The remarkable legend hasn't been forgotten.

After 137 years, the macabre role of the Tamaqua train station remains seared in the minds of local residents."They brought the bodies here," said "Porcupine Pat" McKinney, standing in front of the 1874 Tamaqua train depot.McKinney, education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District, led a group of the curious on "The Molly Maguire Meander," a 3-mile hike to some of 15 Molly Maguire-related sites in the Tamaqua area.The Feb. 22 event was sponsored by Schuylkill on the Move, an organization with an interest in promoting health and fitness through walking.The hike took place 12 hours after a snowstorm, but 35 turned out in less-than-pristine walking conditions to examine the story of the Mollies, a reputed 1800s band of vigilante coal miners.Historic sitesThe restored 1874 Philadelphia and Reading Railroad passenger station was one of the more intriguing destinations.In December 1878, the station served as an overnight warehouse for the bodies of six executed Molly Maguires, including alleged leader John "Black Jack" Kehoe.All had been hanged.The bodies were packed in ice and stored overnight in one of the depot's waiting rooms, awaiting burial.Kehoe had been implicated in a murder. But much controversy over the circumstances continues to rage."He didn't do it, but they said he set it up," explained Schuylkill County Judge John Domalakes, who joined the tour with wife Suzanne.The details fascinated participants."I had an uncle named Jacke Kehoe," revealed Tracy Perry of West Penn Township, who'd like to pursue genealogy to see if there's a family connection.By the end of the afternoon, the group made its way up the steep hill to Old St. Jerome's Cemetery, stopping at Kehoe's almost-inaccessible grave site.The group also visited the entrance to Tamaqua's "City of the Dead," historic Odd Fellows Cemetery.From there, a short walk took participants to the site of the famous lamppost, one of the most significant venues in the Mollies story.Turning point murderOne of the reasons for the tour was to gather at the lamppost to mark the 140th anniversary of the slaying of a Tamaqua police officer, a murder that signaled the beginning of the end of the Mollies.At 2 a.m. on July 6, 1875, Tamaqua police officer Benjamin F. Yost was murdered at the corner of West Broad and Lehigh streets, just 75 yards from his small row home at 8 South Lehigh.Yost was ambushed by assailants as he climbed a ladder to extinguish a gas street lamp. The murderers escaped toward Newkirk.Crippled in pain, Yost was helped to his house by his wife, who'd heard gunshots and ran out to find her husband crumpled to the ground.According to historical accounts, he lingered in great pain for hours before dying in his wife's arms.As a result of this tragedy, however, Yost's brother-in-law, well-known Tamaqua merchant

D.M.B. Shepp, traveled to Philadelphia. Shepp enlisted the aid of Pinkerton Detective McParlan, who infiltrated the ranks of the Molly Maguires under an assumed identity, ultimately bringing an end to the reign of terror.The saga of the alleged Molly Maguires played out throughout the Tamaqua area and the coal regions for up to 30 years. The crimes became increasingly brutal. Some 142 homicides and countless beatings and assaults were reported from 1862 to 1875.But the end came suddenly.ExecutionsOn June 21, 1877, 10 convicted Mollies were hanged in a Pottsville prison yard from gallows constructed in Tamaqua and secretly transported to the county courthouse.Other alleged Mollies met the same fate in the Mauch Chunk prison. In total, 20 were hanged on what is now called Black Thursday.Domalakes said it was the largest official mass execution in American history.Attendees asked questions. Some spoke of their curiosity."It always intrigued me," said Paul Hafer of Lewistown Valley."It was listed on my Girl Scout events," said Melanie Hunsicker, with Emily, 9."He's interested in this," said Gary Willing of Tamaqua, with Keenan Cook, 9, of Hometown.ControversyArguments abound as to the identities of the perpetrators of the many crimes and murders attributed to the Molly Maguires.Some experts claim that certain charges were trumped-up, owing to public fear and hysteria of the day. It was a time of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment.Others believe the Mollies were framed by Franklin B. Gowen, president of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co., as a way to stifle the labor movement and emerging unionization. Some say the Mollies represented the earliest vestiges of the organized labor movement of today.Later re-creations of some of the famous trials have resulted in acquittals of the accused.Many, of course, believe the Mollies to be guilty as charged.The complicated Molly Maguire story, with accusations, trials, hangings and burials, always will be an important chapter in the story of Tamaqua.In fact, the 55-block Tamaqua National Historic District includes many witness buildings of the Molly era.The district maintains its original layout and much historic integrity.If only the streets could whisper their secrets, said tour group members ... there's so much more to be learned.