Tag Archives: Dunmorean of the Month

Dunmorean of the Month: Marguerite Garbolino Bradley

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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: Rocco Riccardo

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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.”

Dunmorean of the Month: Myron Fedor

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By Steve Svetovich

Myron Fedor, 69, has always had a strong work ethic.

He spent about 25 years working for RCA at Keystone Industrial Park until the company folded, and then put in 14 years as a Dunmore DPW worker.

When he retired, he wanted to keep busy. So, he became a volunteer worker. He has a loyal commitment and passion when it comes to volunteer work.

The lifelong Dunmore resident is a paragon of what represents a volunteer.

He is a longtime active member of Sherwood Park and Saint Anthony’s Park Associations in Dunmore. He volunteers for both.

Over the years, the retired Dunmore DPW worker has put in countless hours cutting the grass at Sherwood Park. He always makes sure the grass is not too high and nice and trim.

For the past 20 plus years, the humble Dunmore native has been a key cog and planner for the annual Sherwood Park Festival held each summer in the borough. And you will find him selling the potato pancakes all three days of the event.

At Saint Anthony’s Park, you will find the hard-working Fedor at the concession stand providing service for the Holy Cross high school football games, plus an assortments of other activities.

This past summer he volunteered to work at Saint Joseph’s Festival at Marywood. He signed up to volunteer his time there when he went to purchase his “Go Joe (Snedeker)” 2024 t-shirt and cap.

These are just a few of the senior citizen’s volunteer activities. He always makes himself available when family and friends call.

“Anything for the kids,” is one of his famous lines.

The 1973 Bishop O’Hara graduate said he enjoyed his 25 years working at RCA, but when the plant closed he welcomed the opportunity to work outdoors with the Dunmore DPW department.

“I spent all of those years working indoors with RCA,” he said, “so it was nice to finally get an outdoor job. I really liked being outdoors.”

Fedor said his hobbies are reading and fishing. “You know,” he said, “I used to fish all the time when I was working. However, I don’t fish too much since retiring.”

Fedor, who retired from the DPW department in 2021, said he has been volunteering at Saint Anthony’s Playground for the past decade. He ran the pancake stand at the Sherwood Park Summer Festival this past August.

He works the concession stand at Saint Anthony’s Playground for both the Holy Cross practices and football games.

“I also cut the grass and take the garbage out at Sherwood Park,” he said.

“I grew up in Dunmore and never left. A friend asked me to join these organizations as a volunteer and I’m happy I did. I love it.

“I love Dunmore. I’ve lived here my whole life. I used to play pickup basketball every night at Sherwood Park. In the old days, kids were out there playing every night.

“Now they have a soccer program with 580 kids involved at Sherwood Park. It’s quite a program. I always liked living in Dunmore and love volunteering. It keeps me busy and I like helping out.”