RECORD OF LOCAL EVENTS Principal Happenings in Luzerne County for the Year Which Began December 1, 1954 and Ended November 30, 1955 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 It is not to be published to any other web site, mailing list, group, etc.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. DECEMBER , 1954 1. Consolidated Cigar Corporation, announces plans to spend $400,000 enlarging West Pittston plant. 2. Five -cent boost ends gas war in Valley..........Courtesy Boxes placed in various locations to collect Christmas mail..........Five injured as stolen car being chased by police crashes into vehicle. 3. Snow flurries hit region...............Huber worker killed and two injured in rock fall...... William P. Brewster writes history of State's border. 5. Three police groups nab 19 in Avoca dice game..........Eighteen regional persons hurt in series of highway accidents over week end. 6. School boards in Luzerne County conduct reorganizations..........Little relief in sight as cold wave grips area..........275 pupils vacate Moosic High School in less than one minute when fire breaks out in laboratory..........Courts admit two new lawyers..........Three local high school teachers join honor group fraternity. 7. Rocky Glen roller skating rink destroyed in $15,000 fire. 8. New Nicholson plant to employ 300..........Heights woman asphyxiated. 9. Capitol Trailways opens terminal on North Main Street. 10. Mine pays hit $1,000,000..........Wyoming Art League formed with Mrs. Ernest G. Smith as first president........New school dedicated at Hunlock Township........WBRE dedicates million-watt- station; first in world. 11. Nescopeck post office destroyed by fire.....Two women killed by gas fumes, eight made ill in two seperate accidents. 12. Inkerman Presbyterian Chirch dedicated...........Pittston Moose observe 42nd anniversary........... Mercy Hospital X-ray school wins approval.....Congegation Ohav Zedek notes 62nd anniversary. 13. Wave of window breaking by air guns hits area.....Two Pittstonians stricken with typhoid. 14. Luzerne County ranks 10th in State by spending $2,437.37 for each school pupil. 15. Scranton Electricand Pennsylvania Power and Water Company vote to merge with Pennsylvania Power and Light Company..........20,500 treated at Mercy Hospital as it goes into red for $40,000. 16. Cooking gas asphyxiates 86-year-old woman and fells her 70-year-old companion in Kingston. 19. Six young persons hurt as automobile skids on ice at Gross Manor..........Pittston boiler, stoker and tubs drop into mine where State has been filling voids. 21. One killed and one injured when car races another up Ashley Boulevard..........Three Buttonwood miners hurt in a fall of rock. 22. Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company gives turkeys to 71 Little Merchants who obtained new sub- scriptions. 23. Ashley youth, Sugar Notch woman killed in seperate automobile accidents. 27. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Evans receive St. Michael's Award of Year at annual $100-plate dinner............ Daniel Roberts home, West River Street, given Wilkes College. 28. Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporarion cuts bus schedules but retains workers..........Luzerne miner killed by fall of face coal. 30. Black Diamond of LVRR hits Biscontini heavy trailer stalled on crossing. 31. WBRE-TV and WILK-TV increase to one-million watts..........Franklin B. Gelder named Glen Alden Corporation's chief counsel..........Parking meters net $125,992 for 1954, $12,000 less than expected. JANUARY, 1955 1. Duryea resident killed by car while crossing street.........................Dense fog blankets valley. 4. Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski sworn in as assistant city solicitor by city council. 5. Daniel J. Flood starts fourth term, non-consecutive, as 84th Congress convenes...................... Bird Mining Company closes operations in Plymouth and Larksville, idling 50 men. 9. Exeter man dies in crash near Easton..........$90,000 fire damages Berwick Catholic church. 11. Area banks reorganize; 6 directors join boards..........Courtdale GI among 71 paratroopers who escape from crippled plane. 12. Joseph Kennedy of this city named Secretary of Mines by Gov. George M. Leader. 13. Ground broken for State Institute for Defective Delinquents in Jackson Township. 15. Thirty-six county employes, age 70 or more, forced to retire. 17. Arthur H. James elected president of Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association...........Pomeroy's, Inc., acquires adjoining building on Public Square as an addition in its four-point $2,000,000 modernization program. 18. George M. Leader becomes Governor of Pennsylvania; Roy E. Furman new Lieutenant Governor.... James B. Post, Jr. named Jaycees' distinguished young man of 1954..........Ben Cohen named new director on Wilkes-Barre City school board. 19. Pioneer Manufacturing Company honored for its growth by Industrial Management Club.................. Joseph H. Miller named chief of county detectives..........Mayor David Tuvuahu of Beersheba, Israel, honored by 500 at Ohav Zedek reception......................Air Force recruits 68 in one day. 20. Exeter Council drops tax two mills, second cut in as many years. 22. Two men killed by roof fall at Woodward Colliery. 24. Tunkhannock man killed, Dallas driver hurt in crash..........Cigaret causes $25,000 fire in three apartments and two stores on North Washington Street...........Z. Platt Bennett named head of General Hospital board for eigth consecutive time. 25. Woman brutally beaten in unsuccessful attempt to rob her of $12.10 obtained in Mother's March on Polio...................One killed, many hurt as two snowstorms glaze roads. 26. Wilkes-Barre receives bronze plaque for having largest percentage of registered votes cast in Third Class cities. 27. Superior Combustion Industries, Inc., breaks ground for $250,000 factory................... Nanticoke idle miner kills wife and self. 30. Fisherman and skaters flock to Harveys Lake as cold wave continues..........Pittston couple returns to find home gutted by fire and all belongings burned. 31. January coldest in eight years; coal sales increase............Assistant Postmaster William E. Newhart retires...........Two valley men die in Tamaqua crash. FEBRUARY 1. Sections of city without water for four hours as a 24-inch pipe bursts..........Stanley Meholchick declared winner as Representative District by court en banc. 2. Cold wave sends mercury below zero; new seasonal lows follow five-inches of snow. 3. King's College holds sixth annual senior dinner-plate...........Boy, 12, found half frozen after night in cold............Dr. William A. Weaver named head of General Hospital staff. 4. Non-assessable property in city worth $32,864,456..........Susquehanna River frozen from bank to bank for first time in many years. 5. Section of Ols Sheldon Axle Works destroyed by $250,000 fire. 6. Lithuanian Independence Day marked..........Edwardsville home damaged by subsidence. 8. White Haven firm is unofficial low bidder on turnpike link to county..........A & P and Acme stores cut coffe prices up to 12 cents a pound. 9. Lehigh Valley Railroad nets $2,638,921 in 1954. 11. Five inches of snow causes many crashes; icy highways follow sharp mercury drop.................Mercy Hospital caps 49 student nurses. 12. Two Glen Alden men die in seperate rock fall........2,500 at ACF, Berwick, vote to accept new contract. 17. General Hospital caps 66 student nurses. 18. Joseph John & Son scrap iron and rag establishment badly damaged by general alarm fire........ FBI raids 13 communities and seize 66 "poor man's roulette wheels". 21. Little Merchant beaten and robbed of his $12.50 collection on North Washington Street............ Planes "stacked up" over Crystal Lake due to fog. 23. Valley ushers in Lent with services in Catholic and Protestant churches..........Ice floes fill Susquehanna River from bank to bank.......................429 Rotarians celebrate 50th anniversary. 27. Firemen find body of Kingston woman overcome by smoke in her home. MARCH 1. March arrives like wet lamb...........City council rejects tax on TV antennae. 2. Luzerne County Commissioners ban Avoca Airport as air center..........Shrine circus comes to town. 4. Wyoming Valley Hospital awards $300,000 contract to William F. Schimmel & Company of Nan- ticoke. 6. Nine persons injured and seven cars damaged in two Mount Pocono accidents.................... One to three inches of snow falls on mountains. 7. Loretta Ann Carey, Plains, wins area American Legion Oratorical Contest.........Bishop Jerome D. Hannan, DD, Scranton Diocese, invests 13 King's College students into honor society. 11. Alfred Lee Weinberg and Morgan Birs, Sr., sentenced to prison terms for conspiracy to defraud the government through operation of veterans' training schools. 14. Many petitions filed for May promaries; split in both parties results in four slates. 15. H. Merritt Hughes, funeral director, appointed school director by Wilkes-Barre City School Board to fill vacancy caused by death of A. Arthur Dunn. 16. Area Garden Club exhibit wins top prize at Philadelphia show...........Five juveniles apprehended after rampage of vandilism..........Firwood Park to remain as beauty spot in 15th Ward due to resi- dents' objections to sale of park by city........potentate of Irem Temple, AAONMS...........Luzerne County Board of Assistance down to one member as three resign. 18. Herman C. Kersteen elected potentate of Irem Temple, AAONMS..........Luzerne County Board of Assistance down to one member as three resign. 19. Princeton University audience of more than 1,000 pays tributr to Attorney Paul Bedford, city, a trustee. 22. Lightning kills youth operating tractor as weather hits area with everything from hail to sunshine. 23. John L. Smith, Jr., elected Luzerne County Republican chairman to succeed Olin Evans; Bernard E. Piorkowski elected treasurer. 24. Plymouth gets National Guard unit..........Sears, Roebuck and Company opens new store on Narrows Highway, Kingston. 27. Five Pittston homes damaged in mine cave..........Two killed, three hurt in Blakeslee accident as wind throws two cars into spins. 29. CAA installs traffic control at Avoca Airport. 30. Sebastine Falvo, Pittston, held for fatal shooting of his stepdaughter, Mrs. Carmela Jenkins.... Grass and forest fires plague area. APRIL 3. Andrew J. Sordoni, Sr., awarded Distinguished Service Award by Jeish War Veterans...... Full approval given Nesbitt Memorial Hospital. 5. H. Merritt Hughes seated as a member of Wilkes-Barre City School Board.........Lewith & Freeman purchase Mayflower Park; plan $300,000 housing development..........Woman attempting to rob Miners National Bank frightened away by sounding of alarm. 10. Valley enjoys summer-like weather as mercury climbs to 80, warmest Easter since 1943. 11. Crews plagued by grass fires with merury in 80's. 14. Harveys Lake Police Department installs radio communication between headquarters & patrol cars 17. Luzerne man loses life, wife injured critically as their car crashes into home on Dallas-Luzerne Highway. 18. Spring discounts on coal cut prices from 60 cents to $2.05 a ton..........House Elections Committee decides Stanley Meholchick, Ashley Democrat, is entitled to represent the School District of Luzerne County in the General Assembly...........Percy A. Brown, founder and president of the firm bearing his name, honored, by 250 on his 50th anniersary in business. 19. Wilkes-Barre Barons lose opening game 10-3 before 1,921 fans who brave scattered showers........ Francis O. Case, president of Glen Alden Corporation, elected director of Miners National Bank. 21. East End residents aged 75 or more honored at dinner.......Three men killed when their car collides with a truck on Pittston-Dupont Highway. 22. Robet G. Edgeton named Outstanding Jaycee of the Year. 24. Congregation B'nai B'rith marks 110th anniversary of founding.........Two Easton residents seriously hurt when their plane crashes on Kis-Lyn field. 25. Select Masons hold formal dinner...............General alarm fire sweeps city store; Fire Captain Oliver Fraley, off duty, dies in 12 foot fall at $50,000 blaze...............Distribution of Salk anti-polio vaccine begins. 26. Pittston woman, 21, severely beaten, thrown from truck.........Glen Alden drops "coal" from name, acquires air-conditioning company for $11,000,000. 27. Plains Township's strip mining ordinance declared unconstitutional by President Judge W.A. Valentine.....Lundy Wright elected president of Wyoming Valley Technical Institute Joint Board..... American Red Cross raises $120,000, 91 per cent of goal. 28. Shoppers jam Central City stores as 85 stores participate in three-day sale. 29. W.H. Nicholson & Company buys Walter C. Williams firm in diversification plan. MAY 1. Pittston man arrested in attempt to extort $1,250 from Wilkes College professor. 3. Charles H. Norton appointed fire captain by city council....................Wanamie mine fire idles 900. 8. Hit-run motorist kills 3-year old Heights boy. 9. Escaping gas fumes make 30 ill, force closing of King Fifth Wheel plant, Crestwood Industrial Park, Mountaintop. 10. Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce 71st annual dinner attended by 1,000; two new industries, providing 1,250 jobs, announced as future prospects. 11. Eight-year-old West Pittston boy injured fatally in fall from railroad bridge. 13. TV stations darkened when car runs into pole and snaps two 6,000-volt power lines. 15. Boy, 11, killed, nine injured, in crash involving three cars on Pocono Highway.............. Nineteen-year-old youth succumbs to injuries suffered in auto accident. 17. Primary held with four factions-two from each party-vieing for votes. 19. Public Square scene of an art exhibit for the firdt time as Wyoming Valley Art League displays 300 original paintings. 20. Glen Summit man killed when car hits culvert and overturns. 22. Residents of the 15th Ward dedicate memorial in Firwood Park honoring veterans of that ward who lost their lives during World War 2. 23. Two storms bring end of drought; lightning hits Old River Road home. 24. Wilkes-Barre City School Board accepts esignation of J. Frank Dennis, principal of Meyers High School, and names as successor H. Leon Gilbert, assistant principal of Meyers High School. 25. Mercy Hospital School of Nursing graduates 48. 29. Korean veteran killed and three companions injured when car strikes pole.................... Inch of rain falls in area as two thunderstorms merge. 30. College Misericordia gives awards to 132..........Two Heights youths burned, one critically, when ignited can of benzine explodes. 31. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's circus here.............Judge John W. Murphy seated as chief judge of the United States Courts for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. JUNE 2. Tunkhannock High Shool freshman's body, with knife wounds in chest, found on Mehoopany farm 3. Frank Martz Coach Company, Incorporated, and union sign agreement averting possible strike. 5. King's College graduates 85.........Five injured when three cars collide on Luzerne-Dallas Highway. 6. Wilkes College awards degrees to 143. 7. Wilkes-Barre Record and Times-Leader Evening News cited by Capt. Chistian E. Stegmaier Post 50, Veterans of Foreign Wars. 9. Nevin Christman, sugarloaf Valley farmer, found shot to death in his bed; Ruth, deceased wife, held in shooting. 10. Six-month search for Louis R. Stolfi, alias Leo Stolfi, alleged panderer, ends as he appears before Judge J. Harold Flannery and posts $5,000 bail........General alarm fire damages Boston Store; fire contained to annex where old building and addition are joined, but smoke and water cause comsiderable damage. 12. Wyoming Seminary School of Business holds first commencement in 92 years. 13. George R. Behler named to Anthracite Board of Conciliation. 14. Attorney William Brewster re-elected to solicitor post for 50th consecutive year by Kingston School Board. 19. Forty Fort surface subsidence damages five homes, breaks water main in four plaes and drops section of River Street approximately five feet. 21. Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company fetes 163 carriers who recently graduated from high school, also their parents...........Nesbitt Memorial Hospital approved for training of interns. 22. Nesbitt Memorial Hospital awards diplomas to 30...........Motorboat "missing" in Harveys Lake for 20 years found in 85 feet of water by area frogmen...........Newborn baby found in onion patch at Port Griffith. 23. Dr. John M. Lumley appointed superintendent of Wilkes-Barre City School District. 26. Mine subsidence in Forty Fort distrupts gas and water service, sets fire to one home and damages four other residences. 29. Capone Coal Company Breaker, Luzerne, destroyed in $400,000 fire. JULY 1. Joseph F. Collis, assistant managing editor of Wilkes-Barre Record, reelected president of American Newspaer Guild, at Albany convention. 2. Broken water main undermines pavement of Larksville Street and causes nine-foot hole. 4. Indepandence Day celebrated at numerous ceremonies throughout Wyoming Valley. 5. Hail storm causes severe damage to crops; temperature drops 12 to 14 degrees in 30 minutes. 6. Cornerstone laid for furniture plant in Kingston by Industrial Fund leaders. 7. Mine drainage bill signed in Harrisburg by Governor Leader. 8. $250,000 Army reserve Armory on East End Boulevard dedicated by Brig. General William J. Verbeck. 11. $207,000 pledged to Industrial Fund at first meeting of new campaign........... Shavertown man wounded fleeing State Police. 12. Farm crops in area suffer from intense heat and high humidity. 14. 2,000 Forty Fort citizens discuss mine subsidences which caused extensive damage in that area. 15. Governor Leader addresses 1,000 persons at Hotel Sterling and the American Legion concerning his tax plan; also inspects mine cave damage in Forty Fort. 16. Mercury stays in 90s for 15th day......................................... Wilkes- Barre Township marks 165th anniversary of founding. 18. Rain breaks heat spell, plunges temperature to 78 degrees. 19. Industrial Fund reports $347,521 pledged at second report meeting................. Mine caves damage Port Griffith and Pittston areas. 22. Giant's Despair Hill Climb best time 1.2:04 minutes................................. Mercury breaks through to unoficial 102 degrees. 24. Lightning storm hits valley, relieves area from heat but causes thousands of dollars of property damage. 25. City swimming pools damaged by vandals. 26. Forest fires break out all over valley, some due to natural causes, some to neglect of picnickers and campers. 27. Edwardsville man electrocuted while at work.........Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund Cam- paign reaches $461,560 at third report meeting. 28. Runaway truck injures two drivers and causes $15,000 damage on Ashley Boulevard. 29. Daniel H. Connelly, deputy state secretary of mines, announces $5,500,000 of the $17,000,000 intended for mine drainage will be spent in Luzerne County. 31. 4,000 attracted to first outboard races at Harveys Lake..................................... Mercury hit 90 degrees or more on 21 days during July. AUGUST 1. Duryea woman entering auto injured fatally. 3. Underground lake from Pittston to Old Forge main object of mine drainage fund. 1. Patrick Toole, Bear Creek Township, State Senator from 21st District dies in Harrisburg... Dallas Township boy killed accidently by rifle while on camping trip................ Lightning disables PP & L power station, discomforting 3,500 customers. 7. Polish Alliance observes 75th anniversary..........Thousands attracted to Lake Silkworth by annual carnival. 8. Pittston resident electocuted while at work.........Five youths mug recently discharged GI as he was walking along River Street. 9. Kingston Ex-POW charged with misconduct while a POW, disloyal statements and actions and corresponding with the enemy. 10. Operation Jobs reports overall total $638,009 or 71 per cent of goal of $900,000. 11. Heavy rains accompanying Hurricane causes much damage..........Streets and homes flooded, creeks overflow and streets are filled with dirt and debris. 12. Joseph Gaveonis, Plymouth, elected central vice-commander of Pennsylvania American Legion. 13. The 109th Field Artillery Battalion leaves for two weeks training at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation. 15. Rev. George P. Benaglia, new president of Kings College, honored by srudents, alumnae and friends. 16. Bishop Jerome D. Hannan, DD, Diocese of Scranton, officiates at reception of 61 young women into Sisters of Mercy order. 17. Kingston boy, first polio patient of season, enters Luzerne County Communicable Disease Hospital. 18. Northeastern Pennsylvania hit by heavy rains accompanying Huricane Diane. Highways and rail- roads washed out, bridges closed, mines and homes flooded, streets covered with dirt and debris. 19. Ninety firemen and 15 ieces of equipment fight general alarm fire at Bushell's Department Store, 140 South Main Street. 20. Four railroads forced to use Lehigh Valley tracks because of ravages of Hurricane Diane. 22. Cleanup under way in all flooded areas; bridges and roads being repaired and replaced; soldiers guarding property against looters...........Four cars of Jersey Central Railroad derailed at Laurel Run interchange. 23. President Eisenhower flys over Northeastern Pennsylvania flood area.........Lt. James J. Maher killed and AFC Thomas P. Karshalia injured in crash of C-119 Flying Boxcar in South Carolina. 25. Community Chest committee announces goal of $849,300 for coming year. 26. John Uporsky, Exeter, credited with saving 40 lives in flood areas. 28. Jacqueline Wargo, West Pittston, crowned "Lady of the Lake," in Harveys Lake beauty contest. 30. Fire damages newly decorated Rutter Avenue School in Kingston. 31. Building permits issued in August top $260,000. (Please note that what appears to be a typo on dates is as they are in the original Almanac) SEPTEMBER 1. Alex Mackaravitz, coal miner, killed in rock fall at No. 9 Colliery...........$9,722 given Red Cross for Diane Hurricane flood victims. 2. Break in dam inundates section of Swoyersville.........1,500 food items for flood victims collected by empoyes of the Veterans Administration Building. 4. Albert Mihalka and three small daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Chrobak of Dupont drowned in Suscon Lake.........Cars of the Lackawanna Railroad derailed on the Jersey Central Lines near Laurel Run........Four persons hospitalized in auto accident in Dallas Township. 6. Flood damage to farms estimated at $1,000,000..........Water boiling still in effect...........Schools remain closed due to condition of wter.........First Negro teaher appointed on Coughlin High School staff. 9. 7,000 food items for flood victims colleted by the Army Recruiting service and the Parsons VFW.... 8,274 enroll in city schools on first day. 10. Heavy rains hits valley and floods streets as temperature drops 10 degrees. 11. Pomeroys opening of remodeled store draws thousands. 12. Thirteen valley communities form a "cave committee" to deal with mine subsidence problems on a mutual basis........Building permit issued for 30th new home to be built in Wilkes-Barre this year. 14. $1,000 given Community Chest by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. 16. Valley Jews welcome new year of 5716.........Woman killed, three men hurt in colliion on the East End Boulevard.........$17,200,000 appropriated for Bear Creek Dam by U.S. Government.......... Sgt. Charles Quinn killed in auto crash in Germany. 17. Temporary Stoddartsville bridge, replacing one washed away in hurricane, opened to traffic. 18. Many auto accidents reported over week end........Four injured in car crash at Hunlock Creek. 19. Relief and welfare agencies of region alerted for possible damage by Hurricane lone due to hit valley..........Wallet of mayor's clerk stolen rom city hall office. 20. City School Board informs Parent Teacher organizations transfers of students fixed by the board will stand. 21. Eight Catholic priests of Scranton Dioceses assigned to new parishes.........Alfred Brawer convicted of attempting to blackmail Wilkes College professor. 22. George J. Glasser, Stanton Street, killed when hit by Lehigh Valley train................... Two teenage motorists and a pedestrian injured in auto accident at Plymouth. 23. Mrs. Martin Webb, Duryea, dies of shock after learning her son, Richard Webb, had been killed by an automobile...............................Nanticoke hospital's new wing completed. 25. Auto accidents over week end send many persons to local hospitals....................Morgan Bird and Alfred Lee Weinberg, convicted for defrauding the U.S. Government in the GI School business, lose appeal for a new trial. 26. Glen Alden Corporation gives $24,000 to Community Chest................................ Observance of National Business Women's Week starts. 28. Salvation Army purchases land in Luzerne Borough for proposed play center.....Deficits of over $10 million due to floods in Pennsylvania estimated by four railroads operating locally....... Reuben H. Levy receives 33rd Degree of Masonry at Detroit. 29. Wilkes-Barre merchants open a three-day city-wide sale.................Bishop Jerome D. Hannan announces 23 pastoral and assistant-pastoral appointments in Scranton Diocese. 30. State mine inspectors report on causes of subsidence in Forty Fort Borough. OCTOBER 1. State Democratic administration appoints eight Luzerne County residents to state jobs. 2. Twenty-eighth annual convention of Associated Master Barbers and Beauticians of Pennsylvania at Hotel Sterling. 3. Wyoming Valley Community Chest opens 1955 campaign as 2,000 Red Feather volunteers see motion picture in Paramount Theater..........Prizes awarded as climax to Wilkes-Barre Merchants Sales Days. 4. Pery A. Brown honored at Pocono Manor dinner given by Pennsylvania Restaurant Association. 5. Wilkes-Barre school superintendent John M. Lumley blames state politicians for bankrupcy in schools. 6. Three killed and one injured in explosion and fire at Hazelton..........Plains Township man first victim of fall hunting season.........King's College plays host to Cambridge University of England at second international debate. 7. Joseph E. Sliker, Wilkes-Barre, becomes first Luzerne County motorist to benefit from a new relaxed policy in contesting court appeals from driver's license suspension. 8. Luzerne County Democratic executive committee picks Peter M. Margie as nominee for State Senator, 21st District. 9. Pittston Columbus Day parade seen by an estimated 3,000. 10. Dr. Harold J. Harris named chief of surgery at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. 11. More than 400 attend fourth annual dinner of the General Pulaski Memorial Committee of Wyoming Valley at Hotel Sterling........State barbers elect Stephen G. Demko, Edwardsville, to presidency. 12. Private plane falls into yard of Hazelton home after hitting St. Gabriel's Roman Catholic Church...... Columbus Day dinner aponsored by Luzerne County Columbus Association at Hotel Sterling. 13. William H. Davis, deputy county controller, chosen by Luzerne County Republican party, as candidate for State Senator, 21st District. 14. Extra-tropical cyclone, with winds up to 75 miles an hour and accompanied by an inch of rain, strikes area, doing much damage. 15. Rising at the rate of about two feet every three hours, Susquehanna River reaches within two feet of flood stage. 16. With damage kept at a minimum by the dike system, Susquehanna River begins to recede after reaching 26.5 foot crest.........Fourth Degree conferred on 195 Northeastern Pennsylvania men by Knights of Columbus. 17. Luzerne County Manufacturers' Association hears Representative Charles A. Halleck of Indiana at its 40th anniversary dinner..........109th Field Artillery Battalion celebrates 180th anniversary. 18. Everell V. Chadwick, Kingston, named Luzerne County agriultural agent.....Rev. Charles D. Gallagher, pastor of St. Theresa's Church, honored at a testimonial dinner for work in fostering athletic development of boys. 19. Wyoming Valley Community Chest raises $850,000, or 100.1 per cent of its campaign goal. 20. Luzerne County teachers open two-day workshop in Kingston High School. 21. Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund discloses publicly the identity of XYZ Corporation as Eberhard Faber Pencil Company, to be established at Mountaintop in fall of 1956. 23. Governor George M. Leader speaks at State of Israel Bond dinner. 24. Governor Leader, speaking at conference, emphasizes need for non-partisan legislation to solicit industries to the Commonwealth and pledges his utmost in expanding redevelopment plans... Wind and rain storm disrupts electricity to 1,800 customers. 25. Christmas Club tabulation shows 57,530 persons will receive $5,025,700 in checks............... Economy stores celebrate 26th anniversary at dinner. 26. Lafayette elementary school--Wilkes-Barre's newest building--dedicated at public ceremonies. 27. Tenth annual Scranton Diocese Parochial Teachers' Institute held at Scranton CYO................ Dr. Lawrence F. Clark, Wilkes-Barre. elected president of Third District Dental Society....... St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church celbrates 100th anniversary. 28. Dr. William J. McCarthy arrives to assume duties as manager of Veterans Hospital...............City's yellow stop signs to be painted red and white. 29. Susquehanna River rises after heavy rains. 30. Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m...........Car overturns on Ashley Boulevard throwing to his death occupany Joseph (Kayo) Dennis of Wilkes-Barre. 31. Governor Leader inspects Retreat State Hospital.....................Halloween damage minimum. NOVEMBER 1. Wilkes-Barre City School Board appoints instructors for afternoon intramural program of the 1955- 56 shool year...........Nelson Brothers' new plant on Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund's Kingston plot nears completion....................Strike closes Hazzard-Okonite Company plant. 2. Seventy-five volunteer firemen battle stubborn blaze at Ken-Well Company building, Nanticoke, for six and one-half hours..............State Senator Paul L. Wagner speaks at dedication of newly enlarged and renovated Coughlin High School..........West Side Savings and Loan Association in Kingston robbed of approxiamtely $800 cash by lone bandit. 3. Twelve-year-old Hanoer Township boy, Gerald Pollins, admitted to Mercy Hospital for treatment after being accidentally shot at close range by his father. 4. Wyoming Seminary announces inauguration of a retirement-pension plan for teachers and employes through contribution by 1908 alumnus, Walter S. Carpenter................Two Wilkes-Barre youths held in attempted holdup of Bloomsburg area restaurant. 6. Rev. William B. Healey, son of Luzerne County Prison Warden and Mrs. Healey, celebrates first mass. 8. Republicans win in 21st Senatorial Distrit and elect county officers...............All Wilkes-Barre offices retained by GOP. 9. Building at Hazle Avenue and Stanton Street damaged by automobile. 10. Season's first snowfall makes highways slippery--several persons hurt in sutomobile accidents. 11. Veterans Day observed with first annual parade through central city. 13. Reuben H. Levy reelected president of Temple Israel at 33rd annual synagog dinner. 15. America's first Frozen Food-Seafood exhibit held at Thomas C. Thomas Terminal.................. Grace Endler, Wilkes-Barre, paroled after serving three years of a four-year prison sentence for alleged theft of $46,000. 17. King's College Players open four-day run of "Caine Mutiny Court Martial"...................... Renovated S.S. Kresge store opening held. 18. Soldier ballots cast i general election make James Cosgrove, Jr., Pittston city treasurer, by one vote. 19. Bob-Ellen Sportwear Company's Plant No.2 in Miners Mills dedicated. 20. Icy pavements cause injuries to seven persons and damage to many cars..............Annual Festival of Faith, sponsored by Wyoming Valley Council of Churches, sttracts more than 1,200 persons. 21. Wilkes-Barre Sesqui-centennial committee adopts 10-point program emphasizing future of area...... State Police raid Arrow Press, seizing 7,000 football pool tickets. 22. Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund, Incorporated, announces completion of negotiations by Andrew Geller, Incorporated, to take over Horton Street plant for manufacture of woman's shoes. 23. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission opens thirty-eight-mile stretch from Allentown to Philadelphia.... Central City Christmas decorations lighted...............Pennsylvania Power and Light announces com- mencement of $3,000,000 line and sub-station project for the Scranton area. 24. Observance of Thanksgiving Day marked by clear weather. 25. Fire damages three-story apartment house in Kingston, two volunteers are injured in battle............ Shoppers jam central city as Christmas buying gets under way. 26. Increase in automobile hub-cap theft perplexes city police. 28. Season's most severe cols spell sweeps area as temperature-dropping 26 degrees in 12-hours-hits 17 above zero..........William H. Davis takes oath as State Senator from 21st District. 29. Sixteen-year-old Kis-Lyn escapee apprehended in Ohio with automobile stolen from City Controller Edward White. 30. Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund, Incorporated makes loan of $1,300,000 from Philadelphia bank to build Eber-hard Faber pencil factory at Mountaintop. Typed by Janie Symons, May 2004