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Between McAdoo and Kelayres, Celebration Creek flows northward to Catawissa. Located less than a quarter-mile west of McAdoo, Kelayres was another patchtown where workers toiled tirelessly at the local collieries. The village, formerly called Bunker Hill, was settled in 1873. It was named for early Irish residents Kelly and Ayres, who were construction supervisors for the Lehigh Valley Railroad in the 1890s.

Several Hungarian and Slovak families lived among a majority of Italians who needed new homes in Kline Township. Housing provided by the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company was freely available for purchase or rental. Its Elmira Building and Loan Association in 1897 permitted part-ownership of shanties, single houses, and double-frame houses, prevalent in a typical coal-mining village at the turn of the century.

Michael Petresky, a native of Kelayres, worked as a gandy dancer for the Lehigh Valley Railroad earning 36 cents an hour in 1936. Pounding spikes and straightening rails along the Lehigh Valley Railroad between Delano and Weatherly were important to keep the line running smoothly.

The No. 3 Slope at Kelayres was filled with white gas when three miners succumbed in 1903.

Above --- Kline Twp. With Kelayres and McAdoo.
Click the small map for a larger view.

Joseph J. Bruno Family

From 1900, the Bruno family shared in everything from bottling beer to real estate. Positions held by the Joseph Bruno family included president of the school board, bootlegger, inspector of weights and measures, county detective, and justice of the peace, while a brother, Philip Bruno, was tax collector, Coal and Iron Policeman, and slot machine racketeer. Joseph's son, Alfred, was a school director, beer distributor, and bus driver, while another son, James, was a teacher and cashier in a McAdoo bank. Other nephews and nieces included schoolteachers, a truant officer, and squire.

Editor's Note: The following article about and picture of Philip Bruno came from an old copy of the Hazleton Standard-Sentinel newspaper of November 15, 1926, eight years preceding the massacre. The front page of the newspaper that day was occupied with the founding of the McAdoo Miner's Bank with Bruno as one of the vice presidents. The bank failed in 1934 in the midst of the Depression.

Philip Bruno was born in Honey Brook 40 years ago and has spent nearly all his life as a resident of the McAdoo community. After attaining a rudimentary education in the Kline Township schools, Mr. Bruno went abroad with his father and spent a year in an academy in Europe. Entering the mines of the South Side upon his return, he harkened to the call of the West and spent some time as a mechanic in Colorado. Returning East, Mr. Bruno located in New York City, where he took up the barber trade but shortly after returned to Kelayres to take over the business of his father-in-law, the late Anthony Bruno. The esteem in which Mr. Bruno is held in his community is reflected in the fact that for twenty years past he served his community as tax collector. In addition to this office of trust, he served as postmaster of Kelayres for ten years, resigning that post recently to embark in the contracting business. He is a keen booster for education and is active in the political and social life of the South Side.

In the tumultuous general election of November 1934, Joseph Bruno, an Italian and a Republican, was opposed by new leadership of the Democratic party for the school board. The Bruno family became active in political circles around 1900, and by 1930, controlled the town and the three schools in Kline Township: namely Black Hills, Kelayres, and Lofty.

The Haddock Mining Company had a breaker at Silver Brook, home of the Black Hills Schoolhouse. This later became the site of a huge reclamation and cogeneration plant operated by Northeast Power Company.

The 15 room schoolhouse of 1890 at Kelayres deteriorated with 'unsanitary conditions' before mysteriously burning in late 1932. The Bruno-controlled school board opposed an offer by the Glen Alden Coal Company to rebuild the school. Trucks used in any new construction were furnished by Joseph and Philip Bruno, while Joseph Bruno served as purchasing agent.

In 1932, the Lofty School sold for $1 to Joseph Bruno, who converted it into a school bus garage. Rent was $30 a month, in addition to the sale of gasoline and oil by the Bruno family, often at double the normal prices.

The Carl and John McAloose families opposed the Bruno faction and, prior to 1933, were quite ineffective in overturning their power. Fred Smerkonich, local tax assessor, forgot to give persons a tax payment receipt needed to register to vote.

Bruno was ousted as school board president in the school board election of 1933, and as justice of the peace he impounded the ballots for a recount to the Schuylkill County court. Election inspector George Rushnock, a Slovak from McAdoo Heights, lied by claiming the ballots "had not been altered and took an oath on the Bible". The changed ballots favored Bruno but the controversy was not over.

Bruno resigned as president of school board and gave his son, Alfred Bruno, the position of pro tempore president. A contested public forum by schoolteachers at the McAdoo Fire Hall revealed more signs of fraud. Teachers, instructed on how to vote and given codes, testified that payments were received. Those who ignored the situation were discharged.

Teachers were expected to give money to Bruno in order to hold their position. In another case, a teacher was forced to go to a bank to obtain a loan before he received a job. In September, Joseph Condor, a Slovak, organized a teacher's union in opposition to Joseph Bruno. It was formed one month before the school year in 1934, and half of the 24 teachers joined. On September 5, however, nine of the teachers went to school while the three teachers not appointed were left deserted. Among the organizers --- Edna Kulick, Julia Leshko, Eva Socker, and Cecilia Stracka --- all changed their minds in order to be rehired. Ironically, three of these teachers attended the Republican get-together at 7 p.m. on the evening of the massacre, and were present in Joseph Bruno's house when gunfire ripped the peaceful community apart.

Condor, a local printer and a part-time schoolteacher, used the alias Clyde Bernard when he wrote about the massacre in early 1937. Condor was Slavic and understood English with difficulty.

Eventually, people picketed the "Bruno School" and refused to admit teachers. The school was closed for five months. Teachers who used the "right code" in the election were paid, even though they did not teach.

The "Bruno School" at Kelayres lasted until April 1937 when the sign was finally torn down, and it was renamed the Kelayres School. It was later used by McAdoo Machine Company as a metal fabricating plant.

Kelayres School at present (2003). No longer a school, part of it is a machine shop.

The Massacre and Five Funerals

On the eve of the election on November 5, 1934, a large parade of Democrats gathered along Centre Street, approaching the Joseph Bruno home at 30 Fourth Street around 9:10 p.m. They planned a meeting on the porch of Nicholas Perna, a Democrat who had been fighting the Bruno faction for years. The marchers, led by Joseph Cara and Carl Vacante, carrying an American flag, were followed by automobiles and children. Michael Petresky, then 19 years of age and the son of Ukrainian parents, witnessed the events and recalls hearing the chant, "Down with the Brunos", shouted by paraders.

The parade route

In moments, gunfire erupted from Bruno's front lawn and the second floor of the brick residence. In the violent confrontation, 50 persons were shot and wounded, while six of them were killed or mortally wounded. Constable John Cordish and Michael "Larry" Boranko, a blacksmith and former constable, tried to reorganize the march, after the violent bloodshed began.

Persons hid behind fences and porches, while some even leaped into the ditch of the sewer project during the gunfire. Dominic Perna, a cripple and staunch Democrat, was felled by a shot from the brick residence. The streets were in disarray. Three of the six killed were Italians and included Frank Fiorella, 65, Kelayres; William Forke, 35, Silver Brook; John "Kelly" Galosky, 30, McAdoo; While Andrew Kostishion,36, Lofty, died the next day; and Dominic Perna, 37, Kelayres, expired two days later. William Jacoby, 32, Kelayres, died five months later from three shots he received, one in the shoulder and two in the left leg.

The Bruno House

Some of the injured were taken to Verna Saladego's Drug Store, located cattycorner from the Bruno house for treatment, while others were transferred to Hazleton State Hospital. Political hostilities continued after the massacre, keeping the schools closed. Attempts to reopen them were met with violence and children did not attend school again until January 1935.

The election's outcome tallied 24 votes for Republicans, while Democrats scored 683, a landslide victory for the anti-Bruno forces. Republicans had controlled the state for nearly 40 years and the "New Deal", created to help during the Depression, was accepted by voters statewide.

The funerals on November 9, 1934, drew nearly 20,000 persons who mourned the tragedy and loss of innocent victims. Five hearses transported the bodies through McAdoo to their final resting places. The bank, post office, schools, stores, and even the collieries closed for the funerals. Attending were newly-elected Governor, George H. Earle, Senator Joseph F. Guffey, State Democratic Chairman David Lawrence, and Schuylkill County Sheriff Thomas J. Evans. Following the funeral a handful of women screamed in Italian: "If you do not send those murderers to the electric chair, we will kill them ourselves".

The funeral parade in McAdoo

Arraignments and Convictions

State Police found an arsenal of weapons at the Bruno home, including a shotgun, a pump gun, three double-barreled shotguns, three high-powered repeating rifles, three automatic pistols, three revolvers and dynamite. Police questioned Bruno and 13 others in the house, who initially claimed they were targeted. They also claimed that the "firing itself" was provoked by the crowd. Defense attorneys described the parading Democrats "as a mob, intent on destroying Bruno lives and property".

Temporary police barracks were set up across the street in the basement of the Immaculate Conception Church --- organized as the only church in Kelayres in 1898 --- which stood directly across Fourth Street from the Bruno house. Two hours later, the alleged murderers were taken to the Pennsylvania State Police Barracks at Tamaqua for arraignment, since the closest barracks at Hazleton in Luzerne County was closed. The alleged murderers were indicted by the Grand Jury on December 7 when over 500 persons jammed the courthouse at Pottsville.

The Bruno gang spent the next two years in the Pottsville Jail. Philip Bruno, a brother of Joseph Bruno, a Coal and Iron Policeman at the Haddock Colliery, was apprehended the following week in the corridor of the county courthouse. Schuylkill County's ex-judge, Charles Berger, defended the Brunos in the subsequent indictments and trials.

Schuylkill County Courthouse, Pottsville, PA

They received first class treatment at the jail, described as the "Bruno Hotel". This included use of kitchen facilities where spicy Italian meals, including spaghetti, were prepared at all hours. The prisoners, who carried their own keys, would lock their cells when they left so no one could swipe their personal effects, such as cold chicken and pie. "The whole bunch of them acted more like guards than prisoners", said Luther Lash, an inmate at the Pottsville Jail. "They came and went as they pleased, especially Joe. It's a wonder Joe wanted to escape at all. He was so comfortable". The Brunos reportedly spent weekends in Kelayres, and even had the opportunity to attend the county fair.

According to Condor (1937), Phil, a barber at the jail, raised his prices to 20 cents for a shave and to 40 cents for a haircut. "If you did not pay the top price for a haircut, he would make your head look like a coconut", Condor stated.

The Trials and Appeals

Joseph Bruno was charged for the murder of Frank Fiorella. The case, heard by Judge Cyrus Palmer of Schuylkill County, finally went to the jury in January 1935. During the trial, Bruno was unmoved and leisurely manicured his fingernails with a pocketknife. The defense team was comprised of former Schuylkill County judges H. O. Bechtel of Pottsville and John Stevens of Reading; Attorney B. J. Duffy of Coaldale; and Attorney Frank Bruno, a nephew of Joseph Bruno.

Following 65 hours of deliberation, the jury found Joseph Bruno guilty of manslaughter. He appealed for a new trial. His brother, Philip, was also found guilty of murder in the first degree, while Alfred Bruno and Joseph Bruno, (sons of Joseph Bruno), and Tony Orlando (a son-in-law), were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 10-20 years in prison. Arthur Bruno, a nephew of Joseph Bruno, had a lighter sentence of five-to-ten years, while Paul Bruno, another nephew, was acquitted of all charges. Arthur changed his name to Brown and later lived in Chicago, Illinois. After the Bruno faction resigned from the school board in February 1935, Democrats gained control of the education process in Kline Township.

The defense tried for a change of venue but failed. Judge Benjamin R. Jones of Wilkes-Barre (Luzerne County), was selected for the second trial that began in May 1935. Joseph Bruno was convicted of the murders of three of the six victims, and was given three life terms. Philip Bruno was sentenced to ten-to-twenty years' imprisonment, but all the others were acquitted. Many witnesses testified on behalf of the Brunos, and testimony revealed that they lied to the court, and [that] the verdicts were both biased and unfair. State Police continued their watch of Kelayres through these trials.

A third trial was held for the defendants in September 1935 and they again faced murder charges before Judge Benjamin R. Jones. Joseph Bruno and Philip Bruno were found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to three life terms, while Alfred Bruno, James Bruno, and Tony Orlando were adjudicated guilty of manslaughter and sentenced 10-to-20 years. Arthur Bruno received a sentence of five-to-ten years, while Paul Bruno was again acquitted. Many persons testifying on behalf of the Brunos were charged with perjury, although the charges were dropped and never brought before the court

The Brunos and Orlando appealed to the supreme court for a new trial. An estimated $75,000 was spent for their defense. Several months elapsed before the higher court denied their petition for a new trial. They were sentenced in July 1936 to Eastern Pennsylvania Prison at Philadelphia, but remained in Pottsville.

Joseph J. Bruno Escapes

On December 18, 1936, more than two years after the massacre, Joseph Bruno was escorted in a personal car by Guy "Speck" Irving, a prison guard, for a "dental appointment" with Dr. John J. Ryan six blocks from the Pottsville Jail. Parking was a problem so Irving dropped Bruno off and "looked for a parking space". Irving was unarmed and did not have the company of another detective or deputy from the prison. Bruno disappeared and Irving waited four hours before summoning the prison, and another two hours before notifying Pottsville Police. The dentist later indicated that Bruno's dental care had been completed satisfactorily two months earlier.

The escaped convict spent several weeks in Hazleton before traveling to Alabama and Florida. Two-and-a-half years later, two men who aided in the escape were sentenced to prison terms in Luzerne County. Joshu "Jess" Nilo of Hazleton, who drove Bruno from Pottsville to Hazleton drew a term of one-to-three years, while Rocco "Boo Boo" Garimone who sheltered Bruno for two months at his Hazleton home, was sentenced from three-to-six years.

In March, 1937 Bruno sailed to Havana, Cuba. where he enjoyed the race track while working as a "fruit inspector" for a week. He contemplated moving to South America but decided that at the age of 54 he was too old to escape the law. Later he spent time in New York City at 202 East 75th Street, where he was captured on August 22, 1937 using the alias, Frank Miller. He paid $5 a week rent (75 cents extra was paid per week for a fan during the hot weather) to Mary Worth, his landlady, who thought he was a businessman. When arrested, he had $9 in his pockets. "That's all I have," said Joe Bruno, as he breathed a sigh of relief. Corporal Jacob E. Hess of the Pennsylvania State Police and Detective L. D. Buono of Schuylkill County worked with three New York detectives for two months on his capture.. Bruno was immediately transported to the Eastern Pennsylvania Prison at Philadelphia, where his kinsmen had been housed since December 1936.

Incarceration

Following Joseph Bruno's escape on December 18th, five other convicts, namely the Brunos --- Alfred, Arthur, James and Philip --- and Tony Orlando, had been quickly transported to the Eastern Pennsylvania Prison. The 30-day quarantine period began with a shower using carbolic soap, and coarse prison towels for drying. Their heads were neatly shaven like the other inmates in the penitentiary.

In response to the getaway, three prison officials were indicted in April 1937, along with Joseph Bruno's daughter, Antoinette Billig, who visited the jail four times the day before his escape. In addition to Irving, former Deputy Robert Walker and former Warden Herbert Gosseling were charged with gross negligence. All three were acquitted. including Irving who was deemed "to have used poor judgment". Antoinette was born in 1905 and died in 1994.

Thomas J. "Tommy John" Evans, the former breaker boy at Coaldale served as sheriff from 1933 through 1936. He was lax in the manner in which the Brunos were guarded as well as his delay in transporting the convicted killers to Eastern Pennsylvania Prison. Evans was busy getting ready for his tenure as Commissioner of The Pennsylvania Turnpike. Records from the Supreme Court indicated that the convicts were to have been transferred three weeks earlier. Attorney General Charles J. Margiotti questioned whether Bruno's cell was ever locked.

Paroles

Arthur Bruno was paroled in November 1938, while Tony Orlando was released from prison in 1941. Brothers Alfred Bruno and James Bruno, sons of Joseph Bruno, were paroled in December 1942. Arthur died August 1968 at the age of 52. Philip Bruno, paroled in the mid-1940s, passed away in January 1956 at the age of 70. Joseph J. Bruno was paroled by Governor James H. Duff on Christmas Eve 1947, after the State Pardon Board made the recommendation. Bruno lived in Kelayres prior to his death of natural causes in July 1951, at the age of 65.