Today we note a special occasion – it’s a birthday celebration, in fact.
On Thursday, not only did we get a pile of snow, but we also celebrated the Sunday Dispatch’s 70 birthday. The Dispatch rolled out its very first issue on Feb. 9, 1947.
Not many original editions have survived 70 years. In fact, we could only find one and it’s not in the best shape. It’s very yellowed, pages are torn and some pages are not intact.
Looking over the cover of the paper, there were two local stories I can see; the rest is all national news. What is familiar is the Sunday Dispatch logo; it’s the same today as in the beginning.
Approximately 15% of the page is missing, including an article about Pittston native, college sports legend and NFL Hall of Famer, Charlie Trippi. But from what I can gather and with a bit of research, it looks like Trippi signed a pro baseball contract with the Atlanta Crackers, a minor league team where he hit for .334 in 106 games.
Trippi later that year signed a four-year contract for $100,000 in addition to a $25,000 first year bonus with the St. Louis Cardinals football team.
Ninety-five years old today, Trippi resides in Georgia.
It appears there were eight stories on the front page and the other local article centered on bidders for tax sale homes in Luzerne County.
Oddly enough, a big snowstorm came through that week, just as we had the other day. The 5” to 11” storm killed six people in New York City. Two men succumbed from shoveling snow.
My dad graduated from Pittston High School just a few months after the first edition of the Dispatch was published. One of his classmates, Charlie “Chichi” Maira, along with St. John’s classmates Carmen Manganiello and Joe Kelly were reported to be furthering their football careers at “some of the nation’s leading colleges.”
The Dispatch came out in time for the big Valentine Dance at Fox Hill Country Club sponsored by Our Lady of Mt. Carmel announced Commander Charles A. Adonizio of the Catholic War Veterans, Post 1124. Adonizio would later be named Sunday Dispatch Person of the Year for 2003.
Atty. Joseph Saporito served as general chairperson for the event. As we know, the late attorney later became the mayor of Pittston from 1953 to 1958. Atty. Saporito inspired the Dispatch to name a Lifetime Achievement Award in his name after his death.
The American Theatre, Main Street, Pittston, was advertising a movie featuring Walter Pidgeon, Claudette Colbert and June Allyson in “The Secret Heart.”
The Roman Theatre, Broad Street, Pittston, was playing The Gentleman from Texas staring Johnny Mack Brown.
The Liberty Theater, Exeter, and the Palace Theatre, Avoca, were playing “The Jolson Story,” a movie about entertainer Al Jolson.
When introducing the new paper to Pittston, Publisher John C. Kehoe Jr. said, “Though this issue is small in composition to metropolitan weeklies, we are proud of the Sunday Dispatch because we know of the many obstacles overcome to achieve this, the first publication.”
He went on to say, “Your Sunday Dispatch will appear on the newsstands every Sunday. It is a new venture but a permanent figure for the future. Each week we will add to the enjoyment that we are certain the reading of this newspaper will provide.”
The Sunday Dispatch has been the “bible” of sorts for news and information covering the towns that encompass the Pittston Area and Wyoming Area school districts. It has always been the “go-to” source for all things happening in Greater Pittston.
I could remember as a child, we literally would fight for the rights to read the Dispatch first in our household. After you completed reading it, you would have to put the paper back just the way you found it, so the next person could experience reading it as the first time that Sunday.
The interesting thing about the Dispatch is its shelf life. Most papers are read and discarded on the same day. Most people keep the Dispatch around for days and maybe a whole week until the next edition rolls out.
My friend, Bill “Cowboy” Watson’s family owned the Sunday Dispatch for many years before selling to the Times Leader. Bill recently stated, and I couldn’t say it any better, “The paper (Dispatch) was about the Greater Pittston community. We were connected; we lived and loved our community. My grandfather, father and (brother) Chick had a knack for creating debate in the community – that sold papers. (And) pictures – if your photo didn’t appear in the Dispatch for a year, you were considered missing.”
I’ve been a huge fan of the Sunday Dispatch since childhood, an avid reader, and now a contributing writer and photographer. I’m proud of my affiliation with the Dispatch since 1999.
Quote of the week
“A little kindness from person to person is better than a vast love for all humankind.” – Richard Dehmel, German playwright.
Thought of the week
“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Berthold Auerbach, German novelist.
Bumper sticker
“A good husband makes a good wife.” – Robert Burton, English writer
