SHENANDOAH - The history of Shenandoah is as dynamic and diverse as its ethnic mix, its cultures and its economic vitality, something that can be seen in a book and video created by a retired teacher and a high school senior.
The book, "Shenandoah, Pennsylvania: A Look Back in Time," was compiled by Robert Yudinsky, Shenandoah, a retired history teacher from Shenandoah Valley High School. The more than 200 pages of the book show a portion of what made Shenandoah a great place to live and work.
The title page of Yudinsky's collection explains the book's purpose: "This book contains photos taken of Shenandoah from its very humble beginnings in the late 1800s to the prominence it achieved in the 1950s. It is sad to see its demise, especially when one gets the opportunity to see the community our founding fathers envisioned for the Shenandoah of the Future."
A video based on the book was subsequently created by Shenandoah Valley senior Michael Yablonsky, 18, of Shenandoah Heights, the son of Nancy and the late Paul Yablonsky. The video, which can be seen on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmQ3h54pWJE, was posted on March 15 and had 571 views as of Friday morning.
"First of all, I've always had an interest in Shenandoah and Shenandoah's past," Yudinsky said on Monday at the barbershop of John Catizone, who was a contributor to the project. "My father was in the bakery business, and my mom and dad are from Shenandoah. They would tell me stories about Shenandoah. When I got into teaching, I wanted to transfer some of that information to the students."
Yudinsky began collecting items, particularly from the borough's centennial in 1966, and he would bring them into the classroom and post them on his bulletin board.
"After 36 years of teaching, I retired and had this box of pictures," Yudinsky said. "It seemed a shame to just throw them away. I saw someone who had a collection of pictures, and I thought that would be a good idea to put them in one book and suddenly it just took off. I started with 20 pictures, then I found some more pictures and it increased to what is now more than 200 pages."
He said compiling the material and putting it together took about two years. When he began to show the book to others, the reaction was very positive.
"The think that amazed me the most was when I showed it to people and they seemed fascinated by it," Yudinsky said. "When I showed it to John (Catizone), he told me he had postcards, which I photocopied and enlarged. John has a very, very impressive collection. I got some large glossy photos of Shenandoah's past from Robby Romanot. It took off like that. It kept growing and growing."
Catizone is impressed with Yudinsky's project, especially with the many photos submitted for it.
"People found out he was doing a book and they just gave the pictures to him," Catizone said. "There were a lot of photos I had never seen before. Once they see the book, we have some things of what was in the downtown or parades or other events."
Catizone's barbershop on Main Street in Shenandoah is a museum in its own right, with the walls holding all types of borough memorabilia.
Yudinsky continues to get photos and other items, and there is a possibility of a second volume, though that is just a thought for the time being.
"My wife keeps telling me that this book will never end," Yudinsky said. "When the older residents see it, it's not only a flashback in time, but it's also memories of where they were and what they did."
Yablonsky's video began as his senior project after he learned about Yudinsky's book.
"I've always been known in my school as being really good with computers. My class advisor, Renee Buchanan, came to me about my senior project and she showed me the book. She told me that Mr. Yudinsky wanted to make a video so it could be shown in nursing homes and other places. So, I agreed to it and began working on it. As I dug deeper, it really interested me since I want to be a history teacher. I've run with the Heights Fire Company and worked closely with other fire companies, and I would see the old pictures on the walls, some of what are in the book and video."
As for the soundtrack, putting in music from Tommy Dorsey Jr. was natural to Yablonsky.
"He's from the area, and it would go great with it," Yablonsky said. "You hear the music as you see the old-time streets of Shenandoah. It shows that it was a really good time for people."
There are other varieties of music, including a polka.
"Every page of the book is on that video," Yablonsky said. "The video is part of the my senior project, which includes a paper report that I still have to do yet, and I will give a presentation to the kids in school at some point."
Yablonsky created the video using an Apple iMac computer and the iMovie program.
Yudinsky said one idea is to put the book on a DVD to sell as a fundraiser for the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society.
The books can be seen at Catizone's barbershop, Downtown Shenandoah Inc., Shenandoah Area Free Public Library and the historical society.