TS_CNG/SUBURBAN/PAGES [S01] | 06/05/19
10:04 | BAUMEISTER
Abington The
JUNE 6, 2019
INSIDE
Art exhibit opens at The Gathering Place
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T H E VO I C E O F T H E A B I N G T O N S
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WEATHERING THE STORM
ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER Suburban Subplots
A pocket pastime
Sean MCKeaG / Staff PhOtOGraPher
Shannon Brown of Clarks Summit moves some plants in the Abington Community Garden in South Abington Twp. on Friday, May 31. Brown, on the garden committee, has had damage to his own plot from the recent storms.
Weather causes issues for community garden By Clayton over Staff Writer
SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — Gray clouds loomed overhead as Bob Dillon knelt at his plot at the Abington Community Garden last week and picked some leafy green spinach. The plan was to pick the plants before any rain fell, Dillon, of Clarks Summit, said. While the especially rainy spring hadn’t caused any adverse affects for his plants — the green tops of garlic and scallions poked thickly from the ground nearby — hail that hit the area as part of the same storm that caused a tornado touchdown in neighboring Newton Twp. had shredded the spinach, he explained. Still, there was enough to make something delicious. “There’s enough here to make a wilted bacon spinach salad,” Dillon said. The wild weather recently has provided some issues for the garden and those who tend crops there, said Carolyn Crowley, the garden’s coordinator. Heavier rainfall has caused some soil erosion and even washed away seeds from some plots, she said. Happily, most of the gardeners there are resilient and knowledgeable enough to overcome setbacks the weather might throw at them, Crowley said. “Every year presents a chal-
Sleeping, walking the dog, rocking the baby and going around the world. Those were some of my favorite pastimes as a kid. Those, if you’re not familiar, are yo-yo tricks. I hadn’t thought about yoyoing in years. Not until I learned today is National YoYo Day. When I was in fourth or fifth grade and swept up in the ‘90s yo-yo craze, I thought about it almost all day, every day. I coveted the fancy Yomega Fireballs and Brains some of my friends carried in their pockets. But I was still proud of the tricks I could perform with the lessexpensive Duncan Butterfly in my own pocket. I brought it everywhere I went. Speaking of pockets, you could tell someone was a dedicated yo-yoer if a pocket of his or her jeans had the outline of a yo-yo worn into it. When we were banned from playing with yo-yos on the school bus, my friends and I were indignant, but we complied. Still, I played with my yoyo so much, that even when I put it down for the day, I could feel a ghost string wrapped around my finger. I was sitting on my parents’ porch on Saturday, trying to remember that feeling, so I could describe it in this column, when Mom stepped out on her way to the store. She asked if I needed anything there, and I paused for a moment, then asked if I could tag along. At the store, I beelined for the toy isle. There was only one yo-yo option there: a cheap off-brand. It was neonorange and instantly reminded me of my childhood. Please see Pastime, Page 12
Sean MCKeaG / Staff PhOtOGraPher
Spinach sustained hail damage from a recent storm in the Abington Community Garden off of Winola Road in South Abington Twp. on Friday, May 31. lenge,” Crowley said. “This year, the challenge is a wet spring.” It’s not too late for anyone interested in gardening at the Abington Community Garden, located on Winola Road across from Hillside Park, to get in on some planting, Crowley said. The garden has two sizes of plots — 20 feet by 20 feet and 20 feet by 10 feet — available for interested gardeners.
The larger size is available for $68 a year and the smaller for $36 a year. Fees help cover public water costs for the garden, plus the cost of wood chips to line the paths there and composting, Crowley said. For more information on the Abington Community Garden and how to obtain a plot, visit hillsidepark.net, the garden’s Facebook page or email abingtoncommunitygarden@gmail.com.
Dillon has had a plot at the garden since it opened for planting just more than a decade ago. The garden is a good way to get to know other people, he said. Sometimes gardeners have get togethers at the site, he said. “You get to meet some of your neighbors,” Dillon said. Contact the writer: cover@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5363; @ClaytonOver on twitter
JUlIe JeFFery ManWarren | SUBUrBan Life
Going organic CLARKS GREEN — David Slade, a certified traditional naturopath, will present the Summer Natural Health Seminar Saturday, June 8 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Clarks Green Assembly of God, 204 South Abington Road. This free seminar will cover the benefits of organic nutrition and the latest information on detoxification, probiotics, organic superfoods and gut health. “There’s a great deal of intestinal damage in our culture,” Slade said. “Whether it’s bloating, leaky gut, IBS, diarrhea or constipation, in our culture, that’s accepted as normal. That’s our typical working class citizen. Where is that coming
from? I believe we need to look at our foods. What are you eating? How are you preparing and eating your foods? How much raw, organic food are you eating in a weekly period?” A former adjunct instructor at Keystone College, Slade has developed and taught extensively on the subjects of chronic Lyme disease, the immune system and organic gardening. “With natural health, a lot of it has to do with prevention,” he said. “It’s important to avoid foods that carry toxins that accumulate Please see Organic, Page 12
What’s inside Calendar ........................ 2 Contest .......................... 3 Schools ....................... 4-5 Suburban family .............. 6 Green Scene ................... 6 Just for fun .................... 8 Sports ............................ 9 Library .......................... 10
SUBMitted PhOtO
David Slade, a certified traditional naturopath and natural health professional, will present a free natural health seminar Saturday, June 8 at Clarks Green Assembly of God.
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