A group of 50 to 100, possibly more, is expected in Tamaqua on Sunday to take part in a walking tour that examines the town's role in the legendary Molly Maguires.

The walk, "The Molly Maguire Meander" will be sponsored by Schuylkill on the Move and led by Patrick M. "Porcupine Pat" McKinney, education coordinator for Schuylkill Conservation District.Schuylkill on the Move is an organization with an interest in promoting health and fitness through walking. It is one of Schuylkill County VISION's nine strategic partnerships.The hike will be their third this year."It's a 3-mile hike," said McKinney said. McKinney previously led hikes in the Tamaqua area, including a 1999 nature hike at the Owl Creek reservoirs.McKinny said the timing of the hike is special as July will mark 140 years since the turning-point murder of Tamaqua policeman Benjamin Franklin Yost, who was shot at the corner of West Broad and North Lehigh streets.During the early morning hours of July 6, 1875, Yost was ambushed as he climbed a ladder to extinguish the street lamp.The murder was the beginning of the end of the reputed Mollies.In 1873, railroad tycoon Franklin B. Gowen hired a Pinkerton detective to go undercover as a coal miner to infiltrate the supposed secret society of criminals. The investigation led to the hanging deaths of 20 men.As for the Yost murder, alleged members of the Molly Maguires were convicted and were hanged on June 21, 1877."For some reason they were upset with him. He represented authority and, from what I understand, he wasn't for the laborers, the miners," McKinney said.Schuylkill County Judge John E. Domalakes, who last year led a hike to the site of the Mahanoy Plane inclined railroad, came up with the idea for a Molly hike in Tamaqua, McKinney said.Organized hiking locally was begun by the Schuylkill County Nature Club in the 1990s with volunteers including McKinney and Dave "Big Owl" McSurdy.That group joined with Schuylkill County VISION and changed its name to Schuylkill on the Move.The Molly hike will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Tamaqua Public Library, 30 S. Railroad St.It's free and open to the public. The event will be postponed in case of rain.To register, call McKinney at 570-622-4124 or email:

porcupinepat@yahoo.com by Friday.