The LuLac Edition #1352, Oct. 29th, 2010

PHOTO INDEX: JOHN F. KENNEDY IN PITTSTON FIFTY YEARS AGO TONIGHT. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE).

JACK’S WILD RIDE

Fifty years ago tonight John Kennedy made the trek through Ashley, Wilkes Barre, Pittston and finally to the Watres Armory in Scranton. It took him hours to get to his destination. He rode in an open car and as the vehicle lurched forward, people got a glance of the future President and legend.
I stood on North Main Street in Pittston at the bottom of Ornsby Alley. My father took me to see the motorcade. My friends Paul and Lois Komensky stood in front of their grand mother’s house with jack o lantern lights. (Ironically Paul lives in the house now that I stood in front of.) The car made its way up through the street. Across the way were the railroad tracks of Coxton Yard where my father toiled every day. I remember JFK's navy blue suit, starched white shirt, the hair, the smile and the energy of the crowd. It was a moment in time that lasted a mere few seconds. But in my mind's eye, I see it in slow motion. I remember my father waving. The car moving slowly then speeding up as the crowd got sparser on the way to Duryea. It was a blur but one that will be frozen in time until the end of my life.