RECORD OF LOCAL EVENTS

The following information is posted for the sole purpose of family research within the 
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Principal Happenings in Luzerne County for the Year Which Began December 1, 1957 and Ended November 30, 1958

DECEMBER, 1957
1.St. John’s Lutheran Church, Pittston, observes 100th anniversary….Bishop Jerome D. Hannan, D.D., of Scranton
Diocese officiates at dedication of new Our Lady of Sorrows Church, West Wyoming.
2.Wilkes-Barre City School Board elects Dr. John T. Valenti president and H. Merritt Hughes as vice-president.
Approximately 650 deer killed in Luzerne County as buck season opens.
3.Season’s heaviest snowfall blankets Wyoming Valley….Attorney Mitchell Jenkins elected president of 
Westmoreland Club at 84th annual meeting of membership.
4.King’s College to get $50,000 gift from Scranton Roman Catholic Diocese….New signs placed on central city 
streets.
5.Pringle Community Ambulance Association applies for charter to incorporate…..Recommendations of traffic 
engineering firm for speeding the flow of traffic in central city accepted by city officials and traffic 
committee.
6.Floodlights installed to illuminate statue of Blessed Virgin Mary superimposed against a rock cliff 
overlooking West North Street.
7.Fire damages an unoccupied house at 744 North Pennsylvania Avenue.
8.Temple B’nai B’rith announces plans for erection of a building in Kingston…..Mayor Luther M. Kniffen 
returns to his South Main Street home after being stricken ill at his summer home at Lake Carey.
9.Yehudi Menuhin, famous violinist, gives concert at Irem Temple under auspices of Community Concert 
Association…..Wallace G. Rubright, Bowmanstown, appointed cashier of Kingston National Bank.
10.Five Shickshinny area youths injured when their automobile upsets on Route 239 west of Shickshinny…..Frank 
Townend elected president of Dallas Area School Board.
11.Dr. John L. Dorris, Nanticoke, name president of the staff at Mercy Hospital…..Three to five inches of 
snow covers the area making driving conditions hazardous.
12.Wilkes-Barre officials protest proposed discontinuance of the John Wilkes train to Wilkes-Barre by Lehigh 
Valley Railroad.
13.Mrs. Laura Lauer elected president of Luzerne County Council of Republican Women…..Five automobiles damaged
in accidents caused by skidding.
14.State Police raid five alleged key horse race betting establishments in Luzerne County.
15.Glen Alden Corporation requests substantial reduction in local assessments and taxes.
16.Pledges totaling $210,000 received in advance of the 25th Anniversary Development Campaign launched by 
Wilkes College.
17.Wilkes-Barre City Council lifts 4-6 p.m.  parking ban on  central city streets.
18.Wilkes-Barre Ring 30 for perpetuation of magic as entertainment incorporated by decree of Judge Frank L. 
Pinola.
19.Thousands of area public and parochial school students start annual Christmas vacations.
20.Heavy rains cause streams to rise throughout the area…..Temperatures reach 62 degrees, 10 degrees above the 
record of 52 degrees established in 1916.
21.East End Civic League to sponsor a home decorating contest for homeowners in the East End section.
22.Demand for Christmas trees in Wyoming Valley market area likely to reach between 50,000 and 60,000 this 
year…..Wyoming Valley Motor Club urges non-alcoholic day-before-Christmas office parties
23.Long’s, founded in 1847 on the north side of Public Square, going out of business.
24.Thousands attend Christmas services in churches throughout the Valley…..Six teenagers injured in Newport 
Township when their station wagon goes over an embankment.
25.Pittston area police seek purse snatchers operating by automobile…..Luzerne County Commissioners order 
proceeds of two bind issues totaling $5,500,000 deposited in various banks.
26.Avoca electrical contractor electrocuted at a Hanover Township mining operation…..Glen Alden Corporation’s 
salaried employes agree to 25 per cent salary cuts.
27.Swoyersville Hose Company No. 1 receives a new fire truck…..St. Michael’s School Hoban Hts., receives 
$13,475 in cash gifts as a result of the 11th annual $100-a-plate dinner held by Friends of St. Michael’s.
28.James Rule, Newport Township police chief, announces plans to retire February 1, 1958.
29.Ferdinand S. Fowler named manager of the Kingston office of the First-Second National Bank and Trust Co.
30.Luzerne County Board of Assessments rejects Glen Alden Corporation’s plea for a $16 million assessment cut.

JANUARY, 1958
1.Seven automobiles damaged in Wilkes-Barre traffic mishaps…..Cold, chilling temperatures and scattered snow 
flurries accompanied by strong winds.
2.State Department of Highways announces $8.5 million to be expended in a dozen highway projects in Luzerne 
County during the next two years…..Two teenage girls who escaped from the women’s detention home of Luzerne 
County prison apprehended by police in Elizabethport, N. J.
3.Weather Bureau announces Wilkes-Barre area experienced one of its driest years in 1957…..Report of a bomb 
on a plane sends police on a futile search at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Airport.
4.Ice skating enthusiasts find conditions ideal.
5.An over-active Dallas child creates an emergency two times in three days by swallowing tablets.
6.Valuation of Wilkes-Barre city buildings for tax purposes in 1958 totals $44,054,000,increase of $274,208 
over the 1957 valuation…..Local municipal governments reorganize.
7.Area escapes predicted “worst” snow of season…..Situation not recorded in law books for 80 years occurs when 
all 24 persons drawn for grand jury duty appear before Judge Frank L. Pinola.
8.School directors check insufficient heat being generated by four new boilers at GAR High School…..United 
States Coast Guard recruits five regional men.
9.Nanticoke State Hospital announces plans to close nurses’ old home…..Appointment of George K. Snyder as 
company manager for Bell Telephone Company at Wilkes-Barre announced.
10.Gambling indictments against 11 persons returned by a grand jury…..80 Methodist churches engage in Every-
Member Canvass in the Wilkes-Barre District of Wyoming Conference.
11.Ice skating under perfect conditions enjoyed in region.
12.Thieves steal 20 firearms from Plains sports shop.
13.Fire destroys Nuangola home of Royal C. Stout…..President Eisenhower seeks $1,740,000 appropriation from 
Congress to continue work on the Bear Creek Reservoir.
14.American Tobacco Company to close its Ashley plant, idling 300 persons…..Hugh A. Carr, Jr., Dallas named 
“Young Man of the Year of 1957” at annual Bosses’ Night dinner of Wilkes-Barre Junior Chamber of Commerce.
15.James F. Smith, merchant of Turbotville, Northumberland County, elected potentate of Irem Temple AONMS at 
annual meeting in the mosque.
16.Forty Fort Taxpayers Protective Association incorporated…..Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Leagues of Women 
Voters ask county commissioners to provide a separate detention home for juveniles.
17.U. S. Senator Norris Cotton (R-N.H.) tells Kingston Lodge 395, F&AM., America should not lose sight of its
moral, spiritual and educational values.
18.New drug to restore coagulating powers of the blood perfected by Dr. William Weiss, former Wilkes-Barre 
physician.
19.Lithuanian Roman Catholic Alliance of America dedicated its new office building at 71 South Washington 
Street….Rev. John Koury of St. Anthony’s Maronite Church, Park Avenue, honored on occasion of 35th anniversary
of pastorate.
20.Central YMCA opens membership drive….Luzerne County Humane Society acquires two-acre plot in Plains 
Township for animal shelter.
21.Heavy rain freezes on area roads….Rev. Dr. Joseph L. Weisley, Forty Fort, honored by more than 250 persons.
22.Partial production begins at the new B. F. Goodrich plant in Exeter….Traffic count undertaken by Wilkes-
Barre City.
23.Goose Greasers Model Airplane Club of Wilkes-Barre displays models and trophies won in national competition.
24.Glen Alden sets $5,265,132 value on surplus coal conveyed to three new corporations.
25.United Gas Improvement Company to spend $6,900,000 in its Luzerne Division.
26.Worst winter storm in years grips local area….Ashley Presbyterian Church votes for extension of an 
invitation to Rev. Charles Bomboy of Lock Haven.
27.Kingston Businessmen’s Association elects Glenn W. Scovell as president.
28.Naval Reservists at Kingston donate 50 pints of blood to Red Cross bloodmobile….Full-time qualified staff 
for long-range planning advocated for Luzerne County by Pennsylvania Economy League.
29.Central YMCA membership drive surpasses its 500 goal by seven….200 Pennsylvania Railroad workers rewarded 
for safety records.
30.Allan P. Kirby, Wilkes-Barre native, elected chairman of board of Allegheny Corporation….Wilkes College 
launches final phase of its 25th Anniversary Development Campaign.
31.Directors of Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce ask county commissioners to retain Wilkes-Barre - 
Wyoming Valley Airport as a general service airport….Four new stoker units installed at GAR High School at a 
cost of approximately $75,000 condemned.

FEBRUARY
1.Lehigh Valley Railroad announces John Wilkes train service to Wilkes-Barre to be eliminated in near future.
2.Holy Name of Jesus elementary school, Wyoming Avenue, Forty Fort, dedicated.
3.Former premier of France, Camille Chautemps, speaks at Wilkes College student assembly….Mrs. Al Clocker 
elected presdent of Young Republican Women of Greater Wilkes-Barre.
4.Chilling winds whip valley….Public Utility Commission agrees to hearings on proposal by Lehigh Valley 
Railroad Company to reduce passenger service in Wilkes-Barre area.
5.King’s College receives $25,000 from estate of Anna L. McLaughlin of Wilkes-Barre….Luzerne County Federation 
of Young Republicans elects James J. Loftus, Wilkes-Barre, as chairman.
6.Governor George M. Leader announces new Pennsylvania Game Commission regional office will be constructed 
near Dallas….Luzerne County Republican Women dine Mrs. Raymond T. Russell.
7.Wilkes College, in cooperation with Consolidated Cigar Corporation, plans to initiate industrial research 
project….Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority granted $1,020,000 by the regional office of the Housing and Home 
Finance Agency, Philadelphia.
8.Winds and bitter cold hamper regional road crews….Drifting snow maroons many farmers in area.
9.Forty Fort Council president bans long-winded speeches by citizens attending council meetings….Penn State 
team wins eighth annual King’s College invitational debating tournament.
10.Wilkes-Barre City named defendant in a suit asking $1,603.63 property damages as a result of large poplar 
tree blowing onto a home.
11.Wyoming Historical Society notes centennial….Luzerne County Medical Society sponsors Health Poster Contest 
for school children.
12.National Lutheran Council announces Luzerne County is among 19 Pennsylvania counties that are more than 60 
percent churched….Housing and Home Finance Agency, Washington, grants $7,650 to Pittston City and $6,415 to 
Nanticoke City for stops leading to urban redevelopment in the two cities.
13.Luzerne County supervising principals draw aims and objectives of elementary education in the county.
14.Wyoming Valley Art League exhibits lithographs and drawings by George Bellows, lent by the Boston Public 
Library, at Osterhout Library...Eighteen World Day of Prayer services conducted throughout Wyoming Valley by 
United Church Women of Council of Churches.
15.Wilkes-Barre Advertising Club’s observance of Advertising Week ends at buffet dinner.
16.27 Kingston Boy Scouts rescued from snowbound Camp Acahela….Worst storm in 22 years paralyzes Wyoming 
Valley.
17.Snow hampers coal deliveries to area homes….Air Force helicopters airlift persons marooned by the snow 
storm and in need of emergency service.
18.Kingston residents told flood levee is in excellent shape….Wilkes-Barre School Board orders replacement 
of four stokers in GAR High School.
19.Ash Wednesday services open Lenten season….Heavy snow fall looked upon as silver lining by local transit 
companies as residents leave automobiles at home.
20.$25,000 damage caused by fire at Nanticoke tire recapping shop.
21.Wilkes College closes 25th Anniversary Campaign with $502,387 pledged….Zero weather puts some coal firms 
on six-day week.
22.Rotary Foundation scholarship awarded to David E. Vann of Wyoming of Wyoming….Fire destroys barn owned by 
Glen Alden Corporation in Hanover Township.
23.Double block destroyed by fire at Glen Lyon….Wilkes-Barre Council to push repairs to damaged dikes.
24.Rate of thaw lessens river flood threat….Lehigh Valley Coal Corporation considers changing name to Lehigh 
Valley Industries, Incorporated.
25.Commission naming Judge John J. Aponick president judge of Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas received 
in office of Recorder of Deeds.
26.Luzerne County tax levies cut by 2 mills.
27.Crowds view balloon parade prior to opening of Wilkes-Barre Central City Sales Days.
28.President Judge W. Alfred Valentine retires….Wilkes College retains Middle Atlantic Conference wrestling 
championships.

MARCH
1.Forty Fort High School wrestling team wins Wyoming Valley Conference title….American Red Cross announces 
plans for around-the-clock flood services if needed.
2.Susquehanna River crests at 13.8 feet….Wilkes-Barre police plagued with burglaries.
3.King’s College sponsors eighth annual French irregular verb contest for high school students….4 to 6 p.m. 
parking ban on central city streets planned as part of long-range survey of traffic problems.
4.Glen Alden Corporation considers acquisition of business and assets of List Industries Corporation.
5.Area dress plants strike.
6.Cleveland Symphony presentation heralded at Irem Temple….Attorney Max Rosenn elected president of the Shrine
Club of Greater Wilkes-Barre.
7.Wilkes-Barre City petitions PUC to revoke a previous maintenance order so State Highways Department may 
take over maintenance of Butler Street viaduct.
8.Forty Fort Borough Building closed temporarily to public meetings after surface settling causes damage.
9.King’s College opens family campaign to raise funds to erect new science building.
10.Crawford, Juniata, and Blair Counties request use of Kis-Lyn facilities….Luzerne County Superintendent of 
Schools, E. S. Teter, unopposed for reelection.
11.Wilkes-Barre City officials approve engineering study leading to development of a master plan for urban 
renewal.
12.Keystone State Licensed Practical Nurses Association vote 25 per cent raise.
13.Snow up to five inches falls on mountains….Harold E. Koch, president of Pennsylvania State Eduation 
Association, honored at a testimonial dinner.
14.Campbell Building, central city landmark, to be razed to make way for parking lot.
15.Catholic Youth Center of Wyoming wins State Biddy Basketball championship.
16.Nanticoke Post 350, American Legion, observes 39th anniversary.
17.Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Greater Wilkes-Barre holds 13th annual meeting….Juveniles admit breaking 
into two schools in Heights section.
18.Several dozen homes in the Old River Road section without water as a result of a main break.
19.Pittston Mayor Patrick J. O’Brien named courthouse tipstaff….Shrine Circus brings thrills to local circus 
fans.
20.Spring arrives with a surprise snow storm….Federal-State Flood Forecasting Service uses new electronic 
flood forecasting service to keep tabs on Susquehanna River.
21.Travel in mountains difficult as a result of a heavy snowstorm; many homes without power.
22.St. Leo’s High School, Ashley, wins its first PCIAA Class B basketball crown.
23.Wilkes-Barre Barons win Eastern League pennant….King’s College family campaign for a new science building 
is successful.
24.Veterans Administration building evacuated in six minutes during fire drill.
25.Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissin approves Lehigh Valley Railroad’s request to drop John Wilkes train 
service to Wilkes-Barre.
26.Prof. Charles B. Reif, member of Wilkes College faculty, declares Harveys Lake, in volume of water, is 
Pennsylvania’s largest natural lake, but is second largest on basis of acreage.
27.425 students close Model General Assembly of United Nations at Wilkes College.
28.Air Force transport plane crashes at Avoca Airport.

APRIL
1.Anthracite Institute announces anthracite sales at producer level for the coal year ending March 31 down 14 
per cent from the 1956-57 coal year.
2.Three-car garage and automobile are destroyed by fire at Luzerne.
3.Two-story frame dwelling at 24 Darling Street badly damaged by fire….Stegmaier Brewing Company employes paid
with silver dollars to mark the silver anniversary of the relegalization of beer.
4.Regional churches observe Good Friday services….Highways clogged with traffic entering Wilkes-Barre.
5.Rise in Lehigh River caused by rain and melted snow damages part of temporary diversion dam on Bear Creek 
Dam project.
6.Thousands brave rain to celebrate Easter in churches.
7.Three Wyoming residents, marooned on an island in Bowman’s Creek, Wyoming County, rescued….After-Easter 
shoppers converge on central city, causing traffic congestion.
8.Walter C. Wood elected superintendent of City schools….Lake Carey fisherman believed drowned in the 
turbulent Susquehanna River survives battle with the river.
9.Senate Labor Rackets Committee announces it will check local dress industry….North Branch of Osterhout 
Library damaged by fire.
10.Theft of a stop sign from standard at Rutter Avenue and Butler Street, Kingston, results in two-car 
collision.
11.Thompson Derr and Brother, Incorporated, celebrates 100th anniversary.
12.Berwick Boat Club members arrive in Wilkes-Barre by way of Susquehanna. River.
13.Tentative articles of agreement for the proposed jointure of Lehman-Jackson-Ross Jointure and Lake-Noxen 
Jointure discussed in Lehman Township High School.
14.Wilkes-Barre Ballet Guild gives performance in Irem Temple.
15.Ashley-Newton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7021 honors past commanders by presenting jackets….Rumblings 
of discontent heard with the city’s removal of majority of parking meters around Public Square  to provide for
parallel instead of diagonal parking.
16.Mrs. Edwin T. Roth, Dallas, crowned “Mrs. Wyoming Valley” as high-light of 1958 Parade of Progress….Glen 
Alden Corporation and List Industries, Incorporated, proposed merger delayed until New York State Supreme 
Court acts on motions.
17.Retreat State Hospital announces gradual decrease in patients.
18.Civil Defense workers and State Police alerted following the discovery of a break in the base of a 
concrete dam which forms Lake Lehigh at Ricketts Glen State Park.
19.Wilkes-Barre Philharmonic Orchestra closes seventh season….Stockholders of W. H. Nicholson and Company 
approve increase in number of directors.
20.Orange Methodist Church celebrates 125th anniversary….Dr. Eugene S. Farley elected president of new Luzerne
County United Community Development Conference.
21.Injured dog, which had been under a bridge in Edwardsville for 10 days, rescued.
22.Mrs. Margaret Bohn, Lee Park, named to fill the unexpired term of her late husband on Hanover Township 
School Board….Contracts approved for construction of a National Guard Armory at West Pittston.
23.Ashley ex-sailor, Joseph T. Vrabel, proclaimed best revolver shot in 53-year history of Pennsylvania State 
Police.
24.Five area Methodist churches and Wyoming Seminary hold major events, including two cornerstone layings, 
two ground-breakings, one consecration service and a sesquicentennial celebration.
25.Rev. Leon W. Bouton, pastor of First Methodist Church, Endicott, N.Y., named superintendent of Wilkes-Barre
District of Wyoming Conference.
26.Luzerne County Christian Endeavor Alumni holds eight annual dinner….Hanover Township Commissioners appoint 
four-member mining commission to combat property damage by mining and stripping.
27.90 business firms ask City officials to restore parking meters which where removed from central city 
streets.

MAY
1.Army rejects plan for construction of pumping station at the Forty Fort Airport….Vandals smear red paint on 
side of small non-denominational Larksville Mountain Chapel.
2.Japanese Cherry blossoms on River Common bloom.
3.Acting Mayor J. Harry May asks traffic consultants to consider utilization of park area of Public Square 
for the parking of vehicles.
4.Pennsylvania State Council, Knights of Columbus, opens 60th annual meeting in Wilkes-Barre.
5.Local architects oppose use of Public Square for parking or vehicular traffic….Wilkes College purchases Glen 
Alden Corporation’s office building, president’s residence and parking lot at 16 South River Street.
6.Wyoming Valley Old Time Boxers Association holds dinner at Wilkes-Barre American Legion Home….Dupont 
prospective bridegroom loses $3,442. nest egg in Pittston two days before his scheduled marriage.
7.Wyoming Conference Methodists vote salary increases for superintendents and ministers.
8.25 Methodist Churches receive new ministers as the result of pastoral assignments read at concluding session 
of Wyoming Conference.
9.Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts addresses 927 members of Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce.
10.Story of the work of the United Fund carried to approximately 3,000 small firms and organizations 
throughout Wyoming Valley.
11.General Hospital and Mercy Hospital receive $750,000 each in Federal funds….More than 90 per cent of 
schools in Luzerne County equal or better educational requirements recently adopted by the State Council of 
Education.
12.George S. Eckman retires after 29 years as manager of Wilkes-Barre - Wyoming Valley Municipal Airport at 
Forty Fort.
13.Sister Mary Evelyn, RSM, treasurer of College Misericordia, named winner of a Carnegie Grant to study 
college business management.
14.Ground-breaking ceremonies for a new $231,000 Air Reserve training center at Wyoming Valley Airport.
15.May crowning ceremonies at College Misericordia.
16.Attorney Herbert Winkler elected president of the newly organized Wyoming Valley United NationsAssociation.
17.Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce requests Luzerne County Courthouse receive thorough cleaning and 
be repaired.
18.Third annual Fine Arts Fiesta opens on Public Square….Mercy Hospital directors move to build an annex 
costing $2,500,000.
19.Plan for an airport authority to govern Wilkes-Barre - Scranton Airport at Avoca discussed by the 
transportation committee of Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce.
20.Samuel M. Wolfe, Jr., elected president of Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce.
21.Jews celebrate birthday anniversary of the Ten Commandments in synagogs and homes.
22.Joseph Jones, Wilkes-Barre’s No. 1 on the roster, retires from police department after a 43-year career.
23.Wilkes-Barre Wyoming Valley Merchants Association agree to work with city officials to solve traffic and 
parking problems….Budget of $3,970,934 for the 1958-1959 school year adopted by Wilkes-Barre School Board.
24.Erection of proposed Luzerne County Institution District home for the infirm indigent on the East End 
Boulevard to cost approximately $4,355,562 according to unofficial low bids opened at courthouse….Wyoming 
Valley Hospital Auxiliary presents $1,000 to hospital.
25.Freshman class of Nesbitt Memorial School of Nursing holds annual candlelight service.
26.Thousands participate in observance of Memorial Day in Wyoming Valley….Mrs. Mary B. Turley, Nanticoke, 
becomes first winner in the Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company’s “Coinword Puzzle Contest.”

JUNE
1.Pennsylvania Power & Light Company announces camping areas at Lake Wallenpaupack to be converted into 
recreation spots for picnicking and short-term campers….233 graduate from Wilkes College, 182 from King’s 
College.
2,Plymouth Council discontinues fire protection to Plymouth Township….Charles E. Hodges, Nanticoke, gives 
valedictory address at Mount St. Mary’s College, Maryland. Described by President Eisenhower as the he had 
ever heard.
3.Contracts awarded for repairs and renovations to the 109th Field Artillery Armory.
4.Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Leon W. Bouton honored by Wilkes-Barre District of Wyoming Methodist Conference. Rev. 
Bouton was recently appointed superintendent of the district.
5.Thousands of Wyoming Valley idle may get 15 weeks additional employment compendation under a proposal 
signed in Waashington by officials of Pennsylvania and the federal government.
6.City Council completes selection of five business, industrial and professional men to administer Wilkes-
Barre City’s long-range urban redevelopment program.
7.3,000 attend “Shrine-on-parade” ceremony at Irem Temple Country Club….West Side Central Catholic High School
has first graduation.
8.New swimming pool at Kis-Lyn, Luzerne County Industrial School for Boys, dedicated in memory of Dr. B. J. 
McGuire of West Pittston.
9.Water problem in Sunset section of Harveys Lake, creates traffic hazards.
10.Wyoming Valley New Car Dealers’ Association sponsors a “You Auto Buy Now!” campaign.
11.Wilkes-Barre host for 10th annual convention of County Treasurers’ Association of Pennsylvania.
12.Pilot lost in fog crashed atop Larksville mountain.
13.State Secretary of Public Welfare, Harry Shapiro, denies plans for closing Nanticoke and Hazleton State 
Hospitals….Rev. Cyril M. Frankovich, St. Joseph’s Church, honored on the 25th anniversary of his ordination.
14.Leak is discovered in Miner Park swimming pool.
15.Council adopts ordinance establishing Wilkes-Barre Urban Redevelopment Authority.
16.More than 400 automobiles sold by Wyoming Valley New Car Dealers Association during “You Auto Buy Now!” 
campaign.
17.Ground-breaking ceremonies for new chapel at Wilkes-Barre Veterans’ Hospital….New elevator in Wilkes-Barre 
Post Office dedicated.
18.54 girl campers lost on a hike in the Pocono Mountains found by helicopter supplied by Tobyhanna Signal 
Depot.
19.Wyoming Valley Hospital’s new center wing opened to patients….Mail service between Philadelphia and Wilkes-
Barre speeded by use of trucks over Northeastern Extension of Pennsylvania Turnpike.
20.Senate Rackets Committee investigator starts probe of alleged racket infiltration in Wilkes-Barre - 
Scranton area garment industry.
21.Twenty-third conclave of the Associated Chapters, Order of DeMolay of Pennsylvania, opens at Hotel Sterling.
22,City Council agrees to set-up a five-member Wilkes-Barre Municipal Parking Authority.
23.Shriners induct 200 candidates at an open air ceremony at Irem Temple Country Club.
24.Truckload of fireworks explodes at North Pennsylvania Avenue and Scott Street….Pennsylvania Supreme Court 
halt Glen Alden Corporation’s merger with List Industries, Incorporated.

JULY
1.Taxpayers’ Association of Wyoming Valley disbands….Few gripes heard as warm weather finally hits region.
2.Nanticoke has two general alarm fires within three hours….St. Nicholas Grek Catholic Church rectory, 
Swoyersville, damaged by surface settlement.
3.Glen Alden Corporation sells two anthracite silt banks at Huber Colliery for $2,000,000 to United Gas 
Improvement Company.
4.Crossroads Evangelistic Crusade draws large crowd….Hundreds attend 14th Lehman Horse Show.
5.City playgrounds popular as scorching weather arrives.
6.Lakes, parks attract many as heat continues.
7.Forty Fort Council moves to curb stream pollution….Grace B Daniels, Kingston, elected president of National 
Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs at Seattle convention.
8.National Science Foundation awards $7,400 to Wilkes College for research.
9.Officials of railroads serving Wyoming Valley study methods to make roads more efficient.
10.Susquehanna Savings and Loan Association approved as an authorized agent of Federal Housing Administration.
11.Five Wyoming Valley posts represented at Pennsylvania Department of Amvets convention….Wyoming National 
Bank of Wilkes-Barre to establish a branch at Gateway Shopping Center on the West Side.
12.Fireworks display draws crowd to Penn Lake.
13.Four hundred members of Irem Temple AAONMS leave by special train for Chicago to attend Imperial Council 
sessions.
14.West Point Military Academy adopts march written by Thomas Jones, Wilkes-Barre, for football song.
15.Four rainstorms hit region.
16.Trial runs on Giants’ Despair Hill Climb held.
17.Pennsylvania Fish Commission announces drive against reckless powerboat speeding on Luzerne County’s 
smaller lakes.
18.Grand Opera presented for the first time at Sans Souci Park….Ground broken for construction of a $25,000 
Roman Catholic Chapel at Lake Carey.
19.Traffic on Harveys Lake Highway delayed when accident lowers high tension wires to seven feet above the 
road….Thousands of dollars await claims by owners in Luzerne County banks and trust companies.
20.Dense fog in mountains slows vehicular traffic….22 from area aboard ships off Lebanon in Middle East.
21.Boulevard Manor Water Association announces it will be necessary to plead bankruptcy if forced to relocate 
water and power lines at site of the proposed home for the aged.
22.City Street Department cautions janitors and other employes of business establishments against sweeping 
debris into gutters.
23.River Common use for parking recommended by traffic consultants.
24.Support of Glen Alden Coporation’s stockholders sought in legal action which charges the firm’s officers 
with mismanagement.
25.Teenagers at Lake Nuangola conduct water sports carnival.
26.72-year-old Sugar Notch berry picker found after being missing for three days.
27.New Parking Authority created by Wilkes-Barre City officials….Wilkes-Barre City School District plans 
practical nurse training program during the 1958-1959 school year.
28.109th Field Artillery Battalion advance detail leaves for Indiantown Gap encampment.
29.U. S. Weather Bureau at Avoca announces area had only one clear day during July….Letter writers protest 
plan to use River Common for parking.

AUGUST
1.25 receive degrees at College Misericordia….West Side Lions Club purchases hydraulic lift for use by ill 
persons.
2.109th Field Artillery Battalion leaves for summer camp at Indiantown Gap.
3.Masons elect Charles S. Crouse, Hazleton, president of Joshua Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
4.Civil Air Patrol takes part in Statewide exercise….Dust protesters block entrance to Farmers’ Night Market, 
Kingston.
5.Wilkes-Barre Township School Board orders two schools closed….Irem Temple leaders greet Imperial Potentate 
George E. Stringfellow at Irem Temple Country Club.
6.Members of Irem Temple and families hold annual picnic at Irem Temple County Club….Greater Wilkes-Barre 
Chamber of Commerce urges retraining program to aid older unemployed.
7.Suite flying in rear of car causes crash….Luzerne County Planning Commission employs consultant.
8.109th Field Artillery Battalion Medical Detachment rated “Best” for second year.
9.Carnival ends 3-day festival at Lake Silkworth.
10.Driverless auto delays 162-car Lehigh Valley Raiload train at Laceyville.
11.Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is licensed by Atomic Energy Commission for peacetime uses of nuclear
 materials….Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation announces plans to replace trackless trolleys with gasoline buses.
12.Heights residents vexed by dust from strip-mining operation.
13.Civil Aeronautics Administration announces new radar system to be installed at Wilkes-Barre -Scranton 
Airport.
14.Warm, humid weather continues….4 taxpayers win injunction curbing Dupont School District expenditures.
15.109th Field Artillery Battalion returns from summer encampment.
16.Lady of the Lake contest held at Harveys Lake….Fine weather crowds highways.
17.$5,540,000 is allocated for area water projects by Senate-House parley.
18.State Department of Forests and Waters engineers inspect Solomon’s Creek….A tractor-trailer turns over 
trying to avoid hitting car.
19.Newspaper carriers hold annual picnic at Sans Souci Park.
20.Luzerne County opens bids for Indigent Aged….1,500 children take part in playground finale.
21.Wilkes-Barre City Republican Committee opens registration drive.
22.Controversy over control of police department continues at Avoca Borough.
23.Harveys Lake boat races attract many….2 killed when car drops into river at Nanticoke.
24.Court supports Avoca burgess’s say on who will use police cruiser car.
25.300 at American Legion testimonial for Louis J. Greco….State accepts Wilkes-Barre City Parking Authority’s 
articles of incorporation.
26.Miners discuss ways to have $100 monthly pensions restored to retired mine workers….55 to study nursing at 
Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.
27.Juveniles hide in car truck to get into drive-in theater….Coal mining operation halted as dust nuisance 
continues.
28.New nurse class at Wyoming Valley Hospital School of Nursing entertained.
29 Mine workers want merger of Anthracite and Bituminous Health and Welfare Funds.
30.St. Anthony’s Church, Larksville, observes its golden jubilee….Holiday and heat bring much traffic on 
regional highways to amusement areas.

SEPTEMBER
1.Cool air cuts area activities….Historic Exchange Hotel, Kingston, sold to Kingston National Bank.
2.Wilkes-Barre Township parents protest closing of two schools….Wilkes-Barre health authorities probe dog 
poisoning wave.
3.Senator Dennis Chavez of New Mexico in favor of Army Engineers restoring Wilkes-Barre’s dike to design level.
4.United Fund sets $1,200,000 as goal for 1959 campaign….Many out-of-state children enroll in Wilkes-Barre 
City public schools.
5.Fire destroys idle breaker at Milneville.
6.Miners fight for $100 pension checks….Republicans lead in voting registrations.
7.Cornerstone laid at St. Jude’s School, Mountaintop….Local colleges await freshmen.
8.Classes start at St. Jude’s School, Mountaintop….Miners support a proposal for merger of the anthracite and 
bituminous welfare funds.
9.Newly created Wilkes-Barre Parking Authority holds its first meeting….YWCA opens drive for new members.
10.30 graduated from Nesbitt Memorial Hospital School of Nursing.
11.Upperclassmen register at Wilkes College.
12.Rev. Howard Goeringer, secretary of Wyoming Valley Council of Churches, cited at farewell dinner.
13.Island of mud traps two city boys at Plainsville….Key jobs in United Fund drive filled.
14.Jews mark Rosh Hashonah….Rev. Fred W. Trumbore feted on 25th anniversary as rector of St. Clement’s 
Episcopal Church.
15.Catholic Youth Center opens 11th annual membership drive….Jersey Central Railroad sounds out unions on use 
of Lehigh Valley Raiload tracks.
16.Public schools in LuzernenCounty enroll 53,162….Wilkes-Barre City School Board leases Guthrie School to 
Pennsylvania State University.
17.Post Office Department clamps down on mailing of obscene material….Luzerne County Superintendent of Schools
stresses need for better schools in the Pittston area.
18.United Mine Workers back United Fund….State Police at Wyoming Barracks take Civil Defense Course.
19.State Council of Pennsylvania. Daughters of America, holds 67th annual session dinner at Hotel Sterling….
Cleric’s wife is second time Coinword winner.
20.Many family reunions held in area month’s total rainfall twice normal.
21.600 honor Msgr. Roman L. Gizara on elevation to rank of domestic prelate….Eaton Baptist Church celebrates 
135th anniversary.
22.State Department of Mines and Mineral Industries fails in attempt to stop fire spreading in Wilkes-Barre 
Mountain….Many register for Teen Canteen.
23.Members of District 1, United Mine Workers, plan to join Districts 7 and 9 in pressing for eventual merger 
of anthracite and bituminous Health and Welfare Funds.
24.Misericordia College adds seven persons to its teaching staff….100 persons search woods near Suscon for 
lost woman.
25.400 magicians converge on Wyoming Valley to hold convention….Lost Dupont woman walks out of woods….The 
Wilkes-Barre - Hanover Township flood control levee found to be in “generally satisfactory” condition by Army 
Engineers.
26.Wyoming National Bank of Wilkes-Barre breaks ground at Gateway Shopping Center for new West Side branch….
Wilkes-Barre - Scranton pastoral retreat at Shavertown.
27.Hula hoop fad hits region…..Osterhout Free Library announces it will charge service fees for persons who do
not live in Wilkes-Barre.
28.St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, city, honors Rev. Stephen Tuhy on golden anniversary of his 
ordination to ministry….Sacred Heart Church, Plains, marks 75th anniversary.
29.Wyoming Valley Girl Scouts light candle to start 35th anniversary….Groundbreaking ceremonies held for Motor
Twins new building in Kingston.
30.Avoca Borough Council asks Pennsylvania Supreme Court to uphold dismissal of two Avoca policemen….7.1 
inches of rain falls during September.

OCTOBER
1.500 attend Word of Life Youth Campaign in Wilkes College gymnasium….Wilkes-Bare Post Office experiments 
with ways to speed mail.
2.Executive board of Wyoming Valley Council of Churches expresses concern over the type of some movies being 
shown locally.
3.Property Owners’ Protective Association opposes Hanover Township’s request Luzerne County maintain some of 
its roads.
4.Installation of officers and conferring of degrees highlight the institution of a new Temple Council of 
Royal and Select Masters in Tunkhannock.
5.St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Wyoming, dedicated….St. Mary’s Polish Church, Swoyersville, honors Rev. 
Anthony G. Lewandowski, pastor.
6.First breath of winter felt locally as thermometers drop below freezing.
7.Wyoming Valley Opera Guild sponsors “Rigoletto” in Irem Temple….United Fund campaign starts.
8.Giants’ Despair Hill Climb Association and the Northeast Pennsylvania Region Sports Car Club of America 
give Wilkes-Barre General Hospital proceeds of 1958 hill climb and road races.
9.Early morning heavy fog covers Wyoming Valley making driving treacherous….Luzerne County Medical Society 
approves action to increase doctors’ fees.
10.Three main line coal companies announce final seasonal increase in prices of most sizes of coal….New Jersey 
District Luther League meets in Trinity Lutheran Church, city, for two days.
11.Fall foliage and a bright blue sky lures motorists to regional highways.
12.Columbus League of Luzerne holds 12th annual dinner….158 students invested in academic caps and gowns at 
College Misericordia.
13.Lehigh Valley Industries opens Dorrance mines for first time in five months….Weather cool and damp.
14.Officers and men of 109th Field Artillery Battalion donate 73 pints of blood….Irem Temple uniformed bodies 
tour five counties.
15.Electrical generator weighing million pounds moved through Buttonwood yards of Pennsylvania Railroad.
16.Wilkes-Barre Post Office takes steps to speed Christmas mail….State Police from Harrisburg raid six alleged
gambling places in area.
17.Electrical-powered transportation in Wyoming Valley passes into oblivion when last trackless trolley coach 
completes trip from Public Square to Pittston and return.
18.Dallas Township thieves back car to house to carry loot….Credit Union Day marked by Wyoming Valley groups.
19.183rd anniversary of founding of 109th Field Artillery Battalion and its predecessors marked.
20.Rock falls kills man on Bear Creek Dam job.
21.29th annual dinner of Economy Stores held at Irem Temple….Wilkes-Barre Firemen ask pay increases.
22.Narrows Shopping Center, Route 11, Edwardsville, holds grand opening.
23.Wilkes-Barre Lions Club observes National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.
24.Permanent rebuilding of Wilkes-Barre flood control levee between West South Street and Old River Road 
discussed.
25.Young Republican Women of Greater Wilkes-Barre donate proceeds from annual ball to local hospitals….Snow 
blankets mountains as motorists get foretaste of winter.
26.United Fund campaign successful, realizing more than $1 million.
27.Wyoming Valley New Car Dealers’ Association endorses the new Federal “truth in labeling” law in pricing of 
new automobiles….Consolidated Cigar Corporation plant wins plaque for safety.
28.Frank Townend, Wilkes-Barre attorney, named campaign chairman of the 1960 Wyoming Valley United Fund Drive.
Thirteen cars of a Jersey Central Railroad train derailed at Gracedale.
29.Grand jury ignores cases against 20 persons arrested by State Police in gambling raids.
30.Lehman Township Volunteer Fire Company gets new fire truck from anonymous donor.

NOVEMBER
1.Wilkes-Barre Ballet Guild launches membership drive...King’s College debating team wins at King’s Point.
2.Wyoming Valley Oratorio Society observes 10th anniversary.
3.Wyoming Seminary junior class shatters 115 year tradition of school by electing Jane M. Morris, Kingston, 
president….Election orderly throughout Luzerne County.
4.1,000 more parking spots seen needed in city….Fog curtails attendance at area schools.
5.Hunter crawls quarter mile with broken hip….Four policemen suspended at Nanticoke as a result of an 
Election Day incident.
6.Abandoned home and two barns burn in Exeter Borough.
7.50,000 stand in bright warm sun to see colorful Veterans Day parade….Regional schools observe American 
Education Week.
8.Anthracite Post 283, Veterans of Foreign Wars, observes 40th anniversary.
9.Lower level county parking lot gets face lifting as crews remove loose rock washed from upper level.
10.City officials attempt to arrange Social Security for municipal employes without exhorbitant expenditure 
fails….Tenth anniversary of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union Health Center in Wilkes-Barre 
observed.
11.City firemen told by city council $200 will be extent of pay boost for 1959….Youths between 16 and 21 years
lead in Luzerne County’s record of 40 driving fatalities for 1958.
12.Regina’s of King’s College observe tenth anniversary.
13.75 delegates of Pennsylvania Tavern Association meet in Wilkes-Barre the first time in 18 years.
14.Fog in area makes driving hazardous….Average hourly earnings for manufacturing in area hits a record high 
of $1.60.
15.City petitions court for right to levy 19.67 mills tax to provide general revenue for the 1959 budget.
16.Five stores open doors at Shavertown Shopping Center….Voice of America staff interviews miners at Glen 
Alden’s Huber Colliery.
17.United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare approves General Hospital’s bid for $1,000,000 
grant.
18.Observance of Farm-City Week begins in Wyoming Valley.
19.Plymouth $500,000 flood control projects in first stages….Copy of the Wilkes-Bare Record of 40 years ago 
found in fairly good condition in a worked-out section of Dorrance mine of Lehigh Valley industries, 
Incorporated.
20.Rev. Dionysios Papadatos, retiring after 13 years as pastor of Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annuciation, 
and Rev. Stylianos Koutroulelis, new pastor, honored by parishioners at testimonial dinner.
21.Wyoming Historical and Geological Society opposes use of the River Common for either parking or widening 
of South River Street….Christmas lights turned on in Wilkes-Barre central city shopping district.
22.City officials announce plans to widen South River Steet despite protests on loss of beauty….Wilkes-Barre 
Philharmonic Orchestra opens seventh season.
23.Three interstate bus firms servicing Wilkes-Barre announce 6 per cent fare increases….Lehigh Valley 
Railroad, sole railroad servicing this area with passenger service, plans to end passenger service.
24.Wyoming Valley enjoys Thanksgiving holiday free of traffic accidents….Kingston High School football team 
wins Wyoming Valley Conference title.
25.Winter arrives early with a mixture of rain, sleet, snow and rapidly dropping temperatures.

Typed by Robin Percy,  July 2004