Do you walk to work or bring lunch?

When I was a child, this question was frequently asked on a farm where my brothers and I worked as laborers.

It took me years to figure out what it meant, or at least what I thought it meant.

The answer has less to do with logic than with the background and experience of the farmer we work for, who was 69 when we met him. To me, he seemed as old as anyone could ever get. Unlike most older people, he was strong as a piece of steel, with tremendous power in his body. He had knee injuries, so he would often lean on the shoulders of the boys who worked for him whenever he had to walk. He ran a farm of approximately 100 acres on the plains along the Susquehanna River, less than a mile from the site of the Knox coal disaster. Although farm work was hard, it really strengthened and strengthened character. From him we learned to work methodically and safely. We also learned to curse. Our poor Mother was called.

The farmer himself had grown up in a time that by now had vanished. He was a boy when the coal mining industry was taking off. He often spoke of the size of the railway and coal operations, the enormous machinery used, the thousands of men who worked above and below ground to extract the coal that filled huge trains to be transported and shipped around the world, the work of many which enriched a few in the process.

Our region has its own distinctive legacy of exploitation of massive natural resources translating into widespread poverty to enrich the people at the top. This trend has not abated. The median income in Northeast Pennsylvania is very low and we are called “hardscrabble” in the national press. What the hell does that mean?

If it means it’s a hard place to live, then I’m all for it. The character of the average northeastern Pennsylvanian exhibits a very distinctive toughness. I see it in my clients, my family and my friends. They have a determination and commitment to family and community that I don’t see in people from other areas. We owe it to our heritage and we should be proud. We need to do everything we can to preserve it for our children and grandchildren.

Do you walk to work or bring your lunch?

If you know the answer, you may be from Northeast Pennsylvania.