Life in Wellsboro

This book is a delightful community album depicting life in Wellsboro between 1880 and 1920. It is loaded with tidbits of interest — a fascinating blend of old photographs, newspaper accounts, excerpts from interviews with older residents, census data, and a wide array of other historical sources. It is an appreciative glimpse of Wellsboro, heartwarming in its approach.

The book’s organization is pleasantly simple to follow. First, you are presented with photographs and descriptions of the place — the streets, houses, business establishments, office buildings, the public square, churches, and so forth; then, you have an opportunity to study portraits of some of the community’s most interesting and colorful people — you’ll enjoy the faces of the people who lived in Wellsboro; next you are delighted by a series of photographs that depict everyday life — both work and play; and finally, you are given a succinct summary of the main events of the time.

You will enjoy the book many times over. It will be a ready source of conversation not only among your immediate family and friends, but also among future generations.

LIFE IN WELLSBORO: 1920-60 is a community scrap book, a photo album, a story, a socio-historical account. It is a blend of visual images, newspaper reports, historical documents, census data, recollections, fanciful facts, and lively anecdotes. There is no pretense that the book is anything more than a glimpse of the reality of forty years of life. Yet, in browsing through the book you are likely to experience an appreciative understanding of Wellsboro. You will more fully realize the life seasonings that have made the community such a special place.

The book is a sequel to the previous volume, LIFE IN WELLSBORO, 1880-1920. The organization is purposefully patterned in the same vein. First, one looks at the place — the streets, homes, churches, schools, business establishments, and factories in the community. In addition, there is a series of unique photos of the nearby Grand Canyon. Then, there are the people, the faces that inhabited the place, portraits which reveal the styles and expressions of the times. Next, there is a focus on the nature of the people’s activity, glimpses of them as they lived everyday life, working, playing, and praying. Finally, there is a summary of the main events of the 1920-60 period, the happenings that stirred a special flavor into everyday life.

Some images are worth a thousand words, while some words are worth a thousand images. Hopefully, the reader will discover that LIFE IN WELLSBORO, 1920-60 is rich with both images and words. Savor and enjoy it. Share it with a friend.