[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 33 (Thursday, March 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E461-E462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING THE FRIENDLY SONS OF ST. PATRICK OF LACKAWANNA COUNTY ON 
                        THEIR 100TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 16, 2005

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask you and my esteemed 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to pay tribute to a group of 
men from the past and present who are part of a proud tradition in 
Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of 
Lackawanna County will celebrate its 100th anniversary on St. Patrick's 
Day, March 17, 2005.
  The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick is a group of men who gets together 
each year on St. Patrick's Day to partake in dinner and camaraderie in 
a celebration of the Irish-American experience. The Friendly Sons 
dinners are a tradition in Lackawanna County that have grown 
considerably since the first one in 1906--from about 80 men in 1906 to 
1,200 this year. This year's dinner was sold out months in advance.
  The Friendly Sons had its beginning as the Irish-American Society of 
Lackawanna County, formed by Judge Edward F. Blewitt, former Scranton 
Diocese Bishop M.J. Hoban, Col. F.J. Fitzsimmons and Scranton Times 
publisher E.J. Lynett. The organization wanted a more formal way to 
mark St. Patrick's Day than with the parades in downtown Scranton.
  The Lackawanna County group called itself the Irish-American Society 
until 1940. Members felt that a hyphenated name was no longer 
appropriate. WorId War II was just beginning and the organization 
wanted to have people united as Americans, not identified because of 
their descent.
  For the first few years, the dinner took place at the old Hotel 
Jermyn. It moved to the former Hotel Casey in 1911, where it remained 
for 60 years. As time went on, the Friendly Sons had to find another 
venue because the Hotel Casey could not accommodate the expanding guest 
list. Some attendees were even forced to sit in the hotel coffee shop 
or in the nearby Preno's Restaurant and watch the evening's festivities 
on tiny television monitors.
  Eventually, the dinner moved again--this time to St. Mary's Center 
and then in 1984 to Genetti Manor in Dickson City, where it has been 
held since.
  The dinner has earned quite a reputation for hosting one notable 
speaker after another. Typically, the organization tries to have two 
main speakers--a lay person and a member of the clergy. The list of 
prominent names dates back to the dinner's 1909 speaker, John Mitchell, 
revered labor leader and international president of United Mineworkers 
of America.

  President Harry S Truman spoke at the dinner twice--in 1943 and 1956. 
In 1943, he was a little-known senator from Missouri who spoke about 
foreign policy during the Cold

[[Page E462]]

War. When he came back to the Friendly Sons dinner in 1956, he had 
served two terms as president.
  Perhaps the most notable speaker came in 1964. The Friendly Sons 
dinner was the first public appearance made by then-U.S. attorney 
general Robert F. Kennedy following the assassination of his brother, 
President John F. Kennedy. In September of that year, Robert Kennedy 
resigned to run for the U.S. Senate in New York. A column written 10 
years later by one of his aides stated that Mr. Kennedy made his 
decision to remain in public service because of the amazing support and 
outpouring of affection shown to him in Scranton as 2,000 people lined 
the streets to greet him.
  Many politicians have spoken at the Friendly Sons dinner. Beginning 
with John K. Tener in 1911 and including our current governor, Ed 
Rendell, in 2003, almost all Pennsylvania governors have attended the 
dinner, including Lackawanna County residents William W. Scranton and 
the late Robert P. Casey, who himself was a member of the Friendly 
Sons.
  My good friend former U.S. Rep. Joseph McDade, also a Friendly Sons 
member, spoke in 1986. U.S. senators, including Eugene McCarthy, Henry 
``Scoop'' Jackson, John Glenn, and Delaware's Joseph Biden--a native of 
Scranton--have spoken at the dinner.
  Guests from abroad have also graced the stage, including former Irish 
Prime Ministers Garret FitzGerald and Albert Reynolds, Sinn Fein leader 
Gerry Adams and British Parliament member Martin McGuiness.
  The Friendly Sons organization has about 900 members and elects 
officers each year. The president has the intimidating job of 
organizing the dinner and arranging for the speaker.
  This year's president is Dr. Joseph T. Kelly Sr. and the speaker is 
Alex Maskey, the first Catholic mayor of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me and my fellow colleagues in the House of 
Representatives in congratulating the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of 
Lackawanna County, an organization steeped in rich traditions, as they 
celebrate their 100th anniversary.

                          ____________________