Faustin Wirkus: The Coal Cracker Who Became King
On Sunday, April 19, 1931, a huge crowd assembled at the train station in the small mining town of Dupont in Luzerne County to catch a glimpse of royalty. They watched in anticipation as the passenger train pulled into the depot and the brass band launched into a lively march. A moment later a tall man with steely eyes emerged from one of the cars and stepped onto the platform amid a chorus of whistles and applause from the audience of ten thousand onlookers. Everyone in Dupont had come down to the station to witness the arrival of King Faustin II, the former all-powerful ruler of the tropical island of La Gonave in the West Indies. The king was not dark-skinned, nor was he attired in colorful ceremonial garb. When he addressed the crowd, he didn't speak with a foreign accent. That's because King Faustin II, who ruled over the 12,000 inhabitants of La Gonave for four years, was born and raised in the coal region of Pennsylvania. And now he was home at last. Thousands lined the...
