This is a piece continued from last week. You can read Part 1 of our brief series on the remembrances of Robert Weir from 1914 HERE. After describing his arrival in the Coal Region in 1852, Robert Weir turned to discussing his work in Schuylkill County as a hoisting engineer in various collieries in the … Continue reading A Scottish immigrant’s remarkable working history in 1850s Schuylkill County (Part 2)
An 84-year-old sat down with a Pottsville Republican reporter in October 1914 for a discussion about what it was like to live and work in Schuylkill County in the mid-19th century. Robert Weir came to the Coal Region from Scotland in 1852 and found work in the coal mines in the vicinity of Branchdale, Forestville, and Heckscherville. … Continue reading “My brains and my wits” – A Scottish immigrant recalls his arrival in Schuylkill County in 1852
In October 1914, war raged on the European continent. In what was then called the "Great War," industrial-scale war was waged on a massive scale for the first time. Americans were paying attention. A commentator for the Pottsville Republican noted a curious thing about the suddenly mechanized armies smashing each other to pulp on the battlefields … Continue reading “The Mine Mule Affected by the European War” – 1914
A caustic letter by a Schuylkill County native in Seattle complained of mask requirement in the city. But their letter missed the mark.
At midnight on April 7, 1933, whistles blew to celebrate the return of legalized beer in the heart of the Coal Region.
As influenza killed hundreds in Schuylkill County in 1918, volunteers stepped up to save lives.
"Pottsville celebrated the advent of the new wet era with one of the driest evenings in its history."
The writers at the "Pottsville Republican" struggled to find words for the horrific death toll of Spanish flu in October 1918.
And a plea to consider what the Confederate battle flag meant to the local soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War.
