The American Institute of Mining Engineers was founded in 1871 by a group of 22 mining engineers (15 from Northeastern Pennsylvania) at a meeting at the Wyoming Valley Hotel on South River Street in Wilkes-Barre. 

AIME, now the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, was one of the first national engineering societies established in the United States. 

Today the AIME has four Member Societies representing over 150,000 engineers worldwide, including the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration. On February 17, 1914, the Pennsylvania Anthracite Section became a local chapter of AIME.

On June 19, the PA Anthracite SME Section will hold its 100th anniversary celebration at the Valley Country Club in Sugarloaf, a fitting site, as VCC also dates back more than 100 years.

Members, guests and the public are invited to join in any or all of the celebration, which will consist of a day of golf from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., hospitality from 5:00 to 6:30 and a speaker, annual meeting, and buffet dinner starting at 6:30.

Many members and their guests will “enjoy” a day of golf on the challenging golf course designed by A.W. Tillinghast, who is regarded as one of the finest golf course architects of all time.  Golf will begin with a shotgun start at 11 a.m..  Sponsorships and golfers can sign up until June 11.

Hospitality for the evening will start at 5:00 p.m. with entertainment by Van Wagner,  a troubadour who makes mining music. 

Van is also an award winning educator who also teaches Environmental Science at Lewisburg High School and educates audiences with his music and programs on Pennsylvania History. His music has been featured on the History Channel, WVIA-TV, as well as Country Music Television.  He has released 16 original albums and published a book entitled "Coal Dust Rust and Saw Dust."

The hospitality period before the 6:30 buffet dinner will also involve several displays relating to 1914-era mining including:

— Movie "The Price of Carelessness," filmed at the Truesdale Colliery in 1915 (continuous run) furnished by F. Charles Petrillo;

— Eckley Miners Village & Scranton Anthracite Heritage Museum;

— WYSO sculptures, possible for a future Mining Engineers’ Memorial; and

— Underground Miners – Mine car in parking lot.

Speaker for the meeting will be John Stuart “Stu” Richards.  Stu is descended from a family of coal miners and has spent many years researching early coal mining and the lives and times of the people in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. He has presented numerous talks on early coal mining and life in the small Anthracite villages known as patch towns.

An active member of the Schuylkill County Historical Society, he has worked with both the History Channel and the Discovery Channel. Richards has assembled photographs selected from the Columbia County Historical Society's large collection, into a fascinating historical look at early coal mining, Early Coal Mining in the Anthracite Region, one of some 6 books he has written.

The photos in this book evoke the people and life of the towns in their heyday from 1870 to 1920, the period between the founding of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and the founding of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Section. Stu will talk about anthracite mining in that time.

Other “activities” planned for the evening:

— Annual award of Kaminski Scholarships;

— Recognition of Past Chairs and Secretary Treasurers, with some 20 past Chairs, including several  from the late 70s and early 80s planning to attend;

— Recognition of national SME representatives –the SME Executive Director and at least two Past Presidents, several Distinguished members of SME, and the President Elect of AIME have plans to attend;

— Raffle of Mine Safety Lamp/1st Edition Peele Mining Engineers Handbook/1905 Coal Miners Pocketbook/Geology of PA books/ 1st edition (1936) Mine Ventilation/breaker watercolor/ carbide lamp, oil miners lamp and other items;

— Installation of 2014-2015 Officers; and

— Discussion about plans for a future Mining Engineers’ Memorial.

For more information, visit the PA Anthracite SME Section webpage.

5/12/2014