Hop Bottom – A daring holdup took place near here, Sunday night, when four men, masquerading as state troopers, stopped J. W. Payne, of Binghamton, and his two helpers, who were driving a truck from Scranton to Binghamton. The four holdup men got away with the contents of the truck, said to be drug store stock. Mr. Payne said that he was driving near Hop Bottom when four men, who had been in concealment along the highway, stepped onto the road and commanded him to stop, declaring they were state troopers. Payne and his helper were ordered to get into their car. They were then driven to the vicinity of Lake Winola and were told to “beat it.” As the trio tramped over strange territory, suffering much from the cold, the holdup men returned to the truck and emptied its contents into their own machine. When the holdup victims reached a farm, after walking for miles, they telephone an alarm. The truck was found on Monday and as they approached it they saw a man jump from the machine and hurry away, losing himself from view in the woods.

Dimock – The funeral of Jonathan Estus, aged 84, was held on Jan. 27th. The deceased was a man loved by everyone who knew him, both young and old. One neighbor recently said of him, “He was one of the best liked men in town because he was never heard to speak an ill word of anyone.” Although a good carpenter, he was a machinist by trade, one of he best in the country. He owned a shop at Elk Lake where he resided with his wife until her death about 14 years ago. He then went to live with his daughter, Mrs. E. O. Bailey.

Hallstead/Great Bend – The large barn and contents owned by L. H. Sherwood, on the flats between Hallstead and Great Bend, and known as the Keystone Farms, were burned last week. Mr. Sherwood noticed a bright glow in the yard and flames shooting over the rear of the barn. Calling his son, he ran to the barn and released the horses and most of the cows. A couple of cows, calves and three pigs were lost. The barn was filled with the crops of last season plus farming implements and several automobiles. Mr. Sherwood felt the loss of his animals more than the financial loss. His neighbors saved his house by climbing on the roof and with pails of water and with wet brooms brushed the falling embers off. The loss was estimated at $20,000, with insurance of $4,500. Years ago a racetrack was located here and thousands of people visited it.

Uniondale – Frank Urda’s team was placed under the mill shed Tuesday morning unhitched. They became uneasy and backed the vehicle and started to run. Joe Fisher was driving on Main street when the team came running at a breakneck speed. The horses separated, each going on the side of Fisher ‘s wagon. The pole of Urda’s wagon hit the seat of Fisher’s wagon throwing it over on Fisher. Luckily Fisher was not injured. Had the pole struck him a different story would have been told.

Lawton – Jehile Kirkhuff, while on his way to the entertainment at Rush, was slightly injured by a car driven by Wilson Terry.

Franklin Forks – A military funeral was held for the late Ludwig Bienkowski, in St. Mary’s church. Rev. W. J. Gibson officiated and interment was made in St. Mary’s cemetery. The young man was a world war veteran. The bearers were members of the Gardner-Warner Post, American Legion: Dr. A. P. Downer, Dr. J. A. Calby, Dr. L. M. Thompson, B. R. Gardner, R. W. Wood and Atty. E. P. Little.

Rush – Friends of M. R. Edwards, formerly of this place, and former Montrose high school student, will be pleased to learn of his recent purchase of the Stewart School Service, in Sioux City, Iowa. He has been associated with this business for some time, and recently acquired control of it. He is a brother of Mrs. George Wootton, of Montrose.

Susquehanna – John Ferguson, Esq. has just completed 12 years as District Attorney of this county. He held office for three four-year terms, and not only established a record for the county, but it is believed he held the important office longer than any one in the State. During the 12 years of serving the Commonwealth as Prosecuting Attorney, Mr. Ferguson handled about 1200 criminal cases fairly and impartially.

Thompson – Spencer’s have cut over 4000 cakes of ice on their mill pond already this season.

Primary Road System – The State Highway Dept. hopes to build 850 miles of paved road annually. There is every reason to believe that four road projects will be started in this county this spring. The five-mile road between Montrose and Fairdale, part of the East and West Highway, will be commenced. The Oakland-Great Bend pave will also be laid. On both of these considerable grading was done last fall in preparation for active operations this spring. The Susquehanna-Lanesboro pave and the Little Meadows projects are also to be taken up by the state.

News Briefs: Among the odd laws of some of our states it is mentioned that in Nebraska a woman’s skirt must not be more than eight inches above the floor. In Massachusetts an old law forbids whistling on Sunday. In New York State nobody is allowed to carry a gun with a permit—except burglars and bandits. ALSO The new Ford plant in Philadelphia is to turn out a complete Ford car each and every minute it is in operation. Sixty cars an hour will be the capacity of this plant. ALSO Next Saturday will be Candlemas day. The old groundhog is supposed to stick his nose out of his hole and if he sees his shadow he will return for another period of hibernation. It is said he will remain in seclusion for six weeks providing he sees his shadow. The ground hog may or may not be a prophet. The fact remains we will have a continuance of winter just the same. It is an old saying that on Candlemas day half the wood and half the hay, during the winter period, have been consumed. [Mark your calendars-Friday, February 2nd, 2024 is Groundhog Day.]