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Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal, December 6, 2005   

Book tracing history of Laurel Line in reprint

The Electric City Trolley Station & Museum arranged to have the book, "Laurel Line An Anthracite Region Railway" reprinted by Tribute Books with support from the authors, James N.J. Henwood and John Muncie; the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority; the Electric City Trolley Museum Association; and others.

The book provides a detailed history of the Laurel Line trolley route.

Proceeds will be used for ongoing car restoration. A book signing luncheon at the Electric City Trolley

Museum is planned for Sunday, December 11 at 2 p.m.

The authors will be in attendance to sign books, there will be lunch and then a trolley ride with possible photo stops.

Those interested can attend for $100, which includes a copy of the book. Prepaid reservations are required and can be made by calling the museum at (570) 963-6590.

Two decades have passed since the Laurel Line was first published in 1985.

A second edition was necessary because of the demand for additional copies. Previously-owned first editions are selling in excess of $150 on Amazon.com. Also, an updated version was required due to the rebirth of the line as a freight carrier connecting central Scranton and an industrial park in Minooka, and as a route for the excursion cars of the Electric City Trolley Station & Museum.

Book Description

The dawn of the 20th Century saw a new form of transportation evolve in the United States: the interurban electric railway. These enterprises were natural offshoots of the original, short urban trolley lines that quickly replaced the horse car in the 1890s.

Most trolley lines lived in relative obscurity and enjoyed a few years of prosperity, followed by decline and abandonment in the face of bus and automotive competition. A relative handful managed to survive until the post-World War II years and thus have attracted greater attention.

Among them was the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad. The Laurel Line, as it was most commonly known, was unusual in several respects: It was built to higher-than-normal standards for electric short line railroads; it operated mostly with a third rail power system; it ran exclusively on private rights-of-way; and it served a geographically narrow region whose economy was heavily dependent on one industry - coal.

The Laurel Line's corporate records survived, and authors Henwood and Muncie made the most of this historical treasure. In the book, the railroad emerges in human terms of strife, struggle, victory and defeat.

The reader learns not only what happened, but why, and who made it happen. All railroads are interesting if properly researched - the Laurel Line as portrayed in this work is profoundly fascinating. Life in Pennsylvania's anthracite region is detailed when the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad was fighting the good fight.

About the Authors

Authors James N.J. Henwood and John G. Muncie have been friends and colleagues for four decades. Both taught in the History Department of East Stroudsburg University and are currently professors emeriti of that institution. They have been active in local organizations such as the Monroe County Historical Society and the Historical Farm Association.

Born in Upper Darby, Henwood's early contact with Philadelphia streetcars became the basis for a lifelong interest in electric railways and transportation. He presently resides in East Stroudsburg.

Muncie spent his first 18 years in Taylor. As a youth, he occasionally rode the Laurel Line to outings at Rocky Glen Park. Muncie lives in Stroudsburg.

For more information on "Laurel Line An Anthracite Region Railway," contact the Lackawanna Historical Society by e-mail at lhs@albright.org or call (570) 344-3841. For more information on the book signing, contact the Electric City Trolley Station & Museum at (570) 963-6590.

Scranton Times-Tribune, December 2005   

All Aboard Laurel Line

Butch Comegys, staff photographer

Lackawanna County Trolley Museum Director Barbara Colangelo and Lackawanna Historical Society President Alan Sweeney hold copies of "Laurel Line: An Anthracite Region Railway."

In the background is a 1904 Philadelphia Liberty Bell trolley.

Profits from sale of the reprinted books will go toward the restoration of various trolley cars.

Books will go on sale Dec. 11 at the museum, 300 Cliff St., Scranton.

Marywood University Impressions, Fall 2005   

Entrepreneur Celebrates Others through Tribute Books

By Jaime L. Kester

Nicole Langan ’01 has joined the mercurial world of entrepreneurship.

Hers, however, is a business born of nostalgia and tradition. While planning the 90th birthday party of her grandmother, her goal was to create a memorable program for the celebration. She combined photos with written messages from her parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

“The program was a hit with the guests. Long lost, rarely seen photos were added to the collections of everyone who attended,” Nicole remarks.

She has taken this experience and transformed it into a business that provides others with the opportunity to present these personal tributes to their loved ones. In July of 2004, Nicole launched Tribute Books in Eynon, PA. The company’s featured product includes a collection of photographs and written memories created in honor of the special guest. Customers order the books for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, etc. Whatever the event, Nicole focuses on the person behind the event, meeting with family members to obtain photographs and short written pieces about the honoree.

After five years of working at Happenings Magazine, serving as Associate Editor for half of that time, Nicole brings a wealth of experience to the business she has developed. While at Happenings, Nicole interviewed numerous local business owners, gaining an understanding of what it takes to start a business. In fact, it was talking to entrepreneurs that motivated her.

“They were enthusiastic, had a positive attitude, and were willing to take a chance,” she recalls.

Originally focusing on brides-to-be, she’s discovered that middle-aged individuals, who want to preserve their family legacy, have become her most common customers. The company also designs invitations and promotional items, such as mugs, pens, t-shirts, posters, calendars, business cards, mouse pads, and tote bags. Web design and manuscript publication are two other services offered. Tribute Books is growing rapidly in the area of manuscript publication, with some published works now for sale on Amazon.com and at Barnes and Noble. Throughout her first year as an entrepreneur, Nicole has found that being a Marywood alumna is an advantage.

“People are familiar with the quality of education at Marywood; they know you will do a great job. It’s like a seal of approval when they see that [you’re a Marywood graduate]—they know you’re not just a flyby-night operation,” she explains.

To learn more about Tribute Books and to view samples of Nicole’s work, visit her web site:
www.tribute-books.com or call 570-876-2416.

Scranton Times-Tribune, July 2005   

A book party at top of the line,

by Terry Bonifanti, Namedropper

Alan and Judy Hennemuth Sweeney were partying with pens in hand Friday evening at their Moosic Lake summer home.

The Green Ridge residents were signing copies of their new book, "Gateway to the Clouds: The Story of a Short Line Railroad, the Scranton, Dunmore, Moosic Lake Railroad - 1902-1926," which has just been published by Tribute Books of Eynon.

"Gateway to the Clouds" is a history book and its proceeds will benefit the Lackawanna Historical Society, Alan said.

"It's a story very few people remember in our generation, maybe two generations past," he said, of his and Judy's book on the small railroad designed "expressly to bring people from the valley where they worked up to the Gateway to the Clouds," an amusement resort at Moosic Lake.

Along with the Sweeneys' daughters, Kara and Rachel, those at the book-signing party hosted by Susan Hennemuth and the Moosic Lake Women's Club, included: Alyn and Judy Scheatzle, Michael Crowley, Karen and Mike Yeager, Vito and Elaine Geroulo, Pete and Ann Shorten, Mike and Mary Gunning, Richard and Jane McLaughlin, Richard and Mary Jo McArthur, T.C. Connelly, Joe and Ellen McGrath, Frank and Layla Kane, Peggy and Jack Kubash, Ann Divivo, John, Cathy and Pinsey Butler, Karen and Pat Dempsey, Bill and Lynn Taylor, Pete and Nancy Votas and Nancy Luciani.

A story on the Short Line is a natural for the Sweeneys. Alan is president of the historical society and chairman of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority. Judy grew up at Moosic Lake. A retired Scranton elementary school teacher now working for Keystone College's education department, Judy is the author of a six-book series called Blending Language Skills. Alan also has co-authored (with Cheryl Kashuba and Darlene Lanning-Miller) "The History of Scranton" for Arcadia Press which is due out in October.

Wyoming County Press Examiner, January 5, 2005   

Area mother publishes children's book

by Nathan Milner, staff writer

TUNKHANNOCK - As a child, Tunkhannock's Christy Baldwin wrote stories and poems for her grandfather. Now a mother of two, she writes for her sons.

With the publication of her first book, Remembering Wilma, Baldwin has managed to combine those lifelong passions - her love for writing and her love of family.

Remembering Wilma is a children's picture book and tells the story of a young boy who enjoys learning more about his great-grandmother, Wilma. Each night he asks his parents to read him a story about Wilma. The book then tells the story of Wilma's life - her marriage, her children and their children. Remembering Wilma is dedicated to Baldwin's own grandmother, Wilma Wheat; and at the end of the book is a space to chart your own family tree and keep your own family album.  "It's almost 100 percent true," Baldwin said, "which is strange for a fiction story."

The book developed out of a class Baldwin took at the University of Scranton while she was working on her master's degree in special education. Baldwin and her classmates were given a set of drawings and instructed to write a story based on the scene depicted. Baldwin said she immediately noticed a picture of a boy who had fallen asleep in bed with a book by his side. It brought to mind her son and his love of being read to; and she began creating a story about her grandmother reading to Nathan, her three-year-old son.

At first the notion of writing a book seemed daunting. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I don't know how to write a children's book,'" Baldwin said. But as she began conjuring memories of her grandmother, she said the ideas came freely.

Baldwin said the feedback she has received so far has come mostly from family and friends who are happy Baldwin has created such an enduring tribute to Wilma. "It kind of lets my grandma live on," Baldwin said; "that to them is very special."

A stay-at-home mother of two, Baldwin does her best to find time to write. "I do it here and there," she said. "I try to put in six good hours a day." Baldwin has also been working on a book of poetry, First Corinthians Love, that has now become a chapter in a larger book of poetry, scheduled to be published soon.