WHOLE FLOCK: Ed Grimes writes Tuesday from Port Allegany: “Read
with interest about the first red-winged blackbird in today’s Round
the Square. What a coincidence. After I read the paper I looked out
at my feeder to see if the cardinals were there and I couldn’t
believe it. The ground was covered with red-winged blackbirds. I
counted 43. They are the first ones I have seen. Spring is
near!”
These birds must like Port. We had a note Monday from a Port
Allegany reader, letting us know she had four in her yard that
day.
HELPING HANDS: A Smethport resident phoned the other day to tell
us about his neighbors – on both sides – who clear his property
every time it snows.
“It is great,” he said.
He didn’t want his name used by just wanted to pass along this
tidbit of “good news.”
And how many times is such a scene repeated in McKean County and
neighboring counties? Many many times every winter.
“These people are fantastic,” our caller said. He and his wife
have physical limitations and neighbors obviously know they are in
need of such help.
We must agree. They are setting a good example for the rest of
us. If everyone would be this thoughtful and helpful, what a
wonderful world it would be!
NEW FACES: It was only a few weeks ago we told readers about the
loss of long-time comic strip, “They’ll Do It Every Time,” after
the death of its writer. The strip had appeared in The Era
classifieds for many years.
Last week, of course, conservative writer William F. Buckley, a
syndicated columnist for this and many other newspapers for years,
died at the age of 82.
We also had a recent letter, too, that James J. Kilpatrick,
another conservative anchor on editorial pages, is retiring from
writing his regular column on the U.S. Supreme Court – although he
does plan to continue with “The Writer’s Art,” a column devoted to
the idiosyncrasies of the English language.
Losing three syndicated contributors in such a short span is big
news in the syndicate business. As for us, we had published these
three special voices for many years. If you have a favorite writer
or cartoonist you’d like us to consider, please drop us a line. We
will need to replenish our supply soon.
