TS_CNG/SUBURBAN/PAGES [S01] | 03/20/19
09:55 | BAUMEISTER
Abington The
MARCH 21, 2019
SuburbaN
INSIDE
Comm holds St. Patrick’s Day party Page 6
T H E VO I C E O F T H E A B I N G T O N S
AN EDITION OF THE TIMES-TRIBUNE • FREE • WWW.ABINGTONSUBURBAN.COM
RUNNING IN THE SUMMIT
ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER Suburban Subplots
Robins, waxwings and spring
JASOn FArmer / StAFF PhOtOgrAPher
Susanna Haines and Ryan Siebecker at National Running Center are teaming up with the Clarks Summit borough to hold the first Clarks Summit Patriot Mile on May 25.
National Running Center introduces mile-long race By Clayton ovER StAFF WrIter
CLARKS SUMMIT — There’s just something about running a mile. The distance appeals to runners of assorted skill levels and experience, said Ryan Siebecker. It’s not too long and proves a good introduction to competition for beginners. The distance is a great starting point for children who are interested in running. Seasoned runners can fly through 1,760 yards as fast as they can. Siebecker and Susanna Haines thought a mile run would be a great addition to Memorial Day festivities in the borough, and the Clarks Summit Patriot Mile was born. “The one thing I think is great about a mile is you can do what you like with it,” Siebecker said. The inaugural race is set for Saturday, May 25 at 10 a.m., two days before Memorial Day and
the borough’s annual parade. A race would be a great way to bring people into the borough’s downtown ahead of the parade, said Siebecker and Haines, codirectors of the race and employees at National Running Center. While less common than 5K races, there are other mile runs locally that have proven successful, such as the Andy Gavin’s Green Ridge Mile in Scranton and the Jack Daniels Mile in Tunkhannock, Siebecker said. “We know it’s a format that has had success in our area and we always thought this would be a great area for it,” Siebecker said. The Patriot Mile marks the second race the running company organizes locally. They also hold the annual Strawberry Day 5K run/walk, held in conjunction with the Strawberry Day Festival each June. Proceeds from that benefit The Gathering Place for Community, Arts and Education.
The entrance fee for the Patriot Mile is $15. Siebecker and Haines Fast facts about the are still deciding on whether to mile ... donate the proceeds to a charity ■ the word “mile” stems from or use it for prizes for runners. the Latin phrase “mille Passus,” The first 100 registrants will be a unit of measure used by the guaranteed custom Patriot Mile romans. It means “thousand drinking glasses embossed with paces.” the race logo, which is the ■ the mile is equal to 5,280 National Running Center logo feet or, for fans of the metric system, 1,609.34 meters. with a patriotic motif. ■ roger Bannister of great BritThe race course begins at the ain ran the first recorded subNational Running Center, 318 four minute mile (3:59.4) on Davis St. , and takes runners up may 6, 1954 at Oxford Universithe course’s only hill to West ty’s Iffley road track. Diane Grove Street, where they run to Leather of great Britain ran the Bedford Street to Center Street first recorded female sub-five to Winola Road to Depot Street minute mile (4:59.6) on may 29, and end up back on Davis Street. 1954. The race ends at the store. ■ the world record for running “We’re really hoping for it to the mile is 3:43.13, set by be a successful event and we moroccan runner hicham el think it could really benefit the guerrouj on July 7, 1999. Svetlana masterkova of russia set community,” Siebecker said. To register for the Clarks the female world record of Summit Patriot Mile, runners 4:12.56 on Aug. 14, 1996. can visit NEPARunner.com, Contact the writer: cover@ runsignup.com or stop by the timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 store to fill out a registration. x5363; @ClaytonOver on twitter
They’re here. After days of scanning the bare tree branches and mushy ground, it finally happened. I saw my first robin of spring, 2019 last Thursday on my drive home from work. Then on Friday, I noticed a whole flock of them in a neighbor’s yard. Soon, they’ll be all over – a sight so common, we’ll take them for granted. But right now, they’re a sight for sore eyes and hope for seasonal depression-drenched souls. For with them comes spring. Last week I wrote about “Sprinter” – that time of year in Northeast Pennsylvania that is part spring, part winter – and the anticipation of the robin’s arrival during this season. I asked readers for their robin sighting stories, and Marjorie Jeffery, a resident of The Pines Senior Living in Clarks Summit, called Thursday to say although she hadn’t seen any yet herself, she did see a video of a whole flock of robins, which was posted on Facebook by an out-of-state family member. She assured me they would be here soon, and she was right. Carol Bixby wrote in Sunday evening with an unusual account. She said she and her husband saw their first robins of the year on March 9, when they looked out their upstairs window in Fleetville. “There were at least 16 robins sitting in our wild thorn-berry bushes that border our lawn. There may have been 18 or so but Please see Spring, Page 7
JUlIE JEFFERy ManWaRREn | SUBUrBAn LIFe
When March came in like a lion
As daytime temperatures tease upwards, Abington-area residents venture outdoors. Our thawing community awakens and stretches its limbs after winter. Temperatures tend to be on a roller coaster during the fickle month of March, notorious for historic blizzards. In March 1888, the northeast experienced one of the worst snow storms on record in U.S. history. The “Great White Hurricane,” dumped several feet of snow across the East Coast and tossed it around with fierce winds that beat the area for two days. Weather was warm leading up to the storm and took the region by surprise. The amount of snow, coupled with the ferocity of the wind created a deadly hurricane-like effect that damaged buildings and crippled communities. Snow falling didn’t keep children from school back then. So, on Tuesday, March 12, children went to school as they usually
did in the Abingtons, including Grayson Covey, who was attending a little school house on Shady Lane Road. In an interview in 1958 he shared, “I can remember the Great Blizzard of 1888 in March. We left school at noon, the parents coming for the children in bobsleds. We did not have any more school for two weeks, then we saw some men with shovels trying to get thru. The D. L. & W. did not run any trains for four days. It was 20 degrees below zero. The wind blew so we could not see very far ahead. There was still snow on the north side of the mountain in May.” Covey described riding in bobsleds filled with hay to keep warm. Charles Kumpas, local historian, explained that if the snow was packed, it wasn’t necessary to clear roads. Please see March, Page 7
eLIzABeth BAUmeISter / StAFF PhOtOgrAPher
A cedar waxwing looks over its shoulder before flying off into the woods at Dalton’s Streamside Park.
What’s inside Calendar ........................ 2 Contest .......................... 3 Churches ........................ 4 Obituary ......................... 4 Schools .......................... 5 Just For Fun .................... 8 Sports ............................ 9 In the Abingtons ............ 11
The Northern Electric Trolley traveled through record-high snow in Factoryville following the “Billy Sunday Blizzard” in 1914. Photo is from the private collection of Charlie Kumpas.
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