In 1934, anyone passing by the corner of South and River Streets in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, had a good chance of seeing a familiar group of neighborhood boys playing sandlot football in an open field.
 Like all neighborhood pick-up games, boys would come and go, but in this case, many were coming from a Bar Mitzvah lesson or going to a Hebrew school class at the nearby synagogue, Congregation Temple Israel. The passersby might have noticed one especially fast and agile kid, but in the midst of the Great Depression few would have guessed that 30 years later this same young man– now a professor and head of the Department of Performing Arts at Wilkes University– would oversee the construction, on this same hardscrabble lot, of the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts.
The man who was at the forefront of transforming that empty lot into a dynamic facility for arts, culture, and education was Alfred (Al) Groh. Since that time, the Darte Center has become an integral part of the Wilkes campus, an asset to the life and culture of the Wyoming Valley community, and a home to theater productions, dance recitals, summer performing arts programs, and guest speakers from around the world.
Groh’s parents were Ethel Tischler Groh and Jacob (Jack) Groh. Ethel had an artistic background and flair. She attended art school at Saint Ann’s Academy and studied with Sister Vivensia. Al remembers his mother’s pleasant singing voice and expressive gestures while performing at the Penn Theater on South Main Street, in Wilkes-Barre– home to movies, Vaudeville, and comedy. Admission was usually 15-25 cents. It was a little more expensive than other nearby theaters due to the live acts between movies. Ethel painted every day. She lived to the age of 103 and painted until her last days.
“Ethel had a smiling personality,” Al recalled.
Jane Lampe-Groh believes her mother-in-law “painted through the rough spots. I think she knew she had lived a beautiful life.”
Building a Relationship
Looking back on his high school days in the late 1930s, Al recalled heading with friends to the Cascades Club, in West Wyoming, to listen to local talent Gussie Mitchell sing jazz standards. He also noted the lasting impact of two of his English teachers at Meyers High. Joe Powell inspired in Al a love of narrative poetry, while Margaret Schroeder encouraged her class to dramatize passages from novels. Already, the seeds of his 90-year-long journey in the arts and education were beginning to take root.
Al Groh’s lifelong relationship with Wilkes University began not as a teacher, but rather as a student, when it was Bucknell University Junior College. He also worked on the maintenance crew while enrolled. He continued on to Syracuse University, and later Columbia University. After serving in the military during WWII, Wilkes President Dr. Eugene Farley offered Al an opportunity to teach an English literature course and direct a play, which he accepted.
At that time, Wilkes plays were held in Chase Theater, a converted garage behind Chase Hall that seated approximately 100 people. They built a stage and added a second floor. The actors entered stage right, climbing down a ladder from the second floor, and stage left, through a window. Some audience members sat on windowsills and on the hoods of cars.
The Chase productions enjoyed a consistent audience. Two regular supporters of the theater– and the arts, generally– at Wilkes were also key contributors to the founding and early years of the Darte Center. One was Annette Evans, who was influential in the founding of the Little Theater and Philharmonic and served on the Wilkes Board of Trustees. The other was Dorothy Dickson Darte herself, who donated the funds for the new, state-of-the-art performing arts center, seating 478 people. Architect for the Darte Center was Lacey Atherton, of Wilkes-Barre; interior design work was completed by Donald Oenstager, of New York; and furniture, lights, curtains, and wall coverings were brought together by Leigh Allen, also of New York.
Cutting through Boundaries
Responding to Eugene Farley’s encouragement to initiate programs that would enhance the college and surrounding community, in 1952, Al and Annette Evans spearheaded the United Nationalities Pageant.
“I felt it was important to preserve the culture and background of the different nationalities,” said Al. “The purpose of the event was to cut through boundaries. It linked groups and brought people together [from] 10 to 12 nationalities. People came together and shared dances and music from their cultures while wearing traditional and ethnic styles of clothing. The event emphasized commonalities in cultures as well as their unique qualities. This was one of the first times that groups of people worked together in this way in the community.”
This festive gathering eventually expanded into what is known today as the Fine Arts Fiesta, which was and is currently held on Public Square, in Downtown Wilkes-Barre. Al and Evans continued as the driving forces in this undertaking and for many years have garnered tremendous support from the community, city and state officials, and cultural representatives from the federal government. Al sees the Fine Arts Fiesta as a “gift to the community.” Celebrating its 56th year, the Fiesta has continued to expand while maintaining its integrity. Al’s leadership has inspired a consistent and active board of directors. He now serves as the event’s advisor and Poet Laureate. Underlying its success is that the Fine Arts Fiesta appeals to all ages, draws in both local talent and guests from beyond the Wyoming Valley, and provides opportunities to students to participate in myriad ways through music, dance, and the arts. The foods represent local fare, which includes tastes from the many different cultures that exist in the area. Behind it all, though, remains Al’s vision, expressed eloquently in this recent poem:
The Arts: Path to Peace - Fine Arts Fiesta 2007
I have always been in love with the arts
For their ability to inspire
Beyond limits of language, religion, and race
Life sees further and deeper and higher.
In my lifetime I have served the arts
It has taught me I could release
Any furor and spite
In my passion for peace.
During the mid-1950’s Civil Rights era, Dr. Farley arranged an exchange program between Hampton Institute, a historically Black college in Hampton, Virginia, and Wilkes. Students from Hampton would come to Wilkes, and Wilkes students studied in Virginia. The program reflected a dedication to the cause of peace through cultural and educational exchange, expressed in Al’s “Proclamation for Peace.”
Proclamation For Peace
WHEREAS, No country, large or small,
Rules by weapon, force, or wall.
WHEREAS, No ruler can expect to find
Weapon or wall to hide behind.
WHEREAS, No country is so strong
That might can justify a wrong.
WHEREAS, No people, church, or state
Are ruled by weapon, fear or hate.
THEREFORE, We the people resolve to be
Global, interdependent, and free.
Building a Foundation
In Al’s view, higher education must serve as a foundation for the continued growth of a community. Under his leadership, strong relations of reciprocity have developed between area colleges and the community. College students reach out into the local schools and work with younger students as well as community theaters. Faculty collaborates with teachers from local schools to organize summer arts programs.
Throughout his rich and varied career at Wilkes, Al has continued to maintain contact with his students, many of whom have branched out into the community and beyond. The current director of the Darte Center, Bruce Phair, is a former Wilkes student.
Among some of Al’s most memorable performances and speakers are (respectively) Camelot, Sound of Music, Lion in Winter, and Music Man; and Steve Forbes, David Brinkley, Hank Aaron, John Houseman, Wilma Rudolph, Tony Montanaro, and the Louis Armstrong Orchestra.
But, he said with a smile, “My most priceless memory of my time at Wilkes is Jane Lampe-Groh.”
Originally from Illinois, Jane Lampe was initially hired as the dean of women in 1969. She and Groh married in 1977. Jane’s college background was in theater, but she later moved into higher educational administration. Despite being immersed in her career and supporting students at Wilkes, Jane maintained a consistent enthusiasm for all of the events.
Al Groh’s efforts in education and culture serve as a model for improving quality of life and strengthening community ties.
“It’s important to extend one’s horizons, and the arts make it possible to live a little better and to cooperate more fully and freely,” he expressed. “ They bring people together rather than separate us. The arts are as important an instrument as math and science. I would encourage schools to maintain a balance in their curriculum.”
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