Harry Bobonich

Big Mine Run: Recollections of the Coal Region Harry Bobonich

The book is mainly oral history. It's a collection of stories describing what it was like growing up in Big Mine Run, a Coal Region patch in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The author includes stories that range from picking huckleberries for a few pennies to making moonshine in the cellar. He writes about dumb things he did as a kid like getting his tongue stuck on a bridge to challenging a freight train. It's also about stealing coal and working in a bootleg coalhole. Bobonich features stories about his family, friends and his most memorable schoolteacher. The book also includes big events such as celebrating more than one Christmas and waiting for the carnival to come to town. It includes reminiscences about old radio programs from Gang Busters to The Shadow to The Day the Martians Landed in New Jersey. He also writes about famous people that made the headlines like the Molly Maguires and Dr. Robert Spencer from Ashland. Lastly the book describes tragic events such as the Baffling Airliner crash near Mt. Carmel, the Centralia mine fire and the Avondale Calamity--the worst mine disaster in the history of the Anthracite Region.