PAUL GOLIAS / PUBLISHED: JULY 7, 2016

 

The name may have been changed but the significance remains as deep as the coal veins in which miners labored.

Five lawmakers from Northeastern Pennsylvania’s anthracite region shepherded a resolution through the state Senate designating July 16 as Anthracite Heritage Day in the commonwealth.

The passage was a victory for Kingston resident Bob Alper, a long-time champion of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s mining and military history.

Alper, 83, proposed designating the third Saturday of July as Coal Cracker Proud Day. Alper said he wanted a celebration of anthracite history focused on the coal miner at mining-related venues in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He said such celebrations should encompass all segments of society, including vets, service clubs, mining and railroad historians, local governments and all other organizations already involved in anthracite history in one form or another.

The five senators agreed, but the designation was changed to Anthracite Heritage Day.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, introduced the resolution and was joined by Sens. John Blake, D-Archbald; John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township; John Gordner, R-Berwick; and David Argall, R-Tamaqua.

The senators, representing Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland and Schuylkill counties, said they wanted to honor the men and women who toiled in and around the mines for more than 225 years.

“In Northeastern Pennsylvania, anthracite is a bedrock part of our heritage story. It is a prominent part of our past, a distinct part of the present, and an intended part of the future,” Baker said.

Luzerne County will celebrate the first Anthracite Heritage Day with a flag-raising ceremony on at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 15 on the courthouse lawn.

The Huber Breaker Preservation Society will hold another flag raising at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16 at Miners’ Memorial Park, South Main Street, Ashley.

Ray Clarke, chairman of the board of the society, said tours of the park showing improvements made over the last year will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon.

Clarke said a more extensive celebration of Anthracite Heritage Day will be held in 2017 when several ongoing construction projects should be completed.

Pennsylvania still ranks as the fourth largest anthracite producing state in the country and the industry contributes more than $200 million annually to the state’s economy.

“In the early years of the 20th century, our proud region forged ahead as the center of Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal industry, fueling the Industrial Revolution and warming homes around the globe,” Blake said.

Through Anthracite Heritage Day, he said, “we are paying tribute to the tens of thousands of coal miners from across NEPA that sacrificed so much in order for our region and our country to flourish both economically and industrially.”

“The designating of Anthracite Heritage Day is formal recognition of the many sacrifices and major contributions made by the miners and their families in the anthracite region,” Yudichak said. “As the proud son of a coal miner, I know firsthand the importance of coal mining in the development of Northeast Pennsylvania and the nation.”

Argall cited the coal region’s reputation for “a work ethic and way of life.”

“I’m proud to represent so many hard working men and women who work in this industry,” he said.

Alper could not be reached for comment.