On the evening of August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon addressed the nation one last time as he announced his resignation in the wake of the ever-worsening Watergate scandal in a prime-time television address.
Nixon became the first president in American history to resign the office.
Across Pennsylvania’s Coal Region, residents watched with mixed emotions as Nixon resigned.
Reporters from the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania captured the region’s mood in a piece published on August 9, 1974, the day President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the nation’s 38th president.
Wyoming Valley residents who got their last glimpse of Richard M. Nixon in the flesh as president of the United States when he visited the area on the heels of the Agnes disaster watched the president in a different setting and mood Thursday as he announced his resignation of the presidency at 9:03.
In the taverns and restaurants, patrons stopped drinking. There wasn’t a single call to the switchboard at the Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company during the entire speech by President Nixon. Wilkes-Barre Police reported a single call.
Traffic was silenced, but there was a motorcyclist who opened the throttle for his brief spin on North Main Street. His fellow cyclists listened to the speech on a transistor on Public Square.
The deadening of activity was prevalent in all parts of the region, except for persons who wondered if the early reports of his resignation would become a reality.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Moore of Plymouth didn’t watch TV or listen to the radio. They enjoyed a leisurely walk around the Public Square after watching the Thursday night Farmers Market program.
“We knew it, we were confident he’d resign,” Mr. Moore commented. “We’ll read all about it tomorrow (Friday) morning in your paper, so why not enjoy the fresh air?”
In interviewing a couple dozen passersby in central city, the majority of persons believed the President made the right move.
Deputy City Manager Robert McGinley of Wilkes-Barre commented that the President devoted too much of his talk to foreign issues. He added, “Now we’ll see in the next 2½ years just how many commitments were made.”
Two lads, bound for Air Force training in Texas, who were heading for their Hotel Sterling room agreed the president made a “wise decision.”
“He should have resigned long ago,” they chorused.
Bruno Budurka, Nanticoke, said, “I thought he’d try to get out.”
A Port Blanchard motorist who said he has been a life Democrat described the action of the president as a “good thing.”
Steve Wallmark, manager of the King’s Radio Station WKRC, said he expected the resignation. “It was about time he stepped down and let the country concentrate on more important issues.”
A trio of young women strolling on North Main Street agreed he had no choice. He lost all his “escape hatches.” Donna Sinkar, Plymouth; Caroline Katra, Kingston; and Judy Coopey of Laurel Run picked up the president’s emphasis on peace and war ending in his tenure and commented, “The war had run its course. It just had to come to an end.”
“He did the best thing, or he’d be in jail,” observed Edward Byorick, Wilkes-Barre. He added he couldn’t believe the calm that came over the city and neighborhood.
“I guess it was expected,” he added.
Walter Nowicki, Brookside section of Wilkes-Barre, who served with the Army in Korea, noted, “He couldn’t help it. It’s a big job and it gets complicated.”
Nowicki said he believes the president attempted to do his best and believes “the country will suffer.”
Strange as it may seem, one of the pedestrians in central city Wilkes-Barre was visiting the area from New York City. He also was among a few who missed the television and radio presentation — and announcement of the resignation by the president.
The New Yorker admitted, “I liked President Nixon” and believes the country will get worse. “I think that if they don’t find him guilty of criminal charges they should let him alone.”
“Wow, I’ve seen everything in my generation,” blurted a gentleman from Kingston. “I was a World War I baby, went through the Depression, saw two wars, a flood, and now to see the resignation of a president.”
He said, “I’ll have a lot to tell my grandchildren.”
“My children don’t believe stories of World War 2 so the resignation won’t impress the grandkids.”
A woman from the West Side said she recalled when President Nixon passed out pens during his visit to Scandlon Field during the flood recovery period.
“He handed a pen to an elderly woman and said only presidents can afford these,” she smiled, and brushed through the crowd,” she recalled.
“I think he was too busy with foreign affairs to mind the affairs at home,” she continued, “and I feel sorry for him.”
Want to read more about the Watergate scandal? I highly recommend Garrett Graff’s 2022 book, Watergate: A New History.
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