Coal Miner’s
Great-Great-Granddaughter
As I’ve
been planning our road trip, I wanted to give my kids a sense of their
heritage. One of my immigrant ancestors,
Henry (originally Heinrich) Hess, was a coal miner from Germany. Since we were already driving to Pennsylvania where
my mother’s family has lived for generations, I decided on a tour of the Pioneer
Tunnel coal mine in Ashland. We went on Saturday, on our way up to our
family reunion in Wilkes-Barre, which was the next day.
I was afraid my kids might not be
interested, but we all enjoyed the half hour tour. We rode the open mine cars into the mountain, and then got out to walk
around while our funny guide explained the history and techniques of coal
mining.
We didn’t go downward, since
the Pioneer Tunnel is a horizontal drift mine. Its level tunnel runs 1,800 feet
straight into the side of the Mahanoy Mountain.
For an additional fee, there is also a train ride and an adjacent museum, but we didn't do either one, though I did take this picture of my dad and four youngest kids in front of the train.
In the
gift shop, I bought a book (Growing Up in Coal Country), as well as a lump of coal, some
polished stones, and a cross necklace with a small piece of coal embedded in
the middle.We loved our drive through the beautiful Pennsylvania small towns and country side.
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Small town life
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| Pennsylvania countryside |
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| Road cut through the mountain |
After arriving in Wilkes-Barre, we checked into our hotel and joined the extended family for dinner at a buffet restaurant. Later, the kids swam in the indoor pool with their second cousins.
Stay tuned for a post on the Hess memorial and reunion.
Blessings,
Virginia Knowles
www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com
We like going to Ferry's Pizzaria in Moscow, PA where the owner has videos and pictures, etc. of mining days. It might be spelled 'Ferri' I can't remember though I pass it all the time. Mosow is outside of Scranton by Moosic.
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