Beyond the Byline: Of Wilkes, Barry and the Colonels

WILKES-BARRE — It took an act of Wilkes-Barre Township council to settle the decades-old struggle to correctly pronounce the name of the township and the city of the same name.

And it happened just in time for the 250th celebration of America’s independence.

Or should we say, as LBJ or George W. Bush said, “Amurica’s” birthday.

Wilkes-Barre Township Council on Monday voted to ceremonially rename the municipality “Wilkes-Barry Township” for Wednesday, July 1, honoring music icon Barry Manilow ahead of his farewell performance at the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.

The pronouncement may — finally — end the historic controversy of how the name of the township and the city are correctly pronounced.

So will Wilkes-Barre Township’s action — replacing the “e” in Barre with a “y’ — even if only for one day, end the struggle?

Let’s hope so.

The one-day proclamation temporarily replaces the final “e” with a “y” in the township’s name in recognition of Manilow’s final scheduled performance in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Following the vote, township officials signed the proclamation, and a framed copy was presented to Manilow’s team to mark the occasion.

“Communities don’t often get the opportunity to celebrate a living legend in such a memorable way,” said Gerald Shinal, president of Wilkes-Barre Township Council. “Renaming Wilkes-Barre Township as ‘Wilkes-Barry Township’ for one day is a fun way to recognize Barry Manilow’s incredible career and welcome the thousands of fans who will visit our community for his farewell performance.”

This is all true, but Council President Shinal missed the significance of what council’s action really did.

From July 1, 2026 forward, everyone should now pronounce the name of the township and city as Wilkes-Barre, or Barry as it clearly should be.

We have all been at shows at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts when the headliner has taken center-stage and asked, “So how do you pronounce the name of this town?” That would results in responses from the audience of Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Bear, Wilkes-Barr, Wilkes-Berra.

Those moments always made me cringe.

But now, thanks to “Wilkes-Barry Township,” we have been given guidance, and we all now know that we live in the Wilkes-Barre (Barry) area.

Manilow has sold more than 85 million records worldwide during a career spanning more than five decades. His catalog includes enduring hits such as “Mandy,” “Copacabana (At the Copa),” “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Looks Like We Made It,” and “I Write the Songs.”

Maybe he can write a new song about the township and city that share his name — at least as far as the way they are all pronounced.

Tony Brooks, curator of the Wilkes-Barré Preservation Society, notes that the historically correct pronunciation of the city is “Wilkes-Berry.”

The name honors British parliamentarian Isaac Barré, whose surname Brooks says was historically anglicized to sound like “berry” rather than the French “bar-ray.”

Despite this official standard, local and regional pronunciations vary greatly.

But Berry is not the way to pronounce it — it is “Barry.”

It is way past time to correctly pronounce one of — if not the only — authentically hyphenated cities in the U.S. — or Amurica, err America.

Finalizing the correct pronunciation of Wilkes-Barre should close the file on this struggle.

However, a few years ago, we also learned how Wilkes University got its nickname, the “Colonels.”

About 65 years after he came up with the name, Joe Pringle — at age 90 (now deceased) — met “The Colonel” — the mascot of Wilkes University.

Wilkes has produced many legends, yet for decades, the university did not know where the name “Colonels” originated. The mystery was finally solved in 2012.

My late friend Mr. Pringle attended Wilkes College from 1946 to 1949. While there, Pringle entered a contest to give the new school a nickname for its athletic teams.

“I took it very seriously,” Pringle said during a 2012 interview. “I learned about the contest from my English professor, Dr. Craig. She gave the class an assignment and told us we had to participate as part of our class work.”

Pringle said he researched Wilkes-Barre and wanted the nickname to incorporate the city’s namesakes — British Parliament members John Wilkes and Col. Isaac Barre.

Wilkes was already the name of the college, so Pringle said he was challenged to find a way to include Barre.

Pringle said the name came to him during his research when he learned Barre was a colonel — he suggested Colonels as the nickname, and he won the contest.

Pringle said he was honored at a dinner dance held at Sans Souci Park in October 1947, and he was given a $25 War Bond for winning the contest. He said the Lee Vincent Orchestra played for dancing.

A search of the archives of the Wilkes College Beacon — the school’s newspaper — confirmed the story.

Mr. Wilkes has always had proper recognition. Now, Col. Barre has his name pronounced correctly, and the Colonels will always strive for success.

And let’s hope “Wilkes Barry Manilow” will keep writing and singing the songs.

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