Business Meeting
Business Meetings of the Minersville Area Historical Society are held in the upstairs Research Room in the History House the last Monday of the month unless otherwise noted. All interested are invited to attend.
“America’s True Melting Pot: The Ethnic Cultures of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region” by Scott Herring, "The Last Anthracite Photographer"
Scott Herring, “The Last Anthracite Photographer,” will present “America’s True Melting Pot: The Ethnicities of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region” as part of the Minersville Area Historical Society’s America250 Speaker Series. The program will be held on Thursday, February 19, 2026, (snow date February 26) at 7:00 pm at the Valley Road Venue, 1332 Valley Road, Pottsville, PA. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Admission is free. There will be complimentary refreshments, displays, and giveaways while supplies last. The venue has ample parking and is handicapped-accessible.
The Minersville Area Historical Society will have a selection of ethnic license plates available for purchase at the event. These extremely popular license plates featuring various ethnicities of the region provide an excellent lead-in to the discussion of Anthracite’s many contributing ethnicities. All sales (cash or check only) will benefit the Minersville Area Historical Society.
Herring is a native of Tamaqua, PA, and a fifth-generation underground miner who by the age of thirteen began learning deep mining skills and the art of coal mining photography. He is well known both for his stunning photography and for his dedication to the cultural heritage of the Anthracite region. Herring has never sold any of his Anthracite region images for personal profit; instead, they are available exclusively in support of the many hard coal cultural heritage and historic restoration efforts throughout the Anthracite region.
For more information, contact The Minersville Area Historical Society, (570) 399-5037, mahistsoc@gmail.com.
Business Meeting
Business Meetings of the Minersville Area Historical Society are held in the upstairs Research Room in the History House the last Monday of the month unless otherwise noted. All interested are invited to attend.
Carol Sing and Organ Concert
Christmas Carol-Sing/Organ Concert to Benefit Trinity Episcopal Church, Pottsville, PA
F. Allen Artz will present a Christmas Carol-Sing and Organ Concert on Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 2 PM at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pottsville.
The concert will feature audience participation in singing familiar Christmas Carols, interspersed with organ selections based on many of the carols. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $10.00 All proceeds will benefit the Trinity Episcopal Church.
Artz, a resident of Pottsville, retired from a career as the director of music in a private school in Short Hills, New Jersey, along with pursuing a dual-career as a church musician for large churches and most notably, Newark's Sacred Heart Cathedral. He holds a BS in Music Education from Elizabethtown College and a Master of Arts degree in Organ Performance from Montclair State University in NJ.
He conducted semi-professional and all-volunteer choirs, and choral societies and all a cappella chorales (which he founded), conducted orchestras and handbell ensembles, taught classroom music and played the pipe organ for weekly services for 42 years. In addition, he was the artistic director for concert series in 2 large parishes (South Orange and Plainfield, both in NJ).
This concert will take place in one of Schuylkill County’s most beautiful edifices on one of the area’s most lovely pipe organs. No stranger to this Pottsville parish, Mr. Artz has performed several organ concerts at Trinity Episcopal on their music series since 2014.
Parking is available for FREE at the brand-new parking garage at 2nd and Mahantongo Streets. The church can be accessed from the Howard Ave. entrance, which includes a ramp into the sanctuary (no steps!).
Convenient, free parking, a beautiful interior setting, and seasonal music to raise your spirits! What more can you ask for?
Business Meeting
Business Meetings of the Minersville Area Historical Society are held in the upstairs Research Room in the History House the last Monday of the month unless otherwise noted. All interested are invited to attend.
Veterans Day Salute to All Area Veterans
The Minersville Area Historical Society will present a Veterans Day Program on Thursday, November 6, at 7:00 pm at the Valley Road Venue (the former Duncott Hose Company), 1332 Valley Rd, Pottsville, PA. Local historian Thomas Symons will salute the area’s veterans, living and deceased, when he provides a look into their service and sacrifices. He will also delve into the origins of Veterans Day itself.
Symons has long had a fascination with history and particularly history of the Anthracite coal region, the Irish immigrants in the area, and the military. Many may recall Symons and the late Stu Richards as The Breaker Boys and their animated delivery of stories and songs that brought to life the history of the Anthracite region and the pride for the miners’ perseverance in dangerous conditions. It was a Minersville Junior High history teacher, Anna Brennan, and her similar animated approach to conveying history that first ignited Symons’s enthusiasm for not only learning about the area’s history but also imparting that information through lively anecdotes.
Thomas Symons, Primrose, has served as a member and historian for Jack Kehoe Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Girardville; Schuylkill County AOH historian and Schuylkill County AOH president. He was also a founding member and former president of the Minersville Area Historical Society.
All are invited to this free event. Light refreshments will be provided.
For more information, contact The Minersville Area Historical Society, (570) 399-5037, mahistsoc@gmail.com.
Business Meeting
Business Meetings of the Minersville Area Historical Society are held in the upstairs Research Room in the History House the last Monday of the month unless otherwise noted. All interested are invited to attend.
Business Meeting
Business Meetings of the Minersville Area Historical Society are held in the upstairs Research Room in the History House the last Monday of the month unless otherwise noted. All interested are invited to attend.