Where Memory Serves

“There have been many attempts to place on the record the history of this unusual institution, but such records as exist are scattered and incomplete,” wrote George H. Parkes, the first director of Williamsport Technical Institute. He would be heartened to know that his words are part of a treasure trove of objects, photos and papers that have been cataloged in the archives of that “unusual institution’s” successor and, collectively, help to tell the story of the institution and those who have dwelled in its halls.

For the past 20 years, those archives – on the third floor of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Madigan Library – have been studied, cataloged and preserved by Patricia A. Scott, who retired in June as an associate professor, the librarian for the college’s School of Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications, and the college archivist. 

Scott is a 1971 graduate of Williamsport Area Community College, holds Bachelor of Arts (1976) and Master of Arts (1986) degrees from Penn State, and earned a master’s in library science from Clarion University in 1994. She worked in libraries at Penn State and Bucknell prior to her Penn College employment.

Before retiring, Scott shared a few of her favorite archives finds. If you know more about these pieces, please call 570-320-2400, ext. 7110, or email magazine@pct.edu.

More than 50 essays by George H. Parkes, the first director of Williamsport Technical Institute, describe his time at WTI. Some have great titles like “The Panama Episode,” “The Case of the Truncated Man” and “A Humorous Incident.”

“They give details about college history found nowhere else,” Scott says.

In one essay, the plain-speaking Parkes describes the college’s first automotive lab beneath the football field’s bleachers, years after the program had moved to a better home:

“This place served us well, although we almost froze to death in the winter. In this crude area, we explored our real needs, and made plans and plans. We knew we would have a better shop someday.”

Today, the college’s Parkes Automotive Technology Center proudly bears his name.

Later in the piece, he uses the same frankness to describe himself: “This writer has gained the reputation of being a stubborn, uncompromising troublemaker. It’s an unescapable penalty for the privilege of serving the public.”  

View full document