PITTSTON — The Greater Pittston Historical Society has a mission to educate as many people as possible about the rich and diverse historical and cultural background of the area.
Local native and author Mark Dziak spoke to a group of 30 people on the Battle of Wyoming, North American Indians and offered his expertise on how to write a book and get it published on Oct. 28 at the Pittston Memorial Library’s Cosgrove Center.
Dziak has written, “The Battle of Wyoming – For Liberty and Life,” an historical account of the 1778 battle and subsequent massacre that took place, not in the current Borough of Wyoming, but in the Borough of Exeter, specifically Schooley Avenue, Valley and Cedar Streets.
He also penned the book, “Digging Up Wyoming Valley – An Archaeological Search in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” a book that zeroes in at the archaeological dig off Coxton Road, Duryea.
“I think we felt this is something we should be doing in presenting local history,” said Julio Caprari, Greater Pittston Historical Society vice president. “Luckily, we have a local author in Mark Dziak who has been involved with us in the past.
“I asked Mark if he’d like to present and, even though it’s not his forte, he accepted,” Caprari added.
Dziak, Pittston-born, a Pittston Area and King’s College graduate, got his writing chops by freelancing with the Sunday Dispatch in his early days of writing post-college. He now writes educational books.
“I’ve always been interested in military history and I always thought it would be neat to live near a battle site and this, obviously, is a pretty good candidate for that,” Dziak admitted.
His interest in military battles and local history was stimulated when he attended the annual July 4 Battle of Wyoming ceremony held at the Wyoming Monument many years ago.
Dziak is an active member of the Frances Dorrance Chapter – PA Archaeological Society, a local chapter dedicated to finding and preserving artifacts found at an archaeological dig near Coxton Yard in Duryea.
During Dziak’s lecture, he integrated his experiences of researching the Battle of Wyoming with the process of how to go about writing and finally getting published through an outline he presented with a slide show.
He chronicled his thought process the best way he thought possible to write his book, “The Battle of Wyoming – For Liberty and Life.”
At the completion of his lecture, Dziak talked about the five components he utilized to get his book published: research, outline, drafting, editing and proofreading.
Both of Dziak’s books are available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Greater Pittston Historical Society President Ron Faraday spoke about a recent literary find when he came across an unfinished manuscript by Ella Roberts Johnson, a resident of West Pittston until her death in 1912.
Johnson, who lived in the Pittston area from 1844 to 1912, had been writing an historical account of Wyoming Valley over the previous 100 years which includes most of the 1800s.
Faraday is planning to finish Johnson’s book of 402 pages.
“I’m not in a hurry to get the book finished,” Faraday said. “I’m towards the end of editing and I’m starting to look for maps and pictures.”
Faraday appealed to Dziak for help with publishing.
“The book would be dedicated to Ella Roberts Johnson,” Faraday reported.
