January celebrates our area's coal mining history with free events Besides Scranton getting more attention this month for being the hometown of President-elect Joe Biden, there's also something else that's being celebrated. Author: Ryan Leckey Updated: 6:19 AM EST January 19, 2021 Ever since former Vice President Joe Biden was named the President-Elect, the Lackawanna Historical Society in Scranton has been getting slammed with phone calls from historians all over the world. The calls are from people wanting to know more about his hometown, the Electric City. But those aren't the only hot calls this month. Others surround people's interest in our area's coal mining industry, something that helped put our area on the map many years ago.