Keeping the past alive

Jolene Busher always had a passion for the history of Northeast Pennsylvania.

As she was growing up, her mother would take her to Eckley Miners' Village in Luzerne County, where she would visit her grandmother, who worked in the "Company Store," and play in the streets of the town, much like children did over a century ago.

Throughout her high school and college career, the Weatherly native portrayed a number of characters at Eckley Miners' Village; and witnessed the struggles and triumphs of the former residents through her volunteering and work.

Now, the 22-year-old Penn State graduate student has taken her passion and her undergraduate master's thesis and published "Patchtown: Life in Eckley Miners' Village 1860-1920," a collection of vignettes about the men and women who worked and lived in Eckley.

Busher, who is currently working toward her master of arts in American studies, with a certification in nonprofit administration at Penn State University, Capital campus, Harrisburg, said the topic for her thesis and the book was a natural fit for her.

"I knew for my thesis that I wanted to focus on my home in Northeast Pennsylvania, especially our anthracite heritage," she said. "I had done research at Eckley on their census records, which are great primary sources. I'm not even sure how, my 'tradition' thesis turned into a creative writing approach to presenting the every day lives, triumphs, and struggles of Eckley's former residents.

"I knew from the beginning, even when I was starting with a traditional approach to my thesis, that I wanted to showcase Eckley as a window into the lives of our predecessors, the individuals who developed Northeast Pennsylvania into the diverse and work-hard ethic it is today. I started to see that a traditional thesis would limit this attempt, and a creative approach would allow me to write about more people, and also to do so in a way that would allow readers to sympathize, or relate to their stories. Using the census records on site at Eckley, local history and some artistic license, I tried to breathe life back into the village, and to resurrect the memories of its former residents."

As Busher continued her research, past lives from when coal controlled the area's industry began to speak and tell her their secrets. The end result was a 46-page book and the first in a series on the lives, loves and losses of the miners, laborers, widows and breaker boys of generations ago. A second Patchtown book is currently in the works.

Busher explained that Patchtown is a historical fiction, a collection of vignettes that take a personal look into the lives of Eckley's former residents from 1860 through 1920.

"Each chapter is a new decade from the census record, where I begin by giving an overview of what historical and local events were affecting or influencing Eckley's residents during each decade. Each vignette focuses on a resident, and sometimes their families as well, and Patchtown's personas range from miners, laborers, clergymen, widows, domestic, breaker boys, to even Richard Sharpe, Eckley's first coal merchant," she said. "Particular events I chose to have Eckley's residents interact with include the 1877 Molly Maguire trials, the Lattimer Massacre, and the Strike of 1902, but I mostly focused on the everyday struggles of living, working, and dying in an anthracite community."

"Patchtown: Life in Eckley Miners' Village 1860-1920" also includes artwork by local artist Robin Spring Bloom of Weatherly.

In addition to a published book, Busher can boast many accomplishments during her college career.

She graduated from Penn State University in Harrisburg in 2011 with honors and highest distinctions, earning a bachelor's in English and American studies. She also was awarded the Penn State Hazleton Frank C. Kostos Award, Penn State's President Freshman Award, President Sparks Award and the Evan Pugh Scholar Junior and Senior awards for academic achievement and a cumulative GPA of 4.0.

She worked as a student researcher for Harrisburg's 2010 re-enactment of the Grand Review of the United States Colored Troops in 1865; and is actively involved with the National Civil War Museum, where she gives public presentations on Victorian women and the Civil War home front.

Busher will be at Eckley Miners' Village on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m., where she is hosting a book reception and signing. The event is free and open to the public.

"Patchtown: Life in Eckley Miners' Village 1860-1920" is published by Sunbury Press and can be purchased either at Eckley's gift shop beginning Nov. 13, at www.sunburypress.com/patchtown.html, or on amazon.com.

For more information on Eckley Miners' Village, call (570) 636-2070 or visit www.eckleyminersvillagemuseum.com.