It sounded like a high school pep rally as the T.V. station switched to

the studio where the pledge takers, 19 of them from Muncy, were but

obstructed out of sight. What a commotion of enthusiasm, and it continued

for two hours. Also what an up-beat on Muncy. So often local people are so

used to their surroundings that they do not appreciate how lucky they are.

As I am not a native, I appreciate Muncy for things the natives take for

granted, and this program reaffirmed my feelings. How fortunate we are!

For WVIA it climaxed their efforts. I remember five or eight years ago

watching a similar program, and not part of the ten so far handled by Lisa

Mazzarella of WVIA. It was on Williamsport at the time of the Market Street

new bridge. They had previously done a program on Lewisburg and gotten 135

pledges, a goal they now set for Williamsport – but got only 75. The Muncy

goal was announced at 200, almost three times what Williamsport had

achieved. (I thought their program was very poor with only two speakers

giving a positive impact.) After Wednesday’s program was over and the last

phone call taken, 245, 23% more than the goal, had subscribed.

However I quickly learned I had lost. I wanted to be number 1 caller. Kathy

Stauffer took my call, and when I asked, she said I was number 4. My ego was

smashed!

The WVIA people had interviewed 13 hours of Muncy people for a 60 minute

program. How would they take so much material and make heads and tails out

of it. But they did. 98.5% of it could not have been done better. Several

people I talked with on Thursday agreed with me. I saw Kathy to learn if it

really was like it seemed to be – a big party, and she said yes. Lots of

fun.

What the program did for me was to make me more appreciative of Muncy

people. I hope this winter with the guidance of Bill and Linda Poulton, the

point people for WVIA in Muncy, to present in the Luminary interesting

interviews that they deleted. Then to add this to a history of Muncy I hope

to write covering from 1975, when the first history stopped, thru 2012.

Muncy will then have had eight books and booklets written on its history

with the last intended to give a feel of what it was like here – the feeling

that the WVIA program did so well.

Thank you Lisa and Bill Kelly, president of WVIA, for a job well done

and that they were correct – Muncy was the best community west of the coal

fields area to film.

Tom Taber

Muncy, PA