Keeping Track of County Veterans

Muncy Historical Society opens to the public in March and its first guest speaker for the 2009 season is Joan Wheal Blank, who will present a program about Lycoming County veteran graves at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, March 8.
Blank, a Montgomery resident and Hughesville native, will give an overview of the history of military grave markers, then discuss how the documentation of Lycoming veteran graves began in the late 1930s and how information for the more than 17,000 veterans buried here is recorded and maintained by the County Office of Veterans Affairs.
Blank is a member of Montgomery Area Historical Society’s board of directors and is editor of that society’s quarterly newsletter. She also is a member of the Montgomery Area Public Library board and the East Lycoming Historical Society, based in Hughesville.
She writes feature articles and a weekly column about Montgomery for the Muncy Luminary and has been employed in the Human Resources and Veterans Affairs offices for the County of Lycoming since 2006.
Blank is the author of two postcard history books by Arcadia: “Around Hughesville” (2007) and “Around Montgomery” (2008).
Muncy Historical Society, 40 N. Main St., is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and Fridays (except for holidays) March through November. Hours are subject to change, so visitors should call 546-5917 to verify the schedule. More information is available online at www.MuncyHistoricalSociety.org.