the strong backing of the coal miners, Peter lost the election. This caused him to reassess his goals and resulted in a change of direction. During this time, he had also become active as legal counsel for the Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Union. As their organization grew, they encouraged Peter to move to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to be nearer to their home office. The political climate was different in Luzerne County; prejudice against Slavs was less severe. In fact, the Slovak organizations had significant political clout. So it was in early 1929 that Peter pulled up stakes in Johnstown, packed his law books, and moved nearly 200 miles away. Career in Wilkes-Barre Peter became well known in Wilkes-Barre and eventually met his wife through a member of one of the Slovak fraternal organizations he was involved with there. He and Laska Gaydosh were married on December 29, 1931. His family kept him busy, but he always had time to help others. He became involved in many civic activities, and during the course of his career served as legal counsel for many Slovak fraternal organizations, as well as special attorney general for the State Liquor Control Board. Peter was a prolific writer, publishing many articles in a variety of publications. He wrote three books: The Club Leader's Handbook, The Slovaks (a history of the Slovak people) and Slovak Proverbs and Sayings, as well as several booklets. The first and probably most memorable booklet was entitled Steps to Leadership. It was during these years as an author that Peter decided to change the spelling of his last name to Yurchak so that it would be easier to pronounce. This became his pen name, and his wife and sons later adopted the same spelling. Remembering his early political experiences in Johnstown, Peter was a staunch ally of his fellow Slovaks and constantly championed their efforts to brighten their image. Family Peter married Scholastica "Laska" Gaydosh (August 24, 1910 – March 31, 2007), a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, on 29 Dec 1931. Laska graduated from West Virginia University in 1930 with a B.A. in Home Economics. The couple had three sons, Peter M. Yurchak, (December 21, 1932 – July 30, 2007), Paul Nicholas Yurchak, (December 18, 1934 – August 12, 1999), and Anthony Michael Yurchak (February 11, 1936 – May 10, 2017). Oldest son Peter graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953 and from