Edward S. Miller

April 23, 2010

Edward S. Miller, 90, passed into the arms of our loving Lord on Friday, April 23, 2010, in the Hospice Community Care Unit of Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre. Born in Danville on February 6, 1920, he was a son of the late John A. and Mary Miller Fox Schimes. His mother died at childbirth. He was adopted by the late John and Margaret Law Miller. Edward grew up in Milton and attended its school through fourth grade. In 1929, the family moved to Pittston where he completed fifth through eighth grades at St. Mary's Assumption School. He graduated from Pittston High School in 1937 with special training in mechanical drafting. Since he was 11 years old, he was a parishioner of St Mary's Assumption Catholic Church, Pittston, and attended Mass faithfully, regardless of the weather. Edward's first job was as a draftsman with the Long Island Lighting Co. Years later he worked in radiology at a metals concern, in drafting at Ransom Paper Products and in the production of glass television tubes at Techneglas Corp. He served in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps for "three years, eight months, and ten days" during World War II. Stationed at Portsmouth, England for two years, he was sent to the European continent after the Normandy Invasion in 1944. With an honorable discharge in 1945, he was hired as a trolley motorman for Capital Transit Co. in Washington, D. C., until 1952 when buses replaced electric cars. A monumental experience in Edward's life was a transcontinental railroad trip he took to California during which he took many photographs of electric railways and railroads, a hobby he began in 1937. His photography is noted for its special artistic quality. Many of his pictures were included in the book, "Streetcar Scenes of the 1950s" by Leroy King Jr. In 1999, a book of his photos, "Trackside Around Scranton, PA 1952-1976 with Edward S. Miller" was published and dedicated to solely to him. While Edward was recognized for his pictures of trolleys of the Scranton Transit Co. and the Wilkes-Barre Railways and local railroads, he is well known as "the historian" of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad, "The Laurel Line," an inter-urban third-rail electric line that connected Wilkes-Barre and Scranton until 1952. His photos and data were used in the classic book, "The Laurel Line," by professors James Henwood and John Muncie. The recent volume, "Greater Wyoming Valley Trolleys" by historian Harrison Wick, features Edward's photos exclusively. Since 1939, Edward was a member of the National Railway Historical Society and was a founding member of its Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley chapter and its president from 1980 to 1982. He had volunteered at the former Magee Transportation Museum in Bloomsburg until its destruction by the Hurricane Agnes Flood of 1972, the Electric City Trolley Museum, Steamtown National Historic Site and the Anthracite Museum. He especially enjoyed being a tour guide for student groups. Ed or Eddie, as he was known by his many friends, was a kind-hearted, generous gentleman and neighbor with a twinkle in his eye and a contagious sense of humor. He had an encyclopedic mind and a great memory for details regarding railways and railroads and local history. He enjoyed good health until a fall last September. Surviving are his many cousins. There will be a viewing Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Adonizio Funeral Home, 251 William St., Pittston. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mary's Assumption Catholic Church, Church Street, Pittston. Those attending the funeral are asked to go directly to the Church. Interment will be in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Turbot Township, near Milton.