Wilkes-Barre: Return to Glory Iii

Wilkes-Barre PA is a dying city.

It is time to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and begin our return to glory.

In the middle of the last century, Wilkes-Barre’s population was approaching 90,000. Today it
is 43,000. This did not happen overnight. Over the years, many of the city’s kind benefactors,
such as the Kirby family, helped keep the city vibrant. Whenever it needed a boost, they were
there to rejuvenate.

Having had half the population move out of town, Wilkes-Barre no longer could count on a
local family to be there at the right time with the right answer.

Wilkes-Barre saw its population declining with the mines no longer sustaining the City. We
noticed stores, even the best of the best shutting down or moving out from necessity. We all
noticed that other businesses that once provided hundreds of jobs not being able to continue.

Mark Twain once said that “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Wilkes-Barre officials and residents over the years have heard the death knell for the City and
instead of contesting it fiercely, allowed it to happen. Like Twain, our demise has been greatly
exaggerated.

Those times are in the past. Wilkes-Barre can and must find its way out of the mire and return
to glory. May good leadership help Wilkes-Barre find a way to reclaim its future.

Those who grew up in this City, as well as those who love our Diamond City, will enjoy this
book. Few books are a must-read but Brian Kelly’s Wilkes-Barre, PA: Return to Glory! will melt
your heart as your author recounts some great stories from the past and points out how to stop
the decline and move this city back to Glory. This book needs to be at the top of your reading
list, especially for those who have lived or now live in Wilkes-Barre.