Today, I am in Newhard's Pharmacy, speaking to Mr. Jack Pavis, one of the owners of a landmark business in Northampton. Jack has a wonderful family heritage. His family's roots are in the country of Lithuania. Most students today probably couldn't find the nation on a map!

A word about the country: Lithuania is located on the Baltic Sea. It gained its independence in the 13th century, but over the centuries it was subjugated by Russia and Prussia, overrun by Germany in World War II and annexed by Russia after the war. Presently, it probably has more freedom than in any other period of its long history.

Sturdy, hard working, Pavis family members were hearty miners in search of a better way of life. Mining companies, like cement companies, in the United States were in search of employees in the early part of the 20th century. Agents attracted massive numbers of Europeans to migrate to our nation.

Mr. Pavis's grandfather, August Sr., came to the United States in 1906. Jack's father also was proudly named August. The Pavis family would settle in coal-rich Mt. Carmel and soon he would descend into the mines of the Reading company.

The Reading Coal & Iron Company was the firm the Molly Maguires had rebelled against 50 years earlier.

The family worked long, arduous hours and purchased a home for $1,000 in the coal borough. Jack's father, August Jr., was born at home in 1913. Delivery, as in most families, was by a neighboring midwife.

"You were born at home, and upon death the viewing was also held in the home," Jack said. As a youth, this writer recalls the practice in my own home when my grandmother passed away.

Jack's father graduated from Mt. Carmel High School, quite an achievement in those days. Upon graduation, he followed his father into the bowels of the mines as a hardworking coal miner, for the Reading company. He was injured in a number of mine cave-ins, suffering a broken leg and other injuries. Fortunately, none were fatal. The family, as most in Mt. Carmel, had a great work ethic. To help support the family, his mother worked as a seamstress in a local apparel factory. Miners and the garment industry were the major sources of employment. Today, few if any miners and garment workers remain in Mt. Carmel.

I asked Jack about his youth.

"I was not born at home but up at the Shamokin Hospital," he said.

He also spoke with pride about his uncle, Albert Pavis.

"Albert was a halfback, kicker and punter for Mt. Carmel High School," he said. "He at one time held a number of Pennsylvania football records. He earned a scholarship at Wake Forest University and later transferred to Temple because he wanted to be close to home."

He was also a boxer.

"Albert's gym was in the family's attic where he had his punching bag.

"Everyone talked about him. They asked if I was his nephew which certainly made me very proud. I never saw him play. He was a great uncle, taking me to Knoebel's Amusement Park and Lakewood. The park is still a popular leisure destination but Lakewood and the old ballroom are gone."

Albert would be hired by the General Electric Company in Philadelphia but he maintained his residence in Mt. Carmel, worked and stayed in the city during the week and returned home for the weekend, a real Mt. Carmel boy.

Jack attended Holy Cross Lithuania School in Mt. Carmel through eight grades. The class size was great – one girl and five boys: class size, six. The teachers were all nuns, Sister Adrian, his favorite, was youthful, vibrant and full of energy. The pastor was Monsignor Dobbin, who was respected by everyone.

"When I was in sixth grade, I helped the Monsignor count the collection," he said. "It ranged from $105-110.

"For entertainment we would go to the pool halls," he said. "Maybe it wasn't the place to go, but we loved to play pool."

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In two weeks, the mining era ends for the Pavis family.