The photo of Mount Carmel above, looks to the Northwest and probably taken prior to 1950.

To the left is a satellite view of Mount Carmel.

Most of what I offer in photos presented here of the Mount Carmel area, were obtained from various internet sources. The best of them is probably at kanezo.com.

What I offer here is a simple personalized version of the town's HISTORY from the Hook family perspective.

For a relatively small town There were few obstacles impeding their ability to provide their own entertainment

Mount Carmel Sounds

This is a view of Oak Street, the main shopping district, looking North from between 4th and 5th streets. Notice the filled parking spaces and the street jammed with traffic. Mount Carmel was once a vibrant, bustling community.

This view of Oak Street is typical of the inactivity that exists today. Mount Carmel depended largely on the coal industry to support its economy. When the Great DEpression hit the nation, the general reliance on coal as an energy source began itts steep decline. Then after WWIIall the garment factories an the cigar factory fled town for foriegn soils and cheaper labor costs. Consequently, it's population dwindled from an all time high of around 16,000 to about the roughly 6,000 that live there today.

Anthracite Coal Mining

A view of a small portion of the West end of Centralia as it once was. None of those structures exist anymore. Mount Carmel can barely be seen in the distance in that crease between the two hills. Notice the strip mines on both sides of the road to Mount Carmel. The underground fire that ultimately led to the destruction of Centralia began on the opposite side of town.

Mount Carmel Theaters

On the left is a garment factory on the corner of 5th and Walnut Streets. On the right is the Stevens grade school at 4th and Walnut. Grades First through Sixth grades were taught here, as was the case in the three other grade schools in town.

All the Hook children attended grade school here, conviently located just two blocks from the Hook residence. The school was demolished and the lot is now occupied by a private residance.

Here we have a post card depicting the Mount Carmel Junior High School on the corner of 4th and Vine Streets. Grades seven through nine were taught here. Since the term "Middle" school was not then generally in use it was not applicable in this case If one walked at a brisk pace, one could make it to this school from the Hook home in about twenty minutes. All the Hook children attended school here.

This sturdy structure still stands and is currently houses various borough offices

A snow storm partially obscures the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic church located on Market Street between 3rd and 4th Streets, adjacent to the town park.

The associated high school is to the right, and to the right of it, out of camera range, the rectory. At the rear of the church, along Lemon alley, the grade school and the convent were located. The Hooks, members of this church, were baptised here, were confirmed, confessed their sins, received their first communion, were married and before being laid to rest had a funeral mass... except the father who was a member of the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Michael on North Willow Street

The appearance of the interior of the church has changed very little over time. Only the railing that seperates the altar area from the parishoners was once a heavy marble railing that was perhaps 10 inches wide.

Females, at one time were required to sit on the left side of the middle aisle and men on the right. A 9:00 AM mass was designated for children who were corralled into front pews, girls on the left, boys on the right. A Nun was positioned behind each group to curtail any inappropriate behavior.

Mount Carmel Odors

A night view of Reed's Dairy store located on the East side of Oak Street just a short distance from 3rd street. This plce served the most scrumptious concoction referred to as a CMP, chocolate ice cream doused with marshmallow cream and covered with chopped peanuts... among other available delectables. If one ordered a Coke the required amount of Coke syrup was pumped into your glass, followed by carbonated water and crushed ice. A few quick stirs and a straw finished it off. Some how it was tastier than the bottled stuff.

Miller's shoe store located on Oak Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. Boys typically had two pairs of shoes, dress shoes and another pair for every day use. A favorite style was as high as the top of the ankle and laced like a boot. a special feature was narrow pocket on the outer edge of one shoe designed to hold a pocket knife. This was fantastic because no self respecting boy would ever leave their house without their knife... even if they were bound for school. Those who concoct today's societal norms would be apoplectic.

Stief's clothing store on the East side of Oak Street just above 3rd. As then end of Advent approached kids were sure to be hustled to Stief's to assure that they were properly attired for Easter. The store of choice for every day wear was J. C. Penny

Beer was brewed throughout the region until about the 1950's when the big breweries, mainly in the mid West, began advertising extensively on TV. They walloped many smaller operations throughout the country. Only Pottsville can claim that they have a survivor. Mount Carmel had an over abundance of pubs. There was a bar one block North of the Hook home and another one block to the West... and yet another one block beyond that. Oak Street teemed with social clubs and restaurants serving alcohol in many variations. But the zaniest was Homiak's just across the tracks in Diamondtown at the North end of town. Click here to see Homiak's bar. Homiak's had a hidden microphone in the ladies room tied to a speaker in the bar. The bartender manned a switch to turn it on. Those bars played a vital role in easing the negative impact of the Great Depression and World War II

Mount Carmel Fire Companies

Gambling was illegal in the state. Yet, if desired, one could easily find a seat at a poker table at a site such as this little shack at the corner of Seventh and South Turnpike Streets. Bookmakers freely knocked on neigherhood doors as a convenience for those regular bettors, and those who were not regarded as racketeers but... were. There was a lottery run out of a building on 4th street just East of Oak Street. The first prize on Saturday was a thousand dollars which helped draw people to that downtown area from in and out of town. As a result Catholic church confessionals were exceptionally over burdened with handing out hefty penances.

There were garment factories in the Northeast and Southest ends of town. Pictured is the factory at 6th and Walnut Streets. Ramona Hook worked here in the office before movijng on to another factory. All these factories produced quality stuff. Such factories owe their existance to owners in places like New York city moving their operations to mainly Northeast Pennsylvania to take advantage of cheaper labor costs. Ironically almost all closed after the 1950's to seek lower operational costs in foreign countres. In was devestating after the garment workers union was securing good wages and working conditions for its members

Women working in the General Cigar factory. This half block long four story building was located at the corner of 5th and Hickory Streets It began operations in the early 1900's and provided employment for, mainly women in the area, for 55 years. It's amazing how many woman claimed they worked here, either briefly or for an extended number of years. Many started as 12 year olds. As with many other factories in the area, General Cigar moved its production processes off shore.

A huge exhaust pipe on the 5th Street side of the buildig provided, for passer-bys, the brief pleasant experience of tobaccco leaf odors.

It's hard to believe that at one time Mount Carmel had two railway stations. This one at the corner of 5th and Market Streets and the other almost beneath the viaduct that connects Mount Carmel to Atlas. The tracks continued through the 5th/Market intersection, behind the wholesale produce building, then across Chestnut Street stopping at Walnut Street adjacent to the Stevens Grade School. Just prior to the station, along side the tracks was a long structure where box cars unloaded their cargo. on the opposite side trucks were loaded for delivery throughout thr area. Between 6th and 7th Streets the tracks ran past a large warehouse where the high rise elderly apartments now stands.

This photo was taken from an upstairs window of the Hpok home looking West at the duplex owwned by the Hooks. The homes fronted on Peach alley and were hhome to various families over may decades, usually for less than 30 dollars a month. The homes had no bathrooms or hot water. They were heated by a coal fired heterola located in the center downstairs room. An unclosed toiled was located inthe basement that had a dirt floor. Bathing was done in a large copper plated tub placed on the kitchen floor with water heated on a kitched coal stove or a three burner propane stove. These homes were demolished many years ago.

The Hook Grocery Store

As a foolish teenager, I went to this crash site about four hours after it happened. It was headline news across the country.

Gruesome insufficiently describes the carnage.

The closest community to this tragic event was actually Wilburton

The Shamokin Creek flowed from Centralia to Mount bCarmel near coal strip mines but along the way there were many places that were pleasantly wooded. The creek was narrow and the water level usually only several inches deep. The water ran clear with small aquatic life. For kids it provided some delightful spots to hang out or just mess around.

It ran through Mount Carmel for the full length of the low lying Northern edge of town. In Mount Carmel, the creek was used to carry stormwater. it also carried raw waste such as untreated sewage from both the community and the area's mining industry. As the creek exited town and headed downstream for Shamokin, it can best described as disgustig.