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| Pictured owned by Francis Otterbein |
This is what my Dad's hometown of Seek looks like today. He lived there from 1916 to 1941. His house is long gone - it burned down. It was where that sidewalk is on the right. There is a two car garage there now.
They were called patch towns. The mining company would built basic frame homes and rent them to the miners - taking the rent out of their pay. My grandmother Bertha Hontz lived there alone with 4 small kids. She made ends meet doing piece work at home. The kids would help. She later took a job with the Atlas Powder Company - making dynamite.
My Dad's Number 8 Mine was about 1 mile down the road. His high school was up on the hill. He eventually moved to Tamaqua - about 3 miles away - but he remained loyal to Coaldale High School. He had a high school class reunion every year - and never missed it. He died at 66 of black lung - miner's asthma. He almost made his 50th class reunion.
