My new book Microbreweries, Nanobreweries, and Brewpubs: Histories of 241 American Craft Beer Companies (ISBN: 978-1-4766-9085-8) is now available.
Yesterday, I noticed my Texas Instruments TI-30 "electronic slide-rule calculator" in a drawer in my house. I took it out of the simulated-denim case, and put in a fresh 9-volt transistor battery. I pressed the "ON/C" button, and it came on. For old-time sake, I took the square root of 2. As an Electrical Engineer, I took note that the first four digits "1.414" were correct. Therefore, I concluded that it still works. I purchased my TI-30 at Sugerman's in Eynon, PA. This store had been called "Sugerman's Eynon Drugstore", but many locals referred to it as "Up the Eynon." I made the purchase in September of 1979 after I began to study Electronics Technology at the Lackawanna County Area Vocational-Technical School - North Center on Old Plank Road in Mayfield, PA. That year, I attended "Vo-Tech" in the morning, and Mid-Valley Senior High School in downtown Olyphant in the afternoon. "North Vo-Tech" was closed many years ago. "South Vo-Tech" on Rockwell Avenue in Scranton is now called "The Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County." The Mid-Valley Secondary Center is in Throop. The little handle on the case came loose and fell off. I turned the case inside-out. While I was studying Electrical Engineering at the Worthington Scranton Campus of the Pennsylvania State University in Dunmore, and working on some problems a classmate asked me why my calculator case looked that way. I replied that it was my great-grandfather's calculator case. He brought it over from the Ukraine when he immigrated to the United States in the late 1890s. One classmate said, "Oh, how sweet." We all grinned and continued working on our problems.
My new book Microbreweries, Nanobreweries, and Brewpubs: Histories of 241 American Craft Beer Companies (ISBN: 978-1-4766-9085-8) is now available.
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Saturday, November 5, 2022, marks the 100th Anniversary of the Olyphant Coal Party in Olyphant, PA.
Up until the 1922-23 school year, the Olyphant School District purchased coal to heat the schools from the Temple Coal Company. There was the Olyphant Junior High School, the Olyphant Senior High School, and the Olyphant Central School which was an elementary school that was adjacent to the senior high school. There were four neighborhood elementary schools: the Columbus School (Smoketown), the Washington School (Fern Hill), the Lincoln School (Grassy), and the Roosevelt School (Tiger Valley in Fern Hill). In addition, there was a three-room school in Underwood, and a one-room schoolhouse in Marshwood. The school district also purchased the coal that was used to heat the synagogue and the churches of the borough. In 1922, Temple Coal had reduced production, and stopped selling coal to the school district. At the time, Olyphant was a coal mining town, and almost all of the mining operations were owned and operated by the Hudson Coal Company. The school district tried to buy coal from the Hudson Coal Company, but they refused to sell. Hudson Coal insisted that the school district should work out arrangements with their former supplier. In October it was cold and the coal supply in all of the schools had been depleted. They were unable to heat the schools, and were unable to purchase coal from any supplier. They had to close the schools while they tried to make arrangements to buy coal. There were approximately 60,000 municipalities throughout the United States and Canada that used anthracite to heat their schools. Even though thousands of tons of anthracite were produced in Olyphant on a daily basis, Olyphant was the only school district in the entire United States and Canada that was unable to purchase anthracite coal. The Hudson Coal Company refused to sell coal to heat the schools that were attended by the children of their miners and laborers, as well as the children whose fathers and brothers were killed or maimed in mining accidents. The school district sent telegrams to the Governor of Pennsylvania, William Cameron Sproul, and the President of the United States, Warren G. Harding. The governor’s secretary, James F. McCoy, referred the matter to the Pennsylvania Fuel Commission. The school district had the money, and was willing to pay for coal, but the coal companies flat-out refused to sell it to them. On the evening of Saturday, November 4, 1922, there was a meeting among the Burgess (mayor) of Olyphant, P. B. Dempsey, members of the borough council, the school superintendent, Professor Michael W. Cummings, and members of the school board. They decided that they had no choice, and they had to execute their plan to take coal by force. On the morning of Sunday, November 5, the fire gongs sounded. That was the signal for the men of the borough to go to the borough building with shovels. From there they walked to a railroad siding near North Valley Avenue, where loaded coal cars that were destined for delivery elsewhere were above an incline. The Olyphant Police and the volunteer fire companies were in on the plan. The police stood guard to prevent anyone from stopping the men from taking the coal. The volunteer firemen from Excelsior Hose Company No. 1 and Grassy Island Hose Company No. 3 stood ready with their hoses to ward off anyone who would interfere. Olyphant Hose Company No. 2, Eureka Hose Company No. 4, and Crystal Hose Company No. 5 remained ready if there was a fire in the borough. The men opened three coal cars from the side to allow the coal to fall down the incline and onto the street. They then loaded the coal into trucks and wagons and delivered it to the schools, churches and the synagogue. Father Murphy of Saint Patrick’s Church showed up and said, “You did all in your power to avoid this, but when the health of your loved ones is menaced, you must act in their defense.” The Hudson Coal Company Police arrived on the scene. They observed what was going on, turned around and left. Burgess Dempsey estimated that approximately 200 tons had been taken, and he intended to pay Hudson Coal Company for all of it. On November 21, 1922, there was an article on page 7 of the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Sproul Answers Hudson Coal Co.” According to the article, W. H. Williams, Vice President of the Hudson Coal Company was furious about what had happened in Olyphant. He asked Governor Sproul to have the Pennsylvania State Police assist the Hudson Coal Police in any future incidents such as this. Governor Sproul responded that while the action taken by the residents of Olyphant cannot be justified, under the circumstances it was expected. He added that it is the responsibility of the local coal company to sell coal to the local school districts. The amount of coal used by the Olyphant School District was comparatively inconsequential in comparison to the amount of coal mined in the borough. Bibliography Scranton Republican [Scranton, PA]. 1922. "Olyphant Men Seize Coal in D&H Yards." November 6: 1-2. New York Times. 1922. "Whole Town Raids Railroad for Coal." November 6. New York Times. 1922. "Town Offers to Pay for Confiscated Coal." November 7. Wall Street Journal [New York, NY]. 1922. "Sproul Answers Hudson Coal Co." November 21. My beer website lager57.weebly.com/ Follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/strippens The Old School thebp.site/57084 My new book Microbreweries, Nanobreweries, and Brewpubs: Histories of 241 American Craft Beer Companies (ISBN: 978-1-4766-9085-8) is now available. |
AuthorJoseph Peter Klapatch is originally from Olyphant, Pennsylvania. He currently resides in the urban forests of Galloway, New Jersey with his wife, Margi. They have five children. Archives
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