Northumberland County Area History   Shamokin

125 years
City of Shamokin, Pennsylvania 
1864-1989


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Transcribed for the PAGenWeb Project by:  Bruce T. Hall

New WPA Projects

In February 1939, the borough council was faced with the major task of determining which Works 
Projects Administration projects should be undertaken during the current year under borough 
sponsorship.

Diamond Jubilee Time

To an ex-Shamokinite, coming home for the Diamond Jubilee Celebration in the summer of 1939, 
the old borough looked very good indeed.  Here, in this pleasant valley, situated between Big and 
Mahanoy Mountains, 730 feet above sea level, was a community bustling with activity  ---  in 
readiness for an unforgettable week of gaiety and pageantry  ---  to mark its seventy-fifth 
anniversary.

The borough had come a long way since its incorporation in 1864 and could well be proud of its 
municipal facilities.  During the last administration, City Hall had been completely renovated, 
inside and out.  In this seat of government, the chief burgess and twenty councilmen  ---  two 
members being elected from each of the ten wards  ---  were meeting and shaping plans for further 
municipal improvements.

Even now, the borough was maintaining a modern fire department of five companies, an electric 
fire alarm system, twenty-four-hour police service, an active board of health, a curb market, and a 
substantially constructed warehouse.

Municipal finances were controlled by a budgetary system, giving Shamokin one of the highest 
credit ratings among towns of like population in Pennsylvania.  The borough also ranked high as a 
sponsor of projects and labor employment, having a street improvement and public sewer program 
comparable to that of larger cities in the Commonwealth.

In June, as the community was preparing for its gigantic 75th "birthday party," Europe was 
preparing for war.  But the far-reaching involvements of the impending holocaust were yet to be 
realized.  At any rate, the community was celebrating its Diamond Jubilee and during that gala 
week of planned and impromptu festivity, June 25 to July 1 all other events   ---  particularly 
serious ones  ---  seemed to pale in importance.  It was almost as if a moratorium on melancholy 
had been declared.

A Week of Festivity


The 1939 observance was launched at midnight, Sunday, June 24, when the late Chief Burgess 
George W. Shade turned the switch to illuminate Independence Street, which was specially lighted 
and renamed "Electric Boulevard" for the duration of the celebration.  Newsmen estimated that 
25,000 persons had congregated in the business district for the official opening.  The activities that 
followed were gay indeed, and the Shamokin News-Dispatch accounts indicate that the crowds 
enjoyed themselves thoroughly during the loud and lengthy night of hilarity.

Miss Mary Richardson, who had received the largest number of votes in a public popularity 
contest, reigned during the Jubilee as "Miss Shamokin."  A second queen, Miss Mary Cotner, 
runner-up reigned as "Miss Columbia."

The major entertainment attraction of the week was the "Cavalcade of the Coalers," a specially 
written and prepared pageant which was staged in Edgewood Stadium for four nights.  Practically 
all local residents and countless out-of-town visitors flocked to the stadium to see the pageant.

Parading and Dancing

A series of colorful parades marked the observance.  Perhaps the largest was the impressive 
Industrial Day Parade which included 32 floats representing as many local industrial and business 
firms.  In addition, there were marching groups from local fraternal and labor organizations.  Other 
major processions of the anniversary week included the Firemen's Parade, the Veterans' Day 
Parade, the Mummers' Parade, and the School Day Parade.  Each of the parades featured a large 
number of participants, and each was witnessed by many thousands of spectators.  Prizes were 
awarded to distinctive entries.

Merchants of the community played their part in he crowd-pleasing program by offering bargains 
in all lines of merchandise during a gala three-day Diamond Jubilee Sale.

Decorations were colorful and abundant.  Practically every home and business place was 
decoratively "dressed up" for the occasion.  The business district throughput was trimmed with 
bunting, colored lights, and other attractive devices.

Dancing in the streets was a popular feature.  All traffic was banned from Independence Street 
prior to the early evening parades.  Following the parades, the thoroughfare remained barricaded 
to motor traffic so that people could promenade the full width of the street.  At certain points along 
the main stem, music was provided for dancing.  If any musical theme for the celebration existed, it 
was the "Beer Barrel Polka."  That selection, new at the time, was played long and often.

A Youth Day at Edgewood Park was presented by sports and athletic leaders of the community.  
Highlights of this event were contests in which the youths competed in athletic endeavor.

Adding interest to the local scene was the variety of antiques on display in the show windows of 
local business places.  Prizes were awarded for the best shown.


Throughout the week-long festivities, the greater Shamokin area was host to countless visitors 
from faraway places.  These included former residents, friends and relatives of people residing 
here, and out-of-toners who came simply to see the sights and experience the excitement of it all.  
The latter, prior to parade time, made up a seemingly endless stream of automobiles pouring into 
the co,,unity via every highway inlet.  The exciting events even attracted cameramen from a 
nationally known newsreel firm.  Certainly it was a celebration that would be long remembered.

Executive officers of the history-making Diamond Jubilee were:  Ray D. Marshall, Executive 
Director; Isaac E. Heim, Finance Chairman; J. Merrill Schrawder, Treasurer; John C. Wary, 
Secretary; and George W. Renn Jr., Chairman of the Executive Committee.

A "New" Industry is Born

At this time, history of another nature was being made in the local Area.  The colorful story of 
"independent mining"  ---  its birth and stormy progress  ---  was in a very real sense a story of 
survival.  The small mine-industry came into being in the early 1930s as a direst result of the 
Depression.

The Bootlegging Thirties

For many years, when the area's collieries were working to capacity, there was adequate 
employment for all miners.  The possibility of an individual beginning an operation of his own was 
remote during this period.

After the crushing depression began, for reasons beyond their control, the collieries shut down one 
by one.  At first it was hoped that this was a temporary situation which would br adjusted 
eventually.  Before long, however, it became apparent that many of the mines would operate again. 
 As unemployment continued to rise, the miners found themselves in a predicament that grew 
increasingly serious.  With no other industry in the area to provide them with jobs, their economic 
future seemed hopeless.  It was then that they started ro take matters into their own hands, thus 
beginning the era of the "bootleg" miner.

"No Trespassing"

The companies, although they had closed their mines, still held deeds or leases to the coal lands.  
They therefore posted "No Trespassing" signs on all their properties.  As the miners became 
desperately in need of money to pay for food, clothing, and shelter, these signs were ignored.  The 
men invaded company properties and began to dig coal on their own for personal use or for selling 
to others.

For as long as anyone can remember, particularly during the prolonged strikes or periods of 
economic distress, children and other members of the miners' families would fill buckets with 
coal picked from the culm banks.  Coal company police would overlook this since the culm was of 
doubtful value compared to virgin coal.  It was more or less traditional for needy families to take 
advantage of this lenient attitude to fill their cellar coal bids with a winter's supply of fuel.


Now, with the depression-born practice of operating bootleg "coal holes," the miners had taken 
the coal-picking custom a long step further.  They were now engaged in the actual mining of coal.


Small Mines -- Big Risks

Within a few years, over 600 so-called "bootleg" mines and numerous small breakers could be 
seen on the hillsides of the anthracite coal fields.  Crudely equipped and inexpensively operated 
using simple methods, these mine, employing from three to five men each, cost little more than the 
miners' labor.  As a result, they were in a position to sell coal at prices lower than those of the 
regular mined product.  While the owners of the hard coal lands frowned on the entire practice, in 
many cases they permitted the miners to continue their digging.

Due to a lack of supervision and supplies, mine tragedies frequently occurred and many men lost 
their lives.  But this did not deter others from pursuing the dangerous quest for coal.  Theirs was a 
courage born of dire economic necessity.

Orders to Cease and Desist

By 1943, bootleg mining had burgeoned into something of an industry.  On November 10th of that 
year, the Anthracite Emergency Committee announced its intention to have all bootlegging cease by 
month's end; in the meantime attempting to find ways and means for doing so.  Needless to say, the 
problem was not solved within the deadline date.

In the twelve years since its birth, the new industry had made great strides with many 
improvements involving sizable investments.  In the same year, a number of local businessmen 
voiced strong approval of bootleg mining.  They pointed out that the area had been bypassed by 
defense plants; that, at one time, there were fifteen large collieries within eight miles of Shamokin; 
and that the one remaining colliery in operation could not provide sufficient employment for the 
men of the area.  Bootleg mining was a vital source of income to the community, they said.

Bootlegging "Graduates" to Independent Mining

In this eventual year of 1943, when the Anthracite Commission was exerting efforts to eliminate 
bootlegging, the Anthracite Tri-County Independent Miners, Breakermen, and Truckers 
Association was equally active on behalf of its own members' interests.  As early as 1941, this 
association had a lobbying committee.  The miners no longer considered themselves bootleggers.  
They were now "independents."

There followed a period of almost ten years when the independents continued to operate in the 
face of widespread opposition and the uncertainty of possible eviction from the coal fields they 
worked.  It was a perilous existence in terms of human life and financial investment, but the 
industry was growing and becoming firmly entrenched.

Recognition at Long Last

On July 1, 1953, by enactment of a state law, the independent mines were brought under the control 
of the Pennsylvania Department of Mines.  The passing of this legislation brought long-sought 
recognition as an industry and, along with it, corresponding responsibilities.  Ever since, these 
mines have been subject to state inspection and safety regulations.  They are granted legitimate 
leases and pay royalties on the coal they mine.  Also, their operations are subject to state and 
federal taxes.

At present, the small-mines industry is 59 years old.  It has been and continues to be a vital force 
in strengthening the economy of the greater Shamokin area.  Producing much of the deep-mined 
coal in this area, the industry in 1964 is comprised of more than 200 mines employing from three 
to ten men in each.  Related activities, such as coal trucking and breaker operations, provide 
considerable additional employment.  In total, the industry brings a very substantial annual payroll 
to the community  ---  income from which many local people benefit either directly and indirectly.

Thousands of dollars in royalties, paid to the county, are ultimately distributed to the various 
school districts.  Independent mining also contributes to the financial well-being of other 
industries, spending many thousands of dollars in the purchase of trucks, rails, lumber, powder, 
and countless other items.

Begun in a desperate time, by men in desperate circumstances, independent mining is an industry 
that has grown and prospered through a strong determination to survive.

War in Europe

With the community's Diamond Jubilee Celebration at an end, the greater Shamokin area settled 
down to everyday routines and activities.  Also, there was a resumption of attention to the dramatic 
events in Europe.  The serious implications were beginning to be felt, even before that dark 
September of 1939, when Hitler's crashing onslaught upon Poland triggered declarations of war 
against Germany by Britain and France.

Preparedness Here

This nation's military preparedness program was involving more and more families here.  Early in 
the national emergency, scores of local youths enlisted in the armed services.  Others enrolled in 
Citizen's Military Training Corps (CMTC) camps.  Many committees began to function in the 
community in behalf of overseas relief and our own national defense.

December 7, 1941 --  Pearl Harbor Day


"A date which will live in infamy!"  News of Japan's ruthless attack came like a thunderbolt out of 
a clear sky.  The following days found many area families anxiously awaiting definite information 
from the Hawaiian Islands on the list of casualties.  Local boys had been stationed at Bellows 
Field, Hickam Field, and Fort Belloir.  Others, attached to the U. S. Navy, were at Pearl Harbor.

Meanwhile, no time was lost in calling for a special meeting of the Shamokin-Coal Township 
Council of Defense to discuss urgent matters.  And, in a "life must go on" spirit, work was begun 
on the stringing of Christmas lights which would illuminate Market and Spruce Streets as well as 
Independence Street.

Ten days later, however, there was the possibility that the residents would be asked to forego the 
yuletide custom of maintaining lighted decorations outside their homes.  Since street, residential, 
and outdoor tree-lighting would make us a perfect target for alien bombers, it was expected that 
civilian defense authorities here, as in other communities, would strictly enforce blackout 
regulations.

Water Dams Guarded

Persons, who, upon occasion, used the Roaring Creek Water Company's private road through 
Brush Valley were no longer permitted that privilege under national defense precautions.  The 
highway entrances east of Tharptown and at Bear Gap were barricaded and guards patrolled the 
entire area in which the water dams were located.  This was in keeping with military tactics 
providing for protection of all public utilities for the duration of the emergency.

Local Defense Effort is Stepped-up

The U. S. Army, through its local recruiting office, announced that enlistments were open for 
volunteer service in Panama, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippines.  Radio operators and 
merchants for the Air Corps were in demand.

The health and recreation classes of the National Defense Program were beginning to materialize.  
Sponsors of the physical fitness course pointed out that the activity was mich needed by the young 
people of the community in order that they be physically prepared when called to duty in the 
defense of the nation.

People were being urged to save their newspapers and magazines for national defense.  Dealers 
were paying 45 cents a hundred pounds for the vital paper material.  School children were doing 
their part to aid the war effort by recycling tin cans and collecting milk weed for use in kapok life-
jackets.

Higher output of coal was urged during the wartime emergency by the Pennsylvania Department of 
Commerce.  Operators were advised to step up production and strive toward a goal of 65,000,000 
tons of coal a year.


National defense priorities were beginning to have an effect here.  For example, Alaska Colliery 
was idled because of the delay in obtaining necessary repair parts for a damaged main hoist.  The 
purchase of vital materials on a priority basis, to operate a business or industry, soon became 
standard procedure for many firms.  

Christmas -- 1941

U. S. submarines had just won their first victories in Far Eastern waters and the news was 
heartening.  As people prepared to observe their first wartime Christmas, numerous college 
students began arriving home for the holiday season.  Also, hundreds of area soldiers were granted 
furloughs.  These men alone would overtax the normal facilities of the railroad and bus companies.

Wartime Railroad Travel

All throughout the World War II years, demand for passenger train service between Shamokin and 
Philadelphia, as well as other points, broke all records.  At peak periods, especially weekends 
and holidays, the heavy traffic far exceeded train facilities.  Seats were hard to come by, and often 
there was even a scarcity of standing room.

During these years, many Shamokinites worked in the defense plants located in the Philadelphia 
area. Their comings and goings, along with those of the servicemen, caused all available railroad 
cars to be filled to capacity.  Additional equipment was needed for troop movements and many 
such trains, transporting men on their way to such military installations as Indiantown Gap, could 
be seen passing through the community.

Decrease of Rail Traffic

Long before the war, with the nationwide decrease of passenger rail traffic, there had been a 
gradual curtailment of rail service originating and terminating in Shamokin.  For a long time, two 
railroads provided passenger service to the community  ---  the Pennsylvania, as well as the 
Reading Company.  Since the first World War, when 23 passenger trains passed through Shamokin 
each day, rail service had been reduced considerably.  One by one, various trains were 
discontinued.

After World War II, as the transportation situation stabilized, area passenger traffic once again 
resumed its pre-war downward trend.  With the return to plentiful gasoline supplies and further 
development of high-speed highways linking Shamokin with larger cities, persons who had 
occasion to travel, did so more and more by automobile.

Invasion Day -- 1944


On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded Nazi-occupied Europe, seizing beachheads on the Normandy 
coast.  The local populace turned to prayer immediately upon learning the momentous news.  
Stores were closed and church bells rang.  President Roosevelt asked the nation to join in prayer 
for the fighting men and this community did, wholeheartedly, attending special services that 
afternoon and evening at local churches.  On this Invasion Day, everyone prayed for an Allied 
victory.

The same day, the Northumberland County Office of Civil Defense issued special notice to OCD 
headquarters throughout the area asking that all stations be put on double alert until further notice.  
For several months, regional OCD activities had been at a standstill when fear of possible attack 
on this country was abandoned.  With the invasion of Europe, all civil defense workers were 
requested to be on the alert for any eventualities.

In the meantime, plans were being formulated for local participation in the fifth War Bond drive.  
A vigorous campaign to attain the community's quota of $1,886,300 was launched the following 
week.  A stage spectacle  ---  the famed United States Army all-soldier musical comedy, 
"Gullible's Travels,"  ---  would be presented in the Capitol Theater as a curtain-raiser to the 
bond sales drive.

V-E Day in Shamokin

On the morning of May 8, 1945, President Truman announced the "unconditional surrender" of 
Germany, proclaiming this as V-E Day.  It was a "solemn but glorious hour" and, as the twin 
communities joined in a peace celebration, everyone was conscious that the war was only half 
over.  Bitter Pacific fighting still lay ahead.

The occasion was marked by the ringing of church bells, sounding of sirens, followed by the 
closing of stores and industries.  Soon the streets were filled with people, many of whom went 
directly to their churches to give prayerful thanks for the end of the war in Europe.  That evening, 
there were special religious services in all places of worship, as well as a public thanksgiving 
service.

To many, this was not a joyful occasion due to the great number of local casualties.  To others, it 
meant the continuance in service of family members who would have to fight in Pacific battle 
areas.

V-J Day

Three months later, plans were in the making for a community celebration to mark V-J Day in case 
Japan might suddenly capitulate.  On August 15, 1945, the Shamokin News-Dispatch printed the 
joyful news first heard over the radio:  "Japan Quits," said the big black headlines.


Seconds after the radio announcement, there was wild enthusiasm.  Sirens sounded, auto horns 
blasted, and children ran from their homes shouting the news.  Parents. wives, sisters, brothers, 
sweethearts, and other kin of the men in service joined the wild rejoicing.  The release of pent-up 
anxiety was visible throughout the twin communities as people, cars, and trucks jammed the 
streets.  That evening, a gigantic V-J Day Victory Parade climaxed the tremendous celebration.  
The greater Shamokin area had observed what might be termed its own V-J Day before official 
presidential celebration.

Amidst all the patriotic hilarity, there were sobering thoughts.  The bloodiest war in history had 
come to an end and many local families had paid a terrible price.

War Fatality Record

Myron Reese, desk sergeant of the Shamokin Borough Police, had kept a local-area statistical 
record of World War II fatalities.  On this date, August 15, 1945, he reported a total of 195 to the 
hour peace was declared:  Shamokin Borough 92; Coal Township 78; Brady 13; Paxinos 4; 
Excelsior 3; Gowen City and Overlook, 2 each; and Elysburg 1.

As reported to the News-Dispatch up to August 11, 1945, 186 local residents, including one Army 
nurse and two merchant seamen, had paid the supreme sacrifice.

John L. Lewis and the UMWA

Since the time when breaker boys as young as nine years of age were working eleven hours a day 
at anthracite collieries, miner's working conditions here and throughout the country have improved 
remarkably.  Since those days, the coal mining industry has made great improvements in its 
methods of operation, in its effectiveness and management; in its engineering and marketing; in 
fact, in every one of its phases.  An integral part of this overall advancement is the increase of 
benefits to the men who dig the coal.

An Old Dream Comes True

There is the opinion among America's coal miners that if, John L. Lewis had never won another 
benefit for them, he would be remembered with greatest affection for his winning of the Welfare 
Fund.  Justin McCarty, in "A Brief History of the United Mine Workers of America," writes:

The first formal proposal for the creation of a Welfare Fund for America's coal 
miners was made to the coal operators by the UMWA in 1945.  It was an old dream 
of the union dating back to 1925.  Nothing came of the proposal that year and the 
union settled for improved wages and working conditions.  But, 1946 saw a 
determined UMWA set out to win welfare benefits for the nation's nearly half-a-
million mine workers and members of their families.


In 1946, the union again proposed that the coal industry make some provision to 
care for sick, injured, and aged miners.  The coal operators were not ready to agree 
to this proposal.  "A strike to win the welfare demand led to the seizure of the 
industry by the federal government once again." continues Justin McCarty.

Mr. Lewis finally was able to negotiate a contract with the government, calling for 
the payment of a 5-cent-a-ton royalty by the industry for the establishment of the 
United Mine Workers of America Welfare and Retirement Fund.

Today, the Miner's Welfare Fund is in sound financial shape  . . .  and more than a million 
persons  ---  the crippled, sick, injured, and aged of the coal industry, and miner's widows 
and orphans  ---  have received benefits.  In addition, the Welfare Fund sponsored the 
building of ten modern hospitals in areas where inadequate or no facilities for hospital 
care previously existed.  The winning of the industry-financed Welfare Fund . . . set a 
pattern that other large unions were soon to follow.

International Union Leaders

After a varied and colorful career which included work in the coal mines, John L. Lewis was 
named president of the UMWA in 1920, a position to which he was re-elected time and time again. 
 After a continuous reign of forty years, he relinquished the presidency of the International Union in 
1960.

It will be remembered that Lewis spent considerable time in Shamokin in January of 1922 during a 
district UMWA conference, and that he was especially pleased with the hospitality shown him 
here.

The next International president was Thomas Kennedy, another former coal miner from Hazelton, 
who served in that post until his death in 1963.  He was succeeded by W. AS. "Tony" Boyle, the 
incumbent.  Other International officers were R. O. Lewis, vice president, and John Owens, 
secretary-treasurer.

Community Solidarity

In the process of post-war adjustment, the community turned its attention to the problem of 
industrial expansion.  One of the most concentrated campaigns to bring industry into the immediate 
area was conducted in 1947.

A Shamokin News-Dispatch editorial, on June 16th of that year, had this to say about the 
cooperation being given the Shamokin Area Industrial Commission:

The amazing demonstration of Shamokin area organizations in endorsing the 
Industrial Commission's activities must convince even the most skeptical 
individual that the community solidarity has been achieved in the regional area.



At noon Saturday, the total number of organizations pledging support to the 
Industrial Commission in its efforts to attract new industries to the Shamokin area 
reached 107.  Never in the history of the community has there been such a definite 
community-wide expression of approval for any civic project.  Not a single 
organization in the community voted against approving and supporting the work of 
the Commission.

Aside from the more than 100 organizations already on record approving the 
industrial expansion plan, hundreds of individual citizens in all walks of life have 
already participated in the preliminary work of surveying the Shamokin area to 
determine the labor potential.  Hundreds of others have notified the leaders of the 
movement that they stand ready to serve in any capacity.  The Shamokin region has 
again demonstrated what it will do when the chips are down.

1948 -- A Local Radio Station

Over the years, through the availability of the people of the greater Shamokin area have enjoyed 
every opportunity to be well informed of happenings here as well as throughout the rest of the 
world.  But it is also important to cast a backward glance at the advent of radio and consider the 
local significance of the new communications medium.

This wonder child of the twentieth century had much to do with broadening the outlook and 
enriching the tastes of local residents.  Beginning with the old crystal sets and progressing to the 
more advanced models, families were delighted to find that with a spin of the radio dial, they 
could span the globe and be in Chicago or Cairo, Los Angeles of London.

The miracle of broadcasting was bringing a whole wide world of entertainment into their homes, 
and, with it, a greater understanding and knowledge of people everywhere.

In 1948, with the opening of radio station WISL, with studios at Rock and Sunbury Streets, 
Shamokinites were given the added pleasure of tuning in a local station.  Today, WISL continues to 
provide listeners with on-the-spot coverage of community events as well as a variety of other 
program features.  Owned and operated by Laural Broadcasting, WISL operates with a power of 
1000 watts on an assigned frequency of 1480 kilocycles.  The station functions independently and 
is licensed for day and night operation.

The Shamokin Citizen is Founded.

On May 19, 1949, the Shamokin Citizen began publishing as a weekly newspaper, going on sale 
each Thursday.  Termed, "the Citizen's Newspaper," tabloid size, it first came out as a Sunday 
paper with a colored comic section.



Shamokin Becomes a City

In January of 1959, Shamokin ceased its borough form of government and became a third-class 
city.  This historic change meant it would be governed by a city council of five members including 
the mayor.  The days of a chief burgess and a 20-member council were now in the past.  From this 
time forward, the community would enjoy the added prestige and advantage of having reached 
"city" Status.

TV in the Local Picture

When that marvel-of-all-marvels, television made its spectacular entrance as an entertainment 
medium, there was speculation as to whether programs could be received with any clarity in this 
locale.  Would this community, situated between high mountains, have to forego the pleasure of all 
that television had to offer?  The answer came in good time.

Characteristically, greater Shamokin was not far behind the large metropolitan areas in enjoying 
reception of first-rate caliber.  This was accomplished in August of 1951 by means of a special 
cable installation.

Farmer's Curb Market

One of the pleasant aspects of life in the greater Shamokin area is the popular custom of going 
downtown to shop at the farmer's curb market. particularly on a Saturday morning.  This is a 
tradition that dates back to the community's earliest days.

One of the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania, the local farmers market lines the curb on the south 
side of Independence Street from Orange to Market Street.  As always, the farmers maintain a 
three-day-a-week schedule when their products are in season, coming to town on Tuesdays, 
Thursdays, and Saturdays.  On these days, from early morning until noon, their colorful and 
tempting produce is displayed alongside the curbstone edge of the pavement.  Lending a 
picturesque note to the community's main business thoroughfare, the atmosphere is informal and 
friendly.  Here shoppers move through the crowd at a leisurely pace, meeting and talking with 
friends, making their selections from a wide variety of freshly picked fruits and vegetables as well 
as meats, poultry, baked goods, flowers and plants.

Most of these farmers have been doing business at the same "curb stand," serving the same loyal 
patrons for many years.  In any number of local families, the buying of certain farm products from 
certain farmers is a tradition that has been handed down for several generations.

The Glen Burn Culm Bank -- Largest "Refuse" Pile in the World


The greater Shamokin area can boast many distinctions, not he least of which is the famous Glen 
Burn culm bank which towers over the city.  Higher than the Empire State Building and visible for 
miles around, this sprawling mountain of culm is believed to be the largest refuse pile in the 
world.  The Glen Burn (formerly the Cameron) Colliery, the oldest anthracite mine in continuous 
operation, has been 'building up" this amazing accumulation of culm for more than 30 years.  One 
story has it that the original culm bank was "washed in" and eventually replaced by the present 
mountain.

In actual content, the culm bank is primarily refuse removed from the mines in the process of 
passing coal through the breaker  ---  a mixture of coal and coal dust, slate, and other extraneous 
materials.  Until the twentieth century, when furnaces were developed to create rather profitable 
combustion of the culm, it was considered worthless waste.

A Friend Indeed

Greater Shamokin has always maintained a good neighbor policy toward other communities in the 
region.  This has been demonstrated again and again in times of emergency.

One of the most dramatic examples of aid to a community in distress occurred in the spring of 
1936, when the neighboring city of Sunbury experienced the most disastrous flood in its history.  
The water in the Susquehanna River had risen to almost 27 feet, more than 10 feet above the flood 
level, and the overflow created untold destruction and hardship.  Countless families were forced 
to flee their homes.

People of this community immediately rolled up their sleeves and set to work providing every 
possible assistance to the unfortunate victims of the devastating flood, including food, clothing, and 
shelter.  Many of the homeless, especially the women and children, were brought to Shamokin and 
given meals and lodging in local residences and churches.

Sunbury has not forgotten this community's openheartedness during that period of upheaval.  This 
neighborliness is characteristic of Greater Shamokin and its people.  It is a quality which has 
helped to make good and lasting friendships on a community as well as  a personal level

Visits by U. S. Presidents

While campaigning for the vice presidency as the late President John F. Kennedy's running mate, 
Lyndon B. Johnson, thirty-sixth president of the United States, visited Shamokin.  It was on 
October 18, 1960, when he spoke from a specially constructed platform at Ninth and Independence 
Streets.


On a previous occasion, former President Herbert Hoover visited the city.  Many years before, 
during the famous Bull Moose campaign, President Theodore Roosevelt spoke to a political 
gathering from the rear platform of a Reading Passenger train that stopped just a stone's throw 
from the Windsor Hotel.  Still earlier, James G. Blaine, famous national statesman and 
unsuccessful candidate for the presidency, addressed a similar assemblage from the balcony of the 
Windsor, which extended over the pavement.

The Eagle Silk Mill

In the huge industrial complex now known as the Shamokin Reality Corporation building, which 
faces on North Franklin Street beginning at Independence, once flourished the gone-but-not-
forgotten J. H. & C. K. Eagle, Inc. mill.  Then as now, this mammoth industrial plant and its 
miscellaneous buildings extended over an area of several blocks, bordering on both the 
Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company tracks.  Also in use at one time were the Rock 
Street building, later occupied by the Bernstein shirt factory (the Shamokin Manufacturing Co.), 
and the Edgewood mill, which housed the old dye works.

In the early 1920s, the Eagle mill had the distinction of being the largest textile building under one 
roof in America.  It had 500,000 square feet of floor space, 4,808,500 cubic feet of brick, 101,555 
square feet of window glass, and 16 miles of pipe for heating and sanitation purposes.

Of most important significance was the fact that the size of this great industrial enterprise caused 
Shamokin to become one of the chief silk manufacturing centers in the United States.  By 1923, 
largely through the phenomenal growth of the Eagle firm, the local community was no longer 
dependent solely on the mines as a source of employment.  By this time, the silk industry here 
employed approximately 5,000 men and women with an estimated payroll of $5,500,000 per year.

The people who worked at producing tremendous quantities of silk fabrics for shipment all over 
the world represented many skills in manufacture of textiles.  They operated a wide variety of 
machines and equipment in the process of weaving, weighting, dying, and printing the fabrics.  
Many auxiliary skills were involved as well.

[Note:  The Eagle mill was demolished in 1997.  Only the clock tower was preserved.]

Walter Winchell Impressed

At one time, it was common for the men of the community, young and old alike, to find themselves 
good vantage points along the avenues of approach to the Eagle mill, to observe the parade of 
female workers en route home after a day's work at the plant.  The girls employed there were 
porportedly accustomed to dressing "Mrs. Astor's Pet Horse" to go to and come from work.

The reputation of Shamokin's well-groomed girls spread so widely that Walter Winchell, in the 
early days of his career as a columnist and newscaster, commented on Shamokin as being the 
"home town of some of the world's most beautiful women."




Our Lady of Lourdes High School

The Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School, located in the Edgewood section of Shamokin, 
had its beginnings as far back as 1892 when St. Edward's High School was opened in the convent 
building on Webster Street.  Lay leachers conducted a two-year secondary course in a one-room 
school for 25 students.  Thus, it is the oldest secondary school in continuous existence in the 
diocese.  Lourdes is also the oldest four-year catholic high school in the diocese and was the first 
such school to receive state approval.  During the pastorate of Monsignor Maurice M. Hassett, 
classes began in the four-year program in September 1921, with approximately 100 students 
enrolled under the Sisters of Charity from Mount Saint Vincent-on-the-Hudson.  The Sisters, 
Servants of the Immaculate Heart, assumed charge of the school in 1935.  The pastors of St. 
Edwards directed the high school until 1953, when the first priest-principal, Father Daniel J. 
Mahoney, was named.

Students from the other eight parishes were welcomed at St. Edward's High School and soon the 
school was, in fact, an inter-parochial high school.  In recognition of this status, the name of the 
school was changed to the Shamokin Central Catholic High School in 1955.

The facilities in the old building had become inadequate and indeed obsolete.  In 1956, the pastors 
of the nine parishes in the Shamokin Deanery led a successful drive for funds to build a new 
school. A 221/2-acre site was purchased in Edgewood Park on May 31, 1955, and ground was 
broken for the new school by Bishop George L. Leech on January 26, 1958.  In February 1958, 
heavy equipment began clearing the site.  By August of that year, the steel superstructure of the 
building began to take form.

The culmination of more than three years of effort came on September 13, 1959, when the new 
educational complex was dedicated in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes.  Highlighting the dedication 
ceremonies, Bishop Leech inserted the corner stone which had within it a water proof copper box 
containing coins, a Holy Bible, a list of benefactors, copies of local newspapers reporting the 
event, and a document signed by each of the Pastors of the Shamokin Deanery.  At the time, the 
enrollment was 432 students.

The "New" Shamokin State Hospital

The improvement of physical facilities and expansion of medical-surgical services in the 
Shamokin State General Hospital in recent years has been nothing short of remarkable.  Since its 
founding in 1912, this state-maintained institution has endeavored to pursue an ever-widening 
program to meet increasing needs of persons in the area.  Through the years, it has performed well 
in its humanitarian capacity.  Today; with the recent construction of a new three-story wing, 
extensive renovations to existing buildings, and a considerably expanded medical consultant staff; 
the hospital provides a marked increase in scope and diversity of service.



June 22, 1972 -- A Day to be Remembered

On June 22, 1972, the city of Shamokin was under full emergency status in the wake of a deluge 
that created the worst flood conditions in modern history.  That morning, most of the families who 
lived on the east side of the 300 block of South Fifth Street were evacuated as flood waters 
reached a depth of more than a foot in the first floor of their homes.

While fifth street was one of the areas hit hardest, many of the city's streets in the low-lying 
sections were flooded and impassable.  Water flooded industrial buildings and the stores on 
Independence Street, and engulfed cars parked on numerous streets throughout the city.

City Councilman Albert W. Weller, acting for Mayor Frederick R. Reed, declared a state of full 
emergency early that morning, placing all city police, firemen, city workers, and city emergency 
units on full alert.

While city officials were coping with the flood conditions in low areas, they did so with a 
watchful eye on the Glen Burn culm bank which was beginning to slide in the Case Street area.

Residents on Shamokin Street, from the bridge south in the 300 block, moved their furniture to the 
second floor of their homes as basements and first floors flooded.  Similar conditions prevailed on 
Second Street.  The water on Rock was more than two feet deep and the Friendship Hose 
Company on Liberty and Lincoln Streets was flooded.  On Spruce Street, between Rock and 
Shamokin, parked cars were covered with the swirling waters.  At Chestnut and Fifth Streets, the 
depth of the water was 15 inches.  While streets at higher elevations were open until noon, the only 
streets in the lowest sections open that morning were Market, Independence, Water, Sunbury, and 
Commerce.

Second Street was one of the streets worst affected.  A city policeman in the area reported that the 
water was up to his hips at the northern end of that thoroughfare.  The extreme depth here was 
caused by a deluge from the Coal Township Creek.  Fifth Street, in the vicinity of the 300 block, 
on the eastern side of the railroad, was virtually turned into a creek channel.  Walnut Street, from 
the Weis Market to Second Street was under two feet of water, and the Shamokin Creek was 
beginning to overflow its banks at the Walnut Street bridge.  In that same area, Syl Worhacz's 
parking lot contained forty some cars under several feet of water.

Police Chief Robert Wolfe issued a warning to motorists not to venture onto the streets except in 
the most dire of emergencies.  All over town, anxious home owners were on their porches on in 
their yards apprehensively watching the rising waters.  Councilman Claude E. Kahler, director of 
public safety, and acting mayor Weller, authorized the hiring of 8-10 special policemen to be 
stationed in the areas where houses were evacuated to prevent looting.




Shamokin Area High School

The dedication of the new senior high school in the Edgewood District of Coal Township was the 
climax of eight years of planning and work by the officials of the Shamokin Area School District.

On May 11, 1867, the school directors addressed the of  long list of requirements aimed at 
building a new senior high school.  At that time, the board, acting on the recommendation of 
Claude H. Readly, Jr., superintendent, designated attendance centers as required by the state.  The 
centers included the new senior high school.  From then on, the board moved rather swiftly and 
progress was steady.

On September 14, 1967, the school board applied to the state to inspect the proposed building site 
in Coal Township.  The application stated that the new senior high school, which would be built at 
a cost of more than $4 million, would be ready for occupancy in 1971 with and enrollment of 
1,500.

On October 15, 1970, the board named George Good Jr. and Partners, Harrisburg, as the 
architectural firm. 

On February 10, 1971, the directors approved the final plans for the new school as submitted by 
the architect.  On March 11 of that year, the state approved a tract of 57.36 acres in the Edgewood 
area as the site for the new senior high school.  At the same time, the board authorized the 
acquisition of mineral and surface rights for the tract.

On April 15, 1971, the directors appointed the firm of Ballard, Spahr, and Ingersoll, Philadelphia, 
as bond council for the building project; and on July 15, a seven-member School Authority was 
appointed and charged with the building of the new school.

On May 15, 1972, the residents of the school district received good news when the board, in 
special session, announced that the new school could be built "without raising a single penny in 
new taxes."  At the same meeting, the Authority awarded contracts for construction of the new 
school. 

With the building plans approved and construction contracts awarded, the school directors 
prepared for an official ground-breaking ceremony on June 15, 1972.  But, Mother Nature had 
other ideas.  On that date Hurricane Agnes struck the area, and the rains came.

On the afternoon of June 21, the directors were still unable to reach the building site because of 
flooded streets and roads.  The roads to the site were a sea of mud as the deluge struck.  School 
officials, however, were determined to proceed with their "ground breaking" ceremony.  The 
board members returned to the high school annex, where the ceremony was held in spirit, if not in 
actuality.


The new school was born with Hurricane Agnes, and was completed in the summer of 1975.  
Ironically, as the directors planned the dedication ceremony, another tropical storm, Hurricane 
Eloise, swirled its skirts through the area.

On May 24, 1972, the School Authority approved the sale of $9 million worth of school revenue 
bonds to a syndicate of 22 investment firms.  The Authority accepted a bid of $8,770,500, or a 
discount of $229,500, offered by the syndicate which included Eastman Dilon, United Securities & 
Co., and Butcher & Sherred, Philadelphia.  The bond issue was to run for 26 years which would 
mean a total debt before state reimbursement of $22,221,688.  James A. Leavens, Inc., handled the 
entire bond issue.  State reimbursement was to be at the rate of 37,17 %, which would mean a net 
obligation of $13,398,852 for the school district.

Shamokin Area Elementary School

Construction began on the new elementary school building on June 6, 1977.  Occupancy took place 
in September 1979 with the opening of the 1979-1980 school term.  The cost of the building was 
approximately $5.8 million.  Frank VanDevender was the superintendent of schools when 
construction began.  At the time of occupancy, he had been succeeded by Dr. Daniel Witmer.  
Thomas Sanders was the principal of the new elementary school at that time.

The school includes regular class rooms, six special education rooms, kindergarten classrooms, an 
art room, a music suite, a forum (large group instruction), a multi-purpose room (gymnasium-
auditorium), locker-shower rooms, a cafeteria, an administration suite, health and dental facilities, 
two faculty rooms, a library, teacher workrooms in each wing, and an a CSIC administrative suite 
which includes a conference room.

Since the opening of the school, the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit has offered programs 
for students, not only from the immediate Shamokin area, but for other school districts in 
surrounding communities as well.  Between classes offered by the Shamokin District and the 
CSIC, the school is able to provide educational programs that meet the needs of special education 
students, with the goal of "main streaming" such students into regular classes.

Northumberland County Vo-Tech School

The Northumberland County Vocational-Technical School opened in 1972, with the Shamokin 
Area, Mount Carmel Area, and Line Mountain School Districts participating in its development 
and operation.  The shops and programs provide a comprehensive education in a variety of skills.

1978 -- The Shamokin Municipal Building


As the result of more than three years of planning, a new municipal building for the City of 
Shamokin became a reality this summer.  Some time ago, the city received a $142,000 grant to 
move the police quarters from its inadequate, cramped location in the City Hall to larger, but 
temporary quarters in the former city warehouse at Sixth and Water Streets.  The new police 
quarters in the municipal building were recommended by the Governor's Justice Commission, and 
in addition to having much larger quarters, with numerous individualized areas and rooms,  will 
include features never before available to police in the area.

The new facility contains a police radio dispatcher's area, a police report area, an interrogation 
area with private rooms, an investigation area, the police chief's office, a weapons and evidence 
room, a records room, a storage area, a mechanical room, a sally port area to permit police 
vehicles to enter the building directly with prisoners, a lobby and restrooms.  A large, cement-
block room near the sally port affords the possibility of conversion to detention cells in the future.

The record room contains a sophisticated information system available to all regional police 
departments involved with the Regional Area Information Dispatch System (RA-PIC), which at the 
time included, in addition to the Shamokin Police Department, the police departments in Coal 
Township, Zerbe Township, Mount Carmel Borough and Mount Carmel Township.  Eventually, it 
will also include the Kulpmont and Centrailia police.

A new radio network will tie into state and federal law enforcement agencies through the 
Commonwealth Law Enforcement Assistance Network.  The dispatcher area will also house the 
"911" emergency number.

Meanwhile, City Hall will continue to house the mayor's office, the city clerk's office, the city 
council meeting room, and the codes enforcement and health office.

Shamokin -- A City Built on Seven Hills

Shamokin, like ancient Rome, is set upon seven hills  --- Academy, Bunker, Kangaroo, New 
England, Polish, Scotch, and Silver.

Academy Hill includes that section bounded on the north by Lincoln Street, on the 
west by Market, on the east by Marshall, and on the south, by the Shamokin 
Cemetery.  

Bunker Hill comprises the area east from Shamokin Street to the Bunker Hill fields, 
and north from Commerce Street to North Mountain.

Kangaroo Hill (said by some to be up at St. Mary's, while others place it closer to 
St. Michael's Church) includes the area, in Springfield,  just west of the Catholic 
Cemeteries.


New England Hill is the name given to an area near the old Nelson Colliery, 
particularly a sector marked by a row of houses built by the late R. S. Aucker.  
Another account describes New England Hill as a area embracing West Mulberry 
and Pine Streets.

Polish Hill is identified as an area with its base starting at the former power plant, 
once located behind the Eagle mill, and extending south to Hemlock Street, near the 
foot of Stoney Point.

Scotch Hill is the hillside south of the old McKinley School on West Arch Street 
extending west to include the hillside south of the Coal Township High-rise.

Silver Hill is where Coal Township High School had its first football field, now 
known as the Maine field.  It's the sector taking in Arch, Oak, Walnut, and 
Independence Streets in Coal Township.

The "A-B-C Row"

When fire destroyed many of the homes in the "A-B-C Row" on south vine Street, the question was 
raised about the origin of the name used to identify this row of dwellings.  This row of  homes, 
among the first erected in the Fifth Ward, were constructed well before the turn of the century.  
After the row was completed, letters, rather than numbers, were used to identify the individual 
residences  --- thus, the term "A-B-C Row.'



Shamokin, Pennsylvania  1864-1989  61 - 80