Lackawanna Coal Mine, Scranton, Pennsylvania

You have arrived.  You have put your hard hat on.  Now you must get into the transport that will take you into the coal mine that is three hundred feet into the ground.  The tracks that the transport runs on is on a nine percent grade.  The transport is controlled by a steel cable that lowers you into the mine.  After a lone ride, you arrive at the bottom.  You step out, and you find yourself inside the coal mine.

“Where do we start?”  You ask.

“Right here.”

“Where are the explosives, the tools?  How are we getting the coal out?”  You ask.

“Sir, the mine is decommissioned.  This is the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour.  Coal is no longer mined here.”  The tour guide informs you.

Be warned that a visit to the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour in the city of Scranton in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania may make you think that you are going to work.  You are in an actual coal mine.  Well, you are in a decommissioned coal mine, but the tour guide, a former coal miner, will take you to all of the places where the miners worked, and he will show you the tools used.  As you walk through the mine, you will see the tracks the mine cars used to transport the coal.  As you walk around, you will be tempted to get to work.

The Lackawanna Coal Mine is an award-winning historic attraction.  It is located on Bald Mountain Road inside Dade Park in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  It is open from April 1 to November 28 from Friday to Monday 10:00am to 4:00pm.  (Last admission at 2:45pm.)  Parking is free and on site.  Admission is $10.00 for adults, $9.50 for seniors, $9.00 for military, $7.50 for those 3 to 12, and children under three free.  Please note that the tour is about an hour and that you will be underground the entire tour. The tour is also not wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information and read more into the history of the mine at https://coalminetournepa.com/. Time to get to work.  Not really.  You will feel that way in the Lackawanna Coal Mine.

“The Dover Harbor”

It was a bright and sunny day.  A young man wearing a coat and sweatpants and sneakers was sitting on a bench at the train station.  A young woman wearing a blue dress and jacket with flip flops on her feet approached him.  “Is this seat taken?”

            He looked on the seat next to him.  “Have a seat.”

            “Thanks.”  She sits down and crosses her legs.  “You must be waiting on the train.”

            “I am.  I am going home.  I live in Roanoke, Virginia.”  He smiled at her.

            “Nice.  I am on my way to Altoona, Pennsylvania.”  She said.

            “I guess we are going in two opposite directions.  Bummer.  It would have been nice to ride with you.”  He admired her beauty.

            “Well, I don’t get to ride with people very often, but my puppy is waiting for me at home.  I miss him.”  She looked at him.

            A group of men wearing black suits with black ties arrive at the station, and they line up along the platform.  The man and woman thought it was very strange.

            “Excuse me.  What is going on?”  The young man was curious.

            One of the men turned to him.  “The Dover Harbor.”

            “The what?”  The young man was puzzled.

            “The Dover Harbor.  It is coming.”  The man in the suit smiled.  “Here it comes.”

            They heard the sound of a whistle.  A shiny gold steam locomotive with white steam puffing out of the stack was pulling into the station pulling a green Pullman car, and it stopped in front of the station.

            The men sang,

“Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Birthday Dover Harbor.

Happy Birthday to you.”

            The conductor stepped off of the train.  “All aboard!”

            The men climbed aboard the Dover Harbor.  The conductor looked at the young man and woman.  “Would you like to ride?”

            They looked at each other.

            “Come aboard.”  The conductor smiled.

            They looked at each other again… and they went aboard the Dover Harbor.  The train pulled away from the station.

The Dover Harbor was built in 1922.  Happy Birthday to the Dover Harbor.