Girardville Borough milestone celebrated fittingly
06/10/2007
Surely, Evelyn E. Marquardt is proud.
Known locally as the Girardville historian, Marquardt
has been researching borough history and working to keep it alive
about as long as most folks can remember.
In the 1970s, she kept Bill O’Brien, the storied
editor of the old Evening Herald, busy by providing an endless flow
of interesting historical data she had uncovered about the community.
O’Brien, of course, was delighted to share the information with
everyone.
But a few years ago, Marquardt became a bit concerned.
She knew the borough’s 175th anniversary was approaching, yet
it seemed she was the only one aware of it.
Marquardt didn’t want the event to pass without
some kind of observance and she seemed worried that perhaps no one
would care enough to, well, do something for the event.
As things turned out, her anxiety was unnecessary.
With groups like Girardville PRIDE, the community downtown
revitalization organization under the umbrella of the regional Upper
Schuylkill Downtowns, and community-conscious people like PRIDE’s
Kathy Centiole, borough Councilman and local history buff Robert A.
Krick and transplanted Shenandoahan Rosalie Kuzma, whose interest
in coal region heritage is legendary, there was no need to fret about
whether the town named for Revolutionary War financier Stephen Girard
would have a 175th birthday party.
In fact, Girardville’s milestone was marked in
a relatively low-key but significant week of activities that began
last Sunday with a dignified show of patriotism and respect for the
veterans whose efforts have preserved America’s ideals for more
than two centuries.
•
The idea for the kickoff anniversary activity came from
Girardville resident Sarah A. “Sally” McMonegal, a Gold
Star Mother whose son, John J. McMonegal Jr., was killed in Vietnam
in 1967.
It was simple but profound. Local residents and visitors
got together at the Girardville Veterans Memorial and placed American
flags to honor loved ones who had served or are serving in the armed
forces.
Then on Monday — 175 years from the day the borough
of Girardville was chartered on June 4, 1832 — there was a special
commemorative pictorial postal cancellation featuring a stamp designed
by Kuzma. It was dated June 4, 2007, and identified as “Anniversary
Station.” It featured “Girardville” spelled out inside
railroad tracks.
There were times during the postal cancellation when
people had to wait in line at the new Girardville Historical Society
headquarters to have the image applied to envelopes and cards.
Of course, the cancellation also featured old-fashioned
lemonade and cookies as well as music of days gone by.
The grand opening of the historical society headquarters
on Wednesday, at the former Murray Drug Store building at 1 W. Main
St., also was part of the anniversary celebration.
The building is owned by Krick, who offered the space
to the society for a permanent base.
Society members have turned the site into a treasure-trove
of historical Girardville-related photos and artifacts.
Rounding out the celebration were a wine-and-cheese
mixer held on Friday at borough hall, the return of the Girardville
Regatta — a float down the Mahanoy Creek Saturday morning —
a picnic in the park Saturday afternoon and a mug night with live
music Saturday night at the Rangers Hose Company.
•
When you think about it, Girardville is a pretty significant
place.
Not only is it connected to Stephen Girard, it also
has been called the home of the Molly Maguires, the mid-19th century
group of Irish immigrant miners whose important legacy in American
history remains a point of contention today.
Supporters see the Mollies as early labor-rights activists
whose mission was to improve virtually intolerable mining conditions.
However, critics argue they were terrorists who used murder and violence
to redress labor grievances.
The alleged leader of the Molly Maguires was John J.
“Black Jack” Kehoe, who supposedly directed operations from
his Hibernian House tavern at Beech and Line streets in Girardville.
Well, the Hibernian House is still there, managed by
Joe Wayne — Kehoe’s great-grandson.
The site has become the revered focal point for the
annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a relatively new Girardville
tradition that’s become wildly popular even though it was only
launched four years ago.
The more you think about Girardville’s role in
anthracite history, the more you come to understand that this 175th
anniversary was one that couldn’t go unnoticed.
Although the borough isn’t as large or as prosperous
as it once was, its shadow over the region’s heritage will remain
through the ages.
Evelyn Marquardt can take a breather now. That is, at
least until she next sticks her nose into some sort of historical
Girardville document.
© The REPUBLICAN & Herald
2007
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