April 2008 Your Stories

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Department of Consumer Protection Reminds Consumers that Credit Card Charges for Undelivered Oil Can be Disputed

HARTFORD, March 20 – Customers of the now-closed F & S Oil Company, Village Oil, Bosse Graziano Oil Company, Carlson Fuel of Meriden, Inc., and US Fuels who pre-bought fuel using their credit card should take advantage of an important consumer protection available to them through the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), according to Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr.

“The Fair Credit Billing Act establishes procedures that apply to disputes about credit card billing errors or issues,” Farrell said today. “In this case, customers who pre-paid by credit card for fuel that was never delivered can dispute the charges, and may receive credit or repayment for the portion of pre-paid fuel that wasn’t delivered. However, to take advantage of this safeguard, act promptly.”

Consumers who are still owed fuel that was charged to their credit card by one of the now-closed companies should send a letter to their credit card company at the address given for “billing inquiries,” -- NOT the address for sending payments. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have proof of what the creditor received. Include copies (not originals) of sales slips, your contract, or other documents that support your position. In the letter, provide your name, address, credit card account number and a description of the issue with the non-delivery of oil that was pre-paid. The law states that your letter must reach the creditor within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you. Keep a copy of your dispute letter.

The credit card company must acknowledge your complaint in writing within 30 days after receiving it, unless the problem has been resolved. The creditor must resolve the dispute within two billing cycles (but not more than 90 days) after receiving your letter.
“While your bill is in dispute, you may withhold payment on the disputed amount and related charges,” Farrell said. “However, you must pay any part of your credit card bill not in question, including finance charges on the undisputed amount. The creditor may not take any legal or other action to collect the disputed amount and related charges (including finance charges) during the investigation. While your account cannot be closed or restricted, the disputed amount may be applied against your credit limit.”

Your credit card company may not threaten your credit rating or report you as delinquent while your bill is in dispute. While the company may report to credit bureaus that you are challenging your bill, you cannot be denied credit in the future simply because you’ve disputed a bill.
Once the investigation ends, the creditor must explain to you - in writing - the corrections that will be made to your account. In addition to crediting your account, the creditor must remove all finance charges, late fees or other charges related to the error.

Any creditor who fails to follow the settlement procedure may not collect the amount in dispute, or any related finance charges up to $50, even if the bill turns out to be correct. For example, if a creditor acknowledges your complaint in 45 days - 15 days too late - or takes more than two billing cycles to resolve a dispute, the penalty applies. The penalty also applies if a creditor threatens to report - or improperly reports – your failure to pay during the dispute period.
The credit card company must promptly credit or refund overpayments and other amounts owed to your account. If you prefer a refund, send in a written request to the company; the refund must be sent within seven business days after the creditor receives your written request. The creditor must also make a good faith effort to refund a credit balance that has remained on your account for more than six months.

For more information on the Fair Credit Billing Act, please visit the Federal Trade Commission website at www.ftc.gov.



Did You Know?

The holiday of Passover commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. The day gets its name from the night of the tenth plague. On that night, the Angel of Death saw the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the house of Israel and "passed over" them, as a result saving the houses' firstborn child. Jews believe this marks the birth of their nation, as their ancestors were freed from being slaves of the Pharaoh and allowed to become followers of their God instead. In Israel, the holiday of Passover is celebrated for seven days, with the first and last days considered major holidays. Also, in Israel Jews celebrate the ritual feast of the Seder on the first night of Passover, and no work is performed for the duration of the holiday. Outside of Israel, Orthodox and Conservative Jewish celebrate Passover for eight days, with both the first two and the last two days as major holidays. Such communities conduct the Seder twice, on the first and second days of the holiday. Work can be performed in the days thereafter.


Did You Know?

While the precise origins of April Fool's Day remain a mystery, evidence exists to support the belief that it, or at least the basis for the current April Fool's Day, is at the very least, several centuries old. Many historians trace April Fool's Day to Pope Gregory XIII's decision to adopt the Gregorian Calendar. Previously, much of Europe had relied on the Julian Calendar, which celebrated New Year's Day on April 1st. The new calendar, however, celebrated New Year's on January 1st. However, information did not travel as quickly in the 16th Century as it does today, and many people either did not know that New Year's Day had changed, or simply refused to adopt it. Soon thereafter, those who had adopted the new calendar in France began to make fun of those who hadn't adopted it or known about it, even going so far as attempting to trick them on their New Year's Day, April 1st. The practice then began to spread throughout Europe, leaving many historians to believe this was the origin of what we now know as April Fool's Day.


BY Heather
8th Grader at Wintergreen Magnet School

What person or event has had an impact on your life? Why is this person or event important to you?

My mother has had a very strong impact on me. She has taught me so many things, and I will always remember those things. For one, she has dedicated herself to the Wallingford Emergency Shelter. Since I was four I have worked there, and it has shown me the other side of our world. The people have no homes and some have no jobs, but they still act like they have everything they have ever wanted. But some of their stories of war and life getting older are heartbreaking and I think society needs to do something so that people like my friend Eva, who was 78 years old and living at the shelter because she could not find senior housing does not happen.

She also dedicates her life to her kids. She is a single mother with three kids, living in a two-bedroom condo. She has to deal with all of our fights and arguments. She brings us everywhere we need or want to go. She is always thinking of us, even when she is at work. She never has a vacation, when she has a day off of work she has to take care of us and makes sure we get done what we need to do instead.

She has taught me how to be confident and hardworking. For example, I took violin when I was younger. I was going to quit because I didn’t see the fun in it. She told me that I had to be confident, and she would get me another teacher. Now I am playing violin and viola; and I am working so hard on all of my instruments. I have always wanted to be a scientist; my mother said if I wanted to be a scientist I had to work hard. For any of my dreams I had to work hard for what I wanted. I have worked hard most of my life and I have had so many successes in my life since.

In conclusion, my mother is my hero and she has taught me so much. I will always remember what she has taught; I will also remember her forever. I may get mad at her sometimes but I will never stop loving her. That is impossible for me, no matter what.





What is Passover?

by Joan Goodman

I love the month of April. To me April means spring, warmer days, crocuses, and daffodils. Everything starts growing and we break free of winter’s icy grip. It also means celebrating Passover, which tells the story of the Exodus, when, with God’s help, the Children of Israel broke free from their bondage as Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. The holiday lasts for eight days and begins this year at sunset on Saturday, April 19th.

What’s the story?

Here’s the short version. Pharaoh ordered all Jewish baby boys to be killed. Moses’ mother put him in a basket and placed the basket among the reeds in the Nile river. Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby and adopted him. As a man, Moses was chosen by God to confront Pharaoh and demand the Israelites’ freedom. When Pharaoh refused, ten terrible plagues befell the Egyptians. After the tenth plague - Death of the Firstborn - when Pharaoh’s own son died, he let the slaves go. Moses led his people to the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea). Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army in pursuit. Moses raised his staff and God parted the Sea of Reeds. The Israelites escaped to freedom. Pharoah’s army followed. The walls of water closed and they were drowned.

What do you do to celebrate?

The holiday primarily centers around the home although there are services at the synagogue. At Temple B’nai Abraham Passover services begin on Thursday, April 17th at 7:00 a.m. with a service for the first born (because the first born of the Hebrews were spared the 10th plague), and on April 20th,21st, 26th, and 27th at 9:30 a.m. The Yizkor service (prayer service for those who have died) will be included in the April 27th service.
The traditions have to do with getting the house ready, what you can eat, having a festive meal, and telling the story.

What is matzah? Why do you eat it instead of bread?

Before the holiday, we clean the kitchen to get rid of all of the chametz (bread and products with leavening). The reason for the removal of chametz is because the bible commands us to have no chametz in our homes during the holiday. The other reason we eat matzah is that the Jewish people did not have time to let bread rise when they were escaping from Egypt. They carried their dough with them - the result was a flat cracker called matzah.

What is a seder?

On the first and second nights of Passover family and friends gather at home for a seder. Seder means "order." A Haggadah is read, which tells the story of the Exodus. The story and the foods that are eaten follow a certain order that are outlined in the Haggadah. Participants are supposed to "recline" or relax as they eat which symbolizes freedom and independence. A special seder plate is used to hold the symbolic foods which include:
1. maror (bitter herbs) - usually horseradish, to represent the bitterness of slavery
2. karpas (a green vegetable) - cucumber, parsley, or some other vegetable in
season served as an appetizer, a tradition dating to the first and second
centuries
3. charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine) - representing the
mortar used in making bricks to build the pyramids
4. zeroa (roasted shankbone or neck of poultry) - symbolic of the Paschal lamb
offered as a sacrifice in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem
5. baytza (a roasted hard-boiled egg) - symbolic of regular sacrifices brought to
theTemple, and a symbol of mourning after the two Temples were destroyed.

A festive meal is held during the seder with all kinds of delicious foods. Also during the seder we drink four cups of wine or grape juice. One of the interpretations of why there are four cups is that there are four phrases God uses when he promises to free the Israelites: "I will bring you out of Egypt." " I will deliver you from their bondage." "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm." "I will take you to Me for a people." (See the Book of Exodus 6:6-7) We also place a cup on the table for the prophet Elijah. Some Jews believe that when Elijah returns it will be a time of peace, harmony, and understanding among all nations.

As part of the seder, we recite the ten plagues that God brought upon the Pharaoh and his people. The ten plagues are blood (water turned red), frogs, lice, wild animals, cattle disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and death of the first born. As we recite each plague we remove a drop of wine from our cups. Wine is considered a symbol of joy. We decrease our joy because the plagues caused suffering. And we explain to the children that you should never rejoice when someone suffers (just as God reprimanded the angels when they rejoiced when the Israelites made it safely through the Sea of Reeds, but the Egyptian soldiers perished.).

At many seders there is a lot of questioning and discussion about the story’s meaning today, about freedom from oppression, and modern day plagues and what can be done about them. The point is to tell the story until we almost feel that were there in ancient Egypt!
What do the kids do?

Children have special roles. The youngest child asks four questions about what makes this night different and why. At some seders the kids get involved by telling about the plagues. For example they might add red food coloring to water, put stickers on their face for boils, wear sunglasses for darkness, etc. At the Hebrew School at Temple B’nai Abraham my son went to a Sesame Street model seder where you could bring your favorite character. It was a lot of fun. It’s a way to teach the children the story and keep them interested.

Another way the children are involved is the search for the afikomen. This is a piece of matzah either hidden by the adults and the kids find it, or the kids hide it and the adults must guess where it is. The afikomen is served as desert and the meal cannot end without it. The children win prizes. One friend of mine said the kids tried hiding it in grandpa’s pants - that didn’t work out too well. (ha!ha!) The seder ends with lots of singing.

So, when you are in the supermarket and see boxes of matzah or if you see coworkers eating "big crackers" instead of bread, now you know what’s going on and what another culture is about.
For more information please see The Jewish Book of Why, by Alfred J. Kolatch or Jewish Family & Life by Yosef I. Abramowitz and Rabbi Susan Silverman.
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Going Green Continues to Grow

As "going green" has quickly become a worldwide mantra in just a few years, it seems that many other people are realizing what early environmental pioneers already knew: that the earth is a resource worth sustaining.

Long before there were hybrid cars or ethanol fuel, there was a concept at the forefront of the green movement. It simply involved planting trees to benefit the earth and the people and animals that inhabit it. Today, planting trees and replenishing the greenery on the planet remains a viable way to improve air quality, reduce carbon footprints, improve animal habitats and wildlife preserves, change your landscape for the better, and produce many other positive results. Aside from going out and planting a tree yourself, you can also support the companies and organizations that also give back to the earth.

Plant for the Planet

When Yves Rocher was first established in 1959, the company was a pioneer in the way it viewed sustainable resources, plants and active botanical ingredients that went into its beauty and grooming lines. Preserving nature has always been Yves Rocher's mandate, and nearly 50 years later they're still a trailblazer when it comes to thinking green. The company's newest objective as part of conservation observances is a commitment to plant one million trees across the globe over the next three years in an initiative started by the United Nations Environment Programme called Plant for the Planet. One way that consumers can help the company do so is by purchasing the popular Inositol Végétal line, which includes Inositol Végétal Day, Night and Total Radiance treatment. The peel renew action of the Inositol treatments involves a unique combination of botanical active ingredients for a gradual resurfacing of the skin. The skin is gradually freed of all imperfections,producing a smooth surface, which reflects maximum light. When it's time to replenish your Inositol supply, simply purchase a Inositol Végétal Day, Night and Total Radiance refill, to save on product and packaging waste. With each refill purchase, one tree will be planted as part of the Plant for the Planet campaign.

Make an Impact

There are many other ways you can help the environment and preserve nature's countless resources.
· Educate children about conservation and respecting the planet. Children are the next generation of individuals who will be responsible for protecting the earth. Mold and instruct these youngsters so environmentalism will be second nature.
· It's one thing for a company to state that they're environmentally friendly. Research companies before you become a consumer and find out if these companies really stand behind their green messages.
· Think about what goes into making a product and what waste can be avoided. Choose products that are moderately packaged and include recyclable or renewable materials in their makeup.
· Some of the best "remedies," "cosmetic breakthroughs," and health/beauty items are all derived from natural concepts. Think about ways to use natural products instead of chemical-laden items throughout your everyday life. Examples include vinegar for cleaning windows, lemon for cutting through greasy foods, baking soda for deodorizing, plant botanicals for improving skin appearance and texture, etc.
· Small changes add up. By taking several small steps toward a healthier planet, everyone can make a difference.


“Sheltering an Animal’s Perspective”
by
Gregory M. Simpson

Occasionally someone will ask me where I get ideas for this column. Some are long held views, e.g., that cats should be indoor only companions and that it is inhumane to declaw. Other columns come from personal experiences such as soliciting in front of a department store or working at a shelter.

So it was that my wife and I were walking down an especially crowded Fifth Avenue in mid-town Manhattan two days before New Year’s Eve when we witnessed a remarkable sight.

A homeless man was sitting on a milk crate with his head resting on his chest. Next to him was a cat! The gray and white feline sat quietly and seemingly contentedly, on a towel next to dishes of water and dry food. We were stunned! Thousands were passing by, including occasional individuals walking dogs. Yet the cat sat stoically without any sort of tether, without as much as a twitch of its tail.

We had seen cats in Manhattan before, of course, but generally in places like outside a Chinatown grocery store or sitting in a bookstore window. We know from our own lives filled with felines that cats are amazing creatures. My wife’s favorite cat rides in a bicycle basket without being tied in as my wife bicycles around our neighborhood. Our cat, Lucky, previously a stray, decided he wanted to join our household one winter night, so he wrapped his two front legs around my leg and wouldn’t let go. But we had never witnessed anything like this cat on Fifth Avenue, not far from where Audrey Hepburn immortalized the character, Holly Golightly, in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, when she, too, befriended a homeless cat.

Our conversation with the homeless man was brief as my wife petted his special feline companion. After saying “God bless you” for the dollars we left in his tin can, he added, “Most amazing cat I’ve ever seen.”
“Take good care of him,” we encouraged, for lack of anything more profound to say, but also reflective of our worry that they would both be okay.
“I will,” he said confidently.
And then we were past them in the bustling crowd.

A couple hours later, as the sun was setting, we were making our way back to Grand Central Terminal on the opposite side of Fifth Avenue. Looking across the street, we could see through the throng of shoppers and sightseers that the man and the cat were still in the same spot, accepting donations which would bring them sustenance.

Although the man and the cat seemed settled in their routine, my wife and I continued to worry. How would they both survive in the winter cold? Where would they go at night? What shelter could be found for both a man and a cat? Would the two become separated? We found no answers to these questions, of course.

“How could a homeless man take care of a cat?” my wife asked me.
“I don’t know, but what I do know is that cat wouldn’t stay if there wasn’t a bond of love, commitment and companionship between them.”

We had but briefly touched the lives of these two homeless souls, from two different species, one called human and the other called feline. We will always remember the man and his companion cat. It is clear that these two beings have a bond of love such as Corinthians defines: “Love is patient, love is kind. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” We wish them both well in their life’s travels together.

For the animals,

Gregory M. Simpson

Gregory Simpson’s animal welfare involvement spans over 25 years, having provided leadership for several Connecticut organizations, as well as having served as state advisor to the national Friends of Animals. Currently a Board member of Protectors of Animals, Inc., he was chosen by CAT FANCY magazine as one of the ultimate cat lovers in the U.S. He is also a member of the Cat Writers’ Association.



GOING GREEN DOESN’T HAVE TO COST A LOT OF GREEN
Let’s face it, there is a lot of talk about “going green” today. It’s a great thing to care about the environment that we live in and to care about plants, animals, and other people in the process of taking care of our Earth. Everybody seems to want to get on this band-wagon, including every business that sells us products today. There are green cars, appliances, makeup, clothing, and the list goes on. I’m all for these products being out there to help with our awareness, however, to me, “going green” means wasting less. I also don’t want to waste some perfectly good products that work along with my money, if I can save the Earth with what I already have, by conserving. This article will give you seven ways to help the environment by “going green” without costing a lot of green.
I am a stay-at-home mom that was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and arthritis. It is hard for me to work a conventional job, so I need to be on a strict budget when it comes to food, clothing, transportation, and even frills like furniture and appliances. I don’t have a lot, if any money to “play” with so I do what I can in and around the house by reusing things, buying less, and conserving.
One of the biggest things that I can do for the environment is to use my car less. This may be hard for some people in rural areas, but I live in a well established town with lots of shopping centers that are in walking distance. If I need, say a gallon of milk, I will not use my car to get that milk, I’ll use my legs. This cuts down on CO2 emissions, my gas bill for the week, and I even get the extra bonus of exercise in the process.
The next big thing I conserve on is electricity. Lights can give off a lot of heat and can also use a lot of energy just by being on. I personally will not use a lot of light in the summer because the house gets hotter from the bulbs. Sure, I could go out and buy those expensive alternative florescent bulbs that are supposed to be better, but I see little point in wasting what I already have since it still works. I just use them less now. I also unplug everything that is not in use like my cell phone charger, mini food processor, toaster, and any other small appliance you can think of in order to save on electricity and help the environment.
I use less water by washing large loads of laundry, washing the dishes per meal, instead of per dish, and taking shorter showers. Using less water is an important thing for all of us to think about since our water supply as a whole is getting less due to contamination and less rainfall. I find that waiting to do a load of dishes or laundry is helping us save the environment because I use less water this way. We live in an apartment, so I do not have grass to water, but I do have indoor plants that need water. I save on watering by filling a watering can with water per week instead of watering per day. This not only controls water intake, but it also helps the plants. By keeping the water in a container overnight, the chlorine dissipates, and becomes healthier for indoor houseplants to drink.
Using fragrance-free products or “green” cleaning products also helps the environment by emitting less toxic fumes into the air. There are many people who have allergies in today’s day and age, my family is among the allergy-prone people. Using products that contain no fragrance, helps out with this. I buy laundry detergent, dryer sheets, and even bar soap that contain no fragrance to help with our skin irritants. I also use cleaning products that contain little fumes to help with our allergy related asthma. Products like white vinegar and water, baking soda, and even trademark products like Murphy’s Oil Soap, and Borax have little fumes to breath in and work just as good as any other product out in the market today that’s used to clean your house.
You can save the environment by using your dryer and dishwasher less too. Letting your clothes and dishes air dry saves on your energy bills and helps the environment. Air drying your dishes is also better for you because it is harder for bacteria to live on the dish if it’s dried by the air. Some molds and bacteria love heat and can multiply quite fast in hot temperatures. Allowing some time for the air to get at your dishwasher and your dishes, will eliminate this potential threat.
Recycling is a word that has been around for a while and most people know how to throw out their garbage today because this term is used so often, but some people forget the other meaning of recycling, which is to try and reuse what you have, or give it to someone else who can. For instance, that old tee-shirt that doesn’t fit could be converted into a shopping bag to use at the store in place of their plastic counterpart. You can stitch up the bottom of the shirt by sewing it or using iron-on tape and then cut out the sleeves to make your handles. The tee-shirt can also be used as a dust rag or even a sponge for washing your floor, car, or even the family dog. You can use old pasta sauce jars as storage containers for nuts, bolts, nails, beauty products, or even food and cooking herbs. And how about that laundry detergent bottle or coffee can being turned into a piggy bank for the kids or even a pot for a plant. An egg carton can be transformed into an organizer for ornaments or even craft accessories. There are many different things that we have in our possession that could be used for something else with a little creativity and this helps out the environment by keeping it out of a land fill. Another popular recycling craze is called free cycle. This is a group of people in your community that will give away clothing, furniture, toys, and even coupons to others for free. These groups are popping up on the internet in online communities like Yahoo! Groups, AOL, and even MSN. They are passionate people who are dedicated to keeping good products out of a landfill. I personally belong to such a group and I think it’s a great idea.
This is just a short list of what can be done to “go green” without spending a lot of green. But if each and everyone of us did something small to “go green”, we’d all be doing something big while saving and conserving for our planet. And that’s really what “going green” is all about.
Kimberley Linstruth-Beckom Founder of Writers With Chronic Disease Writerswithchronicdisease-owner@yahoogroups.com. Author and Publisher Kimberley Linstruth-Beckom www.kimberleylinstruth-beckom.com



MY WALK IN THE WOODS- Part 3 of 3
By Bob Fowler

I continued on hiking alone or with other hiker friends. It wasn’t the same without Texas Jack. We got along so well together. He had become a true friend and now he was gone. Thoughts of leaving the trail myself started to enter my mind. I pushed them aside; I was still enjoying my hike.

While hiking with Jack we would keep track of our progress. The AT ends in Baxter Park in Maine. They close the park each year on October 15. That closing date kind of sets your schedule to finish. Jack and I were not making exceptional time hiking north. We had to average 10.5 miles a day to get to Baxter before the closing date so we had come up with a plan some time before he left the trail. We would continue north until we reached Harpers Ferry Virginia. Once there we would take a break from hiking, go home for a week, than return and go to the trail’s end in Maine. Climb Katahdin to the end of the trail and start hiking south. We could than extend our hiking season if need be. I had told my wife of this plan and she was going to drive down and pick me up.

The weather had become quite hot. We had almost a week of 90-degree weather. It was taking a toll on me and I began to think again of giving up. I decided that when I called home on July 4 I would inform my wife of my decision to quit. I was in a campground in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. I was just short of having completed half of the AT. I called Donna. Her first words to me were, “Texas Jack called. He is coming back to hike. This changed everything. This good news made me want to continue.

I called Jack. He told me that he had an uncle in New Jersey with failing health that he promised his mother he would visit. We arranged some dates and he decided that he would drive from New Jersey to my home in Meriden and than my wife would drive us up to Maine. I began to hike with new vigor looking forward to the return of my hiking buddy. My wife was to meet me in Duncannon, Penn. I had a week of hiking to get there. I was looking forward to seeing my wife after having been away for three months. The miles just flew by. I reached Duncannon and booked a room at the Doyle Hotel. The Doyle is right on the trail and is a famous hiker stop. It was built in 1902 by Anheuser-Bush as a hotel and tavern to stimulate the sale of beer. It has become somewhat rundown but the rooms were cheap and so was the beer. I spent my night there with a lot of hiker friends celebrating going home for a week to see my wife and having Jack return.

My week home flew by spending time with my family and friends. One morning I heard a car in my driveway. It was a red Ford Mustang convertible. It was Texas Jack. He had made the visit with his relatives in New Jersey and had rented the car and drove to my home. We had some friends over for a party so that I could introduce Jack to them.

A friend of mine, Chuck Gardenier, wanted to hike Katahdin so he came along with us to Baxter Park. It worked out well; my wife would not have to make the trip back alone. We drove to Millinocket Maine and got a couple of rooms. We were told that it was important to get to the park early for the gate opening at 7:00. The next morning we arrived at the park just after 6:00 to find a long line of cars waiting to enter. Promptly at 7:00 the gate opened and the attendant started to issue permits for day use. When it finally got to be our turn we were asked what were we planning to do. We told the attendant that two of us were thru-hikers and were planning to summit Katahdin. To our dismay we were told that Katahdin Springs Campground, where the AT passed through, was full and no more cars would be permitted to enter that area. I could not believe what we were being told. We had come too far to put our hike off for another day. We needed another plan. I was lead to believe that there would be a park ranger at Katahdin Springs Campground that would check our permit to summit. Our new plan was to get a permit to hike another area further into the park. We would than look for the point where the AT crossed the park road. We would get out of the car and walk into the campground as a thru-hiker hiking in would. We did as planned. We got our permit, my wife drove us into the park, we came to the trail crossing and we got out of the car and started to follow the AT. We reached the campground. No one stopped us. It was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. The temperature was about 70.

The AT follows the Hunt Trail up Katahdin. In a little over five miles the trail climbs 4,000 feet. In a few places it is quite steep and steel handholds have been placed into the rocks. We reached the top and touched the sign that proclaims the northern end of the AT the view from the top was amazing seeing nothing but wilderness in all directions. After the taking of some pictures, a thru-hiker must, we started down reaching the campground parking lot at 5:00 to find my wife waiting for us with cold beer. We spent another night in Millinocket. In the morning after a hardy breakfast we drove back to the trail and said our goodbyes. My wife and Chuck headed home and Jack and I started to hike south.

Maine was nice hiking. The trail passes many streams, lakes and ponds. It offers many opportunities to stop on a hot day for a cooling dip. We soon began to meet hikers who had started at Springer Mountain early in the year. We had been hiking for over a week. It was like old times again. Texas Jack and Grampie hiking the AT and enjoying it. We were coming down a steep slope, Jack was in the lead, he had grabbed a branch for support and it gave way sending Jack for quite a spill. He landed with his arm underneath him and had quite a bit of pain in his rib area. He had cracked some ribs. We continued to hike. The next town was Monson two days away. We got to Monson and got a room at Shaw’s boarding house. It’s another hiker favorite place to stop. We took a “0” day so that Jack could decide what he was going to do. He was having a lot of pain when he had to breath hard.

Jack felt that he could hike; he had had cracked ribs before and knew there wasn’t much you can do about treating them. He decided that his best decision was to leave the trail. The folks at Shaw’s could give him a ride to where he could get a plane back to Texas. It was a sad time for both of us, me especially when Jack said “Grampie, you go along and finish this thing for both of us.” Jack rode back to the trail with me. I got out of the truck, said goodbye, with a parting hug and with a tear in my eye I hiked away. Those parting words would dwell in my mind for the rest of my hike.

I left hiking with some hikers I had met at Shaw’s. Their pace was quite a bit slower than mine and I soon left them behind. It was now early August. Most folks who started a thru-hike going south had already started and were far ahead of me. Hikers who had started down south had yet to reach this point in any numbers. I would hike for long periods of time without meeting anyone. I was spending a lot of time alone, giving, me a lot of time to think about things. To make the time go by, while walking, I would pick a subject, my wife, my kids, grandkids, work experiences, my future and any thing else that would enter my mind. I would than try to replay my experience in my mind sort of like watching a movie. I would do this for endless hours while walking. It would often make me think of all the things in the “real world” that I had left behind when I decided to hike.

I had talked to my wife and we decided to meet up in Gorham, New Hampshire. It would be a good chance to visit with her and she could bring my cold weather gear that I would need before I entered the White Mountains. I called ahead and reserved a room at the Hikers Paradise Motel. It was a week before we would meet and the time flew by. I had finished Maine and was now in New Hampshire. I arrived in Gorham at midday and checked into the motel. It had been a month since I last shaved and Donna was not fond of what I looked like with a beard. I shaved, took a shower, put on some clean cloths and went out to eat. It was only two o’clock and my wife wasn’t do to arrive until around seven or so. I walked around town a bit, talked with some other hikers staying at the motel, brought a newspaper and retired to my room. There was a bus stop outside the motel with a bench. At about six I went out and sat on the bench to wait. The time went by slow. I would get up and walk a ways up the street and than return. I would wait some more and than walk in the other direction. It was hard to wait around after being on the move for so long. She didn’t arrive until after eight. I was getting a little concerned. She had gotten lost and had to backtrack. I was so glad to see her. The next day we drove to Andover Maine. I had stayed at a place called the Andover Guest House. While there I had washed some cloths. They had clothing that you could wear while your stuff was being washed. I had left my Swiss Army knife in the pocket of a pair of shorts that I had borrowed. After I returned to the trail I discovered it missing, when I needed the can opener. As soon as I got to a phone I called and they said they had it. I told them I would return for it in a few days. We drove to Andover to retrieve my knife and than to North Conway, New Hampshire and spent the day doing tourist stuff. The next morning Donna drove me back to Gorham and the trail. Now that I was getting closer to home we agreed to meet again in Hanover.

The next section of the hike would take me into the White Mountains. The weather in the Whites can turn nasty, any time of the year. Snow has fallen every month of the year in the past. Most hikers I spoke with had traveling through the Whites as a major concern.

The Appalachian Mountain Club maintains buildings called huts, through the mountains, where hikers can stay. They offer a fully enclosed building with running water, bunks and meals. Thru-hikers who wish to stay at a hut and do not want to spend the $70 fee can do what is referred to as “work for stay.” The folks that run the hut will give you a place to sleep, dinner and breakfast in exchange for doing some chores. Most huts only allow three or four hikers to do this and they usually give the first hikers that ask to work for stay the privilege. Madison Hut was my first work for stay experience. I arrived at the hut in early afternoon. I found the person in charged and asked him if I could work for stay and he agreed to take me on. I was given a chore of washing pots and pans that had been used to prepare the evening meal. I finished in less than an hour. I enjoyed my dinner, slept in a cozy bunk and had breakfast the next morning. I left Madison to cross over Mt. Washington to that days destination, Lake Of the Clouds Hut, a distance of 7 miles. I got to the top of Mount Washington it was shrouded in clouds and the temperature was about 40 degrees. I went into the restaurant brought some lunch and a lot of post cards that I sent to friends. They would be post marked from the top of Mt. Washington. I headed out. Down to Lake of the Clouds Hut, arriving around 2:30. Once again I asked to work for stay and my request was granted. For my work, myself and three other hikers were asked to defrost two large refrigerators. We removed the contents and washed the shelving and walls inside with hot water. We took our time and the whole job lasted for only a little over an hour. The hut was filled with paying costumers that night so none of us got a bunk. We were given mattresses and were able to sleep on the dining room floor. The next morning was cold and the top of the mountain was engulfed in a cloud, visibility was poor. I left the hut with three others dressed in my cold weather clothes. The hiking was difficult on the wet rocks combined with the lack of visibility. After an hour we descended a couple of thousand feet, we left the cloud cover into warmer weather. The rest of my hike through the Whites was great. The weather changed to sunny days and warm temperatures. The views from Franconia Ridge were some of the best on my whole hike.

I was starting to meet folks that I had left behind when I went to Maine. It was good to see these hikers again and hear their stories. Quite a few of the hikers I asked about had left the trail for one reason or another. I had met a hiker with the trail name of Dartman. Jack and I had hiked with him on and off and I hiked with him more after Jack left the trail in Virginia. One day out of the blue he appeared on the trail before me. We were so happy to see each other that we just sat down, right in the middle of the trail, and talked for over an hour. It was good to see him and know that he had come this far.

Donna was going to meet me in Hanover. I would be going home to attend an engagement party that we had been invited to. I met her at the bridge that spans the Connecticut River. Hanover, New Hampshire is about a three and a half hour drive from home. She left right after work; picked me up, stopped for some supper and we were home before midnight. We attended the party on Saturday. It felt very strange to be dressed up in a jacket and tie. I was able to visit with a lot of family and friends but I could not wait to return to the AT. On Sunday Donna drove me back to the trail to return hiking. I was now in Vermont. It always felt good to finish another state.

I probably met a couple of dozen hikers that I knew that were heading north. I was looking forward to meeting another hiker friend. He was a young man from just outside of Boston and wore a Red Sox cap. His trail name was Shepherd. He got that name because he hiked with a staff. I had last seen him in Duncannon, Pennsylvania and had hiking with him for about three weeks. He and Dartman said goodbye to me at the Doyle Hotel, when my wife picked me up. I would ask the hikers that I met if they knew where he was. Some said he was coming but one told me that he had left the trail. Most of the shelters, motels and hostels where hikers stay have a notebook like register. In this register hikers can leave information about the tail that they had just passed through. They could also leave messages for other hikers, behind them, to read. I did believe that Shepherd had left the trail until I stopped at the Inn At the Long Trail. The inn is another famous thru-hiker stop. I had stopped for lunch and was looking at a hiker register and to my surprise Shepherd had spent the last night there. I could not believe that I didn’t pass him. I had left the trail, at a cross road, that morning and walked a half mile to a store to call home. He must have passed me then. I was sad that I missed him but was glad that he was still hiking.

The AT travels over several ski mountains in Vermont. I camped just below the summit of Killington Peak and hiked to the top to view an amazing sunset. I passed Pico Ski Area. Bromley ski area and Stratton. Stratton Ski Area has a ski patrol building and a rest room on the top of the mountain that is used by thru-hikers. I got caught in a driving rainstorm as I approached the top of Stratton. I was soaked by the time I reached shelter. The ski patrol building had electricity, heat, a cloths dryer and even an outdated black and white T.V. set. On entering I was greeted by three other hikers who were staying the night. One was a thru-hiker going north and the other two were just out for an overnight hike. I was able to dry my clothes and I found a nice spot to put down my sleeping bag. It was nice to have a roof over my head when the weather was so bad outside. The T.V. didn’t work very well and it was soon shut off. The two guys that were just out for a overnight hike had many questions to ask about thru-hiking which we were more than glad to answer for them. They both said that they wanted to thru-hike some day. The morning still brought light rain. None of us were anxious to leave the snug building. The date was September 11, 2001. No one turned on the T.V. set. Around nine we all headed out to continue our journeys not knowing what had transpired out in the “real world.” We hiked to the trailhead at the bottom of the mountain and I left the two guys that I had hiked down with. I carried a small radio. I would mostly listen to it at night to get the next days weather while in my sleeping bag. Every once in a while I would listen to it as I hiked. I had probably only done that four or five times. This day I decided to listen. I fastened the radio to my pack strap and put the ear buds into my ears. As I walked I was trying to get some music to listen to. I could only get talk and wasn’t paying much attention to what was being said. All at once a thought raced into my mind, I don’t remember the exact words I heard but the message I got was that someone had dropped an A-bomb on New York City. I stopped and listened, in shock, as the announcer began to go over what had happened. I was alone in the woods. My first thought was to get to a phone and call home. I would go into Bennington. As I was hiking down the trail to the road two couples approached me. They had no hiking gear so they were probably just out for a walk. As they got closer I asked,” Did you hear what happened in New York.” One of them asked what I was talking about. I told them about what I had heard on the radio. His reply was “What the hell you been smoking.” I’m sure that when they found out later they had different thoughts. I hitched a ride into Bennington and called home. My wife informed me that know one we knew, as far as she knew, was involved in the tragic happening. I checked into a motel and spent the next several hours glued to the T.V. I wondered what I should do. Continue to hike or return home. I was now close enough to home that I could get there in a few hours. Not knowing what the future would bring I discussed it with my wife and decided to continue.

It was after Labor Day. I would see less and less folks on the trail. As I checked trail registers I could see that there was a group of three hikers going south in front of me. I was trying to catch up with them so that I wouldn’t be alone as often. My problem was that as soon as I closed the gap I would go home and they would pull ahead. I had finished Vermont and was now in Massachusetts. My wife met me on the top of Mt. Greylock and I went home again. The temptation was too great I was so close to home. I came back to the trail Sunday afternoon and hiked for a week to return home again.

The days were getting shorter. The temperature was falling. Winter was on its way. I had to get serious and get my hike finished. I still had three hundred miles to go. I would not be returning home or taking any more days off until I finished. My plan was to do one hundred miles a week

I finally caught up with the three hikers in front of me. We would meet off and on for the remainder of my hike. One of the trio was a young guy with the trail name of Leaps. We would spend the night together and when I would leave camp in the morning he would still be in his sleeping bag. He would ask me where I had planed to spend the next night and would say “I’ll see you there.” He always showed up. Sometimes it would be totally dark and I would already be in my sleeping bag and in he would come. One morning while packing up my gear I could not find a pair of sandals that I carried strapped to the back of my pack. I would wear them in camp and when I took off my boots to ford a stream. They were old and kind of worn out and I was not concerned about losing them. I mentioned, to Leaps, that I had lost them. He told me that he remembered seeing a pair on the trail some miles back and felt bad that he didn’t pick them up. At the time he didn’t know that they belonged to me. He offered to go back and get them but I told him not to bother for I was almost finished with my hike and wouldn’t be needing them anymore. We had discussed to stop in Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Palmerton lets hikers stay in the basement of a community building that has bunks and showers. I arrived into town and checked in, took a shower, brought some supplies and ate supper. I walked around town for a while, got bored so decided to go back and turn in. I expected to find Leaps there when I returned. It was after 9 so I figured that he was not coming. I went to sleep. It was around 10:15 when I woke to a noise I heard. It was Leaps. I asked him what had happened and how I did not expect him. To my surprise he produced my sandals. I had hiked twenty one miles that day to reach Palmerton. He said he hiked back without his pack and the sandals were further than he estimated. He hiked for two hours before he found them. He must have hiked about 35 miles that day. In the morning I told him I would buy him breakfast for his deed. He had told me a story of how he ate 12 pancakes at one sitting during his hike so at breakfast I told him to order as many as he wanted. We sat down to order. He asked the waitress how big the pancakes were. She put up her hands to show him. He ordered twelve. The owner came to our table and suggested that he just take six and if he was still hungry he could get more. Well, Leaps ate the six and eight more for a total of fourteen. He had worked hard the previous day.

I was nearing my goal. I would count off the miles daily. I was able to call Donna and make the arrangements to have her pick me up in Duncannon. I would soon be finished. I had told the hikers I was hiking with that at the end of my hike I would buy them beer at the Doyle Hotel. One of them needed some new boots. They decided to take a “0” day and go into a town to find a pair. I didn’t think I would see them again so I wished them well and we said goodbye. With them gone I spent my last two days on the trail without seeing a soul. My last two nights alone in a shelter gave me more time to reflect on what I had accomplished. I felt proud that after seeing so many hikers I had met quit their AT hike for one reason or another. I had hike 2000 miles at the age of sixty six. I felt that I was in the best shape of my life after losing 37 pounds.

On the afternoon of October 12, 2001 I crossed the bridge over the Susquehanna River. The first blaze after crossing was my last. I had hiking for almost seven months and now my AT hike was finished. I got a room at the Doyle Hotel. Took a long hot shower, shaved and went out and got a haircut. My adventure was finished. I ate supper and sat in the bar. My thoughts were of all the friends that I had made over the last six and one half months. I wanted to celebrate but the bar was empty.

Donna was due to arrive around eleven. I ate breakfast packed up my gear and went outside to wait. I was sitting there, just daydreaming when I herd someone call “Grampie.” It was the hikers I had left behind a few days ago. They had rented a car and drove down to see me one last time and say goodbye again. I could not buy them a beer because it was Sunday and the bar at the Doyle didn’t open until noon. We sat around and talked about once again of what lay ahead for them.

My wife arrived. It was only 11:00. I would not be able to buy the promised beer for my hiking friends. I gave them $20 and told them to have a “couple on me.” I said my final goodbye and wished them “Happy trails”, for the remainder of their hike.

During my hike many of my friends wanted to meet me and hike with me for a while. Most of them only wanted to do this for the day. The problems this poses to a thru-hiker are somewhat. You have to set up a meeting and probably loose a considerable amount of time before you satisfy their want. What I decided to do was to skip a nice section of the AT in Connecticut and after reaching my destination in Pennsylvania invite my family and friends to join me for a day while I officially finished hiking the AT.

After returning home I started to plan to do the final piece of the AT that I had put aside. I sent out invitations to friends, family and members of a ski club that I belong to. We would meet near Falls Village and hike a three mile section along the Housatonic River. At the end we would gather for a party at a parking lot along the river. The day came. It was a beautiful early November Sunday. When I arrived, at the meeting spot, I was amazed to see so many of my friends and family. We hiked the last miles to our designated picnic spot arriving to find more people. Everyone had brought food. Someone had a grill cooking food. My two sisters were there. They had brought my Mom. My Three daughters were there along with my two granddaughters. Seventy people attended. I felt very honored. We stayed and celebrated until almost dark. For me it was the most memorable day of my whole walk in the woods. I had now hiked every mile of the AT from Georgia to Maine.

I would e-mail and talk to Texas Jack regularly. He talked often of returning to finish hiking the AT I tried to encourage him to do so. Jack returned to finish his hike in March of 2003. He would call me to report his progress. I drove to the trail and hiked with him three or four times. I was there to support him and give him encouragement. That October I drove to Monson, Maine to be there when he finished. I started to walk south, finally meeting him. Needless to say Jack was happy to see me. He too had finished his hike on the AT.

Texas Jack and I have gotten together and hiked on the AT for a few days or a week a couple of times since than. It always feels good to be back hiking the AT with him. We have so many memories to share.

I think of my days spent hiking the AT almost daily. My hike has become an event in my life that I will always remember. It’s hard to explain to someone who has not experienced it. It gets into your blood. You become addicted, at least I have.




A GOAT TALE
By Dorothy Gonick

I have fond childhood memories of living on our farm in Redding, Iowa and of how our Dad, Earl, could be depended on to find enterprising solutions to whatever problems arose.

I recall that in the early 1930’s, our baby brother John developed an allergy to cow’s milk. So in addition to a barn full of milk cows, we acquired a Nanny goat. She quickly became a pet, and our 10-year old sister Margaret became the unofficial milkmaid as she formed a special bond with ‘Nanny’.

All went well while on our farm. But traveling the 100 miles to visit relatives who lived in Des Moines, presented the problem of fresh milk for John. Dad’s resourcefulness came into play as he attached a platform on the back of the 1928 Chevy. On this he fastened a crate with slatted sides, put in straw for bedding, and then in went Nanny! We kids kept watching out the back window of the car to see if Nanny was comfortable. She seemed to find it safer to just ‘bed down’ and munch on the straw that surrounded her, rather than be tumbled as we drove along.

Margaret milking Nanny
Nanny gave much amusement to our cousins and their friends in Des Moines that came over to pet her. One boy tried to feed her a tin can because he’d heard that goats ate them and was very surprised when she quickly butted him away. The kids liked to watch Margaret sit on the one-legged milk stool, position the pail, and proceed to milk Nanny. One boy begged to try milking, but Nanny kept her eye on him and seemed ready to kick, so Margaret offered her some fresh sweet grass to eat while petting her and the boy tried his best, but had no luck getting milk from her.

Our car with ‘Nanny’ in the crate on the back had caused stares from bystanders as we drove into the city. Once when we stopped at a corner, a man approached Dad and said, “Now I’ve seen everything. Traveling with a goat!—Why just last week a car went by with a washing machine fastened on the back!” Dad had a good laugh as he said, “I’ll bet that was my brother Fred, he’s a washing machine salesman.” The man just shook his head and walked on.
______________________________________________________________________________________



Dear Editor,

I'm writing in response to one of the questions in your Dear Housewives column, where someone wrote asking, "Why do children expect their parents to pay for college when it is hard enough for them to save for their own retirement?" While I'm no financial adviser, I think June and Flora did a good job at addressing it, but I feel compelled to expand on it, as it is such an important, and misunderstood, financial concern.

I believe this idea of spending beyond our means is indicative of our spending habits in general. We have no problem dropping $1,000 on a new computer, $200 for an iPod, $20,000 for a new car, when the five-year old one is running fine, or waste $50 to see the latest movie. We seem to always want new and better things. Meanwhile, aside from some small retirement accounts to which we contribute very little, we only have a couple thousand dollars in savings, we charge our vacations, and we pay $30,000 a year for our child's college education. We are only a paycheck away from financial disaster.

Decades ago, private colleges and other institutions were way out of reach of most middleclass Americans. Most settled for a community or state college. No way would our parents consider paying for a private college education. Those schools were only for the well-to-do, those that could afford it; but now, it seems every college-bound kid believes they are deserving of an expensive private college degree - regardless of whether or not they, the parents, can afford it. Why do parents feel guilty saying, "I'm sorry Jane, but we can't afford that school, but we can help you pay to go to UCONN (or any other state school)"?

As an example, University of Connecticut in-state tuition is $6,800 per year. Quinnipiac University is $30,000 per year. Add $10,000 to each for room & board. It's a no-brainer! If your annual family income is $60,000, why would you consider spending 50% of it on your child's college? I understand the feeling of wanting to give them what you didn't or couldn't have, but I would argue that for most professions, an Ivy League diploma isn't worth four or five times a state school diploma.

Private colleges are for the wealthy, or those that can afford it - not for us middleclass Americans. Parents, stop pretending your rich. There is nothing wrong about an education from UCONN, Southern or CCSU.
Manuel A. Santos - Meriden, CT



Dear Housewives…Central Connecticut’s Know It All Gals
Dear Readers,
Do you have a question regarding family life, budgeting, customer service issues, DVD or book reviews, or home organization? We will give you our candid advise from a family perspective. Contact The Peoples Press by e-mail or phone with your confidential question and we will answer it in the next issue.
Happy Springtime!!! June and Flora

Dear Housewives,
What can you do when you have 3 kids who are sick and you and your wife are sick too?"
Homebound

FLORA: Wow, reader. I hope by the time this gets printed that you and your family are recovered. What to do when the family is sick all depends on what type of 'sick' you all are. If it's colds and you are all miserable with runny noses, coughs and aches and pains, the grownups need to alternate and tend to the flock. If it is vomiting and diarrhea, call for help from someone who may be willing to nurse you all to health. Someone who will make sure that you are all getting enough fluids. I am not sure who my 'someone' would be, but hopefully we all have a 'someone'.

Flora Nightingale suggests that as soon as you can to crack the windows (yes, even in the winter), wash bedding and all towels in the kitchen and bath and the pj's or clothes that the patients are wearing.
JUNE: I am not sure I have a 'someone' on this one either. That is a tall order. Anyway, we did have this issue once (thank goodness only once) when we only had two of our three children. Mr. June and I had the flu (mine out all over and his achy and stomach pain) we had a five year old sick and a two year old with a cold. I don't know how we did it but they took care of themselves for the day. Mr. June struggled to get up and make their meals (I really couldn't) and we let them watch television all day. We had no choice. Plugged 'em in and checked on them the best we could. It was awful. So, the moral of the story is sometimes television is our friend. Good luck.

Dear Housewives,
My Mom is in her seventies and she never wants to do anything. She sits at home and complains. We visit and offer to take her on short excursions, but nothing seems to break her from her complaining ways. Any suggestions? Around a Complainer and not liking it in central CT

JUNE: Yes, but it wouldn't be a popular answer. Okay, I guess I can come up with something a bit more helpful. For one thing, you can't change someone after seventy something years. The complaining will not stop. You could try and get her to go to those groups for older people so she could do activities and meet people her own age. She may complain at first but may end up liking the peer contact.

FLORA: The only thing I can think of is to visit regularly but not too long if she is complaining. Do not feed the complaining. Without it seeming obvious, show her the bright side of situations. She could have been a homebody and a complainer when she was younger but it seems more obvious now as she is getting older. Sometimes as people age, they may get depressed. She may be, so if there seems to be drastic changes or unusual behavior, contact her physician. Make her favorite dinner and bring it over!

Housewife Chit Chat:
Hi Flora, it is nice to get a bit of nicer weather lately. Hope you are enjoying spring so far. Not happy about the new library hours in Meriden. It is hard to believe that when I take my kids to the library they are closed. It is the library for Pete's sake. Anyway, I did get a book called "Life is Still Good" about Maloney's football coach and guidance counselor who died of brain cancer. He happened to be my guidance counselor in high school. You probably knew him as well. Anyway, the author Bryant Carpenter wrote an excellent book. It was very easy to read and very sad. I am going to read something very frivolous next. I will keep you posted.

Hi June, I will read "Life is Still good" after the next two on my list. I am reading "The Book of Names" and then I have to read: 'Suite Française,' by Irène Némirovsky. The later is a story about France in the early 40's when the Germans invade. It was suggested by a book loving friend of mine. She gave it to me for my birthday.

We have been jumping rope on the new spring days. Its been fun. Thank goodness for Kegal exercises!

JUNE: Did you just say what I thought you said? Oh yes you did.



Home Country
Slim Randles

Only Dewey could do it. Our local disaster zone, Dewey, is one of the kindest hearted guys you ever met, but … well, things happen when Dewey’s around.

No one can forget how Dewey managed to get his dad’s pickup truck stuck in the only mudhole in the county during a three-year drought, and tongues are still wagging about him turning over the grease truck on the interstate. He’s finally settled into being what he calls an “entre-manure,” hauling truckloads of cow manure from the feedlot and dairy into town and selling it for garden fertilizer. So recently we headed in to the Mule Barn truck stop for the morning coffee and philosophy encounter only to find our resident cowboy, Steve, moaning and holding his head in his hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“Dewey,” he moaned. Sometimes there’s a complete novel in the pronunciation of a single name.

Turns out Bob Milford out at the Diamond W put out the word locally that he could use some help with the gather and branding. Steve and Dud both went to help, but so did Dewey. Bob didn’t know what to do with Dewey, but finally put him on a gentle horse. After all, it’s been two years since Dewey helped Bob with the branding and managed to vaccinate Dud for blackleg.

“We were doing all right and working along this ridge,” says Steve, “when here comes ol’ Dewey just a foggin’ it and he tells us we have to help him because he has a cow up a tree.”
Oh yeah. This is gonna be good.

“Seems Dewey choused this old black baldy cow right off this big rock outcropping and she landed in the forks of a tree below. He was almost hysterical. So we looked at this and Bob told Dud to go back to the truck and get the chainsaw.

“And you should’ve heard Dewey begging us not to cut up the cow because it was all his fault.” Steve grinned and shook his head. “We just let him go on like that until we cut the tree down.”




Quassy Opens 100th Season On April 26

Quassy Amusement Park will be celebrating “100 Years Of Fun” as the landmark facility opens April 26 for its centennial season.

“This is a milestone for any business, but especially for a family-owned park,” noted George Frantzis II, a Quassy co-owner. “Not only is Quassy celebrating its centennial this year, but this also marks the 71st year of family ownership as my grandfather and two partners purchased the property in 1937. There are only a handful of family-owned amusement parks remaining in the United States.”

April 26 and 27 will feature $30 Carload Weekend, a tradition at Quassy as it supports the Greater Waterbury Campership Fund to help send underprivileged children to summer camp. For the $30 fee up to 10 persons in a vehicle will receive an all-day ride pass with the $5 parking charge included. The park operates noon to 6 p.m. both days.

Egg Hunt And Entertainment

Sunday, April 27 will be capped off at 3 p.m. with the park’s annual egg hunt for children. Candy for the event is being provided by Price Chopper.

“Curious George” from Houghton Mifflin books will meet and greet kids at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. both days as part of Quassy’s annual reading incentive program, and the comedy/magic of Jim Sisti & Sandy will be presented at the Vacation Village Resorts Lakeside Theatre.

Quassy Amusement Park is recognized as one of 11 remaining “trolley parks” in the nation by the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA). Before The Great Depression of 1929 there were more than 1,000 such properties in the United States.

The park has grown in recent years under the ownership of the Frantzis and Anderson families to maintain its identity in the local area and also become a vacation destination.

Old And New

Offering a blend of its historic roots plus new state-of-the-art attractions, Quassy caters mainly to families with pre-teenagers.

“Saturation Station,” an interactive family water play area, debuted in 2003 at the lakeside and was an immediate hit with patrons. The gigantic jungle gym of sorts incorporates a selection of cascading fountains, water cannons, slides and a huge tipping bucket at its center. In 2006 the park added to large “Tunnel Twister” waterslides to complement the existing waterpark attraction.

“’Saturation Station’ was an overnight success for the park,” said Eric Anderson, a Quassy co-owner. It (waterpark element) was something park guests and our corporate groups had been requesting, so we filled that void by building a first-class attraction.”

More than 20 kiddy and family rides are located throughout the amusement park, including the “Yo-Yo” super swing, “Music Fest” and classic steel “Monster” roller coaster. Two kiddylands feature a selection of rides for the tots, including the “Little Dipper” roller coaster that has been thrilling youngsters for more than 50 years.
Quassy also has a redemption arcade, midway games, novelty food stands, restaurant, entertainment and special events.

For more information, visit www.quassy.com or call 1-800-FOR-PARK.

Quassy is open weekends through early June and then daily through Labor Day. Quassy Beach and “Saturation Station” open for the summer season on Memorial Day Weekend. Group outings for schools, corporations and scouts – as well as family birthday parties – may be booked by calling the park office at 203-758-2913.



STATE OF CONNECTICUT TAX RELIEF PROGRAM
The Wallingford Assessor’s office is now taking applications for tax credits for Elderly & Totally Disabled Homeowner’s February 1st – May 15th.
To qualify for this program applicants must be:
1). 65 years of age by December 31, 2007, the widow/widower age 50 or over of a previously approved applicant, or totally disabled and receiving benefits under a federal, state, or local retirement program (e.g. Social Security Disability).
2). Individual must have lived in Connecticut for one year.
3). Income not to exceed:
$29,800 – single
$36,500 - married
Documents needed for applications:
1). All sources of income for 2007. For example: Social Security Form 1099, wages, commissions, pensions, interest, dividends, proceeds from sales of property, veteran’s pension, etc.
2). 2007 Income Tax Form (if filed).
3). If you received an application and have any questions, or need help filling out your application, our office can assist you at the Town hall (Room 101).
For more information, call (203) 294-2001.





JOHN SHONECK SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Dear Friends,
5 of the Marine Corps League has already instituted a Fundraising Committee as well as a Scholarship Committee and as you can see, is hard at work in making the John R. Shoneck Scholarship a continued success. A reminder to you; over the past 19 years, the Meriden Vietnam Veterans Association (M.V.V.A.) has awarded $28,000.00 to graduating high school seniors in pursuit of a college education! These good works will continue with the new Scholarship leadership.


SHONECK SCHOLARSHIP FUND TO MAKE THREE $1,000.00 AWARDS IN 2008

The John R. Shoneck Scholarship Fund of the Marine Corp[s League, Silver City Detachment #45 has increased the awards available from three (3) $500 scholarship awards to three(3) $1,000.00 awards for graduating high school seniors. Two of the scholarships will be available to a senior in any high school whose parents derived from, reside, or work in the city of Meriden and a descendant or relative of a man or woman who served in the Armed Forces of the United States. A copy of the qualifying relative’s DD-214 (Proof of Honorable Discharge) must accompany the application to receive these special considerations.

The third “Open” Scholarchip award will be given to any graduating high school seniors whose parents derived from, reside or work in the city of Meriden. The number of each type of scho9larship award is determined annually by the Board of Trustees.

The awards will be made to applicants who display scholastic achievement, potential for success in their chosen field of study, outstanding character and citizenship, a record of service to their school and community, and financial need.

Applications for these awards are available in area high school guidance offices. The names of the awardees will be announced on or about June 2, 2008.

The scholarship awards are granted annually to perpetuate the memory of U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant John R. Shoneck, a Meriden, CT native, who was declared “MISSING IN ACTION” in Vietnam when his aircraft failed to return from an Air/Sea rescue mission over the Tonkin Gulf in North Vietnam on October 18, 1966.

The two restricted scholarship awardees must meet the above criteria, be intent on continuing their education at an accredited college and who are also related to a person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States or its allies. A copy of ;the relative’s “DD-214 (proof of honorable discharge) must accompany their application.

A brief essay must accompany all applications on the applicants’ knowledge of any of America’s Wars as it relates to them, their parents or other relatives, and any effect or influence on them.

The deadline for applications this year is April 15th.

Applications are to be submitted to the fund trustees via the Meriden Board of Education or in care of the:
Marine Corps League, Silver City Det. #45
Women’s Auxiliary
20 Clinton Street
Meriden, CT 06450-4517
If I can be of further service in this matt4er, please call me or write. (203) 272-6560 or tduhig@cox.net.
Yours truly,
Tom Duhig
Tom Duhig
Spokesperson, J. R. Shoneck Committee





Bobbie’s Bevy of Beauties

I knew my time of hibernation would be coming to an end before very long. So I peeked out and took a look around. There was almost no snow but the cold, rain and horrific winds made my decision to return to the land of slumber once again. At least for a short while. But it was not to be. Some very loud noises disrupted my sleeping. As I’ve mentioned before Andy, the owner of the People’s Press, who lives only two houses away was the culprit. He was bellowing “Bobbie, Get up! Get up! Spring is here and some of the bulbed flowers are in bloom. It’s time for ;you to begin your first article.” So I signaled Jimmy to uncover my bed of peat moss and give me a hand back up into the world I left over four months ago. So here I am. Our long haired dachshund LitlBit, was there to greet me with a wet sloppy kiss. And in doggie language told me how much he missed me and how happy he was to see me again.

Not much one can do with the gardening bit yet, but clean up any debris left over from last year. If the bitter cold weather has ended, and I hope it has, then the grass plant can be cut all the way down. Also the butterfly bush leaving it two to three feet high.

Danny who lives across the street from us has become a daddy. He is now the owner of two beautiful golden retriever puppies. The sister is Goldie and her brother is named Boone. They were born Jan 5, 2008. Eleven pups were in the litter. I brought LitlBit over to welcome them to the neighborhood. Even though they are very young, so very affectionate and friendly and somewhat larger than him that when their playfulness gets a bit overwhelming LitlBit runs back to his mommie for protection. I imagine in another few months they’ll have grown to quite a good size.

Looking outside everything is so drab and colorless. Maybe by the next issue sunny, warm weather, green grass, budded trees and a few more flowers will have bloomed. Till then.
Flowercerely yours,
Bobbie G. Vosgien

P.S.
Love always and best wishes to our only grandson, Kevin Jr. who lives in New Hampshire on his 22nd birthday April 17, 2008.
Grammie and Grampie



Food for Thought…
…by Ernie Larsen


FOOD is a large part of our lives, wars have been fought over food, not sure which ones, but knowing some of the other silly reasons for war, I’m sure it has happened. Entire countries have been affected negatively by food, the Irish potato famine for example; and there are always third world countries in need of some type of food. Governments routinely use food as a tool in diplomacy. Huh? You ask – how about all those State dinners presidents give for visiting dignitaries and Queen Elizabeth is always feeding someone on a lavish basis. Then there are the diplomatic breakfast meetings, when the Secretary of State goes to Monorokaslovakia on a peace mission, with everybody dressed up in their Sunday best, hey, when’s the last time you put on a suit and tie for breakfast? And there is always food involved in all these trip that politician’s take, so you see, food really is more than just a meal.

Back when I was growing up, my family had dinner at the table every night. There were 5 of us, Mom was a stay at home, not like today when many Mom’s have to work; we lived with my grandfather’s in his house; he and my father were both carpenters and at the end of the day they were hungry as were my brother and I after a tough day of school and the essential after school activities, playing with our buddies, we worked up quite an appetite making gigs (4 wheeled conveyances, poor man’s soap box racers), playing hockey at Baldwin’s Pond or just riding our bikes and doing other goofy stuff. We never went home after school and planted ourselves in front of the TV – we made our own fun. Oh yes, homework was de rigueur, after dinner. We had to be called in for dinner and like I said, it was a daily ritual. How many people now sit down at the same time every night to a home cooked/prepared meal? Not that many I guess – I just watched a public service announcement on the tube exhorting people to put aside one day a week to have a family meal, everyone in the family, at the same table, no TV blasting, no cell phones, no laptops, just the family and some good old conversation. When I was married Mom invited us over once a week or so and when the children arrived we continued the tradition. Now, we switch off with my daughter occasionally as schedules permit, she’ll have us over and we reciprocate. And now that we are empty nesters we share food prep and eat at the table a couple of nights a week – the other nights we do what I’ve coined as ‘al fresco’ watching the news on TV whilst having our meal. We do talk a lot more at the table; talk is good! So, I suggest everyone who reads this and does not have a sit down meal at least once a week try it out. You may like it - if you don’t, nobody’s going to know. It really is a nice change of pace.

My mother, her sisters and one of my uncles used to let me help, well, sort of, cook when I was young, I probably was mostly in the way, but did learn and remembered a lot. We lived on the second floor above my Mom’s mother and father and some of their 9 children were always at the house helping out, so I pitched in and that was the first place that piqued my interest and fascination with food and its preparation.

To say I like to cook is an understatement! I’m an experimenter, I watch the Food Channel much too much, collect cookbooks, own over 40 on every type of cuisine and have contributed to several myself; I’m obsessed with clipping recipes from magazines. As a matter of fact, I just started my own “Ern’s Favorite Recipes” notebook with some of those I’ve tried and many to be tried. I also culled out a bunch that I deemed would never make it to the stove/oven/grill. As I write, right next to me on the desk is a recipe for a coffee cake I’m bringing for the Easter brunch at my sister-in-laws.

I remember back in the early 1970’s going to a food show in Hartford to see Chef Tell Erhardt, the TV cooking guru of the day, give a demonstration – that’s when I started my cookbook collection. It was my first autographed cookbook and I just had the chance to peruse it again when I heard of Tell’s passing.
I’ve also taken cooking classes at The Silo in New Milford, CT along with my daughter and my best friend. And of late, participated in a few classes at the Drust Family Shop-Rite, right here in Meriden, anyone with limited time should look into these classes, 3 hours on a weeknight and @$20.00 a bargain-and don’t worry about missing dinner, you get to consume the food you’ve created) My granddaughter, who is 5 years old and a cooking class veteran, having taken her 1st class last fall at a Williams-Sonoma in West Farms Mall and just last month one at Shop-Rite, a special class for children, she absolute loved the experience.

In the mid-1950’s, I belonged to Troop 31, Boy Scouts of America, sponsored by the long departed New Departure Corporation. One of my best friends and mentors in the troop was Ted Lisczcak. He and I formed a bond; we hung around at the weekly meetings and I sort of trailed him around at summer camp, Camp Terramungus on Lake Pocatopoug in East Hampton. He was 3 or 4 years older than me, but never fluffed me off, just accepted me as a peer. When we were at camp, my buddy Ted and I used to lollygag around the camp kitchen, he was a counselor, so he had a bit of ‘pull’ with the higher ups and seeing he also liked to cook, we were both intrigued by the method of cooking for a crowd. I’m not sure how many people “Cookie” the cook was preparing meals for, but it sure was a show to see all that food, go from the raw product to a meal sitting on a plate or tray.

And when we were in Meriden, on weekends, we either spent the day hiking and plinking with his .22 rifle out by Mount Higby and then coming back to my house or his to make some food. My parents usually headed up to their place or to visit friends in New Hampshire so we most often cooked at my house. Ted taught me how to make many things, but he was a genius when it came to French fries. One of our favorite meals was hamburgers and fries, Ted used to melt Crisco and put it into a spray bottle and sprayed the cut potatoes, let them dry and pan fry them in vegetable oil. They were good, but better when we used my Mother’s cast iron skillet – this was a classic old pan and with all that his Mom cooked was perfectly seasoned, maybe it was just wishful thinking, we both thought the fries and burgers from her pan were the best.

So then I used to watch my Mother prepare food, her style was mainly what is now called ‘comfort food’ or in reality what my Father liked to eat. The menu was certainly eclectic, cube steaks, meatloaf, stuffed peppers, pancakes/sausage, creamed tuna with peas over toast, the same dish with salmon (YUK!), heavily spiced hamburgers, Hungarian style, we called them ‘snichnies’ I’m sure that spelling is incorrect and it may have been a totally made up word, you never know with a Hungarian. Another dish or meal if you can call it that was corn meal mush served with butter and syrup, now in another form it’s called polenta and somewhat of a staple to Italians. After graduating high school, my ‘career path’ led me to enlist in the US Army; after becoming a ‘trained killer’ I was sent off to Germany to warm up the Cold War. My cooking opportunities were limited until the guy who ran the snack bar in the “OPS” building shipped out, a buddy and I saw the opportunity for some extra cash and for me a chance to hone my short order cooking skills. We took over the operation – for a few hours a week and supplemented our meager Army salaries with some cash money. We modified and expanded the menu from mainly cold sandwiches adding soups/chili and hot sandwiches; one of the favorites of the guys was a creation of mine, grilled cheese, onion and Canadian bacon. I remember this was one of our highest priced items at 50 cents. Burgers were 35 cents and hot dogs 20 cents. On Fridays, when not eating meat was still ‘big’ with the Catholics, we always had some type of fish, one of our more popular non-meat dishes a big 'fav' - tuna melts! One of my additions to the recipe was finely chopped celery and onion with a dash of paprika – yummy! We did that for about a year and a half, split about 35-50 dollars a week, not bad when take home pay for a month was $120 or thereabouts. For this they expected us to defend our country and give our lives if necessary, boy am I glad it was the Cold War!

Enough politics, I’ve always had the urge to cook, explore different methods, my wife still recounts the time my brother and I were hosting a barbecue at my parent’s house, before we were married and I was making a potato salad for the first time, never seeing how my Mother mixed it, I dug right in with two hands, oh well, none of the guests were any worse for wear, by the way, now I use a sturdy spoon to make one of my favorite salads. That was the first time my future wife and her family experienced my cooking, I guess they liked it, well she did at least, we were married a year or so later. We lived in a rented house after own marriage and often occasionally hosted dinners - I remember when her sisters were over for dinner one evening, after they left they told friends that Mary and Ernie served stuffed gourds. Yep, stuffed peppers were on the menu and her sisters coming from a family where meat and potatoes were a staple, this was quite radical.

I’ve come a long way since then, the potato salad incident not withstanding. We used to host an annual Christmas party – (40/50 guests) – with all home made hors d’oeuvre and munchies, it finally got out of hand, the cleaning up at 3 in the morning (mainly my wife) and a lot of other issues, we ended that tradition after a few years. I still make a lot of food gifts around the holidays. I believe these are more meaningful than a gift card and it’s not a lot of bother, well, not for me.

My daughter used to hang around when I or my wife was cooking and she also picked up some tips from my Mother. She now is an excellent cook in her own right and experiments extensively, sometimes much to the chagrin of her husband who is a bit of a plain eater. To make up for that, my granddaughter has developed a palate for good food and is a bit of a gourmand. Her favorite cuisine of the moment is Mexican, although she tries a lot of varied foods; all this at the ripe old age of 5. You should have seen her enjoying the corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day at the AOH, just before her debut as a step-dancer. When she visits a restaurant she orders tap water with a slice of lemon, most of the time the wait person is taken aback and asks her mother is that what she really wants? And with me, we are a team aptly labeled Big Chef, Little Chef. We recently made a fruit salad from a recipe she obtained from her cooking class with Chef Ed at Shop-Rite.

My daughter and I, in the last 5 or so years or so have gotten into food competitions, mainly the Durham Fair. The country fair was brought into existence so farmers, well back then that’s who populated these events, could compete with each other as to who had the best cow, biggest pumpkin, whose apple pie tasted best, whose corn grew the highest and whose vegetables were the most appetizing, you get the scenario. Nowadays, many of the fairs in Connecticut maintain the competitions of their roots where folks have the chance to pit their specialties against others to see whose, in the judge’s eyes, are deemed the best. My daughter, when she was in elementary school, entered a no cook jam in the Durham Fair, which she made under my Mother’s tutelage and won a blue ribbon in the adult category. So she was one up on me when we started to compete, our competition is basically against each other when we started. Now, after a few blues, reds and yellow ribbons under our belts, we’re taking on all comers; good friends entered last year, can never get their names straight, and both won first place ribbons - so our work is cut out for us this fall. We enter the home baking division, plenty of categories to pique our interest. I do well in the cookie bars and brownie categories, my daughter in cookies and we both make pretty decent banana bread. So, much to my wife’s chagrin, I’ll start test baking for this years’ fair pretty soon, hey, never too early to start.
Just this past month we both entered a chili cook-off at the Meriden AOH, my daughter walked off with 2nd place as determined by the judges and won the People’s Choice Award and no one knew it was turkey chili! I got to drive us to and from the event, my entry was good, but she whipped me. Hers was extra Yum-O. Well, I’m about done for now, I think I’ll continue this cooking theme in my next musing, I’ve got a lot more to say.

I’ve got Chef Tell’s cookbook next to my dictionary and keyboard and am looking at his inscription to me, I’d like to leave you with his inimitable, signature goodbye; “I See You”.



In Memory of Grandma Nevelos, Uncle Steve Nevelos, Peg Larsen (Gramma, the original) and
Friedman Paul Erhardt, “Chef Tell” - 11/4/43 – 10/27/07
With grateful acknowledgement to Auntie Honey, (Mary) Albrycht.