Wvc Hockey Stars Win All-state Honors

Anna Sereta 
Dec. 9, 1994 
Anna E. Sereta, 81, Of Peace Street, Hazleton, Died Friday Morning At 
Hazleton-st. Joseph Medical Center.

By JOE BUTKIEWICZ; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Sunday, December 11, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 5E 





A generation has been born since coal mining ended in the Wyoming Valley
and many people have moved into the area. The coal breakers that loom along
the edges of the Wyoming Valley might surely be a mystery those people. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Basically, coal breakers processed raw ore into marketable fuel. The
procedure included crushing, sizing, removing impurities and washing, and
while technologies changed, the process remained unchanged. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In "The Kingdom of Coal," authors Donald Miller and Richard Sharpless
described the process in the breaker in the mid-19th century: "Coal brought up
from below was carried to the top of the breaker in mine cars along an
inclined plane. The coal was tipped from the cars into revolving cylinders
which crushed and screened the coal, separating it into various sizes. The
coal was then fed downward through a series of chutes to slow the flow. Boys
sat crouched on narrow planks over the moving coal, their feet in the chutes
to slow the flow." Additional "breaker boys" would pick rock, slate and other
impurities from the coal. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 However, the Sullivan Trail in West Pittston, the Harry E in Swoyersville
and Huber breaker in Ashley were modern facilities, built in the late 1930s
and early 1940s. To clean coal, they used separating machines, rather than
child labor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Sullivan Trail had the distinction of being the first breaker to use
the Menzies Cone, a large funnel-shaped tub that separated coal from rock
using water. Prior to that, breakers used Chance cones, separating coal with
sand. Later systems used heavy media, which was magnetite mixed with water. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 (In 1962 and '63, the Glen Alden Coal Co. did a $1 million modernization of
the Huber breaker, installing nine cone cleaners using heavy media systems.) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A 1942 issue of Mechanization magazine described the system at the Harry E,
which processed raw coal ore from the mine there and the Forty Fort Mine. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Coal, slate and stone went up a 10 by 48 foot conveyor (across the Back
Road) to the top of the breaker. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 During the initial "shaking," two men picked out pieces of slate and large
rocks. The ore passed over four sets of shaking screens, with larger pieces
being crushed to a smaller size. The coal passed over more sizing screens
before being put into the Menzies cleaning units, sized again, de-watered and
channeled into holding pockets where it would be stored, ready to be dumped
onto trucks and trains. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The breaker used tremendous amounts of water. Four thousand gallons a
minute were pumped from the mine. The acidic water had to be treated with lime
to prevent corrosion of pipes and equipment. Additional "city water" was used
for a final wash. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Harry E operated one shift daily of 28 men in the breaker and yard. All
were machine operators, mechanics of foreman except for the two slate pickers
and seven yard men. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The breaker had a capacity to process 500 tons of feed per hour, which
yielded 385 tons of clean coal, marketed under the name of Golden Nugget. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The daily capacity of the Harry E was

The Wyoming Valley's Marvelous Breakers