This is the 4^th  issue of ACCOUNTS.  I believe you will find the six articles in this issue of striking variety and intrinsic interest:
 

In This Issue

One of the most easily noted regularities in Union County is the abundance of small hamlets, and villages.  And almost without exception these communities featured a general merchandise store that not only supplied local people and those of the surrounding farmsteads with groceries, tools and supplies, but also served as a place to congregate, to collect the mail, and to share news.  In this issue Phyllis M. Dyer  recounts the four generations of Dyers that ran Winfield’s Dyer Store for more than a century.   I invite others to make village stores a regular feature in future issues.

            Then Harold Erdley and Diane Lengle provide an account of the history of New Berlin’s fire company since its founding in 1932, followed by an article by Jeannette Lasansky on three major New Berlin fires of the 19^th and early 20^th Century that surely contributed to convincing New Berliners that a fire company was a necessity.  M. Lois Huffines then shifts our attention to the value of diaries, when she gives us a tour of a diary kept by teacher and Mifflinburg councilman Mark Shively.  Though the Shively diary is spare in personal detail, Huffines shows us how much we can learn by reading the pages closely.

            Next, Carl Catherman shows us how to trace the history of a building back to its beginning, demystifying the deeds and other courthouse records that can be pieced together to construct the chain of ownership.  This “how-to” piece will surely become the standard resource for satisfying our curiosity about the buildings we inhabit and admire.

            Finally, Linda Estupinan Snook tours us through Red Bank School, a remarkable one-room school near Mifflinburg, furnished with much of its original desks and supplies, and now used as a teaching resource allowing area children to directly experience how schooling was done a century ago.  The article reveals to us the schools in which Mark Shively and his fellow teachers taught, as described by Huffines in this issue.  Good reading!

Be an ACCOUNTS Author!                                                                                           3

I invite you to write a piece for a forthcoming issue of ACCOUNTS.  All that’s required is a story to tell, illuminating some corner of Union County history.   You don’t need to know all the history about the subject, just share what you already know.  I can work with you to move it from an idea to an essay, and together we can add what you know to the historical record of Union County and its people.  Got a relative or neighbor who also has a story?  Pass along the name and I’ll extend an invitation. 

There is still space in the next issue.  Don’t confine your topics to the following, but here are some topics to get you thinking:

Do let me hear from you.