Shenandoah memorials honor borough's roots

Aug. 19—Nearly 30 years since its dedication, the Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners Memorial holds an ever-expanding collection of bricks and tiles imprinted with names of Shenandoah residents past and present.

The memorial, at Main and Washington streets near the entrance to Girard Park, perfectly encapsulates the town's roots and the connections at the heart of its diverse, coal-mining-descended population.

Dedicated Sept. 15, 1996, the structure pays tribute to the thousands of coal miners who contributed over the years to the borough's growth, prosperity and identity.

"The memorial means a lot to the town of Shenandoah," said Mary Luscavage, a board member of Downtown Shenandoah Inc.

The site is a popular point of congregation during townwide events, with visitors scoping out the memorial's facade or engraved bricks for familiar names.

"They're all looking for family names," Luscavage said. "People just remember what it was like during those days."

Composed of three panels in a tri-fold design, the memorial features bronze reliefs depicting scenes of coal miners and their

families.

Inscribed on each wall are marble squares with the names of miners who lived and worked in the area over the years.

On the ground adjacent to the wall are hundreds of bricks engraved with names of other residents — a list that continues to grow as Shenandoahans seek to preserve the memory and spirit of their loved ones.

The memorial includes a 6-ton chunk of anthracite coal mined in 1935 by the Bazley Coal Co., Morea.

Luscavage credits the late Theodore Souchuck Sr. and Peter Vernalis for spearheading the effort to establish what would become the memorial, along with its committee, in the 1990s.

In the years since, DSI has taken over upkeep duties, including installation of all bricks and tiles.

While many of the names on the memorial are those of miners, several are affiliated with others who were "touched" by the tribute and wanted to make a contribution, Luscavage said.

"That memorial brings so much to memories of your family and how they lived. ... It brings so much to the heart," she said.

Andy Ulicny, president of the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society, described the memorial as "a pride in the coal region heritage" and a tribute to the vast network of local collieries from the 1860s to the 1950s.

Many of the collieries — including Shenandoah, William Penn, Turkey Run and Indian Ridge — were owned by the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Co.

State markers

The borough is home to four historical markers dedicated by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.

One marker, on the east end of town along Route 54, memorializes the anthracite coal strike of 1902 that led to a violent showdown in Shenandoah.

Dedicated in 2002, the strike's centennial, the marker states that 150,000 mineworkers in May 1902 struck for six months for higher wages, union recognition and shorter hours.

"A July 30th riot of 5,000 strikers in Shenandoah led to its occupation by the PA National Guard and influenced President Theodore Roosevelt to set up the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission," the marker reads. "Some worker demands were granted. The strike introduced an impartial federal role in disputes."

At Main and Centre streets, the borough's main thoroughfares, there are two markers dedicated to groups whose presence and influence resonates in the region to this day: Lithuanian Americans and the Dorsey Brothers.

A marker called "Little Lithuania, USA," dedicated in 2013, pays tribute to the scores of Lithuanian immigrants who have settled since the late 1800s in Schuylkill County, which is known to have the greatest concentration of Lithuanian ancestry in the U.S.

Ulicny said Shenandoah was the "jumping-off point" for many immigrants, including Lithuanians.

"It was sort of a hub," Ulicny said. "You'd come from New York ... and you'd come here for the work in the coal mines. It was a centralized area. Whether people stayed or jumped from here was the question."

Next to "Little Lithuania," a marker celebrates the birthplace of the Dorsey Brothers, the talented jazz musicians who gained national fame as a recording duo and later leaders of separate ensembles.

Trombonist Tommy Dorsey and saxophonist Jimmy Dorsey grew up in Shenandoah, where their father, Thomas F. Dorsey Sr., was a coal miner and later a music teacher and bandleader.

"The mother was originally from Mount Carmel, but they settled here, and the boys grew up here before heading on to their musical careers," Ulicny said.

Another state marker is dedicated to St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church at 114 S. Chestnut St.

According to the commission, St. Michael's was founded by Ukrainian immigrants in 1884 and was the first church of the Greek Catholic Rite in America.

The church's founders were part of a Greek Catholic population who first settled in Massachusetts and Vermont in the 1860s before moving to Pennsylvania.

"Some years later they settled in Pennsylvania, which was and still is a Ukrainian mecca," the church's website states.

As the congregation grew, parishioners recognized the need for a larger church, which would be built at the current site — on Oak and Chestnut — in 1907.

That building was destroyed in a fire in 1980, after which a new church was constructed in 1983, with the state marker dedicated the following year.

"This spot has held three different incarnations of the most beautiful building in the town," Ulicny said.

Hometown hero

A mural on the main thoroughfare pays tribute to the borough's illustrious 200-year history — including the life of beloved hometown veteran Anthony P. Damato.

Spread across the north wall of American Legion Post 792, at 118 N. Main St., is an expansive visual depiction of Shenandoah's military history, coal mining roots, ethnic diversity and its role in the Industrial Revolution.

The centerpiece of the painting is a likeness of Damato, a Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after he jumped on an enemy grenade to save the lives of two fellow servicemen.

The 150-foot-long mural was a yearslong effort that was made possible by a state grant for community service projects for Shenandoah Valley students. Downtown Shenandoah Inc., whose office is next to the post, oversaw the project as students began working on it in June 2009.

With help from local artist Martin Braukus, the mural was completed at the end of 2011.

On the east side of the park, near the street, a monument from the American Legion post memorializes Damato's Medal of Honor.

The mural "tells the whole history of the town," said Luscavage, who was DSI's executive director at the time of its dedication.

Below Damato's likeness, which is framed by the American flag, are the flags of all the branches of the armed forces.

The mural's scope goes beyond the military: The west side of the wall includes a flag for the Dorsey Brothers, as well as a tribute to the garment industry that sustained many families in the early to mid-20th century. The industry was a large economic driver, with at one time up to 15 garment factories operating simultaneously in the borough.

Next to the mural's coal mining tribute, a pair of garment workers are shown sitting at a sewing machine.

Moving west along the wall, the mural depicts a group of children carrying flags and emblems of 21 ethnic groups represented in Shenandoah. Above these figures is a biplane with a banner stating, "Shenandoah Welcomes You."

"The mural also has the fact that we were part of the Industrial Revolution," Luscavage said. "The garment industry was one of the biggest industries here. The men went to work in the mines; the women went to work in the factories. And that's exactly how it worked here."

Contact the writer: hlee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6085