Sixty-five years ago, the earth beneath a swollen Susquehanna River gave way.
Weeks before, coal miners on company orders dug for anthracite coal too close to the riverbed.
On Jan. 22, 1959, 69 men escaped the flooded mines and 12 were killed. The incident became known as the Knox Mine disaster, which ended an already-fraught anthracite coal mining industry in the northern field.
"We commemorate it. We remember it. We sympathize with the family members," said Robert Wolensky, a King’s College professor and published author who has penned books about not only anthracite coal mining but also history in the Wyoming Valley.
Each January, Anthracite History Month is celebrated. Events and talks are held around the region to honor the region's rich mining heritage.
Wolensky was joined by a small group, including some family members of those who lost their lives in the mines 65 years ago, outside the Baloga Funeral Home in Jenkins Twp. The funeral home is the former St. Joseph’s Church, where many miners worshiped, and not too far from the site where the river broke through into the mines in Port Griffith. The Balogas lost a family member that day.
A newspaper article from Jan. 23, 1959 described the scene: “the Susquehanna River swollen with ice left it’s normal channel and forced it’s way into the River Slope … seemingly dooming the men who were at work in the passageways below.” As soon as water was seen entering the mine, runners were sent through ordering the men to get out as fast as they could.
There was a cold period followed by a thaw that caused the river to swell.
"The water went up and the weight was too much for the illegal mining," said Wolensky.
The break in the surface created a massive whirlpool, which sucked water down into the mines. Bails of hay, loads of dirt, railroad gondolas and mine cars were all dumped into the hole to stop the water from rushing in, the article detailed.
“Efforts were fruitless” the story from the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader said.
Eventually the mines filled with water, as far down as Wilkes-Barre and Nanticoke. That about ended mining in the region. Dams were put in place and the site were the river broke was filled in with concrete. On Sunday, Bill Best led a group through the snow to a small stone memorial in the ground on the river bank, marking where the river flooded the mines all those years ago.
Northeast Pennsylvania is home to the largest most concentrated anthracite deposit in the world. Wolensky said coal mining in the region is a great legacy.
"Knox is kind of the crowning event. And it's kind of a tarnished crown of course because the Knox disaster was ... caused by corruption," he said.
The Knox Coal Company was illegally mining under the Susquehanna River, past state-certified stop line, Wolensky said.
“It did not have to happen," he said. “But it happened and it changed everything in the area.”
He described the mines as a high rise building. The layers of anthracite — called veins — are the floors and in between them are layers of rock. The miners were in the Pittston vein — the penthouse of veins; it had 12 feet of solid coal.
“Which is why they followed it illegally under the river," said Wolensky. "They couldn't resist it.”
Knox Mine leaders claimed the incident was an accident. Wolensky said they were never convicted of illegal mining.
"The CEOs, you know, the president, vice president, they all claim they didn't know a thing about it," he said. "But it's hard to believe because those companies were so tightly controlled by the bosses.”
Chris Murley from Underground Miners used a different word — greedy.
Murley’s group rehabilitated and reopened the Brooks Mine at Nay Aug Park in Scranton for the public. On Jan. 13 and 14, their weekend tours were Knox Mine themed.
"Everybody got the general idea, right? River broke in the mines, the mines flooded, the mines closed. That was the end of anthracite in the northern field, for the most part," he said.
It’s eerie to be underground, learning about not only what the miners faced that day but also what the job is like. The Brooks Mine is around 13 miles away from Port Griffith. Murley discussed the break at the depth at which some of the miners were working when the water came spilling in.
"So 40 feet of rock cover, that's where we are right here," he said. "We're 40 feet underground right here.”
Murley describes anthracite veins as being in waves. The back of the Brooks Mine slopes up.
"The anthracite mines in Northeastern Pennsylvania are pretty unique, the geology of them, the veins roll and go up and down turn and they do all kinds of crazy stuff," Murley said. "The reason they got so close is the coal rolled up and went straight up towards the river bottom."
He said when the river broke through there was only about 10 to 12 feet of that rock cover.
Mines are usually damp; it’s all the ground water seeping through. The ceiling in Brooks drips. Underground Miners shut the lights off, leaving the group in the darkness that some of the miners faced 65 years ago.
Many stories live on from the Knox Mine disaster, including those about the miners who swam, underground, until they found a way out.
There’s the Eagle Shaft story.
Pacifico "Joe" Stella was a surveyor for the Pennsylvania Coal Company. Knox leased mines from that company.
Stella was working underground that day and had a blueprint of the mines with him. He helped lead 33 men out of the mines through the Eagle Air Shaft, an abandoned hole in the ground. At times, they waded in water up to their waist, holding their tools above their heads, according to newspaper articles from the time.
"He had maps so he just kept trying to find ways out," said his grandson, Mike Borzell. "I believe they were underground all day because the break in happened at seven-ish in the morning and I don't think they got out until four in the afternoon. So they were criss-crossing under the river all day."
Stella died in 2007. There’s a picture of him just after he was helped out of the shaft. Miners helmet, with the circle light on the top, still on his head. He looks tired and distressed. Someone draped a striped towel over his shoulders. Steve Lukasic, a professional photographer, snapped the moment. It was the Associated Press’ Photo of the Year in 1959.
Borzell, now a member of the Underground Miners group, has a tattoo on his forearm. It's the iconic image of his grandfather.
For a complete list of Anthracite History Month events, visit http://eckleyminersvillage.com/programs/
WVIA produced a documentary on the Knox Mine disaster. Watch here:
