THE STROUD MANSION is CLOSED
FOR OUR HERITAGE CENTER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
 See Heritage Center page
Temporary office and research library now open • 748 Main St., 2nd Floor, Stroudsburg
Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. • Appointments recommended
570-421-7703 • NOT handicapped accessible

Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in these programs are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Monroe County Historical Association. The Monroe County Historical Association values the research efforts put forth by our featured speakers but cannot guarantee the accuracy of information presented.
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This aerial view of Tocks Island on the Delaware River, taken by Albert W. Koster, was featured on a period postcard describing the planned dam project which would “serve purposes of water supply, flood control, hydroelectric power and recreation.”
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2024
7 p.m., Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort
100 Shawnee Inn Drive, Shawnee-on-Delaware

David C. Pierce

“Tocks Island: Dammed If You Do”

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Author David C. Pierce will discuss the local protest movement in the 1960s and ’70s that defeated the federally approved but never-built Tocks Island Dam and 37-mile reservoir on the Delaware River.

Pierce, a retired journalist, has written extensively about the legacy of the ill-fated Tocks Island Dam and subsequent creation of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area from property that was seized for the project. The 13-year struggle was convoluted, sometimes bizarre and often heart-wrenching.

The hour-long talk and PowerPoint presentation is based on his 2023 book, “Tocks Island: Dammed If You Do: The Homegrown Movement that Defeated the Delaware River Dam.

Pierce will answer questions, and copies of his book will be available for purchase.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

After graduating from Stroudsburg High School in 1974, Pierce embarked on a reporting and editing career that took him to the Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, Alaska Public Radio, and the Springville (New York) Journal.

He then came back to Stroudsburg to become a reporter for the Pocono Record from 2000-2016, and over the course of his long career, his work has been honored by several journalistic organizations.

After leaving journalism, Pierce worked for the DWG National Recreational Area in 2017 and 2018 as a summer interpretive ranger.
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Pierce worked for more than a decade researching and writing his book on the Tocks Island Dam project, which began as articles written for the Pocono Record. He interviewed people who lost their homes to forced government acquisition, reviewed decades of newspaper and magazine stories, and researched libraries, state and national archives, historical societies, and government property records and reports.

He tracked down long-lost federal court documents and deed transfers at the National Archives that were never recorded in the counties where the property acquisitions took place.

Pierce and his wife, Mary, live in Smithfield Township.


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The boys of the 337th Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps at Camp 139 in Promised Land.
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2024
7 p.m., Barrett Township Administrative & Recreation Complex
1200 Route 390, Cresco

Peter Gonze

“Promised Land
and the Civilian Conservation Corps”

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Many Americans these days may have never heard of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Yet between 1933 and 1941, the federally-funded organization employed 3 million young men (and 8,500 young women) and helped buffer many more millions of people from the starvation poverty of the Great Depression.

The CCC was put to work on projects to improve America's public lands, forests and parks. They planted 3.5 billion trees to combat soil erosion and forest fires, and to protect against future Dust Bowl disasters.

Locally, 1,500 men served at Promised Land in Pike County, 10 miles north of Canadensis, along Pennsyvlania Route 390. They helped transform the area, leaving us a legacy of beautiful, forested lands for recreation and wildlife.

The program ended as the country began preparing to enter World War II. But in the CCC, a generation of young people found purpose, learned a trade and the satisfaction of useful work, and made friendships that lasted for life.


ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Peter Gonze grew up in Long Island and New Jersey and began coming to the Poconos with his family for weekends and vacations in the 1950s.

After graduating from Drexel University, Peter began a 45-year career in the pharmaceutical industry where he worked domestically and internationally. Upon his retirement, he and his wife, Debbie Mattie, moved from the Boston area to live full-time in Henryville.

Gonze now serves on the Paradise Township Board of Supervisors, the Pocono Mountain Regional Emergency Services board, and the Paradise Township Historical Society and Lake Swiftwater Club boards of directors.

He enjoys golf, skiing, fly-fishing and riding his motorcycle. He and Debbie are beekeepers and tend a large flower garden.

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The State Bridge, spanning the Brodhead Creek between Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg, floated downstream during the devastating Flood of 1955 in this photo by local commercial photographer Al Koster.
THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2024
7 p.m., Northampton Community College-Pocono
2411 Route 715, Tannersville •
Keystone Hall Community Room

David Koster

“Reflections on the 1955 Flood
Through the Camera of Albert Koster:
A Then and Now Perspective”

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The Flood of 1955 was a catastrophic event that transformed the landscape and way of life in Monroe County. On August 19, in the aftermath of storms born of hurricanes Connie and Diane which dumped more than a foot of rain in Stroudsburg, raging creeks overflowed, destroying everything in their paths and killing 76 people.

In the hours after the water receded, 25-year-old Al Koster, East Stroudsburg resident and budding photographer, captured ground-level and aerial photos of the devastation.

While many photos were taken, Koster’s differed as they were in vivid color.

Evidence of the flood’s aftermath is still visible today if you know where and how to look. His son, David, will display many of his father’s original photos, describing them in historical context and comparing them with views of the same locations as they appear today.
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Al Koster went to school in East Stroudsburg and Penn State University, and was an accomplished musician, performing professionally at local resorts and venues. He served in the Army during the Korean War, and after his discharge in 1953, he studied graphic arts and commercial photography at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Returning to East Stroudsburg, he established Pocono Scenicards & Postcards, producing photos for local resorts and businesses and also producing scenic postcards of the Pocono Mountain vacation area. (See his Tocks Island Dam postcard, above.)

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: David Koster is a native of East Stroudsburg, although he lived many years away in Florida and North Carolina.

He recently returned to Monroe County for his retirement from classroom teaching and corporate learning and development. He keeps busy hiking and biking, exploring activities and places around the northeast, and volunteering at the Historical Association.

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2024
7 p.m., Ray Price Stroud Ford Lincoln Auto Park
6320 Route 209, Stroudsburg •
Ray Price Community Room (Ford building)

Dan McSweeney

“Cold War, Hot Pursuit:
History of the SS United States,
America’s Greatest Ocean Liner”

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America’s international preeminence following World War II was largely dependent on our country’s industrial might. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt had stated, we served as the “Arsenal of Democracy” throughout that global conflict.

In many instances, this hard power blended gracefully with our nation’s political, economic, diplomatic, and cultural strengths during the Cold War.

A prime example of this harmony was the design, construction, and operation of the steamship christened “United States.” The vessel completed 400 mishap-free voyages, mainly between Manhattan’s Pier 86 and ports in England, France, and Germany from 1952-1969.

On her maiden voyage, this fabled ocean liner easily trounced the standing transatlantic speed record by half a day, without reaching full power. That record still stands. “The Big U,” as she was known by crew members, could travel faster in reverse than most current ships of her size can travel forward.

The SS United States hosted three American presidents and countless military, political, business, arts, and diplomatic leaders from dozens of countries during her 17 years of service. The vessel also offered state-of-the-art amenities and affordable passage for everyday American families of diverse backgrounds and thousands of immigrants to our shores.

She was a striking symbol of American strength and ideals and a secret weapon during the Cold War in more ways than one.

But in this zenith were the seeds of the ship’s slow and tragic downfall, a reflection of broader national and geopolitical dynamics. Today, the gutted liner is moored 111 miles down the Delaware River from us in South Philadelphia, awaiting an uncertain fate.

What were the high and low tides which defined the legendary career of this vessel — the flagship of our country? Join us for an overview of this history, the ship's connections to our community, and some intimate reflections on the SS United States during this interactive Third Thursday lecture.

In 2004, Dan McSweeney co-founded the SS United States Conservancy and served as its executive director, in order to raise public awareness and support for the preservation of this historic and last-remaining American ocean liner.


ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dan McSweeney’s father came to America from Glasgow, Scotland, and served as a crew member aboard the SS United States for almost the entire service career of the ship.

Dan’s mother was born and raised in Puerto Rico and taught at East Stroudsburg University and Penn State Hazleton.

Dan himself was born in Manhattan and moved to East Stroudsburg with his family in 1977. He attended local schools before graduating from Valley Forge Military Academy and beginning a career in military service, policy, organizational management, and communications.

He holds graduate degrees in international affairs and business administration from Columbia and Fordham universities.

Dan served as a Marine officer in Iraq, Kosovo, East Africa, other areas of operation, and at the Pentagon.

His current pursuits include community development in New York, documentary film production, support for the Territorial Defense Forces in Ukraine, and volunteering with the Monroe County Historical Association. (Ask him about the upcoming Spirited History walking tours.)



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Sisters Florence V. Smith, left, and Laura B. Smith of Stroudsburg were the daughters of a Civil War soldier and the granddaughters of runaway slaves. The photo dates from the late 1800s.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
7 p.m., Middle Smithfield Township Community and Cultural Center,
5200 Milford Rd. (Route 209), East Stroudsburg

Jeffrey Wright

“A History of the African American
Community in Monroe County”

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Jeffrey Wright will talk about where some of our area’s earliest people of color came from, having arrived in the area with the first settlers who came from Kingston, N.Y., about 1725.

He will also discuss the organization of the Stroudsburg Little Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1850s, which remains an important historical landmark in the country.

Wright reports that we know from the Slave Register pursuant to Pennsylvania’s Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in 1780 that there were slaves in our area. The 1790 Census indicates there were both slaves and free people of color in what is now Monroe County.

At the time, Northampton County included the present counties of Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne, and in 1790, the highest concentration of people of color — 50 % — lived in what is now Monroe County.

But by the time of the 1800 Census, there were no slaves here.


ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Jeffery L. Wright is a Stroudsburg attorney and historian specializing in local black history.

He has served on the board of directors and as president of the Stroudsburg Little Bethel Historical Association.

He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with B.A. degree in history in 1969 and from Duquesne University School of Law with a J.D. degree in 1972.

Always a history buff, Jeffrey began researching his family tree and the history of Perry County, Pa., at age 12.

He has served on the board of directors and as president of the Monroe County Historical Association, and in 2020 was honored with the association’s Volunteer of the Year Award.

He was a founder of the Eastern Monroe Public Library Foundation, and has served on the board of directors and as president of the Pennsylvania Snowsports Museum.

He has written several booklets and articles on local history, including “The Formation of the County: Its Townships” in Monroe County, Pennsylvania: 175th Anniversary 1836-2011 and “How the Borough was Mapped Out: Early Surveys Tell the Story of Dansbury and then Stroudsburg.” Most recently he published "History of the Rotary Club of the Stroudsburgs” in 2022.

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Clarence Earl Gideon was a poor drifter accused in a Florida state court of felony breaking and entering. While in prison, he appealed his case to the US Supreme Court, resulting in the landmark 1963 decision Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that a criminal defendant who cannot afford to hire a lawyer must be provided one at no cost.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2024
7 p.m., Monroe County Bar Association
913 Main St., Stroudsburg

Michael Muth

“Real Lawyers: A History
of the Monroe County Public Defender Office
in the 20th Century”

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Retired local district magistrate Michael Muth will discuss the development of the right to a free lawyer in Pennsylvania, and the concept of the public defender.

It will cover the impact of Gideon v Wainwright (1963) and how Monroe County met this new requirement.

On April 21, 1962, The U.S. Supreme Court received a handwritten letter from a Florida inmate asking the justices to review his theft conviction.

The 12-page letter argued that he had been denied his right to an attorney during his trial because he couldn’t afford one. The Florida courts had decided that, even though he was indigent, the U.S. Constitution did not require that he receive a free lawyer, paid for by the state.

Thus began the saga of Clarence Gideon and the eventual requirement that if a person could not afford a lawyer in a criminal case, a free lawyer would be provided for them.

And thus began what has become to be known as the public defender, and the right to counsel.


ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Michael R. Muth is a 1972 graduate of Ohio University, where he was on the speech and debate teams, winning the national championship in Impromptu Speaking in 1972.

He graduated from law school at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1975 where he was a member of the Moot Court team.

Muth spent his entire legal career in Monroe County, where for 28 years he served the community as a public defender, 25 of those years as the county’s chief public defender. He was the president of the Pennsylvania Public Defender Association for two years.

He also practiced private law as a senior partner in the firm of Muth, Zulick and Worthington in Stroudsburg.

In 2005, he was elected magisterial district judge for East Stroudsburg, and twice re-elected. He retired at the end of his third term on Dec. 30, 2023.
2024 Lectures

THIRD THURSDAY
Lecture Series

Presented April through October
No lecture in August

The Monroe County Historical Association’s popular Third Thursday Lecture Series is “on the road” again this year!

Since the Stroud Mansion is closed for construction, the Historical Association will hold the 2024 lecture series at a different location around the county each month.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend these educational and informative presentations.

NOTE: Attendance is free, but advance registration requested. SEE BELOW.

All presentations are held the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.

FREE PUBLIC LECTURES —
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUESTED

Call 570-421-7703 or send an email to reserve your spot.

All lectures are video recorded for those unable to attend, and are posted here and on our YouTube channel following the event. See links to previous year lectures below.

Questions or suggestions about our lectures?
Call 570-421-7703 or contact us.
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