Ted Jackson, voted the best coach in the Back Mountain in 2008, receives his award from Christie Delicati.

CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/FOR THE DALLAS POST

Where’s your favorite place to get pizza in the Back Mountain? How about ice cream?

Who do go to if you want to sell your house or get your cavity filled?

Our Second Annual Best of the Back Mountain contest in is full swing at The Dallas Post and we need your help.

The contest allows readers to choose their favorite Back Mountain hair salon, grocery store, place to hang out and much, much more. We depend on our readers to vote so we can accurately name who, or what place, is the best in each category.

Winners are named in each category and will be invited to a reception at Fire & Ice on Toby Creek in Trucksville.

The best part is that each person who votes is entered into a drawing to win $100. Just ask Sharon Branco, of Dallas. She was our lucky winner last year who received $100 in cash.

Entry forms are available in editions of The Dallas Post and The Times Leader. Entries should be sent to: The Dallas Post, Best of the Back Mountain, 15 North Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711.

Voting ballots and drop off boxes are also available at the following Back Mountain locations: Weis Market, Dallas; Thomas’ Foodtown, Shavertown; Thomas’ Super Foodtown, Dallas; The UPS Store, Dallas; Back Mountain Memorial Library, Dallas; and Mountain Fresh, Pikes Creek.

In addition, readers can vote online at www.mydallaspost.com.

All entries must be received by 12 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1. At least 25 categories must be completed on each entry. Only one entry per person will be accepted. The results will be featured in the Nov. 1 edition of The Dallas Post.

www.wildcakes.ca

It’s hard to believe, but in mid-June I celebrated my second anniversary at The Dallas Post.

Although those two years seem to have flown by, I’ve learned so much about the people and things in The Back Mountain. Here are three things I never knew until I started at the paper:

1. Franklin Township/Sweet Valley – I had only been to Franklin Township and Sweet Valley several times over the years and quite honestly, I never knew exactly where I was, anyway.

I was surprised to learn what a beautiful place, Franklin Township, was just beyond Frances Slocum including Brace’s Orchard, Lake Louise and Memorial Shrine Cemetery. I’ve also become accustomed to Sylvan Lake and Ross Elementary School in Sweet Valley.

2. Bob Horlacher – I was first introduced to Bob Horlacher Baseball in late 2007 while interviewing Sal, Jude and Jaryn Polit-Moran of Franklin Township. The brothers collected the entire 1934 Goudey Gum Company baseball card set.

I asked the boys if they play baseball and they told me they play for Bob Horlacher. “For who?” I asked as I gave their mother a puzzled look, expecting them to say Back Mountain Baseball. Nope, they played for Bob Horlacher, a baseball league serving Dallas, Monroe, Noxen, Northmoreland, Exeter and Franklin townships. It’s a very popular league.

3. A true sense of community – Whether a family loses everything in a fire, a spouse or child dies or someone is suffering from a disease, people in the Back Mountain really come together to support each other in times of need. I’ve probably written about over one dozen people who have been helped not only by family and friends in times of need, but also by complete strangers.

Just a few people who come to mind include fire victims Mickey and Barb Rowlands, of Centermoreland; and Brenda Burkhardt, a Dallas Elementary teacher who lost one of her twin daughters several weeks after she was born.

....and I’m still learning.

Over the past two years I’ve gotten to meet a lot of people in the Back Mountain, but not everybody. Please feel free to drop me a line and say hi. See you soon!

Danielle and Michael Kmetz of Shavertown help Walker, 3 1/2, out on his first time fishing on a Fish for Free Day in 2006 at Frances Slocum State Park.

Jonathan J. Juka

Get your poles ready! Tomorrow is a Fish for Free Day in Pennsylvania.

What’s the catch, you ask? Just the catch you might make when you cast your line.

That’s right; you can go fishing at no cost without purchasing a fishing license. That’s a pretty sweet deal, whether you’re new to fishing or a rookie who just doesn’t have or want to fork over the money to go. All other fishing regulations still apply.

A second Fish for Free Day will be held on Sunday, June 7.

And lucky for you, there are plenty of places you can fish right here in the Back Mountain, including Frances Slocum Lake, Harveys Lake, Sylvan Lake, Lake Jean, Harveys Creek and Bowman Creek.

My boyfriend and I took advantage of Fish for Free Day two years ago. I had gone fishing with my family several times as a child, but I hadn’t done it in years. We headed out to Bowman Creek toward Tunkhannock and cast our lines.

We didn’t catch any fish, but truthfully, it didn’t matter. We relaxed outside and enjoyed the fresh air while doing something different outside of our normal routines. It was great.

I encourage everyone who has some free time tomorrow (and access to poles and bait) to get out and fish. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Skip-it!!!!

www.moreadventurous.vox.com

Often times I find myself reminiscing with other people around my age about the things we grew up – TV shows, toys and games and trends of the time.

If you grew up in the 80s and/or 90s, you’re likely to remember some of these things:
1.    Pogs – These were small, cardboard discs that were collected by kids. You could win more in a game by using a plastic slammer to accumulate other kids’ pogs, and likewise, they could get some of yours.
2.    Trapper Keeper – This was your source for folders, paper and random pockets and zippers.
3.    Skip-it – Basically this was a plastic band with a ball on the end that went over your ankle. The goal was to keep skipping over the thing, and it would count how many times you did it. My sister had one and I was never very good at it.
4.    Wind pants – You weren’t cool unless you were sporting Adidas or Nike nylon pants. They made so much noise when you ran.
5.    Jogging suits – Matching sweatshirts and sweatpants. I had a red jogging suit with roller skates on it in the fourth-grade and a teacher made fun of me. That was the end of it. That same teacher made fun of my sister for wearing a Barbie jacket.
6.    McDonald’s characters – I’m not talking about Ronald McDonald. I mean the McNuggets, Hamburgler, Grimace and Fry Girl.
7.    Bubble necklaces – A piece of string holding a colorful, plastic jar filled of bubble formula and a wand dangled from the necks of children everywhere they went. I once got one caught on the sliding board, nearly strangling myself.
8.    Nick-or-Treat – A contest held on Nickelodeon every October. You had to send your information to Nickelodeon and every time you answered the phone, you were supposed to answer “Nick-or-Treat” in case it was Nickelodeon calling. If they called and you answered the phone that way, you won a prize. It was a genius marketing campaign that confused grandparents and telemarketers everywhere.
9.    Wide-leg jeans/pants – By the time I was in sixth-grade, you got made fun of if you wore a regular pair of jeans to school. Thankfully, that trend disappeared when I was in high school.
10.    Weebles – Little plastic people. This was before parents complained because their kids were putting Weebles in their mouths and choking on them. Then the Weebles got really fat and their slogan became, “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.” No wonder kids are getting fatter.

http://projectdisaster.com/?cat=52

Do you ever go on autopilot? You know, when you drive somewhere and have no remembrance of how you got there? Or when you turn left because you always turn left when you go that way, even though you wanted to turn right this time?

On Sunday, I missed the Wilkes-Barre exit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike despite the fact I was counting down the miles to it. I believe the first sign for the exit is 30 miles prior. I saw the sign, looked at the odometer, and waited.

11659 – 30 more miles. Ugh. When will this trip ever end?
11672 – Hey, half way (almost)
11685 – Almost there
11687 – Wilkes-Barre/Bear Creek, 2 miles
11688 – Wilkes-Barre/Bear Creek, 1 mile
11689 – Wilkes-Barre/Bear Creek, exit
11690 – (Expletive!) I missed my exit!

That’s correct. I drove right past it. I was forced to instead get off the Turnpike in Pittston. And I didn’t have enough money, or so I thought.

Before I got on the toll road, I stopped at WaWa (How exciting! Remember when there was one in Wilkes-Barre?) to buy a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi to keep me awake on the way home. That’s when I realized after purchasing a soda that I only had three one-dollar bills in my wallet. I debated whether to use the ATM, but found four quarters and a dime to make the $4.10 toll I had to pay.

So when I missed my exit, I was horrified that wouldn’t be able to pay. I wondered what the person in the toll booth would say to me. I stopped to pay the toll and frantically spent what seemed like 10 minutes trying to scrounge up dimes and nickels from my car and the bottom of my purse. Whew! I drove the rest of the way home feeling embarrassed and also mad at myself.

Perhaps one day a car manufacturer or psychologist can figure out how to make a switch to turn off autopilot, or a button to really turn it on so the car can drive itself. Until then, I’ll likely continue to drive without even thinking about it.
 

About the Author

Rebecca Bria has been reporting for The Dallas Post since June of 2007. She is a 2007 graduate of Wilkes University and previously interned with the company at The Weekender and The Times Leader.

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