Tour Pearl S. Buck's home in Bucks County and you'll feel as if you've discovered a treasure as prized as an oyster's pearl.

Layer after layer of Buck's story will peel away and inspire you as you go room to room, walk the grounds and visit her grave. A best-selling author, Buck was the first American woman to win both the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes for literature. But her work went far beyond the printed page.

Buck counseled presidents, mothered a brood of children (one birth child, seven adopted children and at least 10 foster children), changed the lives of thousands more children and fought for racial harmony through cultural understanding. The daughter of missionaries, she used her vast knowledge of China, where she lived for 40 years, to bridge major gaps in understanding between the East and the West.

Beloved and admired, she also accepted keys to more than 30 cities, collected 13 honorary degrees and was featured on a postage stamp. She deserves as much admiration as other Bucks County luminaries, including Henry Chapman Mercer, James A. Michener and David Burpee.

"We worry young people will not know who she is because 'The Good Earth' is gone from most school reading lists," says Janet Mintzer, CEO of Pearl S. Buck International, referring to Buck's famous novel about the lives of a Chinese peasant family. Buck, who died in 1973, was born in West Virginia 122 years ago, grew up in China and lived for nearly 40 years at Green Hills Farm in Hilltown Township near Perkasie.

To keep her memory alive, Pearl Buck International not only keeps up her home, but also offers a teen leadership program and summer culture camps for children. It also continues Buck's legacy of finding loving homes for children who need them via its Welcome House program and providing still more children and their families with health care, education and support through its Opportunity House.

Pearl Buck's house, itself, also was endangered, in disrepair and needing major work despite being one of only a few National Historic Sites focusing on a woman and even fewer containing an intact collection of her belongings.

But times are looking up for Buck and her home. A new and previously unpublished manuscript has been discovered and published as "Eternal Wonder," stirring new interest in the author. The home was removed from a list of Pennsylvania's 10 most endangered historic houses and reopened in 2013, after eight years of extensive repairs and restoration.

Today, the 1825 stone farmhouse and surrounding 60 acres play a major role in telling Buck's story and continuing her legacy. Buck and her second husband, Richard Walsh, made major changes in the home to accommodate their large family and provide office space. But it never lost the appeal that made Buck fall in love with it the first time she saw it.

But how and why did Buck find her way to Bucks County?

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Bucks County home of Pearl S. Buck will inspire those who visit

BY ROSANNA GARGIULO Times Record Staff

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COURTESY OF L.L. BEAN FREEPORT

L.L. Bean founder Leon Leonwood Beans Freeport home will be getting a splash of color if a restoration project, up for review by the Freeport Planning Board next week, is approved.

The objective is to return the house to its historic appearance during the period of significance, said Freeport-based historic architect Malcolm Collins, who has been contracted for the restoration project.

It is believed that the Queen Anne style home, located at 6 Holbrook St., across a parking lot from Main Street, was designed by Francis H. Fasset, Portlands leading architect of the 1870-1880s.

Restoration to the period of significance, circa 1912-1917, is being guided by historic photographs in the home, which is currently in use as the L.L. Bean Museum and Archive Center. The center contains the corporate archives and museum artifacts, along with storage and office space.

BERTHA PORTER BEAN, Leon L. Beans first wife, sits on the steps of their home at 6 Holbrook St. circa 1912-17, at left. Standing in the yard is their daughter Barbara Bean (Gorman), Leon Gormans mother. The Queen Anne style home, believed to have been built in the late 1800s by Portland architect Francis Fassett, is where L.L. Bean lived when he started his company and designed the Maine Hunting Shoe. Today the building, at right, houses the L.L. Bean corporate archives, museum, offices and storage space. Renovations will include the removal of later additions, restoration of the original exterior walls, and construction of a climate controlled gallery. ROSANNA GARGIULO This is the house that L.L. Bean and his first wife Bertha moved into when they moved to Freeport in 1912, said Collins, noting that during this period L.L. Bean founded his company and invented the product that the company built its reputation on: the Maine Hunting Shoe, now commonly called the Bean boot.

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Restoration project planned for Bean home

FITCHBURG -- Revoli Construction has apparently agreed to take responsibility for a problem that forced raw sewage into a Maverick Street home.

Meanwhile, the city is housing the mother and son residing at 4 Maverick St. at a hotel until the home becomes livable, said Jeffrey Stephens, a Fitchburg code-enforcement inspector.

"We are going to figure out how best to implement the restoration of the property, he said. "I would like to get the residents back into their home and back to normal as quickly as possible."

A second house at 199 Harrison Ave. was also affected by untreated water backing up through municipal pipes but that appeared to be rainwater rather than sewage, Stephens said.

The back-up was limited to a concrete floor and only a wet spot was left by the time Stephens surveyed the scene.

A woman answering the phone at Revoli Construction declined comment Wednesday.

However, it appears Revoli may be authorizing claims to be filed against its insurance, Stephens said.

Wright-Pierce, an Andover-based engineering firm, conducted a hydraulic analysis of the problem and company officials were expected to review them with Revoli officials Wednesday.

The construction firm is actually working on sewer and water lines on Boutelle Street.

Julie McCann-Richard woke up and found sewage backing up through a pipe in her basement and through a first-floor toilet last Thursday about 4 a.m.

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Fitchburg is housing displaced mom, son

[What follows is a slight updating of part of my pre-Hobby-Lobby Cato ebook on the case; I thought I'd repost it, since this is an issue that I've seen a lot of people discussing both before and after the decision.]

Some people have argued that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act shouldnt have applied in Hobby Lobby because the employer mandate doesnt require employers to actually do anything they see as sinful. The employers arent required to use the implantation-preventing contraceptives that they see as immoral. They arent required to administer or even handle them. They are just required to provide insurance policies that their employees may then choose to use to buy those contraceptives. Is that a real burden on belief?

That question would be answered no if a RFRA claim is brought by an employer who thinks the only relevant sin is actually using the implantation-preventing contraceptives. If the employer is called to the stand and asked, Do you think that it is religiously wrong for you to provide this insurance? and the employer says, no, thats fine, only using the contraceptives is sinful, then the employer has admitted that the employer mandate does not impose a substantial burden on his beliefs.

But, unsurprisingly, many people believe that, when some behavior is wrong, many sorts of complicity with that behavior are wrong, too. Many secular people believe this. The law takes this view, in all sorts of contexts. Religious people believe it, too.

True, people disagree about when complicity stops. Some people think that race discrimination itself is wrong and thus didnt want to do business in South Africa if they had to discriminate in hiring to do so. Others thought they shouldnt do business in South Africa even if they could do so without discriminating. Others thought they shouldnt do business with South African companies. Others may have thought they shouldnt buy any products made in South Africa. Some people might have thought their complicity would be cut off by the use of the corporate form (Im not the one whos doing business with South African companies; its just the corporation that I own thats doing that), though I suspect many people would not have taken that view. Where the connection becomes too attenuated and morally or religiously culpable complicity stops is a question on which reasonable people will differ.

But for purposes of RFRA, the question isnt whether a judge or jury agrees with a persons claim that a law requires him to engage in behavior that is sinful it is whether the person sincerely believes that the behavior is sinful. Likewise, when the person believes that complicity itself is sinful, the question is not whether our secular legal system thinks that he has drawn the right line regarding complicity; it is whether he sincerely believes that the complicity is sinful.

Thomas v. Review Board (1981) on which the Hobby Lobby majority relied is the classic illustration of this principle. Thomas had been working at a machinery company and was transferred to a department that produced tank turrets. Thomas refused to work on such military production and was fired. Under the Courts Free Exercise Clause jurisprudence, whether Thomas could claim unemployment compensation turns on whether his refusal to work on war production was an exercise of his religion. The lower court had said that it wasnt, but the Court reversed (emphasis added):

[The Indiana Supreme Court noted] that Thomas admitted before the referee that he would not object to working for United States Steel or Inland Steel produc[ing] the raw product necessary for the production of any kind of tank [because I] would not be a direct party to whoever they shipped it to [and] would not be chargeable in conscience . The court found this position inconsistent with Thomas stated opposition to participation in the production of armaments. But Thomas statements reveal no more than that he found work in the roll foundry sufficiently insulated from producing weapons of war. We see, therefore, that Thomas drew a line, and it is not for us to say that the line he drew was an unreasonable one.

Thomas wasnt, of course, being required to kill anyone using a tank, fire a tank gun, ride in a tank helping the gunner, or assemble a completed tank. But he thought that the religious prohibition went further than that. Even making tank turrets though not making steel that would go into a tank was, he thought, itself sinful complicity with sin.

And the Court held that it was for him, not for the secular courts, to figure out where he thought God wanted him to draw a line. The substantial burden requirement didnt require that the connection be substantial enough in the secular legal systems understanding of complicity. (A burden might be insubstantial because it imposes too small a secular cost to count, not because outsiders to a religion think that a causal connection is too weak to count as sinful complicity.)

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Volokh Conspiracy: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act and complicity in sin

On Jun 28, 2014, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc. ( RH ) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Why the Upgrade?

Restoration Hardware has witnessed rising earnings estimates over the last 30 days following spectacular first quarter fiscal 2014 results. Moreover, this home furnishings retailer has delivered positive earnings surprises in the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 37.0%. The long-term expected earnings growth rate for this stock is 28.6%.

The company's earnings of 18 cents per share grew threefold year over year while comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 cents and exceeding the company's own guidance of 9-11 cents a share. The bottom line was driven by a robust 22% surge in the company's net revenues of $366.3 million. Net sales not only surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $346.0 million, but also came ahead of the company's predicted range of $345-$350 million.

Further, management seems highly impressed with the company's first-quarter performance despite eliminating the mailing of "Fall 2013" Source Book. The solid results coupled with its leading position in the home furnishings industry and multi-network business model make Restoration Hardware confident about its future prospects.

This was well reflected in the company's encouraging outlook for fiscal 2014. It now expects net revenues to range from $1.86-$1.89 billion, compared with $1.825-$1.86 billion predicted earlier. Moreover, it anticipates adjusted earnings per share to lie in the band of $2.24-$2.30, up from $2.14-$2.22 per share forecasted previously.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2014 and 2015 increased 7.7% and 2.5% to $2.38 and $2.85 per share, respectively.

Going forward, the company also plans to maintain its focus on transforming its retail outlets and expanding its product portfolio, with the latter taking a leading edge from its 2014 Source Books. In fiscal 2014, the company plans to introduce new Galleries in Greenwich, and Los Angeles.

The company believes that subsequent to its real estate transformation in North America, it will record annual sales of $4-$5 billion, generating operating margins in the mid-teens and producing adequate free cash flow.

On the trading front, shares of this retailer hit a 52-week high of $93.54 per share before closing a notch below at $92.37 per share on the last trading day. Also, stock price has gained 37.2% on the index year to date.

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Restoration Hardware Upped to Strong Buy - Analyst Blog

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. When Carol OKeefes husband, Dennis, died from cancer in 2008, she decided it was time to relocate from the Boston area. She was an office manager with Staples, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

I asked my (financial) advisor one day if he thought I could retire. He said I was in good shape financially and there wouldnt be any problem, OKeefe said.

Since Dennis and Carol had no children, it seemed like a good idea for Carol to move closer to family. That family was John Farmer, her brother, and Kristin Farmer, her sister-in-law, who have a home and organ-restoration company on six acres on Fraternity Church Road.

The company has been featured for its work restoring the Hook & Hastings Organ at St. Timothys Episcopal Church in Winston Salem. The inaugural recital will be in November.

I thought I would buy some land nearby and build a home over there, said OKeefe, pointing to the east side of the home. But John told her that he would rather walk downstairs to pick her up than roll down the hill in a wheel chair to help her.

The siblings have lot in common including a sense of humor and the same birth date, Jan. 4. John is 64 and Carol is 69.

So Carol lives in the lower level of the Farmer home. She worked with the John, Kristin and the contractor, Lawrence Cline, to re-imagine the area. Stored organ pipes had to be moved to a barn.

Some plumbing had already been installed in the lower level. John had been thinking of inviting his mother, Mildred, who had Alzheimers, to stay with them. But she died in 2001. When Carol moved to North Carolina in 2011, she stayed upstairs with the Farmers while the remodel was designed and executed.

She worked with the plumbing that was already in place. She has a large walk-in shower and no bathtub. I dont take baths, Carol said.

She has an office with built-in bookshelves and a computer set-up with a half curtain covering utility boxes. In one corner of her lower-level home she has curtained off an unfinished area for storage and a work space for her bead-jewelry hobby.

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Blended house works well for brother, sister in Winston-Salem

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Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 23, 2014

In this day and age it seems like graffiti is everywhere. Its sad how a piece of scratched glass can tarnish a businesses image once some stranger decides to carve their name into it. Luckily for home and business owners alike, Western Glass Restoration and Tinting is now offering scratched glass restoration services that use absolutely zero chemicals or glazes. Photos of the companys restoration results can be viewed online at http://www.westernglassrestoration.com.

Western Glasss unique glass restoration system uses a self-contained machine that works remarkably well on all types of glass. Their innovative scratch removal and glass polishing repair system removes scratches, restores glass, removes graffiti and stains fast-and-cleanly from all kinds of windows such as plate glass, dual glazed, skylights, glass rails, slider doors, mirrors and stainless steel at a fraction of the cost of replacement.

The scratch removal system the company uses is designed to remove scratches from virtually any type of glass. This system is hand held and uses a vacuum process to hold the machine onto the glass, while at the same time, providing a continuous flow of slurry through the system. The flow of slurry provides a continual source of new abrasives and keeps the glass within a cool operating temperature.

Western Glass Restoration and Tinting and Construction Services are delivered by a staff of team-oriented individuals who share the common goal of exceeding the expectations of their clients. Western Glass Restoration and Tinting Services prime asset and the success of any project is dependent upon them. Those in need of glass restoration can contact the company at (949) 253-7700 or online at westernglassrestoration.com.

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Glass Restoration Services that Work from Western Glass Restoration