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‘Hard Coal Chronicles’ Photographer Kicks off Minersville Historical Society’s America250 Speaker Series

 

 

February 3, 2026 - In Pennsylvania, the Minersville Area Historical Society will kick off its America250 Speaker Series with a program exploring the coal region’s ethnic heritage.

“America’s True Melting Pot: The Ethnicities of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region” will be presented at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Valley Road Venue in New Castle Twp.
 
Scott D. Herring, who has documented the history of the anthracite region in photographs, will be the featured speaker.
 
Herring’s “The Hard Coal Chronicles 1973-2023 Fiftieth Anniversary Show” has been on display at the Anthracite Heritage Museum in Scranton since May 2023.  

 

 

 

Scott D. Herring returns slopetop in Lincoln Patch, PA in his fortieth anniversary year as "The Last Anthracite Photographer" after a long day documenting the men of B&B Coal Company on March 1, 2013. Note the camera and face caked with coal. (SUBMITTED)
Scott D. Herring returns slopetop in Lincoln Patch, PA in his fortieth anniversary year as “The Last Anthracite Photographer” after a long day documenting the men of B&B Coal Company on March 1, 2013. Note the camera and face caked with coal. (SUBMITTED)

 

 

His photo archive includes more than 250,000 images of anthracite mining companies and families in the region.
 
A version of “Hard Coal Chronicles,” featuring 85 photos, was hosted by the Tamaqua Historical Society in 2013. That same year, the Schuylkill County Historical Society hosted another version of the chronicles that had 300 photos.
 
Often referred to as “The Last Anthracite Photographer,” Herring has never sold any images.
 
Instead, he has made them available in support of hard coal heritage and historic restoration projects.
 
In 2018, Herring chaired the 250th anniversary observance of the anthracite region.
 
Son of a Tamaqua bootlegger, Herring began taking photographs of mines and railroads in 1973. Over more than 50 years, his passion for documenting mining history has taken him to sites across the country.
 
He studied geology at Ohio Wesleyan University, and had worked in the bituminous coal industry before turning to documenting anthracite history in photographs.
 
The Minersville Historical Society America250 Speaker Series includes:
 
–“The Pottsville Maroons,” featuring Schuylkill County Historical Society executive director Diana Prosymchak, on March 19.
 
–“From Minersville to Baghdad: Pitstops of Life,” a memoir by Jim Droskinis, retired soldier and racecar driver, on April 23. He is the author of “Undefeated, United, Unscored Upon: The Perfect Season,” the story of the Cass Twp. High School 1957 championship season.
 
–“Minersville, Mummers and the Origin of the Molly Maguires,” featuring Mark Bulik, retired New York Times senior editor and author of “Sons of Molly Maguire” on June 11.
 
All of the programs will be held at 7 p.m. in Valley Road Venue, formerly the Duncott Hose Company, 1332 Valley Road, Pottsville.
 
Additional information is available at the society’s website, www.minershistory.org, and its Facebook page.