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County Officials Destroy Liquors: Sheriff William J. McLaughlin and District Attorney Edward P. Little [Sr.} were busy one day last week superintending the destruction of a large quantity of liquor that had been stored in the court house cellar after being taken from violators of the 18th amendment. The officers accompanied draymen to the borough dump, below town, where the contents of the containers were spilled and containers burned or broken. Sixteen kegs of beer, 20 cases of beer, three barrels of wine, three barrels of cider, eight gallons of gin, 25 quarts of whiskey and numerous jugs and bottles of home brew and whiskey, were destroyed. It is stated that when the bottled beer was poured out, that indications pointed to the content of some of the bottles of beer having been removed and replaced with water. Whether this was done before or after the liquor was taken into custody has not been determined.

State Line– Gilbert E. McKune, aged 79 years, a veteran of the Civil War and a former county commissioner, died at the home of his son, Arthur McKune, at State Line, near Susquehanna, on May 9, 1924. McKune was commissioner of the county for two terms, 1903-08.  [He was a member of Co. K, 89th Regiment, New York Volunteers, during the Civil War and a charter member of Tremain Post No. 81, of Lanesboro.]

Kingsley – Aqua Inn, on the Lackawanna Trail, deservedly enjoys a growing patronage. Some years ago, when the hotel at that place was closed through its owner being denied a liquor license, Coe H. Stearns erected the inn in order to accommodate the traveling public. As a result of the attention that Mrs. Stearns has given to the cuisine department, it has won a wide reputation for the excellence of meals served and many traveling men arrange their trips along the trail so that they may stop at Aqua Inn.

Montrose – [In 1924 a column was written by Henry T. Birchard, titled Looking Back. Mr. Birchard's focus was to write about "Old Susquehanna County and The County Seat, as Seen Through the Vista of the Years." Here is a portion of what he wrote about the old stone building on Maple Street, completed in 1867, where the Independent Republican was published.] "The motive power for running the press was a horsepower in the cellar, upon which 'Brownie,' a faithful, old horse, treaded off 5,300 papers, then the edition of the Republican, on Monday of each week. Nearly all of the employees were kept busy throughout the day in printing, directing, wrapping and mailing the issue. ALSO The county library has placed an order for an automobile truck which will be especially fitted up as a "book wagon" to carry circulating libraries to all parts of the county.

Hallstead – Abram Crandell, aged 93 years, is the oldest man in the county, to date, who has applied for a fishing license this year. And we believe that Mr. Crandell will hold that honor against all comers.

Heart Lake – The opening of Heart Lake resort will occur on Memorial Day, May 30. There will be dancing during the afternoon and evening, the "Enchanters Six" having been engaged for the occasion. There will also be boating, games and other forms of amusement for the large crowd which is expected. During the summer dances will be held on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. The dance pavilion, on D.J. Donovan's resort grounds, is being enlarged so that 50% more floor space will be available. When completed it will be one of the largest and finest dance pavilions in this part of the state.

Alford, Brooklyn Twp. – J.M. Decker has lately purchased a machine to finish stone at his quarry, which will greatly increase the output. About twenty men are employed, where a fine grade of stone is being quarried, much of it being curbing, steps and the better grade of building stone.

Harford – The boys of the Harford Vocational high school organized a Junior Potato Club. The boys all decided to plant the Russet variety, as this potato is a good shipper and a heavy yielder. Many will secure their seed from the County Agent at Montrose, who has a carload of Michigan Certified Seed on hand. The boys have set their goal at 300 bushels, per acre, this year.

Pleasant Valley, Auburn Twp. – The children of this place, who attended  school at Retta, and the lower rooms in the graded school at Auburn Centre, are enjoying their summer vacation, as their schools have closed. ALSO Samuel Reimel had his touring car made over into a light truck.

Lanesboro – The graduates of Lanesboro high school are: Roland Hendrickson (salutatorian), Miss Laura Stonier and Ray Hendrickson (valedictorian).

Susquehanna – Rumors of a shop closing here are very prevalent, and in addition to the 125 men laid off the first of the month, another large number will soon follow.

Franklin Forks – Will Halsey has had the telephone installed in his home and Harold Halsey recently installed a radio.

South Gibson – Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Chamberlin celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on May 3rd, by entertaining their children and grandchildren and a few other relatives. The bride and groom of 55 years ago were presented with 55 beautiful carnations from her sister, Mrs. Thomas, and a gift of  $55 and other gifts. The couple was highly pleased and surprised with a post card and letter shower from 65 old time friends. A dainty lunch was served at noon.

Thompson – The regular meeting of the Grange will be held in the Grange hall, Saturday evening, May 17th. Ladies are requested to bring cake.

Forest City – Davis and Haser report sales of cars for the week as follows: Touring cars to Joseph Gerchman, Frank Bisner, Joseph Mitchell; coupes to Ferdinand Connolly, Wesley Burdusky and William Bucaitis. ALSO The following have made application to become members of the Citizens Training Camp at Camp Meade: Curtis Rolls, Thomas Payne, Lester Watkins, John Androlovitch, Kenneth Mayers, Victor Stanvich, Rudy Harvaltine and James Mayers. [This camp allowed male citizens to obtain basic military training, without an obligation to call-up for active duty, as did the National Guard.]

Centennial News: Largest parade in the county's history planned for the Centennial on July 4th.

A reminder: You will find back issues of 100 Years on the Historical Society's website, www.susqcohistsoc.org.

John Musgrave owned a commercial property in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which he had leased to Deaja Vire who maintained a hair salon in the leased space. The parties' lease arrangement worked out well for five or six years until Musgrave requested a new lease agreement. Vire also worked as a flight attendant which caused her to travel frequently so Vire did not immediately see Musgrave's new proposed lease.

Musgrave was frustrated that he had not heard back from Vire so he went to salon. When Musgrave arrived, Vire was working with a client and was not able to have a conversation with him. Musgrave demanded Vire's immediate attention and told her that she had to sign the new lease immediately. When Vire was not responding to these demands, Musgrave then threatened to change the locks on her doors. Musgrave was aggressive to the point that Vire's client was intimidated even though the client had no part in the dispute, and the client never returned to Vire's hair salon for any future work.

Vire called the police, but Musgrave left before the police arrived. The police officer called Musgrave and directed him to have any future discussions regarding the new lease through the leasing agency that the parties had always used, i.e., no further direct contact with Vire regarding the lease. Musgrave ignored the suggestion of the police officer and returned to the hair salon less than twenty minutes later. At that point, Musgrave was removing the locks to the hair salon. Vire again called the police and, by the time that the police arrived, there were no locks on the front or back doors of Vire's business. Musgrave was no longer there – and Vire was left in a situation where she could not secure her business property.

Vire's client was so upset and scared that she requested a police escort to her car. Thereafter, Musgrave returned to the property and was instructed by the police to reinstall the locks. Musgrave complied. Then, the police directed Musgrave to provide Vire with the keys so that she could secure her property. Musgrave obeyed this instruction as well. Throughout the entire episode, Vire indicated that she felt threatened and anxious.

Musgrave was charged with a summary offense of disorderly conduct, for which he was later convicted after a full hearing. Musgrave was ordered to pay a fine of $200 plus court costs. Musgrave then filed an appeal contending that there was insufficient evidence to support the charge. Musgrave argued that Vire was a trespasser on his property because she did not have a new lease and, as a trespasser, she could not file a disorder conduct complaint against him. Musgrave also asserted that his conduct was not criminal in that he was attempting to resolve a commercial dispute with his tenant.

Regardless of the lease dispute, the Superior Court noted that when Musgrave arrived at the hair salon, it was operating a business open to the public. Indeed, a member of the public, Vire's client, was present when Musgrave confronted Vire. The Superior Court observed that the disorderly conduct statute did not "require a valid lease for the property" to sustain a conviction. If Vire was a holdover tenant, there were other legal mechanisms to use to have her removed – not self-help, threatening behavior at her business while she was servicing members of the public.

As to Musgrave's claim that his conduct was legitimate business activity, the Superior Court likewise rejected this claim. The Superior Court concluded: "The testimony established that Musgrave intended to cause public inconvenience, as not only was he in a place of business, but there was a client at the salon at the time. Despite the fact that Vine was actively working on the client's hair, Musgrave nevertheless decided to physically confront Vire and demand she sign the new lease. If Musgrave really wanted to speak with Vire, he easily could have approached Vire after the client left, or asked Vire, from a safe distance, to come meet him when she had a moment. Finally, [the police officer's] testimony established that the client was in fear, as she requested that [the police officer] walk her to her car, and she has not returned to the salon since the incident." Musgrave's conviction and sentence were affirmed.

This case presents interesting questions not only from a legal perspective – but likewise from an economic perspective. As to the legal perspective, there are probably plenty of commercial disputes that become heated and result in strident arguments. Musgrave's biggest mistake in this case was approaching Vire at her public place of business while she was working with a client. At that point, this was no longer a private business dispute and had been transformed into a dispute occurring in a public place. If this argument had occurred after the salon was closed or over the telephone, the result would likely have been different. As to the economic perspective, the question becomes whether it would have been a better to business decision to simply pay the $200 fine and be done with the case rather than paying the legal expenses associated with an appeal, especially where Musgrave still end up paying the fine in the end. Sometimes it makes sense to simply cut your losses.

Lately, I've been focusing a lot on fun stuff to do with little kids, thinking of all the great things we can finally enjoy now that the chilly weather is truly gone. I even ventured to put the snow boots away today. There was already one walk of shame to retrieve hats and gloves because I put them away too early again. But in my defense, I don't think anyone thought a thunder snow storm was a thing that would happen.

Anyway, one of my kids favorite things to do when they were little was to blow bubbles. More accurately, they liked when I blew bubbles till I was blue in the face and they got to chase them around. They loved it! A little secret I'll share though, big kids love bubbles too. Last summer my father-in-law made a giant bubble solution and all the grandkids from the baby to the teenagers had a blast making huge, tubular bubbles in their backyard.

Let me take a minute to make a case to spend a little more to get a more satisfying experience. I used to believe that frugality meant always buying the cheapest option. I wanted the cheapest flip flops, sunscreen, bubble solution, kites, sidewalk chalk. You name it, I was in that $1 aisle trying to stock us up for summer. But, I've learned that when it comes to these once a year purchases, it is worth spending a little more for a better product.

How does that relate to this? Well, we've had many disappointing experiences with cheap bubbles. While I thought that I was doing well to get a six pack of small bubble bottles for a buck, it turns out that they are composed of little more than slightly soapy water. Plus, we don't really know what's in those cheap bubbles and where they came from. So, I want to introduce the idea of homemade eco-friendly bubbles. They are free from harsh or questionable chemicals. They are safe for children and the environment. And, they will be lots of fun to play with.

First, gather the ingredients. Filtered or distilled water, liquid soap that is fragrance free (such as castile soap), and food-grade glycerin. The glycerin is the key component that makes strong, long-lasting bubbles. You can make larger bubbles with a hardy solution.

Vegetable glycerin ranges from twenty of forty cents per ounce. The more you purchase at one time, the less per ounce you pay. The same goes for liquid castile soap. If you don't have a filter on your tap, most grocery stores carry jugs of distilled water for a little over a dollar per gallon.

The recipe is simple. Mix one part liquid soap with six parts water. Add one to two tablespoons of glycerin for every cup of water. Stir it gently to avoid foaming. Voila! Store it in an air-tight container out of direct sunlight. Sunlight can degrade the ingredients over time. Your nature-safe bubbles will last several weeks when stored properly. Although, I bet you'll use them up before then!

You can even enjoy taking these bubbles on your hikes and park adventures. Enjoy the magic of eco-friendly bubbles this summer!

Good day dear hearts, I love you. On Sunday, May 12th we dedicated the day to our mothers. Moms have had an impact on their children since the beginning of time. Most of us can say we have had wonderful life learning experiences, nurturing and love from our moms. I was blessed with a beautiful mom who I love and miss, as she has been with the Lord since 2016. We use the term "momma bear" because moms are protective of their children. All of us who live here understand to keep your distance from bear cubs, because momma bear will tear you up!

Over 2,000 years ago a little girl around the age of 13 or 14 was visited by an angel and was told she would give birth to the Son of God. During the time of Jesus girls matured to women rapidly. They married at a young age and bore children at a young age. That was the norm, but what wasn't the norm was for a young girl without a husband to become pregnant. This was a joyous occasion for Mary as she was educated in the things of God and her response to the angel was simply, "Be it unto you according to thy Word." Those simple words set off the greatest event of all time in this universe, the birth and arrival of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Those words also set off a life of joy, complication and heartbreak for Mary.

The first complication was Mary was not married, which this set off two complications. One, she faced execution because her being pregnant without husband was against Mosaic Law. The second complication was she was engaged to a man by the name of Joseph, who did not have a clue as to what was going on and was considering breaking it off with her. God resolved these complications as He sent an angel to Joseph to explain, and Joseph became a faithful husband to Mary and loving father to Jesus. The next complication occurs as Mary is becoming adjusted and comfortable with what is to pass, Ceaser orders a census, and she is required to travel to the city of David with her husband. Remember, she couldn't get on a bus or take an Uber to get there. She traveled for miles on a donkey for days, while being a week or two before she was to give birth. The complications continue as Joseph and Mary cannot find a room in Bethlehem and wind up in a barn with farm cattle. Let's pause the story for a moment and think about the attributes of a mom. First off, God sure knows well pregnancy can be handled far better by a woman than a man. As someone who doesn't have a clue on how it is, how it feels to carry a child, I find it awesome how God equips a woman with the physical and mental endurance to carry, give birth and then raise a child. It is no doubt how a woman develops a deep love, a deep loyalty and a deep commitment to help make their child successful. Think about the sacrifices mothers make for us. I know what my mother has done for me and I'm sure many of you can say the same.

The story of Mary's journey to motherhood continues. She settles down in the barn accepting what is and not questioning why or how the Son of God is coming into this world and she continues in her new role as mom. Jesus is born, the heavens erupt, the shepherds come to meet the Messiah and when all the hoopla ends, Luke 2:19 says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." What did she ponder? All moms want their children to rise to be something special. Mary knew Jesus was something special because an angel told her. Except for Mary, no mom knows their child's destination, but they stay in the background to support, cajole, encourage and watch with pride from a distance. Mary did not know everything that was to occur to her Son. When the time came and Jesus was betrayed and turned over to authorities Mary, like most moms, was devastated and worried and I'm sure like most momma bears wanted to rescue her baby. Her Son Jesus had a mission to carry out and that was to sacrifice himself for us. Momma Bear stood at the foot of the cross and watched her little boy suffer and die. To a mom, nothing could be worse. However, in Mary's case she saw the end result of what Jesus did for the world and she was as proud and blessed as any mother could be. Today, we honor mom, we thank mom, we love mom as they sacrifice and dedicate their lives to us. Love ya, Ma! God Bless.

Join us Saturday, May 18th at our free Community Dinner and then join us Sunday, May 19th starting at 10:00am with a Biker's Worship service followed by a free BBQ. Lord, watch over our community. Bless our children. Heal the sick and broken-hearted. Let your Spirit hover over our community. Amen.

Contact me anytime. Pastor Vince Chiaramonte, 570-853-3988, Susquehanna Christian Community Church, 1361 Main Street, clearmountain2158@gmail.