Family history always interested Joe Nihen.

The Summit Hill native who currently lives in Lansford wanted to know just where his ancestors came from, what they did and where they are buried.That drive eventually led him beyond his own family's heritage, winding an intricate path through a number of regiments of the Civil War and finally planting him right in the middle of World War II.Now, Nihen, a retired schoolteacher, is using his passion for the past to help the Summit Hill Historical Society remind area residents just how rich a history Summit Hill had during World War II.Bumping into history"I have been doing family genealogy since I was a little kid, trying to figure out where we came from and why we came here, and I guess the military part of it came about when I discovered my second great-grandfather, Henry S. Werline," Nihen said.Werline had served with the 208th regiment of Pennsylvania's volunteer infantry in the Civil War and is buried in Shamokin.After Nihen found Werline's grave, he wanted to know more, but as he worked to learn all he could about his ancestor, which isn't that much, the stories of those Werline served with kept popping up."I started saving those men's stories and now, about 10 years later, I have about 250,000 words, enough for about four volumes," he said. "Of the roughly 1,000 men who served in the unit, I know where about 750 are buried."Nihen also began looking closer at the cemeteries in the Panther Valley and collecting the Civil War stories from old newspaper clippings and Internet searches, specifically the 28th regiment, Company E.He found descendants who shared pictures of artifacts from their loved ones and cataloged everything.Collecting dustNihen's passion for the Civil War, paired with his love for education and his granddaughter Samantha, eventually brought him face to face with four dusty scrapbooks filled with aging newspaper clippings about men and women he had delivered newspapers to when he was growing up."My granddaughter and I were doing an inventory of the whole Summit Hill Museum for a school project," he said. "We found four scrapbooks that had been donated to the museum and loaded with World War II stories of veterans from all four towns in Carbon County."I started reading through these things and I realized I knew this one and I knew that one and it just went on from there," Nihen said.As he read these stories of World War II veterans, Nihen began thinking that maybe he should do something to help showcase the work that someone had taken so much time to do decades ago."I thought that these stories deserved to be retold and put out there rather than just sitting between dusty covers of a scrapbook on a shelf in the museum," he said.Nihen pitched the idea for a book to the historical society as a fundraising project and the rest is history.'101 war stories'Over the past few months, Nihen paged through the scrapbooks, honing in on the World War II veterans from Summit Hill.He compiled their stories from the clippings that were saved decades earlier and called the book "101 War Stories featuring the World War II Veterans of Summit Hill, PA.""The stories found on these pages are transcriptions of newspaper articles from mostly undated and unnamed publications," he wrote in the preface."So many of these stories touched home," Nihen said. "I knew these people. I had a paper route when I was a kid and probably delivered to most of them, but I didn't think anything of it then. They were ordinary people just like mom and dad. They didn't tell their stories."But their stories deserve to be told," he added. "It just opened my eyes to see this. People are walking around the streets and you don't know what stories are inside. I feel the same way about cemeteries. Every grave has a story. Over time, they just get lost but they shouldn't get lost."These people deserve to get remembered and be honored and respected. I'm happy I was able to help get their stories are out."Stories toldNihen recently turned over 100 copies of the book to the historical society, which will be using it as a fundraiser in the coming months.The scrapbooks, still filled with the lives of men and women from Nesquehoning, Coaldale and Lansford, again sit on the borough museum's shelf, their stories quietly waiting to be told.Nihen admitted that he may continue the project and compile the stories for the other towns if this book is well-received."Whoever put them together took a lot of time," he said. "They (the scrapbooks) are a real treasure."The book is now for sale at multiple locations in Summit Hill and will be available for purchase during Memorial Day weekend festivities.Where to buyThe Summit Hill Historical Society is now selling "101 War Stories featuring the World War II Veterans of Summit Hill, PA" at various locations around the borough.Recently, society members presented Sophie and Walter Porambo, two World War II veterans living in Summit Hill, with a complimentary copy of the book.Sophie served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, while her husband of 65 years served under Gen. George Patton as an aidman in the U.S. Army's 305th engineer battalion.Historical society member Jim Szczecina said that anyone who would like to purchase a copy, which is $10 and will benefit the society, can do so at the following locations:• Hiles Bros. Plumbing, Heating and Fuel Company: 160 E. North St.• Breslin's Hilltop News, 46 W. Ludlow St.People can also call Szczecina at 570-645-5020, Louis Vermillion at 570-645-9772 or Michele Toniatti at 570-645-5822.