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Thank you for visiting our site to learn more about Ranger Trek™ products. We specialize in products that support and encourage Junior Rangers and their families in their Junior Ranger Adventures in the U.S. National Parks. In the spirit of the Lewis and Clark's journals, the recordings of their experiences as they visited the Western United States are still cherished today. Begin your expedition of the National Park Service sites today!
Want to learn more about the National Park Service Junior Ranger Program?
Want to find more Junior Ranger Programs offered at over 400 National Park Service Sites?
We create products to keep, protect and display your Junior Ranger booklets, certificates and memories of your Junior Ranger adventures. In today's digital world, we feel it's important to create physical products that can become family keepsakes.
This country is full of amazing places and landmarks. Did you know that there are over 400 National Park Service sites? We want to bring attention to all of our nation's National Parks and help you discover some you may not have known about. We encourage you to visit them all.
Start a legacy with your family of visiting the amazing places, learning about our nation's history, and exploring the world we live in. Create a tradition that will be cherished by your children and grand-children as they grow up that will be passed down to future generations.
Because your Junior Ranger's travel memories are precious, we focus on providing only high-quality products that will last and preserve those memories. We want to help you protect those memories for years to come.
We have grown to have a great respect for the Junior Ranger Programs offered by the National Park Service. The Junior Ranger Programs engage children in a way that makes learning about each site they visit exciting. Because each Junior Ranger Program has it's own unique badge or patch it's fun to try to earn them all. Our children have each completed over 150 Junior Ranger Programs and they continue to complete more each year. The Junior Ranger Programs have helped to shape my children and instill in them a sense of stewardship for the Parks that will stay with them their whole lives. They will forever cherish the memories of our road trips and this legacy will be carried on by each of them to their families. We created the Ranger Trek™ Expedition Journals as a way to preserve those memories, but also to encourage our children to continue their journey of visiting all of the National Parks. The journals are a beautiful keepsake that they will always treasure. They also encourage families to make visiting our National Parks an important part of their lives. Our national treasures are sites that need to be experienced in person to truly understand the wonder, history, and experiences they represent. We hope you set a goal with your family to visit as many as possible in their lifetimes.We create unique products specifically designed for Junior Rangers and their families. The Ranger Trek™ Expedition Journal is a keepsake to keep, protect and display completed Junior Ranger booklets, the certificates that Junior Rangers earn and memories of your Junior Ranger adventures. It is similar to a scrapbook except it has the capacity to hold the thicker, multi-page Junior Ranger booklets unlike a traditional scrapbook. I have been taking my children to visit National Parks across the United States for over 10 years. Every time I came home from one of our trips I ended up putting all the Junior Ranger booklets and certificates in a box in the closet. Completing all those Junior Ranger Programs is a huge accomplishment and I wanted a way that my children could display all of their work proudly, to organize the booklets so they could easily reference them and I wanted a solution that included pages to record our photo memories of our park visits. We created the Ranger Trek™ Expedition Journal for all the families like ours that frequent the parks in search of their next Junior Ranger badge.
Our Ranger Trek™ Expedition Journals, patches, and stickers are all manufactured, printed, and assembled in the United States of high-quality materials and workmanship. We strive to create products that will last.


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|COURSE MATERIAL Of Architecture and Interior Design Technology
Message From The Principal
1964, Feni Polytechnic opened its door with the aim to develop the country through technical and vocational education. The effective education and training provided by the institution has open many opportunities both in foreign and domestic, and is playing an important role for the social development.
From its first day Feni Polytechnic, overcoming its limitation has successfully help the government in economic and social development by creating Read More
Message From The Vice-Principal
The students of today are the Architects of tomorrow. To meet the challenges of the present in an ever changing globe, teeming with bleeding edge technology and relentless competition, the graduates of today must also be determined but flexible, dexterous but resolute.
Bangladesh has a need to produce the graduates that will drive us to an industrial and technological renaissance and deliver us to the Promised Land. With these stated Read More
Teacher's & Staffs

subset: commoncrawl


text: Overwatch every night at 21 CEST stepotronic May 27th 2016, 4:32pm If you are looking for an organized group of overwatch players, join us :) We can be found on teamspeak every night. If noone is there yet, just wait a bit. As mentioned before we want to help the overwatch community to thrive and build a squad very soon. Join us on Teamspeak!


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Just saw this posted on Facebook by USA Kilts. It was posted about 9 AM Mountain Time in Denver. They are located in Pennsylvania, USA.
"5 Yard Kilt in Livingston Modern 16 oz - Made to your measurements - $220 plus shipping ($140 OFF Retail!)
Call the shop to order: 800.368.8633. First come, first served!"


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Browsing iPhone Apps contents directly from your Mac (OS X) or PC (Windows) and transferring files to and from an iOS device has never been easier with DiskAid. It automatically discovers all Apps and allows to copy files, folders or even complete file trees! Enjoy fast and dependable file copy to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch via Wi-Fi or lightning fast USB connection to copy files to your iPhone iPad or iPod touch.
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After several weeks of rampant speculation, Fox has finally confirmed that Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban and Randy Jackson will make up the American Idol judges' table on the show's upcoming 12th season.
The news, which had been continually pushed back as deals were finalized, truly came down to the wire — as the show's first auditions in front of Idol judges are scheduled to begin today in New York. (Auditions in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, San Antonio, Baton Rouge and Oklahoma City will follow.) Last-minute final negotiations with one of the new judges (either Minaj or Urban) held up an announcement until today; the team will be officially unveiled at a New York press conference on Monday.
"Nicki's an unbelievably captivating international phenomenon who has made an indelible mark on rap and pop. And Keith is another great addition to Idol — he's one of the biggest stars in country music and I know that our fans and contestants will fall in love with him," says Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment at Fox. "With an unparalleled star like Mariah, fan-favorite Randy, chart-toppers like Nicki and Keith and our incomparable host Ryan, we've put together one of the most exciting judging panels around."
But now that it's official, does the new partnership between Carey, Minaj, Urban and Jackson represent the last great hope for American Idol? As viewers apparently tire of the singing-competition genre — witness the lackluster starts this fall for both The Voice and The X Factor — Fox is hoping a new influx of major star wattage will lure viewers back to granddaddy of TV's modern-day talent shows when it returns in January.
Randy Jackson Back on American Idol as Judging Panel Firms Up
The need for change was necessary after Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler ended their two-season run on Idol. But Fox and producers FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment were looking to shake things up anyway. Idol got a ratings bump when Lopez and Tyler joined the show in 2011, but saw its ratings dip 23 percent last year. "Although we finished the season at the top again," Fox Entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly told reporters earlier this summer, "our ratings were down. Not being the only game in town, we need to keep things fresh."
Superstar diva Carey was the linchpin of that strategy, a star who had been courted by several shows (including X Factor) before finally deciding the time was right to sit in a judge's chair. The search to fill out the rest of the panel began in earnest once Carey sealed her deal on July 23, the day of Fox's TV Critics Association press tour.
After that, a cavalcade of names popped up as contenders for the Idol gig, including Katy Perry, Alanis Morissette, Kanye West, Brad Paisley, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Nick Jonas, Pharrell Williams and Enrique Iglesias. Among those performers, Iglesias came closest to actually making the cut.
But according to insiders, the Idol producers and Iglesias ultimately couldn't come together on a deal. The singer rakes in a lot of money performing internationally, and one source said he was asking for a salary in the eight-figure range to justify taking time out to go on Idol. (Carey is believed to be pulling just under $17 million for her Idol stint, while one source says Minaj will take home $10 million and Urban is likely to make around $4 million.)
Factors beyond money were also said to have ended the talks with Iglesias. That's when Fox and producers decided to come back to their back-up choice, veteran Idol dawg Jackson.
Jackson was instrumental in helping bring Carey (whom he co-manages) to Idol, so he was always expected to remain on the show in some capacity. But as speculation about Iglesias heated up, it looked like Jackson might segue into a mentoring role (similar to what music exec Jimmy Iovine already does on the show).
Jackson's return gives Idol a bit of continuity in the face of another judges' panel overhaul, along with the returns of host Ryan Seacrest and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. Meanwhile, with a judges panel still being ironed out, on-camera auditions, which typically begin in mid-September, were instead scheduled toward the end of the month.
All eyes will likely be on superstar Carey as she takes on her first major TV gig. But some observers believe that eccentric performer Minaj could be Idol's wild card this year. "Nicki Minaj is incandescently hot right now, she's a huge recording artist at the moment," says a rival TV exec. But the addition of Minaj could also bring some fireworks to the table, as insiders speculate that Carey might not be happy with the hire. "She was promised she would be the only female judge," contends one source.
Not only has Minaj quickly become a music superstar, with tracks such as "Super Bass," but she recently appeared as a voice in the animated feature Ice Age: Continental Drift.
As for Urban, who became the front-runner to add a country presence on the panel when Paisley didn't pan out, the star already has TV judge experience via his stint on The Voice Australia. Urban dropped out of The Voice Australia's Season 2 (airing in 2013) due to his new Idol commitment. In the U.S., Urban has sold more than 15 million albums and has been behind 14 No. 1 songs, plys has won four Grammy Awards, all for best male country vocal performance.
Keith Urban Quits The Voice in Australia Amid American Idol Rumors
'Nicki is someone who represents a different side of the music industry, who has now crossed into mainstream culture with her unique artistry, style and flair," says Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia. "Keith is one of country music's true stars who brings with him charm, wit and knowledge about the industry." Adds Marc Graboff, President of CORE Media Group (owner, 19 Entertainment): "Idol has truly never looked better."
With Carey, Jackson, Minaj and Urban, the show is returning to a four-judge panel, something it last tried in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The move further brings Idol in line with its upstart rivals X Factor and Voice, both of which also boast four judges and singing superstars. Idol had already strayed a bit from its original concept when it hired Tyler and Lopez, bringing in big names (although both were in a bit of a career slump) as judges for the first time. When Idol first launched in 2002, judges Simon Cowell and Jackson were unknowns, while Paula Abdul hadn't been in the headlines for years.
But as the music industry changes, TV exposure is seen as invaluable exposure to sell CDs and concert tickets. And just as movie stars make their way into TV, it's become acceptable for music performers even at the height of their careers to take a job as a TV talent show judge. Carey is expected to release her next album next spring, just as she's on Idol. Urban is also said to be back at work on a new album, while Minaj is expected to launch a new clothing line in 2013.
Interest in who might take the Idol gig was so intense that Katie Couric even attempted to take credit on Thursday for confirming the final names, even though several news outlets (including TV Guide Magazine) had beaten her to the punch. But don't get too used to the new configuration — Fox and the show's producers have all said that the show's judge roster will continue to flip. That's out of necessity, as big names generally won't commit for more than a year or two. "I wish it was back to the world where we had the same cast for seven years, it was a lot easier," Fox's Darnell said this summer. "But now you have to change every couple of years."
Even as Carey, Minaj and Urban are expected to breathe some new life into Idol, whether viewers will be compelled to tune in remains to be seen. Singing shows appear to be hitting a low note with viewers at the moment: The September 10 season three debut of The Voice averaged 12.3 million viewers—down 67 percent from the show's winter premiere (which, to be fair, was inflated by airing right after the Super Bowl; compared to the second episode, it was down 31 percent). At Fox, there was disappointment over The X Factor's September 12 debut, which drew 8.7 million viewers, down 30 percent from last year. NBC remains optimistic, particularly because The Voice is doing better than The Sing-Off and The Biggest Loser did last year in its Monday and Tuesday homes. And Fox execs hope new judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato will help X Factor grow over time. Nonetheless, no one's whistling a happy tune just yet.
Meanwhile, just as the Idol judges panel is settled, get ready for another singing show to mix things up. This time it will be The Voice on the hunt for a few new big names, as some of the show's coaches (including Christina Aguilera) are expected to take a breather this spring. Sources say replacements will have to be in place by next month, when a new round of auditions begins. Perhaps some of the names rumored for the Idol gig will once again rear their heads. Let the unbridled speculation resume!


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Answers about Safe Deposit Boxes
Select from the following questions about safe deposit boxes and fees.
- The bank advised me of an increase to my annual safe deposit fee. They indicated that I could avoid the increase by opening an account with them. Is this a legal practice?
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I don't think Trump ever intended to build a wall; as you stated, talk is cheap. He is slowly but steadily giving the DEMS what they want as he continues to compromise on what he promised.
This really gets me. Why would you campaign on building a wall and then sign legislation that allows local government to opt out? Why would you continue to give Democrats everything they want when there is 100.000 illegals caught almost every month now? Those are the ones caught.
@Chosen Daughter I have voiced my suspicions, but other than that I don't have an answer. What I do know is we are losing our sovereignty and facing becoming another Europe. That is the unfortunate reality. Short of praying for a miracle, there isn't a whole lot we can do. Perhaps this is God's will for this country?
I just came across this Rush Limbaugh airing. Sad reality.Rush Limbaugh on Border Wall: Trump Got 'Less Than Nothing'Wednesday on his nationally syndicated radio show, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh commented on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announcement of the deal that finances the government through New Year's Day without funding for President Donald Trump's wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.Partial transcript as follows (courtesy of RushLimbaugh.com)LIMBAUGH: I mean, Washington came together to pass this thing in like 10 minutes. Meanwhile, $5 billion, a measly $5 billion — when compared to the size of the federal budget for border security — is an impossibility. Somebody needs to explain to me how this happened.I know you people are looking to me to explain it to you, and don't worry. I'm being rhetorical here. I have an explanation for this. But it's just… It's the kind of thing that just rubs me raw, it sends people into orbit because something that is not on somebody's primary watch list, some issue that it's not having a national clamor to get this done, an issue that primarily benefits 187,000 people and whoever their political sponsors are just sails through.The point is it can be done on something the American public is not even really aware of, not clamoring for, and doesn't know when it's happened. There's some news stories: "Senate Easily Passed Trump-Backed Criminal Justice Reform Bill." There are 87 votes in the Senate for it, and yet things the American people have expressed for decades that they want, have voted over and over and over again to say that they want, have sent somebody to Washington from outside the political system to get done, and there's no hope.There's not a shining chance that this is gonna get done. And they gloat and they applaud and they celebrate in Washington over this. Some of this stuff is just so frustrating and maddening and defies any kind of common sense explanation. This is swamp behavior at its best. This is the greatest illustration of how much of a game all of this actually is. We're made to think that it's cutthroat and real. And, meanwhile, it's just all a game, how this stuff happens, in Congress, in the House, in the Senate in Washington.....https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2018/12/19/rush-limbaugh-on-border-wall-trump-got-less-than-nothing/Just a game.
Perhaps not a game, but a well calculated maneuver on Trump's part. He saw an opportunity to jump into the political arena, and sold his supporters what they wanted to hear and he did just that. When Trump first announced that he was going to run and his campaign platform was building a wall it actually surprised me knowing his liberal ties and association with the Clintons as well as his wealth. I remember discussing the same with my son and I remarked at the time ... or he could very well have plans for a North American Union. Time of course will tell, but Trump has done very little to build that wall.
you few cruz hanger oners here make me sick.You are actively undermining the best president weve had in decades...
Trump can always do what Obama did to address illegal immigration - tank the economy. Illegals come here for the opportunity. If the economy only weren't booming, and employers weren't hiring, they wouldn't come.
Trump can always do what Obama did to address illegal immigration - tank the economy. Illegals come here for the opportunity. If the economy only weren't booming, and employers weren't hiring, they wouldn't come.
@Jazzhead when we become another Europe where there are streets and entire sections of the country where law enforcement will not got because it is too dangerous and too populated with certain 'ethnic' groups; maybe then you will understand.Yes, every man, woman and child's life matters; please keep in mind that most coming across don't value our lives. Certainly many feel that we must take care of them at the expense of our own families. Therein lies the true problem.
Cruz and Malkin
We are not Europe. Muslim immigration to the U.S. is negligible. Hispanic immigrants are largely Christian and share American values of pluralism and respect for religious liberty. In examining the problem of "illegal immigration" it is necessary to distinguish economic immigration, which typically rises and falls in response to the economy and consists largely of single adults seeking work, and the more recent phenomenon of migrant families fleeing violence in their home countries. Each has different causes, implications and solutions.
Jazzhead...We are not Europe. Muslim immigration to the U.S. is negligible. Hispanic immigrants are largely Christian and share American values of pluralism and respect for religious liberty.
Muslim immigration is negligible? You are dead wrong Jazz.
There is absolutely no reason to ever differentiate why an illegal is here.
Muslim immigration is negligible? You are dead wrong Jazz. The numbers are readily available on the net. We have about 250,000 to 500,000 mussies coming to the USA every YEAR!
Muslim immigration is negligible? You are dead wrong Jazz. The numbers are readily available on the net. We have about 250,000 to 500,000 mussies coming to the USA every YEAR! If you look at the numbers for the Diversity Visa Program, even going back prior to 9/11, and every year thereafter, you will find about 80% of green card recipients are mussies. And ironically, Iran is often number one for recipients of green cards.We have a city in Michigan with over 1 million mussies. Minneapolis is loaded with them. Come to Atlanta and see them everywhere.You had a president saying islam was a major contributor to the creation of this nation. I enjoyed that idiotic statement. Not one signer of the Constitution was a muslim. They are well entrenched in every branch of government, and if you think their mission is not the destruction of western civilization, you are just not paying attention. Europe is largely lost. France for certain. They will level France just like Syria in the next couple decades. They only know murder and destruction, they bring nothing to society. Nothing!
There is if you care at all about crafting sound policy.
I didn't say that we were Europe. Continuing to allow massive illegal immigration WILL turn us into another Germany or France and Europe in general or worse. Economic immigration?? Are you serious?? They can't even keep track of the numbers at the border and have absolutely no idea of the number sneaking in that isn't accounted for. They are costing us BILIONS and ultimately they will cost us our sovereignty. How do you put a price tag on that??
Illegals come here for the opportunity to collect free stuff. That happens regardless of how well the economy is doing. Employers weren't hiring during Obama's first term, but illegals kept coming - free medical care, education, and food stamps.
It is much more dependent on their economy, whether personal or national, than it is on ours.
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Hi everyone,
yes, more kit to sell:) again, before it hits ebay, I thought I'd show it here, to all the coffee loving creatures;)
I have a Technivorm Moccamaster in mint condition, very light use, now almost not used at all. Bought by my parents who prefer other methods and would like to go back to espresso + milk kind of coffees. Here's how it looks:
http://www.coffeehit.co.uk/technivorm-1 ... 63#tdesc_1
I can take some pics next week if anyone is interested.
Price: I was hoping around 170GBP, which is it's list price ex VAT.


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After I started creating a couple signs {a new business adventure I'm embarking} and my love of working with reclaimed wood an idea started to grow in my head. I have had a piece of fence panel in my garage for a couple months now and I always had the initial idea of making it into a sign with a painted quote. However, I had a new idea for it and I am so so so happy with my new art for our living room!
I'm still debating about redoing the back piece the pictures sit on and making them larger, but I also like the subtle border they create about the picture.
I'm so happy this is what I ultimately decided to make, I think it fits perfectly in our living room.
Linked up with:
Wow Us Wednesday
Get your Craft on Tuesday
Tutorials & Tips Tuesday with Stories A to Z
And others found under my Link up Page


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Up until the past 15 years or so, television series were firmly episodic. Serialized TV (outside of mini-series) risked alienating viewers since it stopped anyone from coming in mid-season. However, with the rise of DVDs, OnDemand, and digital downloads, serialized TV series have become firmly established. Some shows still retain an episodic nature, but some series—particularly dramas—have been built around telling one long story over the course of an entire season. Our new feature, Seasoned, will review a TV series by season rather than by episode.
And we couldn't think of a better kick-off to this feature than HBO's The Wire. Hit the jump for my review of the groundbreaking drama's first season.
Before I begin my review of The Wire, I would like to establish two important points regarding my viewing experience. First, I previously saw the first three seasons of the series, but it was several years ago, and I can only remember the broadest aspects of the plot. For a show where the devil is in the details, my review will basically be a first viewing. This leads to my second point: I am purposely avoiding outside commentary on Season One because it may reveal plot points about the other seasons, and I would like my viewing to be as fresh as possible.
[Warning: Spoilers Ahead]
In June 2002, HBO began airing The Wire, a police drama unlike any that had come before. Created by former Baltimore police reporter David Simon and former homicide detective Ed Burns, the show blasted apart every cliché and comfort of the standard police procedural. Simon had already begun picking apart the genre with his series Homicide: Life on the Street, but The Wire went far beyond the perspective of cops.
Set in Baltimore (a city where Simon had the greatest familiarity) and with the blessing of the city's mayor, the show took an unflinching look at the intersection of police investigations, criminal organizations, social issues, and the politics in between. The show rarely, if ever, took a hard stance on characters simply being "good" or "evil", although some were portrayed as more admirable than others. It's a series based around compromise, and exploring the morality and necessity behind those compromises. Furthermore, The Wire tends to function more as social observation rather than social commentary. Simon and Burns refuse to provide answers or solutions because the story proves there's no quick fix when it comes to a complex web of conflicts, and, more importantly, to human nature.
The self-destructive nature of Homicide Detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) begins our journey into the complicated world of Baltimore's cops and criminals. Westside drug kingpin Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) has left a string of bodies as collateral damage in his criminal operation. After McNulty watches Avon's nephew D'Angelo (Larry Gilliard) escape conviction due to witness intimidation, he brings his grievances to Judge Phelan (Peter Gerety), and says that the murders will continue until Avon is brought to justice. Phelan uses his political might to push the Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell (Frankie Faison) to create a detail to investigate Barksdale. Burrell tells the detail's leader, Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick), to keep the investigation brief and contained, but McNulty's constant needling and the mounting evidence against Barksdale expands the scope of the case.
Most police dramas would focus simply on the work of the detail, and would barely acknowledge the criminal organization or the political factors guiding and obstructing the investigation. In The Wire, these elements are not only acknowledged, but deemed essential. Much like the cops, the criminals have a clear organizational structure but it's far more streamlined and functional than what the police (or "po-leece" in the dialect of both the cops and criminals) have. Avon is the top dog, Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) is his smart and steady second-in-command, and then there are lieutenants who function both as muscle and overseers of various parts of the drug-dealing locations. DeAngelo is demoted from the Towers to "The Pit", which makes less money and forces DeAngelo to function as both a boss and a mentor to the teenage dealers Poot Carr (Tray Chaney),Bodie Broadus (J.D. Williams), and Wallace (Michael B. Jordan). Of course, violence is also a strong factor in keeping the ranks in line. As Detective Thomas "Herc" Hauk (Domenick Lombardozzi) points out to his partner Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam), the cops will never "win" because the criminals' system of promotion and punishment is far more powerful than what the Baltimore Police Department can dish out.
The Wire is a deeply complicated show and I could spend pages going through every plot development and character motive. But this isn't meant to be a recap. This is an outline of the organizations in play: The Law, The Politics, and The Criminals. Although the show's title is a literally a reference to the wiretapping the detail used to build their case against Barksdale, it's figuratively about the wires that interconnect and crossover the various aspects of the show. For example, the detail works with Omar Little (Michael K. Williams) in order to bring down Barksdale even though Omar is a criminal who participates not under pressure or threats, but because he wants revenge against Barksdale for the brutal retaliatory murder of Omar's partner and boyfriend. The detail also works with Bubbles (Andre Royo), a drug addict who volunteers as a criminal informant in order to punish Barksdale's crew for stomping on his friend.
In a standard police procedural, there's no cooperation. There's only intimidation. The cops hang a charge over a criminal's head and the criminal either agrees to inform or they go to jail. In order to keep the plot moving forward, the criminal usually agrees to work with the cops. That kind of intimidation exists on The Wire, but it's used not only as a means of coercion, but also a means of unsanctioned punishment giving way to straight-up police brutality. When Detective Greggs (Sonja Sohn), a smart and honorable investigator on the detail, tries to get a hitter Barksdale's crew to cop to a murder and flip on his boss, the perp only throws hateful epithets her way. This behavior is greeted a severe beat-down by Greggs and two more cops inside the interrogation room. He deserves it, but we'd like to think cops are above such brutality. And in a normal cop show, such brutality would become the defining issue of an episode, and the cop would be punished. In The Wire, it's fairly commonplace, and so are other short-cuts. There are no straight-arrow po-lice on the show, and if there were, they'd be totally ineffective.
So are Greggs and her cohorts corrupt? Are they unfit for duty? Shouldn't they be above such behavior? The Wire doesn't quibble with these issues as plot points because the show isn't about moralizing. The show lives and breathes in the grey area, and it leaves the moral judgments to the viewer. That's not to say that a character's morality doesn't affect their circumstances. If placed in a dramatic range, The Wire would absolutely be a tragedy. Some of the characters are doomed by their own personalities and moral code. McNulty's anti-authority streak, short temper, and self-righteousness mean he'll always hurt himself, and his resultant self-loathing will push away those around him. D'Angelo and Wallace show empathy in a game that has no patience for it, and both suffer and, in the case of Wallace, die as a result.
Although empathy and righteousness are flaws in the world of The Wire, there are also traits that will push you ahead. For Simon and Burns, the most valuable aspects a person can have are intelligence and cunning, and the characters with these qualities are fan favorites. Detective Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) is a quiet powerhouse who spends time making dollhouse furniture and being the smartest guy on the detail. On the criminal side, you have Stringer Bell, a man of steady demeanor and patience, and you have Omar, an outsider who is able to outsmart a deadly operation like Barksdale's. And to be a king in this world, to be Avon Barksdale or Baltimore politicians, you just have to mix in ruthlessness and selfishness.
All of these aspects make The Wire a thoughtful, brainy experience that would be rewarding, but not necessarily entertaining. To draw the viewer into the rich themes, Simon and Burns walk a fine line between dramatic flourishes and deglamorizing their world. For the show's creators, the "action" scenes are the least interesting part of the mix. The raids always lack tension, and one of the season's biggest "action" moments—Greggs getting shot—happens off camera. The tension comes from the detail trying to find Greggs' vehicle. Getting the killer of Avon's ex-girlfriend isn't triumphant. What's triumphant is the scene where McNulty and his partner Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) reconstruct the crime scene using only the word "Fuck." One of the season's most exciting scenes is when Freamon tells detail members Leander Sydnor (Corey Parker Robinson) and Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost) how to pull charter records. In The Wire, the drama is always from the chase, never from the capture. The first even sets up the specter of what could be cops' greatest chase and greatest futility: "Following the money," which would clearly lead to the dirty-as-hell State Senator R. Clayton "Clay" Davis (Isiah Whitlock Jr.).
However, this emphasis on chase-over-capture inevitably leads to an anti-climax, which serves the themes, but not the drama. It's a result of always putting realism first, and the reality of Baltimore as viewed through the lens of The Wire is futility. Avon's business goes on without him. The higher-ups in the Baltimore Police Department keep their standing. The detail ends, the team we've grown to love is broken up, McNulty is kicked out of homicide, Daniels loses his shot at being a major because he put the case ahead of his career, and Greggs is stuck recovering in a hospital. But Freamon gets pulled out of boring Pawn Shop division and reassigned to homicide, and the last shot of the season is a smiling Omar, sticking-up a drug dealer in the Bronx, and saying "It's all in the game."
At the end of the first season of The Wire, the show manages to turn expectations on their head, and then laughs off the simple label of "police procedural." The Wire has been called literature in television form, and it's not an unfair description. Season One of The Wire brings us characters, backstories, dynamics, organizations, and a rich setting—all of the elements that make up a strong drama. It's also a show that can't be "skimmed" and even has long monologues. From the get-go, Simon and Burns proved they had made a show unlike any other, and I can't wait to see what Season Two has to offer.


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King's X Hit The Road On 'First Church of Rock and Roll' Tour
King's X, one of metal's favorite prog rock trios, is heading out on tour this spring, with a focus on the west coast.
The tour run, dubbed the 'First Church of Rock and Roll,' will take the band on a four week trek that kicks off in Texas and wraps up in Colorado.
A lot of the cities on the tour haven't seen King's X on a stage in over three years so it will be a happy reunion for the band and their fans.
King's X last release was the live CD/DVD set 'Live Love In London,' an expansive collection that chronicles live performances from the band over the past 25 years.
Check out all of the King's X tour dates below to see when they'll be sweeping through your city with their delectable blend of hard rock, funk and soul.
King's X 'First Church of Rock and Roll' Tour Dates:
3/28 – Austin, Texas – Dirty Dog Bar
3/29 – Houston, Texas – Warehouse Live Studio
3/30 – Dallas, Texas – Trees
4/1 – Corpus Christi, Texas – House of Rock
4/3 – Tucson, Ariz. – The Rock
4/5 – West Hollywood, Calif. – Key Club
4/6 – San Diego, Calif. – Brick by Brick
4/7 – San Juan, Calif. – The Coach House
4/10 – Felton, Calif. – Don Quixote's
4/12 – Reno, Nev. – Cargo
4/13 – Orangevale, Calif. – The Boardwalk
4/14 – Oakland, Calif. – Pound West Oakland
4/17 – Portland, Ore. – Hawthorne Theatre
4/18 – Seattle, Wash. – El Corazon
4/21 – Denver, Colo. – Herman's Hideaway


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You might have thought ABC's V remake gave us the most cheese-tastic take on the "evil alien queen" trope — but you haven't seen Daryl Hannah in The Last Days of Planet Earth. Her performance is one of our favorite things ever.
If you missed it, Last Days is a 2006 miniseries that aired on the Hallmark Channel, even though it was made by the production company behind many of Syfy's miniseries and TV movies. Hannah plays Liz Quinlan, a former astronaut who is secretly the queen of the alien insect people, who's planning to lay a ton of eggs and use humans as a food source, and as "jackets" to grow her eggs in.
The whole thing is best summed up by one scene where a character tells an old lady who's witnessed some crazy shit, "Just try and forget what you've seen here." He might as well be speaking to the audience.
But Hannah is fantastic. She really milks lines like, "Does this titillate you?" Or, "The word 'hope' does not fill me with much hope. In fact, it does the opposite." Or her absolutely fantastic speech that goes:
What would we do without this nourishment which we have come so far to cultivate and without which we would perish? (I think she just answered her own question.) Which is why I am finished accepting failure. Failure is defeat. Now, in other words, failure is human.
She really takes the "sinister ubervillain who is surrounded by incompetence" trope to the next level, and then some. What you can't really see in these clips is that it sort of sneaks up on you — at first, Hannah's character seems kind of sweet and friendly, and she's a potential love interest to our hero, while being brow-beaten by Police Commissioner Korshaft. But then it turns out she's actually the leader of the aliens, and Korshaft is one of her minions.
Oh, and the way they're collecting enough humans to put all of their alien eggs into is, they're using the DMV as a collection center, and basically kidnapping all the people who come in to renew their licenses. (Seems plausible enough.) And the aliens' evil scheme for increasing their yield is... a parking ticket amnesty! I love that she executes the Police Commissioner when he doesn't seem excited enough about forgiving people's unpaid parking tickets. Rock on, Daryl Hannah.
I got Last Days of Planet Earth on DVD for $1, as one half of a double-sided disc with another made-for-TV classic. This was clearly a dollar well spent. [IMDB]


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|Map of the Region
Map of the region, with the community of Molchadz in the center
[Pages 27 - 41]
Translated by Semadar Siegel and Esther Mann Snyder>
a. The name and its meaning
The name that is used by the residents of the city and surrounding vicinity is Maytchet. The name that appears on the official documents from the era of ancient Poland as well as the maps of modern Poland is Molczadż, whereas in Russian it is Моўчадзь. This name came from the Molchad River, which passes through the region and flows into the Molchadaka River.
In general, cities and villages were named after geographical locations or historical people or events. This was not only for the purposes of identifying the area, but also to perpetuate it, such as the case with a historical event, a national hero, the name of institution. However, not every city merits a splendid family tree that denotes an important historic event. For the most part, a settlement is named for the river upon whose banks it was founded, such as Vilna for the Vylia River, Dvinsk for the Dvina River, and Maytchet for the Molchad River, which is a left tributary of the Neman. In a district with a long history, it would sometimes happen that various tribes and nations would live there in older times, and as their language is forgotten, so would be the meaning of the names of the rivers, mountains, and the like. Names of cities and towns that were called by their names have now completely lost their meaning, and are only decipherable by historians.
This was indeed the historical-geographic and demographic situation of the near and far area of Maytchet, from which it drew its livelihood and spiritual influence at the time of its founding and during its existence. During ancient times, this location was a meeting place of wandering peoples -- Russians, Byelorussians, Lithuanians, Tartars, and Poles. Even those who would travel from afar, wandering through the area at that time, would not pass over this region. These different tribes
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|General view of Maytchet
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continually fought over who had the right to settle and govern this place. Everyone left behind a remnant of their presence in the cities and the settlements, such as fortresses or castles. And each thing, by their name, represents the times and places from whence they came.
As has been stated, Maytchet is the name used by the Jewish residents, as they used to give such names in every place, and therefore does not serve as a source for research. However, the old original name Molchad has a definitive local ring, whose old meaning stems from the river that passes through the area.
We should note that besides our city and the river we mentioned, there are other settlements, including villages and farms, where the name Molchad is noticeable in the name. These include Molchanuff, Molchani, Molchanovka, Molchanovo, Molchnaska Huta and Molchanska Luka, and others. This is aside a string of names with the root Milchan. The article of Molchani in the Geographic Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland theorizes that these names form a historical link with the ancient Slavic tribe called called Molchan or Milchan. which is mentioned by chronologists and historians.
The elders of the town tell the following joke that used to be widespread in the area: A high ranking Russian captain was passing through the area and did not know about the place and its name. He sent an assistant to ask the residents of the city about the name. When the aid came back the captain asked, What is the name of the city' He answered Molchat, which in Russian means be quiet. The captain slapped him on the cheek and shouted, I asked, what is the name of the city! The assistant responded once again, Molchat…
b. Sources regarding the Early Period of the Town
A major methodology utilized by researchers of Jewish history and communal life during the period of autonomy of the Jews of Poland and Lithuania is to peruse the ledger, which is the well-known Pinkas of the Council of Four Lands. This is known as a reliable source for information and details in this area. With regards to a Lithuanian city such as Maytchet, the most important Jewish source is the Ledger of the Council of the State of Lithuania, which is a book of minutes of the autonomous council of the Jews of Lithuania, which in the year 5383 (1623) separated from the Council of Five Lands, which then became known as the Council of Four Lands. This ledger is a reliable source of information on the Jews in the community of Lithuania, from the perspective of religious, economic activities, and family life, etc.
At the first meeting of the autonomous council in 1623, the Ledger of the Council of the State of Lithuania opens with a split into three regions -- Brisk [Brest], Horodna [Grodno], and Pinsk, as well as with the division of the regions into central communities and smaller communities that were depended on the central communities with regard to the imposition and collecting of taxes. According to this division, Maytchet is listed together with all the small towns around it, which were directly subordinate to the community of Slonim in the district of Brisk regarding to the payment of taxes and other matters. Furthermore, in the municipal and administrative edicts of Slonim, which was the regional city in that period,
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Maytchet is also mentioned as subordinate to it for administrative matters, intercession with the authorities, etc.
Jewish encyclopedias are an additional source of information on the Jewish communities. They generally contain a number of lines on each settlement according to its size and importance. Nevertheless this information is sketchy and is very general. The information below appears in the Brokuaus-Efron Jewish Encyclopedia written in Russian:
|Maytchet, early period
Mołczadż Моўчадзь during the time of the Rzeczpospolita was a town in the district of Slonim. In 1765, 369 taxpayers lived in the community.
Today it is in the region of Grodno, which is in the district of Slonim. According to the census of 1847 the Jewish population of Maytchet was 340 people, and according to the census of 1897 the general population was 1,733, of which 1,188 were Jews.
It goes without saying that the general encyclopedias, rich in various entries, tend to dedicate their entries to central cities and places of historical and political importance, skipping completely over smaller communities. On the other hand, the various lexicons and geographical dictionaries, whose purpose is specific and whose scope is restricted to a specific country, pay equal attention to a city and a village, a railway and a roadway, and even the location of a small flourmill on the banks of an unknown river, without skipping
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over anything. This is what was written regarding Maytchet in the Dictionary of Geography of the Kingdom of Poland [Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego], which was published in 1889 in Warsaw (in Polish):
Molczad is a town situation on the Saratowa River, where it flows into the Molchadka River, in the district of Slonim; which is SE of it alongside the Vilna-Romania railroad. The total population is 1,128 (specifically 524 men and 604 women), of which 702 are Jews. In 1654 Maytchet was destroyed in a fire and the people in the town were released from paying taxes and civic duty for four years. In 1879 two thirds of the city burnt down.
The environs around the city were hilly with sandy soil and it was sparsely forested. It was a stop on the Vilna-Romania rail line (officially Molczad). There was a post office and a telegraph line between the railroad stations of Navolania (25 verst)[1] and Baranovichi (25 verst). It was 162 verst from Vilna, 63 verst from Lida, 189 verst from Pinsk and 301 verst from Kobrin.
c. Settlement of Jews in Lithuania
The Jews came from different areas of the Diaspora, and from different expulsions, and settled in Lithuania in the 14th century. The liberal Lithuanian ruler Gediminas (1336-41), who expanded the borders of his country to the Nieman and Bug rivers through his conquests and victories, was welcoming to settlers from outside, among whom were many Jews who were needed for the development of his large but still undeveloped country.
The liberal treatment of the Jews continued with full force with Gediminas' grandchild Witold (1430-86), who even granted the Jews special, far-reaching privileges in order to encourage them to build up and develop his country. Thanks to the humane treatment of these two princes and of the Lithuanian population, who were still pagans until the second half of the 14th century and had not yet been infected by the venom of Christian anti-Semitism, many Jewish settlements developed. The three largest Jewish communities were Brisk, Grodno, and Troki.
However, as was always the destiny of Jews of the Diaspora, after approximately 200 years of relative tranquility and after they put all their energy and blood into the building of a country that was not theirs, history repeated itself. A New King Arose, Let us deal craftily with them[2] etc. Under the influence of the zealous Jesuits who gained influence in this country at that time, in the year 1495 the Orthodox Bishop Alexander Jagiellonczyk expelled all the Jews from his district confiscated their property, which they had obtained through great toil. When Maytchet was established along with other villages in the 16th century, there were only a few remote villages without Jews[3].
However, very soon the rulers of the country realized that the advice of the Jesuits was wrong and that their country sank very quickly into economic chaos without the hard-working Jews. The economic benefits that came to them from the diligent labor of the Jews disappeared as if had never been there, and the property that was confiscated went to the greedy church. Only after their eyes opened up to see the light, did they turn from their wicked thoughts and, in April 1505, the Jews were allowed to return to their homes, and with that return the Jews also went to new areas of our district with the idea that they would build up those areas as well.
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|General view of Mochadz
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Here is the place to note specifically that after the cancellation of the expulsion decree, the pillaged property of the Jews was returned to them, but they never received the full rights back that they had before. Furthermore, they were burdened with a special tax, called the Return Tax, (powrotny), which henceforth was a customary tax that every Jew had to pay to the Lithuanian State, together with the head tax, for the benefit of the national coffers.
We also find in the ledger of the Council of the State of Lithuanian from the middle of the 17th century, more than150 years after the return of Jews to the area, the concept of the Return Tax from the area towns of Dvorets, Zhetl, Maytchet, etc., which by that time had obtained the status of independent communities that paid taxes to the Council of the State of Lithuania.
Another transfusion to the Jewish body of Lithuania occurred after the unification or Lithuania and Poland from 1516 and onward, when the two sister nations unified into one kingdom. A new element was added to the Lithuanian Jewish corpus, the source of which cannot be fully defined, and that was the Polish Jews who streamed into and integrated themselves into that area that had become a part of Poland. That integration went very well. The scholarly Lithuanian Jews, who were so sharp that they received the name of the brain of Jewry, absorbed the religious fervor from the Chassidic Polish Jews, who were known as the heart of the Jewry. They complemented each other. From this one can understand the existence of the Chassidic courts in the big cities and the small villages in the area.
Lithuania's Jews experienced hard times, which were a normal part of Jewish life in the Diaspora, and about which we will talk in the next chapters. As our sages have said, Be mindful of the children of poor people because from them comes Torah learning. Such it was with the Lithuanian Jews, including the area of Polish Lithuania, as they produced great names in all areas, with the entire Jewish people depending on their Torah and wisdom. Jewish natives of Lithuania became the pillars of the Zionist movement and the Hebrew culture in many of the countries of the Diaspora, such as South Africa, etc.
d. Area of Many Regimes
We cannot say how successful the post 1917 revolution regimes were in both abolishing the old world according to the revolutionary doctrine; and in building a new and better world. But when it comes to the Jews who had so much hope in the revolution and sacrificed so many people and much property-their world was literally darkened. Everything collapsed very quickly approaching World War II when Hitler, the firstborn of the Satan, may the name of the evil ones rot, destroyed almost all the Jews of Europe through his madness and cruelty. Few people survived this war of annihilation. Some of these survivors immigrated to Israel to build a new State and build up the country and build a new life for themselves.
The regime of Sodom and Gomorrah is only the end that testifies to the essence of other regimes that preceded it and greatly affected the character of the Jews in the Diaspora
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including our area. The Lithuanian Polish region, with Maytchet located at its center, was a battleground where Eastern and Western armies fought throughout the generations. It passed from one hand to another, but everyone had one deep-seated goal, to suppress the Jews, each in accordance to his way.
The era until the end of the 13th century, was known as the era of settlement of that area with all the occurrences of incursions and retreats from both sides without any permanent regime, accompanied by the temporary invasions and attacks of external elements such as the Tatars, Cossacks, Swedes, etc. Only beginning in 1291, with the establishment of the Lithuanian archdiocese, did the Lithuanian rule became more permanent, lasting for 278 years until the merger of Poland and Lithuania in 1569. Lithuanian rule began with a liberal spirit toward the Jews, who were invited to inhabit the country and participate in the formation and building of the country. However, the attitude of the regime changed very quickly, and the Jews were commanded to leave the country after they devoted their lives and blood to the building of the country. However, the rulers of Lithuania very quickly regretted what they had done and the Jews were allowed to return, but the rend in the heart never healed. The real goal of the government was revealed in particular when it needed the Jewish money and it imposed a special Return Tax in return for their right of return; and which remained in force as a Jewish tax which they had to pay throughout the entire period of their rule.
With the Lublin Unification treaty between Poland and Lithuania, they became one country in all respects and the Polish government continued for 226 years. The attitude of the Polish government to the Jews was not as it seemed. On one hand there was a tradition of the respected Jews who excelled in the development of the country, and that allowed the Jews to have religious autonomy which was granted to them under the rubric of the Council of the Four Lands. On the other hand, the Polish people were very deeply rooted in anti-Semitism, and the liberal Polish government turned the vast Jewish center into a virtual ghetto. Every Polish landowner wanted with all his heart to see the Jews disappear except for his own private Jew, who was forced to sing and dance before him saying How beautiful you are. These are the three typical symbols of the Polish Diaspora and its regime.
The third regime that left its mark upon the area in a very destructive way to the image of the Jew was the Russian regime, which established itself after the third partition and the complete destruction of Poland in 1795. It is proper to note that, whereas the preceding Polish regime was liberal to the Jews, albeit with a policy of degradation, the Russian regime acted with an iron fist and with a policy of oppression. Everywhere that the Russian regime reached, the Jews were limited in where they could live. The limitation was called Krumi Yevreyeb, which means everything is allowed to everyone except for the Jews. The civil rights of the Jews were gradually decreased until the Council was completely abolished. A law was enacted prohibiting Jews from living in villages, banning certain trades, etc. Pogroms also took place.
These were the three main regimes that lasted for several centuries and left their mark upon life in the area in general, and Jewish life in particular, throughout many generations. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore regimes
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that lasted for briefer periods, but whose influence lasted for a long time, such as the renewed Polish government that succeeded in quashing all the hopes and dreams of the Jews during its 19 years of existence. Of course, there was the Nazi regime that lasted for over three years, which was the most fatal and tragic to the local Jews who had already experienced so much pain and suffering, about which we will devote chapters later in this book.
e. The disturbances of Tach veTat (the Chmielnitzky uprising) and other such disturbances
In the wake of the Cossack Rebellion led by the enemy Chemil, the rebellious farmers swept through western Ukraine and the area of Podolia and Volhynia, drowning the Jewish residents in rivers of blood, until their bloody march reached Pinsk. Some sources say that they even reached the swamps of Polesia and arrived at the cities of Slonim, Grodno, and even Minsk, but there is no official confirmation of such. Nathan Nota Hanover listed in his book Yaven-Metzula all the names of the communities that were destroyed. He does not mention Slonim, and the nearby communities such as Maytchet, Zhetl, or others. Aside from the echoes of the terrible atrocities that overtook the Jews of Poland and the help that was given to the refugees, we find no mention of the atrocities in the Ledger of the Council of the State of Lithuania, that continued its activities during the years of Tach and Tat (1648-1649) and beyond without any interruption, until the end of its existence. We find that the 12th meeting of the Council took place in the month of Shevat in 1649 in the small town of Mistkevich. At the 13th meeting took place 1650 in Zabludova, large sums of money had to be paid by the Jewish communities of Dvorets, Zhetl, and Maytchet, and others who had to pay debts that were created in the winter of 1648.
The Cossacks attacked the Polish nobility and Catholic churches wherever they went. However, these incidents were not recorded in any municipal or district courthouse records in Slonim. There is also insufficient information in the history books of the area communities to reveal the tragic events that happened to the Jews. It is known; however, that many communities paid higher taxes during those years, which is a sign of their economic success.
In contrast it is clear that in the year 5416 (1655) the Cossacks arrived in the district of Slonim, destroyed the Catholic Monastery in Zyrowa, and viciously attacked the towns and villages in the area. Even though we do not have detailed information about killings of Jews, we still know that their economic life was almost paralyzed. The urban Christian and the Polish nobility with the help of the Catholic priesthood led by the Jesuits, who were growing strong in Lithuania at that time, spared no disgusting effort to attack the Jews and afflict their life.
With the great confusion, the Jews of Ruzhany were accused of a blood libel in the year 5418 (1658). This ended with the execution of two of the leaders of the community. This unfortunate event laid the groundwork for other libels and for the danger of
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general expulsion of the Lithuanian Jews. Feelings of fear overtook the Jews in the region and their communities, which were obligated by the state council to pay heavy fees to intercede in the libels, and were weakened to a low level. It was not only the communities of the area, but also the large community of Slonim that had to take out high interest loans from the priests of Zyrowa. They were unable to repay even the interest, and became completely dependent upon them.
As if the load of troubles and tribulations of the Jews of the area was not full, from 1654 to 1655 the Russians and their Swedish partners that took part in the Thirty Year War of Poland attacked the Jews and killed many without mercy. The communities of Lithuania that miraculously survived the Cossacks during the tribulations of Tach VeTat, were now being murdered by the Russians and Swedes, and reached the point of poverty and desperation. Because of the terrible situation of the Jewish community, especially in the area of Novogrudok , the Council of the State of Lithuania could not deliver the correct head army to the state coffers. In 1712 a lawsuit was registered to the Supreme Court in Vilna for not paying the taxes of the sum of 25,000 gold coins.
The communities mentioned in the lawsuit included Slonim, Dvorets, Zhetl, Maytchet, Polonka, Stolovichi, Mysh Nova, and others. The verdict was a very harsh, and consisted of a death sentence for the community leaders if the money would not be paid within the time frame set in the verdict.
To sum up this difficult and bitter period that was the lot of the Lithuanian Jews, it must be stated that because of the continuous wars and poverty, there was a major plague spread through the area that killed many.
f. The region and its Spiritual Influence
No historical period that is measured as a whole entity. Rather, it is part of a chain of generations and periods. Each period is part of a chain of epochs, and is a result of the preceding one and a base for events of future generations. Similarly, a geographical specific point is a sum of influences from external factors from other geographical centers, primary and secondary, that influence its existence physically, spiritually and culturally. It is clear that this little town in Lithuania is, first of all, Lithuanian in its essence.
The area of the influence of Maytchet, of which it is the center, developed between the Neiman River in the northwest and the Pripet River in the southeast and the large cities surrounding it: Vilna in the north, Grodno and Bialystok in the west, Brisk and Pinsk in the south, Minsk in the east, and Slonim in the center
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of the area. Before we describe the immediate region, i.e. the cities and nearby villages that conducted day to day commercial relations with Maytchet, we will describe more distant centers that had a significant spiritual and cultural effect on the area in general and on the city of Maytchet in particular.
Vilna - It was an ancient and significant town with 235,000 people, with a Jewish population of 80,000 in 1941. It was formerly the capital of Lithuania, and then a district city in Poland, and finally the capital of Soviet Lithuania. It was a large center of European Jewry for Torah, Jewish wisdom, enlightenment, and arts. It was nicknamed the Jerusalem of Lithuania (Yerushalayim DeLita). Its educational and cultural institutions included: an ancient university, a science academy, a conservatorium, a rabbinical seminary, a teacher's seminary, secondary schools in Hebrew and Yiddish, an ORT Technion, a center for Yiddish culture called Vilner Yiddish, YIVO, Vilner Troupe, Bund, a printing press and newspapers. The printing press of the Romm widow and brothers published the Vilna edition of the Talmud. The periodicals included Hakarmel, Hazman, and Haolam. Important scholars who lived there included: The Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Yehudah Halevi Horowitz, Adam Ha Kohen, [his son] Mikhal, Yehuda Leib Gordon, Shmuel Yoseph Fine and others.
Grodno (Horodno) -- an ancient town on the River Nieman with 50,000 inhabitants; 20,000 of whom were Jews. It was one of the main towns in the Bialystok area during the era of Polish rule, and it is part of Soviet Byelorussia. It had commerce in wood, wool, and tobacco processing.
It already had a Jewish community in the 14th century. On account of its importance and great influence in the area, it was established as one of the three districts of the Council of the State of Lithuania. In 1789 the first Jewish press in Lithuania was set up by Baruch Romm. It moved from there to Vilna and became famous as the Romm Press, and later, the Widow and Brothers Romm. Rabbi Mordechai Jaffe, the author of Halevushim, served in the rabbinate of that community.
Białystok -- It was a district city during the era of Polish rule with more then 100,000 inhabitants, half of whom were Jewish (1939). The primary occupation of the local residents was with the textile and leather factories, most of which were in Jewish hands. Famous people included Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever, Zamenhof, and others.
Brisk of Lita (Brest Litovsk) -- it was the main city in the Polesia district, on the Bug River with 50,000 inhabitants and a large Jewish community. It was an important crossroad on the Moscow-Warsaw railroad.
In the 17th century, Brisk first became known as an important center of Lithuanian Jewry. The Council of the State of Lithuania designated it as a major district, and it became a location for conventions. Famous rabbis of Brisk included: the Maharshal, Rabbi Yoel Sirkes the author of the Bach, Rabbi Chaim Solveitchik and others.
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Brisk was destroyed in 1648 by Chmielnitski's soldiers, but the line between Brisk and Pinsk served as the northern border of their bloody rampage.
Pinsk - It was a city in the region of Polesia with the Pinsk marshes at its center. In 1939 there were 37,000 inhabitants, of whom 24,000 were Jews. Most of the industry and commerce, mainly dealing with exporting wood to Danzig, was in Jewish hands.
There was a Jewish community from the 16th century, which was one of the three first districts of the Council of State of Lithuania. It played an active role in the dispute between the Misnagdim and Chassidim. The Jews suffered terribly from the Cossack pogroms of Chmielnitzki.
Minsk - The capital of Soviet Byelorussia on the Svisloch River, southeast of Vilna and on the Moscow-Vilna-Warsaw railway line. In the district of Lithuania, it is the twin city to Vilna in its population and Jewish cultural importance. Before the Holocaust there were 60,000 Jews out of a population of 238,000 individuals. In the 14th century Minsk was annexed to Lithuania and in the 16th century it became part of Poland during the 1569 unification.
From the 16th century, Minsk had an important Jewish community under the rubric of the Council of the Four Lands, and later in the Council of the State of Lithuania. In its time, Minsk was known as an important Torah center, with the following rabbis: Rabbi Yechiel Halperin the author of Seder Hadorot, Rabbi Arieh Leib the author of Shaagat Aryeh and others. It was an important base of the Mitnagdim, had a great deal of Haskalah activities, and was an important Zionist center. It hosted the Russian Zionist council from 1902.
g. Immediate Surroundings and Economic Relationships
After we have described the broader district from which Maytchet absorbed its spiritual and cultural influences, directly and indirectly; it is now appropriate to turn our attention to the immediate area with its cities and villages, which set up their roots from the time of their establishment, and to look into the settlements with which it had day-to-day contact and which served as its base for livelihood and sustenance. First of all…
Slonim - An ancient, historic city dating from the middle ages on the banks of the Szczara River. Before the Second World War there were 14,000 inhabitants.
It is a very well-pedigreed city, whose elder generation was a pleasant mix of rabbis and scholars who were great in Torah, and Jews of renown who had a sharp Lithuanian mind, and of Admorim and Hassidim who possessed a warm Jewish heart'. The younger generation excelled in their sweet Jewish folksiness.
It was always a primary city and an example for other cities and towns whose residents came to Slonim to study in its Yeshivas, to spend time in the Hassidic courts, and to draw from its great spiritual treasuries in the realms of Haskalah, Zionism, revolution, etc.
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During the days of the autonomous Lithuanian Council, Maytchet and surrounding towns were affiliated with the large Slonim community.
Baranovichi - It was a relatively young city that was established after the construction of the Moscow-Brisk railroad in 1873. This place, which had formerly been a pine forest, became an important crossroads, and many inhabitants of the surrounding villages and even farther-away places were attracted to it.
Baranovichi developed mainly during the Polish regime, which established it as the district city instead of Slonim that served as such during the time of the earlier Russian regime. Administratively the councils of Mush, Maytchet, Polonka, Stolovich, and Horodishtch belonged to this community. Of the 28,000 inhabitants, less then half were Jewish. The diligent Jews were in control of most of the business and trades of the city, whereas the Christians were the government officials and the military people.
Baranovichi was the center for Torah and Hasidism. The two large Yeshivas attracted youths and young married men from the towns of the area. It also served as Jewish cultural center, with all its ramifications. Six weekly Jewish newspapers were published in Baranovichi, and the city exerted a strong influence on the towns of the area.
Stolovichi - It was a small town 7 parasangs[1] from Baranovichi, populated primarily by urban Christians (misczans) and a few hundred Jewish families. Stolovichi was situated on a main road, and served as a stopover from routes of many directions, for all routes led through Stolovichi. Its roads spread out in four directions, and were a stopover for horses and carriages.
Since it was an important crossroads, from early times Stolovichi had market days, which were known afar. The entire economy of the city, both of the Jews and the Christians, was based upon them. These market days indirectly affected the economy of other towns of the area, Maytchet included, for people would go there with their handiwork and various merchandise to sell.
Mush regarded itself as the mother town of Baranovichi. For a long time, people would call it New Mysh. It was an ancient city, as is shown by the old ledger that included historical facts. In the census of 1897, Mush had 2,995 people, including 1,764 Jews.
Mush is about four parasangs west of Baranovichi. In marriage documents and other certificates, Baranovichi is noted as Baranovichi near Mush. Before Baranovichi was founded, Mush was a city blessed by G-d, whose Jewish residents earned their livelihood in a plentiful manner. However, once Baranovichi was founded around 1884 and became a railway stop, many of the residents of Mush moved there,
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to the point where it became emptied of its residents and sources of livelihood. From that time, it was a wealthy man who had become impoverished, but who retained his family tree in his hand.
Zhetl[4] - It was a Jewish town on the road from Novogrudok to Slonim, about 12 kilometers from the Nowojelnia railway station. It had an old community with 3,000 Jews, who earned their livelihood throughout the generations in a meager fashion through their handiwork and by conducting small-scale commerce with the villages of the area. Despite being of modest means, the Jews of Zhetl were at a high level from a spiritual, cultural, and social perspective.
A large Yeshiva was established in Zhetl, in which Jews from all parts of Poland would come to study, and which was known for its geniuses. It also had Talmud study groups in which the scholars of the town and regular householders participated. It sent forth rabbis and scholars who of renown who were great in Torah. In the latter period, Zhetl was noted for its nationalist-Zionist activities and also as a center of the Jewish-Russian workers' movement.
Dvorets - It was situated close to Zhetl, and had a larger Jewish community than did Zhetl. The two communities shared a common lot throughout the generations, and appear for a long time as twin cities in the ledger of the Council of the State of Lithuania, that paid their tax quotas to the council in a joint fashion. However, with the passage of time, Zhetl developed to the point where it earned its status of an independent community, whereas Dvorets separated from Zhetl and was set up by the council as an affiliate of the community of Maytchet for that same purpose.
The Yeshivas of Volozhin and Mir - Without doubt, one of the wonderful traits, the fruit of the land with which Lithuanian Jewry was graced, was the voice of Torah that burst forth from the famous Yeshivas, which were the first and primary institutions in all the cities of Lithuania and the area. These included the Yeshivas of Slobodka, Radin, Ponovich, Novhorodok, and Slonim (in which the splendorous Maytchet Gaon Reb Hirsch served), Lida (in which the Maytchet genius KRM served), Horodishets, and others.
However, we will discuss specifically the two large Yeshivas, which are Volozhin and Mir, which were like the Oxford and Cambridge of the Lithuanian region, whose good name spread throughout the Jewish Diaspora as centers of Torah and moralistic teaching (mussar), and whose sounds of Torah never stopped day and night. As is known, the Volozhin Yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Chaim the student of the GRA (Vilna Gaon) as a force of opposition against the Haskalah movement. Within it walls, there were Yeshiva heads, Gaonim and giants of Torah and fear of G-d; as well as 400 students who were diligent in their studies, including the national poet Ch. N. Bialik, the Maytchet Genius, and others.
The Mir Yeshiva, which was closer to Minsk, had more students that Volozhin; but the crown of the first born remained with Volozhin.
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|Maytchet youths in the Yeshivas of the area
Villages of the area - It is appropriate to point out an interesting fact, which was not a particularly widespread vision throughout the Jewish Diaspora but was quite typical in that district - that many Jews worked in agriculture. Jewish residents lived in almost all of the villages around Maytchet. Some of them worked in leasing, trades and commerce as did village Jews everywhere, whereas another portion worked in agriculture in the fields and gardens. Both groups regarded themselves as belonging to the community of Maytchet in all respects. As is known, even the Maytchet Gaon was born in the nearby village of Sennichenenta to his father who was the lessee of the post office and inn of the village.
The following is the list of the nearby villages whose Jewish residents added a significant percentage to the Jewish population of Maytchet: Ivankoviche, Byalolozy, Dokorva, Zahorny, Zverovshchina, Khoroshovchitsy, 41Yatra, Mitskevichi, Medbedzini, Serebrishche, Svortova, Kalisheniki, and Rohotna.
It should be noted that the Jewish residents of the villages succeeded in escaping the sword of the Holocaust more so than the residents of the town.
h. Maytchet in Memorial Books of the Region
Another source of information about the Jewish community in Maytchet can be found, without doubt, in the Yizkor books of the adjacent communities in the area, since they shared a common fate in terms of political and economic relations and also in the organization of the Jewish communities. It also should be noted, the problems concerning
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the general political matters and also the internal community life under the tyrannical government and the very difficult days including the poll tax levied on the Jews by the state, attempts to prevent blood libels and other vicious decrees, redemption of prisoners, aid to the families whose members were martyred, etc. The Jews of Lithuania suffered from another tax that was levied for the right to return to their former residence after the cancellation of deportations decrees.
All these matters were daily occurrences of the Jews of Lithuania and brought for discussion to the Committee of the State of Lithuania, where each community tried to give as much as possible to the fund of the Committee which was directly responsible to the government for the payments. According to the amounts of payments and their changing details we can learn about the conditions that rose and declined of the community.
|The early days of Maitshet
And this is what we read in the Shtetl Pinhas (Ledger), of the interesting work of Mordechai Vav. Bernshtein (Buenos Aires)
In the meeting of the Committee from 1670, section 687, we read about the levy of State amount: three gold coins, 46 large ones and 100 large Polish ones). From this we learn for the first time, that also Maitshet was part of the partnership. Pinkas Zhetl (a/k/a Dyatlovo), edited by Baruch Kaplinski. Tel-Aviv, 1957.
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In the meeting of the Committee in 1673, paragraph 706 we read: Dvorets (a/k/a Dzyatlava) with Maitshet eight large gold foil to this Maitshet will give 6 gdo'f. From this budget we learn that Dvorets (which in the past was considered with Zhetl) became a partner with Maitshet, and we learn from this the portion of Maitshet in the general sum.
And in the meeting of 1679 - Dvorets and Maitshet 26 large ones and in 1684 they gave 18 large ones until from 1601 Maitshet separated from Dvorets and appeared as a separate community with 7 large ones.
In the Pinkas of Slonim, a book by Kalman Lichtenshtein, in chapter 4, we read the following excerpts about the town of Maitshet and its surroundings from its beginnings:
Despite the terrible isolation of the Jews among the hostile non-Jews, the Jews of Slonim succeeded during the years 1550 - 1648 to enlarge its borders and to continue to found small settlements in the area, the way they had done in the first half of the 16th century. Thus we note the existence of Jewish settlements during this time such as Zhetl, Roviny, Dvorets, Maitshet, Polanka (a/k/a Stolevitch), Drohichin (a/k/a Drahichyn), Halynka (a/k/a Golynka), Kossovo, Byten, - small communities that were without a doubt founded by settlers from Slonim, who arrived there after the establishment and strengthening their central community.
In Chapter 6, of the above mentioned book, we read about the place of Maitshet among the family of Jewish communities in the area.
Immediately upon the start of the Pinkas of the State of Lithuania, in the Committee of 1623, divided the state into three main regions: Brisk, Harodna, and Pinsk. Slonim was mentioned as belonging to the region of Brisk. In this section also are mentioned the communities of Roviny and Dvorets due to their growth in the beginning of the 17th century. From this we learn that many settlements in the area that had lesser Jewish populations than these two; and the fact of their existence was mentioned due to governmental and local acts - Slonimian, and they are: Ozernitsa, Kossovo, Drohichin, Zhetl, Byten, Seltz (a/k/a Syalyets) Polanka, Maitshet and a number of communities in the surrounding villages were directly subordinate to the community of Slonim.
In addition direct and indirect mention was made in the memorial books of other communities in the area, that indicate the beginning of the establishment of Maitshet and the difficulties encountered in its development.
i. The Jewish town in the view of the newspapers
How wretched and pitiful looked the lives of the Jews in the big cities, and especially in the small Jewish towns, in the view of the newspapers of those days.
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Whether in the Eastern part, the valley of tears as described by the author Mendele that is reflected in The Melitz by Tzederbaum in Peterburg and that of the Western side, in Yavan Hametzula by Hanover, reflected in the Tzfira by Slonimski in Warsaw, the area of Lithuania was a middle ground reflecting parts of both sides; two are better than one.
And we should know, that in those days the idea of Zionism had not yet evolved and there didn't appear among the Jewish communities any other solutions to resist the decrees as was done in the democratic countries. In addition, the older generation was still deep in its old ways, the swamp of exile, and were able to bequeath to their children only tarbe that has no end and all the long-standing Jewish way of life. Therefore even new generations physically strong but weak in spirit, plodded along in the same stagnant swamp.
|The first houses in Maitshet
If life was so wretched and downtrodden and the writers whose opinions were so empty and superficial, as if there is nothing more in their world but only cursed poverty and meagerness, the community-shtibl, the disputes and rumors. And if the sky was so dark without any horizons, vision and hope ceased to exist in the closed heart without realizing the wretched situation. And if the town stood still for many years and no one arose to write in the newspaper anything more than a fire in the streets, or a murder or theft or until a bishop would arrive
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for a visit and a delegation of Jews with Torah scrolls went to greet him and other such news. Therefore, it's not surprising that the image of the Jewish town in the view of the press was desperate and somewhat unpleasant, since that was the image and the character in sad reality.
Here are a few excerpts from the reports of the correspondents of the towns and area around Maitshet, that constantly ran news reports that would be published on the front pages for all to see in the periodicals.
HaMalitz - a notice to tell Yaakov everything etc. that happened in Peterburg the capital, written by Alexander Halevi Tzederboim.
Hatzefira - a periodical that reported news among the people of Yeshurun (Jews), published in Warsaw by Haim Zelig Slonimski.
MN- - - notifies: The number of Jews counted in our town is 280 families. There is one great synagogue that is standing since the year 5408 (1648), and another 6 Batei midrashim - Study Halls. Six organizations 1- Hevra Kadisha (for burials), 2- Bikur Holim (taking care of the sick), 3- Linat Zedek (hostel for the poor), 4- Hevrat Sha'ss (learning the Talmud) , 5- Hevrat Mishnayot (learning the Mishna), 6- Hevrat Tehillim (learning/reading the Psalms).
Rabbis 2, Rabbinical judges 2, shohet (ritual kosher slaughter) 3, cantors 2, beadles 8, teachers 13, writers of Torah scrolls, etc. 6, mikve caretakers 2, gravediggers 2, storekeepers 36, sellers of old clothes 6, horse traders 9, fruit salesmen 5, agents and intermediaries 7, bakers of bread and honey cakes 9, tailors and seamstresses 23, leather workers 21, waggoners 11, watch repairers 3, engravers 3, meat pullers 7, wood choppers and water carriers 7, chimney sweepers 2, manual laborers 9, musicians 4, makers of hand boxes 2, doctor 1, pharmacist, midwives 3, without any specific occupation 67, beggars 9.
These are the Jews who live in our town as counted.
Z --- (Grodno area). - On Monday night during the 10 days of repentance, a fire erupted and destroyed more than 100 houses and 3 Study Halls, also stores with their merchandise were burnt. The people of the city stand outside with their wives and children without a place to sleep. Therefore I ask of you in the name of the injured to quickly give them help whether in money or clothes and to send to ---.
MB ---We are told that on Shabbat Parshat Shmot there was a disturbance and confusion in the study hall during the prayers, between the leader of the prayers and the shohet - - - and there was such a great tumult that the neighboring Christians came to see what all the noise was about and they laughed that such foolishness about the leader of the prayers would cause the Jews to desecrate the House of the Lord.
H.P. - MM writes that from a nearby village three farmers came to a tavern run by a Jewish woman who poured them a drink, which they drank and became intoxicated. When she asked for payment they spilled
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out the liquor from the barrels onto the ground and they beat her badly almost to death. If only the police had arrived
MM. We are told that on Friday, before last Shabbat the prayer hall of the Hasidim became like a battlefield. They beat each other, threw dirt, insulted and cursed each other like fishwives at the market. About 60 pieces of glass were broken from the windows and even the wives of the Hasidim took part in the holy war. And the men even grabbed the head coverings off the women in front of all. Finally, they filed their complaints and petitions to the magistrate and the mayor of the city to our disgrace and shame.
M.A. writes MM. - Our town looks like a hut in the field, all the workers have stopped working and live from the air. Due to zero work they walk around the town all day and spend their time in idle talk. Formerly many urgently went to work in the golden countries, America and Africa, but even a change of place didn't improve their economic situation because those wandering from place to place didn't earn much. Only infrequently were they able to send money home to their families who were left penniless, and others had to return bitterly disappointed.
The education of the children was sluggish and poorly done. The people found no use for education and no one sought it. I am not exaggerating when I say that there was almost no one in the whole town who had any knowledge of our literature or any idea of our nationalism. No one here even read the newspapers because it didn't interest them in the least.
MB. writes. - Due to the lack of a Talmud-Torah (elementary school) the teachers sit in special rooms and each receives his salary of three to five rubles a week. Each must go around to the homes every Friday to receive this pittance. This money is insufficient to maintain the Talmud-Torah and the community stands apart and awaits the coming of the Messiah.
Recently the home of the local Rabbi was burned. Among his possessions that were destroyed were the documents of his birth and marriage. The rabbi attempted to acquire permission from the governor of the province, that the district council provide a copy of the documents that are kept in their offices. However, many fees are required, which he did not have; he asked the local council to help but they claimed they couldn't aid him since they had no money. Thus those requesting documents were sorely disappointed.
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j. Summary Table Part One
|Until the end of the 6th century
|Prehistoric period/movement of primitive tribes, Slavs, Lithuanians, Teutonians
|7th - 8th centuries
|Beginning of small principalities, Slavic, in the East and Lithuanian in the West 200 yrs
|9th - 10th centuries
|Overthrow of Lithuanian princes and fortification of Slavic princes in the area 200 yrs
|11th - 12th centuries
|Constant clashes between Russians and Lithuanians and alternating control of each 200 yrs
|Invasion of the Tatars of Battu-Hen and their withdrawal in the same year 1 yr
|1291 - 1569
|Expulsion of the Russian princes to the East/Founding of the Lithuanian Archduchery/Consecutive Lithuanian government in the area for 278 yrs
|1316 - 1341
|The Lithuanian Prince Gadmin invites the Jews from various regions to settle in his land 25 yrs
|1386 - 1430
|Vitold the grandson of Gadmin grants special rights to the Jewish settlers who will develop his country 44 yrs
|1495 - 1505
|Jewish Deportation decree from Lithuanian by Alexander Yagilontzik/ in 1503 repeal of the decree and return of the Jews 8 yrs
|The approximate dare of the founding of the village of Maitshet
[Page 48]
|1569 - 1795
|Lublin Unified Covenant between Lithuania and Poland, autonomous Lithuania in the area and conseccutive Polish government for a period of 226 yrs
|1623 - 1761
|Rule of autonomous Committee of Jews of Lithuania 138 yrs
|1655 - 1659
|Russian invasion and war of the Swedes 5 yrs
|The Maitshet community is mentioned for the first time in the Pinkas (ledger) of Lithuania together with Dvorets and Zhetl
|1795 - 1915
|Final division of Poland and annexation of the area to Russia/Czarist Russian government for 120 yrs
|1915 - 1919
|German conquest in World War I 3 ½ yrs
|1920 - 1939
|After the interim Soviet rule - renewed Polish rule for 19 yrs
|1939 - 1941
|Soviet occupation according to the Ribbentrop - Molotov Agreement 2 yrs
|1941 - 1944
|Nazi occupation/annihilation of the Jews 3 yrs
|Annexation of the area to Soviet Byelorussia
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text:
Kirk Vashaw, CEO and president, was the featured speaker at the northwest Ohio ag breakfast event. Click here for more about his talk.
BRYAN, Ohio — There's nothing fancy about a Dum Dum pop. This tiny lollipop is about as big around as a small marble — impaled by a three-inch sucker stick and wrapped in a 3-by-3 inch square of wax paper.
It's so simple a child can unwrap it and pop it in his mouth in a matter of seconds — roll it against his tongue and savor the flavor.
The Dum Dum might be simple, but it's been sweet success for the 440 workers at Spangler Candy Co. in Bryan, Ohio, and the millions of children across the world who enjoy candy suckers.
The Spangler family purchased the brand from Akron Candy Co. in 1953. Today, the company makes about 10 million Dum Dums a day. That's good for nearly 2.3 billion Dum Dums per year.
"It's a lot of happy little kids," said Pat Hurley, 69, a third generation Spangler family member who has worked for the company most of his life.
Lots of candy
Spangler is the second largest lollipop manufacturer in the United States. The company — which dates back to 1906 — is also the only mass manufacturer of candy canes. They make about 600,000 canes a day. And they're one of only two U.S. companies manufacturing circus peanuts.
The factory is located in a part of the state known for its flat fields of corn, wheat and soybeans. Grain farming has helped earn this region the nickname "breadbasket of Ohio."
In such a rural area, the massive 500,000 foot factory is a standout. But don't be mistaken — Spangler is very much a part of the agriculture surrounding it.
Before the candy becomes candy, it's corn and corn syrup, as well as sugar. All of those things are grown by farmers — across the Midwest and in the South.
Feature event. Kirk Vashaw, 40, president and CEO, gave an update about the company's ag connections June 21 at the Northwest Ohio Ag-Business Breakfast Forum at the Agricultural Incubator Foundation north of Bowling Green.
The company buys about 24 million pounds of corn syrup annually, or 600,000 bushels of corn grown across roughly 3,750 acres. And they buy 28 million pounds of sugar from roughly 3,800 acres of sugar beets.
Corn syrup arrives at the factory twice daily in tank trucks weighing roughly 52,000 pounds. Workers combine the syrup, sugar and other ingredients in large kettles in the factory kitchen — a large and busy room with a year-round, all-day temperature of 98 degrees.
It's grueling work, but it goes hand-in-hand with candy making. The candy itself is heated to a temperature of nearly 200 degrees before being kneaded, rolled and pressed into the shapes of the various candies being made.
Hurley said kitchen workers get compensated a little more because of the heat, and innovations like robotic kneaders, presses and line rollers help lessen some of the physical labor.
"It's hard work, especially when you go up into the kitchens," Vashaw said. "It's (98 degrees) not because it's hot outside; they're always that hot."
Staying involved
As president, he's usually not the one making candy or running the machinery. But his office is centrally positioned within the factory, and to get there he passes through production and the dozens of floor workers nearest his office. In the past he's spent a week doing each of the different jobs, so he would know for himself what it takes.
The Dum Dum got its name from the round WW I bullets called dum-dums. They looked similar to the candy suckers and had a similar ridge around the middle. The company kept the name because it had become so popular and easy to recognize — especially among kids.
"Dum Dums is this very easy word for young kids to say," Vashaw said. "It worked for little kids."
Spangler sells candy in markets across the United States and to nearly 20 other countries. They sell a little under $100 million in factory products annually.
They sell 16 flavors of Dum Dums, plus a mystery flavor. They have their own lab for developing new flavors and product lines, and company employees help taste-test new products.
The factory runs around the clock and with so much candy being made, it produces a multiflavored aroma throughout most of the production floor. But Vashaw said it's something you get used to with time, and the workers don't notice it as much as those who come for tours.
If a factory has to produce an odor, however, it's better to have one that smells like a candy cane or a lollipop.
"It's a nice smell versus a lot of other smells you get from industry," he said.
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