1950   WILKES-BARRE RECORD ALMANAC RECORD OF LOCAL EVENTS

                     Principal Happenings in Luzerne County for the Year Which Began
                                    December 1, 1948 and Ended November 30, 1949

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          DECEMBER, 1948

    1.  State Mining Commission awards $42,648.69 to Glen Alden Coal Company for coal under new Carey Avenue Bridge . . . Dupont High School destroyed by fire.
    2.  Count Republican campaign expenses total $52,267.51 . . . Irem Temple membership reaches 6,000 mark.
    3.  Snow and ice disposal equipment arrives at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport . . . Kehoe-Berge Coal Company furloughs 850 miners due to lack of demand for coal. . . Catholic Youth Center admitted to Community Chest
    6.  J. Harry May elected president of Wilkes-Barre City School Board.
    8.  State officials grant $30,131.79 for repairs to city flood control levee.
    9.  Unseasonable weather cuts anthracite coal output.
    12.  Rev. Nicholas Chopey celebrates 50th anniversary as priest.
    13.  Valley Endorsement Committee organized.
    14.  State officials refuse to repair Hanover Township approach to Breslau Bridge, damaged by a mine subsidence.         
    15.  Calvary Evangelical Church, West Nanticoke, destroyed by fire. . . Wyoming Seminary campaign for funds to remodel dormitories goes over top.
    17.  Fire damages Kiddie Shoppe, East Northampton Street.
    18.  Eight Sordoni employees feted at Christmas party of Sordoni Society.
    19.  Four to six inches of snow blankets valley.
    20.  City Hall decorated for Yule season.
    21.  Eugene S. Teter reelected president of Department of County Superintendents. Motor Club membership reaches 10,769.
    22.  Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company honors pensioners and members of 40-Plus Club at Christmas party.
    23.  A. Robert Ginsburg, city native, promoted to rank of brigadier general.   
    25.  Cold weather adds zest to Christmas celebration. . . Rev. Aaron Horowitz honored for 25 years service as cantor of B'nai Jacob Synagogue.
    26.  Lehigh Valley Railroad freight train derailed on East End Boulevard cutoff.
    29.  Army engineers award city dike repair contract. . . City Council adopts 1949 Budget
    30.  Sub-freezing temperatures check rise of Susquehanna River.



          JANUARY, 1949

     1.  Harry E. Colliery, Swoyersville, closed because of high operating expenses. . . Anthracite output during 1948 set at 57,000,000 net tons.
     3.  Post Office receipts for 1949 total $1,181,947.28. . . Largest group ever to be processed locally in the Regular Army and Air Force leaves for        training.
     4.  Wilkes-Barre office of the Pennsylvania State Employment Service absorbs Nanticoke office area. . . Local mine flood office opens.
     5.  Anthracite mine fatalities total 129 during 1948, a new low.
     7.  Followers of the Julian calendar observe Christmas.
     8.  City fire loss during 1948 totals $135,315.19, fire chief reports . . . Anthracite coal companies pay $7,650,000 to Anthracite Health and Welfare Fund in 1948. . . Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport shows $51,000 profit since opening on June 1, 1947.
     9.  Enrollment in 61 county schools during 1948 shows an increase of 21 pupils.
    10.  Six valley laundries grant raises to 400 employees. . . Eighty-six manufacturing plants, employing 3,750 persons, established in area during last three years, State Employment Service reports.
    11.  Twenty-eight Wyoming Banks reorganize. . . Lackawanna Presbytery approves resignation of Rev. A. Paul Lam, pastor of Bennett Presbyterian Church, Luzerne.
    12   City tax rate is highest of 19 Pennsylvania cities, report shows. . . Kis-Lyn Industrial School receives $80,274.44 in 1948 through sale of farm items.
    13.  Attorney Edward Bonin, Hazleton, appointed assistant district attorney. . . Civil Aeronautics Board grants All American Airways three year certificate to operate out of Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.
    14.  State Superior Court orders city and county to pay $35,000 each for reconstruction of South Street Bridge.
    15.  Fire damages Faith Shoe Company plant. . . Calvin Hall named executive of Wyoming Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America.
    16.  Catholic Youth Center dedicated by Bishop William J. Hafey. . . Forty Fort Methodist Church burns $100,000 mortgage at special ceremony.
    17.  Anthracite mining operations slacken due to continued warm weather and surplus stocks.
    18.  City School Board renews fire insurance for five0year term. . . Penn State Center, Hazleton, acquires the 66 acre Markle estate, Conyngham Mountain.
    19.  County Board of School Directors submits plans to merge Avoca, Dupont, Hughestown, Laflin and Yatesville Borough, and Jenkins and Pittston Township secondary school districts to comprise one attendance area. . . Bell Telephone Company to spend $500,000 in area during year, local manager announces.
    20.  Mitchell Jenkins named assistant district attorney. . . Reconstruction work starts on flood control dike off West South Street.
    21.  Meade J. McMillen chosen "Young Man of Year" by Junior Chamber of Commerce. . . Judge W. Alfred Valentine rounds out 20 years as judge of Common Pleas Court.
    22.  Harold G. Payne elected vice-president and general manager of Commonwealth, Luzerne and Bradford County Telephone Companies.
    23.  Rev. Edward P. McManaman, auxiliary bishop of Erie, celebrates Pontifical Mass in St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception.
    24.  Z. Platt Bennett reelected president of the board of directors of General Hospital. . . March of Dimes Campaign opens.
    25.  Wyoming Valley Council of Girl Scouts marks 25th anniversary. . . Bennett real estate trust sells Bennett Building, Public Square and North Main Street.
    26.  Rev. W. Herbert Sugden elected president of Crippled Children's Association.
    27.  Plymouth Borough officials accept pumping stations at Brown's and Wadham Creeks. . . Thirty-seven cars of an eastbound Lehigh Valley Railroad freight train jump track near Meshoppen.
    28.  Cold wave of air hits Wyoming Valley. . . Corey E. Patton elected president of Wilkes-Barre Rotary Club. . .  Osterhout Library marks 60th anniversary.
    29.  All Wyoming Valley hospitals approved in 21st report of American College of Surgeons. . . Wilkes-Barre Council 302, Knights of Columbus marks 51st anniversary with dance.
    30.  St. Theresa of the Little Flower Church, Old River Road and West Academy pays off 20 year debt.
    31.  Hudson Coal Company refuses to sell or lease property near Guthrie School for proposed Coughlin High School Football Stadium. . . Reconstruction work on Susquehanna River bank project halted by union squabble.

          FEBRUARY, 1949

     1.  Hazleton Planing Mill and Stecker Construction Company warehouse at Hazleton destroyed by fire. . . City marks 300th day without vehicular fatality.
     2.  Groundhog sees shadow; six more weeks of cold weather predicted. . . Remodeled Kingston apartments, 19 North Thomas Avenue, damaged by fire.
     3.  Consumption of coal in New York City cut by 20 per cent over last year due to warm weather. . . Delaware and Hudson Railroad officials plan to lay off 280 men.
     4.  Miner and laborer killed when caught under fall of rock at Loomis Colliery, Glen Alden Coal Company. . . County draft boards receive orders to halt induction calls and physical examinations. . .  Attorney Paul R. Selecky named special deputy attorney general for District 2, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
     5.  Rev. Theodore A. Fischer installed as pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church. . . Two North Wilkes-Barre boys arrested by police for attempted robbery of central city men's clothing store.
     7.  Musical show "Oklahoma" opens at Capital Theater for two-day performance. . . Fire chief reports total fire loss for January at $117,873.
     8.  Lehigh Valley Railroad furloughed 170 men since January 1, officials announce. . . R.A. Davis, wholesale ice distributor, starts production at three of six mountain plants after months of delay because of warm weather.
     9.  Thieves rob retired Hazleton grocer of $7,000.
    10.  Net cost of operations for County Prison during 1948 totals $72,013.75, Prison Board reports. . . State police arrest two Brooklyn men on East End Boulevard charged with possession of marijuana.
    11.  Gushing water from broken main floods North River Street from Maple Street to Courtright Avenue.
    12.  Three members of the Charles C. Dugan family, Forty Fort, overcome by gas. . . City post office receives rating of 90 out of a possible 100, one of the highest ratings in many years.
    13.  Polyna Stoaka, Metropolitan Opera singer, thrills capacity audience at Irem Temple. . . Arthur Bliss Lane, ex-diplomat, addresses Polish-American dinner at Hotel Sterling.
    14.  Kirby Park maintenance cost during 1948 totals $15,913.10, city officials report. . . American Red Cross campaign quota set at $108,342, officials announce. . . Work on Susquehanna River dike, West South Street, resumed following wage settlement. . . Wilkes College enrolls 1,678 students for spring semester.
    15.  Local railroads furlough additional men because of warm weather which curtailed coal production and reduced freight shipments. . . Fleetwood-Airflow plant closed by union grievance.   
    16.  Prices on Anthracite coal cut as dealer try to move surplus stocks to customer.
    18.  First young woman to enlist in WAC locally since World War 2 sworn in at Army and Air Force Recruiting Station. . . Two Hazelton business apartment buildings damaged by fire.
    19.  Forest tree seeds scattered over culm bank area near Veterans Hospital, East End Boulevard. . . County organized labor groups fete Congressman Flood, State Senator Patrick Tools and State Representative James Musto at dinner in Redington Hotel.
    20.  Weeks observance of the 75th anniversary of the Memorial Presbyterian Church, West North Street, inaugurated.
    21.  Rev. Llewelyn Williams resigns as pastor of First Welsh Presbyterian Church.
    22.  Epidemic of measles in city on upsurge, health officials report.
    23.  Mitchell Jenkins named chairman of newly formed City Fair Employment Practices Committee. . . Beacon Night Club, Exeter, destroyed by fire.
    24.  Local Protestant clergymen and rabbis participate in institute on Judaism at Temple B'nai B'rith in observance of Brotherhood Week.
    25.  Capt. C.E. Stegmaier Post 50, VFW, awards contract for alterations to new headquarters, North Main Street. . . Wilkes College purchases property of Dr. S .P. Mengel. South Main Street.
    26.  Fire damages 78 year old store of Peter T. and John Maycock, Miners Mills. . . John P. Redmond, president of International Association of Fire Fighters, addresses third annual dinner of city firemen at Hotel Redington.
    27.  Bishop William A. Hafey rededicates St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church, Blackman Street.
    28.  Mountain highways and municipal roads hazardous following worst snowfall of winter.

          MARCH, 1949

     1.  City Council approves three year lease giving Lehigh Valley Coal Corporation right to mine coal underneath City Cemetery.
     2.  City governmental expenditures during 1948 total $1,631,801.35, report shows.
     3.  City police cost third lowest in State, report reveals. . . Unemployment in Wilkes-Barre labor market area reaches 16,000. . . Fire damages Oakwood Shaft, Prospect Colliery, Lehigh Valley Coal Corporation.
     4.  Hazard Wire Rope Company reduces number of employees to 250 because of market conditions. . . Howard R. David, editor of Williamsport Grit, addresses Wilkes College second annual press conference.
     5.  Lehigh Valley Railroad Company purchases 14 sleeping cars. 
     6.  Nineteen cars of a Pennsylvania Railroad freight train derailed near Retreat. . . Forty Fort Methodist Church sets repair fund goal at $16,000.
     7.  Fourth Naval District officers inspect Kingston Naval Reserve Training Center.
     8.  St. Mary's Parochial School. Plymouth, damaged by fire. . . William O. Sword named president of Wyoming Valley Community Chest.
    10.  Raymond A. Livingston named Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania.
    12.  Twenty-three young women receive habit of Sisters of Mercy at College Misercordia ceremony.
    13.  Three hundred delegates attend closing session of two-day Eastern Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Theater Conference at Wilkes College, first to be held in the state.
    14.  Federal business census offices open at City Post Office. . . New kitchen at City Salvation Army Citadel used for first time. . . Attorney William A. Valentine named solicitor to County Controller.
    16.  City officials approve plans for sewage treatment plant.
    17.  General Cigar plant officials announce plans to suspend operations indefinitely at the Forty Fort plant. . . Valley Crippled Children's Association Easter Seals campaign opens with goal set at $20,000. . . Orpheum Theater opens after extensive repairs.
    18.  American Car and Foundry Company's "mystery train" collides with automobile at Beach Haven, fatally injuring Dr. P.H. Jamison of Nescopeck.
    20.  Rabbi I.M. Davidson honored at testimonial concert in Ohav Zedek Synagogue . . . Rise in temperature herald's arrival of spring.
    21.  City police cruisers rush oxygen to Scranton State Hospital to aid 16 firemen and policemen overcome in fighting furniture store fire . . . Art exhibit opens in Jewish Community Center. . . Glen Alden Company distributes 50-cent dividend.
    23.  Court-appointed Board of Viewers awards $79,236 for coal lands condemned to construct the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.
    24.  City's amusement tax yields $24,706.63 for first two months of year, report shows. . .Scranton Gas Company Bridges Street plant to undergo $1,000,000 expansion project, Scranton Spring-Brook Water Service Company officials report.
    25.  City employees blast animal pen in Kirby Park to make way for softball diamond. . . Mayor Kniffen proclaims city's observance of Daylight Savings Time, starting April 24.
    27.  Fire burns 60 acres of grass in Hillside section of Plains Township. . . Army B-36 plane flies over valley en route to Fort Worth, Texas.
    28.  Anthracite miners return to work after two-week' "Memorial Holiday" strike. . . Penn Lake cottagers battle brush fires endangering summer homes. . . Wilkes College students tour city hall.
    29.  Congress approves $335,000 appropriation for erection of a two-foot wall on top of low section of East Side dike. . . Mine cave-in damages Nanticoke National Bank building. . .  Christian Baiz elected president of Wyoming Valley Council of Boy Scouts.
    30.  Rabbi Carl Manello named general campaign chairman of United Jewish Appeal campaign.
    31.  Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Red Cross, exceeds goal for 11th consecutive year.

          APRIL 1949
     
     3.  Back Mountain Kennel Club holds fourth annual dog show in Kingston Armory. . . Newly constructed recreation room of South Branch YMCA dedicated.
     4.  Postmaster General Jesse M. Donaldson changes name of Alderson Post Office to Harvey's Lake. . . Enumerators start federal business census in Luzerne County. . . Installation started on a $20,000 instrument landing system at the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.
     5.  Construction work on Susquehanna River bank at West Street completed two months ahead of schedule.
     6.  Wilkes-Barre labor market area unemployment reaches 18,000, report shows.
     7.  Civil Aeronautics Administration approves plans for construction of marker lights on mountain approaches to Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.
     8.  Safety committee of Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce presents award to city officials and police department because there were no motor vehicle fatalities for a year. . . Glen Alden Coal Company reduces price of all sizes of anthracite.
    10.  Palm Sunday observed by worshipers who jam churches.
    11.  Loft Candy Company opens new store at 2 South Main Street.
    12.  Valley residents view first total lunar eclipse since 1945. . . Fire damages homes at 184-188 Scott Street.
    13.  Park Department employees remove two 78 year-old trees from Public Square.
    14.  Central Railroad recalls 28 of 94 men laid off at Ashley Shops due to decreased coal production and freight traffic.
    15.  Hoyt Library receives painting from French Thank You Train. . . State and federal authorities pledge aid to city for sewage treatment plant, dredging of Soloman's Creek and construction of a sewer line to the Veterans Hospital.
    16.  Portion of Wilkes-Barre Mountain, located along the Ashley Boulevard named Mount Palooka at dedication ceremonies. . . Princes of Peace Episcopal Mission, Kingston Township, site of first service in 10 years
    17.  Approximately 60,000 persons view annual Easter horse parade. . . Fire damages home at 377 North Washington Street while family attends church services.
    18.  American Bridge Company starts erecting new span to replace Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad Bridge near General Hospital.
    19.  County Commissioners agree to purchase city's one-third share of Wilkes-Barre-Wyoming Valley Airport for $40,000. . . City School Board adopts Daylight Saving Time.
    20.  Five-day session of Wyoming Annual Conference opens at Elm Park Church, Scranton . . . George Lacey installed as commander of Post 50, VFW, for 3rd consecutive term.
    21.  Staff workers explain operation of new cerebral palsy clinic at Kirby Health Center equipped by Wilkes-Barre Lions Club.
    24.  Majority of valley communities observe Daylight Saving Time. . . Thousands of valley adherents to the Julian calendar celebrate Easter. . . Three collieries of Jermyn-Green Coal Company cited for contributions to outstanding mining safety. 
    25.  Monsignor Mykolas Krupavicius, native of Lithuania and victim of Russian oppression, addresses large audience in St. Nicholas auditorium. 
    26.  Pastoral changes announced at closing session of Lackawanna Presbytery in West Pittston Presbyterian Church. . . Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce membership drive launched. . . Fred Little killed by gas fumes as Patrolman Robert Mack of Kingston succumbs to a heart attack in an attempt to save Mrs. Little.
    28.  Paul Bedford reelected president of Osterhout Free Library. . . Hunlock Township parents petition school board to have drinking water facilities improved. . . Westmoor Church of Christ's 50th anniversary celebration opens with dinner.
    29.  United States Navy Band presents two concerts before enthusiastic audiences in South Main Street Armory. . . Daughters of the American Revolution, Wyoming Valley Chapter, celebrates 58th anniversary with luncheon at Hotel Sterling.  
    30.  Opening session of 14th Federation of Clubs held in Irem Temple.


          MAY 1949

     1.  Bishop William J. Hafey speaks at American Day exercises in Kingston Armory before more than 10,000 persons.
     2.  Immigration and Naturalization Service reopens offices in Post Office. . . Work started on removal of air observation tower, near State Highways garage, operated during World War 2by American Legion Post 132.
     3.  County Commissioners award contract for installation of lights on mountain approaches to Wilkes-Barre Scranton Airport. . . Ashley High School cagers, Eastern State PIAA Class B Champs, honored at dinner.
     4.  Dallas Borough annexes 16 acres of Dallas Township land, including Natona Mill.
     5.  State Department of Forest and Waters Awards $275,450 contract for improvement to Susquehanna River basin Federal-State flood forecasting radio network. . . Army Ground Force Band presents two concerts in GAR High School auditorium. . . Thunder storm slashes valley after mercury reaches 90 degrees.
     6.  City officials accept new fire pumper following inspection.
     8.  St Paul's Lutheran Church, Shavertown, celebrates 24th anniversary with burning of first and second mortgages. . . Speakers extol virtues of motherhood in observance of Mother's Day at church and organization celebrations. . .  Bennett Presbyterian Church, Luzerne, starts diamond jubilee observance.
     9.  Wilkes College accredited as a four year institution. . . Ground broken for new Calvary Evangelical Church, West Nanticoke to replace edifice destroyed by fire. Local Veterans Administration regional office dismisses 101 employees as an economy measure.
    10.  County Commissioners approve $15,500 fund for relocating and rebuilding State Highway 361 in Lehman and Dallas Townships.
    11.  City's 399 day record of no highway fatalities broken by death of Charles Donnick, injured pedestrian.
    12.  Mercy Hospital of School of Nursing graduates 47. . . Youth Convention of Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem convenes in Wilkes-Barre. . . Wyoming Baptist's 107th annual convention in session at Hunlock Creek.
    13.  Employees of five valley breweries strike. . . Bishop's House of Charity drive in Scranton Diocese falls short of $545,204 goal.
    15.  Closing sessions of 35th annual Penn-Del-Mar conference of American Federation of Musicians held in Hotel Sterling.
    16.  Largest bond drive since war opens; county quota set at $3,485,000. . . Wyoming Valley Industrial Fund's campaign to raise $380,000 opens.
    17.  Group of 96 metropolitan business leaders, real estate executives, industrialists and newsmen inspect local industrial sites.
    18.  Two men killed in Dupont airplane crash. . . County Legal Aid Society admitted as a 34th agency of Wyoming Community Chest.
    19.  Opening sessions of 63rd annual conference of Congregational and Christian Churches of Pennsylvania held at Edwards Memorial Church, Edwardsville. .  . Crawford Clothes Incorporated opens new store at 10 South Main Street.
    20.  Martz Bus Company and White Transit employees call strike.
    22.  Wilkes-Barre withdrawn from Pennsylvania League of Third Class Cities. . . Wilkes Band presents second annual concert on college campus.
    23.  Valley brewery workers return to work, ending a nine-day strike.
    24.  Diplomas presented to 152 Wyoming Seminary graduates. . . Two Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation trolley cars collide near Loomis Colliery.
    26.  American Auto Store, 120 South Main Street, reopened after remodeling. . . Carpenters end 25 day strike.
    27.  Kingston School Board raises property levy to 31 mills to meet budget requirements. . . American Stores Company's new warehouse, Forty Fort, damaged by surface subsidence.
    29.  Snow falls in valley with temperature at 48 degrees.
    30.  Degrees presented to 1143 graduates at College Misericordia commencement exercises. . . Memorial Day transportation hampered by idled Martz Buss Lines as community parades honor war dead. . . City police don new uniforms.
    31.  Westinghouse Electric Company's machine shop damaged by fire. . . American Airlines Convair carrying the Boston Red Sox avoids mishap when tire burns after hitting runway at Wilkes-Barre- Scranton Airport.

          JUNE 1949

     1.  Central plant of Vulcan Iron Works damaged by fire. . . Ray W. Fluegel elected president of Wilkes-Barre Lions Club.
     5.  Dallas Methodist Church observes 60th anniversary.
     6.  Monsignor Fulton J Sheen addresses capacity audience in Irem Temple.
     7.  City School Board approves reorganization program involving the abandonment of Strauss School and installation of 7th and 8th grade at Coughlin High School. . . Central Color Press, Inc., pressmen return to work following settlement of five-day strike.
     8.  Forest fire destroys 400 acres of woodlands between Glen Summit and Penobscot. . . Ashley and Edwardsville High School graduates receive diplomas.
     9.  Pennsylvania Service Star Legion opens 31st convention at Hotel Sterling. . .  Kingston High School awards diplomas to 225 graduates.  Seventy-seven Forty Fort High School graduates receive diplomas.
    10.  General Jonathan M Waimwright stops over at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport en route to Disabled American War Veterans convention at Binghamton.
    12.  Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners opens 34th annual conference in Hotel Redington. . . Ceremonies in recognition of Pennsylvania Aviation Week held at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport. . . St. Mary's and St. Nicholas High School graduates receive diplomas.
    13.  American Guild of Organists' chapters of three states open convention. . . Degrees presented to 225 Wilkes College students at second annual commencement.
    14.  Diplomas awarded to 91 graduates at Larksville High School. . . Six Japanese coal mining engineers inspect local coal mines.
    15.  Payne Coal Company surrenders lease of Exeter Colliery, Lehigh Valley Coal Company, to Kehoe-Berge Coal Company. . . Community Chest goal set at $380,000. . . GAR and Meyers High School graduates receive diplomas.
    16.  Fourth annual convention of State Marine Corps League opens at Hotel Sterling. . . County boroughs units to form Luzerne County Association of Boroughs. . . Coughlin High School graduates 352.
    17.  St Ann's Academy graduates receive diplomas.
    19.  Walk on North Street Bridge damaged by fire. . . St. Aloysius Church celebrates 50th anniversary.
    20.  All American Airways inaugurates service at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport. . . Hod carriers and laborers striking since May 2, resume work. . . Work started on addition to Pennsylvania Miller's Mutual Life Insurance Company building. . . Miners return to work following one-week stabilization holiday.
    21.  Organized Reserve Corps leases Strauss School building. . . Hollenback Park swimming pool closed as a result of broken bottles thrown into the pool.
    22.  Earl Wilson, columnist, pays tribute to area at Advertising Club dinner.
    23.  Attorney Bernard J. Kotulak appointed to vacancy on Nanticoke City School Board.
    24.  Arthur L. Strayer reelected chairman of Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Red Cross.
    25.  Volunteer firefighters from eight northeastern counties open firefighting school in Hanover Township High School auditorium.
    26.  Thousands of sweltering residents flock to lakes as heat wave continues for 15th consecutive day . . . Regional Group 7 holds 14th annual Sokol Day at Sans Souci Park.
    27.  Kirby Health Center cerebral palsy clinic opens. . . Construction of a Naval reserve Center addition started. . . Harry F. Welch (Popeye) entertains carriers of Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company.
    28.  Larksville mine settlement affects several buildings.
    29.  Construction started on regional American Red Cross blood bank building.
    30.  Work on Solomon's Creek project started. . . Dr. L. McA. Cattanach named chief in Department of Surgery at General Hospital.

          JULY 1949

     1.  Dr. Wilbur Fleck, president of Wyoming Seminary, announces he will resign.
     3.  Polish Alliance of America burns mortgage on Plymouth building. . .  Camp St. George opens 33rd season.
     4.  Twentieth State convention of Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Order Sons of Italy, closes. . . Regional resorts and parks jammed with holiday celebrators.
     5.  Installation started on obstruction lights at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.
     6.  Four German radio leaders and specialists visit local radio stations to study techniques.
     7.  Unemployed in area estimated at 21,000. . . Johnson Engineering and Manufacturing Company obtains rights to produce earth boring machine.
     9.  Officers and men of the 967th Armored Field Artillery Battalion leave for Indiantown Gap for two-week encampment.
    10.  Shriners induct candidates at open air ceremonial with more than 4,800 members present.
    11.  Striking Martz Bus drivers accept new offer to end a work stoppage which started on May 20.
    12.  Installation of wells behind Kingston dike completed.
    13.  Jermyn-Green Coal Company files bankruptcy petition and surrenders leases. . . S. Clair Borland named director of American Red Cross regional blood bank.
    14.  Boys from this area leave for State-maintained Camp Penn.
    15.  Storm lashes valley, causing thousands of dollars of damage.
    16.  Thousands attend third annual Back Mountain Memorial Library auction.
    17.  Central Railroad Diesel locomotive named in honor of Ashley seaman.
    19.  Mineral Springs Breaker, owned by Lehigh Valley Coal Company but leased to Pagnotti Interests, razed by fire. . . City School Board awards seven contracts for enlarging and improving Meyers High School Stadium.
    20.  Consolidated Cigar Corporation gets option on former Penn Tobacco Company building.
    21.  Rev. John J. Lane named president of King's College.
    23.  Local 967th Armored Field Artillery Battalion returns from maneuvers at Indian Gap.  
    24.  Thousands of fish killed in Susquehanna River between Pittston and Wilkes-Barre by undetermined pollution.
    26.  More than 700 Welsh descendants participate in Gymanfa Ganu at Artillery Park.
    28.  Federal Commerce Department officials end conference with local businessmen to solve unemployment problem. . . Work begins on $150.000   addition to Black Diamond American Legion Post Home.
    30.  White Haven Borough celebrates 125th anniversary. . . National Geographic Society's six-man canoe party arrives in city amidst driving rain.
    31.  Air Force B-29 lands at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.

          AUGUST 1949

     1.  Federal Rent Control office opens in Central Building, Public Square.
     2.  State convention of Woman's Benefit Association opens in Hotel Sterling.
     3.  Michael Kevolic succeeds Joseph E. Fay as commander of Naval Reserve Battalion 18.
     4.  Ashley School Board grants $200 annual wage increase to teachers.
     6.  Twenty-six persons injured in gas blasts at George Balliet & Sons delicatessen and provision plant, West Nanticoke. . . Naval Reservists return home after two weeks on maneuvers in the Northern Atlantic.
     9.  City School Board awards contract to pave yards of eight schools.
    10.  Hottest August 10 recorded when mercury reaches 104 degrees. . . Three Pocono Mountain resort areas quarantined for 14 days following outbreak of infantile paralysis.
    11.  Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation places trackless trolley coaches on Edwardsville line.  Fire routs 41 persons in three-story Lincoln Street apartment.
    12.  Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport limousine service resumes after 20-day strike.
    13.  109th Field Artillery Battalion returns home after 15 days of training at Indiantown Gap.
    15.  Bids let on raising of dike of city flood control system.
    16   Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company plays host to 230 Little Merchants at annual outing.
    17.  Bear Creek Highway opened to traffic following reconstruction. . . More than 2,500 persons attend Shriners' annual picnic. . . Two miners killed by rock fall at No6 shaft of No. 6 Colliery, Susquehanna Collieries Company.
    19.  Capital Theater closes for renovations and redecoration. . . Woodbury Manufacturing Company receives government order to help alleviate local unemployment.
    20.  S.S. Kresge store robbed. . . Glen Alan Coal Company declares 50-cent dividend.
    22.  City designated as separate federal labor market.
    23.  Carr-Consolidated employees receive wage increases.
    24.  Pioneer Manufacturing Company leases General Aviation Company plant on Waller Street.
    26.  Chamber of Commerce members leave on Good Will trip. . . Martz Bus Company forced to stop intrastate service between Snydersville, Stroudsburg and Bartonsville.
    27.  Lehigh Valley Coal Company holds 11th annual first aid contest.
    28.  Twin Pines Riding Club stages horse show at Bone Stadium.
    29.  Tail end of hurricane lashes valley. . . Local veterans file applications for insurance dividends.
    30.  County Commissioners appropriate $48,000 for construction of sewer connecting Veterans Hospital to city sewer system. . . Wilkes College trustees rename three buildings. . . Row of dwellings on Willow Street condemned by Board of Health.
    31.  City swimming pools close. . . American Airlines Convair forced down at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.

          SEPTEMBER 1949

     1.  Parade of Progress covered wagon starts 16-day trip from Washington to city. . . Railroad non-operating union employees start 40-hour week . . . Tavern outside advertising signs removed in conformance with state law. . . West Side Flower Club show closes.
     2.  Paramount Theater, formerly the Comerford, dedicated.
     5.  Labor Day observed in valley without a fatal accident.
     6.  Charles H. Jacobs installed as commander of Wilkes-Barre Post 132, American Legion.
     7.  Coal burning season starts early as temperature tumbles.
     8.  New Diesel-electric steel tugboat for Lehigh Valley Railroad fleet christened Wilkes-Barre. . . City children return to school. . . Glen Alden Coal Company abandons Bliss Breaker.
     9.  Two killed in explosion of oil burner in Penn Lake cottage. . . Community Chest goal set at $880,000.
    10.  Fifth annual anthracite first aid meet held in Kingston Armory.
    11.  Dorrance Emmanuel Union Church celebrates 100th anniversary.
    12.  Two-day convention of Associated Credit Bureaus of Pennsylvania opens in Hotel Sterling.
    13.  Ground is broken for Prince of Peace Episcopal Church, Dallas
    14.  Bergman's Store, South Main Street, remodeled and expanded, holds open house.
    16.  Valley's Parade of Progress exposition opens in Kingston . . . Officials report 9,218 enrolled in city schools.
    18.  Congressman James E. Van Zandt addresses bonus rally at Kingston Veterans of Foreign Wars home.
    19.  Anthracite miners strike in sympathy with soft coal miners after suspension of welfare payments.
    20.  Rev. Paul D. Wells elected moderator of Lackawanna Presbytery.
    21.  Wagner Construction Company awarded contract to raise city dike. . . Fiftieth anniversary celebration of County Christian Endeavor Union opens.
    23.  Mildred Orlowski chosen Career Girl of 1949.
    24.  Section of Solomon's Creek retaining wall collapses.
    25.  Reopening services held in Central Methodist Church following repairs. . . Valley communities change back to Standard Time.
    26.  Installation of obstruction lights at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport completed. . . Two killed, 13 injured in week end automobile accidents.
    27.  YMCA membership campaign enrollment goal exceeded.
    29   State convention of Daughters of America opens.
    30.  City Council, following court order, reinstates John Siani and Joseph Herman as members of the fire department.

          OCTOBER 1949

     2.  Six-family apartment building, Exeter, damaged by fire.
     3.  Anthracite miners return to work following two-week sympathy strike. . . Repairs started on Solomon's Creek retaining wall. . . Central Railroad of New Jersey emerges from bankruptcy.
     4.  Clarence Edwards elected moderator of Northeastern Pennsylvania Association of Congregational and Christian Churches.
     6.  Congress allocates $430,000 for valley flood control projects. . . Fire damages cleaning plant at 280 South River Street.
     7.  World premiere of motion picture "Pocono" held at Irem Temple.
     8.  Andrew J. Sordoni, Jr., appointed vice president and general manager of Sordoni Construction Co.
     9.  Pennsylvania Bandmaster's Association holds annual Fall Ensemble in Hotel Sterling. . . Summery weather prevails as mercury hits 81 degrees.
    10.  Wagner Construction Company starts work on raising city dike.
    12.  Wilkes College enrollment 1929, officials report.
    13.  Nanticoke Bridge damaged by subsidence. (Sic)
    14.  Lt Gen. Stylianos Kitrilakis, deputy chief of staff of the Greek Army, visits son at Wyoming Seminary.
    15.  Two New Jersey residents killed in plane crash near Bear Creek.
    16.  Cornerstone laid for new Calvary Evangelical Church, West Nanticoke. . . Second Welsh Presbyterian Church celebrates 75th anniversary. . .  Good Shepherd Polish National Church, Plymouth, observes golden jubilee.
    17.  109th Field Artillery Battalion observes 174th anniversary at ceremony in Kingston Armory.
    18.  Governor James H. Duff makes first official visit to area aboard Pennsylvania Week Train. . . Two-day transformation of Robert Gregory farm, Lehman Township, starts. . . Electric-Auto-Lite plant, Hazelton dedicated by Governor Duff.
    20.  Wash house at Franklin Colliery, Lehigh Valley Coal Company, damaged by fire. . . State convention of Catholic Educational Association of Pennsylvania opens.
    21.  Bell Telephone Company increases service fees.
    22   Regional Zionist convention opens in Hotel Sterling.
    23.  Bishop W.J. Hafey addresses 25,000 persons at prayer rally at Artillery Park. . .  College Misericordia opens silver anniversary celebration.
    24.  Judge John S. Fine named to Wilkes College board of trustees.
    25.  Effects of nationwide steel strike felt locally as layoffs begin.
    26.  Danville students protest at local Veterans Administration office against curtailment of trade school classes.
    27.  Two-day 79th annual education meeting of county school teachers opens.
    28.  Cement breaks loose from expansion joint on North Street Bridge. . . Nathan I. Kuss reelected president of Wilkes-Barre Hebrew Institute, Talmud Torah.
    29.  John L. Lewis visits Scranton and parts of Luzerne County to observe John Mitchell Day.
    30.  St Joseph's Hospital, Hazelton dedicated.




          NOVEMBER 1949

     1.  Avoca School Board repeals wage tax. . . Cafeterias of three city high schools operated at a loss during September, board told. . . Wilkes-Barre Post 132 American Legion approves construction of $125,000 addition to post home.
     2.  Bruce R. Peters named president of Hanover National Bank. . . Fire damages eight-family dwelling on Gaylord Row, Plymouth. . .  Evan Reese, 74, Wilkes-Barre dies of auto injuries after being hit for fifth time.
     3.  Charles Conrad, Wilkes-Barre, victim of hit-run injuries.
     4.  Fifteen Miners Mills homes damaged by subsidence over workings of Hudson Coal Company.
     5.  Clyde A. Lewis, Veterans of Foreign Warts commander-in-chief, addresses members of Anthracite Counties Council in Hotel Sterling.
     6.  Salem Evangelical Brethren Church celebrates 75th anniversary. . .  St. Francis Church, Nanticoke, observes 75th anniversary. . .  Joseph L. Gayewski, Hanover Township High School football star, dies from injuries received in Newport-Hanover game.
     7.  Witold Malcuzynski, pianist, thrills capacity audience in Irem Temple. . . Annual Forget-Me-Not drive is launched.
     8.  Largest turnout of voters since 1940 enables Republicans to capture all county and city offices in general election. . . Voters approve proposed State veterans bonus by ratio of 9 to 1.
     9.  Runaway trip kills Robert McKay, Edwardsville, at Woodward Colliery. . .  Mild November weather enables Mrs. William Dickson Sr., Kingston, to pick raspberries in garden.
    10.  Three Nanticoke School Board directors, Dr. Barney A. Stegura, Arthur F. Davis, and William F. Schimmel ousted from office by court decree. . . Government announces intention to prosecute 400 former veterans, most of them in the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton area, for abusing 52-20 benefits . . . 1,300,000 treasury balance lottery tickets seized by State troopers in raid at Burkert Printery, North Washington Street. . . Gayewski Memorial Fund campaign begins.
    11.  Approximately 40,000 persons view Armistice Day Parade in Kingston and Central Wilkes-Barre. . . Remodeled dormitories at Wyoming Seminary dedicated.
    12.  William J. Martin, Edwardsville, dies in Woodward Colliery mine blast.
    13.  Flames destroy Green Shutters Night Club on Scranton-Dupont Highway near Veterans Hospital. . . Heavy fog and rain envelop Valley and mountain tops, making highways dangerous. . . Rectory of Our Lady of Help of Christiana Church, Dorrance Corners, formally opened.
    14.  Julius Dormer, Edwardsville, fatally injured in rock fall in MacArthur Colliery of Harry E. Coal Company, third mine victim in 5 days. . . Census Bureau announces Wilkes-Barre will be considered as one metropolitan area-separate from Scranton -- in the 1950 census.
    15.  Joseph Wargo, Larksville, killed when run over by trip of loaded mine cars at No. 5 Colliery, Hudson Coal Company, 4th victim in 6 days. . .  Dodie Haas mauled by bear he thought he had killed with a gun. . . Scranton Chamber of Commerce irked over proposed division of Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Metropolitan area into two parts.
    16.  Andrew J Sordoni presented achievement cup for services as president of Wyoming Valley Motor Club from 1942 to 1949.
    17.  Mrs. Helen Bonsavage acquitted of murder charge by jury after 8 hour deliberation.
    18.  Josephine Bergman Memorial organ dedicated at Temple B'nai B'rith. . . Consolidated Adjustment agency approves payment of $11,000 in compensation claims to former employee of bankrupt Jermyn-Green Coal Company.
    20.  Jacob Silverblatt, founder and honorary president of Wilkes-Barre Chapter, American Jewish Committee, honored at testimonial dinner.
    21.  Christmas seals mailed to 32,000 Wyoming Valley residents by Wyoming Valley Tuberculosis Society in annual campaign for $20,000. . . Jenkins Township goes Republican for first time in 79 years when board of supervisors replaces all Democratic salaried employees with Republicans.
    22.  Mrs. Mary Evanich, Swoyersville, killed by DL&W Railroad train in Forty Fort. . . Wilkes-Barre Fireman's Relief and Pension Association holds annual ball.
    23.  Transportation lines taxed to capacity to handle thousands of former residents retuning home for Thanksgiving Day. . . Christmas lights in central shopping district turned on for first time. . . Comerford Theater, formerly the Capital, opens after reconstruction.
    24.  Cold autumn weather adds zest to Thanksgiving Day observance in Wyoming Valley.
    25.  Ralph Mozelewski, University of Connecticut senior, fatally injured when roof scaffold collapses at Shickshinny.
    26.  First cold wave of autumn hits Wyoming Valley.
    27.  Season's first snowfall blankets region, making highways extremely dangerous and delaying return of thousands of holiday visitors. . . Welsh Presbyterian Church of Warrior Run celebrates 75th anniversary.
    28.  Local banks distribute Christmas Club savings to valley residents. . . Lehigh Valley, Central of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Railroads increase passenger fares. . . Two hunters killed, two wounded on first day of deer season.
    29.  City Hall decorated with Christmas tree and lights for Yule season. . . Luzerne and Lackawanna County Commissioners approve construction of terminal at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.
    30.  Heidelberg Coal Company reopens Butler Colliery of defunct Jermyn-Green Coal Company. . . Discontinuance of skating on Sunday nights at Lew-Roy Skating Palace, South Main Street Armory, ordered. . . Court on base appoints Lester Keith as director of Avon School Board, ordered. . .  Court en banc appoints Lester Keith as director of Avoca School Board. 

                  Typed by Robin and Cynthia Stone,  May / June 2004
                  Updates Typed by Miles Davenport, January 2009