WARM’S LANDMARK CHURCH
One of the little known stories of the Mighty 590 WARM is the association it had with a Roman Catholic Church in Avoca. When WARM moved from Scranton to that storied building in Avoca, Route 81 was not yet completed. The tannish brown Church on Main Street, Sts. Peter and Paul became a directional landmark for prospective employees, vendors and prize winners who had to make their way to the WARM Studios. If you were coming from Wilkes Barre through Avoca, you made a right at the church. If you were coming from Moosic through Avoca, you made a left and went up the hill. When you couldn’t go any further you made a right.
This week that venerable Catholic Church like many in the Diocese went the way of the wrecking ball. It was a beautiful church. When I was working for WKQV FM and AM in the late 90s, I had NASCAR duty and Bob Cordaro put the station’s studios in the old WARM building. My wife and I stopped off at Mass on a Saturday in a teeming rainstorm. As the WARM building ceased to exist, so too did the landmark that made it easier to find the Mighty 590.
When I was a young boy pedaling up that hill (making a right at the church of course) I never imagined that WARM would be gone from that place. Even more inconceivable was the fact that the proud, historic sacred church would fall to ruins. Devotees of WARM and the parishioners of that church will be quick to tell you that there is nothing sacred about change.
Sts. Peter and Paul Church a few weeks ago. (Times Leader)
Sts. Peter and Paul Church in ruins. (Photo: Pa Homepage)