1947 – 72 YEARS AGO
City teachers protested the reduction of the retirement age from 70 to 64 years. The teachers in their disagreement against the 64-year retirement age adopted by the Pittston High School Board cited the years of learning and experience lost stating, “At the age of 64, the teacher is at his or her most useful point and teachings are well-rounded by experience.” Most other districts in the Greater Pittston area did not institute the retirement age restriction, but admitted they took age into consideration when planning teacher lay-offs.
After an absence of 15 years, Duryea High School re-instated the sport of basketball. Prior to 1932, Duryea was noted for having some of the finest basketball players in the East. Contests between Duryea and other basketball heavyweights such as Nanticoke were huge drawing cards. The sport was cancelled when Ostroski’s Hall, where games were played, was turned into a bowling alley and recreation center. Baseball, which had been discontinued in 1924, was also resumed. Ed Piorkowski, who played with the 1924 team, was named coach.
1953 – 66 YEARS AGO
The Moonlite Drive-In, advertised as having a “picnic atmosphere,” screened “The Lusty Men” starring Susan Hayward and Robert Mitchum and “Battle of Apache” Pass starring Jeff Chandler.
Barton’s Furniture Store advertised a Westinghouse Frost-Free refrigerator with completely automatic defrosting and a Westinghouse range with an “Electronic Eye,” both for $239 which, according to the US Inflation Calculator, is equivalent to $2,262.68 today.
Paul McNulty, promotor of various softball leagues in Greater Pittston, formed a Ladies Softball League. With the popularity of the sport peaking in 1952, the Bell Telephone operators pushed to have a league. The operators used the Pittston Little League park and played various Bell System teams. A few dress factories formed teams such as Downtown Lassies and Inkerman Rockets. There was enough interest in the league that McNulty decided to call a meeting of all interested parties at the All-American Sports Center.
There was much dissention among Pittston merchants regarding Friday and Saturday store hours. While some store owners wanted a 9 p.m. closing time on those days, other wanted to close up shop at 5: 30 p.m. so their employees would have more “weekend hours.” With some stores following the later hours and some not, shoppers were confused and never quite sure which store would be opened or closed on their trips into the city. The Sunday Dispatch, in an editorial, suggested mediation among merchants with the Chamber of Commerce overseeing the process. After a voting process, the hours would be set, and all would have to conform in order to achieve happy shoppers.
1969 – 50 YEARS AGO
Members of the Pittston Area Class of 1969 will celebrate their 50th anniversary reunion in August 2019. They will be sharing highlights from the class in our “Peeking into the Past” column throughout the coming months leading up to their reunion event.
The Pittston Area Drama Club presented two one-act plays, “To Burn a Witch” and “Opening Night,” on April 10, 1969, at 8 p.m. in the high school auditorium. The public was invited to attend, and tickets were sold at the door for $1 for adults and 50 cents for students.
The French Club elected officers under the guidance of Mrs. Salerno and Mr. Kolmansberger. They were Kerry Dills, president; Robert Rostock, vice president; Theresa Washinski, secretary; and Maria Orlando, treasurer.
Members of the newly formed Key Club held elections in which the following officers were chosen Sam Rostock, president; Ross Valenti, vice president; Angelo Falcone, secretary; and Frank Pugliese, treasurer. The Key Club, an all-male organization, was sponsored by the Kiwanis Club and consisted of members from the 10th, 11th and 12th grades. The Student Council also elected officers: Charles Bechtold, president; Matty LoPresto, vice president; Christine Miele, secretary; Charles Coolbaugh, treasurer; and Eddie Pieczynski, parliamentarian. The student body took part in the day-to-day management of the school. Members of the Student Council and Key Club patrolled the halls during eighth period, checking passes and keeping order.
1973 – 46 YEARS AGO
Joe Cosgrove, of Pittston, was determined to witness a space launch from Cape Kennedy. He’d requested a pass from then President Nixon and Congressman Dan Flood to be present at the Apollo 17 final moon voyage in 1972 but missed out because his request came too late. In May 1973, Skylab, the first space station, was scheduled to be launched and Cosgrove made sure his request went in early. In April, he received the call he was waiting for. Congressman Flood informed Cosgrove he and a guest would be attending the Skylab launch. Cosgrove wasn’t sure of all the details, but commented he was going to get to Florida, even if he had to walk. Skylab was launched on May 14, 1973. However, a meteoroid shield accidentally opened about 63 seconds into the launch. The first crew to inhabit the station performed a spacewalk to repair the damaged shield.
1993 – 26 YEARS AGO
Avoca baseball fans Dan Llewelyn, Ned Jones and Brian McCarthy made some connections and found themselves being treated royally before a Yankee exhibition game in Florida. The three men were able to meet and talk with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, pitcher Jim Abbott, first baseman Don Mattingly and Howard “Hopalong” Cassady, coach of the Columbus Clippers. At the meeting, Steinbrenner told Jones he expected the Yankees to win the American League East, but the Yanks came in second to the Toronto Blue Jays later that year.
1995 – 24 YEARS AGO
Owners of Humpty Dumpty Kollege Charlene Evancho and Marie Partas invited other child care facilities throughout Greater Pittston to join them in relief efforts after the Alfred P. Murrrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City, which left as many as 200 or more people dead. Many children attending an on-site day care facility in the building lost their lives. Evancho sent letters to all parents of students at Humpty Dumpty requesting donations be sent to the Feed the Children Organization. The organization would use the money for both food and burial expenses for victims of the blast.
David Dudzinski, a Pittston Area High School senior, was selected the winner of a regional essay contest held in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. His entry was judged superior from among those received in the four-county PSBA region which included, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna and Wayne Counties. Dudzinski wrote the winning essay on the contest theme, “Why Public Education is Important to Me, My Community and the Future of America.”
The American Theatre held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of a week-long engagement of the Academy Award winning movie “Mary Poppins.” Hundreds of parents and children lined up to see the premier at the theater. The Disney film was hailed as one of Walt Disney’s greatest achievements and the winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Actress.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1775 — The first abolitionist society in United States is organized in Philadelphia.
1828 — The first edition of Noah Webster’s dictionary is published.
1865 — President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated in Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth.
1912 — The passenger liner Titanic — deemed unsinkable — strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and begins to sink. The ship will go under the next day with a loss of 1,500 lives.
1981 — America’s first space shuttle, Columbia, returns to Earth.
BORN ON THIS DAY
1866 — Anne Mansfield Sullivan, teacher who educated Helen Keller
1889 — Arnold Toynbee, English historian
