Michael Lugar was born January 1, 1926 Luzerne, Pennsylvania in which he grew up. He was the eldest child to his lower-middle family during the Great Depression. They lived in a rented house where his mother, originally Barbra Chukinas now Barbra Lugar, did housework and looked after him and his four siblings. He had three sisters, Josephine (11 yo), Ernestine (9 yo), and Dorthy Lugar (7 yo), and one brother, John Lugar (4 yo), who was the youngest.

The Lugar's lived in a lower middle class development on 33 Ryman Street, Luzerne, Pennsylvania. He lived here with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lugar, and his 4 siblings.

        His father, John Lugar, did private work in the coal mining industry as a miner where he worked thirty-five hours a week for forty weeks. Lugar and his sisters attended elementary school while their father was at work. In 1940, his highest known grade completed was sixth grade.

        He was only 13 years old when World War II began, and 17 years old when he enlisted into the U.S. Navy on April 6, 1943 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Lugar was also never married. 

At the age of 14, Lugar was living with his parents and siblings. They attended school while his mother tended to housework and his father was out at the coal mines.

The following is a map of the county of Luzerne, in which Lugar grew up. The general content of the map includes rural buildings and the population at the time, 441,518 people.