September 7th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 12:10 pm in Landmarks | No Comments
Scranton’s been doing the LaFesta Italiana for 32 years. Even with the current state of construction around Scranton’s Courthouse Square, they still make it work.
This isn’t any small undertaking on a regular year, but the committee really did a great job in making some awesome accommodations! The Board of Directors and volunteer committee pride themselves in bringing the finest culinary and cultural talent to this event that grows bigger and bigger with every consecutive year.
The weather for this year had to be the finest ever. The festival spans three days and I think they received three of the finest days Mother Nature could offer. Warm weather, no humidity and clear blue skies brought out the best in everyone in attendance
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August 30th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 3:23 pm in Sports | No Comments
Oh, you guys are gonna love this … a commentary on high school football … by me.
High school football is a very big deal locally. Heck, the entire state seems to takes its high school football seriously. The fields are big, the stands are big, the lights are bright and there are usually two concession stands going. You pay to park, you pay for tickets to get in and you pay for programs. The level of intensity surrounding the performance of the not-much-more-than boys surprises me. Few will make notable college level success and fewer will hit the pros. You’d think the sun rises and sets over these Friday night performances. But scholarships are indeed made on the grid allowing those lucky ones to move to colleges (where tickets cost much more) and fewer to pros (where tickets are unaffordable).
I sort of keep waiting for soccer to catch up and take over, but it hasn’t yet. There is no special insert in our local newspapers giving bios and stats of any soccer team (or track or swimming or any other sport for that matter). As far as our local newspapers go, until Lawyer Joe Quinn takes out a full page ad on the back of something, it’s not validated.
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August 24th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 7:40 am in Landmarks | No Comments
Leisure is abundant in youth. It gets completely lost somehow during adult years. Like magic, it bobs to the surface again about the same time you receive your AARP card in the mail. There are always going to be the things that have to be done, but it’s what we do in our leisure that defines us the most.
During all my years living here, I’ve always sought the elusive leisure time. I suppose everyone does no matter where they live. The temptation is often to do something fun as opposed to something you should be doing. There are lots of fun things to do here.
Teenagers, I think, seem to be most guilty of saying: “There’s nothing to do.” We have all heard it and probably even said it ourselves. There are some great comebacks to this and when you are facing a whiny teenager, you need some instant answers. But, you might not want to dig into your wallet - at all or just not too deeply. Their own new wallets probably aren’t full yet. So here are some suggestions that don’t require much planning or money. Make some notes and keep ‘em handy for the next whine-fest.
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August 18th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 9:15 am in Landmarks | No Comments
Pittston is well-known city in the Wyoming Valley. With a familiar story, it grew around the coal industry and has settled into being a bedroom community like so many others have since done. The downtown struggles as do the other downtowns in the area. Locally, Pittston is known as an area with great Italian ethnicity. Many of the store fronts display local owners with last names that end in a vowel: Sabatelle, Costello, Sperrazza, Adonizio, Saporito.
I have never attended the Pittston Tomato Festival before so I took an opportunity to do so on Friday night, August 17. For 24 years, the festival has increased in popularity and what a crowd this event attracts! I parked nearly five blocks away. You are really on your own when it comes to parking. Pick a vacant lot or squeeze into a spot onto the street. People living here come from all around for this event!
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August 9th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 6:38 am in Landmarks | No Comments
The Wyoming Valley West School District has made the news recently in adopting a revised standard of dress in their district. From what I have been told, the only other public school district to have a similar code is the Hazleton Area School District.
When the Wyoming Valley West School District first announced their intentions a few months ago, it became an immediate hot topic. Some welcomed the change; some did not. I might as well admit that, as a mother of a student living here in the district, I was as close to indifference as I could be. My single thought: “I’ll buy the kid slacks and polos when the fall comes around”. That was it. I moved on. If I represent any kind of majority, it’s a darn silent one.
Almost immediately after the school board met to approve this, the students and the parents were vocal in their thoughts. To credit the newspapers, they reported as many positive as negative views. Some felt that the ability to express individuality was taken away. Others liked the idea of a higher standard of dress which represents a level of dignity and respect. I was surprised by the attention since I had given it so little thought. After all, it’s merely a “dress code” they are not requiring a “uniform”.
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August 2nd, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 12:08 pm in Landmarks | Comment (1)
Pennsylvania towns have some funny names. The towns were named long ago when the influences were a mix of English and Indian. As a result, we have an odd and eclectic collection of city and town names.
Most of us know the origin of the name “Pennsylvania”. The land was granted to William Penn by Charles II in 1681 to repay a debt owed to William’s father, Admiral Penn. The word “sylvania” is of Latin origin meaning “woodlands”. Pennsylvania roughly translates to “Penn’s woods”.
The Indian influence in many names is prevalent. In America, 27 state names are derivatives of Indian names. Those of us living here don’t think twice about “Susquehanna” (long crooked river) or “Nay Aug” (loud waters). The names Lycoming, Shenandoah, and Lackawanna (sandy stream, hillside stream and streams that fork) are all common and familiar to us.
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July 31st, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 8:35 am in Landmarks | No Comments
If you read that question out of context, it sounds dumb. Yet, I’m sure that same question is asked every single day by someone living here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We have the perfect climate … for change, that is. Our seasons are well-defined. Each has its own distinctive impact on the air and land.
Every weather event imaginable can happen in our spring: snow, rain, sleet, hail, wind, heat and freezing. The average high/low for the spring is 69/28. But from its beginning on March 21 to its end on June 21, you can experience it all! You’ll scrape the frost from your windshield on the way to work and put the air conditioning on for the ride home. (I leave more coats behind places in the spring than any other season.) Our plants mark the time with great consistency. Those crocuses will pop up right at the end of February. In mid-April, the leaves come out on the trees. On Memorial Day, I know my peonies will bloom.
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July 20th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 11:16 am in Landmarks | No Comments
Looks like Northeastern Pennsylvania is going to be getting a new reputation! From what I read, it’s not a matter of “if”, but simply a matter of “when”.
Given the occasional uncertain circumstances in New York City (9/11, power failures, broken steam pipes, etc.), the financial companies began to develop some contingency plans. Off-site back up media storage would be a mere band-aid in a catastrophe. Should there be a devastating event, these worldwide conglomerates would need some major surgery. So they look to their sister state in the west; Pennsylvania’s little coal towns are all grown up!
Our region is just perfect for such a Plan B. We have the available land, labor and we are on a separate electrical grid. The nine counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania have 27 colleges, plenty of major corporations and 1.7 million people. We’re not part of the New York area watershed, either. All of the sudden, the chit-chat about the rail service from Scranton to Hoboken just got more significant.
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July 12th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 12:31 pm in Landmarks | No Comments
Like a special birthday gift, wrapped in the gentle mountains of Elysburg is the nicest surprise. Knoebels Amusement Park is a delightful resort frequently visited by many of us living here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s America’s oldest free admission park. Many of the monster amusement parks today charge entrance fee as high as $40. Too high a price to pay for anyone not interested in rides.
“When I was a girl” (in the days of black-and-white television and stone tablets), all the amusement parks were “free admission”. Our parents took us nearby — and I mean really nearby — to San Souci in Hanover, Hanson’s at Harvey’s Lake and Angela Park near Hazleton. Sadly, none of these parks exist today. I can recall the wonder of “The Caterpillar” at San Souci Park and the thrilling way the canvas closed to “cocoon” its passengers. My memories of being there are magnificent. Of course, it was a simpler time.
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July 5th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 7:55 am in Historical Sites | No Comments
Faith has a solid foundation in our area. A listing taken from the Luzerne County’s Municipal Cooperation Community Toolkit 2005 (www.luzernecounty.org) lists nearly 500 different places to worship! I think that’s rather impressive.
Even before the Civil War, the Wyoming Valley started to receive immigrants. One of the first groups to arrive was the Irish, Scottish and Welsh who created their communities around their churches. From 1870 to 1915, nearly another 100,000 immigrants from all over Europe came here. Laborers were needed to build the canals and the rails that would eventually establish our infamous coal mines. Skilled miners were needed to work the mines and they came in abundance. The Polish, Italian, Slovak, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian found a new life here. These groups, too, settled their neighborhoods around their religion. A simple primary reason was so they could attend a service presided over by someone who spoke their language. Faith was an important part of their lives. Thus, the rich and diverse religions of our area were born.
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