Schuylkill County (place, drive, around)

[denise817]

Just telling it how it is.... Not sure if anyone knows, but Schuylkill County is usually the "butt" of the jokes from surrounding counties. Sch county residents have their own "slang" and - ahem - that's not a good thing. It truly makes people sound uneducated.

Yes, Orwigsburg & Pottsville areas may be thriving but unfortunately the northern end of the county is not. They are trying to get on their feet w/revitilzation programs but some people just don't care. Blighted properties sit unoccupied and falling down (or worse yet, families actually live in them), streets & driveways are filled with broken down, unregistered cars, & some let garbage pile up on porches and in yards. Yes, there are decent hard working people but there are also troublemakers that give the place a bad name. Unemployed people that don't even try to get a job, drug dealers, alcoholics hitting the bars at 8 am, people that don't take care of their properties, & gang members filtering in from Hazleton. You can't tell me that is not true. Schuylkill county is known to be a "drinking" haven, which may contribute to some of the problems. There's always an excuse to drink - there's not much else to do so people think why not? And yes, I know this goes on everywhere but I guess I just see Sch County through different eyes.

[whorunbartertown]

Sorry Denise, your absolutely wrong. When you've lived somewhere most of your life you have very little appreciation for the pros vs. cons. I'm from coastal Ct, and most people ask why I moved from such a 'beautiful' part of the country. Well for one thing, you have to work like a dog to be able to afford a $300,000 tiny ranch home, and , oh, and don't forget the $4,000 a year tax bill. Besides the snobbery, the materialistic attitudes that permiate everything, and the out of control economy, I'm perfectly happy right here in Tremont, Pa.! if I need a little action I can go to the dozens of both small and large venues fairly close by for music, plays, and other cultural activities. Harrisburgs downtown is not far either, and offers cutting edge club atmosphere. If you don't like it here, move somewhere else and see if the grass is greener there. Many of my friends from CT, RI and Mass. have 'seen the light' and made the move. I choose to better my community instead of bash it. It would be hard to lose you, but then again the area needs POSITIVE, not negative. So....see ya'.....

[tremontpa]

Whorunbartertown is right on the money on this one. Don't spend your time complaining, instead fix the problems so there is nothing to complain about. Look for the good in things and not the bad.

[whorunbartertown]

By the way Denise, "any excuse to drink" describes every college and university in this nation, not to mention my home area. Where people need NO excuse to drink!

[HappyRider]

Can someone tell me when did the "age of coal" end in SC and , more importantly, why? Did we run out of coal there? Coal is big business elsewhere in the country. I saw a bunch of wind turbines on top of a hill while riding through Ashland. They looked downright scary, and they weren't even turning!

[Dawne]

A lot of coal is still used in our area for the electric plants in Washingtonville and Shamokin Dam. There are still a scattering of "mom and pop" coal operations, but as far as it being big business, I don't think our coal mines in this area are big enough, and the businesses went elsewhere, where they could make more money.

[tremontpa]

The coal mining in Schuylkill county ended because the demand faded. Anthracite was used primaraly in home heating wiht secondary uses in steel production. in the 20's most Americans started switching to heat with oil for various reasons. This was the start of the long decline abnd also the perion the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron started closing and consolidating its collieries. In the 1940's our coal hit a slight upturn in use because of WWII but production slipped even further in the following decades. Furthermore, I don't think the era is completely over. The small "bootleg" mines are still holding on and people are still using it.

Th reason that we don't use it is also due to the higher cost of extraction. Anthracite is formed deep in the mountains on steep slopes. It is very hard to get out. Bituminous coal, the kind in West Virginia and elsewhere, is primeraly on a flat plane below the ground. That coal is by far easier to mine. There are some benefits to Anthracite though. Anthracite burns hotter, longer, and cleaner.

As for anthracite in power generation, it is not "real" coal. What is being burned in the plants is known as culm. Culm is a waist product from mining anthracite that contains some heating value. Also, Schuylkill County never ran out of coal. We still have plenty of it, 7-12 billion tons left. That is down from arount 20 billion tons (stats are from entire Anthracite region). Schuylkill County has the largest reserves of coal left while areas around Scranton are nearly gone.

With the desire for the US to be energy independent our coal could see a slight return to power. Lets just hope for the best.

[MsByczek]

I find Mahanoy City, a nice, charming town and has plenty of friendly people...I am moving there net month with my teen aged daughter...The schools are great there, my son attends the high school since he moved up there in september..I think that person who talks badly about the area just has personal problems, and I don't think her husband the school teacher actually says anything about the kids...well I will see it all for myself when I get there in a couple weeks...as for those of you who can't wait to get out..I say GET OUT..why stay where you don't want to??? I am coming from NYC where so many of you can't wait to go to or to live...well NYC a very huge place, over crowded schools, streets, and everything else..it does have some good points, but I am glad after 50 years here for a change to a small quaint town that will be booming in the years to come...I have hope for Mahanoy and all of PA...well, ready or not, I will be there soon!!!

[MsByczek]

[I visited Mahanoy City 2 times and decided I wanted to live there, so NO I don't think you are crazy...I think small towns are charming, and I come from a big over crowded town NYC..everything is over priced, schools are over crowded, kids get lost in the system...rethinking life in a small town is a very good thing...I am sorry I didn't do it sooner!

[whorunbartertown]

WOW! Thought it was Michener posting!!!