Travis Scott Bicher ^{1 2 3 4 5 6}

   FamilySearch ID: LF2L-BC2.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Residence: 337 W. Carpenter Ave., Myerstown, PA on 16 May 1975 in Myerstown, Lebanon, PA. ²

2. Newspaper: Lebanon Daily News: Travis Bicher in Scotland, 18 Jun 1988, Lebanon, Lebanon, PA. ⁷ MYERSTOWN -- Travis S. Bicher, a Lock Haven University sophomore, spent three months in intensive courses at a Scotland college and three weeks of intensive backpacking through Europe. Bicher, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Bicher, 337 W. Carpenter, could have chosen Ecuador, England, Poland, Germany or Japan for his foreign exchange program. He almost chose Poland, but the college there did not offer courses that fit into his program. He rejected the college at Reading, England, because many students in the Lock Haven exchange program went there. Curiosity, he said, drew him to Scotland. When Americans think about Scotland, they think of men wearing kilts, bagpipe music and the Loch Ness monster.

Bicher said the Scots he met only wore kilts at ceremonies, if ever, and disliked bagpipe music. And he never saw the monster. Bicher arrived in Scotland in January to take four social science courses at the Glasgow College of Technology. He stayed in a YMCA high rise and traveled to the campus in a double-decker bus. The courses, he said, were difficult.

The students were very political, he said. Once he used England to refer to the whole island and his Travis S. Bicher classmates became hostile. He said the Scots he met disliked Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. They believe she is responsible for taking Scottish industry south to England, he explained.

Bicher also said that President Ronald Reagan is not liked because of his association with Thatcher. Bicher said he disliked the weather in Scotland. Wet towels did not dry for several days; pools of water formed inside window sills and the sun was scarce. Snow melted quickly, he added. The food was bland, Bicher, who is preparing to teach social studies in the secondary school, said.

He described a Scottish pie, the equivalent of the American burger, as having little flavor. He said the pie was a cup of dough filled with ground meat and topped with more dough. Students eat a lot of bread and potatoes because they are inexpensive, he said. And the Scots drink a lot of tea, he added. The beer was incredible, he said.

Lager and ale are darker and smoother than their American counterparts. He noted that Europeans have a different attitude about drinking. They have been at it longer, so they are better at it, he observed. The Europeans see drinking as part of socializing. He said the Scots go to pubs or music clubs to listen to jazz.

Its a better way of going about it, he explained. "People are more important and the drinking is only part of conversation. Bicher found the dialect difficult to understand at first. The Scots speak rapidly, cut off their words and emphasize other syllables, he said. It was incomprehensible, Scotland said Bicher.

Early in his stay, he switched on one of Scotlands four television channels and was trying to decipher the speakers message. His roommate laughed at him, because he tuned in the Gaelic channel. When the term ended at Glasgow college, Bicher toted his backpack through Belgium, Luxemborg, Germany, Austria and Italy for 19 days. Armed with a Eurail pass, he hopped from city to city, staying in hostels. It was fantastic, he said.

At times, he teamed up with a Canadian, a Frenchman, and two New Englanders. He said there were more Americans on the road than one would believe. In Belgium, he met a student who had been studying at Edinborough. His father was from Reading. In Vienna, he met an art student from Allentown.

Bicher said he budgeted $40 a day as expenses, but he seldom spent that much. He said many museums and other attractions were free. Bicher returned home in late April and started working in a kitchen assembly plant. The trip brought Europe to earth for him. There was a lot of ugly public housing and poor people, he said.

3. Residence: in 2001 in Jackson Twp., Lebanon, PA. ¹

4. Newspaper: Lebanon Daily News, 19 Sep 2001, Lebanon, Lebanon, PA. ¹ Crash kills county youth
Two critical after head-on collision in Jackson Township
By Eric Ladley, Staff Writer

MYERSTOWN -- Two cars collided head-on on a Jackson Township road last night, killing a 16-year-old Myerstown boy and critically injuring two other people.
The victim was identified as Abram R. Wagner. He was a front-seat passenger in a car carrying four teenage boys and was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:15 p.m. by Lebanon County Coroner Dr. Jeffrey Yocum. The accident occurred about an hour earlier when a Nissan Maxima carrying the four boys was traveling south on a hilly, winding section of Hilltop Road. After negotiating a curve in the road, the car traveled into the northbound lane and collided head-on with a Volkswagen Jetta driven by Barbara A. Miller, 47, of Myerstown, according to state police at Jonestown. Miller was traveling alone.

The three surviving boys and Miller were transported to Hershey Medical Center by Life Lion and Sky Care helicopters and a Myerstown ambulance. The driver of the Nissan, Andrew Foulk, 17, of Newmanstown was listed in fair condition this morning, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Two back-seat passengers in the car, identified by police only as teenage boys, were listed in critical and serious condition. Miller was listed in critical condition this morning, according to the HMC spokeswoman.

The Jaws of Life were used to cut the roof off Miller's vehicle, according to witnesses. After the car driven by Foulk crossed the center of the road and struck Miller's car, it veered off the east edge of the roadway and struck a utility pole and tree. The car came to rest at a spot not far from Travis Bicher's home. Bicher, 33, was one of the first people on the scene.

"The lady in the car came up the hill, and the guys were coming down the hill," Bicher said. "Her car flipped around, and their car landed in an oak tree."
Bicher, a teacher and interim dean of students at Elco Middle School, said the boys looked to be of high-school age, but he could not recognize them because their faces were bloody. One of the boys, on the left side of the back seat, was conscious, as was the driver, who could talk but was disoriented, Bicher said.
"The one on the right side of the back was still clutching a soda bottle," Bicher said. "I was scared to death that I would see a kid that I would recognize and know."

A former emergency medical technician, Bicher checked the pulses of the boys and the Miller, then called 911. The boys and the woman all had weak pulses, Bicher said. Miller was initially unresponsive and had a compound fracture in her right thigh, Bicher said. Ken Winebark, 44, and his son Brandon, 14, who live near the scene, said they knew immediately that the accident was serious.
"They were in bad shape," Ken Winebark said. "They were totally shot. Both cars had to be cut open."

A 39-year-old woman, who did not want to give her name, said she saw rescue workers take three people out of the Nissan. She went to the scene after hearing sirens. "One fellow sitting on the left got out and moved, but the others weren't," the woman said. "I'm sick. I have teens myself. Stuff like this shouldn't happen."

The nearby parking lot of Mary Gate of Heaven Catholic Church was used as a landing zone by the helicopters. Witnesses said about 200 spectators gathered around the parking lot. Assisting at the scene were Myerstown's Keystone and Goodwill, Kutztown and Frystown fire companies, as well as Myerstown, Schaefferstown, First Aid and Safety Patrol and Good Samaritan Hospital ambulances and Goodwill fire police.

According to Daily News records, Wagner was the 10th person to die as a result of accidents on Lebanon County roads this year.

5. Newspaper: Patriot-News: Bicher-Challenger Wedding, 13 Aug 2002, Harrisburg, Dauphin, PA. ⁵ Angela Marie Challenger and Travis Scott Bicher were married recently in Hickory Corners. A reception followed at Little Kutztown Fire Hall.
The bride is the daughter of William and Shelley Challenger of Williamstown and Randy and Bridget Bordner of Hickory Corners. The bridegroom is the son of Glenn and Marcia Bicher of Myerstown.
Rebecca Challenger was her sister's maid of honor. Haley Challenger, daughter of the bride, was flower girl.
Glenn Bicher was his son's best man. Bodan Bicher, nephew of the bridegroom, was ring bearer.
Mrs. Bicher is a graduate of Nativity Blessed Virgin Mary High School, Pottsville, Kutztown University and is attending Penn State University, Schuylkill Haven campus. She is a middle school science teacher with Eastern Lebanon School District, Myerstown.
Her husband, a graduate of Eastern Lebanon High School, Lock Haven University and Penn State Harrisburg, is an assistant principal with Eastern Lebanon County School District.
Caption:
MR. AND MRS. BICHER
PHOTO.

6. Residence: on 13 Sep 2024 in Myerstown, Lebanon, PA. ⁶

Travis married Angela Marie Challenger, daughter of William G. Challenger and Bridget L. Summers, in 2002. (Angela Marie Challenger was born on 19 Apr 1974 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, PA ⁸.)