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Transportation companies
What's on this page:
- Bus companies
- Taxi services
- Bus and taxi businesses listed in directories
- Transportation in the automotive age
- Transportation by horse
- Haulers, drivers, express, movers, storage, junk dealers
- Railroads that served the Freeland area, by Charlie Gallagher
I'm not
sure which company ran the bus service from Freeland to Upper
Lehigh and to Eckley in 1954, but here are the schedules from March,
1954, from Ed Merrick.A lot of the research for this page was done by Ed Merrick, especially trying to untangle the various taxi services in town. Thank you, Ed.
Bus companies in the Freeland area
Dewey Bros. Auto Bus -
341 Centre St. (Al Dewey and ______ - who was the other brother?) -
drivers included Clarence
Dagrosa of Scotch Hill, Drifton, Anthony Novitsky of Eckley, and John
Platska. Anthony Novitsky might be a connection between Dewey Bros. and
the Stanley Garage? (1924 ad at left) 
Poltrock's Garage - 118
Oak St. (Herman Poltrok) - Upper
Lehigh-Freeland-Eckley Bus Line - Bus
service
for parties, anywhere within a radius of 50 miles from Freeland (from
Ed Merrick, 1926 and 1927 ads) - Batteries charged, prompt service;
Fisk tires (1925 ads) (The Poltrock Garage ad from 1928 cames from
Charlie Stumpf.)
Stanley Bus & Taxi Service -
341 Centre St. - Freeland-Highland-Eckley
Bus Lines - (formerly Dewey Bros.) (1927 ad from Ed Merrick)Stanley Garage - Johnson & Dewey (Stanley C. Novitsky, proprietor; August Gross, manager in 1930) - services included "Busses for hire for all occasions" -
the 1930
letterhead at left listed among their services their
local bus service and also "Cars and deluxe parlor coaches for hire for
all occasions" - the 1931 ad at left touts a new location and mentions
"Luzerne & Carbon County Motor Transportation Co. (1931 and 1939
ads at right from Ed
Merrick; 1930 letterhead courtesy of
the Freeland Historical
Society, from a letter to Freeland Borough Council requesting
permission to install one gas tank and pump at their garage on Dewey
and Johnson streets)
Stine’s Bus Service - 418
Johnson (Lester A. and Edward D. Stine) - Freeland-White Haven Bus Line
- also selling a complete line of high grade tires - Buses also
stopped at Sandy Run and Pond Creek. Schedule at left comes from Ed
Merrick. The photo circa 1920s came from John Zubach and the sign (hard
to read) says "Bus Stop - White Haven - Leaves Here." Probably for the
Stine Bros. bus? 
Taxi services in the Freeland area
Peter
Bonner - 512 Centre St. ("at the John Novak Cigar Store on Center
street" (1919 ad
from Ed Merrick) - Bonner lived in Drifton and conducted his business
by phone and from Novak's cigar store and billiards parlor.
Dewey Bros. Taxi Service
- 341 Centre St. (from Ed Merrick, 1922 ad at left) - The ad at left
looks like a pitch for a new business. They had 5- and 7-passenger cars
available.Various newspaper announcements, mostly from the 1920s: Al Dewey sold one of his Fords and replaced it with a Jewett sedan for use in his taxi service. - Clarence Dagrosa of Scotch Hill, Drifton was a bus driver for the Dewey Bros. bus line (reminiscence in a 1981 birthday notice) - Anthony Novitsky of Eckley is employed as chauffeur and auto repair man for Dewey Bros. (1925 engagement announcement) - John Platska has accepted a position as chauffeur for Dewey Bros., the auto bus and taxi men. (1925 notice)
Later in the 1928-1929 directory Anthony Novitsky is listed at 341 under Cigars and Tobacco. That was the address of Dewey Bros., for whom he had been a driver. Was he related to Stanley Novitsky?
The Stanley Bus & Taxi Service advertised itself as "Formerly Dewey's".
Freeland Cab Co. -
license sold to a succession of owners over time; ads seen ranged from
1946 to 1958. The July 1946 announcement that John and Edmund R. Firley
were
opening the Freeland Cab Co. says that "Their cab company will be the
first in Freeland in more than ten years." Meanwhile the ad at right
saying that Firley's Garage is open for business appeared a few weeks
later. (both ads from Ed Merrick) Ed remembers that the Firleys ran a
garage business in Mike Remak's garage at the rear of 709-711 Main
street before building
a garage at the Sandy Run crossroads, commenting "I know that my
grandfather rented out space there because it was a huge garage, as
wide as the duplex residence in front."The most recent taxi service before this one that I've seen was Stanley's in the 1920s (see below).
Freeland Cab Co.:
1946 - Begun by John and Edmund R. Firley
1949 - Phonebook shows Freeland Cab Co. at 1172 Walnut, and Clement Klopp also at that address
1952 - Andrew Repetz, Jr. takes license over from Clement Klopp
1955 - Michael Berta, Jr. takes license over from Andrew Repetz, Jr.
1957 - Phonebook shows the Freeland Cab Co. office at Centre & Main
1958 - Michael Berta, Jr. selling Freeland Cab Co. after “past several years”
Andrew Kish - 606 Centre St. (listed in 1921-1922 directory)
Kline Garage - 509
Johnson St. - Prompt, safe service at weddings, christenings and
funerals, also hospital trips (1925 ad) - Buy a "Gardner" car, for sale
by Kline Garage - First class taxi service, comfortable and clean cars
(from Ed Merrick, 1922 ad at right) - The full page ad at left was
published in the 1921-1922 Freeland directory.
Not in the list, but mentioned
in newspapers:Shaver and Lavigna - 739 Front St., headquarters at John Klinger's saddler shop (from Ed Merrick)
Stanley Bus & Taxi Service
- 341 Centre St. - formerly Dewey
Bros. - Anytime, anywhere, quickly,
safely and courteously (from Ed Merrick, 1927 ads) - The ad at right
lists services and gives a 315 Centre St. address.
This handy ad card comes
from Billy Kuklis - a great way for Stanley Garage to generate repeat
business by making these cards that people could keep in their wallets
for whenever they need a taxicab. 
Stanley Garage - Johnson
& Dewey (Stanley C. Novitsky, proprietor; August Gross, manager in
1930) - "Taxi - Day and night service" (1930 letterhead courtesy of the
Freeland Historical
Society, from a letter to Freeland Borough Council requesting
permission to install one gas tank and pump at their garage on Dewey
and Johnson streets) - The 1931 ad at left from Ed Merrick shows that
the business moved to a new location at Dewey and Johnson streets,
doesn't mention any taxi service, shows that the auto repair and other
services were greatly expanded. The undated ad at right came from
Charlie Stumpf and lists auto repair, painting, window, and no mention
of either taxi or bus services.
James Wilson Day or Night Taxi
Service - from the Howard Fairchild's Lunch Room (1923 ad) -
There were several Wilson garages and auto-related businesses in
Freeland. In 1924 Wilson Garage was at 639 Centre St. (Rear of
Stirling’s Music Store), offering General Automobile Repairing, …
Batteries, Autos to Hire For All Purposes. Was that this same James
Wilson taxi service, or something different? The 1928-1929 directory
listed a James Wilson, mechanic, living on Alvin St. (several other
Wilsons also at that address).I didn't see transportation businesses (other than livery stables or railroads) listed in 19th-century directories or on maps, but here are the ones listed in Freeland directories from the 1920s and 1940:
1921-1922 directory:
Freeland – White Haven Bus Line – 819 Walnut (Lester A. Stine and Edward D. Stine)
Kish, Andrew – 606 Centre (taxicab)
Kline Garage – 509 Johnson (taxicab)
1928-1929 directory:
Freeland-Highland-Eckley Bus Line - 315-317 Center
Freeland-White Haven Bus Line - 418 Johnson (Lester A. Stine and Edward D. Stine)
Stine's Bus Service - 418 Johnson (Lester A. Stine and Edward D. Stine)
Upper Lehigh-Freeland-Eckley Bus Line - 118 Oak - Herman Poltrok
Kline Garage, 509 Johnson (taxicab)
Stanley Garage, 315-17 Centre (taxicab)
1940 directory:
Bus Lines
Hazleton Auto-Bus Co. - 637 Centre
Luzerne & Carbon County Trans. Co. - 203 Johnson
1940 directory:
Transportation Companies
Hazleton Auto Bus Co. - 637 Centre, Main Office 22 N. Wyoming, Hazleton, Pa.
Ed Merrick adds this one:
1940 census:
Andrew Zurko - 130 Main St., school bus, proprietor (age 39 in 1940 Census, from Ed Merrick)