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LAFOLLETTE PRESS Thursday, October 17, 2013

DREAM OF A MINERS CHILD

Community recounts coal mining in Campbell County
I am originally from
[LaFollette]graduated
from LHS in 1965. My
dad William Bill Oliver
began working in the
mines when he was 10
years old and worked
55+ years before becoming disabled from black
lung. I can still remember his very large hands
with spots of coal dust
under the skin where
he had injured them.
He made sure we kids
got a good education
because he didnt want
any one of us working
in a mines, and of us six
kids, none did.
Charlene Oliver Williams

I am the proud daughter of the ever-hated coal

mine inspector!
Angie McCreary-Cox
My
gra ndfather
worked in the coal
mines. My husbands
job is to rebuild equipment needed for mining.
His job is dependent on
the coal industry. It is
an honorable job, and
a tradition that is being
taken from this area.
Kimberly Bingham
Coal miners daughter, granddaughter, sister and niece! We need
coal!
Becky Goodman Broyles

Coal miners daughter

and darn proud of it!
My dad worked 24 years
in the mines. Many a
night I washed his dinner bucket, watched
him work seven days a
week, and saw him literally crawl to the truck
in order to go to work.
Due to working in the
mines all those years,
he got black lung. With
six months left of life,
by the grace of God he
received a set of 29 yearold-lungs. It was seven
years ago the 26th of
[July]! God bless all the
coal miners and the
families of miners.
Alisha Jones Nance
Im a coal miners
granddaughter.
My
grandfather, Roy Adkins,
was killed in the mines
back in the late 40s.
Sharon Mohrbacher
My dad was a welder
at a coal company. He
kept equipment operating. Although it can
be a dangerous job it
has come a long way
in safety from years
past. I worked for a coal
company weighing coal
trucks and later in the
ofce. I have met some
outstanding, hard working men. Coal not only
puts food on the tables

for the miners families,

but also truck drivers
and vendors that supply the companies with
anything from gravelsto mining equipment.
We need coal! We need
more people like our
coal miners.
Sharon Jarnigan
Coal miners daughter, and wife for years,
I was always afraid he
wouldnt come home, as
there were always accidents in the mines. My
dad raised seven children on a coal miners
pay, and never heard
him complain. He was
a great man. He too
had to retire from black
lung. RIP dad (Charlie
Phillips). I love you very
much.
Gladys Phillips Bunch

I was a coal miner

myself in Whitwell. I
met my husband in the
mines.
Doris Philpott Boston

Kentucky coal miners

daughter here! I am so
proud and thankful to
my daddy for all his
years of hard work! And
I am thankful to God
that he doesnt have
black lung! Two of my
uncles werent so lucky.
Most of the men in my

family worked in coal.

Theres not much else to
do in that area.
Laura Leslie Byrd
Yes, I am a coal miners daughter as well
as ones wife what coal
means to alot of families
around here is the difference between having
food on the table and a
roof over your head, alot
to think about especially if you have children.
Donna Hateld
I am a coal miners
wife, grand daughter
and sister-in-law. As one
can see coal mining has
been a way of life and living for our entire family.
First, my grandfather
worked when they used
mules in the mines and
carbide lights. Later, I
married a coal miner
that was a roof bolter for
many years. His brothers are also miners. Coal
is not only important to
the families that make
a living at coal mining,
but also people who use
electricity.
Melissa Lowe
Proud son of a UMWA
coal miner
David Marlow
Im proud to be a coal
miners daughter. My

father owned several

mines in new river and
Wartburg area. My husband also was a miner
several years ago. My
son is a zinc maintence
man in Jefferson City.
So I guess that mining
is in the mens blood in
our family. I just pray
that each and every one
of the miners stay Safe
always.
Lisa Bunch Chappell
Coal miners wife.
My husband has been
a underground miner
since 1989. He runs
the miner at Kopper Glo
mines in Claireld. It is
a very tough and dangerous job. It is safer
now then it was years
ago. And we still need
coal.
Lois Wortham Morgan

Im originally from
Jellico and my dad,
James Gregg, was a
coal miner.
Haxel Gregg Bullman

My
dad
Casto
McCloud was a coal
miner along with many
uncles Sam, Luther
and Wilson
Mary Daley
West Virginia coal
miners daughter, granddaughter, niece and

cousin. Very proud of

my coal mining family
and many friends. Coal
keeps the lights on.
April Brewster Shelton
My daddy was a strip
miner, he ran a dozer on
Highwalls, anyone want
to guess how dangerous
that is?
Karen Allen
Coal miners daughter. My dad, Joe Ward,
had more than 30 years
in the coal mines. He
passed in June of 2012
and he had black lung.
Joanne Bullman
Coal miners granddaughter (W.C. Duncan).
My
dad,
Herman
Duncan, and father-inlaw, Jackie Bunch, also
worked for a while in the
mines.
Laura Bunch
Coal miners daughter. Very proud of dad!
Amanda McKamey
Bolt mans daughter.
Very proud of my daddy!
Coal mining is not an
easy job and its [denitely] one of the most
dangerous! Coal mining
goes way back in our
family.
Felicia Bunch

DYIN TO MAKE A LIVING

Creator reections on the making of From the Mines

Chris Cannon, Phillip Boshears and Beth Braden pose at the Kopper Glo mine on Sept. 26.
Photo by Ron Helton

n the last ve months I have spent time

absorbing everything I could about
mining, black lung disease, rescue
mining and what its like to be part of
the mining family.
It is everything I expected, and nothing
I expected all in one. Through the project
weve had time to visit with rescue miners,
young miners, retired miners, roof bolters,
machine operators, foremen, managers and
even a mine company president via telephone. Its been fascinating to catch a look
into what makes the coal mining world go
round.
Like many projects Ive undertaken as
a journalist, I have come away with more
knowledge and another way to look at the
world. Im so glad to be able to share what

hen I thought of a coal

mine, I would think
of old pictures I have
seen of men covered in black
dust from head to toe.
I imagined it to be excessively dark, cold, and absolutely
lthy.
Boy, was I surprised when I
got to go in the Kopper Glo coal
mine in Claireld.
After safety training and
suiting up, it was off to the
mine.
As we ventured a mile and
a half into the earth, I was in
amazement. It was dark, but
the light from your hat was
more than enough to see.
Being inside a coal mine is
like venturing into a different
world. I loved it.
It wasnt near as dirty as
what anyone would expect.
Now if you ask LaFollette Press
reporter Beth Braden, she will
declare other wise. I guess
coming from a guys point of
view it wasnt that bad.
It was kind of chilly, but I
was comfortable. They said it
stays a constant 65 degrees

Phillip Boshears

year round. I could get use to

that.
The workers were like one
big family and enjoyed what
they were doing.
Seeing the mining process
is something everyone should
see. It is nothing near what I
thought it would be. To say the
least, it is just fascinating.
The instant I saw the
mechanical miner, I thought,
thats one mean looking, scary
machine. It put me in mind of
a transformer.
Watching the miner tear
through the seam of coal was
just like seeing a knife cut
through hot butter.
I am so grateful that I was
allowed to go to the mines. I
would go back in a heartbeat
if I had the chance, but please
dont tell my mother.
I guess everyone has a little
miner in them and going to the
mine brought mine out of me.

Beth Braden
weve learned not only with our readers,
but my own life has been enriched through
this project. Id like to give a quick thanks
to Keith Dyke, president of Kopper Glo Fuel,
as well as all the other folks weve come in
contact with Oscar Frederick, Jordan
Harness, Ron Helton, Wayne Ward, Joe
Lowe, Scooter Morgan, Chester McKamey,
Jerry Weaver, James Thacker, Don, Eddie,
as well as all the men who let me take photos of them during the mine rescue competition. This project wouldnt have been
possible without you.

he canary died a long time ago. Poor

fella.
With an adventure like going into
the coalmines, Im sure theres a lot of
coal miners laughing right now, it was something
we were all kind of afraid of. Movies and books,
television and Hollywood have all portrayed a miners life as low living.
Now, I dont mean little money or anything like
that, but Hollywood has portrayed mining as people
lying on their stomach, crawling deep in the mine
with only a shovel and a pick to dig at the earth.
However, I found that to be completely wrong.
I feel safer down here than driving down the
road, one miner said.
While mine manager Ron Helton told us that
some miners still have to crawl in 18-inch spaces at
other mines, the life inside Kopper Glo was actually
nothing like one would expect.
The quote about the canary, which Helton told us
when we were nearly a mile underground, really t
the feel of the whole adventure.
Canaries in old days were used as a warning.

Chris Cannon
According to the United States Department of
Labors Mine Safety and Administration, canaries
were used to detect carbon monoxide, a potentially
deadly gas devoid of color, taste or smell, [which]
can form underground during a mine re or after a
mine explosion.
Today, however, coal miners rely on carbon monoxide detectors. These beep instead of chirp, but
they serve the same purpose. High-tech devices are
used now, instead of Mother Nature.
Canaries and sometimes mice were used to
alert miners to the presence of the poisonous gas.
Following a mine re or explosion, mine rescuers
would descend into the mine carrying a canary in
a small wooden or metal cage. Any sign of distress
from the canary was a clear signal that the conditions underground were unsafe, prompting a hasty
return to the surface.
Picks and shovels are now converted to a continu-

ous miner. The machines ominous appearance and

Transformers-like look was a sight to see. The huge
wheel that bore metal spikes up to 3 inches long
chewed a hole into the ground.
Making a room about 12 feet wide, 4 feet tall
and nearly 30 feet deep, one would expect to be
overrun by coal dust. Photographs of miners covered in coal dust, head to toe, are something the
clich has become.
However, nearly every miner we saw had no black
face.
Dust was settled to a minimum, and except for
the numerous marks I left on the helmet, youd
think wed simply spent a day in the woods.
Coal mining is denitely a different breed from
what weve been told. Today, safety and engineering
has made it an almost modern marvel. Thousands
of feet of conveyer belt hoist the coal to the surface
instead of mules and wagons.
Being able to witness such a thing is something I
will never forget. We all thank the miners of Kopper
Glo for being so cooperative and willing to share
their trade one thats constantly evolving and
becoming safer with each passing day.