On the eve of the 1936 election, Franklin D. Roosevelt came to Wilkes-Barre, PA and delivered one of the sharpest labor speeches of his presidency—rooted in Coal Region history and aimed squarely at corporate coercion. John Mitchell Day gave FDR the setting, and coal miners gave him the audience. Read the full story.
An anonymous 'Molly Maguire' boldly warned Shenandoah newspaper editor Tom Foster in 1875: with the union broken, robbed by the companies, "we intend it to cost them..." With "nothing to defind ourselves with But our Revolvers" they demanded "a fare Days wages for a fare Days work." Read the full story.
See Aachen through the eyes of the 26th Infantry - block by block, house by house. This short YouTube documentary pairs restored combat footage with today’s streets, then lands beside Irvin Schwartz’s letters from our “Letters from War” project, where 57mm guns and sniper fire turned a city into hell. Read the full story.
On an October morning in 1864, six miners entered a Schuylkill County colliery and never returned. Despite a frantic rescue, all were lost—with grieving families left behind. This Civil War–era disaster reveals the peril that stalked Pennsylvania’s coal towns before safety laws and reforms followed. Read the full story.
In 1892, a Halloween prank in Plymouth, PA backfired when a would-be “ghost” tried to spook trolley crews on night-time duty. Instead of fleeing in terror, the motormen and conductors grabbed the costumed prankster and hauled him aboard. The joke ended with an unmasked walk home. Read the full story.
In October 1952, President Harry S. Truman rolled into Pottsville on a campaign stop for Adlai Stevenson. It was the first time a sitting U.S. president visited Schuylkill County, and thousands packed the streets and stadium to hear him speak. His words touched directly on the Coal Region’s struggles with unemployment, the decline of anthracite, and the promise of new industry. It was a moment of history in Pottsville, even if the county ultimately swung for Eisenhower that November. Read the full story and listen to the speech.
On Election Night 1864, politics turned deadly in Tremont, PA. After Schuylkill County voters re-elected Congressman Myer Strouse, a band of Irish mineworkers—calling themselves the “Bloody 69th”—paraded through town. Hours later, 25-year-old George W. Thompson was beaten to death. No one was ever tried. This is the Coal Region’s volatile Civil War era—press bias, ethnic tension, and justice denied—told through one forgotten murder. Read the full story.
On October 2, 1918, Lt. Ivan L. Lautenbacher of Schuylkill Haven, PA fell in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive with the 316th Infantry, 79th Division. His own letter home before the battle foreshadowed the danger. A community mourned; a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross honored his resolve despite suffering from pandemic influenza while in combat. Read the full story.
In October 1944, Staff Sergeant John T. Stocker of Williamstown, PA was killed during Operation Market Garden in Holland. Weeks later, his mother received a solemn letter from General James Gavin detailing her son’s bravery and sacrifice during World War II. Read the full story.
In October 1902, as the Coal Strike came to an end, crowds gathered outside a coal yard in New York City’s Lower East Side, eager to secure fuel before winter. This photograph from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly captures the urgency as anthracite coal shipments from Pennsylvania resumed, bringing relief to the city’s residents. Read the full story.