Wilkes University hosts annual Opioid Awareness Walk on April 4

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Lehman’s Borum stars, but WVC drops game

<p>There is an an unfortunate but true saying among those who work with abused and rescued animals: You can&#8217;t save them all.</p><p>That logic also applies to historic preservation.</p><p>Old buildings, bridges, vehicles, works of public art, even parks and gardens, require a great deal of time, money and labor to restore and maintain.</p><p>Sometimes economic concerns, or the need to reuse a space, mean that we must part with once-beloved elements of our history. Then, too, just because a thing is old does not make it intrinsically historic or worthwhile.</p><p>Browse through old postcards and photos of the Wyoming Valley, and you will quickly get a sense of how many distinctive landmarks have long passed from the local scene.</p><p>Did you know there once was a greenhouse on the Luzerne County Courthouse grounds? That Public Square once boasted an ornate central fountain and landscaped gardens? That the former courthouse was in the middle of Public Square? That there once was a canal that ran through downtown Wilkes-Barre?</p><p>Those steeped in local history may know these things, but for many residents such relics of a bygone are largely unknown &#8212; not just due to the passage of time, but because physical remnants are few.</p><p>Every time a house or church or factory or railroad building gets razed, we lose another link to the days when the region was an economic powerhouse and a destination for hardworking immigrants from across the seas who transformed the landscape.</p><p>So it is that we would like to spotlight several projects &#8212; some completed, some pending &#8212; designed to save some of the more noteworthy artifacts of our past.</p><p>&#8226; You may have read in Saturday&#8217;s paper the Greater Wilkes-Barre Partnership&#8217;s Wilkes-Barre Development Corp. on Friday officially transferred ownership of the Irem Temple building on North Franklin Street to the Irem Temple Restoration Project for a &#8220;price&#8221; of $1.</p><p>Construction of the building began in 1907, and it was dedicated in December 1908. It was built to host the rituals, social events and entertainment of the Wilkes-Barre Shriners, a Masonic organization.</p><p>It has been essentially vacant since the 1990s.</p><p>IRTP is raising money to stabilize and restore the building with a view toward turning it into a a downtown community, arts and heritage museum. Christian Wielage, chairman of the restoration committee, said a new part-time executive director will start soon.</p><p>&#8226; Another nonprofit group, Anthracite Trolleys Inc., has been formed for the purpose of rescuing and restoring Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s last surviving trolley car, a 95-year-old vehicle that was built into a Back Mountain summer cottage nearly 70 years ago after being retired in 1950.</p><p>&#8226; The second phase of interior Luzerne County Courthouse restoration is underway.</p><p>County Manager C. David Pedri signed a $527,645 contract last month with Brooklyn-based EverGreene Architectural Arts Inc. to complete this work, which will address all artwork and finishes in the remaining first-floor foyer and hallways.</p><p>It follows a $2.13 million first phase completed last year.</p><p>Each project represents a different aspect of the valley&#8217;s history and development, and each is in its way worthy of the time and funds necessary for the work.</p><p>The county, being a government entity, can of course draw more readily on taxpayer funding for the work, though we believe this has been a worthwhile expenditure of those dollars.</p><p>The Irem Temple and trolley project, while both seeking grants, will need to rely heavily on the goodwill of donors to complete their work.</p><p>We would encourage those who can to support these projects, and other local history efforts of their choice.</p><p>When these things are gone, they&#8217;re gone, and the valley will be poorer for it.</p><p><em> &#8212; Times Leader</em></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Silhouetted minarets of the Irem Temple in downtown Wilkes-Barre during a winter sunset. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Irem3.cmyk_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Silhouetted minarets of the Irem Temple in downtown Wilkes-Barre during a winter sunset. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>

Our View: Local history is worth preserving