On Thanksgiving Day 1938, with the Great Depression still hanging over Schuylkill County, Pottsville flipped the switch on Christmas – Centre Street draped in spruce and laurel, banks sending out thousands in Christmas Club checks, and downtown shops “dolled up” for the season. This piece walks through the decorations, displays, and small luxuries that brought a little light to a hard year in the Coal Region. Read the full story.
The Great Depression hit Pennsylvania’s Coal Region hard. Collieries shuttered, jobs vanished, and families scraped by with bootleg mining, relief drives, and New Deal work. In my latest RealClear Pennsylvania column, I trace the collapse from Black Tuesday to efforts in towns like Williamstown and Lykens to survive the depression—and what lingers today. Read the full story.
Discover a heartfelt holiday message from 1839, shared by the Pottsville Miners' Journal editor during tough economic times. Amidst depression, he calls on readers to celebrate Christmas and New Year by uplifting spirits and helping those in need. Read the full story.
These newspaper ads appeared in the Lykens Register in February 1872.
In Tracy Campbell's 2020 book, the author uses the examples from the anthracite coal fields to show how our national myths about World War II often miss the mark.
On Thanksgiving Day 1902, Reverend John Hensyl addressed a congregation in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, just weeks after the end of the historic 1902 Coal Strike. His sermon focused on the harsh realities faced by the region’s mineworkers and called attention to the systemic poverty that plagued working families. Hensyl’s message reflected the growing Progressive Era call for institutional reform to address the inequities created by powerful corporations. Explore how this pivotal moment in labor history was echoed in the pulpit. Read the full story.
Discover the tragic 1858 incident where toxic gases from a burning coal mine claimed the lives of two mining officials in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. Explore this early example of mine fires in the anthracite coal fields, highlighting the dangers miners faced and the environmental challenges of the era. Read the full story.
A travel writer vividly described Pottsville and the surrounding region of Schuylkill County in 1852.
In the spring of 1863, a journalist documented the chaotic and changing situation in the Coal Region as the Civil War raged on.
A profile of Scranton in 1861 describes a rapidly industrializing community on the eve of the Civil War.