Monday morning we rested a little after the long drives to get to Pipestem. Then we decided to take a drive to Beckley to see the Coal Mine Exhibition there. We particularly wanted to try the tour of an old coal mine. We arrived at the perfect time - a tour was starting in 5 minutes - just in time for me to get my sweatshirt from the car. We sat in old cars with seats on both sides - my feet were squished - not enough room to move my legs. There was an engine car pulling 2 cars - we were lucky the other car had no passengers. The guide was a retired coal miner with 40+ years of experience working in mines. He took us down 1500 feet underground. There wasn't much light, it was cold, damp with water dripping from the ceiling. We were told not to put our hands or feet out of the car because of outcroppings in the mountain. We couldn't put our hands up or stand up because of some metal plates sticking out of the ceiling.
The miner stopped to show us a one ton car filled with bituminous coal - I think he said the miner was paid $2/ton - sometimes they brought their young sons into the mine to help them fill the car - but the son did not get paid. He showed us a piece of wood that would have the miner's name on it - he put this into the bottom of the car - when the car was emptied of coal, the wood would be there to prove who had filled it - without the wood, another miner could steal a miner's car full of coal and get paid for it.
The miner had to buy all his equipment at the company store. The only thing the company paid for was the timber used to hold up the walls and ceilings of the mine - the miner had to even buy his own blasting powder and equipment to open up a section of the mine. There was not enough room for the miner to stand up straight. The miner was paid in script made by the company - he had only the company store to do his shopping - other stores outside the coal town might accept the script but at a fraction of its value. The company did provide housing, but if the miner was disabled or killed, his wife and children only had 3 days to move out. And where would they go! "The miner was in bondage to the company."
Here is a link to us descending the 1500 feet into the mountain:
https://youtube.com/shorts/Nw57L19Tms4?feature=share
Here is a link to some of his talk: https://youtube.com/shorts/nQm-nAhL0Ok?feature=share
The miner also talked about the importance of safety. He showed us how the miners used to wear caps with flames on them for light - he showed us some improvements for lighting - he talked about the dangers of methane gas and how to test for it. Then he extinguished all the light so we were sitting there in the pitch black! That was scary! Here is a link to see us in blackness:
The miner talked about how the miners had tin buckets for their meals - some kept water in the bottom compartment - some times other miners stole a miner's water. He also talked about the importance of rats - he said the miners fed them!! If they saw rats leaving, they knew something bad was about to happen - a cave in or methane gas buildup - he said many miners had been saved by rats. Makes me think more highly of rats but I still don't want to see one!!
He also showed us how mining went from pick and shovel to miner controlled machines like the scoopers below.
When we came out of the tunnel, we explored the museum that had all kinds of miner equipment, information about unions.
We then walked over to a miner's 3 bedroom house - the house didn't seem half bad - like something my grandmother might have had in the 20s or 30s - until we learned that the miner might have 8-12 kids and might rent 1 of the 3 bedrooms!! He told us that in his grandparents' time there was subsistence farming, logging or coal mining - no other job options. One of his grandfathers was disabled on the job - the company gave him a $2000 settlement which was a lot at the time but would never last his lifetime.
We visited the company church - interesting to see benches dedicated to Mannings! I wouldn't expect that they would be related to us.
The company store above is the visitors center - we bought tickets in here and boarded the coal cars out back. The museum is upstairs and the gift shop is downstairs.
When we were talking about going back to West Virginia, a friend suggested that we visit Wheeling up in the northwest corner of West Va, but unfortunately we couldn't synch our available times. But Charlene mentioned Tamarak in Beckley - it carries products made by almost 3000 artists and artisans from fifty-five countries. There were gorgeous products there! There was also a dining area so we had lunch after taking a look around.
Tamarack
I love the recycling in these pieces!
On the way home from Tamarack we stopped and bought something for supper back at Pipestem where we just relaxed and then watched another episode of Ken Burns' Holocaust. I've read a lot about the Holocaust and follow the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Facebook, but it was still difficult watching the documentary. The similarities to today's events are harrowing.
We are heading to Camden, South Carolina to visit Vickie's cousin - it is a 4-5 hour drive so it will be a long day.
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