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Submit your NEPA, Southern Tier Ny event by contacting Jerry Williams through
the contact form.  Content ideas, articles, pictures, etc. are also welcome.  
Regional participation is encouraged.

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Copyright  2006 Jerry Williams - All Rights Reserved

Saint David's Society
Lackawanna County, PA

                   Scranton Area Welsh Plan 2010 Centennial

The Saint David’s Society of Lackawanna County, PA announces many exciting events to celebrate its 2010 centennial.  
Scranton and regional Welsh community leaders founded the society in 1910 to serve Northeastern Pennsylvania, north
of Luzerne County.  

While this society has celebrated Welsh culture for 100 years, Welsh organizations have been active in the Scranton and
Carbondale area since the early 1800’s.  The Welsh impact on America’s history through industry and culture is
demonstrated dramatically in the history of the Welsh of Northeastern PA.  The centennial events planned for 2010 will
celebrate the richness of the Welsh culture and pay tribute to those Welsh families who lent their talents and labors to
create a better life for themselves and to ensure the success of their new country.

The celebration begins March 1, 2010 with a flag raising at Carbondale City Hall.
                                                          10 AM in Memorial Park

                                      Dr. Richard Loomis, Keynote Speaker

The Lackawanna County Saint David's Society and the seventh annual Saint David's Day Dinner in
Carbondale will take place on Monday, March 1, 2010. The dinner will take place in the Durfee Parish
Hall of the Trinity Episcopal Church, Carbondale, and will begin at 6:30 P.M.

For reservations, contact the Historical Society's Treasurer, Joseph Pascoe, at 570-282-4234.

At 6PM Carbondale’s Trinity Episcopal Church will be the site of the annual county Saint David’s Day Dinner. This year’
s dinner is being held for the first time in Carbondale to honor its importance in Welsh and regional history. The region’s
pioneer city, and fourth oldest city in the commonwealth, Carbondale has a unique place in  Welsh-American history.  
Dr. S. Robert Powell, president of the Carbondale Historical Society and Museum, and host of Carbondale’s annual Saint
David’s Day Dinner, will co-host this year’s county dinner with Lackawanna County Saint David’s Society president,
Brian Kaeb.  Representatives of the regions ethnic organizations, state and local officials, and many distinguish guests
will be in attendance.  The event is open to the general public.

The Scranton Saint David’s Male Chorus, under the direction of Fran Justin, will perform traditional Welsh
selections.  The chorus has been keeping alive our choral tradition since the 1940’s.  Contact Dr. S. Robert Powell 570-
282-0385 for details.  

                              Call for Welsh Exhibit Artifacts
                                               March 1st through May 31st
     Prof. Bill Jones, Wales in America author, speaker at museum official opening.
                          March 14, 2010, 2 PM Bill Jones lecture and book signing.
                                          Scranton Male Chorus Concert, 3PM
Anthracite Heritage Museum hours for official opening, Sunday, March 14th, 12 PM- 5 PM

March 1st through May 31st, there will be a Welsh Heritage Exhibit at the Anthracite Heritage Museum and Iron
Furnaces, at Scranton’s McDade Park.  The exhibit is a collaboration of the Anthracite Heritage Museum, the National
Library of Wales, South Wales Miners Library, National Union of Miners, Big Pit, Valleys Homecoming, Carbondale
Historical Society, and Lackawanna County Historical Society.
Catrin Brace, Office of the First Minster, Welsh Assembly, has arranged for a newly revamped Welsh in America
Display for the museum, and has provided invaluable guidance and contacts to help make the exhibit a success.

A few highlights of the museum exhibit that are of local interest will include a bardic chair won by local poet and author,
Rev. David Pugh Griffiths at the Denver Colorado Eisteddfod of 1896.  Rev. Griffiths was the pastor of Saint James
church of Jermyn, just north of Scranton. Many other personal items and photos of Rev. Griffiths are being loaned by
his family who still reside in Jermyn PA.  

Thanks to the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, we will have newsreel footage of the 1923 visit to Scranton
of David Lloyd George: "Britain's Wartime Premier Given Great Welcome at Scranton".

Wales in America, Bill Jones' S4C Television documentary will be available for screening.  The program is in Welsh with
English subtitles.  By special permission of Bill Jones and S4C Television.

The Anthracite Heritage Museum and Iron Furnaces is a Pennsylvania History and Museum Commission site. We
welcome and encourage offers to lend appropriate artifacts and assistance in creating the best possible Welsh exhibit.  
Gymanfa and eisteddfod memorabilia are especially important.  Carbondale was the site of the first recorded eisteddfod
in the USA.  Our curators are expert in preservation and exhibition. If selected, your treasured piece of Welsh history
will be professionally and respectfully incorporated into the exhibit.

Adjacent to the museum, a coal mine maintained by Lackawanna County takes visitors hundreds of feet underground to
explore mine workings preserved from the last days of mining in the Scranton area.

                           Ystradgynlais Choir Tour Sponsorship Welcome
                                                 May 27, 2010

May 27, 2010, the Ystradgynlais Welsh Male Choir arrives in Scranton from Wales to join our centennial celebration.  
The choir’s previous visits to the Scranton area have resulted in being presented with the “Keys to the City of Scranton”
and “Sister City” status with Clarks Summit, hometown to many of our very active Welsh society members.  The choir
will have several performances in our area.  Sponsorships for the choir are available and will carry the sponsors name or
logo through all performance programs.

                                        Gala Dinner and Concert
                                              Saturday May 29th

                                    Catrin Brace, Keynote Speaker

                        Concert by The Ystradgynlais Welsh Male Choir


Saturday] May 29th, The Saint David’s Centennial Dinner and Concert will be held at Gennetti’s, Dickson City, at 6
PM.  The Ystradgynlais Welsh Male Choir will be the featured entertainment.  This special time of the year was
selected to accommodate many of our past-presidents and “snow bird” Welsh who return to us in the spring. Watch for
ticket information and have yourself added to our contact list for final details, tickets and tour info of local attractions.

Tours of the Anthracite Heritage Museum and Iron Furnaces, Steamtown National Park, and the Lackawanna
Mine Tour are all in minutes of each other and all are part of the significant Welsh heritage of the region.

                 Carbondale Celebrates Welsh Heritage Weekend
                                         Saturday, May 29th

Also on Saturday, at Carbondale City Hall, and in the downtown area, a city celebration of Carbondale's history and
heritage will be held.  

Dr. S. Robert Powell will present a program at 1 P.M. in Council Chambers on the Welsh heritage of Carbondale,
featuring railroad and mining exhibits at the Carbondale Historical Society and Museum. In addition, there will be art
displays and performances, sponsored by the Carbondale Historical Society, the city of Carbondale and the Greater
Carbondale Arts Alliance.

                                  Remembrance and Concerts
                                          Sunday, May 30th

Sunday, May 30th, the Ystradgynlais Male Choir performs at the First Presbyterian Church in Carbondale.  The choir
will be joined by the Carbondale School District Chorus, with a reception to follow.

Immediately before the concert, the Ystradgynlais Male Choir will gather at a memorial in Carbondale that marks the
first deep mine in the anthracite fields, which opened in 1831.  Welsh families were recruited to bring their expertise in
mining and to ensure the success of the largest business enterprise on the North American continent to that time.

           Ystradgynlais performs at Saint Stephens in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
                                              Monday, May 31st


                                  Your Participation is Welcome

Northeastern Pennsylvania was the cornerstone of America’s success.  Through their expertise and labor with coal, iron
and steam, the Welsh were directly responsible for America’s economic independence, survival of the union, and the
creation of the dynamo that drove it to international dominance.

The Saint David’s Society of Lackawanna County welcomes any assistance to help make this centennial year most
memorable.  Our story has been chronicled in Bill Jones’s Wales in America: Scranton and the Welsh, 1860-1920.  
                        We invite you to come and experience our story, in person.

                     Jerry Williams, 570-785-5164, gwylym@echoes.net.)  www.welshnepa.org
.