Coalpail.com Forum

Here's an old Coal bag from Leominster Ice Company in Leominster MA.

That's great! Is that a heavy paper sack? Thanks for sharing. I believe that the "Blue Coal" brand was one of the largest Anthracite home heating coal companies. Processed at the famous Huber breaker in Luzerne County, PA. by Glen Alden coal co. They processed 7000 tons a day! I've read that they sponsored national radio shows and had billboards all over. Went under in 1976.

My first personal coal burning times were 19 years at an old 1810 tannery/mill building with a floor of living quarters upstairs. During a very long Anthracite labor strike in the late 70's or early 80's, I actually completely emptied a large rice coal bin that had been there forever. In the back corners were a couple of buckets of blue dyed coal. Alo a bit of red painted coal which had been a Reading Anthracite thing.

hank2, are you talking about the strike there by Mount Carmel? Were they part of Gilberton Coal Company?

gaw wrote: ↑Fri. Aug. 26, 2022 4:32 pm hank2, are you talking about the strike there by Mount Carmel? Were they part of Gilberton Coal Company?

gaw, I only remember that my rice supplier back then, (early 80's?) couldn't get any coal for months. Blamed it on an extended Anthracite strike. I'm pretty sure that feed mill sold Reading. There were a number of coal yards and sellers in northern Berks back then. The ones I checked with were also out. At least for rice. My farmer neighbor eventually found a ton of Jeddo for me at a feed mill I didn't know of about 15 miles away. Luckily, I think it was Spring/ early Summer, so what I had just stretched until I got that single ton. Not sure how many breakers or mines were on strike. Some years after that I switched to Emil Rarick for coal and used mostly Greenwood breaker at that home and the next.