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Play On Breon

By LEN MAHONSKI West Branch Life

Amongst our beautiful

scenery, rivers and streams also lies mountain-sized talent and extraordinary people, who add to the culture and enjoyment of life within the West Branch Valley. Rich in musical talent and the creative arts, one such shining star is local musician and professor Tim Breon.

Breon has been playing guitar since he was 8-years-old and was fortunate enough to have musically gifted people around him at a very young age. “My passion for music is directly connected and stems from my mother’s side of the family, ” Breon says. “Several members paved the way and went on to achieve success on a professional level. ”

Breon’s particular interest and love for the guitar began when he picked up an old and dusty six-string left by the wayside, in a corner of his childhood home. “It wasn’t an easy instrument to learn to play, ” he says. “But, I was hooked, kept with it, didn’t quit and it paid off. ”

Although, as a product of the Williamsport Area School District, Breon admits he didn’t start to get serious about music until he was in high school. “I had great teachers who really cared. That had a huge impact and made a difference, ” says Breon.

It was during those early years, the aspiring musician went on to play with the state orchestra and attended The Governor’s School for the Arts.

During his 20’s, Breon was a member of the homegrown and very popular David Rose Band, which toured major cities throughout the eastern United States.

In time, his love and commitment to music, along with his never giveup mindset, landed Breon on stage with iconic performers, such as Clay Aiken, Olivia Newton John and Davy Jones, of the Monkees.

Breon says one of his biggest achievements and proudest moments was playing for Jones, during the filming of the TV Land documentary “Horsin Around, ” which to this day is still viewable on YouTube.

But, this local rock and roller wants everyone to know he doesn’t need to be on stage with someone who is famous to have a good time. Breon’s fondest memories are the ones in which he is simply playing out with friends, looking into the crowd, seeing smiling faces and knowing people are lost in the music. “Those are the moments I truly enjoy, ” he says.

The local guitarist performs with many other musicians throughout the area and most notably, enjoys playing with Dave Brumbaugh, of the Uptown Music Collective, whom he once studied under. “He’s a great teacher. I learned a lot, ” says Breon.

If he isn’t on stage entertaining a crowd, Breon spends much of his time passing his musical knowledge on to our area youth. As a professor at Lycoming College for more than two decades, Breon teaches a two semester electronic music lab course, in which students learn the world in which music and technology merge.

Noting the days of reel to reel music is a thing of the past, Breon asserts much of today’s music is done by streaming online. Throughout the course, students have the opportunity to learn mic setups, mixing, recording, streaming, and editing in real time as their own compositions come to life.

“The students interacting and working side by side with one another, fosters an environment in which they are able to create music together, ” he said.

The biggest thrill Breon gets from teaching is learning. He says, “It’s a give and take relationship. I get to pass along my wisdom, but also receive valuable input from the younger generations of up and coming musicians. ”

good reads <<<<< Currents Baseball and Dad

By JOSEPH W. SMITH III West Branch Life

Some years ago, my baseball-loving father took a break from his job calling plays for the Niagara Falls minor-league team and drove down to watch a Loyalsock High School match with me. When I arrived to meet him for the game, I found Dad not on a bleacher but in the tiny press box. With no introduction to the coaches or players, this total stranger had volunteered to man the PA for that afternoon’s bout. He was sitting at the mic, waiting for the opposition’s lineup so he could work on pronunciation.

The late Doug Smith, who covered sports in various venues for nearly seven decades, passed away in 2017. Just this spring, I compiled a collection of his best journalistic writings from a wide range of Western New York newspapers. And so, in the midst of this year’s MLB playoffs and in honor of “The Best of Doug Smith” (Amazon, 2022), Good Reads reprints a 2011 baseball column from that volume, one that recommends his favorite baseball books.

“TICKET FOR A SEAMSTITCH, ”

Mark Harris (1957)

The game goes on with characters carried over from Harris’ wonderful “Bang the Drum Slowly. ” A starry-eyed fan crosses the country to see her hero pitch, winning the hearts of his teammates and Harris’ readers. Short and sweet, “Bang” is even better, but this list avoids the many baseball books that have already been made into movies.

“THE UNIVERSAL BASEBALL ASSN., J. HENRY WAUGH, PROP., ”

Robert Coover (1968)

In pre-rotisserie days, a numbers fanatic invents a league of his own, then becomes its prisoner. It is frightening but funny, especially when a rare visiting team hurls freshly-eaten pizza all over his precious spreadsheets.

“CASTRO’S CURVEBALL, ”

Tim Wendel (1999)

The author speculates on what might have happened had the Cuban dictator had just a little more bite on his “Number 2. ” (Editor’s note: Wendel’s exciting sequel, “Escape from Castro’s Cuba, ” was published earlier this year.)

“IF I NEVER GET BACK, ”

Darryl Brock (2002)

A despondent contemporary sportswriter falls drunk on a Cleveland railroad platform and wakes up traveling eastward with the 1876 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional team. Ironic and historically accurate, it runs off the rails in the late innings.

“LUCKIEST MAN, ”

Jonathan Eig (2005)

Intensely sympathetic biography of “Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig, felled by disease at age 37. Eig notes how sportswriters of his time criticized Gehrig for loafing. One denounced Gehrig’s disease as a fraud, airily predicting Gehrig would outlive them all. If only.

“THE OLD BALLGAME, ”

Frank Deford (2006) The rest of the title— “How John McGraw and Christy Matthewson Invented Modern Baseball” says it all about how these two widely-contrasting figures shaped each other and the game.

“A GAME OF INCHES, ”

Peter Morris (2006)

Today, we sometimes take for granted the extraordinary research that goes into innovations. For example, did you know that at one time, any substitutions were forbidden? Except for failing to trace the history of the infield fly rule, “Inches” goes the extra mile.

“THE 33-YEAR-OLD ROOKIE, ”

Chris Coste (2008)

Universally dissed as a big-league prospect, Coste describes his persistent climb to the majors.

“THE GIRL WHO THREW BUTTERFLIES, ”

Mick Cochrane (2009)

This is a gently uplifting tale of a middle-school girl whose late father once taught her how to pitch a knuckleball. Its flight makes a perfect metaphor for life’s ups and downs. When she and the bully at shortstop compare the smell of their gloves, it’s a short story all in itself.

“AS THEY SEE ’EM” , Bruce Weber (2009)

The life and times of umpires, told by a reporter who walked among them and made their calls, with an interior quiz for good measure (your reviewer got a C-plus). Much is made of major league baseball’s low regard for the arbiters who hold its integrity in their hands.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Writer Joseph W. Smith III with his father Doug Smith enjoying what they both love - baseball.

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Leaf Love

PHOTO PROVIDED

Dincher & Dincher Tree Sugeons, Inc. are busy during the fall season prepping trees for winter.

By BETHANY BARRETT West Branch Life

As we take in fall’s blazing leaves, it should serve as a reminder that it’s time to check our trees’ health. WBL turned to the experts at Dincher & Dincher to understand why this season is crucial to trees.

For generations, Dincher & Dincher Tree Surgeons, Inc. have been leading the way in local expert tree care. The company was founded in 1950 by two brothers, Bernard J. Dincher and Thomas M. Dincher. Then the founder’s two oldest sons, Bernie and Tom, took on the business in the mid-seventies, expanding it into a full service tree company.

The family of Certified Arborists currently work with various levels of tree care including tree removal, tree pruning, tree stump removal, landscape maintenance, tree planting, roadside maintenance and more.

Dincher & Dincher has six Certified Arborists on staff — five Certified and one Board Certified. “I’m a Board Certified Master Arborist and my three kids and my wife. And we have another Certified Arborist on staff. For the board certification, there are probably worldwide only about 1500. For certified arborists, there's probably 40 or 50,000, ” Bernie says.

According to the professionals, fall is an excellent time for tree planting and other kinds of tree care. “Wait until fall, because the tree is dormant and the roots keep growing. So there's no water stress as much on that plant. It really helps to make a better root system. We do a lot of fall planting, ” says Bernie.

New trees in particular need a plentiful amount of water in order to grow. “If you have newly planted trees, say less than three to four years in the ground, keep them watered, right up until the ground freezes” Bernie explains, “Because it's very critical to keep those roots growing. ”

One of the most common failures of tree planting is tree death due to lack of water. “Typically, drought stress trees get opened up to a lot of boring insects and a lot of other problems. People don't realize that they have to water [enough] to try to imitate one inch of rain a week. That's kind of the magic number, ” says Bernie, who adds that whenever the surrounding area gets at least an inch of rain a week, trees don’t need to be watered. “If we get into dry periods, you want to try to at least make an attempt to water that tree two or three times a week. So, thoroughly soaked and not just hit it with a hose. I mean, soak it for a good 15-20 minutes, ” he further explains.

Although tree pruning can be done year-round, the dormant season is an ideal time of year to do it. “It's nice to do it in a dormant season, because you can see the structure of the tree and help improve that structure with pruning, ” says Bernie. “So, that's a good time. We like to prune in the fall. ”

Pruning benefits the tree’s health and can also be done as a safety precaution. “If you have certain branches that are hazardous, you can have them removed or shortened up or cabled. Dead wood is always a good thing to get out of a tree for safety as well as tree health, ” says Bernie. “You can also prune to help reduce storm damage and other issues like that. Basically, you can prune out diseases if you have a certain tree that has a disease. On certain branches, they can be taken off. ”

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