4 days ago
Bill OBoyle: Shawnee will shine again for Kielbasa Festival
Jun. 28—WILKES-BARRE — It's almost that time.
By that, I mean we will soon be smelling the aroma of garlic-laced kielbasa wafting up from Main Street in my hometown of Plymouth, Pa., at the 21st annual Plymouth Alive Kielbasa Festival.
The festival is set for Friday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Aug. 9, in Old Shawnee.
My friend, Alexis Eroh, and her Plymouth Alive team are putting the final touches on preparations for this year's event.
"The festival is a culmination of year-long planning by our incredibly dedicated Plymouth Alive team," Eroh said. "This year we are saying 'Cheers to 21 Years' and toasting our town, its history and the dedicated people who make it great."
One person in particular who will be celebrated is Judy Rittenhouse, the beloved storyteller from the Plymouth Public Library, known to most in town as "Miss Judy."
"Judy's dedication to the library and the children of Plymouth is truly unmatched," Eroh said. "Week in and week out, Miss Judy volunteers her time there, planning story times, crafts and summer program activities. She remembers each child's name, reading preferences and favorite activities."
With all that said, it is no wonder that Eroh said she and her team are proud to announce Judy Rittenhouse as the 2025 Kielbasa Festival Parade Grand Marshal.
Congratulations to Judy!
Eroh also reports that local bars and restaurants are gearing up for a busy Kielbasa Festival weekend. She said Plymouth's Main Street will be alive with vendors and attendees stopping in to say "Cheers to 21 years" with their friends and family members who make their annual trips to Plymouth for the festival.
"For many establishments, it is by far the busiest weekend of the year," Eroh said.
Eroh said Plymouth Alive invites and encourages all our civic organizations to take advantage of the event. She said applications are still available on the Plymouth Alive Facebook Page.
This festival takes Plymouth natives — like me — back to those halcyon days when Plymouth and all local small towns were alive with vibrant Main Streets filled with shoppers patronizing many small businesses.
That feeling of hometown pride lives in all of us and events like the Kielbasa Festival, the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival and the Pittston Tomato Festival re-ignite those warm feelings of being home again.
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.
The Kielbasa Festival reminds a lot of people of the town's Centennial celebration in 1966 — providing the same kind of hometown feel and spirit.
The attached picture, provided by Bob Schacht, shows Plymouth's Main Street in 1966. It shows that vibrancy and activity in a small town and it oozes with hometown pride.
The Kielbasa Festival takes me back there and I don't even need the Way Back Machine — the feeling of yesteryear is right there every year.
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.
Being in Plymouth for the Kielbasa Festival made me yearn to walk the Main Street like it was 1966 again — Golden Quality Ice Cream Store, Shawnee Theater, Mergo's, Rea & Derick, Mitch Plessett's Men's Shop, C. Matus News, Brodmarkel's Store, Al Wasley Jeweler, Joe's Pizza, Octagon Bar, Doc's Sporting Goods, Weil's, Jimeal's, Fainberg Furniture, Dwyer's Lunch, Walt's Servette, Smolok's, Shawnee TV, and many more.
Those really were the good old days — and those good old days return when the Kielbasa Festival is held.
And "Shawnee Will Shine" once again.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
