In the late 1920s, coal companies promised modernization. Instead, centralized breakers closed collieries and hollowed out towns like Mahanoy City and Shamokin. Jobs vanished and communities unraveled. In my latest article, I trace that collapse and ask what it warns us about warehouses, automation, and data centers today. Read the Full Story.
In this video interview, I talk with historian Mitch Troutman about The Bootleg Coal Rebellion - the story of Pennsylvania miners who refused to starve when the industry collapsed. We explore survival, dignity, and resistance in the Coal Region, and why this history still matters today. Watch the Video.
A single photograph from the 1920s captures a mine rescue team standing at the mouth of Big Lick Tunnel – and, just behind them, the old “plane” that once hauled coal cars up Big Lick Mountain toward the Williamstown breaker. Today, only ruins remain on the hillside, but this image offers a sharp glimpse back at the days when the colliery dominated Williams Valley. Read the full story.
In the winter of 1926, a Hazleton, PA reporter went looking for dry Coal Region towns - and found the opposite. Bootleg liquor flowed freely across Carbon, Luzerne, and Schuylkill counties, especially at Christmas. Prohibition barely touched coal country. This new video brings that story to life. Watch the latest video.
Ever wondered what families paid for everyday essentials a century ago? This eye-opening report shows how food costs varied across Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal fields—revealing stark differences that shaped daily life. Read the full story.
On the eve of the Great Depression, mining official Max Fredericks delivered an optimistic speech in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, predicting a bright future for the anthracite coal industry. Discover the irony and lasting impact of his words as the Coal Region faced unprecedented economic devastation after Black Tuesday in October 1929. Read the full story.
In May 1929, some of the anthracite industry believed mining was about to make a comeback. They were wrong.
A reporter for the Hazleton Plain Speaker interview bootleggers to get a scoop on the booze situation in 1926.