Humor

Editor's note: Each Sunday, The Herald-Mail publishes "A Life Remembered. " This continuing series takes a look back - through the eyes of family, friends, co-workers and others - at a member of the community who died recently. Today's "A Life Remembered" is about Patricia L. "Pat" Parkin, who died March 6 at the age of 85. Her obituary was published in the March 9 editions of The Morning Herald and The Daily Mail. As Pat Parkin's children began the bittersweet journey through her papers, documents and other keepsakes after her death, a mysterious two-page letter surfaced.

The season of Lent is usually a solemn time of reflection for many churches. One local church sees it as a time for community outreach and is hoping to share the message of the Bible in a different way. The Manor Church of the Brethren near Boonsboro has invited Ted & Lee, a Mennonite comedy team, to perform at Boonsboro High School on Sunday, March 18. Pastor Joy Zepp said she has seen the duo perform at the Brethren Church's national...

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.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - In bygone days when people gathered around living room radios rather than plasma televisions, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, gossip columnist Hedda Hopper or bandleader Spike Jones might drop in for "Breakfast in Hollywood" and a chat with Waynesboro native Tom Breneman. In 1947, Breneman brought his ABC Radio program to his hometown for its sesquicentennial, an event that was re-created Friday morning with John Shindledecker hosting "Breakfast in Waynesboro," the kickoff for WaynesboroFest.

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.

HAGERSTOWN Unilever North American Ice Cream is investing $7 million to upgrade its Good Humor-Breyers plant in Hagerstown, Plant Manager Ken Wells said Monday. As a result, the plant is hiring about 50 more employees, increasing its total to about 525 employees, he said. Wells said the wages for the new jobs are "above average," but declined to say specifically what they are. Many of the new workers will be hand packers, who take finished products and box them for distribution, he said.

In December 2004, humor columnist Dave Barry announced he would take a year off from writing his weekly column, which The Herald-Mail has carried for many years. Assuming that he would return in 2006, The Herald-Mail spent a year reprinting "classic" Barry columns. Now Barry has decided that he will no longer write a weekly column. In a Dec. 28 interview with Editor & Publisher, Barry said that while he will write an occasional column for he Miami Herald and maintain his blog, the earliest his weekly column would return would be "several weeks after my death.

tarar@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Andrew Rittenhouse sang about his love for summer rain, pined over his broken heart over his broken guitar and talked about how his tall, slim size would get him "crushed" on the football field. While explaining why he should be crowned "Mr. South High 2005" Saturday night, with a somewhat weakened voice, he softly said that he couldn't pace back and forth on stage much longer because his legs were getting tired. And in the end, Rittenhouse's lamenting, dry humor and talent were enough for judges to crown him "Mr. South High 2005," and for his classmate and friend, Dan Thorpe, to jokingly sweep him off his feet and carry him off stage.

"What a joy to be able to sit in a movie theater and watch the awesome 'March of the Penguins' for 90 minutes. Incredible. " - Martinsburg, W.Va. "I would like to know why every event sponsored by the City of Hagerstown involves alcohol sales and a visual image of beer being served on our town streets. Why can't those in charge realize that any place promoting that type of lifestyle will surely fail? Perhaps that explains why the downtown is such a dead area. Please, City Hall, change this policy.

HAGERSTOWN marlob@herald-mail.com Remembered by friends, family and colleagues as an energetic man with a perpetual smile and a quick wit, Thomas Curtis Sager left a mark on his community that many say will live for years to come. Tom Sager, 89, died Tuesday at Coffman Nursing Home after a bout with pneumonia. "Fortunately we were all here last weekend to visit with dad," said his son, Steven Sager. "My sister Susie sat by his bed and sang 'You are my Sunshine' which was the song he always sang to her at bedtime when she was little.