Closing the Circle
Unemployment & Poverty
The close of WWII opened what promised to be a golden age for our mining communities. A generation of Union contracts produced cautious if not unbridled optimism. But storm clouds were brewing.
“The continuous-mining machines introduced in the 1950s put more than 300,000 miners out of work between 1949 and 1964 and increased the incidence of black lung. Two out of every three Appalachian miners lost their jobs. Unemployment and poverty swept across the Appalachian coalfields from the Alleghenies of western Pennsylvania to the Cumberlands of east Kentucky. The tremendous clouds of dust generated by these new machines led to men in their thirties and forties contracting black lung. In the words of militant doctor I. E. Buff, ‘Just like a net, a lung that is full of holes put there by coal dust doesn’t catch any air. These miners with black lung have a constantly tightening string around their necks.’” Paul Nyden, Sociologist, printed in Life of the Appalachian Coal Miner by Builder Levy:
He’s had more hard luck than most men could stand
the mines were his first love, but never his friend
he’s lived a hard life, and hard he’ll die
Black Lung’s done got him, his time is nigh
He went to the boss man, but he closed the door
it seems you’re not wanted when you’re sick and you’re poor
you’re not even covered in their medical plans
and your life depends on the favors of man
Down at the graveyard the boss man came
With his little bunch of flowers
Dear God! What a shame
Take back those flowers, don’t sing no sad songs
The die has been cast now
A good man is gone — Hazel Dickens
Powerful rank-and-file movements arose, sparked by the methane explosion which rocked Consol No. 9 in Mannington, West Virginia, in November 1968 killing 78 miners. The wildcat Black Lung Strike of 1969 was triggered in large part by reformer Jock Yablonski in his campaign for UMW President against corrupt incumbent Tony Boyle, who had refused to endorse the strike. The wildcatters prevailed without UMW support, and after a month of impervious picket lines, the West Virginia legislature passed Coal Mine Health and Safety legislation long sought by the rank and file. The miners went back to work and Yablonski won the election. Hazel Dickens’s song captures the tragedy of what came in the shadow of that victory.
Cold Blooded Murder, song by Hazel Dickens – Clarksville, Pennsylvania is not too far from here:
Coal miners were hoping for a brighter New Year
But for Jock Yablonski, his daughter and wife
The New Year brought an ending to their precious lives
Well it’s cold blooded murder friends, I’m talking about
Now who’s gonna stand up and who’s gonna fight
You better clean up that union, put it on solid ground
Get rid of that dirty trash, that keeps a working man down
Death bells were ringing as Jock made his plans
To save the U.M.W. for honest working men
So he ran against Tony Boyle, and all his dirty clan
But Tony hired a hit man, that was ]ock’s fatal end
Jock Yablonski was a coal miner’s friend
He fought for the rights of the working man
He begged the law to protect him, but they turned him down
Now Jock, his wife and daughter all lay beneath the ground
Explosion & Fire Report
MSHA chose to release an “informational report” to avoid prying eyes from FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). No one dared call it sabotage. Note a 1989 report on a 1968 explosion!
Blaming the Victims
The Farmington #9 Mine in northern West Virginia blew up in 1968, killing 78 miners, 19 of whom remain entombed to this day. The explosion was in fact sabotage, not an accident. U.S. Bureau of Mines inspector Larry Layne discovered that the safety alarm on a malfunctioning fan had been bypassed with jumper wires. A long time friend of Layne who lived near the fan told him, “Many, many times that fan has been down for days at a time. I called the Superintendent, Mr. Turner, at No. 9 and told him that the fan was down. And Mr. Turner said, ‘We know, but we don’t need that fan.’ “
Larry’s memo alerting his superiors to the actual cause of the explosion was buried by government bureaucrats. It was never used as part of the official investigation.
Grundy Mine 21 in Marion County, near Whitwell, Tennessee, exploded on December 8, 1981, killing 13. The official cause was listed as cigarette smoking by the miners. Now, an MSHA special investigator, Larry Layne was called before the Senate oversight committee chaired by Senator Ted Kennedy. Layne testified that the primary cause of the Grundy 21 explosion was lack of adequate ventilation. The company was only fined $105,000 for five counts of violating Federal safety laws. Each widow did, however, receive a substantial settlement. “I was happy they got a million dollars apiece–happy that I could do something to help them. And I hope the same is true for the relatives of No. 9,” said ‘The Million Dollar Man’, Larry Layne. While Larry believed each widow received a one million dollar check, this was apparently not the reality, but rather a story the coal company wanted believed. At the 12 minute mark of Mine 21 Documentary on Vimeo, we learn that widows actually received $650/month with no insurance. Larry’s #9 memo, first published in WRITTEN IN BLOOD, surfaced decades later and the Farmington widows sued over the paltry settlement they had previously received for the “accidental” deaths of their husbands. They were unsuccessful.
Late in his career, Layne took to sending his reports to lawyers before they went to his superiors. No more would critical evidence be “lost in the shuffle.”
Larry Layne, Federal Mine Inspector/Investigator
Puzzle Solved
The Company paid a fine for the miners smoking underground. No one got prosecuted. The truth is the explosion was caused by a lack of an appropriate ventilation plan. Federal Special Investigator Larry Layne solved the puzzle and was instrumental in the widows getting $1Million each. Larry wanted a similar settlement for the widows of Farmington #9, but was unsuccessful. See The Memo, page 47-57 of Written in Blood (2017).
Farmington #9 Memorial
Larry Layne at the Farmington #9 memorial in 2009. Larry was the federal inspector/investigator who wrote the memo identifying the cause of the explosion. Larry spoke to Michael Kline about his career and the trajectory of the investigation. The interview and a photocopy of his memo that was never a part of the investigation are printed in WRITTEN IN BLOOD a 2017 publication by PM PRESS that I had the privilege of editing.
Larry’s family provided the photo of an unsung hero to the OUR STORY TRAVELING MUSEUM. Not an easy truth, but truth just the same. Farmington was not an accident. Thanks to Bonnie Stewart for doing much of the heavy lifting in her book NUMBER 9.
Larry no longer walks among us but let’s hope he is still telling the truth. Let’s tell his truths. 78 miners deserve to have their truth revealed.
RIP — But not silence.
Industrial Homicide - Upper Big Branch
Despite technical issues, the OUR STORY TRAVELING MUSEUM wants to share these two reports as the artifact of the week. Much ado is being made of Blair Mountain plus 100 years. Dates are overrated. Understanding the why of events and accurately recalling the what is more important than the dates.
However…. sometimes dates ARE important. Note the 1989 date on the INFORMATIONAL REPORT regarding the 1968 explosion at Farmington. Took the feds more than two decades to offer an unofficial report on the murder of 78 miners. No official cause beyond the usual gas, ventilation, coal dust and a spark. Bull feathers.
Took Federal Inspector Larry Layne roughly a month after the mine was unsealed in 1970 to find the cause of the disaster and document that the Mods Run fan had been sabotaged. (See Larry’s memo on pages 56 & 57 on WRITTEN IN BLOOD). Larry also discovered that the paper trail – written automatically – of the fan operation went missing. No inquiry was ever made during the official “investigation”.
If the murders at Farmington had resulted in some serious jail time, UBB might well never have happened. The culture of coal at any cost might have changed. We did get some new legislation Written in the Blood of dead miners but UBB was proof that little had changed. At least our Union’s report on UBB, INDUSTRIAL HOMICIDE, did not mince words or take two decades to come to light. More murders. No felony prosecution.
The Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia exploded April 5, 2010. 29 miners died. The cover of the UMWA report on the disaster says it all: INDUSTRIAL HOMICIDE.
Never forget,
Joe Manchin flew back to the scene of the Upper Big Branch crime
On Don Blankenship’s dime.
Bob Henry Baber
They Died
The list below is of West Virginia mine disasters chronicled by Lacy A. Dillon in his comprehensive works: THEY DIED IN THE DARKNESS and THEY DIED FOR KING COAL. Sago and Upper Big Branch came later. Black Lung fatalities are not noted.
Fatalities:
Newbert January 21, 1886 39
Blanche November 20, 1894 8
Red Ash March 5, 1900 46
Berryburg November 2, 1900 15
Farmington May 15, 1901 10
Stafford September 11, 1902 6
Algoma September 15, 1902 17
Wilcoe February 28, 1904 7
Rush Run March 19, 1905 24
Kayford April 20, 1905 6
Tidewater July 5, 1905 5
Tidewater November 4, 1905 6
Horton December 4, 1905 7
Coaldale January 4, 1906 24
Detroit January 18, 1906 18
Parral February 8, 1906 23
Century March 22, 1906 23
Stuart January 29, 1906 85
Lorenz January 24, 1907 12
Thomas February 4, 1907 25
Whipple May 1, 1907 15
Monongah December 6, 1907 500+
Bachman January 30, 1908 9
Lick Branch December 29, 1908 50
Lick Branch January 12, 1909 67
Beury March 31, 1909 5
Lick Fork December 31, 1910 10
Elk Garden April 24, 1911 23
Standard August 1, 1911 6
Bottom Creek November 18, 1911 18
Jed March 26, 1912 81
Panama July 11, 1912 7
Eccles April 28, 1914 183
Cinderella June 30, 1914 5
Carlisle February 6, 1915 22
Layland March 2, 1915 119
Boomer November 30, 1915 23
King March 28, 1916 10
Barracksville October 19, 1916 10
Lynden April 18, 1917 5
Yukon December 15, 1917 18
Villa May 20, 1918 13
Carswell July 18, 1919 6
Weirwood August 6, 1919 7
Mallory May 21, 1920 5
Glen Rogers September 23, 1922 5
Arista March 2, 1923 10
Glen Rogers November 6, 1923 27
Second Yukon March 28, 1924 24
Benwood April 28, 1924 119
Barrackville March 17, 1925 33
Farmington January 14, 1926 19
Eccles March 8, 1926 19
Moundsville November 15, 1926 5
Everettville April 30, 1927 97
Cappell-Shannon Branch May 3, 1927 8
Keystone April 2, 1928 8
Gobpile, Boone County April 29, 1928 5
Yukon May 22, 1928 17
National June 30, 1928 7
McAlpin October 22, 1928 6
Roderfield November 30, 1928 6
Kingston January 26, 1929 14
Lillybrook January 19, 1930 8
Arnettsville March 26, 1930 12
Glen Rogers January 6, 1931 8
Whitman November 3, 1931 5
Barracksville May 12, 1935 6
MacBeth September 2, 1936 10
MacBeth March 11, 1937 18
Bartley January 10, 1940 91
Raleigh #4 December 17, 1940 9
Carswell January 22, 1941 6
Osage May 12, 1942 56
Hitchman-Benwood May 18, 1942 5
Pursglove July 9, 1942 20
Laing December 15, 1942 5
Pursglove January 8, 1943 12
Mellis #3 November 8, 1943 11
Lumberport March 22, 1944 16
Havaco January 15, 1946 15
Capels August 6, 1948 6
Kermit January 18, 1951 11
Cassville October 15, 1951 10
Wevaco October 31, 1951 12
Farmington November 13, 1954 16
Bishop February 4, 1957 37
Glen Rogers December 9, 1957 5
Amonate December 27, 1957 11
Lundale February 12, 1958 6
Bishop October 27, 1958 22
Craigsville October 28, 1958 14
Holden March 8, 1960 18
Dola April 25, 1963 22
Sardis October 16, 1965 7
Stiltex July 23, 1966 7
Hominy Falls May 6, 1968 4
Farmington November 20, 1968 78
Blacksville July 22, 1972 9
Itmann December 16, 1974 5
Ferrell #17 November 7, 1980 5
R.I.P.
This week the OURSTORY TRAVELING MUSEUM offers a small brass tag attached to my belt from my time as a Union miner. The yellow paper covers my social security number, no longer freely shared. Just as soldiers wear dog tags, miners have names on belts. Why?
In the event of fire or explosion, rescue/recovery workers can identity the formerly alive pile of ash.
Rather adds some perspective to the argument that miners and former miners deserve a bit better treatment, don’t ya think? How ‘bout that GI Bill for miners???
As citizens we may differ as to when—or if— to use our military. Such differences aside, we ALL have an obligation to support our military veterans. Do folks who wear brass name labels on their belts deserve less?
