Matthew Murgas was born in Slovakia on September 19, 1902.  After crossing the ocean and following in his fathers footsteps which led to the coal mines of central Pennsylvania, he married Anna Smolko on January 21, 1922.  Matthew and Anna had 12 children.  Unfortunately, two of the children, Pauline and Joseph, did not survive the harsh times of young age.

Pap loved to hunt - Nick Solomon recalled the following story:

"Pap and I were riding the back roads during deer season when we spotted a deer in a field, we got out of the jeep and walked towards the deer.  When we got close enough I told Pap to shoot.  He looked at me and asked, who was going to clean it?  I said, "The person who shoots it."  We looked at each and then got back in the Jeep and continued our scenic tour."