Yard Sale Season Returns to Western Pennsylvania

BEAVER--

Looking for bargains? You won't just find them at Good Will anymore.

On May 9th, the season of outdoor yard and garage sales officially returned to Beaver, Pennsylvania with the 2015 Town Yard Sale. The progressive sale spanning from River Road to Seventh Street continued a multiple-year tradition for the borough, fostering neighborhood camaraderie and resident cleanliness.

Locals went all out for the event, participating in large numbers as both buyers and sellers. Some sources even reported the most participants in the history of the sale this year. The added attraction of the Town Sidewalk Sale, in which Third Street Businesses hosted liquidations and promotions of their own, heightened excitement.

Merchandise included the typical yard sale wares-- clothes, toys and oddities --but a few sellers boasted interesting selections of artwork, antiques and household items. Missy Koshute snagged a brookstone iPad case and Keyboard from a neighbor's sale. "It was a great find," she says.

The best sidewalk sale display went to Sapling and Sons Snail Mail Supply Co. (although the judging was slightly biased). Sapling had an impressive array of specialty cars, holiday and party items available at discounted prices. Discontinued greeting cards marked down to $1 were the definite favorite.

Individual yard sale numbers are on the rise now that summer is here. Buyers can be sure to find at least one large sale being held every week in town.

Macy's versus Rose: Which Holiday Parade is Better?

About a month apart from each other, the Macy's and Rose Parades are as much a part of many families' holiday celebrations as Pumpkin pie and pork roast. Both offer a slice of entertainment during the annual festivities of Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Each features bands, floats and other marching attractions. Yet from there on their styles differ a lot, according to climate, types of attractions and layout. Which one is superior?

One may compare the two events on many separate levels. The viewer is given two extremes as far as location: frosty New York and sunny California. Then there are the types of floats. The Thanksgiving parade focuses heavily on either A.) the iconic balloon variety or B.) those that consist of fabricated, colorfully displayed vehicles made of various materials. The Rose Parade, on the other hand, flaunts the long-standing tradition of plant-based floats covered in floral and vegetative array, and made to look near-life-like. As far as climate and atmosphere, the Rose Parade wins the top award. According to a Thanksgiving Day weather forecast, the temperature at the 2014 Macy's Parade was projected to be roughly 30 degrees, although meteorologists said it felt more like 10 degrees. Talk about cold turkey! Comparatively, at 56 degrees and sunny--still abnormally chilly for Pasadena, California-- the Rose Parade offered a much more comfortable viewing experience this year. In terms of floats, personal preference determines which is better, but as far as creativity goes, as long as I'm judging, the Rose Parade again surpasses the Macy's Parade. Both types of floats take hours of painstaking labor, of course. But the fact that the creators make the beautiful Rose Parade floats entirely out of natural materials is quite impressive and unique.

Equally impressive is the Rose Parade's entertainment style. Unlike the New York parade the Pasadena event remains true to parade integrity. What does that mean? Over the years, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade has become increasingly commercialized, focused on advertising for singers and Broadway shows. Consequently, the event contains an unappealing lack of action and movement--unknown artists singing mawkish, unrelated tunes and sleazy entertainers traipsing around onscreen, while in the interim giddy reporters interview actors off-scene from the parade. Such a presentation lacks the freshness and flow of a real parade. The Rose Parade doesn't suffer from this problem. It's exciting and simple. Viewers can see each group walking by without interruption, and without all that fuss! The commentators are entertaining, not overbearing. Of course, the fact that there aren't any commercials (thanks to the parade's sole broadcaster HGTV) is a extra special bonus. From the Miracle Grow garden float to the roster of local and national high schools that participate annually the Rose Parade is both refreshing and family friendly.


So is the Rose Parade the ultimate holiday march? Overall it is. In my personal opinion it is. But is there anything superior about its Thanksgiving rival? How about history? Once again, the Rose Parade wins the prize, with New Year's day 2015 marking 126 years since its beginning, according to the "Tournament of Roses" website. By contrast, History.com reports Macy's Parade having been a Thanksgiving tradition since 1922, or just 92 years. However, 3 million spectators lined the streets of the big apple to watch New York's all-american festivity this year, while only one million turned out for California's January first extravaganza. Therefore, the Macy's parade wins in one category: attendance numbers. Nevertheless, more people doesn't necessarily mean a better parade experience, so we can't saw whether this statistic really earns a point in  the Thanksgiving parade's favor. It is safe to say that the Rose Parade wins the competition! I know I enjoyed watching it today!

Away in a Manger

"Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head..."

The manger. Such an integral symbol of Christmas. As long as people have been displaying Christmas creches, the scenes have included this small hay-filled box in which the baby gently rests his head. Often, they seem perfectly proportioned to the infant's dimensions; the straw rests in a grassy halo around his shining crown as he outstretches his arms to bless the world. The manger is almost like a baby sized throne. How angelic, what serenity, the picture of the child reposing so gently as he takes his first breaths.Yet also, how romanticized.

The word manger means feeding trough. A place where animals eat. The Bible doesn't tell us what the Christmas manger looked like. The Gospel writer and the angels only say it was a "manger".

All the mangers I have seen were messy. The hay was unevenly lumped. It had a distinct earthy scent. They were rectangular, not square, to allow multiple animals to eat out of them at once. They were not necessarily in the middle of the barn. Some were built against walls. In context of the story of Jesus, this idea causes the manger to take on a new meaning. Was Jesus a large baby or was he small? If small, the hay probably enveloped him. It probably scratched his face. Clearly, this is not the ideal place for a newborn baby.

The symbol of the manger is an illustration of the Holy Family's humble circumstances. Their poverty. God's love. He did not intervene. He did not stall his son's birth so that he could be born in a more respectable locale.

Why would he do this? For Us. He wanted to show us the depths of his love.

Christmas prayers and carols mention this. They remind us what this act meant. But when we hear it, do we think about what it means?

The manger. Is there any place more lowly and uncomfortable for a newborn King? A place more inconvenient for a mother post-labor, than in a barn with no soft place to lay? A more worrisome spot for a concerned father to look on at the birth of his son?

I cannot think of one.

As I celebrate Christmas this year, I'm going to remember that rough feeding trough. The first bed for our savior was not a tailored throne. It was a vessel from which animals ate.

"And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

"The Best of The Missy Times" is now in print!

In this issue:

"The Missy Times Says Good-bye"
"No Pulitzer Prize But..."
"Maryland Man is Mr.Guest Writer"
The best articles of...
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
The best ads
The best pictures
The best headlines

This is it

                                

This is it "Missy Times" readers. The prelude to all preludes, the beginning of the end.

This announcement is a heads-up to let you know that the upcoming issue of The Missy Times will be the last, closing chapter in the newsletter's seven year tenure.

Although this is a sad turn of events, it's also a timely one. I started The Missy Times at age eight, and now, at fifteen, I'm entering tenth grade and moving on to new writing adventures, including taking an AP English Language class and working towards getting published in other local publications.

I am currently collecting feedback for the final edition; therefore anything you would like to contribute is greatly appreciated. Things I'm looking for include: a few comments on how you started getting The Missy Times, what your favorite part was about The Missy Times, the title or subject of a memorable story you read in The Missy Times, and your reaction to The Missy Times' retirement. No need to be lengthy-- just mail or email or even telephone one or two sentences by this Friday, July 5th. That leaves you the whole week to think about it!

Please support the MT, because after this, the "CLOSED" sign is going up and it'll be no more.

More details regarding The Missy Times' departure to follow.

Beaver VFD Hosts Race, Editor Runs it in 26:41

On Saturday, June 1st, the Beaver Volunteer Fire Department hosted its 12th annual 5k/ 10k race. In the 5k, the 348 registered runners, a record number for the event, the largest of its kind in Beaver County, ranged from ages 3 to 73. The winner of the race was Jaron Martin (no city listed), 20, who finished with a lightning time of 16:51. Timing chips were provided by Smiley Miles, and post-race snow cones, fruit and water were provided by Luckey Insurance Agency and Pizza Joe's.

     Despite the nascent morning heat, no injuries were reported and all present along the course --a scenic 3.2 mile loop down 2nd Street and River Road--  appeared to have an enjoyable time. "This is such a nice place to run." One runner was overheard remarking.

     The shirts this year were a fluorescent orange with a fire hat logo and words "Beaver Volunteer Fire Department 12th Annual 5k/ 10k Race" Emblazoned on the front.

The course only boasts a few legitimate hills, the worst of which being a steady slope from the East End curve back up to 2nd Street. Thankfully, local citizens George and Joline Atkins were there to step up to the plate --or shall I say road-- and spray fading runners as they trounced the last leg of their journey.

    Runners traveled from miles around to attend the race, from cities such as Slippery Rock, PA to East Liverpool, OH; But the farthest distance, by far, was traveled by a 50 year old woman all the way from Oakwood, Illinois.

This race may not have been a marathon, but on a Saturday morning in small-town America, it was just as exciting, and fun too.

A Stream of Conscious from the Local Book Sale

                                

I went to a book sale this weekend. Here's what went on in my head:

Here I am at the library. Boy, am I excited for this book sale!

Walk into the room, WOAH! My eyes need time to adjust. The colors, the lines, the bookish smell, it's way too overwelming.

Tables everywhere packed with books. Hmmmm, which ones do I choose? Let's look at some titles: Novel set in Amish country, "Land of Lincoln", "The Help", novel set in Amish country, "The History of Surnames", novel set in Amish country, juicy romance, "The Boy in the Striped Panamas", novel set in Amish country, Anne of Green Gables, horror book, novel set in Amish country.... what is with all these novels set in Amish country?!?!
Browsing, browsing, squeeze around the fellow bookworms. La dee da, ooooh, look at that one! Whoops, just kidding not my kind of book. Here's an interesting choice. Do they really write books about that? Geez, I've already been here an hour! Better finish up, oh this one or that?

 Here, just take these four. Alright, I'm ready now. Go up to the table, five dollars? Sure. (Never mind that they're only 75 cents each!) Never let a librarian use her beady eyes to weasel $5 out of you. Rats, I'm going to regret that later.
Gather up my finds, walk out the door. What's that, you say, old lady? "Look at these books! Where did they all COME from?"

Hehe, well, it's not magic, ma'am, it's just a book sale.

The Beaver Area Memorial Library held its annual book sale on Saturday, June 1st. All proceeds benefitted the library (even extra proceeds!). This week they are offering any books you can fit in a bag for $5. Please stop by and support the library.