1947 – 68 years ago
Members of the Hughestown Panthers baseball team were treated to a trip to New York after winning the City League pennant. They took in a Giants-Chicago Cubs baseball game, visited the Empire State Building and Central Park. The trip was funded by league president Dr. Sylvester Tracy and others who had contributed to the league throughout the year. Team members Edward McArdle, Forest Renfer, William Hoban, Vincent Traglia, Primo Marconi, John McNulty, Herbert Clark, Theodore Abromavage, Thomas Moss, Silver Salio, Allan Clelland, Thomas Brown and Charles Karichner were treated to a dinner at Gilhooley’s Restaurant at the corner of 8th Avenue and 46th Street in New York City.
1957 – 58 years ago
Carl Luchetti gave a last minute inspection to a new Edsel sign erected above his auto showroom in West Pittston. The car dealership was sanctioned by Ford Motor Company to receive new Edsels to be available for sale on Sept. 4, 1957. According to edsel.com, after a multi-million dollar promotion, 2.5 million car buyers descended on authorized dealerships across the country. Unfortunately, very few purchased the much-anticipated vehicle that some thought did not match up to their expectations. That, along with an economic recession and a shift toward more fuel-efficient cars, led to Ford dropping the model the following year. There are less than 6,000 Edsels in existence.
In 1926, the Fort Jenkins Bridge connecting North Main Street in Pittston with Exeter and Wyoming avenues in West Pittston was known as “the most beautiful bridge of our time.” But in 1957, it showed signs of age with crumbling sidewalks and railings and weeds growing through grates. The bridge was constructed by Luzerne County and later turned over to state jurisdiction. On the West Pittston side of the bridge, an historical marker marks the location of a the “stockaded home” of Connecticut settler John Jenkins. In 1788, the home was burned by British forces during the American Revolution.
1967 – 48 years ago
Brothers Francis and William Ramiza, of Pittston, were set to leave for military service on the same day. Francis would report to the U.S. Air Force Base in Texas and William to the Marine Base at Parris Island. Both young men enlisted for four-year terms.
Airman First Class Kenneth L. Roberto, of West Pittston, celebrated his birthday in Vietnam. He was serving with the 633rd Combat Support Group at Pleiku.
Marine Lance Corporal Thomas J. Morris, of Wyoming, was serving at Chu Lai, South Vietnam with Force Logistic Support Group “Bravo,” a unit of the Force Logistics Command and Seaman John R. Roberts of Duryea was with the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, serving aboard the attack aircraft carrier U.S.S. America.
The Pittston Area School District unveiled its new acquisition — a mobile library and classroom. Costing over $26,000, the motor coach was furnished with wall-to-wall carpeting, air conditioning, heating, tables and chairs and enough shelving to accommodate approximately 5,000 books. The mobile library would be utilized by the 10 district elementary buildings and eight elementary parochial schools.
Conducting an investigation as to who would create such destruction, Patrolman Louis Mantione of the Pittston Police Department reported that 18 Pittston Area classrooms and the school auditorium were seriously damaged by vandals. The “culprits” gained access through a boiler room window and wreaked havoc on American flags, gym mats, books, school records and trophies. Also destroyed was a memorial from the 1952 graduating class. Fingerprints were taken.
1977 – 38 years ago
The Hughestown Ladies softball team completed an undefeated season, making them champs of the Greater Pittston Ladies Softball League for the second year. The girls scored 165 runs during the season. Members of the team were Sheila McDonnell, Cathy Hintze, Bev Winslow, Sharon Jackson, Chris Meile, Marlene Marriggi, Sandy Gardner, Lorraine Bartush, Kathy Bianco, Kim Walsh, Sue Renfer, Ann English, Carol Kutney, Jennie Centrella and Michelle Cadora. To see a photo of some of the team members, log on to psdispatch.com and click on Peeking into the Past.
A new class of student nurses was welcomed at the Pittston Hospital School of Nursing by Esther J. Tinsley, administrator emeritus, and Rosemary Zurla, director of nursing education. Members of the new class were Lynn Gambino, Janet Nicholson, Virginia Sudo, Denise Razawich, Monica Petonak, Elizabeth Liberati, Pamela Popko, Mary Jo Sagliocco, Marcella Leo, Deborah Havard, Ann Marie Regis, Cassaundra Bratlee, Linda Goul, Margaret Pace, Donna Brennan, Irene Mike, Virginia Kelly, Michele Erwine, Joyce Loughney, Karen Pascucci, Joanne Mudlock, Kathy Lyons, Hazel Holtz, Arthur Masteller, Joseph Spinosa, William Harding, Ivana Menichini, Margaret Belotti, Andrianna Renfer and Mary Jo Rother. To see a photo of the class, log on to psdispatch.com and click on Peeking into the Past.
This day in history:
30 BC – Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, commits suicide.
1781 – The French fleet arrives in the Chesapeake Bay to aid the American Revolution.
1979 – First recorded instance of a comet (Howard-Koomur-Michels) hitting the sun; the energy released is equal to approximately 1 million hydrogen bombs.
