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Meet Tina Jones

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Two dogs left alone at Wilkes-Barre condemned house

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Kids always say there&#8217;s nothing to do around here.</p><p>I&#8217;ve heard that for years. Fair or not, it&#8217;s been a constant criticism of the region.</p><p>In the case of Baby Boomers, like me, we still don&#8217;t have much to do when it comes to dancing.</p><p>We don&#8217;t want to be a part of the younger generation scene. We would prefer to be in places where the faces are familiar and the music is palatable to our &#8220;older&#8221; ears.</p><p>Just go to Irem Temple in Dallas in August and you&#8217;ll see what I mean. When bands like &#8220;Eddie Day &amp; the Starfires&#8221; or &#8220;Joe Nardone &amp; the All Stars&#8221; or &#8220;Tom Slick &amp; the Converted Thunderbolt Greaseslappers&#8221; play, there are 500 to 700 people in the pavilion, dancing their Baby Boomer butts off.</p><p>Many people in their 50s and 60s and &#8212; dare I say &#8212; 70s are vibrant. They may have gotten older, but they&#8217;re far from old.</p><p>It is with open arms and hearts that Baby Boomers will be more than happy to hear The Woodlands, long an entertainment destination in Northeastern Pennsylvania, is re-opening the doors of the 25th Hour, a once-popular dance club.</p><p>We&#8217;ll dust off our bell bottoms, iron our silk shirts, polish our disco boots, groom our chest hair and shine our costume jewelry in anticipation of the return of our era, our music and our fun.</p><p>Mitch Kornfeld, 51, one of three brothers who have grown up at The Woodlands, is promoting this new venture. Rick (55) and Ross (53), Mitch&#8217;s brothers, have their own responsibilities at The Woodlands &#8212; Rick handles the banquet facilities and Ross handles the hotel &#8212; both critical parts of the entire operation.</p><p>But Mitch, ever the promoter and sometimes the edgy entrepreneur, told me why he arrived at this threshold of catering to people who, for years, found fun and games at The Woodlands. These are the very same people who have now reached a point where they don&#8217;t fit in at the club scene and who want a place of their own.</p><p>Mitch said the Mohegan Sun Casino at Pocono Downs has changed the nightlife landscape in NEPA. He admitted The Woodlands can&#8217;t compete with the casino, so he needs to find a way to align with the casino &#8212; to feed off it and into it. The casino is but one mile from The Woodlands and hotel guests often stay there to be close to the casino. Mitch knows that.</p><p>Back in the day, Mitch said The Woodlands had to be edgy to offer what nobody else in NEPA offered. He said it was imperative to come up with new ideas and promotions to stay at the top of the local scene.</p><p>Today, The Woodlands focuses on selling its hotel rooms and booking its banquet rooms. The nightlife scene feeds off both those entities, plus it still attracts young people looking for nightlife.</p><p>And now, instead of marketing to the 21 and up crowd, which Mitch said has had its issues over the years, he is targeting Baby Boomers &#8212; at least for one night a week. With an older crowd, Mitch feels, there won&#8217;t be as much concern for security issues, negative exposures, high insurance costs and legal bills.</p><p>I think what he means is we&#8217;re a mature group, not looking to rumble, but just have some old-fashioned fun.</p><p>Finally, Baby Boomers will have some place to go without having to contend with younger people and their music.</p><p>I told Mitch he should consider adding the music of the 60s to his playlist because music like that of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Animals, Beach Boys, Kinks, Hollies, Supremes, Four Tops and more is timeless.</p><p>The disco mirror balls have yet to be hung but Nov. 6 can&#8217;t come soon enough. It gives us all time to prepare for opening night.</p><p>Some of us may walk a little slower. We may have to ask you to repeat what you said. We may ask for a vodka and Geritol.</p><p>I guarantee we&#8217;ll be there, dressed to the nines and ready to boogie on down. Vibrancy is not exclusive to the young people of today.</p><p>We may be older, but we ain&#8217;t old.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O'Boyle</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_OBoyle_Columnshot-1-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O'Boyle</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL10101525thHour1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mitch Kornfeld stands at the entrance to the 25th Hour nightclub that is opening its doors to an older crowd every Friday night starting Nov. 6. Kornfeld said The Woodlands will dedicate every Friday to patrons 40 and over. The 25th Hour will feature dance music of the 70s, 80s and 90s, and the Executive Lounge will feature live music for Baby Boomers. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL10101525thHour1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Mitch Kornfeld stands at the entrance to the 25th Hour nightclub that is opening its doors to an older crowd every Friday night starting Nov. 6. Kornfeld said The Woodlands will dedicate every Friday to patrons 40 and over. The 25th Hour will feature dance music of the 70s, 80s and 90s, and the Executive Lounge will feature live music for Baby Boomers. </caption1><photoCredit1>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Re-opening of the 25th Hour to The Woodlands gives Baby Boomers somewhere to boogie on down