These 1938 photographs by Sheldon Dick show a landscape destroyed by mining and the efforts of local residents to survive the Great Depression.
Photographs from the 1930s show a ramshackle mining operation on outskirts of Mount Carmel
The Coal Region’s economic woes featured in book: “The Year of Peril: America in 1942”
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.
A 1938 photograph shows desolate Coal Region landscape during the Great Depression
This photograph of Mount Carmel, PA in reveals the physical and economic gloom that hung over the anthracite coal fields during the 1930s.
Photographs from 1938 document the damage done to homes by mine subsidence in Schuylkill County
Sheldon Dick photographed damaged homes in Gilberton, Schuylkill County in 1938.
A 1938 editorial from the Coal Region urged loosening of immigration restrictions for refugees
In November 1938, the Pittston Gazette published an editorial calling for a reconsideration of America's strict immigration policies.
“Only Hoover is Big Enough” – A Lykens newspaper’s editorial on the eve of the 1932 election
The Lykens Standard voiced support for President Herbert Hoover and called the campaign against him illegitimate.
Scenes in a Coal Region bar room – 1938
Photographer Sheldon Dick made a visit to the Coal Region in 1938 to document scenes of life and work in the mining towns of northern Schuylkill County. On an evening during his visit, Dick made a swing by a bar room in Gilberton, Pennsylvania and snapped three photographs that bring the setting to life. The … Continue reading Scenes in a Coal Region bar room – 1938
The day beer returned to Schuylkill County – 1933
At midnight on April 7, 1933, whistles blew to celebrate the return of legalized beer in the heart of the Coal Region.
“Due for a comeback?” – An address on the Coal Region on eve of Great Depression
Mining engineer Max Fredericks gave a prediction of a bright future for the anthracite industry the day before the stock market collapsed.
A black childhood in Pottsville in the 1930s – Charles H. King, Jr.
Charles H. King, Jr. eloquently described his childhood in Pottsville in his book, "Fire in my Bones."
