Humor

By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI / Staff Writer photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer During his 26 years as a police officer, Roger Powers found that humor often was the best weapon against the horrible things he sometimes saw on the job. Powers, who in October retired with the rank of sergeant after 26 years with the Hagerstown City Police Department, said he used jokes, laughter and quips to shield himself from the...

A fence was put up Wednesday at the Good Humor-Breyers plant on Frederick Street in Hagerstown. Ken Wells, the plant manager, did not return a message left at his office Thursday. Dean Mastrojohn, a spokesman for Unilever, which makes Good Humor-Breyers products, said he couldn't comment on the reason for the fence.

State and local governments are providing incentives to Good Humor-Breyers to expand its ice cream plant, the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission said this week. The Morning Herald reported in May that Unilever North American Ice Cream, Good Humor-Breyers' parent company, was investing $7 million in the Frederick Street plant. At the time, Plant Manager Ken Wells said the company would hire about 50 more employees, increasing its total to about 525 employees.

A Good Humor-Breyer's Ice Cream official said Thursday that a mediator is involved in negotiations between the company and union workers at the company's Frederick Street plant in Hagerstown. Union and management representatives met twice with the mediator last Thursday and Friday, said Mark Freeman, vice president of human resources at the company's corporate headquarters in Green Bay, Wis. The mediator was assigned at the request of the parties by the Federal Mediation Service, an independent federal agency, he said.

A Good Humor-Breyer's Ice Cream official said Monday he remained confident a settlement could be negotiated with union members, who rejected a contract offer. Local union members overwhelmingly rejected the offer, setting the stage for a possible strike at the ice cream plant on Frederick Street in Hagerstown, said Larry Lorshbaugh, President of Local 9386, United Steelworkers of America. Lorshbaugh was not sure when a strike might begin. Negotiations are expected to resume this week, said Mark Freeman, vice president of human resources at the company's corporate headquarters in Green Bay, Wis. "The company has presented the union a fair and realistic offer ... It's competitive in the local market.

WILLIAMSPORT Patrick Lynn Miller - an educator and musician known for his humor - liked to please and perform, his mother said Monday, the day after he died from injuries in a car crash. He was 51. Lynn Miller, as he was known, played the trumpet and sang for many years, including with the Williamsport Blue Band in high school and the group Friends & Spirit in his 20s and beyond, said his mother, JoAnn Miller. He was a top trumpeter when the Williamsport Community Band started in 1998, said Nelson Deal, a band organizer.

Taking the Eeyore out of life is a laughing matter. Sam Splear, a motivational speaker from Avedo, Ill., says too many people walk around living on the outside but wasting away inside. He hears them complaining and arguing, suffering from what he calls the "Eeyore Complex," named after the gloomy donkey from "Winnie the Pooh. " [cont. from lifestyle ] "You can see people literally dying," says Splear, who is the training administrator for the human resources department at John Deere.

Lois Walden will be sharing her reflections on the spirituality of humor at a dinner for women Thursday, May 3, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the parish center, St. Ann Catholic Church, 1525 Oak Hill Ave. A registered nurse, Walden will speak on the topic, "A Time to Laugh," mixing food, learning, and laughter. With more than 20 years experience in the fields of nursing, nutrition, fitness and education, Walden will address the issue of humor and health in a woman's spirituality.

scottb@herald-mail.com If you think you know Tim Rowland by reading his newspaper columns, think again. When writing the columns, he uses a contrived persona that he described Sunday as "the crabby cynic. " But Rowland, 44, of Halfway, says he dropped the persona when writing his new humor novel, "Home Detention. " In the book, he shows his more thoughtful, emotional side as he describes what it was like to go from being a bachelor living alone in his 40s to getting married and suddenly having a wife, a stepdaughter, a roommate and two pets.

Filmmaker John Putch should have spent the weekend relaxing and celebrating his latest movie, but he was quick to help set up shots for a video interview. Putch adjusted a tripod and lighting before settling in to answer questions about “Route 30, Too!” The movie debuted this weekend in the region where it was filmed and was received by enthusiastic crowds. “They laughed a lot and had really fun questions, so I think it was a good premiere,” Putch said. The newly released film is the second in a trilogy.

William S. “Bill” Higgins Jr. was one of those people who made friends wherever he went. He lived his life with humor and a positive spirit that attracted people. “He wanted to get to know people,” said only child Amy Higgins Ryan of Hampstead, Md. “In airports, I'd bury my nose in a book. He'd get to know people, he'd know their life story,” said Susan “Susie” Higgins, Bill's wife of 43 years. Bill met people through work, church, volunteer activities, when out for dinner, in the neighborhood - anywhere people were.

Filmmaker John Putch should have spent the weekend relaxing and celebrating his latest movie, but he was quick to help set up shots for a video interview. Putch adjusted a tripod and lighting before settling in to answer questions about “Route 30, Too!” The movie debuted this weekend in the region where it was filmed and was received by enthusiastic crowds. “They laughed a lot and had really fun questions, so I think it was a good premiere,” Putch said. The newly released film is the second in a trilogy.

His left sleeve is empty and he wears a patch over one eye, but Clebe McClary has not let the injuries he received more than four decades ago in Vietnam dampen his spirit. The Christian motivational speaker was the guest speaker Saturday night at the Bible Brethren Church father-son banquet, regaling a room of about 100 sons, fathers and grandfathers with a mixture of humor and inspiration. Patrick Cleburne “Clebe” McClary was a young Marine Corps lieutenant leading a platoon on a reconnaissance patrol when his unit was ambushed.

Waynesboro Area Senior High School graduated 246 students Tuesday in a ceremony filled with expressions of gratitude. Graduation speakers thanked family, friends, school board members, administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, classmates, cafeteria workers, information technology professionals and custodians. “We are all here today because of the incredible gift they have given us,” Class President Mat Levine said. The Class of 2012's three valedictorians briefly turned the school's gymnasium into a comedy club, as they told a series of jokes and humorous stories.

Calling all zombies. The Berkeley County Health Department wants you. No, they really do want you in all of your gory greatness for a disaster-training exercise on June 8 at Martinsburg South Middle School. Residents who wish to take part in the Point of Distribution exercise - which has been dubbed “Zombie Attack” - need only show up at the school along Bulldog Boulevard in Martinsburg between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., said Carl French, the county health department's threat preparedness coordinator.

Watching "American Reunion," it occurred to me how similar the "American Pie" series is to the "Final Destination" series.  The "American Pie" series is a scatological comedy franchise known for convoluted sequences where everything seems to go wrong at once and the characters end up humiliated. The "Final Destination" series is a horror franchise known for convoluted sequences where everything seems to go wrong at once and the characters end up dead. Both franchises are more than decade old and still coming out with new installments.

I fear for America's commercial sense of humor, specifically as it relates to the brewing industry. I say this because of the death of boxing legend Joe Frazier. First, I think anyone with a decade of Super Bowl watching under the belt can attest to the fact that the last really good year for humorous commercials was probably circa 2004. Much of this came as a result of the dot.com collapse. At the dawn of the new millennium, you might recall, there were bushels of "hi-tech" companies that had a lot of good ideas for funny television commercials, even though they did not appear to be entirely sure what it was they were selling.

Grant Haines survived polio as a baby, was given last rites after contracting meningitis during World War II, recovered from malaria and overcame cancer about 20 years ago. Despite that, he lived to age 95, the same age his mother lived to. "He had about everything you can think of," said Doris Haines, his wife of 57 years. Grant grew up in Winchester, Va., attending Handley High School and graduating from Shenandoah Valley Academy in 1936. Despite a slight limp from a bout with polio, he was athletic and lettered in football and basketball.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- From stocks to mortgages to lost jobs, Anirban Basu mapped out the economy Tuesday with a ream of charts and dollops of humor. Basu's analysis and irreverent bluntness is a staple of the annual Washington County Economic Summit, which the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Commission co-sponsor. At Tuesday's summit at Fountain Head Country Club, Basu -- the chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, a Baltimore consulting firm -- riffed on: o Cumberland, Md.: "The hottest housing market in these here United States," as he called it. A chart of nine hot metro housing markets had Cumberland at the top, with median house sales up about 22 percent from 2008 to 2009, as Washington and Garrett counties got more expensive.

A fence was put up Wednesday at the Good Humor-Breyers plant on Frederick Street in Hagerstown. Ken Wells, the plant manager, did not return a message left at his office Thursday. Dean Mastrojohn, a spokesman for Unilever, which makes Good Humor-Breyers products, said he couldn't comment on the reason for the fence.