Mining memorabilia event coming to UPJ

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Signs, photos, equipment and more from the region’s and country’s mining history are returning to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for the for the Mining, Minerals and Memorabilia Collectibles Show Saturday.

A free public event will take place in the Living and Learning Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and include exhibitors from across the country.

“We welcome visitors to stop in and view the large collections of historical mining equipment, Pennsylvania documents including vintage newspapers, postcards, photographs of mining activities here in Pennsylvania and other locations in North America,” said Stephen Lindberg, Pitt-Johnstown geology instructor and organizer. “The show also includes a large variety of rocks, minerals and fossils from Pennsylvania and the world.”

This is the first time the show has taken place in Johnstown in roughly a decade, and Lindberg said it was time for the Eastern Mining Collectors Association to bring it back to the area.

Everything from lamps and postcards to coins, crystals and more will be on display to buy, sell and trade.

Attendees can bring in items to be appraised and identified, and there will be free minerals and fossils for children as well.

John Konat, a mining enthusiast and member of the group, is excited for the show.

He said there’s going to be exhibitors from across the country coming to town, including from Kentucky, Alaska, Ohio, Arizona and more.

Konat is a retired coal miner from the western part of the state who began collecting when he was gifted his grandfather’s turtle-shell hat.

Throughout the years he’s acquired several pieces of memorabilia, including those from around the region.

“I have several items of great interest from Johnstown,” Konat said.

Those range from a clock that hung in the Scalp Level union hall and related chair, United Mine Workers of America Hooversville local banner, Bethlehem Steel Co., Coal and Iron Police badge and much more.

Konat said the renewed interest in the subject of mining history by younger individuals has provided a shot-in-the-arm for the EMCA, and he’s looking forward to interacting with those who visit the collectibles event.

“We have a large, dedicated group of mining historians and mining artifacts collectors,” Lindberg said. “Mining was, and still is, a vital part of our nation’s history and economy. After an absence of 10 years, our group returns to Johnstown to once again celebrate the region’s mining and minerals history.”

For more information about the group, visit www.easternmining.org.