SHENANDOAH — The 150-year history of Shenandoah, or at least a portion of it, in memorable old photographs, was recently published in a book filled with contributions from local residents who also lived much of that history.
The borough celebrated its sesquicentennial this year and, though not a planned part of that commemoration, the new book titled “Shenandoah” proves to be a fitting tribute to a coal mining town known for its importance in the anthracite coal industry in northeastern Pennsylvania. Many other historic aspects include being a cultural melting pot of immigrants from many nations, its many houses of worship, its heroes in war and peace on the battlefield and the homefront, it being the home of internationally known writers and entertainers, and much more.
The book’s author is Shenandoah native Anne Chaikowsky La Voie, though she is the first to say that creating the book was an effort involving the contributions of many people, not only for supplied photographs, but from their personal memories of the way it was growing up in a town that at one time surpassed 30,000 in population, all within one square mile of territory.
The book is published by Arcadia Publishing and is part of its “Images of America” series that highlights local and regional histories mainly through photographs, descriptive captions and chapter introductions. The books are visual remembrances of what life was like over time.
According to the publisher’s website, “Images of America is an ambitious collection of chronicles that accurately capture the essence of what gives each American small town, neighborhood and downtown its unique flavor. Each one is penned by a seasoned local expert and features hundreds of vintage images, local memories, personal stories and unique points of view in regards to a variety of iconic events. At present, the series encompasses thousands of volumes and counting.”
The local edition was one whose time had come, according to Chaikowsky La Voie.
“The idea totally came from DSI and Mary Luscavage,” she said, referring to Downtown Shenandoah Inc.’s executive director. “I had come into Shenandoah after being away for a while and asked Mary if she had any projects, and the next thing I knew I was putting a book together.”
Two major contributors of photos in the book came from Bernie Sanders, Shenandoah, and John Catizone, Lost Creek. Catizone owns and operates Catizone’s Barber Shop in Shenandoah, a shop filled with such a variety of memorabilia that it is nicknamed “Shenandoah’s Smithsonian.”
“They supplied a majority of the photos in the book,” Chaikowsky La Voie said. “They were very, very generous. These guys have been collecting these pictures for about 30 or 40 years. They said that if it’s for ‘Shenandoah,’ it’s yours. We got pictures from DSI, the historical society, from people like Theresa Matino and some others from around town. I’d get one picture here, another picture there, but the majority came from John and Bernie.”
The information for the captions and introductions came from a variety of sources, Chaikowsky La Voie said. The Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society’s archives had copies of articles from the Evening Herald newspaper published in 1991 during the borough’s 125th anniversary year, and the centennial “Path of Progress” commemorative book from 1966, along with published newspaper stories.
“A lot of it was from when I was a kid and I learned many of these stories from my father, my mother, my grandfather and people around town,” she said. “When I was a little kid, it always seemed I was on Main Street talking to someone, whether it was Levitt’s, or in Nesbitt’s or Hook’s. There was always seemed to be somebody saying something, and then I would verify that in finding proof in the old Herald.”
Book chapters are “Coal Miners and Collieries,” “From the Old Country,” “City of Churches,” “Main and Centre Streets,” “Saturday in Shenandoah,” “Champions,” “Shenandoah Spirit,” “Adversity and Disaster,” and “In Honor.”
There were hundreds of photographs to choose from, so it was important to select those that told a story.
“We tried to tell the story of Shenandoah and use those that told something that was important to the town or something that was significant,” Chaikowsky La Voie said. “But there were so many pictures we sent to Images of America, I’d say there were 60 pictures, that they said they couldn’t use because the resolution wasn’t high enough, so we had to change the story a bit and didn’t get to include everything we wanted to.”
Chaikowsky said the project started in March and the first draft with everything done submitted in May. At the end of July, the editor got back to her about corrections that needed to be redone within two weeks. After her review, the material was passed to Sanders for additional proofreading.
Sales have been good, Chaikowsky La Voie said, though she had no specific numbers. She said all proceeds go to DSI or the Shenandoah Area Free Public Library, wherever the books are sold, and nothing goes to her, Catizone, Sanders or any other book contributors.
“They (Catizone and Sanders) donated all of those pictures so that Shenandoah would have a book,” she said.
“Shenandoah” is available for purchase at the DSI office in the Anthony P. Damato American Legion “Medal of Honor” Post 792, 116-118 N. Main St. Books are $21.99 at DSI, or by mail for an additional $5 for postage and handling. Books can also be purchased at the Shenandoah Area Free Public Library, 15 W. Washington St. For more information, call the DSI office 570-462-2060.