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As Mother Josepha's spirit and
the resultant "refurbishing" of the buildings and
grounds was a source of pride to all, so her dismay and disappointment
spread to all concerned when the extensiveness of damage to
Marywood property from underground mining operations became
known to her. For the seven years from 1932 through 1939 a series
of letters from mining engineers to Bishop O'Reilly, copies
of which were sent to Mother Josepha, reported on a regular
basis the conditions underneath the Maloney Home (now Holy Family
Residence), Nativity Church, Marywood College, and the motherhouse.
These letters, especially during 1932, reflect an obvious desire
on the part of the bishop and of his mining engineer, Mr. J.
Rossa McCormick, to protect these properties from further encroachment
by the coal companies. Safety supports were not being maintained
and extensive "robbing of the coal pillars," which
had been left as supports, was going on, either by so-called
"bootleg" miners, or by the coal companies themselves.
Efforts were aimed at obtaining legal agreements to require
the coal companies to make restitution for damage done to surface
buildings and grounds, as well as to require more careful mining
practices in the future. (7)
It was during this period also that the newly paved asphalt
roads buckled and began to show deep "pot holes" as
a result of weakening of underground support. The tennis courts,
too, were not usable because of similar problems. To further
complicate matters, a cave hole about forty feet deep broke
open beyond the cemetery on the college campus, revealing a
mine fire that had been smoldering for some time. Fumes from
the fire were invading the entire region, so there were complaints
from the neighborhood and fear of the fire's spreading. As Mr.
J. Rossa McCormick reported, "This fire had grown to such
proportions that the citizens felt their lives were menaced
by the fumes of the gases given off.” (8)
It seems that not only was the Pittston Coal Company partly
responsible for the undermined conditions which caused the cave-in,
but that many other parties also had been using this area for
dumping rubbish, ashes, and all kinds of debris--the Dunmore
Borough, area residents, and the Marywood maintenance crew themselves
could all be faulted for the conditions which resulted in combustion
and fire. All parties concerned were involved in the expense
of extinguishing this fire by bulldozing and flushing.
In March 1933, Mother Josepha exacted a very strict, detailed
agreement from Mr. Severin Sekol as he began borehole work for
another client in the area behind the science building. Her
concern for the projects he had already completed is apparent
in her restriction of access over congregation land to "such
places as shall be agreeable--and no other places (and particularly,
the party of the first part shall not use the concrete drive
on the said premises)." (9) She was also concerned about
disruption of the college, as she specifies that the hauling
of materials would not be done on Sunday, "and at no time
shall materials be hauled thereto that would interfere with
the peace and quiet of the proper conduct of the said college.''
(10)
Continually during the years from 1928-1932 both Mr. Severin
W. Sekol and Mr. J. Rossa McCormick, mining engineers, had recommended
extensive flushing projects be done beneath the Marywood property.
Mother Casimir and Mother Mary William had both postponed these
warnings because of the great cost. Since they were continuously
engaged in small flushing projects on the property, they probably
did not realize the extent of the problem. By 1937, agreements
were being reached which involved the Borough of Dunmore, the
City of Scranton, and representatives of the Hudson Coal, the
Pennsylvania Coal, the Glen Alden, Green Ridge Coal, and the
Pittston Coal Companies. These agreements required more careful
mining in the future and reasonable repairs to be made by the
coal companies to all lands and buildings damaged by mining
operations. (1l) These agreements were finally completed by
1939. Mother Josepha's expression of gratitude has a bit of
tongue-in-cheek humor as she writes to the president of the
Pennsylvania Coal Company: “. . . Our gratitude to you,
dear Mr. Connolly, for this protection is in proportion to the
anxiety we experienced for many years from fear of mine caves
. . . ” (12)
References:
7. Letters from Mining Engineers to Bishop O'Reilly, 1932-1937.
Archives, IHM Generalate.
8. Letter from Mr. J. Rossa McCormick to Bishop O'Reilly, September
13, 1932. Archives, IHM Generalate.
9. Contract between Mr. Severin Sekol and Mother M. Josepha
as President of Marywood College, March 13, 1933. Archives,
IHM Generalate.
10. Ibid.
11. Letter from Cadwalloder Evans, Jr. of the Hudson Coal Company
to Stanley J. Davis, Mayor, City of Scranton, August 13, 1937.
Archives, IHM Generalate.
12. Letter from Mother M. Josepha to Mr. H. A. Connolly, Pennsylvania
Coal Company, October 10, 1939. Archives, IHM Generalate.
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