In the early morning darkness of Christmas Eve 1947, 125 mineworkers bundled up and stepped into the snow-covered hills near Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.
Their destination wasn’t a church or a family gathering – it was the entrance to the Newkirk Tunnel, an anthracite coal mine in eastern Schuylkill County.
Lit by candles and dusted with fresh snow, the mine entrance transformed into the unlikely stage for a new Coal Region holiday tradition. As temperatures plunged to 12 degrees, miners gathered at 6 a.m. and began singing Christmas carols, their voices echoing in the cold air, accompanied by the brassy sound of trumpets and trombone.
A local photographer captured the remarkable scene, and soon after, the Pottsville Republican shared the story:
“SING CAROLS AT NEWKIRK MINE
Temperature 12 As Miners Set Yule Season Precedent
In a real wintry setting a group of over 100 miners sang Christmas carols at 6 o’clock this eve morning in a special ceremony before going to work at the Newkirk Mine of the Phila. & Reading Coal & Iron Co.
The miners attired in their work clothes and with their electric cap lamps piercing the dark of the early morning, sang “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.” Trumpeters and a trombonist provided the accompanying music.
Temperature was 12 degrees, the ground was covered with snow. The program was arranged under the direction of R.S. Davies of Tamaqua, superintendent of the colliery. George A. Roos, vice president; Edward G. Fox, general manager; Edward A, Lynch, director of personnel; and D.E. Ingersoll, superintendent of the Pottsville division, were among the company officials who attended the short ceremony.
The trumpeters were: Dick Donald Jr., Eugene Willing and Stanley Matas. The trombonist was Capt. W William Hazard of the Salvation Army.”
Read more about Christmas in the Coal Region
Christmas Eve in Pottsville | December 24, 1902
Golden-tinged memories of Christmas Eve recalled in the dark days of the Civil War | 1861
A ‘wet’ Christmas in the Coal Region during Prohibition
Christmas in a Coal Region ‘patch town’
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I grew up in Tamaqua and when we were teenagers we would explore the area around the Newkirk tunnel and breaker. We would walk out to the silt banks and down the hill to the breaker. The buildings for the offices and other facilities were still there along with the breaker. We would find helmets and respirators and log books and other documents. We never took anything with us back then but sometimes I wish I would have saved something from there as a memento.