Sherry Emershaw, portraying Amy Harding, and Mark Kahn, portraying Rev. Joshua Entwhistle, as they play a wreath at the grave of Benjamin and Stukley Harding, who was killed by the Indians on June, 30, 1778.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Greg Boyer tips his hat after being introduced ad British Col. John Butler at the Fourth Annual First to Fall program a the Harding-Jenkins Cemetery, Rt. 11, Wyoming Ave, West Pittston.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Mary Portelli, West Pittston Historical Society present, welcomed everyone to the Fourth Annual First to Fall ceremony at the Jenkins-Harding Cemetery located at Wyoming Ave. The ceremony honored brothers Benjamin and Stuckly Harding who died at the hands of the Indians on June 30, 1778.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Richard Jenkins, a descendent of his six-time great grandfather, John Jenkins, as he portrayed him during a re-enactment dialogue dating back to pre-civil war days.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Re-enactors from the 24th Connecticut Militia fire their muskets during the First to Fall program at West Pittston’s Jenkins-Harding Cemetery on Sunday honoring Benjamin and Stukley Harding who died in an ambush by the Indians on June 30, 1778.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Mark Kahn, portraying Rev. Joshua Entwhistle, prays over the gravesite of Benjamin and Stukley Harding. The Jenkins-Harding Cemetery lies along side Wyoming Avenue, West Pittston.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Congressman Rob Bresnahan spoke prior to the First to Fall program thanking those involved in the West Pittston Historical Society for making the event possible.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
WEST PITTSTON — For Richard Jenkins, visits to the Jenkins Harding Cemetery began when he was just six years old.
“We would stop at Grablick’s for ice cream and then walk around the cemetery,” he remembered. “I’ve been coming here for a quite a while.”
On Sunday, he returned to the historic graveyard at the corner of Wyoming Avenue and Linden Street not as himself, but as his sixth-time great grandfather, Col. John Jenkins, whose family the cemetery is named for, to take part in a historical presentation detailing the events leading up to the Battle of Wyoming.
The reenactment was part of the West Pittston Historical Society’s fourth annual First to Fall event, which pays tribute Benjamin and Stukley Harding, two brothers who were ambushed and killed on June 30, 1778, by a group of Native Americans while tending to their crops in what is now the Harding section of Exeter Township.
The brothers, who were the first to be buried at Jenkins Harding Cemetery, were considered the first causalities of The Battle of Wyoming, more often referred to as The Wyoming Massacre, which occurred just days later on July 3, 1778.
“So, we’ve generally had speakers who have, you know, talked and they’ve all been fantastic. One of the things we wanted to do this year, was try and bring, you know, the text, what you read, the accounts that you have, alive,” said Carl Rosencrance, chairman of The First to Fall event. “There’s nothing like that in history. You can hear it, you can see it. So, we’re gonna do something a little bit different that I think is gonna be very, very interesting.”
Richard, dressed in a traditional Revolutionary War coat and tricorn hat, was joined by a handful of other reenactors playing local historical figures, including fifth grader Lucas Scavone, Nadine Dreier, Thomas Olaviany and Greg Boyer.
Aside from performing reenactments for the last few years, Richard is also a collector of artifacts from his family history and is the owner of a 246-year-old powder horn Lt. John Jenkins carried with him during Sullivan’s March, which was part of George Washington’s strategy to eliminate the threat of the British campaign on the Western Front.
“You can do a lot of reading about my grandfather, but to be able to live in the clothes he lived in, wear the items. … You get a great passion for how they lived and honor that. That’s pretty much basically what we’re here to do today,” Richard said.
Also at the event, Revolutionary War reenactors with the 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment performed a memorial service and volley at the cemetery. Lt. Jeffrey DiPrimo Post 542 performed the presentation of colors.
As with past events, local artist Sue Hand, a direct descendent of Alicia Harding, created a watercolor painting of the cemetery in honor of the event that the historical society will soon auction off.
Local officials who attended The First to Fall included West Pittston Mayor Angelo Alfano and Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who grew up in Wyoming and shared a few words before the program began.
“I’ve always felt that history is just one generation away from being forgotten,” Bresnahan told the crowd. “So, to be able to pay respect and tribute to the Harding Brothers is such a fundamental, instrumental part of Northeastern Pennsylvania culture.”
John Getzie, of West Pittston, and his wife, Katie, attended The First to Fall event for the first time Sunday.
“I’m a big history fan, and Katie came because I asked her to come,” Getzie laughed.
“I thought it was really nice,” Katie said. “It was a great day.”
When asked if he learned anything knew about the history of the area, Getzie said he had.
“I think it’s easier to learn when they reenact it. It’s very helpful,” he said. “Plus, seeing them dressed up is really cool.”
The First to Fall event is the first of several to honor the Battle of Wyoming.
Next up, the Battle of Wyoming commemorative service will take place at 10 a.m. July 4 at the Wyoming Monument on Wyoming Avenue.
The 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment and the Luzerne County Historical Society’s annual reenactment of the signing of the Capitulation that occurred the day after the Battle of Wyoming on July 4, 1778, will take place at 1:30 p.m. July 4 at the Nathan Denison House at 35 Denison St. in Forty Fort.
Both events are free and open to the public.
