Anthracite was “discovered” in America by Connecticut settlers in what is today known as the Wyoming Valley of PA. Depending on who is telling the story, it was 1762, or it was not. Some say that a hunter, named Necho Allen in what is now the Coal Region, fell asleep at the base of Broad Mountain and woke to the sight of a large fire because his campfire had ignited an outcropping of anthracite coal. Some say it was simply discovered in outcroppings along the river. 90% of the known anthracite deposits in the world exist in a ten county area of eastern and northeastern PA. Placed side by side, these would encompass an area roughly the size of Manhattan.
It has been said that Judge Fell of Wilkes-Barre first burned anthracite as a “home heating fuel” in 1808. He found that a coal fire needed an air source from beneath – unlike wood – to burn continuously. To solve this problem, he designed a grate which held coal in a raised position where air could flow from underneath and around, allowing for complete combustion. Henceforth, the popularity of “hard coal” as a residential heat source grew steadily. From the late 1800s through the 1950s coal was the most popular heat source in the U.S.
The growing demand for coal led to a growing demand for workers. This led to immigrants flocking to the “Coal Region”. Among the earliest were Irish, and they were among the first to be abused and exploited as workers. This also made them the first to fight back. The first coal miners union, the Workingmens’ Benevolent Association, (WBA) was formed in 1868 at Saint Clair. In 1869, 108 miners were killed in a fire in the “Avondale Mine Disaster”. As worker abuse and working conditions continued without improvement, trouble and violence grew. An alleged secretive group, the ‘Molly Maguires’ were blamed for trouble and were reportedly tied to the “Ancient Order of Hibernians.” They were treated as miscreants and criminals. Ten members of this group were eventually hung – June 21, 1877.
The WBA would fail in 1875, along with the similar and parallel Miners and Laborers Benevolent Association which also collapsed in light of competition and stockpiling by the larger companies. These “social organizations” would, however, lay the footings for the United Mine Workers. Ever growing markets led to further demand, which led to greater need for labor. This time the eastern European economies had been hit hard and many of Polish, Slovak and Lithuanian descent had come to dig coal for a living. Poor conditions continued, and by the late 1890s men and boys, miners up and down the length of the “Coal Region,” were struggling for better pay and working conditions. In September of 1897 as striking miners marched from town to town seeking to build support and solidarity among other miners, a confrontation occurred near Lattimer.
19 were killed, as many as 50 wounded, nearly all shot in the back (some more than once) by sheriff’s deputies, who sought to “gun down the striking scum”. In the four months that followed, the UMW added about 15,000 new members. Unionism had set in.
The UMW had seen successes in the Midwest and in western PA in the bituminous or soft coal fields. Led by the fabled John Mitchell, miners in the “Hard Coal Region” had struck, and with political pressure on the operators, the strike was resolved favorably for the miners. The operators resented the miners’ success and vowed not to allow it again. By 1902, however, when Mitchell led the miners’ pleas for better working conditions, the operators rebuffed every attempt. Eventually, Mitchell called the strike and 147,000 miners went out. Coal production was decreased by nearly 96% in what has been called the “Greatest Strike Ever”.
Operators hired more of their ‘Coal and Iron Police’, (PA charged $1/officer for commissions) who had the full force of law, and violence led to further determination among the striking miners. Soon the entire compliment of PA’s National Guard – 10,000 strong – were sent to help police the situation. When this still failed to resolve the strike, and with winter and a heating season approaching, the situation drew the attention of Pres. Teddy Roosevelt. He refused the operators’ direct requests to squelch the workers, having personal regard and respect for hard work. He engaged JP Morgan to enforce his coal operators to agree to an arbitration deal. The owners weren’t happy, but after 163 days, the UMW called off the strike. The arbitration lasted from November until March, with gains for the miners, but still no official recognition of the union as bargaining agent.
Samuel Gompers, founder of the AFL, said the strike was “the most important single incident in the labor movement in the United States.” A memorial dedicated to John Mitchell was erected in Scranton, PA, in 1924. The “Great Strike” legacy continues to be important, people still gather around the statue to celebrate “John Mitchell Day” on October 29, in remembrance of Mitchell’s success in the anthracite strike.
Employment in the mines of the “Hard Coal Region” peaked at 180,000 in 1914. Production topped out at over 100 million tons per year in 1917. Mitchell and the UMWA struggled and fought for recognition. By 1922 another major strike hit the region’s operators, this time miners from anthracite were joined by miners elsewhere in the “bituminous” coal fields. When the issues were resolved then, the miners’ work stoppage had shorted production by 40 million tons, and everybody enjoyed success except those who counted on this fuel to keep warm from winters wrath. The UMWA was recognized, strong, and “here to stay”.
On January 22, 1959, a hole broke open in the bed of the Susquehanna River near Pittston, PA – actually at Port Griffith. To the miners below it was imminent danger; to the industry that had been “King” it was another large step toward the end. Twelve men would perish, 69 would survive, while 33 of those would be amazingly, incredibly, heroically rescued; saved for their families and the future. The mine was called ‘River Slope’, it was owned by Knox Coal Co. Much would be learned following this disaster, much would be found that contributed to the tragedy.
That January 22nd morning had seen the river levels rise amid a customary “January Thaw”. Ice floes were moving along a swollen river and all seemed normal to the world. Suddenly a hole broke open in the ceiling of the River Slope Mine shaft. Water began pouring in, opening a growing hole in the riverbed. Icy, cold, cold water. Miners heard the thunder, and knew instantly, instinctively that something had gone wrong. Utterly, horribly, irreparably wrong. For those who would get out, life would never be the same; for the others, life would no longer be. Water seeks its own level.
Meanwhile in River Slope on January 22nd, an estimated 2.7 million gallons of water per minute poured into that mine shaft and other nearby, connected, and adjacent shafts. Ice blocks described by some survivors as being nearly the size of cars were finding their way into the tunnels. Men scurried, seeking safety and a travel route to the surface. Three of the six men working directly in the River Slope shaft fled to safety. Thirty three more workers from adjacent shafts caught the last elevators to the surface. Forty five men remained to find safety, escape, or death. A huge whirlpool, a swirling vortex had formed along the river’s edge, as water poured into the mine shafts below.
Knox Coal Co had leased the River Slope Mine from the Pennsylvania Coal Co, along with other mining rights in the Pittston/Port Griffith/Wyoming Valley area. State mining regulations called for a suggested thirty foot “buffer” of ground to remain between the river and any mine shaft. Knox had mined River Slope to within twenty inches. When warm temperatures and thawing, melting conditions swelled the Susquehanna on that fateful day, there was no stopping it. No turning back. The men that remained below ground (with a chance of escape) got separated into two groups. One group of 7 men included a surveyor who had maps and was familiar with a route to an abandoned shaft that would provide passage to the surface.
Upon reaching the abandoned shaft (now cluttered, if not filled, with debris), they began digging and removing debris on their journey upward. Thirty feet up they broke into an open shaft, but found the walls nearly straight up and nobody could hear their calls for help. Eventually one man, Amedeo Pancotti, volunteered to attempt the climb of another 50 feet of near vertical wall. Slowly and in adverse conditions, Pancotti reached the top, was found by rescuers on the surface.The passageway provided the means for the rescue of the last of those who would survive this disaster. Eighty one men had gone to work that morning, now less than a regular work shift later 69 had escaped. Heroes had risen to the call. conditions below ground worsened, and hopes for survival of the missing dwindled.
Meanwhile in Pittston and Port Griffith, at River Slope Mine, the community had gathered. It was known by all which 12 men remained beneath ground. The visible sight of the river pouring into the mine shafts was horriifying. Rescue efforts were being implemented as fast as possible. Efforts were made to fill the hole, stop the swirling vortex. Dirt and fill were dumped in, at one point, railroad cars were pushed in, anything to fill the space that was allowing the water to flow in. On January 13, five deep-sea divers arrived to aid in the search and rescue efforts. Pumping efforts didn’t start until January 26, but continued through July 24, long after it was accepted that those 12 brave souls were lost forever.
Coal remained “King” throughout the “Hard Coal Region” throughout the boom times of the Roaring Twenties, throughout the Great Depression, throughout WWII and well into Ike’s two terms in office. Corruption and violence had run various cycles, with each having their high times and each taking a turn at being in control. Immigrants, diversity, religion and the UMWA were life in the “Hard Coal”, not a way of life, they were life. In the investigations that followed the Knox mine Disaster, it was discovered that as well as the many safety and operations violations, there were some corruption problems within the system. Seven officials of Knox Coal were indicted and charged with violations up to and including manslaughter. None were convicted of the deaths, while three were convicted of the lesser charges. At least one man who held ownership participation in the operation while holding office as a UMW District 1 official was included among those convicted.
While coal is no longer king, there is no denying the role it has played in the history and heritage of Pennsylvania, and of the country. Corruption and violence, some of it perhaps the fault of the union, figured in this checkered history. But the violence and corruption began long before the union existed in that area, and has prevailed far past any real union power there. It is there, somewhere deep. It is not limited to coal.
After all, had it not been for the presence of the UMW, young boys would still be working in the mines, breakers, and collieries there – for the enrichment of robber barons bent on exploitation. Long live the UMWA. Their struggle goes on.
We strongly suggest a visit to Knox Mine Disaster - http://www.knoxminedisaster.com/
The following links were used in this article :
http://www.pagenweb.org/...
http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/...
http://nepacrossroads.com/...
http://www.pacoalhistory.com/...
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/... of_anthracite_mining_%28ph%29/472646
http://www.msha.gov/...
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/...