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Happy birthday Kylie Elizabeth Zabriski!

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Free flowing traffic rules the opening of the holiday weekend

<p>Lawrence (Lorenzo) Russo was a seventh generation sculptor born June 6, 1897, in Solofra, Italy, near Naples. He came to this country with his family and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where his father, Michael Gaetano Russo, worked as a sculptor.</p><p>Michael taught his son the art of sculpture, but Lawrence also studied at the Beauz-Arts Institute of Design, studied architectural design at the Pratt Institute, learned painting at the Holbein Studio and drawing at the Mechanic Institute of New York City. He had a degree in architecture.</p><p>Lawrence was best known locally for his &#8220;Statue of Christ&#8221; on the King&#8217;s College building on River Street which was dedicated on Oct. 28, 1956. He restored some 60 paintings and 26 murals in the Luzerne County Courthouse in 1967. Many of his stone works and monuments appear in local churches, public buildings and cemeteries throughout the Wyoming Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania and even in other areas of Pennsylvania, New York and other states.</p><p>The Statue of Christ atop King&#8217;s College in Wilkes-Barre attracted the most local attention and coverage by the news media. Standing more than 100 feet from the ground, the 24-foot high statue presented a problem. The original plaster model was made at the Lackawanna Railroad engine house in Kingston. The finished statue was cast in sections of aluminum by the Anthracite Foundry in Plains. It weighed more than 1,500 pounds and was assembled atop King&#8217;s College.</p><p>The original design was made by Adolph Ell Jr. of the King&#8217;s College art department for the alumni association. He recommended hiring Lawrence to create the final design and complete the project. The original drawings depicted the statue with arms and hands raised skyward but Lawrence redid the specifications to make the arms and hands outstretched in a cross-like pose to withstand high wind velocities.</p><p>As later related to Lawrence by several airline pilots, the outstretched arms of the lighted statue point directly to the runway at the Avoca International Airport. They said this came in handy in low visibility or foggy weather.</p><p>Other notable local works include the carvings and stone work at the Kirby Memorial Health Center, the old Wilkes-Barre Post Office, Plymouth Library, St. Mary&#8217;s Maternity Church and St. Patrick&#8217;s Church in Wilkes-Barre, St. John Bosco Church in Conyngham and war memorials in Old Forge and Sugar Notch. He sculpted the statue of the Sacred Heart at Marywood College in Scranton.</p><p>His monument and memorial to Franklin D. Roosevelt in Sugar Notch was celebrated by a commemoration and visit by the first lady on Aug. 2, 1948. Other works can found in the New York State Capitol and post office in Albany, New York, the President Hotel in Atlantic City, the Lincoln Memorial in Fairfield, Illinois, and were featured at the New York World&#8217;s Fair.</p><p>Lawrence&#8217;s family went to Brooklyn when he was 5 years old. His father sought employment as a sculptor and stone cutter. The family stayed with other relatives also seeking work in that profession. When Michael secured a contract to carve the lions in front of the New York Library, he went back to Italy to gather their possessions.</p><p>Michael joined the Sculptors and Carvers Association of New York in 1920, of which there were 197 members. He completed the lions, then went on to create the statue of Christopher Columbus and the monument in Columbus Circle. He was employed for sculpture and stone cutting projects for Grand Central Station.</p><p>Lawrence&#8217;s uncle, Augustine N. Russon, of Scranton, is credited with numerous sculptures, including the statue of John Mitchel in Scranton, the original statue of Christopher Columbus in Pittston, the alter and interior of the Church of the Nativity in Plymouth and St. Mary&#8217;s Visitation Church in Priceburg. Lawrence&#8217;s father and uncle were also responsible for many of the original stone carvings on the Luzerne County Courthouse in 1908.</p><p>Lawrence met his future wife, Dorothy Chappel, of Plymouth, in 1922, and the couple made the Wyoming Valley their permanent home. They had five children and were very active in the Wyoming Valley Arts Festival and the Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre. Dorothy participated as a Grey Lady with the American Red Cross and was one of the original creators of the local &#8220;Welcome Wagon&#8221; which presented baskets of gifts to welcome new people to our area.</p><p>The Luzerne County Historical Society held an exhibit of Lawrence&#8217;s carvings, sculptures and paintings from November 2013 to Jan. 31, 2014.</p><p>My father (Lawrence Russo) was very humble about his talents. He was a wonderful father and a truly talented individual. He is missed by his family and many others who knew him.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso1.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photos </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lawrence Russo working on a clay bust of John F. Kennedy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Lawrence Russo working on a clay bust of John F. Kennedy. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photos </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sculptor Lawrence Russo working in clay on the face of the King&#8217;s College statue of Christ the King. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Sculptor Lawrence Russo working in clay on the face of the King&#8217;s College statue of Christ the King. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photos </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lawrence Russo&#8217;s father, Michael Gaetano Russo. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Lawrence Russo&#8217;s father, Michael Gaetano Russo. </caption3><photoCredit3>Submitted photos </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lawrence Russo&#8217;s art students at his studio on Wyoming Avenue in Kingston. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Lawrence Russo&#8217;s art students at his studio on Wyoming Avenue in Kingston. </caption4><photoCredit4>Submitted photos </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Congressman Daniel J. Flood, Elanor Roosevelt, County Commissioner John Riley and Lawrence Russo at the unveiling of the Sugar Notch War Memorial on Aug. 2, 1948 </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso6.jpg</photo5><caption5>Congressman Daniel J. Flood, Elanor Roosevelt, County Commissioner John Riley and Lawrence Russo at the unveiling of the Sugar Notch War Memorial on Aug. 2, 1948 </caption5><photoCredit5>Submitted photos </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso7.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lawrence Russo and Adolf Ell Jr. with the plaster cast of Christ the King statue in Railroad Round house in Kingston. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso7.jpg</photo6><caption6>Lawrence Russo and Adolf Ell Jr. with the plaster cast of Christ the King statue in Railroad Round house in Kingston. </caption6><photoCredit6>Submitted photos </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso8.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso8.jpg</photo7><caption7></caption7><photoCredit7>Submitted photos </photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso9.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lawrence Russo working on a clay model of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the War Memorial in Sugar Notch. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso9.jpg</photo8><caption8>Lawrence Russo working on a clay model of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the War Memorial in Sugar Notch. </caption8><photoCredit8>Submitted photos </photoCredit8></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso10.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mark Kersteen next to the Columbus Circle statue and monument build by his great-great grandfather, Michael Gaetano Russo. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo9>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso10.jpg</photo9><caption9>Mark Kersteen next to the Columbus Circle statue and monument build by his great-great grandfather, Michael Gaetano Russo. </caption9><photoCredit9>Submitted photos </photoCredit9></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso11.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mary Russo, Lawrence Russo and Dorothy Chappel Russo at the Wyoming Valley Arts festival on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo10>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_CTARusso11.jpg</photo10><caption10>Mary Russo, Lawrence Russo and Dorothy Chappel Russo at the Wyoming Valley Arts festival on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. </caption10><photoCredit10>Submitted photos </photoCredit10></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_laubach.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lawrence Russo and his parents, Michael Gaetano and Nicolina in front of their Brooklyn, New York, in 1925 </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo11>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_laubach.jpg</photo11><caption11>Lawrence Russo and his parents, Michael Gaetano and Nicolina in front of their Brooklyn, New York, in 1925 </caption11><photoCredit11>Submitted photos </photoCredit11></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mary Russo Ermel</p></bylineMeta></div>

2016 Coming to America: The Russo family