| A Wilkes-Barre Daughter Comes Home |
| Written by Petra Plucenik | ||||||
 When I was a little girl, I had a strong will.I suspect I got that from my German-born mother, Mutti. I would refuse to let it rain on my parade. Literally. A little precipitation wasn’t going to dampen my spirit. A lot has changed in my life since the picture of that smiling little girl on Public Square was taken many years ago. Some things haven’t. Like my strong will. And my love for Wilkes-Barre. Being named co-publisher of the new Independent magazine is very special to me. A homecoming, you might say. At a recent small business meeting, Kathi Hamilton of Forty Fort suggested the theme of “Welcome Home” to reach shoppers in hopes of them spending more time in local independent stores. I instantly fell in love with the idea. Such simple words captured the heart of the message many neighborhood stores echo to their patrons every day. It’s not an impersonal relationship with most local businesses and their customers. It’s more like family- places where people know each other’s names. If you read the profiles in business excellence features throughout this magazine, that “family” theme rings true over and over. It made me reflect on my childhood growing up on West River Street in South Wilkes-Barre. I remember walking to the South Franklin Street Elementary School, which is now an apartment building. It was a safe neighborhood with many majestic homes. I walked about five blocks to school, but as a five-year-old, it seemed like five miles. I remember getting let out of school for lunch and my older sister and I would walk two blocks over to Abe’s for hot dogs. Then we would go to Sarafini’s for penny candy. Nowadays, kids get bussed everywhere and letting elementary kids out into town for lunch would be unheard of. Those were simpler times. Judge Hourigan’s house was only a few numbers down. Rabbi Heffner lived up the street. The Galeys owned the barber shop right next to Boris’ Bar. I remember the bartender telling my mom women were not allowed to sit at the bar. Her strong will really came out then, she had never heard of anything so ridiculous. Every Saturday, my aunt and I would walk into town, go to the Spa Restaurant for lunch, the Boston Store or Fowler Dick and Walkers. At age 12, I started babysitting for the Dick family’s four children. Then came the flood. Like many others, we were hit hard and lost everything on the first floor. Several of the homes on our street had to be torn down. My mom didn’t care so much about losing the furniture. It was the things that could never be replaced, like the Coo Coo clock brought over from Germany and pictures of family members. I also remember the tremendous sense of community we had as we’d look out for each other and help in whatever way we could. I remember the Amish people coming in their horse-drawn carriages and working endlessly. Humble servants that I still admire because of the example they set back then. During that rebuilding period, the Wyoming Valley Mall was erected and the downtown was never the same. Private-owned stores like Browns’ Deli, Percy Browns, The Kiddie Shoppe, and many others lost a lot of their clientele to the Mall. I still love Wilkes-Barre, even though I now live across the river in Kingston. When I drive through my old neighborhoods, it is like going home again. I really want to see the Wilkes-Barre revitalization take place. That is why we dedicated our first cover story to it. But I want it for selfish reasons as well. I want my grandchildren to come here and feel the same sense of community and security I felt growing up. It was safe to walk everywhere back then, and we did. Mainly because my mother was deathly afraid to drive. We had a beautiful red convertible in the driveway, but it mostly stayed there because of her fear of driving. When she did take it out, she would never exceed 25 miles per hour and there would be a line of cars honking behind her. My three sisters and I were not allowed to talk. No music was allowed either. Too distracting. One of the few places we would drive was Harvey’s Lake during the summer. That ride felt like two hours, but everything was exaggerated when you were a child. My Aunt Anne sat in the passenger seat making sure my mother had one lit cigarette after another until we got there. Those are memories I wouldn’t trade for anything. I look back with a lot of amusement to that happy time. Wilkes-Barre has changed a lot since “Gone with the Wind” was playing at the Comerford Theatre, now the Kirby, on that rainy day in 1968. Although the flood forced us to move, a big part of my childhood and heart remains in Wilkes-Barre. The city has no doubt changed and gone through some tough times. But I really do believe there is still a rich heritage that will never leave. I believe that the “sense of community” our family felt can be felt again by many who live and work in the city. And I believe that “welcome home” family feeling can come back to Wilkes-Barre. I promise to do all I can to make The Independent magazine a part of it. There are a lot of negative and pessimistic people casting dark clouds on this once- proud city. Let’s not let them rain on our parade. Bookmark with:
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