Wolensky, Kenneth C. 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born April 5, 1962, in Kingston, PA; son of Nicholas (a mine worker) and Rosalie (a homemaker) Wolensky; married Cherie Lee Stroud (in sales), April 12, 1986; children: Abigael Cherie, Aaron Nicholas. Ethnicity: "Ukrainian, Sicilian." Education: College Misericordia (Dallas, PA), B.A., 1984; University of Delaware, M.P.A., 1986; Pennsylvania State University, D.Ed., 1996. Politics: Democrat. Religion: United Church of Christ. Hobbies and other interests: Travel related to education and history, hiking, skiing.

ADDRESSES:

Home—214 Kelley Ct., Grantville, PA 17028. Office—Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Commonwealth Keystone Bldg., 400 North St., Harrisburg, PA 17120. E-mail— kwolensky@state.pa.us.

CAREER:

Writer and educator. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, historian, 1996—. Pennsylvania Humanities Council, Commonwealth speaker, 1999-2003; Pennsylvania State University, Capital College, member of American studies faculty, 1998—; Organization of American Historians, distinguished lecturer, 2004—. Smithsonian Institution, national affiliate. United Church of Christ, member of Justice and Witness Ministries, 2001—.

MEMBER:

Organization of American Historians, Labor and Working Class History Association, Pennsylvania Labor History Society (board member, 1997—),

WRITINGS:

(With Robert P. Wolensky and Nicole H. Wolensky) The Knox Mine Disaster, January 22, 1959: The Final Years of the Northern Anthracite Industry and the Effort to Rebuild a Regional Economy, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (Harrisburg, PA), 1999.

Living for Reform, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (Harrisburg, PA), 2001.

(With Robert P. Wolensky and Nicole H. Wolensky) Fighting for the Union Label: The Women's Garment Industry and the ILGWU in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University Press (University Park, PA), 2002.

(Editor and contributor) The Great Strike: Perspectives on the 1902 Anthracite Coal Strike, National Canal History and Technology Press (Easton, PA), 2002.

Remembering a Twentieth Century Public Servant, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (Harrisburg, PA), 2005.

Contributor to books, including Sweatshops U.S.A., Routledge Press (New York, NY), 2003. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Pennsylvania Heritage, Pennsylvania History, Journal of the American Historical Association, Sociological Imagination, and Policy Studies Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

Kenneth C. Wolensky told CA: "History, historical subjects, events and places, and biographies of historical figures have served as my primary focal points of interest, research, and writing. Many of my works have included oral histories and first-person (primary-source) accounts. Though I have written and published academic and scholarly articles, I write for a more general public audience. My goal in writing is always to interpret the past in easy-tounderstand ways to which reader can relate. My primary motivation for writing is personal and professional interest in the subject matter."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Labour/Le Travail, fall, 2003, Daniel Kerr, review of Fighting for the Union Label: The Women's Garment Industry and the ILGWU in Pennsylvania, p. 290.

Labor History, May, 2000, Chris Frazer, review of The Knox Mine Disaster, January 22, 1959: The Final Years of the Northern Anthracite Industry and the Effort to Rebuild a Regional Economy, p. 229.

Oral History Review, winter-spring, 2003, Joyce A. Hanson, review of Fighting for the Union Label, p. 143.