Nay Aug Boat Ride

Generations of children who grew up in Scranton remember the Boat Ride at Nay Aug Park. This is one 29 historic photos in The Nay Aug Amusement Park collection in the Lackawanna Valley Digital Archives.

Cornelius Comegys

Cornelius Comegys(1858-1938) came from a well-known family in Maryland. He was a member of the Lackawanna Bar Association and was an assistant district attorney. Comegys also wrote a few books such as The Mayor's Court of Scranton.  He was a member of the Scranton Public Library board of trustees from 1917-1937 which is where this photo was taken.

Historic Library TV Commericial

The History of the Scranton Public Library collection contains many very old photos and artifacts, but it also covers more recent history including this TV commercial from 2005. The commercial was produced using the talents of staff members and, in the case of at least one actor, relatives of staff members. Note that the web site shown in the video and the technology used by Library Guy are already outdated.

 

How Times Have Changed

This photo probably taken in the mid 1970s displays a glass drainage bottle.  This was before plastic drainage bags were introduced. Technology and innovation, especially in hospitals, have changed over the decades so now these bottles are obsolete. 

Coming in 2014! Centennial Books

 

We have begun work on a collection that will feature Centennial Books from towns throughout Lackawanna County. As local towns began celebrating their centennials and other anniversaries in the 20th Century, they produced commemorative books filled with rare photographs and histories. Thanks to a grant from the Willary Foundation, we are in the process of digitizing 35 of books from towns like Dunmore, Dickson City, Carbondale, and just about every municipality in Lackawanna County. This photo is from a book called Moosic '76. This new collection will go live in early 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

David Davis Letter

Today the digital archives team is looking back at some of our older collections on Lackawanna Valley Digital Archives, including the Out of the Wilderness collection, which was one of our first collections on the archive.

Pictured above is the first page of a letter written by David Davis, a United States Senator, Supreme Court Justice from Illinois, to Joseph H. Scranton his brother-in-law.  This letter written July 11, 1862 discusses the Civil War and family life of the relatives and their wives.  The personal details of this letter and others written by David Davis gives reader's information about family and political issues of this time period. If you would like to read the rest of the letter or others like it click on the link above to enter the archives. Once there search the Out of the Wilderness Collection.

Doctor's Receipt from 1865

This receipt can be found in the Out of the Wilderness collection. In 1865 a Mr. Phillips (first name illegible) had a leg amputated by Doctor J. W. Gibbs at a cost of $30 discounted to $25. The skilled researchers in the library's Reference Department have revealed that Dr. Gibbs practiced in Hyde Park (then a separate borough) and served as coroner of Luzerne County (before Lackawanna County was formed). An image of Dr. Gibbs from the book History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming Counties (1880) appears below.