Gone But "Not Forgotten" ~ What do you miss in NEPA? (Scranton: live, housing)

[mathjak107]

thanks karen, as a new comer to the area i love reading about what was in hawley and honesdale

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by I LOVE PA!

For some reason Paul didn't include me in the 'old folks' list on another thread...should I be flattered or did he just plain old forgot me!!?? But he did include John for Scranton...who is a youngster himself

Maybe because you're not old? Physically? Perhaps. Mentally? You're more in-line with we twenty-somethings! Most of the anti-Scranton party poopers on here are about 35-39 and act like they're in their late-60s. Then there's folks like you and EnyaGirl who act like you're 21! Go you guys!

[WatsonWest]

I grew up in Danville.

I miss the movie theater on Mill St (that's the main st to those who don't know.)

Woolworth store (I think it was a Woolworth) with the old soda fountain in the back. That was the coolest thing to a little 3-4 year old. The big stainless & formica counter & the stools.

Danville sub shop when Tony was alive & running it. I'll always miss that since they don't make subs in Scranton anything like Tony's! I go there & get one almost every time I'm home, but they're still not quite the same.

The one restaurant that used to be where Burger King is now. I can't remember the name. It closed when I was small & BK was there by the time I was 5. They had a small train that went around tthe place about counter / table level. I sort-of think they would sometimes send the food out on it if you were in a booth. I'm not sure.

I remember "five alive" too. That name brought a jolt into my memory. I used to love it.

Wow, I could go on & on.

[KarenRice]

mathjack, if you want a real cheesy taste of the Hawley of yesteryear, go to amazon.com and spend the $7 on the DVD "Playing for Keeps". It has a big picture of Marisa Tomei on the front, as if she were the star, but she's only got a bit part. LOL. The movie was filmed mainly in Hawley, and around Honesdale/Bethany as well. I remember what a huge mess the film crews made in town - and if I recall correctly, they filmed a crazy scene involving water and soap suds at the Hawley Diner and left a lot of damage behind!

The movie, frankly, stinks, BUT it has value in that it's my hometown. You'll see the storefront of the old Hawley Department Store and the Hawley News (a cigar and paper store, which now houses ITS Computers, next to Teeter's Furniture.) You'll see what Teeter's looked like before the big fire, and they'll be in the old Acme Market buying groceries, too (now it's the IGA across from the park.)

You probably won't be able to rent it, but for the sheer souvenir value, it's worth buying.

Amazon.com: Playing For Keeps: Daniel Jordano, Matthew Penn, Leon W. Grant, Mary B. Ward, Marisa Tomei, Jimmy Baio, Harold Gould, Kim Hauser, Robert Milli, John Randolph Jones, Bruce Kluger, Anthony Marciona, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Alan Bre

[KarenRice]

OH YEAH, How could I forget McCrory in Honesdale? It was such a COOL STORE - like a Woolworth, but the lower level had toys, and PETS! You could get hamsters, fish, mice, gerbils, and parakeets. Now it's sadly a vacant building on Main St.

Also - Murray Hardware in Honesdale. If you did a poll amongst the residents, the most-missed store would easily be Murray Co. It was similar to Salem Hardware in Hamlin, only bigger. Loved loved loved that store and was broken hearted when it closed.

Katz Department Store in Honesdale - my mom never shopped there much because it was expensive but I thought the elevator was cool. (we were strictly a McCrory family, and when we wanted to spend big, we went to Grants, which later became Kmart.)

[odessa3]

I remember how BIG downtown Pittston seemed when I was small. My mom and I would take the bus downtown on most Fridays. I would have french fries and a coke in the Sweetland restaurant. I LOVED looking through the comic books for sale in Fino's and Borr & Casey, and loved to look at the toys in Kresge's and American Auto. Gosh, Pittston was so big they even had SIDEWALK SALES! Remember those? And it was a very special treat to go to the American theater. I miss the "downtown" feel that so many towns in this area have lost. Most towns have just offices that people go to to work, then head home. And all the traffic is just people "passing through".

[Summering]

Those were some great memories for many of NEPA..........
Now what came to mind for me is the Huge, Huge, Country Junction down in Lehighton that burned down.
That was a sad day. We went there the next day and hardly anything was standing. A man who was at the scene said how some of the animals were saved. The Lamas were freaked out, someone got a few and took them to a nearby farm. Along with a couple of other animals. They tried hardto save the ones that were housed outdoors.
They were just about able to get into the back door office to grab records, but just barely.......
You know the first time I stopped to go into Country Junction I was totally wide-eyed. I had never in my life been in such a place. It was a combination of so many things.
So we'd gather up my Mom, who like me stood wide-eyed at the sights before her.
The fact that they would show a large screen movie during lunch was so unique. All the little area of different themes. The wonderful pictures and furniture upstairs. All those quirky,nostalgic, things. We'd all enjoy ourselves so much.
We'd take the little fellows and they looked forward to seeing the life size pirate. They enjoyed the movie area, the animal area.......especially the turtles and fish.
Now, it has been years and there is no building going on. Lots of red tape most likely. Because when that was built there was no rules and they just kept adding on. Now, lots of codes and rules to follow.
So, I have big memories of a place that is no longer there........
Which I feel might never return. It was its own unique place in the middle of nowhere but a gathering place for many.
Country Junction....Lehighton....Please come back!
( right now it is in a tent and small building...not the same by far)

[Summering]

Originally Posted by WatsonWest

I grew up in Danville.

I miss the movie theater on Mill St (that's the main st to those who don't know.)

Woolworth store (I think it was a Woolworth) with the old soda fountain in the back. That was the coolest thing to a little 3-4 year old. The big stainless & formica counter & the stools.

Danville sub shop when Tony was alive & running it. I'll always miss that since they don't make subs in Scranton anything like Tony's! I go there & get one almost every time I'm home, but they're still not quite the same.

The one restaurant that used to be where Burger King is now. I can't remember the name. It closed when I was small & BK was there by the time I was 5. They had a small train that went around tthe place about counter / table level. I sort-of think they would sometimes send the food out on it if you were in a booth. I'm not sure.

I remember "five alive" too. That name brought a jolt into my memory. I used to love it.

Wow, I could go on & on.

Please DO Mr WatsonWest.....I like your memories........

[Summering]

Originally Posted by odessa3

I remember how BIG downtown Pittston seemed when I was small. My mom and I would take the bus downtown on most Fridays. I would have french fries and a coke in the Sweetland restaurant. I LOVED looking through the comic books for sale in Fino's and Borr & Casey, and loved to look at the toys in Kresge's and American Auto. Gosh, Pittston was so big they even had SIDEWALK SALES! Remember those? And it was a very special treat to go to the American theater. I miss the "downtown" feel that so many towns in this area have lost. Most towns have just offices that people go to to work, then head home. And all the traffic is just people "passing through".

Thank you for telling us about Pittston......I use to like Kresges and Newberry's a big bunch in NJ. also......
Karen Rice thank you too for all your information......up your way. Very interesting to hear history, and I love history a bunch...........

[tremontpa]

I miss the prospering industries of an era past, a time when the cities, towns, and villages alike all had prospering economies and flourishing downtown districts. The time when people could proudly proclaim "I love my home of Coaldale Pennsylvania" and not be scoffed at and have their sanity questioned by the majority of people from areas distant or near.

Furthermore, I want the scars of the land healed, and remains of human exploitation gone. To return the land to the state it had seen back in the years prior to Necho Allen and the discoverers of that black rock. Tall walnut and oak forrests, cold clear mountain streams, and the rolling cliffs and canyons without black culm banks towering above.

( I know my two separate paragraphs contradict eachother but I have mixed feelings. I love the way the area was 90 years ago, but I also love the way it was 390 years ago as well. It would be grand if we could have the thriving municipalities surrounded by untamed and virgin forrests. But what has gone is always hard to get back.)