Cemetery Chronicles: WWII diver honored at Dunmore Cemetery

Posted on April 2, 2025 by The Dunmorean

“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.” (General John J. Pershing)

Not everyone whose name appears on a stone in a cemetery is buried there. Sometimes a cenotaph marks the loss of a life with earthly remains buried elsewhere or missing entirely. Such is the case with Ensign Philip Sylvester Criblet whose memorial stone is in Section 19 of the Dunmore Cemetery.

***Ensign Philip S. Criblet in his diving suit. (Photo courtesy of HonorStates.org)***

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1914, Philip Sylvester Criblet was the son of Swiss-born Paul Criblet and Scranton native, Louise Sylvester. Criblet’s early years were spent in Scranton. Evidence suggests that Philip was raised mainly by his mother as his father spent considerable amounts of time traveling to other countries and living in California.

After leaving Scranton, the Criblets resided in Maryland. Philip continued his education there, graduating from Towson High School in 1930. He then attended Johns Hopkins University.

While at Johns Hopkins, Criblet appeared in theatrical performances and was president of the university’s theatrical group, “The Barnstormers.” Criblet also excelled in the mechanical engineering department of that school, penning prize-winning papers for competition in the National Engineering Society. He graduated in 1935 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Three years later Criblet married Louise Kraft of New Jersey. Following their marriage, the couple moved to Evanston, Illinois where Criblet worked for Worthington Pump and Machinery. In 1940, the couple welcomed the birth of their only child, Elaine. Also, on October 16, 1940, Criblet registered for military service.

During World War II, Criblet served with the United States Naval Reserve and was stationed on the USS Current. The Current was a rescue/diver ship designed to aid distressed vessels. In October 1944, the USS Canberra was hit by an enemy aerial torpedo off the coast of the Republic of Formosa (Taiwan) and incurred significant loss of life and damage. The USS Current was dispatched to the aid of Canberra. During a repair dive, on October 20, Ensign Criblet’s air hose was cut off from its air supply and he drowned.

***Philip S. Criblet memorial stone in the Dunmore Cemetery.***

The following day, Ensign Criblet was honored by his fellow crew members, the flags of the Canberra and Current were lowered to half mast, and Criblet was buried at sea. In addition to being memorialized in the Dunmore Cemetery, Criblet is also “Commemorated in Perpetuity” at the Manila American Cemetery on the Tablets of the Missing.

Many years ago, this author had an opportunity to speak with Criblet’s daughter, Elaine. At that time, she was asked what she remembered about her father. Although being a young child, she said she remembered him as being a talented musician. Research indicates that Louise Sylvester Criblet was a gifted musician who taught, performed, and lectured about music on a national level. Certainly, she passed her love of music and the arts to her son. Louise Criblet is also buried in the Sylvester family plot in the Dunmore Cemetery.

Cemetery Chronicles: Harriet Clay Penman

Posted on March 5, 2025 by The Dunmorean

Born in 1860 and raised in Schultzville, Pennsylvania, as the daughter of William and Ruth Clay, Harriet Clay Penman had a writing career that spanned not only decades, but across the country.

Following completion of her education at Keystone Academy and Bloomsburg State Normal School, Harriet Clay was employed as a teacher in Scranton’s public schools. Clay, like many women of her time, engaged in the popular pastime of writing poetry.

Writing first under the name Hattie Clay, she read one of her patriotic poetic writings, “Soldiers of the Union” at the1883 Memorial Day Fair at the Scranton Armory. Between 1884 and 1886, she also had her poetic words published in the Scranton Republican and the nationally known Petersons Magazine under the pen name Steenie Grey.

With her 1888 marriage to Scranton merchant Charles Penman, Harriet was required to relinquish her teaching career. This was a constraint for married teachers, with few exceptions, until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Although no longer allowed to teach due to her marital status, Penman continued to write and voice her opinions under the nom-de-plume “Saucy Bess.” The columns of Saucy Bess appeared regularly in The Scranton Republican from 1893 to 1908 and featured “current topics crisply written up.” Penman did not confine her writings to poetry, prose, and newspaper articles. She wrote letters to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Rutherford B. Hayes, copies of which are now housed in those respective presidential libraries.

Following the death of her husband in 1912, Penman busied herself with the social and benevolent women’s societies in Scranton. In 1922 she moved to Hollywood, California. There she became a “much loved” member of the Hollywood social scene and the society editor for The Hollywood News. Her affiliations brought her into contact with members of the community who desired to bring the arts and music to the public in an outdoor setting.

Penman aligned herself with those who championed the creation of the Hollywood Bowl. Following its completion Penman was described in the July 30, 1925, issue of The Musical Leader as an “enthusiastic attendant at the Hollywood Bowl concerts who nightly revels in the symphonies presented under the stars. Miss Penman is a true lover of music, being a thorough musician and student.”

From December 1927 to mid-1928 Penman embarked on a trip around the world. On Christmas Day 1928, Penman fell at a Hollywood beach club and incurred a serious knee injury. This injury kept her confined to hospitals and her home for the next seven months.

She made a limited returned to her society circle, but in September 1929 died of a heart attack. Her remains were returned to Scranton and laid to rest in the Dunmore Cemetery.

Cemetery Chronicles: Frederick Hannah

Posted on January 1, 2025 by The Dunmorean

The Dunmore Cemetery is the final resting place of many who served their country in our nation’s conflicts in all branches of service. Block One is the final resting place of one who served in a unique manner.

Frederick Hannah, son of Attorney Hugh and Elizabeth Hindman Hannah was born April 9, 1885. Educated in Scranton schools, Hannah also attended the elite Mercersburg Academy from which he graduated in 1907. After working locally in real estate, Hannah became General Superintendent with Unity Coal and Coke in Berwinsdale, Clearfield County, PA.

Prior to the United States entering World War I, an ambulance corps of American civilian volunteers was formed in France. Many of its members were college students or those who did not meet the requirements of the United States Military.

With the onset of World War I, Hannah, like many others, wanted to join France in its fight against Germany and did so before the United States officially entered the conflict.

From June 1917 to September 1918, three draft registrations were held. Due to age restrictions Frederick Hannah was ineligible for all of them. By the time of the third draft, through a local Presbyterian church offering to pay for travel expenses, Hannah had already found his way to France. Using his own funds for travel, he joined the American Field Service in July 1917.

Known to his comrades as “Shorty,” Hannah was a member of Section Seventeen of the Field Service. Reports from his comrades and sister who received regular letters from him, revealed him to be a man who never discussed his personal matters, never felt he was doing anything more than his duty, and no matter what conditions were, would never leave a soldier on the field.

For his service with the Ambulance Corps, Hannah was recommended for and received the Croix de Guerre, a French military honor bestowed for bravery.

On the evening of September 20, 1918, Frederick Hannah was killed during the German bombing at Deuxnouds-aux Bois north of St. Mihiel in France. Following his death, his body was interred at Souilly, Meuse. In July 1921, his remains were repatriated to the Hannah family plot in the Dunmore Cemetery.

Three memorial plaques honoring Frederick Hannah’s service can be found in Scranton noting his service. His name appears on the World War I Memorial at the Memorial Grove at Nay Aug Park, on a plaque commemorating World War I veterans in the Bell Tower of Covenant Presbyterian Church, and in the lobby of Lackawanna College, formerly Scranton Central High School where Hannah attended high school.

In addition to the local memorials, Hannah’s mother participated in the National Honor Roll Memorial Trees program sponsored by the American Forestry Association. A tree was registered in Frederick Hannah’s name commemorating his wartime service, but the location and status of that today are unknown.