Retro Records

In the town of Bloomsburg, PA, a little record store by the name of Endless Records lies in the heart of the small community. Co-owners Nick McGaw and his wife Emily Weisgerber sit at the entrance while playing Zepedo. Across from them, a wall of buttons, push pins, and free used books line the cork board. Next to that, a wide variety of records from Marvin Gaye, Silk Sonic, Led Zeppelin, and Lianne La Havas wait patiently for customers to purchase them.

Inspired by the closing of the old record store Muggiez, Nick and Emily decided to open Endless Records in 2010. Since then, different music lovers would gather or order their very own vinyl. Sometimes customers would order or request an odd selection and combination from the record shop. One time a customer requested a rock and roll album plus a R&B album which surprised Emily.

“A customer asked for a Metallic and Lionel Richie album. This just showed the wide range of interest in music some people have” explained Emily. “Another customer requested a Morgan Wallen and Rockwell album. You know ‘I feel like someone’s watching me type…” she sang.

I shook my head and we both laughed. “I don’t think I ever heard of that song” I said.

She then continued her description of the variety of customers they would enter the shop. Children as young as 12 would discover their own variety of music and other children would accompany their music-loving parents and be introduced to a potential new passion. The only times they could not assist customers is when they ask for today’s music, specifically Hip-Hop.

“Because artists would use social media as one of the main avenues to get their music out there, it is unlikely that we carry their songs on vinyl" explained Nick. 

Because there is more revenue in streaming, young Hip-Hop artists would stream their music on social media and would not press it on vinyl. So, if a customer were to ask for it, they would not have.

"I have never played music on the machine thingy, what music would you recommend for someone looking to start" I inquired.

"Well, it all depends on the genre of music you listen to..." Emily answered, "For newcomers I would suggest playing James Brown or Patti LaBelle on the turntables" she amusingly said. "Records would sometimes come in the form of compilations. People can listen to different artists and discover new music that way. It's similar to a playlist."

"Wow! That's pretty cool" I exclaimed. "What era or decade would you say was the best time for music?"

"I would say that the 70s was the best time for vinyl music" Emily said.

"It's hard to argue with that answer. Most records were pressed in that era" Nick explained.

He then continued comparing different bands from the 70s and I kindly nodded as he went into detail about Bill Withers and Kurtis Mayfield. As he detailed each decade of music, even introducing Zepedo whose bass player is from Dinosaur Junior, I thought that I should invest into some vinyl records. He brought my attention back by mentioning Motown. Amazed by their intense knowledge of music, I thanked them for their time and perused the large collection or records they had in their shop. 

Time to Chill

 Ding, walking in and looking around the small but cozy shop, greeting the employees. "Cool cow"

"Cow outside means we're open," expresses the cashier in a white apron.

"So you guys bring the cow in every night?" asks a guy in all black.

"Yes we do" the cashier answers.

"Is it not too heavy? How many people does it take?" asks the guy in astonishment. 

"It's not heavy at all. It only takes two people, one at the front and one at the back." she says with confidence.

Such a small shop with such a big personality. Brennan's Big Chill is a shop down the street from Bloomsburg University, located at 232 Iron St, Bloomsburg, PA. With flavors rotating every day (except for the classics of course) there's always a new taste to try. It's a small homie shop with a few tables for people to sit and enjoy their ice cream. As you walk in, to the right there is a window where you and just see the cows behind and a turkey and groundhog decoration stating "closed for the season" with dates on when the season starts.

 To the left on the white wall the is a painting of a penguin and a polar bear eating ice cream together with "Big Chill" beside them. The shop serves ice cream, Italian ice, root beer floats, milkshakes, and more. With classics like cookies n' cream and ones with funky names like bedazzled, which is peanut cups in raspberry ice cream, the rotating new flavors are always a surprise.

The staff is super friendly with their big smiles and "welcome" whenever someone walks in the shop, they can make you feel very welcomed to be there. Opened and established in 2004 by Debbie and Brain Brennan, this shop has been make original ice cream recipes that everyone loves. They have produced over 200 ice cream varieties and are still producing more. This shop is definitely a favorite chill spot for the summer in Bloomsburg.

Why Swim for Bloomsburg U?

    Stepping into the main entrance of Nelson fieldhouse on upper campus at Bloomsburg University if you veer off to the right you will come to the natatorium where Bloomsburg university's swim team is located. Strolling the hall many awards and action shots of past and present swimmers are visible. The smell of chlorine hits the nostrils before the door is cracked open. Coming by the many banners indicating hall of fame athletes and the trophy for being the winner of the PSAC conference captures the eye. Opening the door a big scoreboard and timing system where results are shown to your left. Then the main attraction is the 6-lane pool with nice-looking starting blocks and flags. The coach's and assistant coaches' offices are to the right. Decorated with knick-knacks, fancy drawings, and pictures.

    You meet Stu Marvin very tall man dressed in khaki shorts and a red Bloomsburg swim shirt, head coach, and Hall of Fame swimmer of Bloomsburg University. Through my interaction, I have gathered that the team is very relaxed, more than approachable, and understanding of the individual so that the passion for the sport is still strong, rather than just focusing solely on winning and being the best. Stu recounts a time when he reached out to a competitive adversary from Kutztown University to help with his 200 freestyle named Ed Fleury. Ed would tell Stu to change the pacing of his swim, taking it out a little faster. Eventually, both went to the National Championship back in the late 70s. The team still holds some of these practices and values to this very day where they make friends from other teams and push look to have good sportsmanship. 

    Another key value Stu told me is your responsibility you are responsible for yourself, when the competition comes it's not about the coach or anyone else it is just you. The person is motivated to work hard and take more accountability for themselves the coach will only help so much. Wanting to learn more I conversate with 5th-year senior Matt Marvin also tall and dressed like he is ready to lift also with the big perk of being the coach's son he tells me the biggest focus on the team would be "looking out for each other constantly having each other back". From mental health, to practice, and even helping out with school you can always come to your team for help. 

Figure 1 

    Moving on from there, the individualization and prioritization of self are also present in the workouts. Most workouts are designed for the betterment of the swimmer. Matt (Figure 1) would tell me less yardage is done to help make "us fined tuned machines". It is not the norm in most programs as most stick to lots of yardage. Starting at 7,8, or 9 am you have a lift lasting an hour. Later in the afternoon, you have a choice of 1,3, and 5pm practices to make sure you get your classes in. The yardage that is done can be over four to five thousand yards. The short practices focus on techniques to make the individual better. "You have to want to do it, you have to be self-directed" is what Stu tells me when it comes to workouts. The off-season will show this as mentioned by the Stu kids will lift and do a little bit of swimming to stay in shape and be ready to go for the preseason. I turn my eyes during the interview, I see swimmers in the water competing with each other racing in practice, and making an effort. Stu would tell me he designs sets that help you to fail to encourage learning and improvement. Sometimes to learn, you have to fail looking back and reflecting can help enhance the swim and make significant changes.  

 

Figure 2 

This lesson can be enhanced through the principle of hard work in practice leading to better swims, Matt mentions the team loves to use the phrase "respect the brand". Using this a lot at meets and in big events as the team is proud of their accomplishments. The men's swim team has been the most successful in Bloomsburg for the last few years earns you a big reputation that you have to uphold. Many runner-up trophies and a PSAC title winner (Figure 2) tend to leave a big mark on the university. The men's and women's teams have a huge commitment that is very rare with most teams spanning many years of awards and honors. The men and women are stacked against the PSAC conference that holds 18 teams. Both men's and women's teams are stacked highly getting better each year. The women hope to achieve a PSAC title while the men look to eventually reclaim the title after failing to do so last season. 

   

 If hard work in the pool was not enough for you to be convinced, the team works hard in the classroom and outside the classroom. The team's overall GPAs last semester were high with a 3.50 Women's team GPA and 3.23 Men's team GPA (Figure 3). This includes 22 men and women making the Dean's List for the last semester. 

Figure 3

Charity is also very important to Bloomsburg swimming many members look to contribute wherever possible a big event that the team contributed to last year was the chipping and repainting of the Bloomsburg Park pool (Figure 4). Matt mentioned many other examples: working at Bocche bash, helping in the local soup kitchen, and teaching kids how to swim. This year the team is looking to improve on their generosity by working more community service hours and giving back to their community. 

Figure 4

    So, why Bloomsburg? The commitment to one's self and team spirit is there with this team they seem to have their heads on their shoulders and are really looking to better themselves and the community around them. The coach is dedicated to his team and passionate about making you the individual better while also relaxing and getting to know everyone individually. As for the team itself, it is passion and something they love doing the team does not seem to falter they have big goals and are hungry for more. The drive to swim this team has and work harder makes this shows what it means to swim for Bloomsburg.

    

    

Calm and Casual

    Spinning on his navy Nike running shoes Dr. Foley turns to face the class, looking over his students from beyond his clear colored square glasses he gives them a smile. He lays his bag down on the floor and turns on the projector to a powerpoint on one tab, and a movie clip on another. As he prepares to teach his eleven am U.S. History course he flippantly asks "Anyone do anything fun over the weekend?". Dr. Foley stands taller than most, and keeps his salt and pepper hair combed neatly to one side. He usually wears an odd colored button up, such as his navy blue with white spots that has the look of a clear starry night, as well as

various colored dress pants. One such dress shirt can be seen in the photo to the right, beneath the sweater he chooses to wear on brisk mornings. Dr. Foley is very much a casual teacher. As he teaches his class he meanders around the front of the room, sometimes from right to left, going behind his desk, or in front of it, every once in a while pausing to casually lean his back on the wall, all while his hands rest relaxed in his pockets. Occasionally Dr. Foley will even roll about the room while on his white swivel chair, scooting around much like an ancy five year old would.

    Dr. Foley, as he paces, gives his students his version of a lecture, which involves many more questions and interjections from his students than the usual lecture. He tops all of his lectures off from a clip of a relevant movie. Analyzing films that take place throughout history to see "how problematic" as he puts it, is one of his favorite hobbies. This particular day he plays a clip from Lincoln, explaining how it shows the tension of the time, but also the things the movie does incorrectly. After this class Dr. Foley will jump right into teaching the same course again at noon, after which he will take a short lunch break, where he normally eats a sandwich, before welcoming students into his office hours. 

    Dr. Foley is a new professor at Bloomsburg through the Frederick Douglas Institute, moving from the University of Virginia to teach this year. UVA is the school where he got his PHD, through a PHD fellowship program, after working for his undergraduate degree in Oregon. This was actually Dr. Foley’s second attempt at an undergraduate degree, his first right out of high school ended after he dropped out. Being a first year student within the Foley family, he found himself unready to become an adult and turned to alcoholism. Coming out of college as a drop out in his early twenties he described himself as “unhoused and dying of alcoholism”. After some time he decided to go straight and “I have been 15 years sober now” he claimed, after being sober for a few years he jumped into a sales/marketing job. “I saw that all these people around me who had degrees weren’t as smart as I was, and it motivated me to go back and finish my bachelors degree.” After his bachelors he applied to the PHD fellowship previously mentioned. Dr. Foley focussed on the Carceral State for his PHD, a video leading to quick dive into what the Carceral state is can be found here.

    Since moving to Bloom Dr. Foley has set up his office on the second floor of the Arts and Administration building. Upon entering his office the first thing a person would notice is dim lighting in the room. Dr. Foley always leaves the lights off, but the shades on the window up, which allows for natural light to spew in, this gives the room a warm feeling and a disarming dimness to it. Much like his classroom his office is very much plain. There are very few objects of color in the room, one notable thing is a bowl of candy he keeps on his desk in a sky blue ceramic bowl. It rests in the same position each week, like a dog sitting patiently for it’s owner to give it a walk. This bowl hasn’t had the contents changed in a long while, the same few AirHeads and Starbursts remain laying haphazardly in the container. Another key detail to this small room is the bastion-like coat rack resting in the corner almost behind the door. When sitting in the gray plastic chairs on their little cushioned seat this large wooden rack looms over you in a menacing way, almost like a feral animal waiting to strike. Next to the looming rack stands Dr. Foley’s neatly organized bookshelf, it sports nearly eighty to ninety books standing at attention. Each rests leaning on the book to its right, with the very last
book on each shelf leaning diagonally like a support beam to hold the rest up. Dr. Foley reads a wide variety of books, such as things from W.E.B. Du Bois on slavery, all they way to books on Marxism. This neat, yet casual room fit the mold of the person who resides in it very well.

    Dr. Foley during one of his classes, while waiting for some students to catch up with notes, pulled a white raised plastic chair to the front of the room. He smirked and chuckled a bit, and remarked “You know, I had a nightmare the other night. I was sitting on this chair right up here in front of yall, and I fell off the chair. All of yall just sat there and laughed and nobody helped me up.” He smirked and chuckled, “I’m sure one of you guys would help me up if that really happened.” The class shared a quick laugh at the casual little joke, while Dr. Foley went back to pacing with his hands in his pocket preparing to pick back up the lesson.
    The casual flow and banter that Dr. Foley encourages is one of the reasons his students like him so much, one student remarked “[Dr. Foley is] a very charismatic and laid back teacher.” This bond between student and teacher is one Dr. Foley appreciates deeply. “The best thing about teaching? Well it’s a two way tie for me, one is getting to see people light up.” Dr. Foley described that seeing a student become inspired, or learn something that truly intrigues them is one of the greatest feelings as a teacher. “The other is seeing improvement in students, in class with grades for students who don’t necessarily find history as their best subject, but also just in general.” As such Dr. Foley is a very accepting and welcoming teacher. During one of his classes a student arrived nearly seven minutes late, and many have witnessed the wrath of teachers for even being moments late, however Dr. Foley just smiled and dismissed their apology explaining that it was no big deal. He quickly told the student where they were in the notes, and what they had missed.

     Taking pride in his work Dr. Foley enjoys teaching as much as learning. “Having students who have no prior knowledge of the things I am teaching them, I love to hear their perspective, those minds are a blank slate and are the most creative.” He claimed that he learns more from his students than he could ever teach them. Dr. Foley truly attempts to reach out to all his students, and ensure success in all of them, making hima very approachable and friendly professor at Bloomsburg. Whenever a person is looking to take a history course, make sure you keep your eyes open for Dr. Foley, he is excited to meet and get to know as many students as possible, and is even open to help out in other areas however he can.

A Day With Kiwis

Have you ever wondered where all the fruit that comes to your table comes from, what process it has to go through?

It may not be something you think about often, but it's important and interesting to know where these foods that are part of our lives come from. Kiwi Berry Organics is an agricultural property located at 145 Pipon Rd Danville, PA. This wonderful farm will dazzle you with its beautiful landscaping filled with a seemingly endless amount of kiwi trees. The warehouse has a large entrance that is used for loading and unloading product, and to the left of the entrance is the maintenance tools area, In the center of the warehouse is the packing line where all of the product is packed, on the right side is the lobby and the coolers that are used to store the product, the lobby has a few chairs to wait in before entering the office, the office is in the back where you can meet the owner of the place.

David J. Jackson has been in business for 9 years and his goal has always been to provide his customers with the highest quality products and the best possible treatment, "For me the customer will always come first, because thanks to all the people who support me I have been able to grow my business" David has created a company with a great atmosphere of respect and kindness among all those who work there, he likes to talk a lot with the people who come to the place and always give new and old customers kiwi to taste.

He says that once some old friends came to visit him with their little son and he welcomed them with a great euphoria "Hello, how are you, it's been a long time" while hugging them a little tightly "it's a pleasure to see you again" with a little nostalgia and happiness.

"It's good to see you too," replied the couple with the same joy.

"And who is this little guy," asked David with a big smile on his face?

"He's Cameron, say hello son," said the mother, "he's a friend of the family".

David asked them in a helpful manner "would you like to try what we harvested this morning" and the excited couple answered "yes, it's been a long time since we've had kiwi".then Davis went to get some fresh kiwis and gave them to the boy but he looked disgusted when he saw the kiwi.

David with a curious tone asked him "do you like kiwifruit", and the boy with his head shaking sideways said no. David replied "how will you know if you like it if you don't try it" with a little encouragement so that the boy would change his mind.

Then the boy bit into the kiwi with a bit of disgust, and then with a very surprised look he looked at his parents and the parents asked him "do you like it", and the boy with a smile moved his head up and down.

Then David happily said to the child "See, you just had to try it, I'm so glad you liked it", and that's one of the reasons why he likes this job, to generate emotions with the things he does, to create more smiles with his product and to keep improving every day.

Beyond being an exotic fruit like the kiwi, you will be surprised to know that its process is similar to that of other fruits; To begin with, all the workers report at 7:00 a.m. to start the day, those who are in charge of cutting the kiwi from the trees have to wear comfortable clothes that give them more freedom of movement to be able to cut better and it is also recommended that they wear a cap or hat because they have to spend 6 to 8 hours under the sun to cut the kiwi and a pair of gloves to avoid mistreating the kiwi, and when they are equipped they proceed to go with baskets for harvesting.

To know if a kiwi is in perfect condition you must check if it is ripe, if it has black spots or any strange deformation, and after verifying that the fruit is in perfect condition proceed to gently remove the fruit from the branch and then put it in the basket, as it fills your basket.

Then there is a person who is in charge of transporting the collected kiwifruit with a forklift to the warehouse where the packing process begins. 5 that is filled with 25 to 30 kiwis approximately, it takes 12 of these to fill a box and 156 boxes are needed to fill the pallet that is used to load the truck that will be responsible for distributing the kiwifruit and so is the whole process that passes the kiwi to get to your table, is similar to other fruits but for this farm is something more special, is a lifestyle that daily workers strive every day to give you the best possible quality in their kiwifruit.

The Silence of Knowledge

    

    Towards the end of the quad if you are upon lower campus or the first sight you see as you drive into the campus this bulwark of a building standing over the quad and creates the gates to enter the campus. As you cross towards the entrance of the building there is two shinning tiffany windows standing above the entrance with names of Truth, and Virtue. Walking through the front door the light whiff of coffee catches the nose from the next door star bucks connected to the library through the gathering place. Stepping through two wooden posts that look like metal detectors stepping forward towards the stairs on the right is a large clock made of books with their titles stating the number on the clock.

    The first floor spreads out with clumps of chairs intersecting large tables for groups to converse, while around the first middle pillar is 4 computers set like a compass in their formation. Across from them on the other central pillar is two large 4 bin printers. While I was watching the room looking for the details I wanted to convey I watched a member from the circulation desk get asked a question stand up head over to the printers and swiftly rip it apart the printer pull out three papers that were folded like an accordian and swiftly reassembles the printer as the print job continues to finish what the student had queued. All throughout the first floor there is this subtle and low murmur of groups and friends talking, with the quiet air you can hear the clacking of keys on the computers around the room occasionally you can hear the beep of a barcode reader from the ID scanner and the circulation desk barcode reader. Heading further into the depths of the library on the first floor there is large filing cabinets full of hundreds of thousands of a thing called microfiche which is a super compressed image that needs a special machine that uses a microscope to enlarge the image. Right next to the region of microfiche in the back depths of the first floor of the library there is large pull out cabinets with microfilm a larger version of microfiche but stored on small reels of film. 

    Ascending up to the second floor of the Andruss Library towards the left is a large open area with the two Tiffany windows, which when I was talking to Mrs. Linda Lapp who is the night shift manager mentioned the Tiffany windows followed all three libraries, it use to be over in the student service center which was the library when she went to bloom. Around the second floor front area there are scattered tables all around and rooms full of dampened sound from people inside the study rooms discussing their group projects and class material. Off to the right side of the wide open room there is massive shelves with crack wheel handles for compact shelving and on the other side of the room study rooms litter the sides of the walls with a large table and TVs to collaborate on projects. Leaving the left side of the second floor there is large stacks intersected by the current magazines dividing the reference collection and the Juvenile and curriculum collection. Far off to the right side of the main shelving on the second floor is the government documents collection.

                                                             "Truth"

                                                             "Virtue"


    Moving up towards the third floor the distinct smell of older books hits you as the start of the general collection begins. While interviewing the night shift manager she looked up on their system that there is over 450,000 books within their entire general collection which takes up the third and fourth floors.  Towards the left is two large square group study rooms open to the draft of the room, with a few extra study rooms around them. With one office of the provost of the university tucked away towards the back left side. On the other side there are massive stacks of books, and computer desks surround like sharks to their prey around the stacks of books. Within the stacks holds endless events, history, and knowledge occasionally you can find a few students littered about searching for the right book for their research or just to read a topic they are interested in. 

    The smallest of the floors is on top of them all the fourth floor has no left front room, just the large unyielding stacks of books and bound periodicals. surrounded by study rooms and a quite zone the sound of silence is pierce by the hinge of a door, the subtle step of a shoe, the clacking of a keyboard, or even the occasional squeak of a cart full of books ready to be reshelved upon the stacks. Towards the far end of the fourth floor stacks is a few shelves of massive oversize books, as large as a human torso some of these massive oversize books were thin and long. Finishing through the large final half of the collection tucked away towards the very back area is the specialized software quiet area.

    Descending the stairs the light steps down each one can be heard all the way down. Towards the first floor the faint smell of coffee comes back as the sound of discussions picks back up with the murmurs and laughs being interlaid with sound and life, seeing the large clock just by the stairs as across from the stairs is the circulation desk. Walking through the large wooden posts with the tender quietness of a place to learn, study, meet friends, and get work for classes done with peace in mind.

More Than Just Staff

 The Kehr Union building is well known at Bloomsburg University. It draws students over for many reasons. One reason is the late night wings, which has students of all years in a line which snakes around the lounge or the games room where the boisterous laughter and sound of pool balls clanking can be heard from the hall. No one place in Kehr is similar to another but they all have one thing in common, the staff. Most of the time the sound of the staff talking and laughing with each other can be heard throughout the lounge. Behind the welcome desk they sit nonchalantly with each other. Other times they march in groups around the building doing rounds. "Rounds is a wonderful tour of the building, usually with a partner" one staff member said with a deceitful smile when he said wonderful. This tour takes them to places most students don't know exist from down below the building where the sounds of machines echo throughout to high above the ballroom where they can get a birds eye view. 

                                                                        (fig 2)

The welcome desk, which is just a hop skip and a jump from the husky lounge is where they mainly reside. A giant table with three barriers due to Covid and a handful of chairs (see fig 2). A beautiful row of pictures of each staff member sit on the outside of the desk. The staff usually do homework or talk and sometimes answer questions. Students come up with just one question in mind "Where's the bathroom". "We get that a lot", one staff member chuckled. In between sitting there and talking the staff also do what they call "sets". Sets are setting up areas of the building for events. Many times while the staff  is relaxing a handful of students meander to some seats and talk about their day or this new person they met. One staff member told a story where they had just come back from rounds and they saw two people making out in the lounge. The staff member was taken aback and politely asked the people to chill out or leave. 

  

(fig 3)

The most popular area that the KUOSI operate is the games room. Directly to the right is a staff member that checks the IDs to make sure everyone going in is a student. Once  past them the front desk is usually the next stop where another person sits in front of a horde of different board games and video games(see fig 3). Many nervous freshman mosey to the desk to spy something they fancy. This is not the main event though, the most common thing asked for is pool balls. At the back of the room is a string of pool tables eagerly waiting to be played on. Each night all groups of people come in to play pool to the point where there is more students than tables. Just walking past the games room a cascade of sound hits you, from laughter to the clanking of pool balls to the beat of a famous pop song from the 2000s emitting from Just Dance. "It gets poppin". One staff member remarked while nodding. During rush hours in the games room the person behind the desk for most of the night is frantically grabbing pool balls and helping the many students who want to get on the Wii, barely having time to sit down. The sign in staff member has an easier job but sometimes they'll get a new student who will just walks past them and they staff have to yell for them. "It happens more than you'd think", they noted slowly.  

(fig 4)

The biggest and the hardest place that KUOSI staff operate at is the ballroom. Located at the 4th floor of Kehr, the ballroom houses the biggest events KUOSI has to offer. Every event there is made by the sweat of the staff. The staff walk into the ballroom to do a set as bright eyed and hopeful, they leave with heads down with sweat. The events there are like no other. The 90's night for example has music thumbing out into the hallway, a horde of students at the door waiting to be checked in, piping hot food that makes you salivate. The staff jump in and out of costumes navigating between groups of people(see fig 4). "It's hotter than you'd think in here" one staff member remarked while drenched. The staff members sometimes have to be 4 different mascots. This doesn't stop them though, as the doors slide open it's showtime. They jump out flailing their arms and hyping up the crowd. Foxy the Fox seems to be a crowd favorite because the ballroom erupts when they come out. 

KUOSI staff may not be the reason most people go to Kehr, but the staff do their best to make sure any student who needs help or is just looking to get away gets help. Vibing at the welcome desk to sliding food on peoples plates, they do it all. "It's the most interesting place I've worked at" a staff member announced with a smile. The staff do everything to make sure tomorrow is not the same as today.