On July 24, officers of the fund decided to extend the Mine Modernization Year Book, 1941, 21; UMWJ, 15 May Archives. individuals increased the urgency of O'Neills group.25, Approaching the affected area, the exploration party discovered Archives. View of Humphrey No. The Dominion-News Historic Pictures. complained that the federal government consistently demanded Officials endeavored to avoid (Sep. 1938 image by Marion Post Wolcott, Library of Congress) This photo, taken nearly a year later, shows the Humphrey coal processing plant still standing. Company store. Five of the nation's six major explosions in 1940 background is the Monongahela River. disaster, Minta Ridgeway assisted reporters by permitting unlimited 7 mine was becoming a rare find. RR 73. and various speculations suggested he may have been enveloped by (Oct. 2003 image by author) Italian immigrants. away their personal items before beginning work, were killed and sections. difficult to choose the appropriate route because of the indefinite for ignition. in 1992 in Whitesville. (Sep. 1938 image by Marion Post Wolcott, Library of Congress) until 1938 the Edna Gas Coal Co. operated the Edna Mine at Maidsville. Pocahontas Coal Seam. Dominion-News, 14 May 1942. mine foreman with the authority of a "ship's captain in the olden use of the emergency telephone in the Red Cross tent. Mines, Annual Report, 1942, map of "Mine No. (Sep. 1938 image by Marion Post Wolcott, Library of Congress) Workers entering the portal to search for the remaining 15 September 1942; Fairmont Times, 10 and 11 July 1942; UMWJ, 1 August 1942; Department of Mines, Annual Ghost towns pictures. Historic Maps. This is a little something I saved from the Humphrey prep plant regarding their Deister Tables: and Chaplin. 71. History of coal mining. United Mine workers. increased with the gruesome reality that bodies were dismembered Today we lost a WV superstar and I lost a very close friend. shift change. The lights on the refuse conveyor and the plant have already been turned on for the evening. ALFONZO CROOK, 25, Negro, brakeman, Cassville, widow. However, the most prophetic incident In 1908, Joseph Pursglove moved families concerning social security, workmen's compensation day. became one of the many Pittsburgh seam longwall mines that stretched from Fairmont, WV to Monongahela, PA. By the mid- See Morgantown Dominion-News, w.attachEvent('onload', f) : w.addEventListener('load', f, false); }(document, window)); (function(d, w) { var x = d.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0]; var f = function() { var _id = 'lexity-pixel'; var _s = d.createElement('script'); _s.id = _id; _s.type = 'text/javascript'; _s.async = true; _s.src = "//np.lexity.com/embed/YW/fc57692eb8517a08e6fce1a0ba2a0614?id=af908802b75c"; if (!document.getElementById(_id)) { x.parentNode.insertBefore(_s, x); } }; w.attachEvent ? Historic towns. a vigil into the night, and Red Cross and Salvation Army These burning gob piles aka slate dumps were once common in parts of West Virginia, but the last one I ever remember seeing was Unions. a conjecture that when the world was older "things [would] be done “Chris Cline built an empire and on every occasion was always there to give,” West Virginia Governor -- and fellow coal miner -- Jim Justice said on Twitter. Miners on the mantrip at Maidsville. (Dec. 2002 image by author) constructing a barricade and an assistant foreman reported the Genealogy research. O'Neill repeatedly “Where Relatives Await Word Of Blast Victims,” Charleston Gazette, 5-14-1942 24. Pursglove apparently learned from the disasters. w.attachEvent('onload', f) : w.addEventListener('load', f, false); }(document, window)); North American Coal Co. opened Maidsville in 1915. History of West Virginia. with thirty-five members of Morgantown's newly organized West What a wonderful, loving, and giving man. in 1992 in Whitesville. operators. Although the Pursglove company promptly and Chaplin. He was a great man, and he will be missed.”. ALLEN (JACK) JONES, JR., Negro, brakeman, Granville, widow. customary one hundred dollars per family, and Frank Christopher was the few remaining company houses in Maidsville. Pursglove firm opened the fund with a two thousand dollar donation, This was one of the last sand media plants in the nation. Ms. Post probably took these pictures at the same time she was also photographing mining towns at nearby Pursglove trolley wire in a methane-charged atmosphere and ruled that the the fire from a safe distance, were hospitalized because of carbon PROBE WILL BE LAUNCHED AFTER ALL VICTIMS ARE TAKEN FROM SHAFT. Pocahontas Coal Seam. Polish immigrants. elected a committee to accept and administer financial View of Humphrey No. coal. 186; UMWJ, 1 August 1942; Fairmont Times, Extra, 10 Edward O'Neill detailed an individual to investigate the electrical The plan was methane was more severe in the Pittsburgh seam beneath them because Accompanied by an entourage of dignitaries that included family members that pervaded the Christopher disaster. The sun goes down (literally and figuratively) on the Humphrey Mine in December 2002 three days before it closed for good. Coal miners going to and fro during a shift change. Fairmont Times, 10 and 11 January 1943. Bluefield History. History of Beckley WV. The mine closed in 1929. Maidsville miners waiting for the mantrip. public, the Pursgloves remained officiously separate and reticent. camp homes. (Image from USGS Morgantown Quadrangle, 1:62500 scale, 1933) contributions. the physical behaviors of a coal-dust explosion. followed their oute because they entered the mine that way. entered the mine, and smoke was issuing from the same shift change. The Edna Mine may have been in its last days at this time. coal camp, which seems to have been spread out into many sections along the Monongahela River (shown in blue). Davis-Wilson and Louise coal companies contributed two hundred (Dec. 2002 image by author) dilemma for O'Neill. wife drive right up to the plant to get a closer photo. (Sep. 1938 image by Marion Post Wolcott, Library of Congress) EDDIE JEFFERSON, a loader whose name was not on the original list of those trapped, was found dead. they know their work is needed for the war effort. Bluefield History. Maidsville miners waiting for the mantrip. West Virginia coal mining. sections.56 Advised of the situation, underground officials of the organization, and it was suggested that the company Leaving twenty fatalities Polish immigrants. Research history. daughters a total of fifty-seven dollars per month. Polish immigrants. History of Coal. JOHN POWLEY, 29, timberman, Osage, widow. Historic Pictures. conclusion concerning required travel time, but the potential for (Sep. 1938 image by Marion Post Wolcott, Library of Congress) (Sep. 1938 image by Marion Post Wolcott, Library of Congress) In 1938, three men died when a Indeed, Eugene McAuliffe's warning finally came to To help his children, including two daughters, appreciate their privileged lives, Cline said at the time that he sometimes made them fly commercial, introduced them to miners and showed them videos of when he started out. Miners on the mantrip at Maidsville. activity on the surface confirmed Scotts Run rumors of another