June 7 – WYOMING – John T. Yudichak, incoming president of Luzerne County Community College, will serve as keynote speaker at the 146th annual Battle and Massacre of Wyoming celebration, taking place at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 4, at the Wyoming Building . National Historic Site Monument, Wyoming Avenue.
The event commemorates the 246th anniversary of the battle and is sponsored by the Wyoming Commemorative Association.
Yudichak served in the Pennsylvania Senate for twelve years and in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for twelve years.
After leaving the Senate, he served as a senior advisor at the GSL Public Strategies Group and will begin serving as president of Luzerne County Community College on July 1.
Yudichak is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and received a master’s degree in American studies from Penn State. He is a board member of the Earth Conservancy and has served on the boards of the Luzerne Foundation, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, and the Pennsylvania State Higher Education Authority.
The event begins at 10 a.m. with a concert performed by the Wyoming Valley Band. The ceremony has tent-covered seating in case of rain and is free and open to the public.
On July 3, 1778, the fields surrounding what is now the monument turned red with the blood of patriots slaughtered during the Revolutionary War by a combined force of British forces and their Iroquois allies.
Construction of the monument – which marks the grave for the victims’ bones – began in July 1833, but was suspended due to lack of funds when the monument reached a height of six meters.
Construction resumed in 1841 when the Ladies Luzerne Monumental Association, which became the Wyoming Monument Association in 1860, raised funds to complete the monument at a cost of $8,000.
The gathering is a tradition dating back to 1878 – the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Wyoming.
On the 100th anniversary of the battle on July 3, 1878, a memorial service drew more than 50,000 people to hear the event’s keynote speaker, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes.
Locals often associate the ceremony with the 4th of July, the day on which it is often held. But, the association notes, it has always been the custom to hold the celebration on July 3, when the 4th falls on a Sunday.
In July 2010, Dr. Joseph Mattioli and his wife, Dr. Rose – both now deceased – donated $100,000 to the Wyoming Monument Association to pay for the restoration of the lightning-damaged historic landmark.
The Mattiolis were guests of honor at the annual commemoration ceremony at the site of the 1778 Battle of Wyoming.
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
