Editor’s note: For those of you expecting coal in your stocking, we are introducing a four-part series about the life and times of the hard-working coal miners and their families who once populated the Robinson community of Moon Run. Check back each Wednesday to learn more about the Moon Run Coal Company.

Part 1 of 4 | Part 2 of 4 | Part 3 of 4 | Part 4 of 4

Today, few Robinson Township residents realize the tremendous importance of coal mining in our local history.

In the 19^th century, the Industrial Revolution brought about sweeping changes in the ways work was done. The coal-fired steam engine was key to those changes, and a great demand grew for both locomotives and the stationary steam engines used in steel production. Pittsburgh was home to many steel mills and railroads, so coal mining in the area soon boomed. This heyday of coal production in Robinson began in the 1890s and lasted until the late 1930s.

In Western Pennsylvania, coal was abundant. Robinson was honeycombed with massive veins of coal, and soon nearly a dozen mines popped up all over the township. One of these was the Moon Run Mine, which began production in the 1890s. In the year following its opening, the three Moon Run Coal Co. mines produced more than 2,000 tons of coal in one day. The Moon Run Mines were huge, extending south to Carnegie and northwest to Settlers Cabin Park. Indeed, Robinson Township was rich in mines, and the jobs were plentiful.

The majority of coal miners were immigrants from Europe, men who were willing to work hard for very little pay to support their families and make their New World dream come true. The Moon Run community, or “coal patch,” was soon built, consisting of 150 company houses and a large company store that also served as church, post office, and jail. The Moon Run Railroad sprang up simultaneously as the means to transport the coal, so hundreds of railroad workers were soon employed in the area as well.

The Moon Run Mines were huge, extending south to Carnegie and northwest to Settlers Cabin Park.

Until recently, the Robinson Township Historical Society Museum contained displays of photos, tools and mementos from the era. However, the museum is currently closed, as it is preparing to move to its new quarters in the township’s new municipal complex, which is expected to open sometime in March.

For passing motorists, though, two great refuse piles and a few old company houses are still visible from Route 60, the only reminders of the coal industry that once dominated the area.

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An influx of
hard-working
immigrants

In the late 1890s and early 1900s, famine in Europe caused thousands of workers to desperately look for a new life. Simultaneously in America, the need for coal created thousands of mining jobs. Soon, tough, hard-working immigrants arrived at Ellis Island and eventually made their way to Moon Run, anxious for work.

Immigrants flooded in from Germany, Wales, Ireland, Italy, Russia and Eastern Europe (lumped into a category called simply “Slovak”). They moved into hastily built company houses in Moon Run, one of thousands of “coal patch” communities. Immigrants typically had large families, often forcing them to send sons as young as 10 or 11 into the mines with their fathers to help feed the many mouths. Their small yards sported potatoes, onions and cabbage with which to make inexpensive ethnic dishes, often with little or no meat.

Abraham Petrilena

A typical example of an immigrant family’s life in a coal patch comes to life in the true story of Abraham Petrilena.

According to a detailed account found in the Robinson Township Historical Society’s archives, Abraham arrived in Moon Run in 1895 from Trentino, near the border of Italy and Austria. It took him working five years in the mines to save enough money to send for his wife Maria and their four children, and the family soon added more Petrilena children. Of their four boys, three worked in the mine alongside their father, and they continued working in the mine until it closed in 1939. One son, Antonio, eventually opened a tavern on Moon Run Road. Many of the Petrilena descendants lived their whole lives in Moon Run, long after the mine closed.

Frank Trohaugh

The Historical Society’s archives also contained the true story of Frank Trohaugh, who came to Moon Run from Slovenia in 1903, leaving behind his bride of only a few months. She followed him to Moon Run in 1905, where they began filling their tiny company house with children — eight in all. Frank, a skilled blacksmith in Slovenia, plied his trade in Moon Run, where he shoed the mules that were used to pull carts in the mines. He also made and sharpened tools for the miners. Several of the Trohaugh descendants still live in Robinson today.

The large Slovenian, or “Slovak,” population in the Moon Run coal patch built the SNPJ Hall, where they would gather to keep age-old customs alive. SNPJ stands for the Slovenian equivalent of Slovene National Benefit Society. As their name suggests, their purpose was to provide “assistance, fellowship, and brotherhood.” They often fed and housed families and widows who had nowhere to go for aid after the head of the family suffered a crippling mining injury or death. The original Moon Run SNPJ building on McKees Rocks Road still stands; it is now American Legion Post 862.

The Moon Run patch, once brimming with colorful characters, tongues and ethnicities, is gone, as are the laughter and tears of those brave souls who left behind an enduring legacy of honesty and hard work.