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Coughlin Class of 1959 celebrates the holidays

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Production to celebrate life and work of Paul Robeson in Wilke-Barre

<p>PITTSTON &#8212; When she was a little girl, Juanita Herrick said, a boy she met at a roller rink gave her a Valentine&#8217;s Day present &#8212; a bracelet with stones that &#8220;looked like diamonds to me.&#8221;</p><p>But she was only 9 years old, and her mother put a stop to the budding romance. &#8220;She was always protective,&#8221; Herrick, 78, explained as she and a dozen other women swapped stories about their first romances on Monday afternoon during a Valentine-themed tea at the Pittston Center for Active Adults.</p><p>As it turned out, Herrick wasn&#8217;t the only person with a protective parent.</p><p>Vicki Meckalavage, 81, was a bit older than 9 when her father told a young man, &#8220;I will break your legs before you put my daughter on that motorbike.&#8221;</p><p>And Kate Simyan, 74, was also older when her father objected to her dating an immigrant from Italy. &#8220;My dad stood up and grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him out. He said they don&#8217;t treat their women good.&#8221;</p><p>As for Barbara Gelb, 74, of West Pittston, she recalled her dates didn&#8217;t just have to pass muster with her family but with her friend Louise.</p><p>&#8220;In high school, I was very fickle. I had lots of dates,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I had it. I knew it.&#8221;</p><p>When she took one special fellow to meet Louise, &#8220;He was all polite and gentlemanly with her and said, &#8216;I hope to see you again&#8217; and she said, &#8216;I don&#8217;t know. Barbara has a new one every weekend.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;She made you out to be a tart,&#8221; Alyce Allardyce, 68, observed.</p><p>&#8220;I told her, &#8216;I really like this guy. I really love this guy. I&#8217;m going to marry him,&#8217;&#8221; Gelb said. &#8220;She said, &#8216;Sure, sure.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;When we were married a year,&#8221; Gelb continued, &#8220;he sent her a card that said, &#8216;I guess I lasted more than a week.&#8217;</p><p>&#8220;He lasted 52 years,&#8221; she concluded with a fond smile.</p><p>The Pittston Center for Active Adults hosts a tea time once a month, using fancy china cups that Faye Kacsmar donated, and various members take turn shopping for cookies and candy to serve.</p><p>Next month&#8217;s theme will be Mardi Gras, and Martha Matthews said she expects people will tell stories.</p><p>It remains to be seen whether Mardi Gras stories can top Valentine&#8217;s stories.</p><p>The women chuckled as Sherry George, 68, of Avoca, recalled a friendship with a neighbor when they were about 5 years old.</p><p>&#8220;His parents were fussy and didn&#8217;t want him to play with mud, so I pushed some under the fence so he could play with us,&#8221; George said.</p><p>And they nodded with recognition as Martha Matthews, 69, of Dupont, talked about &#8220;a 9-month affair&#8221; that lasted through sixth grade but did not survive the summer separation. &#8220;He lived up on Suscon Road and I was on Everhart Street and that seemed like such a great distance in those days.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We used to check each other&#8217;s homework,&#8221; she said. But when school resumed, &#8220;the passion was gone.&#8221;</p><p>Another relationship was cut short, for Allardyce, when she was in high school and was confronted by her boyfriend&#8217;s other girlfriend.</p><p>&#8220;She approached me and almost beat the (stuffing) out of me,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He didn&#8217;t pick me, so he was an arse.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;His loss. His loss,&#8221; said center director Connie Kokinda.</p><p>On a happier note, several women talked about friendships or marriages that lasted for decades.</p><p>In Barbara Shock&#8217;s case, an 11-year-old boy she noticed at a Valentine&#8217;s Day dance &#8212; &#8220;He was such a good dancer&#8221; &#8212; and encountered the next week when he rode his bike to the library, was her good friend for the rest of his life.</p><p>He became a priest, played the organ at her first wedding and, sadly, died in his early 40s.</p><p>Over the years, she said, &#8220;When he would call, my husband would tell the kids, &#8216;Your mother is on the phone with her boyfriend,&#8217; but he was never mad,&#8221; she said.</p><p>In another tale of a long-lasting relationship, 71-year-old Sharon McAdarra looked back to a time when she was in her early 20s and dancing on a table.</p><p>&#8220;I was snockered,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He grabbed my hand, said &#8216;I think you&#8217;ve had enough,&#8217; gave me his arm and walked me home. We&#8217;ve been together almost 49 years.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Vicki Meckalavage laughs as another member of the Pittston Active Adult Center shares a story of her first love on a recent Monday afternoon during a Valentine-themed tea. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL013017teatime1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Vicki Meckalavage laughs as another member of the Pittston Active Adult Center shares a story of her first love on a recent Monday afternoon during a Valentine-themed tea. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL013017teatime2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">&#8216;One day a month, it&#8217;s fun to dress up,&#8217; said Barbara Shock, who sported pearls and a black hat to the tea time event. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL013017teatime2.jpg</photo1><caption1>&#8216;One day a month, it&#8217;s fun to dress up,&#8217; said Barbara Shock, who sported pearls and a black hat to the tea time event. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL013017teatime3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tea Time hostess Martha Matthews pours an eggnog tea for Theresa Panunti. Licorice tea and apple spice tea were other flavors available. Next month&#8217;s tea-time theme will be Mardi Gras, Matthews said. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL013017teatime3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Tea Time hostess Martha Matthews pours an eggnog tea for Theresa Panunti. Licorice tea and apple spice tea were other flavors available. Next month&#8217;s tea-time theme will be Mardi Gras, Matthews said. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL013017teatime4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">&#8216;I was a flirt,&#8217; Barbara Gelb, of West Pittston, admits as she tells the story of her first love to other ladies during tea time at the Pittston Center for Active Adults. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL013017teatime4.jpg</photo3><caption3>&#8216;I was a flirt,&#8217; Barbara Gelb, of West Pittston, admits as she tells the story of her first love to other ladies during tea time at the Pittston Center for Active Adults. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Pittston seniors enjoy monthly tea time</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Tea time brings out the love stories