APRIL 1, 1945: “Sixty-three years ago on April 1, 1945, the
battle for Okinawa began. We landed on the north end of the island.
I don’t remember the Jap name for the bay. Later it was named for
Gen. Buckner who had died. Around the 15th, we heard President
Roosevelt had died.”

So says Warren “Whitey” Coryell of Smethport, commenting on a
recent RTS subject. “I also have a picture of the stone laid at the
site where he was laid to rest, Ernie Pyle.”

“The USS Pennsylvania had taken a hit. Heard it was a Jap sub
(don’t know). I am tired, so God bless America, and please remember
our men and women of our Armed Forces of today.”

GOOD IDEA: Liz (Heck) Sanders writes us from Whitefish Bay,
Wisc., with a good idea: “My family is from Bradford and we spent
quite a few summers there when we were growing up. Both my mom and
dad were raised there. Since my mom was always a big supporter of
the SPCA, we have continued the tradition since she died.”

My sisters, Jen (North Carolina) and Erin (Illinois) and I
usually purchase memorials through the SPCA when an acquaintance or
pet dies and like to find ways to help them raise funds.

“We have just helped the McKean County SPCA register as a
GoodSearch charity. We would like to challenge residents in the
area to start using GoodSearch as their search engine. It’s free
and the SPCA will get at least a penny for every search.

“It doesn’t seem like much but it can really add up. Just go to
www.goodsearch.com and
select the ‘McKean County SPCA’ as your designated charity. It only
took me about three minutes to add the search box to my toolbar and
now I can use it easily. Just three of us have used it over 170
times since mid-March.

“Besides, I think of all the fun we had in Bradford every time I
see it.”

PIN SETTER: At the end of March, our sports department carried a
story about John Stiles of Bradford who, at the age of 90, has been
bowling for at least 50 years.

Hal Harmon of Bradford phoned to tell us he remembers being a
pin setter for John many years ago at Star Lanes. “I got ten cents
a line,” Hal reports.