A lifelong resident of Berks County, has published a book chronicling life on his family’s farm prior to it being seized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction of the Blue Marsh Dam.
“Pleasant Valley Lost,” written by Joseph J. Swope, begins in 1968 and focuses on the years in the Blue Marsh region before and during the acquisition and condemnation activities of the Corps of Engineers.
Swope’s family owned and operated a premier dairy farm of almost 200 acres that was originally part of the estate of Joseph Hiester, the fifth governor of Pennsylvania.
The book is published by Black Rose Writing, an independent book publisher located in Texas. Pleasant Valley Lost is scheduled to be released Jan. 22.
Swope, who lives in Jefferson Township, characterizes his book as narrative non-fiction.
“‘Pleasant Valley Lost’ is written in the form of a novel,” he explained. “But it documents what actually happened before and during the condemnation and construction process.”
Swope credits Marilyn Fox and Steve Potteiger, organizers of the Blue Marsh: Landscape Lost exhibit at Penn State-Berks Campus in the fall of 2013 as re-igniting interest in a community that thrived for more than two centuries before construction of the dam.
“Those who enjoy Blue Marsh Lake for its recreational activities today may not realize the dam destroyed a rich agricultural region with family farms that extended back into the 1700s,” Swope said. “The Corps of Engineers proceeded with the project with no regard to the culture, the residents or the history of the region.”
A sub-plot of the book focuses on the family’s long-standing and long-suffering devotion to the Philadelphia Phillies, culminating in the Phillies’ first World Championship in 1980.
“As a dairy farm, my father worked seven days a week and didn’t afford himself outside hobbies or interests,” Swope explained. “The Phillies were one of the few diversions he allowed himself. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, that was an act of faith, because the Phillies were not very good. It took until 1980 when they won their first World Championship for all those years of watching games to pay off.”
“Pleasant Valley Lost” is currently available for preorder exclusively at http://www.blackrosewriting.com/biographymemoir/pleasant-valley-lost. Readers who purchase the book prior to the publication date of Jan. 22 may use the promo code: PREORDER2015 to receive a 10% discount. The book will also be available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other major booksellers in the near future.
In addition to his writing pursuits, Swope has served as the communications manager for UGI Utilities, Inc., a natural gas and electric utility, for more than 20 years. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the Communications department at Alvernia University since 1982.
Additional information about Pleasant Valley Lost and author Joseph Swope is available at www.josephswope.com, as well as Swope’s author Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jswope58.
