For the past five years, Clark Switzer has continuously created and tweaked his documentary, “Scratching the Surface: 300 Years of Wyoming Valley History 1675-1975.” Switzer, an eighth grade U.S. history teacher at Wyoming Seminary Lower School, will present the five chapters of his documentary at 10 different events throughout the Wyoming Valley during March and April, beginning with the 6 p.m. March 28 screening of “Chapter 1: Between the Mountains 1675-1800” at Osterhout Free Library in downtown Wilkes-Barre. This is the second time West Pittston Library Director Anne Bramblett has enlisted Switzer and his documentary series.
“I had Clark do this documentary series a few years ago at the West Pittston library, So I recommended him for a county-wide program,” Bramblett said.
Each chapter will start on a Monday at one library and move to another location the following Saturday. That schedule will continue until the end of April. The first chapter, Between the Mountain (1675 – 1800), will discuss the area’s settlement, topography and Native American heritage. It will also feature a sidebar on the Battle of Wyoming and Nathan Denison, conducted by Robert Mischak.
Mischak is a former educator who sometimes uses his knowledge and period-accurate dress to assist Switzer in the classroom; on March 28 and April 2, he’ll use those resources to enhance the Chapter 1 viewings at Osterhout Free Library and Wyoming Free Library.
“I am a volunteer at the Nathan Denison House in Forty Fort,” Mischak said. “He played a part in the battle and was one of the commanders. It was his area of the militia line that the Indian force broke; I don’t think there would be any commander that could have done anything to prevent that side of the line from collapsing. They were so greatly outnumbered.”
Bramblett works in a committee with representatives from the Wyoming and Osterhout libraries yearly to arrange county-wide series’ on topics like Ancient Egypt and the American Civil War. She chose to revisit Switzer and his documentary because of the reception they received during the West Pittston Library event.
“I know from my experience running local history programs that people in this area have a really deep connection to local history,” Bramblett said. “I thought that other people in other communities would be just as excited to hear about the history of Luzerne county; I thought there would be a real interest.”
Switzer, who describes the documentary as a labor of love created with help from local historians, skilled volunteers and his wife (and narrator) Deborah, shared Bramblett’s enthusiasm for the program. The educator initially created the five-chapter overview of three centuries of Wyoming Valley history for classroom use; he thought it important to touch on in his curriculum, so he created a classroom resource from which to do so. From there, it evolved into something Switzer shared with other educators and will share with the Wyoming Valley community.
“One of the reasons I did put the time and effort into the documentary was to educate my students in the rich history that is here and how we can use that history to be proud of where we are from and what has been accomplished out of these particular square miles of real estate,” Switzer said. “The people in this valley really have a tenacity for life and I wanted my students to appreciate that. In my mind, it could have been a mini Williamsburg, if we have saved and preserved our heritage.”
Robert Mischak dressed as a Continental soldier.
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Robert Mischak dressed as a Continental soldier.
Clark Switzer dressed as a frontiersman.
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Clark Switzer dressed as a frontiersman.
Five chapters of “Scratching the Surface: 3000 Years of Wyoming Valley History (1675-1975)” showing at ten different locations throughout the area
By Gene Axton
gaxton@timesleader.com
SCHEDULE
Chapter 1: Between the Mountain (1675 – 1800)
6 p.m. March 28 at Osterhout Free Library, 71 South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre
10:30 a.m. April 2 at Wyoming Free Library, 358 Wyoming Avenue, Wyoming
Chapter 2: The Secrets of Home (1800 – 1865)
6 p.m. April 4 at Osterhout North Branch, 28 Oliver Street, Wilkes-Barre
10:30 a.m. April 9 at F.M. Kirby Center, 71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre
Chapter 3: History Lives Around Us (1865 – 1900)
6 p.m. April 11 at Hazleton Area Public Library, 55 North Church Street, Hazleton
10:30 a.m. April 16 at Plymouth Public Library, 107 West Main Street, Plymouth
Chapter 4: Building Our Heritage (1900 – 1940)
6 p.m. April 18 at Pittston Memorial Library, 47 Broad Street, Pittston
10:30 a.m. April 23 at West Pittston Library, 200 Exeter Avenue, West Pittston
Chapter 5: Hidden in the Corner (1940 – 1975)
6 p.m. April 25 at Back Mountain Memorial Library, 96 Huntsville Road, Dallas
10:30 a.m. April 30 at Hoyt Library, 284 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston
Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on Twitter @TLArts