In this special two-part series, Jerry Herndon gives a very personal account of growing up and living in McDowell County and explains how coal mining has shaped his life. Herndon works at Mine Safety and Health Administration in Beaver, WV, as a management services specialist.
Living and breathing McDowell County
Being raised in McDowell County was a unique experience. For years, the county held the record for producing more coal than any other county in the United States. The county was a melting pot of nations – if one had an acute ear, voices from over 20 countries could be heard almost every day.
A host of coal barons forged their way into acquiring enormous tracts of coal properties. The presence of steel-making coal in abundance gave a strong incentive to developing southern West Virginia, especially McDowell County.
As a child, a trip up Northfork Hollow was always rewarding where one of my grannies lived in Crumpler, the largest community above Ashland. Ashland contained a mine so close to the surface that when it rained outside, it also rained inside. The coal company was trying to keep the mine going as long as possible so that more of the miners could retire. Mining was continued until tree roots were encountered.
We stayed at Crumpler during some bad times, and going from indoor plumbing to outdoor plumbing was not enjoyable. Granny’s outhouse only had three sides and a leaky roof. I remember some whippings because I took so long to return to the house from picking up coal lumps from the railroad tracks leading from the tipple. It wasn’t until several months later that I found the secret to fast coal gathering: my brother and uncle bombarded me with lumps they were taking from the tops of the loaded railroad cars.
Outside of Northfork, there was a man that would take us kids hunting if we loaded coal for him. He was definitely a philanthropist. We got fifty cents a ton and a ton was 3000 pounds. Before weigh in, we wheel-barrowed the coal to the outside and hand screened off the minus quarter materials. Unknown to us, he was selling this material as slack coal.
Another set of good memories of Crumpler involved playing in the tipple when the mines weren’t working. After a few hours of playing, it was difficult to identify any of the boys because of the accumulation of coal dust.
Crumpler had a shortage of stores but the coal company store gave credit and also took scrip. “Scrip” was the way the company paid miners. This type of money was manufactured by the company and could be used for goods and services by the company.
In those days houses were owned by coal companies or banks and occasionally by individuals. Justice wasn’t delivered fairly. The rich and coal companies had one kind of justice, and the poor were on the other end of the stick. You could go to a community doctor or visit a company doctor. Sometimes, there weren’t any choices, but if there weren’t any operating mines, medical personnel was scarce. In extreme circumstances, the preacher may have been a company preacher. But in fairness to the mining companies in McDowell County, the teachers received more money for teaching than most other counties in the state. The extra pay was funded by the coal industry that understood the need for a decent education.
The war
McDowell County coals were extremely vital during World War II. Coal miners were exempted from the draft, but many responsive young men joined the service anyway. Some, to their dismay, found themselves shipped to other mining places where they got GI’s pay instead of civilian wages. Personnel from the Navy were sent to a mine during the war when members of the UMWA went on strike. Railroad trains, mostly hauling coal, were aplenty. The crossings were blocked very frequently. Some of the trains ran through Keystone, a famous red-light district. Railroad detectives and the National Guard lined the tracks to prevent military men from crawling out the windows of troop trains to escape to the arms of the “Cinder Bottom” women.
During those years, no sport enjoyed the reputation of baseball. Almost every community had a baseball team and Welch had a professional team called Welch Miners. Sometimes it appeared that every coal company had a team as well. Mine superintendents would place bets when their teams would play against other company teams and, if the money was right, company personnel were known to get a “ringer” to play for their team – players from Cincinnati and other far-away towns would play for a coal company.
Revivals and Silas Green Medicine shows were a big thing in the coal camps back then. A three-day revival with snake handling during the services would be imbedded in your memory for a long time. Other sources of entertainment included vaudevilles, singalongs, minstrels, watching some religious services and local talent shows. War bond drives had a large attendance, also. Shooting an army rifle and getting on a tank were something to remember forever.
Liver delights
One thing that sticks in my mind was the restaurants in the area – several served liver sandwiches in places called “holes in the wall” because the places were only six feet wide. It wasn’t unusual for miners to...click here to read on.
