Chris Murley, Banks Ries and Adam Zuroski are members of groups dedicated to preserving three local mines, and are restoring some of the machines once used there. They’re also members of the Underground Miners, a group of mine enthusiasts, and the Huber Breaker Preservation Society. “I’ve seen so much scrapped or torn down in the last six years,” said Murley, an airplane mechanic, 1998 Tunkhannock Area High School graduate and 2000 grad of Johnson Technical Institute, Scranton.
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“I like seeing old buildings, how things worked and the history behind them,” said Ries, 18, of Eaton Township. A senior at Scranton Preparatory School, he met Murley at Skyhaven Airport, where both are pilots.
“I always loved historical things,” said Zuroski, 22, of Montdale, a car mechanic and a graduate of Lakeland High School. His paternal grandfather worked in the mines in Dickson City, and his maternal grandfather was a breaker boy at the Underwood Colliery in Olyphant.
Murley and Ries became interested in the deteriorating Huber Breaker in Ashley because “It’s the last standing breaker of its kind,” said Ries.
The Huber Breaker Preservation Society’s work has paid off - the Luzerne County commissioners recently voted to acquire the 68-year-old breaker and surrounding land by eminent domain, with plans to turn it into a museum and park. Closed in 1976, the 134-foot tall landmark is one of the last remaining anthracite breakers in the country.
Old mining technology
The three are also helping Archbald Borough set up an anthracite technology museum at the Gravity Slope Colliery, at the end of the Lackawanna River Historic Trail. It was once owned by the Delaware & Hudson Coal Co.
“They had these buildings and didn’t know what to do with them,” said Murley.
The shifting shanty was a place where the miners could store personal belongings in baskets raised to the ceiling on cables while they were working and to wash up after their shifts.
In three to five years, Murley expects to “get something going,” possibly train rides and tours of the shifting shanty to help raise money for more work.
The trio is also helping the proposed museum get some equipment. They’re restoring a narrow-gauge wooden flatcar, the main car used for maintenance work and laying rail in the mines, and several other pieces.
Murley has gotten an old four-ton mine motor with Wyoming County roots back up and running. After extensive work on the machinery and installing a new set of batteries, he can now operate it at all four of its original speeds in forward and reverse.
The 80-year-old mine motor was once owned by the Pompey Coal Co. in Jessup. The owner’s grandson, Tunkhannock Auto Mart owner Matt Pompey, allows the guys to use space in his business’ garage to restore the equipment. In return, Murley painted the Pompey name on it.
Murley also owns a mantrip car, last used in 1987, that carried workers into the mines, that he plans to restore.
Tour guides and timberers
The guys also work weekends at the Pioneer Tunnel Mine Tour in Ashland. Murley and Ries act as tour guides, while Zuroski and Murley do winter maintenance work, replacing support timbers and helping to open an old gangway in the mine.
“They love us there - we bring a fresh perspective and enthusiasm,” said Murley.
“They like teaching us the old ways” of mining, said Zuroski.
Those old ways include accidents, which the guys take in stride.
“The first week we derailed their mine motor,” said Murley, grinning. “The second week we caught it on fire. The third week they asked us if we were going to cave the mine in.”
Ries said they share a unique perspective of mining with tour groups. “The tours give a more personal side of mining, including lots more technology.”
While leading tours this season, Ries and Murley plan twice a month to use only the old-time oil-wick lamps and later carbon lamps, instead of the mine’s modern lighting system. “We want to show the people what the miners really saw when they were working in the mines,” said Murley.
Murley has also learned to drive one of the Pioneer Tunnel’s two Lokie, manufactured by the Vulcan Iron Works in Wilkes-Barre. A Lokie is a small, narrow-gauge steam locomotive that pulled trains from the strip pit to the breaker until 1927. “It’s an awesome engine,” he said.
The Underground Miners also occasionally lead tours of above-ground mining sites in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Murley emphasized that people should never try to explore any mines on their own for safety reasons.
For more information on the Underground Miners, the Gravity Slope and the Pioneer Mine Tunnel, visit www.undergroundminers.com
©The New Age Examiner 2007
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