Cumberland Times-News: County’s theaters highlight of Alco b

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County’s theaters highlight of Alco book

Kristin Harty
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Of the 11 local history books produced by Allegany High School students over the years, the most popular — by far — was the one about movie theaters.

Published in 1999, “Reflections of the Silver Screens” told the stories of 20 local theaters, featuring interviews with movie-goers, a projectionist and the man who played piano during the silent movie era.

“That book sold out the fastest,” said social studies teacher Brian White, who has helped students produce a book every year for the last decade. Topics have included World War II veterans, the Great Depression, the 1950s and a history of industry in Allegany County — to name a few.

“Everybody goes to the movies,” White said. “It just has wider appeal. That’s the question we always get: ‘Would you reprint the theater book?’”

Students in White’s historical research methods classes decided to do something better: Revise it. Expand it. Redesign it.

On Monday evening, students will be available to sign copies of “Reflections of the Silver Screens: A revised and updated history of Allegany County Movie Theatres.” It was a yearlong labor of love for the 32 students who participated.

“In this class you actually get to preserve history,” said senior Justin Hymes, who rewrote the story of The Garden Theatre using first-edition transcripts and other sources. “You feel you have a purpose and point in what you’re doing. It makes you more motivated, I guess.”

Now an esteemed course that attracts top students, the oral history project began in 1998 with a 20-page booklet documenting the history of the Lonaconing Silk Mill. Four students participated in the social studies project, which involved interviewing former mill workers.

“It truly was a student-led, teacher-encouraged, grass-roots sort of effort,” said White, who got involved the next year to help produce the first theater book, which was 50 pages and involved a dozen students.

Books have expanded in size and scope over the years, with the largest being a 200-page history of Allegany High School, produced in 2007. By that time, the course had its own curriculum, evolving to become a one-of-a-kind historical methods research class, White said.

“It’s like a real-world work environment,” he said. “Here’s what you have to do. You have a deadline. You have to meet that deadline. There really are no excuses for not meeting that deadline, because we’re publishing a book.”

Teams of students interview subjects and conduct research, then collaborate to write sections of text. Social studies teacher Wes Cooper helps edit student work.

“You can tell the students know that ‘this is not just another essay we have to write for class,’” Cooper said. “They do try to ratchet up the quality of their writing.”

Senior Matthew Haworth laid out and designed this year’s 86-page book. He was in the class last year, and like many students, chose to return for a second year.

“These are stories collected from the spoken word of the participants,” said Haworth, who’s headed to Johns Hopkins University this fall. “Once these people die, then those stories aren’t going to be around anymore unless we preserve them.”

Next year, students will interview veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf War, White said, to produce a book about Allegany County veterans. Hymes wishes he could participate, though he plans to be at Yale University, playing football.

“It’s a combination of everything I personally like to do,” he said. “You get to talk to people, meet new people, learn about people. You get to write a lot. That’s the main thing. It’s another writing class. That’s my favorite thing.”

Contact Kristin Harty at kharty(at)times-news(dot)com.