Schuylkill Haven monuments: "They tell our story"

Jun. 17—At the Schuylkill County Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Guy Wiederhold reflected on the decision to dedicate a memorial to the 43 Schuylkill County servicemen who gave their lives in service to their country during the Vietnam War.

"When you see members of Gold Star families coming here, you know you did the right thing," said Wiederhold, 76, a medic in Vietnam who was instrumental in constructing the monument. "It's a place where families can come and know that their loved ones will never be forgotten."

Throughout Schuylkill Haven, there are monuments dedicated to honoring and preserving the borough's past.

As with hieroglyphics on the walls of ancient tombs in Egypt, they tell of the people who came before and the legacy they left behind.

Etched in granite lie reflections of the past, and missives to the future, that date the first settlers in what was still a wilderness nearly 250 years ago.

Together, they paint a picture of a spirit that has guided the town through good times and bad.

During a tour of Parkway, a commons that's home to a half-dozen monuments, borough council president Jerry Bowman took note of their importance.

"They tell our story," he said.

They shaped Schuylkill Haven

Martin B. Dreibelbis, who laid out the town of Schuylkill Haven, ventured north from Berks County as a revolutionary spirit was developing around 1775.

Indeed, Dreibelbis served in the Revolutionary War with the Berks County Militia. He left his mark on the town by building a home and a grist mill near the Parkway, now the town's center.

Dreibelbis died in 1799, the same year as George Washington, and is buried in Union Cemetery. Although his name is barely visible on his grave marker, there's a brass plaque marking his legacy.

Union Cemetery, a citadel of 19th century cemetery art, is replete with monuments. Its Civil War garden harbors stories of heroism from a time when the very survival of the country was at stake.

Among the 24 residents killed in the Civil War — the most of any war — lie two Union Army soldiers who were accorded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest medal for valor in combat.

Capt. Charles Brown and Cpl. Henry Hill received their medals for meritorious service in the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia. Among other things, they both held off enemy forces while their unit, Co. C. 50th Pennsylvania Regiment, regrouped and returned to battle.

On a recent visit to the cemetery, Dan Reed, president of the Schuylkill Haven Historical Society, told a story that's not in the history books.

Henry Hill's brother, William — Reed's fourth great-grandfather — was given command of his unit after an officer was killed. As he prepared for an attack, he was nearly bitten by a black snake.

Henry Hill and Brown did away with the serpent, but the encounter was perhaps an omen.

Moments later, as William led the unit into combat, he was killed.

Voices from the past

Schuylkill Haven's monuments speak in powerful, even poetic, words.

"Courage is an elusive trait that some possess and most think they have, but those who have made the sacrifice have earned it with pride," is etched in granite on a monument in Parkway. Augmented by an eternal flame, it is the Schuylkill Haven Borough Police Officer Association's testament to the courage of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

Even without words, monuments can convey powerful messages.

At first glance, a large wooden structure on Parkway looks like the remnants of an old log cabin.

Its message becomes clearer when, upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that the deteriorated wooden planks were once Gate 12 in a lock on the Schuylkill Canal.

The Parkway, a five-block concourse, is built on what was the canal.

A brass plaque, erected by the Women's Club of Schuylkill Haven in 1980, commemorates its role in transporting millions of tons of coal to Philadelphia as part of the Schuylkill Navigation System.

Perhaps the most meaningful monument, Bowman said, is a sculpted granite block with an American flag in the form of a shroud. Its plain, yet compelling message reads: "In memory of veterans of all wars." It was donated by citizens of Schuylkill Haven and the veterans committee.

"This is where we hold the annual Memorial Day service," Bowman said of the monument, which lies beneath an American flag.

No soldier who died in any war goes unrecognized in Schuylkill Haven.

A monument in Bubeck Park, in a garden beneath a flagpole, brass panels list the names of all of the town's natives who have fallen on the battlefield.

The 57 names on the monument are a dramatic representation of one community's sacrifice in the cause of freedom.

Here are the wars and the number of dead: Mexican War (1846-48), 1: Civil War (1861-65), 24; Spanish American War (1898), 1; World War I (1914-18), 9; World War II (1939-45), 18; Korea (1950-53), 1; Vietnam (1955-75), 3.

One of Schuylkill Haven's most unique is a sculpture of the Roman God Neptune in the Parkway.

It's part of the Schuylkill Haven Planet Walk, a series of sculptures that replicate the planets of the solar system at various locations in the borough.

The Dr. Herman and Mary J. Zwerling Community Trust funded the project, which was done by Schuylkill Haven Area Middle School students in 2016-17.

One man's vision

Richard "Rick" Nagle always thought John Fincher, who settled in what would become Schuylkill Haven in 1750, had not gotten his due.

So Nagle, 64, a retired postmaster, put up a monument to Fincher in Bubeck Park in 2021.

On a stone, beneath a log cabin and pine trees, it says, "Dedicated to the Memory of John Fincher: First Settler of Schuylkill Haven."

Fincher built a home on an old road that crossed the river, which became known as Fincher's Ford.

In September 1763, during an Indian raid, Fincher, his wife and two sons were killed. A daughter, Rachel, was taken into custody. She was later returned after Col. Bouquet defeated the Indians at Kittanning, Nagle said.

In 2015, Nagle developed the Heritage Trail — old photos superimposed on 26 historical panels at locations throughout the borough.

Preserving the past, he said, has been a mission throughout his adult life.

"Our school children need a sense of where they came from," he said. "They need to have a sense of history, a sense of pride in their heritage."

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007