look at the past
The Hazleton and Wilkes-Ban Railroad
Tly Jerry Trently
As explained in the first in
stallment of this column, this
series, will continue to cover
the topics outlined at that
time This issue, "A look at
the past" takes a look at the
Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton
Railroad.
Not many students at
Highacres know that a
railroad ran just below the
campus beneath the area
designated as the Scenic
Overlook. One can still see
the remains of this railway's
right-of-way just below the
overlook.
The W-B. &H. RR. was a
pioneer in the development of
the protected third rail
design. This means that this
railroad ran on electricity
with the electric charge runn
ing through a protected third
rail. Other railways ran on
electricity before this, but
none of them protected their
third rail, the rail carrying
the charge. As a result, these
railways were dangerous
because any person or animal
that came in contact with this
rail could be electrocuted.
In 1899, the railway was in
corporated, a right-of-way
purchased, and a lease
granted for 999 years of
operation. Other railroads
soon followed the W-B &H.
R.R.'s pioneer protected
third rail design.
The cars that ran over the
route were called Interur
bans, and looked something
like trolley cars. Interurbans
provided perhaps the most
comfortable and efficient
method of transportation bet
ween Hazleton and Wilkes-
Barre. Hazle Park, formerly
an amusement park in West
'Hazleton, was , the sight of the
Hazleton car barn, a large
0000
Flick
Picks
DODO
y Tim Swarr
SHOOT THE MOON
Alan Parker as a director
has shown flash and ac
tion in his films whether it has
been the humor of "Bugsy
Malone," the drama of "Mid
night Express" or the in
trospection of "Fame."
Alan Parker's latest film
storage building for the in
terurbans.
Despite its protected third
rail, there were accidents on
the line. One of the most
gruesome occurred when two
of the cars collided head-on
and locked together. In one of
the cars, the Conductor,
Harry Cunius, was trapped,
unable to free himself from
the wreckage. As he struggl
ed to escape, the electricity
from the third rail began to
start a fire. Everyone else
from the two cars had gotten
off safely by now, although
with several injuries, and the
fire continued to spread as
the trapped motorman tried
in desperation to free himself.
As the heat from the flames
grew more intense, he plead
ed for someone to shoot him
to end his agony. A priest was
aboard one of the cars and
anointed Cunius before he
died.
The accident just described
was a freak one. In general,
the railroad had a fine safety
record, yet its existence was
short lived and the railroad
stopped operation in 1933. In
cidentally, Highacres' Alvan
Markle was one of the prime
investors in the project, but
died before the railroad shut
down.
Gone forever are the times
when interurbans used to pull
into the Hazleton station at 22
Wyoming Street and take
passengers to Wilkes-Barre.
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"Shoot the Moon" may not,
have the flash of his earlier
works, but is still his
strongest film so far in main
taining energy from beginn
ing to end.
"Shoot the Moon" is the
story of George and Faith
Dunlop and the collapse of
their marriage. The viewer
witnesses in moving detail
the aftermath of divorce in
contemporary America.
George and Faith are unable
Teams from "then"
and "now" compared
Comparison photos show pictures of two Hazleton Campus basketball teams. Notice
that one of the pictures shows team members wearing the letters HUC. This team was
known as the "Hucsters," the letters HUC standing for Hazleton Undergraduate Center.
As opposed to modern teams at Highacres, almost all the team members from that
time came exclusively from the Hazleton area. The Hucsters pictured are the team from
the 1948-49 season. It was indeed a good year for the Hucsters, as they went intolhe season
as defending champions of the State Junior College Conference, ran up a season record of
16-5, and finished as runner-up to the State Junior College Conference title.
Also during that season,' the Hucstefs competed in the traditional "Dream GaMe"
against the freshman team from Temple University. The Hucsters defeated Temple in
that game, handing the Owls their only loss of that season. Up to the time they played
Hazleton, the Temple Owls were undefeated. So popular was that game that it set what
was then an attendance record for the Hazleton gym, in which it was.played.
The other picture shows this season's Condor basketball team. Last issue we printed a
season summary of the Condors' season, but briefly, the Condors enjoyed one of their
finest seasons in several years as they made their own bid for the conference title.
to keep their near-fairytale
life in order. They live in a
restored Victorian house in
the lustrous, northern Califor
nia countryside. George is a
successful author and Faith is
the loving mother of four
children. Their lives crumble
after Faith and their eldest
daughter discover George is
having an affair.
Alan Parker's casual yet
revealing direction is helped
by a virtually seamless
screenplay by Bo Goldman,
who also scripted "One Flew
Over the Cuckoo Nest" and
"Melvin and Howard."
Both Albert Finney and
Diane Keaton give one of the
strongest performances of
their respective careers in
the leading roles. The support
cast is also in top form. Dana
Hill's performance as the
oldest daughter is equal to
both Finney and Keaton with
excellent support from
Venesa Davis, Tracy Gold
and Tina Yothers as the
younger daughters. Few
films have given the depth
and dimension to the roles of
children as found in "Shoot
the Moon." Peter Weller br
ings a fitting disgusting
presence as the stud Faith
becomes involved with.
With "Shoot the Moon,"
Alan Parker gives us a
powerful film without the nor
mal self-conscious exhibi
tionism found in the action of
his earlier films. What he
gives us is a quiet, sensitive
portrait of an American fami
ly suffering throughout the
changes of a divorce. "Shoot
the Moon" may prove- to be
one of the best films of 1982.