“He goes warmed by a spirit of true patriotism.” In April 1861, a 19-year-old printer from Pittston put down his tools and marched off to war. His letters from Camp Curtin in Harrisburg capture the excitement, uncertainty, and raw emotion of the Civil War’s opening days. Read the full story and the start of a new "Letters from War" series.
“There is but one feeling expressed, and that is, the government must be sustained.” That line appeared in a letter written from Eckley, Pennsylvania just days after the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861. In the Coal Region, the news sparked a surge of patriotism as young men began volunteering for the US Army. Read the Full Story and Letter.
“The people flocked in by thousands… it seemed as if its whole population had been poured forth.” On a cold April day in 1861, Pottsville, PA came to a standstill as hundreds of young men marched to the railroad depot and into a civil war that had just begun. Crowds filled the streets, handkerchiefs waved from every window, and the sound of cheers followed the train as it pulled away. The soldiers went into history as the "First Defenders." Read the Full Story.
“Great Titanic sinks with 1500 on board.” In the days after the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, the news finally reached Pennsylvania's Coal Region in full force. This Scranton front page captures the moment when shock, scale, and tragedy came into focus for readers. Read the Story.
In April 1944, a B-17 named Banshee was shot down over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, sending Shenandoah, PA native Chester Majewski plunging 20,000 feet into enemy territory. What followed was a desperate escape through mountains, hunger, and fear. His hometown newspaper captured the story that he barely wanted to tell. Read the Full Story.
In 1876, a chilling illustration labeled “A Warning” claimed to show a Molly Maguire “coffin notice” - a written death threat used to spread fear in the Coal Region. These images shaped public panic and were used to justify brutal crackdowns on Irish immigrants and their communities. Read the full story.
“So why did we invade Iraq?” Two editorials from a Coal Region newspaper. One written in the opening days of the war, full of certainty about what must come next. The other, just a year later, asking harder questions as the cost became clearer and the answers more uncertain. Read the Full Story.
“It seemed as if the scenes and characters of the Bible were living again now, before our eyes.” Before he became the Coal Region’s most important folklorist, George Korson served in the Middle East during World War I. His letters and reflections capture a world in transition and a remarkable journey from Pennsylvania to Palestine. Read the Full Story.
“I am Mary Ubaniae, direct me to Hazleton, Pa.” In 1900, a ten-year-old Hungarian girl crossed the Atlantic alone with that tag tied to her dress. Her parents were gone, and relatives in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region were her only destination. A brief newspaper story preserves this remarkable journey. Read the Full Story.
“We still have plenty of room for those who come to us, provided they are the right kind of people.” That line appeared in a Pottsville newspaper in 1888 as thousands of immigrants from Italy and Eastern Europe continued arriving in America’s industrial communities. The editorial captures the language of nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment at the moment the Coal Region itself was being reshaped by newcomers. Read the Full Story.