I grew up in Pennsylvania coal country. It wasn't pretty and it's time to move on.
When I was born in the heart of anthracite coal country in the 1950s, coal mines were still operating. Their prospects todayâparticularly after the United Mine Workers of America union just announced their support for a transition away from coalâ look different. Coal has long had a storied history in northeastern Pennsylvania. The region grew fast and rich from the 18th to the mid-20th centuries, with anthracite (âhardâ) coal noted in the area by John Jenkins, Sr. on a map in 1762. An agent of William Penn reported back to London in 1765 that coal was present, noting in a...