This year my son, Joseph, and I went to the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour. It was my second visit. I had gushed to my college-aged son and everybody else who would listen what a eye-opening experience this had been last year. (See article below)
I left very upset. No, not at the way people, especially children, had been treated by the "Christian" coal mine owners but the way the whole labor struggle had been eliminated from the Tour. A new little-orphan-Annie hard-knock-life film in the new yuppieized visitor center mentioned NOTHING about the mine workers fight for labor justice. The film sounded like labor unions never existed. In a retro faith-based initiative it mentioned that only "churches" and other local organizations were sources of help to the miners and their families. But I reassured my son that the tour guide would set things straight. Well, he turned out to be what I can only describe as a retired carnival barker. He gave a hurried mumbled tour that again avoided any reference to the labor union or the historical strike of 1902. What a disgrace!
Were the recent coal mine victims in Utah union members?
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If you ever go to Knoebels in Elysburg, go to the Anthracite Museum in the park. It's small, but it does not sugarcoat things. One table is full of records of injuries and deaths. A full display about breaker boys is also there.
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