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Traffic report for Sept. 28

Lottery Numbers for Sunday, Sept. 27

<p>A lot of amazing things have happened here in Wyoming Valley down through the years.</p><p>Here are 10 remarkable facts that you might not know about our community.</p><p>1. Stephen Crane, author of the classic Civil War novel &#8220;The Red Badge of Courage,&#8221; had a local connection. His grandfather, also a writer, was the pastor of a Methodist church in Kingston, and Crane&#8217;s mother was born in that town. She married and moved to New Jersey, where Crane was born in 1871.</p><p>2. It was once illegal to play Bingo in public in Wilkes-Barre. Bingo as a fund raiser took hold here in the 1930s and grew hugely popular. Then in early 1942 Mayor Charles Loveland banned the game in the city as unacceptable gambling. After the Loveland era, though, Bingo came roaring back and resumed drawing crowds.</p><p>3. There was horse racing in the area long before Pocono Downs opened in 1965 &#8211; in fact, almost a century before. Races were drawing crowds at the Lee Driving Park in Hanover Township, near the present-day Crossroads, in the late 19th century. The now-vanished track also accounts for the name &#8220;Lee Park&#8221; as a section of the township.</p><p>4. Forty Fort was an early-20th century center of automobile production. The Matheson car was built in a factory on Welles Street from 1906 to 1913. While the car is history, the building has remained and is currently occupied by various commercial enterprises.</p><p>5. Wilkes-Barre could have lost its attractive Public Square park in mid-20th century if some community leaders had had their way. Various business people and elected officials repeatedly pushed plans to abolish the park and extend Main and Market streets, creating a through road for streetcars, buses and automobiles. Calmer heads prevailed, however.</p><p>6. If you&#8217;ve ever owned a cocker spaniel, you can probably thank a man from Kingston for your pet. Dog breeder William Payne became fascinated by the then-little known breed in the early 20th century. In 1920 one of Payne&#8217;s cocker spaniels won the best in show award at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club competition in New York City. The breed&#8217;s popularity then took off.</p><p>7. The famed writer on manners and dinner parties Emily Post lived on Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s South Franklin Street as a child. Her father, eminent architect Bruce Price, had come here from Baltimore, Maryland, with his family in the 1870s to carry out commissions to design several buildings. They later moved to the New York City area, where Emily grew up.</p><p>8. In the late 1800s, before sports gained headline status, some of the most eagerly awaited competitions were the local Ninth Infantry Regiment shooting matches. Held during summer encampments, the matches and their scores were heavily reported in local newspapers, with high praise given to the top marksmen.</p><p>9. Wilkes-Barre once had a mayor with a very unusual background &#8211; Broadway playwright. Daniel L. Hart, who served during the 1920s, had written many plays in his younger years, some of which were produced in New York City and elsewhere. One play, &#8220;The Parish Priest,&#8221; was even made into a movie in 1920.</p><p>10. Art lovers can thank a Nanticoke businessman for many of the treasures they enjoy today. Samuel H. Kress began his national chain of Kress &#8220;five and dime&#8221; stores in Nanticoke in 1887. He used much of his fortune to amass classic paintings and sculpture, which in time he donated to regional art museums all across America.</p><p>Now isn&#8217;t that amazing?</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Remember When </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TOM_MOONEY3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Remember When </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Remember When</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history columnist. Reach him at tmooney2@ptd.net.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Remember When: Playing Bingo banned in Wilkes-Barre