June 5th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 2:16 pm in Landmarks | No Comments
I just came back from a trip to Mexico. My trip started here at our Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. It was my very first visit to the Joseph M. McDade terminal that opened just about a year ago (among other things, Joseph M. McDade represented Pennsylvania in Congress from 1962-1988).
The terminal is very impressive. The ticket counters are wide open with plenty of room for passenger check in. A new restaurant, appropriately named “Wings”, keeps the same staff from the restaurant in the old terminal! Northeast PA News & Gifts is worth a visit even if you don’t want a newspaper. It’s a great spot that brags about our area. I even noticed a rather respectable arcade! Pocono Club and Business Center is available for those who aren’t traveling for fun. After the going through security to the jet boarding area, I counted five jet ways.
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May 27th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 5:15 pm in Historical Sites | No Comments
Scranton has really got it going on! Little by little, this city has crept back into full swing without losing any of its past glamour. This is no understatement, either. A casual observer visiting the town can’t help but notice the new mixed right in with the old while respecting each. The architecture is beautiful, interesting and in many places, unusual. The renovations have been made with the original design in tact.
The company I work for has offices in Kingston, Hazleton and Scranton so we recently purchased a membership in The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce www.scrantonchamber.com . They mailed a wonderful welcome package that included a 2007 Business & Buyers Guide, titled “Rediscover Scranton… we’re electric!”. Now, sometimes “buyers guide” just translates into “a book of ads”. But this book seemed to shine right inside the envelope it came in. I’m not sure how many people read a “Business & Buyers’ Guide”, but I did. The darn thing actually made me want to rediscover Scranton, so I did just that.
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May 24th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 7:52 am in Landmarks | No Comments
Our climate in Northeastern Pennsylvania is perfect for gardening. Crocuses and daffodils pop up in March; tulips in April and by mid-May, perennials can be out of the ground with lily-of-the-valley showing off alongside the violets and pansies. All through the summer and well into the fall, or at least until the first frost, chrysanthemums and black-eyed Susans bring beauty to the front yards of our neighborhoods. Take some time to notice the beauty of the homes in our area. Nearly every house has a plant or shrub of some type in their front yard.
Gardening is both a curse and a blessing. I come from a long line of gardeners. My great grandmother had a beautiful English garden. My father and my grandfather could write books on the subject. So could with my mother and my grandmother. They infected my aunt and me. My brother is good at it, too. With four children, though, he’s keeping his talents in storage, I think.
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May 22nd, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 6:55 am in Landmarks | No Comments
The 52nd Annual Fine Arts Fiesta http://www.fineartsfiesta.org has come to a close. In 1956 visionaries Al Groh and Annette Evans saw a need to showcase the arts in the Wyoming Valley. The people of our area are very talented indeed. There are artists, photographers, sculptors, dancers, performers, and singers. There is nothing better than our Fine Arts Fiesta to showcase the talents of our residents.
The 2007 Friend of the Arts award was given to The Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre. Older than the Fiesta itself, the theater was founded in 1923. For 84 years this smart and talented bunch has been providing drama and song and dance to our area. With no paid staff members, the group is entirely volunteer-driven. It is fitting that this group would be honored by the Fiesta Board. They chose wisely this year.
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May 11th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 5:10 am in Landmarks | No Comments
Our local primaries are next Tuesday, May 15. Local politics is always interesting. If you listen to talk radio in the mornings, you already know what most of the chatter is about on the county/municipal level. Newspaper ads are plentiful. Lawn signs are (dreadfully) everywhere. If you really want to learn about the candidates, the League of Women Voters is one of the best resources you will find (www.lwv.org). They provide the education and qualifications of the candidates along with their occupations. Questions are proposed and the candidate’s answer is published. They also publish when “no response” was received.
What a fuss with the Lackawanna County Commissioners! I’ve glimpsed some big ol’ billboards and have seen television commercials (pretty nice ones, too) for Robert Cordaro, but he won’t be on the ballot and has to be written in. The Lackawanna County Bureau of Elections has their hands full. I have personally never voted that way and would have to ask a voting official how to do this. Maybe with the computer voting, it’s easier. I can’t even imagine what the Scranton Times Tribune headlines will be on May 16.
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April 23rd, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 3:22 pm in Sports | No Comments
For me personally, the newspaper ends before the last section. I don’t often read it. I don’t care about any of those Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh, my. (as in Nittany, Detroit or Chicago as if anyone but me needed the explanation).
I am amazed, though, at the change in our sports sections over time. This fall, I had the opportunity to work on a project that took me to Wilkes-Barre’s Osterhout library to research newspapers on microfilm from the early 1980’s. It doesn’t seem like 1982 should be that long ago, but it is. A new car (Ford Pinto) was $10,000 and a two-bedroom apartment on River Street rented for $250 per month. As I scrolled though, I noticed that the sports section included high school coverage, but not much. It was all national sports.
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April 16th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 3:19 pm in Landmarks | No Comments
What a sight the demolition of the Sterling Hotel Tower was! It certainly wasn’t a speed-wrecking project, but it was never intended to be. The tower had to come down without damaging the building to be preserved next to it. That building is the real value in that River-Market corner property. I chuckled when I read that Alex Rogers’ 2007 New Years resolution was to have the building come down two bricks at a time instead of one. Well, it did better than that, Alex. Not by much, but it’s okay. Haste makes waste.
I’m glad that they are restoring the Sterling corner property, even though I’ve heard that the inside is badly deteriorated. I’m positive and hopeful, but I must say what a shame it was that the building fell into the disrepair that it did. Bad owners and bad lawyers are responsible for killling the tower.
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April 9th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 4:14 pm in Landmarks | No Comments
A coal town here and another one there. Once the mines closed, we were in such a giant hurry to close the mines and rush to the revolution of the 21st century and shed our reputation. The Wyoming Valley and most of the areas that make up Northeastern Pennsylvania are still sometimes considered a big old bunch of coal towns. It’s just the way it is.
Coal miners were dirty. They were poor. It was long hours and a dangerous way of life. But what doesn’t kill you makes you strong. Those coal miners were strong in character, strong in humor and strong in their support of each other. Today, believe me when I tell you, we have an abundance of strong people living here in the Great Northeast. They are like the anthracite coal they mined. We all know what happens to coal under pressure, it becomes a diamond!
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April 2nd, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 4:10 pm in Introduction | No Comments
The writings here are all about home. Not the house you live in or the lot you own, but home here in the Wyoming Valley of Northeastern Pennsylvania. If you have lived here all your life, you are lucky. If you have lived other places and just located here, you are very lucky. And, if you left here to live elsewhere and moved back, well, you are just plain smart.
This is a great place to live in every aspect. The land is largely unspoiled with more nature than city, but plenty of both. The seasonal weather gives variety without extremes. Good education is available from pre-school to graduate studies. Housing is affordable. Transportation is accessible through our highways and airports. There is an abundance of culture. It is just a perfect place to raise a family.
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