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WILKES-BARRE — To celebrate Anthracite Mining Heritage Month, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration and its Pennsylvania Anthracite Section (Penn-Anthracite) will host a free public program — “The Contributions of AIME/SME to Anthracite Mining and Northeastern Pennsylvania.“
The panel discussion will be held Thursday, Jan. 31, at Rodano’s Pizza and Restaurant, 53 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre. Refreshments will be served from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by the panel discussion.
Program participants include John R. Ackerman, chairman, Penn-Anthracite Section SME; Dr. Barbara Arnold, Dr. Bode Morin, Jim LaRegina, John Mack, John Voigt, Brian Traweek and Mike Korb.
The American Institute of Mining Engineers was organized in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania by men who were primarily interested in various aspects of the anthracite industry.
Dr. Arnold, president of the SME, will be the panel moderator and will talk about the founding of AIME and Penn Anthracite.
Korb said the formation of the Institute was largely influenced, by the necessity for a free exchange of information covering the whole of the mining industry. He said the object of the formation was to enable members “to meet together at fixed periods for the purpose of reading papers upon and discussing subjects which have for their aim the economical production-of the useful minerals and metals, and the safety and welfare of those employed in these industries.”
“It is probable that this movement, which included the promotion of the safety and welfare of those employed in these industries, was influenced by the increased complexity of the industry, the influence that this complexity had upon the injury and death rate, and the Avondale Mine Disaster, which occurred two years before the founding,” Korb said.
Dr. Morin, site administrator of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Museum, will talk about Eckley Coxe.
The village of Eckley, Luzerne County, now the Eckley Miners Village, part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, was named for him.
Traweek, secretary-teasurer of Penn Anthracite, will talk about the contributions of AIME, SME and Penn-Anthracite and their members to mine safety.
Voigt, a past chairman of Penn-Anthracite, will talk about the Scranton-based ICS and Rufus Foster, one of Penn Anthracite’s founders.
LaRegina, P.G., will talk about AIME honorary member/Penn-Anthracite member John Markle and the Jeddo Tunnel.
Ackerman, chairman of the Penn-Anthracite Section, will talk about Robert V. A. Norris, who Penn-Anthracite has nominated to the National Mining Hall of Fame; the Barrett, Haentjens Company and Hazleton Pumps, and Otto and Walter Haentjens. Much of today’s technology of mine drainage and pumping technology was developed from work of several of the members of AIME and Penn-Anthracite.
Mack, a past chairman of Penn-Anthracite, will talk about the early 1900s Scranton mine cave problems/solutions.
Korb, a past chairman of Penn-Anthracite, will complete the discussion and Anthracite Mining Heritage Month with “Where They Lived” – talking about some of the homes the early leaders of the AIME and Penn-Anthracite lived in, and some of the effects they had on architecture of Northeast Pennsylvania.
AIME was founded in Wilkes-Barre, at the Wyoming Valley House on South River Street. Two of the three founders were living in Wilkes-Barre, and 22 national mining experts attended the first meeting on May 16 — eight of those were from Wilkes-Barre and 15 additional “Wilkes-Barreans” attended the second and third days of the first meeting.