The Web Is Full Of Hometown Info
Times Leader Correspondent
Wednesday, December 15, 1999 Page: 1C
Web sites by and for people interested in the Wyoming Valley are
multiplying at an astonishing rate.
Now, whether they know it or not, Northeastern Pennsylvania web surfers are
just a click away from information on topics ranging from local genealogy, to
town history, to local sports updates, to the future of the proposed Wyoming
Valley Inflatable Dam Project.
The trick to finding these fun sites is to simply know what’s out there,
and where to look. Here are some pages that – though a little off the main
(information) highway – are bound to offer visitors interest.
Local history buffs will enjoy Pat Krivak’s Luzerne County History and
Genealogy Links Page (
Krivak’s site has links and information on a wide array of local history
topics, including histories for more than 90 towns and boroughs, extracts of
“There are a lot of people in the area who are very interested in their
history, but don’t have access to microfilm or reference materials,” said
Krivak, a resident of Dupont, of her motivation to compile such an extensive
site.
“Many people just can’t get to the sources, especially in the winter. So I
bring it to them. It’s a joy just to share my interests with other people.”
Krivak’s site is so comprehensive that it even has pictures of tombstones,
so that people out of the region can see the grave sites of their Wyoming
Valley ancestors.
Krivak’s site proves that, whatever the Internet is, it is almost always
interesting. Take, for example, these local sites.
Visit www.golf-huntsville.com and go on a hole-by-hole tour of the
Huntsville Golf Club, one of NEPA’s finest courses. Or log on to
www.wnep.com/weather/rivers.htm to view the current level of nearly every
river and creek in the Valley (through the Middle Atlantic River Forecast
Center).
Want a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins “wallpaper” for your computer
screen? Check out the “downloads” link at www.wbspenguins.com. While you’re
there, click on the “staff” link and e-mail Tux, the Penguins’ mascot.
Or get this; at www.redbarons.com you can check in on the progress of the
Lackawanna Stadium’s current Astro Turf renovation project. Media director
Mike Cummings said he updates the site about every three hours using images he
downloads from a digital camera.
“A lot of our fans have interest in the field,” Cummings said. “It’s a
Especially our season ticket holders.
“It’s a fascinating process to watch, really,” he added, of the
eight-week project. “A lot of people don’t know what’s under Astro Turf. Now
they can log in and see.”
Not a sports fan? No problem.
Find out what the local college radio stations are playing at
and www.kings.edu/~wrkc/main.html (Did you
know Wilkes University’s radio antenna is 311 meters high?) Or find out what
time your flight is leaving the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport at
www.flyavp.com
Want to know the future? The Internet may not be that advanced yet, but it
does offer insights into the Valley’s proposed future, at least.
Log in to the web site of the Pennsylvania Marketing and Planning (MAP)
Center at King’s College at www.mapcenter.org/projects/wbriverfp.html You will
find 3D graphics of proposed designs for the Wilkes-Barre waterfront as well
as the proposed inflatable dam on the Susquehanna River.
“We’re going to put a link right to the (Wyoming Valley) Inflatable Dam
Project site,” said Brother Tom Sawyer C.S.C., the MAP Center’s senior
systems programmer. “Our mission is to give the community as many tools as we
can.”
If the link isn’t there yet when you arrive, pop on over yourself by
entering www.gfnet.com/damproject/01_home.htm You’ll be able to catch up on
developments and see diagrams of the dam’s location, and cross sections
explaining how the fish ladder will work.
“We want our site to be an outreach,” Sawyer said, “to involve the
community, and to let people use the web as a communication tool.”
Sawyer said the MAP Center’s other site, (www.PAheritageriver.org) is
designed to provide information about the Susquehanna River Watershed. It has
demographics for the area, population figures, maps, and of course, links.
“People can even sign up to volunteer on the site,” he added. “And
that’s what it’s all about – the people. It always comes back to getting
people to work together.”
