WILKES-BARRE — It’s not often that we get that long-ago feeling of small town life anymore.
It happened again for me on Wednesday night.
Yes, it was in Plymouth, my hometown, and I was attending a meeting of Plymouth Alive as the organization prepares for the 18th annual Kielbasa Festival, set for Friday and Saturday, Aug. 12-13.
The meeting was held in the VFW Post 1425 on West Main Street, a place I often visited with my dad, who had served there as Commander for years, as he did at the Plymouth American Legion Post 463 on Center Avenue.
Those places always evoke many memories of life in the 1960s, with visions of true American patriots out with their significant others having fun in a free world they helped preserve.
And here, several decades later, I felt that feeling again — the feeling of true community spirit being espoused by descendants of that Greatest Generation. A group of about 25 people were there to offer input and support of the Kielbasa Festival which will again raise much needed funds to support the town’s organizations and programs.
It really doesn’t get much better that that.
Plymouth Alive has new leadership — Alexis Eroh is the new Chair and Adam Morehart is Treasurer, Both also serve on Plymouth Borough Council and they have a genuine concern for the town and its people. John Thomas, Vice Chair, and Janet Dixon, Secretary, are also officers and the entire committee deserves to be commended for their hard work and devotion to the town.
The Times Leader has always supported the Kielbasa Festival and the upcoming Pittston Tomato Festival and the recently held Edwardsville Pierogi Festival. These awesome community events are not only vital to the towns that host them, but for the community spirit each brings, as thousands of people attend and enjoy great food, crafts and, most importantly, great fun.
Each brings back those halcyon days of fast cars, busy streets and hometown pride.
In those years, Plymouth was really alive — just like every other town in Wyoming Valley and beyond.
These days, every town needs a solid tax base to pay their bills, to keep police protection, to pick up trash, to pave/repair streets, to move snow, to do all those things that make living in a small town possible and enjoyable.
But where is the money going to come from? Taxpayers can’t afford more taxes, what with today’s world of few raises in the workplace — not even enough to keep up with the cost of living.
As our elected officials search for the answers, we turn our attention to my hometown of Plymouth. In 2002, Plymouth Alive was formed to try to help — and boy has Plymouth Alive helped.
Eroh recognizes the importance of continuing the annual Kielbasa Festival. Eroh succeeds Terry Womelsdorf, who was president of Plymouth Alive for 17 years. He succeeded Ed Vnuk, who helped establish the organization. Jaynan Temarantz also stepped down, but she and Womelsdorf remain members of Plymouth Alive and will continue to volunteer for the group.
Eroh said she hopes to return the popular festival to its pre-pandemic form. The Kielbasa Festival was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic and last year it was scaled down a bit, Eroh said.
“We will continue to support the community,” Eroh told me recently. “We have and will continue to support the town’s fire and police departments, the Shawnee Indians mini football organization, the Plymouth Public Library and the Plymouth Historical Society, and more.”
And that’s why it’s so important to continue the Kielbasa Festival. In these days of dwindling state and federal support and the burden that is on taxpayers, events like the Kielbasa Festival are vital to the community. The organizations supported by the festival are vital to the health of the community. They all provide needed services to the town and its people.
“The Kielbasa Festival has become an institution for the town,” Eroh said. “And Plymouth Alive remains strong in the community.”
For two days every August, Plymouth really does come “Alive.”
We all need to support these festivals. And in these lingering pandemic days, we need to have some fun.
So make time to attend the festivals — Edwardsville’s was a huge success. Now get to Plymouth and Pittston and enjoy all that is offered.
Whether it’s pierogi, kielbasa or homegrown tomatoes, the common thread is community spirit and pride.
And that really is as good as it gets.