Reviving the past

By Cindy O. Herman
For The Daily Item

July 07, 2008 06:27 am

— SHAMOKIN -- David Kopitsky Sr. and David Kopitsky Jr. share a name, a job, a coaching position and a flare for dressing up in hot, woolen coats and vests from the 1800s.
The Kopitskys, joined by David Jr.'s wife, Suzy, dress in period costumes and act out the roles of prominent Shamokin area citizens during the annual Anthracite Heritage Festival of the Arts. Fritz Reed, of Shamokin, guides visitors through the Shamokin Cemetery, where the Kopitskys and others stand at the gravesites of their characters and explain what each person did. Money raised from the re-enactments goes toward maintenance of the cemetery.
David Sr. plays the role of Dr. J.J. John, a principal at Shamokin High School in the 1860s and one of the founders of the Shamokin Cemetery.
"When people come, I pretend that I'm him, and I tell them all the things I did in the community," Kopitsky Sr. said of the former doctor, who also worked in the coal and insurance businesses and was a state congressman who supported a compulsory education bill.
David Jr. portrays Henry "Harry" Snapper Reese, a Welshman who immigrated to Pennsylvania and enlisted in the 48th Schuylkill Regiment, eventually finding himself encamped at the Battle of Petersburg in July 1864. When a faulty fuse in a 500-foot tunnel stopped the anticipated explosion, Reese ran 300 feet into the shaft to relight it, then raced back out before the explosion -- a scene played out in the 2003 movie, "Cold Mountain," Kopitsky Jr. said.
Reese went on to become the chief of police in Shamokin, as well as the owner of a bar on Marshall Street. Well known in the town, he became friends with Buffalo Bill Cody and convinced him to host his Wild West Show at the Old Collegiate Field in Shamokin. He died in 1892 or 1893.
"To this day, they say he has the record for the largest funeral in Shamokin," said Kopitsky Jr., who teaches history at Shamokin High School and coaches football and girls track. An estimated 5,000 to 6,000 people attended his funeral, including Buffalo Bill.
Suzy Kopitsky's character, Sarah Kulp, was the wife of Monroe Kulp, a congressman and railroad man. He decided to build a town in the flat area between Shamokin and Mount Carmel and ran a contest offering $25 to the person who could come up with the best name for it -- Kulpmont. He also built a family-centered amusement park called Edgewood in Shamokin, complete with a dance pavilion, bowling alley, carousel and swimming pool. Today, Kemp Memorial Stadium plays host to Shamokin football games, where part of the park and roller coaster once stood.
"It's sort of fun, and it's something we like to do for our community," said Kopitsky Sr., who retired two years ago from teaching history and English and coached football for 35 years at Shamokin High School as well as coaching wrestling and girls softball.
It can have its humorous moments, too. The first year David Jr. and Suzy avoided the sweltering heat between shows by stepping inside the cool darkness of the mausoleums. As they silently read over the engraved names, another couple who apparently knew nothing of the re-enactments wandered into the gloom, only to find the costumed David and Suzy, looking like specters from another era.
"Their eyes got the size of saucers," David Jr. said. "By the time we actually got to the doors of the mausoleum, they were already going out the gate of the cemetery."
Suzy said, "We laughed about that for days."
n Cindy O. Herman lives in Snyder County. Send e-mail comments to her at Cindyherman1@yahoo.com.

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