Steve Bilko Still Inspires Today and is Subject of New Book.  – By Judy Minsavage

Steve Bilko Still Inspires Today and is Subject of New Book.  – By Judy Minsavage

Baseball is in full swing, and fans are diligently following their favorite team and player. Player stats and win/losses aside the road to the big leagues is not an easy one. In 1945, from the standpoint of Bennie Borgman a scout for the St. Louis Cardinal organization the road to success looked like a sure thing for Nanticoke's Steve Bilko. Borgman witnessed the powerhouse hitting of the seventeen year old Bilko as he played an exhibition game in Artillery Park in Wilkes-Barre. Later that summer Borgman traveled to Honey Pot and watched as Bilko slammed three home run balls in a coalfield lot game, Borgman recounted in an interview about the right handed hitter “One, homer would have been out of Yankee Stadium, Yankee Stadium, hell it would have been out of the Grand Canyon.” Borgman resolved to sign Bilko, and in 1945, Bilko joined the Cardinal farm system. He made his big league debut in 1946. His time in the minors garnered much attention but after his switch to the big leagues he batted .249. Bilko's time in the majors was spent “backing up players such as first baseman Stan Musial. In 1952 Musial batting .331 was moved to center field, leaving an opening for Bilko. The misfortune of breaking an arm and enduring a recovery period led him back to Triple A Rochester.  Returning to the Cards in 1953, Bilko won the starting job and batted .251 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI's. He led the National League in put outs and assists. The next year did not prove as well and his contract was purchased in 1955 by the Pacific League's Los Angeles Angels, a team with no major league affiliation. There Bilko thrived, slamming 148 home runs from 1955 to 1957 and was only the ninth player in the 100 year history of the Pacific League to be named MVP three consecutive years. His time with the Angels heaped star status on the man from humble beginnings, and in 1958, because of the attention, the Los Angeles Dodgers pursued and signed Bilko. Although, back with the majors, was again assigned a backup position for first baseman Gil Hodges. Bilko was sent to Triple A in Spokane and was acquired by Detroit in 1960. In 1961 the Angels joined the American League and brought Bilko back. While there, he batted, .279 with 20 homers and 81 runs batted in. By the end of 1962, he was named starting first basement and hit 8 home runs  in at the beginning of the season. However once again bad luck intervened and Bilko suffered a broken leg, which ultimately ended his career. Bilko returned to Nanticoke, where he resided with his wife Mary and three children Steve Jr., Tom and Sharon. Bilko's grace with which he handled the ups and downs of his career and his tremendous talent is admired to this day. His record states he played in 600 Major League games between 1949 and 1962 with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels. Bilko, who passed away on March 7, 1978. was formally recognized in 2003 with his induction into the Pacific Coast Baseball League Hall of Fame and Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in Philadelphia.

In a March 10, 1978 article written by columnist John Hall of the Los Angeles Times, Hall wrote, “It is impossible for anybody who wasn't around Los Angeles prior to the arrival of major league baseball in the form of the Dodgers in 1958 to understand the hold Steve Bilko had on the sport public and press. His home run heroics of the mid-50's for the Angels made him a special sort of local legend.
With men on base and a rally brewing, the late Bob Kelley, voice of the Angels, frequently used a favorite phrase to stir the audience, ' and here comes Bilko!' Kelley would scream.”

To read more about Bilko check out “The Bilko Athletic Club: The Story of the 1956 Los Angeles Angels by Gaylon H. White, available at bookstores and Amazon.com.  The description of the book reads as follows: “During the 1956 baseball season in the city of Los Angeles, Mickey Mantle’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record was matched only by the day-to-day drama of Steve Bilko’s exploits in the Pacific Coast League. While Mantle was winning the Triple Crown in the American League, Bilko was doing the same in the highest of all the minor leagues with the Los Angeles Angels. He led the league hitters in eight categories, and the Angels romped to the pennant. Bilko hit one mighty home run after another to earn Minor League Player of the Year honors and inspire the team’s nickname, “The Bilko Athletic Club.”

Judy Minsavage, as co-editor, actually primary, editor of our Blog is doing an outstanding job. Judy has dedicated her valuable time in a volunteer capacity to help further grow our exposure to our organization and our community. we consider her a valuable asset in our endeavors in enlightening and educating our community of our rich heritage. Judy is also a columnist for the Sunday Dispatch were you can read her articles about other events in our surrounding communities.

Thank you Judy Sunday Dispatch
Please thank Judy for her wonderful work at:  jminsavage@civitasmedia.com 

On Thursday, May 15, The Nanticoke Historical Society hosted guest speaker Attorney Charles Petrillo who presented four movies that centered on the coal mining industry and were filmed in Nanticoke and surrounding areas.  The Price of Carelessness, a silent movie, focused on the hazards of being under the influence of alcohol on the job. The movie debuted at the Rex Theatre in Nanticoke on June 15, 1915, and as Petrillo pointed out, is a year and one month shy of the first time the movie was viewed by the public. Petrillo also pointed out, the film shot at Truesdale Colliery was probably one of the first times a movie was filmed underground. In it an accident, caused by a miner under the influence of alcohol after drinking at a local well known bar, causes the death of his helper. It showed the helper being transported immediately after the accident in a horse drawn hearse or black Mariah as it was known at the time, to his residence, in Concrete City. The second film, also silent, Mining of Anthracite, is also believed to be from the Nanticoke region and presented an overview of the coal mining process. A third film from the 1960s showed the mining operations at Wanamie and the former railroad there.   The fourth film, however, was an additional one Petrillo brought along as an added surprise. produced by Blue Coal Company, the film heralded the assets of coal as an energy source and introduced the company’s new coal furnaces. The film produced in the 1960’s was an attempt to curb the popularity of the new oil burners, that after the decline in the use of coal,  would essentially take over as heating units in homes and businesses. Petrillo, added one more surprise, telling  those in attendance they were probably the first audience in 60 years view the film.  Another wonderful scene from this movie showed the Huber Breaker in Ashley in its heyday.  The evening was a wonderful look back at the life of those who toiled to feed their families and was a graphic representation of how dangerous jobs in the coal mining industry were. The men and boys who risked their lives and the women who sustained homes and families under unbearable hardships were truly heroes.  The Nanticoke Historical Society would like to thank Mr. Petrillo and the Anthracite Heritage Museum for sharing these informative pieces of history with our community. 

Contributed by Judy Minsavage for NHS

Thank you Judy

We would like to share this story!

This was such a great story submitted to us us by

Chuck Anziulewicz on Facebook.  Not everyone follows us on Facebook but I thought this was worth sharing.  We thank Chuck immensely for this wonderful contribution.

NHS 

If there was one town that makes me want to jump in a time machine and travel back 50 years to a simpler, more innocent time ... Nanticoke is that town. That's where my mom's side of the family was. I had cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents there. Today there are a vanishing few older relatives who can still lapse into conversational Ukrainian once in a while, but when I was a child it was VERY common to hear Polish and Ukrainian spoken frequently in conversation. I wonder if ANYONE in Nanticoke speaks Polish or Ukrainian conversationally anymore.

My grandpa was a coal miner, and my grandma worked for a while at the old McGregor clothing factory on East Washington Street. Although I spent most of my childhood years in the Washington DC area, visiting my grandparents in Nanticoke was always something to look forward to.

My mother's maiden name was Patricia J. Petrash. She graduated from Nanticoke High School in 1954 and later attended Wilkes College before getting married to John Anziulewicz, my dad. My mom's parents were Walter and Anna Petrash, and when I was just a toddler they lived on Hanover Street (I think 614) directly across from the Stegura Funeral Home; their old house is still there. At the corner of Hanover and Ridge Streets, where the Walting dental practice is now located, there actually used to be an old grocery store run by an old man named Jack, and whenever we were visiting my grandparents, my grandpa would give me and my little sister a few coins, and we would run down to Jack's grocery to buy candy. This was back in the early 1960s.

On Church Street there's Larry's Pizza, which I believe is currently managed by the son of the original owner, Larry Carns. What many people in Nanticoke today may not know is that the pizzaria was originally located on Hanover Street, and I remember seeing Larry Carns and his son (who was probably a few years older than me) working down there whenever my grandparents would send me down to pick up a pizza order. I stopped by Larry's Pizza on Church Street several years ago, and honestly the smell and taste of that pizza has not changed a SINGLE BIT over 45 years. The next time I visit Nanticoke, hopefully in the next few years, I'm going to make a pilgrimage to Larry's Pizza.

Some people on these forums have mentioned the old Leader Store in downtown Nanticoke. I remember going there with my mom on a couple of occasions, and I was always utterly fascinated by the network of humming motorized cables that were strung throughout the store, connecting checkout stations to the business office: Receipts and other business statements and envelopes would be attached to a cable and OFF it would fly to another part of the store! That must've been the epitome of high technology back in the 1960s.

Going down the hill from my grandparent's house to West Side Park was always a lot of fun. There was one piece of playground equipment that had to be one of the coolest, most dangerous pieces of playground equipment ever invented: The "Witch's Hat," which was a kind of tilting merry-go-round. But like so many other wonderful pieces of playground equipment like swings and teeter-totters, it was ultimately removed, probably because some careless kid got bruised or chipped a tooth.

My grandparents, as well as many of my other relatives, attended St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church located at the corner of Hanover and Green Streets. At the time the mass was sung entirely in Ukrainian, with the choir singing "Hospodi Pomiloi" (Lord Have Mercy) up in the loft. Women sat on the left, and the men to the right. The altar was flanked by large statues of Mary and Joseph, both of whom had green neon tube halos! There was the lingering smell of incense, the big metal rack of red votive candles at the back the church, and sometimes teams of old women in babushkas would be down in the church basement, turning out pierogies by the thousands! Sadly, the church closed a number of years ago, but it's still there.

Of course, ANYONE in Nanticoke over a CERTAIN age has fond memories of Sans Souci Park. I think it was probably the first amusement park I ever went to, and for any child it was sheer HEAVEN. There were great classic old rides like the Tumble Bug, Bearcat Roller Coaster, and the utterly terrifying Wild Mouse, which looked like it was held together with little more than chicken wire and spit. I have actually seen wooden horses of Sans Souci's carousel up for sale online (if you want to spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars). The Bearcat was the first roller coaster I ever rode, probably when I was all of seven or eight years old, and I remember keeping my eyes closed for MOST of the time!

Sometime in the 1970s my grandparents moved from Hanover Street to a smaller house at the corner of South Walnut and East Grand Street. Then in 1981 my dear beloved grandpa, Walter Petrash Sr., died rather suddenly: He was was working in his garden, suffered a ruptured aorta, and died on the operating table just hours later. It was very sad. My grandma, Anna Petrash, passed away back around 2003, I believe. My mother's sister, Sonia Marshall, died several years ago after a long battle with cancer. But my parents are still alive, and my mother's brother, Walter Petrash Jr. (who went to WOODSTOCK!), lives with his wife Barbara in Wilkes Barre.

Sometime in the next few years I'm going to drive up to Nanticoke, spend the day walking around town, taking pictures, and I'll go to Larry's Pizza for dinner. I'm 54 years old now, and if I don't do this soon, I'm afraid I never will.

Below is a photo from 1942 that my mom sent me. It was taken somewhere up on Avondale Hill. My mom is the little girl on the far left.

Chuck Anziulewicz
West Virginia University

We're Back!

After several months of recovering from severe carpal tunnel syndrome. I've decided to resume my blog.  In the past, you the visitors have been kind to me and I miss interacting with you and telling you stories.  My capacity is still diminished.  But after a meeting at the Mill House last night we decided to launch a campaign to increase our visibility to the community.  Our blog was an important tool.  Although my capacity is still diminished I will be getting help from my co-author Judy, who frankly will be picking up the majority of the work. Judy has done an exquisitely professional job on our news letters and has expressed an interest in doing  more which we so much need and appreciate.  It will be my job to be the conduit of information and post the articles on this blog site for your pleasure and viewing.  We also have our Facebook page which is doing quite nicely with your support.  You have submitted photos and stories to share with us,  the very purpose the page in itself.  Your interactions and contributions are what we are all about and it has been immensely appreciated.

We are grossly understaffed and have an abundance of material to process.  If you have an interest in community involvement and would like to share in the spirit of camaraderie among historical buffs such as ourselves.  Please feel free to get involved.  As we barely have enough financial means to stay alive, your reward will be in the satisfaction of your work. Too often our over micro managed, and over automated jobs are tied to time constraints and productivity quotas.  We have a state of the art database management system with a relatively user friendly interface.  Your work will be at your own pace and will most like involve more drinking of coffee that anything else. Kindly please refrain from applying sugary soft drinks to keyboards.

Note: We do not endorse the use of stimulants for recreational use: Decaf prefered but not mandatory.

Your requirements will be a minimal amount of keyboard skills.
 ( The average 10 year old may already be over qualified).

A desire for community involvement.
A love for or at least an interest in our heritage and history.
A need to fulfil a desire of selfless sharing and to  broaden your insight
to our city around you.
A desire to interconnect with other entities of our community.
Being open to the idea that, although our coal history has been a major part of who we are,
there is so much more to learn and share.

Your benefits will be being  part of something special and perhaps being the catalyst that
will take our organization to the next level.
An opportunity to cultivate your own potential:  College students: this will look great on your resume.



We have a rich library of information and as a Society we have an obligation to share that with you.

To restart the process over I am reposting a short story written by our VP about the origins on HNS. Enjoy.

A number of years ago, in the pre-Google world, I stopped into the Mill Library to obtain some information on Nick Adams, actor and television star of the 1960’s. This information was for a friend in New Jersey who had a picture taken with Adams when he was a child. I asked if the library had a local history section or something similar and I was told that they did not. I obtained the information elsewhere and sent it to my friend.
During the ensuing years I often thought about the lack of a repository for the history of Nanticoke. The celebration of Nanticoke’s 200th anniversary in 1993 brought more thoughts of preserving Nanticoke’s History.
In my office I had hanging on my wall a display of a number of old Nanticoke post cards. Mark Regulski , visiting my office one day, noticed the cards and he told me of his collection of Nanticoke artifacts. The conversation then turned to the need to have some sort of an organization to collect and preserve Nanticoke History. The seed had been planted. Mark and I decided that we should make an attempt at organizing such and call it the Nanticoke Historical Society.
We had a notice printed in the paper stating that anyone interested in forming a Nanticoke Historical should meet in my office in the Nanticoke City Building.
That first meeting was attended by Mark and I, Julianna Zarzycki, Helen Buczkowski, , Martha Price, Celia Zeedock, and Lynn Maulbeck. Georgetta Potoski, President of the Plymouth Historical Society spoke to us on the formation of her organization and what we would have to do to start a similar group.
In addition to the fact that all were in agreement that we should go forward in the formation of a Nanticoke Historical Society, it was agreed that from the onset, it would be a first class organization with a Constitution, By-Laws, elected officers, and compliance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations. It was also agreed that we had no intention of becoming a museum but merely a repository for information.
The Constitution, By-Laws, and other legalities were established and Attorney Bernard Kotulak agreed to work pro-bono for the organization in filing the necessary legal documents such as the Articles of Incorporation. In addition to becoming a Pennsylvania Corporation, the Nanticoke Historical Society also has 501 c (3) status with the I.R.S.
Our birthday is June 26, 1995.

The first elected slate of officers were: President-Mark Regulski, Vice-President-Julianna Zarzycki, Treasurer-Janine Whittaker, and Secretary-Chet Zaremba.
With all the “t’s” crossed and the “I’s” dotted, we had a group of enthusiastic people all ready to go, but without a place to meet.

The first few meetings were held in my Police Chief’s office in the Nanticoke City Building through the graces of Mayor John Toole and City Council. The Mill Memorial Library was gracious enough to allow us to hold a few meeting in their facility.

We then rented the “Log Cabin” on Shea Street and set up operations there. We worked out of the cabin for a while until it was sold to a new owner who had other uses for it in mind.
Founding member Martha “Becky” Price then arraigned for us to rent a section of the home next to the First Presbyterian Church on Main Street. We operated out of that facility for a good number of years. As we continued to grow, we needed more space for our operations. Coincidental with the appointment of a new pastor at the First Presbyterian Church who needed our office space as living space, we were offered the opportunity to rent a portion of the historical Mill Homestead next to the Mill Memorial Library. We didn’t realize how much “stuff” we had until it became time to move it to our new quarters. The move having thus been made, we are now operating very successfully out of this most historic building.

NHS

A New Spring To Look Forward To

Ah,

   Here we are, the first day of April.  We have just celebrated Easter and Passover. Winter is slowly but surely coming to a close. We look forward the warmer days to spend in our yards, be it planting our gardens  or tending to our flowers and plants, spring clean-up projects or what ever have you.

    I'm happy to say that I have a reasonable amount of followers to my blog.  The intended purpose is of course is to add a little editorial flair to web site.  But, more importantly to keep a connection to those whom for what ever reason left Nanticoke to pursue a life else where, even perhaps have the intent of coming back home someday. This is your home and it will always be. I try to find stories of interest around town.  Somethings here are changing.  The State Theater is now gone and has been for sometime.  A land mark Bartuska's Furniture has closed.  The Woolworth's Store CVS on Main Street has been torn down to make an new look for Down Town Nanticoke.  Luzerne County Community College now houses a Culinary Arts program facility in new building on the corner of Market and Main Streets and now uses space in the Kanjoski building for even more class work.

   There is talk of a tree line project for Main Street Nanticoke.  Some streets that have been for too long and are in disrepair are now getting the much needed attention they so badly have been in need of.  The economy is slowly but surely improving, perhaps not as fast we would like.  We have a mayor and city council, in my opinion, that is more more progressively minded and interested in the good of our community, that is more caring for the residence and the needs of our community.  The dark cloud has not completely past, but there seams to be a element of hope for a better way of life just as Easter bring the new hope for us in the spring.

  One thing I am most excited about is the Cultural Center At St. Faustina. The website referenced here, when fully completed will have listings of venues available to residences of Nanticoke and surrounding communities.  Through the efforts of the parishioners of Saint Faustina's  and Fr. Nash a vital asset is being added to our community.

    Now I'm not a news reporting journalist, nor do try to pretend to be.  I'm more like the guy across the street that sees with my own eyes and talks to friends and neighbors about our surroundings.  Not everything in my blog is 100% accurate I'm just an everyday Joe with some interest in my community that I would like to share with you.  I have put up a Facebook page to interact with you and I try to ask for your participation in our community interest. I encourage your interaction and contributions.  Our Historical Society is comprised of 4 or 5 people that do the real digging out of the research of our area's history and have the support of maybe a dozens others who help in other supportive ways such as setting up and dismantling our occasional presentations such as the upcoming historic film presentation.

      Our followers tend to be more of an older generation that longs to remember days of a  happier time.  They like to stroll down memory lane and remember the time before they have lost loved ones or have had children grow up and move a way for a better life. There is so much more to the history of Nanticoke other than the Coal Industry that has contributed so profoundly to the our country's rise.  The time when the coal produced from here has had so much of an impact on the steel industry that helped build the great county that were we now live. A trip up to Scranton to visit the the Steam Town Museum and Steam Engine excursions is minutes away and very well worth it.  Did you know that Fr. Murgas was one of the founding fathers or radio telegraphy was a resident of Wilkes-Barre.  We have so much history to research, learn and teach.  Our office manager John Sherrick submits a story of the month to stimulate your interest. We need our youth to become interested and involved. And, we need your support to continue the  good work.  Get Involved.  It is a fun and a fascinating way to learn and explore our past.  We look forward to seeing you when we present the second viewing of our vintage films.  Don't Forget: Thurs. April 25th 7:00 pm The Cultural Center At Saint Faustina's 38 W. Church Street Nanticoke.

A little trivia.  Do you know why we call April 1st, April Fools Days?

sweetclipart.com

Our Constitution

Photo Courtesy of  Creative Commons: Credit below 

     


 In my fascination of history I thought I would like to review what most all of us studied either in grade school or later.  Most of us have seen movies Like “National Treasure” or “Lincoln” that conjure up feelings of Colonial early America.  This is our history; it is who we are and how we came to be.  Movies dramatize and romanticize the era.  After all, it is entertainment. But, in researching our history, it is also important understand the context.  I've come up with a quiz for myself and I invite you to take it as well.  I will not provide the answers nor grade you.  I hope that in the following quiz that you will at least seek the right answers if you do not know.

      I will provide links where I have looked. You are welcome to decide whether these sources are credible or not.  And, you are welcome to site your own searches and conclusions. Perhaps in seeking these answers you will look further into times and events of the era; to better understand the context our forefathers viewed in their time and how it applies to today's culture.

The Constitution

Quiz

1.       What year was the Constitution written?

(a) 1776 (b) 1780 (c)1787

2.       What document did the Constitution replace?

3.       (a) Articles of Congress (b)The Delaware Plan (c)The Rhode Island Plan (d) none of these

4.       What were the Articles of Confederation?

(a) the constitution of the Confederate States

(b)the laws enforced by militias

(c)the first draft  of the Constitution

5.       What were the two plans considered for the Constitution?

6.       (a) The Delaware Plan and the Georgia Plan

(b) The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan

(c)  Charles Pinckney’s  Plan and The British Plan

7.       How many articles were there in the original Articles of Confederation?

(a)  10 (b) 12 (c) 13 (d) 15

8.       Who was Edmond Randolph?

(a) The Governor of Virginia who presented the Constitution in Philadelphia.

(b)An Anti-Federalist who favored States rights.

(c) A Federalist who favored a centralized government

9.       The Connecticut Compromise was a compromise between the…

(a) The Delaware Plan and the Georgia Plan

(b) The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan

(c)  Charles Pinckney’s  Plan and The British Plan

10.   Article IV of the Articles of Confederation declares that…

(a) only Congress can declare an act of war

(b) each states retains its sovereignty

(c)the Articles of Confederation will be observed by every state

1.   Who wrote The Articles of Confederation?

(a) Benjamin Franklin

(b) James Madison

(c) John Hancock
(d) none of the above

12.   Who were “the old patriots”, what were they later called?

(a) The Federalists

(b) The Anti-Federalists

(c) the Tories

13.   Who put forth the Virginia Plan?

(a) James Madison

(b) Thomas Jefferson

(c) Edmond Randolph

14.   In what year was the Articles of Confederation replaced with the U.S. Constitution?

(a) 1776

(b)1787

(c) 1789

http://www.usconstitution.net/articles.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_Constitution

Bill of Rights (the first 10)

Match the correct Answer:

Amendment 1	Bail, fines, punishment
Amendment 2	States' rights
Amendment 3	Search and arrest
Amendment 4	Rights in criminal cases
Amendment 5	Rights in civil cases
Amendment 6	Right to a fair trial
Amendment 7	Rights retained by the People
Amendment 8	Quartering of soldiers
Amendment 9	Right to bear arms
Amendment 10	Freedoms, Petitions, Assembly

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/amendments.htm

Did you know our system of Government was adapted from tribes of Native Americans?

http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/iroquois-confederacy-or-five-nations-43

http://www.cradleboard.org/curriculum/powwow/lessons/elemsocial/el_gv_ir.html

I feel that regardless of subject, if one is to boast about knowledge, one should be knowledgeable.

Here are some interesting things about our history.
http://www.landofthebrave.info/colonial-times.htm

photo credit: Bradley Jones via photopin cc

December 2012

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who attended our November presentation "Vintage film of 40's, 50's and 60's".  Our Historical Society is alive and growing. The need to expand is increasingly becoming larger and with the co-operation of St. Stan's Community Center and the St. Faustina's Parish we will have access to the new facility for events such as this.  Unfortunately, while it is in its construction phase the Center is not available.  Our home, the Samantha Mill house is quite adequate for housing our business needs but undersized for presentations such as this.  With the growing interest in our Society we hope we can better serve our community. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you and plan to present the films again in the spring at the new facility.

   

On Thursday evening of the 29th the Historical Society gave its presentation to about 30 guests whom tightly packed our limited seating area.  The presentation was on early events in Nanticoke donated to the Historical Society. Chet Zaremba, whom took on the task of acquiring and transferring the films to digital, gave the presentation.

How the films where acquired:

 Years ago in Nanticoke there was a photo store, Borofski’s photo. Chet Zaremba got know Norm Borofski, the son.  Then last year, when he passed away these films were found in his basement. We were able to acquire these films through the people who did the house sale, a store in Plymouth called Yesterday’s Treasure’s an antique store.  When they realized the historical value they donated them to the Nanticoke Historical Society.  The original films were on 8 mm and 16 mm formats. We had taken four of the most significant films and had them transferred to a digital format for a presentation such as this.

The first film of  WWII vintage were made somewhere around the time of 1942-1944 and showed enlistees or draftees boarding a train in Nanticoke leaving for the 2^nd World War.  The Pennsylvania Railroad rail station, by recollection of some of the attending guests, was located down on Lower Broadway.  The first film only ran 4 minutes, but the significance was that they were in color.  Considering the age the images were quite clear and the transfer process preserved and enhanced the original media.  The film also showed a parade and the crowd that came to see the boys who went off to war.   At the time Nanticoke had two train stations a freight station and a passenger station.  In the film you could see the train arrive, the boys board the train and the train leaving.

A second film in B&W showed an early 6 County Firemen’s Convention Parade, showed Nanticoke in a way that probably few remember with streets filled with busy shops and businesses and crowds of people. Guests pointed out how slim everyone was and how people were well groomed and dressed and how the Ladies all had worn hats.  Fire apparatus was then all open cab and some guests could identify the years in which the machines were made, some dating back into the 1940’s.  Visiting companies from Hazelton and Tamaqua could be seen.

A third film showed a high school football game. Players had no pads and referees wore no stripped uniforms.  The old high school stadium could be seen.

Chet continued the presentation with photos of Nanticoke selected from his vast library. Photos showed Main Street Nanticoke from the pre 1900’s. Included were photos of the old State Theater, Frank Matheson’s Nanticoke Hotel, the old post office, the old Acme, Al Fink Oldsmobile Dealership.  Photos showed store fronts which had window displays and what Chet referred to as Islands or window displays with passage ways to the main entrance to the store on either side. Photos showing old telephone poles had up to seven cross members to support a separate subscriber wire line for each telephone customer. Chet also showed photos of Diamonds Candy Store after the closing with ornate trim, seating booths and malt shop decor. Everyone immensely enjoyed the presentation and we are looking forward to making it again when we can use the facility.

Luzerne County Community College Tree Festival

Katy Sweeny again did an outstanding job with a unique tree decorating design for our entry.  The theme of course was history and the ornaments were cleverly crafted vintage photos of Nanticoke.  The event feature delectable creations from the Culinary Art students with an assortment of baked Holiday treats. The event was held on Friday Nov. 30^th in the Conference Center of the LCCC Campus off of Prospect Street and was open to the public from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.