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PLYMOUTH — L’dor va’dor – from generation to generation.
These were the Hebrew words state Rep. Aaron Kaufer used to describe the spirit of the Plymouth Historical Society’s open house on Sunday which drew about 200 people.
The event kicked off this year’s activities marking Plymouth Borough’s Sesquicentennial celebration of 150 years since incorporation and the historical society’s 30th anniversary.
Kaufer said if people don’t purposefully preserve their histories, those valuable histories will get lost and future generations will be unable to benefit from them.
He spoke of his future children and grandchildren and his hopes that they would have access to information that would help them better understand themselves in an historical context.
Attendees Tom and Ruth Jesso share Kaufer’s vision.
Tom Jesso, who organized the Shawnee Cemetery Preservation Association in 2009 and is a member of the historical society, said the association went beyond simply making sure the grass was cut and the weeds pulled around the graves of loved ones.
“Each grave has genealogical significance,” he said, “and is an opportunity to put a deceased loved one’s life in context — when they lived, what was happening politically at the time, if they lived through a war or a depression.”
Jesso, addressing attendees, interjected a bit of humor when talking about his continuing need for volunteers.
“Right now, we’re only working with a skeleton crew,” he said laughing.
Kathleen Smith, of the Shawnee Fort Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Luzerne County Historical Society, said she attended as a show of support for the historical society.
“Organizations that love history all work together and support each other,” she said.
Ted Reese and sister Laura Reese Teal said they were doubly blessed by the event.
Not only did both enjoy informative presentations and refreshments that followed, the building, which now houses the historical society, was once a church where their parents were married.
“It was First Welsh Presbyterian Church,” said Reese, quick to show a photo of his parents on their wedding day. “This was my parents’ church.”
Many, including Georgetta Potoski, dressed in period costumes of the late 1800s.
Potoski and several others were also honored by the society with a dozen roses and, as she carried the flowers back to her seat, greeting other attendees, the scene seemed to be a glimpse back in time.
Enthusiasm about historical events has many Plymouth history buffs quick to don dresses that touch the floor, ornate hats or miners’ garb.
Jesso said the costumes provided an opportunity to tell a story about a specific person or about the customs of a certain time period.
Himself a disabled veteran, Jesso said both the historical society and the cemetery preservation association honor former service members by re-telling their history and assisting those who are still living.
Jesso takes great pride in caring for the cemetery with the association, which organized as a nonprofit in 2009.
“I looked around at the graves, especially those of veterans, and I thought something had to be done,” he said. “Someone had to do it.”
Those who love both music and history were satiated Sunday when Matt Dodd performed well-known ditties including “It’s a Grand Old Flag” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” followed by a presentation on the historical contexts of the songs.
“Despite the rain, it was a great turnout,” said Steve Konrad, historical association president. “We want to bring history to as many people as possible.”