Youtube Takes On More Regal Air

Avery N. Bogdon

Helen Bubul sent in the following caption for this picture of the Pittston Hospital Auxiliary at Christmastime in the 1950s. Seated from left, Mrs. Martin Walsh, Mrs. S.T. Tabone, Mrs. Harry Fiegelman, Mrs. John Blandina, Mrs. John Kizis, and Mrs. Michael Aita. Standing, Miss Helen Rutledge, hospital staff; Mrs. Joseph Yonahes, Mrs. Paul Bubul, Mrs. Peter Kizis, Santa Claus, Mrs. Joseph Swenton, Mrs. Simon Mellis, Mrs. John Snepkowski and; Margaret Loux Tonney, hospital staff.
 

 


Note: Joe Cordora a teacher at 10th Street in Wyoming in his 37th year there sent an e-mail saying he recognized Helen Blandina, who was his aunt, in the picture of the Pittston Hospital Ladies Auxiliary which ran last week. Dorothy Lagrue called with the same information. Then Helen Bubul called. She&rsquo;s in the picture and sent along all the names. We thank her.

Question: In the December 26 issue of the Dispatch, a wire story from International News Service listed the top 10 sports stories of 1954. No. 1 was Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile barrier. No. 10 was the retirement of Frank Lahey as Notre Dame football coach. The No. 4 story had two parts; both had something to do with Philadelphia baseball team. Can you guess what the no. 4 sports story that concerned a Philadelphia baseball team was in 1954? 


24 years ago

A page 3 story in the December 23 issue in 1984 told of the retirement of George T. Jones as Pittston Postmaster. Jones said the volume of revenue at the Pittston post office increased from $1 million to $14 million in his last five years. H e said a lot of the increaser was attributable to Markdata Inc., Scranton Lithographic Company, Offset Paperback and Verto Cable TV. In December of 1984 the Pittston post office had 90 employees and 36 routes.
In a story on page seven Joseph Makar told of how he spent Christmas of 1944 in a railroad cattle car after being captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge in WWII.
Makar, from Avoca, was captured with a101st Airborne medical company in Bastogne, France after the town was surrounded. He was a POW for 207 days.
33 years ago
In the December 22 issue in 1974, Kevin O&rsquo;Dell, an 18-year-old from Suscon, was pictured with his huge model railroad display. He had nine trains running, including a 53-year-old HO given to him by his great uncle.
The 70 lighted buildings in the display included a replica of the Heidleburg Breaker, made by Kevin&rsquo;s late grandfather William O&rsquo;Dell in the 1930s.
A drawing by architect Anthony Fulton depicted what a $45,000 improvement project at the Pittston Swimming Pool would look like. The proposed project included a tennis court, landscaping, chain link fence, paving of parking lot and putting electrical lines underground.
An Avoca native living in New Jersey helped the Army out and was awarded the Army Research and Development Achievement Award. Michael Langan developed and demonstrated a fire control system which allowed artillery fire to be delivered to moving targets.
At Jewelcor on Susquehanna Ave in Exeter six-speed blenders were $17.88, Bell and Howell movie projectors were $59.44 and 10-speed bikes were $59.
The Penn State basketball team left for Florida on Christmas Eve to play in the Gator Bowl Tournament. With them was 6-4 senior Kevin Burke from Pittston Area. He was averaging 11.3 points per game and 6.8 rebounds.
43 years ago
A front page story on December 20 in 1964 told of the retirement of Martin &ldquo;Matty&rdquo; Connors from the Stanton Power Plant. His retirement was notable because he was one of the best local athletes in the area when he was younger. He was a football and baseball star at St. John&rsquo;s High School in the 1920s. He played football at St. Bonaventure College where he was an all-state guard on a New York State College all-Star team. He played in the minors in Manchester, New Hampshire; Hornell and Rochester, New York; Old Town, Maine; and Akron, Ohio. He also pitched for the Scranton Miners. It was said that with the Miners he pitched in the first night game in the New York Polo Grounds.
Locally he was known for pitching for the power plant team and perennial power in local leagues.
Another local athlete in a story in that December 20 issue in 1964 was Len Meckalavage. A 1948 graduate of Exeter High School, where he was a football all-star, in 1963 he was named Long Island, New York coach of the year by Newsday. His Roosevelt High School team was undefeated and won the Southern Shore Division IV championship.
A West Pittston woman, the former Mary Lou Christian was living in Iran in 1963 with her husband Iranian husband. Cyrius Pahernia. He was a doctor and she was a nurse. A story told of how they were invited to a ball at the palace to meet the Shah and King and Queen of Iran and the King and Queen of Belgium. In a letter to her mother she said she had pistachio, lemon, orange and grapefruit trees in her yard.
53 years ago
In December of 1954 the Pittston School Board approved a resolution to pay the district employees on December 23 so the employees would have their pays before Christmas. From the story: &ldquo;The move should also be a boon to the businessmen of the town. The payroll for city school district employees is over $30,000 a month.&rdquo;
There were 62 pinball machines, 30 juke boxes and six shuffleboards in Pittston in 1954. In December the city was considering raising the license fee from $25 to $50 for 1955.
In 1954 a city man, John Ormando, had a Christmas display at his home on Elizabeth Street which he called a &ldquo;presepio.&rdquo; The display included a town, pond and manager, but no Christmas tree. Why? Because the display was a replica of Christmas displays from 300 years ago, before Christmas trees became a tradition. His display was six foot square with a four foot mountain.

 


Answer: The Philadelphia A&rsquo;s moved to Kansas City and Connie Mack retired as their manager.

Burke In Florida With Psu Team In ‘74