When Schuylkill County celebrated its bicentennial in 2011, Patrick M. "Porcupine Pat" McKinney, Saint Clair, became fascinated by notable facts about its history.
"Did you know the catcher's mitt was invented by a baseball player from Schuylkill County? Did you know that the very first car ever sold was sold to a man from Port Carbon?" McKinney, educational coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District, Pottsville, said Wednesday.
In 2011, McKinney put together a presentation to share a collection of fun facts about the county called "Schuylkill County Is Renowned For..." And he's inviting the public to hear one free at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Schuylkill County Historical Society, 305 N. Centre St., Pottsville.
David Derbes, society president, said this will be the first time McKinney has given this talk at the society.
"He gave me an outline of what it's going to be like. I think it's going to be good. There's a lot of things in here that we rarely hear anything about. I never realized that Schuylkill County is No. 2 in production of potatoes," Derbes said Wednesday.
That's correct, Samantha Krepps, press secretary with the state Department of Agriculture, Harrisburg, said Wednesday.
According to the most recent USDA Census of Agriculture, completed in 2007, Cambria County had the most acres of potato farmland harvested with 2,018 acres, and Schuylkill County came in second with 1,860 acres.
The figures for the 2012 Census of Agriculture will be released in February.
McKinney said he hopes programs like these encourage people to learn something special and have pride in their community.
"When you're aware of something special, you appreciate it. I want people to have pride in their heritage. And how do you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been. I love that quote. I know I've heard it before. But that's why it's important for people to learn history. It's the foundation that you build on," McKinney said.
He's given this presentation more than 20 times since 2011.
"I've done it about two dozen times. For this upcoming presentation, I added a couple of items, including one from Ringtown. Ringtown had the first macadamized street in Pennsylvania," McKinney said.
According to the "Joseph H. Zerbey History of Pottsville and Schuylkill County," published in 1936, "The first hard surfaced road ever built by the Pennsylvania State Highway Department in Pennsylvania was the Main Street in Ringtown in 1907. The road was dug out to a depth of about two feet and stones were placed with a cobblestone effect for a base before the surface materials were applied."
"Did you know at one time the largest rail yard in the world was in Saint Clair? It was in the area of the industrial park. That was about 100 years ago," McKinney said.
In 1824, anthracite mining operations started to honeycomb the community. Coal veins in the vicinity included the Orchard Vein, Primrose, Mammoth, Skidmore, Seven Foot and the Buck Mountain Vein, according to the Zerbey history.
"It was very evident in those early years that Saint Clair was destined to become a great coal center for the southern anthracite field. In 1913, therefore, the largest classified coal yards of the world was built in Saint Clair on the site of a large swamp. The Saint Clair Coal Yards had a capacity today of 2,010 cars and a track mileage of 46.26 miles," according to the Zerbey history.
"During World War II, that was one of 10 sites that the Nazis wanted to destroy. They thought it would impact our war effort. And they were right. That's how important all that coal was in that rail yard. It was astoundingly big," McKinney said.
According to "Around St. Clair," a book in the Images of America series by the Saint Clair Community and Historical Society published in 2009, the rail yards were established on the south side of the borough and included a large roundhouse.
"Being the largest coal yard in the world made Saint Clair a target in World War II, since disrupting the rail lines would have a disastrous effect on the economy. The great roundhouse closed in 1964 and was demolished in 1972," according to "Around St. Clair."
McKinney talked about a few fascinating facts as he compiled his notes for his upcoming speech, including the information on the catcher's mitt.
This trivia is mentioned in "Luzerne County," a book in the Images of America series by Harrison Wick for the Luzerne County Historical Society published in 2011, "In 1888, Tamaqua resident Chris Fulmer invented the baseball catcher's mitt while playing for the minor league Baltimore Orioles."
In 1898, automobile manufacturer Alexander Winton sold one of his cars to Robert Allison, Port Carbon.
"That car later found its way into the Smithsonian Institution, which displayed it as 'The First Automobile of American Manufacture Sold in the United States,' " according to the book "Coast to Coast by Automobile: The Pioneering Trips, 1899-1908," by Curt McConnell.