There are those anti-maskers who refuse to be bossed around by the government. While I am one of the first to speak out against unjust government control, I also have a considerable amount of common sense and I have come to the conclusion masks work. I also think vaccines wo...
Here it is June and while the potency of COVID-19 has waned somewhat, the hypocrisy roars on. There is good news in that so many vaccines are being developed, Dr. Anthony Fauci thinks one of them will surely work by the end of the year. UPMC says that it has had fewer and fewer hospitalizations from the virus and the numbers seeking any treatment keep going down. Dr. Marc Siegel explained on Fox News why this is true. He said that a virus wants to live, so it does not want to kill its hosts....
It is May and I could still write about the coronavirus, but I am not going to because I am sick of it. I am sick of the theories, sick of the numbers, just sick of it but thankfully not with it. I could say a lot about my political opinions on the subject but, several weeks ago, Publisher Allan Bassler had a column on why writing political opinions never really changes anyone's mind. How true. No one except the people who agree with me care what I think. This month, I am going to write about a...
I am getting a little tired of clamoring for “Medicare for All” as though it is free. Medicare is NOT FREE! We paid into a Medicare program for many years. For me, that was a long time, as I worked until I was 74. Now that we get Social Security we find an absence of about $145 per month per person to pay for Medicare. That figures out to $290 per month for a couple or $3,480 per year. Medicare pays only 80 percent of your medical bills, so most people get some kind of a supplement. We chose a Medicare Advantage which costs us another $44 per...
This is the year most 1958 high-school graduates become octogenarians. With those eight decades of living comes wisdom. Most of us now know, everything In moderation and we will be fine. We have learned to cope with so many changes. Hair care, transportation, medical care and food have all morphed beyond our wildest imaginations. Nothing has changed quite so much as communication. In 1958, forms of communication were limited. We could go face-to-face; we could write a letter add a three-cent...
In the mid 1940s, 4-H came to Bedford County. A very young John Holbert was the Penn State Extension agent. There were activities for both genders but males predominated the showing of animals at the fair. The girls did more tedious things like sewing or knitting. There was much excitement in the small town of New Enterprise when a cow/calf show was announced. It was held in the schoolyard at Replogle and, for a first-time event, there was a good participation My brother took a Holstein calf....
Make new friends, keep the old. The one is silver, the other is gold. How many times did you hear that growing up? I have tried to find the author, but no one seems to know. Most of us follow that advice. We have a few friends left over from childhood. We constantly make new friends. They are all valuable. Some come into our lives and quickly go. Others leave footprints on our hearts and we are never quite the same. Probably the person I have known the very longest who is still living would be...
Facebook is one of the biggest time-wasters ever invented. I have spent hours on this Mark Zuckerberg creation with groups like "Streetcat Bob," "I Just Love to Decorate," "Show Me Your Plants," and all sorts of groups with political views. But my absolute favorite came along on a very hot day in August when the steamy outdoors made it almost impossible to want to be there. It is called, "Only In The Cove." It now has nearly 10,000 participants. There are some volunteer monitors who keep...
OPINION As we stood at the altar waiting for pictures some 60 years ago, my thoughts flashed forward. How old would I be if we were still married after 50 years? The possibility of 60 years never entered my mind. And yet, here we are. On Aug. 30, we will celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary. On that warm August day, so long ago, the fact that we would have two healthy children, a girl and a boy; that we would build a home on the lot my husband owned; that we would enjoy so many great experiences and sometimes endure some painful events were...
July 4 was a hot and humid day. It was the kind of weather that old people are supposed to avoid by staying in the air conditioning. So, we obliged as we waited for the cool of the evening to partake of fireworks which were spectacular this year. Fireworks went off everywhere and continued throughout the weekend. It was a great celebration of our country's birthday of declaring independence from Great Britain. To keep in step with the day, we watched the musical "1776" written by Sherman...
My grandmother on my father's side was Viola Amanda Amick. Viola and Amanda are each beautiful names but they called my grandmother "Ole," pronounced "O Lee." I never could quite understand why they turned pretty names into something so harsh sounding. I just called her "Grandma". As a child, my parents often told me I took after her. It's probably true. With a German name like Amick, I think Grandma was pretty stubborn. Me? Well, let's just leave it at that. I have her pug nose, round face, and...
I have a little book written by Squire Rushnell called, "When God Winks At You." It is full of delightful stories with sweet endings that let us know God is at work in His world. God winked at my husband and me recently. It began like this ... we took a wonderful trip with our son and daughter-in-law. Flying from Baltimore, we met our son and wife in St. Louis where I got to cross the arch off my bucket list. From there, they drove us to Branson, Missouri, and through the Ozarks to Tulsa,...
I have a little book written by Squire Rushnell called, "When God Winks At You." It is full of delightful stories with sweet endings that let us know God is at work in His world. God winked at my husband and me recently. It began like this ... we took a wonderful trip with our son and daughter-in-law. Flying from Baltimore, we met our son and wife in St. Louis where I got to cross the arch off my bucket list. From there, they drove us to Branson, Missouri, and through the Ozarks to Tulsa,...
March 30 was a day I was anticipating. I was going to Loysburg with a stack of pictures to reminisce about the good old days in Morrisons Cove. Organizers of the event were Clay Hull and Dave Snyder and I was looking forward to a fun afternoon. Then, my husband picked up the newspaper and we read, much to our sorrow, that Clay had passed the day before. We knew that he was operating with a weak heart but, like the Energizer Bunny, he just kept going. We had recently been to a turkey dinner at...
During exercise class, someone asked if I had watched the Oscars. "Are you kidding?" I answered. "Watch a bunch of overdressed or undressed self-absorbed narcissistic pretenders pat each other on the back? I don't even have cable." "You don't have cable?" The class came to attention. It all started a few years back when I got awake, snapped on Fox News and preceded to listen for a full 10 minutes before turning it back off. It was the entire time the television was on all day. I would try to...
The second government shutdown in 2019 thankfully did not occur. Instead, our president chose to use other methods to get his much-needed wall on the southern border of the United States. A shutdown happens when a government budget isn't agreed upon by both congress and the president on a certain date and affects, not all, but a significant number of government employees which in turn can affect private citizens. Some groups of federal employees are expected to continue working without pay....
Scams have been around for a very long time. As a kid, I remember some strange men wearing suits arriving at the farm on a summer evening. They came with an offer to paint our barn for free. They assured my family that it was for advertising, and we had only to pay a minimal fee. My dad had gone to school with the former Judge VanHorn and they had remained friends. “So,” he said, “just leave the paperwork and I will check it out with my attorney.” We never heard back. That’s probably a good rule...
Each year we see or hear some version of “A Christmas Carol” showing us Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. As you know, Charles Dickens’ Scrooge was a selfish man who had some unfortunate happenings in the past. The “present” lifestyle he was leading was taking him down a road of total darkness. This year, I began to think about my own Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. Christmas conversations Fortunately, I have wonderful memories of most of my Christmas Pasts. Some of the past is very much missed. C...
