Dear Customers, Back around the time when we were all concerned with “Y2K” and the havoc it would wreak on our computer systems, a movie was released called “The Perfect Storm”.  It starred George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg among others.  When I think of my own “perfect storm”, it features me sitting on a covered…

Dear Customers, As I sat down to compose this week’s column, the first thing I did, as I always do, is change the date and the week of the year at the top of the page before I write a single word.  The date at the top held special meaning for me and my family. …

Dear Customers, People around McKean County, particularly those with school-age children look at the 4th of July as about the halfway point of summer.  In reality, according to the astrologists, the midpoint of Summer isn’t until around the second week of August!  Just one more instance where the school calendar overrides the actual one! The…

Dear Customers, The week on which we are about to embark is the culmination of nearly 250 years of independence for our great nation.  We sometimes lose sight of the solemnity and the sacrifice our forefathers endured to forge the United States of America.  It’s easy to get caught up in today’s pageantry; fireworks, picnics,…

Dear Customers, The first federal holidays were created in 1870 when Congress gave paid leave to works in Washington, D.C. for New Year’s Day, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Other holidays were added later because it was so well received and in 1875, some 15 years after that, Congress extended the benefit to…

Dear Customers, Sometime during the middle of this week, June will already be half over!  Slow down, why don’t you.  Logically, I know that every day of the year is pretty much the same length.  Why then do the days when I look out the window at ice and snow seem to last so much…

Dear Customers, If I consider each of the 12 months for their plusses and minuses, its easy to penalize certain months when ranking them 1 through 12. For me at least, January, February and March are all tied for last place. There are several others who rank in the middle of the pack or between…

Dear Customers, About 18 years ago, shortly after we moved up the street to this location, 4 undergrads at Harvard launched a new social media platform that they called FaceBook! It was originally intended as a way for Harvard students to access other Harvard students.  As its membership grew, It quickly became a means for…

Dear Customers, Since the pandemic began over two years ago, I’ve been faced with doing our on-line ad earlier and earlier, due to printing deadlines and a shortage of manpower in the companies that provide us with our “specials”.  We are now out about a month in advance of the date when these advertisements become…

Dear Customers, With May arrives so many delightful events that we only get to enjoy once a year! Chief among those delights are Mother’s Day and Memorial Day.  Many families look forward to family vacations now that many of the travel restrictions have been lifted. In addition, we have graduations, both at the high school…