Updated August 27, 2001.

A garage with a pigeon coop dormer, or is it a garage with a penthouse for pigeons? This photo taken in 1998 at an undisclosed location somewhere in Lackawanna County is essentially the attic of a garage that was remodeled to accommodate homing pigeons. The pigeons live upstairs, the car is parked downstairs. What an innovation in pigeon accommodations.

Blessing of the Easter baskets at Saints Cyril and Methodious Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in Olyphant, PA, April 1998. This service is conducted on the Saturday before Easter. The people bring baskets with their posonka (colored eggs), ham, kielbasa, Paska (Easter bread), and the priest, Monsignor Stephen Hrynuck blesses the food. People gather around the perimeter of the church parking lot. They try to guess which side the priest will bless first. Some jockey for spots on that side, others go to the same side they go to every year and say, "I think Monsignor is going to start blessing the baskets on this side this year."
In the photo to the right, near the upper right corner is the steeple for Holy Ghost Roman Catholic Church. This is the Slovak Church for Olyphant. So if you're Polish you wouldn't go there, you'd go to St. Michael's. The Irish would not go to Holy Ghost, St. Michael's, or SS. Cyril and Methodius. The Irish go to St. Patrick's. Italians also go to St. Patrick's, unless they go to the Italian Church in Jessup. (In most parts of the country there is not an ethnicity associated with a Catholic Church.)
Also, note Prof. Nicholas Martynuk seated at this service. Prof. Martynuk served as choir director, cantor and educator for SS. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for 36 years.

My Great-Uncle John and I - spring of 1967 in his candy store in the Grassy Island section of Olyphant. Near the upper right corner, note the vaccuum tube wooden radio (used primarily to listen to the news on WARM and WEJL). In the lower left corner, note the red soda case with the Crystal Club logos. In the upper left corner, note the Crystal Club stand up ad with the female tennis player. My uncle sold only Crystal Club soda. One summer when Crystal Club was on strike, he sold no soda. When my father was a kid, he thought that Crystal Club was the only company that made soda.

Posted January 11, 2001.

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