Look Back: Ground breaking for Luzerne County Community College

Ed Lewis, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·3 min read

Jan. 3—Fifty years ago on Jan. 3, 1973, a monumental ground breaking ceremony took place in Nanticoke.

The first shovel was forced into the ground to remove the first scoop of dirt on what would become the permanent home of Luzerne County Community College.

"Event marked the beginning of the first phase of construction, costing approximately $1.7 million and involves construction of roads and foundations and grading," the Times Leader reported Jan. 4, 1973.

At a projected total cost of $6 million, the original design consisted of eight buildings.

How did Luzerne County Community College become located in Nanticoke?

"Luzerne County Community College was brought to Nanticoke mainly through the efforts of Nanticoke IMPACT Committee, which was formed in 1968 with the purpose of having a college in Nanticoke," the Times Leader reported.

There were plans to have LCCC built in the Greater Hazleton area with easy access off the newly opened Interstate 81 but those efforts were opposed by superintendents of high schools in the Wyoming Valley.

Another plan was to have LCCC constructed somewhere in Wilkes-Barre or Kingston as 75 percent of the county's population resided within 15 miles of those two municipalities in the late 1960s.

Attorney Michael Hudacek, who was chairman of a committee looking for a permanent site, had his eyes set on Nanticoke as early as November 1969.

"Att. Hudacek reported mining maps relating to the Nanticoke sites have been obtained and are being studied," the Wilkes-Barre Record reported Nov. 14, 1969.

The two-year college needed a new and bigger place.

After the state General Assembly adopted a resolution creating two-year colleges in Pennsylvania, a host needed to be found.

Luzerne County Commissioners in December 1965 agreed to be the host setting the stage for Luzerne County Community College.

It took several years until LCCC found a temporary home in the former Elks Building at 19 N. River St. in Wilkes-Barre.

"The community college site, adjacent to Hotel Sterling, is located centrally and convenient to all forms of public and private transportation. Classes are scheduled to begin in the new college in September," the Wilkes-Barre Record reported March 21, 1967.

The four-story brick building had 18,000 square feet of floor space enough for 20 classrooms and a library. The Elks Building was only temporary as efforts were underway to find a permanent site.

Hence, the creation of the Nanticoke Impact Committee that lobbied county commissioners to select a location in Nanticoke. IMPACT stood for Improvement Action Citizens Committee of Greater Nanticoke Area.

It wasn't until November 1970 when the board of directors for LCCC selected land owned by the Blue Coal Corporation.

"The authority has an option to purchase the land for $1,000 an acre from the coal company. The site is bounded by Prospect and Kosciuszko streets and Middle Road," the Wilkes-Barre Record reported Nov. 6, 1970.

A total of 115 acres were originally purchased.

Members of IMPACT were permitted to erect a lighted sign on the property, "Proclaiming the site is the future home of Luzerne County Community College."