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327 Scouts Earn Mining in Society Badge with Penn Anthracite Section

By Michael Korb posted 05-23-2018 05:18 PM

  
327 Boy Scouts took the Mining in Society Merit Badge course at the 2018 Spring Camporee for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council of the Boy Scouts of America, conducted by the Pennsylvania Anthracite Section of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) in conjunction with the Anthracite Heritage Museum, Eckley Miners Village, and the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour.  The Camporee was on May 19, 2018, near Scranton and Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

The course was organized by Brian Traweek, P.E., member SME and Principal of American Mining Engineering based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Dr. Bode Morin, Historic Site Administrator for the Anthracite Heritage Museum and Eckley Miners Village, and by Jen Murley, BSA NEPA Council Dan Beard District Committee Member.  The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection provided the Bureau of Deep Mine Safety's Mine Rescue Vehicle for the event, manned by Scott Wolfgang, Emergency Response & Training Specialist.  The Scouts went underground at the tourist mine; John Podgurski presented his wide ranging collection of mining artifacts to the Scouts, while John Mack, P.E., Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), spoke with the Scouts about fighting mine fires and the value of mining in society.  The Scouts were trained on how to design a good surface blast pattern.  At the end of the day, several young men asked how they can get into the mining industry, and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council of BSA has asked for a repeat of the event in two or three years.
 
The SME Penn Anthracite Section thanks our sponsors:  Weiner Iron & Metal Corp; Twin Oaks Consulting, LLC; T&E Welding; Reading Anthracite Company; PrepTech, Inc.; Pennsy Supply, Inc.; Pagnotti Enterprises, Inc.; McCarthy Tire Service; Maurer & Scott Sales, Inc.; Mallard Contracting Co., Inc.; Lehigh Engineering, LLC; Keystone Anthracite Co., Inc.; HawkMtn Labs, Inc.; Good Tire Service, Inc.; Frantz Construction Co., Inc.; Burch Materials & Supplies; Blaschak Coal Corp.; Atlantic Carbon Group, Plc; Anthracite Pump Resources, LLC; ACM Technologies; Skelly and Loy, Inc.; and Blaschak Coal Corp.
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