Doin’ Dumore: Remembering a Hero of 9/11

Posted on September 1, 2021 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

The late Stephen Siller is a hero in every sense of the word.,

And Dunmore will acknowledge this Saturday, Sept. 11.

The late New York City firefighter who tried to rescue others but died at The Twin Towers Sept. 11, 2001, will be recognized on the outside grounds of Dunmore High School,at Dunmore Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday, Sept. 11, at 8 a.m,

Stephen Gerard Siller was the youngest of seven children born to Mae and George Siller. At age eight, he lost his father, and a year-and-a-half later his mother passed away, leaving him an orphan to be raised by older siblings.

Despite a period of struggles, but thanks to the love of his siblings, he grew up to be a dedicated firefighter.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Stephen, age 35, who was assigned to Brooklyn’s Squad 1, had just finished his shift and was on his way to play golf with his brothers when he got word over his scanner of a plane hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Upon hearing the news, Stephen called his wife Sally and asked her to tell his brothers he would catch up with them later. He returned to Squad 1 to get his gear.

The veteran firefighter drove his truck to the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, but it had already been closed for security purposes. Determined to carry out his duty, he strapped 60 pounds of gear to his back, and raced on foot through the tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he gave up his life while saving others.

Stephen had everything to live for. He had a wonderful wife, five beautiful children, a devoted extended family and friends. His life and heroic death serve as a reminder to us all to live life to the fullest and to spend our time here on earth doing good deeds. That is his legacy.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation honors the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller who laid down his life to save others. It also honors our military and first responders who continue to make the supreme sacrifice of life and limb for our country.

Ty Holmes, 52, from Summit, N.J., is bringing an event to honor Siller and fellow 9-11 first responders to Dunmore on Saturday, Sept. 11. His wife, the former Margie Piepoli, a 1993 Dunmore High School graduate, was instrumental in making the arrangements along with John Marichak, superintendent of Dunmore schools, and the Dunmore School Board.,

“This event is always held in New York City around the Twin Towers each Sept. 11,” said Holmes. “However, it has been tempered down due to COVID, so we asked to have the event in Dunmore to remember Stephen Siller and all of those who died that terrible day.”

Holmes is a 25-year retired military man, having served 15 years in the U.S. Army and 10 years in the U.S. Navy earning the rank of master sergeant.

Holmes said Siller’s final words,as he was running up the tower to save anyone he could, were, “My brothers are in there,” a reference to his fellow firefighters.

“In the midst of tragedy,” said Holmes, “heroes emerge. We cannot let 20 years go by without acknowledging that.”

Holmes said in New York City to commemorate the event “we go to the exact path Stephen walked.”

At 8:46 a.m. taps is performed to honor Siller and the others who bravely died that day. The significance of 8:46 is the exact time the Twin Towers were first struck.

“We are extremely grateful to Dunmore to host this event for us. The event in New York City was modified due to COVID, so Dunmore was receptive. We are requesting Dunmore and Scranton police and firefighters to attend. We will have speakers who will discuss how 9-11 affected them, where they were at the time and how life has changed for them since then. A firefighter from New York City will speak.”

Holmes said taps will be played in Dunmore at 8:46 a.m. The tradition is also to walk 14 laps, the same distance Siller ran from his car to the Twin Towers. A total of 2,997 flags will be placed around Dunmore Veterans Memorial Stadium to honor and represent each victim from the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy.

The 13 United States soldiers who were tragically killed in Afghanistan will be remembered through a Mission Man Table. “This will honor those no longer with us. We will have a memorial for our fallen soldiers.”

The Bell football game will follow at 2 p.m.

“It tells you a lot about the Dunmore School District who went above and beyond for us. The school superintendent, John Marichak, has been extremely helpful. This is a Veteran’s Visions event. It is also open to the public. We begin at 8 a.m.”

Doin’ Dunmore: Bucktown Music Fest Kicking Off This Month

Posted on July 7, 2021 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Ready for the music, fun and dancing?

The anticipated Bucktown Music Fest will kick off at Dunmore Corners on four Sunday evenings July 11, July 18, July 24 and August 1, all from 5 to 8 p.m,

Admission is free. Those who attend are encouraged to bring lawn chairs to sit and relax, enjoy the music and dance in the streets.

Dunmore Councilman Tom Hallinan, former Dunmore Mayor Patrick “Nibs” Loughney, and local Dunmore musician Brian McGurl are chairpersons for the event.

Dunmore Borough is sponsoring the four Sunday evenings through a grant from the Lackawanna County Commissioners and donations from local businesses.

“On behalf of Dunmore Mayor Tom Burke and Dunmore Borough Council,” said Hallinan, “we want to thank Lackawanna County Commissioners Notariani, Domenick and Chermak and the local merchants for their generous support of events. We will continue to accept business donations right through the Festival dates to help offset ongoing expenses.”

Opening night on Sunday, July 11 will feature music by the Luongo Brothers Band, Dunmore’s own Pat and Nick Luongo. The duo, formerly of The Poets, have been performing for decades. The Luongo Brothers will be joined by veteran favorites Alan Shield and Rich Marmo.

Sunday, July 18, will feature the Dashboard Mary Duo, the spinning grooves of the popular E.J. the D.J., and a special appearance from “Old Blue Eyes” himself in the form of Chris DiMatteo singing the hits of the late Frank Sinatra. Dashboard Mary features Dunmoreans Rob Roman and Joe Del Rosso who have been performing for the past three decades.

Sunday, July 25, will feature QBall with Dunmoreans McGurl and John Quinn along with Jim Davis and Bob Crossman. QBall plays classic rock, including the music of The Doors, Tom Petty, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones.

Sunday, Aug. 1, will be a “Dunmore Musicians Family Reunion.” Young musical performers will come together for three hours at Dunmore Corners to play together and entertain the crowd. It will be a true celebration.

Dunmore residents have filled the rosters of many of the area’s top bands over the past seven or eight decades. The Shindig shows at Dunmore High School in the 1960’s and 1970’s were incubators for so many talented performers. The same can be said for Dunmore’s marching band and school talent shows, class nights and plays at Dunmore and Holy Cross High Schools. Many young performers show talent and promise which will be exhibited Sunday, Aug. 1, at Dunmore Corners.

“I think it is going to be a great night of music for the young and old,” McGurl said regarding the final event on Aug. 1. “Everyone is volunteering their time and talent and it is going to be a lot of fun.”

Bands, singers and musicians slated to perform the final night include the East Coast Trio, The Violet Sisters, Corner Pocket Blues Band, The Mesos, Dashboard Mary Duo, Pappa, Beckage, and Boylan; English, Tim McGurl, Janice Gambo, Katie Errico, Donna Polizzi Loughney, Luke Tinklepaugh, Emma Pasko, Julia Pasko, Lenny Carlucci, Mike Kwaitek, Dan Zayac, Paul Arduino, Len Nole, Jack Garvey, Kevin Regan, Mike Seamon, Joe Pannick, Marty Ort, Chuck Scrimalli, Brian McGurl, Phil Rossi, Mara Hennigan, Dan Cox, Jim Kernan, Dom Fortese, Rob Roman and Joe DelRosso.

“I first thought about this while driving through Dunmore Corners one Sunday about 5 p.m.,” said Hallinan. “It looked desolate, like a bit of a ghost town. I thought it would be nice to bring some life back to Dunmore Corners. What better way than with music?

“Music would be the best way to bring people back together after months of isolation due to COVID. I ran the idea through Brian McGurl. He thought it was great and we ran with it.

“Now Dunmore Borough can’t wait for all of the music and entertainment. It’s going to be a lot of fun at Dunmore Corners.”

Dunmoreans Vito Ruggerio, Sally Judge and Jean Hill also assisted with the coordination of events.

Doin’ Dunmore: Court Jesters Put Basketball on Map at Penn State campus

Posted on June 2, 2021 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

There was a time at the end of the 1970’s when the Court Jesters were running and gunning.

The Court Jesters were rockin’ and rollin’ on the hardwood.

And coach Mike Abdalla was loving it.

The Worthington Scranton Campus of Penn State University in Dunmore was in the ninth year of its basketball program. The team, coached by Abdalla, had only one losing season in the program’s first eight years.

However, the team had not advanced to a state final yet.

But the 1977-78 season quickly became something special as the Court Jesters won nine of its first 10 games.

This team was having fun. Lots of fun running and gunning.

The co-captains on the team were Scranton Central products Mike Harrington and Al Cappelloni.

Kevin Southard, a Bishop Hannan product, was the team’s leading scorer.

Bill Ames from Kingston Area and Bill Donnelly from Scranton Prep were also a huge part of the scoring attack. Tony Andrejko, a Valley View product, was a key member of the team.

Other team members included Gary Bisignani from Riverside, Harold Cawley from West Scranton, Tim Egan from Scranton Central, Kevin White from Carbondale Area and Paul Mimidas from North Pocono.

The Court Jesters were jiving with a run and gun offense that averaged about 103 points per game under Abdalla.

The man to man defense was anchored by Andrejko.

A major component of the Court Jesters was the fast break offense led by sophomore co-captains Harrington and Cappelloni and Southard. Freshmen White and Cawley played important roles.

Ames and Donnelly were a big part of the offense.

The running Jesters average of 103 points per game was the highest in local Penn State history. The team shot 53 percent from the field and over 70 percent from the foul line. Abdalla attributed the scoring record to the team’s extreme and constant fast break. Abdalla said his team enjoyed the running game and had few inhibitions. Remarkably, five players averaged in double figures led by Southard at 20.6 points per game followed by Harrington at 18.0, Cappelloni at 17.8, Ames at 14.7 and Donnelly at 10.2.

Harrington was also a strong rebounder averaging 8.5 boards per contest.

Abdalla continued to let his team thrive on the fast break offense, but also stressed man to man defense which he learned at Scranton Prep playing under John Gallagher. He used his quick guards Mimidas and Egan on the outside to play pressure man to man defense on opposing guards.

Southard scored 41 points in the team’s 129-107 win over Schuykill in the Commonwealth League contest. Harrington added 23.

The 129 points set a new Scranton single game record.

Abdalla continued to point out his team was having fun with the fast break offense and the fun was leading to buckets and wins.

The Court Jesters used its run and gun offense and man to man defense to defeat McKeesport, 109-100, to advance to the finals of the Commonwealth Campus State Tournament. Southard poured in 43 points while Harrington and Ames added 16 each. Cappelloni scored 14. It was Abdalla’s 100th win.

It marked the Court Jesters first trip to the finals after five trips to the state wide event.

The Court Jesters lost the state title game, 109-103, in a hard fought battle against Ogontz-PSU. Southard finished with a game high 35 points. Cappelloni added 28.

Despite being down 18-4 in the opening minutes, The Court Jesters battled all the way coming within two points late in the game, but eventually ran out of time.

Southard and Cappelloni were named to the All-Tournament team

The Court Jesters also set a record by scoring 100 or more points in 13 of 22 games.

It was a season to remember at the Penn State Worthington campus. The Court Jesters put basketball on the map.