Joe Toye | A Coal Region soldier in the “Band of Brothers”

Posted on by Jake Wynn
Joe Toye Photo and from Band of Brothers Jake Wynn Public Historian Coal Region

Hughestown, PA native Joe Toye enlisted days after Pearl Harbor, jumped into Europe with Easy Company, 506th PIR, and was gravely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. He came home to Pennsylvania, built a life at Bethlehem Steel, and later was portrayed by Kirk Acevedo in HBO’s Band of Brothers. Read the full story.

Breaker boys on a Sunday in Pittston, PA | 1911

Posted on by Jake Wynn
Breaker boys at Pittston in 1911

Lewis W. Hine’s photograph reveals the faces of breaker boys, children working in harsh conditions for meager pay. Witness their stories and learn how these images sparked national reform against child labor. A haunting, pivotal chapter in Coal Region history. Read the full story.