Bill is the middle child of Bill and Molly Hughes Smith. He now lives in Forty Fort, Pa, but was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre where he attended St. Aloysius Elementary, then St. Mary’s High School. He has wonderful childhood memories and especially loved holidays with the Hughes Family. He loved visiting relatives in Larksville, but didn’t like the outhouse in Pop Wright’s yard – he was always afraid he would fall in! When he thinks of Wright Family reunions, he likes remembering his conversations with Phil and Tim Herbert about their Phillies-Yankees rivalry. The Herberts were Phillies fans, the Smith’s were Yankees all the way.
He was a vasity basketball player in high school and is proud of the success his team had when he played at Luzerne County Community College. LCCC was a new college in Wilkes-Barre without a lot of facilities at the time (it’s now got a large campus in Nanticoke), so they used the gym at the Catholic Youth Center for games. While he played, they won 43 games in 2 years, losing only 5.
He has some not-so-good memories of Agnes, the awful flood that devastated Wilkes-Barre in 1972. When he walked into his house for the first time after the flood, he was shocked by the smell and destruction. There was 4 feet of river sludge in the basement which had to be removed a bucket at a time. Needless to say, cleanup was very challenging. For a time, they stayed with family in New Jersey, but his dad decided they could stay in the upper levels of their home while they cleaned it up. They cooked on a Coleman stove in the living room and a cooler was used for water and beer. Bill gives Frank and Tom Oldziejewski a lot of credit for all the help they gave them during the time. A very difficult time to be sure, but they got through it.
Bill has had a successful career life in the automobile sales industry. After graduation, he worked for United Penn Bank, then Ertley where he was General Manager of Sales. He left there to work for Tammac Corp., where he worked for 20 years, leaving there as President/Chief Operations Officer. He re-entered the car business as part owner of Maureen Alexander Chevrolet, Pontiac Buick and was with Motorworld for 10 years as Pre Owned Manager. He wasn’t one to sit still, so after retirement he went into business for himself and bought Flaherty’s, a very popular Irish restaurant/bar in Kingston. Aside from great food and beverages, there are 14 televisions in the restaurant so patrons can watch all their favorite teams on game days. Bill loves sports so it’s a great fit!
He met his wife, Karen, when he worked at United Penn Bank. They were married in 1978 and celebrated their 43rd anniversary last year. They have two children, Launie and Bill Jr. Karen loved being a stay at home mom when the kids were small, but when they started school she went back to school and became a dental assistant at Brace Place in Forty Fort. Her passion is cooking and she is very influential in planning the menu at Flaherty’s.
Launi is a registered nurse and Manager of the operating room at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton. She is married to Gene Klinges who works for UHaul as Service Director for trucks. They live in Swoyersville and have a daughter, Mollie.
Bill Jr is Regional Sales Director for Santander Bank and is married to Maura who is Chief Marketing Officer for Pepperjam, working out of her office in Wilkes-Barre. They have two children, Billy and Grace.
