The Polish Room
The Polish Room is dedicated to the memory of settlers from Poland who since 1856 have made their homes in Wyoming Valley. The stone floor and painted beams are typical of early Polish interiors, as are tapestries on the wall, which used to be hung to hold warmth inside homes.
The rug in our room was handmade and the heavy birch furniture was crafted by Stefan Hellersperk of Dallas Township. Its designs were inspired by wood carvings of the Zakopane area in Poland. Paintings in our collection include pieces of Thaddeus Kosciusko, Casmir Pulaski, Madam Curie, Nicolaus Copernicus, and the Black Madonna. Wooden dolls in native Polish attire and pisanki are also displayed to further represent the Polish culture.
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The McClintock Room
Named after Gilbert Stuart McClintock, a former prominent local attorney who served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Wilkes College. His family home, built by his grandfather around 1840, was donated to Wilkes.
Mr. McClintock had a large collection of autographs, which date back to Charles V of France. His collection also includes autographs of all American presidents from Washington to Eisenhower.
The Eleanor C. Farley Room
Named after Eleanor Coates Farley, the wife of the first president of Wilkes College,
Eugene S. Farley, after whom our library is named. She was an accomplished pianist.
This room reflects her interest in music, fine arts, and human relations.
An antique piano was specifically purchased to enhance this room. Three of the walls
are covered with handpainted silver leaf from Hong Kong while the fourth typifies
paneling of 200 years ago. Mrs. Farley's favorite shade of blue predominates the furnishings
of this formal music drawing room.
The Norman Mailer Room
This collection contains the late Norman Mailer's personal dining room table, books he has published, and awards he has received.
Mailer works include 39 books (11 which were novels) as well as several plays, screenplays, and poems. He was a winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
The Harold Cox Archives Room
Named after Dr. Harold Cox, Professor Emeritus of History and University Archivist. Dr. Cox joined the history department faculty at Wilkes in 1963, serving until 2003, when he became the university’s archivist. Throughout the 1960s until the early 1980s, Cox spent his summers helping develop and test training programs for the Department of the Army, where he served as a reserve command sergeant major. He has held numerous positions at Wilkes, including coordinator of graduate education, chair of the history department, faculty advisor to the president, and most recently as a member of the creative writing graduate program faculty. The University Archives simply would not exist without Dr. Cox's forty year effort to collect and preserve university records.