This site focuses on more about my heritage in general, anthracite mining and the coal region of pennsylvania, and in particular, schuylkill county specific information. The multiethnic heritage of the region makes it home to wonderful recipes from all over the world. Mcwhiney is a retired texas christian university history professor who held the lyndon baines johnson chair for several years. Those of us who are inhabitants are called coal crackers.
Two new books that reckon with the long, bleak history of the countrys white poor suggest their. It is a project of coal cracker kids, a 501c3 public charity, with startup funding from the nonprofit local news support. With a handful of companies controlling over ninety percent of total production, the anthracite industry was one of the most formidable cartels in. Among scotchirish settlers the term cracker initially designated a person who boasted, but in american usage the word has come to designate poor whites. Mar 02, 2011 food from the coal region is something missed the most by ex coal crackers. By cracking a whip they herd cattle while seated on cracker horses, sturdy equines bread for cattle work. Many aspects of american life converged in the opera house. Aug 15, 2007 a ride at hershey park called the coal cracker. Grady mcwhineys new book on cracker culture is yet another histo.
Aurand 2003, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay. I teach and live in mount carmel, pennsylvania in a small town with a population somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000. Dec 18, 2015 20 things only people in pennsylvanias coal region know to be true. Clean, smaller size pieces of various sizes came out the other end. Coal region canary news and information from the heart.
University of alabama press, 1988 according to grady mcwhiney, the north and the south were destined to develop incompatible lifestyles because of each regions unique ethnic roots. The books guiding premise is that work provided a diverse population with its only shared set of experiences and therefore became the primary determinant of its culture. The breaker also filtered out slate and other rock from the coal. The region is made up of schuylkill, carbon, lackawanna, luzerne, northumberland, and columbia counties, and also the northernmost reaches of dauphin county. Work and values in pennsylvania anthracite, 18351935 aurand, harold on. Dale schimpf, a wellknown music teacher at pottsville nativity high school and north schuylkill school district was arrested monday on child sex charges. Often used with the connotation that the person so designated comes from a modest, bluecollar background. The dominant industry of the area, coal mining, has left a considerable mark on the health of scottish and scotchirish americans.
The study begins by establishing the region s industrial and social contexts. In cracker culture, grady mcwhiney described, in the rural southwill ever find a much heartier welcome, a warmer shake of the hand, a greater desire to please, and less frigidity of deportment, than will be found in any walled town upon the earths circumference. Located in northeastern pennsylvania, the counties schuylkill, carbon, luzerne, lackawanna, columbia, and northumberland make up the area known as the coal region. The ride was installed by arrow development in 1973, making it the oldest water ride at hersheypark still in daily operation. It is a project of coal cracker kids, a 501c3 public charity, with startup funding from the nonprofit local news support organization, the community reporting alliance. Schuylkill county, is an annual celebration of blended irish and coal cracker culture held the last weekend in july, filled with music, dance, food, genealogy, games, crafts, and more. Pull up a chair and share a cup of coffee around the coal region campfire as i chat with podcast host alfredo mercuri about my background, history, and how a coalcracker in the kitchen came about. Florida cracker culture florida historical society. Intermediate babka is an ukrainian sweet, leavened bread made with a rich dough which is made for easter sunday to celebrate the rising of christ. Traces the evolution of a distinct regional culture in the anthracite coal fields of pennsylvania. Epcamr is working with a cogeneration power plant and engineers to eat away the pile with partial government funding over the next few years. Miners of all kinds will appreciate the designs of the american coal cracker. There are a number of coal breakers most of which are abandoned dotting the region.
Cracker culture is a provocative study of social life in the old so. Peach festival is held in shamokin annually in august. Black lung, a congestive disease of the lungs caused by the inhalation of coal dust, disables and kills miners at a high rate. March 20, 2017 by anthracite unite in books, history, lists 3 comments history is important. Our first coal region poll, and what a great one it was. Chapter a of the encyclopedia of northern kentucky by. If you dont know history it is as if you were born yesterday. Clair eckley village museum gift shop, weatherly jeans news stand, shenandoah historical society of schuylkill county, pottsville. While professor grady mcwhineys cracker culture is perhaps the most. Jun 27, 2012 riders perspective on coal cracker arrow dynamics. The encylopedia of northern kentucky in partnership with.
It has a unique layout, due to the terrain features of this part of the park. Coal cracker is a classic hydroflume ride located at hersheypark in hershey, pennsylvania. All food is served family style by women who are usually in a hurry. Coal cracker tournament is growing times news online. Big, dirty lumps of coal came out of the mines and went in one end of the breaker. A wellknown music teacher at nativity bvm high school in pottsville is in schuylkill county prison tonight on child sex charges. Coalcracker bushcraft is a wilderness skills school and outdoor retailer of the finest outdoor products for the modern woodsman. Opera houses in appalachia is a critical appreciation of the opera house in the coal mining region of appalachia from the mid1860s to the early 1930s. Susquehanna university press may 1, 2003 coal cracker culture. However, those of us here in the northeast region of pennsylvania, the coal region, have a culture, language, and work ethic all of our own. Flyover of one of the biggest culm waste coal coal refuse piles remaining in the wyoming valley of the northeastern pennsylvania anthracite coal fields. Creamed chipped beef, affectionately known as sht on a shingle id spell it out, but this is an all ages welcome page is a staple in many areas of pennsylvania. Coalcracker culture traces the evolution of a distinct regional culture in the anthracite coal fields of pennsylvania. One such account, grady mcwhineys cracker culture 1988, earns isenbergs brisk dismissal as a flawed historical study that turned poor whites into celtic ethnics scotsirish.
Coal mining and railroads brought travelers, money, and change to the region. High school wrestlers from across pennsylvania will converge on panther valley this weekend for the coal cracker tournament. Creamed chipped beef frizzled beef or sos to get the recipe, click on the link at the end of the post or on the photo. For example, although there were large coal deposits and a beautiful quality of. Some of our coal region line available at these fun places. The study begins by establishing the regions industrial and social contexts.
From boilo to halupkies, city chicken to mozhee, many a coal cracker s mouth waters at the mere mention of these culinary delights. My wife is a coal cracker, meaning that she comes from the anthracite coal mining region of central pennsylvania. Cracker culture grady mcwhiney cracker culture is a provocative study of social life in the old south that probes the origin of cultural differences between the south and the north throughout american history. Traditional ukrainian babka a coalcracker in the kitchen. I am proud to be a coal cracker, and i am very proud to be a coal miners daughter. I come from new jersey, which isnt geographically very far away, but id never heard the term before i met her. Cracker culture mcwhiney, grady, mcdonald, forrest published by the university of alabama press mcwhiney, grady and forrest mcdonald. Hersheypark coal cracker pov hd on ride front seat water flume rollercoaster gopro 2012 1080p video. Food from the coal region is something missed the most by ex coal crackers. Yes, there is a coal miners daughter behind it all. Work and values in pennsylvania anthracite, 18351935. Always a coal cracker a tribute to anthracite miners. Coal mines had marked this region of the commonwealth by creating an industry that employed a large percentage of the natives. The coal cracker 10k is a challenging 10k race held annually on the 2nd saturday of june in shenandoah pa.
News and information from the heart of anthracite coal country coal region canary news and information from the heart of anthracite coal country coronavirus statistics for schuylkill county and pennsylvania updated daily. Flume at hersheypark in hershey, pennsylvania, usa. The project will remove an eyesore from the community making way for the land to be. You can take a coal cracker out of the coal region but you cant take the coal region out of their heart. Florida crackers are cattle ranchers with techniques specific to the florida pine and scrub lands. Some of your favorite things if youre from the coal region in pennsylvania.
According to information received by coal region canary, dale schimpf, 71 of frackville, was arrested on monday by members of tamaqua police department. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. This database was created entirely from data gleaned off the net and via submissions from people like you and your parents. Although the person asking was very friendly and simply making conversation, i couldnt help but feel a sense of inferiority. Now in its eighth year, the event will be the biggest yet, with a record 27 teams scheduled to attend. Ukrainian, eastern european, coal region difficulty. A coalcracker in the kitchen coal region comfort foods. Work and values in pennsylvania anthracite, 18351935 by harold w. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it. Celtic ways in the old south new ed by grady mcwhiney, forrest mcdonald isbn.
Jan 23, 2020 coal is an enormously valuable fossil fuel that has been used for hundreds of years in the industry. Cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a racial epithet for white people, used especially for poor rural whites in the southern united states. Coal cracker has adult advisors and a nonprofit group is helping pay the costs but they are looking to sell ads and they are recruiting for more kids in the county to get involved. It is sometimes used in a neutral context in reference to a native of florida or georgia see florida cracker and georgia cracker. Like the eastern part of the state, western kentucky had hills and coal mines. Learn more about a unique lifeway that has endured from early spanish settlers to the present day. I had no idea that people were able to decipher my origin, and classify me as a simple coal cracker simply from the way i talk. Cracker culture is a provocative study of social life in the old south that probes the origin of cultural differences between the south and the north throughout american history. This is the place to find the shirts and products that show the world how cracking coal build this country and how it still powers america and the world. Coalcracker bushcraft retail company facebook 127 photos. The coal region owes its heritage to the varied cultures of the people who settled there, as well as to the bygone days of coal mining. Hersheypark coal cracker pov hd on ride front seat water flume rollercoaster gopro 2012 1080p video duration. The clover irish weekend festival in heckschersville. More recently, the government has accelerated the decline of the coal industry, on environmentally defensible.
With a handful of companies controlling over ninety percent of total production, the anthracite industry was one of the most formidable cartels in american history. Work and values in pennsylvania anthracite, 18351935 by harold aurand. The coal region and web ring that is being built around it are a celebration of the nostalgia, memories, history, culture, lifestyle, heritage, music, art, literature and people of one of the most unique geographic areas in america. Singersongwriter john prine told the tale of coal mining in the region with his song 2grady mcwhiney, cracker culture tuscaloosa, al. Pennsylvania coal culture exhibit coal culture projects special. Coal region recipes boilo, city chicken, flitch, hrudka.