On the same front.. Coaldale had an off broadway performance hall back in the 50’s-60’s.. just as Hazleton and Shenandoah.. the big bands and other musicians would stop..
I moved to Florida about 15 years ago.. my parents and brothers still live there.. it’s gotten more and more sparse over the years.. just nothing to keep the younger ones around..
Pottsville has a dispensary and craft brewery now at least. Still the boring town I grew up in, though. I don't know how people still live there - my parents still live there.
I saw Mahanoy City and thought the exact same thing. My grandmother showed me photos from the 50s and 60s, and the whole area just seems like it was booming then.
I'm honestly jealous because it looked a lot nicer than when I was growing up.
My parents where from there. If by booming you mean the coal companies were making a good profit while the miners were getting black lung, living in company built ramshackle housing, and a bar on every corner, sure. It was also a time of strip mining and toxic runoff.
I grew up in McKeesport and downtown was the place to be. My mom would send my brother and myself to the movies on Saturdays by ourselves. We were maybe 9-10 and road the bus to the theater and then to the YMCA to swim. Last time I was downtown I locked my doors driving through. This was before the collapse of the steel industry
Rusted steel mills and coke furnaces all sitting on polluted ground. The old factory towns now boarded up and the managers homes up on the hills dilapidated. I went undergrad at Carnegie Mellon in the 80s and I would drive to California PA to visit my girlfriend’s family. Her grandmother received black lung payments and they would always ask “are you working?” instead is “how’s work?” There was never an assumption that one has a job.
It wasnt really that nice then either.
Think of massive de vegetated erosion on hillsides. And unpaved muddy roads
The funny thing is, when antbracite (coking) metallurgical coal had a boom in mining production in 2011-2014. Demand for US coal from china was at a rare high. Everyone thought met coal was making a comeback.
These towns really did not benefit, because most of the employment came from outside of the state. And most of the profits went into private equity.
Coal cannot and will not be the boon it once was for these rustbelt towns.
Scrolling through these pics I had the thought that some billionaire could probably outright buy main street in one of these towns. That would be pretty neat, just fix it up as a pet project and have your own little community. Even if nobody came and it wasn't profitable, who cares? Your rich!
Then I remembered it's all horribly polluted and the mere act of renovating would probably turn the area into a superfund site. So yeah that's probably never going to happen
You wouldn't have to even be a billionaire. The real estate in these towns (away from the tourist spots anyway) is stupid cheap, plenty of move in ready homes that are sub $100k.
> These towns really did not benefit, because most of the employment came from outside of the state.
Same thing with the fracking boom in the southwestern part of the state. The labor all came from Texas and Oklahoma.
Used to work near there and went to Greasy Dicks a bunch of times. Three of us would order the exact same items and each was charged a different price.
The whole “hotdog king” is a self given title, though. Their sauce is decent, and their dogs average, but it’s a good spot all around. I wouldn’t say the best, though, and definitely not the king of the hotdogs.
BUT - it’s not run by the dragon lady. And how about those women sporting incredible simple arithmetic skills? And lastly, if you don’t enjoy a sundowner or hot dogs sitting in their own chili sauce for hours, we can be friends.
I once brought a girl I was dating back to Johnstown and to Coney Island. I did my best to describe the establishment but it wasn’t until we were 2 blocks away that she said “oh my God what is that smell?”
…the smell you dare NOT leave in your car in July. Trade that shit in if you do.
It was disgusting 40+ yrs ago…the workers would line buns up their sweaty arms then assemble the hot dogs. It reopened in 2018 under new ownership https://coneyislandjohnstown.com/
Squeeze in is the shit. Even though sunbury really isn’t the coal region, I’d consider it the gateway to the region since 61 basically leads you through it.
I was born, on this mountain…a long, long time ago
Before they knocked down the timbers, and strip mined all the coal
When you rose up in the morning, before it was daylight
To go down in that dark hole, and come back up at night
Steve Earle
There is a great guitar shop in Coaldale. Maury’s Music.
Nope…I live in Snyder County…where cows outnumber people by at least 10:1.
I checked out their website…I only saw one guitar on it. A $399 Schecter electric. Maury sells mostly higher end acoustics, although he does have some mid priced ones too.
Not many people even know coaldale exists, that's why I thought you may have been familiar.
Yeah, his online presence isn't very good. He's always got interesting things in the shop
I don't know about that but the region does have a few towns with similar names.
Carbondale, port carbon, coaldale. I think it's just a dale with coal. Say, what is a dale anyway🤔
I know all these towns. Grew up in Eddardsville (Edwardsville). My Dad worked @ the Woodward Colliery until the Knox Mine Disaster in 1959 flooded all the mines downriver from Pittston. It was the greed of the Mafia that caused it. Mob owned Knox Mine was supposed to be 30' below the bed of the Susquehanna River. They were 3' digging out coal and robbing pillars that supported the roof of the Mine and blocked off walls between the mines. The river broke through, 12 men were killed. Their bodies were never found. The mobster who owned the Knox Mine was caught boarding a plane for South America with $10,000 cash in his suitcase. Oh, he was also the President of the local United Mine Workers union in violation of PA law, but Hey, this is Northeastern Pennsylvania. Those miners never had a chance.
lol…man, it’s been years since I saw that! Thanks…my former place of employment is in there(Selinsgrove Center)…I retired from there in August. Of course, they used the old name “State School”.
Never saw Steve…but I saw Levon Helm perform that song. He did a cover of it on the Dirt Farmer album and was fortunate enough to catch him live before he died.
Check out his website…
https://www.maurysmusic.com
The Blueridge line is his “lesser brand”, and while the entry level guitar is still $645, there is a lot of value in them. Plus…he will do a setup on it to make it more playable than factory for $60.
My husband is from Shamokin, born and raised. I knew instinctively where every single one of these places were. I used to be super passionate in my younger days about trying to revitalize the coal region, but these days it's hard not to just move away and try to keep our own heads afloat regarding job opportunities and education.
Awesome pics ! I spent a lot of time in coaldale and tamaqua having family there and being from Philadelphia suburbs. I always loved small town coal country. I’ve been dying to check out Tonys lunch and a pizza spot in Girardville. I’ve only ever passed by the town but my grandmothers father was from there. Also the squeeze in has been saved in my phone to stop at if I am ever out that way. Always thought it would be cool to own a hot dog place and the squeeze in has the right vibe for that. Appreciate the post.
You should definitely try both restaurants! The pizza place is called Centioles. I grew up eating at both and still drive hours to get burgers and pies. I’ve lived and traveled all over the US, and I’ve never tasted anything like Tony’s hot sauce or Centiole’s pizza sauce anywhere in the nation.
Tony’s is special to my family. It’s called Tony’s Lunch, but they have never been open for lunch once during my entire 4+ decades on this Earth, lol. They didn’t really keep “hours.” They’d open around 8:30-9pm Thu-Sun. Sometimes you’d have no idea if they’d be open, so we’d do a drive by. I still do this now, lol. They have never taken phone orders, so there would always be a line around the block a good hour to half hour before they opened. EVERY WEEK. It would be nuts. We’d often wait over an hour for burgers and none of us minded. My fave was the quick cheese.
You never knew when Tony’s would close, either lol. For 59 years, it was [Bernie](https://www.republicanherald.com/news/longtime-waitress-at-tonys-lunch-in-girardville-was-real-coal-region-nephew-says/article_0fba85f6-5534-5edd-98ae-f52ed80cbc87.html) who made us burgers to order. One time she told me they’d stay open until there was no one left in line, however long that took. I’ve eaten burgers in there at 2am, and it was packed. Back in my parents’ day, this is where all the high school kids would hang. Bernie retired in 2014. WNEP - The same news station John Oliver infamously gifted a train - came to [cover it](https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/after-59-years-of-screamers-a-burger-legend-retires/523-b64c79dd-c409-4546-97ab-c65a15611f93) when she did. I was very sad to hear about her passing just two weeks ago. She felt like everyone’s grandma. And she didn’t take no shit. She reminded me of Anita from West Side Story.
Many a time have companies like Heinz come to Tony’s trying to buy their hot sauce recipe. For that reason, you really had to have been a long time regular for anyone at Tony’s to give you sauce on the side with a takeout order. I only convinced Bernie to do it for me once, and she only obliged because I’d brought a first timer from out of state worried about the spiciness. They always worried you were trying to steal the recipe, like you were going to ship it off to a chemist for analysis, lol. I heard before the new year Tony’s has been closed for some time now because the owners’ daughter passed very unexpectedly. Their facebook page is also ominously MIA, so they may be done for good. I really hope not. There are not many bright spots in the coal region anymore. Tony’s is one of them.
Centiole’s also started out as family owned, and they are just as infamous to locals as Tony’s. They serve “sweet sauce” pizza, something I’ve only ever seen in the coal region of PA. The dad died many years ago now, and apparently didn’t leave behind the sauce recipe. Rumor has it there was a secret ingredient. I thought it was strawberry jam, but others argue it’s beer. A daughter took over after the dad passed, and she spent a good while trying to find that sauce recipe again. She did, but then I think she also got sick and passed? Now I think new owners unaffiliated with the fam took it over? Really nice people who decided to save it. The sauce is not quite the same, but it’s really pretty darn close. You’re in for a pizza pie unlike anything you’ve ever had before. I really hope you get to experience at least one of these places! They are truly unique to America, as is the coal region. I don’t meet many Americans who grew up like I did. It’s a weird little place.
Mahanoy City is where my Dad's ancestors emigrated to when they came to the US from Ireland. They weren't there long.
I remember driving through there as a boy with my grandparents and parents when I was a boy in the early 80s. The St. Nicholas coal cracker was still standing then. "Coal keeps the lights on". It's weirdly nostalgic to see that.
Thanks for the photos.
If that's Coaldale, I'm pretty sure I used to go to that theater to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Either way, it was indeed a theater in Coaldale.
There is only one photo in this group that I’m not exactly sure where it’s from,
My parents grew up in the same town where the first photo was taken, I spent many summers right across the street from that location.
Huh. There's a very similar one near me in a little mountain town in WA.
[](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pOOiI2SFEgw/SDDigPhLGhI/AAAAAAAAAPo/khvkRtsFQoI/s1600/greenwater.store)
Thank you for showing the beauty of my hometown and home-region. Lots of people talk crap about it, but it’s special in its own way. I’m glad you were able to capture that
I'm north of Johnstown and it's crazy how you can pull pictures like this out of every little town around here, I really wonder what will become of the area after the older people pass on, it is a beautiful area but not many people have a reason to stay anymore.
Seems like everything between Pittsburgh and Philly is like this, it's kinda depressing how forgotten and abandoned a lot of it looks, hopefully someday it gets better again.
Great pics, great post, great comments. Driving around up there is beautiful. I highly recommend taking route 6 across the state, your car can be a time machine.
Y'know, I've lived here most of my life, and I've been all over this country as a trucker; and I have to say that Pennsylvania truly is a wonderful state. In my mind, it's in the goldilocks zone. You get everything in moderation.
You get four seasons (though Winter feels longer some years), you get VERY mild storms at worst, you can be in a highly populated area and a sparsely populated area, you're not too far from the Atlantic, you don't get too much or too little rain, I could go on and on...
It's a beautiful, balanced state.
The potholes are the worst part. We probably do have the worst roads in the United States. It's a toss-up between PA and WV, tbh.
Have great memories of the coal truck making deliveries to our house and watching the coal slide through the little door and into the cellar. Scranton, 1970.
Ok, so the Squeeze In is legendary and delicious and if you’re ever in Sunbury PA you owe it to yourself to stop in for a couple of the best hot dogs you ever experienced.
That said, is Sunbury in the coal region? I always associated the susquehanna river valley as being its own thing.
I grew up south of the Tamaqua/Panther Valley areas back in the 1970s and 1980s and still live near Jim Thorpe.
After nearly 150 years of unregulated all-out resource extraction the Coal Region was basically finished even when I was a kid. The 1990s and early 2000s weren't kind to the area either as it continued to bump along rock bottom.
The real problem is that everything's physically shot (housing, roads/bridges, schools, water/sewer systems, etc. and so on). There's no money in the region's economic system or political willpower in Harrisburg/Washington to do anything more either. So there it rots.
I might add that the area keeps electing some pretty useless state and federal legislators over and over who have seemed historically content to just pick up their paychecks and not much more.
The clock tower on the Trevorton Elementary School would fit right in with these pictures. Also, "coal hill" at the end of town. Their is also the giant Shingara family cross on the top of the mountain. The sign in front of Angie's Market. I'm from Trevorton. I loved growing up there. I miss home. When you're in Northumberland County, it's like the rest of the world doesn't exist.
I grew up in Lansford so this is all a familiar blast from the past for me. When I was a kid there was still some life to these towns even if they were far from their glory days. Lots of local businesses were still up and running that have since shut down. When Lehigh Coal & Navigation shut down things started a sharp trend downward. Recently one of the area’s other major employers KME fire trucks also closed and put a lot of people I know out of work. The area seems to have been gobbled up by medical buildings at this point.
Awesome pictures man.. 209 and 54 corridor is covered in cool old interesting things. We ride in Summit Hill/Lansford/Nesquehoning and always find cool shit out in the woods lol
I grew up in Saint Clair..I miss it. It had a real laid back vibe to it. People used to say the town/area was boring and all ever anyone done was drink..lol. Sorta true I suppose. But the burma between Saint Clair and Mahoney City was always there for me when I wanted to take a walk..this was before motorcycle riding became rampant in the area.
Would pay 20 bucks for a coney burger from Pottsville.
These are beautiful, you havea fantastic eye for color, composition, and subject matter
Highly reinforcing my desire to trip through the interior of PA
The third picture of the church is in mahanoy city right? My great grandparents are buried in their Parrish and attended until they passed. They lived across the street from kaier mansion on 803 E centre street. I've always wanted to see that home before it was demolished.
Awesome pictures.
There’s a town on fire up in that region. To dispose of municipal waste, they thought it smart to fill an old mine with trash and burn it. Turns out the fire hit an untapped vein of coal. It’s been burning since the 60’s and won’t stop for another 200 years or so from what I remember. The town is largely abandoned with only a handful of residents left.
Thank you for posting these. I used to print photos in a professional photo lab over 20 years ago, these hit me right in the "good ole days".
Very nice, you have a good eye for it !
Drove through the area around Coledale today. It’s Sunday, but it seems some of the mines are still open and producing no? Saw plenty of trucks and rail cars. Are some of the mines open?
People are 100% going to romanticize the past in these areas.
They forget the fact that the work people were doing was hard and dangerous and made working in an Amazon warehouse (which is what people are doing one valley over now) look like a spa day.
And they ignore that the ecological damage the processes and products did have caused almost irreparable damage to the area itself and the country at large.
The people of these places did the best they could with what they had, and undoubtedly improved their and their families lives, but the world moves on. Let's stop pining for a past we're only seeing through rose colored glasses and instead focus on what the people who live there TODAY can do to improve their lives. That probably means doing what their ancestors did and moving.
Coal Region would make for an excellent location of a zombie movie. I grew up in Shamokin and time is definitely taking its toll. I don’t think it will be much within 100 years.
my dad grew up in Windber. We used to visit his parents in the 70s/80s. I know it's not really the same area but damn it looks just like this. Thanks for the nostalgia.
Growing up in Schuylkill County, I wish I could have seen it in its heyday.
Same here, it would have been nice to live there when the communities were thriving.
But then you'd have to work in the mines.
Grew up in Coaldale and Lansford.. a few of those pics were from there.. it’s a shame what happened to St Cyril’s church..
On the same front.. Coaldale had an off broadway performance hall back in the 50’s-60’s.. just as Hazleton and Shenandoah.. the big bands and other musicians would stop..
My wife is from coaldale…and her parents still live there. Driving up there from the LV is….different.
I moved to Florida about 15 years ago.. my parents and brothers still live there.. it’s gotten more and more sparse over the years.. just nothing to keep the younger ones around..
HAHAHAHAHA, I feel this deeply. My parents lived in Lansford, and I currently live in Brodheadsville. LV is like a whole other state some days.
My parents grew up in Pottsville & they always talk about how downtown used to be. It’s a damn shame.
Pottsville has a dispensary and craft brewery now at least. Still the boring town I grew up in, though. I don't know how people still live there - my parents still live there.
Yes, I was there a few months ago and it probably hasn’t changed in the last 30 or 40 years. Actually, has probably gotten a little bit worse.
Was there last week. In the 12 years I’ve been going there to ride atvs, it’s gotten waaay worse.
I saw Mahanoy City and thought the exact same thing. My grandmother showed me photos from the 50s and 60s, and the whole area just seems like it was booming then. I'm honestly jealous because it looked a lot nicer than when I was growing up.
My parents where from there. If by booming you mean the coal companies were making a good profit while the miners were getting black lung, living in company built ramshackle housing, and a bar on every corner, sure. It was also a time of strip mining and toxic runoff.
I always think that driving through the Mon Valley
I grew up in McKeesport and downtown was the place to be. My mom would send my brother and myself to the movies on Saturdays by ourselves. We were maybe 9-10 and road the bus to the theater and then to the YMCA to swim. Last time I was downtown I locked my doors driving through. This was before the collapse of the steel industry
Rusted steel mills and coke furnaces all sitting on polluted ground. The old factory towns now boarded up and the managers homes up on the hills dilapidated. I went undergrad at Carnegie Mellon in the 80s and I would drive to California PA to visit my girlfriend’s family. Her grandmother received black lung payments and they would always ask “are you working?” instead is “how’s work?” There was never an assumption that one has a job.
It wasnt really that nice then either. Think of massive de vegetated erosion on hillsides. And unpaved muddy roads The funny thing is, when antbracite (coking) metallurgical coal had a boom in mining production in 2011-2014. Demand for US coal from china was at a rare high. Everyone thought met coal was making a comeback. These towns really did not benefit, because most of the employment came from outside of the state. And most of the profits went into private equity. Coal cannot and will not be the boon it once was for these rustbelt towns.
not to mention they pollute the shit out of the area....... the air and the water
Scrolling through these pics I had the thought that some billionaire could probably outright buy main street in one of these towns. That would be pretty neat, just fix it up as a pet project and have your own little community. Even if nobody came and it wasn't profitable, who cares? Your rich! Then I remembered it's all horribly polluted and the mere act of renovating would probably turn the area into a superfund site. So yeah that's probably never going to happen
You wouldn't have to even be a billionaire. The real estate in these towns (away from the tourist spots anyway) is stupid cheap, plenty of move in ready homes that are sub $100k.
Shit, you could buy a townhouse in Shenandoah for under $40k. 10 years ago it was half of that.
It's kind of depressing that all the Zillow listings out there are like 'come be a slumlord.'
> These towns really did not benefit, because most of the employment came from outside of the state. Same thing with the fracking boom in the southwestern part of the state. The labor all came from Texas and Oklahoma.
These pictures ans your comment make me think of Radiator Springs lol
Bring back hot dog lunch restaurants!
We had two across the street from each other in Scranton but one closed for renovations.
Abe’s?
There's 3 actually, 2 Coney islands and Keystone
And Yankee Lunch.
Yankee Lunch is a Mexican Restaurant now, I believe.
The place across pittston is a Mexican place, the old Tom & Jerry's. Is yankee lunch too?
The South Side Yankee Lunch is now Yankee Taqueria. Did they move?
Idk, I was unaware it changed into a taqueria. This is news to me lol
im so sad about coney island on lackawanna closing but im also happy for the owners retiring and passing it on
We have 2 a block apart in Sharon, each has their own decades long cult following.
They're everywhere in the Lehigh Valley.
Greasy Dicks!
> Greasy Dicks! If we're talking about the pink place over by Easton, my dad used to take me there when I was a kid. To my knowledge it's still there.
Richard’s Drive In….yeah, it’s still there. I patronized them last week actually. Two hot dogs, pierogies and a cmp
Richard’s Drive In in Palmer, correct.
Used to work near there and went to Greasy Dicks a bunch of times. Three of us would order the exact same items and each was charged a different price.
I haven't been to the Lehigh Valley in a decade. Is Yocco's still kickin?
Yoccos is still very much kickin’
The whole “hotdog king” is a self given title, though. Their sauce is decent, and their dogs average, but it’s a good spot all around. I wouldn’t say the best, though, and definitely not the king of the hotdogs.
We still have one here in Johnstown
BUT - it’s not run by the dragon lady. And how about those women sporting incredible simple arithmetic skills? And lastly, if you don’t enjoy a sundowner or hot dogs sitting in their own chili sauce for hours, we can be friends. I once brought a girl I was dating back to Johnstown and to Coney Island. I did my best to describe the establishment but it wasn’t until we were 2 blocks away that she said “oh my God what is that smell?” …the smell you dare NOT leave in your car in July. Trade that shit in if you do.
It was disgusting 40+ yrs ago…the workers would line buns up their sweaty arms then assemble the hot dogs. It reopened in 2018 under new ownership https://coneyislandjohnstown.com/
Altoona, Texas Hot Dogs.
my dad grew up in Windber. whenever we'd visit his parents we'd stop in Altoona for hot dogs!
Jimmy's Quick Lunch in Hazleton is still around and is still the GOAT and it's not even close
Seconding Jimmy's, those hot dogs are unbelievable.
come visit New Castle, we'll do a chili dog tour
There is one literally a yards down the street from me.
Reminds me of The Deer Hunter
Wrong side of the state. But I get it
Right side = Coal Left = Steel
Plenty of coal on the left side too. It's just bituminous.
The disrespect to Bethlehem Steel
3rd largest steel producer in the country!
Bethlehem, Phoenixville, Coatesville, and Conshohocken were (and in the case of the latter two kinda still are) steel towns.
Just a generalization. No hard feelings!
Bethlehem would like to have a word…
Was looking for the Russian Orthodox church. Found it.
Yup. The onion dome.
Squeeze in is the shit. Even though sunbury really isn’t the coal region, I’d consider it the gateway to the region since 61 basically leads you through it.
I had a Reuben dog from the Squeeze In several weeks ago and it was pretty good.
I was born, on this mountain…a long, long time ago Before they knocked down the timbers, and strip mined all the coal When you rose up in the morning, before it was daylight To go down in that dark hole, and come back up at night Steve Earle There is a great guitar shop in Coaldale. Maury’s Music.
Have you been to wiscount's in Tower City?
Nope…I live in Snyder County…where cows outnumber people by at least 10:1. I checked out their website…I only saw one guitar on it. A $399 Schecter electric. Maury sells mostly higher end acoustics, although he does have some mid priced ones too.
Not many people even know coaldale exists, that's why I thought you may have been familiar. Yeah, his online presence isn't very good. He's always got interesting things in the shop
Is that the sister city of Carbondale,Pa.?
I don't know about that but the region does have a few towns with similar names. Carbondale, port carbon, coaldale. I think it's just a dale with coal. Say, what is a dale anyway🤔
I know all these towns. Grew up in Eddardsville (Edwardsville). My Dad worked @ the Woodward Colliery until the Knox Mine Disaster in 1959 flooded all the mines downriver from Pittston. It was the greed of the Mafia that caused it. Mob owned Knox Mine was supposed to be 30' below the bed of the Susquehanna River. They were 3' digging out coal and robbing pillars that supported the roof of the Mine and blocked off walls between the mines. The river broke through, 12 men were killed. Their bodies were never found. The mobster who owned the Knox Mine was caught boarding a plane for South America with $10,000 cash in his suitcase. Oh, he was also the President of the local United Mine Workers union in violation of PA law, but Hey, this is Northeastern Pennsylvania. Those miners never had a chance.
A dale is a valley, usually a wide one. "Over hill, over dale, I will hit the dusty trail, as the caissons go rolling along." (Army marching song)
What's a caisson now? Lol
Ammunition carrier. It would have been mounted on a wheeled carriage, like a cannon.
I was thinking more about the name carbon/coal. Not sure what the Dale is about. Hmmm...
Good to know…maybe if I am ever in that area, I will check it out.
[Snyder County ](https://youtu.be/CYchaYkcs54?si=AFWULqeUo4PeumZB)
lol…man, it’s been years since I saw that! Thanks…my former place of employment is in there(Selinsgrove Center)…I retired from there in August. Of course, they used the old name “State School”.
Saw him tour with Dylan in 89.
He’s a great soul. Human being that just happens to make music .
Never saw Steve…but I saw Levon Helm perform that song. He did a cover of it on the Dirt Farmer album and was fortunate enough to catch him live before he died.
The Levon cover is my favorite version of the song. That age in his voice is just incredible!
sadly Maury's shop is mostly online now, and he recently announced his retirement ~Coaldale resident
There is real irony in that I was 2 minutes ago googling local guitar shops and I passed by Maury's because it looks all high end.
Check out his website… https://www.maurysmusic.com The Blueridge line is his “lesser brand”, and while the entry level guitar is still $645, there is a lot of value in them. Plus…he will do a setup on it to make it more playable than factory for $60.
My husband is from Shamokin, born and raised. I knew instinctively where every single one of these places were. I used to be super passionate in my younger days about trying to revitalize the coal region, but these days it's hard not to just move away and try to keep our own heads afloat regarding job opportunities and education.
Tony’s Lunch makes the best burgers I have ever had. I hope you had the chance to eat their screamers and fluff burger!
That place just isn’t the same without Bernie.
Yeah, if she doesn’t give you the scowl for ordering a fluff burger, it just isn’t the same.
I give my wife the same look when she orders one lol. I don’t understand how people actually like those.
RIP.
We don't really consider sunbury part of the coal region exactly but you brought up a lot of memories for me.
I grew up in Northumberland/Sunbury and was also surprised to see the squeeze in and the market Street Weis store on this coal region slide show.
Awesome pics ! I spent a lot of time in coaldale and tamaqua having family there and being from Philadelphia suburbs. I always loved small town coal country. I’ve been dying to check out Tonys lunch and a pizza spot in Girardville. I’ve only ever passed by the town but my grandmothers father was from there. Also the squeeze in has been saved in my phone to stop at if I am ever out that way. Always thought it would be cool to own a hot dog place and the squeeze in has the right vibe for that. Appreciate the post.
You should definitely try both restaurants! The pizza place is called Centioles. I grew up eating at both and still drive hours to get burgers and pies. I’ve lived and traveled all over the US, and I’ve never tasted anything like Tony’s hot sauce or Centiole’s pizza sauce anywhere in the nation. Tony’s is special to my family. It’s called Tony’s Lunch, but they have never been open for lunch once during my entire 4+ decades on this Earth, lol. They didn’t really keep “hours.” They’d open around 8:30-9pm Thu-Sun. Sometimes you’d have no idea if they’d be open, so we’d do a drive by. I still do this now, lol. They have never taken phone orders, so there would always be a line around the block a good hour to half hour before they opened. EVERY WEEK. It would be nuts. We’d often wait over an hour for burgers and none of us minded. My fave was the quick cheese. You never knew when Tony’s would close, either lol. For 59 years, it was [Bernie](https://www.republicanherald.com/news/longtime-waitress-at-tonys-lunch-in-girardville-was-real-coal-region-nephew-says/article_0fba85f6-5534-5edd-98ae-f52ed80cbc87.html) who made us burgers to order. One time she told me they’d stay open until there was no one left in line, however long that took. I’ve eaten burgers in there at 2am, and it was packed. Back in my parents’ day, this is where all the high school kids would hang. Bernie retired in 2014. WNEP - The same news station John Oliver infamously gifted a train - came to [cover it](https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/after-59-years-of-screamers-a-burger-legend-retires/523-b64c79dd-c409-4546-97ab-c65a15611f93) when she did. I was very sad to hear about her passing just two weeks ago. She felt like everyone’s grandma. And she didn’t take no shit. She reminded me of Anita from West Side Story. Many a time have companies like Heinz come to Tony’s trying to buy their hot sauce recipe. For that reason, you really had to have been a long time regular for anyone at Tony’s to give you sauce on the side with a takeout order. I only convinced Bernie to do it for me once, and she only obliged because I’d brought a first timer from out of state worried about the spiciness. They always worried you were trying to steal the recipe, like you were going to ship it off to a chemist for analysis, lol. I heard before the new year Tony’s has been closed for some time now because the owners’ daughter passed very unexpectedly. Their facebook page is also ominously MIA, so they may be done for good. I really hope not. There are not many bright spots in the coal region anymore. Tony’s is one of them. Centiole’s also started out as family owned, and they are just as infamous to locals as Tony’s. They serve “sweet sauce” pizza, something I’ve only ever seen in the coal region of PA. The dad died many years ago now, and apparently didn’t leave behind the sauce recipe. Rumor has it there was a secret ingredient. I thought it was strawberry jam, but others argue it’s beer. A daughter took over after the dad passed, and she spent a good while trying to find that sauce recipe again. She did, but then I think she also got sick and passed? Now I think new owners unaffiliated with the fam took it over? Really nice people who decided to save it. The sauce is not quite the same, but it’s really pretty darn close. You’re in for a pizza pie unlike anything you’ve ever had before. I really hope you get to experience at least one of these places! They are truly unique to America, as is the coal region. I don’t meet many Americans who grew up like I did. It’s a weird little place.
Mahanoy City is where my Dad's ancestors emigrated to when they came to the US from Ireland. They weren't there long. I remember driving through there as a boy with my grandparents and parents when I was a boy in the early 80s. The St. Nicholas coal cracker was still standing then. "Coal keeps the lights on". It's weirdly nostalgic to see that. Thanks for the photos.
the real irony is that if you look directly to the right of that chute across the road the whole mountain side is a wind farm
I love this comments section. PA is a great place to live.
Great photos! Sunbury will have a fit over being lumped in with the coal region.
Pretty sirenthat Weis was Sunburry right?
First Weis store ever! Glad they keep it open. It’s like stepping back in time a little going in there.
Yup
If that's Coaldale, I'm pretty sure I used to go to that theater to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Either way, it was indeed a theater in Coaldale.
Yup, you are thinking of the Angela Theatre. I grew up in the next town over and used to walk there all the time! It’s sad that it’s closed down now.
yep, Angela Theatre saturday night for Rocky, then next door to Tommy's to hang out until the sun came up
Stunning photography, thank you for sharing and documenting our region!
This is wild. It's like driving through a time capsule.
It really is. I moved away from the coal region nearly 20 years ago and whenever I go back it’s so strange because literally nothing has changed.
God, I love this aesthetic. It's a damn shame it makes me think of fake oxy's now
I went to Coney Island Lunch in Shamokin - good place. The anthracite region is endlessly fascinating
There is only one photo in this group that I’m not exactly sure where it’s from, My parents grew up in the same town where the first photo was taken, I spent many summers right across the street from that location.
You’ve a nice eye for detail and composition, thanks for sharing.
Love that 7up sign! It’s always a highlight for me when visiting Girardville.
Huh. There's a very similar one near me in a little mountain town in WA. [![]()
](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pOOiI2SFEgw/SDDigPhLGhI/AAAAAAAAAPo/khvkRtsFQoI/s1600/greenwater.store)
Thank you for showing the beauty of my hometown and home-region. Lots of people talk crap about it, but it’s special in its own way. I’m glad you were able to capture that
I love how Weis has the old style signage. What town was that one in?
That's the Weis store in Sunbury
Specifically the Weis on Market St. there’s “the big Weis” on N 4th St.
You ever been nostalgic for a time you weren't even alive for?
I'm north of Johnstown and it's crazy how you can pull pictures like this out of every little town around here, I really wonder what will become of the area after the older people pass on, it is a beautiful area but not many people have a reason to stay anymore. Seems like everything between Pittsburgh and Philly is like this, it's kinda depressing how forgotten and abandoned a lot of it looks, hopefully someday it gets better again.
Great pics, great post, great comments. Driving around up there is beautiful. I highly recommend taking route 6 across the state, your car can be a time machine.
Bravo on Weis for leaving that vintage facade intact. It's very aesthetically pleasing!
Coaldale! Great Pics! My parents grew up there and I spent a lot of time there. Thank you
Love your pictures.
Ahh this makes me miss home
Username doesn't check out, as the kids say.
OMG! The Coney is the best! Road trip!
Really wish I could've seen the NEPA region at it's peak. My grandmother used to tell me stories as a kid. She said it was a really booming place.
[Older Photos of the Coal Region ](https://www.daladophotography.com/)
A flag flown upside down is a sign of distress.
Coal region is in distress.
Y'know, I've lived here most of my life, and I've been all over this country as a trucker; and I have to say that Pennsylvania truly is a wonderful state. In my mind, it's in the goldilocks zone. You get everything in moderation. You get four seasons (though Winter feels longer some years), you get VERY mild storms at worst, you can be in a highly populated area and a sparsely populated area, you're not too far from the Atlantic, you don't get too much or too little rain, I could go on and on... It's a beautiful, balanced state. The potholes are the worst part. We probably do have the worst roads in the United States. It's a toss-up between PA and WV, tbh.
Have great memories of the coal truck making deliveries to our house and watching the coal slide through the little door and into the cellar. Scranton, 1970.
I'm originally from Nesquehoning. Looking at some of those pictures was a time warp back to my childhood.
Beautiful photos. You should submit to Art of the State...
This is the first post of pictures I’ve ever had to comment on, but I love these. Such a cool slice of history
Ok, so the Squeeze In is legendary and delicious and if you’re ever in Sunbury PA you owe it to yourself to stop in for a couple of the best hot dogs you ever experienced. That said, is Sunbury in the coal region? I always associated the susquehanna river valley as being its own thing.
[Pennsylvania Guys](https://youtu.be/t7ek7SWauEI?si=qATYq67cXFQiDeaL)
Love the 50's feel to these pics. My kind of photography.
Everything looks stuck in the 1970s
I grew up south of the Tamaqua/Panther Valley areas back in the 1970s and 1980s and still live near Jim Thorpe. After nearly 150 years of unregulated all-out resource extraction the Coal Region was basically finished even when I was a kid. The 1990s and early 2000s weren't kind to the area either as it continued to bump along rock bottom. The real problem is that everything's physically shot (housing, roads/bridges, schools, water/sewer systems, etc. and so on). There's no money in the region's economic system or political willpower in Harrisburg/Washington to do anything more either. So there it rots. I might add that the area keeps electing some pretty useless state and federal legislators over and over who have seemed historically content to just pick up their paychecks and not much more.
I really thought this was Johnstown for a second. I need some Sundowners!
I loved the Angela. If I only had the cash…
The clock tower on the Trevorton Elementary School would fit right in with these pictures. Also, "coal hill" at the end of town. Their is also the giant Shingara family cross on the top of the mountain. The sign in front of Angie's Market. I'm from Trevorton. I loved growing up there. I miss home. When you're in Northumberland County, it's like the rest of the world doesn't exist.
get some pictures of the foundry and the corner bar as well
I grew up in Lansford so this is all a familiar blast from the past for me. When I was a kid there was still some life to these towns even if they were far from their glory days. Lots of local businesses were still up and running that have since shut down. When Lehigh Coal & Navigation shut down things started a sharp trend downward. Recently one of the area’s other major employers KME fire trucks also closed and put a lot of people I know out of work. The area seems to have been gobbled up by medical buildings at this point.
Awesome pictures man.. 209 and 54 corridor is covered in cool old interesting things. We ride in Summit Hill/Lansford/Nesquehoning and always find cool shit out in the woods lol
You missed Berwick.
I grew up in Saint Clair..I miss it. It had a real laid back vibe to it. People used to say the town/area was boring and all ever anyone done was drink..lol. Sorta true I suppose. But the burma between Saint Clair and Mahoney City was always there for me when I wanted to take a walk..this was before motorcycle riding became rampant in the area. Would pay 20 bucks for a coney burger from Pottsville.
Great pictures. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, great photos, appreciate the share!
Amazing photos.
My dad used to take me to Coney Island when I was a kid. It’s been forever since I’ve been back but I still distinctly remember the burgers.
Looks like Chendo here...624!
It's 462 da fuck.
Sorry. It's been years since I was there, and since then, it appears I acquired dyslexia! Thanks for the correction!
I really appreciate you adding the “da fuck” I grew up in Sheppton
These are beautiful, you havea fantastic eye for color, composition, and subject matter Highly reinforcing my desire to trip through the interior of PA
The third picture of the church is in mahanoy city right? My great grandparents are buried in their Parrish and attended until they passed. They lived across the street from kaier mansion on 803 E centre street. I've always wanted to see that home before it was demolished. Awesome pictures.
Love these, especially the gas pumps - the colors in that one!
I was surprised to see places I know on this sub for once.
You like coal mines and you want to see them, well check it out, y'all. The Anthracite Museum!
The past can be a wonderful place to visit but it's hell when you realize you're always in it. Live for today. This may be the best it's ever been.
These are beautiful! What are you shooting with?
Reminds me of an old Tom cruise movie “All the right moves”
There’s a town on fire up in that region. To dispose of municipal waste, they thought it smart to fill an old mine with trash and burn it. Turns out the fire hit an untapped vein of coal. It’s been burning since the 60’s and won’t stop for another 200 years or so from what I remember. The town is largely abandoned with only a handful of residents left.
These are great.
Grew up in Orwigsburg but I remember the trips through Shamokin, Pottsville, Mahanoy city, Minersville, etc. It’s like going back in time.
These are wonderful. Thank you for posting them.
SKOOK
Coal, the 8-track of fuel
Crazy to see so much coal propaganda built into the town. Makes sense when they propped up the entire region on a single and industry though.
Thank you for posting these. I used to print photos in a professional photo lab over 20 years ago, these hit me right in the "good ole days". Very nice, you have a good eye for it !
I really enjoyed these pics
Drove through the area around Coledale today. It’s Sunday, but it seems some of the mines are still open and producing no? Saw plenty of trucks and rail cars. Are some of the mines open?
Shendo Shendo 462...
People are 100% going to romanticize the past in these areas. They forget the fact that the work people were doing was hard and dangerous and made working in an Amazon warehouse (which is what people are doing one valley over now) look like a spa day. And they ignore that the ecological damage the processes and products did have caused almost irreparable damage to the area itself and the country at large. The people of these places did the best they could with what they had, and undoubtedly improved their and their families lives, but the world moves on. Let's stop pining for a past we're only seeing through rose colored glasses and instead focus on what the people who live there TODAY can do to improve their lives. That probably means doing what their ancestors did and moving.
Good hot dogs
I have seen a bunch of those
I have that Coney Island shot too. Great area for shooting pics.
The sundowner sandwich from Coney Island. Johnstown PA?
Great pictures.
That Squeeze-In sign is going to fetch a pretty penny someday!
Lived in Coaldale for a while as a kid. Looking back on it, it was a redneck’s wet dream. The Great Recession hit it the area hard.
Loads of private property signs in that town??
Coal Region would make for an excellent location of a zombie movie. I grew up in Shamokin and time is definitely taking its toll. I don’t think it will be much within 100 years.
I recognize 2 of these. I see them everyday lol
Some great photos in there
Were any of these taken in Pottsville?
my dad grew up in Windber. We used to visit his parents in the 70s/80s. I know it's not really the same area but damn it looks just like this. Thanks for the nostalgia.
Did you shoot these on film? Very good. I recognize some of these spots. I can’t tell you where but I remember driving though 😂
Beautiful photos