On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor not only plunged the world into a second world war, it also led to the demise of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.

This led to a permanent economic downturn in the Panther Valley from which we have never recovered.

You could say the residents of the valley have been paying the price of Pearl Harbor ever since. Prior to the start of World War II, the coal company and its subsidies employed nearly 10,000 residents and pumped millions of dollars into the local economy.

In addition to mining coal, the company built the majority of the homes and roadways in valley. They also built and maintained the water, sewer and electrical systems in the valley while for the most part the boroughs in the valley just sat back and collected tax money from the company.

The company also built and owned Lake Hauto, Lake Harmony, Split Rock Lodge, Edgemont Lodge, the Mahoning Valley Country Club, Still Creek reservoir, large shiploading facilities in New York, railroads and other manufacturing facilities not related to coal mining.

Prior to Pearl Harbor, the company made huge profits selling coal to the U.S. government, which in turn shipped it overseas. As the war continued, the company lost hundreds of workers to the service, which in turn led to a production and profit drop for the company.

After the war came to an end in 1945, many local returning servicemen who had just spent the last four years trying to survive the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific had little interest in trying to survive the hardships associated with deep coal mining and opted for jobs at Bethlehem Steel, Mack Trucks or one of the many auto plants in New Jersey.

During the economic upturn following the end of the war, millions of former servicemen used their GI benefits to build new homes.

These homes were being heated with oil or electric rather than coal, which continued to erode at the company’s profit margin.

Finally in 1957, 12 years after the war ended, unable to overcome an ongoing market drop for coal and a shortage of experienced miners, the company folded.

Gone were huge real estate and payroll tax incomes for the valley, support for our schools, churches and local businesses.

The company was split up and sold off in pieces to the highest bidder.

The valley would never again return to the economic prosperity it once had prior to Pearl Harbor.