First Posted: 6/11/2013

QUESTION:

In 1998, how many graduating students received the Sunday Dispatch Student Athlete Awards?

1948 – 65 YEARS AGO

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Conditions existed in the Greater Pittston schools that some said “endangered the health of hundreds of school children.” Most schools needed various levels of repairs such as painting and plastering, but conditions at the Barry School in the Browntown section of Pittston were labeled “frightening.” The Sunday Dispatch sent a photographer to chronicle the deterioration. The results showed plaster scattered on the floor throughout the building, the girl’s basement bathroom with primitive facilites and cracking foundation. Rotting window sills existed throughout the building and cans were tied to radiators to catch leaking water. School directors, Martin Quinn, John Golden, Harry Stanton and Joseph Perrone went to Harrisburg to obtain an $8,000 grant for repairs. However after an inspection, the State Department recommended the money be spent on fire safety, leaving the renovations unaddressed. Ninety children attended the Barry School with another 45 to be added from the closing of the Houston City and Suscon buildings.

1958 – 55 YEARS AGO

One of the highlights of the 1958 joint graduation ceremonies of the Jenkins Township-Yatesville Borough High Schools was that Sara Coyne Jordan, school board president, was able to present her son, Joseph Zavier, with his diploma.

The Jenkins Township Little League played its first games at the newly-erected Spadi Memorial Little League Field. A dedication ceremony headed by James W. Dillon, president of the league, took place in memory of the late Frolindo Spadi. Catherine Gubbiotti, president of the auxiliary, presented a trophy to Mrs. Spadi, who then recited a poem in memory of her late husband. William “Old Timer” Burke tossed out the first ball of the season.

Fresh from performing at a resort in the Catskill Mountains, Jimmy and Angelo Anzalone perfomed at the Oregon Park Picnic. Dance teacher Sammy Tremont arranged for their show business debut in the mountain resort. Both boys were expected to return to their engagement in the Catskills at the end of summer. At the peak of their popularity, the Catskill Mountain resorts numbered more than 500, offering a respite from the summer heat, delicious foods and excellent entertainment.

Pittston Lions Club celebrated its 13th anniversary at the Mayfair Supper Club. Originally formed on June 4, 1945 by Monroe L. Nute, the club was chartered on September 24, 1945. Charter members C. William McNulty, Max Warshal, Fred H. Davies, Lionel Levy, George Marcus, Atty. Harold Wruble, Martin Steuer, John Capone and Peter Adonizio were honored at the affair.

1968 – 45 YEARS AGO

In 1963, the Pittston Little League All Star Team traveled to Pittsburgh in pursuit of a state title. They made it to the semi-finals. In 1968, nine of the all-stars Ed Murphy, John Richards, Marty Walker, Sam Chiarelli, Charlie Turco, Mike Sperrazza, Lou Loquasto, Tony Testa and Louis Tribbett were still on the same team but playing for Pittston Area.

Leonara Haduck and Maryanne Wilbur, of Avoca, performed a duet under the direction of Tony Grant at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. According to the website www.steelpier.com, the Steel Pier entertained tens of thousands of visitors each day with attendance reaching 80,000 the Sunday before Labor Day with non-stop entertainment, including the top names of the day and novelty acts like the Diving Horse and the high-wire motorcycle act and four theaters that could accommodate 12,000 patrons at a time.

1978 – 35 YEARS AGO

Planning committee members Jack Pritchard, Ruth Kinsey, Grace Hearn, Frances Lisewski, George Metcalfe, Carl Belcastro, George Troy, Elwood Carpenter, Joseph Lisewski and Bernard Gilligan Jr. announced events that would commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Wyoming which was fought on July 3, 1778. These included a parade, luncheon, old-fashioned picnic, a performance by the Independence Ancient Fife and Drum Corp of Philadelphia, a drill and demonstration by the First Continental Regiment and fireworks. A souvenir program complete with the history of the Battle and the Monument was sold at a cost of $2.

ANSWER:

There were seven students in the Greater Pittston Area who received the Sunday Dispatch Student Athelete Award in 1998 – Christina Munski and John Bartoli, of Pittston Area; Laine Sheerer, Ken Mohn and Kelly Tracy, of Seton Catholic; and Jeff Kostick and Michelle Falzone, of Wyoming Area. Established in the 1970s by Dispatch founder William Watson, the award for students excelling in sports and academics were presented to Munski, of Avoca, for basketball and soccer; Bartoli, of Pittston, for baseball; Sheerer, of Avoca, for basketball; Mohn, of Pittston, for tennis; Tracy, of Avoca, for basketball; Kostick, of Wyoming, for football, track and basketball; and Falzone, of West Pittston, for softball and basketball.

For all fathers on their special day…

“Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later… that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps love, adopted a role called “being a father: so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important – a protector who would keep a lid on all the chaotic and catastrophic possibilities of life.” -Tom Wolfe, “The Bonfire of the Vanities”