LANSFORD, Pa. — For the 15th year in a row, the No. 9 Coal Mine and Museum hosted its annual Coal Mine Heritage Festival. A day to celebrate the rich coal region history and culture in northeastern Pennsylvania through music, food, crafts, and more.
"People realize that a lot of this stuff is still alive and well in northeastern PA, and we try to help and promote it and educate people on just the richness of the coal region history and coal mining culture," said Dale Frudenberger, Coal Mine Heritage Festival Organizer.
Whether they've lived in Carbon County their entire life or are just visiting, Dale Frudenberger plans this festival every year to teach them something new about the coal mining culture and how it plays a big role in northeastern Pennsylvania today.
"The ethnic diversity that was always here since the days of coal mining, people of different nationalities, from all over the world came here to work in the coal mines, and that richness, that diversity, and that cultural changes still reside in our community today," Frudenberger said.
One of the highlights of the festival is a tour of the No. Nine Coal Mine which allowed brothers Isaiah and Zechariah Agurila to learn about coal mining firsthand.
"Back in the day, they used and had workers called miners that used to hit rocks and collect coal and any kind of stones, and they had to go in these trains to get into the mines," said Isaiah Agurila, Coal Mine Tour Participant.
After Sunday's success, the No. 9 Coal Mine and Museum plans to expand the festival next year to educate even more people about northeastern Pennsylvania's rich coal region history.
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