LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — "History repeats itself sometimes a lot quicker than we expect," That's one of the takeaways from this new exhibit inside the museum of the Luzerne County Historical Society.
As is the case with the county government that switched from three county commissioners to an eleven-member county council.
"That was all in 2009, 2010. Here we are in 2024. They've reactivated the government study commission, and now there's a push to go back," said Mark Riccetti Jr., Luzerne Co. Historical Society Director of Operations and Programs.
It's just one of the repeats found inside the museum's latest exhibit, 'Luzerne County Decides,' in Wilkes-Barre.
"This is our newest exhibition. We call it 'Luzerne County Decides' because it is an election year this year. So we decided to look back on some of the local county, state federal elections that we've been involved in," explained Riccetti Jr.
Another commonality? Presidential visits to the area like Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936, "Coming over the Market Street Bridge and, you can see people are about 10 deep, trying to get just a look at the President as he rounds onto River Street."
Campaign buttons, signs, ribbons, and scrapbooks kept by politician's family members are here too.
Each showing how the importance of our area and the role Pennsylvania plays in elections.
"Wilkes Barre and the surrounding areas, especially during the mining boom, we had a much larger population, so it was much more influential in the way the election swing, which, of course, we've seen, we've gone back to that the last couple of elections and that was our county is pretty important," said Riccetti Jr.
The Luzerne County Decides exhibit will be on display through the end of the year.
You can visit the Luzerne County Historical Society Museum on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or other times by appointment.