Bob Perrin says he wants to fill the gap.

The Coaldale historian says creation of a Coaldale Historical Society and Museum would not only rekindle interest in preserving the rich history of the Schuylkill County town, but also fill a void."It'd fill in the only gap we have between Mauch Chunk and Tamaqua."What Perrin means is that Coaldale is the only major community without a historical group among six towns of the Carbon-Schuylkill hard coal valley: Jim Thorpe, Summit Hill, Lansford, Nesquehoning, Coaldale and Tamaqua.The six towns are split between two separate national heritage corridors and situated in two different counties, but they're geographically one community and they tell the same, or similar, stories. In fact, they share the same heritage of coal, railroads, canals and culture.Plus all six provided the foundation of manpower and natural resources that helped to fuel America's Industrial Revolution."My goal is to find a site and a museum in Coaldale in two years," Perrin, 51, said Tuesday morning as he and a friend removed Coaldale High School trophies from Coaldale Town Hall and loaded them onto two pickups.The trophies are owned by Coaldale borough but are on loan for display in what is intended to become a Coaldale museum.Perrin's mission isn't new. He's been working toward the establishment of a society and museum for the past three years, running around the valley and soliciting input, support and donations of artifacts.More recently, he set up the Coaldale Corner, a portion of the Lansford Historical Society Museum that is devoted to Coaldale."Look at this trophy," Perrin said, holding up a 1947 relic of the Coaldale-Lansford Turkey Day Classic football game. "This was a big thing."Another is called the 1924 Perpetual Team Prize, one for which the origins would need to be researched."And they're not only football trophies," he said.There are trophies for a school dance, others for oratory and public speaking, with names such as Melley and Pavlick. Still others are achievements in track and field.He'll clean them and repair some that are broken. Then he'll organize the trophies and archive each, carefully setting up display showcases so that the trophies tell some of the biggest and best stories of Coaldale.To complement that effort, Perrin has been working on a Coaldale High School Facebook page.It all takes work and time, and often Perrin has trouble finding volunteers to help."Sometimes I'm a one-man show," he said.But he's on a mission. He's pushing forward, just as he's done through summer heat, to make sure Coaldale's story is told and the gap is filled.