Schiavo Aids
Hazleton’s Resurgence
BY AMARA ROCKAR |
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For years, coal ruled Hazleton. The industry stoked the local
economy, employing three quarter of the work force in the town
of 80,000 people. The coal mined in Hazleton supplied Big Steel
and turned America into an industrial power. And then, like the
dinosaur, the industry vanished, supplanted by cleaner, more efficient
fuels. By the time Pasco Schiavo, L’62 graduated from
Penn Law School, his town
in Northeastern Pennsylvania
was reeling. But Schiavo saw
the proverbial light at the end
of the tunnel, and decided to
return to his hometown.
Schiavo considered practicing
law in Florida, Arizona, or
the Philadelphia area. Instead,
he came back home because
he saw potential for a turnaround, fueled by the building of
Interstates 80 and 81. He considered the town’s location near
the major cities, the new roads to transport products, and he
saw commerce. He was right. Hazleton rebounded, becoming
a manufacturing and shipping center, with major industrial
parks, Fortune 500 branch operations including Coca-Cola and
Archer Daniels Midlands, and even brighter economic prospects
through continued growth in tourism and industry.
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