This lantern slide shows two images: the Wilkes-Barre YMCA and a portrait of William C. McKee, who graduated in 1891 from the International YMCA Training School, now Springfield College.
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He played on Springfield College’s first football team, known as Stagg’s Eleven. After graduation, McKee served as physical director of the Springfield YMCA in Missouri. He also served as general secretary in Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh YMCA (1894-1898) and the Wilkes-Barre YMCA (1899-1905). The Wilkes-Barre YMCA was founded on May 8, 1863, but abandoned during the Civil War. In 1871, the YMCA reorganized and rented space downtown. In 1892, the YMCA completed construction on its first building, which had bowling alleys, a gymnasium, and a pool. An evening school program, begun in 1878, was the first night school in Wilkes-Barre. At the turn of the century, they opened a mining school that offered courses in techniques and safety. On October 1, 1934, a new YMCA was opened at a cost of $625,000.
