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Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Wyoming Valley, specifically Sugar Notch, on July 31, 1948, to dedicate a war memorial monument that features the bust of her late husband, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
				Nearly 5,000 people gathered around the borough municipal building that day as Roosevelt unveiled the monument designed by Kingston resident Lawrence Russo.
				The monument stands eight feet wide and 11 feet high and is inscribed with the names of the 600 borough residents who fought during the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II.
				Plans of the monument were announced in January 1947.
				&ldquo;Surmounting the center will be a bust of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. His name will head the list of 14 borough servicemen who gave their lives in the recent conflict. A total of 442 borough residents served in World War II,&rdquo; the Wilkes-Barre Record reported Jan. 23, 1947.
				Funds to defray the expenses of the monument&rsquo;s erection were obtained from borough residents led by a committee headed by Luzerne County Commissioner John A. Riley.
				Russo worked on the monument at the A.V. Kozak Monument Company on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre.
				&ldquo;Sugar Notch has commanded widespread attention in this country by reason of the memorial to the late President to be established in that borough. A statue weighing almost 18 tons and costing $6,500 raised by public appeals will be dedicated sometime this year,&rdquo; reported the Wilkes-Barre Record on April 7, 1948.
				When the monument neared completion and a date was fixed for its dedication, Riley sent an invitation to the former first lady in May 1948 to attend.
				A planned dedication was originally scheduled for June 20, 1948.
				With scheduling conflicts with the former first lady, the dedication was set for July 31, 1948.
				&ldquo;Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived here early this afternoon for participation in a ceremony at Sugar Notch marking the unveiling of a monument to her late husband and the borough&rsquo;s honored dead of four wars,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported July 31, 1948.
				Homes and businesses along Main Street were decorated for the occasion, and stores and other establishments were closed. Glen Alden Coal Company employees residing in the borough were given the afternoon off.
				The former first was escorted into Sugar Notch in a vehicle used to transport her and the late president around Washington, D.C.
				Standing on a stage constructed by the Glen Alden Coal Company, Roosevelt addressed the approximately 5,000 people who gathered for the monument&rsquo;s dedication.
				&ldquo;This memorial is a reminder of our job as citizens to learn the lesson of peace,&rdquo; Roosevelt told the large crowd, the Wilkes-Barre Record reported.
				The newspaper reported Roosevelt was dressed in a &ldquo;new look,&rdquo; a black and white print dress, with a pearl necklace and a Navy-style box hat of white with a ring of flowers wrapped in a black bow, and shook hands of those closest to her.
				&ldquo;Surprise and sadness were registered by Mrs. Roosevelt when she saw for the first time the 10-year old Packard touring car used to carry her from the Hotel Sterling to Sugar Notch. It was the same car in which she often rode with her husband, President Roosevelt, when they participated in parades and functions of state while he was in office,&rdquo; the Record reported.
				The vehicle also transported the King and Queen of England when they visited the United States.
				Sugar Notch Post 7021, American Legion, fired the salute and sounded taps as the memorial was unveiled by Mrs. Roosevelt.

Lookback: Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated Sugar Notch war memorial in 1948