Dushore: Past and Present
A collaboration of Derek Davis,
Melanie Norton, Linda White, the cast, and many, many others
Directed by Linda White
Introduction
and transitions editorial
offices, Sullivan Review
Scene
1 Aristide's
cabin, 1793
Scene
2 Main St.,
1847
Scene
3 Main St. and St. Basil's, 1863; 1871
Scene
4 Dushore
railroad station, 1908
Intermission
– 15 minutes
Scene
5 Randall
residence, 1913
Scene
6 Main St.,
1928
Scene
7 Barberic
acts, 1968
Scene
8 Main St.,
1983
Scene
9 Main St.,
the present
Cast (in order of appearance)
Sam Brenda
Miller
Editor Darwin
Hatch
Carissa
(Lois) Anne
Kiner
Aristide-Aubert
duPetit Thouars Derek
Davis
Nores Ben
Hatch
Josiah
Jackson John Huhn
John
Mosier Ferdie
Marek
Mrs.
Jackson Florence
Suarez
Stranger Ben
Hatch
Fr.
Xavier Kaier Jim
Reynolds
Constance Leona
Hatch
Amanda Anastasia
Miller
Charlotte
Hill Carol
Jacques
Samuel
Headley Paul Schaefer
Nancy
Milgrim Florence
Suarez
Philip Paul
Schaefer
Brewster Ben
Hatch
Mr.
Brown Ferdie
Marek
Mrs.
Brown Ruth Reuter
Carrie
Croll Barbara K. Schaefer
Charles
Croll Derek
Davis
Jerome
O'Neil John
Huhn
Rachel Leona
Hatch
Colleen Anastasia
Miller
Dr.
William Randall Paul
Schaefer
Harland
McCarty Nicholas Miller
Mrs.
Randall Barbara
K. Schaefer
Friends
of Mrs. Randall Connie Hatch, Carol
Jacques, Ruth
Reuter
Eli Ben
Hatch
John Ferdie
Marek
Jim Jim
Reynolds
Jackie Barbara
K. Schaefer
Manny Paul
Schaefer
Moe Connie
Hatch
Ruth Ruth
Reuter
Rosemary Carol
Jacques
Businessman John
Huhn
Stoplight Ben
Hatch
Line
dancers 4-H
Bootscooters, Leaders: Kim Broschart,
Noreen Keeney, Sandy Pardoe;
Members: Alyssa Blasi, Rachael
Choplick, Heather Fitzgerald, Michael
Fitzgerald, Whitney Fitzgerald, Ally
Shrimp, Torie Shultz
Costumes Barbara
K. Schaefer, Linda White and cast
Lighting Judy
Reynolds, Scott Osborg
Sound Judy
Reynolds
Set
design and construction Derek
Davis, Paul Schaefer
Map
and portrait Mary
Ellen Minnier
Refreshments Vivian
McCarty, Brenda Kiner, Brenda Miller, Barbara
K. Schaefer
Historical
consultants Wilson
Ferguson, Connie Hatch, Dick Holcombe,
Melanie Norton
TRANSITION
1
EDITOR
-- Not named
SAM
-- Reporter
CARISSA
(LOIS LANE)--Cub reporter
SAM
on
phone
Dushore.
D-U-S-H-O-R-E. No, O-R-E.
hangs
up
Man,
living in a place where you have to spell out the name every time you get on
the phone.
EDITOR
Could
be worse.
mimes
picking up phone
'Hello,
I'm calling from Aristide Aubert dePetit Thouar (Ar-is-teed O-bear du-Peh-tee
Twar).'
Sam
continually fiddles with papers and notes throughout the scenes.
SAM
What?
EDITOR
That
was our town's namesake, our founder, back in the 18th century. Well, first
settler.
yelling
offstage
Lois!
Where's that book I asked you to get?
SAM
So
that's what Founder's Day is about?
EDITOR
You
want to be the Sully's hotshot reporter, right? The woman with the nose for the
news?
SAM
Well,
yeah....
EDITOR
Then
you need to know the town's history. And pay attention to it.
SAM
But
this is only the 150th anniversary and he was living more than 200 years ago -
EDITOR
You,
my boy, are woefully undereducated.
Carissa
comes in with the book
You
need facts. Like the kind in this book.
pats
the book and thumbs through it throughout the rest of his scenes
Thank
you, Lois.
CARISSA
Yessir.
Uh, sir?
EDITOR
Umm?
CARISSA
Why
do you always call me Lois? You know my name's Carissa.
EDITOR
Lois
Lane.
Superman?
Clark Kent? Jimmy Olsen?
no
response
See
what I mean? These kids don't even know their superheroes. Tell you what, Lois,
I'll stop calling you Lois as soon as you find out why I'm calling you Lois.
CARISSA
OK...
exit
EDITOR
to
Sam
History!
It's not just the past, my boy, it's what made us what we are today.
SAM
OK,
so what about this Diddy-pate Twoor?
EDITOR
French
naval captain, lost part of his hand some way - fought for Napoleon against
Lord Nelson in the battle of the Nile. Died, thrown overboard by his own
request to keep the British from finding his body.
SAM
But
if he was over there...
EDITOR
He
was here in 1793, there later. You heard of the French Azilum?
SAM
Vaguely.
EDITOR
It
was set up during the French Revolution along the Susquehanna, over by Standing
Stone. They wanted it as a refuge for Marie Antoinette, the Queen, but she had
a slight misfortune.
SAM
But
what -
EDITOR
Patience,
my boy. Lois! Bring in the historiscope.
Carissa
brings in the unlikely piece of machinery and the Editor sets it up, inserts a
disk, pushes "start" and the lights switch to the main scene
SCENE
1 Aristide's cabin, exterior
ARISTIDE-AUBERT
DuPETIT-THOUARS --33 years old
NORES
-- 15 years old, friend and former shipmate
Aristide
is outside the cabin, working on an ax.
ARISTIDE
These
axes! Always the handle breaking, though the head endures! But this latest is
hickory--and if Monsieur Boulongue can be believed, should last longer,
once it has been shaped to my hand. How I wish for my full hand - it would come
in handy. Ha! It is good to practice the English. One could not make such a pun
in French!
sets
down ax and picks up a book from a stump close by
So,
my good friend, Monsieur Robinson Crusoe, you have accompanied me without
complaint all these months. To you I owe the burning desire to sculpt, with my
own hands, this tidy home in the wilderness. I will be in your debt forever.
But why did you not give me advice about ax handles?
How
many days must I clear trees, before I can write to Felicite and Perpetue, my
sisters, and say their new home awaits them? Oui, Monsieur, I know, I know: I
must enlarge the cabin and start a garden and... mon dieu! it is exhausting...
yet exhilarating!
laughs
I
babble here like an infant, but you listen in sublime silence, eh, Robinson? Am
I your man Friday or are you mine?
dips
spring water into a battered metal cup
Such
clean, fresh taste. Not like the stale, aged beverage on a sailing ship. Cool
and refreshing, relaxing. Ah, perhaps too relaxing.
puts
down cup
If I
am to provide for myself and lose my dependence upon Azilum, I must clear the
land to grow food.
Shoulders
ax and moves offstage. seconds later, Nores enters. He looks around, peers into
the cabin, looks around again
NORES
Every
time, I lose my way on this tiresome journey from Azilum. It is not easy to
find a lone soul in 400 acres of gloomy trees. Where could he have got to now?
looks
up at the canopy
Aristide
(Ar-is-teed), he feels comfortable here. I would lose my mind. I need to see
the sky. Azilum has at least open space, the river, and a decent settlement.
Though of what use are they now? Halloooo, Hallooo, Aristide.
Aristide
enters
ARISTIDE
Ha,
Nores. You have not undertaken this journey in some time. You look far more
comfortable before a pleasant fire.
NORES
So I
do, and so I shall. But what is that on your face? Are you becoming a wild man?
ARISTIDE
Of
what use to shave when there are no lovely creatures around to admire? Though
perhaps I should remove it when I journey to Azilum, with its many members of
the fair sex.
NORES
Ah
yes! Especially the widow d'Autremont (doh-treh-mont).....
ARISTIDE
holds up a restraining finger at Nores
...
But I cannot understand why you have hidden yourself so far from the comforts
of what little civilization we have established.
ARISTIDE
It
is not so far! Only 20 miles to Azilum, which I walk frequently for provisions,
then return. I have walked before from Wilmington to Philadelphia, from
Philadelphia to Azilum, from there to New York state. The worst has never been
more than a few blisters.
NORES
And
the fever that laid you low on your return from Genesee.
ARISTIDE
shrugs
Minor
difficulties. I only wish that I did not always return from Azilum loaded like
a pack animal.
NORES
Perhaps
you could afford a horse if you were not so generous with your funds!
ARISTIDE
Ah,
perhaps I could, but what then would you have to reproach me with?
NORES
I
could ask why you could not--within a million available acres--find a suitable
home closer to Azilum.
ARISTIDE
It
was generous enough of my Royalist countrymen to reward me for my efforts at
Azilum with these splendid acres out of their one million. They say they own
that much across the vast Pennsylvania wilderness, eh? Do you think it possible
they exaggerate?
NORES
Having
just tramped here from Azilum, I would say they own twice that much and that I
have traversed every acre. How can you do this so frequently?
ARISTIDE
I
confess, I have a secret. It is the fresh mountain air! Such a change from the
salt tang of the sea. Also these trees, how magnificent, they inspire me to
great labor. Although it seems almost sacrilege to lay ax to them.
looks
up at giant elm by the door
But
this mighty friend, I will not touch. Some things remain sacred.
coughs
into his hand and looks off into the distance
Ahh,
the widow d'Autremont at Azilum, as you were saying, with her three sons...
NORES
Ah
yes! The widow! And you would pretend to admire only vegetative things.
ARISTIDE
That
is most unfair.
NORES
But
she is quite fair, as I have noted.
ARISTIDE
upset
So
you too find her attractive?
NORES
She
is 50 years of age! I am but 16! Do not include me in your fantasies.
ARISTIDE
embarrassed
Well,
let us put aside this discussion and talk of jollier things.
NORES
Aristide,
your banter and good cheer are sore missed at Azilum. Tell me, has this been
worth all the trouble and sacrifice?
ARISTIDE
Oui!
For myself, I work to make a refuge for my loving sisters to join me. And, for
our country, I hope to see our good queen spirited safely to live in comfort in
Azilum.
NORES
Ah,
then I must -
ARISTIDE
The
queen is Austrian by birth, oui, but Marie Antoinette is the true soul of
France. So many love her, and those who revile her as the symbol of dissolute
royalty should know her better. She is sweet, if naive, untroubled by their
views of her, even while imprisoned.
NORES
But
I have terrible tidings ...ahh, Aristide, this is so difficult to unleash.
ARISTIDE
What
news? Is it...?
NORES
Marie
Antoinette has met the guillotine.
ARISTIDE
Noooo.
It cannot be.
NORES
It
is. Her beauty lies in the executioner's basket.
ARISTIDE
I am
riven! This abominable revolution has torn the heart from our nation. What
sense now to all we have done? We had hoped to bring our beloved queen safely
to these shores. Now both she and good King Louis have lost their heads to the
guillotine.
NORES
The
Dauphin (Daw-fan) - Louis' son and heir - yet lives. Perhaps he might be
brought here.
ARISTIDE
Oui,
that is true, but for me, my deepest hopes are dashed. Will my sisters want to
come without the queen? Will I want them to? I can no longer see my way
clearly.
NORES
The
madness of the Terror will recede. It must. The Dauphin may yet become monarch
or some other savior may appear to raise France's glory once again.
ARISTIDE
France's
glory. What glory can arise from the loss of all hope?
NORES
Anything
is possible in time. Perhaps you will return to the sea. You were the best
Captain I ever served under.
ARISTIDE
laughs
miserably
And
at your age, the only one. But I must not make a hasty decision while in the
throes of misery.
picks
up Crusoe and addresses it
So,
my most constant companion, Monsieur Crusoe, what did you do at the end of your
hope? Did you despair and starve to death? No, you survived and fashioned a
life as best you could. My sojourn here may come to an end. But for the present
- there are more trees to fell.
NORES
And
you are welcome to them, Aristide, but I hope you will still be seen at Azilum
often, as we have need of your quick wit more than ever.
ARISTIDE
Next
weekend, my friend, I will tramp my way there, as usual. For now, spend some
time and rest your so weary feet. But when I come to Azilum, be sure to prepare
your own good cheer, in the form of spirited drink.
NORES
Are
we not French? When has our hospitality ever failed?
TRANSITION
2
SAM
Huh!
Who would have thought we'd be tied into the French Revolution?
EDITOR
That's
what I'm talking about. A small town paper like this, it doesn't just report
the news, it chronicles the history. So you have to know the details.
SAM
OK,
I'll read up on it.
reaches
for Editor's book, Editor yanks it back possessively
So
Aristide ended up fighting for Napoleon?
EDITOR
Yup.
Maybe because they were both short guys. He left here in 1796. Some say he had
both legs shot off in the last battle, some say the other arm and a leg, some
even say he asked to be tied to the mast to go down with the ship, though that
seems a bit over-dramatic. Dead in 1798, only 38 years old.
SAM
But
what happened here after he left? If there wasn't anybody else around.
EDITOR
Not
much, at least not that got into the books. One or two houses, otherwise it was
pretty quiet until the Tioga Turnpike came through.
CARISSA
popping
her head in
In
1819!
EDITOR
How'd
you know about that, Lois?
CARISSA
They
taught us in school.
EDITOR
Sam,
you also went to school as I recall. How come you don't know your history?
SAM
Well,
I know who Lois Lane was. Is.
EDITOR
OK,
you two can switch jobs. Now listen. The Turnpike was started as a pay-your-way
road in 1805 to run from Berwick to Newtown, what's now Elmira. Picture it? But
it didn't get as far as the Dushore area until 1819.
waves
hand toward audience
You
out there might remember we covered that a bit in the Laporte play, and we'll
hit it harder, most likely, when we do Mildred.
to
Sam
That's
what's known as an aside.
Anyway,
the turnpike was the first road that people could use to get up here easily, so
you might say that Dushore - which wasn't Dushore yet - took off after that.
SAM
Boom
town, huh?
EDITOR
Well,
more of a mild burp. Anyway, I was going to show you about the next important
folks, John Mosier - he was Swiss - and a couple fellahs named Jackson.
whacks
at historiscope
What's
wrong with this contraption? You been fiddling with it again, Lois?
Carissa
shakes her head, Editor whacks it again
There,
I think that's got her going.
SCENE
2 Exterior Jackson's store
JOSIAH JACKSON
MRS.
JACKSON
JOHN
MOSIER
STRANGER
JACKSON
You
know, John, I wonder a-times if it doesn't cause confusion in some, this store
being owned once by a Jackson, then by a few others, then by a Jackson again.
MOSIER
It
does not confuse me, no. For one thing, you, Josiah, are a doctor, but Samuel,
he was not. For one other thing, I sell my house lot across the roadway to you
and nobody else. For the last thing, Samuel is dead and you, I would most
surely think, are not.
JACKSON
claps
him on the back
You
got me there, sir.
enter
Mrs. Jackson, from store
MRS.
JACKSON
pointing
across the street
Won't
it be fine to have all that extra space?
JACKSON
wary
Space
for what, my dear?
MRS.
JACKSON
For
our new house and new store.
JACKSON
Well,
I wasn't exactly certain -
MRS.
JACKSON
Isn't
it just too
cramped here with the house, the store and your physician's... things, all
pushed together?
JACKSON
Um,
well I'd actually thought -
MRS.
JACKSON
I
know dear, it will be quite wonderful. Thank you so much, Mr. Mosier, for
making this possible.
JACKSON
under
his breath
Some
things are more possible than others.
MOSIER
Oh,
you are most welcome. I like to see this, the way the town grows, swish. Big
and ...boily?
JACKSON
"Burly,"
I think you're looking for. You came in what, 1825?
MOSIER
Ja,
I buy first 75 acre, then later 35 more. Sometimes, it then was called Mosier's
Hollow. My blacksmith business, it has been busting some days, a good
investment, yes?
JACKSON
Twenty-two
years. I'm sorry to see you give it up. Who's the fellah bought your business
part?
MOSIER
Mr.
Cornelius Cronin. A sturdy workman.
Footsore
Stranger enters leading horse reins
STRANGER
Where
can I find a blacksmith?
MOSIER
I
think the nearest is maybe in Forksville.
STRANGER
Where's
that?
MOSIER
15
miles, that way.
STRANGER
I
thought there was one here. Ain't this Jackson's Hollow?
JACKSON
Sometimes.
STRANGER
How's
that?
Jackson
points to the sign over his door that reads "Dushore"
STRANGER
Dush-ore.
I heard of all kinds of ore, but not no dush ore.
MOSIER
It
is "Dushore."
STRANGER
I
don't see no shore neither.
MRS.
JACKSON
in
a flawless French accent
He
was French Capitain Ar-is-teed O'bear du-peh-tee Twars.
STRANGER
How
can you even say that?
MOSIER
I
question the same thing. That is why -
JACKSON
pushing
his hands together
- it
was shortened to its present form. To make it easier for some to say. But...
now John, this was another thing I've wondered. Samuel Jackson put that sign up
and I think most people approved, but here was duPetit, a Frenchie who fought
for Napoleon against all the rest of Europe, so how come you'd name the town
for him?
MOSIER
He
was a good man, he was the first man here and all who knew him, they liked him.
It was anyway a long time ago. He is not our enemy now, not here in Dushore.
JACKSON
True.
The
Stranger is suddenly pulled backwards by the reins
STRANGER
Louise,
you stop that now. Dang, she's the friskiest filly I ever seen. An' she always
needs new shoes - you know how women are.
MRS.
JACKSON
Hmph!
JACKSON
to
Mosier
I
thought the Cronin fellah was taking over your blacksmithing.
MOSIER
No,
he said he will instead build a store.
JACKSON
Dagnab.
And John Heacock's come and set up a doctor's office at Fairchild's.
Competition every which way.
MOSIER
But
that is all good! We have then so much good stuff on our main street and also
nearby: salt, spices, gunpowder, potions, tools, cloth and two doctors. The
turnpike makes the Fairchilds happy to have travelers to stop at their tavern
on Cherry Hill. And soon there will be another blacksmith, you bet. Commerce!
That is Dushore. A place to come and buy, buy, buy.
JACKSON
Hmm,
maybe. Seems to me it's mostly just a junction in the path for people going
between the Susquehanna up north and the Loyalsock running down south. Time
will tell.
shaking
his shoe
Their
travel sure does stir up the mud though.
STRANGER
Louise
is too much the lady, she don't like to step in it.
MRS.
JACKSON
Some
of us would prefer not to step in what your horse deposits.
STRANGER
Hush
up! She hears you, she'll go all giddy-wise.
another
yank on the reins
C'mon
Louise, let go of it, they don't mean nothin'. Better find me a blacksmith.
TRANSITION
3
SAM
That
commerce idea turned out pretty well. So what was the year we just watched?
EDITOR
Now,
friend reporter Sam, when you went to school, as we both have assured ourselves
you did, you also took up arithmetic, did you not?
SAM
OK,
but -
EDITOR
What
year did Mr. Mosier say he settled in the town later to be known as Dushore?
SAM
1825.
EDITOR
And
how many years did Mr. Jackson say had elapsed since that date?
SAM
Twenty-two.
Editor
spreads his hands
SAM
So,
uh, 1847.
EDITOR
Right
when Sullivan County was being formed, cut out of Lycoming County. You know,
you're so smart I'm going to get my 30 ought 6 and blow the dunce cap right off
your head.
SAM
Geez.
So, I suppose next we go on to 1859, the year we're having the 150th
anniversary of. But if whatsit Twar was the founder in the 18th century, what
are we celebrating that happened in 1859?
EDITOR
That
was the year the borough was incorporated, the state stamped a piece of paper
saying so. Some accounts say the name Dushore was chosen then in some kind of
referendum, but I like the Jackson sign story better. It's more... dramatic.
Anyway, 1859's not worth much of a visit.
Carissa
comes in, lugging a pile of discs
SAM
Something
must have happened that year.
EDITOR
Mr.
Mosier died.
Editor
stacks discs, pats them
CARISSA
What
did he do after he sold his blacksmith shop? Did he retire? What'd he die of?
EDITOR
Doesn't
say, anywhere I've read. If you find out, Lois, you get a raise.
CARISSA
But
I'm a volunteer. I don't get anything now.
EDITOR
pats
her head, like disks
And
I'll give you twice as much.
SAM
More
arithmetic.
EDITOR
Always.
For example, in the first general election in the borough after 1859 - that
would have been 1860, I suppose - 46 votes were cast. Let's say half the adult
males showed up to vote - no vote for females then, remember - so there were
maybe 180 adults living in town and say two times as many children. Altogether,
comes to about 600 inhabitants. 40 years later it was up to 1200. Now it's back
down to 600.
SAM
Huh!
EDITOR
Exactly.
shuffles
through the disks
Lois,
where's 1863, I don't see it here?
Carissa
pulls out a disc from near the bottom of the pile and hands it to him
EDITOR
harrumphing
You
need to keep these things in order.
smiles
OK,
my bad, as you youngsters might say. Now! It's time to do a little catch-up on
the Dushore churches, especially St. Basil's. We'll start with 1863.
inserts
disc in historiscope
Lights,
Lois.
Carissa
runs out, lights dim
SCENE
3--Main street
FATHER
XAVIER KAIER--just arriving
SAMUEL
F. HEADLEY--rich and important
CHARLOTTE
HILL
AMANDA
--her grandchild
NANCY
MILGRAM - head of Ladies' Auxiliary
CONSTANCE--another
child
CONSTANCE
is onstage, bored
FR.
KAIER
waving
offstage
Thank
you! May the Lord grant you many blessings for your aid.
OFFSTAGE
VOICE
My
pleasure, Father. You will be bringing us our first Mass in three months - and
on Easter Sunday to double the grace. God be with you.
FR.
KAIER
So
this is Dushore. How amazing that I could even find the place.
CHARLOTTE
and AMANDA walk on. CONSTANCE waves at them. AMANDA responds then pulls on
CHARLOTTE's arm.
AMANDA
Grandma,
grandma....
CHARLOTTE
sees FR. KAIER, stops, shushes AMANDA and points Kaier out to her.
CHARLOTTE
Not
now, Amanda. You stay right here.
She
approaches FR. KAIER. AMANDA huddles behind her.
Father?
FR.
KAIER
Yes?
CHARLOTTE
Are
you looking for something?
FR.
KAIER
St.
Basil's chapel. Is it nearby?
CHARLOTTE
points up hill
CHARLOTTE
That
small structure. We wish it were larger - and more sturdy.
FR.
KAIER
Ah,
good, excellent. The Lord seldom complains of his dwelling.
CONSTANCE
begins a game of tag with AMANDA.
CHARLOTTE
to
children
Settle
down and stop that running!
to
Kaier
Are
you - will you be -?
FR.
KAIER
I
have been assigned here as pastor. I am Father Kaier.
CHARLOTTE
How
wonderful! I'm so pleased to meet you. My name is Charlotte Hill. Amanda! Say
good afternoon to our new priest, Father Kaier. You too, Constance. Don't you
children have any manners?
CHILDREN
Good
afternoon, Father Kaier.
FR.
KAIER
Good
afternoon to you. You are Catholic?
Charlotte
nods
Please
spread the word. I will be celebrating Easter mass tomorrow at 10:30.
CHARLOTTE
Glory!
I thought it'd never happen. We are so glad to have you here! We have sorely
missed having a priest.
FR.
KAIER
I
only learned of the assignment this Wednesday. In Allentown. I must say it took
some high-tailing to get here in time -- by railroad, stage and the great
decency of the hotel proprietor in Laporte, who drove me here. The Lord has
been busy on our behalf.
CHARLOTTE
Oh
my goodness. Amanda, we must tell everyone. Come along.
AMANDA
Grandma!
I want to play with Constance! You promised! You said if I helped you load the
wagon, you'd give me time to play with Constance!
CHILDREN
Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaase.
Pretty please with sugar on top.
CHARLOTTE
Oh,
dear, I did say that. All right then. You play with Constance until I come back
and fetch you.
CHILDREN
Thank
you, thank you!
They
hug her
CONSTANCE
Wait
'til you see our new kittens. They are so cute!
enter
Headley
AMANDA
Let's
go!
CONSTANCE
Wait a minute. I want to....
CHARLOTTE
Father,
that's Mr. Headley, he's the most important man in town.
AMANDA
He's
the richest.
CHARLOTTE
Really,
isn't that the same thing? Father, let me introduce you. Constance, why are you
standing right in my way?
CONSTANCE
I
have an important question. Father, my daddy wants to know why the Good Lord
picked up every rock in the world and dropped it here in Sullivan County?
FR.
KAIER
hand
on girl's shoulder
God
moves boulders in mysterious ways.
CONSTANCE
Oh,
OK!
AMANDA
That
was silly!
CONSTANCE AND AMANDA
He's
funny!
CHILDREN
run offstage while CHARLOTTE approaches HEADLEY with FR. KAIER.
CHARLOTTE
Mr.
Headley, look who has arrived in Dushore this very minute! Our new parish
priest, Father Kaier!
HEADLEY
Welcome
Father.
FR.
KAIER
Thank
you.
to
himself
Popular
already.
CHARLOTTE
I
have to go tell Mrs. Milgram. Oh, she's going to be so pleased. Excuse me
Father, so I can spread the good news.
FR.
KAIER
Of
course, Mrs. Hill. And blessings upon you.
She
exits.
HEADLEY
This
is wonderful news.
holds
out his hand, shakes
I'm
Samuel Headley. I own the grist mill and, um, several other things.
FR.
KAIER
My
name is Father Xavier Kaier. I gather you are not Catholic?
HEADLEY
True,
but how...?
FR.
KAIER
You
shook my hand. Most Catholics are reticent to show such physical familiarity
with a priest.
HEADLEY
flustered
Oh,
I -
FR.
KAIER
It
doesn't bother me in the least. But since you are not of the faith, perhaps you
could tell me something of the other religious establishments in the area.
HEADLEY
Weeell,
I'm not too certain on the dates, but I think the first was one of those
all-denomination churches, around 1826, Frieden's Peace Church - it was German,
used by the Lutherans, Reformed and Catholics - then the Evangelical Church was
set up in 1847 and built a couple years later. Zion Lutheran came in three or
four years after that. And, of course, St. Basil's started in the late 1830s,
but I guess you know all that.
FR.
KAIER
Actually,
consider me a blank slate. I know nothing about the parish but its name.
HEADLEY
OK
then. You need to talk to Jim Dunn, he had a lot to do with setting it up -
wrote a letter to the bishop in Philadelphia. Dunn got the chapel built and the
cemetery started, but there were just visitor priests then - separate ones for
the German and the English-speaking, ain't that something? It didn't have a
full pastor till, oh, 1852, Father McNaughton. After him, Father Carroll, but
he was here just a couple years, died this January.
FR.
KAIER
Might
I suggest that you stop by the chapel tomorrow to look in on the congregation?
Before or after your own service?
HEADLEY
Oh,
sure, sure. You know, I get the feeling you will prove a genuine blessing to
the community.
lights
down on the main scene, up on the Editor's office
EDITOR
OK,
we're going to skip ahead a little to keep to the topic, churches. Sam, you
taking notes?
Sam,
who is leaning back in his chair, shoots forward to grab paper and pencil
SAM
Yup.
Right.
EDITOR
It's
March 12, 1871, Father Kaier's getting ready to celebrate his first mass in the
new stone church, which is pretty much as it is now, except no murals painted
yet.
slips
disc into historiscope
Exert
your magic, Lois.
lights
switch to inside of St. Basil's. AMANDA and CONSTANCE are singing a hymn while
NANCY MILGRAM directs. FR. KAIER and CHARLOTTE enter and watch.
NANCY
MILGRAM
Very
good, children. Now, let's just try that tricky bit again, one last time.
They
sing again.
FR.
KAIER
Children,
you sound like a choir of heavenly angels. I was blessed by the Lord when I
found my way here.
NANCY
MILGRAM
You
have certainly been a blessing to us.
CHARLOTTE
Yes,
indeed! Oh dear, I need to get back to my cleaning or we won't be ready for tomorrow.
She
exits.
NANCY
MILGRAM
I
think these children are as ready as they'll ever be.
To
children
Make
sure you're here by 10 am tomorrow.
CHILDREN
OK
Mrs. Milgram. Goodbye! Goodbye, Father.
FR.
KAIER/NANCY MILGRAM
Goodbye,
children.
NANCY
MILGRAM
So
we have our beautiful church at last, after so many things went wrong.
Sometimes it felt like it could never be finished.
FR.
KAIER
But
now we conclude that comedy of errors with a triumph.
NANCY
MILGRAM
Father,
do you think it will all come right in the end? That the parish will be able to
pay for this structure?
FR.
KAIER
I do
think so. Would the Lord put us through these trials only to turn us over to
the Devil?
MILGRAM
Oh
no, Father, but it has been so difficult. There were so many times you must have
felt like giving up.
FR.
KAIER
raising
his hands
Trust
in the Lord, He will lead you home! We said, we will build a frame church, a
temporary structure, yes, but risen to the glory of God. Then we found that it
would cost three times our estimates. So the first try was a loss.
MILGRAM
Then
a brick church -
FR.
KAIER
getting
carried away
A
baked clay edifice certain to please the Lord.
MILGRAM
But
they sent us bricks so inferior they would not hold up a child's playhouse.
FR.
KAIER
And
though they were useless, we had to pay half price for them because of the
contract.
MILGRAM
So
finally, a stone church. What could go wrong with stone?
FR.
KAIER
Not
quite the Rock of Ages. The first foundation so inadequate that it had to be
torn down. And we started over yet again. But time and the Lord cure all. See,
Mrs. Milgram, how sturdy it is now with the rebuilding, how solid? It will last
the centuries.
CHARLOTTE
running
in
Father,
father! The back wall is cracked all to heck and gone. It's going to tumble
down!
FR.
KAIER
What?
Show me.
CHARLOTTE
doubling
over with laughter
Got
you, Father, didn't I?
FR.
KAIER
Bless
your intent, but that. Is not. Funny.
TRANSITION
4
EDITOR
Sometimes
it's a good idea to follow where topics lead you, instead of just plodding
along year by year.
SAM
Works
for me. I guess.
CARISSA
It
defies the Aristotelian (ar-is-toe-TEE-li-an) rules of drama.
EDITOR
Well,
whoopdedoo, smarty. Sam, just for your edification, we should move along to the
railroads. You know, for quite awhile they were the lifeline of Dushore - the
whole county, really.
SAM
The
station's still around. And some of the old tracks run right into the Agway
storeroom.
EDITOR
Agway.
Used to be the Green Leaf Federation mill, same sort of place, agricultural
supplies. It was on the right of way to the trestle.... Ah, the trestle. That
was a great and wonderful construction, over 300 feet long, right past the
Hotel, caught your eye every time you came through Dushore....
sits
musing for a moment
The
rail line had been coming here from Monroeton since 1867, then it was extended
on to Bernice in 1871 to grab the coal. The trestle was part of the extension.
Facts speak loudest, and I've got them right here.
Drags
out a dusty tape recorder and presses the button. Aside to audience
Sometimes
the older technologies work just fine.
TAPED
VOICE
1879
-- State Line and Sullivan Railroad, 1,500 tons of coal hauled daily, 2,000
freight car loads annually, one engine. 1896 -- trestle derailment. 1897 -- now
Lehigh Valley Railroad, 12,500 tons of coal hauled daily. 1900 -- hauling coal,
lumber, tanning bark, finished leather, cattle, sheep, poultry, wool, butter,
buckwheat, apples, potatoes, eggs, maple sugar, ice and milk. Six passenger
trains a day, three in each direction, with special excursions added. 1927 --
National Highway Act expands roads, railroads begin decline. 1930s -- Great
Depression drastically reduces rail use. 1955 -- rail line discontinued south
of Dushore, trestle torn down. 1972 -- flooding from Hurricane Agnes destroys
rail bed, all rail service to Dushore discontinued.
EDITOR
lights
low, puts in historiscope disc
So
let's look at 1908. It's a good year, with the advantage of decent information
on the town, 'specially at the station. Lots going on, the place was at its
peak as a commercial and mercantile center.
lights
fade, switch to train platform
SCENE
4--Train platform and ice house
PHILIP--worker
BREWSTER--worker
MR.&
MRS. BROWN--train passengers
CHARLES
and CARRIE CROLL--townsfolk
Two
workers on the station platform, Philip standing, Brewster lolling on a bench
PHILIP
Dawn's
comin' up Brewster, better get the lead out.
BREWSTER
Philip,
it's been comin' up for a hundred years with no help atall from me.
PHILIP
I
need you to look lively. We have to load the ice into this refrigeration car
and I could do with some help from you.
BREWSTER
Oh,
you know I'll pitch in when needed.
PHILIP
bellows
You're
needed NOW!
Brewster
jumps up
BREWSTER
You
could scare the ice right out from the ice house into the car without no help
from me.
They
wander over to the front of the ice house and start heaving the blocks onto a
cart.
BREWSTER
Lord,
these things weigh more'n my ox. And how come it don't all melt in there?
PHILIP
Ain't
you never been inside?
BREWSTER
Nah,
nobody ever said I hadta.
PHILIP
Some
people are born lazy. You was just born the walkin' dead. Here's how it works,
see? They saw the ice out of Obert's Pond and pile it in here all surrounded by
sawdust.
BREWSTER
Sawdust?
PHILIP
For
insulation, you beaver head. Lasts half the year. C'mon, heave with me here.
When
their cart is full, Brewster and Philip pull it offstage. Mr. & Mrs. Brown
enter.
MR.
BROWN
Are
we riding this train all the way to Sunbury or do we -
MRS.
BROWN
Exchange?
I don't know, dear. But I am sure that the conductor will inform us. And you
should have that information with the tickets.
MR.
BROWN
Oh,
yes. Right here in my vest pocket.
pats
his chest
Or
my trousers.
pats
some more
Or
here inside the newspaper. Or -
MRS.
BROWN
You
haven't lost them?
Second
couple approaches, Husband produces tickets with a flourish from his shirt
pocket, much relived, and turns to them
MR.
BROWN
Excuse
me, are you Dushore residents? I was wondering -
CARRIE
We
are indeed. We're taking a trip down to Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Croll here is the
town barber.
MR.
BROWN
I
don't mean to intrude -
CARRIE
Oh,
not at all. We like everybody, don't we, Charles?
CHARLES
Umph.
MR.
BROWN
My
friend came through a bit back -
MRS.
BROWN
You
mean James? That was several years ago.
MR.
BROWN
He
mentioned a store he enjoyed visiting, the B. Kline Enterprise -
CHARLES
Gone.
That's Jim Cunningham's hardware store now.
CARRIE
Things
do change, as Charles said, didn't you, Charles? Bob McGee's saloon used to be
Tubach's furniture and undertaking business. And John Reeser's department store
was Wells & Ackley's general store. Except for your barber shop, Charles, I
think the only others left from twenty years past are Mr. Rettenbury the
jeweler, Dennis Carroll at the hardware store and Rush Thompson's law office.
CHARLES
Umph.
Sounds right.
MR.
BROWN
I
don't think -
MRS.
BROWN
This
is such a busy place. I've never seen a small town with such vitality.
Brewster
and Philip cross stage with empty cart.
CHARLES
Lots
of turnover though. In business.
CARRIE
Oh,
Charles. That's just a measure of our growth - Dushore has more than doubled in
size in the last 20 years.
MRS.
BROWN
Goodness!
CHARLES
I
tell you what's no
good. The land north of Headley was open commons, and then it was fenced. That
was public property, a common cow pasture. It's full of the Irish up there, and
it was done on them here just like England did on them back in Ireland. That's
one blistering... heck of a thing, ain't it?
CARRIE
Charles
gets incensed about that.
CHARLES
I do
and I well think I should.
Philip
and Brewster enter with cart loaded with milk cans, cross the stage and unload
cans behind the set.
BREWSTER
There
ain't enough milk in the world to be put in two big refrigerator cars.
PHILIP
with
great pride
Our
cows don't just give milk, they oooooze it out, like maple sap. Mr. Harrington
at the creamery turns so much cream into butter you could grease a slide from
here to Missouri. And you know what? 'Course you don't. The locomotive for the
milk train's the fastest on the Lehigh Valley Railroad -
BREWSTER
You
don't say!
PHILIP
I
just did, and it has the right of way over every other train. They have to pull
over and let it past, swoosh.
BREWSTER
Good
thing, too, or there'd be curdled milk all over the tracks.
PHILIP
Brewster,
granite rock is dense but it ain't got nothin' on you.
checks
across the track
Look
lively, that first car has race horses to unload! Get back there, folks!
Philip
and Brewster exit.
MRS.
BROWN
Race
horses?
CARRIE
For
the County Fair. Isn't that exciting? It's for the farmers to get together and
compete for the best in whatever they do. And the ladies get involved too, with
canning, an' sewing, an' knitting an' such. It's held around the county one
place and then another, but one day they want a permanent location.
MR.
BROWN
Do
lots of folks come? I was to -
CARRIE
Oh
my, there's teams seems like as far as the eye can see. And big tents set up
all over. An' foods that make your stomach jump up and take notice - sausages
fried with onions, and taffy and ice cream of all flavors, fritters, soda pop,
candies, my goodness.
BREWSTER
Entering,
giving up on the horses with Philip following
They
want to stay, leave 'em in there.
PHILIP
That's
no way to do a job, can't just give up.
CHARLES
Sing
to 'em.
PHILIP
What?
CHARLES
Soothes
their nerves.
BREWSTER
What're
we gonna sing to some horses?
CARRIE
That
song by Stephen Foster, from when he lived up this way. It's got horses in it.
Everyone
sings Camptown Races as Philip and Brewster go back to the horses.
TRANSITION
5
EDITOR
Keepin'
to topics, let's move on and take a look at the medical establishment.
SAM
I
can't follow what you're doing here.
EDITOR
I'm
trying to balance the timeline against the development of professions and
industries. OK? Last stop was 1908 at the railroad, now we'll go on about 5
years.
SAM
And
it has to do with doctors?
EDITOR
Right.
Well, this particular incident wasn't a purely medical one, though it involved
a doctor. Lived on Headley Street. In fact, it was just plain tragic. Lois! I
need that 1913 disk.
Carissa
brings the disk, Editor slips it into the machine
SCENE
5--well in Dr. Randall's yard
COLLEEN,
RACHEL--children
ZACK
COLE--well worker
WILLIAM
RANDALL--physician
MRS.
RANDALL
JEROME
O'NEIL--well worker
HARLAND
McCARTY--drug store clerk
WOMEN--friends
of Mrs. Randall
O'NEIL
wandering
around muttering, then yells
C'mon,
Zack, hurry up. It's near lunch time.
quiet
again
Martha's
made that good potato salad, hardly wait.
O'Neil
starts sawing a pipe with a hack saw. Colleen and Rachel run in, playing tag,
Rachel notices tripod over well.
RACHEL
Oooo,
what's that?
COLLEEN
I
don't know.
RACHEL
Come
on. Let's play ring around the rosie.
Children
run around the well singing "ring around the rosie." When they all
fall down at the end, Rachel ends with her head close to the well. She looks
down in and yells into the well.
RACHEL
What're
you doin'?
O'Neil
notices kids playing around well.
O'NEIL
You
kids get away from that well. I don't want you fallin' in.
RACHEL
Still
looking down the well.
What're
you doin'?
Rachel
and Colleen stare down the well.
O'NEIL
Wastin'
our time because other people don't do their job right. Wouldn't have to go and
blast open Doc Randall's old well if the town water wasn't dirty. An' get back
from the edge, it's 30 feet down.
COLLEEN
looking
down well
He
ain't doin' nothin'.
O'NEIL
He's
hitchin' a pipe into where we blasted out a week ago. Wouldja get away from it?
COLLEEN
Then
why ain't he movin'?
O'NEIL
comes
over and looks down the well
What?
What are you up to? Oh glory - Zack! You kids get back!
The
kids move away as he shouts toward the house
Doc
Randall! We gotta get him up! Zack's passed out down there!
Randall
rushes out of the house
RANDALL
What's
happened?
O'NEIL
I
think it's the well gas, Doc.
RANDALL
You
stay up ready to haul. I'll go down the rope.
O'NEIL
Take
care it don't get you too.
Randall
disappears down rope
Oh
glory, this is bad.
to
the kids
You
kids run around to Pealer's drugstore and ask for help. We need more hands
here. Fast as you can.
Kids
take off. He shouts
Miz
Randall - you and the women come out to steady this rig and give a hand.
RANDALL
voice
from the well
I've
got the rope around Cole. I'll hold on and you haul us.
O'NEIL
Can't
haul you both myself, I need more hands.
McCarty
rushes in, children following, several women spill out of the house
O'NEIL
C'mon,
McCarty, we got two men down there. Cole's passed out. Look, you ladies hold
the tripod and help handle the pulley. Should of rigged this better. Oh glory.
McCarty,
O'Neil and two women haul on the rope
RANDALL
I
have to ... rest. Dizzy.
MCCARTY
You
all hold, I'll get another rope down to the Doc and cinch him with it.
McCarty
starts down on second rope. we hear slipping and banging
MCCARTY
Coming
out of the well
The
Doc fell off. All the way.
O'NEIL
Come
on ladies, we gotta haul Zack out now, he's been down too long.
The
ladies, McCarty and O'Neil haul Cole up. The ladies help Cole offstage.
MCCARTY
Let
me try this again. We have to get Randall. This is godawful.
O'NEIL
I
can do it. You oughtn't start down there again.
MCCARTY
You
stay. We need the strongest up here to haul.
McCarty
lowers into well
MCCARTY
His
head's under water. I'll wrap my arms around him, then you pull us up together.
O'NEIL
Can't
do it myself. C'mon, ladies...
MRS.
RANDALL
Come
on girls, give us a hand!
O'Neill,
the women and girls pull the two men up. Randall is unconscious and bloody;
McCarty staggers and passes out.
One
of the women puts her hand on McCarty's heart, another does the same with
Randall. McCarty brushes the hand away and begins to get up.
WOMAN
looking
up from Randall, horrified
I
don't think he's gonna make it.
O'NEIL
Don't
go talkin' like that.
MRS.
RANDALL
I
know some of the techniques, got to get him breathing. Jenny - call every
doctor in the county. Get 'em out here. Oh William, why do you do these things?
Always doing for everybody else and then you're the one gets in trouble.
O'NEIL
Let's
take him over on the porch with Zack where we can work on him. He'll come
around. He's gotta come around.
They
carry Randall offstage
TRANSITION
6
CARISSA
That
must have been a close one for Dr. Randall.
EDITOR
More
than close. Every other doctor in the county worked over him for four hours
straight, but it was no use.
SAM
He
died?
EDITOR
He
did, but Zack Cole, the one he went to rescue, survived. Dr. Randall was
treated as a hero, which indeed he was. Nobody was more important to the county
than doctors, especially in those days of horrible injuries.
SAM
I
was reading about one doctor, earlier on -
flips
through papers
William
Benjamin. His daughter said she could hear him in their back room, got
lumbermen with their legs smashed up too bad to save, fill them full of
whiskey, the only anesthetic they had, then take a saw and -
CARISSA
fingers
in ears
Whoo
whoo whoo whoo, I
don't want to hear this.
EDITOR
This
might be a good time to change topics. Ahem. Roads! I loved the trains, but
things progress, or at least seem to. Roads, highways, they've got top billing
these days. Down the line, they'll all be ruins and people will be flying or
getting teleported. But till that happens.... When do you think route 220 came
through?
SAM
I
don't know, maybe 1910? Or just after World War I?
EDITOR
That's
what might be expected, with cars coming in then, but it took awhile. 1928, to be
exact.
CARISSA
So I
guess I have to find the 1928 disk?
EDITOR
Of
course, Lois.
CARISSA
I'm
not doing it until you call me by my right name and stop this Lois stuff.
EDITOR
You
want to keep your job, missy?
CARISSA
cowed
but defiant
My
non-paying job? OK. OK.
exits
SAM
That
was cold.
EDITOR
Life
is a complex, twisted trunk of a malformed tree. But so far's this job is
concerned, I wield the chainsaw.
Carissa
comes in and brings him the disk
EDITOR
Thank
you, Lois.
lights
switch to roadside
SCENE
6--Main Street
JOHN
ELI
JIM
John
and Eli are tugging along a house-front flat, Jim helps keep it steady
ELI
I
think it's stupid.
JOHN
It's
gotta be done, so it don't matter if it's so high-powered intelligent.
JIM
I
think it will be a major civic improvement, having our own numbered road for
people to find us on.
ELI
Anybody
can't find Dushore without a number to ride on shouldn't be comin' here.
JIM
That's
a very narrow outlook.
ELI
That's
cuz I like narrow roads.
JOHN
Wide.
I like 'em wide.
Double
take from Jim. Sean and Eli settle the house into its new location
ELI
So
why didn't they use Center Street? It's already wide. No, they have to rip up
German Street, which ain't more'n an alley, and then we have to move whole
buildings out of the way so they can get Mr. 220 pushed through.
JIM
Wherever
they put it, they'd have to move something. Center St. just ends at Main
Street, like German Street does. They got their reasons for choosing.
ELI
Sure
they do. Government boys, they always got real good reasons. Like for that new
tax.
JOHN
What
tax?
ELI
The
sidewalk tax.
JOHN
A
tax on sidewalks, what d'ya mean?
ELI
The
state'll be putting in new sidewalks along with the road, and they're gonna tax
according to footage, how much sidewalk a man has along the front of his
property.
JOHN
What?!
ELI
You
didn't read it in the Review?
JOHN
It
ain't about reading it, that's just no right way to do things.
John
kicks at flat, almost knocks it over, the others steady it
JIM
Home
wrecker. Now who's getting all wired up?
JOHN
It's
a bad idea, it's a mean idea. It's unconstitutional.
ELI
Since
the income tax went through on the amendment, everything's constitutional. How
many feet you got along the new right of way anyhow?
JOHN
None,
I don't got any.
ELI
Then
what all -
JOHN
It's
the principle, man. No taxation without representation.
ELI
Guess
our representative voted for it.
JIM
You
boys settle down so we can finish up and go to the fish fry.
tugs
at something offstage
I
can't push this by myself.
the
three of them haul out an outhouse on wheels
ELI
We
gotta move this too?
JOHN
Everything's
supposed to be got out of the way.
ELI
Pushing
an outhouse down Main Street on wheels, that's the dumbest yet.
push
outhouse across the stage and off
TRANSITION
7
CARISSA
And
now they do it every year.
EDITOR
A
slight case of a resurrected idea. I was wondering ... do you think we could
make space here for a comic interlude?
SAM
You
mean this whole thing hasn't been one?
EDITOR
This
has been history interspersed with relevant quips, delivered with aplomb (a
plum).
CARISSA
making
chewing motions
A
plum?
EDITOR
Lois,
please bring me the 1968 disk.
Carissa
dashes off
SAM
What
happened then?
EDITOR
It
will be self-explanatory. As I said, a comic interlude and so not necessarily -
SAM
You
kind of waste a lot of words.
EDITOR
Hmph!
Carissa
brings in the disk, slightly malformed
CARISSA
It's
a little twisted.
EDITOR
Of
course. So is the incident.
Editor
has to force the disk in with some banging
EDITOR
Here
we go.
lights
fade, come up on Main Street
SCENE
7--Main Street, in front of barber shop
MANNY
MOE
JACKIE
three
hunters, two women and a man, enter in varying stages of tipsiness
JACKIE
hiccups
MANNY
You
sound smashed, m'dear.
JACKIE
S'all
right, I never drunt hunk. Hunt drunk. I'm celebratin'. My first buck.
MOE
pointing
at Manny
I
thought he was yer first buck.
MANNY
Oh,
ha, ha, very fuzzy. Funny.
MOE
I'm
glad I ain't related to either of you.
JACKIE
So're
we. Hey, loookit that.
MANNY
stumbling
in a circle
What?
JACKIE
That.
The barber pole.
MANNY
Huh!
Yeah. A barber pole.
MOE
Next
week I'm gonna take you out to see a street sign. They're real fun.
JACKIE
I
like barber poles. All kindsa barber poles.
MOE
How
many kinds you seen?
JACKIE
I
dunno. This one scot yellow in it.
MANNY
Thas
unusual. Don't usually see 'em that have yellow in 'em.
MOE
Are
we gonna get home or are we gonna leer at some dang barber pole?
JACKIE
I
want it.
MANNY
What
d'ya want?
JACKIE
The
barber pole. The barber pole with the loooong cute yellow stripe. Want a barber pole with a yellow
stripe.
MANNY
What'd
you do with it?
JACKIE
I'd
keep it. For my very own.
MOE
You
want ta swipe a barber pole?
JACKIE
Just
that one. I wanna swipe that barber pole. Barber pole with cute yellow stripe.
MANNY
Aw
c'mon. Gotta find the pickup. You drive, huh Moe? You're the sorta sober one.
JACKIE
Barber pole! Barber pole! I wanna baaaarber pole!
MOE
Don't
start shoutin'. You'll have everybody out.
JACKIE
Barber pole! Bar-ber pole. Bar-ber pole. Bar-ber po-o-o-ole.
MOE
Why
you ever let her loose? Thought you was gonna keep her chained up.
MANNY
It's
not so bad. She just wants a barber pole.
MOE
She
wants common sense.
JACKIE
starts
dancing around, in a sing-song
Barber pole, barber pole,
barber,
barber, baaaarber
pole.
It's
not coal down in a hooooooole,
it's
a yellow-strip-ed bar ber pole.
MANNY
It's
kinda pretty.
JACKIE
It's
be-U-ti-ful, the most be-u-ti-ful barber pole that's ever ... poled.
MOE
C'mon,
you two loonies.
JACKIE
I
want it. We come up here ever' year and I don't get anything.
MOE
You
got a buck.
JACKIE
Can't
keep it in the living room. Smell.
MOE
You
can't put a barber pole in yer living room neither.
MANNY
I
dunno. Could. Maybe.
MOE
I'm
goin' to the pickup.
JACKIE
Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Bet we could fit
it in. Hide it under the buck. My buck.
MANNY
Huh!
Yeah, huh, that'd work.
MOE
You
really plannin' on this?
JACKIE
Get
the truck, g'wan. We'll unhitch it. Pull it up.
MOE
going
offstage
This
ain't even civilized.
MANNY
Don't
know how it's 'tached.
JACKIE
leaning
into the pole
Push
it, push it over. I push, you grab.
they
push it part way over and Manny holds it, arms wrapped around
JACKIE
Moe,
we got it. Got the barber pole, barber pole, got the barber pole. It's loose.
MOE
off
stage
Ain't
the only thing's loose.
carry
the barber pole offstage. lights fade, up on newsroom
TRANSITION
8
SAM
That's
the one that was returned last January? With an apology note?
EDITOR
The
very same. After 41 years, someone's conscience got the best of him or her; an
anonymous survivor of a group of inebriated revelers. Oh, am I using too
many big words for you? Since you don't like to hear me talk?
SAM
Now
don't take it like that. I didn't mean not talking. Sorry. You're the boss.
EDITOR
In
that case, you and Lois can both keep your jobs. But to get to the serious side
of things - and it is serious - we're moving along to 1983, January 26th. Now
that's a date you should know.
SAM
The
fire?
EDITOR
Exactly,
the great Dushore Fire.
CARISSA
coming
in and handing disk to the Editor
I
can't imagine what it looked like then.
EDITOR
Karen
Black has some of the buildings from then on her mural on the Dushore Market,
but yes, it's hard - and very uncomfortable - to picture everything that was
lost. The best we can do is try to recall the heartache of it without getting
maudlin. The town's character has definitely changed since then.
inserts
disk, lights shift to Main and German
SCENE
8--northwest corner of Main and German, facing southwest, dawn
RUTH
-- woman, new to area
ROSEMARY
-- her friend, local resident
BUSINESSMAN
EDITOR
SAM
OFFSTAGE
VOICES
red,
flickering glow over everything, people come running through, yells of firemen,
sounds of water and general noise
RUTH
I
lost everything. I couldn't get any of it out.
ROSEMARY
Your
wallet? Your money?
RUTH
They're
OK. But my furniture, my clothes, all the family pictures, my books and
notebooks, my records -everything.
ROSEMARY
Most
people, I bet, don't even know about those apartments over the stores.
BUSINESSMAN
I
lost more than that, young lady.
ROSEMARY
How,
did anybody get...?
BUSINESSMAN
No,
everybody's OK, thank the Lord, but that's my - that was my business. Gone. The inventory,
the building, the records, you name it, burned to a crisp.
RUTH
Did
you have insurance?
BUSINESSMAN
Yes,
I had that much sense. But it isn't just money, it's... part of who you are.
It's what you've done with your life. You can't get that back.
OFFSTAGE
VOICE
I
got the coffee wagon. Get some donuts or something for those men to eat.
Editor
puffs in from the wings
EDITOR
Got
a call on my way to the convention, turned around. What's happened to the
Sully? Blasted smoke, can't see.
BUSINESSMAN
It's
still all right, near as I could tell.
EDITOR
I
sure hope so. All our equipment. Print shop across Water Street looks OK too so
far. Whew. Anybody know how it started?
OFFSTAGE
VOICE 2
Might've
been electrical.
Editor
takes notes while talking
ROSEMARY
It's
like the whole county wants to burn down.
RUTH
It's
just a few buildings, isn't it, Ro? I'll find another place.
ROSEMARY
You
can stay with me, you know that, but I meant -
BUSINESSMAN
A
few buildings to you, miss, but it's most of the businesses, the life's blood
here. We've lost Miss Kitty's luncheonette, Charnitski's Market, Bohenski's
Hardware, the jewelry store and Lord knows what all else until the fire dies
down. It's almost as bad as in Lopez.
ROSEMARY
That's
what I was getting at, first Lopez, now here.
RUTH
Lopez?
What happened there?
ROSEMARY
It
was last year, April, just before you came. The whole downtown burned, the
factories, the old hotels, the post office -
BUSINESSMAN
Just
about every business. Turned it to near a ghost town. All this fire, maybe it's
a warning to us.
enter
Sam
EDITOR
Now
I wouldn't say that. It's unfortunate happenstance, but we'll rebound. A lot of
hard-working people here. A lot of concentrated energy and decency. Sam? Go
down there and talk to the firemen. See where they're from. Sure is a bunch of
them.
exit
Sam
OFFSTAGE
VOICE 3
Watch
out for the hose. C'mon, step back.
everyone
on stage takes a few steps back
ROSEMARY
This
must be the worst that's ever happened in Dushore.
EDITOR
Actually,
the fires of 1898 might have been the worst. Two of them.
RUTH
Really?
EDITOR
First
it was the grist mill and saw mill in March - Samuel Headley built them
together, and the grist mill did most of the grinding for the north half of the
county. Killed the superintendent in his office.
ROSEMARY
That's
awful.
BUSINESSMAN
I
haven't heard about anybody dying today.
RUTH
Thank
the Lord!
EDITOR
That
mill fire could have been way worse. It could have exploded. The mill was full
of grain and flour. You ever see a grain elevator blow up from the dust? I did.
Big mushroom cloud and the building looked like a plane had hit it. Just
rubble. Then in June -
Sam
returns
What's
the word?
SAM
There
seem to be 11 or 12 volunteer fire companies and maybe 150 fireman. Some came
from 40 miles. And it's knocked out the power and phone lines everywhere.
RUTH
pointing
Look!
Look! The side of that building across the street -
SAM
The
print shop!
RUTH
It's
glowing red.
EDITOR
Everybody
start praying. If that goes, we've lost another block. And I've lost my shirt.
BUSINESSMAN
Amazing
- what's keeping it from catching fire?
ROSEMARY
Maybe
it's just some weird reflection.
RUTH
Doesn't
look like it.
BUSINESSMAN
So
what was that you said? A second fire the same year?
EDITOR
1898.
Like this one, burned several buildings with a bunch of businesses in them.
Tubach's furniture and Cole's hardware escaped somehow - and listen to this, in
the middle of it all, some fellows actually ducked in and hauled the gasoline
and dynamite out of the hardware store.
BUSINESSMAN
It'll
take them a couple days to get this all put out.
EDITOR
Well,
if our offices don't fry, I'm going to get the Sully out tomorrow.
ROSEMARY
You're
kidding.
EDITOR
Some
things I don't kid about.
lights
down, just a red glow left
TRANSITION
9
SAM
Geez,
what was I doing there? Can you turn that machine off, it's making me dizzy.
CARISSA
to
editor
And
that should have been Doc Shoemaker, not you.
EDITOR
We'll
get to that later.
SAM
So
where to next?
EDITOR
How
about right now, the present?
CARISSA
That's
not part of history.
EDITOR
Aha!
a common mistake. History encompasses all of human activity, past and present.
What we are now is the result of what we were before. Today is the leading edge
of history, but yesterday is already the past.
CARISSA
whispered
aside to audience
He's
slumming from the New York Times.
aloud
I
don't have a 2009 disk.
EDITOR
Pf
course not. It's still being processed. But that shouldn't hold us back. I
think it's time to introduce Dushore's most famous and unique character.
SAM
scratching
his head
There
are so many.
EDITOR
Unique,
I said, in all the county.
CARISSA
The
stoplight!
lights
fade and come up on stoplight
SCENE
9--At stoplight
STOPLIGHT
LINE
DANCERS--entire cast
DANCER
1
My
name is Black. I live on Blacks Rd.
DANCER
2
My
name is Thall. I live on Thalls Rd.
DANCER
3
My
name is Rohe. I live on Rohes Rd.
DANCER
4
My
name is Colonna, I live on Colonna Ln.
litany
fades out behind Stoplight's speech
STOPLIGHT
wearing
green hat, holding out left arm to stop traffic, motioning it toward him with
right
That's
the way of it in Sullivan County. History sits right smack on the highway and
the back roads. It must feel good to see your family's name all around you. Me?
I came out of a factory, guess that makes me a flatlander.
switches
to red cap and switches hands
But
I've been here long enough I should qualify as a resident, don't you think?
DANCER
5
Flatlander...
That's somebody from out of the area comes to visit or maybe owns a cabin.
DANCER
6
Flatlander?
That's somebody wasn't born here but come - well, it don't matter when.
DANCER
7
Me,
a flatlander? I been here 47 years.
STOPLIGHT
Like
the man said, I'm unique. I have authority. I control the flow and the
direction. And I've seen my share of history pass by. Remember when those
monster machines for Procter and Gamble pushed through here a few years back?
They had to drag me out of the way with a hook!
massages
neck
I
still get a crick in my wire now and then.
country
music fades in stronger
DANCER
1
Look
up the hill at St. Basil's in the declining sun, as clean and clear as laundry
on the line.
DANCER
2
A
little cloud behind the steeple, with a silver lining.
Stoplight's
cap switching gets a little more rapid
STOPLIGHT
But
where's all this traffic coming from on an August evening? Must be to gawk at
the line dancers.
DANCER
3
People
passing through don't half understand line dancing.
DANCER
4
It's
a soft, easy, low-key kind of motion.
DANCER
5
Like
a quiet walk in the woods, a little uphill now and then, some switchbacks...
STOPLIGHT
Like
the Endless Mountains.
Speakers
step out from line but keep their place in the music, then step back
DANCER
1
The
history of Dushore...
DANCER
2
200
years, from woods so dense and sunless they terrified explorers and scared off
the Indians...
DANCER
3
to
men and women and horses clearing trees and rocks by brute force...
DANCER
4
to
the Turnpike bringing in settlers and supplies...
DANCER
5
to
the railroads with their furious energy, hauling in jobs, taking out butter and
cream...
DANCER
1
to
blacktop highways all converging...
STOPLIGHT
on a
crossroads that most find by accident, but the lucky ones call home.
DANCER
2
and
through it all, the shops and restaurants and banks and bustle of business
never stop.
DANCER
3
history
hasn't ended, it's just beginning.
DANCER
4
We've
got the most beautiful scenery...
DANCER
5
the
crookedest roads...
DANCER
1
the
friendliest people..
DANCER
2
well,
some of them...
DANCER
3
in
the whole known world.
DANCER
4
You're
exaggerating.
DANCER
5
Of
course we are. It's silly..
DANCER
1
overblown...
DANCER
2
ridiculous...
DANCER
3
but
true.
dancers
take final twirl and exit. Stoplight lifts and drops a yellow hat, blinking
"caution"
TRANSITION
10
SAM
So...
that's it?
EDITOR
Yup,
it's pretty much wound up.
SAM
You
know... I sorta hate to say this, but like Caris - Lois - said, you don't seem
like you should be our editor. I mean, you're not Doc.
EDITOR
Of
course I'm not Doc. I'm the generic editor, the irascible old codger with a
heart of gold. I've been in every newspaper movie from the 1930s on.
SAM
But
why couldn't you just play Doc Shoemaker?
EDITOR
Jeez,
girl, don't you have any brains? There's just one person on earth that can play
Doc. And I don't see him up here, do you? Let's check the audience.
house
lights go up slightly
EDITOR
Doc,
you out there?
alternate
1--doc is in audience
SAM
There
he is.
wait
for audience to applaud and settle down.
alternate
2--Doc Isn't there
SAM
Don't
think he's here.
Transition
10 cont'd
EDITOR
OK
folks, looks like the show is over. You can applaud or boo, whichever way you
feel.
CARISSA
Wait
a minute!
holds
up Superman comic book
I'm
Lois Lane, intrepid reporter!
EDITOR
That's
it, Carissa. I knew you could do it.
C'mon,
Sam. We have to get off and cover the news.
exit,
followed by curtain call
___________________
copyright
2009, Sullivan County Council on the Arts