This is an adventurous rhyming story filled with humor from beginning to end. Willamena is a happy child who finds herself crying one day. Tears drip from her eyes one by one, but then add up all over the floor causing a flood that creates commotion in the neighborhood. Different characters come to her rescue trying to find the mysterious cause of it all and to keep the tears from washing everyone away! It's fun for children all ages.

The Tears Added Up All Over The Floor, Then Came Pouring Out The Door!

Cooper, Lisa

Yesteryear Publishing

Jebbie: Vamp to Victim--the Truth about Miss Pifer  is the story of the author's aunt, Jessie Beverly Pifer, who was completely the product of Curwensville, Pennsylvania, where she was born, grew up with her parents and four sisters, attended the local schools, became a legendary teacher in the community, served her church as a deacon, became active in the DAR, and then spent her final days. She lived, laughed, and loved in Curwensville, remaining true to herself through every phase of her life. She was dashing, independent, and ever fashionable. Jessie revealed many personas, but all reflect the identity for which she is best remembered--as the beautiful, stylish, and vibrant "Jebbie," belle of the Class of 1924. She viewed herself as urbane, yet remained a small town girl whose beginnings are traced to the 18th century, when her forebears arrived in the new country, and are rooted in the 19th Century, particularly the period immediately following the Civil War.   The book follows Jessie throughout her life, providing a keen and personal perspective of the 20th Century. The culture of each decade is used to provide a personal sense of the times in which Jessie Pifer lived and by which she was shaped. First as a teacher in one-room country schools and then as a third grade teacher, Miss Pifer was described by a former student (Mary Catherine Milligan King) as "a marvelous breath of fresh air ... I can still recall thinking how beautiful she was and always so positive. I remember how she entered the room each day, greeting us every morning as if we were the joy of her life." Others refer to her as "the wonderful Jessie Pifer, delightful and entertaining," and noting "what an impact she made on so many lives and what a loving person she was."  The reader is drawn into this family as they become products of the era and then are caught in a web of deceit, making the tragedy, when it occurs, all the more real and unforgiving.   Everything in the biography is verifiable. Fifteen years in the research and writing, Jebbie has been edited from a manuscript twice its length and is an alert to others that even the most public members of a community can be robbed of their resources, independence, and dignity.

Jebbie: Vamp to Victim

Biographies & Memoirs

Judith Thompson Witmer

Community & Culture

Shortly after completing the recent biography of my Aunt Jessie Pifer, I opened her steamer trunk (the high school graduation gift from her parents in 1924) to have a photograph taken of its fabric-lined interior to be used on the back cover of that book. Years ago when we moved Jessie to an assisted living facility I had not opened the drawers in the trunk because it felt intrusive. A few years later when circumstances compelled me to tell Jessie's story, I chose to keep the trunk closed and positioned so that the purple and gold decal in the shape of a pennant with the word "Clarion" emblazoned on it could best be viewed, serving as a daily reminder of Jessie's life and what had happened to her. Expecting that the standing trunk would make a charming photograph, I set it upright and opened it, to best display its set of five drawers on the right, integrated metal holding rods with custom-fitted wooden hangers of various shapes on the left, and its build-in cosmetic case on a swivel at the bottom. In opening the bottom drawer to give depth to the view of the trunk's interior I found a dozen letters, tied with a white ribbon, that turned out to be from Jessie's high school and college girl friends. Under that small bundle I discovered a cache of more than 100 letters dating from 1924 to 1938, some tied together, others loose, but all addressed to "Jebbie" and all from her suitors during that period of her youth.    Reading letters, particularly love letters, is similar to reading a diary. We are interested and curious, but still hold a certain sense of being intrusive. However, letters are still considered the most personal way to understand the character and personality of an individual and of the zeitgeist in which the letters are written. Placing these particular letters in their historical context of "The Roaring Twenties" and "The Great Depression" is particularly poignant in that they are written mainly by those in their early twenties, young people who were on the cusp of the great adventure of life. In this collection most of the letters are written by gentlemen to one particular beauty--Jessie Beverly Pifer, dashing, independent, fashionable, and always remembered as the stylish and vibrant Jebbie, Belle of the Class of 1924. The letters, many beautiful in their own right because of the handwriting, provide a first hand account of daily travails lived by the young nearly a century ago, expressing a parallel to modes of communication of then and now, displaying emotions familiar to all generations, and revealing the love and devotion of All the Gentlemen Callers who loved Jessie. We can't help but wonder how emails of today can ever connect the sender and the receiver through the carefully constructed, flowing reflection, and very personal expression found only in love letters written with a fountain pen. The Author, Dr. Judith Thompson Witmer, holds a respect and passion for social history of small towns and the families who live there. The author of nearly a dozen books, ranging from biographies to educational administration and other trade books, her most recent publication (2011) is Jebbie: Vamp to Victim, the true story of Jessie Beverly Pifer, a beautiful young woman with many suitors who became entrapped in a web of deceit. All the Gentlemen Callers is a companion to Jebbie, focusing on the social interaction of young men who came calling on young women, a generation like no other in changing the social times and expectations of becoming adults in a time Studs Terkel called "euphoric" and F. Scott Fitzgerald termed "The Jazz Age."

All the Gentlemen Callers: Letters Found in a 1920's Steamer Trunk

Witmer, Judith Thompson

Parenting & Relationships

Growing Up Silent in the 1950s likely will become the definitive social history of the Silent Generation. Whether you were a part of this generation or have no idea there was such a generation, here you will find the answer to the central question: Who are the Silent Generation and why were they not acknowledged? Those of the Silent Generation have been called deferential, well-mannered, and book smart conformists. They did what they were expected to do, putting responsibilities first, always postponing who they wanted to be. They were reared in a contradictory world, living their youth in the safest time in history, yet always worried about "the bomb." Curwensville Joint High School Class of 1955, already identified by researchers as the year most representative of the Silent Generation, serves as the archetype of what it really was like growing up during the 1950s with comments and recollections from twenty percent of the class members.

Growing Up Silent in the 1950s: Not All Tailfins and Rock 'n' Roll

History

Historical Study & Educational Resources

A complete historical account of the first 50 years of Lower Dauphin High School located in Hummelstown, PA. The book includes the early history of the Lower Dauphin School District; an overview and highlights of the decades from 1960 through 2010; academics; the arts; sports; publications; school governance and policies; traditions and events; pranks; unofficial student organizations; faculty, administration, and staff; testimonials and tributes; the Lower Dauphin Alumni Association and Golden Jubilee events.

Loyal Hearts Proclaim: The First Fifty Years of Lower Dauphin High School

Witmer, Judith T.

Loyal Hearts Proclaim: Lower Dauphin: The First Fifty Years

When we lose someone we love, there are no magical words to guarantee comfort; however, many have found that writing their thoughts help to acknowledge their emotions, finding solace through thoughtful reflection. Keeping a journal through this journey also offers a way to honor the one we have loved. Solace Through Writing is a journal designed to help you frame your thoughts. Some days you may write only one word-on other days you may be ready to tell a story, recall specific memories, or speak directly of your sorrow. To help you when you can't always think of something to write, prompts have been provided that may help you begin to make sense of your loss or focus on a specific topic. You need not follow these prompts, but consider them as nudges from your heart.

Solace Through Writing

Self-Help

DeRosa, Michele

Death & Grief

Beyond the Melody is unlike anything you have read before. It is a fitting tribute to two women of great substance who experienced an extraordinary journey and a friendship that most of us can only wish for. Combining households was the easy part in light of what they later faced through a labyrinth of medical facilities, personnel, specialists, and, finally, hospice when Sheila resolutely faced her terminal illness. Nancy kept their many friends informed through beautifully crafted emails that were positive in their message while honest in the facts-not an easy task. Seven years following the loss of Sheila, Nancy decided to memorialize this friendship by telling the story behind the emails. The result is riveting. The author's ability to inject humor into the daily travails of the journey allows the reader to identify with-and perhaps prepare for-this all too human and somewhat inevitable experience many may face.

Beyond the Melody

Hivner, Nancy

Based on letters written by a young soldier during World War II, A Son’s Letters to his Father is compelling reading. Bill Calhoon, Class of 1941 who could have grown up in your hometown, was described by an early reviewer of the book as a regular GI, a simple man who understood the complexity of the war in which he found himself, not having any idea that he would not see his wife or as-yet-unborn child until the little boy was three years old. Bill was faithful in writing to both his wife and his father despite the fact that soldiers’ letters were censored as to war campaigns and locations. However, because the letters are masterfully narrated in the context of the history, today’s reader, with even a limited knowledge of WWII, is immersed in the daily coping on the homefront and the events in the Philippines as they were happening. 

A Son's Letters to his Father: At the Front 1941-1945

Lower Dauphin Wrestling: An Uncommon Heritage 1960-2024

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