Keep steam shovel
The Perryopolis steam shovel needs to stay.
Not because of some nostalgic childhood memories of the good old days, but a reminder of what gets left behind when profiteers like the coal barons and their poor relations (the strip mine operators) pack up and leave town.
When I pass the steam shovel, I remember sulfur creeks, red polluted skies from the coke ovens, slate piles, and mine workers with black lung. And what will the next generation remember when they pass the vacated gas drills? I suspect polluted water and air, earthquakes, vacant buildings, crumbling roads and bridges, and who knows what damage to their health.
Yes, by all means keep the shovel and keep the memories – be they ever so awful.
J. S. Lehman
Uniontown