Another year down, another decade down. When I graduated high school in the mid-70s, the year 2020 felt like a million miles away and yet, here it is.
The year flew by for me as each year passes; they go by faster and faster. I was told when I was younger that time accelerates as you age, boy am I starting to believe that.
This year marked my 20th year of penning this column. If you’re keeping score, that’s 1,040 columns or over 1.15 million words. Now that the end of the year is here, I can recap some of those columns.
In January, Warrior Nation lost a long time hero when Bobby Langan passed away on Jan. 3 as well as my old friend Missy Newcomb. Both passed away on that day and both were in their 60s.
The Knox Mine Disaster feature length film has a screening at Wyoming Seminary. The film was a production of David Brocca and his cousin Albert Brocca.
In February, we lost two legendary figures in Dr. Joseph Lombardo and Harry Giacometti. Both men were pillars in their community that were civic minded, family men and were highly successful in their careers.
In March, another successful St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in Pittston to seasonal weather with a slight wind. PJ Melvin was the Grand Marshal of the parade in typical PJ style, dressing up for the occasion.
Joe Curry, the longtime starter for the Leprechaun Loop 5K race handed the starter’s gun to Joe Heffers. What would St. Patty’s Day be like without a Pittston party? There were plenty of establishments open to celebrate.
Wyoming Area grad Lexi Crossley had a nasty bought of Guillain-Barre Syndrome paralyzing her, temporarily, thank goodness, before bouncing back with therapy.
Two students from Pittston Area – Kyle Breymeirer and Caroline Hintze, went to the National Spelling Bee Contest in Chicago.
We said goodbye to our good friend, Maureen Gildea Malloy on March 27.
April saw the Pittston Area Federation of Teachers donate adaptive bicycles. Each bike costs $1,800. I covered Media Day at the Railriders for the first time. It was a great event and I got to meet several of the ballplayers.
I also had another first in my life; I got to drive my car at the Watkins Glen racecourse for three laps.
The 48th annual West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival took place in early May and had a bit of rain, as usual.
Tim Tebow hit me with a baseball as I covered his appearance for the Times Leader at a Railriders’ game. Yep, he hit me right in the leg as he was warming up playing catch with a teammate.
I paid tribute to all moms in my Mother’s Day column including my own mom who passed away in 2016.
The Goodyear Blimp made the first of its two stops during the year in May. The Memorial Day Parades good off without a hitch in West Pittston/Exeter and Wyoming/West Wyoming. The later saw local educator Debbie Przybyla as the guest speaker.
Chester Monante, Bill Hastie, and Michael Augello all noted their 100th birthday while John Markarian marked his 102nd.
In June, Pittston Area held graduation ceremonies on the visitor’s side of the field because of new bleachers being installed.
The Battle of Wyoming ceremony was held to extreme temperatures in July as I got to cover the event for the first time. It was outstanding and if you’ve never been there, you should go.
I wrote a column about the 50th anniversary of the year 1969, which for many was a pivotal, momentous year with so much going on including the moon landing, Woodstock, the death of Mary Jo Kopechne.
In August, we geared up for the Pittston Tomato Festival and back to school time. The fest added the long-awaited third tier and longtime fest coordinator, Lori Nocito, stepped down for the first time after 22 years.
The 2019 football campaign got underway with Wyoming Area head coach Randy Spencer coaching from the press box as he recovered from heart surgery.
In September, we learned about native son Jimmy Cefalo’s battle with smoldering multiple myeloma. He’s being responding to a clinical trial for two-years now and continues to work daily.
The Duffy family ended the fundraiser for the late Jimmy Duffy who passed away from ALS. Over time they raised over $25,000.
Former Exeter Mayor Cassandra Coleman was named Executive Director of Pennsylvania Commission for the U.S. Semiquincentennial in 2026.
October saw the wind-down of the Paint Pittston Pink fundraiser. This year’s effort was record-breaking. Pittston Twp. will be moving their fire hall with the purchase of the former Borino Tire & Auto.
The movie “Feast of the Seven Fishes” screened at the Pittston Memorial Library.
The Columbus Statue celebrated 50-years at the corner of Main St. and Columbus Avenue.
The Pittston Area, Wyoming Area and St. John’s class of ’69 celebrated 50-years of graduating.
In November, Gary Dziak held a program at the Pittston Memorial Library on the book he wrote on the Battle of Wyoming.
Wyoming Area football charged through the playoffs on their way to a state title. We celebrated Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.
In December, we geared up for Christmas and Wyoming Area Warriors gets through playoffs and plays for the state title taking home the big prize – PIAA 3A state champions.
Quote of the week
“Is it better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” – Andre Gide
Thought of the week
“Pursue what catches your heart, now that captures your eyes.” – Roy T. Bennet
Bumper sticker
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
