SHAMOKIN DAM - A Bucknell University professor working on a book based on 270 manuscript pages of Moravian diaries during the early colonial days with the Native Americans in the Sunbury area was the special guest speaker at the first Northumberland County Historical Society Heritage Dinner.
"This is important because it shows a different side of history," said Dr. Katherine Faull following the three-hour presentation and dinner June 2 at Tedd's on the Hill, which overlooks the confluence of the Susquehanna River, where much of the history she presented took place.
"I like to uncover unheard voices and allow those voices to be heard again. Some of these voices were never heard before," she said.
One of these voices, written in the pages, was of a group of children heard by the Delaware tribe, who settled on Packer Island. The natives heard the children crying and found they were crowded around their deceased mother on the shore of the Susquehanna. They took the children in and cared for them as if they were their own.
Faull started working on the project five years ago and started writing the book in 2009 about what she called the foundation stories of American history.
She presented the information to the 70 diners in three parts: negotiators, Moravian and Native Americans. She spoke about lesser known figures from history and the more prominent ones, such as Chief Shikellamy.
In her research, she said one can see the daily life of the Moravian people, who rarely were allowed to stay single. Men had to teach the Bible to men and women had to teach it to women. The missionaries adopted the native exchange of goods by using gifts instead of currency.
The diaries depicts various small-scale stories as well as larger scale, including the Penn's Creek Massacre, where 14 settlers were killed and 11 were taken captive by the natives.
Society Director Cindy Inkrote said the dinner and presentation gave people an opportunity to experience history a little more in depth while socializing.
She considered the event a success, and the society will be planning another dinner in the fall, which will feature an expert on Thomas Edison.
Jonathan Pineno, a Native American flutist and composer, also attended the dinner and presented his work.