Category: history

March 7, 2021 THE COAL SPEAKER

A decade after disaster: The Japan “phone of the wind” connects tsunami survivors to the dead

A decade after the Japan tsunami, a nation struggling with PTSD finds solace in a disconnected phone.

February 28, 2021 THE COAL SPEAKER

FEB 28 1991: GULF WAR I ENDED. Then the real war began.

February 28, 1991: The Gulf War ended .. at least for the first time.

February 15, 2021 THE COAL SPEAKER

30 years ago: Gilberton’s brief brush with fame in NOTHING BUT TROUBLE

Valentine’s Day 1991: SILENCE OF THE LAMBS vs NOTHING BUT TROUBLE in box offices..

A stroll back in time to when “Valkenvania” was based on Centralia and filmed scenes in Gilberton

February 14, 2021 THE COAL SPEAKER

St. Valentine, Lupercalia, and the Pottsville Republican “nylon” ad that made it all happen.. The history of the day is not what you may know

So before you order the steak and lobster and spend ridiculously higher prices at a restaurant than a normal night, consider the source of the holiday.. Let’s take a deep dive back and ponder the beginnings.. And come to grips with the meaning for the expensive season. This will be something to talk about over a candlelit dinner!

January 17, 2021 THE COAL SPEAKER

One of Schuylkill County’s oldest breweries: 87 years in the making!!

Pure Springs Brewery Co existed in Fountain Springs, PA. It was destroyed by fire, and tied in to illegal operations of a brewery, and connected to the Minker and Genelli alcohol crime syndicates.

Pure Springs remains an active corporations even until today.