{"id":323806,"date":"2026-08-18T06:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T06:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/323806\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T06:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T06:10:15","slug":"full-steam-ahead-bituminous-coal-queen-ready-to-pass-on-crown-after-exciting-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/323806\/","title":{"rendered":"Full steam ahead: Bituminous Coal Queen ready to pass on crown after exciting year"},"content":{"rendered":"


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2025 Bituminous Coal Queen Emma Mihalko waves to the crowd at this year’s Jacktown Fair in July. Mihalko, of Uniontown, used her year as queen to attend numerous community events in Fayette and Greene counties, many of which she hadn’t known about before her reign. [Garrett Neese]<\/p>\n

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Aside from Miss Pennsylvania, the Bituminous Coal Queen is the only state titleholder to address the state Senate. Emma Mihalko was also recognized by the House of Representatives during her visit to Harrisburg. [Provided by Casey Mihalko]<\/p>\n

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During Read Across America Week in March, Emma Mihalko read “The Coal Thief” and passed out bookmarks to children in the Uniontown and Carmichaels districts. [Provided by Casey Mihalko]<\/p>\n

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Bituminous Coal Queen Emma Mihalko visited this year’s Fayette County Fair, one of many community events she took in as queen. [Provided by Casey Mihalko]<\/p>\n

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Bituminous Coal Queen Emma Mihalko, along with the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, attends the unveiling of Fayette County’s Liberty Bell replica last December. [Provided by Casey Mihalko]<\/p>\n

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As Bituminous Coal Queen, Emma Mihalko made an underground visit to the Harvey Mine in Sycamore. [Provided by Casey Mihalko]<\/p>\n

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Emma Mihalko was crowned Bituminous Coal Queen during the pageant that kicked off last year’s King Coal Show. Mihalko will pass along her crown to a new queen at this year’s pageant on Sunday. [Provided by Casey Mihalko]<\/p>\n

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As the next Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal Queen Pageant draws near, 2025 Queen Emma Mihalko has been hearing variations of the same question: \u201cAre you ready to give it up?\u201d<\/p>\n

In each case, the answer is yes.<\/p>\n

Not because she won\u2019t miss it, but because she feels fulfilled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready for another young lady to get to experience all the incredible things that I have,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Over the past year, Mihalko has ridden along parade routes, descended through the depths of a mine and spoken from the dais of the Pennsylvania Senate. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s added up to a memorable experience for the outgoing Bituminous Coal Queen.<\/p>\n

Mihalko, then an incoming senior at Uniontown Area High School, was crowned at the annual pageant in Carmichaels last August. <\/p>\n

It was an honor that left her \u201cso shocked and so surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember looking over to my parents who were sitting just a few rows back on the left side in the audience, and just seeing their faces and how proud they looked, and they had the biggest smiles ever,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Mihalko wanted to be a role model for younger girls like the previous Coal Queens and other contestants were for her. She\u2019d gotten to know some of them through the Lanzi Dance Studio in Uniontown, where she\u2019s danced for the past 13 years. <\/p>\n

The biggest push came from Haydn Chipps, one of Mihalko\u2019s best friends and the 2023 Coal Queen. <\/p>\n

\u201cI got to hear all about her year and all the amazing things that she got to do, and that definitely pushed me more into wanting to do it myself,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Though Mihalko had attended previous pageants to see friends, last year was her first time seeing the whole King Coal Show. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot happening there, and a lot more than what I knew about just hearing stories,\u201d she said \u2014 a carnival with rides and games, food vendors, bingo and an expo where people bring pieces of coal mining history. <\/p>\n

Mihalko relayed her journey to becoming Coal Queen and the history of coal in the area during a trip to Harrisburg, where each year the queen speaks in front of the state Senate \u2014 the only Pennsylvania state title holder who gets to do so, aside from Miss Pennsylvania \u2014 and gets addressed by the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very big honor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also told the senators about her April trip to the Harvey Mine in Sycamore.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of changed my perspective on the importance and just how much the brave men and women who are our best put in every day to power our communities and everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Going down into the mine, the first thing that stood out was how much it resembled the Big Thunder Mountain ride, said Mihalko, whose family often goes to Disney World for vacation.<\/p>\n

She marveled at the high-speed elevator that took them far below the ground, and the level of technology they\u2019d built up down there. <\/p>\n

Mihalko was also struck by features that were commonplace, but still unexpected \u2014 the car shop for the man trams, and mechanics on site servicing them. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s little things like that that make so much sense they were there, but you don\u2019t really think about,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Most often, the public saw Mihalko when she was attending parades and festivals in both Greene and Fayette counties. <\/p>\n

When she became queen, Mihalko told her parents she wanted to be sure to expand her knowledge of the area. Even living close by in Uniontown, Mihalko hadn\u2019t realized how many festivals and public events Greene County had. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat better opportunity than now to take the time to just go explore Greene County, see what all community events that they have?\u201d she said. \u201cGreene County really is such a tight-knit community. It\u2019s kind of like everybody knows everybody. There\u2019s always somebody that\u2019s there and willing to help. And it\u2019s so amazing to have been invited to so many events and have gotten to see so many events within the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

At every one, Mihalko\u2019s a magnet for kids who see the \u201cbig sparkly thing\u201d on her head and can\u2019t wait to meet the Coal Queen. <\/p>\n

And she\u2019s gotten to hear the stories of people who\u2019ve lived in the area all their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel like I\u2019m constantly learning in this experience, and it\u2019s so rewarding,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Mihalko is attending Duquesne University in the fall, where she\u2019ll major in marketing and also be a member of the university dance team. <\/p>\n

But first, she has to crown her successor. <\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Coal Show pageant starts at 7 p.m. Aug. 23 at Carmichaels Area High School. It kicks off the weeklong King Coal Show, which runs through Aug. 29.<\/p>\n

Her advice to the next Bituminous Coal Queen?<\/p>\n

Say yes to everything you can. And when they run into someone at an event, take the time to talk with them and get to know them.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times I had seen somebody at one event, and then the next event they were there as well, and it was really nice to form those relationships where we could catch up as opposed to meeting each other again for the first time,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n


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