News & announcements
Saving your history
Early accounts
Maps
Nearby towns
People
Churches
Schools
Municipal
Organizations
Businesses
The mines
Transportation
Streets
Buildings
Entertainment
Celebrations
Sports
Ethnic groups
News & announcements
What's on this page:
- Death of Charles Reczkowski
- Longtime Freeland news reporter Joe Falatko dies
- Freeland loses a much-loved Mayor
- Slovensky Obcan from Hazleton 1914
- Revised Businesses section
- A new DVD about Freeland
- Charles Stumpf death notice
- The Freeland Historical Society
- Newest site updates
Death of Charles Reczkowski
On Tuesday, June 7th, Freeland lost another shining light. Charlie Reczkowski, lifelong citizen, longtime businessman, and active civic leader died at Geisinger soon after midnight. He had been ill since the death of his wife Margaret last year and had been getting progressively weaker.Charlie always struck me as a man who lived for his family and his town. As noted in the Standard-Speaker obituary: "He was a member of St. Casimir's Church, past president of the Rotary Club and past president of the Chamber of Commerce, all of Freeland; FAST, former school director of Freeland High School, a graduate of MMI, president of FIDC, board member of the Freeland YMCA and a member of the Polonaise Society." He believed that people could work together to make things better for all, and he tried to do that throughout his life. I'm grateful to have known him and I will miss him, as will many present and former Freelanders.
This
photo was taken some years ago when my brother Steve
and I stopped in at the Corner Store to say hello. That's him with
proprietors Charlie and Margaret Reczkowski and one of Mary Ann's dogs,
Lady. Mary Ann wasn't there that day, although she was very active in
running the store. Now recently closed in January
2011, the Corner Market was the lone survivor of the many
small groceries that were in business when I was a kid in the '50s and
'60s. Margaret died in 2010 and now Charlie too has passed away. These
losses
leave a hole in Freeland that can't be filled.Longtime Freeland news reporter Joe Falatko dies
On April 11, 2011 Freeland lost one of its best friends. Joseph J. "Ganze" Falatko died at age 86 after a long life spent enjoying and serving the town that he loved. He was perhaps best known as a 60-year reporter of the Freeland and North Side news for Hazleton newspapers The Plain Speaker, Standard-Sentinel, and Standard-Speaker. A veteran of World War II and the Koren War, he was also very active in sports and helped countless Freeland children to participate in local sports. His impact on Freeland was huge and he will be sorely missed.Freeland loses a much-loved Mayor
Tim Martin, who served Freeland as one of its most active and involved mayors for the past 9 years, died on September 2, 2010 after a long battle with esophageal cancer. Tim's many achievements are outlined in an article and an obituary on the Standard-Speaker's website. He cared deeply about Freeland and did everything he could to improve life for its citizens. His life inspired many and provided a model for how younger Freelanders could be good citizens and come together to help each other, address problems, take constructive action, and celebrate the good in life. He will be missed by many. Here are links to the two articles appearing in the Standard-Speaker this week:Obituary
http://standardspeaker.com/news/obituaries/mayor-timothy-martin-1.990363
Freeland mourns loss of Mayor
http://standardspeaker.com/news/ freeland-mourns-loss-of-mayor-1.990362
According to the obituary, in lieu of flowers, Tim's wishes were to donate to the PNC Martin Family Memorial Fund for use as a memorial scholarship fund in his memory.
Slovensky Obcan from Hazleton 1914
I've recently acquired one issue
of this publication, the title
translated in English being The Slovak Citizen. It was billed
as the only Slovak magazine in America at the time, it was a monthly,
and it was published out of the Markle Bank Building in Hazleton.
Sometime soon I'll scan the entire issue and put it online as a PDF to
share it. Earlier than this publication there were not one but two
Slovak newspapers published in Freeland, and I wish I had copies of
them, too.Slovenska Pravda: weekly, published 1894-1906?
Katolic: weekly, published 1896-1897?
Revised Businesses section
I'm about halfway through adding feedback received from visitors to this site. Please check out my progress in the expanded and updated Businesses section. There are separate sets of pages for 19th-/early 20th-century businesses and 20th-/early 21st-century businesses, I've added lots of the feedback and images that I've received from correspondents (more to come), and from time to time I'll add special pages to highlight particular businesses or types of businesses. What really makes this site is the input from folks who find it and send me stuff to add to it, so please contribute whatever information and images you'd like to share with others. Thank you to everyone who has sent me stuff to post, and if you don't see your contributions posted yet, hopefully you will soon! I'm working through the backlog.A new DVD about Freeland
I've just received a copy of the new DVD that's being sold by the Freeland Historical Society. On the label it reads: "Freeland Pennsylvania. Black and white video filmed in the late 1930's in and around the town." Approximate running time is 30 minutes. The DVD sells for $15. Contact the Freeland Historical Society to ask about getting a copy.Charles Stumpf's death a loss to us all
Longtime local historian Charles K. Stumpf has died. According to the first of two death notices in the Standard Speaker, he died on August 28, 2009 at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown.Charlie had been having severe and complex health problems and they were intensifying as time went on. He was a wonderful person of many talents who was generous with his time and his knowledge, and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his work in researching, publishing and preserving the history of Upper Lehigh, Freeland, Hazleton, and several other nearby communities. Certainly he inspired and supported my various local history projects, including this website. His passing has taken away a deep pool of local historical knowledge.He was a friend to many and will be missed.
Freeland has a historical society!
For some of you this is old news. But old or new, it's good news for Freelanders and Freeland friends - Freeland now has a historical society. It was founded in July 2007, and its first president is Tom Landers. Tom is well known in Freeland and has served the community in many ways, including his past service on the police force and as director of the YMCA. The new historical society is in good hands and will thrive with good support from members and friends.Meetings are held monthly, and are usually organized around a theme. People are encouraged to bring memorabilia to the meeting to display that evening. During the summer, meetings are held in the Public Park. A long-term goal of the society is to find a home for the storage, preservation and display of photos, documents and other memorabilia on Freeland's history.
Are you interested in becoming a
member? Contact Tom
Landers
at 545 Front Street, Freeland, PA, 18224. Donations are also welcome
and
can be directed to him at that address. If you have ideas about saving
Freeland's
history, please share them. Meanwhile, please consider supporting
Freeland's historical society in any way you can.
Newest site updates:
Nine postcards showing street views have been added to the Streets page. 5-19-09Ethnic groups page has some text added to it. 5-21-09
The Schools section has a new gallery of some old student group photos. 5-25-09
More content on Post Office page; get there via Municipal page. Also, new Celebrations page. 5-25-09
A new page about the old Central Hotel; get there via Buildings page. 7-10-09
Correspondence from Australia on the home page. 12-1-09
Businesses section completely redone. 2-15-10
A"featured photo" has been added to the home page. 4-30-10
A link to past featured photos has been added to the featured photo section of the home page. 2-8-11
The Entertainment page and the Churches section are in process of being revised. 6-25-11