First Presbyterian Church in WB opens cornerstone time capsule

Kevin Carroll, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·3 min read

Jun. 27—WILKES-BARRE — After 50 years of waiting, the First Presbyterian Church members gathered to open the church's long-sealed cornerstone discovered that the stone wasn't exactly cooperating.

By many accounts, it wasn't easy, but the stone was opened Sunday morning and documents, newspaper clippings, photographs and more treasured objects dating back hundreds of years were discovered.

"It was a little more difficult than we anticipated," joked Jeanne Kravitz, a member of the church's Cornerstone Committee, after the stone was opened and its contents displayed in the church popular for the public to observe.

Still, even though a little more elbow grease was required than originally thought, the opening of the cornerstone that's been locked away for half a century uncovered plenty of treasured memories, and snapshots of the church at several different points throughout its long, illustrious history.

The stone opening is just a part of the ongoing celebration this year, as First Presbyterian marks its 250th anniversary serving the Wilkes-Barre community.

"It's really taken a lot of hard work with all the church members pitching in," Kravitz said.

"But the great thing about the continuity of the church is the fact that we are very active in the community. ... We're hoping that, 50 years from now, the younger members of the church will be very active and follow through with everything that we have done."

Kravitz, a member of the church since 1954, was joined by several other members of the Cornerstone Committee, church members and members of the public in browsing through all of the treasures unearthed from the cornerstone.

Among the things pulled from the stone included an old Bible, dated 1870 according to the inscription that lay beside it, that belonged to Dr. Francis Hodge, a former pastor at First Presbyterian. Hodge's photograph was also found inside the stone, and displayed on a table along with all of the other findings, an extraordinary collection.

"We hope that everybody takes advantage and comes to look at these things, and be a part of our history," said David Correll, another member of the church committee.

Correll noted that some of the items found date all the way back to the late 1800s, while others made their way into the cornerstone the last time it was opened, in 1972 in honor of the church's 200th anniversary.

"We had the contents out during the flood, 1972 ... we were able to move everything upstairs and save it," Correll said. "They were all put back in in 1977."

Many of the church members, including Kravitz and fellow committee member Ainslie Deyoung, were members of the church at that time in the 1970s.

"This will be significant for me because I was around 50 years ago," Deyoung said. "It'll recall some good memories, because I've always loved this church."

The display will be open for all to see for at least six months, according to Kravitz, before it's packed back up and sealed for another 50 years.

The hope is that, not only will the cornerstone display be a neat look into the history of First Presbyterian Church, but also a potential way for new members to find their way into the congregation.

"I think that if you're interested in finding a church, this might be somewhere you may consider coming," Kravitz said. "We're very active and we have a great group of people."