“We looked to create a nonprofit that was going to be proactive rather than reactive – we weren’t going to be against something as much as for something…”
At a young age, a precocious Bernie McGurl asked his mom where all the water went when she pulled the plug on the bathtub. “All the way down to the Chesapeake Bay,” she told him. And at that moment, curiously navigating his weary mother’s quip, he found himself, for the first time (and forever) fascinated with rivers and watershed. But, like a river, of course, his wasn’t a straight path.
Bernie is a proud Dunmore native. He came of age as NEPA’s coal mines and rail industry neared their end. When not outside from sun up to sun down, young Bernie attended St. Mary’s Elementary and later walked with the first graduating class from Dunmore Central Catholic (now Holy Cross). From there, he attended The University of Scranton, Keystone College and Johnson College. He then cut his teeth as a carpenter and a firefighter for the Bureau of Forestry. And in 1972, Hurricane Agnes drew him back to the water.
He volunteered to help keep the rising Susquehanna River at bay. And long after it breached the levees, he got to work helping Wilkes-Barre rebuild. He railroaded for a stint in the Midwest via the Norfolk Southern and made his way back home with the Erie Lackawanna. Here, the ramblin’ stopped. He planted his roots. He looked upon the Lackawanna River – its rotten smell, the sewage and decades of careless industrial waste. And he decided to do something about it.
Bernie is most well-known for his work as Executive Director of the Lackawanna River Conservation Association (LRCA). He helped to develop the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail and to get Steamtown National Historic Site up and running. He played a crucial role in the founding of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority and many other nonprofits. Today, in his mid-70s, he’s scaled back a bit. His new role – part-time Project Manager at LRCA.
We caught up with NEPA’s river conservation legend on the banks of the Lackawanna River, naturally. He managed to condense his quasi-folk-hero essence into a 30-minute conversation. And we just listened. We sat enamored as his words carried on cool and gentle like a never-ending ripple on the river below our feet. Eventually, someone asked, Why NEPA?
How long have you lived in NEPA?
I’ve lived here my whole life with the exception of four or five years in the early to mid-70s when I was out of town working on the railroad. And then I did a little traveling in Europe and Mexico and the western United States.
What do you love about your town?
Well, I’d say that I consider the entirety of the whole Lackawanna Valley as my hometown. It’s just home. I feel comfortable here. I know it well. I feel safe. I know the weather. I know the geology. I know where it’s gonna’ flood and where it’s not. It’s fun. It’s beautiful. There’s a lot of interesting people – a lot of creative people. And it’s always been that way.
I think when people came over here largely from Europe in the 19th century, they brought European culture and folkways and art forms. They brought opera and theater and music, and it’s still here. It’s now ingrained in the population here. And I love that about this place. It’s both a great place to be from and to come home to.
What’s your favorite NEPA restaurant?
I’m just going to give you a list of all the places my wife and I frequent. And at the top of our list is going to be Sibio’s. They’re friends of ours and we live pretty close by. That’s our go-to place. We love Sidel’s as well. We also love sushi, so, you’ll occasionally find us at Osaka. We’re also big fans of Mexican food. Chicano’s and El Buen Amigo are also some of our favorite places. Oh, and I can’t forget Hank’s Hoagies.
What’s your favorite thing to do in NEPA?
Well, when I was younger, when my legs still worked it was hiking. I’ve had a couple of injuries over the years. So, that’s an issue and it holds me back, but that’s why I got a new trike, and I’ll be back out on the trail soon. I also have a penchant for doing sketches, and I used to do watercolors and oil paints when I was a student, and I still have my paint kit. So, I’ll be out on the trail with my art gear. And I’ll be sketching along the river.
What’s next for you?
Well, I’m enjoying being retired and not having the weight of the world on my shoulders. I also want to continue to travel a little bit. I’d really like to get over to Europe one more time. I’d like to go to Italy. I’ve been all over northern Europe, but I’d like to get to Italy and maybe follow the footsteps of DaVinci and Michelangelo. Oh, and definitely out to California. My kids are out there. So, San Diego holds a special place in my heart.
Where do you see NEPA heading in the future?
I see a lot of big buildings going up. A lot of data centers. And we have artificial intelligence looming. So, it seems like maybe Northeastern Pennsylvania will play a part in that and supporting the national economy. It’ll certainly offer some challenges to our community, but I think we can adapt and really grab a hold of it.
Also, as a former railroader, I am anticipating the revival of passenger service to New York City. And I see us moving toward providing more education. We’ve got that great medical college here. I’m alive because of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. We have all of these amazing universities and colleges. We need to ensure they keep going into the future.
Why NEPA?
I think I’ve always been in love with the region. And it always takes me back to my parents. My dad was a Professor of Literature at the University of Scranton. He was also a historian and a member of the board at the Lackawanna Historical Society. When I was a kid, he’d take me down to the Catlin House on the weekends when he was working on a presentation or lecture. And I would hang out in the library reading book after book after book. So, at 9, 10, 11 years-old, there I was learning the history of this place and how this community came about.
And that’s really what I brought along to the work I did with the river. I had a love for nature. Both of my parents had that love for nature as well. And if we weren’t spending our Saturday at the historical society, we were out hiking on the Gravity Railroad on Moosic Mountain picking huckleberries. That’s my heritage right there.
I was a lucky kid to have two parents that loved each other and loved our community, and they taught me how to love our community.
