Coal Region Racing hosts and Open House and reveals their Coal Region Racing Exhibit during an event open to the public at Orwigsburg Historical Society, 109 E. Mifflin St., Orwigsburg, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 29.
The event features the history of the 15 tracks from Schuylkill County, interviews, vintage race car display, food and drinks, as well as racing merchandise for sale.
Coal Region Racing was formed by a group of local race fans with one goal in mind, preserve the history of the dirt tracks, that at one time, operated in Schuylkill County. At least 15 tracks are known to have existed in the county. Only one track remains operating today.
The further back in time one looks, the more difficult it becomes to uncover the history of a subject. These racetracks are no different. A few of these tracks have little or no documentation on the events that took place. This endeavor is to try to discover and document as much as possible about them as well as the more recent racetracks. Many of the participants are no longer with us, their stories lost for all time. That is why it is so important to document these events, so they don’t become lost for all time.
Documentation on a few of these tracks is scarce at best. Very little information is known or available about them making historical preservation difficult.
These facilities were documented in varying degrees. The most recent tracks have photographs, programs, and driver rosters among other items. These artifacts help tell their stories.
More importantly, Coal Region Racing wishes to not only remember the tracks, but the people who made these tracks the special destination that they became. Without the drivers, car owners, crew members and their families, fans, tracks operators, track employees… everyone who made a trip to the races an event that was not to be missed, there would be no racing community. No reason to remember these tracks. People are the reason these memories were created. People with the same common bond, the love of dirt track racing.
There were many Berks County drivers, car owners, and fans that made the journey into Schuylkill County to one or more of these tracks. In the Hamburg area alone, some of the best drivers of their era competed in coal country. The late Jerry Katz, best known for his signature white cars with the number 0, 00, or 000, raced at nearby Circle M Ranch in Auburn. Near the end of his career, he won the 1973 Limited Sportsman Championship at Anthracite Raceway in Schoentown. Wilmer Weiss, along with his good friend from Shoemakersville Bob Emerich, tackled the tough Hobby Car class at Anthracite and Big Diamond. Mr. Emerich would become the very first Coal Cracker winner on August 31st, 1979.
It wasn’t just racers who made their mark on the coal region. Larry Alati from Shartlesville became the first track photographer at Big Diamond when that track first opened. He was responsible for the first track program, press releases, and race results. His protege, a Hamburg native named Carl Hess, would eventually take over the program with his photography skills. These two gentlemen from Berks County helped shape racing coverage as we know it today.
These are just some of the people who made Schuylkill County racing noteworthy. It is individuals like these that Coal Region Racing wants to honor.
The public is invited to join Coal Region Racing on July 29 at the Orwigsburg Historical Society Open House as part of their collection of racing memorabilia becomes available to the public and pay tribute to those who gave us so much enjoyment through the years.
