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Jennifer Draht and Gary Faatz II announce their engagement

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Warmer weather in the forecast for the Wyoming Valley

<p>CONYNGHAM &#8212;Sensing a visitor was about to take her photo, kitchen volunteer Sue Oliver slipped a fake pig snout over her nose and grinned, proving she had a sense of humor as well as a huge supply of roast pork.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to sleep good tonight,&#8221; Jeremy Thorne said as he helped Oliver load platters with steaming meat and side dishes during the recent pork-and-sauerkraut fundraiser at Christ Lutheran Church on Main Street.</p><p>Cooking and serving some 800 meals for the dinner &#8212; a church tradition for at least 45 years &#8212; was a big task, even with longtime parishioner Tom Boock and other church volunteers getting a 10-week head start.</p><p>&#8220;The day after Thanksgiving, we cut up the cabbage, salt it and stomp it with a wooden stomper,&#8221; Boock said, explaining how sauerkraut is made the old-fashioned way, from scratch.</p><p>As for the applesauce, it didn&#8217;t come from a can or jar, but from fresh-from-the-tree apples that church members had sliced and cooked.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s easy to get volunteers,&#8221; church pastor the Rev. Carolyn Hetrick said as dozens of workers scurried about, waiting on tables and slicing cakes and pies for dessert. &#8220;Giving is just in our DNA.&#8221;</p><p>If you think that makes Conyngham &#8212; a borough with 1,881 residents nestled in a valley just north of Hazleton &#8212; seem like the kind of small town Norman Rockwell liked to paint, local entrepreneur Jerry Seiwell agrees.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s quiet and quaint; there&#8217;s not a lot of crime,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Everybody knows each other, and it&#8217;s a great place to raise kids.&#8221;</p><p>Seiwell moved to Conyngham as a teen in 1984, when his parents, George and Martha, bought and started to run the Brass Buckle restaurant that he eventually took over.</p><p>The restaurant, where the younger Seiwell and his staff of 23 employees serve Tex-Mex cuisine with an Asian flair, is housed in a building that dates to 1805, almost a century before Conyngham was chartered in 1901.</p><p>&#8220;Thomas Jefferson was president,&#8221; Seiwell said in emphasizing the building&#8217;s age. &#8220;This place was the Conyngham Hotel, and what is now Main Street was a turnpike and toll road. This was a stagecoach stop, and the mail was delivered here, and people would come to pick up their mail.&#8221;</p><p>If you&#8217;re interested in more borough history, you&#8217;ll find copies of a booklet devoted to that subject on sale at the Valley Branch of the Hazleton Public Library, 211 Main St., Conyngham, for $5.</p><p>Written by Jennifer Huff, the booklet describes vivid images of the past, including the Sept. 11, 1780, Sugarloaf Massacre, in which a detachment of 41 Revolutionary War soldiers stopped to rest about a half-mile east of Conyngham &#8220;at a spring surrounded by lush bushes and trees, overgrown with grapevines.&#8221;</p><p>Forgetting to be cautious, the men smoked pipes, turned away from their guns, and were startled when &#8220;suddenly, the hills echoed with a terrible Indian war whoop.&#8221; Native Americans and Tories, who were loyal to the British crown, swept in and attacked, killing 15 patriots, taking three prisoners and severely wounding others.</p><p>A monument commemorating the massacre was set up on Walnut Avenue and dedicated in 1993.</p><p>For other glimpses into the past, you can visit the Conyngham Valley Historical Society Museum at 470 Main St.</p><p>Among the treasures that Historical Society member Barry Hawk, 83, says &#8220;you have to see to believe&#8221; are a trombone, trumpet and tuba from the Conyngham Band, which was organized in 1853. Other highlights are several flapper-style dresses a bride-to-be purchased for her 1923 honeymoon, and uniforms the Conyngham Rubes&#8217; community baseball team wore in the 1940s and &#8217;50s.</p><p>There also are soapbox-derby cars that children raced down Main Street in the 1960s, heavy irons that had to be heated on the stove before you pressed a shirt or skirt, and a wringer washing machine with a base that resembles a wooden barrel.</p><p>A desk is set up to resemble the office of the late Dr. Richard Wise, who delivered babies, made house calls and treated the sick for 60 years before he retired in 1990. Wise&#8217;s obituary notes he tried to volunteer for World War II but was denied because he was needed in Conyngham, where he was the only doctor.</p><p>When school groups visit the museum, Historical Society member Jim Susa said, children are fascinated by an early television set that is encased in a wooden box about 18 inches deep.</p><p>&#8220;They wonder how they could play games on it,&#8221; Susa, 79, said. &#8220;They wonder where the remote is.&#8221;</p><p>Young people also are interested in photos of their grandparents who attended the old Conyngham Elementary School, and in looking at desks in which the seat for one child was attached to the writing area of the child who sat behind him.</p><p>Hawk remembers attending the Conyngham school as a youth in the 1940s with 20 children from five grades in one room. The building was a school until the early 1990s and now serves as the town library.</p><p>Just as history is important to many residents, so are traditions. Local jeweler Andrea Kosko, 60, suggests people shouldn&#8217;t miss Valley Day, on the first weekend in August, when the Conyngham Valley Civic Organization hosts a party with carnival games, secret sauce on the barbecued chicken, and lots of camaraderie.</p><p>Proceeds help to maintain the CVCO&#8217;s &#8220;wonderful swimming pool,&#8221; Kosko said, adding she&#8217;s proud to be part of the Conyngham community because its residents are so generous.</p><p>&#8220;I am just in awe of the way the churches support the Valley Food Pantry,&#8221; she said, noting the church bulletins announce which food items are needed and people respond by bringing groceries when they attend services.</p><p>For excitement, Hawk said, risk-takers might follow his example and try skydiving at the Hazleton Airport, just a few miles outside of Conyngham.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s how I celebrated my 79th birthday, and my 80th and 81st,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You (freefall) 120 miles per hour.&#8221;</p><p>For a slower-paced activity that adds to the area&#8217;s charm, there&#8217;s the Butler Township Community Garden, about three miles from downtown Conyngham, where dozens of area residents rent and tend plots.</p><p>There, Kosko&#8217;s sister, Mary Celeste, grows asparagus, raspberries and salad greens.</p><p>&#8220;I love the leaf lettuce,&#8221; said Kosko, who is happy to share in the bounty.</p><p>Kosko and her sister are the third generation of their family to run Fellin&#8217;s Jewelry Store, which their grandparents, John and Mary, opened on Broad Street in Hazleton in 1922.</p><p>When Broad Street underwent a widening project seven years ago, the sisters believed some of their customers might have trouble accessing the store, so they opened a branch about eight miles away on Sugarloaf Avenue in Conyngham and have kept it open ever since.</p><p>&#8220;We think of this as a boutique,&#8221; Kosko said as she worked behind the counter on a recent Tuesday. &#8220;It gives you a little taste of what&#8217;s in our main store.&#8221;</p><p>A quiet side street in a quiet town might seem like an unusual place to sell watches and earrings, but Kosko said employees at the Humboldt Industrial Park frequently stop by, as do residents of nearby developments such as Eagle Rock Resort &#8212; five miles away in Sheppton &#8212; and Sand Springs Resort, 11 miles away in Drums.</p><p>One newcomer to the area, Penny Boyer, recently moved to Eagle Rock from the Philadelphia area to retire.</p><p>&#8220;It seems like every time we leave Eagle Rock, we find what we need in Conyngham,&#8221; she said as she visited with friends at the Christ Lutheran Church pork and sauerkraut dinner. &#8220;If we had known about Conyngham, I think we would have moved here instead.&#8221;</p><p><em>For more in our Hometowns series, visit</em> <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/tag/hometowns" target="_blank">www.timesleader.com/tag/hometowns</a>.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Jim Susa, treasurer of the Conyngham Valley Historical Society, sits beside the desk of former doctor Richard Wise, who served Conyngham for 60 years before he retired in 1990. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham5-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jim Susa, treasurer of the Conyngham Valley Historical Society, sits beside the desk of former doctor Richard Wise, who served Conyngham for 60 years before he retired in 1990. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_conyngham-002-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In a Norman Rockwellian kind of town such as Conyngham, a church dinner is a big social event. The annual pork and sauerkraut dinner at Christ Lutheran Church attracted about 800 diners over several hours on a recent Saturday. (Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_conyngham-002-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>In a Norman Rockwellian kind of town such as Conyngham, a church dinner is a big social event. The annual pork and sauerkraut dinner at Christ Lutheran Church attracted about 800 diners over several hours on a recent Saturday. (Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader) </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_conyngham-012-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Andrea Kosko, above, and her sister, Mary Celeste, are the third generation of their family to operate Fellin&#8217;s Jewelry Store, a Hazleton-based business that opened a branch in Conyngham seven years ago. (Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_conyngham-012-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Andrea Kosko, above, and her sister, Mary Celeste, are the third generation of their family to operate Fellin&#8217;s Jewelry Store, a Hazleton-based business that opened a branch in Conyngham seven years ago. (Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader) </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In the Conyngham Union Cemetery, located just off Main Street, you&#8217;ll find graves of many people born in the 1800s. Schaefer, Hunsinger, Hetler, Welsh and Henry are some of the surnames written on the tombstones. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham1-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>In the Conyngham Union Cemetery, located just off Main Street, you&#8217;ll find graves of many people born in the 1800s. Schaefer, Hunsinger, Hetler, Welsh and Henry are some of the surnames written on the tombstones. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Conyngham, population 1,881, is nestled in a valley just north of Hazleton. The borough seems reminiscent of the kind of small town that Norman Rockwell used to paint. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham2-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Conyngham, population 1,881, is nestled in a valley just north of Hazleton. The borough seems reminiscent of the kind of small town that Norman Rockwell used to paint. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </caption4><photoCredit4></photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">You don&#8217;t have to drive far from downtown Conyngham to find acres of farmland. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham3-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>You don&#8217;t have to drive far from downtown Conyngham to find acres of farmland. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </caption5><photoCredit5></photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Conyngham Valley Historical Society and Museum has regular hours, on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. There you&#8217;ll find everything from vintage toys to clothes and spinning wheels. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham4-1.jpg</photo6><caption6>The Conyngham Valley Historical Society and Museum has regular hours, on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. There you&#8217;ll find everything from vintage toys to clothes and spinning wheels. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </caption6><photoCredit6></photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham6-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">From left, Conyngham Valley Historical Society members Ron Wolfe, Barry Hawk and Jim Susa pose in front of baseball uniforms, including those of the Conyngham Rubes&#8217; community team, which used to play in the area&#8217;s Anthracite League. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021917Conyngham6-1.jpg</photo7><caption7>From left, Conyngham Valley Historical Society members Ron Wolfe, Barry Hawk and Jim Susa pose in front of baseball uniforms, including those of the Conyngham Rubes&#8217; community team, which used to play in the area&#8217;s Anthracite League. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader) </caption7><photoCredit7></photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Conyngham-2-19-17-1.jpg">
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<div class="neCaption">Church volunteer Sue Oliver shows her sense of humor by wearing a pig snout during the recent pork and sauerkraut dinner at Christ Lutheran Church. Oliver was working in the kitchen with Jeremy Thorne, left, and church pastor the Rev. Carolyn Hetrick. (Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo9>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_conyngham-005-1.jpg</photo9><caption9>Church volunteer Sue Oliver shows her sense of humor by wearing a pig snout during the recent pork and sauerkraut dinner at Christ Lutheran Church. Oliver was working in the kitchen with Jeremy Thorne, left, and church pastor the Rev. Carolyn Hetrick. (Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader) </caption9><photoCredit9></photoCredit9></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>Throughout the year, the Times Leader is looking at life in two dozen Luzerne County communities in a feature called &#8220;Hometowns.&#8221; The series is running in alphabetical order in print and on our website at <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/tag/hometowns" target="_blank">www.timesleader.com/tag/hometowns</a>. Today: Conyngham. Next up: Dallas borough and Dallas Township on March 12.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> DT3CgBm6BfI</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT3CgBm6BfI</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;">&lt;iframe width=&#8221;560&#8221; height=&#8221;315&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/embed/DT3CgBm6BfI&#8221; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8221; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Welcome to Conyngham</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Sean McKeag</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Hometowns: In Conyngham, quiet, historical — and don’t forget the food