Dietrich Theater director Erica Rogler (top, right) shows Endless Mountains Heritage Region board members an exhibit in the theater’s main lobby depicting six of the 40 featured buildings on the Historic Tunkhannock Walking Tour, one of a number of projects that EMHR has helped to fund in recent years. Endless Mountains Heritage Region board members from Bradford, Sullivan, and Susquehanna counties joined their Wyoming County counterparts in Tunkhannock recently to tour the theater and Wyoming County Cultural Center’s growing downtown park (above).
Board members of the Endless Mountains Heritage Region (EMHR) met in Tunkhannock on Aug. 3, stopping first at the Dietrich Theater and Cultural Center to see first-hand the results of grants facilitated by the organization. Among them were LED lighting on the theater’s marquee, a walkway and landscaping around the Heritage Attractions sign at the intersection of Tioga and Bridge streets, and funds contributed toward printing costs for the Historic Tunkhannock Walking Tour booklet.
“We are very excited to share our projects with the Endless Mountains Heritage Region,” stated Wyoming County Cultural Center director Erica Rogler, who provided tours of the facility for board members after a brief meeting in the Children’s Room. “We at the Dietrich consider EMHR to be a valuable partner and resource for bringing heritage programming to our community.”
EMHR helps leverage funds for a variety of projects that range from agricultural initiatives to wayfinding signage along the Susquehanna River, as well as repairs and enhancements at museums, theaters and other restored heritage sites. Municipalities, historical societies, and directors of natural and recreational sites in Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties are encouraged to apply for grants that are available at various times during the year.
The Dietrich Theater and Wyoming County Cultural Center has been especially adept at securing matching funds from a wide base of supporters. The organization also enjoys an uncommonly high level of volunteerism.
“For the first six months after reopening in 2001, the Dietrich was completely run by volunteers, and more than 300 volunteers came to the rescue after devastating flooding in 2011 to restore the Dietrich to its former glory,” Rogler recalled. Volunteers continue to staff the concession stand, do clerical work, help with film festivals and cultural events, and bake cookies and stuff gift bags.
Financial support from the business sector and approximately 7,000 volunteer hours per year allow the Cultural Center to provide entertainment, historical programs and meeting venues for more than 90,000 children and adults per year. Community support is a key component to each EMHR grant application.
“It is evident that the community has really taken ownership of the Dietrich as its movie theater and cultural center,” Rogler stated.
“The Dietrich Theater has been an iconic landmark in the four-county Endless Mountains Heritage Region for generations,” said EMHR director Annette Schultz. “The funds we’ve contributed have not only upgraded the historic marque but also support its importance as a venue for communicating insights into our region’s history and attractions.”
After touring the Cultural Center, the EMHR board went to Lazy Brook park for their regular bi-monthly meeting and annual summer picnic. Vice president Sara Carr conducted the meeting. To learn more about EMHR, visit www.endlessmountainsheritage.org.
Endless Mountains Heritage Region board members enjoyed a picnic in Lazy Brook Park, after a regular business meeting conducted by board vice president Sara Carr (standing, right).