Looking back, I see that growing up a coal miner’s daughter in Beeson Works, a coal company patch town near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, had its perks.
Fragrant fresh air drifted down from the majestic Summit Mountains giving the clothes swinging in the breeze on the clothesline the most pleasant smell. Cold as ice mountain spring water gushed from a pipe jutting out the rocky side of the mountain beside a winding two-lane road. Families took bottles to fill with the best-tasting, cleanest water on earth during the summer. Tall green trees, so thick in places that you couldn’t see the sky, made you feel air conditioning on even the hottest, humid days.
The Summit Mountains abounds with historical sites from the Revolutionary War. Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Braddock’s Grave, and a lot of “George Washington slept here” places just to name a few. Kids in the surrounding area returned from school outings with their minds teeming with the exciting, historic battles of George Washington, the French, and Indians. Old taverns with museums containing Conestoga wagons and other artifacts on the National Road built in 1806 (later U.S. Route 40) proved fascinating.
Neighborhood gardens in Beeson were communal property. A tempting red, ripe tomato from anyone’s garden enticed me to pick and devour it while warm juice dripped off of my elbow. Too bad if I had a cut or scratch on my arm. Ouch!
When my playmates and I ran out of mundane things to do and craved danger and excitement, we explored the abandoned coal mine. Peering into the darkness, taking hesitant steps while holding onto each other, and then running away screaming in terror from the imagined danger and perceived close call.
Kids from Beeson Works back then were labeled as poor. Too bad those who affixed that tag on us didn’t realize how rich we were.
Showing posts with label Beeson Works. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beeson Works. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER ON FATHER'S DAY
FATHER’S DAY BLOG – 6-20-10
COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER ON FATHER’S DAY
I cried when I watched the news reporting the coal mine explosion that killed 29 coal miners at the Upper Big Branch coal mine on April 5, 2010. There were tears of frustration. It brought back painful memories from childhood.
There were 600 safety violations in less than 18 months at the Upper Big Branch mine. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) cited in a newspaper article on April 25 that a “backlog” impedes enforcement of mining violations. That backlog is caused by the tactic used by the coal mine company owners who have their lawyers aggressively contest violations in order to thwart enforcement. And the few enforcements are set so low monetarily that it amounts to a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately for coal miners today, the coal barons of old, with the assistance of MSHA, still rule.
I was raised in a company house in Beeson Works, a coal company camp town near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. All nationalities, Russian, Greek, Swiss, Italian, Polish, African-American, and Czechoslovian, lived together in that tight-knit mining community. After a death in the mines, neighbors prepared food to feed the grieving families and relatives. They supported and comforted each other the same way the coal miners do today.
My dad, Fred Jones, loaded coal deep underground at the Kyle Mine in southwestern Pennsylvania in the 1940s and 1950s. He died in 1987 from Black Lung Disease. A tall, massive man withered away to skin & bones.
But when I was a pig-tailed little girl, he was my hero. Handsome, big, strong, courageous and known and loved by everyone. He taught me things that will always be instilled deep inside. Be on time, work hard, make your own way, pay your bills on time, never eat a meal without saying the blessing, and lend a helping hand. My love of animals came from him.
This Father’s Day I remember him with love and an abiding respect for all that he was and all that he passed on to me.
COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER ON FATHER’S DAY
I cried when I watched the news reporting the coal mine explosion that killed 29 coal miners at the Upper Big Branch coal mine on April 5, 2010. There were tears of frustration. It brought back painful memories from childhood.
There were 600 safety violations in less than 18 months at the Upper Big Branch mine. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) cited in a newspaper article on April 25 that a “backlog” impedes enforcement of mining violations. That backlog is caused by the tactic used by the coal mine company owners who have their lawyers aggressively contest violations in order to thwart enforcement. And the few enforcements are set so low monetarily that it amounts to a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately for coal miners today, the coal barons of old, with the assistance of MSHA, still rule.
I was raised in a company house in Beeson Works, a coal company camp town near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. All nationalities, Russian, Greek, Swiss, Italian, Polish, African-American, and Czechoslovian, lived together in that tight-knit mining community. After a death in the mines, neighbors prepared food to feed the grieving families and relatives. They supported and comforted each other the same way the coal miners do today.
My dad, Fred Jones, loaded coal deep underground at the Kyle Mine in southwestern Pennsylvania in the 1940s and 1950s. He died in 1987 from Black Lung Disease. A tall, massive man withered away to skin & bones.
But when I was a pig-tailed little girl, he was my hero. Handsome, big, strong, courageous and known and loved by everyone. He taught me things that will always be instilled deep inside. Be on time, work hard, make your own way, pay your bills on time, never eat a meal without saying the blessing, and lend a helping hand. My love of animals came from him.
This Father’s Day I remember him with love and an abiding respect for all that he was and all that he passed on to me.
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