[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 93 (Friday, June 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              WRIGHT TOWNSHIP CELEBRATES 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 28, 2001

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of the 
House of Representatives to the 150th anniversary of the founding of 
Wright Township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. I am honored to have 
been asked to participate in the township's Independence Day parade, 
which will double as a celebration of the sesquicentennial.
  Wright Township was established by the Court of Quarter General 
Sessions on April 12, 1851. It is named for Hendrick Bradley Wright, a 
resident of Luzerne County who served four terms in this House between 
1853 and 1881 and also served as speaker of the Pennsylvania House of 
Representatives and Luzerne County district attorney. In commemoration 
of the 150th anniversary, the National Archives and Records 
Administration recently donated to the township a framed photograph of 
Hendrick Wright taken in the 1860s.
  The community was carved from Hanover Township, and has seen its 
population grow despite seeing part of its territory become 
incorporated into the new communities of Fairview Township, Rice 
Township and Nuangola Borough over the years. The township encompasses 
13.9 square miles of land.
  At its founding, Wright Township had just 152 inhabitants, and its 
character remained primarily rural until the 1950s. In 1950, the 
population was 948, which has more than quintupled to 5,593 in 2000. A 
major reason for the increase in population was the opening of the 
Crestwood Industrial Park in 1952. This 1,050-acre facility is home to 
more than 20 businesses that employ more than 3,000 people. Wright 
Township continues to work with the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of 
Business and Industry and businesses located or considering location in 
the industrial park.
  To help preserve the quality of life the residents enjoy and provide 
for orderly community and economic development, the township adopted a 
comprehensive plan and subdivision and land development and zoning 
ordinances in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
  As the township grew, it upgraded its public services to meet the 
citizens' increasing needs. In 1972, the police, the public works 
department and the supervisors' office moved into the newly constructed 
municipal building. Previously, the police operated out of the 
firehouse, the road department operated out of a developer's garage and 
the supervisors' office was in the home of the secretary.
  In the 1970s, the Wright Township Recreation Park was completed, and 
the township is currently in the process of a major expansion of the 
park to include a regulation soccer field, loop trail and a plaza with 
additional parking. Another service to residents is the drop-off 
recycling program that was begun in 1991 for the Mountain Top area.
  The community has planned an extensive celebration of its 150th 
anniversary and America's independence that includes a concert, 
fireworks and a festival with food, entertainment, games and crafts.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent the people of Wright Township, 
and I am pleased to call their community and patriotic spirit to the 
attention of the House of Representatives on the occasion of the 
township's 150th anniversary.

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