Locust Lake Villager - Winter 2019/20

On-line at www.locustlakevillage.org

WINTER 2019

More History Unveiled On The Outskirts of LLV ~ Story on Page 9

Photo by Fran Odyniec

Teri Wilson Miller and her father Jim Wilson, two direct Eschenbach descendants, unveil the Eschenbach Cemetery historical display marker as Historical Association of Tobyhanna Township past president, Rick Bodenschatz, looks on during the dedication ceremony held Oct. 23 at the cemetery on Slutter Road.

Inside Highlights Chili Cookoff

See page 5

LLV Event Listing

See page 6

Newburgh, NY 12550 PERMIT NO. 335

PAID

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About the Village

Table of Contents

Manager’s Message

By Don Fantry

About the Village

Manager’s Message 2 Chairman’s Message 4 Chili Cookoff

5

LLV Volunteers 8 History Unveiled

9

Houses of Worship 10

By now, you already know that my resignation has been tendered. I really am torn about my decision to resign but at this time it is the right choice. I really enjoy being your manager and all the “personalities” that make-up “The Village”. I have butted heads with several but in the end, my tenure here has been nothing less than “positive”. I want you to know that I gave the village 100% effort everyday so if I failed anyone, please know it wasn’t because I didn’t try hard enough. I really appreciate all the well wishes that many of you have thrown in my direction, I’m truly humbled. I was/ am the lucky one.

I will be here “full-time” until December 15, 2019 and I will continue to be part of the staff, possibly two days a week, until a new manager is hired and up to speed. I will be part of the selection team during the hiring process and I hope we find someone that can continue what we started.

Don Fantry, LLV Community Manager

We had a good run and I appreciate the opportunity and confidence that you provided to me.

The accomplishments are many but the one I’m most proud of is watching the community come together and reclaim a spirit of cooperation. When I arrived, the village administration was “fractured”. Together, we rebuilt a spirit of cooperation through open communication and transparency.

There is still so much to be done and if you continue to work together and communicate openly, the stars are the limit.

There is so much to enjoy here if you just take the time to appreciate what you have, and what you can realize with a little cooperation.

Please know that I will continue to support this community anyway that I can and to those that I was lucky enough to share some quality conversation, time, opinions, I will continue to appreciate your willingness to accept me, faults and all.

Thank you and until this ride is over, as always, your questions/ concerns are welcome.

Love you guys, Donald Fantry

To Advertise Call Crystal at 845-456-1218

PAGE 2 | LOCUST LAKE VILLAGER | WINTER 2019

Locust Lake Village POA Š Copyright 2019 1778 Lake Lane, Pocono Lake, PA 18347 P: 570.646.3616 F: 570.694.6690 www.locustlakevillage.org

SUMMER OFFICE HOURS: Monday thru Friday 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Saturday & Sunday 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

PUBLISHER:

Niki Jones Agency, Inc. 39 Front St., Port Jer vis, NY 12771 P: 845.856.1266 E: publisher@nikijones.com

Community Manager Don Fantry Office: 570-646-3616 Cell: 570-843-7322 dfantry@llvpoa.org Recreation Nicole Hill, Director Office: 570-843-7323 nicole@locustlakevillage.org

Fixing the Locust Lake Entrance Pictured working on the front entrance to Locust Lake are Frank Wollrab, Joe D’Alto, Mike Wilcheck, Homey Gonzalez

To Advertise in Locust Lake Villager Call Crystal at 845 456-1218 PAGE 3 | LOCUST LAKE VILLAGER | WINTER 2019

Office Staff Lillian Bellis, Asst.

Office Admin.

Linda Buscavage Pat Ryan Office: 570-646-3616 llvpoa@ptd.net Office Administrator Mary Marucci Office: 570-843-7329 mary@locustlakevillage.org Ranger Staff Office: 570.843-7326 24/7 dispatch: 570.646.3532 Fire & Police: 911 Maintenance Dave Wampole Director of Roads Office: 570-843-7327 llvmaintenance@gmail.com Accounting Kathleen Benner Office: 570-843-7324 kathllv@ptd.net

Disclaimer:The comments, statements or written opinions expressed in Locust Lake Villager are the sole responsibility of the signed individual/ author and/or committee and are not edited. All letters to the editor and paid advertisements do not reflect the opinions or views of Locust Lake Villager. Locust Lake Villager is not responsible for typographical errors, mistakes or misprints. All advertising, including photographs are the property of Niki Jones Agency, Inc. and not that of the advertiser.The advertiser has purchased rights of reproduction in Locust Lake Villager and does not have the right to reproduce ads in any other place or publication without written permission from the publisher. Locust Lake Villager reserves the rights to exercise its discretion in the selection of advertisement.

Chair’s Message

By Bob Christensen, LLV Board Chair

First and foremost, I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday with their family and friends. A very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a Happy, Healthy New Year to all!

2019 has been a year of many accomplishments for Locust Lake Village. The front entrance looks great with the new signs, new trees, and new landscaping. The center island has been repaired thanks to the hard work of volunteers. Lake Lane has been resurfaced and widened along with replacing the shoulders. We also accomplished the addition of a new patio at the chalet, along with some improvements and much needed repairs. We have new compactors at the maintenance area that will benefit us in many ways. We have significantly improved our overall roadway drainage in areas of the village that have been neglected for years. None of this could have been accomplished without the hard work and dedication of our maintenance staff, volunteers and most of all, our manager, Don Fantry.

I would like to thank all our volunteers for everything they do.

Locust Lake Village is very fortunate to have such a great group of volunteers to make ALL our events and programs a success. Without our volunteers it would be impossible to do so. New volunteers are always welcomed. Volunteering can be very rewarding and it’s a great way to make new friends and meet new people.

The Board approved the 2020 budget at the November board meeting. I have received some feedback from members asking why there was a need for a dues increase. Everyone on the board believes that if we want to continue striving forward in an effort to continually improve the village and properly maintain what we have, then we need to properly fund all areas of our budget. We need to improve and supply our maintenance department with all the necessary equipment and staff to achieve this. Without doing so, we will regress back to just barely maintaining what is in place. All departments have needed some type of improvement and proper funding to operate properly. The board was and still is obligated to do so.

I’m sure everyone has heard that our manager, Don Fantry will be leaving LLV. It has been a pleasure working with Don and getting to know him and his wife Denise. The entire board wishes Don and Denise nothing but the best in the future. We will miss his enthusiasm, great spirit, honesty and his drive to improve Locust Lake Village. Most of all we will miss his drive for being the best manager and leader he could be. As much as we do not want to see Don leave, we are happy for him. There will always be a place for Don in LLV. Having the opportunity to work with Don has been a very enjoyable and rewarding experience for me. When I first met Don, he reminded of the energizer bunny, nonstop and planning five moves ahead. I thought the batteries would eventually wear down. I was 100% wrong. He proved to be the energizer bunny on steroids!

Thank you, Bob Christensen, LLV Board Chair

To Advertise In Locust Lake Villager Call 845-456-1218

PAGE 4 | LOCUST LAKE VILLAGER | WINTER 2019

Chili Cookoff and Pumpkin Decorating

On October 12. Locust Lake held a chili cookoff for the adults, and Halloween themed-craft activities for the children. A couple of fearsome dinosaurs crashed the party and some intrepid women took a dip in the lake. There were 10-12 chili entries, all of which were quite scrumptious. One of the tasty concoctions even had chocolate in it.

There was a prize for the most unique chili, one for the spiciest, and one for the chili that was favored the most by the people who tasted it. The prize for both the spiciest and most favored went to Michael Murphy. The cooks I spoke to said they were afraid to make their chili too spicy, Rich Carr for fear that people would think it was too hot. The and grandson award for the most unusual went to Rich Carr. Everyone said it was sweet, which it turns out, is due to the sweet sausage Rich was good enough to send us the recipe, so I have printed it here.

Ingredients •

6 lbs sweet sausage (hot sausage if you like it hot) 3 packets McCormick Chili Mix, mild or HOT

•

1 tsp chili powder 1 clove garlic

•

1 can/jar tomato sauce 1 can tomato paste

•

3 cans peeled tomato

•

0-3 cans red kidney beans according to how much you like beans 1 green pepper

•

2 red peppers

•

1 EXTREMELY LARGE onion

•

1/2 bottle of Louisiana smoky -flavored chipotle hot sauce (about 1 ½ oz)

Prep and Cooking 1. Brown the sausage and drain off the grease 2. Saute’ the onion and peppers in butter until golden and soft 3. Rinse kidney beans in a colander 4. Place all the ingredients into a roaster oven or a crockpot and slow cook, covered, at 200 degrees for 4-6 hours. Stir every 30-60 minutes.

5. ENJOY.

Dinosaur costumes worn by some residents at the cookoff.

Michael Murphy

PAGE 5 | LOCUST LAKE VILLAGER | WINTER 2019

Taking a dip at Locust Lake during the Chili Cookoff.

Earl French, Wade and Kendrick Oddy

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Calendar of Events

• Wednesday Luncheons will continue until April 29th, 12-2pm

• Saturday, January 18th – Ice Fishing Clinic hosted by the Angler’s Club, 12-2pm at East Lake • Saturday, January 18th – Karaoke & Wings, 6-9pm at the Chalet

• Sunday, January 19th – Family Bingo starts at 6:30pm, doors open at 5:30pm at the Chalet

• Saturday, February 1st – Ice Golf at Pines Lake, 11am-2pm

• Sunday, February 2nd – Super Bowl Party, 6pm at the Chalet • Saturday, February 15th – Valentines Party, 6-10pm at the Chalet

• Sunday, February 16th – Ice Fishing Contest hosted by the Angler’s Club at Locust Lake, 9-11am

• Sunday, February 17th – Trivia Night starts at 7pm, doors open at 6pm at the Chalet • Saturday, March 14th – St. Patrick’s Party, 7-11pm at the chalet

• Saturday, April 4th – Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, 9am –Noon

• Crafts, egg decorating and Easter egg hunt at the Chalet, Egg hunt starts at 11:30am.

Lifeguard Applications

Lifeguard job applications can be picked up at the Locust Lake Village office, returning lifeguards must contact Nicole if they plan on returning for the 2020 Summer.

Lifeguard requirements:

A valid American Red Cross Lifeguarding and CPR/AED, BSA Lifeguarding and CPR/AED, or YMCA Lifeguarding with CPR/AED Certifications (or be able to obtain by May 2019). Training will be offered at the PM- West HS in May for potential employees, training is provided.

Must be a least 16 years of age by first day of work.

Mandatory pre-employment drug testing and background checks per LLV employment policy.

PAGE 6 | LOCUST LAKE VILLAGER | WINTER 2019

PAGE 7 | LOCUST LAKE VILLAGER | WINTER 2019

Tom Rezner, Joe D’Alto, and Al Markin.

Sheila, Kevin and Chris were also there as new residents.

Cecelia and Don Deleo are newcomers and were at the newcomer party held on October 13. It was put on by the Village Life Committee and welcomed both old and new residents.

Locust Lake Village Honors its Volunteers

By Pat Holohan

Volunteers are the backbone of the Community. They are the members who provide their expertise, their time and their effort to help our Village grow. They sit on the Board of Directors, they participate on Committees, they help with projects new and old. We would not be able to provide most of our Recreational activities without them. On Saturday November 9, 2019 Locust Lake Village provided a Thank You dinner for these Volunteers. Al Markin, Vice Chair of the Board, welcomed and thanked everyone.

There were approximately 90 members there. The meal was a delicious pre-Thanksgiving turkey dinner with wine and dessert. People relaxed for a few hours and enjoyed each other’s company.

PAGE 8 | LOCUST LAKE VILLAGER | WINTER 2019

More History Unveiled On The Outskirts Of LLV

By Fran Odyniec, editor emeritus

Another little-known site of local history dating back to the 1800s has gotten its due. Shaded by tall trees and surrounded by low fieldstone walls, the Eschenbach Family Cemetery, which lies off to the left of Slutter Road just above the ball field on the way to LLV’s back gate, received official recognition by Tobyhanna Township and Monroe County officials and the Historical Association of Tobyhanna Township (HATT) on Wednesday morning, Oct. 29. “Today, we unveil the story of the Eschenbach family so our community can learn more of them as we pay respect to our pioneers,” said Rick Bodenschatz, immediate past president of HATT and manager of Marker Advocates of Tobyhanna Township, referring in his opening remarks to the Eschenbach Historical Display which now stands at the entrance to the cemetery.

The display chronicles the history of the Eschenbachs. Andrew Eschenbach, at age 64, moved his family in 1809 from Philadelphia to what would become Tobyhanna Township. Through the years, the family’s lumber and farming enterprises flourished, and family members became school directors, township supervisors, a justice of the peace and a tax assessor.

Their large home became a guest house for fishermen and hunters as well as for folks seeking the fresh and healthy air of the Poconos, added Bodenschatz. Two direct descendants of Samuel Greenleaf Eschenbach, great-great-grandson Jim Wilson and his daughter Teri Wilson Miller, unveiled the display at the dedication ceremony.

Funding for the display was provided by the Monroe County Commissioners. Tobyhanna Township, owners of the property occupied by the cemetery, installed the display.

It is believed that Jacob Everett, the only mortal casualty of the Battle of Locust Hill in 1784, was buried on the site before the Eschenbachs established it as their family’s cemetery. Read more on the Eschenbach Family and its cemetery in the next edition of the Villager.

Photo by Fran Odyniec The Eschenbach Cemetery historical display stands at the entrance to the cemetery.

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PAGE 10 | LOCUST LAKE VILLAGER | WINTER 2019

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