John H. Durning of 99 Broadway, Jim Thorpe, is serving the Mauch Chunk Historical Society in the role of administrative assistant at the Opera House on West Broadway.

A native of Vandergrift, PA, he was assigned the position under Pennsylvania’s Green Thumb program, which had its headquarters in Harrisburg.

Durning is a 1938 graduate of Wilkinsburg High School who entered the military after Pearl Harbor and served in both the North Atlantic and South Pacific areas.

During the past six years, he was engaged in various capacities at the Pocono Hershey Resort, Henning’s Hotel and Split Rock Lodge.