WILKES-BARRE RECORD ALMANAC

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RECORD OF LOCAL EVENTS
Principal Happenings in Luzerne County for the Year Which Began December 1, 1956 and Ended November 30, 1957

DECEMBER, 1956 

1. Two Canadians arrested trying to steal automobile in city. 
 
2. Route 115 closed for two hours due to snow and freezing rain . . . Many auto accidents over week end. 

3. Dushore youth accidentally killed while hunting . . . Luzerne County School Boards select new officers for 
coming year . . . Survey shows dike, along Riverside Drive, dropped during recent mine subsidence . . Regional
hunters kill 600 deer first day of season. 

4. Wilkes-Barre City Council passes heating law requiring landlords to provide a minimum of 68 degrees between 
6:30 a. m. and 10 p. m. from September 15 to June 1 with night minimum 60 degrees  . . . Two South Wilkes-
Barre persons overcome by gas . . . Hotel Redington opens new cocktail lounge. 

5. North Wilkes-Barre woman victim of gas fumes . . . Gerald D. Crary, Shrine Imperial Potentate, attends 
induction of 168 at Irem Temple. 

6. Dr. John M. Lumley, superintendent of Wilkes-Barre City Schools, resigns. 

7. Local Navy Reserve marks l0th anniversary  . . . Wilkes-Barre City tax office reports collections running 
behind 1955. 

8. Merger of First National Bank of Ashley with Miners National Bank of Wilkes-Barre approved by directors of 
the banks. 

9. Rain, sleet, snow and cold hit region; many auto accidents follow. 

10. Allen E. Bacon becomes Wilkes-Barre City School superintendent on a temporary basis . . . John Steve, 
Hanover Township tax collector, sentenced to two years and two days for income tax evasion. James Tierney, 
involved in Steve case, sentenced to one year and one day. 

11. Hazleton Bank employe accused of embezzling $19,288 . . . Bloomsburg State Teachers College students pay 
for paint damage to King's College, Knights of Columbus and Wilkes-Barre City buildings.
 
12. Wilkes-Barre firemen and policemen to get $400 raises, other city workers $250 raises. 
13. 18,000 children in Luzerne County receive free polio shots. 

14. Local Army recruiting office to be consolidated with Harrisburg office. Joint processing and induction 
also affected.
 
15. Wilkes-Barre police arrest Kingston man for hit-run auto accident. 

16. 50th anniversary marked by Anshe Ahavas Achim Synagog, Exeter . . . Many auto accidents mar week end. 

17. United Fund allocates $1,251,414 to member agencies . . . John Steve and James J. Tierney sent to 
Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. 

18. Wilkes-Barre police put on six-day week to help Christmas traffic . . . Employment in Wilkes-Barre-
Hazleton Labor Market Area Teaches 123,600 . . . 1,651 more children receive Salk shots. 

19. Court gives Pittston City authority to raise tax levy to 17 mills. 

20. Jersey Central Railroad accident injures brakeman in Hanover Township . . . Six-inch water main breaks at 
Carey Avenue and Academy Street. 

21. Dr. William J. McCarty, manager of Veterans Hospital, transferred to Vancouver, Wash . . . Three-car 
crashed by post office to handle Christmas mail. 

22. Many auto accidents follow snow flurries . . . Franklin Federal Savings and Loan association installs 
chime clock. 

23. Auto accident at Mountaintop cuts electrical power seven hours. 

24. Weather fair; late shoppers jam stores . . . Susquehanna River crests at 12.34 feet . . . Two Wilkes-Barre 
Publishing Company printers take pensions . . . Mountaintop man arrested for attempting to dynamite family.

25. Two killed in Narrows Highway crash . . . Hanover Township nurse found: LC dead in auto at Poughkeepsie, 
N.Y. . . . Two anonymous donors give St. Michael's Industrial School $2,000 to bring a total of $12,885 
realized at Christmas dinner dance. 

26. Judges J. J. Aponick, T. M. Lewis and F. L. Pinola win Republican endorsements for reelection . . . 
Parrish Street to swimming pool 60 per cent completed . . . Many injured in auto accidents. 

27. Wilkes-Barre Sesquicentennial Ball draws 3,000 to West Side Armory  . . . Regular postal employes granted 
time off for extra holiday work . . . Wilkes College holds annual wrestling tournament with 45 colleges 
represented. 

28. Rain, snow and low temperatures bring icy roads and many auto accidents. 

29. Kosciuszko Foundation holds annual ball at Hotel Sterling . . . Three injured in crash at Kingston 
intersection. 

30. Temperatures drop to 10 degrees above in the city and 2 degrees below in the mountains . . . Three 
Hungarian refugees to live in Kingston benefactors' home.  

31. Wilkes-Barre City Building Inspector's office announces building permits for $3,640,424.50 issued in 1956. 
Lehigh Valley Railroad raises fares . . . Hoyt Library, Kingston, celebrates Its 29th anniversary. 

JANUARY, 1957 

1. Two city fires cause severe damage of to homes at East End and Newtown . . . Luzerne County's 
Representatives and new Senator take offices at Harrisburg . . . Many auto accidents mar arrival of New Year. 

2. Glen Alden Corporation reopens Number 20 tunnel at Warrior Run . . . Auto accidents continue.  

3. Wilkes-Barre post office receipts for 1956 $1,800,446.16, or $31,663 over 1955 . . . Cold wave continues 
in valley . . . Dr. Wilbur Fleck honored by Kiwanis.  

4. Dorranceton Methodist Church acquires Lathrop property, Kingston . . . Judge Ben Jones resigns as Luzerne 
County Orphans' Court Judge . . . Grass fire at Georgetown spreads to sheds and causes considerable damage. 

6. Fire at Luzerne causes $20,000 damage  . . . Jewish Community Center honors Aaron Weiss and late Morris 
Weiss. 

7. Benjamin R. Jones sworn as Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice . . . Park Avenue apartment building damaged 
by fire . . . Report on Luzerne County by Pennsylvania Economy League shows need for release of 151 employes 
to save $450,000. 

8. Valley banks elect directors and make changes in personnel at annual stock- holders' meetings.
 
9. Three killed, two hurt in auto accident at Shickshinny . . . Snow, rain and sleet hit valley making travel 
hazardous . . . City engineer reports dike along Riverside Drive settled an additional inch since December 13,
1956, with settlement totaling 14 inches since February, 1954. 

10. Four Wilkes-Barre City policemen suspended after arrest for alleged city store thefts . . . Maj. Charles 
J. McRae, State Police, honored at dinner . . . Snow and sleet again hit valley as road conditions remain 
hazardous. 

11. Grand Jury returns 74 true bills  . . . Snow continues, auto accidents mount  . . . Mine worker killed 
and two injured by fall of rock at Larksville Coal Company. 

12. Cold wave hits valley with temperatures down to 2 degrees above zero in city. 

13. Temperatures fall to zero in city and five degrees below in mountains . . . Woman overcome by coal gas in 
South Washington Street apartment . . . House trailer on Ashley By-pass destroyed by fire.

14. Mercury drops below zero at Avoca airport as snow continues and auto accidents mount. 

15. Snow continues to fall as do temperatures . . . Avoca airport reports 10 degrees below zero . . . Wilkes-
Barre City school board lets $84,590 contract for construction and repairs to roof of Meyers High School. 

16. Four doctors, with 50 years service each, honored by Luzerne County Medical Society . . Edwin E. Connell, 
Scranton, elected Potentate of Irem Temple AAONMS . . . Cold weather continues. 

17. Great demand for home use causes temporary shortage of coal.

18. Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Weiss donate River Street building to Wilkes College as college purchases another 
building . . . Mine worker killed at Inman shaft.

19. Eberhard Faber, Mountaintop, produces first pencils at its new plant . . . Many persons injured while 
sledding.

20. Cold wave ends as temperatures reach 36 degrees . . . Many auto accidents occur as snow and ice melt.

21. Central Railroad of New Jersey opens radio control tower at Ashley yards ...Attorney J. Thirwall Griffith 
elected president of Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association.

22. Robert Edgerton selected as Wyoming Valley’s “Outstanding Young Man of the Year." . . . North Wilkes-Barre 
man killed by train while walking across North Main Street crossing.

23. Luzerne County Commissioners slate $9.015,298.11 in two budgets... Temperatures drop 46 degrees in five 
hours, halting rise of Susquehanna River  . . . Thieves steal $200 from St. Frances Cabrini Church, Carverton.

24. Attorney J. Julius Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, resigns . . . Ensign 
Vincent Garvey, Forty Fort, missing as plane crashes in Georgia . . . Wyoming Valley Taxpayers Association 
attacks Luzerne County Institution District's plan for a home of the aged . . . Eastern conference of 
International Stereotypers and Electrotypers opens at " Hotel Sterling . . . Local school teacher’s body 
found on Long Island seashore.

25. Ensign Vincent Garvey's body found in wrecked plane . . . Subsidence of dike along Riverside Drive damages
Ross Street pumping station . . . Young man’s body found in cab of power shovel at Sugarloaf . . . West 
Pittston youth killed by auto while hitchhiking at Daleville . . .  Wilkes College student killed in auto 
accident in Pike County.

26. Lawley Granite Surface Plate Company, Wyoming, damaged by fire.

27. Pittston boy, sledding, killed by auto . . . American Legion pays tribute to Rev. Edward P. Nolan, 
Mountaintop, chaplain. 

28. Train hits stalled car at Hazle Avenue crossing . . . Truck driver killed in mishap on Route 11 . . . 
Freezing rain hits valley . . . F. E. Parkhurst Kingston, elected president of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. 
Plains home damaged by mine blast vibrations. 

29. Five die in bus-car crash on Route 115, Effort Mountain . . . U.S. Army keeps three stations, recruiting, 
examining and induction, in Veterans Administration Building. 

30. First Lt. Richard B, Collett, Trucksville, killed in plane crash in Massachusetts . . . River sinks two 
feet, authorities report . . . Pennsylvania Power and Light Company lowers rates as instructed by Public 
Utilities Commission.

31. Luzerne County Infantile Paralysis Foundation collects $18,663 in March of Dimes campaign . . . Fifty-five 
Wyoming boys sworn as Junior Deputy Sheriffs.

FEBRUARY

I. Four inches of snow covers area, traffic disrupted, planes grounded at Avoca Airport and many auto 
accidents . . . Private plane, lost in snowstorm and unable to land at Avoca Airport, descends on un finished 
section of Turnpike at Moosic.

3. Mrs. Elizabeth H. Barrall, Nanticoke, honored on 100th birthday anniversary ...Train hits auto at 
Swoyersville, driver slightly injured . . . General alarm fire causes $5,000 damage at Nanticoke . . . Hart 
Theater, Hazle Avenue, entered, candy machine damaged and money taken.

4. Auto accident at Dallas Township, kills 6-year-old girl and injures six other persons . . . Razing of 
Ashley passenger and freight station of Central Railroad of New Jersey starts . . . Runaway auto on South 
Franklin Street kills man entering doctor's office.

5. Kingston Methodist Church destroyed by fire . . . Carey Avenue School sold for $10,000 . . . Wyoming Valley 
Hospital opens building fund drive for $125,000.

6. Investigation of Kingston Methodist Church fire launched . . . Luzerne County Commissioners fire 11 and 
transfer 13 employes . . . Fire destroys double block and damages another home at Swoyersvi11e. 

7. Road conditions good but rash of auto accidents occur . . . Two persons seriously injured on Route 115 at 
Blakeslee . . . Northwest Area High School, Union Township, formally dedicated . . . Gas Company employes
repair broken main on West River Street.

8. One killed, two injured when auto hits train on Blackman Street crossing ... City streets in poor condition
due to weather.

9. Six persons injured in central city auto accident.

10. Kingston Methodist Church members decide to start a fundraising campaign to rebuild church . . . Five 
hundred attend National Association of Letter Carriers rally at Pittston.

11. Anthracite burns again on 149th anniversary of first burning in grate at Old Fell House . . . Three men 
arrested for series of robberies in Kingston Township . . . Attorney Arthur A. Maguire, Plains, nominated for 
Judge of Luzerne County Orphans' Court.

12. Holy Name parish, Swoyersville, buys property in Forty Fort to build school ...Governor Leader submits to 
Senate name of Arthur A. Maguire, Plains, for Luzerne County Orphans' Court judge.

13. Lassie, movie and television dog, arrives in town ...Taxable wealth of Luzerne County for 1957 announced 
as $265,795,783, $2,531,411 less than 1956.

14. Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund receives $720,000 from Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority. 
Forty-nine student nurses receive caps at General Hospital . . . Earth movement in West River Street, 
Riverside Drive area, causes damage to water and gas mains, dike and pump stations.

15. Nanticoke State Hospital's new board of trustees dismiss seven, appoints nine and makes many changes in 
personnel ... Very Rev. Nicholas Chopey, pastor of St. Mary's Greek Rite Catholic Church, Wilkes-Barre, 
retires. Forty-eight student nurses receive caps at Mercy Hospital.

16. Georgetown University wins King's College intercollegiate debating tournament.

17. Snowstorm hits area, many auto accidents follow . . . Heights man arrested for slashing wife and brother-
in-law with knife. 

18. United Mine Workers. District 1, open fourth quadrennial convention in Jewish Community Center . . . 
Hanover Township Legion Home destroyed by fire ...Bob Mullery, St. Vincent's High School basketball player, 
sets Pennsylvania High School scoring mark with 92 points in one game.

19. Wilkes-Barre officials, army engineers and other interested parties meeting in City Hall, decide mining 
caused settlements in South Wilkes-Barre and vicinity. 

20. Jersey Central train derailed at Hanover. 

21. Scranton-Spring Brook Water Service Company reports between 35 and 40 gas and water main breaks in South 
Wilkes-Barre area in 60 days . . . Lehigh Valley Coal Corporation's consolidated net income for 1956 totals 
$1,028,466, an in crease of $688,515 over 1955. 
 
22. United States congressional subcommittee on coal research meets in Wilkes-Barre Post Office building . . 
Explosion at Independent Explosive Company, Suscon, injures one man . . . Sixty-five-foot hydraulically 
operated aerial ladder truck arrives for Wilkes-Barre Fire Department . . . Wilkes-Barre officials take steps 
to repair damaged dike along Riverside Drive.

23. Many minor auto accidents occur.

24. Rev. Robert Graham, pastor of Ashley Presbyterian Church for 35 years, reads final sermon and retires. 
Rash of brush fires keeps valley firemen on the move . . . Temperatures rise to 60 degrees.

25. Arthur A. Maguire, Plains, swore as Judge of Luzerne County Orphans' Court . . . Mayor Luther M. Kniffen 
sends letter to President Eisenhower requesting federal funds to repair damaged dike.
 
26. Northeastern Pennsylvania Restaurant Association holds fifth annual dinner at Hotel Sterling . . . Civil 
Aeronautics Board orders Allegheny Airlines to serve Hazleton.

27. Wyoming Valley Hospital fund hits $91,945 in it's drive for $12,000 . . . Local ice cream truck halted at 
Washington, N.J. by members of Tri State Master Dairy Farmers Guild, which is striking for higher milk prices. 
Luzerne County Court asked to stop merger of Glen Alden Corporation and the Maremont Corporation of Chicago. 
Cold weather drops mercury from 54 degrees to 18 degrees.

28. New substance in South Wilkes-Barre breaks water main and sewer lines  . . . Riverside Drive closed to 
traffic  . . . Striking members of Tri State Master Farmers Guild dump 80 cans of milk destined for Grablick 
Dairy, Pittston  . . . Huber mine worker killed under fall of rock  . . . Shoppers jam city stores on first 
day of Wilkes-Barre Sales Days.

MARCH

1. Sleet covers area streets and highways, causing many minor auto accidents.

2. Auto accidents continue with many injured persons taken to hospitals.

3. North Wilkes-Barre man accidentally wounds self with .22 –caliber rifle.

4. Permit obtained to raze Orpheum and Penn Theaters  . . . Mrs. Alice Hreha, Lyndwood, wins $1,000 first 
prize in Sales Days contest  . . . Wilkes-Barre man killed in 53-foot fall while working at Berwick.

5. Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association honors Justice Ben R. Jones at dinner  . . . No danger of dike 
breach during a flood, contention of Army Engineers after inspection  . . . Wilkes-Barre school board sells 
property at North Washington and East Union Streets for $37,101.

6. Two killed, three hurt in auto-truck accident on Daleville highway  . . . Kingston Methodist Church starts 
$300,000 campaign to build a new church.

7. Court hearing opens on petition for an injunction to prevent a Glen Alden Corporation merger with Maremont 
Automotive Products Incorporated, Chicago  . . . Forty Fort-Kingston Kiwanis Club donates $500 to Kingston 
Methodist Church building fund  . . . Grand Jury indicts four suspended Wilkes-Barre policemen and one former 
policeman for alleged thefts from central city business establishments.

8. Attorney Gilbert S. McClintock elected new president of Wyoming Valley United Fund  . . . Rain, sleet and 
snow hits region, making highways slippery.

9. Glen Alden Corporation and Maremont Products, Incorporated, agree to drop merger plans. 

10. Pittston Township woman dies from burns received when furnace explodes  . . . Former Governor John S. 
Fine announces return to the Luzerne County political scene.

11. Woman dies of injuries suffered in Mountaintop auto accident.

12. Bear Creek Dam’s 1145-foot tunnel blasted through  . . . Two injured when auto and truck collide at 
intersection of Routes 115 and 315 near VA Hospital.

13. Shrine circus opens in West side Armory  . . . New furniture store, neat Veterans Administration Hospital,
destroyed by fire. . . Ashley Presbyterian Church Honors retiring pastor, Rev. Robert Graham  . . . Kingston 
Methodist Church reaches 58 percent of goal of $300,000 to build new church.

14. Wyoming Valley Hospital appeal for $125,000 building fund goes over top with donations amounting to 
$131,644  . . . Thirty-seven grass and brush fires in city in one day  . . . Temperature hits 73 degrees.

15. Mine workers killed by fall of rock at Woodward Colliery  . . . Area hospitals receive $717,050 in 
additional grants from the Ford Foundation  . . . Two Kingston boys injured when dynamite cap explodes in 
kitchen of their home  . . . Wilkes College opens $60,000 scholarship fund drive.

16. The 68th Cynonfardd Eisteddfod held at Edwards Memorial Congregational Church, Edwardsville. 

17. Five hundred attend St. Patrick’s Day dinner held by Pittston Friendly Sons of St. Patrick  . . . Three 
inured in auto accident at Pittston.

18. Flood of nominating petitions filed with Luzerne County Election Bureau as political campaign opens.

19. Dorranceton Methodist Church’s new church house consecrated by Bishop F. P. Corson of Philadelphia  . . . 
Joint County Airport Board approves plans for new terminal building at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.

20. Spring arrives but temperatures average only 32 degrees for the day  . . . Miss Grace W. Estes, retiring 
Osterhout librarian, honored at dinner.

21. U.S. Army engineers place reference pins in dike south of Ross Street  . . . Auto accidents send several 
persons to local hospitals.

22. Old Forge grades school destroyed by fire  . . . Fire destroys Avondale home  . . .  $230,159 pledged for 
construction of new Kingston Methodist Church  . . . Temperature reads 48 degrees

23. Man accidentally shot while shooting rats at Pittston City dump  . . . St. Vincent’s, Plymouth, wins 
Class B. PCIAA Basketball title by defeating St. Casimir’s of Pittsburgh 74-65. 

24. Rabbi Jerome Kerzner installed as spiritual leader of Ohav Zedek Congregation  . . . Formation of Labor-
Management-Citizens Committee announced by William O. Sword, president of Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund, 
Incorporated.

25. Two Marymount High School students injured when struck by auto on South Hancock Street  . . . Fire does 
slight damage to Sans Souci Park pavilion  . . . Stegmaier Gold Medal Band presents “Night of Music” in Irem 
Temple  . . . Luzerne County Republican Organization, headed by Peter D. Clark, opposed by full slate of Real 
Republicans, headed by former Governor John S. Fine; Luzerne County Democratic Organization, headed by Dr. 
John L. Dorris, opposed by full slate of free Democrats, headed by James Lenahan Brown and Joseph V. Kasper.

26. Career Day held at three city high schools by Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis  . . . Rain, sleet and snow hit valley.

27. Hugh A. Carr, Jr., elected president of Wilkes-Barre Junior Chamber of Commerce  . . . Many minor auto 
accidents follow rain and sleet.

28. Three men arrested in connection with 74 auto hub cap robberies  . . . U.S. Army Engineers assure city 
dike will hold if flood waters come. 

29. Two boys arrested for stealing antique guns from Wyoming Historical and Geological Society  . . . Wilkes 
College Scholarship Fund hits $57,185 or 95.3 percent of goal  . . . Edgar A. Plummer retires as Wilkes-Barre 
Publishing Company printer.

30. Many minor auto accidents.

31. March weather has wide range, high of 75 degrees on the 14th, low of 18 degrees on the 5th, precipitation 
measured 1.64 inches of rain and snow  . . . Thomas F. Heffernan, editor of Sunday Independent injured in auto
accident on Huntsville-Idetown Highway  . . . St. Ann’s Academy presents annual concert at Irem Temple  . .  
Some 30,000 pounds of clothing collected by Wyoming Valley Council of Churches in annual drive . . . Wilkes-
Barre City Police ambulance makes 102 trips to city hospitals in March.

APRIL

1. Northeastern extension of Pennsylvania Turnpike opens  . . . Dike drops four inches along Riverside Drive. 
Dinner honoring ex-Governor John S. Fine as “Father” of Northeastern extension of Pennsylvania Turnpike, held 
at Mayfair Club.

2. United States Government allocates $212,580 for work at Wilkes-Barre--Scranton Airport . . . Luzerne County
Republic opens headquarters  . . . Cancer crusade opens  . . . Pay boost of $8 averts strike by Brewery 
Workers’ Union  . . . Wilkes-Barre Council has first reading of ordinance prohibiting persons 18 and under to 
play pinball machines  . . . Holy Name Church, Swoyersville, breaks ground for new school at Forty Fort.

3. Glen Alden Corporation declares a dividend of 20 cents a share  . . . Luzerne County pays $75,000 toward 
new Wilkes-Barre—Scranton Airport terminal.

4. Heart Fund drive goes over the top with contributions totaling $30,431.44  . . . Wyoming Valley covered by 
snow, river goes to 7.5 feet and still rising  . . . Mayor Kniffen asks council to increase, temporarily, 
working hours of city police to 44 hours a week  . . . Auto accidents numerous due to snow and slippery 
pavements.

5. Luzerne County employes vote 431 to 31 to obtain Social Security status  . . . River rises, water mains 
break, cellars of homes flooded as rain melts snow  . . . Melvin Smith, Wilkes-Barre gunsmith, convicted in 
federal court of illegal possession of eight 50-caliber machine guns  . . . John Sorokas, Wilkes-Barre city 
policeman, retires after 30 years’ service.

6. Eight Luzerne County Hospitals accredited by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals.

7. Mrs. Rita Serhan, Stanton Street, found murdered in bedroom of her home  . . . Susquehanna River crests at 
20.5 feet, removing threat of lowland flooding  . . . East Lynn boy killed when kite touches electric wire.

8. Real Republicans, headed by Ex-Governor John S. Fine, open headquarters  . . . Luzerne County Independent 
Political Party formed  . . . Wilkes-Barre Community Concert Association marks 25th anniversary  . . . Wilkes-
Barre police start 44-hour week  . . . Avoca man killed by rock fall at P. and J. Coal Company, Inkerman . . 
Swoyersville homes flooded by heavy rains.

9. River dike along Riverside Drive, checked by U.S. Army Engineers  . . . Edwardsville youth and nine 
juveniles held in series of West Side thefts  . . . Pothole, 50 feet deep, appears on Swoyersville property.

10. Fire alarm box at East Union Street and North Pennsylvania Avenue falls when truck hits pole  . . . Ex-
Governor Fine feted on birthday anniversary.

11. Post offices to close on Saturdays, Postmaster William W. Davis reports  . . . Coughlin High School holds 
Science Fair  . . . Wilkes-Barre City Hall gets paint job  . . . Ross Street pumping station foundations 
continue to settle, Army Engineers report.

12. St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church and rectory at Mildred destroyed by fire  . . . Two accidents 
on Wilkes-Barre Hazelton Highway take on life and injure four others  . . . Five Old Forge men held for series 
of Luzerne County burglaries.

13. Post offices closed Saturdays and Sundays on order of Postmaster General  . . . Orchard Street boy 
injured when hit by auto.

14. Auto accident at Lee Park sends two to Mercy Hospital.

15. Fire destroys Dial Rock breaker at Exeter  . . . Four hundred attend Wilkes Science Show.

16. Serve-Your-City Club note 40th anniversary  . . . Wilkes-Barre City Council passes ordinance prohibiting 
persons 18 and younger to play pinball machines.

17. YMCA opens $50,000 building campaign.

18. Wilkes-Barre City engineers keep close watch on dike along Riverside Drive  . . . Six-year-old Hudson girl 
runs into auto.

19. Good Friday, Churches throughout valley crowded by faithful  . . . Thousands of farm stakes burn in Barney 
farm fire.

20. Many auto accidents as highways are crowded  . . . Wave of auto and auto parts thefts continues throughout
region.

21. Easter, Weather perfect as mercury hits 79 degrees, Churches crowded, Sunrise services held at drive-in 
theaters and in Wyoming Seminary Stadium.

22. Five destroys Inman Shaft of Glen Alden Corporation, two miners trapped for 13 hours before rescue.

23. Wilkes-Barre City streets, pitted by potholes, being repaired  . . . Two persons injured as train hits 
auto at Swoyersville  . . . Inman Shaft fire continues into second day.

24. Glen Alden stockholders elect three new directors and reelect Francis O. Case as president  . . . Mercury 
hits 80 degrees.

25. Hub Clothing Store celebrates 48th anniversary.

26. Vaughn M. Bonham, Wilkes-Barre, named outstanding Jaycee of the Year.

27. King’s College holds annual spring concert, Miss Dolores Wilson, Metropolitan Opera soprano, guest artist.

28. Wyoming Valley United Jewish Appeal campaign opens drive fore $419,000  . . . Power transformer fire at 
Plymouth puts sections of valley in darkness for short time.

29. Forest fire destroys 135 acres of scrub oak in Plains Township.

30. Wilkes-Barre Post Office honors 10 safe drivers.

MAY

1. Eligible voters for primary total 188,861  . . . Third annual international debate held at King’s College. 
Luzerne County Funeral Directors honor Mayor Luther M. Kniffen.

2. Body of Lyndwood man, missing since April 1, taken from Susquehanna River at Plymouth Township  . . . 
Driver killed when truck runs away on Route 309.

3. Wilkes-Barre City School District names Allen E. Bacon, retired city school superintendent, as interim 
superintendent for another year, and appoints Walter C. Wood, assistant GAR High School principal, as Bacon’s
assistant for one year  . . . Shoe Superintendents’ Foremen’s and Allied Trades Association opens 10th annual 
convention at Hotel Sterling  . . . Frost hits valley as temperature drops to 28 degrees.

4. American Newspaper Guild, Local 120, holds 20th anniversary dinner  . . . St. Stephens Episcopal Church 
host to 86th annual convention of Protestant Episcopal Church Diocese of Bethlehem.

5. Veterans Administration Hospital holds open house  . . . Luzerne County Federation of the Blind presents 
concert at Irem Temple  . . . Jewish residents of Wyoming Valley donate $2,514 to building fund drive of 
Kingston Methodist Church.

6. Four new boilers and stoker installed in GAR High School  . . . Food Fair Stores , national grocery chain, 
obtains land in Kingston to build market  . . . Garden Club of Wyoming Valley opens flower show in lobby of 
Miners National Bank.

7. Senator Stuart W. Symington, Democrat of Missouri, addresses Grater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce 73rd 
annual dinner  . . . Wilkes-Barre council passes ordinance prohibiting blocking of intersections when street 
traffic lights change  . . . Misericordia Science Hall dedicated.

8. Prof. Ernest E. Quay, Wyoming Seminary teacher for 46 years, announces he will retire in June . .  Mercury 
goes to 76 degrees.

9. General Hospital graduates 58 nurses  . . . Dike along Riverside Drive drops another inch, bringing total 
drop to 32 inches.

10. West Pittston man asphyxiated by illuminating gas . . . Twelve taxpayers appealing from 1956 audit of 
Luzerne County charge waste, payroll padding and illegal actions.

11. Pennsylvania Shrine Association hold annual meeting at Irem Temple Country Club  . . . Four persons 
injured in head-on crash at Plymouth.

12. Mother’s Day. May crownings in many sections of the city.

13. Four Air Force men stationed at Benton injured in auto accident at Harvey’s Lake with one succumbing to 
injuries  . . . Four persons injured in auto crash on Avoca Bypass.

14. Wilkes-Barre woman killed auto accident at Luzerne  . . . The 44th annual conference of Pennsylvania State
Spiritual Association opens at Hotel Sterling  . . . One person injured as three cars and truck collide on 
Blackman Street  . . . Marion Salvo, Pittston, named “Miss Wyoming Valley” in contest held by Pittston Chamber
of Commerce.

15. Five injured in auto accident at West Ross and South Franklin Streets  . . . Eighty-four vehicles tagged 
in three days for violations of Wilkes-Barre street cleaning ordinance  . . . Hazle Township woman killed 
when struck by auto near her home.

16. The 86th annual session of the Primitive Methodist Conference opens in Franklin Street Church, Plymouth. 
Mrs. Norman Patton, Dallas, elected president of State League of Women Voters.

18. 109th Field Artillery Battalion uses ranges near Clarks Summit for firing large and small arms.

19. Wave of auto accidents over week end sends many to local hospitals.

20. First National Bank of Ashley stockholders vote to merge with Miners National Bank of Wilkes-Barre  . . . 
Wyoming Valley United Jewish Appeal raises #3375,000 in local drive  . . . Dike repairs from South Street to 
Old River Road to cost $500,000, Wilkes-Barre City officials announce.

21. Primary. Judges John J. Aponick, Tomas M. Lewis and Frank L. Pinola win Democratic and Republican 
nominations for Common Pleas Court, Democrats nominate Maguire, Republicans nominate Selecky for Orphan’s 
Court Judge  . . . Proposed Wilkes-Barre city School budget lists 2 ½-mill tax boost.

22. Top Central Railroad of New Jersey officials inspect Ashley yards  . . . Prof. Ernest H. Bennett, director 
of music department of Wyoming Seminary, announces he will retire in June.

23. Fine Arts Fiesta opens on Public Square  . . . Junior Deputy Sheriffs members exceed 1,000 as 169 Back 
Mountain students join  . . . Governor Leader visits Wilkes-Barre to discuss state scholarship program.

24. Official count of Primary shows no changes for nominations  . . . YWCA Building Fund drive hits $139,015.

26. Misericordia graduating class attends baccalaureate mass by St. Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception Church, 
Wilkes-Barre  . . . Sixteen pastoral changes and three mergers of churches in Wilkes-Barre District announced 
at Wyoming Annual Conference of Methodist Church at Endicott, N.Y. . . . Robbery of Richman Clothing store, 
Wilkes-Barre, nets a few dollars.

27. Wyoming Valley Hospital lets $306,670 contract for addition . . . Trial of Wilkes-Barre City police 
officers, suspended for alleged conspiracy and theft, opens in court house  . . . John J. Hearne, Ambassador 
of Ireland, addresses graduating class of Misericordia College at Commencement exercises.

28. Plymouth Borough wards cut from 13 to 7, effective January 1, 1958.

29. Many minor auto accidents.

30. Memorial Day celebrated with many parades and grave decorations, 22,000 jam Sans Souci Park, granite 
altar and crucifix dedicated in St. Mary’s Byzantine Cemetery, Kingston: 35-foot concrete rosary dedicated by 
St. Boniface Church at Camp George, Mountaintop  . . . St. John Nemopucene Church, Luzerne, celebrates golden 
jubilee.

31. Weather in May reported cold and dry with lowest temperature 36 degrees and highest reading 89 degrees.

JUNE

1. Heights child struck by hit-run driver.

2. King’s College confers degrees on 117 at commencement exercises  . . . Wilkes College holds baccalaureate 
services in gymnasium  . . . Swoyersville constable jailed on morals charge . . . Four members of Mildred 
family injured in auto accident on Route 115 near Fern Ridge.

3. Wilkes College confers degrees on 143 at commencement exercises  . . . Work started on addition to Wyoming 
Valley Hospital  . .  Dr. Milton Kantor installed as president of Northeastern Pennsylvania Heart Association.

4. Wilkes-Barre School Board approves 505 seniors of three city high schools for graduation  . . . Wyoming 
Valley Playground and Recreation Association honors former Judge Michael F. McDonald, Mrs. Charles H. Miner, 
Attorney Charles N. Loveland and Charles Weissman for services to association; A. Dewitt Smith elected new 
president.

5. Two Wilkes-Barre City policemen acquitted of conspiracy charges.

6. Section of Duryea street caves as water mains and sidewalks are damaged.

7. Man killed as auto hits wall on Kidder Street, Wilkes-Barre  . . . Liquor Control Board agents raid Wilkes-
Barre café and find 40 juveniles in establishment.

8. King’s College announces plan for $4-million expansion program  . . . Edwardsville airman killed in auto 
accident in Maryland.

9. Monsignor Joseph A. Madden, chancellor of Scranton Diocese, named Domestic Prelate  . . . St. Nicholas High 
School graduates 47 seniors  . . . St. Mary’s 66 seniors graduated at mass  . . . Many minor auto accidents 
over week end.
10. Four new lawyers admitted to bar among them, Robert Schumack, blind World War 2 vet.

11. Al Capp, creator of Li’l Abner comic strip, speaks at annual dinner of Wyoming Valley Council for Mentally 
Retarded  . . . Wyoming Seminary awards diplomas to 142  . . . Rep. James Jump of Wilkes-Barre presides 
temporarily in the House of Representatives at Harrisburg.

12. Pope Pius elevates four area priests to the rank of Domestic Prelate with title of Rt. Rev. Monsignor . . 
Twin Grill-Europa Lounge opens new Giant’s Despair Room with party for press  . . . Commencement exercises 
held at GAR and Meyers High Schools with 307 receiving diplomas.

13. Coughlin High School graduates 198 at exercises  . . . Temperature falls from 79 to 65 degrees as rain 
and high winds hit valley.

14. Edwards Burwell murdered on Hazle Avenue  . . . Gas explosion at Loomis mine kills one and burns four 
others  . . . Wilkes-Barre school board appoints Charles F. Hensley principal of GAR High School.

15. Jake Whitt, Wilkes-Barre, charged with murder of Edward Burwell, held without bail in Luzerne County 
Prison  . . . Fire damages building at 421 South Main Street. 

16. Miner, burned at Loomis mine, dies in hospital.

17. Two mineworkers injured by fall of rock at Avondale Mining Company  . . . Temperature hits 90 degrees.

18. Wilkes-Barre council appoints new firemen  . . . Celotex Corporation, Harding, dedicated  . . . Third man 
dies of injuries suffered in gas explosion June 14 at Loomis Colliery  . . . Injured when struck by a mine car
at Loomis Colliery, man dies in hospital  . . . Temperature of 93 degrees sets a new record for June 18.

19. Eberhard Faber factory at Mountaintop dedicated  . . . Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company honors 1957 high 
school graduates who are Little Merchants.

20. Justice Benjamin R. Jones honored at St. David’s Society dinner  . . . Hughes-town boy drowns at Suscon 
Beach  . . . Pennsylvania Economy League contends Wilkes-Barre has 44 teachers too many  . . . Howard H. 
Potter reelected chairman of Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Red Cross.

21. Wilkes-Barre school board announces plans to close Hazle Avenue and Conyngham Schools  . . . Miner, 
injured in Avondale accident, dies in hospital.

22. Lightning strike on Pringle Street, Kingston, causes failure of power in that area  . . . Six persons 
injured in crash of two cars in central Wilkes-Barre.
23. Miners Mills section residents mark Feast of Corpus Christi with procession and public prayers.

24. Grand Army of the Republic allied units convention at Hotel Sterling  . . . Thunder and electrical storm 
hits valley.

25. Dr. A. R. Feinberg named to fill vacancy on Wilkes-Barre School Board.

26. Luzerne County Commissioners hire 11 new employes and transfer five  . . . Vandals ransack Meyers High 
School.

27. United Fund announces goal of $1,399,208 for next campaign  . . . Six County Firemen’s Association holds 
convention at Plymouth  . . . Lightning hits five Wyoming Valley homes during severe storm.

28. Jehovah’s Witnesses open three-day sessions at Irem Temple  . . County hit by fringe of Hurricane Audrey; 
damage slight.

29. Shrine inducts 303 novices at ceremony at Irem Temple Country Club  . . . 900 attend main meeting of 
Jehovah’s Witnesses  . . . Many injured in auto accidents.

JULY

1. Two persons injured seriously in auto accident on Market Street, Kingston  . . . Mercury hits 73 degrees.

2. Dr. Albert R. Feinberg becomes member of Wilkes-Barre School Board.

3. Planters Nut and Chocolate Company buys People’s Outfitting Company warehouse, South Main Street, for 
expansion.

4. Woman killed when thrown from skidding motorcycle on Upper Demunds Road  . . . 3,800 attend horse show at 
Lehman  . . . 35th annual Slovak Day at Sans Souci attracts 20,000.

5. Back Mountain Library auction draws 1,500.

7. Breslau fire truck driver runs into two homes causing extensive damage and injuring two persons  . . . 
Pringle youth injured when bicycle runs wild on Pringle Street hill  . . . Yard of Ashley home caves  . . . 
One person injured in auto accident at Nanticoke.

8. Nine area women join Air Force’s “Liberty Belle Flight.” . . . Sirens, horns and whistles used in practice 
for air raid  . . . Kingston Brothers of the Brush open campaign in connection with centennial.

9. Twin Grill and Europa Lounge has formal opening  . . . Second test of sirens for air raid.

10. Andrew J. Sordoni elected president of Wyoming Valley Hospital Board.

11. State Department of Welfare Secretary Shapiro tours Nanticoke State Hospital and Retreat Hospital, 
announces plans to close nurses home at Nanticoke and says reduction may be made in number of employes and 
their families living on Retreat Hospital grounds  . . . Weather cloudy and humid.

12. Air raid test is moderate success  . . . Joseph F. Collis, assistant managing editor of Wilkes-Barre 
Record, reelected President of American Newspaper Guild.

13. Auto accidents throughout valley send many persons to hospitals.

14. District 1, united Min Workers, end vacation  . . . Mercury hits 86 degrees  . . .Irish Day at Sans Souci 
draws 15,000.

15. First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre breaks ground for new Crossroads branch at Carey Avenue and West End 
Road in Hanover Township as First and Second National Banks of Wilkes-Barre announce merger plans. 
Pennsylvania Power and Light Company plans to spend 193 million dollars on facilities in next five years . . 
Dr. Hugh V. Mailey appointed member of Luzerne County Board of Assistance.

16. Wyoming V alley dike system dedicated  . . . Mercury drops to 49 degrees  . . . Rooney’s Restaurant, West 
Market Street, closes.

17. Two killed and one injured in auto accident at Moosic  . . . Mayor proclaims Race Week in Wilkes-Barre to 
observe Giants’ Despair hill Climb July 19-20  . . .West Pittston centennial preparations under way.

18. Parrish Street swimming pool gets finishing touches for opening on August 1  . . . Governor Leader vetoes 
move to put Kis-Lyn under jurisdiction of State Jusitce Department . . . Two Wilkes-Barre police officers 
resign . . .Mountaintop woman injured when struck by auto on East Northampton Street  . . . Wilkes-Barre man 
struck by auto on South Main Street.

19. Inkerman miner killed by fall of rock at No. 14 Drifts Coal Company, Hilldale  . . . Trial runs held on 
Giants’ Despair as record mark falls thrice   . . . Man struck by auto on South Main Street dies in hospital.

20. Mechanical timing error voids record speeds on giants’ Despair Hill Climb and old records stand  . . . 
Hungarian refugee drowns at Rocky Glen.

21. Model airplane meet at Kirby Park draws 2,000 persons  . . . Temperature hits 94 degrees, new high for 
year.

22. Robert Conmy and Raymond Myers, suspended Wilkes-Barre police officers, resign . . .Temperatures drops 
from high of 93 to 65 degrees as cool air enters Valley  . . . Pringle man struck by auto on North river 
Street  . . . Larksville woman struck by auto near Sans Souci.

23. Resignations of two suspended police officers cancels hearing on charges of duty neglect  . . . Mercury 
drops to 65 degrees breaking four-day heat wave . . . Two Wilkes-Barre boys struck by autos in separate 
accidents.

24. Two Woodward Colliery workers injured by rock fall . . .Wilkes College grants 56 scholarships to new 
freshmen . . .Two men injured in auto-truck accident at Bear Creek  . . . Leonard Walsh joins Wyoming National 
Bank as vice president as five others are promoted  . . .Wanamie No. 18 Colliery miner killed by fall of rock.

25. Miners National Bank of Wilkes-Barre breaks ground for addition to Dallas branch . . .Cave, 200 feet wide 
and 300 feet deep, swallows 11 coal cars at Coxton yards of Lehigh Valley Railroad.

26. Lehigh Valley Railroad dumps 15 obsolete coal gondolas into cave at Coxton  . . . Two upper end men 
arrested for theft of $3,000 worth of lumber from contractor working on Northeastern Pennsylvania Turnpike 
extension. 

27. Wilkes-Barre High School class of 1907 marks 50th anniversary reunion.

28. Standard Breaker, Moosic, destroyed by fire . . . East End Boulevard boy injured by firecracker . . . 
Monsignor C. A. Staib barks 43rd anniversary of ordination to priesthood . . . Many auto accidents over week 
end.

29. Ground broken for new terminal building at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.

30. Parrish Street swimming pool dedicated . . . Wilkes-Barre Township residents protest strip mine blasting . . 
$850,000 drainage job at Buttonwood Colliery, Glen Alden Corporation, approved by United States Government. 

31. Strike of United Steel workers at Casty Brothers Bedding Incorporated ends  . . . Wilkes-Barre Township 
Board of Commissioners suspend mine blasting  . . . Luzerne County farm crops wilt due to lack of rain  . . . 
High temperatures for month 99 degrees on 21st with low of 55 degrees on the 17th.

AUGUST

1. Wyoming youth killed in auto accident on Wyoming-Orange road  . . . Gene Autry and Annie Oakley arrive for 
benefit shows at Artillery Park  . . . Parrish Street swimming pool opening draws 3,700.

2. Wilkes-Barre City Board of Health gives second warning to persons throwing garbage in central city baskets. 
Scranton-Spring Brook Water Service Company asks Public Utility Commission to cut gas rates $205,000.

3. Electrical storm hits valley  . . . 109th Field Artillery Battalion leaves for training at Indiantown Gap.

4. Auto accidents send many persons to hospitals  . . . Ground broken for construction of St. Joseph’s Church,
Wyoming  . . . Half-inch of rain brings some relief to withering crops.

5. Mine worker killed by rush of rock and coal at Susquehanna Colliery, Glen Lyon  . . . Eight Wyoming Valley 
communities receive safety awards from American Automobile Association through Wyoming Valley Motor Club  . . 
Women of Miners Mills section barricade dump along Hillman Street  . . . Wilkes-Barre police arrest two for 
blocking traffic.

6. United States House of Representatives appropriations committee approved $412,000 for construction of Air 
Force Armory at Forty Fort Airport  . . . Wilkes-Barre City School Board approved plans for $80,000 renovation
at GAR High School.

7. Former Wilkes-Barre resident murdered at Plainfield, N.J. . . . Exeter boy accidently hangs self while 
playing cowboy  . . . Central Labor Union reports financial loss on Gene Autry show.

8. State drops remaining charges against four Wilkes-Barre City Policemen  . . . Glen Alden Corporation 
announces 96.5 per cent increase in net profit for the comparable period of 1956  . . . Connecticut boy, 
visiting Harveys Lake, accidentally shot with rifle.

9. Mrs. Norman E. Patton, president of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, opens office in Wilkes-
Barre.

10. Mercury drops as cool air moves into valley.

11. Several hundred valley residents visit 109th F. A. Battalion at Indiantown Gap on Governor’s Day  . . . 
Eight injured and 15 others shaken in two auto accidents on Harveys Lake Highway.

12. Three convicts escape from Luzerne County Prison  . . . Wilkes-Barre City to receive $75,000 from the 
Federal government for repairing flood-control levee which subsided more than three feet.

13. Ricketts estate, Sullivan County, sold to syndicate for resort use  . . . Regular and Free Democrats 
remain wide apart after meeting.

14. Three who escaped Luzerne County Prison captured  . . . Young boy drowns at Lake Silkworth  . . . Shrine 
holds annual picnic.

15. Nine cars of Pennsylvania Railroad freight train derailed at Honey Pot, Nanticoke.

16. New Jersey man dies, car lunges into lake at Thornhurst  . . . Sisters of Mercy receive 30 young women 
into order  . . . Two Harveys Lake taverns lose licenses for alleged abuse of law.

17. Wilkes-Barre City police and fire departments seek “firebug” after fires in Town Hall Building and Wilkes-
Barre Hardware and Stove Company  . . . Man killed in fall from South Street Bridge.

18. Kingston man is first fatality on Northeastern Extension of Pennsylvania Turnpike  . . . Wilkes-Barre man 
drowns at Jackson Township  . . . Naval reservists leave for two weeks training in Atlantic  . . . Pittston 
Jaycee air show held at Forty Fort Airport  . . . Miss Mary Ann Strilka, Olyphant, crowned “Lady of the Lake” 
as 5,000 attend Harveys Lake beauty contest.

19. Face lifting operation started on Percy A. Brown and Company buildings.

20. New traffic plan put into effect on West Market Street  . . . Pittston Jaycee air show at Forty Fort 
Airport is financial loss.

21. Mine workers killed by fall of rock at Loomis Colliery  . . . Hot tar escapes from railroad car at 
Mountaintop.

22. Natural gas makes debut in Wilkes-Barre  . . . Food Fair Stores, Incorporated, breaks ground for Kingston 
supermarket.

23. Okonite and union reach agreement and 300 valley residents return to work.. Three injured, one critically; 
in auto-motorcycle crash on Avoca Bypass  . . . Wilkes-Barre couple injured seriously in auto accident at 
Dover, N.J.

24. Plane hits power lines while approaching Hazleton airport.

25. Rain, cool air drops mercury to 60 degrees  . . . Many injured in auto accidents.

26. Erma Foster resigns as dean of resident women at Wyoming Seminary  . . .Kingston Borough puts new traffic 
regulations into effect.

27. Two more trusties flee Luzerne County Prison  . . . Luzerne County Republican Party endorses T. Newell 
Wood for state office  . . . Wilkes-Barre City School District employes vote for Social Security  . . . 
Mercury drops to 50 degrees.

28. Two Luzerne County Prison escapees return to jail voluntarily  . . . Kingston Centennial parade draws 12,
000  . . . General Hospital welcomes nurse candidates.

29. Luzerne County Commissioners call meeting to probe prison conditions  . . . Jake Whitt indicted by grand 
jury for murder of Edward Burwell  . . Kingston Borough’s new traffic plan on Pierce Street brings objections 
from merchants.

30. Wilkes-Barre City issued 289 building permits for work costing $478,809 during August  . . . Labor Day 
week end begins, highways crowded, planes, buses and trains jammed.

31. Laurel Hospital and Clinic, Laurel Run, sold to New Jersey man for $80,000.

SEPTEMBER

1. Two fires on East Market Street renew search for firebug.

2. Labor Day. Lithuanian Day at Sans Souci draws 16,000  . . . Many auto accidents throughout valley but no 
fatalities.

3. Wilkes-Barre School Board orders Guthrie School closed  . . . Two U.S. Air Force planes develop engine 
trouble and are forced to land at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.

5. Kathkamp Matchcover Society opens convention in Hotel Sterling.

6. Marine Corp. Eugene Osick, Inc, Luzerne, acquitted of charges he mistreated prisoners  . . .Nanticoke man, 
father of eight, killed in auto race.

7. Kingston Centennial parade witnesses by 70,000 persons.

8. Auto accidents mount over week end.

9. West Pittston Centennial parade held  . . . Governor George M. Leader attends opening of Kingston 
Kavalcade and crowns Kingston queen  . . . J. B. Post Appliance Center opens  . . . King’s College welcomes 
250 freshmen as Wilkes College admits 350 new students.

10. West Pittston Centennial parade continued second day  . . . Mercury drops as rain falls on valley.

11. Wilkes-Barre Social Security office announces additional 50 persons hired  . . . Nesbitt Hospital nursing 
school graduates 35 nurses.

12. Frank Koronkiewicz, Nanticoke, named administrator of Nanticoke State Hospital  . . . Maurice G. Shennan 
named chairman of the board and Thomas H. Kiley named president of the newly formed First-Second National Bank 
and Trust Company, Wilkes-Barre.

13. West Pittston Centennial Old Timers’ parade held  . . . Temperatures fall as light rain hits valley.

14. Kingston Centennial celebration closed with judging of the Brothers of the Brush contest  . . . State 
Sanitary Water Board file legal action to force City of Wilkes-Barre to build a sewage treatment plant. 

15. William Tepsic, department commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars, concludes visit to District 11 by 
attending the district meeting at Fort Pittston Post 635 Home  . . . Ninth annual conference on assessment 
administration, sponsored by Municipal Assessors’ Association of Pennsylvania, gets under way in Hotel 
Sterling.

16. Subsurface settlement causes State Police to close River Road, Plainsville, to traffic  . .  Y-Teens open 
campaign to recruit 1,300 members.

17. Earl Christman, Butler Township, named to a newly created position of inspector in the engineering 
department by County Commissioners  . . . Protests registered at Wilkes-Barre City School Board meeting by 
North End and Brookside residents over closing of Guthrie School.

18. Wilkes College night school opens.

19. Wilkes-Barre Sales Days bring thousands to city  . . . Mrs. Mary Olson, president of District 11, VFW 
Auxiliaries, honored at testimonial dinner.

20. Annual conference of Northeastern District, Pennsylvania Federation of Women’s Clubs held at Irem Temple. 
Kingston High School’s new stadium dedicated.

21. Faculty colleagues honor Prof. Ernest E. Quay and Prof. Ernest H. Bennett, who retired from Wyoming 
Seminary in June, at a dinner at Irem Temple Country Club.

22. Approximately 400 homes in the Hanover Green and Breslau sections thrown into darkness when lightning 
bolt knocks down a 13,000-volt line.

23. All-time membership high of 16,444 reported by Wyoming Valley Motor Club.

24. Dr. L. McA. Cattanach elected president of Luzerne County unit of American Cancer Society.

25. William F. Sutter of Nescopeck, former Glen Lyon resident, paid tribute as Pennsylvania District governor 
by more than 200 area Kiwanians.

26. Four automobiles damaged in crash on West End Road, Hanover Township.

27. Wilkes College’s Harold R. Stark Hall dedicated  . . . Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation and Local 164, 
Amalgamated Association of Railway and Motor Coach Employes, AFL-CIO, negotiate new contract.

28. Mrs. Hannah C. Pegg, Plymouth, wins $500 cash prize awarded by central city merchants sponsoring Wilkes-
Barre Sales Days  . . . More than 500 representatives of organized labor attend United Fund labor rally in 
Kingston House.

29. 43-year low temperature record for September 29 broken when thermometer registers an official low of 33 
degrees.

30. Sgt. Irwin L. Brand, Mountaintop, battalion sergeant major of the 109th Field Artillery, enlists for 
seventh tern in the military service  . . . Membership campaign of Catholic Youth Center ends with 101 per 
cent of quota.

OCTOBER

1. Guthrie School sale protest dismissed by school board after heated discussions  . . . Wilkes-Barre City 
Council passes on first reading an ordinance to close a section of Auburn Street to permit expansion of 
General Hospital.

2. Msgr. John M. Puskar named new director of Nanticoke Catholic Charities  . . . Fire damages Kew-T Novelty 
Company at Larksville.

3. 109th F. A. Bn. Staff visits Fort Meade  . . . Allan P. Kirby gives 15 acre site to New Vernon N.J. Roman 
Catholic parish.

4. Capt. Frank Barone, Wilkes-Barre fire department, named president of State Firemen’s Association  . . . 
Public Utility Commission directs inquiry into Trucksville Water Company.

5. Wilkes-Barre police kept on alert by youth fights.

6. Tree, blown down on Simpson Street, damages car and home  . . . 1,000 attend Annual Festival of Faith 
sponsored by Wyoming Valley Council of Churches.

7. Local police join Scranton police in search for stolen dynamite caps  . . . 29 volunteer workers receive 
United Fund awards.

8. Work begins on Wyoming Seminary $810,500 gymnasium  . . . Wilbur H. Schang and Roy A. Stauffer named 33rd 
degree Masons.

9. Frank C. Carlucci, Bear Creek, named career foreign service officer by President Eisenhower  . . . Three 
children injured in city accidents.

10. Robert Gulick, Wilkes-Barre record carrier, wins Good Luck Newspaperboy Contest sponsored by the Foods 
Division of Lever Brothers Company  . . . Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis marks Newspaper Week.

11. Tractor-trailer loaded with coal damaged by fire on East End Boulevard  . . . General contract for 
erection of the new Kingston Methodist Church awarded to George R. Taylor and Sons of Forty Fort.

12. Mrs. Thomas Charles Carr, Hazle Avenue, observes 95th birthday anniversary  . . . World War I veterans, 
who were served in Battery E of the 308th Field Artillery, 78th Division, hold reunion.

13. Wilkes-Barre Fire Department extinguishes four small fires.

14. Blast wrecks ice cream stand at Fernbrook  . . . 2,000 volunteer help launch United Fund campaign.

15. Shrine Imperial Potentate Thomas W. Melham visits Irem Temple  . . . Protesters hold Guthrie School to 
remain closed.

17. Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis Club elects Attorney Arthur Silverblatt as president  . . . Many schools close 
because of flu prevalence.

18. Automobile damages gates at Jersey Central crossing on East Market Street  . . . .65 of inch of rain 
falls in region.

19. Swoyersville fireman plan drive for new truck.

20. Fire in swamp sends smoke over Miners Mills section  . . . Dorranceton Methodist reach minimum goal of 
$108,000 to build new sanctuary  . . . Lutheran Evangelism Mission begins in local churches. 

21. King’s College announces plans to erect $800,000 structure  . . More area schools close due to illnesses.

22. Mayor Luther M. Kniffen proclaims United Nations Week  . . . Union evangelistic services planned by the 
Rolling Mill Hill Ministerium.

23. United Nations display opens in Wilkes College gymnasium  . . . Historical Society’s exhibit on “The Hill 
Climb and Early Morning,” attracts many.

24. County commissioners from nine-member Planning Commission for future development of Luzerne County.

25. Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce members inspect Tobyhanna Signal Depot  . . . Wyoming Valley Art 
League closes loan exhibition of master drawings from Cooper Union Museum, New York City.

26. Floor of the Macri Building, North Pennsylvania Avenue, damaged by a two-alarm fire  . . . Lodge 43, 
Fraternal Order of Police, installs officers.

27. King’s College holds annual mass of Christ the King, Patron of King’s College, in St. Mary’s Church of 
the Immaculate Conception.

28. Charles Mannear, Shavertown, elected to Luzerne County Board of School Directors  . . . Eleven Luzerne 
County recruits begin State Police training at Hershey.

29. Pittston, Nanticoke, Kingston and Exeter asked by the State Sanitary Water Board to sell bonds to finance 
construction of sewage treatment plants  . . . Wyoming Valley Motor Club advocated the new highway to 
Harrisburg be on the east side of Susquehanna River.

30. Climax of the 1958 Wyoming Valley United Fund sees $1,285, 138 reported raised by Fund volunteer workers. 
Fire destroys auto parked on South Empire Street.

31. John A. Hourigan, Jr., vice president of Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company, named chairman of Luzerne 
County Planning Commission  . . . Three medical first-aid units capable of handling 1,000 casualities each, 
received by Luzerne County Civil Defense.

NOVEMBER

1. General repairs to Griffith swimming pool start  . . . Representatives of Congressional Christian Churches 
of Wyoming Valley meet at Nanticoke to discuss the proposed merger with Evangelical and Reformed churches.

2. Bicycle stolen in Kingston fished out of Susquehanna River and returned to the owner before he knew it was 
stolen.

3. 72-year-old pedestrian injured when struck by a spinning automobile which had been hit broadside by another 
vehicle at Kidder and Laurel Streets  . . . Car operated by Ashley teenager hits two pedestrians and causes 
considerable damage as it fails to make curve at South Main and Division Streets.

4. Wilkes-Barre City plans to retire $140,000 in bonds during 1958  . . . Mayor Luther M. Kniffen proclaims 
November 11 as Veterans Day.

5. Dr. Engene S. Farley, president of Wilkes College, named president of Pennsylvania Foundation for 
Independent Colleges.

6. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt honored at a luncheon at Hotel Sterling  . . . Four American Red Cross Chapters in 
county prepare to enlarge staffs to cope with possible Asian Fly epidemic.

7. Workmen excavating for new Kingston Methodist Church discover horse bones, providing a brief mystery . . 
Former Gov. Arthur H. James appointed custodian receiver for Keystone Magazine Corporation, Hanover Township, 
by Federal Judge John W. Murphy, Scranton.

8. Luzerne County Planning Commission meets with representatives of Federal and State governments to outline 
steps to be taken for the future development of county  . . . 14-year-old Plymouth boy wounded accidentally in 
the left eye by a hunter on Plymouth Mountain. 

9. 30 Lutheran churches in Northeastern Pennsylvania represented at Martin Luther anniersary dinner in 
Manfield Diningroom. 

10. Thousands of wind-swept and chilled spectators brave wintry weather to witness the annual Veterans Day 
parade  . . . College Misericordia purchases 12 ½ acres of land for construction of a provincial house and a 
novitiate.

11. Three automobile damaged in a collision at North River and West Union Streets  . . . Soviet dog-carrying 
satellite passes over the area at 4:16 a.m.

12. Traffic lights north of Public Square darkened for three hours when utility crew drills through cable at 
North Main and West Union Streets.

13. Wilkes-Barre-Scranton airport suggested as a hub for air service to New England without passing through 
New York City metropolitan area  . . . Nanticoke State Hospital announces increase in rates.

15. Public Utility Commission dismisses complaint water service is “inadequate” in Parish Heights section of 
Dallas.

16. Wilkes College debate team third in first annual Brown University Debate Tournament at Providence, R. I.  
More than 1,100 attend the 20th anniversary dinner of the Wyoming Valley District, International Ladies 
Garment Workers Union, AFL-CIO.

17. American Legion delegated hear Joseph F. Collis, international president of the American Newspaper Guild, 
talk on Communism  . . . Rev. Joseph L. Weisley announces resignation as pastor of Forty Fort Presbyterian 
Church.

18. Five local men enlist in the Naval Reserve at Kingston.

19. Heights Civic League criticizes city officials for failing to do something about houses described as 
“shacks” and “eyesores” on Lincoln Street  . . . $2,272,340.55 budget passed by city council with tax levy of 
21.9 mills and substituting $5 resident tax in place of the occupational levy.

20. Bid of $49,000 gives Dr. Albert F. Cooper ownership of Cooper Clinic, 380 Old River Road, at public sale.

21. State Department of Health reports Luzerne County led Northeastern Pennsylvania with 26 deaths attributed 
to pneumonia or flu during October.

22. Jake Whitt, city, acquitted in Marshall Burwell murder case.

23. Two Kingston Township women injured when their car crashes into Shavertown Lutheran Church.

25. Judge Thomas M. Lewis honored at testimonial dinner by St. David’s Society  . . . Many enjoy Wilkes-Barre 
Philharmonic Orchestra’s opening concert.

26. Bear Creek man fined $80 and costs after pleading guilty to four counts of cruelty to animals.

28. Drizzling rain mars Thanksgiving  . . . Heights man leaps from Market Street bridge and disappears.

30. State Highways Department considers construction of a four-lane divided highway to replace six and one-
half miles of the present Harveys Lake highway.

Typed by Robin and Cyndi Stone,  July 2004