FRACKVILLE - A family treasure was brought to Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train last week by a Frackville man that is part of the local history of anthracite coal mining and will soon be on display at the popular Schuylkill County tourist attraction.
Joseph J. Kovalewski Jr. walked into the business office of manger Kathy Lattis on Friday, carrying the framed memento of his family's history that also includes a copy of "A Miner's Prayer" written by C. Erb, York, in 1904.
The short, copyrighted prayer is surrounded by images of a miner and mining tools and Bible verses that work together with the prayer, which refers to the dependence of the miner on the grace and guidance of God in his hard life in the mines.
Measuring 12 by 16 inches, it was created by Kovaleski's mother, Irene Kovalewski, in 1983, for her husband, Joseph J. Kovalewski Sr., on their 35th wedding anniversary. The inscription on the back is dated Aug. 22, 1983, and reads, "Dearest Joe, Happy 35th Anniversary. To my wonderful and loving husband. Love forever and always. Your wife, Irene."
"My mom hand-made that. All she did was buy the frame," said Kovalewski, explaining the family memento to Lattis and office assistant Laura Wixted. "She put in every piece of coal on there with glue. She made this in 1983 when I was 25 years old."
The framed artwork also includes many pieces of quartz, pyrite and sulfur diamond glued inside the glass. Most of the rice coal is glued around the outside of the frame.
Kovalewski said his mother passed away last year and "A Miner's Prayer" was hung on the wall of her room.
"My grandfather had a copy of this prayer and it hung in his home," Lattis said.
Three old photos are included of the three Kovalewski family members. The top photo is Apolinary "Paul" Lukasik, who was Kovalewski's grandfather and had emigrated from Poland. The photo was taken in 1904, the year the prayer was published. The second photo is Kovalewski's father, dated 1967. The third photo is Kovalewski's uncle, Stanley Kovalewski, taken in 1947.
"My grandfather and my dad worked at the Knickerbocker Colliery, which was down in the Shenandoah/William Penn area," Kovalewski said. "They used to walk over the mountain from Pattersonville to get to work and back. My dad is originally from Pattersonville, then moved to Shenandoah, where I grew up. My grandfather came over from Poland and he also lived in Shenandoah. They worked hard. When people came over from other countries, they came over here to work."
Kovalewski said his grandfather, father and uncle worked at the Knickerbocker, but eventually they moved to different mines.
Kovalewski decided to offer "A Miner's Prayer" to Pioneer Tunnel for a time to allow many more people to see the unique tribute to an anthracite coal miner and to his family.
"It's better than me and my wife (Joanne) and my dog being the only ones looking at it," Kovalewski said.
"We will definitely hang it up," said Lattis to Kovalewski. "I'll type the history from the back, put it in a frame and display that next to it for an explanation."
Lattis said a prominent location will be chosen in the souvenir shop for the display. Frackville man shares family treasure at Pioneer Tunnel
The "Miner's Prayer" displayed on the plaque reads:
"O Lord, after I have worked my last day and come out of the earth and have placed my feet on Thy footstool, let me use the tools of prudence, faith, hope and charity. From now on till I will be called to sign my last pay roll, make all the cables in the machinery strong with Thy love. Supply all the gangways, slopes and chambers with the pure air of Thy grace and let the light of hope be my guidance, and when my last picking and shoveling is done, may my last car be full of Thy grace and give me the Holy Bible for my last shift, so that Thou, the General Superintendent of all the collieries, can say:
'Well done, though good, faithful miner, come and sign the pay roll and receive the check of eternal happiness.' Amen."
Copyright, 1904, C. Erb, York, PA