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Portrait of a postman: Nanticoke’s Joe Lloyd touched lives for 40-plus years

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Lottery Summary for the week of Feb. 26, 2017

<p>Frigid temperatures, bitter winds and even some snow squalls wouldn&#8217;t stop more than 100 Pennsylvanians from coming out and showing their support for President Trump on Saturday, as Americans from across the country came out for a national movement, &#8220;March4Trump,&#8221; also dubbed the &#8220;Spirit of America Rally.&#8221;</p><p>Local rallies were held in both Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in support of the nation&#8217;s chief executive.</p><p>In a lot across from TGI Friday&#8217;s on Kidder Street, Leann Koons set up the Wilkes-Barre rally.</p><p>Roughly 50 people lined the busy street that leads to the Wyoming Valley Mall, holding up homemade signs, posters and flags as drivers passed by. She said her husband came across the Main Street Patriots online, who organized the national events, and decided to sign up to create a rally locally.</p><p>&#8220;We support President Trump&#8217;s &#8220;America First&#8221; policy, and we just want everyone to come united and stand together and stand for our beliefs,&#8221; she said. &#8220;This is what we believe in, and this is what we support.&#8221;</p><p>Holding up two flags supporting Police Lives Matter and Culpeper Minute Men, Hazleton resident James Issermoyer said he wished the in-fighting would end and that everyone could learn to work together for the greater good of the country.</p><p>Like many others, Issermoyer said he was a registered Democrat but switched parties after Trump decided to run for the top White House seat. As he walked past the row of supporters, Lorraine Feist and Maureen Roughsedge held up their signs and waved.</p><p>&#8220;Never in my adult life have I been proud of a president until now,&#8221; Feist, a Pittston resident, said.</p><p>While Feist said that she respects Trump for being the only wealthy businessman who decided to step up and try to help the country, Roughsedge said she&#8217;s pleased with the President&#8217;s pro-life and immigration stance. Coming from a deep military family, Roughsedge said she&#8217;s happy that Trump is paying attention to troops and their needs.</p><p><strong>Support in Scranton</strong></p><p>At Courthouse Square on Washington Street in Scranton, Bob Bolus had just finished placing two of his famous &#8220;Trump trucks&#8221; in preparation for the rally. Bolus, who organized the Scranton event, said he&#8217;s tired of seeing groups and organizations slam the president, and he wanted to help show Trump and the rest of the world that he does have support among Americans.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s time people understand we&#8217;re all Americans. We have a president, get behind him and put the nonsense to sleep,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re moving forward. People have to understand we&#8217;ve done more in four to five weeks than most presidents have done in their whole eight-year terms.&#8221;</p><p>Bolus, a U.S. Army veteran, was also previously a Democrat before switching over to support the business mogul during his campaign. But Bolus said he grew tired of the political games, deciding to make a move against the establishment and support Trump. He added that political parties don&#8217;t necessarily matter, as long as the candidates are supporting the people and their country.</p><p>As for Hillary Clinton, he couldn&#8217;t get behind someone who was so deeply ingrained in politics, and who has lied to the people of the country, Bolus said as he pointed to one of his tractor-trailers sporting yellow paint with multiple Hillary phrases and slogans denouncing the former Democratic presidential candidate, such as her Benghazi and email scandals.</p><p>&#8220;See those people?&#8221; he said as a car drove past with a beep of the horn, slowing down to give a thumb&#8217;s-down gesture at the group. &#8220;That&#8217;s what they wanted,&#8221; he said, pointing to one of the trucks.</p><p>Charlotte Braune attended the event with Fred Ostrick. She said they wanted to come and show their support for Trump and his decisions for the country &#8212; and to even the playing field with all the anti-Trump rallies that have been happening.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s been so much negative nonsense going on that it&#8217;s time people spoke up,&#8221; she said. &#8220;This is why he got elected, to do what he&#8217;s doing.&#8221;</p><p>She said that she doesn&#8217;t necessarily vote for party candidates, but for who she feels is the better person for the job. And in Braune&#8217;s eyes, that person was Trump.</p><p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t in good conscience vote for Hillary,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It was actually probably a more anti-establishment vote than anything.&#8221;</p><p>Braune said that she believes that Trump&#8217;s biggest attribute is that since he&#8217;s not a politician, he doesn&#8217;t owe anyone anything. As for his biggest weakness, Braune said she couldn&#8217;t think of one.</p><p><strong>Switching parties</strong></p><p>Many of the attendees admitted that they were once Democrats who decided to switch parties once Trump declared he was running for office. One after another, the supporters said that they were tired of seeing deep political ties play a part in the country&#8217;s policy and decision-making process and were ready for a change. And that change, they believe, will come from Trump.</p><p>One father-and-son duo came out in support of the Commander-in-Chief, wanting to show that violence, destruction and riots are not the way to protest. Instead, they wanted to share a message of hope and unity. Tony and Matt Catanzaro passed out fliers for Matt&#8217;s new group called &#8220;The Patriotic Resistance,&#8221; which he says promotes unity and freedom of speech for all, and is a non-partisan group.</p><p>Tony Catanzaro, of Peckville, admitted that the president has flaws, but he wanted to remind the country that no one is perfect. He said he believes Trump loves this country, and wants only the best for his fellow Americans.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a father, he&#8217;s a grandfather. He&#8217;s a smart man. He knows how to make jobs and bring in businesses. He&#8217;s a very knowledgeable person to vote for, and he&#8217;s going to make the country great again.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">One of Bob Bolus&#8217; &#8220;Trump Trucks&#8221; parked on Washington Ave at Courthouse Square in Scranton. Bolus organized the Scranton &#8220;Spirit of America&#8221; rally. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2693-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>One of Bob Bolus&#8217; &#8220;Trump Trucks&#8221; parked on Washington Ave at Courthouse Square in Scranton. Bolus organized the Scranton &#8220;Spirit of America&#8221; rally. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2708.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">James Issermoyer, of Hazleton, shows off his flags during the &#8220;Spirit of America&#8221; rally in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2708.jpg</photo1><caption1>James Issermoyer, of Hazleton, shows off his flags during the &#8220;Spirit of America&#8221; rally in Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2710-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Leann Koons, Wilkes-Barre rally organizer, addresses to the crowd over a loudspeaker Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2710-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Leann Koons, Wilkes-Barre rally organizer, addresses to the crowd over a loudspeaker Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2711-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Trump supporters line Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre as part of the national &#8220;Spirit of America&#8221; rally effort. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2711-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Trump supporters line Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre as part of the national &#8220;Spirit of America&#8221; rally effort. </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2719-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Maureen Roughsedge, left, and Lorraine Feist hold up their signs and wave to drivers during Saturday&#8217;s pro-Trump rally in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2719-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Maureen Roughsedge, left, and Lorraine Feist hold up their signs and wave to drivers during Saturday&#8217;s pro-Trump rally in Wilkes-Barre. </caption4><photoCredit4></photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2727-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Harold Dixon, of Allentown, waves an American flag on Kidder Street during the pro-Trump rally Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2727-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Harold Dixon, of Allentown, waves an American flag on Kidder Street during the pro-Trump rally Saturday. </caption5><photoCredit5></photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2685-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Fred Ostrick of Waymart, seated, and Marshall Rimland of Honesdale attended the Scranton rally held in Courthouse Square Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_IMG_2685-1.jpg</photo6><caption6>Fred Ostrick of Waymart, seated, and Marshall Rimland of Honesdale attended the Scranton rally held in Courthouse Square Saturday. </caption6><photoCredit6></photoCredit6></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Trump supporters hold local rallies to show support for the president