Anthracite Mining and the Slavic Immigration

Posted by on Jun 6, 2016 in | Comments Off on Anthracite Mining and the Slavic Immigration Those unfamiliar with Pennsylvania’s ethnic geography might be surprised to see a 1918 postcard penned in Russian like this one sent from Hazleton, Luzerne County, which translates as, “Tomorrow we are moving to a different place. Here is the address…. Greetings and kisses.” Following earlier immigration waves of primarily Northern and Western Europeans, the United States experienced an...
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“The Greatest Thing That Ever Happened to Us Country People”

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on “The Greatest Thing That Ever Happened to Us Country People” On a Halloween night early in the 1930s, a barn caught fire a few miles from Corry, Erie County. A passer by, Harry Burrows, hurriedly tied his horse and ran to help free the trapped animals. In the excitement no one noticed that the farm’s hired man was missing, but later they learned that his kerosene lantern was the cul­prit in starting the fire. “Some time, some way, he knocked...
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Soaring Above “This School in the Clouds”

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Soaring Above “This School in the Clouds” Each fall, when north­west winds blast down from Canada, knowledgeable bird watchers hurriedly make their way to the Appalachian Mountain ridges that zig west, then zag south through the center of the Keystone State. Binoculars in hand, they climb and hike the rocky ridge tops to await the thousands of hawks, eagles, and falcons flying south­ward. Autumn’s winds have beckoned people to...
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