When introducing Kathy Augustine at the July 29 program at the Kibler School, Towamensing Township, Kay Gilbert, president of Friends of Kibler, said Augustine had been there before to make a presentation. That time it was a program about spinning. Her mother-in-law, Connie Bieling, said Augustine spun wool to have something to dye.
"Tonight is all about color," said Augustine. "Color is defined by how the brain responds to light. Everyone perceives color in a slightly different way."
It was Sir Isaac Newton who saw how a prism broke color into the rainbow colors.
As an elementary school principal, Pamela Hubbard, of Effort, knew that when she retired, she wanted a less stressful existence. She imagined spending her golden days tending an English cottage garden, just like her grandmother's and the ones she grew up with in her native country of England.
Some dreams do come true because that's just what she has been doing for the last five years.
"I retired to garden," says Pam, with a gentle English accent.
David Koerner, a dispatcher, sits at his desk with five computer monitors in front of him at the Monroe County Control Center. A call comes in from a husband whose wife is in labor. They are en route to the hospital. He doesn't think they're going to make it.
Koerner advises the distraught man where to pull off the road safely and dispatches an ambulance to the location.
The Monroe County Control Center is located in Snydersville, just off Rt. 33, across from the Monroe County Correctional Facility. Gary Hoffman, director of communications at the Control Center, started out as a dispatcher in 1978.
"We had three radio channels. Now we have over 40. We had one tower site and now we have 11. As the county grew, the Control Center grew," he says.
The Control Center receives about two million transactions (calls) a year.
The following timeline that shows the history of the Monroe County Control Center:
Dan Reigel bends down low in order to position a reciprocating saw. He's working deep below ground level between walls of earth nine feet high.
The 49-year-old plumber is inside an excavation in the front yard of a private residence on Lombard Street in Tamaqua, a serene neighborhood of 1960s-era bi-levels.
Reigel stoops low to cut off another piece of pipe in preparation for a new sewer line.
Roy Christman of Towamensing said he heard a statement that America loses one barn a day.
With that thought in mind, two members of the Polk Township Historical Society, Norman Burger, president, and Elmer Heissam decided they were going to record as many barns in Polk Township as they could. To date, they have documented 33 standing barns and 47 that no longer exist. At one time there were estimated to be over 80 barns in the township. With their search came knowledge about some of the history of the area.
A reception was held with tables of food and beverages outside on the porch of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center on July 16 for the grand opening of its visitor-education building. Chairs were filled in the "great room." The walls were lined with people and the hallway was crowded.
Bob Hoopes, as master of ceremonies and a board member, gave an overview of the center. Members of the board were recognized: Michal Kubik, Ronald Kline, Kathy Romano, George Beam, Fritz Brock, Anita Collins, Jeff Frantz, Geryl Gritz, Diane Husic, Bill Mineo, Grant White and director Dan Kunkle.
