1938 Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac
Pages 36-37

Luzerne County in 1937

Strides in aviation and operation of new laws to purify elections were the outstanding developments having a bearing on Luzerne County in 1937.  Wilkes-Barre-Wyoming Valley Airport, first opened in 1929 and improved late in 1936 and early in 1937 with surfaced runways under WPA project appropriations, began to take its place among outstanding ports in the East.  Selection by the Department of Commerce and the postal authorities as a stop-over point for the United States Mail was made early in the summer, after a bitter contest in Washington between the rival congressmen from this county and Lackawanna County and between air-minded citizens of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.  The Scranton airport at Schultzville was declared unfit for such service and Wyoming airport was designated the stopping point for this area.

Wyoming Valley airport became a main point in the vast commercial aviation scheme shortly after the decision on the mails.  On July 1 the new runways and improved airport saw the first American Airways planes land.  Beginning then as a point on the Newark to Buffalo run and with Stinson eight-passenger planes being used, the local port quickly merited consideration by the company as business increased tremendously.

On September 1, bi-motored 14-passenger Douglas planes replaced the smaller ships and by mid-November the demand was so great that the company assigned 21-passenger Douglas ships.  Stops on the Newark to Chicago run in November were Wilkes-Barre, Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago, permitting valley passengers to reach Newark in 48 minutes and making Chicago only a four hour, 14-minute flight.

The Legislature early in the Spring adopted a new permanent registration law, signed by the Governor in April and requiring voters of boroughs and townships to make personal registration of selection of their parties as was done by city voters in 1935.  The county commissioners, who now have charge of all election matters in the new State election code also adopted in 1935, were obliged to spend about $200,000 to set up a vast system to record and investigate data and signatures of voters.  Most drastic provision of the new system stipulates voters who require assistance in operating voting machines to so state on their registration cards.

Dr. Lewis Edwards Dies

Dr. Lewis Edwards, chairman Luzerne County Commissioners, died suddenly of a heart attack at his home in Kingston on April 4, less than six months after he had been returned to office for a second term.  The court in banc selected Jonathan R. Davis of Kingston, business leader, to succeed Dr. Edwards on April 12.  At a reorganization meeting on April 13, John MacGuffie was elected chairman of the Commissioners.

Assessors Retain Office

Efforts by the Democratic Legislature to rip out of office the incumbent assessors, Ambrose Langan, Joseph E. Fleitz and Adrian Jones proved unavailing when the Supreme Court declared the “ripper bill” unconstitutional.  The new bill gave to the Democratic Auditor General the right to name assessors.  He selected John Kehoe, Enoch Thomas and John Malinowski, but they never took over the duties since the high court sustained the incumbents, appointed by the County Commissioners.

Another Legislative act having an important bearing on Luzerne County was the adoption of the Mundy Teacher Tenure Act, introduced by Dr. Leo C. Mundy, Senator from the 21st District.  The bill insures positions to all teachers in the State under contract except when accused of incompetency, immorality or gross neglect of duty and providing appeals to the court if convicted by boards on such charges.

Poor Boards Abolished

The Goodrich Bill, creating a State Welfare Department and wiping out the former system of having poor boards administer poor relief, old age pensions and care for the blind, was adopted by the Legislature.  Late in the year, however, the constitutionality of the law was attacked and a decision from the Supreme Court was eagerly awaited by the poor boards as well as County Commissioners, to whom the new law turned over maintenance of almshouses, insane hospitals and other properties formerly under the care of poor boards.

Flood control was a vital issue in the county during 1937, War Department engineers directing the erection of most of the dike system on the Kingston side of the river from old Church Street dike through Nesbitt and Kirby Park and into Edwardsville Borough below the outlet of Toby’s Creek.  Failure of Wilkes-Barre City and Hanover Township officials to obtain the same cooperation on approval of flood control plans brought about intense controversy on the East side of the river late in the year, and no work had been started on the proposed dike system for the River Commons and the bank along Riverside Drive and into Hanover Township until December.

Sordoni Heads Hotel

After more than five years of bankruptcy litigation over the affairs of Homer R. Mallow and Mallow Hotel Corporation, Hotel Sterling passed into control of a new company, The Sterling Hotel Company, headed by Senator A. J. Sordoni, on May 31, 1937.  The 20th District Senator had served as one of the Federal Court trustees during the previous 18 months.  His plan, approved by a majority of creditors, bondholders and the Federal Court, brought about a merger of the Mallow Hotel Corporation, which had been the operating company, and the Wilkes-Barre Hotel Company, which owned the properties of the hotel.  The new company on December 1 paid out $12,000 in interest to holders of second mortgage bonds, upon which the former Wilkes-Barre Hotel Company had made no payment of interest since January 1, 1932.  Homer R. Mallow, former owner and manager of the hotel properties, late in November took exceptions to the final accounting by Trustees Sordoni and Thomas M. Lewis and the Federal Court fixed a hearing for December 13.

Among new buildings completed during the year were the new $125,000 detention home for women in the rear of the county prison, a PWA project, and the new Doran and Dodson schools of Wilkes-Barre.  New projects included an athletic stadium for Hanover Township High School and a proposed addition to Nanticoke High School.

Typed by Dawn Gabriel