EXCERPT:

Coal towns in Schuylkill and Carbon counties boast a variety of churches -- and lots of bars.

In Tamaqua, the Pine Street Pub is a block away from Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church.

In Coaldale, the Russian Citizens' Club, its neon sign boasting the availability of Busch beer, is a stone's throw from St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church.

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"Used to be that coal was king
'Round here it could buy anything
That was yesterday, my friend
So set 'em up till I reach the end.
Communion seven days a week
Yuengling to drink, Mrs. T's to eat
Old time religion and lager beer
That's what keeps me living here.”

"Churches and Bars," the 2002 paean to the coal region penned by native sons Van Wagner and Tom Flannery, paints a vivid slice-of-life picture of coal country.

Wagner and Flannery, coal region musicians who often collaborate in writing and performing, were in Scranton for a gig when the topic of churches and bars came up, said Wagner, a former coal miner.

The two put their heads together and painted the musical picture of coal region culture in about 10 minutes.

The song is dotted with nuggets of anthracite life, everything from the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville to Mrs. T's Pierogies in Shenandoah -- and a bar or church on almost every corner.

Coal towns in Schuylkill and Carbon counties boast a variety of churches -- and lots of bars.

In Tamaqua, the Pine Street Pub is a block away from Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church.

In Coaldale, the Russian Citizens' Club, its neon sign boasting the availability of Busch beer, is a stone's throw from St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church.

In Summit Hill, you can leave Sommer's Inn, turn the corner on Ludlow Street and walk the block to the First Presbyterian Church on White Street.

Lehighton is home to no fewer than 23 churches; Palmerton has 13, Lansford nine, and Jim Thorpe and Nesquehoning have eight each.

Bars are harder to count -- many are tucked into rows of attached homes, and there are lots of veterans organizations, fire companies and fraternal clubs, many of which invite members in to tip a cold one.

"Every single coal region town has two things: churches and bars," Wagner said. "You've got your Catholic churches, your Lutheran churches.…”

And right down the street, you have your -- often tiny -- bars.

Mahanoy City native Steve Varonka, a coal region history aficionado who lives in Bloomsburg, explains why.

People from many parts of the world immigrated to America and found work in the coal mines, he said.

"There's a reason for it," Varonka said. "If you trace back into the 1850s, you had a huge influx of Irish due to the famine. Many of those folks settled in the coal mining regions. Of course they liked to have a little whiskey now and then.

"There was also a large Eastern European population, with many different languages, so eventually we had communities with a mixture of English, German, Irish, Eastern European families.

"Each had their own language, which brought about a church for each ethnicity. Language was one of the strongest things that kept people apart.”

Most of the churches have folded or consolidated.

"Of course, the barrooms continued to be language-oriented," Varonka said. "Each group congregated at different bars; they were more comfortable in their own language."

Roadhouses were common, he said.

"They were family dwellings where they would offer alcohol for sale, typically the front rooms of people's houses," Varonka said. "When you go through the coal regions, you see these row homes, they are maybe 14 feet wide. They became barrooms, seating about a dozen people. That's why there are so many.”

Dale Freudenberger of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, a state historic preservation and economic development group, said Mahanoy City, with a population of about 4,500 according to the 2000 Census, once boasted more than 120 bars.

"Mahanoy City was the barroom capital of Schuylkill County. The reputation was always that there was a barroom on every corner," Freudenberger said.

Today, though many are closed, "you can still tell they were originally barrooms, with the corner doors and whatnot," he said. "Basically, most of that was serving the coal mining industry.”

Breweries thrived, supplying the bars.

Mahanoy City had the Kaier Brewery. In Tamaqua, on E. Broad Street at the railroad crossing, there is a huge white building that was once a brew house, Freudenberger said.

"That's the original McGinty Brewing Co., built in 1897," he said.

The brewery, last known as Liberty Brewing Co., closed in 1939, he said.

Another Tamaqua brewery, a three-story brick building at Lafayette and Swatara streets, is now Martha's Place Restaurant.

Coal boroughs also boasted several small grocery stores, again often in front rooms of homes. Most are gone now.

Coal region culture is like a colorful patchwork quilt.

"Every town is so unique," Wagner said. "Different slang, different customs, everything. You can't compare Tremont to Tamaqua.”

But some things -- a solid work ethic and frugality, for example -- are consistent.

"I've always enjoyed watching the reaction on the faces of people visiting," he said. "I take them out to a bar and we'll have a dollar beer. Coal region people, they work hard, and nobody is going to charge them $4.50 for a pint of lager. You can drink all night on the change in the ashtray in your car.”

Wagner, who worked in a coal mine in Good Spring, just above Hegins in Schuylkill County, said "Churches and Bars" resonates with people.

"The song is one of the most engaging songs I'll get with an audience," Wagner said.

Wagner performs at various venues, including coffeehouses, college campuses and festivals. Members of the audience typically come up to him after a performance to chat about "when I was a kid …," he said.

"Churches and bars, churches and bars

All I need is churches and bars

Won't find me in a dry old town

Not a drop of religion to be found

Folks round here don't need many things

Just the shirt on their backs and a song to sing

Reverend Billy likes his wine

Turns a feast day into a good old time

Twelve different languages, all speaking His praises

Some kneel at church doors

Some lay on barroom

floors …"

Source: http://articles.mcall.com/2004-08-16/news/3548049_1_coal-miner-russian-orthodox-church-churches-and-bars