The Times Leader from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania • 15

PEOPLE SECTION THE TIMES LEADER timesleader.com SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012 "We're like two OLD MARRIED PEOPLE who have reached an accord. I can rely on him to be my PROTECTOR. We don't have to exchange words he knows what I'm think-ingi People who watch us sense WE HAVE A HISTORY, and that is very important." Judge Judy Sheindlin ji ft TOM MOONEY OUT ON A LIMB 1940s Census brings regional hunters success A. "r' 2V v.k ml in' i JUDGE I i' rrT ft 1 is- THDY SHtlNU 1 I "Ml MCT PHOTO Judge Judy Sheindlin, left, and Petrl-Hawklns Byrd are seen during a taping of the 'Judge Judy' show. 6 9 JUDGE JUDY Infamous magistrate and sidekick have a secure bond By GREG BRAXTON I Los Angeles Times Tfl 24-year-old movie star to you?" she asked with her characteristic laser-like glare.

"No, ma'am," muttered Escobedo. She turned to bailiff Petri Hawkins Byrd, standing close by. Byrd met her glance. "Yeah, you do," he said. The judge's sour mood instantly dissolved.

"You got the job," she said soothingly. Actually, the bailiff known as "Byrd" has had "the job" from Day 1 for close to 20 years. Since 1996 when she arrived on the daytime scene and upended the staid court TV genre with her suffer-no-fools demeanor, Sheindlin has had one constant by her side: the solidly built, deep-voiced court officer who has one of TVs most interesting occupations: He is the guard dog to the pit bull. Moreover, Byrd, 54, actually had the job before he had "the job" he often served under Sheindlin when he worked as a bailiff in Manhattan Family Court at a time when she was an outspoken family court and supervising judge. Their palpable chemistry, defined by sly asides and knowing glances, is a key component of "Judge Judy," which has jumped from being one of the most popular shows in daytime to the undisputed champ of the syn- LOS ANGELES The Hollywood studio "courtroom" of "Judge Judy" Sheindlin may seem inviting enough, but Hugo Escobedo Jr.

looked like someone discovering a moment too late that he was in the lion's den and the head lion was about to bite his head off. During a taping, Escobedo, 18, was trying to persuade Sheindlin that he was not responsible for an accident in Houston that caused considerable damage to a car driven by 19-year-old Angelique Trump, who had filed a small claims suit against him. But the student's case was crumbling. Escobedo, who had no driver's license, testified that he had taken his father's car without permission and had switched places with his passenger after the collision, telling police he was not driving at the time of the crash. Still, he claimed, the accident was Trump's fault.

The magistrate bristled. "Do I look like a Despite some first-day problems because of so many people trying to access it at once, the 1940 U.S. Census has proved the hit everyone thought it would be. Brian Bergman of Hanover Township reports that he was part of the mob trying to break the doors down on April 2, but found everything he was looking for on both sides of his family once he was able to get into it. "Even without an index being compiled yet, I'm having more success than I expected!" he said just days after it appeared.

Elaine May of Swoyersville is equally enthusiastic but more about the indexing part of it. In an email cleverly titled "Indexing Rocks," May says that she joined the indexing project of the Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogical Society even before the census came out and has thoroughly enjoyed her experience. Says May, "Indexing makes me feel like I am contributing something. Since your column was published back in February, I have indexed over 13,000 names. During the first week that the 1940 census was available for indexing, I was the top indexer for the NEPGS." As a side benefit, she says, "I have also now learned different 'tricks' for researching my family as a result of the indexing project." Indexing, of course, is vital to searchers of the census because it makes finding particular names a lot easier.

To get involved in the indexing effort, contact the society at 829-1765 or at nepgsmailgmail.com. Titanic Anniversary: More local connections to RMS Titanic, the ship that sank in 1912 carrying about 1,500 people to their deaths, are appearing. Former Exeter resident Quintin Casse-tori-Tiff any, now of North Shores, points out that the husband of famous Titanic survivor "Unsinkable" Molly Brown had a local connection. James Joseph Brown (1854-1922), as numerous sources attest, was born at Waymart. His family moved to Pittston when he was a child, and he grew up there, studying at St.

John's Academy. Moving west to make his fortune, he studied mining on the job at various places and eventually became wealthy in the Colorado gold mines, eventually marrying young Margaret "Molly" Tobin. Molly, who by 1912 had separated from her husband, gained fame for nursing stricken survivors of the Titanic. Fictionalized versions of Molly have been presented numerous times on stage and on the screen, most recently in the 1997 movie "Titanic," where she was portrayed by actress Kathy Bates. Cassetori-Tiffany calls study of the Titanic "my passion since I was 7" and says it landed him several mentions in The Times Leader when he lived here.

News Notes: Congratulations to Tina Lukashefski, genealogy coordinator at the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre, for her quick action to help my recent "Getting Started in Genealogy" presentation get under way. When the crowd that showed up exceeded the capacity of the second-floor meeting room, Lukashefski cleared out the downstairs reading room and set it up "theatre style" for the group, complete with a coffee bar. The audience topped out at upwards of 35 people. (I stopped counting once the presentation began.) Watch this column for more presentations throughout the year. If you haven't visited the Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogical Society's research library in Hanover Township, you won't want to miss the open house scheduled for 4-8 p.m.

Tuesday. The library.is in the caretaker building at the Hanover Green Cemetery, Main Road. Stop by and see the society's growing collection of research materials. Tom Mooney is a Times Leader genealogy columnist. Reach him at tmooney2Sptd.net.

AP PHCO Judge Judy Sheindlin celebrates her 10th anniversary with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, Calif. See JUDY, Page 2B 7 oe Kristan is the owner of Forty Fort Lube and Service and is opening a new shop on Pierce Street in Kingston to go along with the Wyoming Avenue location. Kristan, 38, attended Bishop O'Reilly High School and Luzerne County Community College where he studied many aspects of the automotive trade. Joe and his wife, Lisa, have a dog, Jake, a German shorthaired mix. They live in Dallas.

1 when I get a chance." What tunes are on your radio when listening to music? "I like a broad range. I enjoy Tom Petty, Metatlica and talk radio, too." Do you have a saying you live by? "I have many of the usual ones that relate to life and work. Work hard and play hard. Live each day like it is your last and be truthful." Durlnq your lifetime, who have you admired most? "No one person. It is a variety of people that have inspired me through the years.

My parents and many different business people have played key roles in my life and contributed to who I am today." What would you like to see Improved the most In Northeast Pennsylvania? "There has to be more for kids to do locally. Many kids can be seen on the streets where there is limited room to play or hang out. Maybe more parks so youths have a place to go instead of being inside or in trouble." What moments stand out In your lift the most? "It all starts with my wife. She has stood by me since high school and ly helped me with the business through the years. We are.particularly proud of opening the original Forty Fort Lube when we took over the vacant garage in 2006." What sums you up as a person? How would you describe yourself to someone? "I am a very easygoing guy who is truthful and very straightforward." John Cordon writes about area people for the Meet feature.

Reach him at 970-7229. Have you always had a knack for working with cars? "We had a large yard when I was younger and I used to tinker with vehicles there. I would work on the riding mower and eventually I started working on my mom's various vehicles. I would do tune-ups and oil changes among other repairs. In high school I worked at a Mobil gas station and continued to work there for close to 15 years after I graduated.

That location is actually where we are setting up the new Pierce Street shop." When did you decide to go into business for yourself? "It was in 2006 when I opened the Wyoming absolutely is. The interaction with them feels great on a personal level. You get to know their situations and what repairs they need. It feels good to fix something or to oversee the great work that is done here for the customers." What is your Idea of relaxation outside of work? "I'm always working, but now that the summer is (coming), the wife and I love hanging out on our deck. We are summer people.

We love going to local and state parks like Frances Slocum. During the winter we are homebodies but like to get away to warm weather climates like when we celebrated our wedding anniversary. The clean beaches of Aruba were wonderful." Where would you like to visit someday? "We always wanted to visit Europe to see different cultures and to learn. about new things." In the media world, what entices you? "I love action films like the Bourne trilogy. I really enjoy Seinfeld on television.

I also enjoy watching the Steelers and Oakland A's i) Avenue shop. I decided to open the Pierce Street location about a month ago since we were having success. We had more customers than we could handle so the second 1 location was needed." Art the customers a big part of your enjoyment of the business? "It i.