The following information is posted for the sole purpose of family research within the Yahoo Group The Court House Gang. It is not to be published to any other web site, mailing list, group, etc. without prior written permission and guidelines from the group owner, to ensure that proper credit is given to the group and all of our volunteers that helped with this project RECORD OF LOCAL EVENTS Principal Happenings in Luzerne County for the Year Which Began December 1, 1952 and Ended November 30, 1953 DECEMBER, 1952 1. Attorney John A. Gallagher elected president of City School Board, succeeding Attorney Albert H. Aston . . . School districts in Luzerne County reorganize. 2. Mixture of snow, light rain and freezing temperatures hamper area motorists . . . Arthur L. Strayer re-elected president of Westmoreland Club . . . Twenty-three local dairies sign contract granting six-cent hourly wage boost, pension plan and other benefits to 700 Wyoming Valley employes. 4. Luzerne County Republican Committee report shows $70,005.87 spent in November 4 General Election, with Democrats spending $14,-688.78 . . . Robin Roberts, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, addresses Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis Club at luncheon. 5. Fire destroys Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church, Dorr-ance Corners . . . Water main breaks in front of St. Cecelia's Church, Exeter. 7. Members of First Baptist Church, Wilkes-Barre note 110th anniversary . . . Temperature soars duirSng spring-like weather . . . Wilkes-Barre District Methodist choirs present musical program at Irem Temple . . . Wilkes College Madrigal Singers captivate audience with varied program. 8. Court approves sale of tract of land by Kingston School District to Lehigh Valley Coal Company for use as the site for new office building . . . Second fatality in five days occurs at Inman Shaft, Glen Alden Coal Company . . . Catholic Slovak Woman's Club of Luzerne County holds annual Christmas party. 9. Allocation of $1,250,000 for remodeling work and addition to Nan-ticoke State Hospital approved by General State Authority . . . Wilkes-Barre, Wyoming Valley Merchants Association holds annual dinner . . . Concordia Singing Society presents program of Christmas music and Spirituals at Irem Temple. 10. Wilkes-Barre Lace Manufacturing plant and site facilities purchased by group of members of Committee of 100 . . . Hazleton Mayor Edward J. Bonin certified as Congressman-elect from llth district . . . Community Concert Association opens season with stunning ballet. 11. Governor Fine addresses meeting of Industrial Race Relations Commission at Hotel Sterling . . . Fifty-five per cent of shoppers interviewed come to town by bus, survey shows. 12. Ashley School District ends 1951-52 fiscal year with balance of $91.22 . . . Susquehanna Division, Pennsylvania Railroad Social and Safety Club, holds Christmas dinner at Hotel Sterling. 13. Construction starts on branch office building of Bell Telephone Company in Bear Creek Township. 14. Wyoming Valley Oratorio Society presents Handel's The Messiah at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church ... John J. O'Hara, decorated war hero, dies in automobile accident on Empire Street. 15. College Misericordia's new building, which includes residence hall, auditorium and gymnasium, dedicated . . . Avoca Airport Development Commission formed to promote location of Air Force maintenance depot here . . . Stressteel Corporation leases former Sheldon Axle Works building, plans to start production in March. 16. City Council adopts budget of $1,953,666.90 for city operation during 1953 . . . Walter S. Mitchell elected to head 1953 Heart Fund campaign in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties. 17. Wilkes-Barre City School District receives approval of plans for addition and renovation of Coughlin High School . . . Membership drive of Catholic Youth Center for 1953 reaches 104 per cent of quota. 18. Percy A. Brown resigns from Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Red Cross, after serving for 12 years . . . Hospital Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania holds Christmas party . . . Fifteen typewriters, valued at $1,800, stolen from two buildings of Wilkes College . . . Forty Fort Bank staff holds Christmas party. 19. Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company holds annual Christmas party for pensioners and Forty-Plus Club members . . . Boys from St. Michael's Industrial School make shopping tour in central city . . . Kingston National Bank opens new parking lot. 20. Twenty-five organizations take part in Yuletide program for veterans at Veterans Administration Hospital. 21. Members of Wyoming Valley Chapter 9, Disabled American Veterans, hold Christmas party for children . . . Members of Greater Wilkes-Barre Post 33, AMVETS, hold annual Christmas party for orphans at Our Lady of Fatima Orphanage, Elm-hurst. 22. Employment in Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton Labor Market Area shows gain of 600 workers since September . . . Children from St. Stanislaus Institute, Sheatown, make shopping tour in city . . . Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis members hold annual children's Christmas party. 23. Blue Cross-Blue Shield carolers present program of Christmas carols at local hospitals . . . West Side Lions Club members hold Christmas party for more than 25 sightless men and women from West Side communities. 24. Thousands of valley residents flock to churches in solemn observance of the birth of the Christ Child . . . Christmas business at city Post Office exceeds last year's by $8,289, Postmaster Quinn announces. 25. Wyoming Valley residents joyously celebrate dry, mild Christmas . . . Thirteen persons injured in three automobile accidents in city and Nan-ticoke. 26. Glen Alden Coal Company designates Empire Shops as headquarters for purchasing division . . . Lehigh Valley Railroad extends reduced round trip coach fares for small groups and families . . . Three local colleges form non-profit corporation known as The Independent Colleges of Pennsylvania to seek shares of corporation profits. 28. Fire causes estimated damage of $30,000 to farm of Michael Olen-schak, Beach Haven . . . Charles and George Kanarr purchase Wilkes-Barre Transit Company paint shop building, South Main Street . . . Near zero temperatures cause area residents to dig into household coal piles. 29. Three youths killed, three hurt in automobile crash on Route 11, west of Berwick . . . Dinner to raise funds for St. Michael's Industrial School realizes $9,100. 31. Betty Brownlee awarded top honors in Junior Chamber of Commerce Lighting contest . . . Laurel Line passenger service between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton ends with last train leaving for Scranton at 11:54 p. m. JANUARY, 1953 1. W'BRE-TV station makes formal debut in Wyoming Valley . . . No fatal accidents reported in valley on New Year's Day . . . Building operations in city for 1952 total $3,641,-695.50. 2. Six anthracite mining companies form Amgas Corporation to seek natural gas in Northumberland County . . . Harold L. Kulp begins duties as caretaker and maintenance director of city flood control system. 3. Edward Bonin, mayor of Hazle-ton, resigns before taking oath as Congressman from llth District. 4. Guy Hall reelected president of Local 140, American Federation of Musicians. 5. Alyce Hnatiw, native of Wilkes-Barre, slain in her apartment in Washington, D. C., by policeman William Closson, formerly of Altoona . . . Wilkes-Barre City School District receives certificate of incorporation for authority to handle financing of renovations and addition to Coughlin High School and construction of elementary school in the Old River Road section. 6. City Council holds first session of new year . . . Babka Anna Nav-roth receives plaque from Luzerne County Medical Society as part of observance of her 100th birthday anniversary. 7. Approximately 500 vehicles, carrying 4,000 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division pass through Kingston en route to winter maneuvers at Camp Drum, New York . . . Frances Dorrance presents Wilkes College with valuable reference works on plant diseases . . . State police don phosphorescent capes for protection at night. 8. Mrs. Reuben H. Levy honored at testimonial dinner at Jewish Community Center with 500 in attend- ance . . . Steel work is completed for control tower at Wilkes-Barre-Scran-ton Airport. 9. Sleet storm in area causes breaks in power and telephone lines and hazardous driving conditions . . . Gurdon Wattles elected director of Glen Alden Coal Company . . . Seven Luzerne County businessmen receive sentences ranging from one to three years for GI School frauds. 10. Annual dinner of Landmark Lodge 442, F&AM, held in Irern Temple . . . H. C. Calhoun elected president of Northeastern Pennsylvania Association of Manufacturers Representatives. 12. Kingston School Board authorizes student accident insurance program , . . Attorney Thomas E. Brislin installed as president of Wyoming Valley Chapter, Wilkes College Alumni Association. 13. Wyoming Valley banks hold annual meetings to elect directors ... Dr. Charles H. Miner reelected president of Kirby Memorial Health Center board of directors. 14. Osterhout Free Library installs Auto-Page Drive-Up Book Return for convenience of patrons. 15. Wilkes-Barre City suffers $161,390.35 fire loss in 1952, $18,551.-20 less than that suffered in 1951, authorities announce. 16. Three mine workers injured in gas blast at Loomis Colliery, Glen Alden Coal Company . . . Benjamin Henderson elected president of Wyoming National Bank. 18. Isaac Engel, local businessman and community leader, honored at 60th anniversary dinner of Congregation Ohav Zedek . . . Firemen battle charcoal fire in Builders Supply Company Building, 37 Dana Street. 19. George G. Chase elected president of Citizens Bank of Parsons . . . Wilkes-Barre traffic policemen receive white capes for protection while directing traffic at night. 20. Empire Furniture Company building, 253-255 South Main Street, gutted by general alarm fire, second in three weeks . . . City's three high schools realize net profit of $10,793.49 for 1952 football season . . . Area school students view President Eisen- hower inaugural ceremonies on television. 21. Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce board of 'directors decide to head census project in county . . . Harry L. Ohlman reelected potentate of Irem Temple, AAONMS . . . Water from broken pipe floods four offices on three floors of county courthouse. 22. Eugene J. Considine reelected to third term as president of AFL Central Labor Union. 23. Kingston Lodge 393, F&AM, holds annual dinner in Irern Temple . . . Coalville Lodge 474, F&AM, holds annual dinner in Centenary Methodist Church, Ashley. 24. Grand Union Company closes Kingston supermarket opened less than five years ago. 25. Summerlike weather causes creeks to overflow banks and flood Forty Fort Airport and Wyoming Avenue. 26. Personnel of engineering, maintenance and construction departments of Bell Telephone Company occupy new quarters at 5 East Market Street . . . Z. Platt Bennett elected president of General Hospital board of directors for sixth consecutive time . . . Attorney Frank Townend elected president of County Property Owners' Protective Association. 27. Mrs. Norman F. Patton elected board president of Wilkes-Barre Young Women's Christian Association at 60th anniversary celebration. 28. Nazareth A. Tomasetti receives Carnegie Hero Medal for saving fellow worker from being buried alive in street excavation in Pittston on September 9, 1952 . . . John C. Ravert elected president of Luzerne County Jr. OUAM Executive Association. 29. Rev. Guy A. Leinthall named pastor of Wyoming Methodist Church . . . Raymon M. Eaton honored by employes and executives of Hazard Insulated Wire Works of the Okonite Company at testimonial dinner marking his retirement as resident manager. 30. John C. Kline, Lehigh Valley Railroad Company engineer, retires after 54 years' service. 31. Northeastern Pennsylvania Heart Association opens Heart Fund drive with supper in American Legion Home. FEBRUARY 1. Francis O. Case elected president of Glen Alden Coal Company. . . William B. Healey elected president of Northeastern Pennsylvania Police Executives Association. 2. Governor Fine names Mrs. John D. Doane member of County Department of Public Assistance. 3. Sister Mary Joan, RSM, named superintendent of Mercy Hospital. 4. Rev. H. O. Boon, pastor of St. George's Episcopal Church, Nanti-coke, honored at farewell party by Kiwanis Club . . . Residents of producing area buy $36,992,827 worth of anthracite during 1951, companies announce. 5. City and county officials welcome Danny Litwhiler as new manager of Wilkes-Barre Barons as part of opening day ceremonies of new office of Wyoming Valley Baseball Association, a new organization formed to operate the city's baseball team. 6. Absenteeism continues high at city parochial and public schools due to grip and influenza. 8. Work of razing two top floors of Empire Furniture Company warehouse, damaged by fire, starts. 9. Federal Communications Commission engineer starts investigation of TV reception interference in city and vicinity . . . State Senate confirms appointment of Leon Schwartz as chairman of Public Utility Commission. 10. County's assessed valuation for 1953 shows net gain of $469,746 over 1952 . . . John J. Green, Jr., Kingston, awarded Distinguished Service Award for 1952 at Junior Chamber of Commerce 15th anniversary dinner . . . Forty Fort Communiity Ambulance Association places new ambulance in service. 11. Mrs. Georgia Post Johnson, widow of Dr. Frederick Charles Johnson, editor, president and part owner of the Wilkes-Barre Record some 40 years ago, dies in St. Anthony's Hospital, St. Petersburg, Fla. 12. Fire damages Santa Fe refrigerated produce car on Pennsylvania Railroad siding in rear of Mas-cari Brothers produce terminal. 14. Wilkes-Barre had three traffic deaths in 1952 or half the number of the preceding year, report shows. 15. John J. McSweeney, editor of Times-Leader, The Evening News, honored as "B'nai B'rith's Man of Year" at llth annual Lincoln Day dinner of Seligman J. Strauss Lodge, B'nai B'rith. 16. Lithuanian Women's Club honors club founders, past presidents and veteran members at 25th annual dinner . . . Kingston Borough Council accepts resignation of Councilman John Kotis and appoints Ben Kaczyn-oski to fill unexpired term. 17. County Commissioners adopt budget calling for appropriations of $3,403,331.98 and tax levy of 8.2 mills . . . City Council approves plans of State Department of Forest and Waters for controlling flood waters of Mill Creek. 18. State Transfer Company's garage and warehouse, Horton Street, damaged by fire. 19. Charles F. Huber resigns as director of Glen Alden Coal Company . . . Kiwanis Club honors William C. Maxwell, past president and lieutenant governor of Kiwanis International. 20. Mrs. Robert Evans, Dallas, and Mrs. John N. Conyngham, Shaver-town, appointed co-chairman of Back Mountain area in 1953 Red Cross Fund Campaign. 21. Allan S. Haywood, executive vice-president of Congress of Industrial Organization, collapses and dies while addressing installation dinner of Wilkes-Barre Area CIO Council. 22. Louis F. Budenz, Fordham University faculty member, addresses meeting of Catholic Slovak Woman's Club in King's College auditorium . . . Mrs. Leontyna Stefanski elected president of Commission 4, Polish Women's Alliance. 23. George T. Bell elected president of Wyoming Valley Community Chest, succeeding Roland Grover . . . James C. Poff appointed chairman of East Side chapter area in coming Red Cross fund campaign. 24. Capt. Robert F. Waters honored as outstanding citizen by Nanti-coke Post 290, VFW; three city newspapers receive certificates of merit at same meeting. 25. Federal Communications Commission issues license for new radio station in Pittston. 26. Albert H. French, West Pittston, works last day for Dupont Company after more than 51 years continuous service . . . Richard W. Guckelberger, Henry L. Jones, 2nd, Arthur L. Strayer and Robert W. Johnson elected directors of Hospital Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania at 14th annual meeting . . . Truesdale Breaker, Glen Alden Coal Company, Hanover Township, destroyed by fire. 27. Two Ginkgo trees removed from Public Square for shipment to Pittsburgh for landscaping of new Veterans Administration Hospital, city to receive two oak trees in return . . . Jonah L. Roberts found guilty of murder in the first degree for death of his wife with penalty fixed as life imprisonment. 28. Abandoned coal breaker in Exeter destroyed by fire . . . Francis T. Gill elected president of Economy Stores . . . Two-day conference of Pennsylvania Association of International Relations Clubs closes at Wilkes College . . . 74th annual St. David's Day dinner held in Irem Temple. MARCH 1. American Red Cross fund campaign opens with goal of $145,378 . . . Louis L. !Slivinski elected president of Polish American Congress of Northeastern Pennsylvania. 2. City officials order one-way traffic on Washington and Franklin Streets, between North and Ross Streets as an experiment. 3. Report shows cost of operating city during 1952 was $1,886,729.32 . . . County Commissioners approve payment of $60,000 compromise settlement for seizure of land to construct Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport . . . City School Board approves sale of Pershing School Building to Acme Metal Products Company for $13,000. 4. Polack Brothers Shrine Circus opens at West Side Armory . . . Northeastern Pennsylvania Regional Hospital Association meets in Hotel Sterling. 5. Twentieth annual Easter Seal Campaign opens with goal of $20,000 . . . Fifty-six young women receive nurses' caps at ceremonies at General Hospital. 6. John D. Jones installed as president of West Side Flower Club . . . Interior of Spinning Wheel, 650 Carey Avenue, badly damaged by fire. 7. Nanticoke Duplan building leased to David D. Doniger & Company. 8. Nanticoke firemen battle two-hour blaze in Anthracite Metal Company junkyard . . . Wilkes-Barre Barons and Manchester end American League basketball race in first place tie ... Approximately 85,000 pounds of clothing collected in valley to help war-torn Korea. 9. General Hospital operates with net loss of $49,851.32 for 1952, report reveals . . . Needlers' Club members celebrate 10th anniversary at luncheon. 10. 'Second television set installed in Nesbitt Memorial Hospital . . . Court en bane names Henry Dietrich mayor of Hazleeton to fill unexpired term. 11. More than 135 exhibits displayed in Wyoming Seminary Day School Hobby Show . . . Ten-acre fire extinguished by Kunkle, Dallas and Shavertown Fire Companies after two and one-half hours. 12. New boulevard lights on Pierce Street, Kingston, turned on ... Louis J. Purvin, past president of Wilkes-Barre Lions Club, honored at dinner. 13. Plymouth High School's "Shawnee Arrow" places second in 29th annual contest for student newspapers and magazines . . . Fifteen cars of Lehigh Valley Railroad symbol train derailed at Ox Bow. 14. United States Attorney Arthur A. Maguire resigns as chief prosecutor of Middle District of Pennsylvania. 15. St. Ann's Academy Orchestra presents diamond jubilee Laetare Concert before capacity audience in Irem Temple. 16. Combination grocery store and apartment at Browntown, damaged by fire . . . Attorney Joseph C. Kreder sworn as acting United States Attorney for Middle District of Pennsylvania. 17. Former United States Senator Joseph O'Mahoney addresses annual dinner of Friendly Sons of St. Patrick . . . Hospital Aides receive certificates of training at Veterans Administration Hospital. 18. Ashley home at 18 North Main Street damaged by two fires the same day. 19. Second Army Flag, American flag and plaque presented to Army and Air Force Recruiting Station by Lodge 109, BPO Elks, dedicated. 20. Eighteen cars of 154-car Jersey Central freight train derailed three miles west of White Haven . . . Spring arrives on heels of rain squalls and snow. 21. Ninth annual Charter Night celebrated by Wilkes-Barre Lions Club at dinner dance at Wyoming Valley Country Club. 22. First Baptist Church building and improvement fund drive opens ... Misericordia players present passion play, "No Greater Love". 23. Alexander Band presents eon-cert at Irem Temple . . . Mrs. Johanna Trip of The Hague, Netherlands, arrives to spend a week in city. 24. Red 'Cross distributed 5,885 pints of blood free of charge to city hispitals and Veterans Administration hospitals during 1952, report shows . . . County Institution District officials inspect newly-renovated Communicable Disease Hospital. 25. Kingston High School staff and faculty commended by visiting evaluators . . . Thomas L. Thomas appears as guest artist of spring concert of Orpheus Glee Club Mixed Chorus. 26. Manchester defeats Wilkes-Barre Barons 91-82 to take pennant in American Basketball League . . . Sunny Gale entertains at Veterans Administration Hospital . . . Ground broken for plant of Magnaslag, Incorporated, at Coxton. Yards, Duryea. 27. Irwin High School defeats Ashley High School 73-51 to win the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class B championship. 28. Wilkes-Barre Record and Times-Leader, Evening News carriers return after Washington tour... George W. Williams, Wilkes-Barre Record reporter, honored at informal party in celebration of his 50th anniversary as a newspaperman. 29. Manchester defeats Wllkes-Barre Barons 93-85 to win three-game basketball playoffs, two games to none, 30. City's spring and summer street reconstruction and repaying projects get under way with work on Madison Street from East North to Beaumont Street. 31. Nellie G. Loftus, supervisor of Luzerne County Women's Detention Ward, County Prison, retires. APRIL, 1. Keystone Chapter, Rose Croix Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, presents sacred cantata before large audiience in Irem Temple. 3. Valley Christians commemorate Good Friday by kneeling in prayer ... Mrs. Malcolm Burnside elected president of directors of Old Ladies' Home. 4. Brewery Workers Local 163 ratifies new contract calling for seven-hour day during winter months and $3 an hour increase in wages. 5. Valley churches crowded with devout worshipers commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 6. Kingston Borough Council awards contracts for police cruiser and dump truck . . . Forty Fort School Board adopts tentative budget of $285,320 with no increase in present millage. 7. Oscar Davis installed as new commander of Anthracite Post 283, VFW . . . S. Idris Ley installed as exalted ruler of Wilkes-Barre Lodge 109, BPOE . . . Supply and finance activities of Veterans Administration regional office and Veterans Administration Hospital consolidated. 8. Boston Store honors Reese Meredith and John J. Green, Sr., at dinner . . . Twelve veteran employes honored at 44th anniversary dinner of The Hub . . . Metropolitan Opera Star Richard Tucker sings before enthusiastic crowd in Irem Temple . . . Mayor Kniffen announces city government will operate on Daylight Saving Time in keeping with policy instituted 15 years ago. 9. Pittston Pizzeria, 289 North Main Street, wrecked by explosion . . . Wilkes-Barre Aerie 353, FOE, honors three charter members in celebration of 50th anniversary. 10. Ashley dwelling, 18 North Main Street, scene of 6th fire in three weeks . . . Pittston School District receives authorization to float a $150,000 bond issue to fund its unfunded debt. 11. Lorraine Jablonski, Plymouth Township sophomore, elected president of State Future Homemakers of America at Harrisburg meeting. 12. Fire damages abandoned Grand Tunnel School, West Nanti-coke . . . Wyoming Valley Council of Churches fund drive for $20,000 starts . . . Estimated 3,500 persons view third United Nationalities Pageant at Wilkes College . . . Archbishop Sergio Pegnedoli, Papal Nuncio to Bolivia, addresses silver jubilee dinner of St. .Anthony's Church, Exeter. 13. Civil Aeronautics Board authorizes Colonial Airlines to start direct service to Philadelphia from Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport . . . Lehigh Valley Coal Company reduces prices of coal . . . Snow falls in area; temperatures dip. 14. Thirty-six prisoners in Luzerne County Prison donate blood to American Red Cross . . . Robert Lewis, Trucksville, elected president of Wilkes-Barre Rotary Club . . . Hudson Coal Company and Pennsylvania Coal Company reduce coal prices . . . En route to Seattle, Wash., a Miami Airlines plane carries four area soldiers to their deaths in a crash. 15. Frank Lukesh installed as president of Tatra Club of Wilkes-Barre at dinner meeting. 16. Court approves sale of lands formerly owned by Kingston Coal Company. 17. Pennsylvania Banker's Association, Group 3, opens annual meeting in Hotel Redington . . . Wilkes-Barre YWCA board of directors award contract for demolition of old building . . . Cohen-Fein Company receives $1,558,825 order for 475,000 Army Field Jackets. 19. Wilkes College Chorus gives spring concert . . . National Federation of Catholic College Students conduct first annual Marian Workshop at College Misericordia. 20. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company stockholders approve merger with Scranton Electric Company . . . Parade of Progress opening day attracts 2.500 to West Side Armory . . . Dallas First National Bank shareholders approve merger with Wilkes-Barre Miners National Bank. 21. Wilkes-Barre School Board adopts Daylight Saving Time . . . State-wide test air-raid alert proves mild success locally . . . John Campbell elected president of Luzerne County Supervising Principals Association . . . City Council elects to join 14 other municipalities in master plan for sewage disposal prepared by Philadelphia firm. 22. Ten thousand diamond enthusiasts line city streets to welcome new Wilkes-Barre Barons baseball team . . . County Commissioners proclaim Daylight Saving Time for county offices and departments. 23. Money paid to subscribers of Blue Shield in 1952 is 70 per cent greater than amount paid in 1951, report shows . . . Forty Fort Borough Council adopts Daylight Saving Time. 24. White Haven volunteer firemen extinguish fire on open gondola car of 104-car Lehigh Valley freight train . . . Atlas Container Company, manufacturer of corrugated fibre paper products, locates in city. 25. Alumni of Wilkes-Barre (Harry Hillman) Academy celebrate 75th anniversary at Wyoming Seminary Day School . . . Mrs. Edgar Griffiths chosen Mrs. Wyoming Valley at closing function of Wyoming Valley Parade of Progress. 26. Sixteen pastoral changes announced at closing session of 114th annual meeting of East Pennsylvania Conference of Evangelical United Brethren Church . . . Ground broken for construction of new Holy Name of Jesus Polish National Church, Nanti-coke . . . Ground broken for construction of new St. Mary's RC Church, Dorrance Corners. 27. Wyoming Valley Philharmonic Orchestra presents last community concert of 1952-53 season . . . Governor Fine - appoints School Director Joseph W. Shergalis on Retreat State Hospital board of trustees . . . Pennsylvania Power and Light Company receives Howard G. Ford award for outstanding achievements in distribution and selling. 28. C. Robert Broderick elected president of City Junior Chamber of Commerce . . . Stanley A. Gabrysh named county detective . . . National Board of Fire Underwriters representatives starts survey on city's fire fighting facilities. 29. Rev. Carl O. Trexler reelected president of Susquehanna Synod, Evangelical and Reformed Church. 30. Jewish Welfare Agency moves to new location in First Federal Building, North Franklin Street . . . Glen Alden Coal Company officials agree to sell operations in Lacka-wanna County to Moffat Coal Company . . . Mrs. Charles L. Shafer elected president of League of Women Voters . . . Three mine workers killed in fall of rock at Glen Lyon Colliery, Susquehanna Collieries Company. MAY 1. Concordia Singing Society presents 74th annual Spring concert with Martha Lipton as guest artiist . . . City officials revise traffic plan allowing two-way traffic on Franklin Street from Jackson to North Street. 3. Four men killed, two buildings demolished in explosion of powder at E. I. duPont deNemours and Company's Belin Powder Works, Pittston Township, near Moosic. 4. McGregor Sportswear plant, Nanticoke, starts operations . . . Thirty-seven firms in business 50 years or more honored at 69th anniversary dinner of Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. 5. City School Board adopts budget of $2,878,000 for 1953-54 school year with property tax remaining at 21 mills and per capita tax at $6.25. 6. Nanticoke miner killed under fall of coal and rock at Truesdale Colliery.Glen Alden Coal Company, third such fatality in three days. 7. Mrs. Harry Nicholson, Jr., elected president of Graduate Nurses Auxiliary of Wyoming Valley Hospital . . . Court approves county adoption of two highways in Wright Township. 8. Rev. J. Raymond Walls elected president of Wyoming Valley Council of Churches . . . College Misericordia students present spring- concert. 9. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital receives full accreditation by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals . . . Contract for Tobyhanna Signal Depot post restaurant and vending machines concession awarded. 10. New ranch type home under construction on Riverside Drive damaged by fire. 11. Apollo Club chorus presents concert in Kingston High School auditorium . . . Nanticoke State Hospital receives full accreditation from Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. 12. Two Nanticoke miners killed in gas explosion at Biscontini Coal Company operation . . . William E. Davis elected president of Sunday Evening Forum of First Presbyterian Church . . . King's College Glee Club presents concert in auditorium . . . Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport realizes net profit of $2,849.51 in 1952. 13. Mrs. Franck G. Darte's gift, a Hubbard Tank, to Wyoming Valley Crippled Children's Association, dedicated . . . Luzerne County cited as one of 22 in State for superior safety records. 14. Charles B. Shafer, Kingston, elected president of Syracuse University Alumni Association . . . Fire damages residence at 84 South River Street . . . Dan Kimball, former Secretary of Navy, speaks at Armed Forces dinner in Hotel Redington .. . Wyoming Valley Garden Club opens spring flower show. 15. Two-day annual meeting of Wyoming Baptist Association of Pennsylvania opens in First Baptist Church . . . Carl A. Leighton, Jr., honored as outstanding member at Junior Chamber of Commerce annual dinner. 16. Donald Dodson elected moderator at closing session of Wyoming Baptist Association of Pennsylvania . . . Lillian Davis crowned Wyoming Seminary May Queen at ceremony on campus. 17. Lafayette College Choir presents concert in First Presbyterian Church. 18. Mrs. Veda Arnold reelected president of Wilkes-Barre Business and Professional Women's Club . . . Elizabeth Vickers elected president of Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Institute of Banking. 19. Primary election reflects disinterest with less than 30 per cent of registered voters casting blalots . . . Pennsylvania State Spiritualist Association annual conference opens at Hotel Sterling . . . City School Board votes to bar maternity leaves to professional employes. 20. Wyoming Conference of Methodist Church holds opening session in Johnson City, N. Y. 21. Mercy Hospital School of Nursing graduation exercises held in Meyers High School. 22. Mrs. Edward Keen reelected president of Luzerne County WCTU for her fifth term . . . Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation employes receive five-cent-an-hour wage increase in new contract . . . David Schooley and Howard Risley elected to advisory board of Dallas Branch of Miners National Bank of Wilkes-Barrre. 23. Junior Order United American Mechanics celebrate centennial observance with dinner. 24. Thirty-seven pastoral changes in four districts of Wyoming Conference of Methodist Church announced at closing session . . . Douglas E. Petersen, First Presbyterian Church minister of music, ordained . . . Gospel Center Tabernacle dedicated. 25. Franklin and Westmoreland mines of Lehigh Valley Coal Company ceease operations, idling 900 men . . . Eight county residents among 116 persons receiving citizenship in Scran-ton Federal Building. 26. Glen Alden Coal Company transfers payroll and tabulating departments from Scranton to this city in first major consolidation move . . . County Commissioners attend inauguration of road-building operations on highways to Foster Wheeler Plant and Crestwood Industrial Park. 27. Kingston School Board adopts $1,295,959.50 budget for 1953-54 school year calling for tax rate of 30 mills and $5 per capita tax . . . Woodbury Manufacturing Company leases former Wilkes-Barre Lace Company Weave Mill No. 5 for expanded operations . . . Sponsors and press representatives attend premier showing of "This is Wilkes-Barre," Chamber of Commerce color and sound film at Jewish Community Center. 28. Nanticoke, Swoyersville and Hazleton among j.05 State municipalities without traffic fatalities in 1952, National Safety Council report shows. 29. Kingston School Board completes negotiations for tract of land to build new elementary school. 30. Rain and dampness force cancellation or delay of Memorial Day exercises . . . Wilkes-Barre High School class of 1920 holds first reunion in 33 years. 31. Five Valley men, among 10 ordained Saturday morning into the Roman Catholic priesthood, celebrate first solemn high masses . . . College Misericordia baccalaureate exercises held in St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception. JUNE 1. Bishop William J. Hafey confers degrees upon 153 College Misericordia graduates at 27th annual commencement exercises . . . Plymouth Borough Council sells $15,000 bond issue to First National Bank of Plymouth at its bid of $15,332.20. 2. Wilkes-Barre City School Board approves list of 585 graduates to receive diplomas at graduation exercises this month. 3. Forty-seven Ashley High School seniors receive diplomas at 64th commencement exercises. 4. Lehigh Valley Coal Company completes moving of equipment to new building in Kingston. 5. City Rent Control office ceases operations . . . Leslie Fay Corporation purchases part of Duplan plant in Kingston. 7. Sixty-two students receive diplomas at St. Nicholas High School's 22nd annual commencement . . . King's College awards 78 degrees at fourth commencement exercises . . . St. Mary's High School holds commencement exercises . . . Very Rev. Nicholas Chopey honored at reception in observance of 50th anniversary as pastor of St. Mary's Greek Rite Catholic Church. 8. Wilkes College awards 109 certificates and degrees at sixth annual commencement exercises . . . Knights of Columbus Home Association purchases dwelling at 51 State Street for parking lot purposes. 9. Ralph Cooper Hutchison, president of Lafayette College, addresses 156 Wyoming Seminary graduates . . . Direct service to Philadelphia and Cleveland by Colonial and Allegheny Airlines inaugurated with ribbon-cutting ceremonies at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport. 10. GAR Memorial High School students receive diplomas at commencement exercises . . . Stage and screen star Billie Burke honored by Advertising Club at luncheon . . . Meyers High School graduates receive diplomas at 23rd annual commencement exercises. 11. Kingston High School graduates presented diplomas at commencement exercises . . . Mrs. Paul Bedford presents personal collection of books to Wilkes College . . . Dr. Eugene S. Farley addresses Coughlin High School graduates at commencement exercises. 12. Fifty-three students graduated by Penn State Technical Institute ... Andrew J. Sordoni reelected president of Pennsylvania Motor Federation. 14. Lt. Franciszek Jarecki, escaped Polish pilot, addresses Flag Day gathering in Irem Temple . . . Robert Woods elected commander of District 11, Veterans of Foreign Wars. 15. John J. Lane elected commander of Chapter 9, Disabled American War Veterans . . . Rev. Brewer L. Burnett elected moderator of Presbyterian Synod of Pennsylvania. 16. Robert D. Raeder elected president of West Side Lions Club . . . Northeastern Association of Medical Record Librarians hold annual meeting in Hotel Redington . . . City School Board adopts budget for 1953-54 school year . . . City swimming pools draw capacity crowds on opening day. 17. Al Severance, Villanova basketball coach, addresses carrier-graduates and guests at annual dinner given by Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company . . . Attorney Joseph F. Saporito named mayor of Pittston . . . Luzerne County Medical Society honors five area doctors who completed 50 years as practicing physicians. 18. Thompson Derr and Brothers, Incorporated, insurance firm, celebrates 95th anniversary. 19. California Oil Company, first of nine oil companies to complete clearing, grading and excavation of 16-acre plot preparatory to installation of tanks in multi-million dollar oil pipeline terminal at Dupont. 20. Scott Street, near Miners Mills-Parsons borough lines, heaves as a result of heat wave which zoomed mercury to 95 degrees. 21. Summer arrives with sizzling temperatures. 22. Representatives from nine Third Class cities in State urge more equitable distribution of State Motor License Fund at meeting with city officials in Hotel Redington. 23. Ashley School Board adopts budget of $256,451 for 1953-54 school year calling for taxation of 35 mills and $5 per capita . . . Conlon Coal Company machine and repair shop destroyed by fire . . . New supermarket of Samuel Harrison's Sons, Incorporated, opens . . . Eugene For-lano installed as president of Ashley Lions Club. 24. Class of 30 young women graduates from Nesbitt Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. 25. Prank A. O'Neill elected president of Harveys Lake Protective Association . . . Harrison H. Smith elected chairman of Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Red Cross. 26. Pour-day 36th annual session of Central Baptist Association and Auxiliaries closes at Mt. Zion Baptist Church . . . Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors hold conference at Irem Temple Country Slub . . . Merger of Wyoming Valley Industrial Development Fund, Incorporated, and Wyoming Valley Industrial Building Fund, Incorporated, certified and approved by court order. 28. Miss Valedia Casey chosen as "Miss Anthracite" in contest sponsored by Greater Pittston Junior Chamber of Commerce . . . John J. Mona-han elected treasurer of State Aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles, at 42nd annual convention at Scranton. 29. Six-County Firemen's Association opens golden jubilee convention with dinner at Eagles Home, Hazle- ton . . . Fire damages Perm Lake summer home . . . Army Engineers award $737,030 contract for Forty Fort-Swoyersville dike construction. 30. Workmen start razing Kingston station of Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. JULY 1. Swoyersville Borough presented plaque by National Safety Council for record of no traffic fatalities in 15 years . . . Frank A. Pinnegan appointed chief guidance director of King's College . . . Alfred Darte, James P. Harris and Andrew J. Sor-doni reelected trustees of Young Women's Christian Association. 2. Sale of some properties of Glen Alden Coal Company in Lackawanna County to Moffat Coal Company consummated . . . Mrs. W. Ben Pritchard reelected president of Cerebral Palsy Parent group. 4. Ninth annual Lehman Horse Show draws crowd . . . Young Men's Christian Association's Camp Kresge dedicated. 5. Highway accidents kill five and injure 26 over Fourth of July week end . . . Stanton Hill Playground opened with special program. 7. Anthracite miners in area return to jobs after annual vacation ... Anthracite Post 283, VPW, receives award for largest number of members in State. 8. Work starts on flood control projects near Forty Fort Airport . . . Canoeists camp on River Common after trip down shallow Susquehanna River from Towanda. 9. Frank N. Henry installed as president of Wilkes-Barre Lions Club . . Two-day sessions of American Alumni Association of Innsbruck University, Austria, concludes. 10. Back Mountain Library Auction opens . . . Local contingent of Boy Scouts and leaders leave for California jamboree. 12. First in series of Sunday afternoon band concerts presented before large turnout in Kirby Park. 14. Wilkes-Barre City School District census of pre-school and school-age children residing in city reaches half-way mark. 15. Plans for reorganizing 109th Field Artillery Battalion launched at dinner meeting at Irem Temple Country Club . . . Internal Revenue Bureau's collections in 20-county Scran-ton District for fiscal year ending June 30 total $484,860,971.91; $26,-749,844.99 less than the $511,610,816,-90 reported for 1952. 16. Dry conditions in county hurt farm crops, County Agent James D. Hutchison declares . . . Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis Club presents $5,079.15 check to Wyoming Valley Hospital for pediatric ward . . . Edwin L. Raub appointed director of blood donor recruitment, Wyoming Chapter, American Red Cross. 17. Mercury soars to 100 degrees in central city . . . Fire fighters battle five raging forest fires in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties. 18. Fire destroys sawmill of Jake an Leon Trowbridge, Bear Creek . . . Wyoming National Bank holds annual outing at Irem Temple Country Club. 20. Thirty enlisted men enroll at reorganization meeting of 109th Field Artillery Battalion . . . Pomeroy's, Incorporated, leases part of former Times-Leader Evening News Building, 44 West Market Street. 21. Plains Township Commissioners pass ordinance regulating installation and use of oil burners . . . Rabbi Newton J. Friedman honored at farewell dinner by members and friends of Congregation B'nai B'rith. 22. Brief but impressive ceremonies on Public Square open Greater Wilkes-Barre Junior Olympics sponsored by S. J. Strauss Lodge of B'nai B'rith and held at Meyers High School Stadium . . . Rev. Robert T. Websterr appointed pastor of Dorranceton Methodist Church . . . Former President Harry S. Truman passes over valley on TWA flight from Boston to Pittsburgh on way home to Missouri. 23. Attorney Harold Rosenn appointed chairman of blood recruitment, Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Red Cross . . . Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis Club honors Edward E. Horton, stage and screen star, and John J. Galvin, veteran Comerford Theater executive, at luncheon meeting. 24. Ninety-foot smokestack being erected over new boiler plant at Hess Goldsmith Company plant on Wyoming Street topples . . . Albert W. Bossard elected president of Wyoming National Bank . . . Dellevan Lee of Grosse Pointe, Mich., wins best honors in Giants' Despair Hill Climb race. 25. Fritz Koster, Fayetteville, N. Y., wins top honors in Brynfan Tyddyn road races at Harveys Lake. 26. Official board and building fund committee members and members of congregation attend ground breaking ceremonies for First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. 27. Three additional cases of polio reported, bringing total for year in county to 11 ... Fire destroys Park-side Breaker, located near Rocky Glenn. 28. Public Utility Commission approves 15-cent basic fare for Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation, effective August 1 ... Governor Fine signs bill to provide area with extension of Pennsylvania Turnpike . . . Repair work starts on Courthouse Courtroom 2. 29. Excavation and laying of concrete foundations for second major building of Foster Wheeler new plant starts . . . George R. Beehler appointed assistant to vice-president of Glen Alden Coal Company. 30. Local Boy Scouts, representing Wyoming Valley Council at national jamboree in California, return home . . . Mrs. Ruth Turn Reynolds elected minister of music of Firwood Methodist Church. 31. Local Red Cross Blood Center one of 45 throughout the nation to remain open, Red Cross officials disclose. AUGUST 1. Bell Telephone Company's new dialing system for Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Plymouth, Pittston and Mountaintop starts . . . Ten French students arrive to spend a month in homes of area residents . . . Attorney Paul R. Selecky elected Pennsylvania Department commander of American Legion at annual convention . . . Shriners induct 251 novices at open-air ceremonial at Irem Temple Country Club. 2. Cornerstone laid for new Kingston Baptist Church. 4. Wilkes-Barre City Council adopts resolution authorizing payment of $3,500 to Vulcan Iron Works for plot of ground at South Main and Horton Streets to provide a more direct route over Blackman and Horton Streets. 5. John Boczar installed as commander of Asher Miner Post 4, Society of the 28th Division, AEF. 6. Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association holds annual outing at Fox Hill Country Club. 8. GAR High School Class of 1943 holds 10th anniversary reunion at American Legion Post 132 Home. 9. Ground broken for new Primi-tiive Methodist Church, Bear Creek Township . . . Word War I veterans of Ambulance Corps hold reunion at Hunlock Creek Post, VFW. 10. State Department of Highways calls for bids on widening Wilkes-Barre-Nanticoke highway to four lanes . . . Strike idles 5,000 employes of 67 dress plants in valley . . . Corp. Bernard Buli, Georgetown, Korean prisoner of war, first local soldier to be released by Communists in prisoner exchange following truce. 11. Rev. George T. Forve, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Luzerne, honored on his 50th anniversary of ordination into priesthood . . . PFC Robert Lukacinsky, Swoyersville, second local soldier to be released by Communists in Korean War prisoner exchange. 12. Four persons injured when tractor-trailer runs wild on Ashley Boulevard. 13. Garment workers end three-day strike . . . County's record of 16 polio cases ranks sixth in State . . . John M. Moore elected director of Luzerne National Bank . . . Corp. George Kubasti, first city Korean veteran to be released by Communists. 14. Five county farmers cast ballots to determiine if marketing quotas will be set in 1954 . . . Attorney J. Julius Levy takes office as United States Attorney for Middle District of Pennsylvania. 15. Rev. Arthur B. Mayo appointed pastor of Trucksville Methodist Church . . . Members of 401st Signal Support Company return after training at Fort George G. Meade, Md. 16. Three new cases of polio boost county total for year to 17. 17. Planters Nut and Chocolate Company employes entertained at picnic. 18. Joseph S. McCracken named area chairman of job-training program for veterans of Korean and World Wars . . . Wilkes-Barre-Scranton area named test center for State campaign against alcoholism. 19. Shriners hold picnic at country club . . . Personnel of Isaac Long Store hold picnic at Twin Lakes . . . Dr. Eugene L. Hammer named professor of education at Wilkes College. 20. Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company carriers taken on tour of New York City . . . United Steel Workers Local 1782 ratifies agreement with American Chain and Cable Company granting employes increase of eight and one-half cents an hour . . . Children from 46 playgrounds in area present pageant as final event of season. 21. Avoca Airport Hotel destroyed by fire. 23. First Automotive Field Maintenance Company, U. S. Marine Corps Reserve, leaves for training at Camp Lejeune, N. C. . . . Rev. George J. Webby celebrates first solemn high mass in St. Anthony's Maronite Church. 24. Kingston Borough Council approves agreement with city for use of city incinerator at a cost of $20,-000 a year. 25. Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company entertains 250 carriers at annual picnic. 26. Kingston Borough's warehouse, Welter Lane, destroyed by fire . . . Rev. William Donahue, CSC, appointed instructor of botany at King's College. 27. Approximately 9,000 jam Artillery Park to view Parade of Stars following Williamsport-Barons game . . . West Side Flower Club holds most successful flower show in 20 years . . . 109th Field Artillery formally notified of its Federal recognition. 28. French students tour Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company plant . . . Operations Jobs secures firm employing 150 men and 50 women. 30. Bishop William J. Hafey lays cornerstone of St. Aloysius parochial School . . . King's College receives painting of Christ the King from a Budhist . . . Four agencies send Mrs. Lillian Page to Washington bedside of ailing, repatriated Korean POW son. 31. Jenkins Township and Yates-ville Borough form school jointure . . . Corp. Bernard Buli, returned Korean POW welcomed at Wilkes-Barre Township. SEPTEMBER 1. Rev. George Quilty joins King's College staff . . . Swoyersville welcomes Corp. Robert Lukacinsky, released prisoner of war. 2. West Side damaged by severe storm. 3. Duplan shifts general offices to Charlotte, N. C. . . . Inch of rain in hour tumbles mercury from all time high of 104 degrees . . . Bishop W. J. Hafey announces 31 transfers of priests. 4. Gasoline war which started on West Side reaches Wilkes-Barre . . . Community leaders honor Gov. John S. Fine . . . Tractor runs away on East End Boulevard. 6. Four inches of rain over week end brings end to drought and hot spell. 7. Exeter fire damages grocery stock . . . WILK-TV test pattern goes on the air ... 31 area men still listed as missing as Communist war prisoner exchange ends in Korea. 8. Capt. William V. Tanski assigned to Wilkes-Barre Army Reserve Center as senior unit instructor . . . Four armed men attempt to steal three-day receipts of ILGWU Camp Unity, but learn victim is without money. 9. Insurance Workers of America, CIO, receive charter . . . Forty properties sold for delinquent 1951 taxes. 10. Steel girder buckles while being put in place on Narrows Road bridge . . . "Billy" Sunday's widow visits Valley after 40 years . . . Thomas "Chinky" Carr and Nicholas Ber-nardo sent to prison for parts in Hazleton robbery. 11. Central YMCA opens membership drive . . . A. J. Sordoni, Sr., named AAA senior vice-president . . . Plymouth Township's burning dump forces family to vacate home. 13. Polish American Congress holds annual picnic at Sans Souci . . . Jean Lynn wins "Lady of the Lake" beauty contest at Harveys Lake . . . Liquor Control Board raids two city night clubs. 14. City steam service resumes . . . Thomas C. Thomas elected head of newly formed public relations committee of Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce . . . YWCA opens membership drive. 15. Army engineers and city officials inspect dike system . . . Corp. George Kubasti, POW, welcomed home by Wilkes-Barre City Council . . . George T. Smith elected head of Wilkes-Barre Post 132, American Legion . . . Roy V. Elder elected president of Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation. 16. Nanticoke Mayor Anthony B. Dreier found guilty by jury of soliciting and receiving bribe . . . WILK-TV starts operations . . . First Lt. Harold Coplan, liberated prisoner of war, greeted by Valley residents . . . Truck with $20,000 worth of girdles stolen . . . United States Marine Band gives two concerts in city. 17. First National Bank of Ashley votes $50,000 increase in common stock . . . Russell Janney, author of novel about Wilkes-iBarre, visits valley . . . Sgt. John Vavrek, returned prisoner of war, gets reception from Back Mountain residents. 18. State Police thrill large crowds at 33rd annual rodeo. 20. Gasoline prices hit new low as local gas war intensifies. 21. Corp. Fred C. Searles, sixth local liberated prisoner of war, greeted by East End residents. 22. M/Sgt. Frank Rushinski, prisoner of war, greeted by residents of Wilkes-Barre Township . . . SFC Jack Touey, liberated prisoner of war, slips into the valley unannounced . . . Hanover Township Lions Club's fireworks display thrills thousands. 23. Twenty-six cars of Lehigh Valley Railroad fast freight derailed near Sayre. 24. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company employes receive raise . . . Nine area persons win honors in Central Railroad of New Jersey safety contest . . . Adam F. Mitchell retires as president of Charles Whitman Company. 26. M/Sgt. Frank G. Celusniak, POW, honored by residents of Dupont upon his return home. 27. Rev. William Purcell, Plains, honored prior to leaving for service. 28. Shooting star or meteor passes over Valley . . . Shriner's Imperial Potentate Remmie L. Arnold entertained at dinner at Irem Temple Country Club . . . Parts of a human skeleton found in Hanover Township. 29. YWCA membership drive exceeds goal . . . 200 regional restaurateurs open 1953-1954 season of Northeastern Pennsylvania Restaurant Association in city . . . Regional sales tax office, supervised by David Thomas, opens on West Market Street . . . Frank B. Burnside reelected president of Pennsylvania Retailers' Association . . . Fire at Harry E Breaker extinguished before damage results. 30. Joseph F. Collis, assistant managing editor of Wilkes-Barre Record, elected international president of CIO American Newspaper Guild . . . Robert A. Eyerman honored by Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce for services to the community. OCTOBER 1. Sgt. 1/c Alfred J. Banash, POW arrives home . . . Herbert H. Butler appointed executive vice-president and general manager of Commonwealth Telephone Company . . . General alarm fire causes thousands of dollars damage at Zimmerman's Fashions and Bridal Salon, Public Square. 2. Paul Baynock, McQuade will case witness, pleads guilty to perjury . . . Rev. Edward W. O'Malley, city native, appointed chaplain and professor at Mt. Aloysius Junior College, Cresson. 3. Coughlin Class of 1918 holds first reunion. 5. American Legion Band, Post 132, presents annual Night of Music . . . Community Chest opens 1954 campaign for $792,412 with kick-off dinner . . . Attorney Stephen A. Teller, first assistant district attorney, sworn as an assistant United States attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania . . . Court order restrains two men from using site along Narrows Road as a dump . . , Arthur E. Nicholson, Jr. elected presi- dent of W. H. Ncholson and Company. 6. Air-raid alert rated "generally satisfactory" throughout Luzerne County. 7. One man killed and one injured while welding gasoline truck . . , Cold wave boosts coal sales . . . Karl Webster Kivler, serving life sentence for 1934 murder of church sexton, granted commutation of sentence after eighth appeal. 8. Paul Machina, Mountain Top, assaulted by man and woman whom he had given ride . . . Laurel Line sells 14 miles of track at auction . . . East Market Street store burglarized of $1,500 worth of clothes. 10. Jersey Central freight train derailed at Laurel Run . . . Navy contract awarded Fleetwood-Air-flow, Incorporated. 11. 'Seared body of infant girl found in Plains cemetery. 13. Community Chest drive passes halfway mark during first week of campaign. 17. Joseph F. Collis, presidentelect of American Newspaper Guild, honored at a testimonial dinner, by members of Local 120, ANG. 19. 2,500 construction workers of 19 craft unions call "holiday". 20. Martz Bus Company spends $250,000 for eight new deluxe longdistance coaches . . . William Medico, president of Medico Electric Company and Pittston Steel and Machinery Company,, both of Pittston, buys Scranton building for $130,000 ... Six retired city policemen receive gold badges. 21. Forest fire burns 20 acres of brush and timberland near Rocky Glen Amusement Park . . . Community Chest raises $721,804, 91 per cent of goal. 22. Scranton-Spring Brook Water Service Company employes awarded wage increase by Governor's Arbitration Board. 23. Gasparino Excavating Company, Peckville, submits unofficial low bid of $2,779,593 for Avoca Bypass work. 25. Bishop William J. Hafey officiates at formal dedication of main building of King's College, North River Street, and dedication of a statue of the Blessed Mother, presented to Rev. Leo F. Flood, CSC, King's president, by class of 1953 . . . General alarm fire causes extensive damage to the Joy Theater, East Main Street, Plymouth ... St. Stanislaus Kosta Church, North Main Street, dedicated by Bishop William J. Hafey. 26. State Department of Highways erects four signs on East End Boulevard warning truckers to use caution. 27. Thomas C. Thomas Produce Terminal opens . . . Margaret Truman arrives at Lehigh Valley station on way to Berwick to give concert. 28. Tioga Telephone Company purchased by the Commonwealth Telephone Company . . . Local gas war drops price to 12.9 cents a gallon . . . Lake and Noxen School districts plan to enter Westmoreland Jointure . . . Little Singers from Paris give Paramount Theater concert. 29. Percy A. Brown reelected director of Flour Mills of America, Incorporated, Kansas City . . . Anthracite miners observe John Mitchell Day . . . Heavy rainfall hits region . . . Alien W. Gery elected Chief Rabban of Irern Temple . . . Luzerne County Teachers attend 83rd annual institute . . . Edward Surville, Kingston, killed in explosion on gasoline tanker on Great Lakes . . . Michael B. Reap honored at dinner after 36 years with the Federal Veterans Administration, 30. Mrs. William Marsh, Sunday School superintendent, honored for 52 years' of service . . . Wilkes-Barre Eagles plans organization of Auxiliary. 31. Five hunters shot and one dies of heart attack on opening day of hunting season. NOVEMBER 1. St. Stephen's Conyngham Memorial organ dedicated . . . Seven persons injured in Narrows Road crash. 2. Marine Corps Recruiting Station, City Hall, becomes headquarters for 20 counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania . . . City Council agrees to sell Franklin Field to Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund. 3. Republican candidates win in county and Wilkes-Barre. 4. Temperature drops after sev- eral days of warm weather . . . Clarence E. Beerweiler named president of Wilkes-Barre Central YMCA . . . 50 doctors attend course in cardiology at Nesbitt Memorial Hospital. 5. Tuberculosis Institute held at Wilkes College . . . Gasparini Excavating Company, Peckville, awarded Avoca Bypass contract with low bid of $2,799,593 . . . Max Rosenn named president of B'nai B'rith Anti-defamation League. 6. Fire damages Salem Evangelical United Brethren Church . . . Worst November snow storm since 1898 takes region by surprise; 300 cars stalled along 25-mile stretch from Wilkes-Barre to Blakeslee by 10 to 17 inches of snow. 8. Gasoline war ends as prices go up to 23.9 cents . . . 400 pastors and laymen from 40 Protestant churches open week of visitation evangelism. 9. Curtis-'Pethick Company award-er contract for construction of new Kingston elementary school . . . Harry J. Connolly appointed industry member of trustees of Anthracite Health and Welfare Fund. 10. Carl Leighton, Jr., appointed chairman of the 1954 Wyoming Valley Parade of Progress . . . Northeastern Pennsylvania Heart Association opens heart disease seminar. 11. Lone gunman takes $700 in miners' pays from Baltimore Colliery watchman. 12. Community Chest reaches 93.4 per cent of goal, total of $740,000 . . . 77 new citizens take oath of allegiance . . . Ashley to Mountain Top section of Route 309 formally opened. 13. Boys' Town Choir sings to packed house at Irem Temple . . . County Commissioner Herman C. Kersteen returns after tour of Germany . . . Three employes of Wyoming National Bank receive promotions. 15. Festival of Faith held in Central Methodist Church. 16. Anthracite Progress Week opens ... 20 men from nine county police departments attend course in fingerprinting sponsored by FBI and Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. 17. Foster Wheeler Corporation holds "press preview" for more than 100 editors and writers at its new plant at Mountaintop . . . Danny Carnevale named manager of Barons baseball team for 1954 season. 18. Mary O'Connor wins Junior Chamber of Commerce's "Voice of Democracy" contest . . . Luzerne County Agricultural Extension Association holds 39th annual meeting. 19. Two lanes of Kingston Narrows Road opened to traffic. 20. Conference of Scranton Diocese Chapter of the National Catholic Music Educators' Association attracts 800 . . . Boosts in 1954 assessments for Dallas Borough property owners rescinded by County Board of Assessment and Revision of Taxes. 22. Rev. J. J. Gryczka, pastor of St. Hedwig's Church, Kingston, awarded Polonia Resituta Cross by Republic Government of Poland (in exile) . . . First Baptist Church, Kingston, dedicated ... St. Ann's Academy observes 75th anniversary. 23. Dr. John F. Giering, Kingston, named president of Northeastern Pennsylvania Heart Association. 24. John Lunski named superintendent of Glen Alden Coal Com- pany's South Wilkes-Barre Colliery . . . Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company distributes 67 turkeys to Little Merchants for obtaining new subscriptions . . . Attorney Joseph J. Gale, Nanticoke, appointed assistant district attorney. 25. Lehigh Valley Railroad declares first dividend on stock since 1931 . . . Holiday lights in central city turned on. 26. South Wilkes-Barre Mother's Club raises $1,100 to boost baseball for boys . . . Thanksgiving Day passes without traffic fatalities. 27. Sugar Notch youth shot in leg in hunting accident . . . Thousands jam central city on shopping spree. 28. GAR class of 1941 gives the school plaque honoring class members who lost lives in World War 2. 30. Five hunters, one from Luzerne County, die as deer season opens in Pennsylvania . . . Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board returns $330,775 to 70 Luzerne County municipalities as shares of money collected from license fees. Submitted by Patty Matthews and Pat Hillon, May 2003