1950 – 69 YEARS AGO

Fourteen-year-old Francis Granahan, of Pittston, ended up in Pittston Hospital with a bullet wound to his left leg. The young fellow, a paper boy for the Scranton Times, was target shooting at the Hughestown reservoir with a .22-gauge rifle earlier in the day. After several bullets failed to go off in the rifle, Granahan threw the bullets into a fire that was burning nearby. The bullets exploded, one striking Granahan in the leg. He did not notify anyone of his wound, walked home and then picked up his bike and cycled to the Times office in Pittston to pick up his papers. His fellow carriers noticed his bleeding leg. Pittston police were called and rushed young Granahan to the hospital.

Mrs. Samuel Leonardi, of Pittston, made a promise to God and she kept it. The promise was that she would arrange for a 10-foot crucifix to be placed in St. Rocco’s Church if World War II would end and her sons, as well as those of her neighbors, returned safely from the service. The war ended shortly after her promise and Leonardi went about collecting donations throughout Greater Pittston. By 1950, she was able to make good on her promise by presenting the crucifix to Rev. Vincent Bonomi, pastor of St. Rocco’s Church.

Two Greater Pittston girls were “in a league of their own” as they were preparing to leave for “schooling” with the All-American Girls Baseball League. Joan Davenport, of Hughestown, and Betty Ritzie, of Dupont, excelled in athletics in high school and competed in the tryouts. They were recommended as outstanding prospects for the league. The girls were set to attend an all-expense paid baseball finishing school in South Bend, Indiana. Those who were accepted would be assigned to league teams others were offered positions with barnstorming teams that traveled throughout the country playing exhibition games.

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1961 – 58 YEARS AGO

The ladies of Pittston presented a handmade silk flag to Company M of the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, also known as Schooley’s Battery. The unit left for battle in 1862 with 144 names on its roster. Battery M fought in defense of Washington, DC and, after that, joined Grant’s Army at the Battle of Cold Harbor. The unit carried the flag throughout the war. The 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery was the largest regiment to serve in the Union Army, with over 5,000 officers and enlisted men in its ranks.

Joseph Sewatsky closed his barber shop on North Main Street on April 1, 1961, 60 years to the day on which he began his apprenticeship. Mr. Sewatsky remembered putting in 85 hours a week, opening at 7:30 a.m. and closing around 10 p.m., sometimes working until midnight to accommodate those who worked different shifts. He owned shops in Pittston Junction, Tenderloin Section and the Flat Iron Building and remembered styles such as the pompadour, crew cut and ducktail. Born in Lithuania in 1885, he came to America in 1893, married Mary Andruzis and had two sons, Albert and Joseph Jr.

1962 – 57 YEARS AGO

Local baseball scout Paul Pascoe, of Duryea, signed Bernie Richards and Wesley Mugford, both of Pittston, to contracts with the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Richards and Mugford had played baseball together for many years, starting in Little League, Teeners and then Pittston High School. The pair had left for spring training and were expected to vie for placement on the American League farm team.

1971 – 48 YEARS AGO

Avoca Borough was incorporated in 1871 as Pleasant Valley. Borough officials changed the name to Avoca in 1887 after Avoca in Ireland. The borough suffered tragedy in 1888 when 37 inhabitants were killed in a train wreck known as the Mud Run Disaster. To read an account of the accident and cause in a New York Times Article published in October 1988, log onto nytimes.com and search Mud Run Disaster.

Captain Dino Lorenzini, a native of Exeter made a breakthrough in the testing of gyroscopes in inertial guidance systems. Captain Lorenzini’s approach made it possible to shorten the time needed to check the accuracy of the gyroscope, speeding up the correction process. Inertial guidance systems are used in submarines, aircraft and spaceships. The captain married Lucille Vincenti, of West Pittston, and had three sons, Edward, Dino Jr. and Michael.

1972 – 47 YEARS AGO

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate H-3rd Class Dennis S. Richards, of Exeter, was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga, the second “super carrier” in the world. In April 1972, it was sailing to the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam to a point called Yankee Station. There, it joined two other carriers for an eight-month tour of duty, offering air and long-range gun support for ground troops.

1976 – 43 YEARS AGO

In a new effort to fall within the guidelines of a favorable cost/benefit rating in order to sway the Army Corps of Engineers to consider flood protection for West Pittston, Council President Ray Crisci obtained the help of U.S. Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary David O. Melker. Melker sent a letter to the Army Corps, recommending the federal government “undertake those measures necessary to meet state and federal flood protection standards and to permit the locality to carry out planned redevelopment in the area.” United States Senator Hugh Scott, in a letter to Crisci, felt the redevelopment efforts in West Pittston would enable the borough to be reconsidered for a favorable rating, making flood protection “cost beneficial.”

1979 – 40 YEARS AGO

Hughestown celebrated ithe 100th anniversary of its incorporation as a borough. Mayor Leonard Balsavage proclaimed April 1 as “Hughestown Day.” Hughestown, or Hamtown, as it was once known, celebrated the fact that 38 residents living in the borough attained the age of 80 or more years. Those honored were Helen Strubeck, Martha Orr, Maude Halstead, Hazel Craig, Esther Helriegel, William Anderson, George Gitkos, Marino Salio, Pat Flynn James Toner, Mildred Schmaltz, Betty Lumley, Lucy Deeble, Edna Marsh, Howard Renfer, Howard Booth. Olive Tompkins, Elizabeth Andrews, Harry Burkel, Ana Sweeney, Ada Hamlin Concetta Adonizio, Anna Monk, Jean Lumley, Matilda Bori, Mary Jane Mastoria, Elsie DiCiccio, Harold Weitz, Minnie Weitz, Catherine Hoover, George Coleman, Charles Siglin, Mary Siglin, John Snopkowski, Mrs. John Marconi, Floyd Rapp and Nellie Adams.

1986 – 33 YEARS AGO

The Pittston YMCA sponsored the Catalina Synchronized Swim Team. Members presented a swim show, entitled “Movie Memories,” with solo swimmers Krista Carwardine performing to “War” from “Rocky IV” and Michelle Eifert performing to the love theme from “Flashdance.” Kim Hummer and Kathy Jones swam to “Memories” from “Cats” and junior members team Christine Calabrese, Jamie Evans, Laura Scarantino and Jennifer Moughan swam to “March of the Siamese Children” from the “King and I.” The swimmers were coached by Linda Scaz.

Pittston Area Senior High School presented Talent Show 86. Some of the students featured were Moria Barbieri, Amy Deice, Cindy Lucarella, Charlene Pace, Monica Yuhas, Kim Clarke, Maureen Ratchford, Jackie Mathis, Lou Haddick, Kim Klush, Romaine Gillow, Janine Kubasko and Ethel Van Luvender with Bill Yaple on sound and lights.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1789 — The First U.S. Congress begins regular sessions at Federal Hall in New York City.

1862 — Confederate forces attack General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee.

1896 — The Modern Olympics begin in Athens with eight nations participating.

1917 — The United States declares war on Germany and enters World War I on Allied side.

1938 — The United States recognizes Nazi Germany’s conquest of Austria.

1965 — President Lyndon B. Johnson authorizes the use of ground troops in combat operations.

BORN THIS DAY

1483 — Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio), Italian painter (Sistine Madonna)

1786 — Sacagawea (also Sacajawea), American explorer

1929 — Andre Previn, pianist and conductor

1937 — Merle Haggard, American country musician

https://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Judy-Minsavage.CMYK_.jpg.optimal.jpg

Capping exercises were held for the Class of 1981 of the Pittston Hospital School of Nursing. From left, first row, are Sandra Rome, Rosemarie Semenza, Megan Hirthler, Lisa Ruskus, Kim Kaminski, Donna Starinski, Sherry Sipple, Sandra Stachurski, Kathy Rizzo, Donna Zielinski, Janice Sopp, Debbie Sassi, Yolanda Morgan, Suzanne Valvonis, Annette Nardone. Second row, Linda Pluskey, Sondra, Stokas, Ann Marie Ardoline, Ann Marie Agliata, James Cella, was presented an emblem; Corinne Kress, Carol Raineri, Ann Marie Sokolowsky, Michelle Musto.
https://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_1981-CLASS-PITTSTON-HOSPITAL.jpg.optimal.jpgCapping exercises were held for the Class of 1981 of the Pittston Hospital School of Nursing. From left, first row, are Sandra Rome, Rosemarie Semenza, Megan Hirthler, Lisa Ruskus, Kim Kaminski, Donna Starinski, Sherry Sipple, Sandra Stachurski, Kathy Rizzo, Donna Zielinski, Janice Sopp, Debbie Sassi, Yolanda Morgan, Suzanne Valvonis, Annette Nardone. Second row, Linda Pluskey, Sondra, Stokas, Ann Marie Ardoline, Ann Marie Agliata, James Cella, was presented an emblem; Corinne Kress, Carol Raineri, Ann Marie Sokolowsky, Michelle Musto.

Peeking into

the Past

Judy Minsavage

Reach the Sunday Dispatch newsroom at 570-991-6405 or by email at sd@psdispatch.com.