Velvet rope opened on new Ponicsan room at Shenandoah Historical Society
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Shenandoah Historical Society Artistic Director Peter Cieslukowski shows the Ponicsan Room on August 26, 2023.
SHENANDOAH – “I have never forgotten Shenandoah. I’m grateful that Shenandoah has not forgotten me.”
The quote from author and screenwriter Darryl Ponicsan is displayed prominently on the newly unveiled room dedicated in his honor at the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society.
Ponicsan was born in Shenandoah and raised here and in Ringtown and is best known for his screenplays and books, many of which were adapted for the big screen, including The Last Detail and Cinderella Liberty.
His work was brought to life by the likes of Jack Nicholson, Steve Carrell, Brian Cranston, Laurence Fishburn, Harrison Ford, and a young Tom Cruise, appearing in only his second film.
Memorabilia from those works — posters, screenplays, notes — and some of the awards Ponicsan earned over the years — including the Key to Shenandoah — are on display in the aptly Hollywood themed room.
And what better way to unveil it than by opening the velvet rope on the red carpet?
The historical society held a soft opening to unveil the room Saturday evening, ahead of a public open house Sunday from 1pm to 3pm.
Anne Chaikowsky-Skirmantas, a member of the historical society, had coordinated the effort with Ponicsan, who donated much of what is on display.
Prior to Saturday’s unveiling, she read a letter from the author and screenwritier.
“My work in film has taken be to many fabulous places around the world for extended periods of time where I work closely with the rich and famous,” Chaikowsky-Skirmantas read from Ponicsan’s letter. “But in my quiet moments, sitting alone, my memories take me back to dances above the bowling alley, misadventures in the ruins of Columbia Brewery, to hijinks in Girard Park, to bleenies and bingo at the Hookies block party, to Saturday nights when the guys would put on suits and ties and strut at Paskey’s bar, make their rounds, and sober up with coffee at Vernalis’s in the wee hours of the morning.”
In his letter, he extended thanks to all involved in the effort putting together the room.
GSAHS Artistic Director Peter Cieslukowski designed the room and provided a tour, highlighting the design and aesthetic choices.
The room, set up to a movie theater aesthetic, includes all forms of his work, including screenplays and such, as well as the cardboard letters devised for his visit to town for the Sesquicentennial celebration in 2016.
Those letters spelled out “Andoshen,” a nod to Ponicsan’s novel, Andoshen, Pa., which detailed a fictionalized version of Shenandoah.
You can check out the room during an open house at the historical society on South Main Street on Sunday from 1pm to 3pm.
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