“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family

While residing at

915 Orange Street Moosic, Pennsylvania

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“Our House”*

I'll light the fire You put the flowers in the vase

That you bought today

Staring at the fire For hours and hours While I listen to you Play your love songs All night long for me

Only for me

Come to me now And rest your head for just five minutes

Everything is good Such a cozy room

The windows are illuminated By the sunshine through them

Fiery gems for you Only for you

Our house is a very, very fine house

With two cats in the yard Life used to be so hard Now everything is easy

'Cause of you

I'll light the fire And you place the flowers in the jar

That you bought today

* Lyrics by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Cover

915 Orange Street Located in Moosic, Pennsylvania

United States of America

As it was when purchased by Dominic Preston Jr. and his wife Agnes in 1952

Comments or questions should be directed by e-mail to: rodkelley@comcast.net

Produced in the summer of 2012

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Table of Contents

I. Introduction…5 II. “Our House”…6 III. The Prestons on Orange Street…14 IV. Dominic Preston, Junior…15 V. Agnes Valones Preston…20 VI. Dominick Preston, Senior…27 VII. The Wedding of Dominic and Agnes Preston (1943)…32 VIII. The Family…34 IX. Danny (Born 1945)…41 X. Carol (Born 1946)…45 XI. Mary (Born 1947)…51 XII. Donna (Born 1962)…54

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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I. Introduction

This is a recounting of the lives and times of the Preston family within their northeastern Pennsylvania residence over the last half-century. It is designed to celebrate this family through their photographs, illustrations and newspaper articles. It allows family, wherever they may currently reside, to rekindle what makes this domicile special in their hearts. It begins with a history of the home and traces the passage of time when for each Preston Orange Street was their residence.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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II. “Our House”

On Orange Street in the small borough of Moosic is a special place that is “Our House.” This is the earliest known photograph of 915 Orange Street.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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The earliest known map, which shows our home, was printed in 1873. The tag on the map, available at historicmapworks.com, is:

This is a copy of the full map with a red line (on the right) added to point out our home.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Our home is highlighted on this extract of the 1873 map, the only structure on our side of Orange Street.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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A Google Earth Street view photo of Orange Street as it is today illustrates the buildup of the neighborhood since the time of the Nelson’s. Our house is the second from the left with the line drawn from the top of the photo.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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The person who sold the house to the Prestons was Mr. Adair Connor. The City Directory for Scranton lists him as living in the home in 1951. Another extract from that directory has him employed as a superintendent with the Cudahy Packing Company in that city.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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An aerial view provided by Bing maps provides an aerial view of the house. A line to the structure is drawn with an arrow at the top of the photograph.

The dwelling changed hands in 1952. There were several additions to the basic structure over the years but its fundamental composition has not changed.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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This is the Lackawanna County (PA) property assessment file record.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“Our House” in 2012

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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III. The Prestons on Orange Street Our story consists of a collage of photographs associated with the experiences of the Prestons while residing in the home beginning with its purchase in 1952. These are Dominic (both Senior and Junior) and Agnes Preston along with their children (Danny, Carol, Mary Lucille, and Donna). “Our House” limits itself to the time in which a family member actually resided in the home. The only family member still residing in the home is Agnes Preston. Family names are standardized for ease of documentation and do not necessarily reflect common usage and nicknames. Section IV traces the lineage of Dominic Preston Junior. It was compiled from both family conversations and information on ancestry.com including work done by three other families. One of these was the Condefer household, which is the married name of one of the children, Carol. The kinship report is as complete compilation of all relatives that can be charted with the currently available information. Some of the information, especially spelling and dates might be inaccurate. This is the result of census forms and other published materiel that is illegible or incorrectly filled out. However, the data does provide enough of a glimpse of the past to gain a solid understanding of the times in which they lived.

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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IV. Dominic Preston, Junior

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Dominic Preston, Junior with his brother, Joseph

(Photo taken during World War II)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Dominic Preston, Jr.

Avoca (PA) High School Class of 1941 Graduation Picture

(Line on Upper Left of Photo leads to Dominic)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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V. Agnes Valones Preston

The Adams family adopted Agnes Preston at an early age. Using information provided by her compared with the data of ancestry.com, the following is an as accurate as possible charting of her natural family. Please note that ancestry.com uses maiden names to track married women in their database. Mrs. Preston’s family came from Lithuania, which is in the region of Poland and Russia.

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Agnes Preston (Photos taken before she was married)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Frances

(Agnes’ Sister)

Joe Adams

(Agnes’ Stepbrother)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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VI. Dominick Preston, Senior

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Dominick Preston, Senior

(The first of several generations with the Dominic Preston name)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“PA”

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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World War II Draft Registration Card

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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1018 Vine Street, Avoca, Pennsylvania

(Home of Dominick Preston, Senior, and Dominic Preston, Jr. with his wife Agnes before move to Orange Street)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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VII. The Wedding of Dominic and Agnes Preston (1943)

The Wedding of Dominic Preston, Junior and Agnes

(With his sister, Catherine, and Brother-in-Law, Joseph Craig)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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VIII. The Family

Mary, Carol and Patsy Craig (Cousin)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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From left, Carol, Danny, and Mary

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Christmas

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Visit to Hershey (PA) Gardens with cousins (The Langan Family)

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Visit to Pennsylvania State Capitol

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Two generations of Dominic Prestons

From left, Donna, Dominic, Agnes, Danny and Jimmy

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Agnes and Dominic, Jr.

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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IX. Danny (Born 1945)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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October 1960

High School Graduation

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Danny, sons Jimmy and Dominic, with Dominic Preston, Jr.

Danny with Joann Preston

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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X. Carol (Born 1946)

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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High School Graduation

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Wedding Party

Wedding Day with Husband Frank

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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XI. Mary (Born 1947)

Saint Mary’s School First Grade Class Picture

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Saint Mary’s School Third Grade Class Picture

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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High School Graduation Photograph

Carol’s Wedding

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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XII. Donna (Born 1962)

December 1962

May 1966

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Neighbors with Donna (on right)

Saint Mary’s School Second Grade Class Picture

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Donna and Danny’s Son Dominic

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January 1977

Christmas 1977

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Saint Mary’s School Eighth Grade Photo

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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First Year High School

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Graduation from High School

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The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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Graduation from Nursing School

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“Photographs and Memories”*

Photographs and memories

Christmas cards you sent to me All that I have are these

To remember you

Memories that come at night Take me to another time Back to a happier day

When I called you mine

But we sure had a good time When we started way back when Morning walks and bedroom talks

Oh, how I loved you then

Photographs and memories All the love you gave to me

Somehow it just can't be true That's all I've left of you

But we sure had a good time

When we started way back when Morning walks and bedroom talks

Oh, how I loved you then

*Lyrics written by songwriter Jim Croce

“Our House”

The Story of the Dominic Preston Family and 915 Orange Street

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