SEPT. 2: After reading about our early geese report, Lance Begin
of Bradford called yesterday to comment on the number of leaves
which have already turned color and begun falling. We also had a
call from Ellie Lathrop who saw a flock of geese Sunday in the
Smethport area.

JOHN COSTELLO: For many years, The Era has produced a long line
of excellent photojournalists. Not only are they usually well-known
in the community since they attend virtually all of the newsworthy
events but they also make an impression through the images that
appear in print – and, in this day and age, through an online
presence.

But we need to take you back to the early 1970s.

We recently received an email from Thomas Costello whose
brother, John Costello, was the photographer at The Era in that
time period.

Tom wrote us in August, “After 40-plus years in the industry, he
recently decided to leave the press/journalism world and go a
different direction. His last day with the Philadelphia Inquirer
was last weekend.”

“Along the way, he has worked for several papers, did freelance
work for ESPN magazine, National Geographic etc. … and has won a
staggering number of awards (including a first place in the World
Press Photo contest in 2002, the Barbara Walters award, and many
more).”

After reading an e-mail from his brother, Tom had written to us,
“It made me think about how far he came from the home-made darkroom
in our basement in Bradford to world-renowned photographer” … and
that he got his start at The Era.

OH, ZIPPO: Era reporter Marcie Schellhammer had a unique “Zippo
sighting” over the weekend at the National Museum of Health and
Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

The lighter was part of a display called, “Resolved: Advances in
Forensic Identification of U.S. War Dead.”

Inscribed with, “Jo Ann,” and “No Greater Love,” the Zippo was
used as an example of how objects found in soldiers’ belongings can
assist in that individual’s identification. It was among items
recovered from an archaeological site of the Joint Prisoners of
War, Missing in Action, Accounting Command.

Given the great use of the Zippo lighter starting in World War
II and continuing to the present, it makes perfect sense that the
age and inscriptions on the lighter would be helpful in identifying
remains.