'Around Montgomery Borough' a New Book by Local Author

Joan Wheal Blank has authored another book of local history, "Around  Montgomery Borough 1940-1990," which will reach bookstores in July.

Although the borough of Montgomery and its surrounding townships may epitomize the phrase “small town,” there is nothing small about the character of its residents. During the 1940s, while many families in the Montgomery area endured losses of property and faith, their neighbors reached out in support.

The following decade saw the growth of local businesses and continued community involvement, as evidenced by the borough’s diamond jubilee celebration in 1962. After the area was hit by a devastating flood in 1972, a revitalization of the borough soon commenced to prepare for a yearlong celebration of the American bicentennial in 1976. Disaster struck again with a killer tornado in 1985, but once again the spirit of this community revived to host its 100th anniversary celebration in 1987.

Blank, editor and amateur family historian, grew up near Hughesville in a rural farmhouse built by her great-grandfather in the early 1880s. She graduated from Hughesville High School in 1974, and received a BA degree in English Education from Lock Haven.

After living for over 20 years in Connecticut, where she taught middle and high school English, and worked in the publishing field as an editor and writer, she moved back to central PA and has lived in Montgomery since 2003. She works in the Lycoming County Office of Human Resources and Veterans Affairs.

Blank is the author of "Around Hughesville" and "Around Montgomery" in Arcadia Publishing’s Postcard History Series. She is board vice president of the Montgomery Area Historical Society and editor of its Web site and quarterly newsletter. She is also a board member of the Montgomery Area Public Library and writer for the weekly Muncy Luminary newspaper.

More information about Blank is available online at HistoricWilliamsport.com, as well as her articles on local history.