Sister Kay and Mary Maslonik tell their stories...

Kay and Mary (my Mom Kay and Aunt Mary) have a lot of good coal miner stories.  They also were daughters of a coal miner.  Aunt Mary brought over a book to share today called, "Out of the Dark 2 Mining Folk," from Northern Cambria High School Copyright 1977.  So let's hear some of their stories now.

Mining was a dirty job.  The day was long for Father, starting at 6 am to 5 pm.  Barnes & Tucker #6 Mine in Elmore, PA is where their Dad worked for 40 years after coming to America from Europe.  The ladies said that they would have to haul the water from the pump outside, heat it on the stove and empty it in tubs when Dad came home from the mines.  She would wash his back and then let him finish.    Kay did most of the cooking since Mary was too small and Sister Ann left home early.  There was also a large pot of coffee on the stove all day. The mining cloths had too have the dust shaken out of them before they could be washed by hand or in the washer and hung up to dry.

The kids had to go to the mine and rack up coal that fell off the coal flats and bring it home in a wagon for the fire.  A stove in the middle room kept the downstairs warm and a hole in the ceiling heated the 2 bedrooms upstairs.  At night the fire would go out and the house would get cold.  Sometimes Father would sleep downstairs to keep the fire going. In the morning, the kids would fight to get the warmest spot around the stove.  Most miners in the 30s, walked to work -- no cars or trucks!

http://archives.lib.cua.edu/coalbib.cfm
http://www.amazon.com/Out-Darkness-Mine-Workers-Story/dp/B000000MQV
http://www.lib.iup.edu/spec_coll/mg81.html