For the rest of the story, check out this series on Somerset County history
SOMERSET ― Do you know the Somerset County stories about runaway slaves, notorious highwaymen, scalping by Native Americans, a 12-year-old World War II era hero from Meyersdale, Prohibition, burials of the unknown, and a "ghostly light" that came out for Halloween?
Richard Sturtz has and, together with his friend Peter Barta, have recorded those stories to share on YouTube."The programs, titled 'Tales of The Alleghenies,' reveals stories of Somerset County history that not many people are aware of," Sturtz said. "Many of the episodes' openings originate in a log cabin that my brother and I built from logs from my own property."
"Tales of the Alleghenies" contains eight history programs relating to Somerset County, and more are in the works.
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Sturtz said the first episode, "Tale of Unexpected Visitors" came out one year ago in November 2022. It shares the story of an incident on the Bill Lambert farm in 1859, in which two runaway slaves came through the area looking for the Underground Railroad.
"The first one isn't far from where I live. I knew Norman Lambert as a young man. I was always fascinated by his stories," Sturtz said. "I wrote a few of his stories down. He was telling more to the story that was already there. He was really an interesting gentleman. Soft-spoken. He was sitting on the family farm that his father built the house when I talked to him."
Sturtz said it got great reviews.
"We were really pleased with the response we got on the first one, with over 3,000 viewers," he said. "A lot of people really enjoyed it."
Sturtz said the eighth installment, "Shades of Death" was published this week. He has another one written and ready to go to film shortly.
Sturtz said he does the research and writes the scripts for the programs.
"Jen Hurl at Meyersdale Public Library was wonderful. She's such a great help," he said. "The episodes would not be possible without my good friend Pete Barta, who is my capable videographer. Pete does all the wonderful mastering of putting it all together. We really work well together."
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Barta said while it is the goal of Sturtz to preserve and educate with these videos, he is the guy behind the camera.
"Richard discussed his idea for 'Tales of the Alleghenies' and how he wanted to capture and preserve some of the not-so-known and forgotten factual historical stories with ties to Somerset County, Pa.," Barta said in an email. "We discussed that even though some of the events have been published in books, many of the stories will be or have been forgotten. Our media culture today and exposure for any topic is primarily to search and watch a video. No offense meant to avid readers."
The theme music, titled “The American Frontier," was created by director George Streicher.
"I am very grateful for Mr. Streicher allowing me to use his music," Sturtz said. "He also created the music for the Smurf's cartoon and many other films."
How it got started
Sturtz is from Stonycreek Township. He graduated from Forbes High School and worked for the FBI for a short time. But he said he's a country boy. He didn't like Washington, D.C., so he came back to Somerset County and worked for Somerset-Bedford Mental Health/Mental Retardation for 41 years. He retired 10 years ago and is taking care of his mother.
"I'm definitely interested in local history. People said 'why don't you do a YouTube video?'" Sturtz said.He talked to Barta, a long-time friend, and production began.
"My military and civilian career background is in photography, geospatial information systems (GIS) (think of maps) and digital imagery," Barta said. "I stopped collecting a company paycheck in late 2021. Saying the word retired just doesn’t seem to fit when you’re just as or busier today."
Barta said Sturtz, as historian, writer and director, envisions how the tale is told and finds locations to do the video shoots. Barta reads over his scripts and together they figure out the best way to capture the story.
"Working with Richard has also afforded me the rare opportunity to learn about and visit local historical places," he said.The length of time they spend on each segment depends on how long the story is, Sturtz said.
"Collaborating with Richard on 'Tales of the Alleghenies' is the perfect opportunity to expand my knowledge of video editing," Barta said. "I also believe with each tale produced, a GIS element needed to be incorporated to give the viewer a visual awareness or picture of where the event happened. This approach also lets me continue to work with imagery, historical maps, and GIS. Since working on the tales, I probably drive my wife a bit more crazy when watching movies. I tend to analyze how a scene was shot and say 'I can do that'."
Barta said the two men are very appreciative, thank and credit local libraries, historical societies, government offices, businesses, and families with personal collections.
"With their help, volunteer actors, and permission from private land owners, the tales produced have much more substance," Barta said. "The Library of Congress is also researched for relevant data used in these productions. We are fortunate to have the means to do the videos since we do not have any sponsors or products currently being sold/pushed in the videos."
Episode 6 "I will do my duty"
Episode 6 of the "Tales of The Alleghenies" series, "I will do my duty" is based on a story about William Atwell Miller of Meyersdale. Miller was 9 years old in 1943 when he was awakened at night by a civil defense siren. He crossed over Route 219 enroute to the borough building when he fell into a trough of hot water. He was the first Somerset County civilian fatality of World War II, Sturtz said.
His family started the Billy Miller Endowment School Fund in 2013 at University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. It is a scholarship fund mainly for Meyersdale and Salisbury-Elk School District students with good academic standards and who are in financial need.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: 'Tales of the Alleghenies' gives more detail to some Somerset County legends
