Coalcrackers

This is Coaldale, Pa. I took this picture at Easter time in 1987. Less than a week out of the Air Force, my family and I were on our annual trip to my Grandmother's. We went more often than just at Easter time but we rarely missed an Easter Sunday in Coaldale. Coaldale is small town in the mountains of Schuykill County, a place that seemed to be visited more than lived in. Not a lot of young people most of those left to find jobs and raise families elsewhere. There was never much to do when we would go there, so we would walk. Explore. As a kid I knew where the movie theater was (the Angela), the supermarket and where most of the Mom & Pop candy stores were. Even into the nineties it was like stepping back in time. This place, more than anywhere, was a town of pride, pride in who you are and pride in where you came from. The Lithuanians, the Russians, the Slovaks, the Irish and the Italians each lent their flavor to this place and made it unique. Being Slovak, Easter meant kielbasa, and not just any keilbasa, you had to go to a certain place and get their keilbasa. And sirok, made with eggs, milk and pepper, I always called it Easter Cheese and paska, the Easter bread. And pierogies (potato filled pasta) and halupkies (stuffed cabbage) and haluski (noodles with cabbage and potatoes), man am I hungry now. It's been years since I last visited and my kids haven't been there since they were small, I really should make another trip up, maybe this Easter.

As a side note, I always post between 9 and 11 at night for the next day, if you didn't know that already. So, technically it is still February 6th.