These remarkable sketches show life in the Coal Region during the middle part of the 19th century, a crucial time in the area's history.
Sketches of the Coal Region from 1877
Letters from War – Scenes at a joyous party in liberated Normandy, August 1944
As a French town fell to Irvin Schwartz's 26th Infantry Regiment, he documented the amusing scenes he witnessed among celebrating French civilians.
As Pottsville rapidly expanded in the 1820s, it was missing something important: beer
And a German immigrant with a (now) famous last name raced to Schuylkill County to quench the city's thirst for suds.
Letters from War – Receiving letters and picking up war souvenirs in France, July 1944
In this short letter from July 1944, Schwartz thanks the editor of the Press-Herald and comments on the souvenirs he picked up in France.
Fire at Kalmia Colliery in Schuylkill County nearly claimed lives – December 1871
On December 1, 1871, the Kalmia Colliery breaker burned to the ground, nearly killing a night crew of workers trapped inside by the fumes.
“Among the Pennsylvania coal-strikers” – A dispatch from the 1902 Coal Strike
This dispatch from the 1902 Coal Strike eloquently describes the battle lines as the strike entered its pivotal fifth month.
Letters from War – Reflections on D-Day and the fighting in Normandy, June 1944
Pfc. Irvin Schwartz wrote home to Schuylkill County in June 1944 to celebrate the work of his hometown newspaper in their coverage of D-Day.
A bit of Thanksgiving perspective from the pandemic of 1918
An editorial from a newspaper in Pottsville during the 1918 pandemic reminds us to be thankful for life amid a time of death.
Thanksgiving Day in Schuylkill County – 1864
A detailed description of how Schuylkill County celebrated Thanksgiving as the Civil War reached its climax.
Letters from War – The first letter from the battlefields of Normandy, June 1944
Pfc. Schwartz writes from Normandy in the weeks after the D-Day landings about what he'd read in his hometown newspaper in Pennsylvania.
