OLD TO NEW: We heard from former Bradfordian Kristie Bentley,
now of Illinois.

She asked, “I was looking up what types of glass are
nonrecyclable and wondered if the Bradford Marching Owls still
collect glass?

“I have fond memories of working on a team, crushing the glass
in 50-gallon drums down by the old Fisher Big Wheel. And this vein
of thought started me remembering all the things we used to save
before recycling was the ‘big thing.’ ”

She recounts how her family saved bread bags for various uses,
including the rather ingenious, if not practical, one of putting
her sneakered foot into the bread bag and then into her rubber
galoshes.

She also wondered if any company still sells the rubber
overshoes people once used in inclement weather?

“We also saved the twist ties to close baggies – not Ziplocs,”
she continues. “We saved cans for other organizations, possibly the
Boy Scouts. Rubber bands around the broccoli went into the
silverware drawer with the twist ties. As a young woman out on my
own, I would save twist ties and rubber bands out of habit.”

She remembers how margarine containers were used in place of
Tupperware -and, she writes, they were used for everything from
leftovers to night crawlers.

“I don’t ever remember anyone calling this ‘recycling’ – we just
used what we had for the purpose we needed it. We would take our
favorite shoes to the cobbler for repair, our radios and
televisions to the repair man. It was unthinkable to just throw it
away straight off. Very different from our throwaway society of
today.”

MORE BUGS: Jerry Kleisath takes issue with TV’s Regis on “Live
with Regis and Kelly” when he awarded Debbie Hoffower from Emporium
the consolation prize for answering “locust” instead of “cicada” to
the trivia question about the insect that appears every 17
years.

“She was right, as the cicada and locust are of the same
family,” Jerry writes, “and it is the 17-year locust that is
commonly used. My point of view is that Regis is not too smart on
many things!”

EMERY HOTEL: Galen Smith let us know that the Blue Flames Fan
Club members were standing next to the Emery Hotel’s side entrance
off Chautauqua Place – not the Hotel Holley as stated. He used to
work there, he said, so he recognized it in the photo we ran.