WILKES-BARRE RECORD ALMANAC RECORD OF LOCAL EVENTS Principal Happenings in Luzerne County for the Year Which Began December 1, 1955 and ended November 30, 1956 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 It is not to be published to any other web site, mailing list, group, etc.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, 1955 1. Not a single auto accident on Safe Driving Day in Wilkes-Barre . . . Luzerne County School teachers face payless days because State appropriations have not arrived. 4. Nanticoke State Hospital raises room rates . . . Scranton Transit Company eight-month strike ends . . . Okonite employes vote to end strike. 5. Area School districts reorganize . . . King’s College announces accreditation and membership in the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary schools. 6. Mario Peruzzi reelected president of Planters Nut and Chocolate Company . . . John T. Howell, Jr., elected president of Westmoreland Club. 7. Rise Stevens appears in Community Concert Association performance . . . Fourth regional road fatality in two days. 8. Friends of St. Michael’s Industrial School announce “Man of the Year” awards will go two Forty Fort residents, George Ruckno and Fred Schmidt. 9. Two trusties, Eugene Burgess and Fred Heller, flee Luzerne County Prison . . . Former Kingston resident, Welter-weight fighter Bobby Lloyd, murdered in New York . . . Numerous auto accidents occur as snow and ice glaze roads. 10. Mario Peruzzi, president of Planters Nut and Chocolate Company, dies. 11. Wyoming Valley Jewish Community Center dedicated. 12. Julius Long Stern and wife announce sale of Isaac Long Store, Wilkes-Barre, to Globe Store of Scranton. Ford Foundation gives $1,305,000 to Luzerne County hospitals and schools. 13. Fugitives from Luzerne County Prison captured after three days’ freedom . . . Non-assessable property in Wilkes-Barre reported worth $32,757, 515. 14. Pennsylvania State Employment Service contends shortage of trained workers hindering local shoe and garment industries. 15. Citizens’ committee discusses United Fund Organization for Wyoming Valley. 16. Three veteran employes of Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company join Forty-Plus Club . . . Airman stationed at the Benton Air Force Base killed in auto accident . . . Attorney Gomer Morgan, Kingston native, resigns as general counsel in Pennsylvania for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. 17. Attorney Arthur Silverblatt named first assistant district attorney of Luzerne County . . . Federal Reserve Board announces study of spending in Wyoming Valley. 18. Public Square Nativity performance opens for week . . . Back to God move started by American Legion . . Six cars involved in two South Main Street crashes. 19. Henry A. Dierks, Kingston, and James W. Eckard, Shavertown, to conduct intensified research and mine- drainage work in the anthracite region . . . Sub-freezing temperatures accompained by snow flurries, turn regional highways into hazardous routes . . . Thomas Mackin retires as general foreman of Wilkes-Barre office of D & H Railroad. 20. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company and Scranton Electric Company merger wins approval . . . Extra postal workers to receive $65,000 for holiday work . . . Subzero cold prevails in local region. 21. John J. McSweeney, editor of the Times Leader Evening News, hurt in fall on ice . . . Youth lights match to thaw gas, result: truck and garage destroyed. 23. No. 14 Breaker destroyed by fire . . . Five more local banks increase interest rates . . . Frigid weather boasts coal sales . . . Truck with 15-tons of steel runs away on Bunker Hill at Luzerne. 24. Warm sun makes snow disappear. 25. James Zimmerman, 16, Coughlin High School athlete, dies in truck accident . . . Luzerne women killed when hit by auto . . . VFW Post 50 host to 400 children at party. 26. St. Casimir’s parish of Plymouth announces plan to erect new church in Hanover Township . . . Five persons hurt in crash near Benton . . . Woman burned when book of matches explodes dies in hospital. 27. Ham Fisher, Wilkes-Barre native and creator of Joe Palooka comic strip, dies in New York studio . . . Sheldon P. Wimpfen, atomic energy plant head to be Glen Alden executive . . . St. Michael’s $100-a-plate dinner proceeds total $11, 735 Harold B. Carey ends 33 years as Wilkes-Barre Record printer . . . Cold spell boasts hard coal production. 28. Hit and run car kills Dr. H. W. Deibel . . . New uses for hard coal in steel industry may revive anthracite . . . Five local banks pay dividends . . . 1955 business at airport establishes new record. 29. Sleet storm slows traffic to crawl . . . State considers White Haven Sanitorium as children’s hospital. . City ends 1955 with cash balance. 30. Roads hazardous after storm . . . United Steel buys Hanover Township factory. 31. There flee to safety from Carey Avenue apartment fire believed started in TV set . . . Aides named by coroner . . . Courtdale woman injured fatally when hit by auto . . . Margaret Falconer, daughter of local man, named Syracuse “Woman of the Year.” JANUARY, 1956 1. First baby born in 1956 in Wilkes-Barre to Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Gallagher at 3:57 A.M. in Mercy Hospital. December reported coldest since 1917 . . . Mrs. Margaret A. Brown killed by auto at Courtdale. 2. Luzerne County and Wilkes-Barre officials sworn into offices . . . Plains, Kingston, and Hanover Township councils elect new officers . . . Youths hold up two service stations . . . Dr. Stanley M. Stapinski, new county coroner, announces list of deputies. 3. Luzerne County Commissioners discharge 45 courthouse employes . . . Wilkes-Barre City Council announces 11 personnel changes. 4. Wendy Lee Fisher, daughter of the late Ham Fisher, cartoonist, receives two-thirds residuary life interest in estimated $2 ½ million estate of father . . . City starts 1956 with $23,000 in cash. 5. Wilkes-Barre weather coldest in 12 years . . . Dominic M. Manganello picked by druggists as man of the year . . . Mrs. Mary Ferrari, Plainsvill killed by train while picking coal . . . Leo Ciszek killed in 75- foot drop from Laurel Line trestle . . . Donald Moser, Meyers student shot in hip by companion. 6. Wagner Construction Company, Kingston, receives $1 million contract for state highway work . . . William O. Sword tells U. S. Senate group about need for economic help in area. 7. Two teen-agers and Nanticoke man burned when gas tank explodes . . . Harry L. Laymon elected president of the Pennsylvania Association of manufactures . . . Stalled auto on tracks demolished by Lehigh Valley John Wilkes passenger train . . . Crime spree ends with arrests of three youths at Bonifay, Fla. 8. Fire sweeps Luzerne business district . . . James Leroy Peltz, 17 killed by rifle he received for Christmas . . . White Haven Western Union office destroyed by fire . . . Valve stems removed from tires of dozens of autos parked in Plains. 9. $117,000 paid to the officers and men of 109th FA Battalion for duties performed in 1955 . . . U. S. Supreme Court denies appeal of Alfred Lee Weinberg and Morgan Bird, convicted July 4, 1952 of defrauding the government in operation of GI trade schools . . . Rev. Howard G. Hartzell, pastor of First Baptist Church, to assume Woodbury, N. J. pastorate . . . Corey E. Patton, succeeds Attorney John E. Morris, Jr., on Kingston School Board. 10. Dr. Charles H. Miner reelected president of directors of Kirby Memorial Health Center . . . John D. McDonnell, former local resident named “Man of the Year” at Hampton Manor, N. Y. . . . Lt. Michael J. Duffy Memorial School Building, Plains, damaged by lateral ground pull . . . Mrs. John T. Howell, Jr., elected president of the Wyoming Valley Council of Girl Scouts . . . Men of Good Will Class of Central YMCA note 43rd. year. 11. Forty-two regional residents become citizens of the U. S. . . . Veterans Administration outpatient clinic to be shifted to the Veterans Hospital . . . John J. Alles, superintendent of electricity, and City detective Frank Flynn resign . . . Exeter woman dies after auto accident . . . Mrs. Ethel Price, wife of late Oliver J. Price, named to fill unexpired City Council term of husband. 12. Planters Nut and Chocolate Company observes 50th anniversary . . . Detective Douglas Bart promoted to senior grade and Patrolman Francis H. Krieg named junior grade detective . . . Seymour Dimond elected president of Jewish Community Center . . . Work started on new science building at College Misericordia . . Rev. W. Francis Allison named head of Kirby Episcopal Home at Glen Summit . . . Regional highways treacherous as mixture of sleet and freezing raiin covers area. 13. Bell Telephone Company asks PUC to increase rates . . . John E. Noonan named counselor in rehabilitation service of Department of Labor and Industry . . . Judge Benjamin R. Jones endorsed by State Republican Advisory Committee for 21-year-term as justice of the State Supreme Court. 14. Fifty-four volumes of Great Books of Western World given College Misericordia . . . Carl Pesavento reelected president of Local 120, Newspaper Guild. 15. Officers installed by letter carriers . . . Two Gibbons Brewery veterans take pensions . . . Three hurt in Kingston collision. 16. $2,550,000 for Bear Creek reservoir recommended by President Eisenhower in his budget . . . Heart Fund asks $30,000 . . . Diesel engine kills rail worker. 17. Lodge 442 F & AM holds annual dinner . . . Weekly coal output hits 13-month high . . . Dr. Robert M. Kerr named Wyoming Valley’s Man of the Year . . . Jobless pay claims drop $4,500,000 as economic conditions improve . . . Mrs. Ethel Price becomes first woman member of City Council. 18. Herman C. Kersteen reelected potentate of Irem Temple . . . Wilkes-Barre district of Pennsylvania Railroad wins safety award sixth year . . . PFC Thomas Jopling hit by auto . . . Morgan Bird and Alfred L. Weinberg enter prison. 19. Free Methodist Church opens district session . . . Fleetwood Corporation to build aluminum chairs. . . Aerial photography advised to revamp assessment plan . . . City has general alarm fire at Peter Willman apartment house, Carey Avenue. 21. Two men arrested in typical “cops and robbers chase” . . . State Highway Department job cut protested. 22. Methodists announce $37,000,000 campaign against Communism . . . Hundreds of ice skaters visit Harveys Lake . . . Three hit-run accidents in city within five hours. 23. Surplus food delay to be probed . . . Z. Platt Bennett reelected head of General Hospital . . . Review of county realty values pressed by school directors . . . Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company installs Newspaper vending machine in front of building . . . Mountaintop area schools merge . . . Coal assessment depreciation cuts Wilkes-Barre valuation $369,697. 24. Coal demand zooms . . . Youth, 20, dies after 10-ton truck crash . . . Seven Dallas area schools map jointure plan. 25. Ashley Masons hold dinner. 26. Mrs. Paul Bedford honored for Wheel Chair Club work . . . Motor Club elects A. J. Sordoni, Sr., president. 27. White Haven Sanatorium acquired by state to care for 600 retarded boys . . . Local Wage-Hour office opens . . . U. S. Senator James H. Duff speaks at Lodge 61, F & AM dinner . . . South American student crowned Queen at Wyoming Seminary. 28. Central Railroad of New Jersey to build modern yard and office at Ashley . . . Eight persons injured when two cars collide. 29. District Attorney Aston bans gambling, bingo included. 30. Fire destroys West Ashley apartments . . . House action bans mining causing caves . . . Glen Alden Corporation asks tax cut . . . Larksville women killed by gas. 31. Woman killed, seven hurt in truck and two-auto accident . . . Family Service Association holds 61st meeting . . . WBRE-TV and WBRE radio workers call strike. FEBRUARY 1. Veterans Administration in Wilkes-Barre will remain open, Veterans Administration Director H. V. Higley announces . . . Ground broken for new Science Hall at Misericordia College. 2. Parking to be prohibited in certain central city areas starting February 14 for 60-day test period . . . Dr. Bernard Reiff, Kingston dentist, killed, his wife and five others injured in auto accident at Jim Thorpe. 4. John Exter, former Dupont chief of police arrested on vice count . . . Plane forced down at Avoca Airport due to engine trouble. 5. Sesquicentenial of Wilkes-Barre as a borough starts with dental show in Wilkes College gymnasium . . . Weather, icy roads, cause many accidents. 6. Rain and sleet continue, also auto accidents. 7. United States House of Representatives passes bill for $300,000 appropriation for Bear Creek Dam . . . Wilkes-Barre School Board authorizes sale of Carey Avenue School. 8. $1,009,524 in state aid ready for 51 fourth-class schoool areas in Luzerne County . . . Wilkes-Barre turns down bid to join other towns in disposal sewage system. 9. Federal Bureau of Investigation to test poisons, saving Luzerne County $1,500 to $4,000 annually, coroner’s office reports . . . Youth, viciously attacked by companion, taken to General Hospital. 10. Congress passes final bill appropriating $300,000 for Bear Creek Dam construction . . . Senate hearing in Wilkes-Barre on depressed areas . . . Fifty-six student nurses capped at Mercy Hoospital. 11. Two elderly sisters found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. 13. Two safe crackers caught in the act and a third apprehended at his home. 14. Wilkes-Barre City’s parking ban on central city streets starts 60-day trial period. 15. Hess, Goldsmith Company sold to Burlington Industries Inc., New York . . . William M. Hewitt, New Jersey, identified as robber of Kingston Bank. 16. State Department of Public Instruction approves Mountaintop jointure of seven school districts . . . 400 mine workers strike at Woodward Colliery, Glen Alden Corporation. 17. Kingston theater, two apartments and store destroyed by general alarm fire . . . Little Theatre competes purchase of Sterling theater for new cultural center . . . Six hundred attend Democratic dinner honoring Joseph S. Clark, Jr. of Philadelphia . . . Attorney Roscoe B. Smith elected president of Wyoming Valley Hospital. 18. Local Veterans Administration office announces $49,000,000 spent in 32 counties of Northeastern Pennsylvania in 1955 . . . St. John’s University of Brooklyn, N. Y., wins King’s College debate tournament for second consecutive year. 20. Luzerne County Dental Society announces a minimum charge of $4 an office call. 21. Wilkes-Barre Board of Health adopts plan for cooperation of physicians and police in cases of gas fume victims . . . Kenneth Benjamin, Moosic, killed in auto accident. 22. General Hospital caps 58 student nurses . . . Cold wave continues as temperature drops to zero . . . Two Baltimore Colliery men die of asphyxiation after roof collapses . . . Wilkes-Barre district office of the State Bureau of rehabilitation announces 605 disabled persons in area placed in jobs. 23. Glen Alden Corporation forecloses mortgage on Kingston Coal Company . . . Wilkes-Barre City rejects adoption of a joint sewage system. 24. Glen Alden Corporation appeals to court from valuations and assessments fixed on its coal lands, surface lands, machinery and improvements for 1956 by Luzerne County Board of Assessment and Revision of Taxes. 26. Seizure of two burglars on job at Forty Fort solves wave of thefts . . . Okonite Company buys New Jersey plant . . . Cantor Horowitz honored at dinner. 27. Scranton District office of the Internal Revenue Service announces 4200,000 in delinquent taxes collected from local employers . . . Saw Mill of the Vosburg Lumber Company, West Wyoming, destroyed by fire. 29. Baltimore Colliery of Hudson Coal Company closes indefinitely . . . Miner killed by fall of rock at Huber Colliery . . . Shrine Circus opens with 6,000 in attendance at West Side Armory. MARCH 1. Okonite Company announces it will move Hazard Insulated wore works Division to its New Jersey plant within the year. 2. Plains Township Commissioners adopt $7.50 per capita tax despite protests of township residents . . . Five cars stolen by two escapees of Kis-Lyn during trip to Maryland. 3. Glen Alden Corporation considers closing Kidder Slope and Empire Shaft, idling 309 miners . . . Anthracite Counties Council, Veterans of Foreign Wars blasts closing of two GI schools at Pittston. 6. Sales tax of 3 per cent becomes law . . . Wilkes-Barre School Board approves loan of $485,000 . . . Robert Lewis escapes from Luzerne County Prison but is caught in Scranton within short time. 8. River goes to 25.5 feet, many lands flooded including Forty Fort Airport, Plains and lower Plymouth and Nanticoke. 9. River crests at 28.17 feet. 10. Wilkes College receives gift of $900,000 for construction of new science building, to be named in honor of Admiral Harold R. Stark . . . Two teenagers fatally hurt in auto crash. 12. State announces $2,210,302 to be paid to Luzerne County second and third-class school districts . . . City officials agree on a $750,000 bond issue for capital improvements . . . Home-made bomb hurled at Hughestown home but fails to explode. 13. Public Utility Commission grants permission to Scranton-Spring Brook Water Company to buy the gas properties of the United Gas Improvement Company. 14. Court stays Glen Alden tax assessment appeals . . . Pittston and Wyoming Valley Community Chests merged. . Mine filling work on the Pennsylvania Turnpike halted to check in needed and the contract cost . . . Heavy fall of “wet” snow causes much damage . . . Building in rear of A & P store on South Main Street collapses. 15. Luzerne County production led anthracite industry in 1955 according to Joseph T. Kennedy, secretary of mines. 16. Two killed in auto accident on Route 11 near Hunlock Creek with third person succumbing later in the day. Last surge of winter brings seven inches of snow to Wilkes-Barre and Wyoming Valley. 17. Official opening of the observance of Wilkes-Barre Sesquicentennial . . . Former President Harry S. Truman speaks at meeting of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Pittston, in observance of St. Patrick’s Day. 18. 35-foot section of Ashley Bypass Route 309, collapses and falls approximately 30 feet iinto abandoned mine . . . Many auto accidents over week end with one killed, scores injured. 19. Snow hits mountains as Wyoming Valley escapes. 20. Wiilkes-Barre Flood Control Committee reports dikes protecting Wilkes-Barre are in top condition . . . Home destroyed by fire at Wyoming. 21. $3,192,310 lost by Glen Alden Corporation in sale of Lackawanna County mines . . . Luzerne County adopts 1956 budget with tax increase. 22. $32,504.35 contributed to the Heart Fund drive, exceeding quota by $2,504.35. 23. Rain and sleet pelt area . . . Veteran Wilkes-Barre post office employe held as embezzler . . . Shickshinny miner killed by fall of rock . . . Glen Alden Corporation closes Kidder Slope and Empire Shaft, idling 309 men. 24. Mr. and Mrs. John Novak, Sr., and son Robert of Plymouth win $140,000 on Irish Sweepstakjes. 26. Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation announces discontinuance of Veterans Hospital bus . . . Comerford Theaters, Incorporated, announces Penn and Orpheum theaters are not for sale. 27. Luzerne County auto accident death toll in 1955 is 29 compared to 33 in 1954 . . . Gas explosion in city home . . . Franklin Brewery head announces plant will close in near future. 29. Thousands attend Holy Thursday services . . . $12,000 fire at Air Products Corporation plant. 30. Ashley garage and Jenkins Township service station destroyed by fires . . . Thousands of Christians jam churches on Good Friday. 31. Four persons injured on Narrows road . . . Auto looting continues. APRIL 1. Easter, weather clear but cool as thousands pack churches and parade new fashions. 2. Seismograph sought to measure mine blasts causing damage in Forty Fort . . . Attorney Edward E. Hosey, solicitor for Plymouth Borough Council, dismissed . . . Boy wins bicycle in contest and wrecks it short time later. 3. Wilkes-Barre School board to ask bids to raze Union Street school and annex . . . Celotex Corporation of Chicago gets deed for land in Exeter Township. 4. Pumping stations go into operation as river starts to rise . . . Judge Benjamin R. Jones elected first president of Wyoming Valley United Fund . . . Republicans open campaign. 6. Susquehanna river crests at 22.50 feet . . . Robert Edgerton and Vaughn M. Bonham win Jaycee awards. 7. Six inches of snow covers Wyoming Valley with 14 inches in the mountains. 8. Wilkes-Barre Barons defeat Williamsport 90-87 to win the League President’s Cup playoffs. 9. John L. Lewis, UMWA international president, meets local anthracite leaders . . . Three Laflin homes damaged by stripping blasts. 10. Peter S. Butera, Pittston, pleads guilty to general charge of murder . . . International president Lewis and mine operators plan coal market growth and distribution of work time. 11. Property at South River and South Streets donated to Wilkes College to construct assembly hall and art center. 12. Peckville firm offers low bid for construction of Bear Creek Dam. 13. Four killed in airplane crash near Eagles Mere . . . Man decapitated as car runs over him . . . $700,000 job for Army obtained by Cohen-Fein Company. 14. Berwick husband and wife killed while celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary . . . Jewish Appeal opens drive for $283,200. 16. Many auto accidents over week end. 17. 4,000 attend opening of the 1956 Parade of Progress with Miss Pennsylvania, Pan Ulrich, among honored guests. 18. Stegmaier Brewiing Company honored for use of anthracite. 19. Wilkes College receives $558,000 gift . . . Mrs. Fred Eck, Shavertown, crowned “Mrs. Wyoming Valley” . . . Two small children run down by auto at Pittston. 20. Miss America, Sharon Kay Ritchie, arrives to crown Miss Sesquicentennial . . . Railroad police investigate shots fired at workers by teen-agers. 21. Seventeen persons dismissed at Retreat State Hospital . . . Miss Marvie Nadwodney crowned “Miss Sesquicentennial” at Parade of Progress . . . Seven injured in auto accidents on Narrows Highway . . . Fordham University team of New York win King’s College debate. 23. Mrs. Irvin Van Buskirk, Kingston, wins Sales Days auto . . . Wilkes College opens drive for 450,000. 24. Organization-backed candidates and incumbents gain clean sweep in spring Primary. 26. Ground broken for new Bear Creek Dam . . . Kirby Health Center celebrates 25th anniversary . . . Five injured in auto accident on Mountaintop-White Haven road. 27. Mayflower Village opens. 28. Thunderstorm whips valley, leaving much damage . . . Hazleton girl picked as Miss Army Recruiter . . . $8,000 fire at Carverton. 29. Second thunderstorm within 24 hours hits valley with damage running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Loyalty Day Parade held at Nanticoke . . . B’nai Brith temple holds its 112th meeting. 30. Plymouth youth killed and five injured in auto accident. MAY 1. Wilkes-Barre City School Board gets $550,000 loan from Miners National Bank . . . Police start drive on motorists who block way of street cleaners . . . Wilkes-Barre Rotary notes 40th year. 2. Closing of four Wilkes-Barre elementary schools recommended in near future . . . Three women hurt in auto accident on Dallas highway. 3. Sordoni Construction Company receives contract for Celotex plant at Harding . . . Police continue drive on illegal parking. 4. King’s College notes 10th anniversary . . . One killed and four hurt in auto accident. 5. Glen Alden Corporation production of anthracite in 1955-1956 coal year 4,227,276 tons, larger than that of any other anthracite firm. 6. Rains, accompanied by electrical storm, cause damage. 7. Attorney Patrick J. Flannery stricken while questioning witness in courtroom, dies within short time. 8. United Mine Workers call a strike at Glen Alden Corporation . . . Peter Butera, Pittston, found guilty of second degree murder, sentenced to 6 to 15 years . . . John Steve, Hanover Township Tax Collector, admits tax evasion in Federal Court, Scranton . . . Swoyersville trucker fatally crushed fixing body hoist on truck. 9. Wilkes College receives a gift of $100,000. 10. Forty-six graduated at General Hospital . . . Tom A. Evans, Wilkes-Barre City Treasurer, elected Republican chairman of Seventh Legislative District. 11. Letter to John L. Lewis, president of United Mine Workers of America from F. O. Case, president of Glen Alden Corporation, suggests joint consideration of health and welfare assessments . . . Auto leaves Dupont highway, crashes into home to injure seven. 12. Glen Alden Corporation pays April health fund quota of $151,237. 15. Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce holds 72nd annual dinner. 16. Sixty nurses graduated by Mercy Hospital . . . Luzerne County buys new $7,000 limousine. 18. Pennsylvania Legislature orders pay increases for Wilkes-Barre City Firemen. 19. Armed Forces Day celebrated . . . State Police arrest 18 in Nanticoke dice game raid. 20. Many auto accidents over week end . . . Man fatally injured when hit by train. 21. John “Dupont” Exter, former Dupont Police Chief, found guilty on five morals charges at Scranton. 22. Dr. George M. Bell, minister 60 years, honored. 23. The 105th annual meeting of the Wyoming Conference of the Methodist Church gets under way . . . Auto thief kidnaps Luzerne boy by mistake. 24. Falls boy killed by stray bullet . . . Howard H. Potter elected chairman of the board of Wyoming Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. 25. Donald O. Coughlin, Forty Fort, elected Republican chairman of Sixth Legislative District . . . Wyoming Confer- of Methodist Church announces salary boosts for ministers. 26. Eight men ordained priests in Roman Catholic Church at Scranton . . . Social services and Wyoming Valley Art League close Public Square display with gay fiesta. 27. Wyoming Conference of Methodist Church ordains eight into ministry, assigns new pastors to 10 area churches. 28. Misericordia College graduates 153 students . . . 1,000 greet Imperial Potentate Walter S. Guy of the Shriners at Irem Temple Country Club . . . Patrick J. Fisher, veteran newspaperman, dies. 30. Parades, services, cemetery and honor roll ceremonies, many auto accidents and one drowning mark Memorial Day . . . Pope Pius XII designates four Scranton Diocese priests as domestic prelates with rank of right reverend monsignor. 31. Severe electrical storm hits valley . . . Water main breaks on Old River Road. JUNE 1. Wyoming Valley Hospital graduates 17 young women . . . Wilkes-Barre worker killed in fall from turnpike bridge . . . Water services restored in South Wilkes-Barre after water main break . . . Station wagon hits East End home. 2. Democratic convention at Nanticoke State Armory reelects Dr. John L. Dorris by a vote of 648-123 over Attorney Thomas F. Gill, as Luzerne County chairman. 3. King’s College graduates 117 young men at seventh commencement. 4. Wilkes College graduates 187 men and women . . . Ground broken for new science hall at Wilkes College. . Father accidentally kills child with auto . . . Man kills hotel owner and then commits suicide. 5. Regional VA office leads all VA offices in performance of duties and service . . . Principal and two teachers quit Wilkes-Barre City schools. 6. One killed and three injured in auto accident at Dallas . . . Man killed when crushed between two coal trucks . . . Luzerne County Commissioners approve $150,000 loan to meet payrolls and other needs . . . Four injured slightly in auto accident on Route 309. 7. Kingston and Nanticoke honored by National Safety Council for no road deaths in two years. 8. Senate appropriations committee votes $2,250,000 for construction of Bear Creek Dam and $625,000 for Swoyersville-Forty Fort dike system . . . Wyoming Seminary Day School graduates 36 students . . . St. Ann’s Academy graduates 27 . . . Rev. Gerald Conmy, CSC, and Rev. Clement Podkosch, CSC, Wilkes-Barre, ordained at Fall river, Mass. 9. Six injured in head-on crash at West Wyoming. 10. Man killed and young woman injured in airplane crash at Lake Silkworth . . . Wyoming Seminary graduates 156 . . . 6,000 attend 20th annual Sokol Day at San Souci Park. 11. Government allocates additional $250,000 for construction of a new terminal building at Wilkes-Barre Scranton Airport. 12. Fight at Kinston Corners sends one man to hospital in critical condition . . . Peter D. Clark, Dallas, elected Republican chairman of Luzerne County. 13. Scranton Diocese lists summer assignments for 16 priests . . . Heat wave hits valley, temperature going to 91. 14. Man killed when homemade hedge cutter blade cracks . . . Coughlin High School graduates 227 students. 16. Scranton-Spring Brook Water Company opens Kingston office . . . Former Dallas boy killed by lightning at Boy Scout Camp. 17. World bicycle tourist arrives in Wilkes-Barre . . . many auto accidents occur as thousands take to highways to beat high temperatures. 18. Wanamie mine worker killed . . . Luzerne County Schools to receive $537,400, E. S. Teter, county superintendent of schools announces . . . Forest fire rages in Hanover township. 19. Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company honors 149 Little-Merchant high school graduates at dinner . . . Pennsylvania Marine Corps League opens 11th annual convention at Hotel sterling . . . Crane boom topples off flat car to damage home at Mocanaqua. 20. All city schools to be open in fall, Wilkes-Barre City School Board announces. 21. Man killed when struck by car at Mountaintop . . . Central Labor Union takes 50-year lease on GAR Memorial Hall, South Main Street . . . Foster Wheeler employes call strike. 22. Internal Revenue Department raids pin ball machines. 24. 4,000 witness induction of 280 new members into the Shrine at Irem Temple Country Club. 25. Personal tax of $10 voted by Wilkes-Barre City School Board. 26. Woman fatally shot at Tunkhannock, two male companions held . . . General Hospital receives check for $84,400 from Ford Foundation. 27. Four Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company printers retire . . . Bruce R. Peters named president of the Hanover National Bank of Wilkes-Barre . . . John J. Jaquish, Wyoming County Farm Agent, retires. 28. 53 men enlist in Navy’s Sesquicentennial Company . . . Six-County Volunteer Firemen open convention at Kingston. 30. Nanticoke man drowns at Scranton, boy visiting Wilkes-Barre drowns at Lake Silkworth . . . Area colleges receive $600,000 from Ford Foundation. JULY 1. Stegmaier Gold Medal Band starts summer band concerts at Kirby Park. 2. Five soldiers escape injury in auto crash on Ashley Boulevard . . . 145 local men recruited at Marine recruiting station during June. 3. Wilkes-Barre City School Board grants pay raises to non-professional employes . . . Public Square Playland receives additional aquipment. 4. Rain . . .5,000 attend Lehman Horse Show . . . Northeastern Pennsylvania without traffic fatality. 5. Many minor auto accidents . . . Central city store sales cause huge traffic jam. 6. Estranged husband kills self after critically shooting man in wife’s Trucksville home . . . Five persons injured in two Harveys Lake highway accidents. 7. Idetown mother and son killed in auto accident near Gettysburg . . . Man dies in hospital following auto accident on Harveys Lake Highway. 8. Elizabeth R. Sheehan honored as 50-year employe of Percy Brown Company . . . 12-inch water main breaks at Miners Mills . . . Back Mountain Library Auction draws thousands . . . Woman saved from drowning at Lake Silkworth. 9. Wyoming Valley alerted but tornado fails to make appearance. 10. Democratic state executive committee approves election of Dr. John L. Dorris as chairman of Luzerne County . . . Mine worker killed at Sugar Notch. 11. Severe storm hits rural areas but misses Wilkes-Barre . . . Nanticoke mine worker killed at Buttonwood Colliery. 13. 11,000 attend opening of Oral Robert’ crusade at Bone Stadium, Pittston . . . Bus fire at Old Forge spreads to Town Hall and causes severe damage. 14. Four persons injured in auto accident at Fernbrook. 15. Loyalty oath given 40 new members of Ground observer Corps at Court House station . . . Irish Day at Sans Souci draws 15,000 . . . Ten persons injured in auto accident at Idetown. 16. Turnpike worker killed in fall off bridge. 17. Ten Japanese arrive in Wilkes-Barre to tour industrial plants as guests of greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund, Incorporated. 20. Giants’ Despair Hill Climb record falls as two drivers course in less than one minute, with new record, 58.768 seconds, set by Carroll Shelby, Dallas, Texas . . . One driver killed in trials for road races at Brynfan Tyddyn’s course near Harvey’s Lake . . Wilkes-Barre “heavily bombed” during Civil Defense “air raid.” 21. Carroll Shelby, winner of the Giants’ Despair Hill Climb, also wins Brynfan Tyddyn’s road races at Harveys Lake. 22. 18,000 persons attend closing of oral Roberts’ revival . . . Thousands take to highways as sun makes appearance . . . Rev. George DePrizio, dean of King’s College, named provincial of Congregation of the Holy Cross Priests’ Eastern Province. 23. North Main Street gets new pavement. 24. Wilkes-Barre man shot in brawl at Stull, near Noxen . . . Rain for 18th day this month. 25. General State Authority announces additional $3,500,000 will be appropriated for construction of Luzerne County Institution for Defective Delinquents, Jackson Township. 27. The court dismisses Glen Alden Corporation’s appeal from 1956 valuation and assessment of its coal lands, surface lands, machinery and improvements in 17 Luzerne County municipalities . . . Miner killed by rock fall at Loomis Colliery. 29. Seven Wyoming Valley persons among 10 injured in derailment of miniature car at Nay Aug Park, Scranton. 30. Temperature drops to 47, new low for July 30 . . . Three Kingston families forced to flee when gas fumes fill homes. 31. Tree-year pact ends strike at Foster Wheeler . . . Cool weather forces some coal companies to work sixth day . . . Worker killed in rock fall at Lance Colliery. AUGUST 1. Anthracite demand so great mines work Saturdays . . . General State Authority awards $12 million in contracts for construction of institution for defective delinquents in Luzerne County. 2. Attorney John A. Gallagher resigns from Wilkes-Barre School Board. 3. Port Blanchard boy electrocuted on high tension tower . . . Brookside boy killed when struck by auto. 4. Mrs. Dorothy F. Lee killed in auto accident . . . Woman freed from Retreat Hospital to attend Oral Roberts’ services found dead in woods. 6. $25,000 fire sweeps Conlon Coal Company frame building, Plains . . . Fire at Trucksville does $7,000 damage. 7. Jersey Central fuse boxes open, light bulbs pop, signals, phones disrupted as shovel knocks 12,000-volt power line on wires . . . W. Craig Peters named on Wilkes-Barre School jobs . . . 46 health and welfare agencies join Wyoming Valley United Fund. 8. Five injured in head-on crash at Shavertown . . . Warm weather arrives. 9. Allegheny Airlines gets permit for air travel to Detroit. 10. Government allocates $160,000 to help fight fire in mines of West Side Coal Company . . . Many injured in local auto accidents. 11. 109th Field Artillery Battalion leaves for Indiantown Gap Military Reservation . . . One killed and many injured in auto accidents on local highways. 12. Heavy rains, accompanied by hail, fell trees and cut power lines . . . 4,000 attend Harveys Lake beauty contest. 13. Ohio man is sought after baby sitter is kidnapped at Benton . . . First Slovak Wreath of the Free Eagle opens its 34th convention at Hotel Sterling. 14. Two area residents on light plane missing on flight from New Jersey to Forty Fort airport . . . Betsy Long, kidnapped baby sitter, escapes from abductor in New York State . . . Mail truck driver killed in crash at Hunlock Creek. 15. 5,000 attend Shriners’ picnic at Irem Temple Country Club . . . Kidnaper of baby sitter, Harry (Jack) Bloomer, captured near Wellsboro. 16. Two local residents and a New Jersey man killed in plane missing for three days . . . 15-ton limb from 200-year old oak tree falls in Forty Fort. 17. Rev. Richard Gorman, CSC, named dean of King’s College . . . Nanticoke youth fatally hurt while driving at Lake Silkworth. 18. Mrs. Helen McHugh, who stepped on a sliver and developed lockjaw, dies in Mercy Hospital . . . Lightning does considerable damage to Route 115 near Lehman High School. 19. Woman killed and husband critically injured in auto crash at South Franklin and Horton streets . . . Dog biting wave hits valley. 21. East End Civic League, meeting with City Council, told plans for a swimming pool in 14th Ward will go through and the East End request will be filed. 22. Dr. Frank R. Hanlon dies of heart seizure . . . Thirty models selected for “Fashion Forecast for 1956,” to be held September 11 and 12 at Irem Temple. 23. Wyoming Valley Playground Association holds pagent in which approximately 1,500 children participate . . Local Navy man dies of injuries received in ship accident . . . Miss Marilyn Shaver, Shavertown, picked as “Miss Wilkes-Barre,” to compete in the “Miss Anthracite” contest. 24. Sixty-five local Westinghouse workers get automatic raises. 26. Seven local residents injured in auto accidents over week end. 27. Woman asphyxiated in city home . . . Mrs. Florence Lamoreaux Beaney, Luzerne County employe 34 years, retires . . . Woman killed at Wyoming when struck by auto . . . 3,000 attend Navy talent show at Irem Temple. 28. Severe storm sweeps valley. 29. St. Theres’s convent dedicated. 30 Coroner’s jury absolves driver in accident which claimed first two Wilkes-Barre auto fatalities this year. 31. Ten persons in one auto injured in Berwick accident . .. Labor day week end starts, thousands on highways. SEPTEMBER 1. Auto kills boy at Harding. 2. Nineteen injured in regional auto accidents . . . Nanticoke priest among four invested as Monsignori in Scranton Roman Catholic Diocese . . . Miss Mary Ann Strilka, Olyphant, named Miss Anthracite. 3. Boy almost electrocuted at Wilkes-Barre Township when he touches wires at plant . . . 500,000 persons visit Sans Souci Park during season . . . Local auto accidents few as Labor Day comes to a close. 4. City Council clears way for swimming pool on Parrish Street . . . City School Board appoints nine teachers. 5. City Schools enroll 8,493 . . . White Haven man arrested for sending threats through the mails. 6. Auto hit by train at Division Street, Kingston, crossing . . . Heavy rains flood streets . . . Wilkes College buys home and lot on South Franklin Street for expansion. 7. Local army recruiting office enlists 740 to date this year, highest in state . . . Rash of false fire alarms. 8. Nanticoke woman killed in auto accident at Stroudsburg. 9. Temperature drops to 39 degrees, breaks 26-year record . . . False fire alarms continue. 10. United Fund goal set at $1,334,955 . . . Temperatures range from 34 to 64 degrees . . . Fire destroys Household Rug Cleaning Plant at West Wyoming . . . King’s College welcomes 250 freshman. 11. East End branch of Parsons Citizens Bank opens . . . “Fashion Forecast for 1956” held at Irem Temple . . Wilkes College welcomes 400 new students. 12. Hanover man captured after robbing Mocanaqua bank . . . Nesbitt Memorial Hospital School of Nursing graduates 35. .. Standard Brewing Company property, Kingston, sold for $25,000. 13. West Wyoming child lost three and one-half hours found after search by 100 persons. 14. General James Van Fleet visits Wyoming Valley . . . Jews observe Yom Kippur. 15. Tom Hart observes 50th anniversary in real estate business. 16. Two men killed in regional auto accidents. 18. Luzerne County contributes $333,971 to cancer resarch in nine years . . . John R. Dudley, city, Pennsylvania’s first Negro State trooper, resigns. 19. Lehman Methodist Church celebrates 100th anniversary. 20. Temperatures drop to 40 degrees . . . Misericordia College opens new recreation hall . . . Forty-one Newport Township boys become members of newly formed Luzerne County Association of Junior Deputy Sheriffs. 21. Transit Company driver dies while operating bus . . . Mrs. Gertrude V. Bedford, Wilkes-Barre, selected as one of Pennsylvania’s Distinguished Daughters . . . Removal of towers atop City Hall completed. 22. Rose Brader, United Fund labor representative, honored at dinner. 23. Rev. Joseph B. Pilny, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul’s Church, Plains, honored at dinner marking 25th year as pastor of church . . . Monsignor John M. Puskar, JCL, pastor of St. Joseph’s Slovak Church, Nanticoke, honored on his investiture as a Domestic Prelate of the Roman Catholic Church . . . Immanuel Baptist Church, Edwardsville, celebrates 70th anniversary. 24. Mountaintop and Dallas school sites approved by Luzerne County Board of School Directors . . . Juvenile, being transported to Camp Hill Industrial School, slashes probation officer with homemade knife . . . Mrs. Ethel Acker, Kingston, wins top prize of $1,000 in Sales Days Contest . . . Tree, being cut down, falls and damages homes in Kingston . . . City police and fireman ask salary raises. 25. Dr. Wilbur H. Fleck, president emeritus of Wyoming Seminary, honored at dinner . . . Republican State and National candidates tour area . . . King’s College student dies from carbon monoxide fumes while repairing auto. 26. Many persons injured in regional auto accidents. 27. Luzerne County Polish Americans honor U.S. Representative Antoni N. Sadlak of Connecticut . . . Hurricane, passing along coast, sends rains over area. 29. First Presbyterian Church of Plymouth celebrates 100th anniversary. OCTOBER 1. Congressman Joseph W. Martin, Jr., House of representatives minority leader, visits Wilkes-Barre . . . Cold September with low of 39 degrees recorded. 2. Plumbers end strike . . . Lodge 109, Elks, honor local newspaper men and women during Newspaper Week. 3. Adlai Stecenson, Democratic Presidential nominee, speaks on Public Square . . . Six priests get first pastorates, seven pastors are reassigned in Scranton Diocese of the Catholic Church. 4. St. Boniface Church celebrates 60th anniversary . . . Rev. Dr. Joseph L. Weisley honored on 50th year in pastorate. 5. First Presbyterian Church, Plymouth, marks 100th anniversary . . . State property at Chase, Jackson Township, partially destroyed by vandals and burglars. 7. Fire Prevention Week starts. 8. Linear Corporation, Philadelphia, leases Fernbrook Mills plant . . . 4,000 volunteers open United Fund campaign. 9. Anthracite Institute announces, 17,641,000 tons produced from January 1 to October 1956, an increase of 6.8 per cent for the same period in 1955. 10. Luzerne County registration Commission announces 193,868 eligible to vote on November 6. 11. Two area fliers among 59 lost on plane in Atlantic Ocean . . . Public and private schools show enrollment of 49,922 . . . Four arrested for destruction of State property at Chase. 12. Shekinah Royal Arch Masons, Chapter 182, celebrates 100th anniversary. 14. Rev. John A. Suchos, St. Stanislaus Institute, Sheatown, celebrates 50th anniversary as a priest . . . Many auto accidents over week end. 15. Local 109th Field Battalion observes 181st anniversary . . . 1,000 persons attend Night of Music at Irem Temple. 16. Eight injured in head-on collision at Trucksville . . . Tunkhannock youth, visiting New York City with school class, stabbed by thug . . . Ted Kroll, world’s golf champion, plays exhibition match at Wyoming Valley Country Club. 19. Fire at Kew-T-Novelty Company, Larksville, causes heavy damage . . . Joseph S. Clark, Philadelphia, candidate for the United States Senate, honored by International Ladies Garment Workers Union . . . Pittston boy, accidentally shot while guns were being cleaned, dies en route to hospital. 20. Eighty-year-old Plains man killed by auto while crossing street. 21. Altar, made of anthracite coal, dedicated at King’s College. 23. Economy Stores hold 27th annual dinner . . . Dr. Frank P. Graham, United National Mediator, speaks at Wilkes College. 24. Vandals damage King’s College buildings. 25. Rock python found in Henry Colliery yard . . . John J. McSweeney, editor of Times-Leader, Evening News, undergoes operation at Packer Hospital, Sayre. 26. East End Primitive Methodist Church celebrates 85th anniversary . . . Harry Bloomer convicted in Sweet Valley kidnapping case. 27. Man killed when struck by auto on Main Street, Duryea. 28. Local banks announces Christmas Club checks total $5,465,342 . . . Rev. James E. Gryczka honored on his 50th year as a priest and 40th years as pastor of St. Hedwig’s Church, Kingston . . . Bishop Jerome D. Hannon dedicates 24-foot statue of Christ the King atop King’s College. 29. Luzerne County Democrates hold $50 a plate dinner at Irem Temple . . . Judge Ben R. Jones honored by Luzerne County Manufacturers Association. 30. United Fund raises $1,261,414. or 94.5 per cent of goal . . . Food Pageant Week marked in connection with Wilkes-Barre Sesquicentennial. 31. Glen Alden receives $750,587 for coal under Cross-Valley Viaduct . . . Hanover Township woman wins $140,000 in Irish Sweepstakes . . . Evening masses held in local Catholic Churches for first time. NOVEMBER 1. 6,000 persons greet Vice President and Mrs. Richard M. Nixon at Public Square rally . . . Heights woman asphyxiated at her home. 2. New additions to Wyoming Valley Hospital opened. 3. Coal prices increased 25 cents a ton on all sizes with the exception of barley, which was increased 10 cents a ton. 4. Rev. Robert Graham, pastor of Ashley Presbyterian Church, announces he will retire. 5. Wilkes-Barre City Council introduces ordinance to compel landlords to provide a minimum of 72-degree heat between 6:30 A.M. and 1 A.M., and 68 degrees degrees between 1 A.M. and 6:30 A.M. 6. Luzerne County gives President Eisenhower 27,597 lead over Adlai Stevenson in unofficial returns . . . Judge Ben R. Jones receives 85,162 county votes for Supreme Court. 7. Three men killed in gas explosion at Askam Shaft of Truesdale Colliery . . . Three injured in auto accident at West Wyoming. 8. Cross Valley Viaduct over river near Nanticoke opens . . . Fourth main in gas explosion at Askam Shaft dies . . . Fire in mail box at Stanton Street and Hazle Avenue consumes 20 to 30 letters. 9. Police arrest two youths in connection with mail box fire. 11. Thousands crowd Central City to see Veterans Day parade . . . Forty regional men enlist in Air Force during Public Square ceremonies . . . Record cold set with 18-degree reading. 12. Wyoming Valley’s United Fund drive donations of $1,261,414 reported third largest in State . . . Six Kingston men injured in auto accident in Hanover Township. 13. Wilkes-Barre Mozart Club celebrates 50th anniversary . . . Fire causes $2,000 damage at Kingston home. 14. Ground broken for Parish Street swimming pool . . . Governor Leader replaces Nanticoke State Hospital board of trustees . . . Three brothers arrested for allegedly selling motor vehicles without serial numbers . 100 candidates initiated into Caldwell Consistory. 15. Two men killed in explosion at DuPont Company Mill, Belin Village, Moosic . . . County Commissioners give 5 acre tract of land to Department of Defense for construction of Marine and Air Force training centers. 16. Pennsylvania Railroad brings antique equipment to Wilkes-Barre to help observe Sesquicentennial . . . City fireman reject the proposed wage increase offered by Council. 17. Triangle Shoe Company, Incorporated, plans $400,000 warehouse on South Wyoming Avenue, Kingston . . . One-half inch snowfall hits valley. 18. $1,000 fire damages Loomis Street home . . . Five injured in auto accident on Route 115. 19. Wyoming Valley Tuberculosis and Health Society notes 50th anniversary . . . Harry Bloomer, kidnaper of Sweet Valley girl, gets 6-year term . . . 12,000 colored bulbs installed on Public Square and along central city streets. 20. City Council increases tax rate 3.4 mills bringing total levy to 12.9 mills . . . Coal haulers boast rates 20 cents a ton . . . Driver killed when auto hits train on East Northampton Street, Wilkes-Barre Township . Kingston woman killed in fall down steps at her home. 21. PUC orders Pennsylvania power and Light Company to refund $6,320,736 to consumers . . . Seven injured in auto accident on South Franklin Street, city. 22. Thousands attend Thanksgiving Day religious services, football games and dances . . . Valley experiences cold weather, high for day, 40 degrees . . . Plymouth Township youth accidentally shot while hunting . . . two injured in auto accident on Cross Valley Viaduct . . . Two injured in Carverton auto accident. 23. Exeter Acme Store manager murdered in his auto at Wyoming . . . 15-year-old Nescopeck boy killed while hunting . . . Fire destroys home at Albert, Wright Township . . . City uses salt first time to rid streets of snow. 25. Fire does $30,000 damage to Swoyersville apartment house . . . Three injured in auto accident on Ashley Boulevard. 26. John L. Lewis arrives for talks concerning new anthracite contract. 27. National Safety Council awards 35 safe driving certificates to Wilkes-Barre Post Office employes . . . United Mine Workers and Anthracite operators sign one-year contract. 28. Little Theatre opens its new home, former Sterling Theater, on North Main Street. 29. Truck runs wild and crashes on Ashley Boulevard . . . Work progressing rapidly on Bear Creek reservoir. 30. Wilkes-Barre emerges from “depressed area” category as unemployment drops less than 12 per cent . . . Andrew S. Medvec, Mocanaqua Bank robber, sentenced to serve two five-year terms running concurrently. Typed by Robin and Cynthia Stone , June 2004