Mar #197 2017

Page 1

Big Run’s Joe Buterbaugh – Man and Mayor Extraordinaire

(KMJ#LM<G!LF MJoe Buterbaugh, mayor of

Big Run, looks forward to the twenty-fourth annual Spring Peeper Banquet, which will be held Sunday evening, March 19. in the Big Run War Memorial Building. (Photo by Brianna Stewart Photography)

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By James Lauffer of Hometown magazine ig Run is famous – as many folks in the area no doubt know – for the spring peepers living in the town’s swamp. What folks may not know is that Big Run is home to one of the longestserving mayors currently in office in the United States. Joseph Lloyd “Joe� Buterbaugh was elected mayor of Big Run in 1981 and is now in his thirty-sixth year as mayor of the town. As of April 2016, Charles E. Long, of Boonesville, Kentucky, was the longestserving mayor in the country, having entered office in 1959. A Texan, Hilmar Moore, of Richmond, is generally regarded as the longest-serving mayor in U.S. history. He took office in 1949 and served for more than sixty-three years. Joe’s current tenure, based on current compilations (Wikipedia’s ordering, for example), place him just outside the top ten lists of mayors with the longest stretches of continuous service. “I’m actually the second mayor of Big Run, but the first to be elected as mayor,� says Joe. “Roland Smith was elected as town burgess, but the state changed the title to ‘mayor’ during his term.� The General Assembly amended existing state law and designated “the burgess� as “the mayor� in May 1961. In addition to marrying “a lot of people,� the best part of being Big Run’s mayor is, in Joe’s words, “representing the town.� “Most people see that you’re making a concerted effort for the benefit of the town, and they are OK with that,� he says of the public nature of being the mayor of a small town. “It’s nice when you’ve grown up in the town and have a house there,� he continues, lamenting that the “closing of the [Big Run] school was the demise of the town.� Joe has a personal goal as mayor of Big Run: “I keep telling people that I had forty years with the railroad. Another four years as mayor will make forty years, and another two years with McCabe Funeral Home will make twenty there – that will make a hundred years total!� Big Run’s other claim to fame is (or are) the town’s peeper (or peepers). According to Joe, years ago, Bill Graff, a writer for the Indiana Evening Gazette, was at Big Run Carpet and noticed the list of dates documenting the first peeper frog’s (or frogs’) “sound of spring� as recorded at the Big Run swamp. A creative and conscientious reporter, Bill wrote a story

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2 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

about the Big Run spring peeper, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. In 1994, the Peeper Committee organized the first-ever Spring Peeper Banquet, held on March 20 at the Big Run War Memorial Building. The program for that event lists the dates of the first recorded peeps, beginning on March 22, 1972, and continuing through March 29, 1993.

Joe Buterbaugh

Another tradition inaugurated with that banquet was the naming of the Big Run Citizen(s) of the Year Award. The first recipients were John Cherpesh, John London, and Emma Wingert, and the most recent recipient was Gina Welsh (aka Frog Lady). Groups to be recognized over the years include the World War II Veterans of Big Run VFW Post 9044 (1995) and the Big Run Area Volunteer Fire Company (2000). Joe himself was honored as Citizen of the Year for 2002; Rose, along with Pauline Gray, was recognized in 2005. “We’ve worked together as a team as the years have gone by,� says Joe of Rose’s contributions to the Big Run community. The 2017 edition of Spring Peeper Banquet

will be held Sunday evening, March 19, at the Big Run War Memorial. “This is our twenty-fourth annual banquet,� says Joe. “This year’s speaker is state representative Cris Dush.� “The banquet is a good place for politicians to be recognized,� Joe continues. “I’m sure that this year’s banquet will turn into a good time.� For additional information about the 2017 Spring Peeper Banquet or to order tickets, please call 952-8027 or 427-6029. Joe has been part of the Big Run landscape for most of his life. He was born in the Elk Run section of Punxsutawney, where he lived for six months before his family moved to Big Run. In spite of the short sojourn in Punxsutawney Phil’s hometown, Joe considers himself a lifelong resident of Big Run – the Land of the Peepers! Joe’s father was William Walter Buterbaugh, who was known as “Stoney� to family and friends, and his mother was Millicent Faye (Henry) Buterbaugh. He was named after both his grandfathers – his maternal grandfather, Joseph, and his paternal grandpa, Lloyd. Joe was the second oldest of eight siblings, having an older brother, Rufus, who passed away, and seven younger siblings – two sisters and five brothers. One younger brother, Jon, passed away in 2000 after battling cancer.� Joe and his wife, Rose A. (Bobango) Buterbaugh have been married forty-five years, having tied the knot on October 2, 1971. Joe and Rose have a blended family: Joe has a son, Joe Buterbaugh, Jr. (married to Jackie), and a daughter, Abbie Pride (married to Joe), from a previous marriage; Rose has a daughter, Beth Travis (married to Greg), from a first marriage; and, together, Joe and Rose have a son, Charles William Joseph Buterbaugh – “Rose picked the name!� exclaims Joe – who is married to Robin. In 2016, their son attained the rank of Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, the highest enlisted rank of this military branch. Approximately one percent of the Air Force members may hold the rank, so Joe and Rose are rightly proud of their son’s accomplishment – just as they are proud of the successes that all their children have achieved. Joe and Rose are grandparents to seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, with a fourth great-grandchild due to join the - Continued on page 4

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Social Media in Days Gone By – A Stroll Down Memory Lane

By Mary Ellen Pollock-Raneri for Hometown magazine t’s everywhere and it’s on the move – just like in the old film, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It creeps around our lives and even invades the hours when we sleep. From the time we open our eyes in the morning, we obsessively read it as we once read the local newspaper. We type on it. We post on it. We write rebuttals to it. We pour over it as though our lives depended on it. “It’s so annoying,” I fume to myself as I study photos of people’s dogs dressed in sweaters and costumes. Snapshots are plentiful there – everything from the traditional selfie with pouty lips to shots of people’s halupki dinners. “I have to inactivate my account,” I decide as I read the page of a friend who has changed into the most knowledgeable political pundit in the world. I can read about everyone’s new “in a relationship with,” if I really want to get nosey, or I can find out any problem going on in town from a patch of ice on a nearby street to a burglary. I have learned 1,000 different ways to make buffalo chicken. And someone will give me blowby-blow scores and plays of the latest football or hockey game. It’s maddening. It’s all day – every day. It’s too much information. It’s technology on steroids. What is this creature from the black lagoon of cyberspace? It’s social media of the new millennium. Whatever it may be – Snapchat, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, or other relationship sites – it’s the way most people interact in these fast-paced days. Me, I want to go in the WABAC time machine with Mr. Peabody, the bespectacled white pooch, and Sherman, his dorky, red-headed kid companion with round googly glasses. I want to travel like those two cartoon characters – not to ancient Rome or Greece, or even on an adventure with George Washington – but to a time when we had social media that was not as sophisticated as it is today. I want to travel back to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, in the 1960s and early 1970s. Communication in my school days was awesome! Well, to a kid, that is. We all wrote notes – one page, two pages, and multiple-page correspondence. Writing notes was kind of like a blog without a computer, I guess. Just like today’s students type on their phones with breakneck speed – their thumbs flying across the screen of their “device” – we also could push a pencil pretty

quickly across a sheet of tablet paper and keep it out of the eye range of our teachers. Ah! I remember the thrill, the pure adrenaline rush of passing a note to someone across the classroom. Our slick, clandestine, under-thedesk moves surely could match the tactical maneuvers of the best quarterback in pro football today. Studying the position of the major opponent (the teacher), we used a couple different plays to get our note (usually folded in a football shape) to the specific team member (a classmate). First of all, we used the direct pass tactic – this is where the folded correspondence was actually hurled in the air straight to the receiver. This tricky play worked best when the opponent’s back was turned to the chalkboard. Or, one could pass the written message to a nearby student, and this student would pass it to another, and so on, until the communication reached your teammate – I mean classmate. Another method (and this was my favorite since it required the least amount of movement) included simply positioning the small folded-up chunk of paper on the corner of your desk. It sat there until the recipient strolled past and casually snapped it up. Last of all, the quarterback could run the ball himself – that is, pretend to go to the restroom or the pencil sharpener while discretely dropping the note on the receiver’s desktop. All these plays could work – given the position and involvement of the opposition (aka the teacher). Ask me – I know – I also taught school for over thirty years. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men … well, you know the rest. I remember one particular instance when a friend of mine passed a note that outlined the faults of the teacher’s wardrobe. Unfortunately, the pass was intercepted by the other team – a team that only consisted of one member, the teacher! The immortal words of Mr. Peabody, uttered after a misstep by Sherman, aptly summarized the situation: “Oh, my.” After reading the note quietly to herself, the teacher folded the thing back up into a neat packet and laid it back on my friend’s desktop. Then, the instructor gave a speech about how when you talk about someone, you can deny saying what you said. But, when you write something on paper, it’s a totally different ballgame. Once you record the thoughts on paper, well, they are there in black and white forever and ever. I have always remembered that lesson – it is one of the more vivid ones that I learned at school. Remember the rule, “If you wouldn’t say it or show it to your grandma, don’t write it?” – well, trust me, it is true.

Nevertheless, notes had their upside. I’m sure most readers will never forget the ultimate cartwheeling of their hearts when they found a note stuck in the slats of their metal locker door. It was better than e-mail – you could manipulate the paper! You could unfold it. You could hold it. And you could hide the thing when you were done reading it. When I was thirteen years old, I remember feeling a pang of jealously when my best friend discovered love notes from her “boyfriend.” He cleverly positioned the origami-like correspondence in her locker located on the second floor of the old Jackson building, and the notes would drop out when she yanked open her metal locker door. Now, considering how we were barely teenagers, and considering how the only “dating” that we did was to write notes or hold hands when the teacher wasn’t looking, I’m thinking that his notes to her were not as salacious as I thought they might be. Nonetheless, I wanted to be part of the social media at the old junior high school in town. Alas, the most social correspondence I ever received were notes about plans to go to the Jefferson Theatre with a girlfriend, or a note about the homework that was assigned. Our methods of communication also included the telephone – you know, the one on the wall with the curly cord that led to a receiver. And I was only allowed to use this form of social media when I asked permission. My parents had some hard-and-fast rules about this type of networking. First, no long-distance calls. Back then, even calling a few miles away might mean an extra ten cents or thereabouts on my parents’ phone bill. Second, no phone calls during the dinner hour. Third, one of my parents usually chaperoned and timed the phone calls. Last, I

was rarely allowed to use the phone just to shoot the breeze – there was usually a specific reason to make a call, such as discussion of an assignment or gleaning knowledge about an activity. Sometimes, I was allowed to make plans to do some goings-on with a friend; we used the phone for that. But my parents had ultimate control over this form of social media. I recall one instance when I wanted a classmate to go to the “Jeff” to see The Sword in the Stone, the original Disney cartoon that came out in the ’60s. I had to wait until a specific time to call my friend, so I would not disrupt their supper hour. When my friend didn’t answer her phone, I tried again (sorry, no answering machine on those phones). I thought I would just die if she didn’t answer! Such anxiety from a simple device! Then, finally, after my allotted three phone calls, my friend answered, and we made a plan. Hey! It was a great movie and so worthy of all the stress! Mrs. Rundel, my high school French teacher, was a trendsetter of ’70s communication as she pioneered a “pen pal” program with foreign students from France. We all thought that it was a wonderful program, too, even though we had to wait and wait for the letters to come by “snail mail.” Typically, in the summertime, my friends and I actually wrote letters to each other – even if they only lived as far as Cloe or Stump Creek. There was nothing better than eagerly sprinting out to our old beat-up silver mailbox with “RD#1 Box 22” scrawled on the side of it in big black letters and discovering piece of mail with my name on it – sent from a school chum! Inside the thing, we ruminated about boys and school and classes and clothes. Now, I know, it doesn’t sound that exhilarating, but I can still remember the sense of excitement when I held that envelope in my hand as I stood under the lofty oaks that surrounded our mailbox. No computer, phone, iPad, or device can ever imitate the feeling of opening the envelope of a handwritten - Continued on page 7

Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197 – 3

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4 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

Joe Buterbaugh

Continued from page 2 family in April. Joe attended elementary school at Big Run Public School, where he achieved a degree of local renown when the Punxsutawney Spirit published a picture of him as a sandlot marbles champion. Following the eighth grade, Joe entered Punxsutawney High School, graduating as a member of the Class of 1955. “I have an awful lot of good memories,� Joe says of his time in high school. “I was the football equipment manager – my dad wouldn’t let me play football.� Joe was active in service clubs and the school’s drama club. “I was in the thespian society,� he says, “and participated in school play and so forth.� “I had a lot of fun,� Joe concludes. According to Joe, he lived about four miles from the high school; however, how he traveled to and from school has faded into the mists of memory. “We lived in Big Run,� he says, “but I can’t remember how I got to school. I must have ridden the bus, I guess.� When Joe graduated in the spring of 1955, the U.S. Army still conducted a draft to fill its ranks. He had a friend who served in the U.S. Army Security Agency. “It sounded like a good thing to do,� says Joe, who decided to enlist. Joe entered active duty in the U.S. Army in January 1956 and was ordered to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic training. Following boot camp, Joe attended Southeastern Signal School in Georgia. A member of the 101st Airborne Division, Joe spent most of his enlistment at Clarke Air Force Base in the Philippines, where he served in the communications station. He completed his enlistment at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. In the Philippines, Joe worked as a cryptographer. “I coded and decoded messages and sent them to the higher-ups,� he says. Joe expresses no regret in volunteering to serve his country. “I would never take out that part of my life,� he says. “I spent time in the Far East, in the Philippine Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, and Okinawa.� “I benefited from my service,� he continues. “The military teaches discipline and gives you the chance to travel and to meet people.� “I don’t regret my service at all,� concludes Joe, whose active and reserve duty extended from January 1956 to December 1961. Joe chuckles when he recalls two messages, in particular, that he received while in the service. In March 1956, a sister called to tell him that the Buterbaugh household had grown by one – his younger brother Brian had joined the clan. Nearly two years later, Joe received a message telling him that he had another younger brother, Mike, who was born in January 1958. “My mother didn’t want the house to be empty,� muses Joe. “Mom died young, so I helped dad raise them.� A family circle came to completion

when Brian and Mike help Joe to raise his children. On March 31, 1959, following his tour of active duty, Joe “hired out� to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (the “B&O�) – the country’s first common carrier railroad, founded in 1828. He retired from the railroad on March 31, 1999, having worked, during his forty years, for various iterations of the B&O – the B&O, C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio Railway), CSX Transportation, and the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad. Joe spent the first sixteen years with the railroad as a train station order operator, working at various stations from Punxsutawney to Butler. “There were no signals at the time,� he explains. “Everything was run out of Punxsy by train orders.� This period of time was followed by working at stations from Butler to Salamanca, New York. “This was a big region,� Joe says, adding that his work assignments – and the long hours of driving to and from work – made the planning of family outings a challenge. “I was on call most of the time,� he continues. “If you took off on an expedition with your family, you didn’t know if you’d have a job when you got home.� Joe also worked as a freight agent and was promoted to a train dispatcher. His last stop on a long ride as a railroad employee was the station in Punxsutawney. “As I look back now – being called out and driving where I’d never been before – I wouldn’t change any of it,� Joe says. “Even while I was going through it, I didn’t think about changing it.� “I didn’t have regular hours,� Joe chuckles, “but there were times, of course.� In spite of the challenges presented by his job, Joe and his family managed to visit places like SeaWorld and historical sites like Gettysburg – along with regular fishing and hunting excursions. Joe’s roots extend deep into the Big Run soil. He and Rose live in the house formerly owned by his grandfather, Joseph Newton Henry, and grandmother, Ethel Faye (Deemer) Henry. He purchased the house in 1961 after his grandpa passed away and his grandma moved. Joe’s eyes sparkle when he mentions a special place where he spent a couple years of his boyhood – “an old-fashioned, two-story cabin down the road and up a path� from his current residence. “The property was owned by grandpa,� Joe says. “At Christmas, we hung our stockings on the mantle.� Of course, the old cabin had lacked at least one modern amenity – “there was an outside privy!� As a boy, Joe picked huckleberries – “we sold them for twenty-five cents a quart� – and elderberries – “Gram gave us old scissors to cut the elderberry bunches.� Berry-picking wasn’t the only local institution that attracted Joe – the First Christian Church of Big Run - Continued on page 6

Hometown Community Happenings

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By the staff of Hometown magazine rom the staff of Hometown magazine and the Community Calendar at Punxsutawney.com, here is a list of events coming up in our area: n  Feb. 24: “Almost Overnighter,” 6 to 9 p.m., at Weather Discovery Center. $8 per child, walk-ins welcome. Bring sleeping bag & wear your pajamas! n  Feb. 24 & 25: Prayer Renewal Retreat at Mahaffey Camp. For information, call 277-5544 or visit www.mahaffeycamp.com. n  Feb. 25: SSCD Home & School Auction, 6 p.m. Includes basket, silent & live auctions. Benefits the SSCD school. n  Feb. 28: Senior Safety program regarding technology and identity theft, 11:15 a.m., at Punxsy Senior Center on Pine Street. Program presented by Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office. n  Feb. 27: Yoga Class, Homestead Yoga Studio on 330 Hemlock Acres Rd., Smicksburg. Mondays from 9-10:15 a.m. $10. Call or text 814-952-0495. n    March 1: Ash Wednesday. Begins the religious season of Lent, leading to Easter. n  March 1: Ash Wednesday Soup & Sandwich dinner, 5:30 p.m. and Worship at 6:30 p.m., at Grange Church of God. n  March 3: “Southern Fried Funeral,” 7:30 p.m., at Punxsy Area Middle School. Presented by Punxsy Theatre Arts Guild. n  March 4: Spaghetti Dinner to benefit Chloe Welder, 4 to 8 p.m., at JCHA Social Hall. n  March 4: “Southern Fried Funeral,” 7:30 p.m., at PAMS. Presented by PTAG. n  March 6, 13, 20 & 27: Toddler Time, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Punxsy Weather Discovery Center. $6 admission. Walk-ins welcome. n  March 7: First Tuesday Community Meal, 5 p.m., at Punxsy Presbyterian Church. n  March 9: Trout stocking, 10:30 a.m., at Cloe Lake, by Pennsylvania Fish Commission. Schedule subject to change. n  March 10: Community Dinner, 5 p.m., at Punxsy First United Methodist Church. Free & open to the public. n  March 10: “Southern Fried Funeral,” 7:30 p.m., at PAMS. Presented by PTAG. n  March 11: “Southern Fried Funeral,” 7:30 p.m., at PAMS. Presented by PTAG. n  March 12: Daylight Savings Time begins. Turn your clocks ahead an hour. n  March 12: “Southern Fried Funeral,” 2 p.m., at PAMS. Presented by PTAG. n  March 17: St. Patrick’s Day! Wear some green! n  March 17, 24 & 31: Turkey shoots, open at 6 and shoot at 7 p.m., at Rochester Mills Gun Club. n  March 18: Glow in the Dark Day, 10 a.m. to noon, at Weather Discovery Center. $7 per person. Call 938-1000 or email info@weatherdiscovery.org. n  March 18: Rabies Clinic, 10 a.m. to noon, at Rochester Mills Gun Club. $12, no checks. Cats must be caged & dogs leashed. n  March 18: Silver Ring Thing, 7 p.m., at Punxsy Area High School. Tickets can be obtained at www.silverringthing.com or at the door. n  March 20: First Day of Spring! n  March 21: Blood drive, 1 to 6:30 p.m., at Reynoldsville American Legion. Benefits American Red Cross. n  March 24: Blood drive, noon to 5:30 p.m., at Punxsy Christian School. Benefits American Red Cross.

n  March 24: Music Showcase, 7 p.m., PAHS auditorium. n  March 25: Bowl For Kids’ Sake fundraiser, 4 to 6 p.m., at Brookville Lanes. Benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters. Email bbbs@guidancecenter.net or call 1-877-7761636 for information. n  March 25: “Spring is in the Air” painting class, 6 to 9 p.m., at New Anchor Inn. Presented by Kreative Kreations. Tickets required. n  March 25: Weather Safety Boy Scout Merit Badge program, 9 a.m. to noon. Register by March 17 by calling 938-1000 or emailing info@weatherdiscovery.org. n  March 30: Blood drive, noon to 5:30 p.m., at Grace UM Church, Sykesville. Benefits American Red Cross.

n  April 1: Spring Open House, Smicksburg area businesses. n  SSCD Fish Dinners. Lenten fish dinners will be served at SS. Cosmas & Damian Catholic Church on the first six Fridays of Lent: March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 & April 7, in SSCD auditorium. Eat in or take out, 4 to 7 p.m. Baked or beer-battered haddock, salmon patties, halushski or pierogis, fries, roasted potatoes, mac & cheese, cole slaw, vegetable, homemade cakes. Call 938-6540, ext. 217, for take outs. n  The Punxsutawney Area Community Center offers indoor cycling, batting cage, Fifty & Fit, SilverSneakers, AM men’s basketball, Pilates/yoga, and gymnastics. Call 938-1008 for more information. •••

Hometown Super Football Contest Winner Announced

D.A. Nogacek, of Coolspring, is the final winner of Hometown’s Football Contest for the 2016-2017 NFL season. Fittingly, D.A. won in a tiebreaker as the New England Patriots of the AFC defeated the Atlanta Falcons of the NFC in sudden death overtime by the score of 34-28. D.A. plans to redeem his prize at Pizza Town. Congratulations and enjoy your slices! •••

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Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197 – 5

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6 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

Joe Buterbaugh

Continued from page 4 exerted a strong spiritual influence on Joe. “When I was young, everything hinged around the church,� remembers Joe. “I was born and raised in the church, and I accepted the Lord in 1948.� Joe’s mom was active in the church. “She taught Sunday School, among various activities,� he recalls. “Yes, mom was very active.� Joe’s dad attended church, but wasn’t active in a traditional, church-going sense. He had a teaching ministry outside – literally outside – the church. “Dad taught the kids around town which mushrooms to pick and sell,� remembers Joe. “He also picked princess pine to make wreaths and ginseng to sell when he was laid off.� Joe’s church attendance led him to set goals when he was a boy. “When I was younger, I wanted to be Sunday school superintendent and the secretary-treasurer of the Sunday school,� he says, “and I got to be both of them!� Joe passed along his love of church and his commitment to its services to his children, one of whom questioned once her father. “My daughter said, ‘Dad, we don’t have to be in church every time the doors are open, do we?’� he recalls with a chuckle. Joe also sang in the church’s choir, one outlet for his love of vocal music – particularly the sounds of barbershop quartets and gospel music. “I sang in the Weather Town Four barbershop quartet in the 1960s and 1970s,� says Joe. “I started out as a high tenor, but I would sing bass today.� “We had a lot of fun singing ‘Coney Island Baby,’� he continues. “It’s all gone by the way now, but we packed the Jackson Theater when we had barbershop concerts.� Joe is fan of Southern Gospel music, as sung by Bill Gaither and Family, as well as by a number of local groups. He recalls attending concerts by the Watchmen (the Abrahams) in the 1960s and the Backwoodsmen. He currently enjoys listening to Julie Nevel and today’s country music. Don Dishong, of Reynoldsville – an uncle of the writer – sang bass in the Backwoodsmen and was posthumously inducted into the Pennsylvania Southern Gospel Music Association’s Hall of Fame in 2013. “There was so much good music then. Groups were always coming up,� Joe says wistfully. “I heard your Uncle Don sing many times.� Serving his town, attending his church, listening to barbershop and gospel music – Joe is a man of many passions. Fly-fishing is another longtime enthusiasm. “I used to go on thirty trips a year,� he says. “Now, it’s a pleasure to get out for a day.� Joe is a member of the Allegheny Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited – “we just celebrated our fifty-year anniversary� – and has, over the years, served

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as the group’s secretary-treasurer, vice president, and president. “A fellow moved up here from Pittsburgh and started it,â€? Joe says of the club. Somewhat curiously for an avid fly fisherman, Joe does not tie his own flies. “I’ve always had friends who were good tiers,â€? he says, recalling one tier in particular – the late “Boo Booâ€? Davis. “He was an excellent tier,â€? says Joe, “and he passed along his knowledge to others who are still around.â€? Joe’s favorite fishing haunts are Kettle Creek and the First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek, and his favorite flies are Caddis fly patterns and terrestrials and May flies when they are in season. With rod in hand, Joe enjoys matching wits with the wily trout. “Fly fishing is it!â€? Joe enthuses. “To try to fool that trout to come up – even if you miss him, you fooled him.â€? Joe has passed along his enthusiasm for fly fishing to his grandsons, Kyle and Michael. “We got them set up with rods, and they both picked up fly fishing relatively easily,â€? he says. “I miss not being able to be with them. Time just goes roaring by like a freight train.â€? Talking with Joe provides an opportunity to meet people – he seemingly knows everyone. And he greets those he knows with kind words and an infectious smile. Plus, he offers those he greets with a sugary treat – a Life Saver (perhaps, two). “I have two pockets filled with them and give them away anyplace I go – the grocery store, the funeral home, local functions, wherever!â€? he says. “I now have a couple generations who have received the candy.â€? Joe carries and gives away three flavors: butter rum, orange, and wild cherry. “I probably give away 300 every two weeks,â€? he says with a smile. “I can almost tell you who eats what!â€? The penchant for giving away Life Savers has earned Joe a nickname – “the Candy Man.â€? “I have a lot of fun with it,â€? he says. “Some parents tell me that their kids ask, ‘Is that guy with the Life Savers going to be there?’â€? Although his voice often carries a touch of wistfulness when he talks about the years gone by, Joe doesn’t pine for the past – he lives fully in the present. He has a lot of fun not only with his Life Savers, but also with his family, his church, his work, and his role as mayor of his favorite, by far, small town. Joe greets each day with the same smile that he greets each person with. May he serve four more years as Big Run’s mayor; may he work two more years at McCabe’s – one hundred years of work and service would be a remarkable milestone for a remarkable man, who points out that “behind every great man is a great woman, soulmate, and best friend.â€? For Joe, the Candy Man and the mayor of Big Run, that great woman, soulmate, and best friend is Rose, his wife of more than fortyfive years. ••• & B,$%% & 3$,

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“From Our Past,� researched by S. Thomas Curry, features items of interest from past editions of Punxsutawney and area newspapers.

February 16, 1871 — Mr. Christian Miller has just finished putting up his supply of ice for use during the sweltering days of summer. The cakes are about fourteen inches thick. (Punxsutawney Plaindealer)

Continued from page 3 note. Last, but not least, I would be remiss if I did not mention a favorite form of communication from the good old days of school – the yearbook. Teachers actually gave us class time for this social “media� extravaganza. There, on the blank pages and inside covers, most of us wrote stuff that we probably would never say to the person’s face. Sometimes, students might not even know each other, but managed to write full pages about their lives together. I still have my yearbook. Don’t panic! I won’t mention names; however, let me quote some passages from 1973. One of my favorite messages includes, “To a nice girl in homeroom who won a few awards. Good luck.� Economy of words is sometimes the best modus operandi. Another one of my favorite correspondences is

as follows: “To a girl I have just gotten to know. You are a cool cat. If you weren’t sitting at my table in student hall, I wouldn’t know what to do. Good luck.� Relatively few people in my lifetime have referred to me as a “cool cat.� I kind of like it. And, I’m sure you all remembered our secret shorthand for the yearbook: How many readers recall RMA, AFA? Just like today’s BFF and LOL, we all had our own shortcuts! At any rate, times have sure changed, haven’t they? Nowadays, social media is on fire! I’m sure most of you are familiar with some form of it and even may use it. It’s quick and expressive. It can help us; it can hurt us. It can cause problems, and it can solve problems. It’s probably the biggest cultural upheaval since the answering machine, and it’s here to stay – for a while, anyway! Me, though, I still treasure those memories of the old days and the handwritten stuff. It was like finding a piece of buried treasure, and I could

hide it again and relive it over and over. All I had to do was tuck it in that little mahogany box that was in the back of my sock drawer. Usually, at the end of a Mr. Peabody and Sherman cartoon, Mr. Peabody tells a bad joke or he makes a pun. So here goes. Mr. Peabody: “So Sherman, what did the general do when he learned, via Twitter, that the battle was going badly?â€? Sherman: “Gee, Mr. Peabody. I don’t know. What did the general do?â€? Mr. Peabody: “He retweeted.â€? (Joke by BIZ) Okay, folks, if you get it – you may not be familiar with the old social media of the past; you may be too young or too engulfed in the new wave of today’s technology. Or, just maybe, you got a chuckle and a few fond memories from our stroll down Memory Lane in the WABAC time machine – back to the simple days of our childhood, back to our school days and the days of the original social media! •••

February 20, 1889 — Those who take an interest in the manly sports, such as boxing, wrestling, etc., will have an opportunity to see something pretty good in that line at Jones’ Hall, Walston, tomorrow evening. An athletic tournament will be given there under the management of the Roach Bros., with Chas. E. Gleason as master of ceremonies. James Butler and Lew Wheeler, of Coalport, Billy McFee, of Cumberland, Md., and other noted amateur sluggers and athletes will be present. A lively time is anticipated. (Punxsutawney Spirit)

March 2, 1892 — A new Chinaman – a real slick Americanized looking Chinaman, who has his first naturalization papers, and intends to become a “Melican citizen� as soon as the law will allow – is about to open a laundry here. (Punxsutawney Spirit)

March 2, 1908 — When a party of ladies left town Friday night they became the target for a number of icy missles [sic] thrown by boys ranging from 10 to 18 years of age. Two of the ladies were injured about the face by the ice thrown. All police have been instructed to arrest any and all parties seen throwing snow balls in the future. (Punxsutawney News)

March 8, 1905 — C. E. Palmer, who was elected to his 14th term as Chief of Police of Punxsutawney Monday night, celebrated the event by entertaining the members of council and city officials at a dinner which was served in the Elk rooms by Chef H.E. Beatty after the adjournment of council. (Punxsutawney Spirit) March 11, 1891 — Helvetia is the name of the new post office at Stanley. Harry Shea is the postmaster. (Punxsutawney News) •••

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8 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

African Americans Part of the Texture of Area’s Coal History

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By the Coal Memorial Committee for Hometown magazine ersons of African heritage have been part of the history of Jefferson County since its establishment in 1804. Many African Americans have worked and contributed to the community. Like all the earliest settlers of the county, they were attracted to the area by the affordable land. The earliest freedman to arrive was Enos Fudge VanCamp in 1804. The first person to engage in mining and selling coal in Jefferson County was Charles Anderson, who lived in Brookville. He was one of about a dozen freemen of African descent who came with their families and settled in Jefferson County before the Civil War. Charles Anderson came about 1812. Their names are written in the history of the county. Most of these men and their families were listed as farmers in the census. Anderson was an enterprising man who about 1832 leased land on the James Clements property where he stripped the earth from the top, exposed a coal seam about two feet thick, and dug the coal in small lumps. He hauled the coal to Brookville in a dilapidated one-horse wagon. Anderson sold small quantities of coal to local households. He charged twelve and a half cents for a bushel, five cents for a halfbushel, and three cents for a peck. Competition soon arrived and Anderson changed from digging and selling coal to hauling water for the women of Brookville for their laundry and cooking. He continued in this business until his death in 1874. George Enty of Beaver Township is listed in Caldwell’s 1878 Atlas of Jefferson County as being a coal miner, one of about ten listings of people engaged in coal-related occupations at that time, and the only person of African descent. He was the son of Peter Enty and brother of Abraham Enty, who resided in Ringgold Township. The Enty family was among the earliest settlers in what became Porter, Ringgold, and Beaver Townships. Two of the Enty men served in the

Civil War. The name, sometimes spelled “Anty,� lives on in Jefferson County as the name of a bridge that crosses over the Sandy Creek near Worthville. In 1889, there were changes in the way and the reasons that African Americans came to the Punxsutawney area. The miners of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Coal and Iron Company mines at Walston and Adrian were on strike, seeking to have their wages set at the Union’s agreed-upon scale. The management of the mine refused to negotiate. In order to keep the mines and coke ovens working they brought in strike breakers. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dispatch, on September 12, 1889, reported on the situation at Punxsutawney: MINING TROUBLES The situation in the Punxsutawney Region is still very much mixed. Special Telegram to the Dispatch “Punxsutawney, September 11. The men brought here on Monday by the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Coal and Iron Company to act as policemen to protect the company’s property at Walston and Adrian mines, all left today. They came here with the idea that they were to guard a railroad crossing against the Pennsylvania Company, and when they learned the true state of affairs they refused to be sworn in, being composed principally of laboring men, and they would not permit themselves to be used as instruments to defeat their brother laborers.� Another item in the same paper reported that “Four hundred Negroes from Pocahontas, W.Va., were expected here to-day, but as they have no one to protect them they are not likely to come. The English speaking miners say they would not resort to violence under any circumstances, but the Hungarians and Italians would be for war to the knife. They are all armed with revolvers and knives, and when aroused are not afraid to face death. It is the general opinion that if an attempt is made to put colored men and foreigners into the mines under guard that a sanguinary riot will be the result.� - Continued on page 10

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10 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

African Americans

Continued from page 8 The strike was a long one, and on January 22, 1890, the Punxsutawney News reported that the strike was still on and that the company had brought several car loads of African American men, who were being put to work in the mines and at the coke ovens. These men were watched over by Pinkerton guards. The Punxsutawney Spirit’s report on the same day was: The Colored Brethren “Last Thursday evening the B., R & P. Coal company brought in a car load of negroes from West Virginia and put them to work at the coke ovens at Walston on Friday morning. There are, so far as we can learn, about fifty of them. We are certainly getting a very choice variety of citizens in this neighborhood. All nationalities, we believe, excepting the Mongolian and the Turk, inhabit Young township, and the student of ethnology will find this a very fruitful field for researchers.” In the same issue of the Spirit was an article on the Jubilee Singers, African American men at Walston who entertained during the community church service the previous Sunday. One citizen of Walston was disturbed by the singers, who at the close of one of their songs, bowed politely, saying, “And the strikers won’t get their work back any more.” Some of the African American brethren did not stay on the job very long. The Spirit reported on February 26, 1890, that eighteen of the men, who had been at work at the Walston mines, were returning home. An interview with the men revealed that they were very disappointed in the work. They had not known they were being brought to Punxsutawney to work in the mines. One of the men felt it was as though the work was like slavery, and he didn’t want any more of it. He was taking his month’s pay and going home. This strike was ended when the company transferred operating responsibility for the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal and Iron Company to the Bell, Lewis and Yates Mining Company, thereby canceling all work contracts, ending the strike, and forcing all miners to seek new employment. The March 23, 1898, issue of the Punxsutawney News carried the information that the contract for constructing the tunnel at Simpson hill had been awarded to Bennet & Talbott, of Greensburg, and M.H. Smith, of Altoona. The half-mile tunnel was to be completed in one year at a cost of about $550,000. The contractor brought a large number of African American workers to the area to work on the project. Although they were supervised during work time, their offduty time was spent at their leisure. During the year that the labor camp at the tunnel existed, it was a source of much news. The good news centered on the work progressing

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at the tunnel. The bad news was about the workers, including some about the African American workers. There were news reports about a high time at a social dance at the tunnel, the operation of a speakeasy, and a disagreement over which local jurisdiction had the responsibility to bury a African American man who died of wounds received in a fight at the tunnel. And there were more serious reports about burglaries, assaults, and an out-and-out gun battle in which Clayville Policeman Frank McClure was shot in the neck by a robber. When the tunnel opened in the spring of 1899, the workers moved on to other places, and the community resumed its customary news. In 1910, when the Mauk and Coulter tunnels were being built along the Sawmut railroad, imported African American laborers were used. Again, news about their activities and exploits was reported. African Americans who have chosen to reside in the Punxsutawney area have been successful. The early arrivals worked in traditional jobs at hotels as cooks, waiters, and porters. Occupations that enabled many men to advance their social and economic status during the early twentieth century were working as porters on the railroad and in service professions, such as chauffeur, gardener, butler, and barber. Aubrey Lane, born in Harrisburg Pennsylvania in 1877, became a chef on the dining cars of the Pittsburgh Division of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad under Punxsutawney resident A.B. White, superintendent of the division. Upon his retirement from the railroad in 1916, Lane settled in Punxsutawney, where he and his wife, the former Ruth Dorsey, operated a restaurant and catering service. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and of the Baptist Church. He passed away in 1941 and she in 1944. At that time, they were described as the last African American residents of Punxsutawney. Today, according to the U.S. Census, minorities represent 3.2 percent of the residents of Punxsutawney, with 1.5 percent of them being of African descent. Resources used in the preparation of this article are available at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, the U.S. Census online, and the Library of Congress. This article has been prepared by the Coal Memorial Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc., which seeks to document and preserve the history and impact of coal in the Punxsutawney area. Forms for purchasing a Coal Memorial tile to honor any person who worked in any aspect of the coal industry may be found online at www.punxsyhistory.org or may be picked up at the Lattimer House, 400 West Mahoning Street, Punxsutawney. Comments on this article may be directed to PAHGS, P.O. Box 286, Punxsutawney, PA 15767. ••• 38TH ANNUAL RUN OR WALK FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL

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Saluting Our Presidents

George Washington

First President 1789-1797 State Represented: Virginia Party Affiliation: Federalist Fact(s): In May 1775, Washington was elected commander in chief of the Continental Army.

John Adams

Second President 1797-1801 State Represented: Massachussets Party Affiliation: Federalist Fact(s): His son, John Quincy, became president. He was the first Vice President.

James “Moon� VanSteenberg

Jefferson County Treasurer

“Always working for you�

Thomas Jefferson

James Madison

Third President 1801-1809 Fourth President 1809-1817 State Represented: Virginia State Represented: Virginia Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): At age 33, he drafted the Declaration Fact(s): Louisiana and Indiana became states of Independence. He constructed his during his term. He helped form mountain top home, Monticello. the Bill of Rights.

James Monroe

Fifth President 1817-1825 State Represented: Virginia Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): He was the first president to ride a steamboat. He made the Monroe Doctrine.

John Q. Adams

Sixth President 1825-1829 State Represented: Massachussets Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): His father was president.

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Andrew Jackson

Seventh President 1829-1837 State Represented: Tennessee Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): He was in the war of 1812. He studied law.

Martin Van Buren

Eighth President 1837-1841 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): He gave us the word "OK" or "Okay" which was an abbreviation for the name of his New York home "Old Kinderhook."

William Henry Harrison Ninth President 1841 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Whig Fact(s): He was the first president to die in office.

John Tyler

Tenth President 1841-1845 State Represented: Virginia Party Affiliation: Whig Fact(s): Loved to play the violin. His first wife died while he was president.

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Eleventh President 1845-1849 State Represented: Tennessee Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He died from exhaustion and hard work soon after he left office.

Zachery Taylor

Twelfth President 1849-1850 State Represented: Louisiana Party Affiliation: Whig Fact(s): He served in the Mexican War. He died while President.

Millard Fillmore

Thirteenth President 1850-1853 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Whig Fact(s): He had eight brothers and sisters. His wife started the White House library collection.

Franklin Pierce

Fourteenth President 1853-1857 State Represented: New Hampshire Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): Served in Mexican War.

Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197 – 11

James Buchanan

Fifteenth President 1857-1861 State Represented: Pennsylvania Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He was elected five times to the House of Representatives.

Abraham Lincoln

Andrew Johnson

Sixteenth President 1861-1865 State Represented: Illinois Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He had to struggle for a living. Lincoln's mom died when he was 9.

Seventeenth President 1865-1869 State Represented: Tennessee Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): His wife taught him to read.

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James A. Garfield

Twentieth President 1881 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): Died in office.

Ulysses S. Grant

Eighteenth President 1869-1877 State Represented: Illinois Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was a Civil War General. Fought in the Mexican War.

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Chester A. Arthur

Twenty-First President 1881-1885 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): Was a General in the Civil War.

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Grover Cleveland

Twenty-Second & Twenty-Fourth President 1885-1889 & 1893-1897 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): Angered the railroads by ordering an investigation.

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12 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

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Rutherford B. Hayes

Nineteenth President 1877-1881 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): Was wounded in Civil War, became a General.

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Benjamin Harrison

Twenty-Third President 1889-1893 State Represented: Indiana Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was the same height as James Madison. His grandfather was president.

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William McKinley

Twenty-Fifth President 1897-1901 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He became the leading Republican tariff expert in Congress. He died in office.

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Saluting Our Presidents!

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Theodore Roosevelt

Twenty-Sixth President 1901-1909 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): Born and died in New York. First president to ride in a car while president.

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William H. Taft

Twenty-Seventh President 1909-1913 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was the son of a distinguished judge. He preferred law to politics.

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Woodrow Wilson

Twenty-Eighth President 1913-1921 State Represented: New Jersey Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He was a good student in college. His first wife died while he was president.

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Warren G. Harding

Calvin Coolidge

Twenty-Ninth President 1921-1923 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He had gray hair. He died of a heart attack while president.

Thirtieth President 1923-1929 State Represented: Massachusetts Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): His nickname was "Silent Cal."

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Herbert Hoover

Thirty-First President 1929-1933 State Represented: California Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was a member of the Supreme Economic Council and head of the American Relief Administration.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thirty-Second President 1933-1945 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): First president to ride in an airplane while president.

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Harry S. Truman

Thirty-Third President 1945-1953 State Represented: Missouri Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He was a captain in World War I. He was Vice President for Franklin Roosevelt.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

Thirty-Fourth President 1953-1961 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was the first president to ride in a helicopter while president.

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John F. Kennedy

Thirty-Fifth President 1961-1963 State Represented: Massachusetts Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He liked to swim. He represented Massachusetts in the House and the Senate.

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Richard M. Nixon

Thirty-Seventh President 1969-1974 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was president at the end of the Vietnam War.

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Bill Clinton

Forty-Second President 1993-2001 State Represented: Arkansas Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He played the saxophone. While in high school, he once met President John Kennedy in the White House.

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Jimmy Carter

Thirty-Ninth President 1977-1981 State Represented: Georgia Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He has four children. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

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George W. Bush

Forty-Third President 2001- 2009 State Represented: Texas Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): Likes baseball. First President to begin serving in the 21st Century.

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14 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

Ronald Reagan

Fortieth President 1981-1989 State Represented: California Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was shot by a would-be assassin and quickly recovered and returned to office.

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Forty-First President 1989-1993 State Represented: Texas Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): When he was 18, he joined the armed forces. He represented Texas in Congress.

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Gerald R. Ford

Thirty-Eighth President 1974-1977 State Represented: Michigan Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He starred on the University of Michigan football team.

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Barack Obama

Forty-Fourth President 2009 - Present State Represented: Illinois Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): The first African American to hold the office. Elected to his second term in November, 2012. Instituted Health Care Reform.

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Donald Trump

Forty-Fifth President 2017 - Present State Represented: No prior governmental service Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): At age 70, Trump is the oldest and wealthiest person to become president. Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a degree in economics.

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18 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

Punxsutawney Historical Society to Present

“Women in WWI� Program

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By Marty Armstrong for Hometown magazine eatrice Adams, Irene C. Bennis, Bertha V. Beyers, Adda Chambers, Grace Cook, Cora Foltz, Netta Jane Foltz, Mary H. Heneigh, Emma Johnson, C. Jeannette Oswald – these women have at least one thing in common: they are Punxsutawney area women who served during World War I. The list is pulled from page 241 of the book, Punxsutawney Centennial, 18491949: 100 Years of Progress. This book, as you may know, was the product of diligent work on the part of many students and teachers at the Punxsutawney High School. It was one way that townspeople worked together to make memorable Punxsutawney’s 100th birthday as a recognized borough in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is popular among readers for the many historic details in its pages. The Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc., had it reprinted in 2009, sixty years after its initial publication. Betsy Gibson compiled Chapter VIII, which details “Punxsutawney’s Part in Four Wars� (the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II). Chapter XI, compiled under the general supervision of Nancy Philliber, carries the self-explanatory title, “Soldiers of Various Wars� (Revolutionary War and War of 1812, Civil War, SpanishAmerican War, World War I, and World War II). For WWI, the introductory text reads as follows: “When the students began looking for references to World War I, it was discovered that there was no authentic local record. Kimball Frease and a group of volunteers, Barbara Eggleston, Joan Freas, JoAnne Hardick and Marcia Reid, traveled to Brookville two Sundays in wintry January weather and copied some 2,000 names of veterans from the Honor Roll in the yard of the Court House. On their second trip the girls worked in a downpour of rain. After the girls had finished copying the

complete county record, it was necessary to pick out the names of the Punxsutawney veterans. This was handled by Mrs. Glenn Tait of the American Legion Auxiliary and Alva Cole.� The result of these efforts is a list of more than 300 local names, including ten war workers and nurses who were women. As - Continued on page 20

arthur T. Bennis

Arthur Bennis Serves in WWI

arthur T. Bennis, son of Mr. and Mrs. T.e. Bennis, was born in 1888, attended grade school at Saints Cosmas and Damian, Conisius Preparatory School, MIT, and Marquette University, where he received a Bachelor of arts degree. He became a certified public accountant and had charge of the foreign department at Punxsutawney national Bank. He enlisted in the naval Reserve late in 1917, following the United States’ entry into World War I. after training at Bumpkin Island, he left for a gunnery practice on a U.S. warship in March 1918, telegraphing home â€œâ€Ś everything O.k. Fifty five others from Bumkin with me. Will write at first opportunity.â€? During the war, Bennis was aboard the USS San Diego when it was torpedoed and sunk in July 1918. after several hours on rafts and life preservers, all naval personnel were picked up. They had not been in sight of land, but it was thought that a plane saw the heads in the water and got help. Bennis married a Brooklyn girl in 1928, and they raised their family in Punxsutawney, moving to new Jersey after World War II. He died in 1973 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Punxsutawney. •••

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20 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2017 - Issue #197

tion on North Findley Street. He also built and owned the Gleckler Hotel on Findley Street (later known as the Hotel Punxsutawney) and Continued from page 18 other buildings between the hotel and March is Women’s History month in the Farmer’s Alley. The couple had seven chilUnited States, the Historical Society will presdren: Leo, Arthur, Irene, Helen, Elsie, and ent a public program on Tuesday evening, Dorothy; a son, Earl Vincent, died in infancy. March 28, at 7 p.m., in the Reschini Room of In 1918 the Bennis family acquired the home the Lattimer House, 400 West Mahoning at 401 West Mahoning Street, built in 1903 by Street. Society members will provide what inPunxsutawney Iron Furnace executive E.C. formation they can find about the area women McKibben. named above and the work of women in Irene Cecelia Bennis, the oldest girl, was born in 1892. She attended grade school at WWI in general. (Many of the men who Saints Cosmas and Damian and high school at served in WWI will be featured in Hometown St. Joseph’s each month for Academy in 2017 and 2018. Pittsburgh, as did Arthur Bennis is her three younger featured in the sisters. While March issue.) there, the girls all In looking at the became profinames of the cient in china women, one impainting, a popumediately stands lar pursuit of out to anyone who young ladies of volunteers reguthe time. larly at the Society, Irene graduated that of Irene C. from Mount Bennis. Irene was Saint Vincent on one of six children the Hudson, and of T.E. and Susie after a visit from Quigley Bennis, a cousin, and their family Gertrude Bennis, home at 401 West Mahoning Street, who was a nurse, Irene decided purchased by Mr. that she also Bennis in 1918, is wanted to be a now – through the nurse. She went generosity of the to Mercy Hospilast surviving sistal School of ter, Dorothy BenNursing in Pittsnis Cooney, and The daughters of Mr. and Mrs. T.e. Bennis are seen in a her husband, 1917 photograph: (left to right) Dorothy, Irene, elsie, and burgh and beDaniel Cooney – Helen. The picture was taken shortly before Irene joined came a registered during the property of the the WWI effort as an army nurse. (photograph courtesy of nurse; Society for use as the Punxsutawney area Historical & Genealogical Society) WWI she became an army nurse. At a time when it was its headquarters and museum. Two family daring to take a plane from England to Europe photographs accompany this story. The first across the English Channel, Irene and Mae, a was taken in 1907 of the Bennis parents and friend from nurse’s training, made the trip. children. The second is of the four sisters Irene never married, and she spent her later taken in 1917. To see Irene in 1917 as she looked when the U.S. entered WWI and near years at the family home on West Mahoning together with her sisters Helen (also unmarthe time when she herself entered the war efried), who had taken a business course at fort as a nurse is remarkable. DuBois, and Elsie McBride Ely, who also had From the Society’s Bennis surname file, one gone to Mercy Hospital School of Nursing. finds the following information about Irene’s The last of the sisters to live in the home, family, compiled by volunteer Vivian Waite Irene died in 1982 and is buried in Calvary from obituaries, notes from Dorothy Bennis Cemetery. Cooney, and other resources. Her Bennis Anyone who has a connection to or inforgrandparents were natives of Ireland. Her famation about the women listed in the openther, Thomas E. (T.E.) Bennis, was born in Bradford County and began his life’s work in ing paragraph is asked to call the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Gethe hotel trade in Towanda, Pennsylvania, and nealogical Society at 938-2555 before the Waverly, New York. He married Susie program on March 28. Quigley, whose grandparents were from IreMarty Armstrong is a member of the Colland, in New York. In 1885, they moved to lections Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Punxsutawney, where T.E. managed the Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. Punxsutawney House; he later owned and ••• managed the Bennis Hotel near the rail sta-

Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society

Lattimer House: 400 West Mahoning Street Bennis House: 401 West Mahoning Street Punxsutawney, PA 15767 • 814-938-2555

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Preserving the history of the Punxsy area. Museums, library, photos, galleries & genealogy Workshops, exhibitions & programs.

“A Most Pleasing Function”: Punxsutawney’s Mock Wedding, 1909

T

By Susan I. Gatti for Hometown magazine his story originally appeared in 2014 in the Histo-Report (Volume 34, Number 1), the newsletter of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society and is reprinted with permission of the author. Today, children have countless options for having fun. An array of battery-run toys, handheld electronics and transformable action figures complements such enduring kid pleasures as romping in the backyard, making tents, playing in creeks, and riding bikes. But, at the turn of the twentieth century, young people usually had to work harder at making their own fun. An intriguing example of self-manufactured fun is captured in a formally-posed photograph taken in June 1909 by the White Studio of Punxsutawney. The image speaks for itself: a solemn bride and groom, surrounded by bridesmaids, groomsmen, and attendant children, are presided over by a white-collared clergyman. A wedding is about to happen. The setting is

a heavily-decorated Edwardian-style room, festooned with limp flowers and withered ferns. At first glance, the photograph offers the twenty-first-century spectator a charming formal image of a traditional white-satin, engraved-invitation wedding. However, the image invites a second or third look. There is something unusual about this wedding party. Ultimately, the viewer realizes that, with the exception of the attending boys, the entire wedding party is female. The groom is a girl. So are the best man, the three groomsmen, and the officiating cleric. This intriguing photograph, which came down through the “groom’s” family, prompted both restoration and research. In 2012, Indiana photographer Fred Maize digitized and restored the original, which had sustained age-related damage. The computerized version now offers the viewer a zoomed-in appreciation of the many painstaking details: a dainty circlet on the ring-bearer’s pillow, buckles on a page’s shoes, brooches on dresses and rose-petals in the flower girl’s bas-

ket. However, these enhanced refinements raise many questions about the event, the time period, and the obvious edginess of crossdressing females. Who were these young women and children? What inspired them to channel so much time, energy, and expense into a mock wedding? Most of all, how did this type of event fit into the larger Punxsutawney community and, by extension, contemporary America culture? Clearly, the days of struggling Punxsutawney pioneers were over. In the early 1900s, middle-class residents of Punxsutawney had more free time and money to devote to recreation. The photograph offers a popular example of family-friendly community fun: the mock wedding. During the early twentieth century, mock weddings were popular, especially in small towns and rural communities, where theatrics, dances, and recitals offered citizens a break from the weekly routine. Often, a mock wedding coincided with a bridal shower, an anniversary party, a community celebration, or a fundraiser. As researcher Michael Taft notes, mock weddings were “a common form of folk drama characterized by cross-dressing, bawdy behavior, adlibbing and general carousing” (page 17). More, they offered participants an opportunity to break out of limiting social roles and gender identities. Mock weddings didn’t appeal just to females. University of Texas professor of religious studies, Chad E. Seales, explains that men also staged mock weddings, often at small-town bachelor parties or church benefits. These intentionally absurd all-male productions, featuring a past-her-prime bride and dim-witted groom, were announced in local papers. Friends and families were invited to “witness,” usually in a church social hall or a community center. Attendees were promised a glimpse of the “rare and unique” loveliness of the bridal party. Admission was about twenty-

five cents (Seales, page 58). For men and women alike, mock weddings provided an uninhibited opportunity to dress and behave in the manner of the opposite sex. In doing so, they could have a good time, and demonstrate the ease with which males and females could slip in and out of gendered roles. Especially for female participants, the mock wedding allowed them to assume – if only for one night – the assertive roles unavailable to them in real life. The original photograph offers no information about the mock-wedding party. But an unsigned article titled “A Novel and Most Pleasing Function,” published in the June 16, 1909, edition of The Punxsutawney Spirit, offers some clues. According to the report, several members of the Girls’ Musical Club, “an organization of young ladies,” had announced an upcoming “wedding” to be held at the 191 Gilpin Street home of Charles and Sally Neal, on the evening of June 16, 1909. On that date, parents and guests assembled in the Neals’ breathtakingly over-decorated parlor, which sported a “green and white” color scheme. The writer notes that the girls had emptied nearly every local greenhouse of floral stock, including an astounding twenty dollars worth of orange blossoms for the bride’s bouquet. Promptly at 8:30 p.m., pianist Helen Wilson stuck the majestic opening chords of Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March.” The bridal party descended from upstairs “with becoming dignity and measured tread.” The bride, Bessie Neal, had been outfitted in her mother’s formal white-silk wedding dress. Miss Neal, a student at Birmingham College, carried a bundle of flowers “as large as a garbage barrel.” “Mother of the bride” Ellen Bell wore one of her mother’s tasteful frocks as she gave the bride away. The photo suggests that Ellen powdered her - Continued on next page

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AContinued MostfromPleasing previous page

dark hair to suggest a few matronly gray strands. Bessie’s maid of honor was Inez Freas; and her bridesmaids were listed as Alta V. Bowers, Helen Kurtz, Myrtle Williams, and Margaret Davis. Alta was the daughter of Harris and Minnie Bowers, residents of Greenwood Avenue. Helen, a student at Wilson College, was home for the summer and living with her parents, Theodore and Alice Rowan Kurtz. The mock wedding also enlisted local children to perform special duties in the ceremony. They occupy the foreground of the photograph. The “groom’s” sister, Mary Drum White, wore a mammoth white hair bow and carried a basketful of rose-petals. The Wingert family played a major role in the production, providing four children and one adult. Nineyear-old James Wingert was attired in a white Buster Brown-style knee-pants suit and dark socks. Margaret Wingert served as ring-bearer, Jefferson, Jr., and younger brother Donald carried the bride’s luxurious train. Interestingly, their thirty-five-year-old mother, Martha St. Clair Wingert – who was the club chaperone – dressed as a fourteen-year-old girl. Mrs. Wingert apparently succeeded in her ruse: she is hard to pick out in a assembly of adolescent girls. Perhaps the most striking feature of this unique photograph is masculine role-playing of the young women comprising the groom’s party. Somehow, these gender-bending players disguised any obvious female features. Susan White, daughter of A.B. and Sallie Evans White of East Mahoning Street, smoothed her customary sofa-cushion coiffure into a manly poet-style side-sweep. Attired in Mr. Neal’s tuxedo – or “claw-hammer,” as men’s formal dress was called – Susan played the groom. Gertrude Dinsmore, daughter of Civil War veteran Robert W. Dinsmore and his wife, Sara, assumed a bold stance as “best man.” Two other females, also attired in white tie and tails, stood behind the best man. At the center of the photograph, hovering over the bridal couple, was George and Minnie Sheldon’s daughter Mildred, attired as the clergyman. Assembled in traditional bridal-party formation, the group went through an actual wedding ceremony in front of a large, appreciative audience of “witnesses.” The article reports that, after the ceremony, “Mr. and Mrs. White” would embark on a two-week wedding trip “Out West” and would be “tendered a reception” at the home of Helen Kurtz when they returned. Audience response was overwhelming. Adult guests declared that “the ceremony did not lack a single conventionality of a fashionable wedding and its very authenticity was enough to have made the Sphinx laugh loud enough to have been heard all over Egypt.” Bessie Neal was credited as the brains behind this event, which many considered the “finest evening’s entertainment” the club had ever presented. This enterprising group of young Punxsutawney women poured imagination, time, and effort into a single evening’s production. They went all-out. In June 1953, a Spirit column titled “Forty-four Years Ago” commemorated a clever “musicale” in the form of a wedding presented by the Girls Musical Club. Certainly, it was a memorable production that aimed for total fidelity to the real thing. It also spoofed the stuffy, overblown wedding customs of the day. Even more remarkable are the dramatic cultural changes and events the young women of this group encountered in the years following their “stunt.” They would send loved ones off

to fight in World War I and, later, in World War II. They would pinch pennies through the Great Depression. They were among the first women to vote. Soon, they would learn to drive automobiles. Most ended up as housewives, but a few had careers. Their lives would be made much easier, thanks to technology. Many would live to see a space expedition to the moon. Most of them lived at the time of the 1901 assassination of William McKinley. Many would be alive in November 1963, when John F. Kennedy was shot. But more meaningful to these young women would be their own weddings. From reports in The Punxsutawney Spirit, most were genteel, rose-petal, and white-silk occasions, typically described by the Spirit social writers as “pretty.” Ceremonies were often timed to mesh with the departure of a honeymoon train. “Maid of honor” Inez Freas was the daughter of Phelps O. and Mabel Morris Freas. In October 1919, she married Dan Stewart. She later moved to Winter Park, Florida, where she died in 1977. Accompanist Helen Wilson married Harry Saulsberry of Johnstown. The Saulsberrys moved to California. They had two daughters, Jane and Anna. In 1923, “best man” Gertrude Dinsmore, married William J. Sutter. Gertrude taught school for a few years in Punxsutawney. She died in Brookville in 1982 and is buried at Circle Hill Cemetery. Helen Kurtz, who died in 1975, married John Kelso and had two children, John and Virginia. Alta V. Brown married Horace Miller Sprankle, better known as “Pete,” in a lowkey ceremony at the First Baptist Church on October 1919. Their reception was held at the B. R. & P. station. Prior to her marriage, Alta served as librarian at the Punxsutawney Free Library. She and Pete moved to Detroit, where she died in 1963. No information has as yet been found about Myrtle Williams or Martha Davis, who are also listed as participants. About a year after hosting the mock wedding, Bessie Neal’s family moved to Watsonville, California, where her father continued his work as a marble-cutter. She married and lived for many years in Santa Cruz, where she died in 1962. “Groom” Susan White turned bride in April 1917, when she married longtime beau, Brennard Parsons, of Pine Street at Christ Episcopal Church. She carried a bouquet of white roses and sweet peas. They eventually settled in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and raised a daughter, Sally Anne. Susan died in 1984. “Mother of the bride,” Ellen Bell, later married Dr. Weir C. Ketler, who later served as president of Grove City College. In the 1940s, Ellen became a real-life mother of the bride in the 1940s when her daughter Eleanor Ketler was married to Ralph H. Larry of Pittsburgh. Perhaps the most thrilling wedding story is that of the “clergyman,” Mildred Sheldon. After graduating from Punxsutawney High School in 1912, she earned a degree at the Woman’s College at Elmira, New York. In June 1917, Mildred and her fiancé, William R. Pentz of Du Bois, made national news, including the front page of The New York Times, when they criss-crossed state lines to get married. William got earlier-than-expected orders to deploy with the Army engineering corps to France. After frantically obtaining a marriage license, they found a Port Chester, New York, justice of the peace willing to perform a ceremony in the middle of the night. For the 3:00 a.m. wedding, the justice wore his home guard uniform to honor the groom. A few hours later, William shipped out for duty. After the War, Mildred and William divorced. She later married Wayne Randall of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where they raised a son and daughter. Mildred passed away in 1984.

- Continued on next page

F

Guild Show Overflows with Laughs and Fun

or everyone who is tired of the roller coaster changes in winter this year, the talented members of the Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild are offering the perfect antidote: a night of rib-tickling laughter emanating from the zany characters and the funny dialogue that are part of the Guild’s first show of the season. Southern Fried Funeral by Osborne and Eppler will make its local debut at 7:30 p.m. March 3 and 4 with repeat performances set for 7:30 p.m. March 10 and 11 with a special 2 p.m. matinee on March 12 at the auditorium of the Punxsutawney Area Middle School. Tickets are sold at the door. Dewey Frye is dead, and the rest of his family is left to pick up the pieces – that is, if they don’t kill each other first. Not only does matriarch Dorothy have to contend with sudden widowhood, but she is also faced with churchcommittee chairlady Ozella Meeks, a harpy who sticks her nose into the family’s business. Dub, Dewey’s snake-in-the-grass brother, is making a grab for Dorothy’s house, and Sammy Jo and Harlene, her two grown daughters, are reliving their childhood rivalry. Funerals bring out the worst, the best, and the funniest in people, and the Fryes are no exception. Audiences across the country are flocking to this big-hearted comedy about family – Southern style. Veteran director Terry A. Fye has assembled a cast that introduces a newcomer, Lukas Deet, as Dewey Jr, who will perform with ten other local actors, some of whom have not been featured in recent Guild shows. Kathy S. Dinsmore portrays Dorothy, while Morgan Barrett and Ilona Fye appear as the battling sisters, Sammy Jo and Harlene. Tim Cooper returns as Sammy Jo’s husband, Beecham; Doug Fye is Atticus Van Leer, Harlene’s for-

AContinued MostfromPleasing previous page

As for the children who participated, their post-mock-wedding lives can also be traced. After graduating from PHS, flower girl Mary White followed her sister Susan to the Martha Washington Seminary in Washington, D.C. In the 1920s, she enjoyed life as a Punxsutawney flapper before settling down in 1930 with Robert Chelius, a native of Falls Creek. Mary died in Johnstown in 1967. Perhaps the most interesting after-story is that of the Wingert family, who provided five players for the mock wedding. Shortly after the Girls Club extravaganza, prominent Punxsutawney attorney Jefferson G. Wingert moved to Whittier, California, where he established a successful law practice. At one point, he and his partner hired a bright but somewhat over-serious young Whittier attorney named Richard Nixon. Sadly, Martha and Jeff Wingert divorced some time after the move. Around 1913, Martha took the children to New Mexico to escape the Punxsutawney winter. “Ringbearer” Margaret made news when she bravely rescued her brothers Jeff and Don as well as another boy. The lads had dug a cave in a nearby mountain. Suddenly, the cave collapsed, dumping stones and gravel on top of all three boys. At first Junior showed no signs of life. But, a rescuer revived him. Throughout the ordeal, Margaret kept her cool as she summoned help and stayed with the seriously injured boys. She later attended the University of Southern California. For modern observers, the 1909 Punx-

mer flame from high school. Adding to the merriment are Sandra HillGearhart as busybody Ozella Meeks and Tony Simmons as Uncle Dub. Rounding out the cast are Laura Deet as Martha Ann, Krystol Elkin as Fairy June, and S. Thomas Curry as Benny Charles, friends and supporters of the widow Dorothy. Stage manager Matt Dinsmore again is in charge of lighting and sound. Debra Dinsmore and Karen Duffell will work behind the scenes as production assistants. Charlotte S. Fye, assisted by Alice S. Morris, will coordinate lobby activities. Jeff Kuntz is handling tickets. Two of the Guild’s newest members, Joe Estes and Meredith Evans, are rolling up their sleeves to provide valuable help to the production. Joe is working with set designer, Kathy S. Dinsmore, to create a realistic, homey kitchen that serves as the center of the activities in the two-act comedy. Meanwhile, Meredith is applying her skills in marketing and public relations to the show’s publicity efforts and the rounding up of essential stage props. Commenting on Southern Fried Funeral, director Fye said, “This is one of the funniest shows I have had the pleasure of directing. My enthusiastic and talented cast and my equally hard-working and creative production staff are doing everything they can to guarantee that our audiences will have a terrific time when they attend the first show of the Guild’s fortysecond season. We invite everyone to share the hilarity of this wildly funny entertainment.” For more information, phone the director at (814) 938-6928. The show is being produced by special arrangements with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com). •••

sutawney mock wedding hardly compares to the lavish nuptial spectacles found on such reality-TV offerings as Bridezilla, Say Yes to the Dress, and My Fair Wedding. For its time, though, it provided a vibrant community with comforting evidence that its young people were on the right track. Moreover, it showed the Punxsutawney community that the members of The Girls’ Musical Club were capable of pouring their considerable talents and energies into a complex project and getting stellar results. The resounding laughter and fun were probably remembered for many years. Thanks to photography and the versatility of digital restoration, we can now fully appreciate the amazing ways in which our predecessors invented unique forms of fun. Sources: Seales, Chad. E. The Secular Spectacle: Performing Religion in a Southern Town. New York: Oxford U P, 2013. Taft, Michael. “Folk Drama on the Great Plains: The Mock Wedding in Canada and the United States.” North Dakota History 56 (1989):17-23. Susan I. Gatti is a member of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society and a retired professor of English at IUP. She is a granddaughter of the story’s “groom.” Susan extends special thanks to Shirley Sharp for the considerable time, effort, and professional expertise she offered during the process of researching a very mysterious family photograph. Thanks to Shirley and the Society, the mystery has been solved. If readers can offer further information about the mock wedding and its participants, please contact Susan at sigatti@auxmail.iup.edu •••

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