As in the Scranton area, this region got much of its immigration from Eastern Europe, who flocked to America just as industry and coal mining were really taken off. There doesn't seem to be much visible evidence of their culture, other than the onion domed churches and Slavic names. No food store or restaurants reflecting their heritage. No architectural or household adornments hinting at their roots.

German, Italian, Armenian, Chinese, Spanish immigrants all seem to have held to their culture for multiple generations . What was different about Eastern Europeans?

Later, the Traveler talks to someone from this area and his gets a better picture:

"Eastern Europeans came from a region where there was so much inter-ethnic hatred. They just wanted to leave it all behind, and just be "Americans" it was considered a shame for children to speak their ancestral language in public. Parents didn't even want to talk to their children about the world they'd left behind"

Was this a tragic loss of cultural heritage? Or a wise move--considering that cultural identity often comes with the baggage of cultural animosity? Isn't it better that nowadays people of Slovakian ancestry don't know that they're "supposed to" hate their Hungarian neighbors? Or Lithuanians don't know about the atrocities the Russians commited against them? Tribal identity has been lost? Is it possible for people to hold on to the good things of their cultural heritage and let go of the bad stuff?

In Kulpmont there is a "Polish Festival" coming up, which sounds like a fun way to teach kids about their roots...