Forest City, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania: where a man could be twice a boy
The northernmost Lithuanian colony in the anthracite coal fields was "a city in the forest," where a man could be twice a boy - begin his career as a breaker boy sorting coal, proudly join his relatives as a coal miner and, when too old and weak to mine, work once again in the breaker sorting coal.
A Lithuanian American coal miner from Forest City, Anthony Slick, relates his experience as a breaker boy :
In what served to be an unknowing irony for the Lithuanians who immigrated to Forest City through Ellis Island - the building they walked into at Ellis Island was constructed partly of stone quarried above the very ground they would soon be mining under. (aerial photos of quarry site included on this page further below)
In Lithuanians in America, author Antanas Kucas notes, when the flood of immigrants came to work in the mines of Forest City, the Lithuanians "became known as the largest and strongest immigrant group in the city." (p.38)
The majority of Lithuanians who came had been farmers used to working in the light of the sun. The rural area surrounding Forest City became a dream for many Lithuanian American miners. As soon as they had saved enough money they purchased their own farmland and, once again, became farmers working in the light of the sun, in view of the mountains, the forest and the river.
This author has resided for nearly half a century in the Forest City area in a house constructed in 1840 by Connecticut Yankees who had purchased the land from Thomas Meredith, the son and an heir of Samuel Meredith the first Treasurer of the United States appointed by George Washington. Thomas Meredith received one of the first charters for a coal mine in the Wyoming Valley in the early 1800's. The house and acres of farm and forest had been purchased in the early 20th century by a Lithuanian American family, John and Agnes (Snipas) Bagdonas. Today what is owned by the author - close to 6 Acres - has been conserved forever as farmland.
http://www.forestcityareahistoricalsociety.org/forest-city.html
At its height, Forest City, had many churches built in town due to the influx of immigrants to furnish the labor required for the coal mines. Each successive ethnic minority would build their own church.
Up until recent years, Forest City's overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population boasted five churches: St. Anthony, St. Michael, St. Agnes, St. Joseph, and Sacred Heart. Each of these churches were ethnic, St. Agnes being Irish, St. Anthony's was Lithuanian; St. Michael's was Slovakian; St. Joseph's was Slovenian; and Sacred Heart was Polish. As of 2010, only St. Joseph and Sacred Heart remain- the rest were reduced to rubble.
Forest City is also home to an Episcopal, a Methodist (closed in 2013), a Byzantine Catholic Church and a non-denominational community Bible church each with its own following - a testament to the diverse faiths in the coal region.
information in part from: www.forestcityareahistoricalsociety.org/history.html
The intermingling of faiths and ethnicities is obvious from the news story below regarding a July 4th community picnic printed in the Montrose Democrat in 1924:
Up until recent years, Forest City's overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population boasted five churches: St. Anthony, St. Michael, St. Agnes, St. Joseph, and Sacred Heart. Each of these churches were ethnic, St. Agnes being Irish, St. Anthony's was Lithuanian; St. Michael's was Slovakian; St. Joseph's was Slovenian; and Sacred Heart was Polish. As of 2010, only St. Joseph and Sacred Heart remain- the rest were reduced to rubble.
Forest City is also home to an Episcopal, a Methodist (closed in 2013), a Byzantine Catholic Church and a non-denominational community Bible church each with its own following - a testament to the diverse faiths in the coal region.
information in part from: www.forestcityareahistoricalsociety.org/history.html
The intermingling of faiths and ethnicities is obvious from the news story below regarding a July 4th community picnic printed in the Montrose Democrat in 1924:
St. Anthony's Lithuanian Parish
http://www.brigs.us/portfolio/St-Anthony-Church-1926.htm
The second Catholic parish (Lithuanian) to be formed in the Borough of Forest City was that of St. Anthony's on Aug. 16, 1894. Ground was broken Sept. 3, 1894 and the church was destroyed by fire on Feb. 21, 1899. A new edifice was started June 22, 1899, and the cornerstone laying and dedication of the bells took place Nov. 22, 1899. The church was dedicated Oct. 8, 1905 and razed at the turn of the 21st century.
It is interesting to note that Lithuanian newspapers cited the need to sing in church as one of the prime reasons for establishing their own church. Efforts were made to keep Polish parishioners by the practice of bilingual services. Nevertheless, a Polish Church, Sacred Heart, was established in 1904.
As with many Wyoming Valley church properties, mine subsidence problems plagued the church. It had been constructed directly over mines worked by the Delaware and Hudson Company. As happened in many other locations the mining company could not be legally forced to make repairs to the property.
By 1929, 225 families were counted. By 1965 the full count of parishioners was 280. In 1977 St. Anthony's merged with St. Agnes, and St. Michael to be come part of the Polish Sacred Heart Church. Today two merged Catholic churches remain, Ascension and St. Catherine Drexel.
St. Anthony's cemetery interments:
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GScid=1994118
It is interesting to note that Lithuanian newspapers cited the need to sing in church as one of the prime reasons for establishing their own church. Efforts were made to keep Polish parishioners by the practice of bilingual services. Nevertheless, a Polish Church, Sacred Heart, was established in 1904.
As with many Wyoming Valley church properties, mine subsidence problems plagued the church. It had been constructed directly over mines worked by the Delaware and Hudson Company. As happened in many other locations the mining company could not be legally forced to make repairs to the property.
By 1929, 225 families were counted. By 1965 the full count of parishioners was 280. In 1977 St. Anthony's merged with St. Agnes, and St. Michael to be come part of the Polish Sacred Heart Church. Today two merged Catholic churches remain, Ascension and St. Catherine Drexel.
St. Anthony's cemetery interments:
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GScid=1994118
Lithuanian American Life in Forest City
Scranton Republican;September 29,1896. Tuesday, p.2
Selling Huckleberries;
Peter Roberts; Immigrant Communities, eHistory Ohio State University;
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Montrose Independent; August 5, 1897. Thursday, p.3
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Sports
Singing at Lithuanian Day Picnic
Forest City Coal Breaker - one of several; none remain.
http://bobcat.iso.port.ac.uk/www/minedata.rghcodetest1?mineseqno=762&minename=Forest%20City
1894 Newspaper story about mining accident at the Forest City Coal Breaker:
1935:
Scranton Republican, Tuesday, December 31, 1935,p.13
Two Aerial Views of Forest City Reflect it's History
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In the 1887 centennial history of Susquehanna County one can gain an early view of the rise of this anthracite colony. The author states:
"... Main Street is the only one which has had the stones and stumps cleared from its course. The appearance of the other streets and the contiguous lots truly indicate the building of a city in a forest.
...lumbering was the first business interest carried on in this section."
As stated previously, the development of the coal industry led to the development of the city and the influx of immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe.
The two aerial photos contrast the geography of Forest City through the past century. The quarry site for the stone at Ellis Island can be noted in both images to the left of the route 171 indicator. The photo on the left, circa 1937, reveals a landscape along both sides of the river denuded of any forest. Trees, like the miners, were used underground. They served as props to prevent the mine tunnels from caving in. As long as trees stood they were felled and shipped along the Delaware and Hudson Canal system to market in New York. In 1832, 3,000,000 board-feet of lumber passed through the system. (Whitford, Noble, 1906, History of the Canal System of New York, Chapter XX p.747)
(1905). "Chapter XX: The Delaware and Hudson Canal.". Retrieved 2007-10-22.
With deforestation and the invention and development of the internal combustion engine cheaper oil quickly replaced Forest City's natural resources of timber and cumbersome coal. The photo on the right (2017), shows a city once again in the forest. Today within a short drive, the small community is surrounded by an ever increasing number of gas wells. The methane that had caused so many mining accidents and deaths is now fracked out of the ground and pumped through pipelines criss crossing the state. Mine veins leached the methane from Forest City and the nearby area. The largest gas fired power plant in Pennsylvania is currently being constructed approximately 15 miles away near the Lackawanna River amidst deserted coal mines and mine fires.
Since 2009 18,068 gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania; 1,352 in Susquehanna County alone. .http://www.depreportingservices.state.pa.us/ReportServer/Pages/ReportViewer.aspx?/Oil_Gas/Wells_Drilled_By_County
The population statistics below chronicle the quick rise and fall of the population in a modern industrial town. Much commentary is made of the early indigenous peoples of the region - they were hunter gatherers who wandered. A distinct comparison can be made today to the job hunter gatherer who moves continuously from place to place looking for a job. Jobs which clearly follow the depletion of resources:
1870 993--
1880 990 −0.3%
1890 2,319 134.2%
1900 4,279 84.5%
1910 5,749 34.4%
1920 6,004 4.4%
1930 5,209 −13.2%
1940 4,266 −18.1%
1950 3,122 −26.8%
1960 2,651 −15.1%
1970 2,322 −12.4%
1980 1,924 −17.1%
1990 1,846 −4.1%
2000 1,855 0.5%
2010 1,911 3.0%
Est. 2016 1,765 −7.6%
"... Main Street is the only one which has had the stones and stumps cleared from its course. The appearance of the other streets and the contiguous lots truly indicate the building of a city in a forest.
...lumbering was the first business interest carried on in this section."
As stated previously, the development of the coal industry led to the development of the city and the influx of immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe.
The two aerial photos contrast the geography of Forest City through the past century. The quarry site for the stone at Ellis Island can be noted in both images to the left of the route 171 indicator. The photo on the left, circa 1937, reveals a landscape along both sides of the river denuded of any forest. Trees, like the miners, were used underground. They served as props to prevent the mine tunnels from caving in. As long as trees stood they were felled and shipped along the Delaware and Hudson Canal system to market in New York. In 1832, 3,000,000 board-feet of lumber passed through the system. (Whitford, Noble, 1906, History of the Canal System of New York, Chapter XX p.747)
(1905). "Chapter XX: The Delaware and Hudson Canal.". Retrieved 2007-10-22.
With deforestation and the invention and development of the internal combustion engine cheaper oil quickly replaced Forest City's natural resources of timber and cumbersome coal. The photo on the right (2017), shows a city once again in the forest. Today within a short drive, the small community is surrounded by an ever increasing number of gas wells. The methane that had caused so many mining accidents and deaths is now fracked out of the ground and pumped through pipelines criss crossing the state. Mine veins leached the methane from Forest City and the nearby area. The largest gas fired power plant in Pennsylvania is currently being constructed approximately 15 miles away near the Lackawanna River amidst deserted coal mines and mine fires.
Since 2009 18,068 gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania; 1,352 in Susquehanna County alone. .http://www.depreportingservices.state.pa.us/ReportServer/Pages/ReportViewer.aspx?/Oil_Gas/Wells_Drilled_By_County
The population statistics below chronicle the quick rise and fall of the population in a modern industrial town. Much commentary is made of the early indigenous peoples of the region - they were hunter gatherers who wandered. A distinct comparison can be made today to the job hunter gatherer who moves continuously from place to place looking for a job. Jobs which clearly follow the depletion of resources:
1870 993--
1880 990 −0.3%
1890 2,319 134.2%
1900 4,279 84.5%
1910 5,749 34.4%
1920 6,004 4.4%
1930 5,209 −13.2%
1940 4,266 −18.1%
1950 3,122 −26.8%
1960 2,651 −15.1%
1970 2,322 −12.4%
1980 1,924 −17.1%
1990 1,846 −4.1%
2000 1,855 0.5%
2010 1,911 3.0%
Est. 2016 1,765 −7.6%
Forest City and the United Mine Workers of America
Antanas Kucas notes that the Lithuanians began organizing almost immediately.
Newspaper stories reveal the importance of unionization in the mines of Forest City. During the 1902 coal strike by the United Mine Workers of America, the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission, the fact gathering commission appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt and accepted by UMW of A President John Mitchell, visited Forest City mines. It was just 8 days after the 163-day anthracite strike ended. Forest City, and Lithuanian American coal miners needed to be considered.
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Noted Lithuanian Americans from Forest City
Frank Mast/Boleslaus Francis Mastauskas - World War I Diplomat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_on_Public_Information#/media/File:Committee_on_Public_Information_in_1916.jpg
Frank Mast, who emigrated to Forest City from Zasliai, Lithuania with his parents, was a member of the Committee on Public Information,
pictured above. The commission was established by President Woodrow Wilson on April 4, 1917, 8 days after the United States entered World War I.
Frank had worked as a breaker boy early on. At 16, with the developing use of electricity in the coal mines he learned to operate the electric driven coal cars. With the hopes and fortune of his family in tow, he left to pursue a degree in law, graduating from Detroit University in 1915. In 1917, he gave up his law practice and accepted a commission as First Lieutenant in the U. S. Army. In 1918 he left the army and joined the American Lithuanian movement for the reestablishment of an independent Lithuania. He worked for and obtained a meeting of Lithuanian delegates with President Woodrow Wilson on May 3, 1918. As a result of that meeting a commission was formed to have facts pertaining to Lithuanian Independence for the Paris Peace Conference. He labored tirelessly to secure the legal recognition of independent Lithuania. In 1936 he received the Order of Gediminas from the Lithuanian government for his efforts to secure Lithuanian Independence.
For an oral history of Frank Mast's life by his sister see additional information.
John Gudaitis - World War II War Hero
John Gudaitis was born in Forest City. His parents Immigrated to the city @ 1917 from the Kaunas area of Lithuania. John's father, Stanley, worked in the coal mines near Forest City until he retired. John's family, like many Lithuanian families in the coal patch towns, traveled to
the surrounding farms of relatives and friends as many Lithuanians in Lithuania still do to this day. The farmers benefitted from the help of their friends and relatives and they in turn benefited with the fruits of their labors: fresh fruits and vegetables.
John's family traveled to the Rudball and Bagdonas farms in Clifford township. Neither mining nor farming would be John's eventual calling however. While attending high school in Forest City he worked weekends at a local restaurant shucking clams for weekend clambakes. He also waited and cooked at a local "sweet shop." After graduating high school he moved to New Jersey where he was employed by Western Electric/AT&T. He returned to that job after his heroic service in World War II.
After joining the Air Force John became a member of the 8th Air Force 305th Bomb Group. It was that unit that suffered the most casualties during one of, if not, the greatest one day air battle of World War II, Black Thursday, October 14, 1943, the Second Schweinfurt Raid. Out of eighteen B-17s that were dispatched, three aborted, 12 were lost on the way to the target. Only 2 of the 3 that made it to the target returned. John's B-17 was shot down close to the Holland/German border soon after all the short range fighter escorts had to turn back. The Lutwaffe simply laid in wait. When hit, while in rapid descent, the pilot, Lieutenant Willis, ordered all crew to bail and salvo the bomb load. John had been severely wounded on the right side of his body by a 20 mm shell. John was Staff SergeNT nd the right wing waist gunner. Though wounded, he knew he had to jump. He pulled himself toward the exit where he saw left wing waist gunner, Staff Sergeant Edward J. Sedinger, standing. Another round went off. John, who passed out, regained consciousness only just as he was about to hit the ground in an open parachute. He knew that Sedinger must have activated his chute and pushed him out the plane. Sedinger did not survive, nor did the pilot and co-pilot. After being discovered by German civilians, John was taken to an emergency medical center then to a hospital in Amsterdam where he was operated on. He spent 5 months in 3 different hospitals before being transferred to a prison camp in Lithuania. The camp was eventually abandoned and the prisoners sent to Germany. At one transfer location the prisoners
were shackled in pairs, packed into boxcars, then forced to double-time while carrying all their belongings to the next prison camp. With the Russian army advancing, they were continually on the move, forced to march dawn to dusk to keep ahead.
On April 12, 1945, John and two other prisonersmade a break. They moved overland during the night and slept during the day. Five days out they came across two men about to plow. Upon approach, the men were found to be sympathetic, providing the fugitives safety and food for a week when a British reconnaissance unit appeared on the dirt road next to the farm. John and the two other prisoners were taken to division headquarters eventually arriving in England where they were treated in a field hospital for malnutrition. After VE Day John sailed from England home.
John received numerous medals and honors, among them, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and in 1999 the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award. The Legion of Honor Award recognized unconditional service to the community, nation and humanity without regard to race, religion or creed - service exemplified by the Four Chaplains of the Dorchester, a Methodist, a Rabbi, a Catholic and a Dutch Reformed.
John returned to his job retiring after 40 years. He eventually moved back to Forest City where he and his wife Betty celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary June, 2006. John rendered unrelenting volunteer service to his community as commander and member of his American Legion Post 524 and its Boy Scout Troop 92, as a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of Lithuania.
(Information regarding John's Black Thursday mission and POW experience with the permission of George C. Kuhl, author of Wrong Place! Wrong Time!).
This author conferred directly with John and author George Kuhl before their deaths and led an effort for a memorial for John in Forest City. The effort met with little success. The author opted to purchase a memorial brick with John's name inscribed on it for the Clifford Township Veteran's Memorial in Clifford, PA. John had once harvested potatoes with his Lithuanian American step brother Ed Rudball on the Bagdonas farm, on the land the author now owns - approximately 6 acres. The land is now conserved as farmland for posterity.
the surrounding farms of relatives and friends as many Lithuanians in Lithuania still do to this day. The farmers benefitted from the help of their friends and relatives and they in turn benefited with the fruits of their labors: fresh fruits and vegetables.
John's family traveled to the Rudball and Bagdonas farms in Clifford township. Neither mining nor farming would be John's eventual calling however. While attending high school in Forest City he worked weekends at a local restaurant shucking clams for weekend clambakes. He also waited and cooked at a local "sweet shop." After graduating high school he moved to New Jersey where he was employed by Western Electric/AT&T. He returned to that job after his heroic service in World War II.
After joining the Air Force John became a member of the 8th Air Force 305th Bomb Group. It was that unit that suffered the most casualties during one of, if not, the greatest one day air battle of World War II, Black Thursday, October 14, 1943, the Second Schweinfurt Raid. Out of eighteen B-17s that were dispatched, three aborted, 12 were lost on the way to the target. Only 2 of the 3 that made it to the target returned. John's B-17 was shot down close to the Holland/German border soon after all the short range fighter escorts had to turn back. The Lutwaffe simply laid in wait. When hit, while in rapid descent, the pilot, Lieutenant Willis, ordered all crew to bail and salvo the bomb load. John had been severely wounded on the right side of his body by a 20 mm shell. John was Staff SergeNT nd the right wing waist gunner. Though wounded, he knew he had to jump. He pulled himself toward the exit where he saw left wing waist gunner, Staff Sergeant Edward J. Sedinger, standing. Another round went off. John, who passed out, regained consciousness only just as he was about to hit the ground in an open parachute. He knew that Sedinger must have activated his chute and pushed him out the plane. Sedinger did not survive, nor did the pilot and co-pilot. After being discovered by German civilians, John was taken to an emergency medical center then to a hospital in Amsterdam where he was operated on. He spent 5 months in 3 different hospitals before being transferred to a prison camp in Lithuania. The camp was eventually abandoned and the prisoners sent to Germany. At one transfer location the prisoners
were shackled in pairs, packed into boxcars, then forced to double-time while carrying all their belongings to the next prison camp. With the Russian army advancing, they were continually on the move, forced to march dawn to dusk to keep ahead.
On April 12, 1945, John and two other prisonersmade a break. They moved overland during the night and slept during the day. Five days out they came across two men about to plow. Upon approach, the men were found to be sympathetic, providing the fugitives safety and food for a week when a British reconnaissance unit appeared on the dirt road next to the farm. John and the two other prisoners were taken to division headquarters eventually arriving in England where they were treated in a field hospital for malnutrition. After VE Day John sailed from England home.
John received numerous medals and honors, among them, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and in 1999 the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award. The Legion of Honor Award recognized unconditional service to the community, nation and humanity without regard to race, religion or creed - service exemplified by the Four Chaplains of the Dorchester, a Methodist, a Rabbi, a Catholic and a Dutch Reformed.
John returned to his job retiring after 40 years. He eventually moved back to Forest City where he and his wife Betty celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary June, 2006. John rendered unrelenting volunteer service to his community as commander and member of his American Legion Post 524 and its Boy Scout Troop 92, as a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of Lithuania.
(Information regarding John's Black Thursday mission and POW experience with the permission of George C. Kuhl, author of Wrong Place! Wrong Time!).
This author conferred directly with John and author George Kuhl before their deaths and led an effort for a memorial for John in Forest City. The effort met with little success. The author opted to purchase a memorial brick with John's name inscribed on it for the Clifford Township Veteran's Memorial in Clifford, PA. John had once harvested potatoes with his Lithuanian American step brother Ed Rudball on the Bagdonas farm, on the land the author now owns - approximately 6 acres. The land is now conserved as farmland for posterity.