text:
South Kitsap's Wilson, Hartmann go out as champions
SK's Wilson scores two major upsets en route to a title
TACOMA - One walked into the Tacoma Dome favored to win a state title. The other walked in unheralded.
They both walked out as state champions.
South Kitsap's Terrill Wilson and Conner Hartmann won state titles at the Mat Classic on Saturday.
Hartmann came in undefeated and the top-ranked 189 pounder in the state.
Wilson (31-5) came in with few expectations outside of his own.
"It's a story we'll talk about forever," South Kitsap coach Chad Nass said.
He stamped himself a title contender by knocking off the top-ranked, undefeated 119-pounder in the state, Bryce Evans of Rogers (Puyallup), in the quarterfinals on Friday, 7-6.
On Saturday, he knocked off the state's second-ranked wrestler, Lake Steven's Ryan Rodorigo in the semifinals, 7-5.
"I know I wasn't the favorite," said Wilson, who is ranked fifth in the 4A classification. "I notice I lose when I don't shoot. So I stayed on offense the whole time and attack, attack, attack."
In the finals, he faced Colton Orrino of Central Valley of Spokane, ranked fourth in Class 4A. He attacked early and scored a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. Two escapes tied the match at 2-2. The match went into overtime tied at 3-3.
With 13 seconds remaining in overtime, the ref stopped the match and awarded the winning point to Wilson, calling a third false start on Orrino.
"It wasn't the best win; it wasn't the most dramatic win," Wilson said.
"Most of my opponents try to get the jump on me because they know I'm really quick and they try to go first.
" ... I just felt like I used that to my advantage and that's how I won."
Nass said a drop in weight class from 125 to 119 before the postseason helped Wilson win the title. Nass said there are a few wrestlers in the 125 class he didn't think Wilson, who took seventh last year, would beat. The 119-pound class was deeper but Nass was confident in his wrestler.
"If he's on his game, he could beat any of those guys," Nass said.
Wilson said he wants to coach at South.
"I"m going to go back every day and help out every day," he said. "Keep the tradition alive."
Hartmann made sure he didn't experience the same pain as last year when he lost in the finals.
He talked to several older friends who have lost state titles as seniors.
"It haunts them 20, 30 years down the road," Hartmann said. "I didn't want to be like that."
Hatmann scored a takedown about a minute into
his finals match against K.W. Williams of Thomas Jefferson.
He added an escape to start the second round and that 3-0 lead held up.
Hartmann finished his season 37-0.
"I don't know if I've worked with a kid like him before," Nass said. "He's so smart.
"He got what he deserved tonight."
Also, for South Kitsap, Cody Barich took third at 145 pounds. Kris Fenton was sixth at 152.
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Originally Posted by polyglot
You mean control-via-image-receptors like in Snowcrash (Neal Stephenson)? Or mind-states a la Glasshouse (Charles Stross)?
Back in the real world, there is current research showing the ability to see via the tongue using electrical/neural stimulation from a video camera. About 5 years ago they had a monkey catching a ball with a robot arm but that involved a surgically-implanted interface.
I also remember an experiment some decades ago where a subject could 'see' via an array of pins on his/her back controlled by a video signal. I doubt they could thread a needle, but walking around was possible.
Our senses are more adaptable than most think.
Michael Batchelor
Industrial Informatics, Inc.
The camera catches light. The photographer catches life.


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The former PRR station in Troy, PA, on the branch to Elmira, NY. Rails are still in place from this early 1970s abandonment by Penn Central. Photo by Matt Gibbons.
This major branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad left the mainline on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River at Elmira Branch Junction (Williamsport, PA) and went north to Elmira, NY, and then ultimately to Sodus Point on Lake Ontario, deep inside enemy (New York Central) territory. The section between Williamsport and Elmira was abandoned by Penn Central in the 1972 time frame, most probably after Hurricane Agnes in June 1972. (Hurricane Agnes caused the death of many railroad lines by washing out bridges and track -- it was not economical to replace and repair many of these lines and they were subsequently abandoned.)
From Williamsport, the line went to Cogan, Trout Run, Bodines, Marsh Hill, Ralston, Grover, Cedar Lodge, Canton, Granville Summit, Troy, Columbia Cross Roads, then into New York to State Line Junction, Southport and into Elmira. Interestingly, PRR shared its ROW with the Susquehanna & New York Railroad from Williamsport to Marsh Hill. The S&NY had a line intersected the PRR at Marsh Hill, and went between Buttonwood to the west through Marsh Hill and to Monroeton to the east, and connected with the Lehigh Valley at South Towanda. The PRR also shared trackage with the Erie from State Line Junction, NY into Elmira -- the Erie line went to the southwest into Pennsylvania and connected with the New York Central at Lawrenceville, PA. The PRR shared trackage for a short segmet north of Elmira with the LV -- this line is still active from Elmira to Elmira Heights.
Thanks to Matt Gibbons for contributing information about this route.
Add your comments
The Elmira Branch left the mainline at "NB" Junction, not "Elmira Branch Junction" as was stated in the article.
I.P. Freely
the Elmira Branch was part of teh old North Central tath ran from Baltimore Md to Sodus Point NY with branch to Canandaigua NY. Line is active from Watkins Glen to Pen Yen NY and is in service from Nework to NY 104 where it connects with the ex NYC Hojack line. They may have pulled the traks from 104 to Sodus Point. I followed the grade from Elmira south to WilliamPort. Memories!
Palmyra, NY
My son is with Boy Scout Troop 28 - the Golden Dragons, Red Lion, PA. Our troop is working with KTA (which I am a supporting member) and PA DCNR on assuming trail maintenance between the western loop of the Old Loggers Path to Masten, following the S&NY roadbed along Pleasant Stream. In 2009, I located this trail in what appeared to be abandoned condition (the hiking trail, that is) and our troop queried KTA and DCNR about assuming maintenance of this trail (at least art of it) as a community services project. I have several books regarding the S&NY as well as Masten, and find this part of our history fascinating! In June, look for our new signs proudly listing our troop as the new caretakers of this trail!
Dave DalPezzo
Glen Rock, PA
My older brother and sister both went to Penn State in the 1960s-70s. I remember this line being active right up until Agnes washed out big sections of the line. Traffic was quite fast in the mid 60's on the line -- there's a story about pacing a train in the car (50-60mph) and then getting a surprise when the road suddenly veered across the track!
Matt McKrell
Cary, NC
I grew up in Powys along the tracks.I was just 4 when the Agnes flood destroyed my family's home and most of the rail road. I can remember the very last trains to run up the valley before the flood. My father also grew up here and remembers when steam trains ran this valley.In 1976 we moved to Gray's Run and live directly across from the old Gray's Run RR line making the bend around the end of Shriver Ridge out of Grays Run and heading North following Rt 14 to just North of Marsh Hill where it crossed from the West side of the valley to the East side and proceeded to Ralston and Maston. This was later part of the S&NY. I have hiked many miles of the old GR RR and have found RR related artifacts. I have also had the privilege to tour the Grays Run Hunting Club which took control of land formerly owned by Thomas Proctor who built the Grays Run saw mill and the Grays run RR .The RR was removed around 1910.
What a rich and industrious history we have in this area.
Trout Run, PA
A 1941 PRR system map of the Williamsport Division suggests that PRR had trackage rights with the Erie RR from State Line Jct. (south of Elmira) north to Chemung Jct. (north of Elmira Heights). LV did not have direct access to Elmira (but may have had trackage rights with either the Erie or DL&W, both of which had LV connections in the Sayre, Waverly area).
The former PRR line (nee North Central RR) north of Chemung Jct. terminates just north of Horseheads, where it serves a distribution facility. Portions of the line north to Sodus are still in use.
Robert Hanley
Greenville, SC
The tracks from the diamond at 104 north to Sodus Point have been pulled. At least in theory it's now a rail-trail, but it's one of the more primitive rail-trails I've ever seen! You can still see the short rail sections where the diamond was removed from the former Hojack line.
Russ Nelson
Potsdam, NY
I just saw your write up about the Pennsylvania Railroad's Elmira Branch.Very good,the only correction I would make is that North of Elmira,N.Y. the PRR used the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad to Horseheads,N.Y.
Then the PRR branched off onto its own tracks to Watkins Glen,N.Y. and North to Sodus Point. At Stanley,N.Y.,the PRR branched off to Sodus Point and continued West to Canandaigua,N.Y.
Gaylord Ewing
Breesport,, NY
I also wanted to add that the Lehigh Valley Railroad had its own tracks,from Elmira to Horseheads,N.Y.This section of LV railroad was waht was left of the "Elmira and Cortland Branch".From Sayre,Pa. the Lehigh Valley Railroad had trackage-rights on the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad to Elmira.Then from Elmira to Horseheads it returned to its own tracks. About 1975 the LV-tracks from Elmira to Horseheads,N.Y. were torn up.I understand there is very little left of the "Elmira and Cortland Branch".
Gaylord Ewing
Breesport, NY
This line is described in great detail (at least as far as the PA/NY border) in the book "Set Up Running: The Life of a Pennsylvania Railroad Engineman, 1904-1949" (http://www.amazon.com/Set-Running-Pennsylvania-Engineman-1904-1949/dp/027102741X)
It's a great read BTW.
My Uncle worked at the Station in Granville Summit, and used to pass the mail via a "Y" stick to a RR employee sticking his arm out of the caboose. The train did not stop, just picked up mail at 40 miles per hour. Put down your penny, watch the mail pickup, grab your flattened penny afterwards. For a kid in Granville Summit that is real excitement :-}
Tom Brasington
Troy, PA
Also remember that when the train arrived at state line crossing into NY, the train had to stop to board a fireman. Evidently the Union or state rules in NY required the train to have a fireman (even on non-steam) so the train blocked the road. Of course the fireman was stuck in traffic trying to get to the train, and the train prevented the fireman's arrival. Sure anyone driving RTE 6 remembers those delays.
I grew up in Marsh Hill PA. My mother and grandmother fondly recall the SN&Y railroad which bisected our property. Looking for anyone with photos of old Marsh Hill or anyone with connection there.
Derinda Gates
Paso Robles, CA
Where the line crossed Rt 14 at the NY State Border, the train had to stop and wait for a fireman to board. NY regulations. When the fireman was late, he was stuck in the traffic and had to run past the backed up traffic to board the train so the train could clear the road moving into NY something not legal without a fireman.
Tom Brasington
Troy, PA
I actually own part of the Williamsport - Elmira R/R. My dad purchased it back in 83 from the rail company. It's roughly 1.93 acres and runs from T-667 in Ralston to mid Lycoming Creek at the Dogtown trussel bridge. I live right next to what used to be the tracks in a house my father purchased that was built in 1907. and a not to Derinda, I can get photos of the area now and have photos listed on my facebook. Shoot me an email if you want any.
Dallas Bastion
Ralston, PA
I grew up in Trout Run. My Uncle (Thomas La Force)was the minister in Ralston during the 50's. I am a model railroader and am currently builing amodel of the S&Ny from LaQuinn to Ralston. I am in need of pictures of Ralston from the 1920's or later. I am in the area every year around the first of November for hunting so I would love to stop by to talk and meet with someone form the area.
Brad Jonas
Cincinnati, OH
To Brad.. look me up on Facebook. I can post whatever pictures I can get ahold of.
Dallas Bastion
Ralston, PA
i saw a picture of rail.is there any rail or equipment still left?please let me know. thank you.
george oakley
reading, PA
Unfortunately all of the rail around the area including any equipment related to it has been removed and the abutment that used to hold the railroad bridge below Ralston was washed out back in 96. There are tons of pictures listed on facebook of the mining areas with rails etc. I think the page they are on is listed as Ralston friends. Hope this helps.
Dallas Bastion
Ralston, PA
thanks for the info.i am looking for any rail or equipment still out there.if you know of any rail lines or equipment abandoned please let me know.my e-mail is firstname.lastname@example.com thanks again.
george oakley
reading, PA
Between Columbia Cross Roads and Gillett was Snedekerville, a very small train station that is still there today. Its importance was that it sat at the highest elevation on the entire length of the run. My father was a brakeman for the line and this station signaled for the brakeman to attend his duty. No matter which direction the train was going, everything was down hill from Snedekerville.
Mark Kerr
Gillett, PA
Some research shows that in 1907 there was a bad train wreck in Troy PA and the name of the railroad at that time was the "Northern Central Railroad".
Mark Kerr
Gillett, PA
thank you for the info mark.i am looking for rail,bridges or equipment still in place.i am a history buff.any info would be greatly be appreciated.thank you.
george oakley
quakertown , PA
The line from Stanly Junction is now the Ontario Pathways rail to trail. It is complete and bicycle friendly from there to Canadaigua. Going toward Sodus is not complete, ending just north of Phelps, with gaps in the trail requiring travel via roadways. Total trail length about 26 miles I believe. A very beautiful ride of 36 miles last week! Glad to send pictures or info on this trail.
Michael Brummett
Tonawanda, NY
thank you for the update.trails are the best way to go,i think.are there any rails or equipment left on any railbeds?that's what i was wondering.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
One comment mentioned Snedekerville at the summit of the grade and the station there, but did not mention the wye track that was there for turning helpers. Most of the rails on the branch were torn up around 1977-78. I have driven route 14 several times a year for almost 40 years and sadly watched the right of way become more overgrown and gradually disappear.
The rails that remain(ed) at the Troy station were occupied for several years by a snowplow, at least cosmetically restored. North of Troy, where route 14 turns north off route 6 at the Red Hen convenience store, I believe you can still see two of the three bridge abutments where the tracks crossed Sugar Creek and Route 6 on two separate spans. The RR bridge span over the creek remained for a number of years. Route 14 is located on the old right of way for several hundred feet north of that intersection.
The station at Columbia Cross Roads was purchased and used by the adjacent business, Judson's, until they decided to get rid of it. I believe it was demolished.
The station at Canton survives and is visible from route 14 driving south into Canton.
I grew up in Elmira and remember the PRR trains switching onto the joint trackage with the Erie heading north through Elmira right behind the old Southside High School. We used to walk home from school using a pedestrian underpass connecting W. LaFrance and LaFrance Streets beneath the tracks. The PRR approach to the junction was over a bridge that diagonally crossed South Main and Miller Streets, just missing the street intersection.
The Southport yards and roundhouse, long gone, have been replaced by the Clemens Center Parkway and adjacent businesses or empty space. Chapel Lumber just off Cedar Street is at the south end of those yards and used to receive carloads of lumber through those yards. My Dad picked up greasy coveralls and overalls from the PRR roundhouse crews for laundering at my family's commercial laundry and dry cleaning plants and delivered clean ones from the 1940s until around 1960. Cedar Street crossed the PRR tracks on a fairly steep overpass which replaced the old Caton Avenue rail crossing sometime earlier than I can recall (pre-1955 at a guess). Dad told me the traffic would really back up at the Caton Avenue crossing for trains waiting to get into or through the Southport yards.
One thing that always pleased me on my drives, especially in winter with snow, was the ability to see much of the right of way, which plays tag with route 14 much of the way from Williamsport to Elmira. However, it veered far to the east between Canton and Alba, then even farther east to get over Granville Summit between Alba and Troy, where it passed under a dirt road that crossed over the tracks on a wooden bridge.
Steve Kistler
Elizabethtown, PA
thank you for the history on the rail line.sad to say alot of rail lines went the way of this one.winter is a good time to check the right of way out.as for anything left like rail,bridges or equipment please let me know.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
I was delighted to come across Steve Kistler's description of Southport Yard and the bridging over Miller Street, South Main Street area in Elmira just now. Like him, I walked to school every day through the underpass near the old Southside High School. The famous American LaFrance fire truck factory was on one side of the tracks (and in my day in full production), Southside High School on the other.
I may be the last person ever hired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, worked as a trackman in the summer of 1968 to earn college money. I was assigned to a tamping gang to shovel ballast under sagging ties near Fassett, PA and at Pine Valley, NY; worked with a crew to replace crossings at Horseheads, NY and Penn Yan, NY; help right tilting locomotives stuck in Southport Yards after rotted ties gave way. Those of us who grew up on Elmira's southside in the days before air conditioning recall sleepless hot summer nights spent sitting on the front porch listening to yard engines hump coal cars at Southport.
As a kid in the 1950s I spent many summers at Grandma's house on Thompson Hill Rd. in Gillett, PA along South Creek. The PRR ran along a side hill east of Rt. 14 a hundred yards or so above the hamlet. Whenever we heard the train whistle we would run up the hill just in time to greet the big steam locomotives as they rounded the bend chugging north out of 'Sned' toward Elmira. Long coal trains headed to Sodus Point docks. Hurricane Agnes took out the line in 1972 which also put an end to what was left of Southport Yards.
Our crew assembled at the old roundhouse each day, moved out to the job site from there. One elderly trackman named 'Wilbur' (last name, I think) drove in from Grover, PA. Another, 'Charlie,' of similar age and nearly deaf, drove down from Himrod, NY. Distance between the two, 80 miles. Both lived in houses right next to the Pennsy ROW. Other crew members drove in from Dundee and Watkins Glen, NY, Troy, PA.
More than once we pulled Charlie off the track at the last second when he failed to hear a train rolling into our work zone. We became protective of Wilbur and Charlie, took on the bull work ourselves so they did not have to. We got pretty good at driving spikes with hammers, sometimes three of us in unison on one spike just to amuse the old timers. Want a physique like Charles Atlas? Be a railroad trackman.
No place hotter on a blistering summer day than atop a railroad ROW, and no place colder in winter. One really hot day we were working on that bridge over Miller/South Main St. intersection, had to stop because everyone was starting to pass out from the heat.
Working under forest canopy was a bit more pleasant. Along the ROW from Horseheads to Millport I recall stumbling upon pure springs in cool glades along the tracks - sweetest water imaginable on days with humidity so thick tracks seem to sag from the weight.
Speaking of, I recall the end of one particularly hot summer day, headed for the roundhouse after a full day's work, being called to Millport to deal with a section of track that had expanded in the heat to the point where it had sprung off the roadbed and was hanging out over Catherine Creek. We had to cut the tracks with torches, blow new bolt holes through each rail, draw them back together, reset plates and clamps, drive new spikes, entertained by the clamor of a train crew cursing us out, presumably because they were annoyed at being late for supper.
One last comment: the Elmira line ran coal to Sodus Point where a lot of it was off-loaded and shipped to a power plant in Oswego, NY. I work at a college that sits immediately adjacent. The plant is still functional despite being replaced decades ago by three nuke plants nearby. Oil, not coal, is now used to fire the boilers. The plant only comes online when electricity is in peak demand, is constantly at the ready to be fired up and fully functional in 45 minutes if needed, which is rarely.
After Hurricane Agnes took out the railroad 'coal buckets' picked up the slack. I have relatives who made a living making two round trips a day from Blossburg, PA to Oswego, NY.
Reading all your comments has been great fun. Thanks so much. - Mike Ameigh
Michael S. Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
Michael Ameigh's account of working the line was fascinating. He mentioned working at the college adjacent to the Oswego power plant. I attended that school when the switch was made from coal to oil at the power plant in the early 1970s. I missed the coal trains to Oswego, but not the soot from the plant stacks.
I appreciated his accounts of trackwork on the PRR. Unfortunately, the only steam locomotive I ever saw on the line was in the roundhouse at Southport when Dad took me over to look through the window at it. It was enormous to my very young eyes. I also remember the shanty at the state line for the extra crewman to get aboard the north bound trains as they crossed the state line. It was gone last time I drove by.
Stephen Kistler
Elizabethtown, PA
good reading,guys.it is amazing what history is on those old rail lines we all either grew up near or worked on.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
George, Steve: Thanks again for your contributions to this site, and for keeping the history of the Elmira Branch of the PRR alive.
A few more random thoughts.
After that summer in 1968 the PRR was history, but a lot of the staff was working for the Penn Central, and I had made friends. One supervisor found me a similar summer job with the PC in 1969. In 1970 EVERYBODY was going bankrupt, no jobs available. They put me in touch with a private contractor that was constructing sidings for the then new Morton Salt complex at Himrod, NY. I spent the summer driving spikes into new ties with a jackhammer. Gained 25 pounds of upper body muscle, suffered back spasms for months afterwards as a result.
Those sidings were very near the junction of the NYC and Pennsy tracks near Himrod as I recall. Went looking for them a few years back to show my wife I DID build railroads back in the day (I had been bragging about that for years). Alas; they were gone.
I recall hearing the Lehigh Valley trains running the east side of Seneca Lake between Ithaca and Geneva in the early '60s as a Boy Scout at Camp Seneca near Valois, NY.
My dad worked for the Erie back in the late 40s-early 50s, rode the train from Elmira to Binghamton and back each night sorting the mail. Impossible to overstate the importance of these roads to the economy - and culture - of NY Southern Tier 1930s-1960s. - Mike Ameigh
Michael Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
I remember many stories my Father told about the Southport, N.Y. Roundhouse. In one case the engines brakes failed as the engine was coming into the roundhouse, a little too fast, and the engine went right through the back of the roundhouse and out into the middle of Miller Street. Another story about an engineer that had partook in a few too many refreshments the night before, thus forgot to open the petcocks to drain condensed water from the steam engines cylinders. When he threw the throttle forward to move the engine, the piston came forward to meet a chamber partially filled with water. Since water doesnt compress like steam, it blew the head right off the cylinder.
On my fathers last week of work (he was being reduced/ permanent layoff) he took me with him. He was then working on the Erie Lackawanna line I believe, near Deposit N.Y. We slept in sleeper cars, held meetings in an oversize caboose, ate meals in the dining car and I assisted the cook in the kitchen car while Dad worked as a lineman. The bossman told my dad that if he wasn't being laid off he would have fired him for bringing me to work with him. I still remember my dad looking into his eyes and saying, "My son will remember this week, the rest of his life, whether I am laid off or fired." Nearly 50 years later, I still remember all of it. Catching lots of brown trout in the streams along the tracks, riding the rail on a pump hand car, and the georgous gems sitting atop the poles, on a wooden pin, suspending the copper. I collect insulators now, and remember times the gone by, spent with my dad -once a brakeman, retired as a "Railroad Lineman".
Mark Kerr
Gillett, PA
To Mark Kerr: I occasionally take the Amtrak from Syracuse to NYC on business. Many of the old railroad communication lines/poles complete with insulators are still out there along the old NY Central ROW. Sometimes I attend meetings at State University of New York system administration headquarters on Broadway in Albany, NY just down the hill from the State Capitol. That stately building is the old New York Central train station built by Cornelius Vanderbilt. To have a look, do a Google search using these terms, and click on 'images:'
SUNY system administration building
PRR and Penn Central continued to use the lines along the tracks through the 1960s. We used them when I was a trackman to communicate with Southport Yard. Foreman called in every few hours, and always just before we left the job site for the day. He used a hand-crank handset, probably no different from whatever was being used at the turn of the century (early 1900s).
Nice to hear from Gillett, PA. My dad grew up on a farm up Blodgett Hill Rd., rode the milk sled down to Gillett School in winter. Milk train stopped in Gillett to pick up milk cans from farms up the 'hollows.' - Mike Ameigh
Michael Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
Regarding the handset we used to connect with Southport Yard I meant to add that the handset connected to the line via an extender that reached up to and sat atop the wire, sort of like a cable car rides atop a cable. Main purpose of messaging Southport Yard was to give our location to trainmen so they would be aware when we were working on a track segment they might be scheduled to traverse. - MA
good history information i see from what was written.i myself know about the insulators because i did happen to come across some ceramic ones while out looking around.made a pretty penny selling them to hobbyists who were building scale size rail on their property.from what some of you have said,it looks like there is still some rail and equipment around.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
I'm 1500 miles away... But this is a great site and a great way to read/write/remember memories
Paul Gronemeir
Albuquerque, NM
Great story here! You can follow this line on historic aerials.com which has imagery from 1944 and 1969.
Houston, TX
I do have to agree with you guys that www.abandonedrails.com is a great site for everything rail.what I want to do since I have been up in this area before is look at what is left when I do eventually travel.keep in touch,guys.
george oakley
reading, PA
PA route 14 parallel's the railroad through the valley all along this abandonded rail line and as a teen, the school bus and the morning train would have a race to Troy each day. The year was April of 1972. Heading South toward Troy There was a rt. 14 overpass just north of Columbia Cross Roads and the bus would pass over the train. I would snicker, thinking the bus just ran over the train. By the time we reached Troy, there was an underpass Just on the north end of Troy, and the train would run over the bus.
The last time this race took place was June 6th of 1972, just before school let out for the summer. As we all know now around the middle of June came Hurricane Agnus. The flood waters raged so hard and washed out so many bridges and sections of track, it spelled the end of an era for this section of the Penn Central Railway. Fast forward Forty years and in the spring of 2012, I found two of the most beautiful insulators while walking the abandoned rails (with permission of the landowners, with my Son, and his son. I spotted them on the ground in the over grown underbrush that has overtaken the railway, and my grandson then four years old, retrieved them. A light blue cd 134 Brookfield signal and a CD 162 Star in a fabulous light green. Value of both in retail dollars, is about ten bucks, but to me...they are priceless. They proudly sit on the end table at my right side, in the livingroom, and remind me daily to remember the good times and more importantly; to take the time to build new memories, some spanning four generations as this one does. My Dad was a brakeman on this line.
Mark Kerr
Gillett, PA
thanks mark for the info.like i said earlier i did sell insulators i found to hobbyists who put them to good use.it is amazing what is still out there.for example when i went back to my hometown i saw telephone poles with insulators on them.of course also the rail line was abandoned. i do admit also growing up as a little kid breaking insulators on the poles with rocks.i was a kid,i did not know any better.now i see what is there to maybe be preserved.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
Oh how I remember growing up in Ralston in the 60's and early 70's. By then Ralston had turned into a pusher station but the longest siding on the Northern Central began in Ralston and stretched over a mile North to Langdon. I can remember sitting in class, in the then grade school in Ralston, and hearing all the locomotive traffic and wishing to be there. It's one of those things that gets in you blood as my grandfather was O.P. Orr, an engineman with the Pennsy and the subject of the book, "Set Up Running", which was written by my father. When I was growing up and the pushers were waiting to do another shove up the mountain, my grandfathers name was an automatic pass on to any engine or caboose on the siding as many had worked with my granddad. What a unique gift that was but of course everything was diesel by then but what a thrill it would have been to have grown up just 10 years earlier in the end of the steam era. My fondest memory occurred one summer's night when I was probably 10 or 15, my dad came home from visiting the local bar and asked me what I was doing tonight. Said "just going to bed" and he asked my if I wanted to go for a ride. Of course I said yes but where to? His reply was to Sodus Point, N.Y. on the pushers waiting to make the shove up the hill. Seems the engineman was a friend of the family and had fired for my granddad, "Back in the day". So over to the siding we went and climbed onto the lead "E" unit of a 4 unit consist 2- A units and 2- B units to await the Northbound coal drag. It soon whistled into town and marched past the waiting pushers. Once the caboose had cleared the South switch we backed down the siding and out on to the main and coupled onto the caboose. Once we whistled off, the lead locomotives whistled off and our journey began. Although it was a night and you couldn't really see much, you always knew where you were on the trip. We ended up pushing the drag clear up the line till almost Sodus Point, because of the tonnage on the train. Once where they could make it on there own we cut off the drag and drifted back to Ralston where we disembarked and the pushers continued onto Williamsport. It was early morning when I climbed into bed that day but is something I have never forgotten.
John Orr
Ralston, PA
great story john.i was glad to see you have such fond menmories of this rail line.i myself am named after my great grandfather who died in a gruesome manner on the old reading line i think out of bethlehem.from what my mom told me a mail hook got him in the back when he was reaching for the bag on the hook.he died soon after and that is who i am named after.so we both sort of have memories even though i grew up along the bethlehem to philly line i never met my great grandfather.still love to check the old rail lines out though.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
Mike Ameigh, I was smiling as I read your postings. Facinating and we are from the same Locale. I am from Coryland, specifically; Ameigh Valley Road, as in DOC. Ameigh.
As far as the insulators go, that you mentoned, I would love to own all of those Jewels on the Poles. However!Everyone must be forwarned, Trespassing on active railways is a federal offence, even if it is to save abandonded insulators from their certain demise. I also am a "Ask permisssion" type of person. So five finger discount rules do not apply. Sure wish I could make a deal with Norfolk Southern and some of the other rail lines.
Mark Kerr
Gillett, PA
mark,as for the trespassing rule,the poles that I did take the insulators off of were laying on the ground and more than 14 feet from the rail line itself.that is the measurement n/s uses for deciding trespassing charges.so basically I was not trespassing.as for taking them illegally I made money off something laying on the ground.so stealing does not apply.standing poles I would not even think about it.in a nutshell an opportunity to make money legally came up and I jumped at it.if I ever do get up that way where the rail line is it would be fun to check it out.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
Mark: I had no idea there was a road - let alone a Valley! - named after my kin. Still have family around Gillett, Coryland, Columbia Crossroads. Been years since I drove through the area. Nice to reconnect this way.
All you 'youngsters' lamenting arriving on the scene too late to see the steam locomotives in full harness puts life in perspective for me having seen them rolling along South Creek as a kid in the 1950s. Had not thought of myself as an 'old timer' before now (I'm 65 going on 23), but that IS nearly 60 years ago.
While at least some of you are pros regarding collecting insulators and so forth (I am not) I wanted to expand on my earlier post about old telegraph poles along the NYC ROW east of Syracuse visible from the Amtrak. Many are leaning away from the tracks or toppled completely into swamps and mires well away from active trackage. You might even be able to spot some with Google maps satellite feature. - Mike Ameigh
Mike Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
thank you mike for that information.as for collecting the insulators like I said earlier I did it for financial opportunities and I knew they were not being destroyed.gives me peace of mind knowing that the insulators were being used by hobbyists and not used for target shooting like some people do.keep in touch.
george Oakley
reading, PA
George Oakley: As you are named after your great grandfather, I am named after my grandfather, in a way. My grandfather was Oscar Perry Orr and that is what my dad wanted to name me but my mom would have none of that so a compromise was reached and I was named John Perry, so in a way I have part of my grandfather in me
John Orr
Ralston, PA
john,thanks for responding about our forefathers.sounds like your mom was in charge when giving out names.as for me,i am not complaining.keep in touch and let me know if you hear anything about this rail line in the future.thanks.
george oakley
reading, PA
My mother is from Canton. Her uncle was an engineer on this line when she was a kid. She said she used to ride along sometimes. I have emailed her for some details. This would have been around 1938-1940. My uncle Miles (Mike) Merrit worked out of the Granville Summit post office. I can remember the train ran by the base of their field on their farm in GVS. We put many a penny on those track in the late 60's. I was just a kid, but I thought there were mostly freighters by then. I can remember no matter who we were visiting in Canton, Troy, or GVS, you could always hear the train for miles at night. I remember the distinctive sound semi trucks tires made on the tar road. In the quiet of the night you could hear them comming and going. My 2 cousins survived getting hit in their uncles big Buick on the tracks one night over by Towanda. I forget how long they were dragged, but it's a miracle they lived.
Jeff Wetherbee
Mountain Lakes, NM
Correction...It was my mothers grandfather Lewis Thomas. Mom called it the Erie Lackawanna line. My cousins were driving their fathers Buick (my uncle Mike)
Jeff Wetherbee
Mountain Lakes, NJ
sounds like you remember the rail line too jeff.it is great to hear from people who remember this rail line when it was in operation.if you can remember anything else about this line please let me know.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
Railroad Management has not changed in 40+ years.....oil mishaps and other safety concerns. And the Interstate highway system will be able to become toll roadss, up to each state.
Will E. Makeit
Nyack, NY
I agree with you will about the current state of rail freight transportation and the highways.as for rail shipping it still is cheaper than truck freight.so you have to assume risk with any way of shipping freight.as for the interstates you know the truckers who use them are not going to like tolls.we will see.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
I hunted about seven miles of the old railbed this spring between Columbia Cross Roads and Gillett, hacking brush, digging and crawling. It was brutal. Not one insulator. I too am abandoning this section of track.
I see the gas well drillers are using the railbed to lay atop the ground, plastic 6" water transmission pipe used while drilling. I will be presenting my insulators found at the Troy Heritage Festival at the Troy fairgrounds this September along with some interesting history regarding this section of the Northen Central Railway, subsidary of PRR.
Mark Kerr
Gillett, Coryland, PA
thanks for the info mark.as for the drilling industry i think personally it is a double edged sword.keep in touch.
george oakley
reading, PA
John Orr. Set up Running is by far the best book I have ever read about the life of working as an Engineer on any railroad. Be proud of your father for remembering the stories of your grandfather and putting them in his book. For anyone who ever wondered what it was like to be a Locomotive Engineer this is a must read book. I myself was an Engineer for Conrail then Norfolk Southern. Things have really changed since the days of O.P.Orr. I have worked out of Williamsport's Newberry Yard, but this was after the Elmira Branch was destroyed by Tropical Storm Agnes. I wished I could have worked the Line through Ralston after reading the book. Maybe someday I will make the drive up there to have a look around.
Forest Zeiders
Lewistown, PA
To Michael Ameigh
I lived along the Elmira branch for 25 years. Was wondering if you could answer a couple questions. When was Kendall Tower closed and torn down? And what changed after Penn Central came in, that the trains didnt stop for the extra man at Fassett anymore?
Would appreciate any info.
Ron Updike
Ron Updike
Elmira , NY
Ron Updike: Thanks for checking in (we are probably related; lots of Updikes in Ameigh genealogy).
I recall the Kendall Tower near the Caton Ave. overpass and the shack at Fassett where the extra crewman waited for northbound trains, but do not have info about when the tower came down, or when the extra crew requirement went away. My guess is the extra crew requirement disappeared with the Pennsy bankruptcy, may have been a union rule. I will poke around, see what I can find out.
A question for all of you familiar with the Elmira junction/Southport Yard area. Does anyone recall the 11th Ward Hotel? Was on South Main with a parking entrance on Miller St., I believe. I recently learned an acquaintance tended bar there in the 1970s. He shared some stories about train crews that would put engines in idle on the tracks behind the hotel, run into the bar to down a few boilermakers, then climb back on the train and move on down the line. He told me the hotel had about 40 rooms upstairs, that retired railroaders rode the bus down from Bath VA and other places to take rooms from time to time, sat at the bar and swapped stories about working on the railroad.
He said the bar got rowdy sometimes, that they had a house band that periodically tossed people out the door to keep things 'respectable.' The hotel probably went out with the 1972 flood.
Mike Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
Michael Ameigh
Thanks for looking into Kendall and Fassett.Remember the 11th Ward well. Believe it was still in business until 1994 when the Miller and South St overpasses were knocked down to make way for the Clemens Center Parkway.One time in the mid 80s an Uncle of mine talked me into taking him there. We spent most of the day there, until my Aunt showed up and marched him out.Great old place. There is a book out called A Great day for Elmira. Has quite alot of info on the PRR Elevation thru Elmira. Which also mentions the 11th Ward complete with photos of the place in the 30s.
I grew up in Gillett and went to the Elementary School there. Was always being scolded for watching the PRR and PC action out the window.Thought I was the kid interested in the trains on the Elmira Branch.Interesting Mr. Kerr you and I were seeing the same thing. In 71-72 I was attending 6th grade at W.R Croman in Troy and enjoying the action now from the bus window. Will look forward to memories of the Elmira Branch.
Ron updike
Elmira , NY
Mike Ameigh. Try as I might I cannkt find any sign of Blodgett hill road anywhere near Gillett. There is near Albany NY.
Ron Updyke. I graduated class of 75. I pun on an insulator display every year at the Troy fair grounds Heritage Festival every Sept. Stop and say hello. That goes for all you folks here at the Penn Central abandoned rails. September 2015. Mark your calendar. Tons of railroad stuff.
Mark Kerr
Glett, PA
Mark Kerr and Ron Updike: Sorry I have dropped the ball on the Southport Yard tower info search - and thanks for the info on the 11th Ward Hotel. I will try to get back at it soon.
Mark, I think my dad used 'Blodgett Hill Rd.' to describe the Ayers Rd. I picked up the error, never thought to question the accuracy. Back in the 1970s our family had a small piece of property just above where the stream running between Ayers Rd. and Middle Rd. slips under Ayers Rd. at the 'outskirts' of Gillett. We camped there, had occasional weekend family gatherings, hot dog roasts, etc. Google map shows that stream as 'Blodgett Hollow.' We always called it 'Canaan Run.'
My dad told stories about 'Uncle Joe' Ameigh who lived in a cabin on the stream side of Middle Rd. until the 1940s, maybe early 1050s. Cabin had a dirt floor, no running water. Joe, a well known piano player in the area, apparently did not miss the running water, always had plenty of canned and bottled beverages on hand that, once consumed, were tossed out a back window into the hollow. Cabin is gone now, bottles and cans probably still piled up in Gillett's first landfill.
Mike Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
Mike, I think you meant AYRES road. I know right where Uncle joe lived. Someone build a house there now. Ayres road was named after my best friends family. Note the E and the R are reversed. Ken Ayres and I were just talking last night that it was his great great great great grandfather. Settled there in the early 1800's under the homestead act. He had only five years to clear the land build a house and barn and start shipping milk. Those were the terms of the agreement. Can you imagine clearing 150 acres with an axe and cross cut saw then using the lumber to hand hew into beams and boards... WOW For those interested. Email is email@example.com
Gillett, PA
Thanks for the correction on the spelling, Mark. Will try to get down to Troy Fairgrounds for the show next fall. Speaking of, I recommend to anyone reading this blog a visit to the Troy Farm Museum at the Troy fairgrounds. Excellent exhibits, historical literature, other memorabilia not available elsewhere. I stopped there maybe ten years ago expecting to find knick-knacks, was blown away. Great museum. Website: http://www.troyfarmmuseum.org
Mike Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
The Troy Farm museum / Heritage Festival for 2015 will be September 19th and 20th. My insulator display is in the north end of the main museum building. This year we have added an old barber shop from Columbia Cross Roads. Tons and Tons of things to do and see. Fantastic local fruits, veggies, cheeses, crafts, maple,artists and historians. Fun things for the kids to do. Cival war, railroad, one room school house, wooden duck decoy carving, blacksmiths, farriers, weavers, hunting displays, antique tractors, motorcycles and farm equipment. Oh yea and INSULATORS. Mark your calendars and come say hello.
Mark Kerr
Gillett, PA
Here's a treat; video of the last Pennsy decapod steam locomotive, the actual steamer that dragged coal along the Elmira branch up to the mid-1950s. An old family photo taken at the Thompson Hill Road crossing in Gillett, PA shows a four digit number at the front of the engine but only the last two digits, '..83,' are legible. Online searching today confirmed that 4483, the last of the decapods to run the Pennsy, was indeed assigned to the Elmira branch in its last years of service. The video contains excerpts from the film "The Ore Train" filmed and narrated by Clarence R. Weaver in and around Northumberland and Sunbury, PA and along Pennsy's Shamokin Branch in 1952-53. This blog will not allow posting of direct links, apparently, but you can find the video on YouTube by searching 'decapod 4483 Clarence Weaver.'
That is exactly as I remember that locomotive rolling through Bradford County back in the '50s. When the whistle blew toward the end of the film I had an immediate flashback to childhood days. No question that is the same engine.
Today 4483 sits on rails at the Western New York Railway Historical Society in Hamburg, NY. See their website for more info on its history and current status. Again, I was unsuccessful trying to post the direct link, but you will find it with a search using 'western new york railway 4483.'
Thank you Clarence Weaver for capturing a piece of the steam era for posterity. Amazing!
Mike Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
Michael Ameigh when did you work on RR? I never knew about it. 1969 - 1973 we lived between Millport and Pine Valley. I remember the ditcher shoving the banks back in front of the house along Rt 14.
I grew up listening to the whistles from along Rt 14 at our house 2 miles past Springfield.
John Orr, Your dad's book is one of the best. I have read it numerous times. Also, I wish I could see the pictures again that you brought up to the scale house on the hill in a shoe box.
Gary Pierce Col X Rds Pa
Gary Pierce
Columbia Cross Roads, PA
Hi, Gary (Hello to aunt Louise). I worked for the PRR summer of 1968 as a trackman between Fassett and Penn Yan, NY. We were based at Southport Yard roundhouse. Summer of '69 PRR had been merged into Penn Central, I worked with a tamping gang that graded ballast from Pine Valley to Millport. Summer of '70 I was on a crew that built a siding for Morton Salt at Himrod, NY. So yes, no doubt was me - the guy following along with the shovel pushing the stone under the ties.
This blog is turning into a family reunion, Gary. I hope everyone else is enjoying the reminiscing as much as I am. Great fun!
Mike Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
By pure coincidence, Mr. Orr, I recently added your dad's book "Set Up Running" to my Christmas list for this year. Hopefully Santa comes through.
I'm also glad that this website has brought so many people together, an unintended yet welcome fruit of my labor on this website.
Owner, AbandonedRails.com
Greg Harrison
Haslet, TX
Gary and Greg:
First: Gary is was an enjoyable afternoon talking and reminiscing with you on Saturday. As we discussed @ one time Ralston was quite the booming little town, when my grandfather worked out of there on the Pennsy, but when I was growing up it had relinquished it's once proud position on the Pennsy and had resorted to a pusher station and an area for the camp cars when the MOW gang was in the area. It did however still have the longest siding between WIlliamsport and Sodus Point at over a mile long and is remembered as the Max siding. Everything else was gone by then except for the telephone box, on a post at the lower end of the siding, and the storage building for the "gandy dancer" car for the MOW crew working out of Ralston.
Greg: I hope that you enjoy the book, when you get it. It is a fascinating story and still sometimes boggles my mind that my grandfather was actually the #2 man on the engineers list with a company as great as the Pennsy was. Though I never meet the man, that I remember anyhow as I was born in Jan. of 1954 and he passed in May of that year, he lives on in my father's tribute to him with his book, most of which I knew by heart from having been told the stories ever since I was old enough to listen to my father relate them. With the passing of my mother this year, it has been decided by the family to donate the royalties, from the book, to the Strasburg Railroad Historical and Educational Foundation in memory of my dad and mom. We feel it is a fitting tribute to my father as he was a great fan of anything associated with railroading and especially enjoyed what the Strasburg Railroad was and did.
John Orr
Ralston, PA
Mike Ameigh, Coincidence about your working on Morton Salt spur. I hauled coal for 23 years. Hauled a lot into Dresden Power Plant. Back hauled salt out of Morton while they were open.
The rail line crosses Rt 14 at Himrod. One morning when the fog was so thick as to make driving almost impossible I couldn't find the crossing. I was beside the lights when I saw they were on. Couldn't have been much over a foot between the rear of my trailer and the engine. Close enough for me.
Gary Pierce
Columbia Cross Roads, PA
Wow - glad I stumbled on this page! I am originally from Towanda and have been very interested in the Elmira Branch for a long while. Unfortunately, I was a bit too young to have appreciated it first hand!
I, too, have read "Set Up Running" (twice) and love the details and stories of the area within the book. My brother and I did a "tour" several years ago and followed the line from Williamsport up to Elmira, taking photos along the way. Very little remains as has been stated, however I do have a photo (taken from a distance) of the tower at Snedekerville which still stands!
Also, if haven't done it, take a "virtual tour" of the line via Google Earth. I was able to locate several interesting features that are still visible from the air, including the wyes at Snedekerville and Ralston. Very cool stuff!
Again, thank you all for sharing your memories and comments.
Chris C.
Chris Chamberlain
Reading, PA
Joyce Tice in Gillett, PA has an amazing historical and genealogical resource on her website (do a search using terms 'Joyce Tice Genealogy') for those interested in Bradford and Tioga Co. PA and Chemung Co. NY history. For those interested in rails that ran through Blossburg, Jackson Summit, Lawrenceville and vicinity, you will find fascinating material including photos via some of her links.
And I want to add to an earlier post about my own experience working as a trackman for the Pennsylvania Railroad (and Penn Central) in the late 1960s during college breaks. Summer of '68 we spent a week replacing a crossing on W. Broad Street in Horseheads, NY. Happened to be the same week the circus was in town (at the Chemung County Fairgrounds). Circus arrived by train, included one car with two elephants parked at the Horseheads station siding. Elephants were transported back and forth to the fairgrounds by truck as needed. All week long crew shoveled hay in one end of the car, shoveled end product out the other onto the siding. The 'aroma' wafted through the village all week long generating a lot of attention to our activity at the crossing. One particularly irate resident demanded our foreman call in a train crew to move the elephants out of the village, got in his face, would not take no for an answer. I learned a few new 'salty' expressions listening to the two of them go back and forth.
The circus cleaned up the manure pile shortly before the loco arrived to pull it out of town none too soon. Hilarious.
Horseheads Pennsy station still standing. Google for some nice pictures.
Mike Ameigh
Liverpool, NY
I came across maps from 1904 showing the PRR Roundhouse, but have not been able to find photos of the roundhouse itself. Has anyone been able to find photographs?
Ben G.
Rochester, NY
Roundhouses link...http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/roundhouses/
Mark Kerr
Gillett, PA
Do you have any pictures or information about Williamsport, PA to Elmira, NY? Please


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By Brad Ross
As I write this column, it's a Wednesday in 2014, which means it is probably going to rain!
I know this because I golf in a league on Wednesday nights and it has rained on 90 percent of our matches. Seriously, this spring and summer have been exceptionally wet, and has precipitated (a conservation joke) a larger than normal volume of calls to the Delaware Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) office about wet basements or flooding in yards. If you have a drainage problem around your home, it probably has shown up this year. Managing excess water in a non-destructive manner helps maintain the value of your home and reduces maintenance and repair costs. Water damage in a house is better prevented than fixed.
The predominant soil types in Delaware County are somewhat poorly drained to poorly drained. About 85 percent of the land in Ohio is affected by a seasonal high water table – the level at which the soil is saturated with water. The easiest way to prevent drainage issues is to identify the soil type and incorporate proper grading and drainage before the house is constructed. Remedial measures can often be added to the landscape of existing homes; however, it is usually more difficult and costly.
Depending on whether the problem is with surface or subsurface water, there is a difference in the way you handle excess water. In some cases, both surface and subsurface drainage systems will be needed to solve the problem. Diverting excess surface water away from the house with proper grading can overcome the vast majority of wet basement problems. Remember Scouting 101 where they taught you to dig a ditch around your tent to divert water away? Adding subsurface (tile) drainage around the foundation will alleviate problems associated with excess water below the soil surface.
Controlling excess external water around and beneath the house is essential to your health and safety, as well as maintaining the value of your home. By keeping the foundation from being saturated and the basement dry, you can eliminate mildew, wood destroying fungi and destruction of other building materials. Five measures that will reduce excess water include:
• A functioning lot drainage system.
• Properly installed and maintained gutters, downspouts, and drains to conduct the water away from the foundation.
• A waterproofed foundation wall with properly installed footer drains.
• A waterproofed floor slab.
• A sump pump.
For additional information, simply search key word "drainage around your home" on the Internet. There are a number of good sites that discuss options available, including instructional YouTube videos. And you can visit the Delaware SWCD website at www.delawareswcd.org or call the SWCD office at 740-368-1921. We have technical staff that can answer your questions.


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LAS VEGAS (January 13, 2006) - Silverhawk Championship Boxing added another title belt to its growing display case as Adrian "Juanito" Mora captured the vacant NBA super lightweight championship last night in Tampa, while stablemate Rubin "Hollywood" Williams retained his NBA super middleweight crown Friday evening in Auburn Hills, Michigan..
Mora (17-0-1, 9 KOs) stopped Aaron "The Midwest Assassin" Drake (11-4, 9 KOs) at 2:39 of the third round, headlining "Boxing By The Bay," promoted by Silverhawk Boxing at the Cuban Club. The taller Mora set-up Drake with stiff a left jab, followed by a devastating uppercut that sent a dazed Drake backwards into the ropes. Referee Tellis Assimenios halted the action when he realized Mora's opponent was unable to defend himself. Mora won the vacant NBA super lightweight title and positioned himself for future matches against rated super lightweights.
In the co-feature, powerful Gerald "The Jedi" Nobles (26-1, 21 KOs) overwhelmed Andy "Sandman" Sample (34-15, 22 KOs), flooring him three times in the opening round for a TKO victory only 1:52 into the first round.
On the Tampa undercard, 19-year-old cruiserweight Josh Green (8-0-1, 6 KOs) and Clarence Moore (2-1-1, 2 KOs) fought to a four-round draw in a brutal battle that had the crowd cheering wildly; welterweight prospect Alexis Camacho (14-0, 13 KOs) remained unbeaten with his 14th win and 13th straight knockout, using a vicious left hook to the body against a hurt Tyler Ziolkowski (9-5, 6 KOs) for a TKO at 2:41 of the first round; light heavyweight Shane "The Irish Hitman" Benfield (16-0, 8 KOs) kept his record perfect with a four-round decision versus Hilario Guzman. junior lightweight Jaime "Superfly" Sandoval (14-1, 12 KOs) registered a fifth-round TKO against Ken Humpreys (4-3, 3 KOs).
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rubin Williams (29-2-1, 16 KOs) and Antwun "Kid Dynamite" Echols (31-6-2, 27 KOs) fought to a 12-round split draw (114-113, 111-115, 113-113), headlining "Fight Night at The Palace," co-promoted by Silverhawk Boxing and Fight Night, Inc., in association with Banner Promotions.
Williams-Echols evolved into an early 2007 Fight of the Year candidate and the final result
left open the possibility of a rematch. The two super middleweights put on an explosive show, landing heavy blows from start to finish, in a back-and-forth, action-packed fight. Williams retained his NBA title while the IBA belt remained vacant.
Making his CES debut, heavyweight Cedric "The Bos" Boswell (23-1, 18 KOs) dropped Robert Kooser (9-7, 8 KOs) three times en route to a TKO win just 1:12 into the first round.
Results from Tampa
HEAVYWEIGHTS: Gerald Nobles, Philadelphia, PA (26-1, 21 KOs) Andy Sample (34-15, 22 KOs), Topeka, KS. CRUISERWEIGHTS: Josh Green (8-0-1, 6 KOs), Clover, SC DRAW Clarence Moore (2-1-1, 2 KOs), Charleston, WV. LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS: Shane Benfield (16-0, 8 KOs), York, SC WDEC4 (59-55, 59-55, 57-57) Hilario Guzman (6-20, 1 KO) Orlando, FL. WELTERWEIGHTS: Alexis Camacho (14-0, 13 KOs), San Antonio, TX WKO1 (2:41) Tyler Ziolkowski (9-5, 6 KOs), St. Joseph, MO. SUPER LIGHTWEIGHTS: Adrian "Juanito" Mora (17-0-1, 8 KOs) WTKO3 (2:39) Aaron Drake (11-4, 9 KOs), Kansas City, KS (Mora won NBA super middleweight title). LIGHTWEIGHTS: Vernon Paris (10-0, 7 KOs), Detroit, MI WDEC4 (40-35, 40-25, 40-35) Jean Petit-Homme (1-9-1, 1 KO), Ft. Myers, FL; Jamie Sandoval (14-1, 12 KOs), Chicago, IL WTKO4 (3:00) Ken Humphreys (4-3, 3 KOs), Ripley, TX)..
Results from Auburn Hills
HEAVYWEIGHTS: Cedric Boswell (23-1, 18 KOs), Atlanta, GA WTKO1 (1:12) Robert Kooser (9-7, 8 KOs), Joshua, TX. LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS: Damon McCreary (12-0, 9 KOs), Detroit, MI WTKO1 (1:49) James North (8-16-2, 3 KOs), Weston, WV. SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Rubin Williams (29-2-1, 16 KOs) DRAW (114-113, 111-115, 113-113) Antwun Echols (31-6-3, 27 KOs), Davenport, LA (Williams retains NBA title, IBA remains vacant). MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Mary Jo Sanders (23-0, 7 KOs), Auburn Hills, MI WTKO2 (3:00) Gina Nicholas (11-6-2, 8 KOs), Longview, TX (Sanders won IBA middleweight title); Ronald Hearns (12-0, 10 KOs), Southfield, MI WKO1 (0:48) Daniel Neal 9-17-1, 2 KOs) Columbus, OH. SUPER FEATHERWEIGHTS: James Lester (3-2, 1 KO), Detroit, MI WDEC4 Pete Cantu (8-6-1, 6 KOs), Waterford, MI.
Upcoming Silverhawk Shows
"Super Fights," Friday, Jan. 19 @ Knox Arena, Olive Branch, MS - 12 rounds, B.J. "El Pelogroso" Flores (17-0-1, 12 KOs) vs. Chris "Cold Steel" Thomas (16-6-2, 14 KOs), WBF & NBA super cruiserweight championships; 12 rounds, Sherman "The Carribbean Tank" Williams (31-10-2, 17 KOs) vs. Ralph "Wild, Wild" West (17-9-1, 14 KOs), NBA & WBF Intercontinental heavyweight championships; 12-round, Prince Badi Ajamu (25-3-1, 14 KOs) vs. Craig Cummings (53-6-1, 43 KOs), NBA light heavyweight championship.
"Blood, Sweat & Guts," Friday, Jan. 26 @ Destiny's Club, Orlando, FL - 12 rounds, Leo "Paco" Nolan (26-0, 10 KOs) vs. Hector Ferreyro (12-5-1, 10 KOs), IBO & USBO heavyweight championships; 12 rounds, Stevie "Lil' But Bad" Johnston (39-4-1, 18 KOs) vs. TBA, IBA & IBO lightweight championships; 12-rounds, Aaron "Homicide" Mitchell (25-1-1, 20 KOs) vs. Jose "Seek & Destroy" Spearman (17-3, 4 KOs), NABA & WBF middleweight championships; 12-rounds, Fernando "El Pillo" Trejo (27-12-4, 17 KOs) vs. Sean "Pit Bull" Plessis (17-3, 4 KOs), IBO Intercontinental super featherweight championship.
(All bouts and fighters subject to change)
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In N.Y., Gay Marriage Came Courtesy GOP Jews
Staunch Republicans still backed Democratic measure
In Michael Barbaro's definitive narrative of how gay marriage was passed in New York, Andrew Cuomo savvily harnessed his own popularity, his constituents' support, and a few rich Republican machers to bring marriage equality to the third most populous state. The wild card there is those Republicans who helped hand a Democratic governor a gigantic substantive and political victory.
Do I need to tell you what those few Republicans tend to have in common?
JTA's Ron Kampeas noticed a month ago that several prominent Jewish Republican New Yorkers were backing same-sex marriage, and indeed, the three Republicans mentioned up top in Barbaro's article as having worked most closely with Cuomo—the financiers Peter Singer, Cliff Asness, and Daniel Loeb—are all mentioned by Kampeas. As is the financier Steven A. Cohen. As is Ken Mehlman, the 2004 Bush campaign director, a Jewish gay man who tried to sell Republican state senators on gay marriage and who, in the weeks leading up to last Friday's historic vote, lobbied several one-on-one, including all four who jumped across the aisle to vote yea.
Moreover, while National Review's The Corner was freaking out over the Armageddon of adults being permitted to marry whomever they choose ("We are witnessing tyranny today that is fostered by a false sense of freedom," wrote former site editor Kathryn Jean Lopez), the sole post on Commentary's Contentions blog about the vote saw its author praising New York for enacting gay marriage "by legislation rather than judicial fiat" and applauding Cuomo (albeit at the expense of his father, the liberal hero Mario). Prominent Jewish conservative David Frum admitted, "I was wrong about same-sex marriage." (And let's not forget that Sen. Joe Lieberman was pivotal to allowing gays to serve openly in the military.) It truly is fitting that the decisive vote for gay marriage was delivered by a Jewish Republican. Why are Jews liberals? Maybe because of moments like this?
Anyway, if President Obama's perceived stance on Israel is valid grounds for questioning whether he will win Jewish votes in 2012, then it is also legitimate to ask whether the Republican presidential candidate's position against gay marriage—no matter who it is, he or she will have to be against it to win the nomination—might threaten his or her standing with Jewish voters in the general. It didn't stop Mehlman from helping Bush, who endorsed a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage (although Mehlman did not come out until the Obama presidency). But with this issue more prominent, voters' hands could be forced.
Behind N.Y. Gay Marriage, an Unlikely Mix of Forces [NYT]
Jewish, Republican, Pro-Gay Rights [Capital J]
Gay Marriage's Unlikely Hero [The Daily Beast]
The Do-Something Son of the Do-Nothing Father [Contentions]
I Was Wrong About Same-Sex Marriage [CNN]
Related: Tribal Allegiance [Tablet Magazine]
Earlier: Rabbinic Scion Clinches Same-Sex Marriage
Daybreak: Israel Tries To Halt, Discredit Flotilla
Plus, are Jewish Dems leaving Obama? and more in the news
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The Spectator | rivermaiden's Blog
Sometimes all you can do is be the spectator. Its like watching your child grow up - watching him fall, the bruises, the tears and then praying he would he back on his feet. And the people you love, you care about - sometimes all you can possibly do is let them be. Let them be in pain, let them hurt, let them mourn and hope that they find the strength.
I do not know which part is the toughest. Till some days back I used to think that I am in pain, lots of it and thats the most unfair, important thing in the world. I shut off the people who care about me, I could not bear to be bothered. The slightest concern, bit of sympathy used to drive me nuts. I just wanted to be left alone. And that is exactly what I did. I shrugged off everyone, let go off all my attachments and was immensely proud that I could survive on my own. Pride you see, is what came in the way. I could not let anyone close, let anyone take care of me and preferred strangers to friends. I hated the fact that my close ones were worrying about me, I ran as fast as I could.
Right from my childhood days when I was sent to the boarding school leaving behind my sibling and extended family, I learned to accept what I cant change, to face what I must and to be own my own. And the one person I had trusted, the one I had let close enough to take care of me, the one I had clung to shamelessly in my entire life turned out to be the one who broke it all and abandoned me - I was done. I could not let anyone see the pain, I was dying of shame, I wanted to pick up what was left of my bruised ego and remind myself again and again that never ever would I be so dependent and vulnerable. When I finished beating myself over what I had done, the extent I had gone, the foolishness of it all - that is when I wanted to become the hermit , yes that is what I exaggerate and call myself - the one who is unfazed by everything around, who is free from all kinds of expectations and attachments and who only looks forward at all times - the liberated soul. I aspire to be all of that and much more.
The only person I genuinely grew fond of after the biggest break up or if I dramatize it the catastrophe that changed my life for the better in spite of all my reservations is my co worker and best friend - we have these mind blowing conversations, he is one of the best I have come across in every way - be it friendship or as a human being. He in fact set me free, I could share without being judged, being sympathized with and most importantly he understood. It would have been that way always. I mean I would have never disclosed how I feel - Its not love, I dont believe in that weird thing. Since he is in a relationship and otherwise also I have nothing to offer - it was simple, just the sharing thats it and genuine care.
I love him for the person he is and look up to him in many ways. The other person who I had looked up to had turned out to be a disaster - since then idealism had flown out of the window. You see break ups are normal even essential, I have had those, but then you should not play around with anyone's belief system. The one I had thought to be everything I had hoped for, the same one left which is fine but left in a way I never thought possible. I have been a cheater earlier and it was time to pay for my sins. When he went away, he took with him all I had - my faith, pride, hope, the love and everything else that made me - 'me'. I was just left with loads of confusion, pain and baggage that weighed me down. I had lost my sense of perception, I could not believe / fathom what had happened and lost the faith both in others and in my own judgement.
When everything in the world was how they were meant to be and my own had collapsed - when the concern of my dearest ones left me suffocated and any kind of frivolous association made me feel all the more empty - when alienated was what I was, that is when I built the bond with my coworker, that I cherish till date. I have no clue when we became acquaintances to buddies and later best friends. My liking for him gave me pangs of guilt. I have been no good in the past. I had crossed boundaries, cheated on my partner long ago ( different partner though) and helped another cheat on theirs with me. I had no morals, no values. Today I am a different person, I have come a long way. I know exactly how burned one can get. I know what it is like when another disrespects the union that means everything to you, another breaks the trust you put in them and what it takes to walk away from the most precious part of your life. My so called love of my life thew it all away just like I had and hurt someone who was deeply in love with me. Life always comes to a full circle right?
Having learned my lessons, I would have never ever done any of that with my co worker. Let alone anything else, I would have never even told him how much he mans to me. For one, though he means lot, I actually wanna be alone in my whole life even if it sounds crazy, I neither believe in love nor attachments. My relationships made me dependent so much so that at one point I had even contemplated ending it all. It has taken a whole lot to reach where I am today, to be happy with myself, be self sufficient and finally get used to living on my own. Trust me I wouldnt give that up for anything ever. So had he been single, still I wouldn't have said a word since there can be nothing more yet would have always always cherished him, respected him and loved him in my own way.
The fact that he was taken was just fine, I knew I would always respect the commitments of others even I have none of my own.
Then came the time he said he would leave soon. It saddened me, sometimes more than I thought and also pissed me off because I realized I was still vulnerable to being attached in spite all all that I claim about being a hermit blah blah.. Still I decided I would always think of him fondly and let him go. I take great pride that I dont cling anymore and I can let go. Then something happened that left me confused. He started being really tender and sweet, I thought its because he would leave soon so just making the best of the remaining days. But later I came to know his girlfriend cheated on him and maybe even left him. I wish, so wish I could do something, anything to ease the hurt, to heal - not out of sympathy but because I care, lot more than I admit even to myself.
I know the drill. He would mourn, deal with the pain, the confusion, come to terms with the hurt and also that he would withdraw. And all I can do is stand and watch. I know no words, no amount of consolation would be enough. Had I been younger and not known what I do now, about life, I would have jumped to his rescue, been the savior, loved and healed to the best of my abilities. Today I am too entangled, too broken to do so and most importantly I know, no can can be rescued. We all have to go through our share of pain and hurt, learn on our own and go through this journey alone.
I know exactly what he will go through, the sense of betrayal the intense sadness the loss and all of it. He had given me strength, been the friend I needed, been everything I could have possibly asked for. During my phase of confusion, when I wanted to be away from everyone yet connect at times, he was just the perfect companion, the patient listener, the witty one who made it all easier. He has been like no other, never flirted, never took advantage of my vulnerable state, always accepting and one I could be myself with.
Today he, the most loyal person I know, the most loving boyfriend to his girl and the best friend I could have ever had, is in so much pain. I wish I could do something. Maybe this is how my loved ones felt when I withdrew, when I could share, when I pushed them away. I realize it all now. I will try to be more in touch with people who matter and try not to punish the world for something someone did to me. I just hope it all works out for him. He has been this rock solid pillar of strength, I will not be able to see him crumbling. I understand that he needs to be on his own, I will leave him to it and also know that he has to deal with everything himself. I can never tell him any of my concern or what it takes to see him that way. I can just be the spectator who lets him go and earnestly hopes he finds his peace and happiness sometime soon.
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Previous Postsget burnt but dont burn another, posted November 7th, 2012
Of bits and a little more, posted November 7th, 2012
The Spectator, posted November 4th, 2012
Sex - lots of it and the lack of it, posted October 30th, 2012
The strayed hermit, posted October 30th, 2012
When you miss the train I'm on, posted October 30th, 2012
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Staff Reporter
KARUR: More than long hours of lecture, a cultural programme peppered with a few elegant dance numbers and songs could work magic with the audience, especially if the subject that needed to be conveyed was a bit heavy.
Voluntary organisations Gramium of Kulithalai and APAC, Chennai, conjured up such a vision for the benefit of Karur people while seeking to create awareness on AIDS and HIV by staging a cultural programme for 25 hours without a break.
With the bustling bus stand as the venue, the programme was bound to have a good audience and the message was neatly portrayed by the artistes from Guna's No. 1 Thillana troupe.
The continuous flow of songs and dance numbers interspersed with other cultural items, always focussing on the message of "Prevent AIDS…Let's Promise Now", made people waiting for buses, commuters and general public curious about the issues being discussed artistically. In that the programme achieved the desired ends.
The efforts of performing artistes, numbering around 60, were noteworthy.
What was meant to be a 24-hour-programme in fact extended the schedule and ended after 35 hours. By then, the message was well conveyed – better beware or you might be forced to lead a life not sought after much.
At the same time, the programme also drove home the point that people living with HIV needed to be given their due share, and humiliation, subjugation or other inhuman treatment would not do any one any benefit.
The events included speeches, folk songs, AIDS awareness songs, social awareness numbers, drama, music programme, comedy sequences and AIDS awareness contests.
Former MLA Vasuki Murugesan honoured the artistes while District Revenue Officer Jawahar Shanthakumar presided over the felicitation function.


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The Clay County Sheriff's Department is seeking assistance in locating a missing West Point man.
Don Hodnett, 51, of 3819 Dan Walker Road in West Point was last seen Friday, April 18 at Clayton Village in Starkville.
CCSD is requesting anyone with information regarding Hodnett's whereabouts call 494-2896.


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Audiofly AF140 In-Ear Headphones (Gray)
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Some things are just better in pairs. Think Mick and Keith, George and Ira, Jordan and Pippen... For a lush, kicking bottom-end with immaculate mid and high frequency detail, Audiofly teamed two technologies: dynamic driver with balanced armature driver. And it's seriously good.Hybrid Dual DriversHybrid configuration of dynamic and balanced armature drivers delivers a warm yet crisp...
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"full review here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/689006/review-audiofly-af56 The earphones were given about 40 hrs. The AF56 are not just an improvement over the AF45 in design and comfort, but also, and mainly, in Sound. They offer a much bigger and very lively sound with better overall balance. Not unlike the AF45 model, the bass is very dominating. But..." --Zelda
The Custom Art - Music One
"I have Music One for a while now, I already wrote some impressions in the Custom Art thread in here. So I decided to combine them and do a proper review. It is a little gem that punches way above its price point, so definitely deserves a review in my view. Starting with the design. Single BA per side, silicone earpieces, permanent or optional detachable cable (with a little extra..." --AmberOzL


text: http://serverfault.com – I'm having a weird issue. On one of a mac, I noticed it was having some weird issues communicating with the server. I pinged the server, 184.108.40.206, from the terminal on the mac, and here are the responses I am seeing. 64 bytes from 10.0.5.90: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.457 ms 64 bytes from 10.0.5.125: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=4.753 ms (DUP!) 64 bytes from 10.0.5.90: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.459 ms 64 bytes from 10.0.5.125: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=4.716 ms (DUP!) 64 bytes from 10.0.5.90: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.288 ms 64 bytes from 10.0.5.125: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=4.742 ms (DUP!) Why would (HowTos)


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Just a month away, X-Men: Days of Future Past is looking like the movie that could actually save the dying franchise. In the third theatrical trailer we see more of the battle that will form the main plot, get a better look at the Sentinels, as well as see almost the whole roster of X-Men from the past and the present.
Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart star in the film which is set to release on May 23, 2014


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Google Android isn't just the name on everyone's lips when it comes to mobile phones. The open-source OS has also made it on to mobile internet entertainment devices, netbooks and other gadgets. We've rounded up 7 gadgets that run Android but aren't mobile phones.
HP Compaq AirLife 100
What it is: A tablet that is, in some ways, almost a phone.
The Compaq AirLife 100 features a 10.1in touchscreen, and an almost full-sized keyboard, as well as Wi-Fi, GPS, a webcam and integrated 3G.
Why it's interesting: This could be the first Android tablet (meaning touchscreen netbook) by a major PC manufacturer, although Dell is rumoured to be working on both an Android tablet and a netbook.
It's powered by a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor. The gadget was on display at the 2010 Mobile World Congress, and will be available in the UK sometime this spring.
See also: Android 2.0: The iPhone killer at last?
- Google's OS expands to other devices
- Ramos W7 'Blue Magic' MID and the eviGroup's MID Wallet
- Aspire One D250 and the Menq EasyPC E790
- HP Compaq AirLife 100


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Santa Clarita residents are invited to South Valley Church's 10th annual "Community Event" on Nov. 27. Don't miss a thing. Get breaking Santa Clarita news alerts delivered right to your inbox. "This event is a great time for the community to get together," said Pastor Kevin Pisano of South Valley Church. The free Thanksgiving event began in 2004 when Roger and Shannon ...Read More »
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South Valley Church
Vegetable Garden At South Valley Church To Benefit Help The Children
South Valley Church on Valley Street in Newhall has planted nearly an acre of undeveloped land on their property. This charity garden will be used to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for needy families served by Help the Children.Read More »


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Talk about laying out the two better parts of my dream ménage à trois. Uber-sextastic Jessica Alba came to the set of Extra to hang out with Grecian goddess Maria Menounos, and while I know the two of them were silly gabbing over some promotional merchandising effort, I don't need to hear anything to know that I've just seen my destiny.
Oh, to arrive back in my 900-sq. ft. mini-mansion to find these two lovely ladies jumping out to gang tackle me in a lively game of unhide the sausage. You may say that I'm a dreamer, but on this one, I know I'm not the only one. Jessica Alba and Maria Menounus bumping rear ends against my very soul, that's my vision of heaven. Enjoy.


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India's radically revised gross domestic product data have apparently left economists dazed and confused because they are uncharacteristically silent about what growth was last quarter.
India is scheduled to announce GDP figures for the quarter ended Dec. 31 on Monday but instead of the regular rush of forecasts, economists seem to have created a cartel of silence, choosing not to make predictions using India's new methodology. Read More »