INFLATION GAUGE: We hear a lot these days about the rising cost of health care. Patty Catalone of St. Marys mailed us documentary proof of the trend in the form of a hospital bill from 1941.
Patty was 5- or 6-years-old back then, when her mother was hospitalized for a thyroid operation. She was in Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia for 10 days, in a private room. The bill included charges for a telephone, operating room use and “gas,” which she took to mean the anesthetic administered for the surgery.
She recalls her father paying the bill in two installments — $65.10 while her mother was in the hospital and $19 the day she was released — for a total of $84.10.
The daily room charge was $6, “gas” was $1, the operating room charge was $15 and she racked up $2.80 in telephone charges over 10 days. Patty doesn’t recall any separate bill for a surgeon or anesthesiologist.
Patty’s mom was 96 when she passed away about six years ago, so that 1941 treatment must have been successful, even at what now looks like a bargain price.
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VAVALO’S: Vavalo’s bar and restaurant in Gifford has been closed since a kitchen fire about 10 years ago, but Gifford resident Doug Smith is taking a run at reviving the place.
Doug, who does construction for a living, plans to rehabilitate and re-open the once-popular hangout on Route 646 at Droney Road.
He’s looking for old photos or other memorabilia from Vavalo’s that he can incorporate into its revival. He believes the place was started as a general store by Salvatore “Sam” Vavalo in the 1920s.
If anyone has memories or pictures of Vavalo’s, pass them along and we’ll share them with Doug. But don’t think about dropping in for awhile. Doug thinks it might take him as much as a year to get everything done.
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GENDER MIS-IDENTITY: In our recent excerpts from an article about the Valley Hunt Club we incorrectly referred to former Smethport resident Del Crockett as a “he.” Many of her friends have alerted us that Del is a “she,” a pronoun misapplication we’ll do our best to avoid in the future.
