1949 Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac
Valley Lands Veterans’ Hospital

	Realization of a long-cherished dream of local veterans and civic leaders – the establishment of an acutely needed veterans’ hospital in the anthracite region – came in 1948, when on April 1, ground was broken for Wyoming Valley’s $12,000,000, 475-bed Veterans’ Administration Hospital on East End Boulevard.
	When occupied, according to authorities, it will be the largest building contract ever consummated in Wyoming Valley.
	Sgt. Gino J. Merli of Peckville, Congressional Medal of Honor holder, in the presence of some 1,000 spectators, lifted the first shovel of earth for the 11-story hospital.  Looking on were William B. Healey, Attorney Daniel J. Flood, R.A. Davis, president of Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, and R.H. Levy, chairman of the program.  Participating also were Col. W.W. Wanamaker, Army Corps of Engineers; General Robert Wilson, Veterans Administration; Col. Hugh A. Kelly, member of the firm of Kelly & Gruzen, architect-engineers for the structure; Fred Lyford, president of Merritt, Chapman, and Scott, Incorporated, New York, general contractors; Congressman Mitchell Jenkins; and, Rev. Michael Hally, national chaplain, Military Order of the Purple Heart.
	Situated on a hill overlooking Wyoming Valley, the new hospital, a reinforced concrete structure of gray manganese spotted brick exterior, will be “custom-built” to the site.  The main building will be at the top of the hill on the 51-˝-acre site and the natural grades will provide entrances at several levels.  Walls of the hospital will be practically all windows and the structure will have the latest features in modern hospital construction from structural glass operating rooms to space for miniature department stores.
	With completion of the hospital scheduled for March, 1950, the job is 80 per cent accomplished and substantially up to schedule.  The structural frame is up to the fifth floor.  Brick work on the exterior of the building, being done by John B. Kelly, Philadelphia, is up a story and one-half.  Three high pressure boilers, operating at 165-pound pressure and producing about 440 horsepower each, have been installed.  Jutting 150 feet above the foundation is an elevated water storage tank holding 330,000 gallons.  It is now in use.
	Although there was great progress during October and November of 1948, N.W. Bond, resident engineer, United States Corps of Engineers, says the most money will be earned by construction workers during the coming summer.  By the summer months, he said, the expensive items will be going into the hospital.  Floor and plastering work will be done by the end of 1949.
	While the American Legion and other veteran groups first conceived the idea of a hospital, start of the project was fruition of many years of work on part of a great many persons.  Back in 1940, the then Congressman, J. Harold Flannery, worked to get the hospital for this region.  Again, in 1941, the region lost a fight to have a veterans’ hospital built at a nearby Pocono site.  Two years later, Anthracite County Council of VFW unsuccessfully renewed its demand for establishment of a veterans’ hospital in the Poconos.
	Early in 1948, with thousands of Wyoming Valley’s ill and wounded veterans of World War II needing hospitalization, the community by subscription, raised $122,000 more than $51,000 over the original goal of $70,000, to purchase land for the hospital.  Balance after purchase of the land will be used to provide comforts and entertainment for the veterans.  Until such time as surplus funds are needed, the money was placed in Government Bonds.  Joseph H. MacVeigh, former president of Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, was appointed head of a Trust Fund Committee which has members William B. Healey, Reuben H. Levy, Attorney Al J. Kane, Percy A. Brown, J. Henry Pool, Richard Guckelberger, the superintendent of the hospital, and the director of recreation at the hospital, the latter two to be named.
	Two weeks after the ground-breaking for the hospital, activity at the site gained momentum and a month later, construction was running five weeks ahead of schedule.  Anchored in rock, as the hospital is, some time was lost in getting down to good foundation.  In August, work was slowed because of difficulty in getting reinforced and structural steel.  In October alone, however, $600,000 worth of work was accomplished.
	By November 1, with 25 per cent of the job completed, some 500 men were plugging ahead day and night, scrambling to keep on schedule and to take advantage of the good weather.  During October and November, framework for the structure was going up at the rate of a story every two weeks.
	Construction of the attractive quarters for the staff, nurses, and attendants will get underway this spring.  These quarters, to be erected on the south side of the entrance road, will include three double two-family houses, the manager’s home, nurses’ quarters, and attendants’ quarters.
	Beautification of the grounds surrounding the hospital site was furthered when Hudson Coal Company, in cooperation with the State Highway Department, and Industrial Forestry Department of Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, planted 406 trees along the highway, near Baltimore Colliery and in front of the hospital grounds, improving approximately 1,800 feet of the barren mine strippings along the eastern approach to Wilkes-Barre on U.S. Route 315.  In 1947, some 20,000 young saplings were planted on both sides of the old highway leading to the hospital.
	In addition to Merritt, Chapman, and Scott, Incorporated, New York, general contractors, Frank A. McBride, Paterson, NJ; Howard P. Foley, Harrisburg; Daniel J. Keating Company, Philadelphia; Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Jersey City; and, Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company, New York, are working on the job.

Typed by Helene H. Williams, January 9, 2009