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Local author presentation by Joyce Kieffer, Oct. 23 at JCL

Editor’s Note: The Sept. 2 column by Mr. Giordano entitled, “A ‘million word gap’ for children who aren’t read to at home,” included erroneous references and quotes attributed to David J. Purpura, Ph.D., of Purdue University. The following statement was received from Mr. Purpura: “The discovery of the 30-million word gap was erroneously credited to my work, but was actually originally published by Hart and Risley in the mid 1990s. My recent work published in Child Development actually highlighted that a 30-million word gap is mathematically impossible. Moreover, we need ...

Who’s your master?

In John 8:34 Jesus said, “Whoever commits sin is the slave of sin”. That is true of every person who comes into this world. Every person is born under the tyranny of sin. Sin dominates and controls our thoughts, our words, our motives, and our actions. In Romans 6, Paul said there is none righteous, no not one. Romans 6:17 says we were slaves to sin. V.20 says we were slaves to sin, V.14 says sin was our master, v.21 says the outcome of that is death and V.23 says the wages of sin is death. That is the definition of every human being before salvation. We were slaves to sin with the ...

Big bandages and bright lights

Often people say, “I’m not a morning person.” That light peeking through the window, “ouch!” I, however, love the morning for it is a sure sign of new life and a new day! In our part of the country, the long summer days begin with the coolness of the morning as the sun rises over the mountains and ends late in the evening as the sun sets over other mountains. The darkness of night is sandwiched by the beauty of daylight. Light is a symbol of healing. Years ago, a doctor suggested treatments for a skin condition with ultraviolet light. These folks sure were suffering, ...

‘We are family, I got all my sisters with me’

These lyrics have been rolling through my mind over the last 24 hours, “We are family, I got all my sisters with me.” They are part of a song performed by Sister Sledge back in the 1970’s entitled “We Are Family.” Since its release, it has become an anthem of sorts, an expression of solidarity, and that is exactly what I experienced, as did many others recently, at the Chamber’s Women’s Bloom Conference. A room filled with beautiful, like-minded women joining together with a singleness of purpose, to encourage and be encouraged. This was the fourth year for our Women’s ...

Hi ho hi ho, it’s off to school they go

I recently spent a morning on the phone with my oldest granddaughter Saylor sending her off to her first day of first grade. Where does the time go? Wasn’t it just a short time ago that I was rocking her in my arms? Wasn’t it just yesterday when she took her first steps? I must admit my eyes filled with tears when I looked at the first day of school picture her mom sent, and a flood of memories came rushing in. The first time she said, “Nana, I love you.” The day she described in detail her one-day, prince charming. All the countless hours we spent together listening to princess ...

Elder family integral part of library’s long history

I’ve spent the last several weeks writing about the Mifflin County Library during the 1940s. The Lewistown Library of the 1870s merged with other libraries throughout the county to become the Mifflin County Library in 1941. The library director, Miss Shoemaker, resigned in December 1943. Before I go on and write about the next few directors, I’d like to tell you about an unsung hero in library history. She was never the director but she and her family helped to make the Mifflin County Library what it is today. This is Margaretta Elder. Margaretta is one of the Elder family who ...