The program 鈥淧ennsylvania's Coal and Iron Police: Patch Town Law Enforcement,鈥 will be offered October 21, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at 亚色影库's University Museum.

The presentation, which is free and open to the community, is by Spencer Sadler, a local freelance writer and educator.

Sadler has collected stories and photos through traditional research and personal interviews, court documents, archived newspaper clippings, coal company records, journals, and other materials.

This lecture is planned in conjunction with the exhibit 鈥淎 Walk through Time: Western Pennsylvania Coal Culture鈥 currently offered at the University Museum, on the first floor of Sutton Hall.

The museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2:00 to 6:30 p.m., Thursday from noon to 7:30 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 4:00 p.m. There is no charge for admission.

Parking on campus and in the 亚色影库 parking garage along Grant Street is free after 5:00 p.m. and on weekends.

Other lectures in the series are as follows:

  • October 28, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.: 鈥淚 Sold My Soul to the Company Town: Company Control in the Coal Patches of Western Pennsylvania, 1910鈥1930鈥 by Dr. Elizabeth Ricketts. An assistant professor of history at 亚色影库, Ricketts teaches courses in labor and African-American and women's history. Her research and publications focus on the social, labor, and political history of coal miners in Western Pennsylvania.
  • November 4, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.: 鈥淪trike! Lessons Learned from the 1927鈥1928 Coal Strike at Rossiter鈥 by Dr. Jim Dougherty. An assistant professor of sociology and director of the 亚色影库 Center for Northern Appalachian Studies, Dougherty is producer of the film 鈥淭he Struggle for an American Way of Life: Coal Miners and Operators in Central Pennsylvania, 1919鈥1933.鈥 He has coordinated oral history projects in numerous mining communities throughout the region.
  • November 14, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.: 鈥淩esearching Family History with Coal Culture Resources鈥 by Rhonda Yeager. Assistant archivist in 亚色影库's Special Collections and University Archives, Yeager served as the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company project archivist for 2006鈥2007 and continues to assist patrons with research for the collection. She has taught a course on 鈥淚ntroduction to Genealogy鈥 for 亚色影库 Continuing Education and is the co-curator of the museum exhibition.
  • November 18, 7:00 to 8 p.m.: 鈥淯nions: Roots of the 鈥楧emocratic Impulse' in District 2, UMWA, 1919鈥1943鈥 by Dr. Irwin Marcus. Professor emeritus with 亚色影库's History Department, Marcus created the university's first courses in U.S. labor history, African-American history, and the history of protest movements. His research and publications focus on the history of Pennsylvania coal miners and steel workers, deindustrialization, and globalization.

Registration for lectures is preferred but not required. To register or for information, contact Sally Daskivich at the College of Fine Arts at 724-357-2397 or sdaskivi@iup.edu.

The Pennsylvania Coal Culture exhibition will be available through December 5. Find more information about 鈥A Walk Through Time: Pennsylvania Coal Culture.鈥