THE NEWSLETTER OF THE HUBER BREAKER PRESERVATION SOCIETY

Volume 1, Number 1 March 2002

Breaker Preservation Gaining Support from Citizens and Groups of the Region

Since 1990, hundreds of concerned members of our community have worked to preserve one of America’s greatest industrial icons, the Huber Breaker. The breaker is the largest component of the still standing Huber Colliery in Ashley and has become a familiar image of the Anthracite Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. With all its components, the Huber Colliery has been called a “giant machine.” It is the only surviving anthracite installation that fully demonstrates how a colliery operated. Preserving this monument to the region’s achievement in fueling the Industrial Revolution in the United States honors the toil and sacrifices of the thousands of men, women, and children of the region who made it happen. The goal of the Huber Breaker Preservation Society is to maintain the structures of the Huber Colliery so as to tell the story of the colliery and to show how these people built their lives, families, and communities while contributing to the nation’s industrial expansion.

The Breaker Society has received support from residents, businesses, and communications media of the area, and from organizations and civic leaders, including Earth Conservancy; Mr. Al Roman, owner of land and buildings at the site; the Luzerne County Tourist Promotion Agency; State Senator Ray Musto; State Representative Kevin Blaum; U.S. Senator Rick Santorum; and the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Commission.

The Society is indebted to the members of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, who provided a grant of $4,000 to fund this newsletter. Denise Holub served as liaison with the D & H Corridor Commission to finalize the grant proposal. The Mine Reclamation Commission also donated to the Society a Dell Computer, through a Computer Recycling Program coordinated by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, in Philadelphia. The Society is grateful to Regional Coordinator Robert E. Hughes and his team for their support. The $4,000 grant from EPCAMR was funded in part by the PA DEP office of Mineral Resources Management and the PA DEP Bureau of Water Management, Section 319 PG, under the EPCAMR Regional Watershed Support Initiative.

The grant calls for HBPS to publish a quarterly newsletter publicizing clean-up projects, fund-raising efforts, and educational activities; build a membership base through an aggressive campaign to increase public awareness of the value of preserving the Huber Breaker; and produce a color brochure highlighting the outcomes projected in the Feasibility Study of August, 2000. These include the restoration of the Huber Breaker; the reclamation of abandoned mine land surrounding this largest standing functional anthracite breaker; and the development of a visitor center for the historic site. A partner in the project is No. 1 Contracting, which owns the property. It is a goal of HBPS to obtain by the end of the year 2002 a 25-year lease, with the option to acquire the site. The Luzerne County Tourist Promotion Agency has offered to help distribute brochures at strategic locations throughout the region. Earth Conservancy and the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor are partners in the education and outreach efforts of the HBPS. The Society is currently recruiting new members and seeking financial contributions from the larger public.

Robert E. Hughes serves as the Regional Coordinator for the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation and works with over 60 groups in the Eastern Anthracite Coal Fields and the Northern Bituminous Coal Fields to reclaim abandoned mine lands, preserve historic relics and the heritage of the past mining industry, and restore streams and rivers impacted by abandoned mine drainage.

An Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference is to be held at Penn State on June 14 & 15, 2002. For information and the registration form, go to http://www.amrclearinghouse.org (Look for the subject “AMD Conf Form.pdf”).

Ashley Planes Walk Planned
An Ashley Planes Tour is planned for October, 2002. The Ashley Planes played a key role in the movement of anthracite coal from Wyoming Valley to eastern cities and factories. The Ashley Planes Heritage Park is currently being designed.

Web Site a Hit
The website development committee is updating the Huber Breaker Preservation Society website. The web address iswww.huberbreaker.org. Members of the committee include William Best, Webmaster, Sarah Sanders, and Bernie Gasper. Many hits have been registered at the site, with much positive feedback received, and Webmaster William Best reports that several new membership applications have come in. A digital library of information and photographs is being developed, to be shared with the public. Visitors to the site can keep up to date on activities of the Society and email their responses and suggestions to the Webmaster.

Huber Happenings March 2002, Volume 1, Number 1
Publisher: Huber Breaker Preservation Society

President, Steve Biernacki; Vice-President, Larry Sipsky; Treasurer, Ray Clarke; Secretary, Lorraine Martin; Editor, Richard Loomis

Huber Breaker Preservation Society is a 501 C 3 non-profit Pennsylvania corporation. Mail address, 101 South Main Street, Ashley, PA 18706. http://www.huberbreaker.org

©2002 Huber Breaker Preservation Society

Members meet the third Tuesday of each month at the Earth Conservancy building, 6:30 p.m.

“Funding provided by the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR), under the Regional Watershed Support Initiative PG supported by the PA DEP Bureau of Mining & Reclamation. Neither the EPCAMR nor the PA DEP-MRM is responsible for the accuracy or validity of the information contained herein and any interpretations or conclusions drawn therefrom.

” Lights Are On at the Huber Breaker

The Huber Breaker Preservation Society recently erected security lights that now surround the breaker site, a first step in securing the site to prevent vandalism from damaging the historic structure. Thanks go to John Levitski, who acted as community liaison with PP & L for these lights. Contributions from the community have enabled the Society to assume the monthly expense of the new lighting. A program of site improvements is being designed to protect the breaker and enable the public to visit the breaker safely and do informed interpretation of the colliery and its components. Henry Price will lead a clean-up crew April 6 & 7. Volunteers meet at parking lot 8-9 a.m. Photographs for this issue were taken by Michael Thomas in March, 1991, and donated to the Society. Shown are exterior views of the breaker and an interior site for an audio-visual center.