Beyond the Byline: Small town pride in Plymouth

WILKES-BARRE — You’re darn right I’m proud I grew up in Plymouth.

Proud I’m from Wyoming Valley.

Proud of this region, its people and its beauty.

And this past weekend, I can say I’m even more proud of Old Shawnee and everyone involved in the 18th annual Kielbasa Festival.

It’s been a great time with record crowds. The food was amazing, whether you enjoy authentic and/or innovative Polish delicacies, or all other ethnic dishes — it’s all there. And the music — from legends like Eddie Day & the Starfires to Great Rock Scare to Stanky & the Coalminers and many more — was fantastic.

On Friday, I ran into two friends who really put the Kielbasa Festival and its importance into perfect perspective.

Tom McTague, whose late father, Thomas McTague, served as mayor, said the Kielbasa Festival is a “premiere event.”

And he hit the nail on the head.

“For a small town, this is a huge event with large crowds both days,” McTague said. “There’s so much here for everybody — food, music, crafts, games. You can’t beat this festival.”

Dr. Joe Piszczek agreed with McTague, adding that the Kielbasa Festival reminded him of the town’s Centennial celebration in 1966.

“This event gives you the same kind of hometown feel and spirit,” he said.

Dr. Joe was right on target.

His comments took me right back to 1966 and the Centennial celebration. The attached picture, provided by Bob Schacht, shows Plymouth’s Main Street in 1966. It shows vibrancy and activity in a small town.

The Kielbasa Festival takes me back there and I didn’t even need the Way Back Machine — the feeling of yesteryear was right there as soon as Dr. Joe uttered those words.

Some 56 years ago, Plymouth Borough was alive and for two days every August for 18 years now, Plymouth Alive’s Kielbasa Festival brings that feeling back.

In 1966, Plymouth epitomised small-town America.

Stores lined both sides of Main Street, and they stayed open in the evenings.

The high school’s basketball team won the Wyoming Valley Conference championship and copped the District 2 title.

There were parades for the opening of Little League and for Halloween, as storefront windows were painted in festive scenes,

The town was safe, and it was fun.

There was the magnificent school campus with its beautiful brick buildings, winding sidewalks and tall shade trees. And Huber Stadium and its amazing wall and the Plymouth Little League right next to it.

Football games were played on Turkey Day back then. Thanksgiving dinner would wait until “the game” was over. Thousands of people crowded into stadiums to watch these games, and seldom did they disappoint.

Being in Plymouth for the Kielbasa Festival made me yearn to walk the Main Street like it was 1966 again. I wanted to visit all those great places that I have written about before. I wanted to get a CMP at Golden Quality — vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and marshmallow sauce with peanuts and whipped cream and a cherry on top.

I wanted to watch a movie at the Shawnee Theater and I wanted a Mergo’s hot dog and a Rea & Derick cherry Coke. I wanted to buy a new shirt at Mitch Plessett’s Men’s Shop and a couple of comic books at C. Matus News, where I might also shoot a little 9-ball and play the six-card pinball machine.

I wanted to peer into Brodmarkel’s Store and see what actually they sold in there. I wanted to steer clear of Al Wasley Jeweler — I wasn’t ready for that diamond engagement ring in 1966. And I wanted to get a pizza and a coke at Joe’s Pizza and then walk back to C. Matus and hold up a parking meter with my besties as we watched the world go by.

Now 56 years later, we still remember and enjoy those days of our youth — of growing up and celebrating our town. The memories never die.

Those really were the good old days — “Shawnee Against the World.”

And those good old days return when the Kielbasa Festival is held and Shawnee really does shine again.

The Plymouth Alive team is to be commended. Alexis Eroh, chair of the committee, and Mayor Frank Coughlin, know how important the festival is for the town and its people.

And there is much more that the Kielbasa Festival means to the town and its organizations and its people.

“The sense of pride and community that results from the festival is tangible,” Eroh said. “Kielbasa Festival is iconically Plymouth and showcases the best of what we have to offer.”

Mayor Coughlin agrees, noting that almost every storefront along Plymouth’s Main Street is filled with viable, successful businesses that visitors will see and patronize during the Kielbasa Festival and beyond.

“To me, the Kielbasa Festival is when old friends come home — friends who haven’t seen each other in years and they share stories and enjoy good food and music.”

That really says it all.