Dear Customers,           Two things of note are happening this week!  On Thursday, the 22nd students of the Smethport Area School District report back for the start of the 2024-25 school year.  If you happen to be between the ages of 5 and 18, your stomach is probably cramping up a bit right now, either…

Dear Customers,           In this, the 33rd week of 2024, we welcome the 118th edition of the McKean County Fair to town.  Those 118 years aren’t a consecutive string, however.  The 1916 fair was cancelled due to a state quarantine and beginning in 1942 with the onset of World War II, there was a period…

Dear Customers, There are many ways to cook home-grown sweet corn.  I was reading an article the other day that said, two of the largest corn growers agreed on the best way.  To find any expert who agrees with another expert is a rarity.  However, both of these old-time farmers maintained that the best way…

Dear Customers,            I read the paper at work in the morning.  If I had to pay for it, I don’t think I’d bother.  About the only thing I enjoy during those 7-8 minutes spent catching up with local news is the comics page!  That page rarely disappoints!           One of my all-time favorite comic…

Dear Customers,           Don’t you just love an election year?  Well, I don’t!  Political ads, finger pointing, outrageous claims for and/or against. . . “I’m (fill-in-the-blank) and I approve this gross exaggeration”.  It just gets old months before it’s actually time to vote!           There is one claim that I do agree with, but I…

Dear Customers, With the month of July now in full swing, there are certain annual events that I look forward to as an integral part of summer.  I’m talking about vacations, family picnics, fireworks over the Lake, fireflies blinking on and off in a nighttime meadow, and visiting with people who were once from here…

Dear Customers, The first week of July begins the second half of the year.  That’s right, 2024 is officially half over sometime on July 1st!  It’s also the anniversary of our country’s independence from England some 248 years ago.  This Thursday, July 4th, will be commemorated with ceremonies, parades, fireworks and picnics among friends and…

Dear Customers, In a little over a week from now, our great nation will celebrate its 248th birthday with pageantry, parades, and pyrotechnics!  The actual day falls on a Thursday this year, which as always, is a federal holiday.  If you’re angling to get a four-day weekend, however, you’re probably going to have to dig…

Dear Customers, When we moved into this building back in 2003, we inherited among other things, a double-door cooler located at the end of aisle #1.  It had been used for cut flowers, bouquets and the like.  Over the years we’ve pressed it into service at best sporadically.  It has probably been empty or nearly…

Dear Customers, Old age has rendered my vocal cords nearly as decrepit as all the rest of my organs!  It wasn’t always that way, however.  Once upon a time I sang in the school choirs, for the Swingin’ 70’s (and 60’s prior to that) and often soloed at wedding ceremonies – including my own! The…