Tag Archives: Maureen Hart

Meet Miss Buck: Kayleigh Carey

Posted on by
Reply
Miss Buck (1)

Photo Credit: Rich Banick Photography

By Maureen Hart

Kayleigh Carey, a 17-year-old senior at Dunmore High School, says there is nothing like standing at the 50-yard line of the season-opening football game to perform for the first time as Miss Buck.

“You’re standing there alone, adrenaline flowing, and it’s nerve-wracking,” she recalls.

“But it’s also such a fantastic moment. It’s a big honor to be Miss Buck at Dunmore High School. All little girls look up to her.”

Kayleigh, who was chosen for the honor during tryouts last March 16, started twirling lessons with Sherry Nicolais at the age of two, and has always dreamed of being Miss Buck.

“When I was a little girl, I always looked up to the current Miss Buck as a role model,” she confesses. “And now I am honored to be that role model for other little girls.”

The daughter of Lori and Tom Carey of Butler Street, Dunmore, Kayleigh also had another role model growing up when her older sister, Alicia, served as Miss Buck during the 2010-2011 season.

Alicia, now 25, went on to graduate from Temple University, and is employed as an event planner at Constantino’s Catering.

“I always looked up to Alicia, and I wanted to be as good a twirler as she was,” Kayleigh says.

Miss Buck on field

Photo Credit: Rich Banick Photography

Kayleigh and Alicia have another sister, Kelliann, 20, a student at Penn State Worthington. Both of them also work for Constantino’s, which has become something of a family tradition.

Although it takes a lot of training and practice to become an outstanding twirler, Kayleigh has many other things on her plate.

She serves as co-captain of the varsity basketball cheerleaders and as an officer of the TACT Club (Teens Against Corporate Tobacco) and of the Health Careers Club. A member of the National Honor Society, she is also active with the SADD Club, Spanish Club, and Earth Club.

“I love Dunmore High School,” she notes. “It is a great place to grow up and make friends. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.”

She is also an altar server as SS. Anthony and Rocco Church and over the summer she served as a camp counselor at St. Anthony’s Park.

Kayleigh received her twirling routine in January and worked hard to perfect it for the March tryouts,–which are held in front of the entire student body, who then get to vote on their choice. The school principal then counts the votes and announces the winner.

“When my name was called out, I was just overwhelmed and so excited,” she remembers. “It was good to know that working on something for such a long time paid off in the end, and I’m really proud it became a reality.”

Kayleigh’s favorite school subject is math, and she has taken a CAB class during which she drew up floor plans. This class spurred her interest in architecture as a  potential career, so over the summer she shadowed architect Laura Gillette Mills, who is with Hemmler Camayd Architecture in Scranton.

“I found I really like architecture and I hope to major in it at Temple,” she explains. She says she fell in love with Temple when her sister Alicia was a student there.

Kayleigh says her parents are very proud of her achievements. And she admits that she would want any future daughter of hers to pursue the same dream of working hard in order to be chosen Miss Buck.

Just a Thought… Exploring Cooperstown

Posted on by
Reply

cooperstownBy Maureen Hart

Those of us who are not skiers, ice fishermen, or hunters sometimes get in a rut about winter. We tend to think it is a season to survive rather than enjoy.

However, winter can be one of the nicest times to visit places which are crowded during the warm months. I was reminded of that recently when we took a trip up to Cooperstown, New York, for a long weekend. Our only agenda was to meet up with another couple to relax at a bed-and-breakfast, have a nice dinner someplace in town, and visit the Hall of Fame.

In truth, that was about the only agenda available, since many of the other attractions in Cooperstown are closed during the winter months.

Not everything adhered to this very simple plan. My husband fell ill and did not join us for supper at Nicoletta’s Café on Main Street. That was unfortunate, because my veal marsala was the best I’ve ever had, and my companions enjoyed two different mixed seafood entrees that looked delicious.

The following morning, I met them again over breakfast in the sunny dining room of our lodgings, the Landmark Inn on Chestnut Street in Cooperstown. While enjoying another delicious meal that included a choice of spinach or sausage and cranberry quiche, an apple cinnamon compote, sliced cucumbers, and blueberry quick bread, I had to break the news that we were not going to stay to visit the Hall of Fame with them.

It was disappointing, especially since I have not been to the museum in two decades, and still treasure the memories I have of my previous visit. I cannot recommend it enough as a wonderful weekend, or even day trip (a little over two hours from Scranton). I was especially entranced by the long history of the game, and artifacts from players who are legend—Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle (and that’s just the Yankees), not to mention Christy Mathewson, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, and so many, many more.

Cooperstown Landmark Inn

The Landmark Inn, a stately mansion built in 1846, provides a cozy retreat to visitors to Cooperstown.

For us, however, this weekend in the quaint, hugely historic village of Cooperstown, centered around the Landmark Inn—and a delightful place it is. We had pulled into the parking lot of this large green building to be greeted cheerily by the chef, Vita, who offered to help us with suitcases and assured us that hot cider and homemade orange shortbread chocolate chip cookies awaited us inside.

Soon, we met Robin Schneider, who along with her husband, Fred, serves as innkeeper. Our room was not ready, so she ushered us to comfy chairs in the lobby in front a lit fireplace, and in addition to the aforementioned treats, she pointed out a cheese tray and wine. The owners also invite you to bring your own beverages(there is no bar), although they have a hot pot of coffee readily available at all times. There is also a chess set featuring pewter baseball players for your enjoyment.

When our room was ready, we were welcomed with a tray containing chocolates and a personalized welcome note on the bed. Our accommodations were “petite” but cozy, with a nice-sized bathroom and a small outdoor deck. We had requested this room on the first floor to accommodate my husband’s Jazzy. Other rooms in the inn are larger  (some are suites) and have names such as Campanella and Casey, as a nod to the town’s baseball connection, as well as Wyeth, Twain, Cooper, and Hemingway.

But rooms and roaring fireplaces are only part of the charm at the Landmark Inn—beginning with Vita’s enthusiastic welcome and increased by everybody’s solicitous attention to my ailing husband—including providing his breakfast in bed. We enjoyed as cozy and relaxing weekend as we could have hoped.

FYI, the inn is nine minutes from Abner Doubleday Field and the Hall of Fame, and was built in 1856 on the largest lot drafted by William Cooper, founder of the town, and father of novelist James Fenimore Cooper. It was called The Maples, and indeed, those stately trees still line the driveway and are now 160 years old.

I highly recommend a visit to Cooperstown in the wintry off-season in order to avoid the swarms of families visiting in the summer. There is no waiting for a dinner table or jostling with other customers in the many little shops. But I also plan a trip back in the spring in order to visit the Farmer’s Museum (a living museum featuring an 18440 farm), Fenimore Art Museum (located on Otsego Lake and featuring American Indian and folk art), and maybe even a performance at Glimmerglass Opera. And, of course, another visit with Robin, Fred, and Vita at the inviting Landmark Inn!

Just a Thought… Jan. 2017

Posted on by
Reply

07By Maureen Hart

I sat down to write my New Year’s column, and despite the joyousness of this season, I cannot say very much good about 2016, and I don’t expect better from 2017.

It’s not like me to be negative and depressed, but what can you think of a year that brought us so much heartache?

Looking back, however, this is what I remember:

alan_rickman_cropped_and_retouchedJanuary 2016: The World Health Organization announces an outbreak of the Zika virus, which causes birth defects during pregnancy. Boko Haram raids village in Nigeria and kills 65 people while also abducting many children. A suicide attack in Damascus kills 70 people. State of emergency declared in Flint, MI, after two year water crisis. Earthquake in Taiwan kills over 70 people. Deaths: David Bowie and Alan Rickman.

February 2016: North Korea launches a long-range rocket into space, violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world.  Suicide bombing at a refugee camp in Nigeria kills dozens. (The camp is for people fleeing Boko Haram—at least 2.5 million have fled from attacks by the militant group.) Deaths: Antonin Scalia and Harper Lee.

March 2016: Three coordinated bombings in Brussels, Belgium, kill 32 people and injure another 250. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claim responsibility for the attacks. Torrential rains hit the South, resulting in flooding rivers, deaths, and massive destruction. Deaths: Nancy Reagan and Patty Duke.

34de496c00000578-3629776-image-a-55_1465318001024April 2016: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and a German newspaper publish a set of 11.5 million confidential documents from a Panamanian corporation providing detailed information on more than 214,000 offshore companies and their shareholders, including noted personalities and heads of state. Series of earthquakes strike Southern Japan and Ecuador. Deaths: Prince and Merle Haggard.

May 2016: EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes with 66 people on board over the Mediterranean on a flight from Paris to Cairo. Three car bombs kill over 80 people in Baghdad and ISIS takes responsibility. 88,000 Canadians evacuated during wildfires. Deaths: William Schallert and Alan Young, staples of 1960s television comedy.

June 2016: The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union. ISIL claims responsibility to attaching Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, killing 45 and injuring 230. A total of 49 people are killed and another 53 wounded at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL. There is another terrorist attack in France, killing two policemen. A heat wave and fires strike the Southwest, and West Virginia suffers from massive flooding. Deaths: Sports legends Muhammad Ali and Gordie Howe.

July 2016:  Revelers killed in Nice, France, during Bastille Day celebrations, as truck crushes 84 and injures 200 more. ISIS sponsors attacks in Bangladesh, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. On three different days there are terror attacks in Germany. There is a mass Willy Wonka Wilderstabbing in Japan, and a priest is murdered by ISIS in France. Deaths: Elie Wiesel and Garry Marshall.

August 2016: The Summer Olympics were held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, which should be listed under good news except that the Zika virus frightened some travelers away. An airstrike hit a hospital in Yemen, a suicide bomber attacked a Turkish wedding celebration, and a new policy in the Philippines led to thousands being killed in a war against drugs. Even the UN admitted responsibility for a cholera epidemic in Haiti. Deaths: Gene Wilder and director Arthur Hiller.

September 2016: The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test and world leaders again condemn the act. The Syrians dropped a chlorine bomb in Aleppo, while the U.S. and Russia called for a Syrian cease-fire, which was quickly over. A typhoon hit Asia. Deaths: Arnold Palmer and Shimon Peres.

October 2016:  Protests were held in Venezuela, South Korea and Morocco, while a police van plowed into protestors in the Philippines. Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti and the Eastern Seaboard, and more earthquakes rocked Italy. Death: Bobby Vee

November 2016: Hundreds of migrants drowned off Libya, and ISIS captured hundreds of civilians outside of Mosul and killed Shiite pilgrims as well. An earthquake and tsunami hit New Zealand, and a plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team crashes. Deaths: Fidel Castro and Leonard Cohen.

debbie-reynolds-carrie-fisher-bef3ed63-ee29-4b18-9427-d6f4227435bfDecember 2016:  Kurdish militants killed dozens in Istanbul. There is another earthquake in Indonesia. A terrorist drives a bus into a Christmas market in Berlin. (The month is not over yet.) Deaths: John Glenn, Alan Thicke, George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. A month in which Princess Leia dies is a bad month indeed..

I’ve skipped so many things—university shootings, and police shootings, and more natural disasters than I could cite above. I was going to total the number I listed as killed, but decided that was too awful. I just want us to remember that each of those victims is not just a statistic.

They were loved and cherished by their families and friends. They will be missed.

Most notably, I skipped the entire cesspool that was the U.S. presidential election—which, in itself, marked a new low with such highlights as discussions of the size of a candidate’s penis, the use of the F word, his belief that he can grab women anywhere on their bodies, a billionaire cabinet which also boasts a white supremacist, and so many other strange incidents that it deserves a whole category unto itself. But that is all over now, and we have to wait and see how it all plays out.

If you got depressed and gave up reading the news headlines for 2016, just remember how debilitating it was to live through all of it.

And, as I said, 2017 does not look any more promising. Britain has to move ahead with Brexit. We have to find out just what kind of a Leader of the Free World has been elected. We can’t prevent the natural disasters. I don’t expect peace in the Mideast anytime soon. In fact, I don’t expect Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men anytime soon. Not in my lifetime.

And, so, what do we do to keep from jumping off a cliff at the prospect of yet another year of war and upheaval, earthquakes and terrorists?

All I can really suggest is that we set out priorities and keep our family and friends close. That we cherish the small moments. That we try to help those less fortunate. This Christmas season offered us many ways to do that – a donation to Toys for Tots, helping at a soup kitchen, turning over old but still nice coats and clothing to the homeless, crocheting hats and mittens for the poor. There are so many ways to help that don’t take a lot of time or cost a lot of money.

I suggest we keep on doing that. A friend of mine gives a small donation every month to a different organization or charity. She learned this philanthropic habit from her mother. I think it is a great idea. Give to those you really care about – political, educational, scientific, religious—whatever organizations best represent your values. Remember the local ones, too — they need it more than most.

Decide to be kind. To do one good deed each day, even if it is only opening a door for somebody. Make this part of your routine and it will become the largest part of who you are.

These small things are the only way we, as common citizens, can try to change this world. Let’s not talk about the “others,” as if they are less than we are. Those parents in Syria are experiencing the same excruciating pain at the loss of their children that we would feel. The Italians and Ecuadorans and Japanese who lost their houses in earthquakes this year mourn the loss of home as much as we would. In the end, we are all the same. We may look different, eat different foods, enjoy different music, read different books. But we are all part of humanity, and we mustn’t allow the inhumane amongst us–the ISIS, the Boko Haram, the KKK, all of the haters–take it away from us. Happy 2017.