The LuLac Edition #5, 191, October 28th, 2024

 

 

KENNEDY VISIT @ 64 YEARS

Kennedy In Nanticoke 

 

and then Pittston.

 

Today marks 64 years that then Senator John Kennedy came to LuLac land and barnstormed both Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties. It was days before the general election and Kennedy made his way up the old Route 11 from Wilkes-Bare to Scranton.

            I was 6 and my father took me down the alley from our house on DeWitt Street in Pittston to see him. We waited for hours at the bottom of the alley to see the Democratc candidate ride by.  It was unseasonably warm and kids in the neighborhood were anticipating the big day of masquerading and trick or treating. I was one of the few exceptions though that thought Halloween was a colossal waste of time. Still do. But the practical use of lighting from the Komensky kids Jack o lanterns, as well as the overhead streetlight at Ormsby Alley was helpful.

            The crowd buzzed with activity and chatter.  My mom was working a night shift, my sister was stuck baby sitting so it was just me and Jake waiting, waiting, and waiting. We’d get word passed down to us from the lines up North Main Street that he was in Wikes-Barre, then the west side, then West Pittston and then crossing over the Water Street Bridge where today a statue of JFK stands.

            Finally at 9:30pm or so we saw a big limo convertible approaching. The car approached followed by another vehicle that shined a spotlight on the candidate. It lit up the evening like a moonbeam was shining on the Junction neighborhood as its League of nation nationalities neighbors waited with anticipation.

            My memory of that night was the suit. Kennedy had a blue suit that seemed to glow. The face was tanned, the hair a type of henna brown and the smile was electric. He waved, the crowd cheered and just like a flash the car was headed up route 11 to Scranton where Kennedy arrived at after 11pm to address a capacity crowd at the Watres Armory.

            That evening, 64 years ago today sealed my future. Impressions were made. If you showed up, dressed up, and kept up….you can succeed. Maybe not to the heights of the Presidency but to make your life impactful. This was just two months before Kennedy would proclaim “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”.

            2024 is my 17^th Presidential election. I’m struck by how things have devolved because of a division that has divided us with cruelty, stupidity and hate. The guy riding in that car would hardly recognize the America he was wishing to serve just 64 years ago today. Today reminds us that it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. All we need do is follow the path of decency and decorum. That will astound the many and confuse the rest.

Here's a video from a few years back on the occasion of JFK’s 100^th birthday celebration and how I recounted his ride through Wilkes-Barre-Pittston and Scranton  16 Presidential elections ago.