THE STROUD MANSION is CLOSED
FOR OUR HERITAGE CENTER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
 See Heritage Center page
Temporary headquarters • 748 Main St., 2nd Floor, Stroudsburg
Office hours • Tuesday through Friday • 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Research library hours • Tuesday through Fri • 10 a.m.-noon & 1-4 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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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.

VIDEOS OF THIS YEAR’S LECTURES TO DATE

All lectures are video recorded for those unable to attend, and are posted here and on our YouTube channel following the event.
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Author David C. Pierce discussed 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.

His presentation was based on his 2023 book, “Tocks Island: Dammed If You Do: The Homegrown Movement that Defeated the Delaware River Dam.”

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Peter Gonze, a Paradise Township supervisor and member of the Paradise Township Historical Society board of directors, discussed the local work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the federally funded organization that between 1933 and 1941, put young people to work on projects to improve America's public lands, forests and parks.

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

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David Koster discussed the Flood of 1955 ,a catastrophic event that killed 76 people and transformed the landscape and way of life in Monroe County. His presentation focused on the work of his father, Al Koster, a 25-year-old East Stroudsburg resident at the time and a budding photographer, who 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. David displayed 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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Dan McSweeney discussed the history and fate of the steamship christened "United States," which exemplified the harmony of the country's hard power with its political, economic, diplomatic and cultural strengths during the Cold War.

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.

In 2004, 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.
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Jeffrey Wright talked 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 also discussed the organization of the Stroudsburg Little Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1850s, which remains an important historical landmark in the country.

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

LECTURE VIDEO TO BE POSTED SOON

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