WAVERLY — You couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to stroll through the quaint and charming streets of this town. The Saturday afternoon event brought with it plenty of sunshine and just a hint of a breeze to make it a perfect day for a two-hour walking (last part driving) historical tour.
More than three dozen people of all ages (even toddlers), arrived ready to learn about Waverly’s part in the Underground Railroad and so much more.
Tour guide E.J. Murphy was ever-efficient and armed with facts of all kinds.
“I do a lot of work with the Civil War outside of teaching and working at the Waverly Community House. I try to mix in all different types of history on the tour. As we’re walking, we’ll talk a little bit about the Underground Railroad. We’ll talk about the citizens of Waverly. We’ll talk about religion and how it played a role during that time period,” said Murphy. “I talk a lot about the politics of the area, and I talk about the troops from Waverly that went off to fight.”
The tour began with the Leonard Batchelor House. Batchelor, according to Murphy, was an ordinary man living in an ordinary house. He also was one of the main organizers of the Underground Railroad movement through the Abington area; he often hid slaves on his property and aided them towards their next destinations.
It is estimated that some time in the mid-1940s, fugitive slaves began to arrive in Waverly to pass through on their way to Canada.
Another stop on the tour is the Waverly United Methodist Church. According to Murphy, the church was known to open its congregation to runaways. A former fugitive slave and Waverly resident George Keys is buried in the church’s cemetery.
It’s hard to believe, but once-upon-a-time, the Waverly Community house did not exist. The area on Main Street previously held stores and shops. Murphy, who happened to find a rare photograph of exactly what it looked like more than 100 years ago, shared his treasure with the crowd and mentioned the Waverly Community House’s upcoming Centennial Celebration.
As the tour moved on, and despite the large crowd, there was never a moment when you couldn’t hear what story or fact Murphy, who is a Social Studies teacher of seventh and eighth-graders at Howard Gardner School in Scranton, was relaying because he brought his “teacher’s voice” with him. Murphy also runs the Waverly Community House’s summer camp, works during the school year at its after-school program and helps out with “other things.”
The final leg of the tour is a drive to the Hickory Grove Cemetery. It is there, Murphy expressed it to be his favorite part of the tour.
“There’s a row of African-American soldiers who went off to fight in the Civil War and are buried in the cemetery. I like to go into the military experiences of the troops and also go into the political aspects of letting African-Americans fight during the war,” he explained. “There’s a big controversy about that. I like to get into explaining what their lives were like before, during and after the war letting these citizens of Waverly go off to fight.”
Anyone can stop by the Waverly Community House for pamphlets for the self-guided tour. There are 25 featured spots along the way. The pamphlet gives a lot of information but, for true historical buffs seeking more background information and stories, they can call The Comm at 570-586-8191 and ask for either E.J. Murphy or Archive Coordinator Gia Reviello to schedule a tour. Times for tours are flexible and open to all age groups.
