The Legacy

In a struggle to survive the Great Depression of the 1930s, Paul and Elizabeth (Bond) Rhoades made their way to the small coal-mining community of Nanty-Glo ( a Welsh name meaning “Streams or Valley of Coal”) Pennsylvania.

It is here, in the black diamond-rich Blacklick Valley, that Paul and Elizabeth would raise their ten children in a typical  two-story, four-room company mining house located in the Ivory Hill section of the community.

While Paul worked tirelessly to provide for his family, Elizabeth cared for her children and, in the midst of coal dust and lack of luxury, found joy in writing poems and stories about her family, friends, and neighbors.

Scott is proud to carry on the writing traditions of his grandmother, Elizabeth Bond Rhoades and to celebrate Paul and Elizabeth’s wonderful life together at 40 Ivory Hill through his work at the home office – Ivory Hill Studios.