Festival digs mining heritage

So, how many pierogies can the average hungry person eat in one sitting?

“I think 14 or 15 is pretty much the record,” said Jerry Hudak, a South Valley Chamber of Commerce officer who is helping to organize this weekend’s Coal Miners’ Heritage Days Festival at Patriot Square in downtown Nanticoke.

The festival’s pierogi-eating contest is set for 4:15 Sunday afternoon and involves servings of 12 potato pockets at a time.

“Each contestant is given a dozen pierogies, and that’s dish No. 1,” Hudak said. “As they go through that, they’re handed a second dish and maybe a third.”

The pierogies will be supplied by John “Yogi” Jagodinski, whom Hudak described as “the potato-pancake king.”

The three-day, third-annual festival will include “fun and games in a bazaarlike atmosphere,” Hudak said, as well as a display of mining equipment and a “Coal Miners’ Polka Mass” at 3 p.m. Sunday.

“We want to honor the heritage of the miners,” Hudak said. “I guess 99 percent of the people in the Valley had a miner in the family somewhere.”

Scheduled entertainers include the Kerry Dancers, who will perform Irish step dances, polka bands Jolly Joe & the Bavarians, Joe Stanky & the Cadets and Eddie Derwin & the Polka Naturals and DJ Rockin’ Rich, who will bring a variety of music.

The Top Hat Dancers will dance “in full Victorian regalia, like something out of ‘Gone With the Wind.’ I think that will be very eye-catching,” Hudak said.

The South Valley Chamber of Commerce is a regional group with members ranging from Hanover Township, Plymouth and Nanticoke to Berwick, Mountain Top and Lewisburg. “There are lots of mom-and-pop stores, and we cater to them,” Hudak said.

In connection with the festival, committee member Alma Berlot is searching for the area’s “oldest coal miner,” whom she wishes to honor with a trophy, a banner and $100.

Her own father lost his life trying to rescue his co-workers after a mining accident, Berlot said, and she appreciates the hard work and sacrifices of the men who earned their living in the area’s coal industry.

She invites the oldest miner to come to the festival at 4 p.m. today to be recognized. To nominate someone before then, call 735-0448.

If you go

Today’s activities: Opening ceremony at 4 p.m., Kerry Dancers 5:30 to 6 p.m., Jolly Joe & The Bavarians 6 to 10 p.m.

Saturday’s activities: DJ Rockin’ Rich 2 to 3:30 p.m., Top Hat Dancers 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., DJ Rockin’ Rich 4:30 to 6 p.m., Joe Stanky & the Cadets 6 to 10 p.m.

Sunday’s activities: Coal Miners’ Polka Mass at 3 p.m., pierogi-eating contest 4:15 p.m., Eddie Derwin & the Polka Naturals 5 to 9 p.m.