Y Walk Wednesdays begin with 'Millionaires and Mansions'

Jun. 12—Florence Foster Jenkins, portrayed by Meryl Streep in a 2016 movie, "was evidently the world's worst opera singer."

Malcolm Burnside, an early owner of The Boston Store (now known as Boscov's), "really showed off his wealth" with the imposing Corinthian-style columns on the front of his mansion.

As for the Stegmaiers, at one time they were the richest family in Wilkes-Barre. "They paid the most into Wilkes-Barre's treasury," Tony Brooks said as he led a walking tour on Wednesday afternoon.

"I wish we had that now," Brooks lamented. "We could fix a lot of potholes."

Brooks is a member of the Wilkes-Barre City Council. But on Wednesday he represented the Wilkes-Barré Preservation Society as he led the first Y Walk Wednesday walking tour of 2022.

The Y Walk Wednesday series continues through the next 12 weeks, with walks leaving from the YMCA building at 6 p.m. each Wednesday. Various walk leaders will discuss topics ranging from flood control to murals to the Kirby Park Natural Area during the excursions, which typically last 90 minutes.

For the first walk of the season, Brooks concentrated on "Millionaires and Mansions," with more than 40 walkers taking part.

"You're on the best walk," Larry Newman called to the group from across the street.

Newman, executive director of the Diamond City Partnership, is scheduled to lead a walk on July 20, when the topic will be "What's New Downtown?"

Brooks' walk focused more on the area's rich history, when Foster Jenkins, Weckesser and the Stegmaiers were just a few of the wealthy people who once lived on South Franklin Street.

But his glimpse into the past reached back earlier than the time the mansions were built, as he talked about settlers from Connecticut in 1769 establishing a village in what is now downtown Wilkes-Barre.

"The boundaries were North Street, South Street, Front Street, which is now River Street, and Back Street, which is now Pennsylvania Avenue. Very creative," he added with a laugh. "I guess these Yankees didn't want to get lost."

The early settlement was divided into 50 lots of 3 acres each, Brooks said, noting that St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is on what was once lot 17, and a Turkey Hill Minit-Mart is on what once was lot 50. The River Common consisted of 35 acres where people let their cows graze.

If you wanted to learn about architecture, Brooks was a wealth of knowledge, telling people the YMCA building was built to resemble a Moroccan castle; the Westmoreland Club, once the home of Dr. Levi Shoemaker, is Georgian Revival style, and what is now Wilkes University's Weckesser Hall was built in the Chateauesque style you might see in France's Loire Valley.

If you were more interested in the people who lived in these mansions, Brooks had some society gossip, too. The debutante ball held in honor of Frederick Weckesser's daughter, for example, started at 8 p.m. and didn't end until 4 the next morning.

And the Mary Stegmaier Mansion was actually built for both Mary and her husband George Stegmaier, but "poor George paid for the house and then died right before it was finished." Later, the family would donate the building to the Red Cross.

"People don't realize how awesome Wilkes-Barre is," walk participant Max Furek of Mocanaqua said as he gazed at the many examples of grand architecture.

His wife, Pat, said the couple plans to return to downtown Wilkes-Barre for more Y Walk Wednesdays. "All of them, I hope," she said

The free walks are not limited by number of participants, and pre-registration is not required. Next up is "A Walk on the Wild Side: The Kirby Park Natural Area," on June 15, followed by "Keeping the Susquehanna Out of Our Living Rooms" on June 22. Both walks begin at 6 p.m. at the YMCA's South Franklin Street entrance.