Ground was broken Sunday afternoon for Carbon County’s first Nursing Home and Convalescent Center, adjacent to the Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital, Lehighton.

Eugene Durigan, president of the hospital’s directorate, was given the honor of digging the first spade of earth with a gold-plated shovel. Following him were Wilbur G. Warner, founder of the hospital; Arthur Stout, administrator; Dr. James Farr, chief of staff at the hospital; and Fred W. Manning, chairman of the building committee.

The new building, estimated to cost $1.2 million, will be structured in steel and masonry and will be completely air-conditioned, with each room thermostatically controlled to the individual patient’s comfort.