A photograph for the Schuylkill County history books
This photograph was taken by a UPI photographer in March 1977 during recovery and rescue operations at the site of the Porter Tunnel disaster near Tower City. It shows an exhausted mineworker getting some sleep with his head resting on a case of Yuengling beer.
This miner has been identified as Ron Pinchorski by his daughter.
The photograph ran on the front page of the Shenandoah Evening Herald with the caption:
“Anything is welcome as a pillow – even a beer case – to this exhausted miner who catches some shuteye after grueling hours trying desperately to remove tons of debris blocking the way to nine trapped men.”
Nine men died in the Porter Tunnel Disaster, killed when water from an old working plunged into the mine. One worker, Ronald Adley, was rescued in the days after the disaster on March 1st.
Read more about Porter Tunnel
Porter Tunnel Disaster | March 1, 1977
Remembering the local emergency response to the Porter Tunnel Disaster | March 1977