Minersville School District v. Gobitis
Attorney Ed Brennan will discuss Minersville School District v. Gobitis, the groundbreaking United States Supreme Court Case that restricted religious rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution.
The Court determined that public schools could compel students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and salute the flag in spite of any religious beliefs to the contrary. The Gobitis family of Minersville were Jehovah’s Witnesses; the Gobitis children in the Minersville Schools had refused to salute the flag. The children were expelled from the Minersville Schools in 1935 by Superintendent Charles Roudabush whereupon the parents sued and the case went through the court system until it reached the Supreme Court.
"Minersville, Mummers and the Origin of the Molly Maguires" by Mark Bulik, author of "Sons of Molly Maguire"
The Molly Maguires got their start in the area around Minersville, but it was a political form of mummery that helped pave the way for the labor troubles. Mark Bulik, the author of The Sons of Molly Maguire: The Irish Roots of America's First Labor War, will discuss the odd connections between mummers and Mollies and why the Mollies got started in the Minersville area. Bulik’s interest in Irish rebel gunmen in America dates back to the 1970 Sean Connery film The Molly Maguires. His mother grew up in Forestville, and she came from a long line of Irish American coal miners who worked in the Lytle and Phoenix Park collieries.
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jim Droskinis, author of UNDEFEATED UNTIED UNSCORED UPON: The Story of Pennsylvania’s 1957 Cass Football Team
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Jim Droskinis will speak about his popular book, UNDEFEATED UNTIED UNSCORED UPON The Perfect Season: The Story of Pennsylvania’s 1957 Cass Football Team on April 23, 2026, at 7:00 pm. Doors will open at 6:30 pm at Valley Road Venue (formerly the Duncott Hose Co), 1332 Valley Road, Pottsville. PA. As part of this third installment of the Minersville Area Historical Society’s America250 Speaker Series, Droskinis will show a seldom-seen film of the historic 1957 championship game between Cass Township and Shamokin. He will also give a free autographed copy of his book to the first twenty-five attendees. Admission to the program is free; there will be complimentary refreshments.
Droskinis is the son of the late Pat Droskinis who coached the historic 1957 Cass football team that went undefeated the entire season with no opponent scoring a single point. The book is a tribute to Coach Droskinis and the twenty members of the 1957 Cass team, a team so small that the members played both offense and defense. It traces the progress of the team, game by game, victory by victory against incredible odds. It also discusses the individual players, their talents and challenges and their later lives.
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.