Question:
In 1980, What did one high school do to prove wrong what was felt as politically motivated rumors?
1947 – 72 YEARS AGO
The Borough of West Wyoming dedicated a monument to the men and women who served in the armed forces during World War II. At the same time, a tribute was paid to 13 heroes who had given their lives in combat. A program was held near the new the town hall where a marble memorial was erected.
The Sunday Dispatch called for federal and state law makers to make sex offense laws more stringent, citing the fact that a Pittston man accused of sexual assault and attempted murder was set free on $2,000 bail which, according to the US Inflation Calculator, is about $23,000 today. An article in the Dispatch read, “There is no excuse under the laws of man or of God that gives any man premise to assault a woman and by the same token would deliberately attempt to cripple or kill his intended victim, Lenient laws have freed scores of offenders who later committed more vile acts.” According to docsbailbonds.com, the amount of bail depends on the nature of the case and can still range from a few thousand dollars to $500,000.
Two young boys playing with a gun in a field on Dennison Street in Wyoming resulted in one being rushed to the hospital with a bullet wound to the chest. The police were investigating ownership of the gun which was on described as an “old model.”
1952 – 67 YEARS AGO
Pittston City Clerk John McNulty was on the telephone with Mayor John Allardyce when a fast-moving storm struck the area. A bolt of lightning struck the telephone line and witnesses say a streak of light emanated from the phone, knocking McNulty off his feet. Office clerk Frances Krisosky and city health officer Mrs. Thomas Newcomb ran to aid McNulty. McNulty survived the lightning strike but was dazed for quite some time. According to Snopes.com, while many people usually survive, one person on average is killed per year by lightning while talking on the telephone.
1953 – 66 YEARS AGO
Roy Stauffer Chevrolet in West Pittston announced car enthusiasts could see one of the first fiberglass body sports cars at its dealership, the 1953 Corvette. The car was reported as being produced at a rate of three per day at the General Motors factory in Flint, Michigan. After World War II, the demand for cars accelerated and, with the boom in sales, the public was looking for something different. Harley Earl of General Motors loved the design of the Jaguar XK-120 and, after changing some of the basic design features, created the 1953 Corvette.
1956 – 63 YEARS AGO
Democratic presidential candidate the former Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson visited the area while on his 1956 campaign tour. During a Wilkes-Barre Public Square rally, Min Lurye Matheson district manager of the ILGWU, Roscoe Mulcahy, of Pittston Twp., and Edward Maziarz, of Duryea, presented the candidate with a 10” portable television set donated by Tony Greco, a Pittston appliance dealer. The presentation was a fitting tribute as Stevenson and Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver participated in the first-ever televised Democratic primary debate. Presidential incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower was a formidable opponent for Stevenson. During his first term, Eisenhower had ended the Korean War which generated a prosperous economy and ensured a landslide victory over Stevenson.
1969 – 50 YEARS AGO
Pittston Area High School seniors Margaret Neff, Mary Salavantis, Betsy Zaldonis, Beverly Rankoski, Janice Danko, David Lech and Brian Petroziello were enrolled in the “Program for the Gifted at Wilkes College. The program provided opportunities for gifted seniors to take a college course each semester of the senior year to extend the pupil’s knowledge and experience in a subject beyond what was provided in high school. Students were selected on results of standardized and national tests, class standing, achievement and interest.
Staff Sgt. Kenneth L. Roberto was awarded a Commendation Medal for meritorious service while assigned to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. Roberto “aided immeasurably in identifying problems associated with his assigned duties and in implementing procedures and techniques to solve those problems. His application contributed to the effectiveness and success of the United States Air Force mission in Southeast Asia.”
1976 – 43 YEARS AGO
The Greater Pittston Tennis Association was organized with a tentative acceptance of a charter and nomination of officers. The association was formed to help promote tennis throughout Greater Pittston. Finalists of the first Dispatch Cup Tennis Tournament were Joanne Pugliese, Stan Manoski, Jody Sciandra, Marilyn Gubbiotti, Pat Sciandra, Irma Lolli, Chip Pierantoni, Paul Pugliese, Don Cassetori, Tony Rostock and Fred Bohn.
The Hughestown Boys’ League held its sixth annual banquet honoring graduating players. A game ball was presented to Paul Delaney for Most Valuable Player of the ‘76 championship game, The Hill Inn Award was presented to Stephen Hannon for the most home runs during the season. An American flag was presented to Norma Yaple in memory of her late husband for whom the Robert W. Yaple Memorial Park is named. Graduating players in 1976 were John Cebula, Elwood Turner, Sam Cravatta, Paul Delaney and Nick Ardo.
1980 – 39 YEARS AGO
Sam Guasto, of Pittston, read an article in a VFW News Magazine describing a scene he had witnessed 36 years earlier. While serving on a beachhead in the Philippines with the US Army’s 77th Division, Guasto was an eyewitness to the sinking of the Third USS Reid, a destroyer assigned to protecting a re-supply force off the west coast of Leyte. As Guasto, fellow Pittstonian George Foster and many members of his unit watched helplessly from shore, several Japanese Kamikaze suicide bombers attacked the ship, strafing and crashing into the starboard side and port bow. The ship sank in less than two minutes with 103 shipmates aboard. Two weeks later, Foster was killed in action.
Debbie Kramer, of Pittston, was pulled out of a scrimmage game by her coach to be told she was named the Wilkes College Athlete of the Week for her performance with the Wilkes women’s volleyball team. Kramer remarked, “I though I had done something wrong when the coach took me out of the game.” Only a freshman, Kramer was able to set aside any jitters to lead her team to eight straight wins in tournament play.
1998 – 21 YEARS AGO
The St. John the Evangelist High School Class of 1959 met to start planning its 40th anniversary reunion. Members of the committee were Marianne Carden Talipan, Barbara O’Malley Dankulich, Florence Aquilina Duffy, Toni Ciampi Valenti, Jack Dobson, Marilyn Rebek LaTorre, Sandra Kovaleski, Joe Janoski, Liz Maffett Cruise, Tom Tomascik, Kathy Golden McHale, Rose Kepich Valeski, Barbara Girman DeSanto, Joan Rinkavage Galenas, Anne O’Connell Noone.
Answer:
In 1980, The Wyoming Area High School building was rumored to be falling apart. To dispel what was considered a politically motivated attack, the administrators of the school district held an open house at the senior high school in Exeter. Sheets were provided for those touring the building to rate what was thought about the condition of the building. Ninety-five percent of the rating sheets returned showed respondents felt the building to be in excellent condition.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1847 — Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre” is published in London.
1927 — The first “talkie,” “The Jazz Singer,” opens with popular entertainer Al Jolson singing and dancing in black-face. By 1930, silent movies were a thing of the past.
1966 — Hanoi insists the United States must end its bombings before peace talks can begin.
1981 — Egyptian president Anwar el-Sadat is assassinated in Cairo by Islamic fundamentalists. He is succeeded by Vice President Hosni Mubarak.
1969 — Special Forces Captain John McCarthy is released from Fort Leavenworth Penitentiary, pending consideration of his appeal to murder charges.
1995 — Astronomers discover 51 Pegasi is the second star known to have a planet orbiting it.
BORN ON THIS DAY
1908 — Carol Lombard, American comedienne and actress
1914 — Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian anthropologist and explorer
1931 — Riccardo Giacconi, Italian astrophysicist, won the Nobel Prize in Astrophysics for his pioneering contributions that led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources
