Day 7 - Another Rainy Day in Beckley

October 8, 2019

It misted rain all day today and was cool. The high was 57 degrees. Not a great day for outdoor activities. The folks who live here in Beckley are thanking God for the rain. They said it has been very dry.

We spent the morning doing some reading. In the afternoon I went over and toured the Coal Mine Museum. They had added bench seats to some old “man” cars they had hauled coal. (A man had to load at least 6 of the cars with a ton of coal each during his 12  hour shift or he was fired.) I was surprised that there were around 30 people on the tour I took. There is a tour every hour. A former miner takes you on a 1,500 foot trip along the old mine rails. He stopped several times to educate us on the duties of miners and show us some of the old equipment. The coal seams in this mine were about 24” thick. A miner laid on his side and with a pick scraped out a 4 foot wide slot at the bottom of the seam. He then drilled holes into the top of the seam, packed the holes with gunpowder and set it off. After the coal was cleaned out another 2 foot of rock was broken out so that the mine height was 4 feet. The miner then repeated the process. It was incredibly dangerous and incredibly tough work. 

Our guide worked in a coal mine for over 40 years. Both of his older brothers have already died of black lung disease. He said that he started wearing a respirator as soon as they were available. Many other miners made fun of him but he continued to wear it. He had absolutely nothing positive to say about coal companies. He said that in the 40+ years he worked in the mines he had only one boss who valued the lives of the miners. 

EVERYTHING in the area was owned by the coal company. You rented a house from the coal company, the rent was deducted from your pay. You bought your groceries from the coal company store, in fact you bought everything you couldn’t make for yourself from the coal company store. You were paid with coal company script that could only be spent in the coal company store. When a miner was killed by the time he was buried his family had been ejected from their house.

The museum, on the 2^nd floor of the building shown below was okay but the mine and the grounds were the real treat.

 Below is an attempt to get a photo of a single miners house. It was one room, less than 100 square feet. It contained a small stove, a small "kitchen" table, a chair and a cot.

Below was a house for a miner family. It has one bedroom, a kitchen and a "living" room. If I did the math right it took about 2 weeks work to pay the rent. In addition to a couple and MANY kids living in a house like this the couple would sometimes take in a single miner to help pay the rent.

Below is the 3 story mine superintendents house.

The mine was lit with bright bulbs every so many feet. I tried to take a couple of photos in the mine but the contrast between the dark mine interior and the bright bulbs was to much for my camera skills to get any decent photos.

When I got back I jacked up the trailer axle that had lost the dust cap, spun the wheel some and added a little more grease to the bearing. It seems fine.

We went to a Texas Roadhouse for supper. Got there before 6 PM to take advantage of their early bird special. The food and service were excellent. Hope the one being built in Jeff will be as good.

Tomorrow we head east to see the Greenbrier bunker. We aren't sure where we are staying tomorrow night. The place I had originally planned to stay was full when I called to make a reservation. I found a couple of other campgrounds a little further down the road. In the morning we will call them and see if we can reserve a site at one of them.

God is good. May He bless you and yours.