Lt. Gavin Yeatts stands at the front door of the new Salvation Army location at 443 North Main St., Pittston. The Yeatts and advisory board will be meeting over the next few months to discuss a new permanent location.
Lt. Gavin Yeatts displays the West Pittston Salvation Army flag that has been in use for decades.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
The Freemont Street location in West Pittston served as the home to the Salvation Army from 1926 to 1949 before moving the the 214 Luzerne Avenue location from 1949 until Aug. 30, 2020.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Lt. Holly Yeatts, left, and her husband Lt. Gavin Yeatts, right, hold the U.S. flag and the West Pittston Salvation Army flag, respectively, at the conclusion of the final Sunday service held at the iconic Luzerne Avenue building on Aug. 30.
Submitted photo
The chapel/meeting room is shown at the new location at 443 North Main St., Pittston.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
WEST PITTSTON – After 108 years, the Salvation Army Corps of West Pittston is no longer.
The church, hall, offices and residence that housed the Corp since 1949 on Luzerne Avenue have been deemed uninhabitable. The corps has taken up new residence on Main Street, Pittston.
The long association of the Salvation Army with the Borough of West Pittston started in 1912 with the group being housed on Franklin Street, followed by moves to three different locations on Luzerne Avenue, Exeter Avenue and Freemont Street.
Lts. Gavin and Holly Yeatts have been at the command of the West Pittston branch for the last two years and looked forward to many more, but over the last few months, the Gavins have noticed existing cracks in the building and foundation have been growing. Even the backyard has developed a small sinkhole.
“About four to six months ago, Holly and I noticed the building looked like it was leaning,” Gavin said. “We weren’t sure if it was, but it sure looked like it. We thought it would be the safest and best idea for a structural engineer to come out and take a look at it.”
The engineering report stated there was in fact structural damage and along with bricks loosening up from the all-brick facade.
Gavin said he could only guess the damage is from age, the flood of 2011 or even initial poor construction. The building was constructed in 1949.
Even though the building wasn’t in eminent danger of collapse, the Yeatts felt it was in the best interest of the congregation, volunteers, employees and the community they serve to vacate the building to find a new location.
The Yeatts, along with their baby Paisley, have been residing at the location’s attached home.
“It’s not common in the Salvation Army, even worldwide, to have a residence attached to a branch home,” Yeatts said. “You never see a Salvation Army in the middle of a neighborhood.”
The Yeatts now reside in Duryea.
A search was on for the new location when the Yeatts turned to The Insalaco Development Group, Pittston, who has a long working history with the Salvation Army. Mike Insalaco is a former member of the Salvation Army board of directors.
“We’ve always had a good relationship with The Insalaco Development Group, so we contacted them to see if they had a building available,” Yeatts said. “They are letting us use the building we occupied this past December to store our toys donated by the Santa Squad that were distributed at Christmas.”
Last week, the Yeatts hung the Salvation Army logo decal on the front door at 443 North Main St., Pittston, and are now full operational. Church services, food distributions and youth gatherings will now take place at the new location.
“This current location puts us in a position where we can safely work out of and safely serve the community,” Yeatts admitted. “Right now our goal is to serve the community as best as we can. We have our food bank open and everyone that needs assistance will have to call our office manager, Liz, to set up an appointment for food distribution. Masks and sanitizing is still required.”
The Yeatts, along with an advisory board, will be looking at any and all options to see where a new permanent can be utilized. The advisory board will be meeting in mid-September to discuss the Corp’s future.
Yeatts said there would be more announcements to come in the future, but for now, it is business as usual, serving the 16 towns that make up the Wyoming Area and Pittston Area school districts.
