The Coal Mining industry in NE PA was documented in the book “The Kingdom of Coal”. It is a startling volume worth reading.
The “Company” housing was a real deal. If you died in the mine, your body remained there until end of shift when it was removed from the mine, transported to your Company House and without ceremony left in the kitchen on the floor.
IF… you did not have a son old enough or able bodied enough to replace you in the mine the VERY NEXT DAY… your family was unceremoniously evicted.
that happened to my Grandfather. he was like 10 or 11 I think at the time.
but his Dad and Mom died in a buggy accident of some sort.
into the mines he went. he had two younger brothers.
first the “sorting house” until he was maybe 13/14 and then in the mine.
he got out at 21 after working his ass off. said the next time under ground he be dead. coal mines in KY where just as bad as the ones in PA.
he hated the damn coal company with a passion. the only thing that came close was FDR and his damn “new deal’ bullshit.
that man worked every damn day of his life. made something of himself too.
by the time he passed on, his farm was close to 1000 acres. he had cattle and horses. he was well known for butchering hogs back the day.
I remember him as a kindly big man who could move anything he put his hand too. he would farm all spring/summer and come winter he cut “ties” for sale to the railroad. and he would buy up hillside land and put hogs on it. fenced in of course.
and in a year or two would turn it into pasture land.
he always had the leanest bacon I ever saw. but he also kept hogs near the one barn for fat. my Dad often said he was the smartest man he ever met.
I often wish I got to know him better, but I was just a kid then.
This was cool to read, thanks for sharing it!
Either they or their parents were lazy, stupid or made bad choices. Not my fault.
Just flat wrong on so many levels….
JS likes to blame everybody else also, how do you think he ended up here.
ps Few know why the dust bowl happened, it was greed.
It’s easy to blame things on laziness, stupidity, or poor choices. Most times, this was not the case. Consider that for the examples cited, a number of factors existed, preventing the working class poor from being able to maintain a workable standard of living, let alone accumulate wealth.
Among these factors were a lack of labor laws, minimal or no safety regulations, no Social Security, no workman’s comp, no disability, no insurance, if you got hurt, you worked hurt or were out the door. No retirement plans, the company store and company towns were a real thing. Can’t Work? No roof over your head. No groceries. Most of these conditions contributed to the rise of labor unions, and government safety net programs.
The dust bowl turned productive farmland into a barren wasteland over a very few months. If you were a farmer, your land was your lifeline. No bailouts, no loans, no crops meant no money, and no crops next year.
My grandfather went to school until 6th grade, then left school to help work to support the family. If a family member got sick, or hurt and couldn’t work, others in the family stepped up. With a 6th grade education, and an interesting work history, he was one of the smartest people I ever met.
The folks that left everything behind, and spent their last dime to make the trip to this country to start a new life frequently encountered hardships that they simply needed to work through or die trying. No government handouts, no EBT, no free phones, you got off the boat, and found a job. You learned the language, and assimilated into the community. Indentured servitude was a real thing, and it was a crapshoot whether the person paying your way was going to honor the agreement, or take advantage. You played the cards you were dealt.
The treatment of US Veterans after their service was completed up through the Vietnam War was at times shameful. Folks spitting on vets in airports comes to mind. The VA has a very mixed record on the subject. The Vietnam Era practice of drafting Low IQ individuals for military service is but an example of the horrors.
Too many cases to discuss here. Exploitation of the poorest has been a feature of history since the beginning of time. Whites have been the victims more than folks want to acknowledge.
So, I will just say no to blaming the victims, citing their laziness, stupidity, or poor decisions. Hope you never experience hard times.
My comment was sarcasm. I don’t believe it. Had had the kids not been white many would agree. Funny how that works.
Apologies, should have picked up on that.
Have been hearing way too much about my “White Privilege” lately. Seen way too much of what used to be considered “just bad luck” attributed to stupidity and/or laziness. Shit happens, there is no direct correlation between experiencing bad outcomes, and deserving bad outcomes. Seen folks work hard, and make the best decisions they can, only to lose it all due to circumstances beyond their control.
Conversely, seen people do some really dumb shit, and come ahead from it.
The Coal Mining industry in NE PA was documented in the book “The Kingdom of Coal”. It is a startling volume worth reading.
The “Company” housing was a real deal. If you died in the mine, your body remained there until end of shift when it was removed from the mine, transported to your Company House and without ceremony left in the kitchen on the floor.
IF… you did not have a son old enough or able bodied enough to replace you in the mine the VERY NEXT DAY… your family was unceremoniously evicted.
that happened to my Grandfather. he was like 10 or 11 I think at the time.
but his Dad and Mom died in a buggy accident of some sort.
into the mines he went. he had two younger brothers.
first the “sorting house” until he was maybe 13/14 and then in the mine.
he got out at 21 after working his ass off. said the next time under ground he be dead. coal mines in KY where just as bad as the ones in PA.
he hated the damn coal company with a passion. the only thing that came close was FDR and his damn “new deal’ bullshit.
that man worked every damn day of his life. made something of himself too.
by the time he passed on, his farm was close to 1000 acres. he had cattle and horses. he was well known for butchering hogs back the day.
I remember him as a kindly big man who could move anything he put his hand too. he would farm all spring/summer and come winter he cut “ties” for sale to the railroad. and he would buy up hillside land and put hogs on it. fenced in of course.
and in a year or two would turn it into pasture land.
he always had the leanest bacon I ever saw. but he also kept hogs near the one barn for fat. my Dad often said he was the smartest man he ever met.
I often wish I got to know him better, but I was just a kid then.
This was cool to read, thanks for sharing it!
Either they or their parents were lazy, stupid or made bad choices. Not my fault.
Just flat wrong on so many levels….
JS likes to blame everybody else also, how do you think he ended up here.
ps Few know why the dust bowl happened, it was greed.
It’s easy to blame things on laziness, stupidity, or poor choices. Most times, this was not the case. Consider that for the examples cited, a number of factors existed, preventing the working class poor from being able to maintain a workable standard of living, let alone accumulate wealth.
Among these factors were a lack of labor laws, minimal or no safety regulations, no Social Security, no workman’s comp, no disability, no insurance, if you got hurt, you worked hurt or were out the door. No retirement plans, the company store and company towns were a real thing. Can’t Work? No roof over your head. No groceries. Most of these conditions contributed to the rise of labor unions, and government safety net programs.
The dust bowl turned productive farmland into a barren wasteland over a very few months. If you were a farmer, your land was your lifeline. No bailouts, no loans, no crops meant no money, and no crops next year.
My grandfather went to school until 6th grade, then left school to help work to support the family. If a family member got sick, or hurt and couldn’t work, others in the family stepped up. With a 6th grade education, and an interesting work history, he was one of the smartest people I ever met.
The folks that left everything behind, and spent their last dime to make the trip to this country to start a new life frequently encountered hardships that they simply needed to work through or die trying. No government handouts, no EBT, no free phones, you got off the boat, and found a job. You learned the language, and assimilated into the community. Indentured servitude was a real thing, and it was a crapshoot whether the person paying your way was going to honor the agreement, or take advantage. You played the cards you were dealt.
The treatment of US Veterans after their service was completed up through the Vietnam War was at times shameful. Folks spitting on vets in airports comes to mind. The VA has a very mixed record on the subject. The Vietnam Era practice of drafting Low IQ individuals for military service is but an example of the horrors.
Too many cases to discuss here. Exploitation of the poorest has been a feature of history since the beginning of time. Whites have been the victims more than folks want to acknowledge.
So, I will just say no to blaming the victims, citing their laziness, stupidity, or poor decisions. Hope you never experience hard times.
My comment was sarcasm. I don’t believe it. Had had the kids not been white many would agree. Funny how that works.
Apologies, should have picked up on that.
Have been hearing way too much about my “White Privilege” lately. Seen way too much of what used to be considered “just bad luck” attributed to stupidity and/or laziness. Shit happens, there is no direct correlation between experiencing bad outcomes, and deserving bad outcomes. Seen folks work hard, and make the best decisions they can, only to lose it all due to circumstances beyond their control.
Conversely, seen people do some really dumb shit, and come ahead from it.