Anthracite Heritage Conference

Scranton — On Saturday, May 13, 2017, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum will host Anthracite Heritage Conference 2017. The presentations at this exciting conference are a continuation of interest in the Anthracite Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania.  The conference presenters will discuss various areas of research now being undertaken and the possibilities for further regional studies.  Together these presentations provide examples of the range of resource materials and illustrate the value of an interdisciplinary approach to the region’s history.  Finally, as with all historical studies, they raise new questions and create opportunities for additional research and writing.

The conference fee is $25 per person and includes morning and afternoon refreshments, as well as lunch. Student and museum member discounts are available.  Reservations are requested by Tuesday, May 9, 2017.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Richard G. Healey, Professor, Department of Geography, University of Portsmouth, Great Britain, whose presentation is entitled:      Where Have All the Railroaders Gone?

• Janet Blaum, Attorney, will discuss Black Lung: Legal Perspectives.

• Mike Korb, Board Member of the Anthracite Heritage Museum and Iron Furnaces Associates will focus his comments on The reclamation of McDade Park and the preservation of the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour and the development of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum.

• Mary Kay Kimelewski, Adjunct Faculty, Misericordia University, will address The 1943 Coal Strike.

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• Melissa R. Meade, PhD Candidate, Klein College of Media and Communications, Temple University, will present: In the Shadow of “King Coal”: Media and Memories of the Anthracite Coal Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Anthracite Heritage Conference Planning Committee Members include Chester Kulesa, Bode Morin, F. Charles Petrillo, and Robert P. Wolensky. The Committee will accept recommendations from the public for future conferences.

This program is supported, in part, by a Lackawanna County Arts and Culture grant, a program of Lackawanna County Commissioners Patrick O’Malley, Jerry Notarianni and Laureen A. Cummings, as well as Lehigh Anthracite Coal, LLC, Richard “Rusty” Taylor, President; the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation; and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Pennsylvania Anthracite Section.

$25 registration fee, $20 AHMIFA members, $15 students.  Included lunch.

The Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum is located in McDade Park, off Keyser Avenue, in Scranton (Exits 182 or 191-B off I-81, and Exit 122, Keyser Avenue, from I-476). The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm and Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm.  For more information or directions, call (570) 963-4804 or visit www.anthracitemuseum.org.