preserve dorrance

Jude1986 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:18 am

preserve the dorrance fan site, id put that on top of your list. but then again im not the expert.

Chris · **Posted:** Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:46 am

we do know who the landowner is of that site, and know he isnt against preserving it so, we'll have to see what can be done. i do know one group from wilkesbarre is trying to save the 35 foot fan, by removing it restoring it and putting it on display at wilkes university. however it would be better to keep the place intact. it would be too much work to rebuild the buildings, i doubt you could get grants to do it. i mean im sure you can but it may take forever. it may be be better to just leave things the way they are, clean up all the trees and underbrush and just let people view it as it is. also by clearing out the trees it may move the homeless out of it.

Jude1986 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 17, 2007 8:55 pm

ya the homeless thing is scary when you go inside, last thing u need a is a needle sticking in ur foot too.

Chris · **Posted:** Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:12 pm

yea, you definatly have to look out for those out there!

Miner Greg · **Posted:** Sat Nov 17, 2007 10:22 pm

It might even help if someone were to put plastic on the roof to prevent water from getting in. It is usually the water that destroys the structures. Protecting the structures from water goes a long way in preserving it.

andrew · **Posted:** Tue Nov 20, 2007 11:02 pm

Hello my name is andrew and I would like to know where exactly is the Dorrance Fan House located in Wilkes-Barre the Dorrance Colliery was located on North River Street in Wilkes-Barre. I have black and white pictures which I can send to you if you would like Andrew

Chris · **Posted:** Tue Nov 20, 2007 11:27 pm

yes the fan complex is just off river st. going south, take the right turn immediately after the cemetery, next to the retirement home. follow that back and youll see a small dirt parking lot on the right as the road bends to the left. pull in there, its on the right, you cant miss it.

Nick · **Posted:** Tue Nov 20, 2007 11:38 pm

how deep were those ventilation shafts there?

Chris · **Posted:** Wed Nov 21, 2007 12:00 am

one was 425 ft and the other was 875 they went to the baltimore and hillman vein.

go here and search "dorrance fan complex" haer study report. its real good!

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

Nick · **Posted:** Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:02 am

that was interesting, thanks

Miner Greg · **Posted:** Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:16 am

Andrew,

Do you have any scanned copy of those photographs of Dorrance? We would love to post them online here on the site if you are interested.

Miner Greg

Jude1986 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:11 am

my grandfather whose dying has been speaking alot about the dorrance to me when i see him i always ask about it, he worked on the top of the shaft and he also ran the motor to the fan house, i dont know which fan, he volunteered for ww2 and was captured at the bulge, the breaker boss was pissed he joined because he couldnt get drafted due to his working at the colliery hah, but anyway the poor guy said he doesnt miss the coal days, he said he remembers a man falling down the shaft by accident but he fell about 50 feet and landed on top of the descending elevator, anyway i wish his memory was better but he has dimentia and cancer, i wish i recorded all of his stories when he was healthy.

UGMiner Banks · **Posted:** Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:26 am

Thats really cool Jude... Did he ever work underground or just on the surface? its cool to have a direct family connection to a piece of history still standing today. Did he go back to working for the collieries after the war?

Jude1986 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:53 am

he occassionally would go down to see the men at the bottom of the shaft he once said, he was good friends with the miners, everyone still remembers my grandfather (the old miners from north end), but he did return to the mines after the war until maybe 1957 then he went to the post office, a nice old man that lived next door to my x was an actual miner at the dorrance, he was such an awesome guy, he told me there was a manway entrance to one of the mines near the railroad tracks by the wilkes barre junk yard, forget what street that would be, its near the new corcoran printing building, he worked in the mines until they closed, they actually put a brand new expensive mine pump in the mine (dorrance) around one year before it closed, what an irony. this guy has lung problems still, but unlike my pop he misses the dorrance. i might try to say hello to him possibly on sunday. my great grandfather was an engineer at the prospect, dont know much about him however.

UGMiner Banks · **Posted:** Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:31 pm

Cool stuff.... yeah those pumps probably never came back outa the mine either.... just left down there to be submerged and forgotten about until 11-22-07 :wink:

preserve dorrance

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