IT’S A GO: Our newsroom reported the other day that community
events planned for downtown and East Bradford will go on as
scheduled – despite possible traffic tie-up with ongoing
re-construction of the Bradford Bypass. But one festival was
inadvertently omitted from that list.

Festa Italiana – no doubt one of the most popular festivals
downtown – will also go on as scheduled.

As always, the festival will be held in early August and serve
up the very best in Italian food, fun and frivolity. Former
residents know, too, that the Festa serves as a kind of old-home
week when family and class reunions reunite many old friends.

OH, ZIPPO: Jim Belardi of Bradford dropped by one morning last
week to give us a Zippo sighting in person.

On the TV quiz show “Jeopardy!” he’d watched the previous night,
one of the categories was titled “Ends in O.” The answer was, “It
was invented by George Blaisdell in 1932.”

The answer, of course, was Zippo, and Jim said the contestant
did get the answer correct. It was in the “Double Jeopardy”
segment, and the category was worth either $600 or $800.

RADIO TALK: In our ongoing columns on the local radio station we
get input from Frank Milks: “Does anyone else remember Dan Smith on
WESB radio? I remember having him as a teacher in Junior High. I
also remember thinking that at least when I hear him on the radio I
could turn him off, but not in the classroom. Really, though, I do
remember him as a good teacher, but not too much about his radio
personality.

MORE COPS: Tony Falconi of Lewis Run adds to our list of
Bradford policemen in the 1940s and 1950s:

“Mike Ferco early ’40s, drove motorcycle, kept us kids in line.
Bill Plowman, beat cop, lived next door to me on High Street. Dick
Keenan lived on High Street. Bill Harmon also lived on High Street.
I think Bill was his first name and, if I remember right, he also
drove motorcycle. Then there was McGuire, an Irishman, I think his
first name was Michael. Also comes to mind John Hipchen,
anotherðHighðStreet 5th warder. I think that is why the 5th ward
kids were so well behaved. Lots of cops in the neighborhood.”