Dunmorean of the Month: Marguerite Garbolino Bradley

Posted on January 1, 2025 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

When you love your work, it’s not easy to retire. Take Marguerite Garbolino Bradley of Dunmore, for example.

Marguerite, who turned 65 last month, has been the librarian at the Dunmore Elementary Center for the past 34 years. Her last day working on the job was the final school day before the Christmas break last month, but she will officially be employed by the Dunmore School District until June.

Daughter of Theresa and the late Jake Garbolino, Marguerite was born and raised in Dunmore. She graduated from Dunmore High School in 1977 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and Library Science from Marywood College in 1982.

She taught sixth grade at Saint Rose of Lima Elementary School in Carbondale for one year before teaching second grade for three years in South San Francisco, California.

She then took on the position as the Dunmore Elementary School librarian, a position she has held for over three decades.

“It was my dream job,” she said. “I always wanted to go into education and teach. “Early childhood education was a big thing and I had other family members doing that, so I went a different route, eventually becoming a librarian.

“It is the most fulfilling job ever. I love telling the kids stories and reading to them. I like making reading important to the students. With modern technology, kids are not reading as many books anymore. We went from encyclopedia to Wikipedia. Technology has changed things a lot over the years.”

Marguerite’s final day in the library was Friday, December 20. “I didn’t want to make a big thing out of it. I just told the kids I wouldn’t be back for the New Year. I decided to work until the end of the Christmas break, but will officially retire in June.

The dedicated long-time librarian has two sons of her own, Jake and John, both Scranton Prep graduates. Jake, 34, graduated from the University of Colorado. John, 31, is a Temple University graduate.

“My goal as a librarian,” she said, “was to see the students enjoy reading. I absolutely loved being with the kids.

“I especially liked Halloween. I loved decorating the library for Halloween and telling scary stories to the kids. They loved it.

“It’s very rewarding when the high school students came over to the Dunmore Elementary School building just to say hello.

“I will miss the kids and the faculty at the Dunmore Elementary Center. Many of the current teachers were my students. Now I have their kids. I taught two different generations.”

Marguerite, beloved at Dunmore, acknowledges school libraries are becoming a thing of the past.

“There is no longer a library in the high school,” she said. “With new technology, many school districts do not have libraries anymore. The Dunmore Elementary School library is one of the few left.”

The lifelong educator is going to enjoy her retirement. “I’m going to start a new chapter and see where it goes,” she said. “I plan on traveling and seeing different places and meeting new people. I never had the time before.

“It gives me some me time. It’s a gift to me. I look forward to it.”

Dunmorean of the Month: Gemma Eckersley Bistran

Posted on December 4, 2024 by The Dunmorean

Holy Cross sophomore winning the race to beat cancer

By Steve Svetovich

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Take Holy Cross sophomore student-athlete Gemma Eckersley Bistran, for instance.

In the spring of 2022, Gemma, now 16, was a 13-year-old student-athlete at St. Mary of Mount Carmel School, Dunmore. She was a fierce competitor in swimming and track and field.

However, during one swimming meet she struggled to breathe.

Her parents, Tristan Eckersley and John Bistran, raced to find a reason. Medical doctors involved in the case initially diagnosed long-haul COVID. However, after a chest X-Ray, it was determined Gemma had pneumonia.

Her Dickson City-based pediatrician, April Troy, MD, had a “gut feeling” something more serious was missed. She suggested Gemma’s parents take her to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to have her lungs drained.

With this procedure, it was determined Gemma did not have COVID or pneumonia. Gemma’s chest cavity was being ravaged by primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), an extremely rare, relentlessly aggressive blood cancer. About 2,500 people are diagnosed with PMBCL annually.

The Holy Cross sophomore is now in remission and back to swimming and also running cross country and track. She and her parents credit the support of family, friends and strangers for keeping them focused and hopeful throughout their ordeal.

Last year Gemma raised money for cancer research in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Lehigh Valley and NEPA’s Student Visionairies of the Year campaign.

If a student visionary for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society raises $50,000, then he or she can name a grant. Gemma raised about $103,000, so she named two grants. One grant was for pediatric cancer research and another specifically for lymphoma research. Gemma named them in honor of Sonny Crotti and Thomas Zelno who lost their battles with cancer.

Tireless and focused, Gemma spent six months sending letters, making videos, reaching out to businesses and foundations asking them to donate. Both St. Mary’s and Holy Cross held dress down days.

Gemma was selected student visionary of the year for the Lehigh and Northeast Region.

This past September Gemma helped raise $2,243.00 for childhood cancer. She was supported by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Parkway Run/Walk and members and coaches of the Holy Cross cross country team.

Gemma continues to use her platform to raise money for others fighting cancer.

Gemma has a highly impressive 4.2 grade point average at Holy Cross. Her favorite academic subjects are history, government and languages,

Gemma is hoping to eventually attend college at the University of Pennsylvania to study psychology and early childhood education. “I want to pay it forward,” she said. “They were very good to me there. I would like to become a child life specialist. A child life specialist helps the children in a hospital go through the process. You are assigned to a child to comfort them. I want to do that. It’s my way of paying it forward.”

Gemma and a Lakeland student, Juliana Grier, are also involved with “Gems and Jewels.” The two students get together to make calls and contact people for donations and community fundraisers for cancer.

Gemma, with a clean bill of health, recently qualified for states as a member of the Holy Cross cross country team. She is also a member of the track and field and swimming teams. Her swimming season started last month.

Gemma had an MRI and blood work last month and all went well. “It came back clear and I hit the three-year mark of being in remission. It is all good right now. I do feel different than most people expect, though. I have that fear of feeling sick again. I don’t want that feeling again.”

Positive and strong-willed, Gemma said her parents are always there for her. “They have been at every single treatment.”

Gemma is proud her fellow cross country runners and other students and runners took part in the 5K run in Philadelphia to raise money for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“They got on a bus at 4:30 a.m. to go with me,” she said. “It was for a great cause. We will do it again. Everyone at Holy Cross is so supportive. It’s a great environment.”

“I want to pay it all back and raise money for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and for other cancer associations for children.”

Dunmorean of the Month: Rocco Riccardo

Posted on November 6, 2024 by The Dunmorean

Rocco Riccardo retires after sale of family business

By Steve Svetovich

All good things come to an end.

Such is the case with Riccardo’s Market, 1219 Wheeler Avenue, in Dunmore..

Riccardo’s Market has been a staple in the Dunmore community for close to 100 years.

However, Riccardo’s final day of business was Wednesday, October 30, as store owner Rocco Riccardo retired after selling to Schiel’s Market, a Shursave supermarket chain that owns stores in Wilkes-Barre and Plains.

Riccardo, 61, Dunmore, is used to working 70 to 80 hours seven days a week and is ready for a rest.

“They know me very well at McDonald’s on the O’Neill Highway,” he said. “I am the first one there every morning for a coffee at 5:01 a.m. Then I head to the store to start my day. It’s a daily ritual seven days a week.

“I do a lot of different things at the store, including the maintenance. It’s all hands on. This is going to be a long-awaited vacation.”

There will be some renovations to the building this month as Schiel’s is slated to begin business December 1.

“My customers and employees mean a lot to me,” he said. “I had offers to sell before, but the deal had to include that all of my employees would be retained by the new company. Schiel’s agreed to that. We made that deal. So it’s good for me, good for the Schiel’s family and good for my employees and customers.”

Riccardo, the final owner and operator of the family business, has been a major part of the operation for the past 48 years.

There have been three locations in 100 years. The business has been owned by four generations of Riccardos.

Originally owned by his great-grandfather Salvatore Riccardo, the family-owned business originated in the early 1920’s.

“Our family dealt in produce back then,” said Riccardo, who will turn 62 in February. “Those were the horse-and-buggy days. We were hucksters.”

Riccardo’s original location was where DePietro’s Pharmacy stands today at 617 Third St., Dunmore.

In 1993, Rocco took over the family-owned business and bought the old Giant Market building on Blakely Street near the Dunmore police station and borough building. In 2008, Riccardo’s moved to its current location at 1219 Wheeler Ave., Dunmore.

Son of Betty and Salvatore Riccardo, Rocco has been working in the family business since he was 14.

“I used to go there right after school and on weekends. I worked there 40 hours a week when I was in high school.”

Rocco’s grandfather, also Rocco, took over the family business in the 1930’s. Eventually, Rocco’s dad Salvatore took over Riccardo’s Market. Rocco has been running the family business since 1993.

Rocco is married to the former Nancy Jennings. Their children have all been involved in the family business at one time or another. Those five children are Anna, 42; Sal, 41; Lexxus, 26, Elizabeth, 23, and Michael, 18. Michael was still working in the business up to its final day of operation.

The couple also has two grandchildren: Annalea, 8, and Aribella, 5.

Riccardo’s Market was open seven days a week, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Rocco said the Riccardo and DePietro families go back over 100 years. The two families used to be neighbors in the Bunker Hill section of Dunmore.

Rocco is a 1981 graduate of Bishop O’Hara in Dunmore. He also has a pilot’s license and studied welding at Johnson School of Technology. He once owned a plane.

“I loved working in this business everyday. I loved the customers and my great employees. I’ve seen three generations of customers. Some of my employees were with me 20 to 30 years. It’s going to be hard without my customers and employees. They are all like family to me. It’s tough to leave, but Schiel’s is going to be a nice fit for Dunmore,” Rocco says.

“My wife and I are going on a well-deserved vacation and then I want to spend more time with the family. My wife worked in the business, too. She did a lot in the greenhouse and with cooking. We want to spend a lot of time with our two grandchildren in Dover, PA.

“My dad and grandfather both died at 65. I thought it was time to retire now. I want to live to be 100. I want to enjoy my retirement.”