I. Leo Moskovitz is looking forward to a new year with the world at peace and economic conditions "greatly" improved. And, he says, maybe he'll take dancing lessons in 2013.
Celebrating his 108th birthday at Patsel's with family and friends Saturday night, the man who is among Lackawanna County's and Pennsylvania's oldest citizens proved that old is a state of mind. And, it's not a state of mind Mr. Moskovitz of Jermyn finds himself in.
"You're not old until you're 100," Mr. Moskovitz said, laughing during his birthday party Saturday night.
Dozens of friends gathered in the restaurant to wish him a happy birthday, some of them friends he said he hasn't seen in 20 or 30 years.
While the dancing lessons' comment was a tongue-in-cheek remark made during a talk with him and his wife of 43 years, Ann, earlier this week, Mr. Moskovitz plans to be out and about and sharing his witty gems of wisdom, unparalleled business savvy and remarkable historic recollections next year, just has he has during many of the previous century's worth of years.
The man known as a "pioneer" in local banking, according to an honorary doctorate from the University of Scranton, earned an associate degree from the former Lackawanna Business College, now Lackawanna College, in 1924. He worked for the Hudson Coal Co. in the 1930s before embarking on his banking career in 1953. He started as a cashier at the former First National Bank of Jermyn, was named a vice president in 1955, and became president in 1961. He retired as the bank's president in 1993 - when he was 89.
Young, he said, is "anyone under 75," "Old" for some is over 80, and "really old" may be over 100; but at 108, even though slowed a bit by an injury from a fall and some hearing loss, Leo Moskovitz is not old.
That said, when asked to recall his favorite birthdays, two came to mind.
The year he graduated from high school, 1922; and 1925, the year he became a registered voter. While he doesn't recall who he voted for that year, Mr. Moskovitz does remember registering as a Republican. Democrats, he said, were a "curiosity" back then in Jermyn, the town he has called home since he was born on Dec. 8, 1904.
Reminded that Calvin Coolidge was president when he registered to vote, Mr. Moskovitz said Mr. Coolidge promised Americans "a chicken in every pot." Asked whether the president made good on his promise, Mr. Moskovitz said he didn't check, adding, "My mind was on different things than chickens when I was 21."
Mr. Moskovitz took the small Jermyn bank from its single Upvalley location to four offices in three cities. When he retired in 1993, the bank's assets were nearly $300 million. When asked about his proudest achievements, Mr. Moskovitz tells a story from the late 1950s or early 1960s when he defied local hiring trends and became the first area banker to put a woman on his management team. Reproached by other bankers, he says he told them, "You run your bank, I'll run mine."
Ann, a native of Archbald, was chief pharmacist at Mercy Hospital, staff pharmacist at Moses Taylor Hospital and operator of Allied Service's pharmacy department, and also worked for Ciba Pharmaceutical Corp., Summit, N.J. She and Leo have been married since 1969. They have been avid community activists and volunteers throughout their marriage. The Moskovitzes have been honored with numerous awards for their work and generosity on behalf of their neighbors in Northeast Pennsylvania, including the Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Cornerstone Award in 2009. The theater at the DeNaples Center at the University of Scranton is named in their honor. Lackawanna College named Mr. Moskovitz a distinguished alumnus in 2005 and created an academic honors program named for him and Ann. They have both served on numerous community boards. He served two terms on Jermyn Borough Council and is a former chairman of the board of the former Pennsylvania State Oral School for the Deaf.
Dina Manfredini, 115, of Johnston, Iowa, became the oldest person in the world after the death of Besse Cooper, last week. Guinness World Records declared Mrs. Cooper of Georgia the oldest living person in January. She died Tuesday at the age of 116, making Mrs. Manfredini, who was born on April 4, 1897, the oldest.
"So far the night is going pretty well," Mrs. Moskovitz said, sitting next to her husband as he was greeting guests. "So happy so many of our friends could make it."
Among those in attendance was the Most Rev. Joseph Bambera. bishop of Scranton, who recalled years ago asking Mr. Moskovitz who was the first bishop of Scranton he met. Mr. Moskovitz responded with the Most Rev. Michael J. Hoban - the second bishop of the diocese - whom Mr. Moskovitz had met in the 1920s.
"Leo Moskovitz is one of the most incredible individuals I've ever met," Bishop Bambera said.
Mr. Moskovitz, who was 10 during the Billy Sunday snowstorm in 1914, recalls the piles of snow and how it ravaged Northeast Pennsylvania. He also recalls winters during which roads closed by snow led Upvalley residents to drive to Scranton on railroad tracks, and riding on train cars on those same tracks to get to Lackawanna Business College from the Upvalley, and to see holiday decorations in Scranton. He remembers a Northeast Pennsylvania known not just as a coal mining area, but also for other products, likes apples. He said farmers from areas like Chapman Lake and Lake Sheridan, brought apples to train stations up and down the valley to be shipped around the country. He remembers using slats from barrels for ice skating and skiing down local hills; he looks forward to many more birthdays surrounded by family and friends - and he may just get in a dancing lesson or two.
JIM LOCKWOOD, staff writer, contributed to this report.