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Acknowledgments

Many people and organizations helped me to complete this book: my debts exceed my capacity to repay them. Any errors in the book are mine.

Several people read and responded to early drafts. My Marywood colleagues Laurie McMillan and Mike Foley offered me detailed feedback that improved my arguments. I am grateful to Ian Marshall and Christine Cusick, who reviewed the manuscript for Penn State University Press; their responses sharpened the manuscript into a book. My coffee conversations with Virginia Kennedy, who read parts of the manuscript, renewed my faith in the project at key moments.

Mary Ann Moran-Savakinus, Director of the Lackawanna Historical Society, was always there with her tremendous knowledge of the history, people, and places of Lackawanna County. She often dropped what she was doing to help me find sources of information. Behind this book also stands the work and expertise of Gloria McCullough, research librarian at the Wayne County Historical Society, who guided me to important sources for Wayne County history; archivists Jim Sullivan, at Marywood, Sr. Anitra Nemotko, at the Scranton IHM Center, and Michael Knies, at the University of Scranton, who led me to key texts; and interlibrary loan specialist Becky Kohinsky, who aided me tremendously in accessing books and articles that I otherwise would not have been able to use. The staff at the Luzerne County Historical Society was very helpful to me in my research of the Jason Torrey Papers. All of these folks were very generous with their time and talents.

For all I learned in interviews with them, I am grateful to John Hambrose, Alliance Landfill; Dave Messersmith, Wayne County Extension Service; and Norma Reese, Forest Hill Cemetery. In our several conversations, Bernie McGurl, Director of the Lackawanna River Corridor Association, taught me much about many aspects of the Lackawanna Valley and the Lackawanna River. For their assistance, I thank art historian Darlene Miller-Lanning, University of Scranton; S. Robert Powell, Director of the Carbondale Historical Society; Paul Reining, Forestry Specialist, Wayne County Conservation Office; John Kameen and Patricia Striefsky, publishers of the Forest City News; and Brian Fulton, librarian at the Scranton Times-Tribune.

Several experiences inspired me in my research and writing. The 2002 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute “Regional Studies for Liberal Arts Learning: An Appalachian Exemplar” bolstered my confidence about the importance of writing about northeastern Pennsylvania. I thank NEH, Peter Crow, my institute colleagues, and Ferrum College for a great experience. A 2003 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission summer grant to conduct research at the Anthracite Museum expanded my understanding of the richness of the region’s history. During my subsequent trips to the museum, Chester Kulesa and John Fielding, who always made me feel welcome, went out of their way to give me access to the Anthracite’s collections. Marywood University granted me a sabbatical that allowed me extended time to work on the book.

At Penn State University Press, I am in debt to acquisitions editor Kathryn Yahner and editorial assistant Charlee Redman, who made the submission and production process run smoothly, and to Nicholas Taylor, who copyedited the manuscript. I thank Erin Greb, of Erin Greb Cartography, for making the maps of Scranton and northeastern Pennsylvania.

I am grateful to Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment for permission to reprint “Merwin and Mining,” which appears here as chapter 2, and to the University of South Carolina Press for permission to reprint my essay “Other Places,” which is now part of chapter 5.

My extended family deserves credit for hearing about this project for several years. My greatest debt, however, is to my wife, Bridget, who made this book possible in more ways than she’ll ever know.