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Misericordia professor presents at American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN) conference

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Beyond the Byline: One moment triggers a lifetime of linked memories

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; At noon Saturday, Donahue&#8217;s Authentic Irish Pub will open at the former South Main Street site of Donahue&#8217;s Hourglass Lounge.Its 80-year-old former owner, Joseph Philistine, tended bar at Donahue&#8217;s for 53 years before selling the establishment in 2015 to Coleen Burns and her son Michael. Philistine said his physical condition no longer allowed him to tend bar.&#8220;Well, it was the right decision for my body&#8230; I couldn&#8217;t go anymore,&#8221; Philistine said. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t walk; to be a bartender you got to walk. That&#8217;s what happened to me. I just degenerated physically.&#8221;As a bartender, Philistine held conversations with five decades of bar patrons. He said he liked to play trivia with his customers and enjoyed the company of young people.&#8220;I love all my customers,&#8221; Philistine said. &#8220;I love them to the high heavens. I miss them all.&#8221;Philistine said he plans to visit the bar Friday and thinks he made the right decision for the establishment, purchased by his sister, Bonnie, and her husband in the 1930s.&#8220;I think they&#8217;re going to do well,&#8221; Philistine said. &#8220;I think they&#8217;ll carry on the tradition of Donahue&#8217;s and I think they&#8217;ll do just fine.&#8221;If Philistine visits Donahue&#8217;s the night before its March 12 opening, he&#8217;ll find the bar counter he tended in the same spot of the room, refurbished and ready for customers. Burns is also reusing Donahue&#8217;s lightning fixtures over the bar and in the back room.Changes and updates since the bar&#8217;s Nov. 7, 2015, closing include new carpeting in a back room, a waterfall at the end of the bar equipped with fiber optic lighting and art deco style ceilings in the bar area and bathrooms. The front of the building itself has been painted black around the entrance to the first floor bar, while the outside of higher floors has been painted red with gold accents. The large black-and-white sign that read &#8220;Donahue&#8217;s Hourglass Lounge&#8221; has been removed from the front of the building, along with trees blocking the view of the bar.According to Burns, who also owns Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s Hottle&#8217;s Restaurant, it was important to let the property breathe and guide her during the remodeling process.&#8220;Our goal is never to disrupt the flow,&#8221; Burns said.Burns plans to serve food at Donahue&#8217;s with a menu complementary to Hottle&#8217;s, but she doesn&#8217;t want the bar to lose its identity. She said she wants to pay homage to Philistine and be proactive within Wilkes-Barre.<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Lounge, closed last year, will reopen as Donahue&#8217;s Authentic Irish Pub</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Gene Axtongaxton@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on Twitter @TLArts</shirttailMeta></div>

South Main Street Wilkes-Barre bar Donahue’s reopening Saturday, March 12